Public Rooms & Areas

The Cosmopolitan Restaurant
This is a very attractive two-level affair, with a beautiful mural curtain that covers the entire wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling picture window at the stern. There is also a central staircase connecting the two levels. Spacing of tables and chairs was roomy, and one could easily sit or leave without bumping into someone at the next table. Since we were on the second level, we didn't notice, but some guests said the first level was somewhat noisy, which kind of made sense, since it held almost twice the capacity as the upstairs area. A nice touch was the dinner music provided by a pianist or an instrumental quartet.

Pools and Hot Tubs
The main pool has two parts, sectioned off for the deep end (about 6' deep) and the wading end (4' deep). There are ample lounge chairs (many with cushioned covers), which are easy to find on the Pool Deck or Sunrise Deck, except on sea days, when you get the typical lounge hogs, who "reserve" their spot at 6:30 in the morning and don't show up until noon, or later. There are four hot tubs spaced around the pool, and most of the time, one or two remained unoccupied until the afternoon. The pool is chlorinated salt water, and was comfortably refreshing for this Northerner, but for some with thinner blood, it was cool.

The Thalassotherapy Pool
This is the latest fad on the Millennium Class ships, and a very nice one at that! It's like entering a giant hot tub, but not too hot. There are jets of water shooting out from the sides and pool bottom, huge faucet-looking jets overhanging the four corners (which makes for a great back massage), and chrome, in-water, loungers on two sides, with bubblers underneath (can accommodate six easily). There are two hot tubs, one on either side of the pool, and neither was crowded at any time. This pool is off limits to children, and it is also chlorinated salt water, but warm. Surrounding the Thalassotherapy Pool area are very comfortable, pillowed (lower back and head) teak lounge chairs. Again, this gets busy, as does the main pool, in the afternoon.

Celebrity Theater
We aren't into shows! But this theater is something to behold. We were fascinated by the décor, sight lines, comfort, lighting, etc., of this venue. The "flames" on each side of the gallery are something to check out (actually, light silk scarfing, lighting, and a blower, give the illusion of a flickering fireplace: a great affect). We 'visited' often, but didn't see any shows (sorry). But, through the grapevine, we heard "fantastic" to "very good." The productions were as follows: "A Taste Of Things To Come"; "Encore"; "The Comedy Of Cary Long"; "A Night of Stars"; "International Showman, Craig Dahn (pianist)"; "The Magic Of Broadway"; "Celebrity Variety Showtime"; "Celebrity Showtime" (comedy and song); "Classique - La Danza"; "Celebrity Farewell Showtime."

Aqua Spa, Sauna & Gymnasium
Again, although we didn't use this facility, it is quite impressive. There are saunas for men, saunas for women, saunas for couples, and a fitness center and aerobics studio (treadmills, cycle machines, step/stair masters, weights, benches, etc.) that seemed to bring up, in my mind, 'Gold's Gym.' I didn't do anything here, and I've never visited a 'Gold's Gym.' But, that's our impression.

Other Public Areas

Rendez-Vous Lounge
On Promenade Deck, this is a nice lounge where we got together with other members of various cruise bulletin boards.

Reflections
On Sunrise Deck, this was a deserted area when we brought our (very) early morning coffee up to view the sunrise. Very nice! We're sure it was hopping late at night and into the wee hours of the morning, but we enjoyed it well after all that was done.

Waterfall Café Bar
Another nice place to have early morning coffee and pastries. At the stern.

Celebrity On-Line Room
On Deck 4. It's fun to play on the Internet - if you know what you're doing. You can send/get e-mail, surf, explore your favorite sites, check stocks, find out about upcoming ports, send postcards with a digital picture of yourself, or plan your next cruise. ($0.95 per minute for internet time; $6.95 to send postcards to up to two e-mail addresses).

Notes
The music library: very interesting. There are headsets, computer technology, lots of bells and whistles. We never quite got the knack, but it was fun and entertaining.

Conservatory (Floral & Gift Boutique)
Amazing plants and floral arrangements. Some not real, but very lifelike. We visited several times, and saw something different each time. Sunrise Deck.

Fortunes Casino
WE LIKE THIS ROOM. Got lucky!!! We only played the quarter slot machines, and came away . . . well . . . not big losers. The machines were kind to us this sailing. This is very busy between dinner and shows, and after shows. But you can always find a machine, either quarter or dollar ones. The nickel machines are something else. You have to reserve one before you board (joke) or wait for someone to die. The tables were busy and got more active as the night went on.

Emporium Gift Shops
These are much like those on most ships, but a little larger and with a little more "stuff." It's enjoyable to visit each day to see what's "on sale," (or what they want to get rid of).

Food

Cosmopolitan Restaurant

Breakfast: We ate in the main dining room four mornings. It was the Eggs Benedict every time for me - fried eggs over medium for Barb, both with hash browned potatoes, bacon, toast and bagels, juice, coffee, and pastries. Everything was done perfectly.

Lunch: We never made it to the main dining room. This was a first - the only cruise of 16 where we didn't experience lunch in the main dining room at least once.

Waterfall Cafe

For Dinner, this is alternative dining: the main entrée is ordered, and the appetizers, salads, and desserts are all buffet. It is a limited menu, but very good. Reservations are requested for dinner seating. Anyone with a late shore excursion (like us) might want to consider the Waterfall Café, especially if they have early seating.

Lunch: Buffet style, with many of the same items every day, but the pasta bar is different every day. There is an ice cream bar (the good stuff, i.e., not fat-free, goes fast). Also, there is a theme food bar in the aft section of the Waterfall Café, which varies daily: Italian, Mexican, etc. Most food items are portioned out by the servers, and if you want a little more of something, you need only ask!

Breakfast: Fair to good; no changes in the menu items from Day 1 to Day 10. Most items are warm when you get them, but then you have to wait forever (seems like it) for toast or bagels, and then move on to another station for eggs the way you want them (where there is usually a line). Everything is lukewarm, at best, by the time you're done.

Waterfall Grill

Very, very good hamburgers, good hotdogs, and pretty good pizza for lunch.

Normandie Restaurant

This is a more upscale dining experience - alternative dining with reservations and an additional charge. Jacket and tie are required all the time. Plan on dining for at least 2½ hours. Minstrels visit your table. Definite "ambiance." People who dined in the Normandie compared it to the finest dining they've ever had. Rated 5-star by everyone.

Shore Excursions

On other cruises, we do no excursions or just one or two. This time we did three!

St. Maarten
"Catamaran ride to a deserted island, on the Golden Eagle ($69pp)." It's an invigorating sail to and from the island, with all the beverages you could consume (this was an older crowd, so not too many took advantage of this), and a nice 1½ hour stay on a pristine beach, with just us (small boatload of people), and another small group later on. We enjoyed crystal clear warm water, pure white sand, and, oh yes, more liquid refreshments. Also, you were entitled, if you dared, to get a mud bath done with the assistance of the crew. The sail back to the dock included sandwiches and all-you-could-drink champagne, as well as other drinks. It sounds like a lot of liquid was consumed, but the operator made money on this excursion - most of the booze stayed in the bottles, and they didn't get carpal tunnel syndrome by opening too many beers. This was one of the best excursions yet, and we will do the exact same thing next time. The Golden Eagle staff did everything right and enhanced this pleasurable trip.

St. Lucia
"The North Coast and Beach Tour ($35pp)." A narrated bus ride through the Castries area. We visited the Caribelle Batik Shop and Pigeon Island Park, and then we had about one hour of beach time at Reduit Beach. It's a nice bus ride and nice beach (some hawkers), but next time, we'll do it on our own.

St. Thomas
"St. John Safari/Snorkeling ($48pp)." A fun trip, but also one we'll do on our own next time. We've visited St. Thomas about nine times, but have only been to St. John once, so we booked this excursion (on the Internet, about one month before sailing). We and passengers from the Dawn Princess boarded the Island Girls (a ferry/tour-type boat) for the ride to Cruz Bay. It's an informative ride over. Once there, we boarded an open-air taxi bus for our ride over (this must have been the 'safari' part) to Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay had been our very first Caribbean excursion ever, and this beach hasn't changed - it's still beautiful. Anyone who hasn't visited this beach at least once should do so, whether by excursion or on your own.

Staff

Our cabin stewardess was excellent. She knew we were out early in the morning and, as do most of them, when we were gone for dinner. We didn't see much of her, but she and her assistant did a great job of taking care of our cabin.

Our dining room wait staff - waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter - were fair, at best. They got the job done, sort of, but without much enthusiasm, except for the sommelier - she was one of the best we've had the pleasure of dealing with. Again, talking to others, they gave their wait staff rave reviews. We just happened to get a combination of duds.

The rest of the staff and crew were all pleasant - they smiled, said "hello," but were not overly friendly. We really couldn't put our finger on it, but would have to say they were a little standoff-ish, but not offensively so.

Passengers

Most longer sailings attract an older crowd, and this cruise was no exception. A very rough breakdown is: About 62% of the passengers were 50+ years old; the 30-50 age group was about 27%; and then a big drop off, to 8% for young adults (20-30); and about 3% were teenagers or younger.

This was probably the friendliest group of passengers we've come in contact with. Almost everyone struck up conversations with total strangers, whether it was in or around the pool areas, the Waterfall Café, out on deck, in the hallways or on excursions. People just wanted to chat. You could tell everyone was there for the same reason - to enjoy.

Disembarkation

The Summit returned to Ft. Lauderdale around 6am and was cleared by Customs very early (a formality, since everyone had to 'visit' a customs official on board ship in St. Thomas). Since we had made air reservations almost a year in advance for a 10am flight, we didn't think we would have a prayer in making that timing, with the increased delays at airports now. But, midweek, we spoke with the staff at the Guest Relations Desk (Purser's Desk) about our predicament, and they assured us that there wouldn't be a problem. We were issued the appropriately-colored tags for early disembarkation. They started the process about 8:20am for those who needed assistance, and then our color was called, so we were off the ship by 8:35am. We zipped through the terminal, grabbed our luggage, hailed a van taxi ($6 per person), which whisked us to the airport and dropped us off at the curbside check-in, and we were at the gate with about 25 minutes to spare . . . all that even with the tight security. We made it, and probably broke a record doing it!

If anyone has questions about the Summit, feel free to ask. The next best thing to sailing is talking about it . . . and planning the next one.