Galaxy2004

Not for sure dinner was done on the magic carpet on our cruise because weather was windy and wet almost every evening.

Here's what we received on 12/10 Ascent sailing.

Just off Ascent this past Sunday and can report on 2 of them. We did dinners in Eden and Rooftop Grill. Was 3rd time doing Eden and it was as good as it was on Apex last year, with service being exceptional. We arrived 30 minutes early and they rushed to clear a window seat so we enjoyed watching the wake as night fell. Filet was perfect and DH said same for the lobster casserole. Rooftop Grill was really good except the steak, which I ordered med-rare, was closer to rare. It was still a great steak. For us, the corn was the star side dish and the pork sliders were the star starters. It was also perfect weather, so that added a lot to the experience. We got lucky and got pre-cruise discounts so would do again for those prices. Not sure about $75 PP that some are reporting as the new price for Eden.

This is a great way to see all the art work.

Agree with @kwokpot. That's what I do to make walking the track less boring - add the loop through Rooftop Garden and around the Sunset Bar.

There's really not anywhere to walk outside on Apex or Ascent other than the walking/jogging track. The track is amazing though! I'm assuming the same on Beyond and Edge. Here's a link to the deck plan on Ascent. https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-ascent/deck-plan.

We just got our paperwork for upcoming (Dec 10) cruise on Ascent and it has 6 months. Ones we purchased while on Equinox last year were 12 months. So maybe changes from time to time. No chance for confusion there😏.

I missed the earlier thread but checked after seeing this thread and saved $200 by cancelling and repurchasing the upgrade. Thanks!

We received the same email about a month ago for ones we purchased on our Equinox cruise in November. I double checked the paperwork to confirm we had 12 months and then ignored the email. About a week later, I and my cruisemate received separate phone calls from Celebrity agents wanting us to book our next vacation before they expired. We ignored the first round of calls, then I received one during a slow day and took the call. I told the agent we were still trying to decide and had 12 months and she simply said, yes, you are right, then left her name and number for when we were ready to book. I think they just have some things set on automatic reminders. Or maybe they just like to cause us to panic for a minute.

Happy Anniversary!!

Not true for us on a recent Caribbean cruise. My BFF did not have a passport as required to disembark in Martinique. She WAS allowed to board Equinox in Fort Lauderdale for a 10 night cruise on 1/30/23 with only a birth certificate and drivers license. They told her at the embarkation/check-in desk she would have to stay on the ship in Martinique. They put a reminder letter on her door the night before that port. Though not allowed to go ashore in Martinique, she was allowed to enjoy the rest of the cruise. BTW, she had applied for a renewed passport it just didn't arrive in time.

We were on this same sailing and can confirm seeing servers walking around selling the pre-made drinks the last 2 sea days. I even said to my cruise mate that I wasn't used to seeing that on Celebrity (15 cruises). We didn't hang out around the pool so can report on that, but lounging in the solarium and chairs leading on both sides to the Sunset Bar we had servers coming around regularly to take orders, especially near the Sunset Bar. Almost impossible to get servers during lunchtime for us so I always picked up something on the way in or at the Oceanview Bar. Maybe repositioning some of the servers would help. Definitely agree with there being staffing problems in the main dining room during dinner, at least the anytime dining section. Staff always friendly but definitely rushed, rushed, rushed.

@rollie Yes, that was our first Celebrity cruise and the beginning of our love of cruising!

Hurricane Cards. What a great idea! We spend a lot of time on a houseboat in the summer and it can be quite breezy. Often the wind drives us inside if we want to play cards. Just ordered a couple of decks to try out. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I reminded Jamie several times that we could have been enjoying ourselves on the Cosol Tour instead of her almost being killed by a horse!

@countess5I'll definitely follow your continuing adventure (with a bit of envy no less). How thoughtful of you to do that for Jan! Please tell him that Virginia and Jamie say hello and we miss him!!

@Cruise till you drop We both talked about how clean the ship was and how great it looks considering the millions of passengers she has hosted since her launch in 2009. The rails on our balconies need to be stripped and redone and unlike some I prefer the gray tones on Apex and look forward to them refreshing all the cabins on Equinox. Not a fan of the old orange and beige. The public areas were all clean and well maintained. The atrium area continues to impress. Staff everywhere cleaning rails and glass. In port there were guys painting over scuff marks on the hull. Staff mopping up on the decks and in Ocean View. Though I like the rooms and decor on Apex, I much prefer the layout of the Solstice class and would not hesitate to book again.

Excursions - Last one - Antigua Destination Highlight: Catamaran Cruising to Green Island. Let me start with the catamaran was great - large, clean, etc. The crew was great - focusing on safety, friendly, drinks flowing on the way back. The long ride to and from Green Island, not so much. The ride out there was extremely rough open water, with several passengers getting seasick. It also took an hour to get to the island. For those who wanted to snorkel, they were directed off the boat immediately upon arrival and had to snorkel as a guided group along the shore to a point and back. Several I talked to said they saw only a few gar and seaweed. No one I talked to enjoyed the snorkeling. I was hoping to walk around but the beach we were at was cut off from the other areas so you could only go about 25 yards in each direction. The only wildlife we say were a few lizards. We lounged in shade above the beach for about 40 minutes, then the snorkelers returned and the crew served lunch on the catamaran. Lunch was a side salad, chicken, fish, and a side. After lunch we were given another 15 minutes at the beach, so those who had snorkeled basically got no real beach time. Again, drinks flowed freely on the return trip. They took us closer to the shoreline so it was a bit calmer but there were still some “green” looking folks on the return trip. They took us through one marina to look at some of the massive yachts so the return trip was around 1.5 hours. So, total of about 2.5 hours on the catamaran. Much too much time for such a short beach stay. It was advertised as a 6-hour excursion, but we got back to the ship right at all aboard time so they did the most they could with it. Me, I love being on the water so thoroughly enjoyed the bouncing up and down on the catamaran. I also met a couple of people who love boat and we talked a lot about the high waves and how much fun that was. But I agreed with several others I talked to in that there are so many beautiful beaches on Antigua, many much closer to the port, and there was nothing special on Green Island, so I wouldn’t recommend this trip. No dis to the operator and crew. They were great.

Excursions Part 5 - St Lucia Well, my BFF has been riding horses for 40+ years and dreamed of riding a horse in the ocean so she booked us the Horse Ride Trail and Beach excursion. They divided us based on riding experience, which for me was ZERO. I got a 19-year-old horse named Tradition who kept stumbling, supposedly because of new shoes. She got a young mare named Geena. We were led along a paved road through a residential section and then along an old rocky roadbed/trail, before reaching a beach. It was approaching the beach where Geena started to freak out due to very high winds, heavy equipment removing seaweed along the shore, and kite surfers. The mare was terrified and kept raring up. One of the handlers finally got a hold of her but then he jerked her bridle so hard that she buckled her rear and finally my BFF said a big “HELL NO” and was able to jump off. The handler proceeded to berate my BFF for dismounting. They then tied the mare to a tree where she jerked her head and stamped her feet trying to get away from the machinery before they finally moved her out of the area. We did get to ride in the ocean – on 2 pre-selected horses who were the only ones allowed in the ocean so we got to go in groups of 2 for about 5 minutes, which was plenty of time. As we were preparing to load back up one of the other riders decided the episode with Geena was too much and she wanted a car ride back. The tour operators said they couldn’t arrange that!! Well, luckily the tour guide worked directly with Celebrity so he found someone to take her back. My BFF then took that lady’s horse. If only it ended there. Well, next thing you know the horse in front of her decides to roll in the sand with its rider – another experienced rider. That rider was able to get off before the horse rolled on top of her, but she did have a some pretty good scratches on her leg. After seeing the other horse roll my BFF’s horse decided he wanted to roll in the sand, but my BFF was able to keep him under control long enough to dismount and elected to walk the rest of the way back. The tour guide working with Celebrity took information to report the incidents, and was seriously concerned about losing his job. However, at no time did the tour operator’s employees (Cox and Company) – express any concern about the way the horses acted. We did all make it back, but several riders mentioned that they would never do another horse riding tour in the Caribbean. We later ran into the lady whose horse rolled with her and she said she reported the incident at the shore excursion desk and all they asked was whether she wanted to go to medical. According to her, they did not document the incident or take any information from her about the incident. I do think some on the tour enjoyed it and for me it was neat to ride a horse on the beach. Back on the ship we were treated to a Caribbean shower followed by a double rainbow while enjoying time at the Sunset Bar and then watched a private class at the Hot Glass Show.

Excursions Part 4 - Martinique Again, you need a passport to disembark in Martinique. Celebrity will not let you off the ship. The port personnel are checking only for ship cards, but Celebrity has your card tagged so if you are cruising only with a birth certificate. Martinque – My BFF had applied for a renewed passport but it didn’t make it in time so she could not go ashore in Martinque. They notified her when we first boarded in Fort Lauderdale and then put a reminder card on her door the night before Martinque. I visited a couple of museums and a really nice library and walked around the city. It was Saturday so it was busy and lively and I saw more locals than cruisers!!

Excursions Part 3 Grenada – We walked up to the fort where we ran into some passengers from our neck of the woods. Ended up joining them for lunch. It's a pretty good walk up to the fort but there are some good views after you get there.

Excursions - Part 2 St. Kitts –Small Group Discoveries: St. Kitts Culinary Experience and Rum Tasting – Nice that it was limited to 24 passengers. Short ride to Fairview Great House, a former plantation. Meal was prepared by a self-trained “chef” and her mother handled the rum tasting. Both were very entertaining. It was a tasty meal of coconut dumplings, chicken, fish, plantains, etc. Plenty of food. 5 generous rums samples. Had plenty of time afterward to tour the grounds. There’s also a slavery exhibit on premises. Highly recommend. The only issue we had is they had some problems getting a bus to take us back so ended up waiting about 30 minutes for that.

Excursions - Part 1 When traveling with my DH we always do private tours. However, my BFF has a pretty strong fear of missing the ship so we do ship tours. Plus, we both had onboard credit from future cruise books as well as the promotion at the time we booked AND we booked during the 35% off excursions promotion! Behind-The-Scenes Ship Tour – Small group and a great tour of the galley, laundry, recycling center, engine control room, and bridge. A good amount of walking and up and down tight stairs so not a tour for mobility-limited. Officers took time at each location to provide lots of information and answer questions. Captain took time to say hello while we were touring the bridge. After lots of COVID restrictions on our Apex cruises, it was great to get to interact with the officers – and the officers on Equinox are AMAZING. So many smiling faces out and about the entire cruise. The Captain was off greeting passengers as we disembarked in a couple of ports and we ran in to him several times around the ship.

Internet I had the streaming package and it was the best it’s ever been for me on a cruise. I noticed it was a bit slower between 10am and Noon on the sea days, but otherwise it was fine for the work I needed to get done, watching videos, sending emails, and texting. Spa Boy they were pushing spa deals this cruise. We had “mail” from them almost every day. We did visit the spa on the 3rd evening to check on Persian Garden passes. We were able to get it for $99 each for the remainder of the cruise. Natalia was always super friendly when we came. The Equinox PG is not as nice as Apex, but it was never crowded and we often escaped there to relax. It was super clean, though a couple of days they had the temperature of the steam sauna high enough to burn your throat and the hairs in your nose if you breathed! Also, for those who go there, please don’t come there to chat with your friends😏. It’s the one place we are supposed to be able to escape to for some quiet time.