S Class newbie needs advice on Southern Caribbean

[EuroDate20]

DH and I are about to book a 10 day cruise on the Equinox for March 2017. Our ports will be St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados and an overnight in St. Maarten. I chose this itinerary because we're not really beach goers or into water sports because my DH has a bad back. We love being on the ship, eating good food and doing some shopping in the ports. This is our first time on a solstice class ship. I have a few questions and appreciate your advice.........Is Aqua class worth $600 more than a regular balcony? I would spurge if Blu and having access to the Persian Garden is a difference maker. Do you enjoy the heated loungers in the Persian Garden or are they too hard on the back? We haven't been to St. Kitts and Barbados and would like your advice on what the best shore excursions would be. Thank you all!

[BuckeyeMan]

hmmmm... Will be watching the responses. Looking at the same itinerary for an April cruise.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on whether port or starboard for a balcony? We are also contemplating Aqua class.

Edited July 14, 2016 by BuckeyeMan

[onespots]

This class of ship is wonderful, especially if the ship is your destination & not so much for the itinerary. Even if you get off the ship early morning to visit the island & return early, likely you will have most the ship to yourself. Many things to do aboard the ship while others on their shore excursions.

 

My opinion is it is just not worth it to us, for the perks you get by being in Aqua Class. A standard balcony cabin serves us well & we have always sailed with a balcony. With the money you will save, you can apply it towards a pass to the Persian Gardens. Heated seats are nice, if too hard for you, just use a towel for more comfort. If you have dietary concerns, Blu is a great option.

 

We enjoy the main dinning room with a large table. This enables us to meet new people & your waiters get to know you & your specific tastes for dinner. We enjoy the more traditional dinning experience. Also with the money saved you may want to try a specialty restaurant. Of course these are personal choices & many will dis-agree.

 

Excursions for us generally involve the water. Though we are not beach people... We like to ride in a large sailboat viewing the island from a short distance which includes some snorkeling from the boat. Your ship will offer many excursions to give you ideas. Most of these you can find privately or join a group on your roll call. ( the private excursions usually cost less & include a much smaller group of people )

 

Port or Starboard side of the ship ? For us it makes no difference as there is a lot of open water between the islands. Always a coin flip as to which side of the ship will be tied to the dock during your visit.

 

Finally if you choose the main dinning room... Listen to your head waiter & their suggestions for dinner. They offer what's best for that evening. Remember you can order anything you want to try. 2 of each ( appetizers, salads soups, main courses, desserts ) There have been times when I have enjoyed a meal of just appetizers, salads, & one dessert.

 

I know you will have a great time on this voyage.

 

Go with your instincts & interests for the type of vacation you want to enjoy.

You will get many opinions, this is just one...

 

 

 

Happy Travels, John

[cheeseheads4ever]

Looking forward to responses we are on the same ship and itinerary in November 2016. We booked a balcony room starboard side. Looking forward to cruise. We like beach and water activities so excited about that. Hopefully you will get some good responses.

Happy Sailing!!

[Champagne Cruiser]

Since you are planning on spending more time on the ship I would opt for Aqua Class. On port intensive cruises it might not be worth a large up charge. In addition to a more relaxed, elegant feel for dinner, AQ has a great breakfast in Blu, very relaxing, table side prepared muesli. The heated tile loungers in the Persian Gardens are also great. We have sailed everything from inside to Sky Suites, but AQ is our favorite.

[ClaudiaB]

You can do a Rail and Sail excursion in St. Kitts which will give you a taste of the island. It's a sweet little train that goes around much of the island (with drinks and banana bread and local singers) and a catamaran cruise with lunch.

There is an old fort in St. Kitts that is included in many tours and a lot of nice resorts where you can go spend a day. We took an independent excursion last time that was nice, and was arranged through someone on our Roll Call. I encourage you to get on your Roll Call for your specific cruise so that you can join in the conversations with people sailing with you. Presumably there will be people already arranging tours together.

 

Barbados is a great island. My husband always plays golf at Sandy Lane which is where Tiger Woods got married years ago - it's one of the premier courses around. I have taken several comprehensive island tours which is interesting. You can do this through an independent tour guide and not through Celebrity. There are some interesting beaches and resorts you can visit too.

 

Check Trip Advisor for some other ideas for those islands. We've been to them many times.

 

We're taking Caribbean cruises in November and again in March, and we plan to take a snorkeling/catamaran cruise in Barbados and stay on the ship for most of the day in St. Kitts.

 

We have sailed Aqua Class once and it was nice, but it's the same cabin as all the non-suite cabins, with a better shower head. We love Blu. Normally we sail in sky suites, and before the suite restaurant Luminae came we always ate our meals in Blu. Only you can decide if it's worth $600. We never did anything in the spa area. We sat on the loungers once. The best part is the nice exercise room and the relaxation room where you can just sit and read a book or knit or whatever.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

In my view, Aqua Class is definitely not worth $600 more than a regular balcony cabin. Book a 1A cabin which will give you a large balcony, a great location midships, and use the savings to enjoy dinner in a specialty restaurant or something else that would be of interest to you.

 

Join your roll call and see what those folks have planned for excursions.

 

[carolslc]

We love the Persian Gardens on the S class. I was on those heated loungers every day - heaven! Blu is terrific for breakfast and dinner. On M class we are going with a regular balcony this time. Is it $600 more total or per person? If total, I would probably do it personally. But there isn't a bad choice - either way will be wonderful.

[EuroDate20]

Thank you so very much for all your responses and advice. We always go to the meet and mingle and enjoy meeting other cruisers. I'm really looking forward to seeing Barbados, is it similar to Grand Cayman? We've enjoyed seeing the planes over Maho Beach in past cruises, so the extra time on St. Maarten is a bonus.

[QuakerBoy]

We're on that exact itinerary/ship in January, 2017. The Equinox does that route 4 or 5 times this coming Caribbean season. It's strange, but the premium for Aqua over Concierge and the top Veranda categories varies widely. On a couple dates, they're about the same, on ours, Aqua is $1,000 more per person. That's $2,000 more, total! Is it worth that much more? Of course not. Must be a quirk in forced inventory balancing. Personally, I might pay $100 more for Aqua, provided I could book a decent cabin with no above deck noise issues. I find that the C2-C1-1A cabin locations are superior to most Aqua locations. Blu is nice, but nothing spectacular. Give me the extra money for specialty restaurants and whatever.

[wallie5446]

We did this route on the Equinox last Thanksgiving, and sailed the 11 day route the yr before. EXCELLENT!

 

Blu is not worth $600 more, book a standard balcony and use the $600 to buy the Ultimate Specialty dinning pkg. It is $29 pp per day and you get unlimited access to Murano, Tuscan, and Silk Harvest. The food in the GastroBar is additional, but oh the flat breads and burgers are totally worth it. Have not tried the new Sushi on 5 but what they have in Silk is wonderful.

[wallie5446]

Thank you so very much for all your responses and advice. We always go to the meet and mingle and enjoy meeting other cruisers. I'm really looking forward to seeing Barbados, is it similar to Grand Cayman? We've enjoyed seeing the planes over Maho Beach in past cruises, so the extra time on St. Maarten is a bonus.

 

Barbados being an island country in the Caribbean is the only likeness to GC.

We took our kids to the drive thru caves there 20 yr's ago, and to an old sugar cane plantation. Have gone on Cat's and snorkeled our last two times there.

[EuroDate20]

Is Barbados as developed as Grand Cayman? During the overnight in St. Maarten, what time is the curfew? We have never experienced an overnight in port. Thanks again for your responses.

[tartan cruiser]

Harrison's Cave in Barbados is a good non beach excursion. Very easy to do on your own and cheaper than the ship. Did not pre-buy tickets and had no problem getting on a tour within 15 minutes of arrival. If it's just the 2 of you see if anyone on you roll call would like to share a cab.

[Host Jazzbeau]

(1) The Celebrity S-class ships are wonderful destinations in their own right, so you have made a great choice. Early in the cruise go to the Hot Glass Show -- we did with low expectations but got hooked and kept coming back. It was fascinating! [We were on Eclipse, but it should be similar on Equinox]

(2) St. Kitts didn't have anything that really appealed to us, so we got a roll call group together for a private tour of Nevis with Thenford Grey. They sent us over on the public ferry to Nevis where our guide met us for a customized tour around the island (there are history museums featuring Alexander Hamilton and Lord Nelson, the Nevis Botanical Garden is wonderful, Montpelier Plantation Inn and Lisbet Plantation Inn have beatufiul views) and lunch at the Golden Rock Plantation Inn, then a short ferry ride across the narrow channel back to St. Kitts and a scenic van ride back to the ship. It was a great day.

(3) We had a 1A balcony (7286 with the super-large balcony on the lea side of the hump) and it was great. Planned to try AquaClass but got upgraded to a suite last month, and we are still over the moon about how great that was -- especially the Luminae restaurant. If you are foodies, try to wangle a Sky Suite so you can eat there!

[QuakerBoy]

Jazz: glad you enjoyed cabin 7286. We are booked in the same location, three decks higher (1120) on Equinox for an upcoming January Caribbean 10 day cruise and looking forward to it. We have been in a similar slant cabin with the extended balcony on Reflection, but it was on the forward facing slant. Did you notice a lack of wind when in motion? Love those cabins, and their convenient locations.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Is Barbados as developed as Grand Cayman? During the overnight in St. Maarten, what time is the curfew? We have never experienced an overnight in port. Thanks again for your responses.

 

There is no curfew when the ship ports overnight. You can come and go as you please.

[wallie5446]

Is Barbados as developed as Grand Cayman? .

 

As much if not more so. The population of GC is just over 50,000, where Barbados is almost 300,000. There are many more high end hotel properties there too.