Jim_Iain - 9/5 and 9/17 Equinox B2B - Come along for a Live Blog

[Jim_Iain]

13 hours ago, canderson said:

I've heard that the UK Staycation cruises have been offering the use of an electric kettle (!) to cabins making that request so as to make hot water for tea.  Was pondering whether that would be even remotely possible on Constellation such that I could bring my own brew along.  I'm fussy about my coffee, and neither bitter nor acidic cut it.

I've heard that the sometimes have them available on other ships but in limited supply.   Best to ask once aboard.   

 

[okiedrifters]

10 hours ago, canderson said:

I've heard that the UK Staycation cruises have been offering the use of an electric kettle (!) to cabins making that request so as to make hot water for tea.  Was pondering whether that would be even remotely possible on Constellation such that I could bring my own brew along.  I'm fussy about my coffee, and neither bitter nor acidic cut it.

If you decide to ask, please post their response.  Thanks!

 

 

 

[C-Dragons]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Every time I log onto CC I see your -  "So a Penguin, a Horse and Polar Bear" thread from 2020 --  It has to be the most popular post on the Celebrity Forum and always puts a smile on my face

That was my hope… 😊

Sometimes we could all use a moment just to share a laugh, or a smile.

Edited September 7, 2021 by C-Dragons

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

It's a particular British thing. However I am sure that you can ask, and you may get. 

 

We will be bringing some of our own tea bags and I usually bring coffee bags, although I am not too sniffy about coffee, as I cannot drink instant or stuff that has been hanging around long. 

 

Also bringing a hot water bottle to fill so can sit on the sunset verandah and watch the wake if the weather is chilly.

Iain, being British would agree 100%.      He usually brings his own British Strength Tetley with us.   He drinks his tea STRONG and usually put 3-4 bags in a teapot.     

 

I'm a coffee drinker and find the coffee in the Oceanview almost undrinkable.   There is an al Bachio in the Oceanview entrance but  on this ship they don't have it's name posted.   On other S-Class the call al Bachio Segundo.     Their coffee is really good and made to your specification.    They also have tea's both are covered with your drink package. 

[pasta1]

12 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

If you can obtain one the home proctored home self test kits and do it at your leisure.    I hear the wait time is sometimes 20-30 minutes.   There is a good thread on it. 

We are doing our Antigen Test at a Urgent Care.  The  test is the Quick Vue Quidel. Results in 1 hour. Doing it on the 15th for our Equinox cruise on the 17th. 

[canderson]

2 minutes ago, okiedrifters said:

If you decide to ask, please post their response.  Thanks!

Will do, though it won't be until 7 Nov.  This may be just a Silhouette thing or we may get lucky.  Will take Jim's advice if needed, but will also make a point of asking shoreside concierge first to see if we can arrange it that way and stake a claim to one before boarding.  Would probably go the French press route to actually make it.  I was picturing fiddling with filter paper and a tea strainer, but that's a bit fiddly.

[canderson]

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm a coffee drinker and find the coffee in the Oceanview almost undrinkable.

+1 to that.  I'm pretty sure the self-tap iced tea is made from a diluted liquid concentrate.  Some days, I think that coffee in the 'buffet' is, too.

[Jim_Iain]

Had dinner at Luminae last night.   We dine late and since I asked for a table distanced from others we were seated in the back dining room.  Definitely social distanced. 

We were the only ones in the back room.   Really attentive service. 
 

 

 

 

 

Daniel B’ desert from bottom of main menu.  It is not shown on desert menu

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

@abbydancer  I checked about the pallet cleanser. They discontinued as many pac thought too many sweet courses.   If you want it just let your server know and they are happy to do it nightly.  
 

Then just before desert our server brought us a tiny macaroons as a pre-desert desert

[Jim_Iain]

Sanitation. Lots of sanitation stations wit wipes on the decks as well as hand sanitizers

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Last night after dinner we found a little gift from our butler.   Not sure if just upper suites. 
 

Handmade chocolates in a plexiglass box

 

[graphicguy]

29 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Iain, being British would agree 100%.      He usually brings his own British Strength Tetley with us.   He drinks his tea STRONG and usually put 3-4 bags in a teapot.     

 

I'm a coffee drinker and find the coffee in the Oceanview almost undrinkable.   There is an al Bachio in the Oceanview entrance but  on this ship they don't have it's name posted.   On other S-Class the call al Bachio Segundo.     Their coffee is really good and made to your specification.    They also have tea's both are covered with your drink package. 

Agree about the Celebrity (standard) coffee.  It is indeed, undrinkable.  Al (Il?) Baacio is much better....by quantum measures better.

[funatseascott]

29 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Last night after dinner we found a little gift from our butler.   Not sure if just upper suites. 
 

Handmade chocolates in a plexiglass box

 

These chocolates were great!!

[taylortime05]

Jim, thank you so much for all the great info and pics.  I'm getting more excited to get onboard on 17th.   How are the evening shows?   In Jan we'll be on the Apex in a SS.  Maybe I'll try for an upgrade.  We've never sailed in an upper suite.  What are the additional perks of the upper suite?  I have to go back through and see if you posted pics of your suite.  Thanks again!

[JeanieC,Aston]

Kettles in all Celebrity sailings from the UK.

P&O and Cunard have always had them,,,a couple of years ago Celebrity responded to pressure from us Brits for kettles.

 

[cocobakerchica]

7 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

 

I also own them all in a mix of paperback, hardcover, and lately, had no choice but try Kindle.

 

I'm an avid reader, and J.D. Robb (and Robert B. Parker) for that matter, are not available in Israel.

 

My son was a flight attendant (until he was laid off due to Covid, along with many of his colleagues).

 

I used to order 2nd hand books to his crew hotels, which were kind enough to keep them until he had a layover in US....

 

I love your collection! As much as I am a die hard, old school book lover, I only take a tablet with me on vacation, especially cruising(current love is the Amazon Fire 10), as well as my phone with the Kindle app. I can bring as many books as I want with me without and extra weight, and it's wonderful. I also moved recently and while the secondary book market got a whole influx of stock from me, at least two boxes still managed to get packed up and come with me 😆. It's too bad J.D. Robb and Robert B Parker aren't available to you(I love the Spenser series!)

 

I hope your son will be back in the air very soon.

[cocobakerchica]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Had dinner at Luminae last night.   We dine late and since I asked for a table distanced from others we were seated in the back dining room.  Definitely social distanced. 

We were the only ones in the back room.   Really attentive service. 
 

 

 

 

 

Daniel B’ desert from bottom of main menu.  It is not shown on desert menu

 

 

Jim, that Vacherin looks absolutely beautiful! I'm so happy to see the old school desserts coming back a little bit. 

[NBliving]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

You can tell him to bring it.    There is one trick you can forget to tell him.   In order to get a streaming device e.g.Roku you have to set up a mini router or your PC and set it up in Hotel Mode.

 

You can't just plug in and go you have to be able to get to the logon screen.   There are many tutorials on YouTube.

 

Just think if you had him watching Football he will be out of your hair as you book all those Spa appointments. 

Good info! And yes, that would be a good compromise 🙂 

[brockmom]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sanitation. Lots of sanitation stations wit wipes on the decks as well as hand sanitizers

 

 

 

Was this taken on deck 5? You have made me curious now….do you see these at the sunset bar seating areas ? Thanks 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We turned down the offer -   I guess they use to give you the Robes.  

 

After seeing how nice they are we may tell Glenn that we changed our mind. 

 

I have minimal interest in the pajamas, but I will be crabby if I don't get a robe in my PH.  Will you ask your butler if they have discontinued the robes?  I love those robes and was looking forward to having one at home.  I need to save space in my suitcase for it.  If they're no longer giving the robes, than I won't need to reserve the space.  Thanks.

[Blighty770]

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Will do, though it won't be until 7 Nov.  This may be just a Silhouette thing or we may get lucky.  Will take Jim's advice if needed, but will also make a point of asking shoreside concierge first to see if we can arrange it that way and stake a claim to one before boarding.  Would probably go the French press route to actually make it.  I was picturing fiddling with filter paper and a tea strainer, but that's a bit fiddly.

Hiya! We've sailed on a number of Celebrity's ships out of Southampton and they've all had kettles (it's definitely a UK-thing). My partner is very particular about his tea (PG Tips, milky and weak) and I'm fussy about my coffee (really strong!), so we find the kettle in the room suits us beautifully.

 

During our last cruise (Feb 2020 - Caribbean - pre-pandemic...just) we sailed out of FLL and had no kettle in the room. We politely asked our room attendant if he might find one squirreled away and he was able to accommodate our request. It was nice not to have to trudge to either the buffet or the coffee station near The Hideaway to get hot water for the drinks. We heavily tipped our attendant for being so lovely too.... It's always worth an ask once you're onboard, we find. 😁

[Beba-Beba]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I've heard that the sometimes have them available on other ships but in limited supply.   Best to ask once aboard.   

 

I bring a mini immersion heater (600W) for my herbal tea.  It clips nicely to a mug.  Don't tell any one.  I hide it because I am not sure they are allowed.  Years ago someone posted about them here on CC.  Thanks Karen.  I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond ($10) but Amazon has a large selection and at higher wattage.  The mini at 600 watts is quick for one mug.

 

Mary

 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Beba-Beba

[dallasdan]

Jim, is everyone wearing the tracelets?  If so, do you know if they can be put in your pocket.  I don't like wearing watches or bracelets as I find them uncomfortable.  I will be on the Nov 7 with this itinerary.  Thanks for doing the live review.

Edited September 7, 2021 by dallasdan

[fstuff1]

3 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

Jim, is everyone wearing the tracelets?  If so, do you know if they can put in your pocket.  I don't like wearing watches or bracelets as find them uncomfortable.  I will be on the Nov 7 with this itinerary.  Thanks for doing the live review.

No tracelets.

No idea how they are going to do contact tracing if there's covid

 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

Jim, thank you so much for all the great info and pics.  I'm getting more excited to get onboard on 17th.   How are the evening shows?   In Jan we'll be on the Apex in a SS.  Maybe I'll try for an upgrade.  We've never sailed in an upper suite.  What are the additional perks of the upper suite?  I have to go back through and see if you posted pics of your suite.  Thanks again!

Pretty much everything including the kitchen sink.     

 

Unlimited Specialty Dining at all restaurants.    Someone had asked about Sushi on 5 and I was told yes the only one not included is the Chef's Table which there is a fee for.

 

Free laundry -   the new perks list say 2 bags of laundry but I'm sure if you don't take advantage they will not charge you

 

2 Liter bottles of Booze of your Choice

 

A better champagne than other class ships or you can select from a list of wines.

 

Complimentary bottled water, beer, soft drinks stocked daily.

 

Basically they treat you like Royalty.  

 

Dining table for 6 and if you choose you could dine in dinner and they will serve in courses like Luminea