DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2024
Florida Keys
Canada Guides Ad
Travel Nevada
Antigua & Barbuda
Fort Myers
 
 
 
Articles
Search Past Articles
 
BERMUDA-BOUND
 
(2015 - Winter/Spring Issue)

Writer: SHIRLEY EDWARDS



I booked my passage, and before I knew it, I was sailing in comfort on board the Celebrity Summit enjoying the ocean air and luxurious service. The cruise ship, which accommodates 2,158 guests, was inaugurated on October 1, 2001, and received a new look in 2012. 

Life on Aboard

It’s a beautiful ship with an abundance of amenities. I could not experience everything so I focused on my priorities—reading and walking and dining on deck, where delicious food in the Oceanview Caféand AquaSpa Caféwas served.

It is hard to resist all the activities and attractions the ship offers. Visit the Cellar Masters wine bar, complete with its “Enomatic”state-of–the-art wine serving system and select your wine by the glass at the touch of a button. A special nightly event, “Indulgence,”offers great enjoyment and features seductive performers in amazing costumes—a cross between Cirque du Soleil and the Broadway hit, Cabaret. Delicious food and drinks are served and, if they so wish, patrons can dance with the performers. The dancers and singers in evening performances were so talented many passengers attended every show, after which some made their way to the casino while others proceeded to Revelations to enjoy music by the Celebrity Orchestra and dance with professional dance instructors.

On-board dining venues serve healthy, tasty food. Passengers can always count on the Cosmopolitan Restaurant for delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners. While there is a service charge at the Normandie, which features French-inspired food and gracious service, it is well worth it. Menu selections include diver scallops Wellington-style, Dover sole with green grapes and a Grand Marnier soufflé. Here, diners are surrounded by the original panelling and ornamentation from the celebrated SS Normandie. The quirky Q’sine restaurant, where guests select dinners from a menu on an iPad, also requires a small service charge. It is much like a tapas restaurant so it is best to dine with a group. Menu choices here include lobster escargot and popcorn fish ’n’chips, however loin lamb chops were my favourite.

To help guests keep in shape and shed those extra pounds, there is a great supervised fitness centre, and the Canyon Ranch spa offers pampering treatments. An excellent staffed Internet lounge keeps everyone in touch with family and friends back home.

Various types of accommodation feature staterooms equipped with all the comforts of home. Inside and oceanview staterooms are the least expensive while those equipped with a veranda command higher rates. Passengers may choose to upgrade to Concierge Class to enjoy the comfort of a veranda stateroom as well as the services of their concierge, Caesar, who caters to their every whim. Similarly, ensconced in spa-inspired staterooms, Aqua Class passengers have their own exclusive and chic specialty dining room, Blu, featuring “clean cuisine”and complimentary breakfast daily, as well as the services of a butler around the clock.

An Island Paradise

Upon arrival at King’s Wharf, the dockyard in Bermuda, there were plenty of transportation options available for us to tour this beautiful Island. A ferry travels from the dockyard to Hamilton and back every 30 minutes and a bus service or taxi can take you to St. Georges, a World Heritage Site at the opposite end of the island, where you may visit St. Peter’s Church, the oldest Anglican parish in the New World, as well as many buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.   

The ferry and bus services provide excellent opportunities to view some of the spectacular scenery, gardens of oleander and hibiscus, and homes painted in pastel shades of green, blue and peach crowned with white roofs. There are also many beautiful golf courses and tennis clubs throughout the island.

To walk along the pink sand beach, with its stunning Bermuda-blue ocean view, is my idea of heaven on earth. A few years back I played tennis at the beautiful Coral Beach Club in Paget, a private club with cottages and dining venues facing the ocean. This time I was fortunate enough to spend a day there. If you are affiliated with a club in your home city that is on their list, you are welcome to stay there.

The ship offers many excursions such as snorkelling, scuba tank dives, swims with the dolphins, a day at the beach, and a horse-and-buggy ride to visit local sites such as the old and new prisons and the Royal Naval Cemetery. Along the way, we admired the abundance of native vegetation and flowers.

Following three days of sightseeing and shopping excursions in Bermuda, it was pleasant to set sail again, relax on deck or take part in all the on-board activities. I took the opportunity to tour the kitchens (there is one for each dining room). It made me realize when the waiter took my order, how much work went into it before it arrived at my table.

It was pleasant to spend time walking around the ship, viewing the delightful art work and sculptures, and listening to a variety of music.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. So, as I prepared to return to the “real world,”I relished many happy memories of cruising on board the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda.

Travel Planner

For information on Celebrity Cruises, visit celebritycruises.com.

 
 
 
 
Test video 1
Visit Central Florida
Rodd
Visit Pensacola
Cartier Place Suite Hotel
Daytona Beach
Website Hosted and Designed by The Biz Services Inc.