Southern Caribbean Cruise tips - Celebrity

Old Feb 10th, 2015, 12:19 PM
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Southern Caribbean Cruise tips - Celebrity

Hi! I am new to this sight and have been browsing it all day and found some really fun information but nothing quite specific to Celebrity Summit. I've never posted in a forum before, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'll be sailing for the first time on Celebrity next January (and very impatiently counting down the days). I've been on 14 prior cruises (NCL, RCCL, CCL, Disney and HAL). This is my husband's first ever though. I chose this cruise for it's awesome itinerary and also the 1,2,3 Deal they had going on.

First - does anyone have a suggestion of a nice hotel to stay at pre-cruise in San Juan? I think we'd prefer to stay in OSJ as we plan to do a lot of beach combing the rest of the trip. Which leads me to my next question...

Any suggestions of the best excursions (doesn't necessarily have to be through the cruise line). We will be visiting Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten & St. Thomas. We are snorkelers and I will be certified in diving by the time we sail. We also like to have a good time so a few beverages while on the excursion are always a benefit. We live in Wisconsin so our main objective is to be one with the sun, ocean and sand on this trip.

We booked Concierge Level - which I typically wouldn't but the 1,2,3 package made it worth it. Any tips for the ships itself? Pros, cons? I read that the music was lack luster. I'm hoping this isn't true as one of my favorite parts of a Caribbean Cruise is sitting poolside listening to a Steel Drum band.

Any information...good or bad....that anyone wishes to share is much appreciated and anticipated.

Thanks
Amy
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Old Feb 10th, 2015, 02:58 PM
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How many days will you be staying before your cruise? The Sheraton OSJ is ideally located right across from the pier though I am not sure what pier the Summit uses. There are two piers. We stayed there and you are right near a bunch of restaurants and clubs basically across the street so that seems one to consider for you.

I know private tour guides that we used in St. Maarten, Antigua and St. Lucia but we used them for land tours and I am not sure about dives and snorkeling but they were excellent. If you are interested I can give you links to their businesses.

The Summit is an older ship, maybe the oldest in their fleet so don't expect anything close to a solstice class ship. However I think it should be nice and the itinerary looks great.

Cheers, Larry.
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Old Feb 11th, 2015, 07:27 AM
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Thank you for the information! We will only be staying one night before our cruise...as of now at least. It's too early to book our flights so maybe I can talk my parents into taking our children for an extra night and we'll stay two. I believe the pier that the Summit uses is the Pan Am pier. I looked at the Sheraton OSJ as well because of their incredible view of the ships that are docked but it's received mixed reviews on Trip Advisor so I was iffy about booking it.

I am definitely interested in the tour guides you have used in the past.Thank you!

And yes, I went into this knowing the Summit is old, but again...I booked it for the itinerary and the perks that couldn't be beat by another line at this time. I am very excited to experience cruising on Celebrity. I've heard a lot of great things about them. I will probably miss the glitzy atrium but I'll get over it I believe a vacation is what you make it. In fact, two of my absolute favorite cruises have been on RCCL Majesty - just little 4 nighters out Miami. It was the company I was with that made it fun.

Thanks again for replying! I could talk cruising all day

Amy
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Old Feb 11th, 2015, 01:05 PM
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http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...St_Martin.html
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Old Feb 11th, 2015, 01:07 PM
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http://www.tourguidegordon.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._St_Lucia.html


I am not sure what they can do for diving/snorkeling but maybe you can arrange for a pick up and drop off.

Good luck, Larry .
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Old Feb 12th, 2015, 05:12 AM
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Thanks Larry! I'll check them out.

Have a nice day
Amy
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Old Feb 13th, 2015, 04:42 AM
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No problem. I know they will try their best to make it work for you.
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Old Feb 14th, 2015, 11:10 AM
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We're going on the Summit in May. I'll post a trip report.
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Old Feb 14th, 2015, 01:20 PM
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Great itinerary. We cruised the Summit southern route and had a great trip. Stayed at Sheraton OSJ. Took a great tour called Flavors of San Juan. Had food/drink at about 5 different places, some sit down, some on the fly. Also learned a lot about the history and architecture of OSJ. Took a tram on our own to see the fort. Easy to do.

http://www.sanjuanfoodtours.com/.

In St. Lucia we took a private company tour, sorry can't remember the name as I didn't book it. Look at Cruise Critic to see what is recommended. It is a lovely island.

Again, sorry I can't remember the name, but in Antigua we went on a sailing/snorkeling/lobster dinner cruise. Water was wonderful.

Would recommend in St.Thomas that you get the ferry to St. John and go to Trunk Beach. It is a national park and completely unspoiled. Nice Snorkel trail.

http://www.nps.gov/viis/index.htm

Enjoy (loved the martini bar on Summit)
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Old Feb 17th, 2015, 02:31 PM
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I took the Summit out of San Juan about three years ago (St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Dominica) and really liked it. It had just been "Solsticized," so it felt like a newer ship. Rooms and public spaces were very nice and the food was good. Nice pools. Entertainment was lame. It was an older crowd, very few people under 40 and almost no kids on board.
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Old Feb 18th, 2015, 11:10 PM
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Amy, you should ask how much extra to upgrade from Concierge to Aqua. You get so many more perks with that. If you have never been on any Celebrity ships, all I can say is that it is an upgrade from NCL,CCL and RCCL. Service should be at par with HAL except your fellow passengers are younger than HAL.
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Old Feb 21st, 2015, 07:25 AM
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Welcome to fodors ameyerhofer. With 14 previous cruises and this is your first time to this place? Where have you been!?
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Old Mar 23rd, 2017, 11:00 AM
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What exact date are you traveling because we are booked on the Summit January 6th 2018.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2017, 06:14 PM
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SanKen, the OP took the cruise in Jan, 2016, I think, so long over.
You might post a new thread with your question.
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