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

[jean87510]

38 minutes ago, mjschutte said:

Curious how you manage to bring a tent(!) Great idea, but I can't imagine having room for it in luggage. (And presumably your snorkel gear). Also, great pic of the turtle!!

Weighs about 10 lbs.  Amazon.

[thephillykid]

We get on her on Monday. How much is if to upgrade from classic beverage to premium? We usually upgrade, at least I do. The wife doesn’t drink enough for it to pay. Please leave the ship in good shape for us. Lol. Enjoy. 

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, thephillykid said:

We get on her on Monday. How much is if to upgrade from classic beverage to premium? We usually upgrade, at least I do. The wife doesn’t drink enough for it to pay. Please leave the ship in good shape for us. Lol. Enjoy. 

Im not sure.  We have the classic package so if we go over we just pay the difference.  We had about 85$ left of OBC when we boarded so if we go over, we just tack it on.  

[jean87510]

Day 8 Sea Day.  Got up around 6 and decided to run this am on the treadmill.  Last night was really rocky.  I had the glasses and water bottles fall off which woke me up.  After my run (5 miles today 👍) I headed for my daily Caffe Americano at Bachio.  The baristas really are fast and efficient.  The line always moves quickly.

Husband still sleeping so I headed up to walk around decks 12, 14 and 15 just to see if I missed anything.  Yes, lots of saved chairs at 8am.  I read my Kindle and finished the book I have been reading all week.  Then my husband sent me an email that he was awake and where was I?

So I have the basic Wifi.  Husband has premium which I upgraded pre cruise.  I can do everything but stream.  When we were in port, I used my husbands hot-spot to download episodes of tv shows.  He has an international plan for work and when we are in port, I leech off of him unless we are at a spot with wifi.  I find the internet excellent on here. 

We had our free lunch today at Tuscan that had menu selections from Sushi, Murano and Tuscan.  I got the beef carpacchio, a kobe slider and filet mignon.  Plus a chocolate mousse for dessert.  Plus a couple of Mojitos.  Absolutely fantastic.  

The pool area was hopping with some fun activities.  There was ballroom dance class on Deck 3 centrum.  Lots of smiles and happy cruisers.  Unfortunately they stopped playing the music from the pool area and the singer came out.  Don't get me wrong. She's good.  But sometimes I'd like to hear the original singers and have Pitbull or Florida Georgia line.  You could see everyone who was dancing line dances at the pool and to other music just go back to their chairs.  It was like a buzz kill.  

We decided to head up to deck 15 near the Sunset bar and relax.  It's absolutely beautiful up here and shaded and breezy.

Edited February 25, 2023 by jean87510

[jean87510]

Started getting too hot on Deck 15 so we went to the Persian Garden which was crowded at 4pm then opted for the Relaxation lounge on 11.  Very nice with a strong wifi signal.

[Guest CunucuMom]

First CC on Equinox this coming September so I've enjoyed following your journey.  I haven't seen anyone mention the pub food at Craft Social.  Menu looks like snack-y food that DH and I would enjoy.  Any thoughts?  PS Congrats on the treadmill 5-miler!  Surely it must be less monotonous looking at the beautiful ocean view.

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, CunucuMom said:

First CC on Equinox this coming September so I've enjoyed following your journey.  I haven't seen anyone mention the pub food at Craft Social.  Menu looks like snack-y food that DH and I would enjoy.  Any thoughts?  PS Congrats on the treadmill 5-miler!  Surely it must be less monotonous looking at the beautiful ocean view.

I may go down to take a look tomorrow.  It wasn't open at 1145am today.

 

I like to jog although not on the treadmill but on a ship, I don't have much choice unless on the Oasis class ships on Royal.  The treadmills do have scenery to look at so it's not that bad but yep after an hour, I do get bored.

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, CunucuMom said:

First CC on Equinox this coming September so I've enjoyed following your journey.  I haven't seen anyone mention the pub food at Craft Social.  Menu looks like snack-y food that DH and I would enjoy.  Any thoughts?  PS Congrats on the treadmill 5-miler!  Surely it must be less monotonous looking at the beautiful ocean view.

Craft Social has pretty good "bar food".  Extra charge applies.

[jean87510]

We went to Blu tonight.  Lobster tail night.  The tails were pretty big.  About 3-4".  I ordered one and gave to my husband so he could have 2.  Ordered the steak off of MDR menu plus tomato bisque and an eggplant napoleon.  It was pretty good tonight in Blu.  Very crowded and we did have a bit of a wait of 25 minutes.  We left Blu and walked around Deck 5.  There was a Queen revue going on which quite a few people were enjoying on Decks 4, 5 and 6.  Lots of people dancing and singing.  Husband got gelato and a lemon tart to go.  

I am really enjoying this cruise and just love this ship.  I see why I really missed the Celebrity experience.  Once you go away, you will see how different other lines are.  I don't know if it's the staff or my fellow cruisers but it's just been nice.  Everyone is friendly both fellow cruisers and staff. I saw this on the Summit as well.  I never see this on Royal except for the Alaska cruise and the TAs I went on.

[jean87510]

Days 9 and 10.  Sea Day plus Disembark Day

 

Yesterday was a 2 a day at the gym.  Ran in the am.  Husband and I lifted in the afternoon plus I used a spin bike that was on the floor and a rowing machine.  I used to teach spin on the side until the shutdown and I do miss it.  Haven't done it in almost 3 years!  Lot's of cold towels and water in the gym.  I just love the little touches in here.  I preferred this so much more then the meat markets a la Jersey Shore Oasis class gyms.  They have pretty much everything I needed and in good shape.  

We still had our OBC so my husband kept getting gelato cones until we whittled it down to $60.  We could not use in the casino, that is, we could only cash the winnings.  So we bought some Twix bars for my husband and 2 beach towels.  Later I watched a gentleman walking down the hall with 4 grey pool towels...  Oh well.  Mine are nicer 

The line was always ridiculously long for Mast Grill every time we checked yesterday so we ate at OVC breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And a lot of people ate all 3 meals there as well with us.  Food was good and a big selection.  No complaints here 

We opted for no Blu as we walked by and line was long.  The wait was again 30 minutes as it was on Day 8.  My issue is I understand suite guests are allowed.  That's ok.  But why do I have to wait and why were they seated before us?  And WHY can't they eat in THEIR restaurant?  There was a group of 10 suite guests next to us and our fellow table mates were pretty annoyed as well as they too had to wait.  They said it was every night.  Another couple was complaining to the waiter about it as well.  

This am we poked around until we got the knock at 9am and headed to the exit.  Facial recognition.  Warning to everyone.  Your bill will be on the app unless you go to guest services.  There was a couple at breakfast who were upset they couldn't see their bill.  They had flip phones.  I told them to go back to the cabin and check their TV.

We opted to take cab to FLL.  This is so much easier.  $20.  We are Lyft people and it is a zoo at the ride sharing.  Just cough up the extra cash.

Speaking of cough, yes I suspect about 25% of my fellow cruisers have covid.  Lots of masks appearances by the end of the cruise.

We had a great time.  I really miss Celebrity.  I don't know why people are canceling.  This was the best cruise we were on since the restart other than my Alaskan cruise.  Staff, service were just great.  We are not ones for shows, bingo, casino, shopping, food, trivia.  We go for the ports and the peace and quiet away from 5 kids and 3 dogs.  Husband has an incredibly stressful job and although he unfortunately has to work from ship, he did relax and had fun.  We met a lot of lovely people onboard.  And THAT is the big difference of Celebrity.  The fellow guests are so friendly and warm.  It's been like this on every one of our 6 sailings.  Very polite.  

Thanks for following along with me.  Next cruise on Celebrity is the Reflection December 2024!!

[Guest CunucuMom]

Thank you for taking the time to share your journey.  Really enjoyed reading about your adventures and viewing the beautiful photos.

[ajconova]

Thank you for the great review. We will be on Equinox with same itinerary next January, 1st time to ABC islands. How far in advance did you rent a car in Aruba?  Thinking about doing the same stops. Thank you for all the tips.

[jean87510]

21 minutes ago, ajconova said:

Thank you for the great review. We will be on Equinox with same itinerary next January, 1st time to ABC islands. How far in advance did you rent a car in Aruba?  Thinking about doing the same stops. Thank you for all the tips.

We did Hertz via Expedia.  I think I did it about 6 months ago.  Curacao we did Avis at the airport in June 2022.  

[Cruise till you drop]

7 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Yesterday was a 2 a day at the gym.  Ran in the am.  Husband and I lifted in the afternoon plus I used a spin bike that was on the floor and a rowing machine. 

 

 There was a couple at breakfast who were upset they couldn't see their bill.  They had flip phones.  I told them to go back to the cabin and check their TV.

 

Thanks for sharing the details of your cruise

 

1. I respect your dedication to going to the gym as for us, over 25 cruises and NEVER seen the inside of the gym

 

2. I loved my flip phone when I had one. Didn’t think they existed anymore.  Where does one get one ?

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Thanks for sharing the details of your cruise

 

1. I respect your dedication to going to the gym as for us, over 25 cruises and NEVER seen the inside of the gym

 

2. I loved my flip phone when I had one. Didn’t think they existed anymore.  Where does one get one ?

lol.  I have never been to the art auction, swam in the pools, sat in the hottubs, received a massage, or gambled in the casino 26 cruises in.  

My 86 yr old mom has a flip phone.  It is an adventure texting her.

 

Edited:  I did receive a massage and had to stop halfway after they put this cooling agent on my back.  Did get a pedicure once as well.

Edited February 28, 2023 by jean87510

[rizzles]

I enjoyed your report! I was on this cruise as well and loved it. a couple things to comment on.. in Grand Cayman, I went to OVC for lunch and when i ordered a diet coke, the server took my seapass and wrote down my info then told me I'd be charged "later" (which i was) since there are certain regulations while in port (i had no drink package). i know diet coke isn't alcohol but it does come from the bar and I saw people around me drinking wine so perhaps they were doing that as a way to get around the regulations somehow? i am totally speculating but maybe they're not technically 'selling' alcohol if you don't pay for it at the time of purchase. Not sure if that will continue but perhaps worth a try if the line at the pool bar is out of control...

In regards to dining times, we had Select and found that process crowded and confusing but figured out around day 3 that we could always make reservations through the app for the following day. For example: Tues we could reserve for Wed, etc. and we were able to get 7:30 or 7:45 reservations almost every night. The MDR was crazy busy every night and we felt the food quality suffered, but the service was good and we still love Celebrity. 🥰

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, rizzles said:

I enjoyed your report! I was on this cruise as well and loved it. a couple things to comment on.. in Grand Cayman, I went to OVC for lunch and when i ordered a diet coke, the server took my seapass and wrote down my info then told me I'd be charged "later" (which i was) since there are certain regulations while in port (i had no drink package). i know diet coke isn't alcohol but it does come from the bar and I saw people around me drinking wine so perhaps they were doing that as a way to get around the regulations somehow? i am totally speculating but maybe they're not technically 'selling' alcohol if you don't pay for it at the time of purchase. Not sure if that will continue but perhaps worth a try if the line at the pool bar is out of control...

In regards to dining times, we had Select and found that process crowded and confusing but figured out around day 3 that we could always make reservations through the app for the following day. For example: Tues we could reserve for Wed, etc. and we were able to get 7:30 or 7:45 reservations almost every night. The MDR was crazy busy every night and we felt the food quality suffered, but the service was good and we still love Celebrity. 🥰

I saw that feature on the app for MDR.  I would have liked that for blu.