Summit 042623

10 night Repo MIA>NJ via ABC islands  cruise 94-95  3606 club points  Cabin 6138 RS

Captain NIkolaos Frantzis, Staff Captain Marios Frelianos, HD Zagreb Colak, CD Angela, GRM Ana Rita, FB Abdulnasa, ObConcierge Connie and Connor, Butler Lijo, cabin steward Maynard. Suite Mgr Suzanne Botha, Waiter Ederil, Asst Carlton and Mema, AST Ana from Ukraine, MD Rafael, Revenue Marketing Santhosh Joseph.

Day 0 pre-cruise 

This cruise could not come fast enough for us, but today... it was here! We got up at 3AM. Gary and Joanie arrived at our house about 4:45 and shortly after, a van came to take us to Newark airport. There was no traffic on the way to the airport and for the first time we entered into the brand new terminal A. There were no porters outside for JetBlue, so we checked our baggage inside by ourselves. Since we were all TSA approved, TSA check-in was not a problem. A little history about this flight. It was originally booked for 7 AM. JB changed it to 6 AM, then 630 and finally it was rescheduled at 9:35 AM. Our JetBlue flight was about 15 minutes early arriving in Fort Lauderdale. Getting our bags was no problem. I called Steve from SAS transportation who had us at the

JW Marriott, Brickel, Miami in less than 45 minutes. 

It was a very nice hotel, in a nice area of Miami and we had a good time. We took a walk to Publix, about six blocks away to buy creamers for the cruise. 

We met up with our cruise mates, Jeff and Cathy at the hotel. Joan spoke to the concierge at the hotel for a dinner recommendation. It ended up being a great restaurant called

Truluck's Ocean's Finest Seafood and Crab. It was delicious and we finished by 8 o’clock then slept right through the night.

Day 1 Miami

Jeff texted and said he had a table reserved for six at Isabel’s in the hotel for breakfast. We joined them. Later Gary and

Joanie joined. We ordered from the menu rather than the buffet, which was good. With the gold on status I got a 15% discount. By 10, we met with the bell hop to pack the Mercedes sprinter to travel to the port. This transportation was recommended by the concierge and it worked very well.

Got to port in 15 minutes and the Porter took the bags and we were escorted to the retreat lounge. It was a very quick check-in, since all was previously done. When we were in the suite area before boarding, we were surprised since Sue and Rob from Canada were there. It was great to see them again. We went to Luminae for lunch but it was a half hour wait so we went to the retreat and had a drink and then they called us in to enjoy lunch. No familiar faces were in Luminae. When we got back to the room we had all our bags. Gary and Joan were still missing one, as it was Jeff and Cathy. We had

arranged prior a little sail away party at 3:30 for the 6 of us.

Our guests came shortly after 330. So did Suzanne, the suite manager who happened to bring Gary‘s missing bag with her. She actually stayed and

celebrated with us and chatted a little bit, and it was very nice. I chose the menu for the sail away party with the Shoreside Concierge, but it did not materialize as planned. It still worked out just fine as we were happy to be back on the ship. Both Butlers were extraordinary in helping out. I showered and shaved for dinner. The first show was the comedian, Corey Rodrigues. I would rate him only average.

We met up with Cathy and Jeffery in the rendezvous and headed to Luminae for dinner where we were seated immediately. Dinner arrived at a slow pace; no problem for me! I had the duck just for something different and would say it was one of the best. Good night.

Day 2 Sea

I woke up around 630 and sat on my balcony, looking at the sea, with a warm breeze in the air. At 7:30, our coffee and almond croissants arrived on schedule. We met Gary and Joan for breakfast in Luminae. Randi finally got her egg white wrap she was longing for. Next, we split up with some folks going to the pool and some to the retreat sun deck. Randi fell asleep at the retreat under a canopy and I went into the hot tub a little bit. We decided to have lunch under the shade at the retreat. She had a wrap and I had a burger, both very good. Afterwords, the gang played some

trivia in the sky lounge. It was music trivia 50s and 60s and out of a possible 30 points we got 29 which was not good enough for the win, believe it or not. We

dressed and got ready for dinner but before that we stopped at the retreat for a drink. Drinks were supposed to be at the Sunset bar but it was too hot up there. Dinner

tonight was at the Tuscan Grill at 8 o’clock. Although it was very nice, 8 o’clock time seemed a little bit late for everyone so we changed our future reservations to an earlier time.

Day 3 Sea

This morning the coffee was brought to the Royal Suite but they were no almond croissants. No problem. Went to Luminae for breakfast after that, Randi went to the casino, and I went to one of the shops to purchase some liquor to bring home. and then we had a meeting with the future cruise manager at 10 AM in the Retreat lounge. After looking at a few cruises, we booked the Ascent, back to back for November 2024. That will be the first time we are on the edge class ship. We chilled out for a while. I had a coffee while talking to the Hotel Director, and Captain at Café El

Bacio. They would be hosting a Zenith luncheon in the Blu restaurant at 12 noon. The lunch was very nice for about 23 Zeniths including the Brown's. After that, we connected up with the group, but decided on going back for a nap in the

Royal Suite. After prepping for dinner, we met up with Cathy, Jeffery and the Browns in Cellar Masters til about 730. Gary and Joanie went to the 7 o’clock show. They wanted to see that show, Life and enjoyed it. Our Table was ready, and we had a nice dinner.

Day 4 Aruba

We went to breakfast at 8:30 and then went our separate ways. We decided to take a walk to town and the other guys went to the beach via taxi. In town we met up with Sue and Rob. They found an Apple watch cord that they were looking for. Randi and I came back and had lunch at sushi on five. She finally had gyoza dumplings which did not have onions in them and enjoyed them. I had the pork dish. We decided to

take a rest on the deck with the lifeboats and the lounge chairs and quickly fell asleep. We all met up and Cellar Masters before dinner for a cocktail and stopped by Lumanae to see if our table was ready just before 7 o’clock, and it was.

It was a nice dinner, and we had plenty of time to go to the show to see a singer Gen Maldonado. While she had a powerful voice and they were many high points during the show, I would rate the singer as average. FYI: there was a heckler sitting right in front of us who interrupted the show a few times.

Day 5 Bonaire

Up at six and sat on the deck watching the sunrise while working on my iPad. I was about to jump into the shower and Randi awoke. We had a cold cereal breakfast in the state room 

before getting off the ship and heading to church in town at San Bernado. It was a much longer mass than usual so we dropped out early. On the way back I

spied these two beautiful birds. They looked something like a golden finch but I did not know the variety. We came back to the ship to connect with the other folks. When we

got off with the rest of the group, we found that most of the shops were closed for Sunday. So we went back to the ship and had an iced coffee. 

Sushi on 5 was the venue for lunch with our friends, Sue an Rob Brown. We chatted over a 2 1/2 hour lunch. Very enjoyable. 

Dinner tonight was the early show at La Petite chef. Randi and I had been there before, the other guys seem to get a kick out of it. Lumanae handles Randi’s allergy better than this restaurant does. She was very limited. After dinner,

some went to the casino and some went to the retreat. We met the lady from cruise critic, Abby who was going to be running the slot pull. Her husband’s name was Carey. We also saw Rod and Pat from Monroe NJ. Vinny, and Gail, Frank and Marilyn from the Smithville area. It was nice to see them many times during the cruise.

After dinner, we went to see December 63 which was cover band of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. While they were good. I have seen the show before with other members. I thought the previous shows were a better show.

Day 6 Curacao

We had our breakfast today at 8:30. We realized early on the shops were closed for their Labor

Day. We took a chance and walked to the temple in town, but it too was closed. But we had a nice walk on the pontoon bridge, had a

drink in an outside, open bar and then headed back for lunch. We all got invited to the helipad for sail away which was always very nice. Dinner was at Luminae.

Day 7 Sea

Our first sea day after the ABC islands was very nice. After a small breakfast, I did slow flow yoga at 9 AM. Then our lunch

was the blue lunch for VIP and high suites; another excellent event! The last

event of the day was the bridge tour at 4:30 which is always very enjoyable. Dinner tonight was again at the Tuscan Grill. I think people enjoyed the dinner more this night, than the first.

Day 8 Sea

Yet another sea day and we were supposed to meet Rod and Pat Glockner for a Sushi on Five lunch. When we got there only Rod was there and when I inquired, Pat was in the state room sick so we politely excused ourselves and moved our lunch to Lumanae. 

Tonight we had a romantic dinner in Luminae, while the other folks who are in an aqua suite decided to go to Blu. Waiter Ederil was excellent during the entire cruise

Day 9 Sea

Everyone met in Lumanae for breakfast, and then broke off until trivia at 10, which did not go too well. A little casino for Randi and I just fiddled about. Got some tips and some of our

packing together. Next was Sushi on Five for lunch. Randi had a double order of gyoza chicken dumplings! We lounged around most of the day and played trivia. Saw a lot of friends. 

At six we went to the Cellar Masters for a drink and then onto Luminae for lobster dinner. 

I had both, the broiled lobster and the poached lobster. Each were very good.

Day 10 Sea

I woke up this morning to cooler temperatures and having coffee in the stateroom. Randi and I went to lunch in Luminae and had dessert at Sushi on Five to meet up with the gang, who were dining there. Randi found her seat in the casino. Then we did martini tasting at 4 in the retreat. Very nice. Cleaned up and went back to the Cellar Masters for cocktails. Dinner was at Luminae. For Cinco de Mayo and at my request for a Mexican meal, they brought two plates of

nachos. We went see the jersey boys December 63 show again. It was a different show than the first. The Captain opened up in the show with a nice speech, then the show went on.   Night night.

Day 11 Cape Liberty NJ

I had a rough night with a sinus headache, but we’re up at 6 AM anyway to do a few last-minute things and get coffee and

then go to breakfast. Oh look, we just passed the Verrazano bridge! We had our final breakfast in Lumanae. We grabbed our bags and proceeded to the retreat for debarking. Once we were off the ship, Randi found a porter. Customs was no more than stopping at the line and having face recognition performed. Quickly, we passed right through. We said our good-byes to Jeff and Cathy. Our transportation was there shortly there after and we were back in the house by about 10 AM. This was another nice cruise!

I would also like to share some group pictures both from the Zenith Lunch and the High Suite Lunch, both served in the Blu Restaurant.

And lastly, I would like to dedicate this all, to the one who makes life great and makes this all possible- my beautiful young bride, Randi