LIVE - Equinox 8/15/21 - Ultimate Caribbean - It’s finally here!

[aring75]

And here’s the day 2 planner. 
 

I will try to find specific information about officers tomorrow. 
 

 

[COLArmy]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:34 PM, aring75 said:

Just a few specifics. 

 

We’ve sailed on 40+ cruises (I’m too lazy to look up the actual number). We have enjoyed them all. This will be our second time on Equinox. 
 

We are Elite CC members, but we are sailing in a regular balcony cabin. We booked this as a casino comp cruise early 2020. Casino cruises don’t come with any perks, so we added the Drinks & More package and a few specialty dining reservations. 
 

I take pictures. Lots of pictures. And I post many of them here. You will see food and drink photos, menu photos, ship photos, excursion photos. You have been warned. 
 

Feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to find the answer.

 

If you are sailing with us, please feel free to drop by and post your thoughts and photos!

 

 

Can you put in your reviews of the excursions you may do for this cruise?  We will be on the Sept 5th cruise on the Equinox and with all the changes to ship versus private excursions its hard to know what to book anymore.  I know Roseau is now only two options for a ship excursion on our cruise and neither appeal to us at all.  Also any tips for us in regards to the ship is also appreciated. Any help is appreciated 🙂

[Beba-Beba]

Just caught up reading.   Loooove your writing style.  You are taking me along with you.  I do not cruise until 1/30/22 for a b2 b on Equinox so watching sailaways and blogs like this will have to do for now.

 

Was the Spa Cafe open for lunch today?  Usually it is a good choice because it's not crowded on embarkation day.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Beba-Beba

[aring75]

On 8/14/2021 at 2:41 PM, SonuvaBeach said:

Would you be kind enough to take photos of the wine list in the MDR and in whatever lounges you frequent? I am sure many of us would appreciate it! THANKS!

Hi SonuvaBeach. So they didn’t give us a wine list in the MDR this evening. But if you have the app, I believe you can go in and “choose different cruise dates.” You can select this Equinox sailing and go to the Main Dining Room menu. One of the tabs at the top of the page is for the wine menu. You can see everything available by the glass sorted by Classic and Premium package. 
 

Let me know if you have any trouble. I can post screenshots here if you need specific information. HTH!

[aring75]

13 minutes ago, COLArmy said:

Can you put in your reviews of the excursions you may do for this cruise?  We will be on the Sept 5th cruise on the Equinox and with all the changes to ship versus private excursions its hard to know what to book anymore.  I know Roseau is now only two options for a ship excursion on our cruise and neither appeal to us at all.  Also any tips for us in regards to the ship is also appreciated. Any help is appreciated 🙂

Will do! So far, only have two excursions booked. Can’t decide on Aruba & Curaçao. Both of these ports allow you to walk around on your own if you are fully vaccinated, so may or may not book a tour. 
 

Also, the weeks leading up to our cruise only showed 2 or 3 excursions for Dominica as well. But when we boarded, I noticed there are now 8 options. Just FYI. 
 

 

[aring75]

8 minutes ago, Beba-Beba said:

Just caught up reading.   Loooove your writing style.  You are taking me along with you.  I do not cruise until 1/30/22 for a b2 b on Equinox so watching sailaways and blogs like this will to do for awhile.

 

Was the Spa Cafe open for lunch today?  Usually it is a good choice because it's not crowded on embarkation day.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Yes Spa Cafe was open. Not crowded. Also, Mast Grill looked like it opened around 1:00. 

[JonnyCT81]

Thanks for the review, heading on Equinox for the 9/26 sailing.  Have they said how many pax and crew are on board?

[SonuvaBeach]

6 hours ago, aring75 said:

Hi SonuvaBeach. So they didn’t give us a wine list in the MDR this evening. But if you have the app, I believe you can go in and “choose different cruise dates.” You can select this Equinox sailing and go to the Main Dining Room menu. One of the tabs at the top of the page is for the wine menu. You can see everything available by the glass sorted by Classic and Premium package. 
 

Let me know if you have any trouble. I can post screenshots here if you need specific information. HTH!

No app here...I still have a flip phone! I would appreciate screen shots. Thank you! I am sure you are going to have a wonderful cruise!

 

[Silkroad]

I’ve never seen the Rendevous Lounge that empty in the evening. I’m hoping it won’t be heaving when we board later this year, but a few more people would be nice. Your “Last Voyage” looks delicious! Is it as tasty as it appears?

[davekathy]

I've noticed from a few live threads that Celebrity's onboard daily paper is now called "The Daily Planner" and no longer "Celebrity Today" (?).

[aring75]

2 hours ago, SonuvaBeach said:

No app here...I still have a flip phone! I would appreciate screen shots. Thank you! I am sure you are going to have a wonderful cruise!

 

These are the wines available by the glass. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cont’d next post. 

[aring75]

MDR wines by the glass - cont’d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aring75]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

I’ve never seen the Rendevous Lounge that empty in the evening. I’m hoping it won’t be heaving when we board later this year, but a few more people would be nice. Your “Last Voyage” looks delicious! Is it as tasty as it appears?

The Last Voyage cocktail was good. A little bit sweet for me, but had a nice orange flavor. 

[aring75]

Breakfast in the MDR this morning. Open from 7:30 am - 9:00 am. 
 

 

 

 

Spinach, tomato, and cheddar omelet. Bacon was a little too crispy but tasted good. 

 

 

Mark had over-medium eggs and corned beef hash. 
 

 

Service was good and there were only three other tables when we arrived at 8:00. We left around 8:40 and there were (maybe) ten occupied tables total.

 

Coffee was…unpleasant. If you have the beverage package, order a specialty coffee. Or just make quick stop at Café al Bacio on the way. 

[FLCruiser97]

9 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Breakfast in the MDR this morning. Open from 7:30 am - 9:00 am. 
 

 

 

 

Spinach, tomato, and cheddar omelet. Bacon was a little too crispy but tasted good. 

 

 

Mark had over-medium eggs and corned beef hash. 
 

 

Service was good and there were only three other tables when we arrived at 8:00. We left around 8:40 and there were (maybe) ten occupied tables total.

 

Coffee was…unpleasant. If you have the beverage package, order a specialty coffee. Or just make quick stop at Café al Bacio on the way. 

I recall you guys are Elite CC. Do they have the breakfast in the Tuscan Grille for Elite?

[aring75]

Also. The tracelet can be separated so that you can remove the tracking “puck.” You can slip the small, flat disk into a pocket if needed. Just don’t forget about it. 
 

[aring75]

Just now, FLCruiser97 said:

I recall you guys are Elite CC. Do they have the breakfast in the Tuscan Grille for Elite?

Yes they do. 

[SonuvaBeach]

36 minutes ago, aring75 said:

MDR wines by the glass - cont’d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

[CTSandy]

20 hours ago, aring75 said:

Thank you so much, everyone, for the great send-off!! 
 

We are onboard now. The process was very easy. Our boarding time was 12:30. Arrived at 12:17 and we were sent right in. 
 

First station checks your boarding pass, vaccination card, and negative test results. From there you go up the escalator for ship check in. They scan the boarding pass again, take photo if necessary, and give you your tracelet. 
 

Next you will scan the boarding pass one more time to get to the gangway. 
 

Entire process took us less than fifteen minutes. 

Following along and excited for you - we will be boarding when you get off for the ABC cruise.  Like yours, a casino comp, although I booked an inside cabin also for my nephew and wife who never got to have a wedding reception because of Covid.  Hope you have a sensational cruise and so looking forward to your reports and pictures!

 

[aring75]

We had some OBC to use for this cruise. Decided to try a cabana for the sea days. 
 

 

We had an alcove on Reflection in Dec 2017 and really like the layout of those much better. Here on Equinox it feels like form over function. The side panels slide to block the sun. However, the top is open. Not sure if that will be a problem later or not. For now it’s fine. 
 

 

[aring75]

The movie screen is within easy view. 
 

 

We had chilled bottles of water delivered as soon as we got here. And this charcuterie plate came soon after. Everything is delicious. 
 

 

 

We can order from the room service menu for lunch delivery.

 

[aring75]

We have been instructed to choose a bottle of wine from the Murano wine list for delivery later. 

 

 

Marko, our cabana attendant, told us to select “a bottle of white,” but might see if we can do a rosé or something with bubbles. 

[aring75]

Okay. So Marko suggested a bottle of sparkling wine for us. But forgot to mention, if you don’t want wine, they will deliver a bottle of Grey Goose. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

I've noticed from a few live threads that Celebrity's onboard daily paper is now called "The Daily Planner" and no longer "Celebrity Today" (?).

On the Edge it’s still called Celebrity Today.

[luv2ndhalf]

12 hours ago, aring75 said:

So we boarded around 12:30. I took this picture around 1:30. 
 

 

Barely three people at the main pool. 
 

 

Here is the Solarium maybe 15 minutes later. 
 

 

 

Tomorrow is our first sea day. That will be the true test of crowd levels at the pool. 

Wow!! It will be interesting how today goes! It does look like there are still bar stools out for people to sit… my husband enjoys sitting there and visiting with others~keeping my fingers crossed that you have beautiful weather! Thanks for sharing!