Summit 042522 Zenith Honor

Summit 042522 - 9 night repo MIA SJU ARUBA NJ cabin 6142 RS and our Zenith Celebration. Cruise 88-89 - captains club points 3145

Captain, Nikolas Frantzis; Staff Captain, Marios Flerianos; Chief Engineer, Georgios Maragkos; Hotel Director, Paul Cernat; Chief Houskeeper, Adrian Armeanu; F&B, Abdulnasa; Retreat concierges, Mar and Penelope; Butler, Tanya; stateroom attendant; Jonas; Captain club Consierge, Claire Barbie; Consierge, Daniela Jimenez; Matre’D, Lobo; Assistant Matre’D; Charina (originally from sushi on five); Waiter, Vikas; Retreat server, Demi.

Sailing with us was Gary and Joanie, Linda, Doc and Addie, Jack and Suzanne & Royce and Robin.

Day 1- We were up early In anticipation of our first cruise in 2 1/2 years. Joanie and Gary got to our house before 4 and the Airbrook van came right on time. We headed to EWR airport and found no lines and no problems there. Had a bagel that was as hard as a brick, then boarded a 7am, smooth, UA business class flight that got us to FLL just after 9:30. Once there, I gave SAS a call for ground transportation. He was there in 10 minutes. This time, the owner himself, Steve drove us from the airport in Fort Lauderdale to Miami. About a 45 minuets later, we could see the Summit glistening in all her glory. There was a concierge from the Retreat waiting for us outside the ship which made the boarding process easy. The crew clapped for us when we stepped on. The Concierge took us first to a greeting room to finalize paperwork to board the ship. In minutes we were on board and Retreat hostess Penelope greeted us. She told us there were only about 350 passengers aboard. Next, we went to Luminae to have lunch which was very nice.

Randi spotted Vikas, a former waiter of ours and we requested him for the duration of the cruise.

Here he is with cousins Gary and Joanie. Randi had a burger and I had a nice Cobb salad. Muster drill is now a breeze. You watch a video and then report to your muster station to check in. 

We got back to the Royal Suite and our luggage already arrived. We unpacked in minutes, it seemed.

Next, we attended a Sail away party in Linda and Doc’s (Carolyn) penthouse 6147. We also saw Addie there and about 25 passengers joining the celebration. 

Summit had to maneuver forward, to go down to the turn around and then come out of the port which was a very nice experience. We had an enjoyable first dinner in Luminae at 7 o’clock. Afterwards, we went to see the comedian, A.J. Jamal at the 9PM show. Due to the number of passengers on board there was only one show each night at 9.

Day 2 Sea- After very restful sleep we had our croissants and coffee delivered by Tanya our Butler. When we talked with her, we found out that she was from Ukraine. We also learned that after this cruise she was going back home on sympathy leave, to rescue her mother from where she lived in Sumy, Ukraine. It was a tearful conversation. We went to Luminae for breakfast with Gary & Joan at 8:30.

Next was the pool deck and relaxing by the pool. With 350 aboard, there was never a problem getting a lounge chair. It was sunny and partly cloudy which fooled many of us into getting sunburns. Note, the hot tubs by the pool were retrofitted into whirlpools so none of them have the billowing bubbles anymore. 

We had lunch at Sushi on 5, followed by some window shopping but decided to call it nap time. That evening we met in the Retreat for a cocktail and then went to Luminae for dinner but there was a 20 minute wait. We waited in the rendezvous lounge watching some drunk people dancing. They were certainly no Rob and Sue who dance effortlessly. After a few dances, it was time for dinner. 

After dinner we all went to the casino. Randi played the slots and I played roulette. Neither of us won. Joanie went back to the room and Gary finished up on the slot machines. Oh by the way, Randi was jumping from machine to machine and thought that when she quit one machine the winnings would go back onto her card. Gary advised that she needed to cash out, so she went back from machine to machine that she played and cashed out $25 here and five dollars there for all the machines that she played. Luckily, since the casino was quite empty, she was able to recoup all her monies from all the machines. LOL. 

After enjoying a memorable evening with the Uptown Boys, three guys who sang the hits of Billy Joel, it was off to La La Land on our comfy bed.

Day 3 Sea- After another really good nights sleep

until almost 730 we awoke and received our morning coffee from Tanya. At 8:30 we went for breakfast at the planned time, but it was just us. Joanie and Gary slept in. Good for them! It’s a cloudy rainy morning here but we made the best of it. I am chilling out in the retreat writing this blog while Randi is having her fun in a casino. The rain stopped shortly thereafter and we strolled the ship a little bit. We met up with Joanie and Gary. At 1 PM we went to the captains club event in the sky lounge which was very nice to see and meet many of the officers and crew. The Captains Club Consierge Claire, reserved seats for us upfront.

At 3 o’clock we met our friend, Addie for coffee at El Bacio and caught up on what she had been up to. We gave her a little plaque that she loved as we reminisced about us and George. It was a nice get together. The officers soirée in the Retreat was at 530. It was well attended and then went to luminaire for dinner. Vikas ordered everything for me and it was all delicious. After dinner we went to the casino a bit and then went to sleep. Another good day.

Day 4 Aruba- It never rains in Aruba, but it does when we are there! It quickly cleared up to partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 81. Had some breakfast in our favorite restaurant, Luminae and proceeded to shore with Joanie and Gary somewhere around 10 AM. We jumped on the new trolley

which was waiting for us and took us on a short ride through the back streets of town. When it stopped, and before it turned around, we got off rather than taking it back to the starting point. We took a walk to the Renaissance Hotel and

spent half an hour in lounge chairs by the pool there prior to splitting up. Gary and Joanie took a taxi to the beach while we strolled around to buy some Aruban magnets for Tanya. We stopped at the second floor bar in the

large pink building and I had an “Aruba Aribe” drink which is a local orange flavored fruity drink and Randi had a Diet Coke. It started to rain again but it was only for a short time and we were able to make our way back to ship, to

lounge by the pool, have some pasta then nap in the solarium. Later we saw Royce and Robin in the Retreat. After our cocktails and talking to Suzanne and Jack and finding about their unique experiences with a “non-underwear” wearing seat mate, we headed to Tuscan Grille for a 730 dinner

reservation. It was quite amazing! In an uncrowded restaurant, our waiter Jeffrey, guided us through the wonderful meal, from a charcuterie board to a few sides of pasta to steak dinners, plus a nice bottle

of "Roxanne," a Tuscan red from Sting, the rocker from the Police. We found the penthouse girls were there too and eventually met up with them later on in the Retreat for a nightcap.

Day 5 Sea- Laid by pool and I got burned; that was the first time for me in a very long time. Gary and I were in the hot tub, now revised to be a whirlpool. Gary’s strawberry daiquiri spilled on the deck and when I got out I slipped on the juice and banged my knee. I iced it immediately and that helped. We had pasta for lunch, made some casino contributions later followed by a Pakistani dinner. We went to the show to see Matt Lee, comedian / piano player / singer. Show was very good with high energy and audience involvement.

Day 6 San Juan- I awoke about an hour earlier today at 6 AM to watch the ship come in to old San Juan. It was rainy day for most of the day but it didn’t stop Randi and me from getting off the ship around 930, stopping in Walgreens,

CVS, and Polo. We picked up a few coffee creamers, more magnets for our room staff and a few other items in the polo store. The Polo prices have exploded from last we were here. In the drug store we bought some medicine for Carolyn.

The streets were empty! We were back on board in a snap. Tried to hook up with trivia but we were too late so we delivered the medicine that Carolyn needed to her penthouse.

Met up with Gary and Joanie. And then went to sushi on five for lunch with Caroline and Linda. In the evening we chilled and enjoyed dinner.

Day 7 Sea- After another restful sleep, we went to Luminae for breakfast and found Linda and Doc there. Afterwards spent some time in the shops. I bought a bottle of Woodford and Remy at the liquor store. At 11 o’clock was our big

party, celebrating our Zenith status finally, after achieving the necessary points back in December 2019! All the officers were in attendance. Randi started to cry as the captain made a toast to us and we all shared a cake of letters

forming ZENITH. Gary and Joanie were there in addition to Linda, Doc and Addie. We also invited Jack and Suzanne & Royce and Robin.

To our amazement this is our 20th cruise on Summit. After a fantastic and memorable celebration, we moved to the sky lounge to see the Uptown Boys performing their second show. We stayed later for a game of trivia then relaxed on the pool deck for about 20 minutes in the summer breeze. I then tried yoga for the first time which was not bad. It was a restoration and relaxation session that did just that.

Next, La petite Chef was a nice change of pace at 6 o’clock tonight followed by a little casino and a little Hennessy. The 9pm show was Unique 3; three women with three unique voices. After that Joanie and Gary called it a night and we went to the liars club which was lot of fun and similar to the show, to tell the truth.

Day 8 Sea- After huevos rancheros in Luminae (notice the creamers purchased in Puerto Rico) we went to sit by the pool and chill out and watch the waves go by. Randi had pasta for lunch while I had some pizza. We enjoyed our lunch back in the sunny lido deck. Made it to the trivia game in the retreat lounge with general knowledge questions and finally, we achieved winning status, thanks to Joanie getting the final three point answer. The question, who was the first female actress ever on a postage stamp? Answer, Grace Kelly. Winners! Headed up to the retreat sundeck and spent another couple of hours relaxing in the sun and in the shade while Gary was in the hot tub. The musical

entertainment in the retreat tonight at 5:30 was a guitar player. Another wonderful dinner in Luminae, we returned to the Royal Suite. Tonya and Jonas surprised us by decorating our room and congratulating us at

achieving Zenith status, then lights out.

Day 9 Sea- We started with breakfast in Luminae and just some relaxing by

the pool. It was cooler today since we were heading back to New Jersey. Randi snuggled under some towels. After receiving our on board credit back in cash, we started giving out some more tips. After lunch, we

packed up all our luggage and saw the 2 o’clock show in the sky lounge featuring Unique 3 , the girl group. Very nice. Here is their picture. We lounged around the ship. Randi made her final casino contribution (unfortunately she wasn’t a big winner this trip) then we had dinner.

Day 10- The wakeup call rang at 6 AM. After a final check of the room, we saw Vikas for the last time in Luminae for breakfast and said our goodbyes. Then we waited in retreat for our disembarkation. Joe the limousine driver was already there and by 930 we were off the ship and home before 1030. On this whole cruise it were only two minor mentions. On the TV, they removed the music channels which we enjoyed in the past. In the state room, they removed the door catches. So there were some nights with the doors were banging as the ship rocked. However, this was a fabulous way to return to cruising. After all, it was our Zenith cruise on our once in a lifetime yacht, the Summit!