iTownPrincess

We sailed in Sunset Veranda either 1407 or 1409 on Deck 10 of the Equinox last June (can’t remember which cabin but I believe it was 1409) and the balcony was pretty much in sun all day. I prefer shade so usually camped out on Deck 5 starboard reading & drinking coffee (if you find the right spot there you are practically right outside Cafe Al Bacio). But we spent every evening on our SV and it was just wonderful!! Enjoy t your fantastic location! 

On 12/19/2023 at 9:49 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

One thing I have found to be very consistent is that you can’t base a travel decision (in this case a booking on Reflection) on the experiences of others on cruises either before or after yours occurs. I look at each sailing as independent of the previous voyage. Each will have its own unique nuisances. Your stateroom attendant may be a go getting perfectionist who loves to go the extra mile while the attendant a few doors down, not so much. Your server in the MDR could be top of the line while someone else may get a newly arrived and jet lagged novice. Each experience will be unique. It’s why the reviews are so varied from ship to ship and voyage to voyage. 

So, so true! DH and I sailed Equinox in June and Caribbean Princess in November. Our Equinox cruise was wonderful, lovely aft cabin, excellent MDR experiences, liked the OVC. I do agree with OP that service in the bars was abysmal - at Martini Bar we practically had to beg for service and there was a general lack of customer service at the other bars (except for OVC and MDR - excellent bar service! Of course OVC has its own bar, so there’s that!)

Unfortunately our Caribbean Princess cruise was IMO one step up from a Carnival cruise - partly our fault for booking a cruise that departed on Halloween. The public spaces were cramped and our forward balcony cabin just adequate. Ironically, the great bar service was the highlight of that cruise. Not to mention I think the crew at the IC were either androids or aliens, because the same folks were there day or night and disturbingly shared a sullen attitude and inability to smile or even assume a pleasant facial expression.

As always, YMMV. 🧐

I sent in my renewal right after Thanksgiving and received the new passport in about 2 weeks. Haven’t received my old one back yet, tho’. 

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I’ve got no suggestions since I’m guessing you paid the taxi driver with cash rather than a credit card from which you would be able to figure out which taxi company it was. 

Too right, kenthecruiser! Thanks anyway! 🙂

My husband and I debarked the Caribbean Princess early this morning and caught a taxi to our pre-cruise hotel to pick up our vehicle and my husband left his wallet in the cab. We have no idea what cab company it was. 
 

Can someone suggest a way to find out what company it may have been?

Broward Sheriff’s deputies were managing the flow of passengers to the cabs so I thought of calling BSO in the morning to see if they have a list so I can start making calls.

Any additional ideas/suggestions are welcome!! Thank you in advance.

1 minute ago, phabric said:

You might want to post if Port of Call - Florida.  Someone from FLL might have taxi names.

Great suggestion - thank you!

I request some help/suggestions - my husband and I walked off the ship this morning early and caught a taxi from the stand outside the terminal back to the hotel where we stayed pre-cruise to pick up our vehicle. 
 

My husband left his wallet in the cab. Neither of us has any idea what cab company it was. I already called the hotel but no one had turned it in. 
 

Broward Sheriff’s deputies appeared to be managing the flow of passengers to the cabs. I thought I would contact them to

obtain the names of the cab companies present so I could start calling around.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. 

13 hours ago, snow bunny said:

@Ken the cruiser, what is the new duet like? Our friends were on your sailing and they enjoyed the duo from Argentina.  Just wondering what kind of tunes this new duet play?

 

snow bunny

Pardon me for answering for kenthecruiser but I think your friends may have been referring to the Sandra Maria Duo? Piano & violin in the Piazza. We enjoyed them but found the very long pauses between songs strange. I assumed they would perform a set playlist but it seemed like they were disorganized?? I can’t say but the music was OK.

On 8/26/2023 at 11:18 AM, CatalinaUK said:

Any suggestions as to what I can do for us to fit in better and not feel uncomfortable? I am currently looking at Viking Ocean, Azamara, and Oceania which all fulfill our cruise criteria, but also seem to attract a much older crowd. 

 

 

Once you have been on a few more cruises you will probably discover that your unique style is far less unusual than your first experience indicated. I have seen some truly bizarre and outlandish (IMO) outfits on many passengers. Something they all had in common was having a great time! I urge you to let your style flag fly high and enjoy yourself to the max. Attitude is everything! 😀

I’m changing it up big time for embarking our October 31st cruise from Fort Lauderdale - mid-calf floral sundress, white denim jacket, and white canvas sneakers. Depending on our autumn Florida weather I may have to revert to white jeans & cute blouse and ditch the jacket. 

Speaking strictly for myself I’m not excited (yet) to sample the Lavazza on Princess. We sailed Celebrity Equinox in June and the Lavazza coffee in both buffet and Cafe Al Bacio (like IC on Princess) was one step above “hot water with a brown crayon dipped in it” quality. One evening in MDR the coffee was actually drinkable and our waiter told us the DR was making an effort to brew it stronger. I feel snarky about this because it’s JUST COFFEE - it shouldn’t be this hard!!!

Just now, startedwithamouse said:

Was it buffet/MDR coffee or coffee with an upcharge?

I was commenting on buffet and MDR both, but the coffee in Cafe Al Bacio (comparable to Princess’ International Cafe) was nothing to crow about either … all coffee on board had a sour under-note. I’m guessing poor storage and/or lack of attention to proper brewing. I recognize I’m a horrible coffee snob but I think the “specialty “ coffee at least could be decent enough to justify the prices. I believe Celebrity has the most expensive drinks packages of the mainstream cruise lines and frankly I expected better in the coffee department. 

Celebrity also touts the Lavazza coffee. DH and I were on a Celebrity ship last month and UNimpressed with the coffee. The flavor is so dependent on how it is brewed and most of it tasted like hot water with a brown Crayon dipped in it. It was slightly better in the MDR but not consistent. 
 

We will be on the Caribbean Princess in October so looking forward (in a snarky way) to comparing poor/indifferent brewing results between the two cruise lines.

SAS shoes are my favorite. (San Antonio Shoe Company.) Lots of styles and W to WW availability on most. They are known for their high toe boxes (on closed-toe styles) and being made in USA. They are not cheap but wear very well. I recommend their “Free Time” and “Tour” styles. The Tour is definitely a sneaker but the Free Time comes in both smooth and brushed leather and are less sneaker-ish.

BTW I used to be a HUGE Birkenstock fan - year round! Then one day out of the blue I just couldn’t wear them - they hurt my feet! Inexplicable but it did open my eyes to alternatives. 

Shopping for cruise wear is one of my favorite activities! I set up a rolling clothes rack in my bathroom when I’m within 90 days of a cruise. I have a great time building my wardrobe, hanging new purchases, adding and subtracting items, planning accessories, etc. You know what I mean! And it’s never too early to start!

I was on the last cruise of the season on a girls’ weekend back in 2016, the last week of October. It was pretty cold (no surprise) but Hopewell Rocks was closed for the season. I knew that going in but didn’t realize at the time just how much we were missing. I would love to do this itinerary again and would plan for mid to late September, first week of October at the latest. I hope you have a fantastic cruise!

On 6/25/2023 at 7:11 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

 

I’m in my “happy place” this morning as I start the book that I’ve been saving for this first sea day all summer! I was at Al Bacio a little after 6:30 following a beautiful sunrise. It’ll be a slow day around here, but I will keep the updates rolling 😊

 

As a fellow sun avoider/shade seeker I want to share with you my favorite spot on Equinox. Since you are already at Cafe al Bacio, just walk forward towards the theater. Just before the theater entrance use one of the doors near the ladies room to go outside. This spot on Deck 5 is always shaded, with loungers set up. It’s usually quiet and obviously close to the ladies room (and more importantly near the espresso bar). The corresponding spot on the port side is a smoking area. I spent HOURS here on our cruise earlier this month. I had saved Babel on my Kindle for this cruise and it did not disappoint! Hope your cruise is as lovely as ours was!

On 6/11/2023 at 2:55 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

How are the mattresses/beds on the Equinox?  I have herniated discs in my lower back and plates and screws in my cervical spine.

Our bed on the Equinox last week was in sad shape. Very hard with large people-shaped depressions on either side. That said, we both slept deeply as this was our first real vacation in a long time!! (Deck 10 aft cabin 1409)

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:She also brought afternoon cheese and shrimp platters for us without asking and a bowl of fresh berries for our GD.  Katarina also offered to bring drinks from the bar to our cabin, something we never did since we had wine to drink.

I searched high & low all week for berries at the OVC! They had plenty of other fruit but no berries! 😕

20 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

And as one last point - while I will say again that what someone wears does not ruin or make my cruise, there is such a thing as ambiance, and that it part of what I am paying for when I book a Celebrity vacation.  Ignoring the rules and dressing like you are going to a garage sale definitely impacts the ambiance of the ship.  

I am old enough to remember folks wearing dresses and suits/ties to fly. We all know what airline passengers consider to be acceptable clothing today. I believe the whole notion of “appropriate dress” went out the window long ago. As quoted in the above post I don’t let what someone else wears in the MDR or specialty restaurants bother me. 
 

While fashion-watching on our Equinox cruise last week I got the strong impression that what many people were wearing was: 1. The best they could afford; 2. Twenty to 30 years out of fashion but the best they had; and 3. Dress clothing they had not worn in many years and now didn’t fit, but they made a go anyway. 
 

As big a snob as I can be, it’s hard for me to criticize people doing the best they can and/or having zero concept of appropriate clothing. I am lucky enough to own a cruise wardrobe from which I could choose a casual daytime outfit, several changes of swimwear, and a different outfit for dining each night. When I sit across the table from my husband (who admittedly had to be coerced into MDR attire and looked gorgeous) it doesn’t really bother me or detract from my enjoyment when someone who made a bad wardrobe decision is seated. I just hope they are enjoying their cruise and leave it at that.

On 6/4/2023 at 3:06 PM, NMTraveller said:

Feel free to add your positive review here.  All are welcome.

Just off Equinox today, DH and I had a great time. I am an experienced cruiser and this was DH Jay’s first cruise. Yes, Equinox shows her age, the inexperience of some crew was evident, and food quality has clearly diminished. Waaay too few bartenders.

But as I stated, we loved our cruise. The food was good to very good, plentiful, beautifully presented. Our MDR servers were outstanding and I just can’t find a good enough superlative for our cabin steward. We had an aft Concierge cabin. DH spent the entire first night sitting on the balcony watching the ship’s wake. We made ourselves a lovely little ritual each night after dinner returning to our cabin, putting on some loungewear, sitting on the balcony and watching the sunsets, night skies, and the wake. Soothing, peaceful, hypnotic.

We saw flying fish near Cuba and small electric blue eels (meaning their color was electric blue) around the pier while tied up in Bimini. We watched spectacular lightning storms one night. Overnight between Bimini and Fort Lauderdale we watched a sea bird ride the ship’s slipstream, sometimes flying, sometimes in the water. Jay assumed the ship was stirring up the bird’s preferred food source and the clever thing was using the speed gained in the ship’s air to hunt its dinner.

I guess I will conclude by saying the ship was a vehicle for some magical experiences for us. A cruise is a lot more than the sum of its parts and the value derived really rests on the passenger. 

On 5/2/2023 at 3:21 PM, islandgirlejfan said:

I will take always just take a cheap hat with me and never my Tilley.  My Tilley ended up coming off my head in the Panama Canal because I *did not* have my chin strap on.  Someone got a great hat, because it really did float as they claim!  My husband left his hat on the plane last year, so cheap is the way to go. 
I came home and ordered another Tilley....doesn't feel as good as the first one I had, but it's ok.  They discontinued the style so at least I got another one.  

I wear a bandana folded into headband width and snug my Tilley down on to it. For my upcoming cruise I actually bought hat pins so I can pin the hat to the bandana underneath. And I wear the chin strap no matter how jerky it makes me feel. 😳

I had hair loss after a mild case of Covid in November 2020 and I feel like I am continuing to lose hair. I have tried supplements, different oils on my scalp, etc. but no real changes. I appreciate your posts about the laser and the shampoo and will give them a try. Many thanks!

6 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Classic does NOT include everything in Zero Proof, for example premium waters.

I really appreciate your quick reply! Not the answer I was hoping for but certainly definite - thanks!

I already purchased the Zero Proof Package and can’t find any info in the Classic Package description that confirms Classic includes everything in Zero Proof, which is important to me. 
 

Can anyone with experience with the Classic and Premium packages tell me if all Zero Proof beverages are included? Thanks!