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

[ROYALBOY]

Did they advise how many covid positives were on the cruise?

[19pamela68]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Actually they do but when using a common term it pulls up lost of results.  

 

If you want to just search on my thread you click the thread first then at the search box choose Search this topic.   I want to search Just Celebrity Forum you choose "This Forum"

 

Excellent!  Good to know, thank you!

[dani negreanu]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We were in St. Lucia on the current cruise and only Celebrity Tours were allowed.  

 

Not according to this....😁

 

Southern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in St. Croix, St. Thomas, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Lucia. 

[fstuff1]

8 hours ago, funatseascott said:

The Indian food in Oceanview was really good on this cruise and most cruises compared to the more bland other choices.  We bring Magic Spice from St Maarten and our home blend Chachere’s to spice up the food.

 

Sophia threw many choices to the chef and they made a few of them.  Nasi Goreng, Mee Goreng, Nasi lemak, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Chicken Satay in peanut sauce, Beef Rendang (had in Indian area in Oceanview), Murtabak, Mee rebus to name a few.

 

Today butter chicken for lunch and chicken tikka masala for dinner.

Yum!

 

[hcat]

7 hours ago, graphicguy said:

That is one of the things I liked so much about Celebrity.  There wasn't any pandering for tips, whatsoever....unlike other cruise lines.

 

 

Wonder if the "pandering" for good reviews has subsided?  Had become an annoyance.. review system is not the fault of the staff but annoying nonethless..

[luv2ndhalf]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

They don't leave them for you.   You have to request one from the front desk or the Retreat Concierge.

This is the first I’ve seen this form too…… We have sailed Celebrity suite class multiple times- In the past, we just have always brought envelopes from home and put extra cash in them-

How do you apply your extra obc? What a great tip (no pun intended!)!

[DaKahuna]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

They loved it.   I'm not much of a fan of Curry but tried a couple.    My favorite was a tray of Curry Lamb Chops.

 

 

 I am a huge fan of lamb vandiloo.  Worked with some guys of Indian heritage and they took me to a place that had some of the best curry I have ever tasted.  There was a lamb vindaloo on the menu that I would order every time we went there. 

 

I am going to have to see if I can casually mention my fondness the next time we are aboard. 

 

 

[hcat]

Jim.. much thanks to you and Lain for treating us to great commentary and photos.  Love the pea soup match up!

 

 

B O N   V O Y A G E !

 Will be following Part Two....

 

 

[larry_s_taco]

On 9/1/2021 at 11:53 AM, Jim_Iain said:

The second Cruise will be a 9 night -  Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Cruise on September 17.    The first  stop in Nassau has  been cancelled due to dock construction and we will now have an overnight in Aruba.  Really didn’t bother us as we were planning on staying aboard in Nassau anyway.

 

 

Jim, 

Did they by chance say how long the dock in Nassau would be under construction? We are due to port there Oct 21st. 

[canderson]

6 minutes ago, larry_s_taco said:

Jim, 

Did they by chance say how long the dock in Nassau would be under construction? We are due to port there Oct 21st. 

Not available until 2022.

https://www.nassauportconstruction.com/

[fstuff1]

42 minutes ago, hcat said:

Wonder if the "pandering" for good reviews has subsided?  Had become an annoyance.. review system is not the fault of the staff but annoying nonethless..

Nope, has not subsided. 😞

 

Matra'D at restaurant asked me to rate his waiters and asst servers a 10 on the after cruise survey email

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by fstuff1

[runnerandme]

We were on Equinox 8/27 and we were not asked to give tens.  Our Butler just said he hoped that he gave us excellent service and that he hoped we would fill out survey.   He was beyond a ten !

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by runnerandme
Hit wrong key

[RICCruisers]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Not according to this....😁

 

Southern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in St. Croix, St. Thomas, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Lucia. 

I think I will take Jim’s word on this since he was just there 2 days ago. 

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I'm not on a cruise, I'm just reading 2 different "versions" ... one that you're allowed a DIY tour in St. Lucia, and the other -- only X curated tours in St. Lucia 😕

Dani, I am also reading two different versions on the website.

Same about St Martin. Things keep changing every sailing. Sailing A is allowed ot get off, sailing B is not and so on! When we were in St Martin, we were allowed everywhere, two sailings after that, it changed.

So what happens on Jim's sailing may not happen on the other similar sailing.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Arzeena

[19pamela68]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

When  you click on the search box it shows the search options.    Not intuitive at all.

 

Thank you very much, I got it now!  Thank you for posting the Celebrity Today's!  And thank you for this blog!  I'm enjoying it very much.  I wish you and Iain the best!  

[Stem to Stern]

@Jim_IainHow was that blue cheese soufflé that you ordered last night?

[Arzeena]

47 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

Nope, has not subsided. 😞

 

Matra'D at restaurant asked me to rate his waiters and asst servers a 10 on the after cruise survey email

 

Our experience:

It was there, but a bit discreet.
Room attendant left a note mid cruise saying "I strive hard for a perfect 10. If there is anything lacking please let me know so I can make it right during the cruise". There was nothing lacking on her part. She was more than a perfect 10. 🥰

No other wait staff asked directly. I didn't deal with the MDR people after the first two nights when we asked and asked for a table with social distancing and yet they kept dumping us in a tight place with cheek to cheek diners. So we never used the MDR again. Ocean view outdoors was perfect for us and the staff there was wonderful.

However, I was a bit surprised that the Cruise Director asked for that 10 rating, when he was on stage and said to please rate and do the survey as soon as you get it, and how much they all need that rating.

[funatseascott]

Our opinion of the survey:  the room attendant and butler never asked or talked about the survey - they were excellent.  The staff at specialty restaurants didn’t ask or say anything but it was brought up a few times in Luminae.  I’m not sure if staff knowing we are doing the b2b have refrained or if the asking is less on this ship.  On the Millennium in June, almost everybody said something about the survey.  I know it may be annoying at times, but since we understand it really matters to their livelihood, we don’t perceive it as a negative.  We also try to give feedback throughout the cruise, both good and bad, so the positives can be accentuated and the negatives can be corrected.  If a negative has happened and get corrected, I don’t hold it against the ranking as nobody is perfect.

[TommyD3]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Good to hear.   Did you have to request them?    2 Zeniths I know on this cruise have Bigalow products in their SS.   

My daughter takes care of that for us but in August we actually had the normal bottles bolted to the wall, a set of Bigalow products and a set of the top end stuff. All replenished as needed.

[TommyD3]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

Matra'D at restaurant asked me to rate his waiters and asst servers a 10 on the after cruise survey email

 

Just learned last month after over 150 Celebrity cruises that the survey software converts any rating of 8 or less to a zero !!!! ABSURD !!!

[Oville]

6 minutes ago, TommyD3 said:

Just learned last month after over 150 Celebrity cruises that the survey software converts any rating of 8 or less to a zero !!!! ABSURD !!!

That’s horrible and hope it isn’t true.  Not doubting you but what is your source?  On our last cruise our waitress in Luminae keep begging us to rate her a 10.  Thanks 

[TommyD3]

4 minutes ago, Oville said:

That’s horrible and hope it isn’t true.  Not doubting you but what is your source?  On our last cruise our waitress in Luminae keep begging us to rate her a 10.  Thanks 

One of the high level officers on the ship.

[Oville]

4 minutes ago, TommyD3 said:

One of the high level officers on the ship.

Thank you.

[cruzzzinma]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

For starters I had the Blue Cheese Soufle  from Main Menu and Iain had the Salmon.    For our  Entree I had the Rack of Lamb and Iain had the Beef Wellington. 

 

My favorite meal on the Millennium last week. I had an appetizer portion of the scallops and the rack of lamb (medium rare.)  It was delicious.

[_Rick_]

Jim or anyone... B2B Question: 

We're doing a B2B in October.  We have a lot of extra OBC on our first cruise and was going to buy casino credit pre-cruise with a portion of it.  If we then receive those chips on the first cruise, can we still use these chips on the second cruise in the casino?  This seems like a way to convert some of the OBC from the first cruise over to the second cruise.