JamieLogical's 5/29 Equinox Semi-Live Review

[Jim_Iain]

29 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

Thank you for that tip. This will only be our second Celebrity cruise and didn't realize that was on the app ahead of time.  

It isn't always available more than about on cruise out.   You can select the current cruise by going to the very bottom of selection cruises and select ships we support and select the current cruise.   

[JamieLogical]

3 hours ago, MBP1 said:

Has there been any word about the voyage back to Fort Lauderdale and the tropical depression/storm that is about the form? We are on the next sailing and hope there are no delays.

 

. 

 

The Captain just announced we will be traveling at full speed through the night to stay ahead of the storm and he expects us to be back to Port Everglades on time.

[mayleeman]

1 hour ago, Dar & Bob said:

Thank you for that tip. This will only be our second Celebrity cruise and didn't realize that was on the app ahead of time.  

Just be aware that as you get closer, things may change a bit. Keep checking if you want to plan specialty dinners (Murano, etc) on nights that the app is showing meals you don't want in the MDR--they might move something good in.

[amcco]

1 hour ago, Dar & Bob said:

Thank you for that tip. This will only be our second Celebrity cruise and didn't realize that was on the app ahead of time.  

The menus stay relatively static but it will at least give you some ideas about pricing and options. It is nice to have it in the app now as before I was always searching for posts on cruise critic that had pictures!  And nicer still that you can see any cruise dates on your ship - for a while you could only see your own and if was too far out you couldn’t access it. 

[pumpkin 11]

I think I could permanently live at cafe al bacio. So much better than princess coffee and they're always so nice there. We just got off Apex and there was distinct lack of bars compared to S Class. Glad they added 3 more to Beyond.

[sgmn]

On 6/1/2022 at 6:15 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

Yeah, that was the idea with the cruising 2-3 weeks out of the month. We would have a "home base" to do doctors appointments, laundry, check mail, etc. We plan to retire at 55, so hopefully won't be in too bad of shape at that point. Things might slow down as we age, though.

I retired at 65 during the pandemic, so that has put paid to long haul international travelling until very recently.  Also a dog and now much loved grandchildren have come along, so all our long held plans for extensive travelling when retired have gone out of the window

[JamieLogical]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

I retired at 65 during the pandemic, so that has put paid to long haul international travelling until very recently.  Also a dog and now much loved grandchildren have come along, so all our long held plans for extensive travelling when retired have gone out of the window

 

Barring something catastrophic, grand children are not a possibility for us. And, every time I am tempted by a new pet, my husband reminds me how long that type of animal can live. 😋

 

We do have two cats who are somewhere in the 3-5 year-old range with only 12 years to go until I am 55. When people tell me stories of their cats living until 21 or 22, I worry a bit. But I love our cats. If we retire a couple of years later than planned because they are living long lives, worse things have happened.

[JamieLogical]

6/2

 

With the late night I had before, I decided to set my room service delivery time to 8:00am instead of 7:00. That sort of set me up to be about an hour behind the whole day. I had to do the buffet for breakfast, since I missed the 9:00 closing time of the MDR. I was reminded of why I HATE the buffet for breakfast on cruises. It actually hasn't been to bad through the cruise restart, but with this ship near capacity combined with the fact that staff are still serving everything in the buffet, it is just too much. I ended up with three times the bacon a human can eat and I was too tired to argue with the poor girl who served it to me and then I had to wait as long for a fresh omelet as I would have down in the MDR. Not to mention it's basically a cage match just to navigate around with all of the people.

 

It was a port day (Cozumel), so that didn't help. I just ate as quickly as I could once I managed to wrangle a reasonable amount of food, and escaped to the tranquility of the Lawn Club. I did at least grab my Grand Mimosa from Komang, who was working like a madman in the OceanView bar.

 

Up at the Lawn Club, all the seats were soaked from the pouring rain, but that didn't deter me. I grabbed some of the pool towels that were there and just laid them all out on my wet cushion. Since I was running so late, I didn't even have to wait long for the Sunset Bar to open. There were more people up there than the past few days and I got to talking with a couple who was sailing Celebrity for the first time and then an older gentleman who was cruising alone. They were both great chats. I introduced the couple to ginger mojitos and they were thrilled. Jaya, the morning bartender up there said they became a huge hit and now everyone wants them.

 

Since it was a port day, I had lunch in the buffet again. I was still running just about an hour late when I went down for my nap. And I woke up and hour late for my coffee at Cafe al Bacio. One of the advantages of being behind schedule was that there was live music in the Ensemble Lounge that started at 5:15. Since I usually go to the WCB at 5:00, I had been missing it the other nights.

 

I was able to make up some time by having dinner in the buffet, instead of the MDR. I spent a lot of time at WCB and got to know Isiah better. He has definitely grown on me and I feel bad for my negative first impressions.

 

The casino didn't open until pretty late, since we didn't leave Cozumel until about 7:30. While I was paying my daily tithes, I heard an "excuse me" and looked up and there was Komang with a Mr. Worldwide in his hand. Remember, he has to go steal ingredients from the Martini Bar to make these for me in the Casino, so that was a very pleasant and welcome surprise! He told me that he had been called over to Quasar to cover, because it was crowded in there for the pub trivia, so I went to hang out with him there. I played the trivia and only got 6 out of the 15 questions right. The group of four next to me also only got 6 right though, so I didn't feel too bad about it.

 

After staying in Quasar a bit to chat with Komang after the trivia rush died down, I headed back to WCB just to say goodnight, but everyone talked me into staying for one more drink. Z made me something she called the "Jamie Special", which was delicious.

 

With me running an hour late all evening and the time change jumping us an hour forward overnight, I decided to push my room service breakfast to 7:30 and just try to get a move on this morning to still make it to the MDR before they close.

 

Day's Drinks: Grand Mimosa, Ginger Mojito x3, Americano w/ Bailey's, French 77 x2, Strawberry Fields, Birthday Cake Mojito, Celebrity No. 10, Mr. Worldwide, Vodka Sour, Jamie Special

[JamieLogical]

[dreams_of_travel]

I'm very intrigued with the Ginger Mojito drink.  I will have to try it in August on my next cruise.  Is it on the menu?  If not, how is it made?  TIA

[cluso]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:50 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

Not likely to post a picture of myself, as I have a pretty strict policy against selfies, but here are some links to give you an idea:

 

I have these pants in 5 different patterns, though looks like most of the patterns I have are no longer available: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08DD2BWM9/ref=twister_B074P12MQ7?_encoding=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

 

I have something like 10-12 of these camisoles in various colors so I can wear a clean one every day:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P76HQK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

 

I have 4 of these shirts, two white, one navy, and one black for wearing over my camisoles:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P76HQK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

 

I have bought a few pairs of these shoes now... they don't hold up very well, but they are cheap enough to be practically disposable. I have learned that the insoles do not stay in the shoes and make a big, sticky mess with the glue they use for them, so I now immediately take the insoles out and replace them:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B097XX7956/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

 

For evening chic, I just sub in these sandals for the shoes above:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074JKNYDD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hi!  Can you please post the link for the camisoles.  It looks like you posted the linen shirts twice.  I am not a big shopper, but these styles look great!  Thank you.

[JamieLogical]

24 minutes ago, cluso said:

Hi!  Can you please post the link for the camisoles.  It looks like you posted the linen shirts twice.  I am not a big shopper, but these styles look great!  Thank you.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Hanes-Womens-Stretch-Cotton-Built/dp/B01MRWOXL0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=hanes+camisole&qid=1654262250&sr=8-3

[JamieLogical]

28 minutes ago, dreams_of_travel said:

I'm very intrigued with the Ginger Mojito drink.  I will have to try it in August on my next cruise.  Is it on the menu?  If not, how is it made?  TIA

 

It's not on the menu. It is a traditional mojito, except you substitute Kraken (or other dark rum) for Bacardi or whatever light rum you would usually use and you substitute ginger beer for the club soda.

[Purplsmurf]

I must’ve missed it so sorry if asking again…..what is a grand mimosa? 

[sbt518]

You and GenerationX make me think about cruising by myself, I love reading your reviews.  I also get way more vacation time than my husband so I wind up just carrying it over forever or going on short trips with my friends.  But I think I could get into doing a cruise by myself. 

 

My husband would be so jealous, how does yours handle that?

[Jim_Iain]

31 minutes ago, sbt518 said:

You and GenerationX make me think about cruising by myself, I love reading your reviews.  I also get way more vacation time than my husband so I wind up just carrying it over forever or going on short trips with my friends.  But I think I could get into doing a cruise by myself. 

 

My husband would be so jealous, how does yours handle that?

 

A possible solution might be what I use to do.  Iain had much more vacation time them me so I would just take the time off WITHOUT PAY.    In my mind it was a win - win  

 

 

[MarKay525]

On 5/31/2022 at 4:14 PM, JamieLogical said:

This is my favorite pair... Very cruisey:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GDZ8TDF?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&th=1

I ordered these as well as the black one with the crescent moons. To my surprise, they look good on this slightly overweight, very short septuagenarian. I'll have to hem them the up of course, but I have to do that with everything.

 

Hope you return home tomorrow is uneventful. I look forward to your next Live. Kay

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Purplsmurf said:

I must’ve missed it so sorry if asking again…..what is a grand mimosa? 

 

It is a mimosa with a shot of Grand Marnier in it.

[JamieLogical]

Interest has been down most of the morning due to the heavy rain and cloud cover. The Captain says we are going to continue at full speed to try to make Port Everglades by 12:30am, since the storm is supposed to hit Ft. Lauderdale around 2:00am. If we are unable to dock before the storm hits, the port will likely close and we will have to dock late tomorrow morning.

[Lastdance]

Maybe Mimosa Jamie might be a great nickname, or Storming Jaime.  Personally, I love it on the ship when it gets rough and a little unruley.  

[MikeMary4449]

7 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Interest has been down most of the morning due to the heavy rain and cloud cover. The Captain says we are going to continue at full speed to try to make Port Everglades by 12:30am, since the storm is supposed to hit Ft. Lauderdale around 2:00am. If we are unable to dock before the storm hits, the port will likely close and we will have to dock late tomorrow morning.

Just curious:  Who is your Captain?  Best wishes on making your flight home.

[PTC DAWG]

57 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Interest has been down most of the morning due to the heavy rain and cloud cover. The Captain says we are going to continue at full speed to try to make Port Everglades by 12:30am, since the storm is supposed to hit Ft. Lauderdale around 2:00am. If we are unable to dock before the storm hits, the port will likely close and we will have to dock late tomorrow morning.

The casino folks hate this…

[Jazzbo]

Fingers crossed for an early and safe return! I enjoy your reviews so much, Jamie. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

The casino folks hate this…

Ship board crew members love the extra time off, corporate hates this

[AndyCapn]

9 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I ended up with three times the bacon a human can eat

 

Challenge accepted.