Skigoofy

In the words of the old John Denver song – “All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go”! I’m not quite standing outside the door yet though since we don’t set off until tomorrow afternoon.
We (myself and DH Fernando) will be flying from our local airport – Faro, in the Algarve, which is mainland Portugal’s southernmost province – to Lisbon, where we will overnight at the Star Inn Lisbon Airport Hotel. We have stayed here twice before. It is less than a five-minute walk from the terminal and offers a very decent included breakfast. I would definitely recommend it as a good option if you just need a room for the night in Lisbon before an early flight.
While this overnight is not strictly essential, it does mean we avoid the dreaded 3 am start to catch the 6 am feeder flight, which would then be followed by a 4-hour layover in Lisbon. Not a great start to a holiday and guaranteed to have us arriving in Miami utterly exhausted.
On this particular occasion it will also give us the chance to go and see the Portuguese version of the musical Chicago, which is showing in Lisbon at the moment.
Our flight to Miami International departs from Lisbon at 10.35 on Thursday morning, arriving stateside at 2.55 pm. We are flying on TAP, the Portuguese flag-carrier, who are operating the flight with one of their very new Airbus Neo aircraft, so that will be an interesting change from the much older and very tired airbuses they previously used for this route.
On arrival we will try to Uber or Lyft to the Best Western Plus Oceanside Inn in Fort Lauderdale for a two-night pre-cruise stay. We have stayed here before too and find it to be a pleasant and reasonably-priced option within walking distance of just about everything you could need, as well as offering a very decent included breakfast. Yes, there’s a pattern here. We do prefer included breakfasts!
We are hoping that the weather will cooperate and we will be able to spend the day on Friday riding the water taxi.
Saturday the 23rd is Cruise Day. We are aiming to board at about 1 pm, just as the cabins open up. The morning will probably be spent relaxing by the hotel pool. For us, the hotel stay is part of our overall holiday and we prefer the comfort and convenience of boarding later, so we don’t feel that we are missing out by not getting to the port earlier.
Our ports of call on the 8-night cruise are Labadee, San Juan Puerto Rico, St Thomas and St Maarten. We have booked one excursion through the ship – the 5-star island tour in St Thomas – and will be doing our own thing in the other three ports. We have also booked the 3-night speciality dining package so will be looking to eat twice in Giovanni’s and once in Chops. No Izumi for us as we don’t like sushi and Adventure does not have the hot rocks option.
At the end of the cruise we will book an excursion with airport drop-off; we just haven’t decided which one yet. Again, the convenience is the deal-breaker for us.
I will try and post at least once a day, including pics of the daily compass and menus, and I will be very happy to try and find the answer to any questions while we are on board, so feel free to ask.
Oh, and one last very important note to close on for this evening… This will be our very first cruise as Diamond C&A members. Uber-excited would be an understatement.

CRUISING TIP: Using a Pullman bed with magnetic hooks for organization.

Day 3: At Sea
Once again, we got woke up to breakfast delivery.  We were sleeping hard and did not want to wake up, but we had a Star Class Galley tour at 10am, so we knew we had to start the day.  We had breakfast on our balcony, and then headed off to the tour.  The galley tour and meet and mingle were at the same time, so we skipped the meet and mingle.  Steven and I decided to try out the zipline on the way to pick up the kids for the parade.  The suite party and the parade were also at the same time, so we popped into the suite party and snapped a quick picture with Captain Ron, then headed to the parade.  The parade was much better when it was DreamWorks.  After the parade, we stopped in Izumi and ordered sushi to our room (well, technically our bed).  Before we even finished eating, our daily snacks from Alan were delivered.  We took the kids to the cupcake decorating class, and we made puppy cupcakes and then rode the carousel and went to the arcade.  After lounging around for a bit, we had dinner at Coastal Kitchen for filet night.  The two older kids wanted to have dinner in Adventure Ocean, so they did not join us for dinner.  We asked Alan if we could have dinner delivered to our table expeditiously so the babies did not get fussy, since their nap was cut short for the cupcake decorating class.  We were not let down.  The food and service was spectacular.  Alan also stopped by Coastal Kitchen to check on us.  He played with the babies and then told us he was going to stop in Adventure Ocean to see Christian and Sophia.  This made me very happy as Christian has been asking us all day about seeing Genie Alan.  We are chilling in our room waiting for the Love and Marriage show.  The Love and Marriage show is at 10:15pm, so hopeful we will get to bed before midnight for once.  We told Alan that we wanted to sleep in tomorrow, so no CK or Starbucks breakfast delivery.  Tomorrow is Cozumel, and we are going to take it slow and relax.

DAY 5: Costa Maya
No excursions for me today.  Just sampled some tacos from “Don Lolo”.  I hope they were authentic... ha ha

DAY 4: COZUMEL
Chichén Itzá Excursion


Pyramid of Kukulkan

Our guide, Rafa, used up the time talking about Mayan history and culture. The Math geek in me came out when he talked about the “Base 20” Mayan number system.  The talk was interesting but it took away our time to explore the site on our own and shop for souvenirs.


Lunch and snacks provided with the package.
 

Day 2: Perfect Day at CocoCay
Allure was finally able to dock in CocoCay, and we celebrated by having a lazy day.  We had breakfast delivered at 9am, and we were still asleep.  I thought I was dreaming of a doorbell ringing, but nope they hit it about 10 times within 5 seconds.  Unfortunately,  it was too windy for breakfast on the balcony, so we ate inside and finally finish Rocketman (started it last time we were on Allure).  Alan escorted us off the ship at 11:15am bypassing all the lines to the gangway.  We went shopping, had lunch at Skipper's Grill, and took the kids to Splashaway Bay and Captain Jill's Galleon.  The food was not as good as the last time we were on CocoCay (before Perfect Day), or maybe we've just been spoiled by Star Class.  After a few bites, we decided to just wait and have lunch on the ship.  When we got back on the ship, we had Starbucks (totally abusing that privilege with Starbuck's holiday drinks) and then ordered room service without knowing that Alan coordinated almost the same meal delivery plus chocolate covered strawberries and shrimp.  Needless to say, my clothes aren't exactly fitting anymore and this is only Day 2.  I tried to order a virgin mango colada at Mama Mia yesterday, but they told me they only had strawberry.  Alan must have been listening,  because he had two delivered to our room today.  After pigging out, I took about a two hour nap and woke up to news of the Caribbean itineraries opening up for Fall 2021.  Alan had Next Cruise in our suite within a few minutes of release, and we scored 8730 for November 2021 on Oasis.  Have I mentioned how amazing "Genie Alan" is?!?!  As we were leaving CocoCay, he was playing games with the kids on the balcony.  About that time, our 9 year old Christian, showed Alan his Pichu stuffed animal.  That stuffed animal is his best buddy,  and boy has it seen better days.  It's head is half way torn off with stuffing coming out, but he loves that thing.  When Alan saw it, he took Pichu with him and 15 minutes later brought it back stitched back together.  #bestgenieever.  It was formal night tonight, but we were feeling lazy and opted for 150 Central Park delivery.  The two older kids just wanted to go to Adventure Ocean, so we grabbed them a quick bite at the Windjammer.  We dropped them off and then had 150 on the balcony.  Alan also surprised us with 6 "the world" desserts after I had briefly mentioned yesterday that that was the only part of Chef's Table that I wanted to try.  Then, off to the second half of Mama Mia.  We preferred the first half, but still enjoyed the second half and are glad we attended.  Now, we are off to bed and ready for tomorrow's adventure.

On our 9-night Christmas cruise 2 years ago, there was a priest on board to perform mass each morning and Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. The Midnight Mass was pretty amazing. Our cabin attendant and one of our waiters came and sat with our family as mass was well attended by crew members. They were definitely missing being with their families and it was nice being able to spend time with them. It's the only cruise I've been on where Mass was held every day.

On our 9-night Christmas cruise 2 years ago, there was a priest on board to perform mass each morning and Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. The Midnight Mass was pretty amazing. Our cabin attendant and one of our waiters came and sat with our family as mass was well attended by crew members. They were definitely missing being with their families and it was nice being able to spend time with them. It's the only cruise I've been on where Mass was held every day.

SEA DAY: Sushi Making Class

I’m celebrating two birthdays on this cruise.  My grandma who passed away last year would have been 100 yesterday (November 15th).  The celebration last night was for her.  My birthday is on the 23rd which I am celebrating on the 22nd, the last night of the cruise.  It’s funny how the cruise starts on her birthday and ends on mine.
 
Speaking of bots, I was seated two tables away from the famous “bot” on this forum, but I only saw him with a few side glances.  I know it’s not good to stare at people... ?  There were clues that it was him.  First, he was dining alone. (Hmmm... solo cruiser).  Second, his waiter said, “Oh, good to see you back” (Hmmm... frequent cruiser) Then I saw what he was browsing on his phone - THIS FORUM! (Aha!!! It’s him!!!)
Dear Mr Bot, I must have looked “stalkerish” to you huh? ? 

CHOPS GRILLE +1 Offer

We did that 9-night ABC itinerary this time last year when Navigator was doing it, just before she got amped. It's a great itinerary. We were in a promenade view cabin on deck 7 too - 7279, across from the pub.



 

We are here and checked in.  We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Airport West, and this is definitely a one and done hotel for us.  We always book suites that have atleast one or two bedrooms separated from the living room.  With four kids, having a separate bedroom after being in a car all day is definitely preferred.  When we booked this hotel, we were told it was a suite with two queen beds in a bedroom and a separate living area with a pullout sofa and there was a door separating the rooms.  Much to our dismay, that was not the case and there is no separation.  At this point, we are tired and just going to let it slide.  To further add to the issues with this hotel, they are doing parking lot repair, so everyone is having to park in the the WaWa parking lot.  If we would have known this, we would have booked elsewhere, because it is a pain having to lug two pack n' plays, 4 kids, and about a million bags from a different parking lot.  Then, the cherry on the cake was when we got to the room, our seven year old asked me what was on the dresser, and what she brought me was marijuana rolling paper.  Everything else, we let slide but that was the final straw.  I called and asked for the manager, but they won't be in until tomorrow.  By the time they are available,  I will be onboard and probably enjoying myself too much to worry with Holiday Inn.  Think I will just take it as a lesson learned and book elsewhere next time.  Maybe, it's a decent hotel and we are just the outlier, but I'll attach a picture of the room in case anyone is curious.  Rant officially over.  Now that that is off my chest and the kids are all asleep, I'm going to call it a night.  One more sleep!

Getting closer...

Hi All,
Well many of you  remember that we attempted to get on Anthem in October for a 9 night tour of New England and Canada with my sister, but my husband had to have an unexpected surgery the day before.  I am happy report that I got 100% of my travel claim back from submitting a travel insurance claim on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and we found an AMAZING price on Anthem for  an 8 day cruise to the bahamas and Cococay for Thanksgiving Week.    ( In fact, after all most 30 cruises, it is the cheapest price I have ever paid for a balcony cabin), plus the deal through the travel agent included free gratuities, an onboard credit, and a free dinner in a specialty restaurant.  ( I have been dying to try wonderland, and have not been on a ship with it yet). In addition, we have had no problems lately getting our additional OBC from being a Royal Caribbean shareholder.
Since we do not love this itinerary as much as Canada New England and will likely opt to spend more time exploring the ship this cruise, and since we are going to Cococay, we decided to get the drink package for this cruise vs. just relying on Diamond drinks like we have with great success on some of our recent cruises.  We are looking forward to really getting to explore some of the bars and music venues.  We tend to do this more with the DX than without, where we tend to spend more time in the Diamond lounge.
The other thing I have booked for this cruise is the Taste of Royal 4 course meal which is on day 2 starting at 11:30 am.  I am a major foodie, and a big fan of the Chef's table, but Chef's table is less of a value if you have the drink package, (unless you get a special discount like we did several years ago on Grandeur).  I think this will be a fun way to explore the first full sea day,  Get up, go to the gym, the taste of royal 4 course meal, and then we are booked for the "We will Rock you Matinee in the afternoon" that was rescheduled from later in the week. 
We booked a guarantee cabin, and got assigned a room on the 13th floor mid ship near the forward elevators.  I think this will be a good location, and is a quck walk to the secret doors and staircase that leads to the solarium. 
Friday, we fly to Newark and will stay at Hyatt house in new Jersey with a view of the NYC skyline.  My husband and I are burger connoisseurs so we plan to visit Left bank burger for an early dinner and happy hour, and will check out some local craft brew.    
Will check back in on friday for a review! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Follow up on the transfer to the Port of Miami.  Royal offered this for free. 
I left my cabin around 7:30am to let my cabin attendant prep it for the next guest and hung out in the Schooner Bar.  Voom worked until 9am when they cycled it for the next cruise.  
Around 9:45am I got off and made my way through CBP.  No facial recognition in terminal 18 yet.  Outside I went to the right where buses for airport transfers purchased from Royal meet.  They put me on the Miami airport bus and around 10.40am we left terminal 18 in Port Everglades.
We stopped twice at Miami airport at two different terminals where the bulk of folks got off.  We then proceeded to the port.  First stop terminal A and Navigator where two guests got off.  Next stop terminal G for Empress where 6 guests got off.  It was pretty close to noon when we reached Empress.  
Painless check in and onto the ship.  Beverage in hand at 12:23pm.  Lyft was $36 and Uber was $39 so with tip that was roughly a $40 savings.  
I really appreciated this extra effort from Royal.  Loyalty pays.

DAY 6: COZUMEL 
And yet another early morning ?? We weren’t feeling very vacationy when we woke up. We showed up the the theater by 8:00am and met with our excursion group. We were that last group off and made our way to the ferry. This ferry ride was better than the last one to Cozumel (which consisted of almost every single person on the ferry throwing up... all ... over... ??? It was like the Exorcist... except everyone was possessed and hurling pea soup all over... I have a tough stomach being a nurse, but I’m a terrible sympathy puker! I lucked out and made it off both that ferry and this one just fine!
We made it to the mainland where our excursion group met us to drive us to the Cenote. (We did the Mystical Chaaktun Cenotes and Mayan Spiritual Cleanse. 
 
Cenotes and spiritual cleanse
We arrived at the site and immediately the excursion site staff were not nearly as friendly. They were short and rather rude... but who knows... it was like 9 in the morning. (I’m used to working with non-morning people hahaha) We brought our own snorkel and mask, but checked out a flashlight and water shoes from them. The rental locker was the only thing not included and it was $3 to rent (but big enough to fit two medium sized and packed backpacks).  We made our way down to the Cenote and it really was beautiful and magical. I have never seen a cave like that (and certainly have not swam in them in the dark!) We got to cleanse our faces with calcium bicarbonate sediment in the cave, and it was really cool! The guide had us turn off all the lights and just float there with our masks on. (He then screamed and scarred the poop out of everyone there!) Which is a bad thing since that’s still people’s drinking water... When we got to the end of the cave and they were taking us out, I realized I had dropped the very expensive flashlight they warned us NOT to loose ?? At least I know I must have dropped it when he screamed and scarred us. So good thing was... I knew where it should be located... bad thing... it was BACK in the pitch black and I no longer had my flashlight! The brusband and I tried calling to the group to wait, but they had already gone too far ahead (we stopped to search all our gear). So I just to Hell with it and swam back. Luckily I still had my phone on me so I used the light on that to find the flashlight! (It was still kinda creepy but kinda cool to be there by myself). We caught up with the group and made our way back up to dry land. 
They then performed a Mayan spiritual cleanse which was really cool!  We stood around a fire and learned about the Mayans and this process. Then they put us in this thing that looked like a giant tandoori pizza oven, and turned it into a steam room. (It never really felt overly religious or anything if that is a concern for people) It did feel rather spiritual and grounding. 
Now that we were cleansed, we were permitted to head into the next cenote. This one was much smaller, but I thought it was cooler because it was deeper, and it had BATS flying around in it!!  (I love bats... ?) They were super chill and didn’t bother us at all (even though they scarred a few people when they started flying around ??). 
With the cenotes completed, we turned back in our gear and ate the lunch provided (chicken , beef and vegetarian  Fajitas). The food was enjoyed by everyone in my group and we headed up to exit. They did an impromptu tequila tasting/lesson which was nice... but it was really just a sales pitch. I didn’t mind because... you know.. free tequila! We jumped back on the bus and made it back to the shopping scented just inside the ferry port. Did a little shopping and caught the ferry back. (We were nervous because the all aboard time was 4:30 and the ferry didn’t leave until 3:50... but it all turned out fine. I didn’t think they would leave 3 ferry boats of passengers behind ?) Once boarded, we showered, changed and got ready for dinner. Overall we were both happy about the excursion even if it was a little long. We enjoyed the cenotes and it didn’t feel as crowded as the other group headed to the mystical river excursion. 
 
Dining   
We decided to eat at Chops. We had a great meal! The steaks were cooked perfectly even if the sides were a little lackluster in my opinion. 
 
UBP Count 
X2 frozen mojitos, x3 glasses of wine
No Key amenities

DAY 5: ROATÁN HONDURAS
Dive 3 and 4
Another dive day, and another early morning ? We had to be at the dive shop at 06:15am to gear up and be at the theater by 07:00am. We were again the first group off and into the port to start our adventure! The dive group “Anthony’s Key Resort” picked us up in two big vans (there were more students for advanced open water) and some were just diving with the resort. We unloaded our own bags as a team and put them on the boat for prep. The weights needed to be attached to our belts, and it was a short hop over to overheat reef via boat! This dive was AMAZING! Tons of coral! Tons of fish. Beautiful water. We went topside then changed tanks and location after a short surface interval that included a chance to buy trinkets! We went to a different dive spot that included a sunken ship! We got to see some huge grouper, a lion fish, a sea turtle (that I didn’t see ?). It was an amazing last dive. 
 
Roatán Port   
The port was SMALL and had very little in terms of amenities. We made the mistake in Costa Maya by eating food (so close before dinner), so we skipped out on that here and just made our way back to the ship! The island was beautiful and definitely was a place we would go back to for diving!
Dining   
We decided to eat at 150 Central and had an AMAZING meal. By far this has been our favorite all cruise! The service and meal was perfect! (And they had an amazing Grey Goose martini that was just ridiculously delicious!)
Ship   
We honestly didn’t do much else after dinner ? We were soooo tired from all the scuba, we just went back to the room after a drink in Central Park listening to music. We also had an early day in Cozumel the next day so we decided to call it early!
UBP   
Rather slow night for us! I didn’t even take count. We had just a few drinks with dinner and a few after
No new trinkets or amenities from “They Key”

DAY 4: Costa Maya
This day started off as our first open water dive day! This was our first day of the cruise we got the morning to ourselves and got to sleep in a bit. This was due to our 09:30am arrival into the port which meant we didn’t have to get off the ship until 10:30am! It really made no difference seeing how I’m a morning person ?? but the brusband (who can sleep in until 2pm if I let him) was perfectly happy! We ordered the free room service (remember... I’m the cheap one ?) which was just coffee, bagels, cream cheese, oatmeal, and juice. I think it’s a little ridiculous that plain scrambled egged necessitates a charge of $7.95, but it is what it is. 
 
With breakfast eaten on the balcony we relaxed until we had to pick up our gear from the dive shop. 
 
Open Water Dives 1 and 2  
With our dive gear in hand, we followed our dive instructors (Kelly and Francois) to the theater to exit the ship at about 10:30am. We were the first group permitted to leave which made it nice to not struggle with the crowds while carrying gear. Once in port, we were sorted into these little lines categorized by excursion and we waited for our excursion rep (“Dive Costa Maya” I believe). There was a little waiting, nothing longer than usual. We met up with the dive company who shuttled us over to another part of Costa Maya. The facilities were a little run down, but nothing terrible. They had all of our weight belts ready for use, and carried all of our bags (which was certainly nice) on/off the taxi and boat. The tanks were in okay condition from what the dive instructors said (but certainly weren’t like the nice once we used on board!) The dive went off really well for the brusband and I. There were big patches of sand which were perfect for our first and second open water dive. But there were also still some coral and sea life. Got to see a sting ray (who quickly swam off when we descended), some gangs and a bunch of other fish I don’t know the names of. 
We ascended at the end of our first dive after practicing our skills, and this is when we lost one of our dive students. She got pretty ill (and started throwing up) right as we all got to the top. Getting in the boat didn’t make things any easier. She decided to stay on the boat forgoing her second dive. The rest of us changed our gear over and got back in to complete our second dive. This one went a lot smoother than the first! We got to tour more of the coral and it was really a blast! 
We completed dive 2 (with the young student looking more seas sick than when we left her... it really probably would have been better to get back in the water). We made our way back to land via the boat, washed off our gear and headed back to the port.
Port Costa Maya   
This actually wasn’t a bad port, but according to the dive instructors, it’s relatively a new one for RCI. Not sure if they meant for the whole fleet or just for the larger ships. We ate some tacos and burritos right there in the port and drank a few decompression cervezas. Most of the locals working the port seemed to understand English well enough to order food etc. (but I have my own personal interpreter sooo that was nice.) The facilities right there at the port were minimal, just a few basic shops and food places. Prices seemed normal, and the food was good. Not much to do in port so we jumped back on the ship.
 
Aqua Show: The Fine Line   
This show was amazing! We watched another show on Oasis in 2015 which was good, but this felt like a story with a good production! Definitely give the show 10/10! Music worked really well, the performance acts were awesomely suited for the show, and the production value of all the staging/pool equipment was really awesome! 
Some pointers... DON’T SIT IN THE FIRST 5 ROWS! It was kinda like sitting in the splash zone at SeaWorld ??   We are first time Suite cruisers so we knew there should be seeding for us, but when we got there and showed the guy our sea pass cards, he frowned and said, “oh, you don’t have reservations” then pointed to the REALLY long line next to us. I politely indicated we were suite guests and thought they had sections saved for us (which I could see the sign for in the sitting area), he indicated no. I noticed the guy right next to him holding a Key for The Key passengers, so I told him we were also part of The Key. He then ushered us to the guy next to him (who recognized us from our Grease outfits the day prior) and he took one look at our sea pass cards and brought us strait to the “Pinnacle, Diamond, Suite” section. When I asked why we were initially denied, he simply stated the guy was new and didn’t know any better. (That seems like a training deficit IMO... it happens... but if that was the only night we were able to see the show... and were turned away... that could have been a very bad experience.) Overall, great show that we really enjoyed!
Specialty Dining with UDP   
We got out of the aqua show at about 8:20pm, which was us just enough time to catch dinner before they closed at 9:00pm. We ate at Jamie’s which was good. We were both full from accidentally eating too late in port so we just had the smaller portions. But both were good. We enjoyed the ambiance of Central Park with the music. 
UBP Count 
Champagne x2, frozen mojitos x3, Chardonnay x2, specialty coffee x1
= 8 drinks
The Key  
We both felt it was obviously useless since we booked a RCI shore excursion with the dive... so we got off whenever the group got off.


IMG_2805.MOV IMG_2825.MOV

I am sitting here thinking this...
I just feel like I have so much to do!  We have finalized some plans though.  We decided that we are going to have Thanksgiving at our house, then we have Friday for shopping...you know last minute shopping.? Our plan for Saturday is to get some Dunkin when they open and be on the road by 6-6:30 am in the morning.  We have about a 4.5 hour drive or so.  My goal is to be at the port by 11am!!!  
 
Our Genie communication with Lisa has been good.  I feel like we are not needy cruisers, but I have become reliant on Lisa.  I spent so much time on that survey, I wanted to make sure she got it and actually read it.  She gave me a little more bad news when it came to my drink preferences saying there is no Corona Premier or Vanilla Crown Royal.  She assured me that I wouldn’t go thirsty!!!  So the good news is they do read those surveys.  I am patiently waiting for her next email because she was outlining our dining and show schedule.  I have some specific requests so I am excited to see it all play out. 
 
We are just so excited.  

Lastly, another major difference is in the announcements.  There is a 10am sea day announcement where the captain gives you a nautical & weather update, then the cruise director mentions some of the activities for the day, and that's it.  Nothing else interrupting your day reminding you about sales or activities or events.  On port days, we got an announcement when the ship was cleared and when we were ready to sail away.  No pier runners either day, no announcements for missing guests.  
We did have a medical emergency where the captain announced we were returning to St. Maarten to drop off a passenger that was ill.  The next day when leaving St. Thomas, the captain did give us an update on the passenger letting us know he was doing well and was on his way back to the states for medical treatment. 
So that’s about all I can think of for now.  I may come back and add more as I think of other things.  So by now you’re all wondering “will they sail Celebrity again?”  YOU BETCHA. We loved it. Did we miss the mini golf, rock wall, or ice skating?  Nope. What about Crazy Quest, Broadway shows or belly flop contests at the pool?  Nope. Will Celebrity replace Royal for future cruises? Not completely.  But we will look at both when booking 2021 and out.  We’re at the point where we feel we’re ready for something different, and Celebrity can offer us islands that Royal doesn’t, sailing different grouping of itineraries that we’ll enjoy.  We are at the point where we only cruise for the ship, the itinerary or a specific group of people. We’re back at sea in December on the newly amp’ed Oasis - looking forward to venues we haven’t experienced yet (like Playmakers) but not looking forward to yet another stop in St. Maarten.
Happy to answer any questions or talk more about Celebrity cruising!! 

I’ve saved the best for last. Every night after turndown, we returned to the cabin to find not a towel animal, but a chocolate on our pillows. Huge throwback to classic cruising.  Deserves it's own post.
 

Other notables/comparisons to make:
Captain’s Club.  There were a few special events offered to us, we attended the backstage tour, visited the breakfast one morning but that’s about all of the benefits we used, other than the complementary 90 minutes each of internet.  Since we had a drink package, we didn’t attend any of the nightly events. If you went to the Sky Lounge you could have passed canapes with your drinks, but we received an afternoon plate of treats with the Aquaclass cabin, and ate dinner early each evening, so we didn’t feel the need to go up for that.  Other events held were a wine tasting session (on a port day so we were off the ship) and an elegant tea (again, during a port day and we were off the ship). There was a special evening event that we elected not to attend, as we wanted to do the free slot tournament in the casino. We didn’t feel the need to hob knob with the captain or other officers in attendance - there was $50 casino credit on the line!  
Biggest thing we noticed about the Captain’s Club?  NO ONE TALKED ABOUT THEIR STATUS.  We saw not a one person walking around with a special name tag or demanding attention.  LOL There were very few people wearing pins, but we didn’t get close enough to any of them to see what they were for.  Tony noticed a few but I really didn’t. I don’t know what they give Zenith members but I can’t say I met one since I had no way of knowing their status.  
The people I met who were also Elite (and I only knew it because as we were chatting and I found out they had sailed a lot, I asked questions) but it seemed to be that I was the one bringing it up.  
Guests on board were very mixed in age.  No sleepy retirees here!! There was honeymooners in their 20s all the way up to folks in their 80s.  The Silent Disco was so packed they extended it 45 minutes and people kept dancing until 2am every day.  We enjoyed getting to know people of all ages, including a wonderful couple who got engaged on board. 
Crew.  The level of service given to every cruiser was top notch.  What you expect on Royal to just be offered to suite guests is given to all.  From the crew on the stairs wiping things down (who stop as you walk by, greet you, then resume their jobs after you pass) to the baristas making your coffee to the very visible and active Cruise Director (more visible than the Activities Manager) every guest is equally special.  They go above and beyond for every single cruiser. Since no one is wearing their special color seapass card on a lanyard, the crew has no idea who is “special” and who is not.  So everyone is special.  
Certain categories of crew are allowed in all of the guest areas, like the production and entertainment staff.  They are very friendly, very approachable, and want to spend time with you. 
Premium vs Classic drink packages. We had not planned on buying a drink package.  Since we weren’t flying into port, we could easily bring on two bottles of wine with us.  Our Aquaclass cabin comes with a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine, our Elite status gets us specialty coffees in the morning, and drinks in the evening, so to spend the money on the drink package wasn’t worth it to us.  I knew in advance about the complimentary beverages that were offered at certain events, and in the casino, so we figured we’d get through each day with that. Well...a week before we sailed we received an amazing promotion that you just couldn’t pass up.  BOGO premium drink package. It comes out to $34.50 per day, plus 20% gratuity, per person.  (Yes, you read that 20% right.  Watch for Royal to follow suit soon)  This was a TRUE BOGO. Tony’s account was charged full price for his package, and mine was charged $0.  No 50% to one and 50% to the other kind of thing. So almost $500 later we had a drink package. Not in the budget but we’ll just pull it from the next cruise.  We made full use of the package at the martini bar alone. Premium is worth the extra $10 a day in price, as you get larger drinks made with premium liquors. If you’re drinking mostly beer, then not worth the difference.  But for my husband, who enjoys a nightly whisk(e)y, drinking the good stuff is important.
Port visits.  We had two stops, first St. Maarten and second St. Thomas.  Cruise Director was on pier both mornings chatting with the guests as they exited the ship.  Cheesy photo ops were of course available.  We did a ship excursion in St. Maarten and did our own in St. Thomas.  Upon returning to the ship, there was cold (wet with ice on them) towels, fruited waters, a covered area to sit, and in St. Thomas fruit kabobs.  Both days we were HOT - those cold towels were amazing to receive.

We ate.  Lots and lots of food.  I saved this for the toward end as it’ll be pretty long.  
Before I get into the food, we noticed one big difference that is not necessarily “better.”  There are handwashing stations in the buffet, and Purell stands all over, but handwashing was not really emphasized.  At all. We did see the washy washy cartoon once on embarkation day, but that was all. The buffet had multiple entrances to it, and only one was manned with a crew member holding Purell.  And that wasn’t all the time. We didn’t see many guests using the Purell, and we not once saw anyone but us washing their hands at the stations. But this ship was the only one in Celebrity’s fleet to get a score of 100 from both the US and Canada in 2019 from their surprise sanitary inspections.  We did witness bar staff wiping down menus in the Rendezvous Lounge one evening!
As an Aquaclass guest, we had access to Blu for breakfast and dinner.  Since this was our first Celebrity sailing, we wanted to experience as many different venues as possible, so we breakfasted in a different spot every day.  Most notable to us, the buffet, named Oceanview Cafe (OVC).  Best buffet we’ve ever eaten in.  Food was varied, most always delicious (warm & not overcooked) and at the entrance is a map that changes with every meal.  You can see what is offered where, and often there is no repeats in the different sections/same on each side kind of thing.
It’s open 24/7 for beverages, but will have some type of food until the wee hours of the morning.  Official hours end service at 12:30pm, but when a bunch of us walked in at 12:25 after Silent Disco, the pizza guy kept on making pizzas and the other staff left the other food options out until everyone had replenished their empty bellies.  Speaking of pizza - BEST CRUISE SHIP PIZZA.  Puts Sorrentos to shame.  BEST. Hand rolled, hand topped, made in the ovens right there.  Varieties offered changed throughout the week. Another offering we enjoyed was the eggs benedict bar.  No sitting for table service in the MDR if you don’t want. Get your eggs benedict, made the way you like it, and take it out to the pool.  At lunch there were rotating “bars” like baked potato bar, ramen soup bar. Ramen soup was amazing and we kept looking for it to reappear the rest of the week.  Alas, it did not.  This ship had the most unique "bar" areas in the buffet, ceviche, gravlax, pate, roasted meats...to name a few. 
 

This will be a partial recap/partial comparison post.  I thought it would be fun to put together a comparison of Celebrity to what we know as the “norm” of Royal Caribbean cruising.  We’ve sailed also on Norweigan (before it was NCL), Carnival & Disney in the past, but primarily are Loyal to Royal. In my recap, I have bolded the important differences.
Ship: Celebrity Summit 
Sail Date: October 20-26, 2019
Itinerary: Repositioning cruise from Cape Liberty, NJ to San Juan, PR
Three sea days followed by two ports, St. Maarten & St. Thomas
Cabin: Aquaclass A2 cabin #: 9131
Status: Royal Crown & Anchor Diamond = Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite
Drink Pkg: Premium
We parked our car at a Newark Airport Hotel, the Hilton, and took an Uber to the port. Since this was a repositioning cruise, we would not be returning to the same port we left from.  We booked parking through Way.com, which was significantly cheaper than parking at the airport. The hotel runs a complimentary shuttle 24/7, so this was perfect for our late arriving flight.  
We noticed a difference from embarkation.  There is no separation of class.  No mention anywhere.  No suite line, no Zenith (their Pinnacle).  Some boarding passes listed “Expedited Arrival”, which one of ours did.  With that special notation, we had a separate security line/scanner, and separate port employee with iPad to check us in.  They re-took our picture, looked at our passports; we scanned our bags, and then by-passed the rest and walked straight on the ship.  Super fast and easy. They had the normal ship photo-op and on you went.  
Upon crossing the threshold from the ramp to the ship, you scanned your boarding pass and were then officially on your cruise!  To celebrate this momentous occasion, you were offered either a glass of champagne or mimosa, complimentary.  No drink package necessary!  This was one of many times we were offered a complimentary beverage of this nature.
With our glasses in hand, we then proceeded to our cabin on deck 9.  On the Summit, you proceed directly to your stateroom where your keys are in an envelope on the door and you get to drop off your carry-on bags and lock your valuables in the safe.  Even though the cabins are not ready until 1-1:30pm, you are not forced to lug your stuff.  When traveling with small kids, elderly grandparents or people with mobility issues - this is HUGE.  
Free of our jackets and other belongings, we put our cards in a lanyard, and off we went to explore the ship.  Over the course of the week - we saw very few cruisers wearing lanyards.  This sailing had three travel agency groups having conferences, the largest group wore lanyards, but otherwise there was barely anyone.  We did see a few groups in matching t-shirts, but the lanyards were not a thing. By end of day 2 our lanyards were back on their hooks and instead the cards were placed in the lovely card holder we were each given.
Also on this sailing was another conference, this one made up of Celebrity captains, hotel directors, and upper management including the CEO!  The captains and hotel directors attended a show one evening and all came out on stage to say hi.  Left to right - 1 Cruise Director, 11 Captains, out front Summit Captain Matt, 13 Hotel Directors.