Observations from the Poop deck

[TheHawk1]

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

DW tells me her 'sources' told her that Celebrity uses the Equinox as the training center for new employees.

That's disappointing.  Booked on an Equinox cruise next February.  Not looking forward to "breaking in" junior employees. particularly on a 12 day itinerary.

[LGW59]

Just now, TheHawk1 said:

That's disappointing.  Booked on an Equinox cruise next February.  Not looking forward to "breaking in" junior employees. particularly on a 12 day itinerary.

The ship will not be all trainees, they will be assigned to work in tandem with an experienced team member.  How else do you train them?

[morpheusofthesea]

18 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

That's disappointing.  Booked on an Equinox cruise next February.  Not looking forward to "breaking in" junior employees. particularly on a 12 day itinerary.

We will "break them in" for you August 1, 2021. It has been a long hard 'dry' season in cruising. Perhaps those seasoned employees that have been invited back by Celebrity and are not yet ready are waiting for fellow employees to report back home to them that the tips $$ are flowing again.

[TheHawk1]

22 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

 How else do you train them?

On someone else's vacation please.

[Jim_Iain]

While we are on the subject of coffee.   There is a Il Segundo Bacio  at the entrance to the Buffet.  They make all the coffee drinks but no pastries.      Much more convenient if your cabin is on an upper  floor.     You can also get Juices and some drinks.    

 

[marieps]

On 7/4/2021 at 3:40 PM, mnocket said:

 

I really don't understand this.  Wrist bands have been in use at many venues for many years.  Why did Celebrity feel the need for a redesign and how on earth did they come up with such a poor design?  I'm left shaking my head in wonderment🙄

This is the same type of wristband to get when entering the Delta Club at an Atlanta Braves home game.  It's not a Celebrity design.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, marieps said:

This is the same type of wristband to get when entering the Delta Club at an Atlanta Braves home game.  It's not a Celebrity design.

Many multi day music and dance festivals use this kind of ribbon wristband. The reason for these as opposed to those stretchy silicone bracelets? Most of the time that black bead is a one way affair, meaning once you tighten it you can't loosen it to remove it,you would need to cut the ribbon with a pair of scissors. This is so you can't take it off and share the band with other people ( when used for multi-day events where you paid for a multi day pass). Usually at these festivals they will have someone put the ribbon band on tight enough that you can't wiggle it off and share it with others.

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by kwokpot

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Perhaps you are correct. I went to Bacio and asked. All the attendant wanted to see was my card. I said I know my card is everything included, free. I just want to know about all the other passengers. He said it all depends on your beverage package, let me see your card. I said my card is not important to my question. I just want to know if everything (I pointed to the pastries) is free for everybody? He garbled under his facemask that there was a charge. I will ask my butler when she brings me my scones this afternoon. But you may be correct, those gentlemen did get drinks.

 

Perhaps that was a new staff member.  Or he didn't understand the question.  As others have said, the pastries are free to everyone on board.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

That's disappointing.  Booked on an Equinox cruise next February.  Not looking forward to "breaking in" junior employees. particularly on a 12 day itinerary.

 

I sailed on the Equinox just before cruising shut down.  Best crew ever in my over 300 nights at sea.  So I wouldn't worry about it.

[pumpkin 11]

4 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Your observation is correct. The Edge, and now the Apex too, do have the best staff. 

Our staff on the Millennium a few weeks ago were absolutely fabulous. Couldn’t get better

[pumpkin 11]

10 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I sailed on the Equinox just before cruising shut down.  Best crew ever in my over 300 nights at sea.  So I wouldn't worry about it.

Yes. We’ve sailed Equinox 3 times since 2013 and every time the crew was fantastic 

[morpheusofthesea]

Tuesday 10 am arrival St Thomas. According to Capt Kate we are the first cruise ship back. Water cannon welcome. There are a few 'bugs' that will work themselves out as time goes by. By far most passengers are oblivious and are just enjoying themselves and thankful they are waking these mornings aboard a cruise ship. Just like the airlines finding and retraining pilots, the cruise lines will have to 'up the ante' to entice the seasoned and experienced back to cruise ships. I guess many of the tried and true were not treated well with the lengthy times to get repatriated by the cruise lines and their home countries. St. Thomas is requiring that all passengers visiting the island wear masks, indoors and out. The common question, I have observed from the mornings greetings, both when we stopped at Nassau and this morning, from the staff is "Are you going out?" Innocent enough from maybe one or two staff, but I got the feeling these 'sailors' need some R & R on land. Our best reply is, " No, we love the ship and we stay on board."  Their reply "Yes, you are right, it is better."  Interesting.

Edited July 6, 2021 by morpheusofthesea

[DCPIV]

On 7/4/2021 at 10:54 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Retreat guests still have their priority entrance and did not have to wait in any line. We were on in 15 minutes.

 

Just curious, but did you wait and show up for your assigned entry time, or were you there early?

 

Thanks for the updates!

[morpheusofthesea]

Caught this shot of the awaiting gangways for the return of cruising from the Magic Carpet, in St Thomas. Another noticeable plus of this port is the complete lack of flies, only sights and sounds of the ever present sea birds. Have been in ports before and have found when getting room service with the intent of having the meal on the cabin balcony it would take about 15 minutes before the uninvited pests disturbed our meals. But today's lunch on our balcony was perfect. Asked the attendant opening the Magic Carpet on deck 14 when does it move? He said it moves depending on weather. It is open on deck 14 as a bar, until 5pm when it moves down to deck 5 for restaurant/bar. I must say that there is plenty of no waiting dining at any specialty dining venue, except for the popular Luminae. The generous OBC that Retreat guests have to use can go a long way to alleviating any anxiety created at dinner time. I have noticed many fashions are being worn only found being sold on board, OBC is non-refundable and cannot be used toward a deposit on a future cruise. I already tried that last night.

[morpheusofthesea]

13 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

Just curious, but did you wait and show up for your assigned entry time, or were you there early?

 

Thanks for the updates!

Port Everglades does not open, we were told, until noon. To allow returning passengers to depart and not come in contact with arriving passengers ? We were assigned the latest boarding time any passenger can be assigned, as we booked 48 hours prior to sailing. Let us just say that Celebrity is very accommodating to its suite  guests. DW flipped out when she saw how late, an hour before departure time. She called Celebrity directly and was told that Zenith and Retreat passengers can arrive any time from noon on. My kind of cruise line.

[DCPIV]

1 minute ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Port Everglades does not open, we were told, until noon. To allow returning passengers to depart and not come in contact with arriving passengers ? We were assigned the latest boarding time any passenger can be assigned, as we booked 48 hours prior to sailing. Let us just say that Celebrity is very accommodating to its suite  guests. DW flipped out when she saw how late, an hour before departure time. She called Celebrity directly and was told that Zenith and Retreat passengers can arrive any time from noon on. My kind of cruise line.

 

Thanks.  I had heard that, and I appreciate you confirming it.  I recently also got a late check-in time, but I'm also in the Retreat and would prefer to get on board instead of puttering around town just to kill time.

[Majorleague]

4 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 St. Thomas is requiring that all passengers visiting the island wear masks, indoors and out. 

Was not aware of that. Sitting on a beach with a mask?

[morpheusofthesea]

3 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

Thanks.  I had heard that, and I appreciate you confirming it.  I recently also got a late check-in time, but I'm also in the Retreat and would prefer to get on board instead of puttering around town just to kill time.

DW agrees with you. We got to Port Everglades at 12:15 and we were on board in 15 minutes, at lunch 10 minutes later in Luminae. Fastest terminal to cabin ever recorded.

[morpheusofthesea]

3 minutes ago, Majorleague said:

Was not aware of that. Sitting on a beach with a mask?

I guess so. We did not even consider getting off to test that assumption.

[DCPIV]

8 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

DW agrees with you. We got to Port Everglades at 12:15 and we were on board in 15 minutes, at lunch 10 minutes later in Luminae. Fastest terminal to cabin ever recorded.

 

That is music to my ears.  Thanks!

[morpheusofthesea]

With a new ship, one would expect ones glass railing to be see through. Not a scratch. St.Thomas in the background through the glass. Shops are reported closed, like in Nassau. Shops are all open on board while at sea and obc only works on board. Seasick pills are free on board . DW picked up a 7 day cruise worth at guest services. Her packed ones had expired waiting to cruise again. Our bags have been packed to go at a moments notice since our last cruise.

[hcat]

On 7/4/2021 at 2:50 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

I asked the attendant putting the wrist ribbon on me and she said for the entire cruise even in the shower.  The 3" tail of the ribbon tends to drag in your plate, so I recommend tying a couple of knots and twisting it upward.

What is the black thing?

Could you  possibly double wrap it?

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, hcat said:

What is the black thing?

Could you  possibly double wrap it?

The black thing is the security locking nut which once you tighten it it can't be loosen. This is meant so you can't remove it and share the wristband. It's meant for use in multi-day events like fairs, music and dance festivals where you purchase a multi-day pass for whatever event and this wristband is your entry pass. If you were able to loosen and remove it you could pass it onto another person and thus enter an event paying only for one person but passing the entry band among other people. It's used throughout the world for events. 

https://www.wristbands.com/collections/wristbands-by-material/products/woven-1-2-vip-design-wristbands-high-security-closure-wovv-100-package?variant=35947456399

 

https://www.wristbands.com/pages/fabric_rfid_wristbands

[Seany527]

On 7/5/2021 at 4:51 PM, TheHawk1 said:

That's disappointing.  Booked on an Equinox cruise next February.  Not looking forward to "breaking in" junior employees. particularly on a 12 day itinerary.

I doubt the Equinox is training ship. It’s the 2nd ship to be restarted from America. Celebrity wants their best crew on these ships and with all the extra tasks crew need to account for, they don’t have time to train “green” Celebrity employees. 

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, Majorleague said:

Was not aware of that. Sitting on a beach with a mask?

Sitting at dinner tonight your question was answered by a lovely couple seated at a table next to us. They got off the ship at St. Thomas. He took a snorkeling tour and she to the beach, I think he said Emerald Beach. Had to wear face masks until they got to the beach. On the beach they could remove their masks. She mentioned that some of the shops were open and the shop owners were desperate to sell whatever they had at any price.

Edited July 7, 2021 by morpheusofthesea
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