Celebrity Equinox Jazz Fest cruise 4/24-5/5 Photo Review

[RRFPresident]

Food ration tickets:

 

Each item on display was numbered and you could match it to the description listed along the bottom of the case:

 

 

 

The crowds made things a bit more challenging as most ofthe winding spaces were tight and not conducive to an extra 20-30people standing around. By the time we had made it out of the mainexhibit area and encountered the gift shop where the dog tag systemsaid would be our last scan (though never did find where to do so),it had started storming heavily. The small gift shop had a line thewhole place long of people desperate to buy ponchos. The onlybuilding that was connected indoors was this building and therestaurant. To get to the Final Mission exhibit, we had to make a runfor it between buildings. Thankfully we had thought to bring theCelebrity umbrella from the suite!

 

 

 

 

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the movie orin Final Mission. While we waited in line to go in, we were givencards assigning us the names of real soldiers from this fatefulsubmarine ride on the USS Tang based on what station they would havebeen assigned to. Dad and I got assigned to the Torpedo Data Computerreferred to as Station #13, portraying soldiers Henry Flanagan andPete Narowanski.

 

 

 

Pete's hometown was listed as Baltimore on the card sothat was a nice surprise. Inside everyone filed to their stations andit became super dark so you had to rely on watching for your stationto light up during the narration when it was your turn to turn theknobs or dials or whatever was on your station. Our station requiredturning a series of three dials in the direction of the lit up arrowuntil the lights changed. The story involved having to survive beinghit and they had the ceiling cut out to show a changing atmosphere asthe story progressed. You really felt like you were there in thatmoment right up until the end when smoke and fog came billowing intothe chamber. We were soon directed out the opposite door of thesimulation as the lights came back on. The exit space before you headback into the main open display area featured a wall that showedwhether your assigned soldier made it out alive or not. Happy to saythat both our guys survived.

 

 

This building housed two stories worth of tanks and planes:

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An interactive display where you could vote or answer multiple choice questions given through a narration:

 

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A quick dash back to the other building in the rain andfound our way back to the front entrance. Thankfully an awning kept the small group gathered dryas we each routinely snagged cabs the second they arrived to drop offvisitors.

 

 

 

 

One touch I have not seen on any other cruise that I wasreally impressed by is how Celebrity provided for passengers as theycame back to the ship today. As we passed through the securitybuilding and got to the usual offerings of cold towels and water, oneof the passengers joked that she needed warm towels on a day likethis, not cold! The crew member replied that they would have towelsinside and I thought he was jokingly referring to her being welcometo grab a pool towel or one from her cabin once back on board. Wemade a very hurried power walk dash from the security building towhere the ship actually boarded and once dinged back in and dumpedoff our backpack through the security scanner, an officer stood atthe end of the metal detectors and wrapped each passenger in warmsoft blue towels. Very classy, Celebrity!

[RRFPresident]

Tempted by the thought of hunkering down in the cabinand ordering room service for lunch, we decided instead to brave thebuffet. I say brave because everyone else had the same idea give ortake the 100 or so that bombarded Cafe Al Bacio desperate for a warmcoffee. A kind couple who had a four top table was nice enough towave us over to share. I decided to try the make your own pastastation and Dad was jealous that I'd found spaghetti and meatballs.He was happy though that the buffet still made a point of havingturkey sandwich meat available after he asked for it the other day.

 

 

 

 

After lunch Dad used the time to go book a haircut andhot shave at the spa to help use up some OBC during their port dayspecials. It seems that there's only one men's barber on board so hecould only make an early morning appointment for our day in Cozumel.He also had been having trouble getting his iPad to retrieve newemails so he paid a visit to the iLounge to use their computers. Ispent the time relaxing in the cabin enjoying the perfectly workinginternet on my Kindle Fire tablet. On his way back to the cabin, Dadstopped at Cafe Al Bacio and asked for the least coffee tastingcoffee option and was given a Cafe Americano. He left it sitting onour cabin's dining table for a long while to cool down and then stillhated the taste.

 

 

 

 

Headed down to our routine afternoon trivia session at4PM where we met up with Ron and Sue only to learn that they'd alsobeen at the museum today. They told us about their shady cab driverto get there today who didn't turn on the meter and sure enough, itwas a lady in a red van cab. We shared our story about the daybefore.

 

 

 

 

Tonightwe did make a reservation for dinner expecting to have to be back onboard by 7PM initially and headed down to Muranos. Walked in justafter a large group and the host had to force them all to takeseveral tables for two in order to clear the lobby entrance. Anotherwoman was trying to get the host to do something but the hostinsisted that she can't do whatever it was until 6:30PM. The womanpointed out that 6:30PM was only three minutes away from now but thehost just replied “Yes it is” and walked away from her to seatus.

 

 

 

 

Therestaurant was so busy tonight that we ended up seated at the curvedbench table facing the back that forces you to sit snuggled close.Felt like kids in the backwards seat of the station wagon because wewere stuck staring at the people at the two window tables duringdinner.

 

 

Our little amouse bouche tonight was their version of a caprese salad with half a grape tomato, a sliver of mozzarella, and I think some sort of basil pesto:

 

I felt so classy when the remnants of my Sprite can got stowed in the champagne bucket:

 

Dad got the same crab appetizer he'd had before. My appetizer of Creamy Maine Lobster Bisque Leek and Shallot Flan, Cognac Cream, Crispy Sweet Yellow Corn Beignets:

 

 

 

It was good and such a pretty presentation but I feltsilly using the little spoon provided to eat the soup until Irealized that it was probably meant just for mixing in the cream.Uncultured, party of 2!

 

 

 

 

Now that this was our second time at Murano and we'dsatisfied Dad's choice of the Chateaubriand, I ordered what I reallywanted, the tableside prepared lobster for my entree. What amountedto two lobster tails, vegetables, and seasonings was so tasty that Imoved the mashed potato and other veggie side dish into the leftoversauce on my plate. The only thing to ruin the experience was thewoman at the table by the window who kept trying to interrupt ourwaiter while he was cooking to complain about how long it was takingto get the cheese cart. I think she threatened to leave at one pointbut the waiter implored her to wait so she sunk back in her chair andtossed her napkin onto the table in a huff.

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Dad ordered the Five-Spice Crusted Cervena Venison Loin Celery Root Fondant, Wilted Spinach, Red Cabbage Marmalade, Lingonberry Sauce and took the waiter's suggestion of ordering the venisoncooked to medium instead of medium well. He found it delicious!

 

 

For dessert we shared the dessert sampler which was alog filled with tiny shot glasses of each creamy concoction. Wepretended to be food critics as we sampled each one with our tinyspoons.

 

 

 

On the way out of Muranos, we stopped in to Michael'sClub to chat with Manuela. She told us that she'd sent a new copy ofthe luggage valet paperwork but we never got it. We had brieflyconsidered changing our upcoming Baltic cruise to Celebrity and shegave us some insight from her own travels to the region. Anotherpassenger walked by and stopped when he heard us mention Tallin andgushed about the town.

 

We headed down to the theater for the show featuringJoseph Reohm, billed as a comedic magician and illusionist. Dad triedto order a mudslide and a Sprite and the bartender insisted on having2 cards to do that. Given that I also planned on ordering a mudslide,we couldn't just hand over my card to cover Dad's drinks. The waitertook both our cards, brought back the three drinks and our cards, andpromised to run Dad's card number again in a few minutes for thesoda. Not once the entire cruise did we have to sign for a drink norhave it show up on our account. These mudslides though tasted way toostrong and we put them aside after a few sips. The magic show waspretty average and from my seat, it was mostly watching around a poleand through the slat in between glass partitions so it didn't takelong for me nod off again.

 

Our final stragglers making their way back to the ship at the last minute:

 

 

 

Rushed back upstairs to grab the camera and head down toCelebrity Central for Frisky Family Feud. Knowing that the placewould be packed, I suggested that Dad go straight there from thetheater to save a seat but Dad wanted to come back to the cabin too.When we got back the place was almost filled up. We tried askingabout some empty seats in the second row but a couple women insistedthat they were saving them. Dad tried to point out that no seatsaving was technically allowed but the women insisted that theirfriends had just gotten up to get a drink and would be right back. Wefound two seats left at the tables in the back and Dad noticed howjust as the show was starting, those ladies who had been saving seatsgot up and left anyway after their “friends” never showed. Ithink the two seats we did take were intending to be saved as wellbecause we got quite the dirty look from the couple next to us whenwe sat down but at least they didn't say anything. That or my babyface syndrome struck again and they were thinking Dad snuck histeenager into the adult event. I must be looking at least a littlebit older these days because people have upgraded from asking how Igot the days off from high school to asking what I'm studying incollege. Though I did get asked just last year by an RCL waiter if Iwas “allowed to drink” as he was passing out Bellini at an event.I was tempted to reply by offering to sign my own permission slip.

 

The game was run by Richard hosting and Justin runningthe computer program. Richard wanted one male and one female to comeup from each side of the room for each question and they took turnsgiving answers if their team got the chance to play. The game waslabeled in the newsletter as being for over 21 only but the mostrisque it got was questions asking for slang terms for body parts.

 

 

Richard making a joke about the microphone needing Viagara while trying to adjust it for Bobbie:

[RRFPresident]

All kinds of education going on this cruise as we learned how to say certain body part slang in sign language thanks to Pat:

 

He got the #1 answer!

 

This guy was a riot during his turn:

 

and this young lady giggled from nervous embarrassment at every answer:

 

So she made her husband "volunteer" next:

 

Perhaps Justin needs a proofreader? Curious to know what the wheel BORROW looks like:

[RRFPresident]

About halfway through the game, Justin sent one of thetech crew off to find shirts to give out to participants. Dad endedup participating in one of the last rounds because no one else wasvolunteering and won himself our third shirt.

Nothing makes a daughter prouder than watching her father give answers for popular sex toys:

 

I must have blocked from my memory why he would be raising his hand here:

 

 

 

Dad had worn his first won Celebrity shirt during thetrip to the museum today and for the rest of the afternoon back onboard many people stopped to compliment him on it. Riding in theelevator with another couple earlier in the day, the man admiredDad's shirt and instantly his wife got on his case about wanting yetanother shirt. She told us of his extensive collection and how herefuses to get rid of the worn out ones. He protested because theworn out ones are his favorite since they fit so much better now.When Dad won this extra shirt tonight, I joked about finding that guyagain now that we had one to spare. Dad added on to the joke and bythe time we'd made it down the hall, we had a whole bit goingsounding like an infomercial “if you call in the next ten minutes,we'll throw in a tote bag and deck of cards!”

 

 

 

 

Stopped by Cafe Al Bacio to see what snacks they mighthave but they were already closed. Returned to the cabin where Dadelected to retire early and I spent some time online before headingto bed myself.

[Cinerama]

 

Perhaps Justin needs a proofreader? Curious to know what the wheel BORROW looks like:

 

Wheelbarrow - think closer.

 

[miched]

My wife and I were on this cruise. We were in AQ and we received all 4 perks because of the promo that was offered.

 

We have many times talked about trying a suite but thanks to your review I doubt is it is worth the extreme extra costs. We had a nice cabin on the slant that had a extended balcony. Didn't have any issues with our cabin attendant but have had better. Service and food in Blu was the same as always and was what we had expected. We probably paid 1/4 of what you paid and didn't have all the personal issues and drama that you encountered. We had a fantastic time and will now no longer consider a suite because of your photos and reviews of Luminae, Michaels Club and etc.

 

 

Just for you info, you stated that the reason you booked this cruise wasn't really for the Jazz Fest and it was because you got all 4 perks. The current promo on X is that if you book a suite you get all 4 perks so you could have booked some other itinerary.

 

 

Thanks for a honest review that isn't glorifying a suite, Luminae, and justifying the cost.

 

I think you would have been better off staying with the AQ as they can separate the beds and you wouldn't have had to dealt with the Butler.

 

Happy cruising 🚢🇺🇸🌊🌞

[gordylad]

would be good to hear from anyone who was on this cruise about the jazz aspect? Did it turn out to be the jazz cruise that people were expecting?

[RRFPresident]

My wife and I were on this cruise. We were in AQ and we received all 4 perks because of the promo that was offered.

 

We have many times talked about trying a suite but thanks to your review I doubt is it is worth the extreme extra costs. We had a nice cabin on the slant that had a extended balcony. Didn't have any issues with our cabin attendant but have had better. Service and food in Blu was the same as always and was what we had expected. We probably paid 1/4 of what you paid and didn't have all the personal issues and drama that you encountered. We had a fantastic time and will now no longer consider a suite because of your photos and reviews of Luminae, Michaels Club and etc.

 

 

Just for you info, you stated that the reason you booked this cruise wasn't really for the Jazz Fest and it was because you got all 4 perks. The current promo on X is that if you book a suite you get all 4 perks so you could have booked some other itinerary.

 

 

Thanks for a honest review that isn't glorifying a suite, Luminae, and justifying the cost.

 

I think you would have been better off staying with the AQ as they can separate the beds and you wouldn't have had to dealt with the Butler.

 

Happy cruising 🚢🇺🇸🌊🌞

 

The nice thing about cruising is that you can make it what you want, regardless of price. I've heard some people say they don't care what category cabin they get, they just want to be on the ship. There are things we got from being in the suite itself that an AquaSpa cabin would not like specialty dining etc. Could we have lived without those? Absolutely! We've sailed in a concierge cabin on Celebrity before and from what I could tell, the only difference between them and AquaSpa is Blue and use of some spa facilities.

 

We're used to the suite life over at Princess so when we decided to try Celebrity, we expected more for the extra cost is all I'm trying to convey. The next person to sail in a suite could have the best attendants ever and have a totally different experience. Just like how you can ask one person about the dining room food and they'll rave about it while the next person will say it was horrible. I still made the most of the trip itself.

 

While the perks were what drew me to looking at Celebrity in the first place, it was this itinerary and the unique 3 days in New Orleans that sealed the deal. I don't think we'd have bothered if it was a different itinerary. In the end, we decided to stick with our next cruise plans on Princess simply because even without a butler, the perks they give for any suite for the significantly lower price is just right for us.

[RRFPresident]

would be good to hear from anyone who was on this cruise about the jazz aspect? Did it turn out to be the jazz cruise that people were expecting?

 

If you haven't gotten the chance to read the comments others have been sharing about the few jazz themed activities and performances on board, please seek them out. I even expected more of a jazz theme presence in everything on board from the games to the shows which is why I pictured having a lot of free time. It really was just a nicer way to travel and offer lodging for those wishing to attend the jazz fest.

 

There were a lot of people on our roll call excitedly talking about the acts they were interested in seeing and making plans for attending the festival. Hopefully some of them can chime in with that perspective?

[RRFPresident]

Monday, May 1st

 

 

 

 

Finally another sea day! Used the need for showers toforce us to get up early enough this morning to go to Luminae forbreakfast. Even though we were seated right away, the whole flow ofthe place seemed off. We were served water without any question ofpreference and when I asked for orange juice, they brought Dad someinstead. We were asked again about coffee and as usual said no but IV(not our waiter today) remembered that I liked hot chocolate andoffered to bring some. It came soon after in a small thinner cup thanbefore and while the mug was slightly warm, the drink inside of itwas cold. The usual waitress who brings around the bread tray hadbeen the one to bring our water so it took another 15 minutes for adifferent waiter to offer bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I asked what was in the small donut puffs on the trayand he piled two on my plate before revealing that they were stuffedwith pineapple today. Can't wait until I get back to the suitebreakfast on Princess where they have simple cream filled powdereddonuts. Tried the strawberry pancakes today and just like the othergriddle items, a stack of plain pancakes with a dollop of strawberrycompote on top. Compote on top does not make it a “flavored”pancake!

Dad stuck to the simple salmon bagel and eggs over easy. Onthe mystery bacon front, I ordered bacon to see if it that wouldfinally mean it would end up on his plate like he wanted but they gotus again by putting bacon on both our plates!

One thing that struckus as odd was that while we sat at breakfast waiting on our orders,another waitress brought over today's lunch menu for us to check out.Didn't do that on the first sea day nor the last.

 

 

I grabbed a picture of the lunch menu since we had the opportunity:

 

 

 

With some time to kill, we wandered in search of theAqua Spa Cafe and Slush.

Self serve muffins at AquaSpa:

 

Plenty of fruit in its juices - in retrospect I probably should have visited here and left a bowl worth to snack on in the cabin.

[RRFPresident]

The menu for healthy smoothies and juices:

 

Yogurt sundaes:

 

These were either museli or oatmeal?

 

Artfully arranged plates of fresh fruit:

 

Passing through the solarium I spotted the chair lift for those who need assistance getting in and out of the pool:

[RRFPresident]

Watch the waves go by in these canopied loungers:

Or go for full relaxation in a hammock:

 

Slush menu (the picture of the drink changes as it goes down the list of drink options. In this pic, you can see that this is the picture of the Golden Coconut because the text in the name is a different color)

 

To be continued but for now enjoy this view from where we went next this day:

[RRFPresident]

Today, we had to skip our usual morning trivia sessionas our invitation to the bridge tour was for 10:20AM. We were allinstructed to meet at the elevators on Deck 10 Forward where Manuelasoon joined us. I'd estimate there was about 8-10 of us gathered.Once a security officer arrived, we followed Manuela to the door tothe stairwell leading to the Bridge. We were brought into thestairwell one at a time to be wanded. Once you were checked, youstood at the other end of the stairwell until everyone was done. WhenI was scanned by my shorts pocket, the sensor beeped and I pulled outmy cruise card thinking that was the source. He scans my pocket againand it still beeps. All I had left in my pocket was cough drops andpulled them out to show him. He let me pass but it left me wonderingwhat was in these cough drops I'd been living on the last few days.Dad of course had no issues when scanned.

 

 

 

A young officer from Ireland had us all gathered aroundone of the stations on the wings. We learned that these smallerinstrument panels are the same as the big panels in the center. Theyhad a model of the ship that the officer used to explain about theazipods.

 

 

 

A few people in the group must have either had sailingor military background because they asked a lot of specificknowledgeable questions. There is a door on these wing areas of thebridge where the crew can step out in their harnesses to clean theoutside windows. There is also a glass panel in the floor so the officerscan look directly down at where the side of the ship is in relationto the dock.

 

 

We noticed several heads of garlic left sitting aroundthe bridge and the officer explained that it was a superstition ofthe Captain.

 

[RRFPresident]

 

A button to "keep them awake" according to the officer. It has to be pressed every so many minutes or it triggers alarms:

[RRFPresident]

Looks like they'll be using those windshield wipers today:

 

Great view of the bow:

 

 

 

At one point, Manuela, who had been looking out thefront windows while we listened to the officer, came running over tostand by us with a shriek. As we were leaving at the end of the tourand most people had gone ahead, Manuela turned back to us to explainthat she'd been looking out the window and spotted a shark so itscared her.

[RRFPresident]

Example of my weird sense of humor - I couldn't help but notice that the way our beach towel prize was folded within the plastic wrap, it looks like it reads "Ry Lives Here."

 

 

Dad wanted to try out the Gastrobar food for lunch andit must be such a rarity that anyone orders food that it threw thetwo crew members working for a loop. They had to converse with eachother, then call someone with their questions, then call someone elseto place the order all the while assuring us that they were takingcare of it. About 15 minutes later, they finally got back to us totell us to go sit somewhere and the food will be brought to us. Thebest spot available was a small couch tucked in an alcove that had acoffee table in front of it. It took another 35 minutes for the foodto finally show up as one of the guys had to go down and retrieve it.I nearly fell asleep sitting there on the couch waiting.

 

Dad ordered the Housemade Beef Burger (thought the little attached bowls for ketchup was cute! And yes, he gave me those pickles)

 

 

and I went with the Truffled Grilled Cheese:

 

 

We didn't realize they both came with fries so we alsoordered the Truffle Fries.

 

 

 

Each entree cost $12 and the fries were $6. Withautomatically added gratuity, it came to $35.40. Dad loved the burgerbut I found the grilled cheese tough to eat without cutting it up. Wehad initially thought that the Gastrobar food cost would be coveredunder our specialty restaurant perk but upon later mentioning it toManuela, she explained that it's an exemption because it's considereda bar, not a restaurant. We accepted it, especially since we had theOBC to cover it, but that explanation baffled us since the gelatoplace isn't a restaurant technically either and our food was coveredthere. I guess that means if they ever were to charge for thepastries at Cafe Al Bacio, our suite perk wouldn't cover us thereeither because it's technically a coffee shop?

 

I was wondering if perhaps our steward Jose was being“observed” as we call it at work today because this was the firsttime he not only was servicing our cabin promptly as expected whilewe were at breakfast but he left it in perfect condition. Reunitedwith our main trivia friends of Ron, Sue, and Barbara to play theafternoon trivia sessions and after saying to them all cruise, “heystop by our suite and we'll show you around,” and them thinking wewere joking, we finally made a point of outright inviting them tofollow us back to our suite now for a tour. After showing themaround, we all sat in the living room and shared stories of our crazytravel experiences.

 

 

We happened to wander into Michael's Club while tea timewas going on and so the wait staff were quick to offer drinks. Idecided to try the Mint Sparkling Lemonade but it turned out to be aglass of club soda that they'd stuck lime and lemon wedges and mintleaves in. Not a fan of lemonade of lemon in my water so I didn'tdrink much. Another waiter descended to offer little sandwiches(slider size) and treats and the turkey sandwich I tried was tasty.

 

Tonight's dinner was at Silk Harvest again. We ended upat a table for two that was in a row with one of every table'soccupants sitting on the long bench that ran the length of the wall.It was interesting sitting next to a woman who had spent time in Asiaand had comments on each dish and whether it was really like whatshe'd had there. She tried to talk to the waiter in a differentlanguage when she found out he was from The Philippines but he didn'tseem to understand what she was saying. Given that we'd already madeour own version of a pu pu platter last time we were here, we toneddown our choices tonight going with the spring rolls, orange chicken,and fried rice for me and the beef & chicken satay, fried rice,hunan beef, and chinese pepper steak for Dad.

[RRFPresident]

After dinner we headed down to the Entertainment Courtfor the Celebrity Life activity, Wheel of Fortune. A lot of peoplewere expecting this to be more about contestants being picked and thechance to call out letters like you would on the TV show. Instead wewere shown a category and a puzzle board and just expected to yellout guesses for the full puzzle. Once Vanna, I mean Ashley, heard theright answer, she'd take note of whether the passenger had astarboard or port cabin. If no one got it right away, Ashley wouldadd letters to the puzzle until someone guessed it. One of the roundshad the theme of animals and was only a handful of letters so Iyelled out “hamster.” I was wrong but eventually when no one wasgetting it, Ashley hinted that I was close and soon the correctanswer of “chipmunk” was yelled out by someone. After a while, Igot perhaps a little too silly when a few of the puzzles had the sameamount of letters and just started running with the joke of yellingout “hamster” for everything. All in good fun and I promise, Ihadn't been drinking!

 

 

While we were near the shops, Dad had the idea ofchecking out the perfume/cosmetics shop and using some of our OBC tobuy Mom her favorite perfume. We did find it, Calvin Klein's Obsession, for $29 for the 3.4 fl. oz. bottle she prefers but to getthat price, we had to buy a cosmetics item. Not a bad priceconsidering it usually costs anywhere from $60-$90 a bottle at home.I looked around for a while but since I don't usually wear anythingother than nail polish, it wasn't easy to find a cosmetic item worthbuying. We decided to wait on purchasing and think it over some more.

 

A brief break to enjoy the few other pictures I have from today:

 

Dad next headed to the casino as he loves to play crapsbut found the group playing at the time to be too intricate in theway they were making bets and play moved so fast that he couldn'tkeep up. After losing all but $10 of the $100 I'd allocated fromonboard credit in the slot machines, I'd had my fill of the casino aswell.

 

I headed up to the buffet for a snack but insteadfound that the theme for tonight had changed from Mexican to bringingthe grill indoors. They were using the buffet griddles to grill hotdogs and hamburgers and had laid out all the fixings along withfries. I grabbed a hot dog for myself and spotted some plainchocolate cake that I knew Dad would love and took it all back to thecabin. Thank you to the kind fellow passenger in the elevator whopushed my deck button for me as my hands were full! Made it to thecabin without dropping anything miraculously enough and found outjust how much a few years of squatting down to make shots inpickleball comes in handy when I had to squat down to put one plateon the floor, fish out my card to open the door, and then proceed tohold my finally good for something Italian booty against the doorwhile balancing the first plate and squatting down to pick up theother. No snacks were harmed in the effort to get back inside mycabin! So of course after all that effort, Dad walks in 5 minuteslater enjoying a waffle cone of gelato for his snack instead!

[miched]

The Wheel of Fortune has to be one of the most idiotic games they do on the ship. Years ago we went to it on the Summit. People were shouting out the correct answers before any letters were shown. The CD made a comment about how amazing it was as it never happened before and that the crowd must really be fans of WOF.

 

Don't know what the attraction was as there were no prizes being offered and since it was no fun we left after a few rounds. Never attended it again.

 

happy cruising 🚢🌊🇺🇸🌞

[RRFPresident]

Tuesday, May 2nd

 

 

 

 

Having just been to the other side of Mexico last falland done excursions featuring tequila tasting and mariachi shows, itboiled down to a question of whether I want to visit the ruins and ifso, in which Mexican port? If I'd chosen to go on a ruins excursiontoday as we visited Cozumel, it would have meant having to take along bus ride plus a ferry ride on the affectionately known barfboat. Honestly, I had settled on seeing no ruins in either port untilI watched a travel vlog showing both excursions to Tulum in Cozumeland the combo of Dzibanche and Kohunlich in Costa Maya. I decidedthen to go for the better for me choice of the combo in Costa Maya asit featured two sites, let you climb on the ruins in one of thesites, and only required a bus ride. Dad had visited the ruins whilevacationing on his own in Cancun decades earlier so whatever I chosewas going to be a solo excursion. While there are severalrecommendations for reliable tour companies that will get you back tothe ship in time, I knew either way being solo, I would be booking aship tour.

 

 

 

 

So while many passengers made their way off the ship fortours or day passes at the various beach resorts, Dad and I electedto stay on the ship today. Got to practice traveling solo thismorning though as with Dad's morning haircut and shave appointment atthe spa, he didn't have time for breakfast. I took myself down toLuminae and waited behind what seemed like the first long line I'dseen here. It turns out that each of those people had come in eitherthinking this was an extension of the dining room or were justhoping to avoid the lines. The staff turned them all away. A woman ina scooter seemed to remain just watching everything and didn'trespond for a while to the hostess who was trying to ask if she wasin a suite. Finally the woman responded and was not happy to be toldthat since she wasn't in a suite, she can't have breakfast here. I'mglad I had the forethought to step to the side as I saw how thesituation was escalating. The hostess remained professional andeventually the woman whipped her scooter in a complete circle andzoomed out the door in a huff muttering about how dare she be toldshe can't eat there and mocking the hostess' words about therestaurant being just for suite guests. I can only imagine hervisiting guest services later. The hostess and I exchanged reassuringsmiles and calming deep breaths as she showed me to my table for one.

 

 

Table of 1:

 

 

 

Once seated, several of the staff wandered by to ask ifDad was coming. I chuckled at the few weird looks I got when Ianswered, no he's actually at the spa this morning. In the name ofthis review, I decided to try the strawberry smoothie which was soonjoined by my usual orange juice, water, and yes hot chocolate thatthey've now taken to bringing whether I thought to ask for it or not.I'm sure it was quite the sight seeing me alone at the table with 4drinks!

 

 

Somebody felt like being artsy today with my hot chocolate:

 

Strawberry Smoothie:

 

Hmm, is there a support group for breakfast drinks anonymous:

 

 

 

I ordered the Granola Parfait to start, mostly becauseI'm a glutton for punishment as I always expect these granolaparfaits to taste better. But really, it was just because it wassomething we hadn't tried yet and I wanted to share the picture withyou all. Princess' suite breakfast restaurant also offers a granolaparfait and I don't like theirs either. Maybe next time I'll just askfor the yogurt and the fruit part of the parfait.

 

 

 

Went with the Eggs Benedict for my entree and it waspretty good.

 

 

 

IV wandered by asking if I wanted anything else and Ijoked that if I had anything else, they'll have to roll me out ofhere. Without missing a beat, he replied “We can do that!” Ireplied “Wow, you must really be full service here then?” and helaughed and said “Yup!” before heading back into the kitchen.

[RRFPresident]

After a round of morning trivia, I met back up with Dadat the cabin. He enjoyed his haircut and hot shave experience but wassurprised that there was no hard sell on products afterward. Thefinal charge was $90.86.

 

 

The after photo:

 

 

 

He continued to relax in the air conditioning of ourcabin while I braved the humidity to wander the outside decks to getpictures of our port neighbors, RCL's Empress of the Seas and thenewly fresh from seeing them in drydock at the beginning of ourcruise, the Carnival Breeze! While we were off enjoying Key West andNew Orleans, the Breeze had returned to Galveston and picked up afresh supply of cruisers.

 

Doesn't this picture just say Caribbean:

 

Looking back toward the aft:

 

The barf boat ferry:

 

We docked at the International Pier:

[RRFPresident]

The next time a new cruiser wants to know what drinks are free, you can always help yourself to the water fountain by the basketball court:

 

Is this a crew stairwell on the aft of the Empress?

 

Rock on Empress of the Seas:

 

Nice little shaded areas in the middle of RCL's pool deck:

 

I love that they had hammocks right by the railing windows

[RRFPresident]

My attempt to take an artsy photo - the Empress was docked right next to us and you could see the gangway reflected in their weird giant mirror:

 

I can only picture the greatest game of musical chairs being played here:

 

Okay enough showing off the competition, back to random shots of the Equinox's open decks:

 

Can't you just picture the most interesting game of beer pong from this angle?