ProjectRunning

What a great thread! I wish I had been able to read it before getting on board. We got off her in Athens a couple of weeks ago. It was an awesome cruise. There is so much to do and explore onboard and we only scratched the surface.

I did not do too much special stuff (well the whole thing was special). I was glad I paid for a day 1 massage. It was fantastic. Worth every penny. We also did the behind the scenes tour ($$$) but it was great except for a couple of know it all passengers that had to try to spoil the tour with stupid, self-gratifying questions. It was still quite cool.

There are just so many little spots on board that you could get lost in that we just didn't have time to explore. Like I said, I wish this thread was active before we left. But then again, I have absolutely no complaints about the cruise!

I was on board from July 4 - 11. The party band was pretty good. I am a band musician and among other things have played in several wedding bands and corporate gig bands. The entertainment on the Barcelona to Athens cruise was much better than I expected based on the comments I read about the entertainment on Equinox in the Caribbean this Spring.

There were a number of groups playing various spots on the ship. The one I saw the most was a four-piece pop band with a female lead singer. They were very competent. I will say that they had a short go-to set list that repeated most nights, but what they played and sang they did well. We got up and boogied several times. It was much funner than the Chamber Music that we had expected (from prior reviews).

Several crew members remarked on how much younger and funner the summer crowd was than the usual over 60/y Spring Caribbean crowd that they get. I could feel a vibe from the crew and bands. But be aware, the Equinox is NOT a party boat and that was fine with me. I was there for a touch of class and it did not disappoint.

I only caught two other acts, one was an excellent female guitarist/singer that did jazz and blues comps.She had awesome skills and I wish I caught more of her act. The other was a pick-up band that had members from the theater pit band. They were instrumental and outstanding in terms of skills.

I give the music on Equinox from Barcelona to Athens (July 4-11) 4/5 stars.

If you are leaving the United States these days (including Canada and Mexico) you would be well-advised to get a passport, regardless of age. That is not to say that you HAVE to have a passport for every cruise, but the rules are getting very complicated and the only document that you can be SURE of is a passport. When you leave the US and enter a foreign country, you forfeit all those US rights that people here take for granted. You are not a citizen of The Republic of XXXX. Not to say they will not be very nice to you, or not try to help you, but in the end, you are not in America. Also, when you re-enter the country you can avoid hassles and time loss if you have your passport.

I have only cruised once and it was almost ruined because two of my party were told by our TA that they did not need passports. I had mine and how no problems, but we spent the whole boarding day help up in the reception area while friends of ours hundreds of miles away broke into our house trying to find and fax us the right documents. It was the most stressful 5 hours of my life and I would have gladly paid hundreds of dollars on the spot to avoid it.

In the end, we were the last people running to get on the boat and we had a great time. When we got back, we then got held up in customs for an hour before they finally let us go. NEVER AGAIN! We all now have US passports.

So if you listen to some people that tell you that you don't need a passport for this or that, good luck. You might not. What I can tell you is that if you have it you don't need to worry. You have been warned.

Well that is good news. We are looking forward to the Luminae room in July. I guess the flood of negative criticism wasn't sitting well with the line.

Point taken. No one should be told how they should spend their money.

$110

That is how much it cost to get a passport. Fees are payable to the U.S. Department of State are as follows: New, replacement or renewal of a passport book: $110 if age 16 and older; $80 if under the age of 16. New, replacement or renewal of a passport card: $30 if age 16 and older; $15 if under the age of 16.

That is $11 /year. Considering I pay more per week for gasoline it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but if you have a bunch of people it can be a big sticker shock - at least initially. Then again, everyone on a trip also needs luggage. If I had to buy 7-8 sets of luggage all a once it would look like a lot too.

p.s. I just noticed the OP is using AAA. They can help a lot on passport applications. I would advice the OP to call them. They have plenty of time if their cruise is not until 2017! :)

Americans don't go on holidays, they go on vacations. The use of the word "holiday" as a substitute for vacation is very European. Am I correct in assuming your wife and your son are American but you are not? At least not originally? Just curious.

 

For the record though, I would have to agree. I think anyone who would even consider traveling out of the country without a passport is crazy. Passports are not that expensive and they are good for ten whole years. Just get one.

Non, Je suis American! I was born in NY. Both my family and my wife's go back to the early-1800's in the US. I travel a lot internationally though and I see people get all kinds of hassles and delays. The thing these days is to be prepared or suffer the consequences. A surly customs official or misinformed cruise or travel agent can cause you hours of problems or even ruin your vacation.

Why would anyone take the chance? It is soooo easy to get a passport and it can all be done by mail at the post office. Someone recommended calling first and that is correct. Some post offices like to do the docs at certain periods of time because they can eat up some time.

Also, copy your docs and keep several in different places just in case someone jacks your stuff. This is the age of suspicion and fear. Do yourself a favor and do the simple things that keep you out of trouble.

And for the record, the Customs officials are not BS'ing. In fact, they have discretion and in the end can enforce the rules or let things slide. They did not HAVE to let my 6 year old son with no documentation back in the country. They of course did, but they can be very selective about how they treat people. Just like the TSA. I had a TSA agent let me on a plane with a backpack full of sharp tools in 2002 during the peak in terror hysteria. The supervisor just looked, said they cannot go on the plane, I said ok, take 'em I got to go. He said, no go ahead...

When you have 2,000-3,000 people getting on and off a ship, you have to be flexible. That being said, do you really want to be the periodic training example?

Here's my $0.02. Get a passport. It is really easy. Got to Walgreens or CVS and they can take a picture in the right format in less than 15 minutes. Take these pics and your birth certificate and go to a full service post office, get the passport application form, fill it out, pay the fee and in a few weeks your shiny blue passport will appear in your mailbox. You will avoid real and potential problems down the line.

We did a short cruise to Bermuda and were told by our TA that we didn't need a PP. Wrong. It turns out that the cruise officials and the Customs people have different sets of rules that are surprisingly enforced in a cavalier way. If your ship is pulling into any non-US port and you plan on getting off you would be ill-advised to do so without an international passport document. Suppose you end up in a hospital, car accident or some other legal mess? Technically, the Customs officials can give you a hard time when coming back into the US. It happened to my wife and son who did not have passports (they are very American). I had mine and sailed through. At one point, the customs officials were going to make me drive to my home (5 hours away) and bring back my wife's passport. Her original NJ birth certificate and drivers license were treated the way certain Republicans looked at Obama's. In the end, they let her and my son in, but we will never again leave the US without a real passport. It is 2015, why would you?

A kind US Customs officer explained that the cruise ship operators are loose with the rules and count on the fact that the officials are reticent to deny entry to Americans on holiday, regardless of the rules. To a certain extent it depends on how you look and if you have an accent or not. Not nice, but that is the real world. Get Passports people....

As a person who has only cruised once (going on my second in July), I think I understand what the OP is asking. Hidden Charges. Some people replying are thinking the OP is talking about things that are literally hidden. That is not what they are asking about people.

When I went in my first cruise, I assumed that after paying the huge sum for the trip that I would not be shelling out more money after boarding. Boy was I wrong! A post above explains all of these things in a nice list. Just about the only thing you do not have to pay more for is food in the normal dining areas and the use of the pools. I was unhappily surprised that drinks were not covered, not even soda! (even McDonalds is more gracious on soft drinks and refills). That was a surprise. Hidden? Technically no, but I was going under the assumption that my cabin fare was more than just a room (tiny) rental in a floating hotel.

During my first four-day cruise, I spent about $1,000 more than my cruise reservation. I was on vacation and did not feel like living-on-the-cheap, so I paid. Drinks, tips, tips, tips, a meal or two in a specialty restaurant, photos, etc. I know that the drinking was the biggest single additional expense. To me, these all seemed like Hidden Charges - but only because I did not budget for them. No one is technically hiding anything from you. You can ask the price for anything you want and they will tell you. They make it very easy as you charge all the extras to your seacard and you pay up when you leave. Makes it easier to spend money if you are not physically paying each time you take a charge. They know this.

It was an unpleasant revelation - all the extras. Then again, I am glad I did not know because I probably would not have booked the cruise to begin with. I was already quite ANTI-cruise before ever boarding the ship. I am glad I did not know because I actually ended up having a unexpectedly great time - even with my long list of all the things I thought I'd hate. The service was good, I found the food to be excellent more than not and the drinks worked their magic. It was a lot of fun and relaxing.

So now two years later, I am going on my second cruise. This time I am getting a suite with butler service and I will pay even more. Hey - you can't take it with you, but you can buy a good time and memories. Life is short. Just count on paying for a lot of extra "hidden" charges and get over it.

Our ship is scheduled to stop at Souda (Crete) July 11. Does anyone know if it is possible to get off the boat at 8:00am and get in a one or two tank dive? I realize that it may not be a destination dive location like the Red Sea, but I am burning to get some bottom time! I have no idea if this is even possible.

Thanks so much for the comments. Our son is 6 going on 30. He really fashions himself as a professional. He LOVES "dressing fancy". The three of us eat dinner together all the time and he likes fancy places (although his pallet is still hot dogs, mac&cheese, chicken).

I think hanging out with older-than-average parents and no siblings has an effect. That being said, I am hopeful he will be very charming and well-behaved in a room like Luminae. If not, we are not the kind of parents that would ruin other guest's time and we would seek dining elsewhere. I, for one, am looking forward to the food!!!

His last cruise he was too young and uninterested many of the Kid's activities. I am hoping this will be different this time around so that mom and dad can have a little adult time and see a show or something.

Yes, on bringing things to keep him busy and games. Likely people will see him and dad lounging poolside a lot. I will make sure they have the lawn boules out. He will like that.

My wife has a food allergy and will no doubt will be scrutinizing the menus each day. Good advice! I understand that the line is very accommodating to food allergies when informed in advance.

Again, Chemmo and others, thanks for the helpful comments. After booking this cruise and the suite we started second-guessing ourselves.

Thanks for the review. we will be on board in Europe in July and staying a few doors down from the room you are currently in! We will be using Luminae and are interested in how that develops over time. Interesting comments about the Resort Deck being used as a training ground for newbies. You'd think they would be careful about putting their best foot forward there. I assume the crew will continue to shift before they bring her over to Europe.

I am a little confused about all the bars and stuff. I guess since it will be my first time on board I won't know the difference (although a Wine Bar would be nice for my tastes). Is the Cellar Master gone?

I am excited though!

Thanks for the wonderful and informative review of the suite life. We will be sailing Equinox in July for the first time. Actually, our second cruise period. We booked a Sky Suite and will have our adventurous 6 year old with us. On our first cruise a couple of years ago on the Explorer of the Seas we had a small room and it was fine. For a number of reasons we are booking a suite and looking forward to the extras. I am not sure how this will all work for us with our son, but it will be an adventure! Thanks again.