Creditlady-
You'll love it- there is so much stuff to do all the time if you want to be busy, or lots of places to just hang out in the sun if you don't. If you're doing the 11 day you must be doing the Western Car. like we did, which was the perfect amount of port days vs. sea days. We're both 37 and brought our 2 little boys with us, who practically lived in the Fun Factory (supervised kids program). I'd say most people on board were 35+ (except for the kids) which made for a very mellow atmosphere in the public areas. You board the ship and are greeted by tuxedo clad waiters with trays of champagne, and everywhere that is supposed to be somewhat quiet really is quiet. Then you step into one of the night clubs and it might be totally rocking with great music to dance to, step out of that back into quiet. The ship is laid out really well so you can always find the atmosphere you're looking for. We'd watch the shows after dinner then go to the casino to play the nickel slots. The art auctions are a lot of fun too- you can get some pretty good deals. We played bingo and watched kareoke, worked out in the nice gym, swam, played chess with the boys, had a total blast snorkeling in Cozumel and Aruba (boys stayed on ship those days). It is such a big ship you never feel like it's crowded and there is always something to do. I know we didn't tap into half of the activities they offered but I do know we tried to stay on the ship for the eastern car. sailing but they were full (so that tells you how popular it is). My only complaint was how many of the clubs they allowed smoking in- I felt like it was hard to get to the main restaurant for dinner without walking the gauntlet of smoky lounges to get there. I was also the nitpicker in the casino reminding people they couldn't smoke in the tiny area the ship designated as non-smoking in the casino. Oh well- that was the only fault I could find, and it wasn't enough to keep us from going back (next April on the eastern car. cruise). I think anyone would be hard pressed not to have a fantastic time on the Summit (there were the crankpots here and there who seemed to always find something to complain about, but they're everywhere!) My main tip would be to rent a car in most ports (not Costa Rica or Panama- they're too third worldish to be safe doing that) but in Key West, Aruba, Grand Cayman. You're usually going to get more for your money than taking taxis or touring buses (who will usually just drive you around the same places and charge you big $). For example- on Aruba we rented a car for $50, we cruised around all day, snorkeled on 2 different beaches on different ends of the island and had a blast. We ran into 3 women from the ship who had taken a taxi to the same beach and it had cost them $40 one way. They had nowhere to store their stuff while on the beach and they had to catch another taxi back. On Key West we rented one of those little electric cars for 3 hours for $40 and zipped around like 2 crazy kids, while all the people on the tourist trap trolleys looked enviously at us (they had spent $20 each for an hour tour packed in with a bunch of other people). Some of the ports it pays to book an excursion, especially in the edgier areas like Panama & Costa Rica. At Cozumel there's a very nice resort right next store where if you're willing to sit through an hour time share presentation they'll give you a free lunch, alcoholic drink and snorkeling gear, and use of their pool. It's a great deal if you can be stone faced enough to get through it quickly, say no thanks and get on with your day. My husband is too nice so we ended up spending 2 1/2 hours in the presentation (chatting, etc.) and only got 3 1/2 hours to enjoy the rest of the day. Oh well- it was still fun. Anyway- hope this helps. Whatever you do, pack an over the door shoe holder for you bathroom to store all your toiletries and extras- it saved my life. Have a great trip!
