16th June on The Equinox: Operation Warm & Happy

[Btank]

DAY 3 - AT SEA

Ahhh, time to relax! We woke up and headed up to OceanView for beakfast to find... no Gail. Mark being Mark, he immediately started worrying about her. I did a quick walk around when I went up to get my bfood... but no Gail. So, I reassured Mark that maybe it was just her day off. (ha!) We did our usual healthy vs. healthy breakfast routine, then went back to the cabins.

 

Later int he morning, we went down to Celebrity Forward for the "special" Concierge showing of "Destination Highlights". How was it? In my industry and profession, we frequently use a computer microprocessor command knows as a "NO OP" - as in no operation. The command does absolutely nothing except take up time. Such was the Destination presentation. It has some amusing moments - for example, when the presenter referred to the "volcanic limestone" (an oxymoron) of Hell on Grand Cayman. But hey, we got some cookies and juice, so it wasn't a total loss.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Celebrity, I know you guys are taking Equinox in for a refit next May. In my opinion, the theatre chairs in Celebrity Forward need to be cremated at that time, and their ashes need to be scattered at sea. I got the impression that as chairs from the Equinox Theatre became "sprung", they were exchanged with chairs from Celebrity Forward. There nothing more aggravating and uncomfortable than sitting in a chair and having to hold yourself up with your legs to keep from sliding on to the ground!

 

By now, we were approaching the time for the Meet & Greet. Maybe it was the break in the breakfast routine, or maybe it was the slightly ponderous Destinations presentation - but by now, I realize that this was not going to be one of Mark's best mornings. We went to the Meet & Greet, but to be honest we really didn't meet & greet many people - Mark just wanted to hang around to the side until we could get out of there. I did get a chance to meet the Hotel manager and complement Felix and Bregor on how nice they had been to Mark.

 

From there, it was back to the cabin for Mark to take a nap before lunch. I wandered down to Cafe al Bacio for a cup of coffee and a little "me time".

[Btank]

DAY 3 - AT SEA (CONTINUED)

 

After lunch (and a little post-lunch exploring), Mark and I headed to the Slot Pull! Organized by Holly (aka "Jeweldaisy"), we found her already camped in front of a machine and taking names & cash. This ended up being quite a large group - by the time it was done with, we had close to 50 participants!

 

So... let the games begin! After a few pulls and a few small wins, it was my turn. We had each chipped in $15 for 5 spins - and at the end of my 5 turns, I think I had only set us back by about $14.99. Then it was Mark's turn. As he stepped up, I explained to Holly that Mark's mother had sat on a horseshoe when she was pregnant with Mark... and that it was passed down to him. We had a good chuckle about that, and then I showed Mark how to make his first spin. I'm sure that you realize what happened next...

 

 

 

BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING BING

(repeated many times)

Yep, he hit big on the first pull. What's more, he proceeded to hit on (I think) 3 of the next 4 pulls. He finished his turn with (if I remember right) $259 in winnings. Everybody applauded, and Mark got up to let the next person spin... who immediately told Holly that she wanted Mark to spin for her! So, for a large part of the remainder of the Slot Pull, Mark was the Designated Hitter for people. At the end of the first round, we totaled up everyone's winnings... and Mark was #1! The casino had chipped in prizes, so Mark received $50 in free play. I don't know what he enjoyed more... winning the free play, or being one of the most popular guys on the ship at the moment! We hung around as the group tried to parlay the winnings (no luck there), and then we headed off for an afternoon free of commitments, appointments, etc.

 

KUDOS: Mny, mny thx to Holly for setting this up. It was a blast!

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus enjoying your posts! Many thanks for sharing the trip with us all.

david

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[plucasana]

This is really lovely. Thank you for taking the time!!!

[vickykay]

@Really enjoying reading along without you’re posts. The photo of the bag you posted is the standard one everyone receives. The Concierge Class bag is much sturdier and larger. Ask you cabin attendant for it.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[miched]

That “concierge” bag is not the one that you should be getting. That is the one that is in every cabin. In Concierge and above you usually get two bags, that very cheap piece that you shown and a much nicer one that is a little bit better.

 

You should ask your cabin attendant about the nicer bag. Usually the better bag is put into your cabin during the first formal night along with the card holder. Many times we have to ask only to be told that they are waiting to get them unloaded, and then amazingly the stuff appears along with letting us know that they did it special for us.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Btank]

That “concierge” bag is not the one that you should be getting. That is the one that is in every cabin. In Concierge and above you usually get two bags, that very cheap piece that you shown and a much nicer one that is a little bit better.

Yep, we got the good bags on Day 4.

 

Thx... --bruce T.

[dutchclogs]

Love the reference to postcards -- I collect them and can drive my DH mad trying to source on our travels. Out of curiosity, did you find them difficult to find or to buy stamps with the postcards? Am also wondering when and where did you get to post them...

[sxyshell]

Really enjoying your review! Thanks for the taking the time to do it. We cruise on 8/4. This will be our 13th cruise but first with Celebrity.

[lola2013]

What a fun review...can't wait for the next installment.

[trouble92126]

Thanks for the great review. Lot your writing style.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[beach93condo]

Hi Bruce,

I really enjoyed your reviews! We leave in the morning for a b2b on Equinox. It will be our 7th time on that ship. We were on her in April and had Captain Kate. Do you have a picture of the Senior Crew bios? Curious to see if any of them are still onboard. Look forward to reading more about your cruise with Mark. Thanks,

Susan

[Mike981]

Love this review. I am sharing with my wife as I read and she is loving it as well. Thank you.

[Anita Latte]

Loving this review! Thank you for taking the time to do it!

[joand452]

Finally having a chance to read on the desktop PC -- YAY! Photos are back!

 

Looking forward to more!

[Btank]

Hi Bruce,

Do you have a picture of the Senior Crew bios?

 

Hi Susan! Let me dig through the detritus and see what I have. :)

 

--bruce T.

[Btank]

DAY 3 - AT SEA (CONTINUED)

The rest of our day was... relaxing. I needed some relaxing at this point, and I knew that we would have a full day ahead of us tomorrow in Costa Maya. A good dinner in Silhouette (no wine tonight), and good conversation with my neighbors and the Gs, and back to the casino for our traditional $20 each (I lost, Mark won $37).

 

On the way back to the room, I opened up negotiations with Mark on the camera strap. "But then I won't be able to use it!" "Mark, you have two and you're only using one." After much discussion, we agreed that I could borrow the camera strap from his camera case for the duration of the trip, but only if I would agree to hold his camera case whenever he was taking a picture.

 

No showtime tonight - off to bed for an early wakeup for our shore excursion in Costa Maya.

[Btank]

day 3 - the daily

Cruise_Daily_2018-06-19.pdf

[Btank]

DAY 3 - COSTA MAYA

 

Ahhh, Costa Maya! A place I've never been to in Mexico! I was looking forward to seeing all that it had to offer... no, waitaminute, it's juts a cruise pier with a souvenir mercado attached. That's OK, I can see the town of Mahahual! No, waitaminute, that's not exactly next to Costa Maya, we'd have to take a cab or shuttle. OK, but I can see everything around Costa Maya! Ummmm, waitaminute...

 

EDITORIAL COMMENT: I am struggling with the Costa Maya concept. Did the federal government of Mexico along with the state government of Quitana Roo realize that they were missing out on revenue opportunities that cruise lines and other governemnts were realizing with their "private island" stops? I have nothing to back that us, but why else put a cruise pier in the middle of nowhere... repair it after a major hurricane, and then expand it? One of the great mysteries I'll probably never hear the answer for.

 

I woke up early to pack a bag with water, provisions for Mark, and my camera. Since I didn't have my fancy Celebrity tote bag yet, I just used my Sam's Club thermal tote that I had folded and packed in my luggage. PRO TIP: These thermal totes are awesome for more than just shopping, and I almost always bring one when we are travelling. And it kept the water cool for us... which turned out to be important!

 

Mark and I headed up to the OceanView at 6:20a (!) to get breakfast prior to assembling for the 7am cattle call in the Equinox Theatre. From there, we headed out for the long walk down the pier. EDITORIAL COMMENT: I can see how some folks are concerned about this walk. There was a shuttle running on the other side or the pier - a tram attached to a tractor - but I understand that it's not always running, and I am pretty sure that it could only run if there was not another ship docked on that side of the pier.

 

We got to the end of the pier and walked through the souvenir stands, then assembled for our tour. I'd selected the "Mayan Ruins Combo" - Mark likes to take pictures of the ruins, and today was going to be a two-for-one.

 

EDITORIAL COMMENT: You might have noticed that I might be a little... well, obsessive... in researching and planning. Why then was I paying for the Celebrity tour with their uplift as opposed to self-booking? The simple answer: peace of mind. Mark is continually nervous about missing the boat... which I didn't help on the Anthem tour, when we got back to the ship with less than 20 minutes to spare. Rather than see him suffer for the entire day as a nervous wreck, it was worth the extra fee to Celebrity to assure him that the ship would wait for us.

[Btank]

DAY 4 - COSTA MAYA (CONTINUED)

 

Our group was taken to the first of two buses. We were met at the door by the driver, who handed us a bag with our breakfast:

• a small overripe banana
  
• a package of cookies
  
• a fruit and/or granola bar (I never opened it, so I can't say for sure)
  
• a bottle of water
  

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Celebrity, I paid for your tour... and this provider was your agent, and as such was the face of Celebrity. You could have done better here. You need to work on this with your tour provider.

 

Onboard, we met our tour guide - Luis Tellez. I found him to be an outstanding guide and host. He took a few minutes to review trip logistics:

• a very long drive
  
• some ruins
  
• no stopping to eat or shop for souvenirs. Me: "Ok." Mark: ":eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:"
  
• another long drive
  
• some more ruins
  
• another very long drive
  

And we were off on a very long drive to Kohunlich!

Edited July 8, 2018 by Btank

[Btank]

DAY 4 - COSTA MAYA (CONTINUED)

 

During the very long drive, Luis did an excellent job of introducing us to the history and the culture of the countryside that we were driving through. Along with a good narrative, he had lots of "show & tell" items - handouts, maps, carvings, etc. Without his help and these distractions, the drive would have been... well, completely ponderous.

 

To total drive time was about 2 and a half hours. Part of the delay was stopping en route to pick up another tour guide. I didn't retain his name, because he really didn't provide any guidance per se - he was just a nice guy to come along and help herd the cats, answer questions, etc. Was this a tour company policy that groups of a certain size needed two guides? Was it a requirement of the Mexican government's Anthropology Ministry? No ideas here.

 

At last... we made it!

 

After the obligatory restroom stop (and obligatory petting of the stray dogs), it was time to explore.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Btank

[Btank]

DAY 4 - COSTA MAYA (CONTINUED)

 

Kohunlich is not the largest of sites, but it does have some interesting features:

 

 

What we would very quickly find out was that one of the concerns about the combo tour was going to be realized - when the group got behind on the timeline, the site visits would suffer. We ended up going through about half of the site, with Luis reserving the most time for people to climb up the hill and visit the Temple of the Masks.

 

Even so, we got to see some amazing scenery. I'm always interested in how meticulously these people would build. Example: notice how they shimmed this stone wall along it's length:

Why? A decorative feature? A dividing line for the stucco (these were stuccoed in the past). I'm sure someone knows.

 

Or, the difference in building and stone cutting skills & techniques as they built in layers on top of older structures:

 

But with all of this, I still found time to find a family of toucans. Forgive the size, but I wanted you to be able to see the detail. Mom & Dad are to the left, and Junior is sticking his/her head out of the hole in the trunk:

EDITORIAL COMMENT: No Froot Loops were harmed in the taking of this picture.

[Btank]

DAY 4 - COSTA MAYA (CONTINUED)

 

The Temple of the Masks is located at the top of a long hill:

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: Wear good shoes - it can be (and was) slippery here! The hill has a very gradual slope, and between the tree roots and some stonework you can get up with no issues - but it had rained extensively before we arrived, and is some cases the mud and/or moss had people sliding. I saw at least two people go down!

 

When you get to the top, you find the Temple of the Masks:

Ummmm... why the palapa? If we wanted a tiki bar, we could have stayed back at Costa Maya? Well, the palapa is protecting what the temple was named for:

In case you couldn't figure it our, these were large - about 5 - 6 ft tall each. There were originally 8 masks - 4 on each side of the staircase - but three were stolen, and a fourth was damaged when they tried to chisel it off. Still, very impressive!

 

After about a half hour, it was time to start wandering back. Marked grabbed an action picture of Luis doing his thing:

 

While I took a couple of minutes to shoot some flora (but no fauna):

 

 

 

...and then it was back to the bus.

[Btank]

Hi Susan! Let me dig through the detritus and see what I have.

 

Susan, here you go!

 

--b

Cruise_Bios.pdf