Same Ship Different Season: An Equinox LIVE Solo Review (6/18/22)

[Redking]

1 hour ago, LincolnLegend said:

If it helps in any way, I'm not ready for you to finish this one either! 

 

It's the cold depths of winter here, horses are in the paddock as the days are too short to do anything with them around work. My next cruise is still nearly two months away and there is lots of discussion about if it will happen and where it will go (should be Fiji and New Caledonia but New Caledonia has yet to ok the return of cruise ships)

 

Reading about your great experiences is keeping me happy and I don't want it to end!

Second that @LincolnLegend Winter's  heavy veil is also upon us in the Bay of Plenty, NZ. Our 'restart' cruise isn't until January so a million thanks @GenerationXfor all your efforts in taking us along with you. 🙏

[Surfguyxxx]

I just booked this cruise yesterday for an upcoming September 8th voyage and can't wait to read all of the information on here 😎.  Thanks in advance.  It's been a while since I've done Celebrity as we've been trying to hit the infamous Pinnacle level with RC; one more cruise before that one happens 🤩!  Thanks again for your insights.

[bnurick]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:14 PM, GenerationX said:

Scenes from Evening Chic Night on Equinox!

 

I love that even with the different demographic on this cruise, I was not even close to being in the minority of people dressed to the nines tonight.

 

Also just a shout out to Susan from Canada who is following this review. Please convince your super fun friend who is onboard with me to sail on the November 8th Beyond trip (and while we’re on the subject you come too 😁).

It’s still like 48 hours too early for goodbyes, but I’m really going  to miss this ship and all the friendly, beautiful people who work here and the new friends that I’ve made. 

If you’re following, haven’t started thinking about your return to cruising,  and you are in a position in terms of finances/government restrictions/work obligations/risk tolerance to do so, I hope this review inspires you to really start thinking about it.

 

Even with the relatively minor hiccups I’ve had so far, it really is a beautiful, wonderful, fun world out here at sea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very much appreciate your thoughtful posts!  Boarding the Summit in a few hours. Ping me if there is any information you are looking for your upcoming cruise.  Cheers!

[Arzeena]

GenerationX, have a safe trip back home!

Thanks for this excellent picture review.
Whenever you have a chance, can you post links to your other reviews, please?

[parrothead33]

Charla, thank you once again for your fantastic review and fashion show!  It’s great to be part of your your experience and I’m really looking forward to your next adventure on the Summit.  Safe travels home!

Cheers.

[GenerationX]

If you see me in an admirals club lounge, mimosa in hand, breakfast quesadilla in front of me and I’m pouting, chances are I’m on my way home from vacation.

 

I think this lounge may be the only place more packed than the walk off disembark area in the theater on Equinox this morning.  I was kind of shocked at the attitudes of some of my fellow passengers waiting. Highlights included a guy in his 20’s shouting the F word at people and an older man with a thick Texas accent (I couldn’t see him through the crowd, he must’ve been short, but he made sure EVERYONE could hear him) declaring that he was “running this show” “by order of the fire marshal” (I don’t think that’s even a thing on a cruise ship?) and barking orders at his fellow passengers to make sure he and his wife could get past them and off ASAP.  There was not a crew member in sight to manage any of this nonsense.

 

That BTW is precisely why I don’t book flights on disembark day that leave before noon.  It seems pointless to me to spend thousands on a vacation to relax and put me in a good mood then immediately have to stress and be impatient (or worse, rude to my fellow passengers like these guys were, I could never) about getting off.

 

I just hung back from the craziness by the theatre entrance and let the alpha males go about their jostling for position. My flight isn’t until 12:15 so I didn’t necessarily need to rush, but you never know what priority bag check in and TSA precheck are going to be like on a Sunday morning at MIA.  You could be through there in 10 minutes or it could take an hour and a half.  The latter happened to cruise buddies of mine on their last cruise and they almost missed their flight.

 

Today it was the former for me and I was bag checked and through security and in the D30 lounge within 20 minutes.  I’ll still take sitting around here for another hour and a half over having to rush.

 

As I was walking down the gangway I could see a couple of the notorious black SUV’s parked right next to the ship in the cargo area next to a lower gangway, waiting to whisk away our Covid positive passengers.  On that front, I am pleased to report that I tested myself this morning and am negative.  I’ll report back when I retest later this week, but hopefully all will still be well.

 

The only direct flight back to STL today didn’t leave MIA till 11:30 at night (no thank you) so I’m doing an itinerary with a layover at LGA.  Weird path to STL but it will get me home by 7pm if all runs on schedule and the 2.5 hour layover gave me wiggle room to still make my connection if I have any delays leaving MIA.  All the other options connected through ATL on 45 minute layovers.  I know enough about ATL to know there was little chance of both me and my checked bag making that connection.

 

Coming soon: Charla has another sorrow mimosa at the airport and writes a few catch up reports and final thoughts on my cruise.

 

 

[FlorenceItaly]

Thankfully, Charla cruises again next month!!  I am looking forward to lots of fun on the Summit!

 

[Surfguyxxx]

Do you happen to know if they have a set price for the Thermal Spa or the Persian Garden?  Online it states $49 per day but doesn't tell you if you can also purchase a full 7 or 8 days and go whenever you'd like.  Thanks.

[KKB]

Thank you again for a wonderful TR. 

You have inspired me to up my game...which may mean bringing a laptop...

But whether I spring for premium wifi to load photos or just wait for a port or home to do so remains to be seen.

I just got one of the Amazon dresses you recommended---SO CUTE. BUT I can't zip it myself! 

HOPING it is just physics & not too snug in that area. Need to try again with DH assistance (which means it may need to stay home on solo cruises--BOO)

Not a fan of that travel day either but a necessary evil.

 

Noting your flights--I went into EVERY flight we have over the next few months & looked at layover length as well as how many flights still headed to our destination later in the day. Tweaked those so no layover was 1 hour or less (not crazy about 4.5 hrs in MDW...but desperate times call for desperate measures), and whichever airport had the most flights later in the day to our destination won.

 

The advantage to SWA is that is easy to do. Plus those 2 free bags. Plus drink tix if you have their credit card. AND DH has priority this year so we can grab "first class" on SWA (exit row)

DISADVANTAGE--often no priority lounges in the airports they use. MDW & STL usually have the most connections to FLL/MCO/MIA so it is what it is.

[GenerationX]

A report on my final night dinner in Tuscan.  When I got to the restaurant I was escorted to literally the best seat in the house.

 

You know the bread course where they give you that warm bread basket with olive oil with fresh cut basil? It sounds like they’re alternating the fresh herb now. Tonight it was fresh cut oregano instead of basil. Still a wonderful complement to that warm Asiago cheese roll.

 

The sommelier quickly brought over the rest of my bottle of Cote du Rhone from Murano last night and I sipped it while watching that water churn and trying not to ugly cry.

 

I was thinking while I sipped/munched that I think I know why this cruise ending is so particularly bittersweet. This will be my last fully solo cruise of 2022. All the others either Jeremy, my girlfriend Red or GenZ will be sailing along.  

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing cruise life with all three of these people so dear to my heart. But there’s something special about solo cruising and experiencing the ship and ports completely selfishly and 100% on my own terms. Having that brief week at sea where a woman with a rigorous career, husband, and child can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, without a worry in the world or anyone else’s needs having to be met.

 

My husband would say I probably need to stop talking now, or our next cruise will be 90% women sitting solo at 2 top tables in map dresses sipping Chandon, tawny port and single espressos and tearing into medium rare ribeyes while smiling contentedly and completely ignoring push notifications popping up on their phones that say “New Message From: Hubby”. 

 

So yeah, let’s get back to the food in Tuscan.  

 

For dinner I ordered the goat cheese and arugula salad, ribeye, a side order portion of the short rib pappardelle and a side of sautéed spinach.

 

I can’t recall who recommended I try the goat cheese and arugula salad but thank you! Omg that deep fried ball of goat cheese though…I didn’t think you could improve on goat cheese, but here comes Celebrity deep frying it!

 

My pasta and steak were just as good as I remembered and the spinach was nice and garlicky with extra little crunchy garlic pieces on top for flavor.  I’m pleased to report that this time it was a proper nice thick ribeye too (not that skinny breakfast steak type ribeye I was served in Tuscan on Millennium in March).

 

I wasn’t going to have dessert, but then I remembered that I hadn’t had the Limoncello cheesecake this cruise.  So I did what I had to do.

 

As I was finishing my appetizer course, a lady sat down at a two top near me in an adorable dress with just her and her little boy who looked about 9 or 10 and was dressed and acting like such a little gentleman in his shirt and tie.  He pulled his mother’s chair out for her and was all “pleases” and “thank you’s” with the servers. They seemed to be having such a wonderful time together. It made me think of GenZ and I and our mommy and me travel adventures.  While I’m sad to leave the Equinox, I am so excited to see her tonight!

 

Next up a back in time post on formal night and my last Murano dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[39august]

I take the credit for recommending the salad. It is my go to in Tuscan.

[Surfguyxxx]

3 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

As I was finishing my appetizer course, a lady sat down at a two top near me in an adorable dress with just her and her little boy who looked about 9 or 10 and was dressed and acting like such a little gentleman in his shirt and tie.  He pulled his mother’s chair out for her and was all “pleases” and “thank you’s” with the servers. They seemed to be having such a wonderful time together. It made me think of GenZ and I and our mommy and me travel adventures.  While I’m sad to leave the Equinox, I am so excited to see her tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this part of your story 🤗.  Chivalry isn't dead  🤣

[chamima]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

A report on my final night dinner in Tuscan.  When I got to the restaurant I was escorted to literally the best seat in the house.

 

You know the bread course where they give you that warm bread basket with olive oil with fresh cut basil? It sounds like they’re alternating the fresh herb now. Tonight it was fresh cut oregano instead of basil. Still a wonderful complement to that warm Asiago cheese roll.

 

The sommelier quickly brought over the rest of my bottle of Cote du Rhone from Murano last night and I sipped it while watching that water churn and trying not to ugly cry.

 

I was thinking while I sipped/munched that I think I know why this cruise ending is so particularly bittersweet. This will be my last fully solo cruise of 2022. All the others either Jeremy, my girlfriend Red or GenZ will be sailing along.  

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing cruise life with all three of these people so dear to my heart. But there’s something special about solo cruising and experiencing the ship and ports completely selfishly and 100% on my own terms. Having that brief week at sea where a woman with a rigorous career, husband, and child can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, without a worry in the world or anyone else’s needs having to be met.

 

My husband would say I probably need to stop talking now, or our next cruise will be 90% women sitting solo at 2 top tables in map dresses sipping Chandon, tawny port and single espressos and tearing into medium rare ribeyes while smiling contentedly and completely ignoring push notifications popping up on their phones that say “New Message From: Hubby”. 

 

So yeah, let’s get back to the food in Tuscan.  

 

For dinner I ordered the goat cheese and arugula salad, ribeye, a side order portion of the short rib pappardelle and a side of sautéed spinach.

 

I can’t recall who recommended I try the goat cheese and arugula salad but thank you! Omg that deep fried ball of goat cheese though…I didn’t think you could improve on goat cheese, but here comes Celebrity deep frying it!

 

My pasta and steak were just as good as I remembered and the spinach was nice and garlicky with extra little crunchy garlic pieces on top for flavor.  I’m pleased to report that this time it was a proper nice thick ribeye too (not that skinny breakfast steak type ribeye I was served in Tuscan on Millennium in March).

 

I wasn’t going to have dessert, but then I remembered that I hadn’t had the Limoncello cheesecake this cruise.  So I did what I had to do.

 

As I was finishing my appetizer course, a lady sat down at a two top near me in an adorable dress with just her and her little boy who looked about 9 or 10 and was dressed and acting like such a little gentleman in his shirt and tie.  He pulled his mother’s chair out for her and was all “pleases” and “thank you’s” with the servers. They seemed to be having such a wonderful time together. It made me think of GenZ and I and our mommy and me travel adventures.  While I’m sad to leave the Equinox, I am so excited to see her tonight!

 

Next up a back in time post on formal night and my last Murano dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've never cruised solo but I SO get what you mean about not meeting anyone else's needs for a whole week!!!

Speaking of other's needs - my husband is a vegan and we cruise in Aqua so we never book any of the specialty restaurants anymore but that goat cheese salad and that limoncello cheesecake look UNBELIEVABLE!!! (Blu , I think, shares a kitchen with Tuscan so I'm wondering if a nice size tip might make those two available 🤔)

 

 

[lovecruzin]

Ive enjoyed reading along and looking forward to your Bermuda cruise!

One question though…why the red wine with sushi and not a spicy mangotini 😂 

[gschwartz001]

We are sailing this same itinerary soon and I was curious which day is lobster night/evening chic night? The app was showing it as day 7 until yesterday when it appears they moved all the menus around and now it shows as day three. Thanks for great live review! I can’t wait to board.  

[mchell810]

4 hours ago, GenerationX said:

My husband would say I probably need to stop talking now, or our next cruise will be 90% women sitting solo at 2 top tables in map dresses sipping Chandon, tawny port and single espressos and tearing into medium rare ribeyes while smiling contentedly and completely ignoring push notifications popping up on their phones that say “New Message From: Hubby”. 

 

🤣 🤣 🤣

[GenerationX]

6 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Do you happen to know if they have a set price for the Thermal Spa or the Persian Garden?  Online it states $49 per day but doesn't tell you if you can also purchase a full 7 or 8 days and go whenever you'd like.  Thanks.

Unfortunately I didn’t see any info onboard and I’m not sure if they were even letting people purchase a day pass, but I think that may be because Aqua class, which gets free access for the full cruise, was completely sold out well in advance on this sailing.  
 

So they may not have offered the add on knowing how busy/crowded those areas would already be with Aqua guests.  
 

Now that I’m thinking about it I don’t think I’ve seen that access pass marketed onboard for single or multiple-day since the restart. I wonder if it’s because with the low occupancy ships, so many were getting their move up bids to Aqua honored at the last minute and Aqua was pretty full then too.

[GenerationX]

6 hours ago, KKB said:

Thank you again for a wonderful TR. 

You have inspired me to up my game...which may mean bringing a laptop...

But whether I spring for premium wifi to load photos or just wait for a port or home to do so remains to be seen.

I just got one of the Amazon dresses you recommended---SO CUTE. BUT I can't zip it myself! 

HOPING it is just physics & not too snug in that area. Need to try again with DH assistance (which means it may need to stay home on solo cruises--BOO)

Not a fan of that travel day either but a necessary evil.

 

Noting your flights--I went into EVERY flight we have over the next few months & looked at layover length as well as how many flights still headed to our destination later in the day. Tweaked those so no layover was 1 hour or less (not crazy about 4.5 hrs in MDW...but desperate times call for desperate measures), and whichever airport had the most flights later in the day to our destination won.

 

The advantage to SWA is that is easy to do. Plus those 2 free bags. Plus drink tix if you have their credit card. AND DH has priority this year so we can grab "first class" on SWA (exit row)

DISADVANTAGE--often no priority lounges in the airports they use. MDW & STL usually have the most connections to FLL/MCO/MIA so it is what it is.

Ok so just a thought on the dress front. If it turns out it’s just a logistics not a size issue, I take a zipper helper with me on my solo trips for just such occasions!  I can’t find the exact one I have (I got it in a small formal dress shop years ago) but this one looks like it has good Amazon reviews and comes with a cute carrying bag!

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NB594BZ/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_D2A18Z4W24W166CGSND0_0

[Oolie]

A quick note to let you know we’ll miss you at the Ensemble Lounge tonight. Thanks for the 40th anniversary well wishes. We are being thoroughly spoiled as we celebrate today. You made our cruise last week very special. Hope to sail with you again! Safe travels home…
 

K&B

[CruiseNYC]

Charla - you are a treasure and I can’t wait to follow along with you on your Summit Bermuda cruise.  Thank you so much for all the fun. 
Oh wait - I’m on that cruise too and I’ll get to tell you in person how much I enjoy your cruise reporting!  I’ve already booked some spa appointments but haven’t yet been able to book Specialty Dining.  I’m hoping to get that accomplished once on board. 

Safe travels home. See you next month!

[Spikedr]

3 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Ok so just a thought on the dress front. If it turns out it’s just a logistics not a size issue, I take a zipper helper with me on my solo trips for just such occasions!  I can’t find the exact one I have (I got it in a small formal dress shop years ago) but this one looks like it has good Amazon reviews and comes with a cute carrying bag!

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NB594BZ/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_D2A18Z4W24W166CGSND0_0

I have thoroughly enjoyed your review and helpful tips! I may have to buy a globe dress...

[amcco]

Great reviews. Thanks!

[CTSandy]

Love your reports Generation X - thank you for sharing with us!  I’m booked for 7 cruises this year (so far😆) and 3 are solo.  I totally understand what you’re saying about how enjoyable it is to be responsible for your own happiness.  My friends frequently ask me if I’m lonely on a solo cruise - I am as social or alone as I choose to be - I love it!  Hope to meet you one day on a Celebrity cruise.

[hrhdhd]

From one GenX often-solo cruiser to another: thank you for the details and the entertainment. I'm looking forward to three solo cruises this fall, two on Celebrity.

 

For those who are on the fence about solo cruising, just do it. 😉

[Ustayhungry]

Great review and I enjoyed following along. My wife and I leave on July 2 2022 on the same itinerary. Thank you again!