Review: Equinox 1/21-2/1

[cazzi]

Awesome review especially the video felt like we were there with you. Were going in the future and cant wait thanks again i have showing people we know that like cruising how great of a job you did

[WonderMan3]

Thanks! Glad I could share how wonderful the cruising experience is.

[redjetz]

Given all the snow we've had to deal with here in Boston, your review and video is just the thing to tide me over until the Reflection next month!

 

Thanks :-)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

How do you set up the internet connection on your iPad? Is there any tips so I don't have to go through what you went through? I've had my iPad for about 10 months and this will be my first time bringing it on my cruise. :D

Edited February 13, 2013 by CruiseAwayWithMe

[WonderMan3]

If I remember correctly, all he did was log us in to their system (which you're prompted to do once you connect to their wifi system). Then he just saved the logout page to the desktop (not sure if that's what it's called on iPad - it's the area where all your apps are displayed) so it was easily accessible. You can't just close your browser when you're done, you have to logout or you will continue to get charged.

Edited February 13, 2013 by WonderMan3

[librarylady19]

If I remember correctly, all he did was log us in to their system (which you're prompted to do once you connect to their wifi system). Then he just saved the logout page to the desktop (not sure if that's what it's called on iPad - it's the area where all your apps are displayed) so it was easily accessible. You can't just close your browser when you're done, you have to logout or you will continue to get charged.

 

Correct. The log out page is saved in your home screen. You do have to go to the iLounge to set up your account initially. Make sure to check your onboard account, to make sure you are credited properly for any coupons or discounts too.

 

Be prepared to be annoyed. I know lots of people complain about the spa staff, I think the iLounge staff are actually the most unfriendly, one guy was downright arrogant - that I encountered on Reflection (other than the pool bar waiters). It was really disorganized too....with people needing help and classes going on at the same time. :(

Edited February 13, 2013 by librarylady19

[WonderMan3]

Correct. The log out page is saved in your home screen. You do have to go to the iLounge to set up your account initially. Make sure to check your onboard account, to make sure you are credited properly for any coupons or discounts too.

 

Be prepared to be annoyed. I know lots of people complain about the spa staff, I think the iLounge staff are actually the most unfriendly, one guy was downright arrogant - that I encountered on Reflection (other than the pool bar waiters). It was really disorganized too....with people needing help and classes going on at the same time. :(

 

Yes! I mentioned that in my review. The iLounge manager was unbelievably rude. Based on what we have both seen this appears to be a trend among their ships.

[Jen1000]

It is funny that you commented the guide in Belize said you were late arriving. On our Carnival sponsored shore excursion in Belize in November, the guide said the same thing, that our ship was late arriving. We were right on time and I was on the first tender. We did not miss anything on our tour, she said we just needed to keep it moving because we would be late getting back to the ship but the ship knew and would wait.

 

Taking the same cruise as you in December so I appreciate the review.

[scanditaly]

Awesome review. balanced, fair and rather entertaining.

 

watched your video as well. had the whole family gathered around.

[judatt]

Thanks for the review guys. I would second the opinion that the quasi-Italian restaurants on Celebrity are better than the quasi-French, with the exception of The Olympic on Millenium, where I had the best meal I have ever had at sea, agneau en croute.

Just wanted to agree with this comment - the Olympic on the Millie is by far the best specialty dining we have had. We went back twice it was so good. Great service, lots of dishes prepared table side, the food was all good and the staff just seemed to enjoy what they were doing and it was reflected throughout the entire experience.

[Morrisiani]

Thanks for all the great information...did you book your tour with Celebruty or with a private company? Thanks.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

What a nice, balanced and comprehensive review! Appreciate the time and effort. Enjoyed reading it. Equinox was the first Celebrity cruise we took and it converted us to big Celebrity fans.

[WonderMan3]

Thanks for all the great information...did you book your tour with Celebruty or with a private company? Thanks.

 

Thanks. Not sure if you meant the trip itself, which we booked directly with the cruise line, or the shore excursions, which we booked all with Celebrity except for Grand Cayman which we did on our own and Cozumel which we booked through Nachi Cocom's website.

[2Cheeky]

Hi - thanks so much for your amazing insight into this cruise.

 

I am going in December and am keen on the Panama Tour you did but am not sure which one it was - there are several on the Equinox website is it the 6 hour CO26 option?

Look forward to hearing from you - Deb

[judla]

Hi WonderMan3, Loved your review and the videos. We are doing the same cruise Dec 30th of 2013. I don't know if you still check the boards but I have a couple of questions about the Lamanai & New River Safari you took. What made you take this tour over the AltunHa Mayan Site & River? They are both offered by the ship one being 6 hrs and the other being 7 hrs. Are they still basically the same place? After watching your video we are so excited to visit the Mayan ruins in Belize.

[WonderMan3]

Hi - thanks so much for your amazing insight into this cruise.

 

I am going in December and am keen on the Panama Tour you did but am not sure which one it was - there are several on the Equinox website is it the 6 hour CO26 option?

Look forward to hearing from you - Deb

 

Sorry, haven't been on the boards in some time. Yes, the tour was CO26.

[WonderMan3]

Hi WonderMan3, Loved your review and the videos. We are doing the same cruise Dec 30th of 2013. I don't know if you still check the boards but I have a couple of questions about the Lamanai & New River Safari you took. What made you take this tour over the AltunHa Mayan Site & River? They are both offered by the ship one being 6 hrs and the other being 7 hrs. Are they still basically the same place? After watching your video we are so excited to visit the Mayan ruins in Belize.

 

Altun Ha and Lamanai are two different sites. I honestly can't remember why I chose one over the other. I think I may have just done a Google image search and found the Lamanai ruins more interesting. As I mentioned in my review, the ruins are spectacular. I just wish we had more time there and in a less chaotic tour.

[catladyng]

Thank you for the review. Will be on that cruise soon

[D'suni Ubachev]

You are a professional reviewer. Cruise Critic should pay you for the level of effort that you put into this. Good show my friend. Good show.

 

I'm going on the 10 night Christmas Cruise on 20-DEC-13. I will try to share my experience.

[Chicago Boy]

This was our first cruise on Celebrity. As you can see from my signature we've done a number of cruises on other lines but never made it around to Celebrity until now. I've always heard very positive things and once I saw one of the Solstice Class ships docked alongside us on a cruise a few years back I knew we had to book one soon. Overall we had a great cruise and would likely cruise with Celebrity again, but we did see some areas where there was room for improvement. Here's a breakdown:

 

THE SHIP - A

 

Beautiful. I would use the words "comfortably elegant" to describe the Equinox. I was very impressed by the look and the design of all the common areas. The atrium was fantastic. And the overall design flow worked very well. We're used to the "loud" colors/borderline-tackiness of NCL or the blandness of Princess, but this just hit the mark perfectly for me. Yes, it was a haul for us to make it all the way back to our aft cabin due to there being no rear elevators in the ship, but it was a minor incovenience and gave us some extra exercise.

 

EMBARKATION - A

 

Easiest embarkation ever. We arrived a little after 12 to find no lines, quick and friendly service and were onboard in under 15 minutes. Once we got onboard it got a little confusing as apparently rooms weren't ready and we weren't supposed to go up to our cabin but no one told us that. We didn't find out until we had already settled in our room and heard an announcement giving the all-clear to go to your room.

 

DISEMBARKATION - A-

 

We chose to do the express walk-off, which was tough with all the bags we had, but it allowed us to be off the ship by 7:45 and to the airport sooner so we could catch a flight home 3 hours earlier.

 

OUR CABIN - Sky Suite - 7307 - A

 

Awesome cabin. This was probably my favorite suite that we have stayed in (outside of NCL Epic's Owners Suite), primarily due to the fantastic wraparound balcony. The views were amazing, and being able to see the entire rear as well as what was happening alongside the ship was fantastic. We spent a lot of time out there enjoying the ocean views. My sister and her bf got the cabin next door to us (7309) so we were able to have the partition open between our two balconies to make one giant balcony which was great for socializing.

 

The bed was VERY comfortable; one of the best I've had on a ship. The pillows were a bit too soft for us, but we still slept pretty comfortably. The ihome speaker dock was a welcome amenity and provided great sound. Plenty of storage throughout the cabin for all our clothes. Bathroom was smaller than I'd expect for a suite, but it worked. As in the main cabin, there was plenty of storage for both us. Having a tub/shower combo was a waste of space IMO (not sure who would ever take a bath in there), so we would've preferred just a shower set-up, but it was not a bother. And possibly my favorite part of the cabin was the giant porthole! It was wonderful to have that additional space for light to come in and see more of the ocean.

 

To address some issues that I see come up frequently with these cabins. SOOT: We had a daily accumulation of soot on the balcony floor, to the point where about 6 days in I had to ask the room attendant to please clean it. But we never had any on the chairs, table or rails, so it didn't prove to be a problem. PRIVACY: Yes, people could look down on us from all the way up to the Sunset Bar, but only if we were standing out by the rail. If sitting in the chairs there was still privacy from the small overhang. It was a little unnerving at times to be standing along the rail in my bathrobe and look up to see someone staring down, but overall not really an issue. MOTION: I am very prone to seasickness and take a Bonine daily while at sea. We have stayed in several cabins fore and aft where we have experienced a lot of motion. In this cabin we probably experienced the least amount of motion from any of our cruises with cabins in similar locations. Even on days where the seas got a bit choppy, we really felt it no more than we did throughout the rest of the ship. Some days it was so still in our cabin it didn't even feel like we were at sea. On a couple of the choppy seas nights, there was some noise happening; a deep rumbling (stabilizers I'm guessing?) that vibrated through the room. Enough to make it take a little longer to fall asleep, but not sleep stopping.

 

SUITE SERVICE

 

BUTLER - B-

 

Our butler was Alex and this was his first cruise as a butler (per his statement to us). He was very nice and very sincere about wanting to make sure we had a good experience. Unfortunately a combination of issues prevented him from giving the best service he could. First, he seemed overworked. He told us that he was butler to suites on decks 7, 8, 9, 10 and on some other location on the ship. This meant that we generally got afternoon tea service last (I think we were the last stop on his route) and never at the same time. For anything else, like room service, he was always right on time. But while on time he always appeared to be in a rush, like he needed to be off doing something somewhere else. Second, he was unsure of himself when answering questions or checking on something for us. This I chalk up to him being new, which is something that he'll get past as he learns more. Some examples were, when taking us to the reserved seating area in the theater he walked us right past the roped off rows to the front of the theater and then had to ask another employee where we were to sit.

 

Third, he appeared to be having an issue with other staff members, specifically the dining reservations staff. This was a problem on the first night. We had a gotten a paper in our welcome aboard info encouraging us to make reservations for the main dining room even though we were Select Dining. I asked Alex to book us at Silhouette for 7:30pm that night when I saw him right before the lifeboat drill. He came back during sailaway and said he was told by the dining staff that we were not allowed to make reservations and should just show up 15 minutes prior to the time we wanted to dine. This was contrary to the paperwork in the cabin but I figured it was fine. When we got the dining room though the woman at the desk asked for our reservation time. When I said we were told we couldn't make one she said we would have to wait. At that point there was already a small crowd waiting. I got annoyed and explained what happened with Alex trying to make a reservation. The dining room manager came over and explained that they always experience some craziness the first night and that things should settle in starting on night 2. He had us wait at Cellar Masters (which was crowded with other guests also waiting for a dining room table) and said it would be about 15 minutes. That turned into 35 and my partner finally walked back to hostess station to complain and we were seated immediately. From that point on for the rest of the cruise, no matter how many people we saw waiting, we were always seated immediately at Silhouette without a reservation. Not sure if it was because we were in a suite or if it was because we had a problem the first night and they flagged our room.

 

Back to Alex though. There was a further incident with the dining staff when I asked Alex to make a reservation for us at Murano one night at 6pm. He left a voicemail later saying that they were booked until 9pm that night but they could do 6pm the following day. I decided to call the dining hotline and book Silk Harvest instead. They said they were booked until 9pm that night. Just to check I then asked if Murano was available at 6pm. Yes, he said, they had seating at 6pm, 7pm, 9pm, etc. I was annoyed with Alex at that point and made the 6pm reservation. When I saw Alex later I told him about this and he was shocked. He immediately called the dining line and demanded to know why they told him there was nothing available but booked me when I called. He seemed very frustrated during the call and had to ask the question several times. Apparently they told him there was a "last minute cancellation" that allowed us to squeeze in. This turned out to be bs as there were plenty of empty seats in the restaurant at 6pm. Not sure what was going on there or why the dining staff was giving Alex such a hard time, but they need to work that out; guests should not have to feel the impact of inter-crew drama.

 

ROOM ATTENDANT - D

 

Our room attendant was Jose. Apparently he has been with Celebrity for 10 years. Based on the quality of housekeeping, it may be time for him to move on. I can't really ever recall having an issue with a room attendant on any past cruise (save for one charter where all the staff was in ultra relax mode). We had issues with things like: dusty wine glasses and one with lipstick on it in the room upon arrival, shelves caked in dust upon arrival, bathroom backsplash not cleaned for a week getting covered in toothpaste splash, ripped and stained towels provided in the bathroom, stains/drips on walls from previous guests not wiped off, mutliple mildew spots on shower curtain, toilet not fully cleaned one day, and the aforementioned accumulating soot on the balcony. None of these things impacted the enjoyment of our cruise; they were minor annoyances. But we paid a lot of money for this suite and as such expect it to be clean. I was letting the days pass on purpose to see how long it would take for some of these things like the backsplash to be cleaned. Other things like some of the wall stains we didn't notice until days later, and then when the shoddy towels started showing up I finally said something to Alex. I would assume that he said something to Jose as the backsplash was cleaned during turndown that night and the balcony was washed daily to clear soot, but none of the other things were fixed; mildew remained on the shower curtain, stains still on the wall.

 

ROOM SERVICE - F

 

The delivery of the food was by Alex and that was never a problem as far as timing. It was the food quality and temperature that was an issue. The food was always cold by the time it got to us. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles...all cold and rubbery and tasting disgusting. This was the worst tasting shipboard food I've ever experienced. Even simple things like coffee (cold) and croissants (hard) couldn't be done right. We raised the quality issue to Alex after the second time we had ordered a full breakfast. He was very concerned and said he raised the issue with an F&B manager. He then asked us to order room service the next day and assured it would be proper. It wasn't. It was actually even worse. We let Alex know this and he felt bad but there wasn't much that he could do. We didn't bother with room service after that.

 

SUITE PERKS - C

 

The perks themselves were good (butler service, afternoon tea, 2 free specialty dinings, theatre escort, priority tendering, etc.). My complaint was with the explanation of, or rather lack of, what those perks were. Nowhere in any papers in our cabin did it mention that we got 2 free specialty meals or what any of the other perks were. Maybe that was the butler's job to explain all those things? We didn't even know we had tea service until Alex appeared at our door on Day 2 with a cart full of treats. If we hadn't booked to dine at the specialty restaurants we wouldn't have even known that two meals were comped save for the fact that I saw it on here. I understand that as cruisers it's our job to do research in advance but Celebrity should do a better job at listing these benefits in a letter when you arrive in the cabin. I mean we got inundated with flyers and invites for art auctions and emerald sales yet they couldn't be bothered with a note telling us about benefits we had paid for?

 

SHIP SERVICE - C

 

While no one was out and out rude we found that the majority of the staff on this ship were a bit detached and not overly friendly. Fewer "hellos" in the hallway and no chit chat when providing service. Or left waiting at a bar or counter while staff ignored us. Many just seemed like they were going through the motions. There were a few stars whom I will mention below, but on the whole we were disappointed in the service.

 

SILHOUETTE - FOOD - B SERVICE - B+

 

Food here was fine. Nothing stood out as fantastic, but nothing was terrible either. I'd say the food was comparable to Princess and much better than NCL. Service was efficient and mostly pleasant, save possibly for one icy, red-headed Russian bar server who had a permanent scowl on her face.

 

TUSCAN GRILLE - FOOD - A SERVICE - A+

 

Best meal of our trip. Food was the best of any of the dining areas on board and our waitress Daniella was a star, she was super sweet and helpful.

 

MURANO - FOOD - B+ SERVICE - B

 

Overrated. I've seen this place praised to the high heavens on here and we were left wondering why. Service was stuffy and pretentious. Food was okay, but honestly not much better than the main dining room. I had the 3 mini-filets which were a bit disappointing. We've had far superior food at Le Bistro on NCL's ships.

 

SILK HARVEST - FOOD - B SERVICE - B

 

Food and service were both okay. Better than most of your average Chinese you'd find back home. Service was fine until our waitress disappeared about 3/4 of the way through our meal.

 

OCEANVIEW CAFE - FOOD - B+ SERVICE - B

 

I was surprised with the food here. Probably the best buffet I've encountered on a cruise ship. They had a great variety for breakfast and lunch, a bit more limited for dinner. Food quality was quite good. Service was pretty friendly up until the point when the norovirus changed the buffet to no self-service. At that point many of the staff members seemed stressed and unhappy. The worst aspect of the buffet was trying to find a seat. The place would get crazy busy at times.

 

SPA - SERVICE - A

 

My partner and I booked bamboo massages initially but then had such a great experience that we signed for more treatments. He had a seaweed wrap followed by another massage, and I got a body scrub along with another bamboo massage and she threw in a free mini-facial. My attendant was Ace who was wonderful. My partner had Wendy who he said also did a great job.

 

CASINO - SERVICE - D

 

My partner and I are active casino players and have cruised with both the NCL and Princess casino programs. Based on this past experience we were very disappointed with the casino on Equinox. The casino itself was quite nice with a great selection of machines (we're slot players), and payouts were reasonable for a cruise ship which are notoriously tight. What was not good was the casino staff. The host was virtually non-existent unless there was some published event like a slot tournament or raffle that required her to be there. When speaking to her she was a bit condescending and cold. What we found odd was the fact that we played in the casino everyday for several hours on an 11 day cruise and not once did the host or any of her staff ever approach us to check how we were doing or find out how we were enjoying the casino. We began to suspect that they had a bias towards table players when at one point my partner when up to the host to ask about a raffle that was announced. The host said to him "You can find tickets at any of the tables...oh, wait..you're a "slot player" aren't you?" in a very condescending tone. "This raffle is for table players only" and she walked away. Meanwhile our traveling companions, who only play slots, got tickets for the raffle. Bizarre. Then we heard from a fellow player who was an invited guest from their Blue Chip Club. When you are a guest of the casino one of the perks you get is a free drink card. Apparently this guest got tired of the tight slots and stopped putting his room card in the machines on Day 9 and started playing lower bets which meant they could no longer track his play. The next day the host came up to him and said that he had not met the required amount of play for this cruise and therefore was now going to have pay for all the free drinks they had given him. He was outraged and even more annoyed by the fact that he had the premium drink plan which would cover any of his drinks regardless of what the casino gave him. When he pointed this out to the host she had to back down. She could've easily seen within his account that he had the drink plan so that was a huge faux pas to anger a guest like that.

 

INTERNET LOUNGE - F

 

Celebrity has this bizarre system where they won't give you any instruction on how to set up wifi on your own laptop/ipad unless you go to their lounge and get instruction from one of their people. Since we needed set-up right away early on of course there were tons of other people who did. You have to add your name to a sign-up sheet. When we went there a few dozen people ahead of us so we left and came back 30 minutes later in time for our name to be called. The manager who came to over to help us was rude and condescending. The way he spoke to us you'd think we'd never seen a computer before. Anytime we tried to ask a question he would cut us off and talk over us. Rude, rude, rude! I understand that Celebrity has likely had a lot of issues with people not signing out of their accounts and using up all their internet time and then complaining at the front desk, but not all of us are simpletons and could follow detailed written instructions if provided in the cabin. I won't bother complaining about the cost of the internet as it's highway robbery on every cruise line. At least the speed was fast and service was reliable (no dropped connections, wifi worked all through our cabin and even on the balcony, etc.)

 

SHOWS - EQUINOX: THE SHOW - B

 

We only saw the one show which is a Cirque Du Soleil-style performance. For a cruise ship show it was pretty good. Compared to the real Cirque Du Soleil it was pretty lame.

 

PORTS

 

GRAND CAYMAN - Tender process here was very long. We had to wait in line for about 15 minutes for a tender to show up and then it took about 15 minutes to board everyone. We went on our own to Seven Mile Beach. I had checked online to see where a good spot was and found Sea Grape. At the taxi stand we told them that's where we wanted to go but they didn't make a stop there. The taxis are all van set-ups where they sit and wait until they fill them up with people and have a set number of stops that they make along the route. Make sure you get a clear answer from the driver about where they will be stopping. Where we were dropped off turned out to be not too far from Sea Grape anyway. We actually wound up at Tiki Beach which is where the Celebrity beach excursion brings you. It was still cheaper to do it on our own. We walked up and down the beach a bit and found that all of the areas near facilities/food were super crowded with bars blasting loud music. In the water there was actually a lot of large rocks which I was surprised by. When we visited here in 2003 on a cruise we found the beach to be quiet and the water to have a smooth sandy bottom so this visit was a little disappointing. Part of the crowding may have been due to there being 6 ships in port that day. After the beach we took a taxi back to the port and had lunch at Margaritaville.

 

CARTAGENA - DELUXE CARTAGENA shore excursion - B

 

We took the Deluxe Cartagena excursion with Celebrity. Our guide was Roque (Rocky) who was friendly and informative, but sometimes difficult to understand. The excursion started at the San Felipe Fortress which we walked up to the top of and went through some of the interior tunnels. Then it was a waste of time bathroom/shopping stop for 20-30 minutes at a former barracks converted into shopping stalls. Then on to the Old City where we walked the streets, getting to see some street artists at work (I bought a painting that he created in front of us in 5 minutes) and then on to the Inquisition Palace for an interesting tour inside. This was followed by a walk through Plaza de Bolivar full of lovely fountains, then on to the Church of San Pedro Claver for a tour inside to see its interior garden and the main church. At this point I hoped we would have free time to explore the Old City on our own for some shopping but instead it was back on to the bus for a ride to the New City. Rocky pointed out some things on the way including the hotel where the Secret Service agents met up with the prostitutes in that government scandal. Then we stopped at a horrible shopping center full of tacky souvenir stores and emerald jewelry shops and rife with locals getting in your face trying to sell you stuff or to get you to take a picture with them so they can charge you. These are the stores that the cruiseline recommends. This was a complete waste of time. We were here for 45 minutes. Then it was back on the bus to finish riding through the New City and back to the boat. Overall, the tour was a convenient way to see both the fortress and highlights of the Old City and get some history. They really need to cut the two shopping stops that are currently in the itinerary though and give free time to shop in the Old City. Cartagena was actually quite nice compared to many other Caribbean ports. The only negatives are the aggressive local vendors who surround you like mosquitoes if they think you're a tourist, and the weather is extremely humid even in January.

 

PANAMA - PANAMA CANAL TOUR shore excursion - A

 

We took the Panama Canal Tour that actually takes you on a boat ride through the canal. This tour was limited to about 80 people so if you are interested in this make sure you book early as it sells out! We were picked up at the port of Colon (a disgusting slum of a city once you get outside the area immediately around the ship - you MUST do an excursion here or just stay on the ship) and had about a 90 minute ride to Gamboa which is partway though the Canal. There we hopped on a small boat and began our cruise all the way to the Pacific Ocean near Panama City. This was a 3 hour cruise that took us through two sets of locks and included a buffet lunch onboard. This was an awesome experience cruising through one of the modern wonders of the world. Off the boat it was back on the bus for a return to the port, another 90 minute drive. During the outbound drive our guide gave us a lot of interesting info about the history and way of life in Panama, and he provided a detailed commentary and history of everything we saw along the Canal. Based on feedback we heard from other passengers who took other Panama tours and were disappointed this one was definitely one of the best. Highly recommend!!

 

COSTA RICA - COSTA RICA FAVORITES shore excursion - A

 

Another highlight of our trip. The trip starts with a long bus ride (about 2 hours) to get to the rainforest for an aerial tram ride. The ride lasts about an hour and you have a nature guide with you in your tram pointing out the vegetation and wildlife along the way. It was a unique experience taking us from the overgrown underbrush up high to the tops of the trees. This was followed by a nature walk through the rainforest for about 30-45 minutes. Then there was an included buffet lunch. We were then back on the bus heading back only a few miles from the port to one of the Tortuguero Canals to board a nature/wildlife cruise. This was a nice boat ride but a little underwhelming if you don't see a lot of wildlife, which we didn't. We saw only lizards and birds, and spied some howler monkeys far up at the top of a tree. The guide and boat pilot were both friendly and helpful and made every effort to try and find interesting plants or wildlife for us to view. Overall, this was a very long day but worth it. Costa Rica is a beautiful country but the area around the port is pretty sparse so you need to take an excursion to experience anything of the area.

 

BELIZE - LAMANAI & THE NEW RIVER SAFARI shore excursion - C

 

Let me start by saying that the main focus of this trip, the Lamanai ruins, was fantastic. The low rating on this excursion was for the whole set-up and misrepresentation of the "river safari" portion. The excursion started on a low note with our tour bus which was worn out and dirty and had A/C barely working. One of the guides finally had to open the roof vents on the bus as we were all very hot. To get to Lamanai it required a 90 minute drive from Belize City a dirty city clogged with traffic over very rough roads with tons of speed bumps. One of our two guides gave info about Belize during the ride. She was so dull though that with the heat of the bus I wound up dozing off. I awoke as we approached the dock for our boat for our river safari, which would also take us to Lamanai. Before deboarding the other guide stood up and announced that due to our ship arriving late (???? we were on time) they had to adjust the tour schedule. We would now have no time for a "river safari", meaning we would have to just speed along at 35mph to Lamanai with no time to see wildlife on the way. We also would have no time for the buffet lunch that was included and would have to grab a boxed lunch and eat it on the bus on the way back. Then there were warnings about mosquitoes and buying bug spray (which we warned about already on our ticket) and recommending buying a poncho as it had started raining and he said it tended to rain often and heavily. At this point I was beyond pissed but we really had no choice but to continue with the trip. We bought ponchos and hopped aboard the boat as the rain fell. Luckily the rain stopped shortly after and the sun came out for a beautiful day. We literally raced down the New River for 1 hour in the boat to Lamanai. Interesting experience, but not the most comfortable. Once at Lamanai we found ourselves rushed from ruin to ruin for a total of about an hour of touring. Again, the ruins were amazing and worth it, but we all wanted much more time there. If you wanted to take any time to climb some of the ruins then you'd have to miss the guide's information as he kept walking on to the next site. The paths to get to each site were very uneven and full of twisted tree roots, rocks and slick areas with mud. There was no advice from Celebrity to wear closed-toe shoes like there were on other excursions. A positive was that we encountered no bugs at all. Following this tour it was back on the boat for another speedy 1 hour trip back to the dock. We did manage to get a stop to see a crocodile. Once back at the dock we grabbed our boxed lunch and it was back on the bus for a 90 minute ride to the port. This was 4pm when we boarded the bus. We had left the ship around 10am. So be aware that this is a long day and to eat a sizeable meal before departing. Was this trip worth it? Not really. There's not enough time for this excursion to be run properly.

 

COZUMEL - We did our own thing this day. I had booked entrance for us to Nachi Cocum, a small beach resort. It was wonderful! They limit the number of people they allow into the resort each day so that it doesn't become overcrowded. That day there were very few people at the resort, maybe 20-30 max, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves. Besides the lovely beach they have a large pool, bar, restaurant, and water sports available like jet skis and snorkeling. Your fee includes a beach chairs, umbrellas, 3 course lunch and open bar. We spent most of the day there. Definitely recommend!

 

I put together a video of our cruise which can be viewed here:

 

 

This video is LONG, so I created an index in case people want to jump to certain sections:

00:00 - our cabin

02:30 - sailaway

13:59 - ship tour

29:40 - afternoon tea/formal night

32:39 - Grand Cayman

40:44 - Cartagena

1:24:38 - Panama

2:01:36 - Costa Rica

2:35:23 - Belize

2:53:47 - Cozumel

 

 

We have just returned from a Trans Atlantic from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale on the Equinox and the trip was fabulous. The Equinox is a beautiful ship, we found the staff to be friendly and courteous, the excurisons were excellent and the food an A-. I think Celebrity consistently delivers a high quality product in their price range. While on board we booked another Trans Atlantic for November of 2014 and will most likely do another sailng in the spring.

[WonderMan3]

You are a professional reviewer. Cruise Critic should pay you for the level of effort that you put into this. Good show my friend. Good show.

 

I'm going on the 10 night Christmas Cruise on 20-DEC-13. I will try to share my experience.

 

Thanks! We enjoyed that cruise so much that we booked another right away. Will be on the 14 day Eclipse cruise next month to 8 Caribbean islands. Can't wait!

[Alijaysau]

Thanks for your review. We are doing the exact cruise in March and have absolutely no idea where to go once we are in port. I look forward to watching your video. Is there some way of saving your review?

Many thanks

Ali

[WonderMan3]

Thanks for your review. We are doing the exact cruise in March and have absolutely no idea where to go once we are in port. I look forward to watching your video. Is there some way of saving your review?

Many thanks

Ali

 

You're welcome. You could print out the review or copy and paste it into a WORD document. You might also want to visit the Ports section on this message board to give you ideas of what to do in case the excursions we booked aren't what you were interested in.

[Billym1507]

Thank you very much for the review. I have just watched the video as we are doing this cruise on the 20th of January.

Your video was brilliant but on the down side I watched it at work and now I am way behind lol.

Thanks again.

Billy.

[cruiseclues]

Very interesting review...and great video...thanks. :):):):)

Edited January 26, 2014 by cruiseclues