My View: An Equinox Christmas, Naughty Room and All!

[APDMOM]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:26 PM, KroozFoolz said:

Always love your great reviews, pictures, and tips!

I look forward to your view from Brilliance of the Seas - as it appears this might be your first experience on a Radiance class ship, which is my favorite class so far, and I love sailing from Tampa. 

Meanwhile, I await sailing in March on Adventure of the Seas,  Deck 7 port corner aft. 

 

Thank you for following along again, KroozFoolz!  I have heard from many that Radiance class is their favorite, so I am really looking forward to it...  Maybe Allure will lose the official top spot of our favorite cruise ships. 

 

We love Tampa too.  We cruised from there on Carnival Legend in 2011, and it was super easy!  Now I just want to find a route there that avoids I-4 and Orlando 😁

[KroozFoolz]

To avoid I-4 and Orlando, I would suggest looking at whatever route is best to get to Ocala area, where you can get on I-75. 

[drneal]

Sold !

You did a great job on the review and the pictures.

I have been interested in trying Celebrity and this review confirms that.

I checked prices but found them to be higher than RCI.

This is the first that I have heard that they can be less expensive.

Thank you.

[sdnich]

 Thank you for the great review and the beautiful pictures you were fun to follow  on your journey !!  We will be doing the Caribbean on the equinox in October !!! I am curious what was the upgrade  or move up was for the penthouse suite ? The most beautiful room I’ve ever seen on a ship !!

[Mparis184]

We received a few offers via email to “Move Up” and upgrade to a different cabin.  The Penthouse Suite was not available on our cruise but here is what was offered:

 

Royal Suite $3,250pp

Celebrity Suite $1,450pp

Sky Suite $1,100pp

Aqua Class $250pp

Concierge Class $125pp

Family Veranda $200pp

 

These were the rates for the starting bids and we did not put in any bids.

 

Marion

[Want2Cruise 701]

On 12/27/2018 at 3:33 PM, APDMOM said:

My Favorite Views:  End of Day 4 in St. Maarten

 

How did you get the lounge chair on your balcony?  Was it there or did you ask?  Normally they won't give you one even for a balcony that size.  I've never had any luck.  I started sailing the suites on the SClasss for one, and then I've still had to ask for a lounge chair for the Sky Suites.  I'm assuming you are in a 1A or a C2?  

 

Great review.  Thank you.

[APDMOM]

13 hours ago, drneal said:

Sold !

You did a great job on the review and the pictures.

I have been interested in trying Celebrity and this review confirms that.

I checked prices but found them to be higher than RCI.

This is the first that I have heard that they can be less expensive.

Thank you.

Hi, drneal!

 

Yes, they are typically more expensive than Royal.  However, we have seen a pattern of price drops on Celebrity after final payment, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This was the first year we were able to take advantage of those price drops, as my husband is finally out of retail.  Before, he could not easily get time off for Thanksgiving , and almost never for Christmas.  🙂 We hope to snatch another Christmas deal this coming December!  😁 Waiting patiently for September 2019, when prices should drop.

[APDMOM]

59 minutes ago, Want2Cruise 701 said:

How did you get the lounge chair on your balcony?  Was it there or did you ask?  Normally they won't give you one even for a balcony that size.  I've never had any luck.  I started sailing the suites on the SClasss for one, and then I've still had to ask for a lounge chair for the Sky Suites.  I'm assuming you are in a 1A or a C2?  

 

Great review.  Thank you.

Hi, Want2Cruise!

 

Thank you for following along!  The two loungers were already on the balcony when we arrived.  I am surprised to hear that is not the standard.  However, our two chairs that were on the balcony had pretty bad tears in them.  I assume they are waiting for drydock to replace those.  So, maybe the loungers were there due to the poor condition of the chairs?  Just a guess... 🙂

 

PS:  The category was 1A

Edited January 5, 2019 by APDMOM
Add PS

[zackmar]

9 hours ago, Mparis184 said:

We received a few offers via email to “Move Up” and upgrade to a different cabin.  The Penthouse Suite was not available on our cruise but here is what was offered:

 

Royal Suite $3,250pp

Celebrity Suite $1,450pp

Sky Suite $1,100pp

Aqua Class $250pp

Concierge Class $125pp

Family Veranda $200pp

 

These were the rates for the starting bids and we did not put in any bids.

 

Marion

Hello Marion!

what sailing is this for?

I’m new at this but what we did for our sailing for January 26 on Equinox is I called celebrity and asked how much to upgrade to a specific cabin. We were booked in a 1A and they offered us a C1 complimentary. Hope this helps! I guess it depends on how much you paid for your cabin to decide if it’s worthwhile bidding for an upgrade. 

Monica 

[Mparis184]

We are sailing on January 12.  You hit the jackpot.  Yes it must depend on how much one paid for their cabin because everyone pays different rates.  We only booked 5 weeks before sailing and couldn't select a cabin number only a guarantee and have an obstructed balcony with a great view of a lifeboat!

 

Bon Voyage and safe travels

 

Marion

[colliece]

Thank you for sharing your experience.  We are in the same cabin 8197 in 2 weeks, did your balcony have both the loungers, 2 chairs, and a table?  Some friends of ours had this same cabin last summer and only had 4 standard veranda chairs and the table, with no loungers.

[APDMOM]

8 hours ago, colliece said:

Thank you for sharing your experience.  We are in the same cabin 8197 in 2 weeks, did your balcony have both the loungers, 2 chairs, and a table?  Some friends of ours had this same cabin last summer and only had 4 standard veranda chairs and the table, with no loungers.

Yes, we had 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and the round table. 🙂 They were already on the balcony when we arrived. (Did not have to make a request)

Edited March 28, 2019 by APDMOM

[wishuponasea]

Did Santa fill your stockings  😉  Hope so! I have been reading your delightful report. Was on Reflection in Feb. and won't be sailing again until Oct. (RC).  I will be haunting the boards in between times, as usual!

[h20skibum]

Glad I found your review.  We will be sailing Equinox next January, so I know there will be some changes after dry dock, but it was still good to see your experience.

 

i have read some of your reviews on the Royal boards, and you always do a fantastic job.  Our last two cruises were on Harmony last November and Indy in January.  Now we have Grandeur next month, and Indy in July for a 14 day Mediterranean cruise before we get Equinox.

 

Not sure if we will enjoy any of the Elite events, since we have the Go Best package, and are traveling with friends who are not elite.   Will be looking for more of your reviews.  Thanks again.