Equinox Cruise - review of a pregnant lady

[Cooso]

I started a review yesterday then realised there have been a lot of recent Equinox reviews including Andy’s wonderful live one. So instead – I’m going to concentrate on cruising whilst pregnant with a few other references. We were on an 11 night Caribbean cruise with a stop at Colon in Panama.

 

We had this booked and paid for in full when we found out we’re expecting our first. I was 13 weeks when we got on board and had some morning sickness leading up to the cruise. We had our first scan a few days before we left and despite the Celebrity site saying we didn't need a ‘fit to travel’ letter, we all know how unreliable the website is! So I asked my midwife for one.

 

At check in, I completely forgot to tell the lady that I am pregnant. As soon as we boarded, we headed down to Guest Relations as I wanted to downgrade my classic package (123 perk) to the premium non alcoholic. There were no issues in doing so. I did tell her I was pregnant and had forgotten to mention it but she didn’t seem too concerned or ask for the letter.

 

As I didn’t have a bump, I didn’t need extra pillows etc in the cabin. It’s probably a good job as of all the cruises we’ve done, this is the first time we haven’t given an extra cash tip to our stewards. They did what was needed but didn’t seem to go the extra mile. I did pack more than normal though as I had no idea how big I’d be after 11 nights of eating yummy food. The cabin storage was adequate but without the over bed storage, we really would have struggled. The beds were as comfortable as ever and I do find the air con easy to adjust. We had an obstructed view (30%) balcony and given how rarely we used it (but it's nice to have!) it was fine. The dull light in the bathroom didn't bother me on my many night time toilet trips! We did turn it off by mistake a few nights though.

 

We chose first dining. We always do set but never done first before. Up until finding out about baby, I was a bit worried if we’d like it but when pregnant, 6pm to eat is perfect! Celebrity did well and sat us with 2 other couples in their 30’s. Our waiter was lovely and very professional. I told him on night one about the pregnancy and how I probably wouldn't eat a lot. Every night, as I ate half my main, he’d say ‘would you like something else?’ He was fantastic the night I really enjoyed some minestrone soup and asked for a second bowl. It was the only time I had a hot bowl of soup though! All our meals were warm but never hot. Even non pregnant, I would probably say this but I found the menu hard to choose from some nights. A lot of the starters were fish, especially shellfish. As I wasn’t eating a lot, I just went for a soup and entrée. I had the French onion soup 4 times. The 3rd time it wasn't as crispy as I like so on the 4th ordering, asked Agustika if I could have it well done. As always, nothing is too much for a problem for them. A lot of the meals tasted salty to me but that could be my hormones. By night 7 – I did manage to clear a full plate. It was amazing to enjoy a whole meal!

 

 

Steve was unable to get a small martini at the martini bar on his package and I found it too noisy. We also struggled to sit down and get served so we found ourselves in the gastrobar most nights. It wasn’t busy but we liked that. I like to talk to the crew and got on really well with them here. They were accommodating to my ‘mocktail, none creamy and not orange juice based’ requests. They really did make me feel special. Someone also suggested I get some ‘vitamin (flavoured) water’ from the pool bar and that was tasty. I got bored of drinking plain water so the vitamin stuff helped.

Café al bacio was also a favourite place. I tried quite a few teas and did have the occasional decaf coffee.

 

We cruised on the Equinox back in June 12 for our honeymoon. I don’t remember her being as juddery in the Med. I certainly knew the ship was moving every night on this cruise. The second sea day, I struggled to get out of bed as it felt really rough. It was probably just the baby making me feel that bad but a few people agreed that it wasn’t as calm as the first sea day. Our cabin steward called our room about 12 to see if we needed anything. I told him to leave it. I was quite happy to stay in bed and him just do the turndown service. This was the only day we had room service and despite the menu being a bit sparse, we enjoyed what we ordered.

 

I decided half way through the holiday to go to Guest Relations to check how long the Belize tender was. I hadn't enjoyed the Grand Cayman one and heard Belize was quite long. She said about half an hour but that wasn't allowing loading and unloading. We had to cancel our cave tubbing trip pre cruise (not allowed to do it) so decided to have a ship day for there. She did take pity on my nausea feeling but said I couldn't have any tablets which I knew. My doctor had prescribed antihistamines which were pretty useless. She suggested ginger ale (by this point I'd been drinking it daily!) and green apples which was a new one on me.

 

Now this is where Celebrity really do excel. We were in the oceanview cafe with plenty of mangers and staff milling around (shame there weren't more bar staff but that was a general theme throughout the cruise.) I asked a maitre'd if there were any green apples anywhere as I couldn't see any. He had a look and said 'no madam but I will send X to have a look for you' so a lovely assistant waiter went searching. He came back and asked me to wait another 10 mins whilst he went down the galley's. He reappeared empty handed and very apologetic. That night in the MDR, our maitre'd (Viorel - I hope I have his name right!) was doing his rounds and I commented that I was looking for green apples. A few minutes later, he came back with 2 in a bowl. I was very touched by how far they will go to make a customer happy. They didn't really work but by this time, I was feeling better anyway. Perhaps they'd have been better from day one!

 

The ports were too hot for me but that's no one's fault. All our excursions (private and Celebrity) were happy for me to sit on the bus in the air con if it got too much. The ship itself was perfect in temperature. Even in an evening. I had a short sleeve dress on every night and never felt cold.

 

Entertainment wise - it's probably a good job I slept so much during the day. There was less trivia than 3 years ago (I know there's been a cut in activities staff) but some of the Celebrity life activities in an evening made us laugh. I especially like that they repeat them on the cabin TV as we missed the 'newlywed' show. We did see 3 shows in the theatre and if you get to see 'Tenors of Rock' anywhere, they are worth it! The beatles tribute was OK too but being British, wasn't overwhelmed by them.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise. My pregnancy is obviously exciting but did impact a little on my enjoyment of the food and staying up late. We were in bed by 10 every night bar one where we managed until 11.15! Every time we cruise, despite being some of the youngest on board, we're always out partied!

 

I am happy to answer questions about other aspects. As you've noticed, I enjoy typing and could have written an even longer review about the whole experience!

Edited April 24, 2015 by Cooso

[Celebrity Cruises]

Thank you for sharing your review, and happy to see that our staff was able to assist and take care of you!

[helen haywood]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Congratulations on your pregnancy! We will be sailing Equinox on Monday. Do you remember who the house band was? And were they any good?

[doublemm16]

Hi Lara!

 

It was so nice meeting you and congratulations again on your pregnancy!! I think you made the right decision in Belize. The tender experience took almost 1 hour. And the roads in Belize were full of potholes, so a bus ride of any sort would not have been enjoyable for you.

 

I am not pregnant, and I thought it was difficult to order from the menu on some evenings. There were very strange preparations of food that did not appeal to me. Although, I managed just fine with the every day selections. I agree with you on food temperature. It was inconsistent.

 

And your comment about activities staff....I thought it was odd that I only noticed the Activities Manager Shauna and Patrick....the nice guy who ran bingo. I am used to seeing so many more activity staff members. A lot has changed in one year.

 

However, like yourselves, I had an enjoyable cruise. The ship is spotless and the crew very approachable and kind.

 

Feel good!!

Mindi:D

[Cooso]

Celebrity - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you anyway but certainly as a pregnant lady. Far better than a land holiday :) please pass on my thanks to the powers that be!

 

Helen -I'm afraid I don't know the name of the house band. I didn't recognise them from previous cruises. They sounded English. We only heard them in the atrium but they had quite a good repertoire. Some old and some new stuff. Musically, I thought they were good. Vocally, some stuff the lady shouldn't sing! There was always lots of people dancing though.

 

I'm sure you will have a fantastic cruise.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Cooso

[cruisingdelt]

We may have been on the same cruise as you. Don't feel bad, many passengers thought the seas were a bit rough the first few days. My room steward, Thomas, was able to keep me supplied with green apples and my DW with oranges. Now I feel guilty, but only a bit. We had a great cruise. Enjoy parenthood!

[Snit13]

I started a review yesterday then realised there have been a lot of recent Equinox reviews including Andy’s wonderful live one. So instead – I’m going to concentrate on cruising whilst pregnant with a few other references. We were on an 11 night Caribbean cruise with a stop at Colon in Panama.

 

We had this booked and paid for in full when we found out we’re expecting our first. I was 13 weeks when we got on board and had some morning sickness leading up to the cruise. We had our first scan a few days before we left and despite the Celebrity site saying we didn't need a ‘fit to travel’ letter, we all know how unreliable the website is! So I asked my midwife for one.

 

At check in, I completely forgot to tell the lady that I am pregnant. As soon as we boarded, we headed down to Guest Relations as I wanted to downgrade my classic package (123 perk) to the premium non alcoholic. There were no issues in doing so. I did tell her I was pregnant and had forgotten to mention it but she didn’t seem too concerned or ask for the letter.

 

As I didn’t have a bump, I didn’t need extra pillows etc in the cabin. It’s probably a good job as of all the cruises we’ve done, this is the first time we haven’t given an extra cash tip to our stewards. They did what was needed but didn’t seem to go the extra mile. I did pack more than normal though as I had no idea how big I’d be after 11 nights of eating yummy food. The cabin storage was adequate but without the over bed storage, we really would have struggled. The beds were as comfortable as ever and I do find the air con easy to adjust. We had an obstructed view (30%) balcony and given how rarely we used it (but it's nice to have!) it was fine. The dull light in the bathroom didn't bother me on my many night time toilet trips! We did turn it off by mistake a few nights though.

 

We chose first dining. We always do set but never done first before. Up until finding out about baby, I was a bit worried if we’d like it but when pregnant, 6pm to eat is perfect! Celebrity did well and sat us with 2 other couples in their 30’s. Our waiter was lovely and very professional. I told him on night one about the pregnancy and how I probably wouldn't eat a lot. Every night, as I ate half my main, he’d say ‘would you like something else?’ He was fantastic the night I really enjoyed some minestrone soup and asked for a second bowl. It was the only time I had a hot bowl of soup though! All our meals were warm but never hot. Even non pregnant, I would probably say this but I found the menu hard to choose from some nights. A lot of the starters were fish, especially shellfish. As I wasn’t eating a lot, I just went for a soup and entrée. I had the French onion soup 4 times. The 3rd time it wasn't as crispy as I like so on the 4th ordering, asked Agustika if I could have it well done. As always, nothing is too much for a problem for them. A lot of the meals tasted salty to me but that could be my hormones. By night 7 – I did manage to clear a full plate. It was amazing to enjoy a whole meal!

 

 

Steve was unable to get a small martini at the martini bar on his package and I found it too noisy. We also struggled to sit down and get served so we found ourselves in the gastrobar most nights. It wasn’t busy but we liked that. I like to talk to the crew and got on really well with them here. They were accommodating to my ‘mocktail, none creamy and not orange juice based’ requests. They really did make me feel special. Someone also suggested I get some ‘vitamin (flavoured) water’ from the pool bar and that was tasty. I got bored of drinking plain water so the vitamin stuff helped.

Café al bacio was also a favourite place. I tried quite a few teas and did have the occasional decaf coffee.

 

We cruised on the Equinox back in June 12 for our honeymoon. I don’t remember her being as juddery in the Med. I certainly knew the ship was moving every night on this cruise. The second sea day, I struggled to get out of bed as it felt really rough. It was probably just the baby making me feel that bad but a few people agreed that it wasn’t as calm as the first sea day. Our cabin steward called our room about 12 to see if we needed anything. I told him to leave it. I was quite happy to stay in bed and him just do the turndown service. This was the only day we had room service and despite the menu being a bit sparse, we enjoyed what we ordered.

 

I decided half way through the holiday to go to Guest Relations to check how long the Belize tender was. I hadn't enjoyed the Grand Cayman one and heard Belize was quite long. She said about half an hour but that wasn't allowing loading and unloading. We had to cancel our cave tubbing trip pre cruise (not allowed to do it) so decided to have a ship day for there. She did take pity on my nausea feeling but said I couldn't have any tablets which I knew. My doctor had prescribed antihistamines which were pretty useless. She suggested ginger ale (by this point I'd been drinking it daily!) and green apples which was a new one on me.

 

Now this is where Celebrity really do excel. We were in the oceanview cafe with plenty of mangers and staff milling around (shame there weren't more bar staff but that was a general theme throughout the cruise.) I asked a maitre'd if there were any green apples anywhere as I couldn't see any. He had a look and said 'no madam but I will send X to have a look for you' so a lovely assistant waiter went searching. He came back and asked me to wait another 10 mins whilst he went down the galley's. He reappeared empty handed and very apologetic. That night in the MDR, our maitre'd (Viorel - I hope I have his name right!) was doing his rounds and I commented that I was looking for green apples. A few minutes later, he came back with 2 in a bowl. I was very touched by how far they will go to make a customer happy. They didn't really work but by this time, I was feeling better anyway. Perhaps they'd have been better from day one!

 

The ports were too hot for me but that's no one's fault. All our excursions (private and Celebrity) were happy for me to sit on the bus in the air con if it got too much. The ship itself was perfect in temperature. Even in an evening. I had a short sleeve dress on every night and never felt cold.

 

Entertainment wise - it's probably a good job I slept so much during the day. There was less trivia than 3 years ago (I know there's been a cut in activities staff) but some of the Celebrity life activities in an evening made us laugh. I especially like that they repeat them on the cabin TV as we missed the 'newlywed' show. We did see 3 shows in the theatre and if you get to see 'Tenors of Rock' anywhere, they are worth it! The beatles tribute was OK too but being British, wasn't overwhelmed by them.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise. My pregnancy is obviously exciting but did impact a little on my enjoyment of the food and staying up late. We were in bed by 10 every night bar one where we managed until 11.15! Every time we cruise, despite being some of the youngest on board, we're always out partied!

 

I am happy to answer questions about other aspects. As you've noticed, I enjoy typing and could have written an even longer review about the whole experience!

 

To bad no one had told you about SEA BRACELETS and GINGER TABLETS. You can get both/either at Walgreens, CVS, WalMart. I never cruise without them. We have sailed in some very, very rough seas and they worked wonders. On Baltic cruise waves were crashing off windows on deck 5 and on Antarctic cruise we had 30 foot seas and ship was really rockin n rollin. No problems, just keep those bracelets on. Reportedly very good for morning sickness too.

[A Sixth?]

I just want to say that I had nothing to do with ANY of this situation. :p