The Fun Researcher

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

There are entirely too many knickers in a knot in this thread.

Amen!  To 1000th degree

Dan

35 minutes ago, debshomespun said:

Changed our 5/13/20 Equinox 10 day sailing from 2 perks (drink pkg & $300 OBC) refundable, to 1 perk (drink pkg) and saved $900. Already have $200. OBC to use towards gratuities. Much better deal IMHO. Very happy. 

I'll be interested to see if we have an opportunity to save some money by going non-refundable as well, once we book flights.  That's the trigger point for me to be o.k. to book non-refundable.  If I've invested the cash for flights then we are going for sure.

Dan

As others have said, when I repriced our cruise with 3 perks all it did was add to the price of the cruise (at least as much as the value of the 3rd perk).  No thanks.  I'm happier with the two selections of Classic Drink Package and $150 OBC for two.   I could care less about getting the gratuities paid for because they are coming out of the OBC already.  The high speed internet is one of the last things I want on a cruise.  We like to disconnect, and only send pictures and photos to friends and family back home when we get to certain ports.

Dan

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

I hope always sensitivity is a key ingredient to this site..

The key word in my comment was "overly"  😉

...and FWIW I love seeing all ages of passengers on a cruise ship.  Young, middle age, old, older...  as long as they are having fun and not being a nuisance to fellow guests.  I'm a bit of an old soul myself sometimes and love conversations with generations significantly older than me, but I also love dancing and drinking to the latest beats out on the dance floor as well.

P.S.  I'm hoping I make it long enough to be counting steps to ballroom dances.

Dan

Note to self:

...a bunch of seemingly overly sensitive folks in this forum.

Dan

2 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

Don't lose hope...keep checking pricing and availability. Our B2B around the horn of South America seemed to be sailing near capacity until about 4 months out. Pricing plummeted and cabins were plentiful. For many cruises large travel agencies reserve blocks of cabins and then release them closer to the sail date.

Good Luck!

Thanks, I'll keep my eyes open for a 4 person room with an upper berth.  That just looks like a more comfortable option.

2 hours ago, cynbar said:

Yikes, that sofa looks really small (and uncomfortable) for even the two youngest in your group. I know it wasn't your original question, but do you think you may have some unhappy kids on your hands? Fussy kids can quickly ruin a vacation. Sorry to be negative but now is the time to consider that.

 

Would it be that big of a deal for your parents to be on a different deck, rather than incur the extra $600 charge?

Yeah, it does look pretty cramped.  Not sure why Celebrity chooses that layout rather than upper berths, which just function so much better.  I may end up moving us up one deck to snag that room that has an upper berth.  It's not that much different of a walk to my parents Veranda cabin.  It just adds a flight of stairs in between.

I have already shown my kids the room and my 12 year old doesn't care at all and the others said would probably be fine.  They really do understand that they aren't in the room much based on our previous cruises.  Honestly for them, and my wife and, it's typically for sleeping and getting ready for dinner.  Other than that we much prefer the public areas of the ship, even more so than hanging out on the balcony of a Veranda cabin. (nothing against balcony cabins mind you)

Dan

47 minutes ago, micheleata said:

Yes,  that is what you will get..   You didn't mention when your cruise is, but I suggest going onto the Celebrity site and doing a dummy booking to see what rooms are available.    The rooms on the map with a square and a triangle have both the convertible bed and the upper birth.   Then I would call to switch cabins if there are any available.

Thanks for the advice.  March 21, 2020.  Pretty full already and very limited for 4.  I took your suggestion and I did see one room left that has both the upper berth and the sofa bed.  It's about $150 more than what the kids are in now, and it's on another deck so my wife and I would need to rebook that catagory as well, so another $100+.  My parents who have a balcony would also need to relocate at over $600 difference, so it's not looking too promising.

I'll ask the kids if the situation is a no go, but they are pretty easy going overall and we don't spend a ton of time in our rooms.

Dan

46 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

With one small bathroom?😲

Not unusual for there to be 4 in a stateroom.  The bathroom on the inside cabin appears to be the same size as the bathroom in the balcony cabin we had on the Equinox last sailing. 

They aren't the ones having to pay for the cruise.  They will survive.  :) Our stateroom has a bathroom also if needed.  That's the bummer with these Celebrity ships, no connecting inside rooms.  Having that connecting door really makes the two rooms feel like one large space with two full baths.

Dan

We’ve cruised many times on Royal with our kids, utilizing two connecting inside cabins.  (Wife and I in one, and kids in the other)  Unfortunately Celebrity doesn’t offer connecting inside cabins on the Equinox.  We have 4 children going with us next cruise (ages 18, 18, 15, 12) and booked them an inside cabin with a “convertible sofa bed”  I found this photo on the internet and want to make sure this is what they will have.  I much prefer the 4 person cabins with upper “Pullman beds” on Royal to this situation, but at least I can prepare them.  I assume two will sleep on the sofa (one on main sofa and one on the part that pulls out?), and the other two on the separated twin beds

Room with and without sofa converted in attached photos.  Room 7178 to be specific.

Thanks,

Dan

4 hours ago, Droink said:

WOW!  Drink prices have really gone up in the last decade or so.   

Unfortunately true.  We've only sailed X once and liked it, but we had the drink package included since we booked a balcony cabin last time.

We typically sail Royal Caribbean and the drink prices since 2014 have gone up  crazy amounts.  A basic rum and coke used to be around $6.50 and is now over $10.

Dan

Great review.  Felt balanced and fair to me.  We've only sailed X once (no kids, just our adult friends), on the Equinox like you.  The rest have been Royal Caribbean.

We are booked on the Equinox with our kids and my parents this upcoming March mainly because I couldn't find a good ship and itinerary on Royal the week we need to go, but I also think my parents will like X better. (their only other cruise before this was the Celebrity Summit to Alaska about 10 years ago).

We really liked the Equinox and agree with most of what you said, but we went in early August and the demographics were nearly identical to the Royal cruises we've been on.  Lots of families and I would say an average age in the 40's.  Same age group.  I think your time of year played a lot with makeup of your fellow cruisers.

We felt that the food was a small step up, as was the service.  I missed the Royal Promenade, and didn't care for the chopped up feel of the ships interior.  However, the outdoor space, especially the lawn and Sunset bar made you feel SOOOOOOO connected to the ocean and the views, which we value highly in a cruise.  Also loved the indoor pool during the heat of the day.

I just hope that our kids have enough to do.  They've mostly grown out of the flow rider, rock climbing, etc, but most of the stuff they will still do once each cruise anyway.  They surely will miss the putt putt golf, ice skating show, Escape Room, and the laser tag from our recent cruise on the Navigator.  (LOVE that ship now)  The Equinox has nothing besides the pool.

Dan

2 hours ago, GSBrockman said:

Coco Cay from the March first time docking of the Anthem. 

 

Thank you!

Dan

Great review.  Appreciate the balanced viewpoint.

Dan

On 4/4/2019 at 4:32 PM, nanowerx said:

They aren't replacing it with anything. Essentially just saving the money they were spending to use the characters. You might get a couple of extra lame parades, but don't expect any new kid-friendly characters or events.

 I think you just have to look a little harder,  or consider how Royal is now spending their money on the kids . For instance, the Navigator just got two waterslides added, laser tag, and an escape room,  all of which my kids vastly enjoyed more than DreamWorks material.

 Royal has tons of activities for kids. To me, DreamWorks felt like  an afterthought anyway versus everything else that was already available. 

Dan

For those that are "on the fence" about this class, I would recommend giving it a try.  For around $30, it's worth it to try once IMO.

It's unique

It's informative

It's interesting

It's fun to eat your results (if you like sushi)

Dan

3 minutes ago, kag19 said:

My husband and I would love to do this on our next cruise!  Is this something available to book ahead in the Cruise Planner?  I don't recall seeing it for our sailing last month on Oasis.

It was in my cruise planner for our cruise on the Navigator a few weeks ago.  I'm guessing it depends on the ship though.

Dan

1 hour ago, Mikew0805 said:

This is one of the things I prefer at Carnival. There are beach/pool towels for each person upon arrival on the ship in the stateroom. Anytime you need them exchanged, just put em on the bathroom floor with the other towels, or if in a hurry call housekeeping. Plus they are bigger and softer. 

Ooh, that is nice!

Dan

15 minutes ago, Virtopia said:

Done his tour twice and enjoyed both times. One of the times I went on his tour, my parents were on the following sailing. I asked him if I could prepay their tour and he said no problem. I was a little worried there would be an issue, but it went off so smoothly, they had a great time.

 Very cool, that was awfully nice of you! 

Dan

15 minutes ago, trophy_23 said:

Fins will be helpful snorkelling with the turtles, then you can dive down for photos.  Too hard to dive down with no fins.

 Great photos! 

 I think it depends on the person. I have no problem getting down that low without fins.  

 I’ve injured my flexor tendon before with fins, and I just don’t like having them on my feet. To each their own though.

 My wife loves them

Dan

We've done both the standard island tour, and a custom tour with Bernards and it's been fantastic both times.  Highly recommend it.

They are the first tour operation we ever went with that drove us around most of an island and gave the history, all the while stopping at great beaches and fun locations.  After Bernards, we've looked for similar tours on all the islands we visit.  I love that style of touring, and getting a better appreciation for each Caribbean island that we visit, rather than just plopping at one beach for a while and then returning to the ship.   We've done that and enjoyed it too, like Magens Bay on St. Thomas, but sill prefer a full tour.

Dan

Agree OP.  Watch for towels charges! 

A couple of weeks ago on the Navigator, we would have been erroneously charged $125 for towels (5 towels total) if I hadn't reviewed our paper invoice the last day of the cruise.  It didn't show up until the morning of debarkation.  We made sure to check in, and check out towels properly.

...and $25 for one of those ratty old Royal Caribbean towels?  Are you kidding me?

I wonder how many passengers RCCL is profiting from with these "errors"?

Dan

14 hours ago, billys5764 said:

Does Nachi Cocom have parasailing?  I was at Mr. Sanchos last week, but didn't try it.  I want to when I'm back next month.

 I don’t remember parasailing being offered in particular .   I could be wrong but I don’t remember that. Nachi Cocum is it’s own stretch of beach, very nice beach, but not like the built-up area where Mr. Sanchez is at .    It is a much more relaxing place 

Dan

There are typically 8-9 entrees every night (including the ~4 "classics" that are offered very night)  No way there were only 4 options.   The menus are fairly common across the fleet.

Dan

4 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

From someone who has done both lines, there is no way I'd compare Majesty to any other ship in the Royal fleet other than Empress.

 

I can't say that Majesty would represent much of anything in the Royal fleet of 2019.  She's a lone wolf ship with nearly 30 year old bones.  The best possible news is that you sailed her just out of dry dock!  That's the best news.

 

Everything else considered?  She doesn't have much of anything compared to the other ships in the fleet.  Like I said, excluding Empress of the Seas, which is a tiny micro-beast all of her own.

 

Majesty in Norwegian terms is the Norwegian Spirit of the fleet.

I'm actually impressed that the Majesty stacked up as well as it did all things considered.  That says something for Royals care for their entire fleet IMO.

Dan

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

I read your trip review. Sounds like it was an awesome trip and one I'm sorry I missed. Great job on the writing: detailed enough without being to wordy. Someday I hope to sample what your FIL considered he best hamburger ever from the food truck on Bonaire (I think??).

Thank you!!!  It was our best cruise yet.  Yes, that burger was at Kite City, the food truck located on the beach just south of town.  You could still see our cruise ship in the distance from the beach.   Granted, we were very hungry by that point at around 2pm, but my son also got the same burger and still says how great it was.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//12.1341172,-68.2798469/@12.1346257,-68.3477123,12z

Dan