On Equinox now- glass half full midweek report

[DevilinaBluDress]

Good morning! My son and I are currently on the Equinox for his Spring Break from University of Wisconsin-Madison. We are staying in Aqua Class A1 cabin 1601 with an extra large balcony. It's day 3 and we are a few hours from our first port, San Juan, PR.

 

Starting our embarkation day with a Lyft ride from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. Riding shotgun in the car was the most chill dog ever, Max. We had a bit of an adventure getting on the ship. Will was pretty anxious (he's on the autism spectrum) and described his upset stomach as a GI distress to the nurse. This resulted in us almost not being allowed to board the ship! Ultimately, Olga from guest services came to talk with us about the options. Understandably, they take GI symptoms VERY seriously. Will needed to go straight to the medical area and see the ship's doctor who in an abundance of caution restricted Will to our cabin for at least 24 hours of no symptoms and prescribed one Prilosec per day for three days. Frankly, this wasn't much of a hardship for us. Will hung out in the cabin, surfing the internet and playing his Nintendo Switch while I brought back food from the buffet and drinks for him. We also used room service a lot. I explored the ship and acquainted myself with just how much I should use the premium drink package per day. 😉

 

Yesterday was a sea day and St. Patrick's day. I took the kitchen tour in the morning while Will slept in. I ate a small lunch at Sushi on 5 for the 20% offer from the tour. I finished just in time to learn that Will was now free to leave the cabin! We celebrated in the Oceanview café overlooking the aft wake. There were an abundance of green desserts in the buffet and Will discovered that he likes Stella. We explored the ship. Had afternoon tea in Cafe al Bacio. Nice and relaxing. Took a little nap back in the cabin. Our evening was a lot of fun! We ate in Blu, then I went to the 9 pm Jeff Nease comedian show. He was very funny. Then Will and I went to the Silent Disco. What a hoot! It was so much fun! It was also fun to  take off the headset and listen to all the off-key singers without the music. 

 

Today we had room service breakfast on the balcony and used our in room bottle of sparkling wine to make Mimosas. We went to the $10 accessories sale and watched the guest/officer archery contest from Cafe al Bacio. We are contemplating where to eat lunch and looking forward to seeing Old San Juan again. 

 

So far, it's a great relaxing trip. If anyone has questions, let me know. 

 

Molly

[mnocket]

Have a great time!  Sounds like Will is lucky to have you for a mother😉

[DevilinaBluDress]

20 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Have a great time!  Sounds like Will is lucky to have you for a mother😉

Gee, thanks! I am the lucky one. Will is such a cool dude. I'm proud of him (and his older brother.)

 

Molly

[yhz123]

Great to hear that your son is feeling better. We are on the ship with you. I’m with my husband and 2 children age 11 and 16. The kids and I really enjoyed the silent disco too. Loved the music and hearing all the singing. A great way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. We are looking forward to San Juan too. Captain Kate says it will rain today but hopefully we will still be able to walk around the old city. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

[DevilinaBluDress]

4 minutes ago, yhz123 said:

Great to hear that your son is feeling better. We are on the ship with you. I’m with my husband and 2 children age 11 and 16. The kids and I really enjoyed the silent disco too. Loved the music and hearing all the singing. A great way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. We are looking forward to San Juan too. Captain Kate says it will rain today but hopefully we will still be able to walk around the old city. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

 

I am not too worried about the rain since we don't have an excursion scheduled today and brought rain gear with us.  I did change out of my linen pants when I heard her say rain, though. I have experience from last August wearing those same pants in a downpour that I don't want to repeat. 😊

[DevilinaBluDress]

 almost forgot to add- 2 more Silent Discos are scheduled this week plus other delightful surprise, I'm sure. Enjoy your cruise, too!

[DrivnMike]

Thanks for your review! How do you get a Lyft with a chill puppy like that?? That's how I want to travel from now on! We are in the same cabin in June, and wanted to ask if you've been bothered or noticed any significant noise from above? We love the location and AQ in general. Some of the reports we've read on that area were conflicting about noise. Any help would be appreciated!
 

[mfs2k]

Love reading this.  Have a wonderful cruise and glad to hear Will is feeling better.  

Clearly you're a loving, kind wonderful mom.  Will and you are blessed.

[DevilinaBluDress]

21 minutes ago, DrivnMike said:

Thanks for your review! How do you get a Lyft with a chill puppy like that?? That's how I want to travel from now on! We are in the same cabin in June, and wanted to ask if you've been bothered or noticed any significant noise from above? We love the location and AQ in general. Some of the reports we've read on that area were conflicting about noise. Any help would be appreciated!
 

Totally luck of the draw on Lyft. We almost had to call for another driver because the driver didn’t think he could fit our luggage into his car. He managed so we wouldn’t disturb Max in the front seat. Surprisingly given his gray muzzle, Max is only 4 years old. Apparently he was born with that coloring.

 

No noise problems whatsoever for us in 1601. Our cabin steward, Jose, is very nice and efficient. Love the big balcony and there are two loungers in addition to the typical chairs, table, and footrests. The inside configuration is bed by the balcony which we like. It's super close to the main elevators- very convenient. We were on the Equinox 4 years ago in cabin 1518 which was forward. I liked that cabin, too. But I think the location might have contributed to my seasickness last time. No signs of it on this trip.

 

Molly

[petefoss]

Is the kitchen tour the $100+ behind the scenes tour or something else?

[Loucat]

Glad to read the postive comments on 1601. We have this Aqua for the Christmas sailing. Have stayed in an Aqua before and know they can be on the small side.
Will hope you comment on Blu as this is one reason we booked Aqua.
Happy cruising!!

[oneputt18]

        "   Is the kitchen tour the $100+ behind the scenes tour or something else?    "                                                 They have a free kitchen tour that is not part of the Inside Access tour. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by oneputt18

[Maisyboo]

Keep the photos coming . Nice job .

Super fabulous you had a canine ambassador in the car for your trip to the port . Lucky you . 

[DevilinaBluDress]

2 hours ago, Loucat said:

Glad to read the postive comments on 1601. We have this Aqua for the Christmas sailing. Have stayed in an Aqua before and know they can be on the small side.
Will hope you comment on Blu as this is one reason we booked Aqua.
Happy cruising!!

So far, we've liked Blu (as we did last time.) Service is great and the food has, for the most part, been delicious. I had short ribs for dinner the first night eating alone. Last night Will and I enjoyed our dinner, too. Will had the crab bisque and gnocchi. I had the pacific salmon. Dessert last night was the weak point. But we were pretty full, so no big deal. Gigantic portions and when I didn't finish either entrée, our waiter seemed offended and both nights encouraged me to order a second entrée. LOL! I liked them, but the portions are huge! I don't typically eat so much at one meal. Case in point - look at the size of my ribeye steak tonight! It's as big as the plate! I'll eat about 2-3 oz of it and be completely satisfied. And I just ate a crab martini! It's a lot of good food, folks.   Will loved his kale ceasar salad and fettuccine with clams. He just said it was one of the best cruise ship meals ever. Will likes to sit in the quiet part of Blu on a corner so he can rest a little. Today as we were guided to our seat, the hostess called this the Honeymoon corner! LOL!

 

Yesterday, I had breakfast in Blu and I am happy to report that there is plenty of lox/smoked salmon.

 

For lunch today, we ended up at Sushi on 5. This time all we could eat for $25 each. One special treat was the real Wasabi ground tableside. The miso soup had an interesting preparation, too. Tasted great! The ginger cake with Wasabi gelato was not good, but the macha tiramisu was good.

[Silkroad]

Following. Thanks for posting your review. I’m glad Will felt better within 24 hours, and I love his t-shirt (I reject your reality....). Sushi. Tableside wasabi! Yum😁

[Loucat]

Thanks so much  for posting on Blu! I agree that steak needs 4 more to help to finish. I could never eat something that size.

Your pics are wonderful so please keep posting when you can.

Glad you are liking Blu! I would not expect all perfection but at least interesting choices that are prepared well-sounds like that is happening. Liked your pics of Sushi on 5. Whatever was being poured looked interesting.

I will keep following as you are doing a great job with your report and many (me too!) are waiting for more.

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!! I'm going on my first Celebrity cruise on the Equinox in Feb 2020, and I'll be in Aqua Class, but A2 in 1501. Very excited!!

[30scruiser]

You and Will were such good sports about the quarantine. Glad you’re having a great trip.

[DevilinaBluDress]

5 hours ago, petefoss said:

Is the kitchen tour the $100+ behind the scenes tour or something else?

It was a free tour that was pretty interesting. It started with a gathering in the main dining room. We were handed sparkling wine as we entered and given a slip of paper with a group number. My group (7) was led by the head maitre d. He's worked for Celebrity for 28 years. He led us through the kitchen explaining what and who we were viewing. He stressed the cleaning protocols and how meticulous everyone was. It lasted about 45 minutes total.

[DevilinaBluDress]

51 minutes ago, Loucat said:

Thanks so much  for posting on Blu! I agree that steak needs 4 more to help to finish. I could never eat something that size.

Your pics are wonderful so please keep posting when you can.

Glad you are liking Blu! I would not expect all perfection but at least interesting choices that are prepared well-sounds like that is happening. Liked your pics of Sushi on 5. Whatever was being poured looked interesting.

I will keep following as you are doing a great job with your report and many (me too!) are waiting for more.

 

It was the miso soup pictured.

[DevilinaBluDress]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

Following. Thanks for posting your review. I’m glad Will felt better within 24 hours, and I love his t-shirt (I reject your reality....). Sushi. Tableside wasabi! Yum😁

Will is a huge Mythbusters fan. We've seen them for the live show and live a couple of miles away from where the snow plow episode was filmed. Every time I drive past the plow during my typical routine, it makes me smile.

 

Molly

[USVIcruizer]

Looks like you and Will are having a fab time, now that he's feeling better!
BF & I will be onboard in less than 2 weeks, wondering how you got the 20% and/or $25.00 all you can eat offers in Sushi on 5...was there an offer in your cabin? Program? Announcement?  I LOVE Sushi & would love to try, thanks for any info!

[DevilinaBluDress]

7 hours ago, USVIcruizer said:

Looks like you and Will are having a fab time, now that he's feeling better!
BF & I will be onboard in less than 2 weeks, wondering how you got the 20% and/or $25.00 all you can eat offers in Sushi on 5...was there an offer in your cabin? Program? Announcement?  I LOVE Sushi & would love to try, thanks for any info!

There was a coupon on the back of my group number for the free kitchen tour on Day 2. I just asked the host if there were any specials yesterday and was offered the $25 all you can eat.

 

Molly

[rollie]

Thanks for sharing.  It brings back great memories of our b2b cruise on Equinox in December.  If I remember right, they have 2 silent disco nights.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Rollie

[puppycanducruise]

Great report and pictures.

Hope the rest of your cruise is wonderful too.

Thanks.