This was our second time on the Celebrity Summit. In 2014, we were in Aqua class, on another itinerary in the Caribbean. This time we had a regular balcony cabin. This cruise was November 26 – December 3, 2016. We were told by a manager that the cruise was not sold out. For the most part, the ship didn’t feel crowded.
Embarkation - We left our hotel in the Condado area at 11 am by taxi. The traffic was pretty heavy near the port so it was 11:45 by the time we got on the ship. The line to check in was short – maybe 5-7 minutes. We had a regular balcony room – 9167 – with no special status. We went straight to the buffet and got a great corner table and enjoyed the buffet, and grabbed additional food from the aqua spa café too, until the rooms were available about 1:30.
Our balcony cabin 9167 was at the aft of the ship, on the port side. It is on the small side compared to cabins we’ve had in the past, but it was clean and comfortable. I don’t know if it had been refurbished, but we had no issues – everything was in working order, towels were new, and it all looked nice. Our steward was fantastic. We asked for our minibar contents to be removed, extra pillows, and an ice bucket and he delivered with no problems. He kept our ice bucket filled at least twice a day without asking.
Small but well-maintained and very functional. Balcony has large overhang, but no obstructions. Very noisy though from buffet above you and elevator nearby.
We docked in Crown Bay. It’s not as nice as Havensight, but we weren’t sticking around anyway. We went to St. John on our own. We were off the ship a bit after 8, took a taxi to Red Hook and got on the 9 am ferry. Went to Trunk Bay (gorgeous), had lunch in Cruz Bay, and took the 2 pm ferry back. Allow 45 minutes to get from Crown Bay to Red Hook in the morning, and at least that long to get back in the afternoon.
We took a taxi to Darkwood Beach. Excellent chairs, drinks and food here, in addition to massages on the beach. Gorgeous beach, and I highly recommend although I’d also love to keep it a secret from everyone but us lol. Our taxi driver tried to talk us out of going and I’m glad we didn’t listen to him. No snorkeling to speak of though, but excellent swimming beach.
We took a taxi to Harbour Lights on Carlisle Bay. It was busy, but has nice services and we were pleased. We snorkeled ourselves off the beach to see sea turtles and the shipwreck. Just watch out for the many boats.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Condado. It was clean, comfortable, just around the corner from Ashford and the beach. We really liked the Condado area – it felt safe, with lots of restaurants and a short taxi ride to the port. Free breakfast was basic but overall it is a reasonably priced, good option if you don’t need anything fancy. If you have time, tour the forts and Old San Juan.