LIVE!! FROM THE EQUINOX PRESIDENT's Cruise August 27th, 2017 - ChicagoPaul

[miched]

Sorry forgot to quote you on my reply. See above posting. FYI I believe it's $29/pp per day if there are no discounts. This is for buying for the entire cruise. If we're not in Aqua or suite we always book it. One time we did book it in Aqua too.

 

 

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They use to have the Ultimate dining pack that was $29/day pp. it was discontinued and replaced with the sliding price plan. The more you purchase the cheaper the price per. If you buy 3 it is $109, 4 for $125 or $31.25 per. .....keeps decreasing to 12 for $312 or $26 per.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Edited September 1, 2017 by miched

[excitedofharpenden]

Good questions. Looks the loyalists were too busy sucking up

If you have a beef with LLP (which it is clear you do), why don't you start your own thread instead of popping up and trying to derail this one with snide comments? chicagopaul has been good enough to take time to post this positive thread. Show a bit of respect.

 

Phil

[Bo1953]

To me it seemed fruitless to ask. Everyone including Celebrity knows the problems exist, they hear about it from passengers, loyalists, critics and their agents in Miami.

All LLP could say is that they are aware of the issues, and that Peter (The Marketing Director) and his team continue to troubleshoot it.

The Q&A like most things I felt got sidelined by soliloquy's and individual concerns rather than big picture items. Things like why can't you have ships closer to .....(fill in your home town)? , Why can't they have more free water in my AQ cabin? I loved some of the compliments and concerns that people raised, and biggest thing I took from up was sometime in mid September, we all should know a lot more than we all do now.

 

Thank you JT...

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

If you have a beef with LLP (which it is clear you do), why don't you start your own thread instead of popping up and trying to derail this one with snide comments? chicagopaul has been good enough to take time to post this positive thread. Show a bit of respect.

 

Phil

 

eoh - thank you for your comments... :p

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

Now back to the wonderful reviews from out buddies actually on the sailing and enjoying themselves thus far!

 

bon voyage

[chicagopaul]

Thank you Bo and Phil!

 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their day. Happy Friday / Labor Day weekend.

 

Today we are in Punta Cana and the weather is perfect and the water looks beautiful. Partly cloudy. High of around 84/85 today.

 

Per the usual here are today's Daily pics before I chat about last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Norma I haven't forgotten about you! I'll send some photos and video of the Martini bar and a full list of names!

 

Ultimate Dining. Sorry for any confusion. Thanks miched for commenting on it. It's not Ultimate Dining. That was the old package. We simply bought the package for dinner each night but it doesn't include unlimited lunch as well. Since we were on here for 8 nights the regular pricing just happened to work out as the same price as the old ultimate Dining package. But we did get a discount on it when Celebrity was running their 20% off sale so it was a fantastic deal.

 

 

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[Mr&MrsBee]

The Martini Bartenders are the best. Looking forward to your video. Enjoying your review. Thanks.

[Pennstatedj]

HI All, we are on presidents cruise also, we are in blu. Service and food have been outstanding.

We went to q&a with Lisa. It was good presentation. Few questions. There are changes coming but seem to be minor. We are elite plus so we will be waiting to see if there will be an added level.

There are two events planned for Capt. Club members. The first was from 5 to 6 pm to meet her instead of cocktail two hours. We waited for twenty minutes to get in, but decided to skip the hand shake and go to martini bar. Next event will be tomorrow night hope to meet her that night. Have not seen her all cruise so far. Unless you are zenith you cannot get to mingle unless you wait in line. Our decision not to do so.

We went to Lunch with Lisa. It was in main dining room. Regular lunch menu with free wine. She was there but not excessable.

One more chance at farewell elite cocktail hour.

We have not been impressed with entertainment on this cruise. We thought maybe there would be something special. We were on board Equinox 5 weeks and nothing is different. There are a couple of special dinner options at specialty restaurants but we are in blu and very happy.

I will check in again after the last event.

We did get a nice pin and a poker chip for a momentoe of the cruise. Maybe there is somthing else coming.

So far cruise has been disappointing we were expecting more I guess.

Ship crew has been great and food has been outstanding. So, do not feel sorry for us.

[hcat]

Can't wait to hear about Punta Cana...never been there .

[chicagopaul]

Good afternoon everyone! Eerrr almost good evening! Today was Punta Cana! Water was beautiful. We had to tender in which was a bit adventurous. We mostly used life boats and they were rolling about. We did get some great photos though. We did not book anything here so we really had nothing to do. The port area itself was very nice and clean. There was even a free show going on with the aerobatics. They were actually really good. We then got back on. It was hotter than we thought. The waters looked beautiful so if you come here I'd recommend looking at booking an island tour or a day pass at a hotel. If we really wanted to there was a free information center and we very likely could have arranged something. The good news about this port is that even though you need to tender once you're in the port the people are very friendly, the space is clean, taxi people are dressed well and no one is pushing anything on you. At least not in the port itself.

 

 

 

Bear with me. The internet is being a bit spotty so photos aren't loading. Hopefully when I get down to the Martini bar in a few moments I can get the rest uploaded and let you know how the rest of the day went.

 

 

 

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[lojax]

Hi Chicagopaul - question to you or any other folks sailing. Does anyone know if the classic beverage package includes the daily cocktail specials and bar specials listed on the Daily? Today's cost was listed as $7.50. I can't remember what the dollar limit is on the classic package. Just curious as some of them sound pretty yummy and would be nice to try. Thanks for any info you can provide!

[chicagopaul]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

 

 

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[miched]

Personal question to Paul and I don't want you to take it other than any other person that I respect or would socialize with judge or be friends with. I always see the LGBTQ and friends social hour at the Martini Bar at 8:00. What is the purpose? Why do they have this as a activity or feel that it is necessary?

 

 

Would like your opinion and thoughts.

 

 

Always enjoy reading your live reviews

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[Nachosdelux]

What is the purpose? Why do they have this as a activity or feel that it is necessary?

 

You really can't figure this out????

 

Why do people join organizations of any kind? What is the purpose of social activities?

 

The answer is right in front of your (naive) face.

[miched]

You really can't figure this out????

 

Why do people join organizations of any kind? What is the purpose of social activities?

 

The answer is right in front of your (naive) face.

 

No.

 

Do they have a social hour for any other group at the Martini Bar?

 

Do they have one for Americans, Canadians, Polish, German, British, Asians, Females, Males, overweight, handicapped . .. etc?

 

Why is it that they are always singled out? What is the purpose? Why do they need it? In this day and age is it necessary?

 

I socialize with anyone. I am not prejudice. Don't know why or understand why there has to be a division.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Edited September 2, 2017 by miched

[nimiq]

Hey Paul,

This is my first time following you and must say I'm happy about it. Your doing a great job in your photos,videos and commentaries.

My partner and I have been cruising often and our first X cruise was in 2002. Although it was amazing we back then thought it was a bit to stuffy for us.

In 2016 got the chance to do a 2 night cruise on a refurbished M class ship and thought the brand had changed and evolved to cater to a class we liked or had become lol.

We then booked a 7 nights on a S class ship and are now hooked on the X brand.

Never thought I might be cheating Princess a few more times with X.

Ok enough about me lol

Continue this nice journey and thank you for sharing.

Sea ya

Éric

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Forums

[chicagopaul]

For all those who just commented I'll be right with you! I just want to get my evening review in and I'll either answer your questions tonight or in the morning. Hopefully the internet keeps up with me. So far so good.

 

Tonight we started our night at the Martini bar as usual.

 

 

We chatted with friends we met on the second day and then went to the show. Tonight the show was a magician / comedian named Chris Funk. He was pretty good! The magic was entertaining, he got the crowd involved, and he was funny. It was enjoyable and definitely a great option from the standard shows. If you see him on a Celebrity cruise he's definitely worth a visit. Though sit up close if you can. The magic will be more entertaining!

 

 

Dinner tonight was in Murano. We started with the cheese plate which I'm sorry but I forgot to photograph. I had the goat cheese soufflé and edward had the lobster bisque. Then I had the venison and edward had the veal (which looked much better than the veal I had last night in Tuscan. But I'll explain that later). We finished with a chocolate desert (Vohlrana chocolate cake) and espresso.

 

 

 

Please pardon the mutilated cheese plate in the background!

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

After dinner we went to World Class bar for a drink. I had a Zacapa Above the Clouds and Edward had an Oban 14. The World Class bar on this cruise seems to be getting a decent crowd, at least from what I've seen the past couple of nights.

 

 

 

 

After that we headed up to Sunset Bar to have drinks with some friends. What a beautiful night. A nice breeze. Very little humidity. Good drinks. And a beautiful sky. Plus some ever so slight rocking of the boat. It was a perfect perfect night.

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Personal question to Paul and I don't want you to take it other than any other person that I respect or would socialize with judge or be friends with. I always see the LGBTQ and friends social hour at the Martini Bar at 8:00. What is the purpose? Why do they have this as a activity or feel that it is necessary?

 

 

Would like your opinion and thoughts.

 

 

Always enjoy reading your live reviews

 

 

Happy cruising [emoji305][emoji568][emoji631][emoji274]

 

 

 

I'm more than happy to answer this question. Though I ask those who are reading my response to take it as just that, my response and let's not turn this into a thread about this topic. Thank you for asking a question you're curious about. Too many people I find are afraid to ask certain questions and too many people get offended when they are asked, regardless of topic. Personally, I've always been an open book. I think the more we all understand about each other the better we can get along. Ok enough about that.

 

FOD, or Friends of Dorothy as it's called was started years ago when being "out" wasn't acceptable to many. This has since evolved into the LGBT happy hour. Even in 2010 when I started cruising Celebrity this wasn't published in the Daily. Instead it was posted on a board by guest relations. When we first started cruising we attended the LGBT happy hour to meet other couples who were gay, or singles too, to socialize. It made us feel more comfortable. Even in an ever accepting world, there are still those who do not.

 

However as time has gone on, we no longer attend them. Mainly because they're at 8pm and that's our dinner time. But we still love the Martini bar. And we can make friends with everyone at the bar regardless of orientation, race, age etc.

 

Back in Chicago, while we have many gay friends, we don't frequent gay bars at all. It's just not our thing. If I was single then I probably would. Or if we lived in a town that was not as progressive or understanding then I probably would too.

 

With all this being said, I think the LGBT happy hour exists for the same reason the Bill W events do and the same reason the Scotch tastings do. There is simply a demand for it on the ship and Celebrity is meeting that demand. Examining the reason for that demand in today's society could be the topic of a doctoral thesis so I'll digress here.

 

But I want to end by saying I always welcome questions like yours and encourage them. I think meaningful discussions like this are awesome to have and allow all of us to better understand each other. I hope to have a drink with you someday soon at the Martini Bar!

 

 

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[Lftmarjen]

ChicagoPaul,

Well stated, you're a classy guy!

[lilghallinsf]

If you have a beef with LLP (which it is clear you do), why don't you start your own thread instead of popping up and trying to derail this one with snide comments? chicagopaul has been good enough to take time to post this positive thread. Show a bit of respect.

 

Phil

This is one of those "need a like button" comments.

[lilghallinsf]

ChicagoPaul,

Well stated, you're a classy guy!

 

 

Great response... Thank you. It is easy to get "heated" in todays world about simple questions. Unfortunately, I do. Again, thank you and LOVE your review. Your review is one of the reasons that I enjoy this forum. Reliving my own trips or dreaming of new ones. Thanks for sharing.

[cazzi]

I'm more than happy to answer this question. Though I ask those who are reading my response to take it as just that, my response and let's not turn this into a thread about this topic. Thank you for asking a question you're curious about. Too many people I find are afraid to ask certain questions and too many people get offended when they are asked, regardless of topic. Personally, I've always been an open book. I think the more we all understand about each other the better we can get along. Ok enough about that.

 

FOD, or Friends of Dorothy as it's called was started years ago when being "out" wasn't acceptable to many. This has since evolved into the LGBT happy hour. Even in 2010 when I started cruising Celebrity this wasn't published in the Daily. Instead it was posted on a board by guest relations. When we first started cruising we attended the LGBT happy hour to meet other couples who were gay, or singles too, to socialize. It made us feel more comfortable. Even in an ever accepting world, there are still those who do not.

 

However as time has gone on, we no longer attend them. Mainly because they're at 8pm and that's our dinner time. But we still love the Martini bar. And we can make friends with everyone at the bar regardless of orientation, race, age etc.

 

Back in Chicago, while we have many gay friends, we don't frequent gay bars at all. It's just not our thing. If I was single then I probably would. Or if we lived in a town that was not as progressive or understanding then I probably would too.

 

With all this being said, I think the LGBT happy hour exists for the same reason the Bill W events do and the same reason the Scotch tastings do. There is simply a demand for it on the ship and Celebrity is meeting that demand. Examining the reason for that demand in today's society could be the topic of a doctoral thesis so I'll digress here.

 

But I want to end by saying I always welcome questions like yours and encourage them. I think meaningful discussions like this are awesome to have and allow all of us to better understand each other. I hope to have a drink with you someday soon at the Martini Bar!

 

 

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Well stated Chicago Paul