Host Andy's Update From Equinox

Andy,

 

I think you means days four, five and six, but I'm not sure.

 

Was day two your first formal night?

 

I presume day one was prime rib in the MDR? Captains formal night: tournedos or wellington?

 

Inquiring minds ...

 

Thx so much for all of your posts, and replies. Glad to hear your mom had a wonderful birthday dinner!

Yes, to days 4, 5, 6. Day 2 sat was first formal. Tournedos of beef.

Really appreciate you taking time off during you well deserved vacation to keep us all updated.

Norma

Thank you norma. It's my pleasure. Cruise remains wonderful. More updates when I return home.

Andy, first Happy Birthday to your mom from Jack and me. I am happy you had a wonderful meal and celebration for her birthday and that your aunt and uncle are also on the cruise to celebrate with you and your mom.

I really appreciate your updates, and the comparisons to the Eclipse have provided a good frame of reference. Glad to hear you give the Equinox high marks especially since we will be on the Equinox TA and Med cruise (b2b) that follows in April/May. Since we have Aqua Class for the TA leg, we are happy to hear Luminae will be completed before our sailing, which should ease crowding in Blu.

Continue enjoying the rest of the cruise.

Kathy (& Jack)

An early arrival into FLl ( 05.30) along with Queen Victoria and summit?

Sorry, I believe that it's Constellation not Summit!

Edit button went off while I was searching.

Sorry, I believe that it's Constellation not Summit!

That is Constellation... Summit is currently sailing out of San Juan...

Five ships are at Port Everglades today... Others include Celebrity Equinox, Carnival Freedom, Cunard Queen Victoria, and HAL Zuiderdam...

Welcome back, Andy! I can see from my terrace--not in a Sarah Palin sort of way!--that Equinox is at Terminal 18...

That is Constellation... Summit is currently sailing out of San Juan...

 

Five ships are at Port Everglades today... Others include Celebrity Equinox, Carnival Freedom, Cunard Queen Victoria, and HAL Zuiderdam...

 

Welcome back, Andy! I can see from my terrace--not in a Sarah Palin sort of way!--that Equinox is at Terminal 18...

Are you the guy with the Celebrity flag?

So glad you had a good sailing Andy

I missed your eclipse review. I know you had issues but is there a thread I missed. We sailed Silly in jan so was out of touch a bit

I may not say it often but appreciate all the help you give us at CC

Linda

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Are you the guy with the Celebrity flag?

But I'd love to have that apartment; it's perfect for someone as cruise-addicted as I am [or I should say, we are]!!!

Actually, I'm top floor in a high-rise on the Intracoastal about five/six miles south of Port Everglades [longer by land given the westward, inland jog to get there] and the adjacent John Lloyd State Park... I'm fortunate enough to have some great views in all directions [i can, for instance, also see west to Sunlife Stadium and The Seminole Hard Rock, south to Aventura, and east to the ocean--but the unobstructed view due north--all the way to the Seventeenth Street Causeway--is the one that tends to get most of my attention by day...

Andy-

We're on the Equinox on Monday (as long as we can get out of Michigan - there's a storm coming - 10 inches of snow predicted :( ) and someone on our Roll Call posted that they're in a Suite and received a phone call from Celebrity that they could book all specialty restaurants for all nights gratis.

Since we're in Aqua I know this will relieve some of the crowding in Blu also.

Can you find out if this is ship specific or fleet wide?

Thanks!

Hope you made it out of Michigan and onto the ship on time. Can't believe how much snow we received. We were on the equinox in mid December and had a great time

Gail

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Thanks Andy for the great review. We were on in December and had a great time ourselves. Our CD was Paul Baya and he was really good, Shauna from Canada did a great job aswell.

Hope you had a great time wondering why they left so late today thou

Welcome home !!!!

hey Andy...we are boarding end of next month.....

last January we really enjoyed the entertainment as well.....if you see the masquerade party. listed......be sure to check it out...we really enjoyed it...

( atrium...sit at the passport bar across from guest services to see it all )

My question is...the music groups...duos trios...etc.....

who is on board at the moment??/ Is there evening music at the sunset bar???

much thanks...

If Christian is bar tending...be sure to try his motijo......the best by far!!!

Brockmom

Thanks for your updates, Andy. I really appreciate the fact you take time to post while on vacation.

How was the food in Blu? I'm reading negative things about Blu and we're booked in Aqua on our next Summit cruise.

Also...what's up with the fresh squeezed orange juice?

I'm glad your Mom had a wonderful time.

Thanks for your updates, Andy. I really appreciate the fact you take time to post while on vacation.

How was the food in Blu? I'm reading negative things about Blu and we're booked in Aqua on our next Summit cruise.

Also...what's up with the fresh squeezed orange juice?

I'm glad your Mom had a wonderful time.

Hi Midwestchick,

Thank you for your kind comments. It's always my pleasure sharing information with our wonderful members. We did not dine in Blu, as we booked Concierge. However, I spoke with a few folks who were dining in Blu, and they said they were very pleased.

We really had a wonderful time. Virtually a nearly perfect cruise in every way, other than the embark and disembark. Today's disembark was pretty bad, but I cannot place any blame Celebrity for this. They only had 3 Customs & Border patrol folks at the Pier, and it totally screwed up things. They took Mom in a wheelchair, to the 2nd level of Pier 18, and it initially seemed to be moving well. Just our luck, when Mom was at the front of the wheelchair line, to be sent downstairs... the RCCL folks said "there would be a delay", as it was jammed downstairs - due to the 3 CBP folks on duty - clearly not enough for a ship of this size. The delay then turned into about 45 minutes of no movement. Had we gotten there only a few minutes earlier, I think we would have fared a lot better.

While I must place blame on RCCL/Celebrity for the lousy embark on January 23rd, I totally feel this one was totally out of their hands.

If only the embark & disembark could/would go better, it would take a lot of stress out of the first and last day of the cruise. Besides, I always say that you always want to make a good first and last impression, and a poor experience does not reflect well on the brand.

More updates to come soon.

Kudos to Hotel Director Christophe Belaubre, who is a huge asset to Celebrity.

Yup, couldn't agree more. We had him on the Silhouette in 2014 and he was excellent. Often found him around the ship chatting with passengers. He chatted with us as well, asked for where Celebrity could improve and even managed to convince us to plan a Scandinavian Cruise (which just happens to be our next cruise!)

Really great asset to Celebrity.

Thanks for the review, Andy :). Glad you had a wonderful time. Hopefully ours will be as good at Easter :).

Yup, couldn't agree more. We had him on the Silhouette in 2014 and he was excellent. Often found him around the ship chatting with passengers. He chatted with us as well, asked for where Celebrity could improve and even managed to convince us to plan a Scandinavian Cruise (which just happens to be our next cruise!)

 

Really great asset to Celebrity.

Nick,

Just noticed you have booked Millie for Christmas 2016 :). Please do join the roll call as it's getting rather lonely over there :D.

 

We really had a wonderful time. Virtually a nearly perfect cruise in every way, other than the embark and disembark. Today's disembark was pretty bad, but I cannot place any blame Celebrity for this. They only had 3 Customs & Border patrol folks at the Pier, and it totally screwed up things. They took Mom in a wheelchair, to the 2nd level of Pier 18, and it initially seemed to be moving well. Just our luck, when Mom was at the front of the wheelchair line, to be sent downstairs... the RCCL folks said "there would be a delay", as it was jammed downstairs - due to the 3 CBP folks on duty - clearly not enough for a ship of this size

 

While I must place blame on RCCL/Celebrity for the lousy embark on January 23rd, I totally feel this one was totally out of their hands.

 

If only the embark & disembark could/would go better, it would take a lot of stress out of the first and last day of the cruise. Besides, I always say that you always want to make a good first and last impression, and a poor experience does not reflect well on the brand.

Andy,

I don't think the disembarkation experience you had on Monday 2/2/15 was Celebrity's fault. This from a passenger on Queen Victoria's World cruise, at post 1167

Queen Victoria World and Exotic Voyages 2015

FYI for those of you getting on board in Ft Lauderdale, it's 1:00 pm now, and the debarkation process has been delayed due to the immigration's computer problems earlier this morning... Passengers getting off in FT Lauderdale are still in the debarkation process, once they're done, us (in-transit passengers) will go through the immigration to get back on board again. I assume after that they'll start embarking the new passengers.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1912170&page=59

Hi Andy! Did they use vouchers or have the Elite cocktail party?

Hi Andy! Did they use vouchers or have the Elite cocktail party?

Hi RealDeal,

No vouchers on this sailing. Elite cocktail party at Sky. Hope this helps !

Hi RealDeal,

 

No vouchers on this sailing. Elite cocktail party at Sky. Hope this helps !

Yes, thank you! Will be on 2/13 sailing & was just wondering.

Hi Andy ~ so happy to read that you and your mom had such a great cruise! Murano was also the location of our best dining experience on a ship a few years back with Dominique. Anxious to see how everything turns out with the new dining area for suite guests.

Thanks for taking the time during your cruise to share here on the boards.

Welcome back!

Hi, Andy;

Eagerly awaiting your trip report, especially any further info on the MDR menu rotation. Will you also be including port info? Thanks in advance!