PUBLIC AREAS

Grand Foyer

Guest Relations

Shore Excursions

Martini Bar

Crush

Midship Elevators

Elevator

Cabin deck 7 hallway

They opened the helipad once on 4/17/12 (St. Lucia) right before we sailed away.
Took the photo while we were sailing away .

RENDEZVOUS LOUNGE
Deck 4

CELEBRITY THEATER
Deck 4 and 5

COSMOPOLITAN RESTAURANT
Deck 4 (traditional seating) and 5 (select seating)

Tables for two are tiny and placed too close to each other

CELLAR MASTERS
Deck 5

BISTRO ON FIVE
Deck 5

ILOUNGE (COMPUTER LOUNGE)
Deck 6

LIBRARY
Deck 8 and 9

POOLS
Deck 10

Bar overlooking the outdoor pools

Bar by the outdoor pools

Thalassotherapy pool

Loungers by the Thalassotherapy pool

AQUA SPA
Deck 10

Salon

PERSIAN GARDEN
Aquaspa Deck 10

Heated stone chairs on the left side

FITNESS CENTER
Deck 10

REVELATIONS LOUNGE
Deck 11

Stage at the Revelations Lounge

FUN FACTORY
Deck 11

TEEN CLUB
Deck 11

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

EMBARKATION

On April 14, 2012, we got to the cruise terminal around 3 PM and embarkation was easy and pretty quick. It was our first time to cruise Celebrity. It took us about 35 minutes from the time we got to the cruise terminal to getting on the ship. That included stopping at the store in the terminal to buy bottled water. They only had a 12-pack for $5.75.

On November 24, 2012, we got to the cruise terminal around 12:30 PM and the line to check in was longer. It took us about 50 minutes to get on the ship this time.

On both cruises, we went to the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) for lunch. There weren’t a lot of people at the restaurant last April (3 PM), but there were a lot more in November (1:30 PM). However, we still didn’t have a hard time finding a table. Food was okay, loved the fried chicken.

DISEMBARKATION

Last April, disembarkation was a little confusing. We had a tour booked through Celebrity that included airport transfer. We were given a #30 luggage tag and were told to be at Rendezvous lounge at 7:45 AM. We headed to Oceanview Cafe for breakfast as soon as it opened at 6:30 AM. We got to Rendezvous lounge at 7:35 AM, there were still plenty of seats available. At around 7:55 AM, all seats were taken. Those with tours booked must approach the Celebrity crew on stage to get a numbered sticker. They don’t announce this all the time so there were a few passengers without stickers and had to scramble for one when they started calling groups to disembark at 8:10 AM.

Last November, we had a tour booked too and were told to meet at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant at 7:30 AM. It was more organized this time. At the door, they give you the stickers and told to take a seat and wait. There were still a lot of seats when we got there at 7:30 AM and when we left at 7:50 AM. Disembarkation this time was the fastest we had. We were on the tour bus by 8 AM!

CABINS

INSIDE CABIN 7051
April 14-21, 2012
$1334.42 / 2 ppl

Our inside cabin in April 2012 was very nice, but I found it tiny. I don’t think I will want to fit 3 people in there. The desk was tiny too and I don’t like it that the tray of ice bucket and glasses were on it making the available space even smaller. I can also hear people in the hallway. Thank goodness, passengers were not loud.

VERANDA CABIN 7154
November 24 – December 1, 2012
$1449.14 / 2 ppl plus $100 onboard credit

We had a regular balcony cabin in November 2012 and I found it even tinier than our inside cabin last April. The square footage is most likely, but because of the balcony door, we couldn’t utilize more space.

Bed was comfortable, pillows were flat.

The bathroom tiles were dirty, but everything else was pretty clean.

There were missing drinks in the “fridge”, I hope they didn’t charge us for them.

Balcony is a decent size, chairs were comfortable.

All following cabin photos were taken during our cabin crawl. Thank you to all CC members who opened their cabins to all of us, some even provided hors d’oeuvres.

OCEAN VIEW CABIN 3103

CONCIERGE CABIN 8143

CONCIERGE CABIN 6136

AQUA CLASS CABIN 9043

AQUA CLASS AFT CABIN 1133

CELEBRITY SUITE 7149

ROYAL SUITE 6133

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

FLIGHTS

US AIRWAYS
April 14-21, 2012
$331.90 / person coach class

There were no complications or delays going to San Juan. The plane on the second leg of the flight (Philadelphia to San Juan) had monitors for every seat. They provided complimentary drinks (soda, juices, water, coffee).

We weren’t very lucky however on our flight back home. Our flight was scheduled for 5:30 PM. Three hours before our flight, we were told that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and they booked us on the 7:30 PM flight. Unfortunately, there was no connecting flight available at Charlotte, NC until the day after. I had a plane to Orlando to catch the day after so I asked for other options. I asked if they could just re-direct me to Orlando instead, they said they couldn’t do that. They were able to put us on an early flight the next day on American Airlines so I could catch my plane to Orlando.

US Air provided us with overnight accommodation at Country Inn and Suites that offered free airport transfer, no food vouchers or anything else. The hotel only had one shuttle (van) that can only accommodate 12 people.

We didn’t get on until the 3rd trip. It was so late at night when we arrived at the hotel, we only had 4 hours of sleep until we had to get back to the airport for the connecting flight.

We were given emergency seats on our American Airlines flight from Charlotte to New York. We were happy about it until we realized the extra leg room is not necessarily a plus. To create the extra space, they installed shorter seats! and it was even less comfortable.

Left – regular coach seat; Right – emergency coach seat

DELTA AIRLINES
November 22 – December 1, 2012
$256.40 / person coach class

We got non-stop flight from JFK to SJU and back. Flights were on time. They offered complimentary snacks and drinks (soda, juice, water, coffee).

There were monitors for every seat that offered complimentary TV, music, games, etc. There were movies and other services available for a fee. TV signal was not very good and a lot of the channels were unavailable. They provided complimentary earphones, but they weren’t very good. Sound coming out of the earphone I got was muffled.

PRE-CRUISE ACCOMMODATION

CONRAD CONDADO PLAZA
November 22-24, 2012
$98 + taxes & fees / night

I would recommend this hotel for the location and cleanliness.

We booked the hotel via Hotwire without knowing the hotel name before booking. It was listed as a 4-star hotel in San Juan with the following amenities: Near Beach, Oceanfront Property, Casino, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service), Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services, Accessible for the blind and deaf, Free internet, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower.

The total cost at Hotwire came up to $115.64 / night. We had to pay a resort fee of $13.43 / night at the hotel upon check-out.

I have posted my complete review here.

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

We’ve been looking to adopt a puppy for a while.  I have done my research including how much it will cost to have a dog.  We’ve met with a few puppies, but we never really connected with any of them until we met the little squirt below…

Meet Jaws the day we took him home.

We just fell in-love with him.  He was very playful and cute of course!  Now he’s almost 5 months old and has gotten a little more comfortable at our home.  Below you will see he’s starting to look like the cute little brat he is.

Playing with his Patriots collar that is still too big for him.  Looked like he was doing jump rope.

Watching the Olympics with his American flag “firecracker” toy.

Jaws and his shark plush toy, Jaws .

This is my first time to be a mother to a puppy and it’s not easy and not cheap either.  Potty training definitely requires patience, discipline and apparently a lot of wee wee pads.  But he’s our little booger and we love him.  We always look forward to coming home and seeing him run to us like he hasn’t seen us for days.  As a proud mother, expect to see more posts about our adventures with our lil baby Jaws.

And here’s a big smile from Jaws (before his much-needed bath) to end this post…

To celebrate my cousin’s birthday, we decided to do a cocktail party just for close girlfriends. We found a deal for Yotel hotel in Manhattan and booked a room with a terrace and a hot tub so the party can continue throughout the night. Below are some photos I’ve collected for inspiration.

Work is slow in the Summer so I decided to host a picnic party for the family one Sunday.  It wasn’t perfect, but we had fun.

Invitation

Click here to download invitation template

We visited a few parks and settled with Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  The park was huge, but beautiful.  The park had a lot of trees spread out making it great for picnics and/or barbecues especially on sunny days.

Click here for a printable map

We went to the park the weekend before the picnic to find a good spot and figure out how soon we need to get there to reserve it.  We found the perfect spot with a view of the lake, and close to the parking lot and bathroom.  We got there around 11:30am and luckily the spot was available!

We have set up a “Pack-Your-Own” picnic where guests get a basket each, fill their baskets with food, find a spot on the grass and enjoy their lunch.  I have created a welcome poster describing the concept.

Click here to download poster template.
Poster is 15″ x 21″ and can be printed on 4 letter-size paper.
When printing, check the option to tile large pages.

I covered the table with red and white gingham tablecloth.  I bought baskets from Paper Mart for guests to use.  I lined the baskets with red and white gingham fabric that I bought at the garment district in NYC.  I decided to use wooden forks and knives (I love them!) and tied them to Tekla dish towels from Ikea that I was using as napkins.

We served salad in white take-out containers from Paper Mart.  We left the containers open so guests can add dressing, there were two to choose from.  I printed 2×4 labels for sealing the salad containers.  My mom cooked Sotanghon (Filipino noodle dish) and we served it in kraft take-out containers, sealed with 2×4 labels.  Click here for template for the 2×4 labels.

I couldn’t find generic foil-lined bags that are not labeled, so I bought foil lined hot dog bags instead for the pork shish kabobs (pork bbq).  I then printed labels to cover the “hot dog” text.  I used the kraft take-out containers for the burgers.  I ordered wood boats for the corn and bratwurst.

Here are photos of my cousins’ baskets filled with food.

After eating, we played Pictionary.  I bought the Mala easel from Ikea together with the Mala drawing paper roll.  We used The Game Gal’s word generator to generate words to draw and we used our phones as timer.  It was a lot of fun.

I chose this spot in the park because of a small tree that I thought would be perfect for a “photo booth” I was thinking.  And here was our set-up and one of our photos:

A few tips:

• Visit the park ahead of time and figure out the best time to get there to reserve the spot you like. Summer is a very popular season for picnics.
• Serve food that can be served lukewarm. This is one disadvantage of hosting a picnic in a park instead of your backyard.
• If you can, pack the food in their individual containers at home. It is less stressful when you have the food all ready to be set up on the table when you get to the park.
• Be prepared for guests to bring food. The original plan was to have all food in containers that can be sealed. But bring plates and extra flatware for food that guests may bring.
• Have a rain plan.

The work week was pretty successful.  No major problems with the roll-out at work.  To celebrate, my husband met me in the city to watch The Avengers.

I left my work building and I started having abdominal pain.  It was tolerable so I decided to walk from work to Union Square.  I figured it was just gas and it will go away after a few minutes.  Food in tow, we sat ourselves at the movie theater and waited for the movie to start.  The pain got worse.  I was fine I thought.  I convinced myself it will go away.  Half an hour later, the pain didn’t go away, it was more severe.  I needed to go to the ER.

Midnight came and I was told I needed surgery to take out my appendix.  I had laparoscopic appendectomy the next morning.

Ready for surgery

After the surgery, I was sent back to my hospital room appendix-free.  They kept me overnight for observation and I had this for a view.

New York City

Now I stay at home resting… hoping that from all these, I have become stronger and ready to face whatever fate may have in store for me.

5/16/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 1
5/17/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 2
5/18/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 3

We went to a clinic and my dad was indeed having a heart attack.  He was rushed to the ER at Celebration.  He was stabilized, then admitted.

Admitted at Florida Hospital Celebration

If you remember from my previous post, we were supposed to go on a Disney cruise that day.  I decided to take my mom, brother and nephew to the cruise terminal so they can proceed with the cruise and I stayed with my dad.

Dropping them off at the Disney cruise terminal

Dad stayed at the Celebration hospital for two more days.  Thankfully, my timeshare accommodation lasted til then.

Floridal Hospital Celebration

Dad was then transferred to the Orlando hospital for a heart catheterization.  After the procedure, they kept him for observation overnight.  Since I had no place to stay, I slept on the couch of his hospital room.

At Florida Hospital Orlando

Dad was told not to fly until four days after the procedure.  So while he was recovering from the anesthesia, I started making a lot of calls.  I called Delta to reschedule our flights and went on Hotwire to find us some last-minute accommodations after dad was discharged.

Three days after he was discharged, we were headed for home to celebrate his 67th birthday.  Dad is doing great!

Happy birthday daddy, we love you!

I went back to work full-force working 50+ hours for the week of the roll-out of our electronic medical records system.

Exhausted?  You bet!  Challenges over?  Not a chance…

5/16/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 1
5/17/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 2
5/19/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 4

The plane landed and we were in Orlando.

Orlando Intl Airport

We proceeded to the Budget counter to pick up our rental car (used BCD code Y937800 for a discount).

Waiting for our turn at the rental counter

We got the Discovery Cove Ultimate Package that allows us one day all-inclusive access to Discovery Cove and 14-day access to Sea World and Aquatica.  We definitely enjoyed ourselves.

Snorkeling at Discovery Cove

Enjoying Sea World

Tubing at Aquatica

Five days into our trip, we were supposed to board the Disney Dream.  I woke up early to prepare when I saw my father on the couch not looking too well.  I’ve never seen him like that.  My brother and I went to the nearest pharmacy to get a sphygmomanometer, glucometer and thermometer so we could do a home assessment.  I tried to take his blood pressure, but got confused coz his pulse seemed very erratic.  I asked my brother to do it himself and he noticed the same thing.  My father then said he was having chest pains and cold sweats.

My dad was having a heart attack.

5/16/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 1
5/18/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 3
5/19/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 4