LIVE from Equinox (June 24, 2023), sailing on a budget

[hpy travler]

First time on Celebrity. What are peoples thoughts on the drink package?

[conquesodor]

I will be following your posts! Looking forward to hearing about your experience. Bon voyage!

[sbt518]

Congratulations to you both!

Have a fantastic and well deserved trip.

 

We did the ABC islands on Equinox in March and it was great.

We just walked around Curacao, over the bridge and went to the Jewish museum and synagogue (oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere) it was really interesting.  Then we stopped and got our obligatory blue drinks as we wandered back to the ship.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

[AbbyCruiser45]

52 minutes ago, sbt518 said:

We just walked around Curacao, over the bridge and went to the Jewish museum and synagogue (oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere) it was really interesting.

That’s a great tip! We’ll definitely check it out. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

Is it the new MDR cheeseburger? Nope! Just the Legendary Burger from the Hard Rock Cafe. 

 

We got into Fort Lauderdale only about 30 minutes late. The real delay was it took 50 minutes for our luggage to make it to the belt. There was some rain, so maybe a weather delay? Oh well, bags arrived so I cannot complain. 
 

Kaleb’s family surprised us with a trip to the Hard Rock Guitar Hotel! If you have your own car, it might be worth a trip if you like gambling and music. There were a lot of famous musicians’ guitars and clothing on display, one of Lady Gaga’s dresses below. There was a neat waterfall that was synchronized to music. 

 

Now we’re heading to the condo for some downtime before going out to dinner! Overall, a pretty smooth travel day. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

Good morning from Fort Lauderdale! I got up early to catch the sunrise. It wasn’t the most spectacular sunrise, but it was still beautiful to see come up. 

 

 

We’ll be touring around on the water taxi for most of the day. I rode it last year and really enjoyed it! I think we might hit 15th St Fisheries for lunch, but otherwise, no big plans on the horizon. Just enjoying a hot, Florida day! 
 

A little bit about me, I am an anxious person and now is the part of the trip where I’m constantly thinking “what if we’re actually supposed to board today?” But according to our booking documents, the title of my post, and the group page title on the other social media, we do in fact leave tomorrow 😂 Time to get excited! 

[hcat]

we are excited for you

looking forward to this blog!

[bandp407]

Abby Cruiser45 ~ Congrats to you & Kaleb for all of your accomplishments & all the best in your new home! 
 

wishing you a fantastic cruise & I will be following along! Bon Voyage! 

[joyefullcruiser]

Congratulations to you and Kaleb!

 

Looking forward to reading your review.  We will be boarding eight weeks from tomorrow!!

[AbbyCruiser45]

Thank you @bandp407 and @joyefullcruiser! 
 

It’s not a pre-cruise visit to Fort Lauderdale without a stop into 15th St Fisheries! Usually, we’ll go for dinner but this time we mixed it up and went for lunch. 

 

I had the fried shirts tacos and they were excellent. Not pictured, the conch fritters. They’re one of my favorite menu items! Other than that, we enjoyed a nice day on the water taxi. Both times I’ve been to Fort Lauderdale, it’s been blazing hot in late July. This is my first time here in June and it is much more enjoyable, but still Florida hot! In typical Florida fashion, the sky turned super dark and we mentally prepared to get soaked on the water taxi. But it never actually started raining! Made it back to the condo in time for some last minute laundry and downtime before the exciting day tomorrow! This will likely be my last update until we board, “see” you all on the Equinox (all though maybe I will actually see some of you!) 
 

 

 

 

 

[Kelownadon]

Just as a thought for something to do on Bonaire is rent a golf cart and drive it around the Island. This is something we plan on doing when we get to Bonaire. It is around $100 per person for the day. If you google it or search it on YouTube you will find it easily. It’s very popular. 

[helen haywood]

Since you mentioned the Hard Rock Hotel…last time we stayed in Ft. Lauderdale we could see the hotel on the horizon and the exterior lights up in different colors and even has fireworks displays on the guitar form of the building.  Really neat to watch from afar.

 

Have a great cruise!!

[Susanb10567]

Following along…
Have a great cruise…we are booked on the Equinox for October and next July in Europe which will be our first S ship …

[AbbyCruiser45]

14 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

Just as a thought for something to do on Bonaire is rent a golf cart and drive it around the Island. This is something we plan on doing when we get to Bonaire. It is around $100 per person for the day. If you google it or search it on YouTube you will find it easily. It’s very popular. 

Yes! I wanted to do this but it’s been booked up for months. We’re still going to swing by in person in case there are cancellations or no shows. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

5 minutes ago, Susanb10567 said:

Following along…
Have a great cruise…we are booked on the Equinox for October and next July in Europe which will be our first S ship …

Which class have you been on before? I’ve been on the Edge class also. I can’t say I actually have a preference! They’re unique classes of ships with their own perks. On the S class, I love the sunset bar area and also the front of ship access. 

Edited June 23, 2023 by AbbyCruiser45

[skatelady]

3 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Yes! I wanted to do this but it’s been booked up for months. We’re still going to swing by in person in case there are cancellations or no shows. 

It's been several years since we were in Bonaire, while we were wandering near the Port we were approached by an operator of golf carts asking if we wanted to rent one for the day, she had a couple of cancellations.  Fingers crossed it happens for you.  We'll be there in February. I better start planning now!

[AbbyCruiser45]

17 minutes ago, skatelady said:

It's been several years since we were in Bonaire, while we were wandering near the Port we were approached by an operator of golf carts asking if we wanted to rent one for the day, she had a couple of cancellations.  Fingers crossed it happens for you.  We'll be there in February. I better start planning now!

Fingers crossed!! It looks like it’s refundable up until 2 days before, so it wouldn’t hurt for you to start looking. I cannot remember how far in advance our day booked up but I definitely remember being surprised they were already sold out. 

[dlh015]

21 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Fingers crossed!! It looks like it’s refundable up until 2 days before, so it wouldn’t hurt for you to start looking. I cannot remember how far in advance our day booked up but I definitely remember being surprised they were already sold out. 

Sadly, I experienced the same thing when I tried to book 4 months out...<sigh>...I kept trying for a couple of months thereafter but no luck...I wish you better luck!!

[like2cruise]

2 hours ago, dlh015 said:

Sadly, I experienced the same thing when I tried to book 4 months out...<sigh>...I kept trying for a couple of months thereafter but no luck...I wish you better luck!!

 

3 hours ago, skatelady said:

It's been several years since we were in Bonaire, while we were wandering near the Port we were approached by an operator of golf carts asking if we wanted to rent one for the day, she had a couple of cancellations.  Fingers crossed it happens for you.  We'll be there in February. I better start planning now!

Is the company with Bonaire Cruisers?

[dlh015]

2 minutes ago, like2cruise said:

 

Is the company with Bonaire Cruisers?

Bonaire Cruisers is who I was trying to book with. AFAIK they are the only ones that book carts on the island...

[Kelownadon]

I think that’s it. bonairecruisers.com

[AbbyCruiser45]

8 hours ago, Kelownadon said:

I think that’s it. bonairecruisers.com

Yes! That’s it. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Happy embarkation day, Abby!  

 

We have used bonairecruisers.com.  They are great!  If it's showing up as being sold out or no availability you should still stop by their tent at the pier to see if they have had any cancellations.  The pier tent is the check in point and from there you are directed over to the building (a short walk) where the carts are located.  They state in their reservation process that carts will be released from a reservation within a certain time (I want to say it was 2 hours from the time your ship arrives) thereby allowing people who couldn't get a reservation a chance of snagging one due to a no show.  

Edited June 24, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[AbbyCruiser45]

14 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

The pier tent is the check in point and from there you are directed over to the building (a short walk) where the carts are located.  They state in their reservation process that carts will be released from a reservation within a certain time (I want to say it was 2 hours from the time your ship arrives) thereby allowing people who couldn't get a reservation a chance of snagging one due to a no show. 

Perfect! Thank you so much for the tip. Because we were just planning on taking a taxi and don’t have anything solid on the schedule, we’ll definitely try for this.

[Susanb10567]

17 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Which class have you been on before? I’ve been on the Edge class also. I can’t say I actually have a preference! They’re unique classes of ships with their own perks. On the S class, I love the sunset bar area and also the front of ship access. 

I have been on the E and M class so  that is why I am excited to try the S class. 
Bon Voyage 🛳️