Celebrity
Summit
Alaska--Anchorage to Vancouver
June 1, 2007
by
Diane Starnes
I
am a 43 year old who took the cruise with my parents for two
reasons. First, I wanted to
introduce them to cruising and secondly, I wanted to see
Alaska. My purpose in writing this
review is to help others through my experience cruising.
I have had the opportunity to cruise all the major lines to
destinations around the world and have found most cruises are what
you make of them.
The
ship’s market focus: Each
ship and its itinerary appeal to a certain market. The market focus of this particular ship/itinerary was the
50-70 year old age group. Everything
from the entertainment to the level of service catered to that
group. If you do not enjoy the
entertainment that 50-70 year-olds enjoy, then you will not enjoy
the entertainment on this ship. The
Broadway-style shows were average but the acrobatics featuring Alex
and Sally were great. Most of
the entertainment in the bars and lounges also catered to the 50-70
year old age group. If this
ship sailed with a
Caribbean
itinerary, I think it would cater more to the 35-50 year old market.
Staterooms
were what I would expect, being efficient with space but certainly
adequate. The ship provided
bathrobes, hairdryer, Q-tips, cotton balls, shampoo, soap, and
conditioner. There were also
plenty of towels and the cabin service was outstanding. One could call between rooms by dialing the number of the
cabin you wished to contact. Room
service could be ordered through interactive TV or by phone and was
excellent to average depending on how busy they were. There were no laundry facilities or irons on board; however,
the ship offered dry cleaning and laundry service at a reasonable
price.
The
ship’s layout was fine once you got accustomed to what was where. I did find the ship in excellent shape for its age and very
clean. The hand sanitizer
entering all dining rooms was certainly a nice touch. It is easier to utilize the elevators in the area where your
room is located so you have a home base elevator. There are three main elevator systems: one in front of the
ship, one in the rear, and one at mid-ship. I used the elevator closest to my room to navigate the ship.
Dining:
I thought the food was outstanding. We
chose not to dine in the Normandie cover-charge restaurant because
we did not think the food or service could be $30 per person better
than what we had in the main formal dining room. The waiters in the main dining room really do attempt to make
your experience excellent in every way. The Waterfall Café is the buffet with basically the same
food every day but with the food changing during different times of
the day. For example, the
homemade pasta and salad bar were open 12-5 in the Waterfall. Sushi could be found there from 5:00-10:00. There were other
food stations open and there were set breakfast and lunch buffet
times. There was also healthy
choice dining most of the day in the Aqua Spa Café. A
hamburger/hotdog station was available 12:00-6:00 and an ice cream
station 12:00-10:00. The
create-your-own pizza station was available 12:00-5:00. During the breakfast and lunch buffet hours, options were
plentiful, but the options were basically the same each day. Anyone who complains about the food and service on this ship
makes me envious of the quality of food and service they obviously
get at home.
Health
Club: The Celebrity Summit was no better or worse than most cruise
lines in this area. They did
make you pay for some services and access areas standard on other
ships. A dedicated workout
and/or health nut would not suffer on this ship.
Alcohol:
Celebrity
Summit
had the absolute most expensive drinks of any ship I have ever been
on. But in their defense, they have drink prices very much in line
with what is charged in
Alaska. When a draft beer costs $5+
with tip then you know Dorothy is not in
Kansas
anymore. After reading most of
the reviews and the Celebrity policy on bringing alcohol on board,
my advice would be to bring as much as you want on board at the
departure port. The ports are
in charge of security that day and port security does not care the
amount of alcohol you bring to the ship. You merely carry the alcohol on in a bag.
My recommendation is to have each bottle in a brown paper bag
and put the paper bag bottles in another bag so it is not absolutely
obvious what you are doing. Celebrity scans your items after the
embarkation day so there is the possibility you could get caught
after the first day. For those
following Celebrity’s alcohol policy, you can only bring two
bottles of wine on board per stateroom the day of departure and none
after that.
Shore
Excursions: I book most excursions myself, finding I save 20-40%
over excursions booked through the ship. I have done this across the globe but found
Alaska
the easiest because the ports are American ports and practically
anyone can book independently with little worry. This does take some advance planning and I hope to make this
planning easier for readers of this review with the following
suggestions in each port. A
bonus to independent travel is you are not on the ship’s tour
schedule, allowing you to see more for less with flexibility.
Pre-Cruise:
We stayed five days in
Anchorage
using
Anchorage
as a home base to see
Alaska
’s interior. We visited
Denali
National Park
with a flight-seeing tour. We
also took the park service six-hour bus ride into the park. The one thing I encourage each person to do is to purchase
the Great Alaskan Tour Saver coupon book. It is valuable if you are going to do a pre- or post-cruise
independent tour in or around Anchorage/Denali/Seward. The coupons are good all over
Alaska, but most are helpful in and around
Anchorage, Denali, and
Inside Passage. The coupons are
buy-one-get-one-free featuring BOGOF tours and hotel reservations. Purchase the tour saver at www.toursaver.com
or call (907) 278-7600. We
stayed at two different hotels in
Anchorage
where we paid for one night and received the second night free. We also rented a car from the Avis downtown location getting
one day rental free while saving the airport car rental fees. Our
flight-seeing tour in
Denali
was buy-one-get-one-free.
Seward,
Alaska
: We rode the train from
Anchorage
to Seward. It was an
absolutely beautiful trip. We
spent the night in Seward before boarding the ship at 11:30am the
next morning. If you choose to
do this, book your hotel and train trip early as many cruise ship
passengers go this route. Seward
is around three hours from
Anchorage. A rental car is not
necessary in Seward. A cab or
shuttle can get you to most places of interest. My suggestions for excursions while in Seward include the
resurrection bay tour from Renown Tours and the
Sealife
Center. Both have BOGO coupons
in The Great Alaskan Toursaver book. We also took the shuttle to exit glacier.
We boarded the ship early to become familiar with the
ship’s layout while few people were on board. Embarkation was well organized.
Hubbard
Glacier Cruising: My best advice while cruising the Hubbard Glacier
and the surrounding icy water is as follows:
-
View
approaching the glacier in “The Night Club” at the front of
the ship Deck 11. Enjoy
the majesty of the glacier while taking no pictures. Arrive in “The Night Club” an hour before your
closest point to the glacier for best seating.
-
View
the departure from the glacier at the Waterfall Café Bar on
Deck 10 at the back of the ship. This is where you can take the best pictures without
fighting the crowds. The
ship’s initial approach to the glacier is characterized by
passengers fighting to get the best position to photograph the
glacier. The
departure from the glacier is characterized by very few people
taking pictures on Decks 10 and 11 where the best photo
opportunities exist.
Juneau,
Alaska: We rented a car in
Juneau
and my advice is to book early. Car
rental companies sell out when cruise ships are in port. We chose Rent-a-Wreck (907-789-4111) because they were the
only company that would pick up and drop off at the dock. This is a good choice if you do not mind older cars.
The ladies at the agency were also very helpful in pointing
out places of interest. We
visited the Mendenhall Glacier, the Alaskan Brewing Company, Glacier
Gardens Rainforest, and the Shrine of St. Therese, all outside the
city of
Juneau. The price just for the
Mendenhall Glacier and
Glacier
Gardens
tour through the cruise ship was $61 per person. That would have cost us $183.
Our
total for the rental car was $57.50 Admission to the Glacier Gardens
Rainforest was $22 each, but we had BOGO coupons from the Great
Alaskan Toursaver. We did
much more for our money by renting a car and using the tour saver.
The area around the cruise dock is completely touristy featuring a
tram, shops, and bars. I
recommend the Red Dog Saloon for its entertainment value and you can
order a Coke if you prefer not to drink.
Skagway: This was another car rental port for us. We went with Avis and booked directly with the
Skagway
office at (907-983-2247). Sourdough
rentals is another option if you do not mind older vehicles. Both
companies are in the tourist district near the cruise ship docks.
Skagway
is all about the Gold Rush of 1896. The
two major tours are the scenic White Pass Railway and the Skagway
Street Car Tour. The ship
charges $112 per person for the 3.5 hour rail tour and $42 per
person for the two hour street car tour. A couple would shell out $308 for the two excursions through
the cruise ship. My advice
would be to rent a car and take Klondike Highway 2 into
Canada. (You will need a
passport/proof of citizenship.) The Klondike Hwy
follows the same route as the railroad but at a substantially
cheaper price. The bonus for
car rental tours is that one can stop to take pictures at their
leisure. We took the road all
the way to
Whitehorse. Most tourist turn around returning to
Skagway
in either Carcross or the
Emerald Lake. The Red Onion Saloon is a
good place to visit a brothel museum although the entertainment is
not as lively as the Red Dog Saloon in
Juneau. The Red Onion is near the cruise ship dock. I also heard good things about the Days of ’98 show that
plays at 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, and 7:00pm. The show plays at the Fraternal Order of The Eagle Hall
located at 6th Avenue
and Broadway near the cruise ship dock. One could take the two hour
Skagway Street Car Tour at the end of the day depending on when your
ship departs.
Icy
Strait Point: There is not much at Icy Strait Point but the visitor
center and the Zip Rider Zip Line experience. We toured the visitor center (about an hour) and then caught
the shuttle to the town of Hoonah. Hoonah was what I believe to be a very authentic Alaskan fishing
village. The town is walking distance from the cruise ship dock.
There is a path that follows the road into the village. Sample the
halibut pizza at the grocery store. Hoonah had very friendly people and the highest concentration
of bald eagles of any place we visited. The shuttle was around $5
dollars per person for the round trip into Hoonah.
Ketchikan: No rental car is
needed in this port because most attractions are located within
walking distance. My
recommendations are as follows: Visit the
Totem
Heritage Center
and Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery/Eagle Center. They are located
next to each other at the top end of town less than one mile from
the cruise ship dock. The
last part is up hill so I suggest a cab/shuttle going up. Walk and follow the creek back down through the Creek Street
Boardwalk. It is a beautiful walk and there is history, restaurants,
and shops throughout
Creek Street. Both the Tribal Hatchery and Totem Heritage center open at 8:00am
in the summer. The
Hatchery is informative and an extra special experience if the
salmon are in town. The
Hatchery offers the most up-close bald eagle experience you will get
in Alaska. The Totem Pole
Heritage Center is all about history and heritage. You can buy a combination ticket to both and each offers a
guided tour. My other
suggestion for
Ketchikan
is a Misty Fjords floatplane tour with a lake landing in the fjords.
You can save between $30-$70 by booking yourself online
instead of through the cruise ship. We went with Southeast Aviation (www.southeastaviation.com),
booking a month in advance. Other
highly recommended floatplane companies include www.promechair.com
and www.islandwings.com. Book early for best prices.
Disembarkation: Very easy in
Vancouver. The airport shuttle was $12
per person and I left immediately for my flight back to the East
Coast.
Vancouver
is a beautiful city if you have time to visit. I wish I could have
stayed two nights but needed to return home to earn money for my
next cruise. I hope this
helps. Happy Travels!
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