Celebrity EQUINOX - Inaugrual Transatlantic 5th November 2009

[Karynanne]

Forget to count you? I may make you a bridesmaid!:D

 

Andrew

 

I'd be honored...as long as I don't have to wear one those hideous, poufy-sleeved, dresses! You know me...something with taste.

 

Karyn

[Blue Peter]

Hello Everyone,

I have just returned home from the Celebrity Century 14 night transatlantic eastbound crossing to Amsterdam from Miami. I could rave about this sailing forever. Bermuda, Cherbourg were my favourite layovers. Customer service was above and beyond.

I have met and befriended several non cruise critic fellows who are already booked on MV Equinox, 5th Nov. .... There shall be Jeffrey and Robert, Thomas and Daumier, Bill and Mark, Ron and a few others.

A long day, I shall get back to you later. And the Captain granted me a request which I will share with you tomorrow

[Blazerboy]

Welcome back, Francois...glad the trip was wonderful...we really like that ship...will be interesting to see how we like the new larger ships.

 

And pray, to tell your stories!:D

 

Andrew

[Blue Peter]

Andrew, Thank you for the welcome wishes. Wonderful indeed was that sailing. Out of Bermuda, though, it became rather rough. For two days the ship rocked and some of the crew were ill, needless to mention passengers. ... Sickness bags layed around stairways and lifts. Some entertainment events had to be postponed due to ship movements. Even the Cruise Sales Managers, Alex, has been taken ill after 12 years at sea. Me, I felt in heaven, as on a real ship. Pitching and rolling putting me to sleep as a child being cradled. ...

 

When in Transylvania, I did not have the opportunity to have been dined in presence of a Count. And cute he was. Andrew, lucky you!

Michael and Lee, I am happy to know that you have had a nice sailing onboard Century, despite the Key West incident. At least Celebrity Cruises came forward with shipboard credits to passenger. ... Rather quite good service, would one say! ... And your photos of your short sailing are great. You have such a nice website.

Speaking of service, I had booked and chosen an inside cabin without verifying what was above my deck. The main Galley that was. The noise had become untolerable as this venue is in constant turmoil, all day and night, and rightfully so as that crew performs tremendous chores. ... Graciously, I was moved to an outside stateroom with an actual porthole as in liners of yesteryears.

 

I loved it. ... The Guest Relations crew (I wish they would still call it "Purser's Office") did a wonderful job. ... They called my cabin several times to insure that my new accommodations were up to my liking, which it was.

Karyn, it will be a crossing of a lifetime. Nice to see you among the party. ... My regards to Bill.

Monica, Being away, I missed your welcoming! Happy to see you here. Your MV Equinox website is just wonderful. I hope your husband will be able to get his vacation in order to join us. Being November, low season, I do not see any problem, being in the airline industry myself.

"Blue Peter" is a flag which hoisted alone, means a ship is ready for sailing. ... Flown with other flags, it means the letter "P". ... However, nowaday it is no longer flown as being, so I gather, outdated.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/flags/signal-meaning.html

 

While Captain Mantzavinos** was taking a stroll alone outside on deck, I dared to disturb and ask him, if it were possible to have the "Blue Peter" flown prior to departure out of Cherbourg the next day. (scheduled at 22h00) ... Right away, he called the bridge on his portable phone to verify the sunset time and the whole thing was arranged. ... The following evening, I had to leave the table early ( 21h30, second seating) in order to see if my wish was granted. ... Sure enough, the "Blue Peter" was flying high and proud. Captain Panagiotis Mantzavinos had come forward for me. ... And needless to say, the "Blue Peter" was flown out of Le Havre and Dover as well. ...

 

 

Here, "Blue Peter" is flown ahead of the "Red Ensign". ... Below is the Maltese flag where Century is now registered.

 

This was the highlight of my crossing.

 

Of course I made sure the Captain had been aware of my appreciation.

[Schplinky]

Francois,

 

Welcome back. I'm glad you had a great time.

 

Lee

[Compass Rose Monica]

Andrew, Thank you for the welcome wishes. Wonderful indeed was that sailing. Out of Bermuda, though, it became rather rough. For two days the ship rocked and some of the crew were ill, needless to mention passengers. ... Sickness bags layed around stairways and lifts. Some entertainment events had to be postponed due to ship movements. Even the Cruise Sales Managers, Alex, has been taken ill after 12 years at sea. Me, I felt in heaven, as on a real ship. Pitching and rolling putting me to sleep as a child being cradled. ...

 

When in Transylvania, I did not have the opportunity to have been dined in presence of a Count. And cute he was. Andrew, lucky you!

 

Michael and Lee, I am happy to know that you have had a nice sailing onboard Century, despite the Key West incident. At least Celebrity Cruises came forward with shipboard credits to passenger. ... Rather quite good service, would one say! ... And your photos of your short sailing are great. You have such a nice website.

 

Speaking of service, I had booked and chosen an inside cabin without verifying what was above my deck. The main Galley that was. The noise had become untolerable as this venue is in constant turmoil, all day and night, and rightfully so as that crew performs tremendous chores. ... Graciously, I was moved to an outside stateroom with an actual porthole as in liners of yesteryears.

 

 

 

I loved it. ... The Guest Relations crew (I wish they would still call it "Purser's Office") did a wonderful job. ... They called my cabin several times to insure that my new accommodations were up to my liking, which it was.

 

Karyn, it will be a crossing of a lifetime. Nice to see you among the party. ... My regards to Bill.

 

Monica, Being away, I missed your welcoming! Happy to see you here. Your MV Equinox website is just wonderful. I hope your husband will be able to get his vacation in order to join us. Being November, low season, I do not see any problem, being in the airline industry myself.

 

"Blue Peter" is a flag which hoisted alone, means a ship is ready for sailing. ... Flown with other flags, it means the letter "P". ... However, nowaday it is no longer flown as being, so I gather, outdated.

 

http://www.anbg.gov.au/flags/signal-meaning.html

 

While Captain Mantzavinos** was taking a stroll alone outside on deck, I dared to disturb and ask him, if it were possible to have the "Blue Peter" flown prior to departure out of Cherbourg the next day. (scheduled at 22h00) ... Right away, he called the bridge on his portable phone to verify the sunset time and the whole thing was arranged. ... The following evening, I had to leave the table early ( 21h30, second seating) in order to see if my wish was granted. ... Sure enough, the "Blue Peter" was flying high and proud. Captain Panagiotis Mantzavinos had come forward for me. ... And needless to say, the "Blue Peter" was flown out of Le Havre and Dover as well. ...

 

 

 

Here, "Blue Peter" is flown ahead of the "Red Ensign". ... Below is the Maltese flag where Century is now registered.

 

This was the highlight of my crossing.

 

Of course I made sure the Captain had been aware of my appreciation.

 

Hi François and welcome back. I am not able to view your photo gallery. I keep getting a "Forbidden to view" message. Could you please check the links for me?

Great story about the captain and the flag.

What's "MV"?

Monica :cool:

[Schplinky]

I think MV is marine vessel.

[Blue Peter]

Monica, The link appearing in my previous post was in regards of International Maritime Flags and their meanings.

Try this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags

And "MV" stands for "Motor Vessel"

It is also my understanding that "MS" stands for "Motor Ship".

As of GTS Infinity, Summit, Millenium and Constellation. "GTS" stands for "Gas Turbine Ship".

In the old days "RMS" stood for "Royal Mail Ship", such as RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth, RMS Olympic and so on.

In the Royal Navy "HMS" stands for "Her Majesty's Ship"

"HMY" stood for "Her/His Majesty's Yacht" such as "HMY Britannia", decommissionned in 1997.

http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/

also http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/plan-your-visit/britannia-experience/blue-peter/

[Karynanne]

Francois, Welcome Back! It's so good to see that you had a wonderful time! I am really looking forward to seeing you once again. Bill sends his regards also.

 

Karyn

[xander]

Hi all,

 

Gus and I will be joining you on this cruise.

 

It will be our fourth Celebrity, and we are already (!) getting excited about the new ship. We have just returned from a transatlantic on the QM2 which we thoroughly enjoyed - although disappointed with the main dining room. As always, we were suffering from post cruise blues, and this is when we inevitably book another cruise.

 

We picked this itinerary as our friends are already booked. They are two straight couples - Jill & Kevin from Miami, and Bill & Marilynn from California. We all met originally on the roll call for our previous Celebrity cruise, and ended up dining together. Since then we've shown them the delights of London, when they visited - mainly consisting of afternoon tea at the Dorchester, cocktails at a fab bar, a meal at Yauatcha (great dimsum) and then coffee at bar italia in the heart of Soho's gay village. This will be the first time we have repeat cruised together.

 

We've posted already on the main roll call - where everyone seems to know each other already - and boy is it busy. We've booked a balcony cabin, one of the parallelogram ones on the hump, and we've also booked air with Celebrity. I reckon Celebrity will fly us out to Rome on the day of the cruise. Anyone know how we transfer to the port? Bus I guess.

 

No plans yet for the ports of call. We've got an upcoming cruise in Dec (SeaDream in the Caribbean) to plan for first. Hmmmm...get off the ship, lie on the beach, drink rum punch, get back on the ship.....OK planning done.

[Prada Cowboy]

MV = Motor Vessel

[Schplinky]

we were suffering from post cruise blues, and this is when we inevitably book another cruise.

 

 

We've posted already on the main roll call - where everyone seems to know each other already - and boy is it busy. We've booked a balcony cabin, one of the parallelogram ones on the hump, and we've also booked air with Celebrity. I reckon Celebrity will fly us out to Rome on the day of the cruise. Anyone know how we transfer to the port? Bus I guess.

 

 

I think you're right, they do use buses if you fly in and use their transfers.

 

Welcome to the roll call. The main one was very busy but it has really settled down and it seems very much a good group. I think that this is going to be a good cruise. We have a parallelogram cabin, too. We're on the Sky deck. We had been offered an Aqua Class cabin for a very similar price but decided we'd rather be in the main dining room for the cruise, and could visit Blu on a night when there is space.

 

We find that the more we travel, the more profound the post-cruise blues are. The only relief would be to stay on the road but that does not seem possible without imminent bankruptcy so I'm not sure what the solution is.

 

All things considered, being sad that our terrific holidays are over is a pretty great problem to have.

 

Lee

[Blue Peter]

Lee,

You brought a very good point as to know if the "Aquaclass" passengers dine exclusively at "Blu" or are they allowed to dine at The Grand Epernay / Silhouette main dining rooms? And vice-versa with reservations and a premium fee, just like the Millennium Class Ships and Century in their specialty restaurants ( which I love, by the way ).

I have never thought of it until you did bring it up.

I have emailed Captain's Club to inquire on the matter. We will see what they respond.

Ian and Gus, welcome aboard. ... It shall be a crossing of a lifetime. And we will turn the clock backwards six times. YES!!! ... I love those 25 hours days westbound as opposed to the 23 hours eastbound. That is a two hours difference a day, for six days, when one comes to think about it.

 

Adam and Roy, It it is nice to see you among us.

[daviddfld]

Hi all, Adam and I (Roy) will be on the cruise also. Is anyone going from the DC area ?We are trying to decide between getting a hotel in Rome and then going to the ship or getting a hotel in Civitavecchia to be at the port.

 

Not sure if anyone gave their opinion on this, but this is ours:

 

We stayed in Civitavecchia prior to one cruise that we took. There is not a lot to do there except beach, and it may be a bit cool for that in November.

 

Also, a taxi was difficult to get in town from our hotel on the day of the sailing. Most of the few local drivers were picking up passengers at the train station. Cruise passengers are forbidden to walk in the port area, so it is not possible to do that.

 

Recommendation ... stay in Rome!

[Schplinky]

Lee,

 

You brought a very good point as to know if the "Aquaclass" passengers dine exclusively at "Blu" or are they allowed to dine at The Grand Epernay / Silhouette main dining rooms? And vice-versa with reservations and a premium fee, just like the Millennium Class Ships and Century in their specialty restaurants ( which I love, by the way ).

 

 

Folks on the main board have been inquiring about this, too. It seems as thought if you're in AQ, your table assignment is in Blu. Should you chose to make a reservation for one of the other specialty restaurants on an evening, that frees up your table in Blu and they may sell it to a non-AQ passenger. There doesn't seem to be a possibility of dining in the main room for AQ passengers but we're going to do that at lunches or breakfasts, when it is open seating.

 

Cruise passengers are forbidden to walk in the port area, so it is not possible to do that.

 

Recommendation ... stay in Rome!

 

I agree with you about staying in Rome (which is our plan) but when Mike and a friend went to Rome for the day via train, there was an internal shuttle at the port that was free and the walk to the train station from the port entrance was minimal. I have no memory of how big Civitavechia was (I took a bus into the city for a walking tour) or if it would be feasible to walk to the port entrance and then take the free shuttle.

 

We have found Roman hotels to be sort of reasonable in looking so far, and if you email them, the rates are sometimes less than listed on their web-sites.

[Blue Peter]

Folks on the main board have been inquiring about this, too. It seems as thought if you're in AQ, your table assignment is in Blu. Should you chose to make a reservation for one of the other specialty restaurants on an evening, that frees up your table in Blu and they may sell it to a non-AQ passenger. There doesn't seem to be a possibility of dining in the main room for AQ passengers but we're going to do that at lunches or breakfasts, when it is open seating.

 

 

I have received this afternoon clarification from "Captain's Club" in regards of the "Blu" dining restaurant. See below:

 

Thank you for your email. We are happy to assist.

 

For the Blu specialty restaurant the guests that are booked in the Aquaclass staterooms have priority dining in Blu. However, If there is room for other passengers to eat in the Blu restaurant they may so for an additional fee. At this time we do not have the listings for the fees. The guests that are booked in the Aquaclass staterooms do have the option to dine at other dining venues.

 

For the names of the restaurants on the Equinox and the Eclipse, we have not released the information on the dining venue names.

 

Thank you for choosing Celebrity Cruises.

 

Erin Landers

Customer Service Representative

 

 

[ottawapuppy]

 

For the names of the restaurants on the Equinox and the Eclipse, we have not released the information on the dining venue names.

 

Gee, can you really trust anything this person is saying? They don't even know the names of the restaurants that have been public knowledge and have been publicized on the celebrity web site and in the press for months.

 

Mike

[Blue Peter]

Gee, can you really trust anything this person is saying? They don't even know the names of the restaurants that have been public knowledge and have been publicized on the celebrity web site and in the press for months.

 

Mike

 

 

Michael,

I will grant you that the names of the main dining room on Solstice is "Grand Epernay" and Equinox is "Silhouette". What perhaps Celebrity is saying is that for the Eclipse and the fourth (unnamed), (and I have read somewhere a fifth), no one knows yet what their main dining rooms will be named.

And perhaps the specialty restaurants may bare different names on the later ships as it is the case on the Millennium Class vessels. ("RMS Olympic" / Millennium, "Ocean Liners" / Constellation, "Normandie" / Summit, "SS United States" / Infinity) as all those restaurants offer the same service and menu so I understand.

[Schplinky]

Michael,

 

I will grant you that the names of the main dining room on Solstice is "Grand Epernay" and Equinox is "Silhouette". What perhaps Celebrity is saying is that for the Eclipse and the fourth (unnamed), (and I have read somewhere a fifth), no one knows yet what their main dining rooms will be named.

 

And perhaps the specialty restaurants may bare different names on the later ships as it is the case on the Millennium Class vessels. ("RMS Olympic" / Millennium, "Ocean Liners" / Constellation, "Normandie" / Summit, "SS United States" / Infinity).

 

Francois,

 

I think you're being overly kind (which is nice). Their letter to you said " For the names of the restaurants on the Equinox and the Eclipse, we have not released the information on the dining venue names."

 

I think they'll stick with the same names on each ship for the specialties. When you think of 4 specialty restaurants, 4 confirmed Solstice class ships, it would just get too confusing.

[Blue Peter]

Francois,

 

I think you're being overly kind (which is nice). Their letter to you said " For the names of the restaurants on the Equinox and the Eclipse, we have not released the information on the dining venue names."

 

I think they'll stick with the same names on each ship for the specialties. When you think of 4 specialty restaurants, 4 confirmed Solstice class ships, it would just get too confusing.

 

Lee,

I just tried to give them the benifit of the doubt. ... You are right! All the Solstice Class ships may bare all the same names for their Specialty Restaurants to avoid confusion. ( Blu, Tuscan Grille, Silk Harvest, Murano, etc. )... Where as of the main dining venues they shall all have their own identity.

Regardless! If the trend goes on, for the past four sailings enjoyed on Celebrity, the dining experience shall be memorable anyhow no matter where the venue might be or named.

[Blue Peter]

To All,

I came across of some images of Celebrity Solstice being constructed and Equinox in the foreground on her way. ... Now one gets a sense of happening.

 

http://www.depping-design.de/test/thumbnails.php?album=86

 

The photos were taken by Andreas Depping at the Meyerwerft shipyard in Germany, just two days ago.

Out of curiosity, I wondered what crossing Solstice will do in December of this year in order to join her homeport of Fort Lauderdale as it is not for public sale.

I have talked with Ms. Williams, Captain's Club representative on Century (fabulous Sue, as she is known). She mentioned that Solstice will ferry to the United States from Germany in late November, and that they will conduct a transatlantic dry run. The ship shall be fully crewed, workers and employees and family will sit in as passengers in order to ensure all runs smoothly once the ship comes into actual service in December. ... One may remember the horror stories of Queen Mary 2 in 2004 when she first entered service. Pure chaos. So it was reported.

To our own benifit, we shall see Milton at the Martini Bar on Equinox. (He is the best). ... Michael and Lee, you may have encountered him as Fabulous Sue. ... As he did tell us, he will not join Solstice, although asked**, as he feels that once on Equinox, Celebrity will have had a good idea on how to run the show as experienced on Solstice previously. ... He has been with Chandris/Celebrity for several years. A veteran and very nice looking.

** We were also told by crew (on Century), that Celebrity does want its best staff on Solstice, such as Sudi, the acrobat / magician / bar tender at the Century Martini / Ice Bar among others.

By the time we cross, MV Equinox will have been into service for three months (she enters service out of Southampton on 8 August 2009, according to Celebrity Calendar), Solstice will have been sailing for nearly 11 months, giving Milton reason.

[Schplinky]

 

Out of curiosity, I wondered what crossing Solstice will do in December of this year in order to join her homeport of Fort Lauderdale as it is not for public sale.

 

 

Francois,

 

We have been reading on the main Celebrity boards that there will also be a couple of pre-inaugural cruises before the first revenue cruise as well. This is consistent with our experiences of watching RCL ships enter the market. Especially with a first ship in a new class, it seems that the line wants their best passengers, travel agents, partners and press exposed to their new ship, to keep the buzz within the industry moving along. We got to go on Liberty of the Seas for such a sailing and it was incredibly fun, albeit a brief amount of fun. These tend to be two-day sailings. That said, we both still think it was worth flying to Florida to do. We had a free two-day sailing where nothing was billed to us but purchases is the gift shop, spa or casino. All the rest (drinks, etc.) was entirely free. It was also nice to be on a ship full of people full who are equally excited about cruising.

 

Lee

[Blue Peter]

We got to go on Liberty of the Seas for such a sailing and it was incredibly fun, albeit a brief amount of fun. These tend to be two-day sailings. That said, we both still think it was worth flying to Florida to do. We had a free two-day sailing where nothing was billed to us but purchases is the gift shop, spa or casino. All the rest (drinks, etc.) was entirely free. It was also nice to be on a ship full of people full who are equally excited about cruising.

 

Lee

 

Lee, wow! I would love to be on one of the promotionnal sailings. That must be a great experience. Thank you for the information. I assume these two sailings might take place out of Florida, or is one in Europe to give a taste to our overseas friends?

Also Lee, thank you for letting us know that there should be a shuttle at the entrance of the Port of Civitavecchia to take passengers to the ship. The transatlantic to San Juan leaves on Galaxy from Italy in December and I have booked a hotel right on the Mediterranean in Civitavecchia. ( Several hotels are already fully booked more than six months ahead of time. I suppose a lot of passengers are doing the same as I do. ) .... I can walk to the Fort at the entrance of the port. ... It will be my first time there. ... I got a tad worry as I have read that no one is any longer allowed to walk within the premises of the port and that taxis are scarce.

Lee, having been to Civitavecchia before, is the only way to get there from Leonardo da Vinci airport is via Rome termini station? If I look at the map, that is going afar and then backtracking as Fiumicino is by the waterfront. Thank you for your insight.

[Schplinky]

Francois,

 

I'm not an authority but I have heard that it is true that you have to go into Rome and then back to the airport. There are likely shuttle services you could hire but these tend only to be affordable if you are sharing the vehicle and the expense.

[Blue Peter]

 

Francois,

 

I'm not an authority but I have heard that it is true that you have to go into Rome and then back to the airport. There are likely shuttle services you could hire but these tend only to be affordable if you are sharing the vehicle and the expense.

 

Thank you Lee,

I suppose this is the easiest way to get to Civitavecchia from the airport. It is just that it seems strange to go inland and then return to the shoreline.