Equinox March 14 11-Night Review with Lots of Pictures!

[Cindy]

We left the market and had a very short (less than a minute) drive down the street to our third restaurant. We were served chips with bean dip topped with queso fresco (awesome!) and a delicious Key Lime chicken soup. The flavor combination of the soup was very unique, and the chicken was really enhanced by the addition of the limes. The beverage at this stop was something else that was new to me, apple soda.

 

Chips and Bean Dip

 

Chicken and Key Lime Soup

 

 

Our fourth restaurant stop of the day was for our main course, fried fish. We were seated on a pretty outdoor patio and enjoyed some very fresh ceviche while we waited for the fish to come out.

 

 

Restaurant Owner and Chef

 

 

I don’t know about you, but when I think of ordering fried fish in a restaurant I have a picture in my head of a fillet that’s either dipped in batter or crumbs before it’s fried. That’s probably what I’d get if I ordered fried fish at a Houston restaurant. Well, in Cozumel you get a fish. All of it. Three of us worked on this one huge fish and couldn’t even begin to do it justice.

 

 

 

 

We might have struggled to eat all our fish, but one of the ladies on our tour showed us all how it's done. She reminded me of my grandmother (who lived her whole life in Maine) attacking a lobster. There wasn't a morsel of food left on the plate -- just a neat, tidy pile of bones. She used the lime to clean her hands and proclaimed the meal a success! It was one of those things that was just awesome to watch...you could tell she'd done it many times!

Edited April 16, 2016 by Cindy

[Cindy]

We were full, but not too full for one more stop, at Kaokao, the local chocolate factory. Thankfully everything there was just small tastes, because as much as I love chocolate I don’t think I could have eaten much of it at that point!

 

My husband seems to have a big head and no neck!

 

At Kaokao

 

 

Traditional Mexican toys...these must be for the liars to play with while everyone else tastes chocolate!:D

[Cindy]

At the end of the tour we had the option to be dropped off in town or pay the regular taxi rate to be taken back to the pier. Jim and I opted to go straight back to the ship since we wanted a little down time before a very busy evening.

 

 

 

 

 

I was really impressed at the greeting area for the Celebrity ships, with soft seating, flavored waters, and cold towels. I don’t remember anything that elaborate from my cruise on the Constellation, but it could be a function of the difference between the Baltics and the Caribbean. It was certainly more than any of the other cruise lines we’ve sailed with…RCI, Princess, HAL, and Carnival.

 

 

 

[FunCruiser56]

Pineapple water sounds so refreshing, hope we enjoy some on our Solstice cruise to Hawaii :)

[Shirley C]

Wonderful pics - really enjoying your review.

 

Shirley

[LouisV]

I'm really enjoying your review and pics! What type of camera did you use?

 

Mo

[Oskial]

 

 

Thanks! He drinks Anchor Steam here at home so he will be very happy!! :)

 

Do you recall what they cost?

 

Don't know what they cost. We had the premium package and it was included. I would recommend that your husband get the premium package just for the beer alone. I know that there aren't a lot of beer choices in the classic package. It was a big reason why I went to the premium. Well worth the extra $11.50 a day. It also allowed me for some upgrading on the wine, coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, premium hard liquor and (gotta try these!) SLUSHIES!

[Cindy]

We didn’t have much down time when we returned to the ship. Once we got cleaned up and ready for the evening it was time for more Martini Bar antics:D followed by Food Day Part 2:D!

 

 

 

 

 

I find Celebrity's Martini Bar endlessly entertaining, and I could sit there and watch the bar tenders for hours. I've never encountered a grouch there...the Martini Bar bartenders must be hired for their personalities and then trained to mix the drinks and entertain.

[Cindy]

I'm really enjoying your review and pics! What type of camera did you use?

 

Mo

 

Thanks!:)

 

The camera varies. Almost all the shore pictures (with the exception of Grand Cayman) were taken with a Canon 70D with a 15-85 mm lens. The interior ship shots were also taken with the same camera, and I used the 15-85 mm lens for some and also used a 10-22 mm wide angle lens.

 

Most of the evening shots around the ship were taken with a Canon G1 X Mark ii or my cell phone. I did take my big camera to the theater one night, but I usually opted to walk around in the evenings with a smaller camera.

[Cindy]

Our main event for the evening was a Progressive Dinner. A couple of us had read about the dinner on Cruise Critic, but it was a passing mention with no details, and information was hard to come by. The event isn’t advertised, so you have to have heard about it to know to ask for it!:confused:

 

One of my neighbors was on the ship in January and she got the dinner information for me, but I never saw a mention of it in the Celebrity TODAY. On boarding day when I made the reservation I had a choice of two nights…this night or Saturday evening after we left Colon. I knew Panama would be a very long day, so I opted for Wednesday.

 

There were only 8 in our group – all from our Roll Call. We met at the Gastrobar and started the evening with Chicken Liver Pate and Beer. I, of course, wrinkled up my nose at the word liver, but in the end I thought the pate was surprisingly excellent! Maybe it was the thick, crunchy garlic toast we spread it on, but I loved the pate and probably should have eaten a little less knowing that we were only on stop one of four!:rolleyes:

 

 

Srdjan, our host for the evening.

 

Chicken Liver Pate with thick slabs of Garlic Toast.

 

[midwestchick]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. We board the Equinox on the 9th and I cannot wait.

I would like to know more about the progressive dinner. I don't remember ever hearing anything about it.

[Shirley C]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. We board the Equinox on the 9th and I cannot wait.

I would like to know more about the progressive dinner. I don't remember ever hearing anything about it.

 

I'm interested in hearing more about it too. We've done the "Chef's Table" dinner, but this sounds a bit different.

 

Shirley

[Shirley C]

What was the cost of the Progressive Dinner?

 

Shirley

[lisiamc]

Subscribing! I'm enjoying your review and your photos. This is the first I've heard of the progressive dinner too. Looking forward to the next instalment!

[Jiminy1955]

 

Don't know what they cost. We had the premium package and it was included. I would recommend that your husband get the premium package just for the beer alone. I know that there aren't a lot of beer choices in the classic package. It was a big reason why I went to the premium. Well worth the extra $11.50 a day. It also allowed me for some upgrading on the wine, coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, premium hard liquor and (gotta try these!) SLUSHIES!

 

 

Thanks! In addition to the beer & wine he does like his espresso & americano's. I was already considering the premium package for him so you just helped me decide ;)

[Cindy]

When we left the Gastrobar we had an unexpected treat…Srdjan took us into the big wine “tower” in the Silhouette Dining Room!:D It was a lot of fun to get a peek inside such a unique structure. Srdjan explained a little about the ship's wine ordering process, how they store the wine, how wine stewards locate bottles when they’re ordered, etc.

 

My apologies to all for disturbing dinner on the 16th…that horrible racket was me bawling like a baby when we had to leave the wines and move on!:o

 

From the second story of the dining room. Sorry about the quality...I was walking while I took this!

 

 

Upper deck entrance.

 

 

 

 

[Shirley C]

When we left the Gastrobar we had an unexpected treat…Srdjan took us into the big wine “tower” in the Silhouette Dining Room!:D It was a lot of fun to get a peek inside such a unique structure. Srdjan explained a little about the ship's wine ordering process, how they store the wine, how wine stewards locate bottles when they’re ordered, etc.

 

My apologies to all for disturbing dinner on the 16th…that horrible racket was me bawling like a baby when we had to leave the wines and move on!:o

 

From the second story of the dining room. Sorry about the quality...I was walking while I took this!

 

 

Upper deck entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

What a treat to be able to do that.

 

Shirley

[Cindy]

After we visited the wine tower, we made our way aft where Silk Harvest, Tuscan Grille, and BLU are located. Our second course was at Silk Harvest where we had Wontons and Shrimp Tempura. We also had some Wasabi Peas – they were HOT!!! We were served Sake at Silk Harvest to accompany the Asian food.

 

Wontons at Silk Harvest. You can see the Wasabi Peas on the far left side of the picture.

 

 

When we left Silk Harvest, we got to see the galley areas for the specialty restaurants. Each restaurant has its own galley, but they are connected. Something that really struck me when we were in the galley was the friendliness of the staff even though we were invading their workspace during a very busy time. I've been on many galley tours and behind the scenes tours, and I usually get the feeling the smiles are fake and the crew can't wait until we leave so they can get back to business. I didn't get that feeling on the Equinox...the staff in the galley was just as welcoming and friendly as they were elsewhere on the ship.:)

 

 

 

[Cindy]

Disclaimer – at some point during the evening I forgot about taking pictures and just enjoyed the experience. I had to search the internet for a picture of our entrée.:o I also lost the copy of the menu we were given, so much of this is from my faulty memory.:o

 

We went from the galley to Tuscan Grille for our entrees. I chose the filet which was served on a bed of potatoes and paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon. My meat was cooked perfectly and I think everyone at the table was pleased.

 

Tuscan Grille Filet -- Picture from an internet search. Our entrees were served with grilled vegetables instead of salad.

 

 

The evening ended in an alcove at Murano with dessert wine, coffee, a selection of truffles and candies, and a choice of Grand Marnier Souffle or Chocolate Croquant.

 

 

Grand Marnier Souffle

 

 

Chocolate Croquant

 

 

Everything was excellent and the service was impeccable. I highly recommend the Progressive Dinner if food and wine are your thing. This was a little simpler than a Chef’s Table, but equally as enjoyable. I really liked it because in addition to being delicious it was different from any of the special event dinners I’ve attended on other ships.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Cindy

[Shirley C]

Loved hearing about the progressive dinner. Sounds like a fun thing to do. What was the cost?

 

Shirley

[Cindy]

Loved hearing about the progressive dinner. Sounds like a fun thing to do. What was the cost?

 

Shirley

 

It was $110 per person. I thought it was pretty comparable to a Chef's Table in both quality and price.

[Shirley C]

It was $110 per person. I thought it was pretty comparable to a Chef's Table in both quality and price.

 

Thanks Cindy. I'll be looking into it on my next cruise.

 

Shirley

[LynMcGad]

Cindy, do you recall whether there were limits on the numbers of folks that could participate in the Progressive dinner? In other words was there a minimum number required to set it up, and a max number that they could accommodate?

[Cindy]

Cindy, do you recall whether there were limits on the numbers of folks that could participate in the Progressive dinner? In other words was there a minimum number required to set it up, and a max number that they could accommodate?

 

Lynda, they didn't say. We had 8, and I don't think they could have had more than 10. Srdjan said they purposely don't advertise it because they want it to stay small. We never would have known about it if someone hadn't mentioned it in passing when they were talking about the Equinox.

[Cindy]

March 17th – Happy St. Patrick’s Day! – At Sea

 

I woke up predictably early and went through my daily routine of grabbing my camera and a latte for an early morning photo safari. I took some ship pictures almost every sea day morning, but I’m going to save them all for the end. I think that will help me keep my sanity instead of trying to go back and match ship interior pictures with the date they were actually taken!:o

 

After a nice, relaxing breakfast in BLU we headed up to the Sky Lounge for trivia. As soon as we entered the room I realized we were underdressed.:eek: I was feeling quite smug about remembering a green shirt for the day and a different one for the evening, but some had gone all-out to celebrate the day!