Review of 1/26/08 Southern Caribbean Sailing on Celebrity Summit

So the reader can better put into perspective the writer's cruising experience, here is a brief history. Wife Judy has sailed four times, first on Celebrity Infinity, second two on RCI Navigator of the Seas, and this cruise. I have cruised since the '80's, sticking with the mainstream or premium lines for over a dozen cruises. This was my second cruise on Celebrity and many comparisons were made to the first on the Infinity. This was our second cruise to the Southern Caribbean and this cruise was chosen due to its itinerary, since we had not visited any of the ports of call previously. If I had believed the trolls on this board for the past year about the condition of the ship and how =X= has slipped in every aspect of providing a cruise experience, including having a runaway bedbug problem on this ship, I would have cancelled the cruise and found another. However, recognizing trolls for what they truly are, I stuck it out, went on this cruise, and now am glad that I did.

This review will cover the ship, brief thoughts on each port of call, and hopefully will dispel some of the rumors of demise that have been greatly exaggerated about both =X= and the Summit. I will include a lot of detailed information that will be of no interest to some, but considerable interest to others, so if you run across items of no interest to you, skip them and use this review as a reference guide instead of a book. I will try to interject humor in small amounts to keep this inherently subjective piece as light and objective as possible. I don't take myself too seriously; I really hope no one else does, either. Brevity has never been one of my strong points, so dig in for a long one. Read more