Equinox 2/3/18 Sailing – Live Blog, Photo Blog, Cat Blog, Dog Blog, Vlog?

[David Kane]

Equinox 2/3/18 Sailing – Live Blog, Photo Blog, Cat Blog, Dog Blog, Vlog?

 

Good Evening.

 

 

Once again it is time to begin our latest cruise adventure and, yet again, attempt to Live Blog the entire affair. So far, my record has…not been good; I’m essentially 1 for 4 (posted 1 Travel day for our Infinity Cruise, didn’t even post for the next one on the Summit, managed to get the entirety of the Reflection done 4 weeks late, and then posted 1/3rd or the opening day from our last Summit trip – the hazards of a very busy work schedule, it seems). However, onward we strike with the increasingly inaccurately-titled Live Blog and, for the time ever, possible Vlog as XZ attempts to master her iPad.

 

As usual, I’d like to give a big thank you and shout out to Arno, ChicagoPaul, A Sixth, DRJKRetired, Chemmo, GHStudio and all the other frequent Celebrity posters who provide far more accurate commentary than I ever will.

 

 

Note: This Blog is rated H for hu-mor. Curmudgeons are hereby advised.

 

 

Background

 

DW (who I will refer to by her initials XZ just to circumvent convention) and I are mid 30’s/early 40’s with no kids and one cat (and our friend’s dog) who hates it when we go cruising. We were big Disney fans until their pricing structure got WAY out of whack and made the spontaneous experience entirely unenjoyable and, for my 40th, we decided to give cruising a try.

 

 

Our first trip was in an RS on the Infinity for Halloween in 2015. We came right back for more, booking a RS on the Summit for 2016, an SS guarantee on the Reflection and another SS on the Summit, both in 2017. The one Blog I actually completed can be found here, at least until freaking Photobucket blocks all the pictures, and then it will look like some poor drunkard attempting to pitch online storage space at outrageous prices which pretty much defines Photobucket these days:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2442584

 

 

This Trip

 

Originally, our next cruise was not planned until Sept, 2018 and, as 12 months slowly passed by, including the busiest fall work season either of had ever seen in the last 10 years, the question began; how long could be possibly hold out until we snapped and just took off? We managed to hold off for 5 whole months.

 

January tends to be one of the more affordable vacation times and a few days ago we began perusing the Celebrity website which, despite all its idiosyncrasies, displays cruise prices rather well. Lo and behold we found a number of eligible Sky Suites on the Equinox or Silhouette and, after chasing down the most affordable days for air travel, decided on the week of February 3rd through the 10th on the Equinox, a ship we have never been on before.

 

 

Goals this go around include:

--The Gastropub; what is it and what do they serve? - a new venue for us, seemingly replacing the dark and foreboding ‘Cellar Masters’ which I *still* have yet to sit down at, 4 cruises in.

--Silk Harvest: Can it beat Sushi on 5?

--A Whole New World: We’re away from our usual Crew and Staff on the Summit – will there be any familiar faces? Can the shows hold a candle to the excellent Reflection Production Cast of January, 2017?

 

 

The Cat

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Our cat…hates it when we cruise. In recent years we have managed to partially pacify her by having the adorable girl across the hall from us cat-sit her; and we now come home to cardboard cat-castles and a thoroughly exhausted kitty. That said, she is still a frequent reader of Cruise Critic and especially loves the bad reviews. Each day or so, we will review one “Cat Complaint” about Cruising and see, in person, if it’s valid (hint: it’s not).

 

 

The Dog

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On the other paw, Cruise Critic has often times been accused of being too negative. To offset this and give a balanced perspective, we occasionally dog-sit our friend’s pupper, dress him up in formal-wear (sorry, Doggy Chic), and make him read Cruise Critic (but only the good reviews). Occasionally, he will offer up one ‘Dog Compliment” to see if it holds water (it always does).

 

 

The Vlog

 

This year, to go along with my never-finished Blogs, XZ has decided to begin vlogging! We really enjoy the Celebrity guest and crew Vlogs, and they often get us through the 12…or, rather, 5 months between cruises. Our favorite passenger Vlog is:

 

Bill Raffel: https://www.youtube.com/user/billwi

 

 

Our favorite Performer Vlogs are:

 

 

Planet Jerome (Jeoren Walraven): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyfzvV8yZKLGGVfLJwCjXIA

 

 

Overy Joy’d (Isaac Matthews): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9zd-ZqvFtaV83qPKMu8iw

 

 

Alex Codd Chereography: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgPCPqYTj5pfqMJVVRdHQkQ

 

 

Duo Destiny (Giancarlo and Kinga): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjZQneUlKSAsJvf1CjDp9Bw

 

 

A Note on Questions

 

One of the most enjoyable features of CC is answering questions for future cruisers. However, to add a wrinkle of unhelpfulness, I will endeavor to ask the least appropriate people I can find. Want to know if Sky Vodka is on the Premium Package? I’ll find one of the Celebrity Singers to pose that question to! Interested in Debarkation Times? Perhaps the Chief Engineer will have some insights. All kidding aside, I’ll do my best to respond quickly, but neither XZ nor I have cell phones, so I’ll be updating from the iLounge whenever possible (aka; sitting in the iLounge for an hour, answering questions for 48 minutes and furtively typing the other 12).

 

 

The Self-Indulgent Nature of this Blog

 

“But wait! Where are the menus? The dailies? All I see are pictures of your wife in funny hats…what gives?” I have found it far easier to gather up all the paper work and run it through my large format scanner when I get home. It provides crisper, clearer images without any sizing issues. A separate post will be created expressly for providing high-resolution scans of every scrap of paper and menu I can get a hold of – want to know exactly how much of a discount you can get on a Chocolate Diamond on a port day? We’ll have that information for you, right after we get back!

 

 

In addition, XZ and I are in a running debate about photographing meals. On one hand, we love to see pictures of plated meals, especially in Luminae. On the other hand, it feels…I don’t know…somehow a little weird to us to be photographing away instead of enjoying the dining experience. Which will win out? We’ll let you know!

 

 

And Here We Go, the luggage has been spotted…the cat suspects!

 

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[Beachlover1989]

Love your honesty and lightheartedness! We board Equinox on 2/10 so we're really looking forward to following along!

 

 

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[JoyMouse]

Following along. This promises. to be highly entertaining. I can’t wait to hear some of the answers you get.

[OtherFigment]

Hah, our animals also freak out when they see the luggage come out. In fact we've found our 70 lb black lab trying to cram herself into our carry on roller before. She managed to make it work!

[Nccruiser01]

We'll be on the Equinox 4/7/2018, so looking forward to your live blog. I'll be following along.

[evelyn inkpen]

Another dog with sad eyes for our upcoming cruise!

 

 

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[Clarea]

Looks like a fun start!

[lola2013]

Enjoy Equinox. We have sailed on her twice and can't wait to return!

[Keith1010]

This is terrific. Following along.

 

Keith

[kpark895]

Can't wait for another David Kane review!

[Lorey2007]

Sounds like fun can't wait.

[Want2Cruise 701]

Following along. Have a great cruise!

[Dunmore2]

Can’t wait to read more. Your writing style is wonderful. I enjoyed your last blog very much.

[David Kane]

Saturday - 2/3 - Em-BARK-ation - Part 1:

 

Saturday began at 1am with a 7(!) hour drive from my parent's place at Jekyll Island, Georgia to Miami, Florida in a rented Impala. Note for future vacationers - renting what looks like an undercover police vehicle makes everyone on the highway drive rather politely around you!

 

Almost the entire state of Florida passed by rather quickly, with long and excited conversations about Cruise Plans and a audio book in the Horatio Hornblower series. 8:00am found us stuck in traffic just outside the Miami airport, which made me grateful for leaving plenty of time in the morning - if you're planning on driving to the Port/Airport 95 South is under construction and down to 1 lane (!) right before you get there.

 

Not wanting to stop at a waffle house, we attempted to scrounge up some breakfast before dropping the rental car off, but, lo and behold, the Miami Airport is surrounded by a terrible industrial area full of razor wire, overpriced gas stations, and the detritus that comes from living literally in the shadow of an airport. Now, the GOOD news is that the Rental Car Return Palace is clearly marked and gorgeous. Seriously. Clean bathrooms, plenty of space, ice cold AC - heck, they even had a pay phone! I changed into my cruise gear in the men's room because I am classy like that and, soon enough, we were on the complimentary shuttle the Rental Car Agency provides to bring you to the Port. (For Future Cruisers, the pick-up for the Car Agencies Bus is all the way down to the right as you exit the facility on level 4). The time was 9:20am.

 

Transit to the Port of Miami took the usual 40 minutes (exact same time the shuttle from the Brickell area took last year when we stayed at a hotel). This is generally due to the 6(!) ships disembarking/embarking at the same time and the fact the Port of Miami traffic pattern was clearly "organized" by an urban planner who took one look at it, shrugged to himself and thought "wouldn't it be fun to watch buses fight taxis!"

 

We hopped of the expertly piloted bus (hint: buses beat taxis beat scissors) at 10:00am, tipping our driver/Mad Max movie extra and handed our 7(!) cases over to the Porter in exactly 1 minute. From there, we walked the 100 feet over to the Celebrity Cruise Terminal entrance only to discover that 7 rain drops and a small puddle were all the line consisted of - we were through Security, checked in, and having our picture taken in the upper Suite embarkation area by 10:36am and that was only because someone had to spend an inordinate amount of time in the Men's room. (Don't judge! The Port looks terrible on the outside, but the inside is beautiful and the facilities are super clean).

 

Here, we met the Photographers, including Dave - I have this theory whereby I meet one awesome crew member each trip who really, really stands out. Last time it was Anush, the bartender at the Casino. I have this feeling that, this trip, it's going to be Dave. He is awesome! We got the usual boarding photo taken in several unusual poses and then by, (drumroll please) 10:47am we were cleared for Embarkation.

 

At 10:50am we were in Michael's Club, drink in hand - I think the staff beat the record they set last year for no wait/no line service by a clear 9 minutes or more - how they managed it, I have no idea, but it was very enjoyable.

 

And now, of course, is the point where, after taking numerous pictures, I realized I forgot the cable that connects my phone to the iMac so...I'm trying to figure out how, exactly, I'm going to be uploading pictures. I'm guessing I'll have to use my XZ's iPad pictures which is so painfully ironic for a windows guy...

 

Next Up: Lunch in Luminae, a great welcome from the Staff, someone takes an extended nap and I discover the BEST place to watch sail away!

[cococruiser]

Have a fabulous time. Really enjoying this, thanks for taking time to do it! We won’t be on Equinox until August. Keeps me going, reading other travellers happy times.

 

 

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[upwarduk]

And now, of course, is the point where, after taking numerous pictures, I realized I forgot the cable that connects my phone to the iMac so...I'm trying to figure out how, exactly, I'm going to be uploading pictures. I'm guessing I'll have to use my XZ's iPad pictures which is so painfully ironic for a windows guy.

 

 

However carefully I pack, I ALWAYS forget something. Last time it was my driving licence, I wasn’t going to drive, but it’s very useful for ID.

[gerelmx]

Jack feels when I'm going on vacation, since I'm packing, he wants to go inside one bag. Thanks for sharing your review

[Alabaster Cruiser]

Who is the concierge in Michael's at this time? Thanks for the review....following.

 

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[spammie]

YAY!!! Another live review! Equinox is our favorite Celebrity ship! You will absolutely love her and the crew! Friendliest crew we have ever cruised with. So looking forward to this! Bon Voyage! Wanda

[evelyn inkpen]

Who is the concierge in Michael's at this time? Thanks for the review....following.

 

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The MC concierge is the wonderful Adriana Diaz. She met us in the lounge at the terminal early and walked us on the ship! Top notch service.

 

 

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[evelyn inkpen]

Jack feels when I'm going on vacation, since I'm packing, he wants to go inside one bag. Thanks for sharing your review

 

 

 

Love the pict!! [emoji16]Just adorable

 

 

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[evelyn inkpen]

We've started a video blog of the cruise! Chech out day one here:

 

 

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[C 2 C]

Who is the concierge in Michael's at this time? Thanks for the review....following.

 

Adriana Diaz is concierge in Michael’s

Ralph Strub took over as HD

Spaceman is the CD

[themutis]

Too Fun - Can't wait to see the rest!!

[mvaughan]

Can you let me know which dock you berth at in San Juan? There is some controversy on our cruise as to which one...every other time its right down town OSJ...however they are saying this year its way over by the Island Airport and there is nothing to do once you get off the ship without taking a taxi somewhere. Thanks. Enjoy your cruise.