Summit 042713

8 night repo plus 1 day prior in SJU.
Cruise 50 & 51. Cabin 6106 CS.

1 day in San Juan, Puerto Rico then St.M; St.T. Tortola, Bermuda overnight and ending in NJ. Captain Leonardos Palaiokrassas; Hotel Dir.: Niina Hautaniemi, GRM.: Marisa Rebelo, Cruise Dir.: Alexander Yepremian, Capt Club.: Ti-An, Butler: Dominic, Waiter: Wawan.

We've done this cruise for about 3 springs in a row now. I got a great price of $149 on our American Airlines flight. Only this time we were flying out of JFK. The ride there was not bad; only 70 minutes but that's because we left the house at 3AM. 

We splurged this time and booked our pre stay at El Convento, a luxurious hotel in Old San Juan. When we got there around 11:30AM, and I inquired about our early check in request, the hotel desk person looked concerned. She said your room will be ready in 10 minutes, or if you want to wait until this afternoon, we would like to offer you the Presidential Suite.

Well, we wanted our room now, so we took the Standard room...Only kidding! We decided to walk in Old SJU & come back later for our suite.

So we dropped our bags with George, we strolled around to the side of the hotel and found the outdoor Tapas bar. We picked some delicious tidbits and had a few adult beverages, then on for our walk in Old San Juan. Randi did her usual stops in Dooney and Coach Outlets, but I don’t believe they had anything for her this time. So we walked into the square and into the superette to check out the wine beer and soda prices for the cruise. We also tried to find Oriental Mix for our friend Gail, who was on board already, since she was also on the previous cruise. We will join up with her tomorrow. We couldn’t find the mix there so we strolled down to CVS along the water but couldn't find it there either. Time to go back to the hotel.

When we picked up our key, we walked through the open air, center courtyard of the hotel where the main restaurant is and picked up the elevator to room 307. One small door? How nice could it be inside?

 Well the door opened into a large vestibule, were we stored our suitcases. To the left and through the French doors was the

living room, dining room combination that had to be at least 25' x 50'.

Behind the living room was a small bathroom, but there was also the master bathroom, shown here with beautiful tile, a full bath with a wonderful shower...Just right for el Presidente!

To the right was a master bedroom with a King size bed for my princess. Shutters on all the windows worked so well to keep the light in or out as you wanted.

Randi crashed on the couch for about an hour and a half and then it was time for complimentary

wine and cheese on the deck. All guests of El Convento are invited. It was a nice hour or so of outdoor relaxing,

plus they were having a historical reenactment across the street at the church steps that we could view from the deck.

While we were enjoying the wine and cheese, we couldn't help to notice, that maybe cousin Larry snuck his way into the festivities. It turned out not to be him.

After a nice dinner in the hotel's courtyard, and after being up from 2am, we were ready to sleep, presidential style.

Because the room was so fully blacked out with the great wooden shutters, we slept later than normal but managed to get our act together for breakfast.

Afterwards we took a morning stroll in the delicious early day sun and picked up the wine, beer and soda. After packing it all up we cabbed over to the Summit on the Pan American pier where we hooked up with Rob and Michelle.


Boarding was trouble free and easy, and before you knew it we were back "home." As we slinked past Bistro on 5,

we spotted our good friend Gail, perhaps you know her as Tuggers on Cruise Critic. We were so excited when she told us that she was booking this particular cruise. It had been a very long time since we saw each other and we had a lot of catching up to do. She's a fantastic person with a fabulous attitude and we love and enjoy her company and witty insight.

She was having lunch with Cil and Roger from Providence, RI. We promised to meet at the Martini bar for drinks later.

It turned out to be a large crowd gasping for martinis. Joan and Al had met up with us and a few more friends made it around a dozen. Before you knew it the Muster drill sounded at 7:45 and the first party was over. The drill was quite painless and quick and so we were off to select dining, a first for us and for a variety of reasons, a last.

After a slight wait to be seated we enjoyed a nice dinner at a table for eight, set for seven. Everyone was tired though and afterwards, we called it a night and when back to the cabin.

We had the same cabin as the last spring cruise, the celebrity suite. It included a living room with floor to ceiling windows, eating area, bedroom, bath and

balcony. Dominic was more than happy to take care of us. He even set up a nice party to share with our friends.

Randi wore my favorite new orange dress and she looked beautiful in it.

St. Martin was our first port of call. Known to some as the shopping island... that is what we did. We stopped in Ultimate jewelry and saw Sam. Randi got a new bracelet and we bought for cousin Joanie some gold pearl earrings. I had some rings of mine sized. Michelle got some stuff for the kids. Joan surprised us all and walked out empty handed. I think a first! I also got 12 bottles of liquor at Gulmohrs including Pomegranate Vodka for Joanie, but wound up having, for the first time to pay tax on it when we went back through customs.

Now back to select dining. Tonight was formal night and Gail, Randi and I were invited to the captain’s table. Gail accepted, and that is no problem. We declined as we decided to stay with

our group. Because we were at select seating, we were showed to our table upstairs with a different waiter. Having another waiter is not necessarily a bad thing; as long as he is a good waiter and in fact

our new waiter was very good, however, when you have one waiter, everyone becomes familiar with each other and their likes and dislikes. Meanwhile, the menu is still missing some favorites. Escargot, one of my favorite apps and Strip Steak are still off the menu. I wish they would keep items like these available as it is a way to keep Celebrity a notch above, as a premium cruise line.

On St Thomas Rob and Michelle, Randi and I headed to Megan’s Bay, as the locals say, one of the ten best beaches in the world. While it was indeed nice, I am thinking to myself that Gail had the right idea on this one, to stay on the ship and enjoy. You miss the 30 minute taxi ride both ways and let’s not forget the fare. The sun would have been the same on the ship and we would have had a more relaxing time. Will keep this in mind for next time.

Ahhh Tortola. We love the beach at Cane Garden Bay. Gail and Jeff turned us on to this a few years back. Around 8AM, the five of us taxied at $8 per person to visit the Big Banana, a place

where you can get a chair, a beautiful beach and 2 for 1 painkillers, from smiling bartender, Judith. Painkillers are rum based drinks with coconut and nutmeg. They go down very smoothly and before you know it there is no pain any more.

Everybody was having fun. I found Cosmo, a beach bum dog, Randi read, Rob walked the beach and Michelle and

Gail found a seat at the bar. Now I had 2 painkillers myself and because they were so strong, decided to quit at that. Michelle and Gail enjoyed a couple more than I. To make a long story short, it was good that they were with us or they would have missed the ship. As it was we got there with only minutes to spare.

 Everybody went back to their cabins to get ready for the Captain's club celebration, where Gail was being honored as the top cruiser, with 78 Celebrity Cruises. Randi and I showered and changed. I called Gail to see if she needed help going up but since there was no answer, I assumed she was up there already, so we headed up to Revelations where the party was being held. When we saw the captain’s club hostess, Ti-Ann, we asked if she saw Gail. When she said no, Randi explained she may be asleep in her cabin. Ti-Ann arranged for the room steward to open the door when we arrived. Randi found her sleeping like a baby.

Kudos to Gail. She was up, dressed and at her party within 20 minutes and looking pretty good at that! She enjoyed her introduction and a bouquet of roses from the Captain. All’s well that ends well.

We had a beautiful sea day as we headed to Bermuda. When we got there though, I decided that in the future, Bermuda is in the same category as St Thomas. I think I will stay on the

ship. How many times can you visit the shops at Kings Wharf or see the Maritime museum? The good thing about the museum is that it is

where the dolphins are penned if you want to swim with them.

The second night in Bermuda, we, along with

Gail treated all nine of us to a dinner at Normandy, one of the specialty restaurants on board that is class all the way. Sean the Matre'd placed us at a beautiful oval table.

Some food was prepared table side and some just brought to the table but one thing is for sure, there were no complaints. Everyone seemed to enjoy each others company and wonderful food.

On the last formal night, the festivities seemed to be pared down for the baked Alaska parade. It could have been because we were on select dining though. This reminds me, that was a reason that I didn’t get a picture of our wait staff as I usually do. They were a pretty good team.

The last day is always a little melancholy. You need to say goodbye to old friends and new ones too. You thank everyone on board who made things fantastic for you on another great cruise.

We plan to see at least Gail on the next one as we sail the Panama Canal but this one had to come to an end. The good thing though about sailing back to beautiful Bayonne NJ is that we were home by 10am and Randi had the laundry done by 1.
PS. Did I tell you she loves to do laundry?!

Smooth sailing!

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Summit 11.17.12 & 11.24.12

14 night -B2B SJU RT Sky suite cabin 6131. This was 2, seven night cruises, one eastern, one western carib, starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Captain Theodoros Zakkas, Hotel Dir.: Ugo Vaccalluzzo, GRM.: Bosco Pires, Cruise Dir. Caissie Stafford, Capt Club: Lionel, Butler: Santoso, Room Steward: Fousand, Asst Waiter: Hugh, F&B Mgr. Wolfgang Juranek, from Florida.

The 7:45am USAir flight was great. Randi got us first class using AMEX points. Since this was a 330 aircraft we had sleeper seats that reclined back, to beds. This was real nice perk to catch a nap since we were up since 2:30 am.

We got to Puerto Rico on time and hopped in a taxi. He was kind enough to stop at Pueblo, the local PR supermarket where I picked up some coffee creamers and 2 bottles of wine. Then we were on our way to the pier. Since I forgot to get some soda, at Pueblo, I grabbed a 12 pack on the pier. We got our sea pass cards, and reserved the Normandie restaurant for dinner that night. We boarded Summit sometime around one.

This was our first Back to back cruise, which although we enjoyed the cruise; it was very different for us. There were many first time cruisers from Puerto Rico on board who were uninformed about cruise behavior and dress. Since there was a large group aboard, a decision was made to conform to that audience especially in the areas of on board music, food, and announcements. We missed our Caribbean music.

Week 1: SJU, Sea, BAR, StL, ANT, StM, StT & SJU.
Week 2: SJU, StC, StK, DOM, GRN, Sea, StT & SJU.

Our first week was Just Randi and I in our sky suite;

the same one we have had often in the past.
We caught up on all of the rest that we needed.

It also had a large over sized deck to enjoy sunsets.

The second week Rob and Michelle joined us. As always, we did a lot of fun things with them.

Meet Fousand, our room steward, and his assistant. They were hidden gems on our cruise. Here, they were preparing for muster drill.

We Met Bosco, through our friend, Touch, Bosco was the guest relations manager. He couldn’t do enough for us. He comp-ed us on laundry, dinner and wine and always answered all of our questions anytime during the cruise. Even on the pier while disembarking, we lost our bag due to a label coming off and he was there showing us where to look.

We were able to get this great shot in one of our favorite places- the martini bar.


We had dinner in the cosmopolitan restaurant, the Normandie, Qsine and even at the alternative dining on deck 10. We went to these restaurants because we opted this time not to bring formals.

The food was fine and it was a first for us at Qsine, where they take food presentation to a different level. Firstly, you order from an ipad. Your "guide" helps you through the maze of selections. The most unique thing for us was the Mediterranean portion that we ordered, It arrived in a 4 by 3 sectioned shadow box. Each window had a portion of food for both of us, from lamb chops, to humus, from tabouli to peta bread.  

It was a very different way of enjoying food from around the world. We had to cancel some of our order when we found ourselves stuffed at this point but still had room for strawberries served on real grass. Sean was the Matre'D.

On the second formal night, Lionel, the Captains Club host, invited the four of us to the Captain's table. The Hotel Director,

Ugo Vaccalluzzo, hosted the table for the evening. He was very open and outgoing and we enjoyed a fabulous meal with a very gracious host.

We had a couple of celebrity sightings this cruise. One night we saw Kenny Rodgers at the Martini Bar.

 

Another night we think we saw Nightowl, although a much older version and she wasn't with Al or Murphy.

On the second week in St. Thomas, our only double visited port, we opted for the St. Johns excursion which left from the Summit's dock. It was a 45 minute boat ride followed by a 15 minute bus ride; all very convenient, and providing some beautiful views. It was our first time in St. John's, which is less populated and more pristine then most other islands. We stopped at Trunk Bay which is beautiful. The sand was white and powdery and was balanced by blue water. The girls relaxed on the beach while Rob and I snorkeled the underwater park with plenty of fish and coral. It was a real nice experience.

Ooops. We stopped at Senior Frogs on the way back to the ship.

On St. Kitts we walked to St. Patrick's church, just in time for mass ending. So we walked down to the beach and got some free chairs, bought some drinks and played a little volleyball with our ship in the background.

We took the falls direct tour in Domenica to see Trafalgar falls and the sulphur springs. After a short climb on the trail we stood on a viewing platform to see both the Mama and the Papa falls.

In Granada we boarded the hop on, hop off trolley which took us to the fort, the museum and into town. The fort had beautiful vistas and a view of the ship.

Upon sail away, we were invited to the bow's heliport, to experience the ships departure from the island.


The only show that we saw was "Sirens;" a mythical musical production show about mermaids in the deep. It was very nicely done.

We celebrated Michelle's birthday in Qsine one night and once again enjoyed it very much. Michelle and Rob also liked the quirkiness of it also.


I would say that we were off the ship around 9:30 on the last day, took a cab to the airport and relaxed before our 1:30 flight in the American Airlines Admiral's club. It is a nice perk for Amex Platinum card holders. Randi went through here emails on the laptop, while I scrolled mine on the hard computer in the facility. Got to start to ease out of vacation, you know. The flight was nice although there were no sleeper seats this time. I think we were back in the house by 6:15 and Randi and I had the bags unpacked and most of the laundry done that night.


Bye for now.

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cruise pix Summit111712

Summit 04.28.12

8 night repo plus SJU 1 day prioir, cruise #44 & 45.
Cabin 6106 CS.
1 day in San Juan, Puerto Rico then St.M; St.T. Tortola, Bermuda overnight and ending in NJ. Captain: Panagiotis Mantzavinos, Hotel Dir.: Ugo Vaccalluzzo, GRM.:Simona Stumberger, Cruise Dir.: Sue Denning, Capt Club: Tanushka, Butler: Elvis, Room Steward: James asst: Mathew, Waiter: Sorrin, Asst.: Denny.

We've done this cruise each of the last few Spring times. I got a great price of $159 on our United flight on a US Air plane. The same tix on US Air was $349. Arrived the Sheraton Old San Juan with another great deal that Randi found on get a room, for $169.

 Did our usual routine. After arriving at the hotel we stopped for tapas, then strolled through the streets of old San Juan toward the outlets. I plopped at the cantina while Randi visited the pocketbook outlets. Soon after she returned empty handed- which was a rarity- she joined me for a drink. She told me that Ralph Lauren moved from here to the pier area and that was on her destination map on the way home. At the store, she picked out some shirts for us and shipped them home. We popped into CVS for some goodies and brought them back to the hotel.

Since we were up since 315am, we decided to nap a bit before dinner and wound up missing the complementary cocktail hour, only available until 7pm. we decided to eat light and easy so we went to the hotel's open air, ground floor restaurant and enjoyed apps and drinks. A warm Caribbean breeze made the evening feel wonderful. Since this restaurant had no dessert, we walked up stairs to the other outdoor restaurant to enjoy a dessert and some coffee. It didn't take long and we were done for the night.

The next day we saw Summit docked at the Pan Am pier across the water. We had the buffet breakfast which Randi enjoys, picked up some wine for us and beer for Al, and then spent the remainder of the morning by the pool, chilling out before our cab ride to the ship.

We got to the pier about 15 minutes before the doors opened and were seated for about 10 minutes before we were asked to check in. Although there is a store here they would confiscate any wine bought here to take aboard so were happy we bought some in town. We were offered a complimentary Normandy Specialty Restaurant dinner tonight, but decided not to since we were having dinner with Joan, Al, Kevin and Carol.

Once aboard, our room wasn't ready so we had some lunch and talked to the Matre'd because even though promised, rather then being all at one table, each couple was placed at different tables and Kevin and Carol were at the early rather then the late seating. He promised to fix it but "not for tonight." We were surprised when we heard it was "fixed" for the first night. Although we finally got to sit together at Mr. Grey's table, there was almost 20 minutes of confusion as to which table exactly we were to be seated. It finally got fixed the second night when we were reseated at Sorrin's table for the remainder of the cruise. Meanwhile, Randi and I thought that the food on this cruise was about the best in recent memory.

The ship was Solstized in January and although all the new areas looked great, it seemed that some of the old areas were in need of some rust prevention and cosmetic work.

Everything else was up to par and while we always enjoy traveling with Joan and Al,

we also enjoyed having Kevin and Carol with us for our first cruise together.

We had everyone over for a cocktail hour in our celebrity suite.

From the stateroom you are surrounded by nice views past the deck outside, a very spacious living area with a dining table,

and a full bath with a whirlpool tub.

St Martin was the 1st port. We all cabbed into town and started down Front Street. Randi got some beautiful earrings at Ultimate Jewelers and perfume. I bought 6 bottles of liquor at Gulmars. Funny thing, at the end of the cruise customs asked for the 1st time where we bought the liquor, but let us go even though we bought more then allowed from St Martin.

Day 2 found us in St Thomas where Kevin and I went snorkeling at Coki Beach via a cab ride from Mr Muscles. The other guys went shopping and Randi stopped to get Mac makeup with Carol.

Day 3 was Tortola where we stayed on board. Randi unfortunately got too much sun and steered away from it for the rest of the cruise. I went into the Persian gardens.

Our 1st sea day was next and it was relaxing on our way to Bermuda.

Arrived in Bermuda the next day at 1pm. It was noticeably cooler and rainy. Randi managed to hold the "X" up, of Celebrity Cruises logo to prevent it from falling.


Afterwards we managed to get off and explore the island, both of the days we were there.



The highlight of our 2nd and last sea day was when "Lucky" Randi won the jackpot on electronic spin poker and I was one number away from the gigantic bingo jackpot but I didn't win the gigantic pot- $240. LOL.

Along the way, Joan and Al won a watch raffle. Then, they pulled a double header as they won a second time and a second watch set.

The entertainment was unique. In addition to the usual fare, we saw, singing impressionist of many voices, Karen Grainger;

pan faced comedian, Fred Klett;

and our Cruise Director, Sue Denning, put on a great one woman singing show. BTW- Sue was our cruise director aboard Azamara Journey when we were in western Europe.

The Captain did a marvelous job navigating throughout this cruise.

To get home, however, we first had to sail past Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York,

then we had to sail underneath the Verrazano Bridge which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.

Soon after, we ended this one way trip in Bayonne NJ. If the car wasn't late we would have been home early. As it was we got home about noon. Nice cruise! Waiting for the thanksgiving cruise is next.

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