Drive to Miami and Boarding
After work on Friday, we got in the car and started our drive towards Miami. Janie had booked a hotel near Boca Raton to break up the long drive. After fighting traffic near Ft. Lauderdale, we stopped at Naked Taco, a local place we had found on a previous trip for dinner. After some good tacos, we headed to the hotel and watched some football before turning in for the night.
The next morning, we made the short drive to Port of Miami. There were no signs pointing to the correct terminal for the Summit but eventually we found the parking deck and dropped off our luggage. There was a line outside the terminal so we joined in. At 10AM, the doors opened and we passed through security quickly and then checked in. After that, we were seated in the departure lounge. Despite being concierge level, there was no special boarding area or early boarding. Finally around 10:45 we were called to board.
We were directed to our muster station in Rendezvous Lounge and checked in to finish that task and then went up on deck to the pool bar for a drink after picking up our SeaPass cards. Savron was serving drinks at the pool bar and we would be frequent guests at his bar. Then we explored the ship for awhile before going to the Cosmopolitan Restaurant at noon for the Concierge Lunch where J. R. had butternut squash soup and we both dined on Moroccan Braised Short Ribs.
Concierge Lunch Menu
Sail Away
After a few more drinks, we were ready for sail away. As concierge guests, we were invited to a sail away party on the helipad at the front of the ship. We entered through the theater and were treated to rum punch and prosecco as we watched the Captain pull out the Summit and then turn it around and head out to sea.
Martini Bar
We made our first visit to the Martini Bar where Leo and his team would make us feel at home all week. J. R. was happy to see the Decadence Express Martini on the menu, which had been a favorite on the Reflection in the Baltics. We had a few martinis before it was time for the evening show.
Showtime
Our Cruise Director Sarah greeted us in the Celebrity Theater for tonight's show, which was a comedy show by Sean Kent. He kept us entertained for 45 minutes with his comedy and then we were off to dinner.
Dinner
After quick stop in the shops, we made our way to deck 5 for dinner. Our server, Elvis, greeted us. The service got off to a slow start with our drink server struggling to speak loud enough to be heard and also struggling with the concept of 'iced tea' for J. R. We would find him to be a little unsettling most of the week as he would ask us multiple times how our day was and was a little creepy. But the rest of the dining staff was top-notch. The food was a bit bland and poultry tended to be overcooked and the beef was oversauced.
After dinner, we went back to the Martini Bar for the Silent Disco, usually a highlight of our cruises. The music was weak with one channel playing 60s and 70s and another playing Latin. We danced for a while and then listened to the music in our headsets while having a few more martinis.
