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

[cruiserone]

Cindy, am enjoying this cruise! We are on the Equinox for this trip next April and after seeing your posts, more excited. Some great ideas for things to do. We will be in Luminae with an aft cabin (I see you like them too). Too good of a deal not to book it:)

 

Like you we have been to so many of the islands and we look for "different" things to do. We have not done the progressive dinner yet but had the opportunity to do it in March on the Equinox but had made other plans on that night. Sorry we missed it.

 

Will be following you and your wonderful photos!

 

Many thanks. Carol

[Jojo27]

Great review and great pics.

 

You mentioned that the ferry did not go all the way to the Pacific, do you know if it was just your excursion or all ferry excursions that only go part way? Reason I ask, is we are debating on doing this partial cruise vs the full Panama Canal route, and am seeing mixed comments on how far the ferry excursion actually travels through the canal. thanks

[Cindy]

“Mules” are used to pull big ships through the locks. 100+ years ago, when the Panama Canal opened, the job was done by actual mules. The modern “mules” are actually locomotives that are tethered to a ship to do the job. Our ferry didn’t use the mules…we went through under our own steam.

 

 

I need to correct a pretty big error, but it's too late to edit my post. The "mules" that control the ships in the canal have always been locomotives. They are called mules because mules were the traditional means of crossing the isthmus of Panama at the time the canal was constructed. Sorry for the false information...my notes were a little confusing.:o

Edited April 23, 2016 by Cindy

[Cindy]

Cindy, am enjoying this cruise! We are on the Equinox for this trip next April and after seeing your posts, more excited. Some great ideas for things to do. We will be in Luminae with an aft cabin (I see you like them too). Too good of a deal not to book it:)

 

Like you we have been to so many of the islands and we look for "different" things to do. We have not done the progressive dinner yet but had the opportunity to do it in March on the Equinox but had made other plans on that night. Sorry we missed it.

 

Will be following you and your wonderful photos!

 

Many thanks. Carol

 

Thanks! I'm itching to get to Cartagena. We loved the city and our guide (we used the same person for Sunday night and Monday).

 

Great review and great pics.

 

You mentioned that the ferry did not go all the way to the Pacific, do you know if it was just your excursion or all ferry excursions that only go part way? Reason I ask, is we are debating on doing this partial cruise vs the full Panama Canal route, and am seeing mixed comments on how far the ferry excursion actually travels through the canal. thanks

 

I looked at the Celebrity website, and it seems the description is a little different than it was a year+ ago. You will either do the Gatun Locks and Lake or the Pacific side of the canal, but not both, and you probably won't know until the day of your tour which it's going to be! After doing the excursion, I can see that it would be virtually impossible to do a full transit as an excursion. If it's important to you to go all the way through, the way to do that is on a ship that will be doing a full transit.

[Cindy]

Finally at 3:10 the gates to the first lock chamber slowly slid open and we were on our way. We moved forward and tied up, and then the Kobe Star was pulled in behind us by the mules. Once our ferry and the big ship were both inside the lock chamber the back gates closed and the draining process began.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draining takes a long time because over 26,000 gallons of water have to be removed in order to lower the ships to the level of the next chamber! The process has to be repeated three times at the Gatun Locks in order to lower the ships a total of 85 feet.

 

 

This marker was more or less at eye level when the draining of the first lock chamber started.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Cindy

[Cindy]

Here's the same marker once the lock chamber was almost drained.

 

 

We repeated the same process for the second lock chamber and finally made our way through the third chamber and out of the canal at 4:45. I thought the process was very interesting when we were going through the first lock chamber, but by the third I was ready for the transit to be over and to get back to the comfort of the Equinox!:o

 

 

 

Look at the elevation difference between our lock chamber and the ship in the other lane!

 

 

The ship from the China Shipping Line was leaving the Gatun Locks while we waited for the final lock chamber to be drained.

 

 

[Cindy]

We made our way back to Colon, passing ships that were waiting for their turn to transit the canal and those who had completed their transit and docked in Colon.

 

 

 

 

About 15 minutes before we arrived back we caught a glimpse of the Equinox. It was so close yet so far away!

 

See the Equinox?:D

 

 

Once the ferry docked in Colon we had a short bus ride back to the port. We were the last tour to arrive, and we got back to the ship about 45 minutes after the published departure time.

 

 

Ruins of the Union Church in Colon.

 

 

Shortly after we got back on board the captain announced that we would be late leaving due to a passenger needing medical attention. The delay was quite long, because even though we were docked in Colon, in order for the person to get appropriate medical attention they had to wait for an ambulance to arrive from Panama City!

[Cindy]

Jim and I decided that we were in desperate need of replenishment, so we cleaned up as quickly as we could and hightailed it to the Martini Bar. One of these went a long way towards making me feel rejuvenated after a long day outdoors!:)

 

 

 

We were hungry too, so it was a one drink evening and we were off to BLU. I had a very excellent lamb shank that night. We sailed for Cartagena some time during dinner…I would say it was probably around 7:30.

 

After dinner we enjoyed the Almost Elton John show. I wonder if the performer works for a company that specializes in Elton John impersonators, because we have seen different Almost Eltons on other ships. It was a very lively and entertaining show, and we liked it very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the show was over it was straight up to Deck 11 and to bed for us. It had been a long day and we were ready for sleep!

 

Up next – two fantastic days in Cartagena! I still need to go through my pictures, but I will get to them as fast as I can.

[wallie5446]

That looks like the same 'almost Elton' we had on the Equinox last Nov.

Keep em coming!

[Bimmer09]

Cindy- great photos of those ships and the Gatun locks!!

 

I am in ship-nerd Heaven.

 

Thank you!

 

Norris

[Cindy]

Cindy- great photos of those ships and the Gatun locks!!

 

I am in ship-nerd Heaven.

 

Thank you!

 

Norris

 

Thanks, Norris! It was a very ship-nerdy kind of place/tour!!!:D

Edited April 24, 2016 by Cindy

[Cindy]

I wanted to share a few more thoughts about the Panama Canal Tour by ferry (CO26) before I move on to Cartagena. I know it probably sounds like I couldn't wait to get off the ferry and to an extent that is true but I'm still glad but we chose that excursion. I would have really hated to go to the Panama Canal and not actually go through at least part of the Panama Canal! That said, if you choose this tour I think you need to be aware of some things before you go:

 

If everything goes according to plan and there are no major delays your tour will take about nine hours.:eek: There is a bus ride on either end, and the length of your bus ride back to the ship at the end of your transit will depend on if you take the ferry through the Pacific side locks to Panama City or if you cruise through Gatun Lake and go through the Gatun Locks, then cruise back to Colon.

 

If things don't go according to plan and you have to wait a long time for your slot in the locks the excursion can run over by three or four hours. Celebrity has done what they can to eliminate that possibility but it's not entirely within their control. Once you step foot on the ferry you are completely at the mercy of the Panama Canal Authority for your slot to transit.

 

We were on the ferry for six hours, but much of that was what I would consider downtime. I take a LOT of pictures, but even with my camera to occupy myself and my nerd obsession with a) big ships and b) how things work I got a little bored.:o With the exception of the locks themselves and the periodic cargo ship passing by there really wasn't a lot to see. I would have been very happy if I had brought something to amuse myself – a book, a magazine, or a deck of cards would all have been greatly appreciated. If I’d brought a bunch I probably could have sold them and paid for the excursion!!!:D

 

The ferry is functional, but it's not particularly comfortable, nor is it user friendly if you have any mobility challenges. Our ferry had very limited seating on the deck you enter the ship on, and it was not covered so those of us who chose to sit there were completely open to the elements. The buffet lunch is served down a very steep flight of stairs, and the only restrooms are down there as well. The bulk of the seating is upstairs on the upper deck. All of the seating is hard plastic chairs…I found myself squirming by the end of the day!:rolleyes:

 

If you have never been to the Panama Canal or taken a Panama Canal cruise I highly recommend this excursion. If you are not particularly interested in the canal itself or if you have seen it before there are many other tours offered that allow you to see more in a shorter amount of time. You can find tours offered both by Celebrity and some excellent reputable local guides.

 

I hope that helps future cruisers. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them.:)

 

[LynnMW3]

Cindy:

 

I've enjoyed your travelogue immensely, especially since we will be doing the same itinerary in April of next year. You've really whetted our appetites for every port! All of your pictures have been great, but this last one is fabulous!...and I don't even have much interest in the Canal. That picture is incredible!

 

Thanks for doing this...it really gives us an idea of what our cruise will be like next year (and I've contacted your guide in Cartagena already...but I won't say anymore until you give your report ;))

 

Thanks again!

[Cruise Raider]

Cindy, you really captured some amazing images of the canal.

We had completed a full transit through the Canal on the Mercury way back in 2000, back when it was still under US control. Your commentary as well as pictures taught me a lot that I either never knew or had forgotten.

 

We did the same itinerary as you on the Equinox earlier this month and the tour that we took in Panama made the entire trip worth it for us.

On this trip, we wanted to see the new Canal as well as what it looked like to see a ship go through the chambers of the lock from a different viewpoint and we certainly did get that. We were looking at the ferry ride into the Canal and through a set of the locks but there were two problems with that for us: By DH will not be on a tour that is longer than 5 hours and we always try to keep our tours under $100 pp.

So, we booked the tour that took us to Fort San Luis and then to the Canal Zone. This was one of the best tours I had ever taken and the cost was somewhat reasonable to boot.

The weather was much like ours from what I could tell and we even felt a little sprinkle while at the fort.

While the fort was definitely worthwhile to see, the highlight of this tour was not only seeing the new locks (not functioning), we were lucky enough to see the transit of two large ships in the canal from the viewing platform.

We had only about a 10-15 minute delay due to construction and then back to our ship. The tour was 4.5 hours long and also includes a stop in the jungle area on the way to the fort to see some howler monkeys that really put on a show for us.

On the way back, we had a short tour through the city of Colon and a warning that it isn't really a safe place for tourists on their own. We could clearly see that as being true. There was an area within walking distance of the ship that was heavily guarded and thus, safe for tourists. Alas, we were happy as clams after our tour and had no desire to go back out.

 

Cannot wait for your review on Cartagena. Love your eye for photography!!

[Cindy]

Cindy, you really captured some amazing images of the canal.

We had completed a full transit through the Canal on the Mercury way back in 2000, back when it was still under US control. Your commentary as well as pictures taught me a lot that I either never knew or had forgotten.

 

We did the same itinerary as you on the Equinox earlier this month and the tour that we took in Panama made the entire trip worth it for us.

On this trip, we wanted to see the new Canal as well as what it looked like to see a ship go through the chambers of the lock from a different viewpoint and we certainly did get that. We were looking at the ferry ride into the Canal and through a set of the locks but there were two problems with that for us: By DH will not be on a tour that is longer than 5 hours and we always try to keep our tours under $100 pp.

So, we booked the tour that took us to Fort San Luis and then to the Canal Zone. This was one of the best tours I had ever taken and the cost was somewhat reasonable to boot.

The weather was much like ours from what I could tell and we even felt a little sprinkle while at the fort.

While the fort was definitely worthwhile to see, the highlight of this tour was not only seeing the new locks (not functioning), we were lucky enough to see the transit of two large ships in the canal from the viewing platform.

We had only about a 10-15 minute delay due to construction and then back to our ship. The tour was 4.5 hours long and also includes a stop in the jungle area on the way to the fort to see some howler monkeys that really put on a show for us.

On the way back, we had a short tour through the city of Colon and a warning that it isn't really a safe place for tourists on their own. We could clearly see that as being true. There was an area within walking distance of the ship that was heavily guarded and thus, safe for tourists. Alas, we were happy as clams after our tour and had no desire to go back out.

 

Cannot wait for your review on Cartagena. Love your eye for photography!!

 

 

Thank you!:) I've been working on my Cartagena pictures, and I'm ready to get started!

[Cindy]

Sunday, March 20 -- Cartagena, Colombia

 

When I woke up on Sunday morning I was very excited to know that in a few short hours we would be docking in Cartagena, Colombia. When we first booked the cruise I wasn't enthusiastic about Cartagena at all. Colombia is not found on many garden-variety Caribbean itineraries, and information about Cartagena was not easy to find on Cruise Critic. Once I looked at Trip Advisor I started getting a little bit more excited. I found several reputable guides and sent inquiries. I heard back from Marelvy Pena-Hall (http://tourincartagena.com/index.htm or marelvy@gmail.com ) almost immediately, and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

I ended up communicating with Marelvy for over a year and booked two separate tours with her. I shared both tours on my Cruise Critic Roll Call, and they were very well received. We ended up with 21 people on a Sunday evening tour, and more than 40 in several groups on a customized Monday Tour. I can’t recommend Marelvy highly enough! She was very easy to work with and provided one of the best experiences we have ever had in a port.:D

 

I had big plans for my Sunday morning. I did absolutely nothing for the first two hours that I was awake, then I relaxed, then I did nothing in a different location, and finally I got busy on my big plans. I did laundry!:rolleyes: That consisted of two different tasks. The first was gathering up (mostly) Jim's things and sending them out using one of our free bags of laundry coupons. Unfortunately, other than my socks, most of my clothes are severely allergic to hot water and hot dryers so my second task was washing my clothes in the sink. This wouldn't have been too bad except the sinks on the Equinox are definitely not designed for clothes washing!:p I finally figured out how to keep the water and suds in the sink long enough to get the job done, but it took some creativity! I then hung everything up across the cabin using magnetic hooks and a bungee clothes line. I'm sure Nolan, my cabin steward, really appreciated having to duck under all that mess for a couple days!

 

You'll have to use your imagination a bit here -- I decided I didn't need to post a picture of my panties on Cruise Critic!:eek: I did want to post the picture though, because the magnet hooks and bungee clothes line really worked well. I thought things dried much faster than they would have in the bathroom with all the humidity.

[cekay323]

Cindy,

I love your clothesline garden!:D

You are doing such a great job on this review, I can't wait to see what you say about the tours in Cartagena. It was so much fun! Even though I enjoyed all the ports on this cruise, Cartagena was my favorite.

[Shirley C]

Love the clothesline. Very ingenious.

 

Shirley

[Cindy]

By the time I finished my chores and got cleaned up we were docked in Cartagena. Jim and I were in no hurry to do anything, and since we weren't meeting for our tour until 4:45 we still had a few hours to eat, drink, and be lazy.

 

We went for a walk around the mostly empty ship and stopped up top to take a closer look at the ships that were sharing the port with us. The ship closest to us was the Coral Princess. I thought that ship was interesting to see because it used to look just like the Island Princess before the poor Island Princess had the botched plastic surgery. Look how much nicer the aft of the Coral looks than the aft of the Island!

 

The other ship in port with us was the Holland America Westerdam. Jim and I have been on that ship before, and we have booked it again for a 12 night cruise in the Mediterranean next April. We wanted to get a good look at the aft corner balconies to make sure we had made the right decision. It looks like we could throw a party for the whole deck on our balcony, so I think we’ll enjoy that a lot!

 

The Coral Princess is closest to us, and the HAL Westerdam is in the background.

 

 

I like to play with Lightroom and Photoshop. That's one reason it takes me so long to get through my pictures!:rolleyes:

[Cindy]

The next stop on our agenda was at Bistro on Five for a nice, quiet, relaxing lunch.

 

 

 

Jim had a Root Beer Float while I was boring and stuck with Pellegrino.

 

 

 

We wanted something filling since we didn’t know what time we’d be eating that evening, and we both opted for a burger. We thought that they were some of the best that we've ever had anywhere! Our intention was to go back later in the week and have them again but that didn't work out.

 

 

 

I know Bistro on Five is usually mostly empty, and Celebrity is struggling to find something that will be a success (generate revenue) in that space. I really enjoyed the current Bistro menu on this cruise. I’d hate to see it converted to Sushi on Five, but it looks like that may be the direction they’re heading.:( In my opinion, part of the problem is the price point. Now that it’s a double digit surcharge many people think twice about eating there. If you are more than a couple, those fees can add up quickly. They might get more people to give it a try if they lowered the price, but that’s probably a topic for a different thread!:rolleyes:

[midwestchick]

Sunday, March 20 -- Cartagena, Colombia

 

When I woke up on Sunday morning I was very excited to know that in a few short hours we would be docking in Cartagena, Colombia. When we first booked the cruise I wasn't enthusiastic about Cartagena at all. Colombia is not found on many garden-variety Caribbean itineraries, and information about Cartagena was not easy to find on Cruise Critic. Once I looked at Trip Advisor I started getting a little bit more excited. I found several reputable guides and sent inquiries. I heard back from Marelvy Pena-Hall (http://tourincartagena.com/index.htm or marelvy@gmail.com ) almost immediately, and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

I ended up communicating with Marelvy for over a year and booked two separate tours with her. I shared both tours on my Cruise Critic Roll Call, and they were very well received. We ended up with 21 people on a Sunday evening tour, and more than 40 in several groups on a customized Monday Tour. I can’t recommend Marelvy highly enough! She was very easy to work with and provided one of the best experiences we have ever had in a port.:D

 

I had big plans for my Sunday morning. I did absolutely nothing for the first two hours that I was awake, then I relaxed, then I did nothing in a different location, and finally I got busy on my big plans. I did laundry!:rolleyes: That consisted of two different tasks. The first was gathering up (mostly) Jim's things and sending them out using one of our free bags of laundry coupons. Unfortunately, other than my socks, most of my clothes are severely allergic to hot water and hot dryers so my second task was washing my clothes in the sink. This wouldn't have been too bad except the sinks on the Equinox are definitely not designed for clothes washing!:p I finally figured out how to keep the water and suds in the sink long enough to get the job done, but it took some creativity! I then hung everything up across the cabin using magnetic hooks and a bungee clothes line. I'm sure Nolan, my cabin steward, really appreciated having to duck under all that mess for a couple days!

 

You'll have to use your imagination a bit here -- I decided I didn't need to post a picture of my panties on Cruise Critic!:eek: I did want to post the picture though, because the magnet hooks and bungee clothes line really worked well. I thought things dried much faster than they would have in the bathroom with all the humidity.

 

 

How did you get those flowers to cover up your undies? Cracked me up. 🤗 😂

[Cindy]

How did you get those flowers to cover up your undies? Cracked me up.

 

They're Clip Art in Photoshop Elements.

[midwestchick]

They're Clip Art in Photoshop Elements.

 

 

I would love to know how to photoshop.....I've seen some really nice things people do with pictures

[Cindy]

We went down to the Martini Bar about 4:30 to meet everyone who was going on our tour. I was a little nervous because there were so many people I was sure somebody was going to be missing in action but it wasn't a problem. This was a very prompt Roll Call group!

 

We disembarked together and walked down to the end of the ship where Marelvy's daughter's friend Andrea was waiting to escort us through the port area and out to our bus.

 

Andrea met us right by the front of the ship, about halfway between the gangway and the terminal. There was also a shuttle available for those who couldn't or didn't want to walk.

 

 

It was a little slow getting out of the port because there was so much to see!

 

 

Showoff!

 

 

Yes, flamingoes really do sleep standing up!

 

 

 

 

I wonder what they're talking about???

[Cindy]

We finally made it out of the secure area and I was happy to meet Marelvy after the months of planning!

 

 

 

A short bus ride took us to our first stop at one of the entrances to the walled city.

 

 

 

Cartagena was founded in 1533 and faced numerous pirate attacks in its early years. Construction of the protective wall around the city was started as early as 1586 on the side of the city facing the ocean and continued on and off for over a century. The walls stretch 6.8 miles around the oldest part of Cartagena and today are enjoyed by residents and tourists alike.

 

Today, the cutouts that were used for cannon defense are popular spots for couples to watch the sunset.

 

 

I thought I was witnessing a proposal, but alas the guy was looking at his phone!:rolleyes:

 

 

Sunset through an arrow slit in Cartagena's protective wall.