Equinox- Finally made it back to Celebrity after 3 years!!

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’ll be there for the first time next month. We’re renting a golf cart and exploring. Tips are welcome if you have any. 

If you have your own snorkeling stuff, I have some places that are good.  We don't like doing golf carts there as we get to farther and more places with the car.  But understand everyone is different.  Also try to see the flamingos and the salt flats if on golf cart.

[jean87510]

Husband and I went down to the 5th floor to hang out on the Promenade outside.  We love these types of areas as they are shaded and quiet.  We both commented how much we missed Celebrity.  Just a better overall experience than Royal or Carnival.  Better food, drinks, people, workers...etc...  It really is apparent especially when you normally do one line.  So far we have been really happy with our experience.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’ll be there for the first time next month. We’re renting a golf cart and exploring. Tips are welcome if you have any. 

There is a bar on the golf cart path that is not to be missed.  Kite surfing, great food, drinks and views.  One of my favorite memories came from here.

[jean87510]

7 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

There is a bar on the golf cart path that is not to be missed.  Kite surfing, great food, drinks and views.  One of my favorite memories came from here.

Sorobon beach?

[RichYak]

31 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

If you have your own snorkeling stuff, I have some places that are good.  We don't like doing golf carts there as we get to farther and more places with the car.  But understand everyone is different.  Also try to see the flamingos and the salt flats if on golf cart.

Thanks! And sorry if I hijacked your thread a little. Please carry on 😇

[Duanerice1]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We stopped using cruise ship pools years ago after finding a well soiled baby swim diaper floating on the bottom of the pool. That was on our one and done Royal cruise. Also fighting off the chair hogs is another losing effort. My skin doctor is making too much from me every time I spend too much time in the sun as well.😁

I'm with ya.... We live in Florida and have no desire to sit around a pool with 1,000 other people.  That;s why we get the big balcony... lol

 

Keep on, great report!  We will be on early April for the ABC's

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

Sorobon beach?

Yes, I believe that is the name, in an area called Lac Bay, maybe?  I've only been there once but would go back in a heartbeat....assuming it's not another Covid causality, that is.

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, I believe that is the name, in an area called Lac Bay, maybe?  I've only been there once but would go back in a heartbeat....assuming it's not another Covid causality, that is.

it's near there.  Very shallow area forever plus kite surfing

[jean87510]

Ate at Blu tonight.  Delicious Blu filet mignon plus french onion soup and Caesar salad from the MDR.  Service was great as usual.  Nice time chatting with fellow diners. We were dressed appropriately tonight. 😉

[Cruise till you drop]

8 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’ll be there for the first time next month. We’re renting a golf cart and exploring. Tips are welcome if you have any. 

We are booked on the Edge in March and we are doing the Golf Carts in Bonaire

[Cruise till you drop]

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

There is a bar on the golf cart path that is not to be missed.  Kite surfing, great food, drinks and views.  One of my favorite memories came from here.

I’d like to stop here.  Is this on the North or South route ?

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’d like to stop here.  Is this on the North or South route ?

Oh my. I’m no good with directional questions. If you’re facing the water/cruise port  it’s a left towards the flamingos. Sorry 🤦‍♀️

[cykim7]

17 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Our cabin is all the way near the very end of the hall.  We are right near the gym which is on deck 12.  Currently Im here as I don't ever sleep well from years of a 7p-7a RN.  So here I am at 530am.  Yes, gym was unlocked!  Im good with that as I hate having to wait to use machines to lift.  Gym is typical cruise ship fare.  There is water in here plus cups!

As an aside, I have the basic wifi.  Working well this am.  

 

Edited:  There are Peloton bikes

We will be on Mar 18 for the same itinerary! Looking forward to your updates..

 

few questions:

- do you need to reserve the Peloton bikes ahead of time? 
- how is the premium wifi now that you’ve been on a few days? Ok during sea days? I may need to work here and so hoping since Equinox has Starlink, it’s decent 

- we also have a pool at home so zero desire to go in the pool on the ship so I usually lay on a lounger above the pool deck - how was the availability for those on a sea day? 
 

thank you!!

[jean87510]

6 hours ago, cykim7 said:

We will be on Mar 18 for the same itinerary! Looking forward to your updates..

 

few questions:

- do you need to reserve the Peloton bikes ahead of time? 
- how is the premium wifi now that you’ve been on a few days? Ok during sea days? I may need to work here and so hoping since Equinox has Starlink, it’s decent 

- we also have a pool at home so zero desire to go in the pool on the ship so I usually lay on a lounger above the pool deck - how was the availability for those on a sea day? 
 

thank you!!

we watched 2 episodes of succession on HBO plus a basketball game.  All streamed.  So yes, it's been good.  Phone calls to kids who are dog sitting have been good.  

Its pretty crowded on all areas around the pool.  Including higher decks 

I will ask about the Pelaton.  I jog or elliptical as well as lift.  There was leg compressors there but I think they do it as a service.  I have them at home to help with sore muscles from hiking.  

[jean87510]

7 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’d like to stop here.  Is this on the North or South route ?

[jean87510]

Day 3 early am Grand Cayman.  This is a tender port so we were confused as to where to get our tickets.  Last night, this was left in our room.  We are Elite so this is nice. 

[terrydtx]

There have been discussions on CC about only the pool bar can be open while anchored in GC, was there any notice about this for your stop?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lovetocruisee]

Following and enjoying.  Going to be onboard in July 

😊 Thanks 

[jean87510]

 

56 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

There have been discussions on CC about only the pool bar can be open while anchored in GC, was there any notice about this for your stop?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a picture.  Deck 12 only place to get drinks.  Also, there's a survey for the food as well.

Edited February 20, 2023 by jean87510

[cruisegirlppp]

Thank you for taking us along on your journey...now you have me dreaming about returning to Caribbean!  My last cruise there was early March 2020- the week cruising shut down! Had a very unpleasant excursion experience and frazzled staff on board as we all faced an unknown future. 

[taxhead]

Can you tell me what the hours are for Blu for both breakfast and dinner?

[miched]

On 2/19/2023 at 4:09 AM, jean87510 said:

Hostess told me no jeans as I was wearing them.  I had a nice pair on not Wranglers.  

That was the problem.  They weren’t Wranglers 🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, taxhead said:

Can you tell me what the hours are for Blu for both breakfast and dinner?

They can change depending on ship and itinerary. The best place to find this is in the Celebrity app, it will list the times on your cruise for every day.

[Cruise till you drop]

3 hours ago, cruisegirlppp said:

Thank you for taking us along on your journey...now you have me dreaming about returning to Caribbean!  My last cruise there was early March 2020- the week cruising shut down! Had a very unpleasant excursion experience and frazzled staff on board as we all faced an unknown future. 

Sorry to hear that. We were on the last sailing of the Edge in March 2020 before everything shut down so we know of what was the mood as the world was imploding while you’re on a cruise ship.

Stock market was tanking , toilet paper was not available in stores, people unsure if they could even fly home after the cruise.

 

But to be honest, people were respectful for social distancing, staff was not frazzled, cleaning around the ship was very noticeable .

[lorimay]

We're on this cruise with you and just be glad you can eat in Blu and not the MDR. It's a mess. The ship is full and there were no MDR select dining reservations available before the cruise. We knew we'd have to wait with our recent experiences on Beyond and Summit, so expected not to be seated immediately. We tried to get select dining reservations on board, but the dining concierge said she couldn't do anything except 5:30 or 8:30.

 

First night we arrived at 7:00pm because on our other cruises this year, this was a good time. People going to the 7pm cruise had just left. Stood in line for 10 minutes (it was a madhouse with lines on both sides of deck 4 - the upper deck of the dining room) and got a beeper. Waited almost 30 minutes for a table. Service was so slow (and those waiters are working hard) that we missed the 9pm show. Clearly understaffed.  

 

They are serving champagne as you wait in line so they know it's an issue. I don't think it's just to be nice.

 

Last night we didn't want to miss the 9pm show, so we arrived at 6:30. This time they had clear signs - left podium for reservations and right podium for those of us without reservations. After we got our beeper (5 minutes in line) and waited 45 minutes for a table. Once seated, waited and waited for service. One starter each and a main course, no drinks, and we finally got a dessert menu at 8:35. Dirty dishes sat on the table for a very long time. We skipped dessert.

 

It wasn't just us. Maitre' d got called over to a table near us and they were clearly unhappy about the service. They kept saying "not the waiter's fault" but their table was full of dirty starter dishes for a really long time also. They were really angry and he got an earful.

 

OVC seems normal breakfast and lunch, not the greatest food but you can always find something to eat. Didn't go for dinner, but at 10pm last night they had the pasta and pizza stations open, sandwiches, fruit, salads, desserts and ice cream. So a decent selection for a late night snack.