For Christmas, we decided to take a family cruise with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. While we cruise often, our family does not; thus, they had a few requisites for the trip. They wanted to visit new Caribbean destinations, and they wanted a sailing with the fewest sea days (gasp!).

After reviewing the options available and pricing, our family decided on a 7-day cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico on Celebrity Summit. This cruise would visit St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica, with only one sea day.

Indeed, our preferred travel advisor was able to secure a great rate with Celebrity Cruises’ All Included pricing. This meant we got a Classic drink package and WiFi as part of our cruise fare at a significantly cheaper price than a similar cruise on Norwegian Viva. But, we did have some hesitations with this decision.

What would the holiday vibe be like on a ship that doesn’t necessarily cater to families? Would our 12-year-old nephew be bored? Given we tend to sail on newer ships, what would we think of a nearly 24-year-old vessel? Were we getting in over our heads booking such a port intensive cruise for the holidays— knowing that our family wanted to book a shore excursion in every port of call?

Nonetheless, we joined our family in San Juan ready for our holiday adventure.

We Took a Family Cruise on Celebrity Summit – Was It a Mistake?

The Ship – Celebrity Summit

By modern day standards, many would consider Celebrity Summit a small and old ship. Debuting in 2001, Celebrity Summit is a 12-deck, 91K gross ton vessel carrying just over 2,200 guests at double occupancy. As one of the oldest ships in the Celebrity Cruises’ fleet, it does lack many of the bells and whistles that mega-ships offer.

Still, it featured all the staples. There was a pool deck, spa and fitness center, casino, main theater, multiple bars and lounges, as well as complimentary and specialty dining options.

In fact, the ship underwent an extensive renovation in 2019. Some of the enhancements included a complete redesign of all staterooms, the addtion of the Retreat for suite guests, and reimagining of many other public spaces.

We were surprised at how modern and inviting the staterooms were, and they even featured an upgraded bathroom with a glass shower.

Yet, given the Edge Class is among our favorite, we were a bit disappointed in the pool deck on Celebrity Summit. The outdoor area does feature two pools, whirlpools, and plenty of loungers, but it felt rather dated. The same could be said about the indoor solarium. Celebrity Summit does feature a sports court and a Rooftop Terrace aft on Deck 12, but this area too looked like it was in need of some updating.

With that said, we didn’t really spend much time outdoors on Celebrity Summit given we were off exploring a new port each day. During our one sea day, we had no issues securing lounge chairs, and our nephew enjoyed hanging out in the pool.

The interior public spaces, while smaller and less of them, did feel refreshed. Our typical evening routine consisted of dinner in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, a game show in the Rendezvous Lounge, a show in the main theater, and drinks around the ship.

Food and Drinks on Celebrity Summit

When it comes to restaurants and bars/lounges, Celebrity Summit features many familiar favorites.

The Cosmopolitan Restaurant is the 2-story main dining room which offered a rotational menu each evening. The food selections were on par with our expectations, and service was timely for the most part. While we chose Celebrity Select Dining, we were assigned the same table most nights of the cruise. Our waitstaff of Kim and Win were standout when it comes to service.

Other casual dining options include the Oceanview Cafe, Mast Grill, and Spa Cafe. We always applaud the selections in Celebrity’s buffet and this experience delivered as well. The pool grill was another option for grab-and-go burgers and fries. However, we were disappointed in the Spa Cafe, as it seemed like they were out of smoothie ingredients whenever we visited.

Celebrity Summit does have a few specialty restaurants as well. These include Tuscan Grille, Sushi on Five, and Le Petit Chef at Qsine. We dined at Tuscan Grille one evening and the food did not disappoint.

When it comes to bars and lounges, Celebrity Summit features the Sky Observation Lounge, Mast and Pool outdoor bars, Sunset Bar, Cellar Masters, Rendezvous Lounge, and our favorites the Martini Bar and Cafe al Bacio. However, when compared to the Edge Class, the vibe wasn’t nearly as lively. While mostly updated, the venues also lacked theming and character.

Most of the bars did have signature drink menus though, so we were still able to grab cocktails while enjoying the evening activities and entertainment around the ship. And of course, Cafe al Bacio was our go-to for our twice daily caffeine fix and sweet treats.

Activities and Entertainment on Celebrity Summit

The cruise director, Manuel, was the highlight of the activities team on Celebrity Summit. He was funny and upbeat, and we enjoyed all the entertainment that he hosted. Although, some of the other activities around the ship felt dull and rushed.

We did attend several of the game shows in Rendezvous Lounge, like 60 Seconds or Less, Yes or No, and True or False. We also made sure to check out some of the live music around the ship, which mostly occurred in Cellar Masters and the Rendezvous Lounge.

Some of the other entertainment highlights included the Silent Disco and Totally 80’s party in the Sky Lounge and the Full Moon Party (white party) on the pool deck.

In the main theater, there was a show each evening. We watched three headliner acts— a comedian, a juggler, and a Motown group. We also attended three shows with the production cast: Holiday Spectacular, Life, and Soundtrack. All were pretty average cruise shows at best.

Additionally, there were a few trivia sessions, outdoor movies, karaoke, and open play games in which we did not partake. Since this was a busy itinerary, the amount of activities and entertainment sufficed, but there was certainly less happening than we are used to on cruises.

Given this was a Christmas cruise, Santa did make an appearance as well! Overall though, there weren’t too many holiday themed events. Of course, there were decorations and trees around the ship helping to add some Christmas cheer.

Of note, Celebrity Summit does have a kids club, but it’s rather anemic when compared to sister brand Royal Caribbean. Our nephew spent a few evenings playing Xbox (when he could get the gaming stations to work) but ended up spending most of his time with us around the ship.

The Itinerary – 7-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise

As mentioned previously, our family chose this sailing mainly for the itinerary. The ports of call were meant to be the focus of the trip, so we put extra emphasis on our shore excursion picks.

The only port that our family had visited was St. Maarten back in 2021. Even we would be visiting a new port— Dominica.

So, after reviewing tour options, we booked several of our excursions with the third party vendor Shore Excursions Group. Shore Excursions Group often offers smaller group experiences at cheaper prices than the cruise lines. You can actually use our exclusive link to save up to 40% when compared to cruise line excursions.

Don’t worry- the company also offers a “return to ship guarantee” and convenient, easy-to-find tour meeting points.

St. Maarten

In St. Maarten, our nephew wanted to visit Maho Beach which we couldn’t do the last time around. Sis had other plans, as she wanted to visit the SXM Brewery. Thus, we booked the St Maarten Brewery Experience and Maho Beach small group tour with Shore Excursions Group.

This tour visited SXM Beer, the largest brewery on the island. Here, we learned a bit about the company’s history, unique brewing process, and got to tour the facilities. Of course, a visit to this local brewery wouldn’t be complete without some samples!

Next, it was onwards to Maho Beach, located adjacent to the Princess Juliana Airport. This is an experience unlike any other, where planes fly right over the beach before landing on the runway. It almost feels like you can just reach up and touch the planes. That’s how close they are! Here, we enjoyed some lunch, beach time, and the views before returning to the ship. Don may have even gotten blown away by a jet blast.

Our family agreed that this was a great way to start off our cruise.

Antigua

For our second port of call, sis and her family booked a hike through the cruise line while we took mom on an island tour. We booked the Panoramic Antigua small group tour with Shore Excursions Group.

This sightseeing tour included stops at notable landmarks for photo-ops while driving through the towns of St. John’s, Freeman’s, and Liberta. We stopped at the Block House, Shirley Heights, and Nelson’s Dockyard. At Nelson’s Dockyard, we also got a short narrated tour from an on-site guide; though, we would have appreciated a bit more time here.

Our final stop on this island tour was an hour beach break at Pigeon Point Beach. Too bad it started raining right when we arrived.

St. Lucia

In St. Lucia, our family agreed upon a tour that hit all the highlights— Soufriere Island Delight and Falls with Shore Excursions Group. The tour departed from Castries where our cruise ship was docked en route to Soufriere, passing through the towns of Canaries and Anse-La-Raye along the way.

The first stop on this tour was a quick photo-op of the Pitons. Too bad the Saharan dust clouded our view. Next up was the only drive-in volcano in the world, Sulphur Springs. While we didn’t take a dip in the mud baths, we did take a brief tour of the sulphur springs before heading to our final destination. At the Diamond Botanical Gardens and Waterfall, we took an easy hike through the gardens to the waterfall for some photos.

This tour provided a good overview of the island, giving our family some ideas of what they want to do during their next visit to St. Lucia.

Barbados

Christmas in Barbados! Since it was a holiday, there weren’t many tours available during our visit to this island. Thus, we booked a short excursion through Celebrity to Harrison’s Cave. During this unique tour, we boarded a tram to explore the underground caverns, with a short video introduction beforehand.

With some narration from a guide, we admired the stalactites, stalagmites, and natural pools along the way. During the approximately 45 minutes in the cave, there were two stops where we could get out and take photos.

Harrison’s Cave is part of Chukka’s Eco-Adventure Park which also features a zipline, challenge course, a Mount Gay rum experience, and a small natural trail with an aviary. So, you could book combo tickets to extend your visit. However, since it was a holiday, none of the other for-fee activities were open during our visit.

Dominica

Since this was also our first visit to Dominica, we wanted to see as much of the island as we could. But, some of us are more adventurous than others when it comes to swimming in caves and the like. Nonetheless, we settled on the Jewels of Dominica tour from Shore Excursions Group, knowing ahead of time that the swim portions were optional.

Our day started with a drive to Titou Gorge, a natural wonder and a filming location featured in Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Here, many guests braved the rough current for a swim into the gorge. Mom and I opted out, and it’s a good thing we did. While the tour description stated that once inside the cave the water was only waist level, this was not the case due to persistent rain in the region. In fact, the water flow was too strong for most guests to even make the swim out to the waterfall as described.

The second highlight of this tour was a visit to Trafalgar Falls. Here, there was a moderate uphill walk with several steps to the vantage point of these twin falls. While the tour also advertised a swim in the falls, it was not an option during our visit.

With these two stops being the highlights of the tour, we did also make a brief stop at more sulphur springs, drive through a small botantical garden, and visit Morne Bruce for a panoramic photo-op.

Despite rain most of the day, we enjoyed our stop in Roseau and exploring the lush island of Dominica.

Did We Make a Mistake?

While we did have reservations about booking this Celebrity Summit family cruise, we’re glad we did. Atypical for us, the ports of call were the focus of this Caribbean cruise. Our family had fun on the shore excursions and visiting these new destinations. This did mean that we were up early most days to head ashore, so we retired for the evening earlier than typical.

As a smaller ship, it turned out that Celebrity Summit was a good choice for this itinerary. We could still enjoy dining and nighttime entertainment without having FOMO about missing out on all the other amenities and attractions. There weren’t elaborate stage productions like Beetlejuice or a racetrack like on Norwegian Viva, but that’s okay.

There was enough holiday spirit and activities occurring in the evenings to keep everyone in the group busy— even if they didn’t compare to the offerings on modern mega-ships. The food and drinks were what we’ve come to expect on a cruise, and we were pleasantly surprised by the staterooms. While the pool deck and some other areas of the ship did show its age, our family actually enjoyed this cruise more than previous cruises on Royal Caribbean.

Of course, if we hadn’t planned a tour in every port or if there were more sea days, we may have had a different opinion. But overall, Celebrity Summit turned out to be a great backdrop to this port intensive family cruise.

If you’re looking for a destination-focused trip or a relaxing vacation on a smaller and sophisticated ship without all the flashy attractions and up-charge amenities, Celebrity Summit might be the perfect fit.

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