LIVE BLOG! From the EQUINOX - AUG 25th Sailing - CHICAGOPAUL

[chicagopaul]

Paul yes Nenad is the guy we know from about 4 yrs ago and Eclipse last year—the photo confirms it . He really is a nice guy.

 

It is wonderful when something special is done for you.

 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise

 

Liz

 

 

 

Yes, we had him on the Eclipse as well in Luminae in December. Great guy.

 

 

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[BosoxI]

Yes, we had him on the Eclipse as well in Luminae in December. Great guy.

 

 

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Yes, we remembered him in Luminae last December. He was very good and we're looking forward to meeting him next week.

[Ma Bell]

Nenad is a wonderful guy. :)

[IrishLassie]

Have you tried the Chocolate Martini? Have Taz make it for you! Please tell him hello from the OConnor's.

 

 

 

I did tell him hello and he remembered you! He said to say hello back! I’ll post a pic from sunset bar tomorrow with him.

 

 

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Oh, thank you so much. We just thought he was the greatest, plus he bought us our last martini on the last night of that cruise. Thanks again & look forward to your pictures. I too have pictures of him!

Looking forward to more of your review. Have fun!

[Lovesealife]

Paul yes Nenad is the guy we know from about 4 yrs ago and Eclipse last year—the photo confirms it . He really is a nice guy.

It is wonderful when something special is done for you.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise

Liz

We know him too he was the maitre d in Luminae on the Reflection. He was fantastic. I informed them of some weird food allergies the first night and he went back and prepared a separate meal for me outside of what was on the menu.

 

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[MrsB05]

Wow, thanks for this blog! We'll be on Equinox for 11 nights Nov 5th. Impressed by your cruise fare! We booked well over a year ago at C3 but get a C2 room (not sure what the difference is, location, perhaps?) with the Go Better which gave us a choice of two (fill in the blank).

We chose classic drink (premium not an option) and grats. I think there may have been some OBC as well. At the time it was $1950/pp, since then, the price dropped and it's now $1515/pp (but we lost the OBC; still have the Go Better).

 

Anyway, looking forward to following this blog as we head into two months for our sail away.

[kenevenpar]

Last night dinner was in...Murano.

 

Nenad came over to us and asked us if he could make us something and had an idea for a starter. He asked us if we liked shrimp and the answer is of course yes. So table side he prepared shrimp with bacon, shallots, garlic, and an olive oil / balsamic emulsion. It was served on a plate with a couple small portions of risotto. It was very simple but excellent. Lots of flavor but light and clean. Then we both had the veal.

 

For wine we started with our Chardonnay (that is all Edward ended up having last night with regard to wine) and then I had a recommendation from our sommelier which was the Ridge Zinfandel which is off the menu but available for the 5 senses menu in Murano. It is a dry Zin, very similar to the Prisoner if you know that wine. I loved it. We skipped dessert and only had coffee / tea.

 

 

 

 

 

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Why do Restaurants insist on leaving the tail on? I've been researching it, and the most common answer is for appearance. I much prefer it off.

[verizon]

Nenad is the Jewel of Celebrity.Hope is a promotion from head of staff of Luminae to Maitre D' of Murano.

[chicagopaul]

Here are some photos from our quick walk into town today. Curaçao is another very easy port to navigate. From where Celebrity docks you simply make a right out of the ship, follow the signs through the port mall and you’re in town. If you’re taking a taxi to a beach I’ve included the taxi fares below.

 

 

 

 

We walked into town and just grabbed a beer and a quick appetizer. There is the Iguana Cafe (I swear Iguana names restaurants follow us) which is on the water way. It makes for a great view! I was hoping we’d be lucky and watch the moving bridge open this time for a large ship but we weren’t so lucky.

 

We grabbed some Butterballin and a couple beers. Total bill was $17. Then we just headed back to the ship and had some more to eat in the cafe.

 

Here is the taxi cost from the port

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

One item I forgot to mention is that last night we received a bottle of Chardonnay in our room for our anniversary.

 

 

 

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[sykimball1498]

Good afternoon from beautiful Aruba. We did not decide to go to a beach today but we did get off to walk around, grab lunch, and a couple drinks of course.

 

In the distance there appeared to be clouds rolling in but they stayed away and it’s been a nice dry and sunny day here in Aruba.

 

For those not familiar with the port area if Aruba you should know it is very easy to navigate. There are no beaches within walking distance but there is a very vibrant shopping area with plenty of restaurants, bars, tons of shopping, multiple casinos, hotels, etc all within a very easy walk.

 

We walked off the ship, through the port building and onto the main strip. We made an immediate right and walked around a bit. We decided to have lunch at a second story restaurant called Iguana Joes. It was a fun little place and we got a nice high top table by the railing so we could people watch. We both ordered a couple of Aruba beers, some jerk chicken, and fish tacos (grouper). You can see from the photos the racks were huge and very good. The beers went down like water which is a good thing when it’s as warm as it is.

 

We saw our friends Bob, Kathy, and “Uncle Jim” walking by. They were going to one of their favorite dive bars down the street. Bob and Kathy primarily drink dewars, and a lot of it. Well, about 20 minutes after we saw them

walk by we saw this truck drive by. Coincidence? Haha

 

 

Here are a few additional photos from this afternoon.

 

 

 

Balashi, the Aruban Pilsner.

 

 

 

Now the below drink we didn’t order but it seems like it can pack one hell of a punch.

 

 

The “Lethal Lizard”

 

 

 

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This is also our stop when we are on a cruise that stops in Aruba. The only time it wasn't open was on our honeymoon cruise when we arrived in Aruba on a Sunday. We will be going again when we ahve out overnight in Aruba January 12, 2019. We love the food and drinks as well as the people watching.

[Dancuboz]

You have probably departed Curacao but if still there, I had wonderful meal at Scampi’s with the ocean lapping at the sides of the restaurant and full view of Sea Princess on my world cruise...

 

http://www.scampiscuracao.com/

 

Following your blog..enjoy the rest of your cruise best wishes Danny

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

A quick cheers to everyone from the martini bar.

 

 

 

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[JLS07]

Paul, would you mind please posting 2 prices. The cost of the martinis now. Are they $12 or $15. I think I read they raised them to $15.

 

Also some whisky selection prices. Specifically the woodford double oaked.

 

Thank you.

[happicruzer]

Two weeks ago - in Luminea- the cap was $15.

[Cruising_Steve]

We we're on Equinox last week. The Martini menu shows $12.00. See bottom of page on this menu.

 

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[cheeseheads4ever]

Again Chicagopaul. We feel like we are there.. great job with review..nothing better..

[JLS07]

Thank you for the replies!

[h20cruzer]

Paul, who are the Martini Bar bartenders, have you had a chance to stop by the World Class Bar yet?

Norma

[cheeseheads4ever]

We would love who the Martini Bartenders are as well.

Peter was fabulous and there were so many others.

Just love the bar. And like I told others. We could never walk by. It was like a gravitational pull that drew us in.. actually it was a fun place and we just enjoyed being there.

Hope you have a great time and seem to be by the pictures and writeup..

 

Enjoy my friend...

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Here are some photos from our quick walk into town today. Curaçao is another very easy port to navigate. From where Celebrity docks you simply make a right out of the ship, follow the signs through the port mall and you’re in town. If you’re taking a taxi to a beach I’ve included the taxi fares below.

 

 

 

I prefer going on an M class ship and docking inside the floating bridge. It's also fun to be on the bridge when it opens or closes. I thought it was a bit of a hike from this mooring spot.

[Cruisini]

So, like I said yesterday was a lazy day. We started the day at the sunset bar per the usual. I had three vodka grapefruit juice, Edward had a couple and a Bloody Mary. Both Taz and Rodolfo at the martini bar are making very good bloody Mary’s. I think they possibly got a new mix additive to make them spicy. I know they had their regular spice but this bottle looks a bit different. They’ve also been putting the bloodys into a shaker and shaking them so the spice evenly balanced out. And they’re also taking the time to load up the Bloody Mary with all the trimmings. Edward has a photo that I’ll post for you all.

 

Hi ChicagoPaul! You guys are living the life right now, thanks for inviting us along :) We are on Equinox in November for our first time... I can't hardly wait! Just curious, have you tried the Silent Disco? That will be new for us. Sounds fun to me, just hoping my dh will get out there with me! One other thing, I Love Bloody Mary's, are you still planning to post Edward's photo? Enjoy every moment! Hugs!

[Etta1213]

What is a silent disco??

[chicagopaul]

Hi ChicagoPaul! You guys are living the life right now, thanks for inviting us along :) We are on Equinox in November for our first time... I can't hardly wait! Just curious, have you tried the Silent Disco? That will be new for us. Sounds fun to me, just hoping my dh will get out there with me! One other thing, I Love Bloody Mary's, are you still planning to post Edward's photo? Enjoy every moment! Hugs!

 

 

 

So I’m sitting next to Edward now. He will send me the photo! We didn’t hit silent disco yet this cruise but we will by the end of it. We have many times in the past. What is silent Disco someone asked? Well, you head to the area they’re holding it and you get head phones. Each headphones has 3 switches which duds two things: changes the music at the same time changes the color. So, everyone is dancing wearing headphones while listening to one of three music options. It’s really fun and a blast and always gets a great turnout. I’m not a big dancer but we do love this.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Paul, who are the Martini Bar bartenders, have you had a chance to stop by the World Class Bar yet?

 

Norma

 

 

 

Norma I gotta say everyone I mention your name they know you instantly and their eyes light up. Everyone loves you and having cruised with you multiple times I know why! You’re a wonderful person! Thank you so much for following my blog, commenting, and commenting on Facebook. I so hope we meet again soon.

 

Santo’s remembered you right away! Here are some photos from world class

 

 

 

 

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