First Timers - Babymoon on the Equinox!

[wantondisregard]

Hello All!

 

My wife and I are welcoming our first born this October and are looking forward to our one last "vacation" or babymoon aboard the magnificent Equinox! 

 

This is will be the first time we will be cursing with X (on the June 15th sailing) and have been excited to read all about the wonderful things featured on the Equinox... especially with the "limited" Revolution that's currently taking place as she sails towards Spain!

 

We are booked on Aquaclass on the Equinox and want to maximize our time on the boat for some serious "R&R" before the baby comes... we've of course taken into consideration with the ZIKA scare in the Caribbean (is that even still a thing?) and the current measles scare. So maybe just stay indoors during Port Days in Mexico to stay away from mosquitoes in that region! 

 

So here are my questions for you guys as we approach our trip!

 

1. We're celebrating our wedding anniversary on the last night and want to get recommendations to see if any of the Specialty Dinning Restaurants are worth it?
2. We received a special "20% off internet and excursions" promo via email a few weeks ago, and I took the advantage and booked the Unlimited Internet (1 device) and saved a bunch... do you guys know if Specialty Dining Packages and/or Premium (non-alcohol) packages ever go on sale before sailing? Would it be cheaper for us to book in on board during day 1?
3. We really want to try LPC, but it seems like Silk Harvest is still shown as one of the dining options on the Equinox. Do you guys know if QSINE is replacing SH?

 

I think that's all I can think of right now, and if something else crosses my mind, I'll be sure to ask everyone here!

 

Thanks again for the info!

Sincerely,

V and J. 

[Essiesmom]

You might be cutting it close - hope your baby is due after Oct 18.  You can't be entering your 24th week any time during your cruise.  EM

[wantondisregard]

Yes! Thank's for reminding us!

 

We will actually be on Week 22 and 23 at the end of our trip. We've verified this with our OB and they have a letter ready for us to present to the folks at Check in!

Edited May 6, 2019 by wantondisregard
Need to delete

[wantondisregard]

3 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

You might be cutting it close - hope your baby is due after Oct 18.  You can't be entering your 24th week any time during your cruise.  EM

 

Yes! Thank's for reminding us!

 

We will actually be on Week 22 and 23 at the end of our trip. We've verified this with our OB and they have a letter ready for us to present to the folks at Check in!

[K12Guy]

We have found Tuscan Grill and Murano both worth the added fee. Since you're in Aqua class you will get Blu as your dining venue. We've never used Blu but many folks really like it and prefer it over the specialty restaurants. We prefer Luminae in most cases, over the specialty venues.

 

That said, discounts can be found before and during the cruise for some of the specialty venues, but not all, and you may not get the time desired or the location of choice that you might from an early reservation.

 

The deck plan for your ship shows Silk Harvest on deck 5 up to 11 April 2021, so it's doesn't look like Qsine is going to be an option. Unless, of course, those changes happened during Revolting and the deck plans are updated. Qsine was not one of our favorites and we would not go there again. Unless our only other choice would be the Main Dining Room, or worse yet, the cattle call of the buffet. Yikes.

 

Yes, we are Suite snobs, but we've reached a certain age in life where we take advantage of being pampered when we can. We don't know yet what next year might have in store for us. Yikes, again!

[cruisinsusin]

Just off Equinox- last sailing before Revolution dry dock ( which was great by the way)- daughter and son in law ate at Tuscan for their anniversary dinner and loved it. We did Sushi on 5 for their lunch $25 special and really enjoyed it- there are choices for the non-sushi lovers also 😉

[PTC DAWG]

10 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

Just off Equinox- last sailing before Revolution dry dock ( which was great by the way)- daughter and son in law ate at Tuscan for their anniversary dinner and loved it. We did Sushi on 5 for their lunch $25 special and really enjoyed it- there are choices for the non-sushi lovers also 😉

IF you just got off Equinox, it followed our ship around the Eastern Caribbean...the Bride and I were on MSC Seaside, and are sailing Equinox for an 11 day Souther Caribbean this fall....It was interesting to be able to check out the ship from afar, as in right next door.  🙂

[hrhdhd]

If Silk Harvest is replaced during the limited revolution, it'll be turned into Le Petit Chef, not QSine.

 

I for one hope they don't have time to replace it; we enjoyed a lovely meal at SH in March and would like to again in December.

Edited May 6, 2019 by hrhdhd

[andyfriend80]

We did the exact same thing last year on Equinox - you'll have an amazing time.  Now we are looking forward to first cruise in September with little one in tow!

 

Food is very subjective but of the cruises we've done (2 Aqua, 2 Main Dining Room) I have really enjoyed Aqua.  We tried eating in QSINE on our first cruise and I could take or leave it.  I'm sure if you mentioned to the Blu Maitre'D that it was your anniversary they would look after you even better!

[wantondisregard]

30 minutes ago, K12Guy said:

We have found Tuscan Grill and Murano both worth the added fee. Since you're in Aqua class you will get Blu as your dining venue. We've never used Blu but many folks really like it and prefer it over the specialty restaurants. We prefer Luminae in most cases, over the specialty venues.

 

The deck plan for your ship shows Silk Harvest on deck 5 up to 11 April 2021, so it's doesn't look like Qsine is going to be an option. Unless, of course, those changes happened during Revolting and the deck plans are updated. Qsine was not one of our favorites and we would not go there again. Unless our only other choice would be the Main Dining Room, or worse yet, the cattle call of the buffet. Yikes.

So it looks like LPC is going to replace SH... and from reading reviews (and trying to not ruin the experience by watching videos), people are saying it's worth at least ONE meal.

 

I will definitely try to make a reservation for the Tuscan Grill or Murano for our anniversary. 

 

Do you guys know what the cost is for each of these specialty restaurants?

Trying to see if buying the 3-meal package is worth 258/pp for the both of us (43 per meal, per person, with tax)

[cruisinsusin]

59 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

IF you just got off Equinox, it followed our ship around the Eastern Caribbean...the Bride and I were on MSC Seaside, and are sailing Equinox for an 11 day Souther Caribbean this fall....It was interesting to be able to check out the ship from afar, as in right next door.  🙂

Hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we did ours 😊 we did the southern Caribbean on Equinox a few years ago and really enjoyed the ship and the itinerary.

[K12Guy]

40 minutes ago, wantondisregard said:

So it looks like LPC is going to replace SH... and from reading reviews (and trying to not ruin the experience by watching videos), people are saying it's worth at least ONE meal.

 

I will definitely try to make a reservation for the Tuscan Grill or Murano for our anniversary. 

 

Do you guys know what the cost is for each of these specialty restaurants?

Trying to see if buying the 3-meal package is worth 258/pp for the both of us (43 per meal, per person, with tax)

We have never paid for the specialty restaurants because they have been included with our stateroom. However, I think the normal pricing is about $50 per person per visit and the discounted price hovers around $35 per person per visit. Don't quote me on that, however. Of the two above I would pay extra for Murano, over Tuscan, if I had to choose between the two.

[DENIE]

Check out Murano upon boarding.  We did that on our last cruise (Silhouette) and got about 30% off the upcharge for dining there the first night.  It is an amazing restaurant, very quiet, and great food!  It was worth the upcharge.

Edited May 10, 2019 by DENIE
update info

[robertacrusies]

Le Petit Chef is an incredible addition to the specialty restaurants. It's one of the most unique dining experiences in the world at a bargain price to what it plays on land. We've seen it 3x already and loved it!

[wantondisregard]

10 hours ago, robertacrusies said:

Le Petit Chef is an incredible addition to the specialty restaurants. It's one of the most unique dining experiences in the world at a bargain price to what it plays on land. We've seen it 3x already and loved it!

 

Perfect! Thank you so much for the tip!

[JackB60]

11 hours ago, robertacrusies said:

Le Petit Chef is an incredible addition to the specialty restaurants. It's one of the most unique dining experiences in the world at a bargain price to what it plays on land. We've seen it 3x already and loved it!

Same here Roberta! we laughed all the way through our meal - how great is that!