We are just back from a 7 nights Bermuda cruise on Celebrity Summit, out of Bayonne (New Jersey). We were a group of 5 (4 adults and one teenager). We had cruised once, on the Royal Caribbean Independence of the sea (IOS).
We drove from Quebec to New Jersey the day before the cruise departure. We had booked the cruise package at the Country Inn in Elizabeth. Our package included the shuttle to and from the Cape Liberty port as well as breakfast. Very good value. The hotel is clean and the staff friendly. There is a large shopping center across the street which may be very convenient. We paid an additional 35$ charge for 8 nights of parking and left our car at the hotel. The shuttle picked us up at around 12:15. Embarkation went well and we were on the ship at about 2:15.
The Stateroom. Our stateroom was a concierge class balcony stateroom on Deck 8 (#8058). Nice stateroom, with unobstructed view. There are two chairs and a table (large enough to have breakfast there) on the balcony. We appreciated the Concierge class amenities, especially the priority check-in and disembarquation, the bottle of sparkling wine on arrival and the enhanced in-room breakfast menu. We often ordered breakfast in the room. The menu includes omelette (the smoked salmon omelette and the aspargus ones are very good!), smoothies, yogurt parfait, etc. This balcony stateroom offers more storage space and has a larger bathroom (especially the shower) than the one we had on the IOS. Beds are confortable, with good quality linen. It does not however have a flat TV. Balconies do not connect.
Nice stateromm. Great unobstructed view. Very Quiet. No stateromm across in the hallway.