LIVE!! FROM THE EQUINOX PRESIDENT's Cruise August 27th, 2017 - ChicagoPaul

[airhose]

Good review! I was curious about the 'Captain's Club Zumba class' mentioned in the daily program. Is it just for club members? Any fee? Location? TIA.

[biguntx]

Paul

Gary from Austin TX

Aproached you at the pool today

Sorry for the interruption

Cost of celebrity!

Big fan!

Perhaps travel blogging will become your full time!

Sorry again for approaching you

Once did the same to Bob Hope he too was very accommodating

 

Gary

[nps001]

Yes, we did buy the package for all nights for specialty dining. We actually bought it ahead of time and used on board credit. We were able to navigate the website to make it happen. We were able to 20% off because they were running a special in June. We ended up paying $384 total for the two of us for 8 nights of specialty. Not bad! No restrictions with regard to number of times you can dine in a single one which means we could eat at Murano every night if we want. We planned to do that but they're closed 3 nights this cruise for private dinner events.

 

 

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Paul--Have been enjoying reading your posts. Quick question---we purchased a 12 night specialty dining package. Do you know how I can go about making reservations for each night by specifying the restaurant and time? It appears that it has assigned us a dining time of 6-10pm on the first night only. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

[watchdiva]

Thanks for the recommendation. By chance do you know if he sells any watches?

 

 

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I recommend Jewels By Love..the owner is Love Mahtani and when I worked for a luxury watch brand (Ulysse Nardin) he carried our collection. If you stop in tell him Lin who retired from UN, Inc sent her best!

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Paul

Gary from Austin TX

Aproached you at the pool today

Sorry for the interruption

Cost of celebrity!

Big fan!

Perhaps travel blogging will become your full time!

Sorry again for approaching you

Once did the same to Bob Hope he too was very accommodating

 

Gary

 

No interruption at all. Thank you for stopping by and saying hi! It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope you're enjoying the cruise. Feel free to stop by and say hi anytime.

[chicagopaul]

Paul--Have been enjoying reading your posts. Quick question---we purchased a 12 night specialty dining package. Do you know how I can go about making reservations for each night by specifying the restaurant and time? It appears that it has assigned us a dining time of 6-10pm on the first night only. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

 

Thank you for reading along! We've never made reservations ahead of time when purchasing the package. In the past we've purchased the package ahead of time and on the ship and we've always made reservations on the ship. Some people have said they've tried to call up and make reservations. Not sure if they're successful.

 

We've never had an issue getting the times that we want, or at least close to. We typically eat dinner at 8:00pm or 8:30pm. Typically what we do is make a list of what we want and as soon as we get on the ship head over to one of the specialty restaurants and have them make all the reservations for us. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. The advantage of doing this too, is if a restaurant is booked for a special event, etc. they can tell you on the spot. They can also let you know when the evening chic nights are in case you want to eat in a specific restaurant on those days.

 

Hope this helps!

[marshabear]

really enjoying your posts! thanks again!

 

did you dock in Havensight or Crown Bay in St Thomas??

 

 

 

 

Marsha

[chicagopaul]

really enjoying your posts! thanks again!

 

did you dock in Havensight or Crown Bay in St Thomas??

 

 

 

 

Marsha

 

Hi Marsha! Hope your packing is going well for the cruise. We docked at Crown Bay, which is the dock a little farther out. According to the staff, the Equinox will continue to dock here for a little while. However, if you're taking a taxi into town the staff on the ship says its only a $4 taxi ride.

[chicagopaul]

While I am at my laptop, my phone is currently charging, I just wanted to type up a quick "mid cruise" review for you all. Once I'm back on my phone I'll post a few photos I took today. I also posted a couple quick videos on my Instagram. PaulKBlackburn is my Insta account.

 

Staff

 

All the staff on the ship has been fantastic. We've been very pleased with the bar service and there appears to be more bartenders on this ship than on other S-Class ships. In talking with a couple staff members, this is actually true. There are more bartenders on the Equinox than on the Reflection, even though this ship carries slightly less passengers. I've noticed 3 to 4 bartenders at the pool bar today. I've also noticed 3 bartenders at the martini bar in the evening. When one heads away for dinner it seems like another person is there to replace. Now, I'm here typically from 6 to 7:30 so this may change at different times.

 

Service in Ensemble lounge has been very good. We've been stopping in there for a glass of wine before dinner and we're always able to grab a seat (around 7:30 to 8:00pm) and always get a drink right away. FYI we're sitting at the bar, not at a table, but from what I can observe the cocktail servers are very attentive.

 

Service in restaurants

 

As you may have read we've only eaten in specialty for dinner. We've been extremely happy with the service in Murano. I think this is true of most people. We ate in Tuscan once and will be back there again today. Service in Tuscan was great. It was a bit slow to start and I think this was because of 1) how crowded it was and 2) Lisa and her group were dining in there as well.

 

We've eaten at Mast Bar a couple times. Service has been quick. The line has not been long. Though on the last sea day this may be different!

 

Mast Grill One of you asked if there was any shaded area to eat around Mast Grill and unfortunately there is not. It is right in the sun! You might get very lucky and grab a very tiny table off in the corner that is partially shaded. I have noticed people take food down to the loungers by the pool and eat in the shaded areas. Aqua Spa cafe is inside by the Solarium and is of course shaded which could be another good option for the person who asked.

 

Shows Last night we saw the Broadway Cabaret show which I always enjoy. I found the vocals of most on stage to be excellent and the song choices were very well varied to appeal to a broad range (no pun intended) of Broadway and West End tastes. Tonight is the show "Life" which I'm told is different from your typical show so I'm very much looking forward to it.

 

Cleanliness The ship is clean as it should be. I haven't noticed any issues in the public restrooms. The bar areas have always seemed very clean as have the seating areas around the pool deck.

 

Pool Towels Pool Towels seem to be in short supply on this ship. We had to wait for some to take off with us yesterday in St. Maarten. Today they were low or nearly out much of the time by the pool which was strange since the pool wasn't that crowded and I didn't notice many chair hogs at all. Very bizarre. Maybe they were having a cleaning issue with the towels.

 

Weather Obviously Celebrity cannot control the weather. Though I'm sure some passengers think they can :rolleyes: The weather on this cruise has been great. A couple quick spots of rain randomly, but overall it has been fantastic. It's been warm but not the scorching heat I was expecting which is a nice surprise.

 

OK - Stay tuned for some more photos later today. I have to keep up with my 10 photos per day! Anyone else who has questions please feel free to ask. I plan to check out the casino in a little while if it opens before 6pm, so I will report on that.

[BEAV]

Paul,

 

As always, enjoying your blogs. Appreciate the time you invest while on vacation! Continue to enjoy the rest of the cruise.

[ArizonaCruisers]

Paul, We are booked on the Equinox Oct 6 sailing, and someone on our roll call linked to your thread. Just want to say thanks, your running blog is entertaining and informative! - Mike

[happicruzer]

Thank you for your blog - glad you had mostly good weather. We get on as you get off and the current forecast for Irma appears to be our itinerary, knew we picked a great one, but could do without her visit!

 

We always storm proof but will have a bit more to do this time around, just in case, like filling water containers and freezing them just in case of a short power outage. Won't be the first refrigerator of food to toss out.

[shipshape sam]

Did I miss it or did no one ask a question about the web site performance or lack there of at the gathering with LLP of if asked, she did not respond?

 

Sounds like a great cruise so far too! Thanks for taking time out of your day/cruise!

[Shorty52]

Paul,

 

As always, enjoying your blogs. Appreciate the time you invest while on vacation! Continue to enjoy the rest of the cruise.

 

 

We will be on the Equinox 10/6. I look forward to reading your blog each day! Thank you for taking time away from your vacation.

[Nanatravel]

Hi Marsha! Hope your packing is going well for the cruise. We docked at Crown Bay, which is the dock a little farther out. According to the staff, the Equinox will continue to dock here for a little while. However, if you're taking a taxi into town the staff on the ship says its only a $4 taxi ride.

 

Thanks Paul on confirming you are at Crown Bay. Our voyage was not showing up on the Port of St. Thomas cruise ship port schedule. I usually avoid the shopping, but am looking for a birthday present so do plan to venture downtown but also will go to the beach. Thanks for taking us along. We are 90% packed.

[Mr&MrsBee]

Did I miss it or did no one ask a question about the web site performance or lack there of at the gathering with LLP of if asked, she did not respond?

 

Sounds like a great cruise so far too! Thanks for taking time out of your day/cruise!

 

Good questions. Looks the loyalists were too busy sucking up

[hcat]

Sorry forgot to quote you on my reply. See above posting. FYI I believe it's $29/pp per day if there are no discounts. This is for buying for the entire cruise. If we're not in Aqua or suite we always book it. One time we did book it in Aqua too.

 

 

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Sounds like a great deal...appreciate the info about booking. We enjoy AQ and BLU but looking for a but of a change up....Webusually do 2 nights and 1 lunch of Specialty dining anyhow but this would be different,,,of course we'd miss breakfast at BLU...but can manage

[johhnnyt]

Good questions. Looks the loyalists were too busy sucking up

To me it seemed fruitless to ask. Everyone including Celebrity knows the problems exist, they hear about it from passengers, loyalists, critics and their agents in Miami.

All LLP could say is that they are aware of the issues, and that Peter (The Marketing Director) and his team continue to troubleshoot it.

The Q&A like most things I felt got sidelined by soliloquy's and individual concerns rather than big picture items. Things like why can't you have ships closer to .....(fill in your home town)? , Why can't they have more free water in my AQ cabin? I loved some of the compliments and concerns that people raised, and biggest thing I took from up was sometime in mid September, we all should know a lot more than we all do now.

[chicagopaul]

To me it seemed fruitless to ask. Everyone including Celebrity knows the problems exist, they hear about it from passengers, loyalists, critics and their agents in Miami.

 

All LLP could say is that they are aware of the issues, and that Peter (The Marketing Director) and his team continue to troubleshoot it.

 

The Q&A like most things I felt got sidelined by soliloquy's and individual concerns rather than big picture items. Things like why can't you have ships closer to .....(fill in your home town)? , Why can't they have more free water in my AQ cabin? I loved some of the compliments and concerns that people raised, and biggest thing I took from up was sometime in mid September, we all should know a lot more than we all do now.

 

 

 

Thank you Johnny for chiming in! My thoughts exactly!

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Tonight I'm at World Class after Tuscan for dinner. Here are my first two drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20cruzer]

Paul very much enjoying your live review. Did you by chance catch the names of the Martini bar bartenders or maybe even a photo?

Norma

[caribill]

Paul,

 

Late night question.

 

There is a report that some were upset about the silent disco in the Solarium at 11:00. Have you heard any rumblings?

 

I'll ask about the silent disco. I thought that the solarium would be a cool venue for it but maybe it's a bit too big or awkward set up for silent disco?

 

 

 

The person upset with the silent disco in the Solarium was upset because he had a cabin directly under the Solarium and it was not at all silent for him while he was trying to sleep.

[Bo1953]

The Queen wants to improve diversity and has a commitment to the crew??? Is that why staff has been cut? How can one actually listen to her comments.

 

Thank you for your insight and comments M and/or M B.

 

 

Actually, it is officers, not general crew. Yet do you believe that the two (2), cuts and diversity, are not compatible in any sense of the commitment to diversity?

 

The world of cruising needs to be more open to the world OR we as passengers can remain comfortable in our cocoon.

 

We can always book and sail more exclusive lines if this is a problem.

 

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

Good questions. Looks the loyalists were too busy sucking up

 

Or, just maybe, most in the Q & A had other more pressing issues they wanted to discuss?

 

bon voyage