jsmariner

If anyone's interested, this is a review of cruising with Celebrity by a couple in their mid-40's after a hiatus of 25 years.

Our honeymoon was on the Celebrity Century in 1998, and due to the ebb & flow of life, were unable to cruise again until our 25th wedding anniversary this year.

So, here we go....

We left home and flew to FLL the day prior to the cruise. (Lesson learned - for our honeymoon we flew out the day-of and missed the ship due to weather. Had to catch up with her in San Juan and missed out on our first formal night. Oops!) Stayed at the Crowne Plaza with a view of Port Everglades if we craned our necks to the left. Woke up the next morning and could just make out the top of the "X" on Equinox's smokestack hiding behind the RC Adventure of the Seas.

We had chosen the first check in slot at 11:30 AM, went through security and got onto the ship quick and easy. Then it was off to drop our carry-ons in the stateroom. We chose a prime inside cabin, midship on deck 9, and the first thing I noticed was the gray carpet. So, I was pretty excited that it had been revolutionized and we wouldn't have to look at the old burnt orange décor for the next 8 days. Yay! And if you're wondering - yes, burnt orange was the color scheme on Celebrity ships 25 years ago. I have photographic proof.

Ate lunch in the buffet, checked in at our muster station, got a tour of the spa, and explored the ship for a while. We chose Deck 12 forward in front of the fitness center for sail away. We got there a bit early and had the deck all to ourselves. It was wonderful! Then it began to sprinkle a little and I wondered if we'd be rained out, but DH felt confident it would blow over and it did. By sail away time, there were maybe another dozen or so people on the deck with us so it was nice and open and not crowded at all. My parents had said they'd be watching the live stream from the port cameras online, so we waved, but they said they couldn't see us.

This is what they have in the Celebrity Store on  the website.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-gifts/items-results?category=SPIRIT&collection=LIQUORPKG

We didn't purchase a drinks package for our upcoming cruise. Does anyone know the cost for Fre alcohol-removed wines by the glass and by the bottle? I didn't see them listed in the app. Are they available at the bars and the MDR? Also, I've read that X carries red, white, rosé, and sparkling brut. I guess I assumed the "red" is their red blend. Is the "white" on board their zinfandel, moscato, or chardonnay?

We have set time dining on our upcoming Equinox cruise and should have the same table and wait staff each evening. I hope it won't be too problematic to make this request. But if anyone has ever done a low or reduced sodium diet on Celebrity, did the MDR food end up tasting bland? I wonder if they will just omit the salt during preparation and not substitute other seasonings like I do at home. Do they have a salt-free seasoning blend (like Mrs. Dash) available or should we bring our own on board?

Our last cruise was our honeymoon on the Celebrity Century, 25 years ago, so we feel like cruise newbies all over again.

I don't play Bingo, so I'm not quite sure what this is. But I was on the entertainment section of X's website earlier today to get a glimpse of what might be on offer for our upcoming Equinox cruise this June. This YouTube video was in that section and it looks like it was posted 8 months ago.

Does anyone have information on current admission fees for the Fortkerk Museum in Willemstad? The most recent info I could find online was $5 (USD) back in 2018.