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

[bama4cruisin]

Thank you for taking us along!  This is helping fill my need to cruise until our cruise in a couple of months.

 

have a wonderful time!

[Ipeeinthepools]

Health questionnaire complete.   Nothing left to do but get on the ship.  😄😄😄

[ginnynj]

Bon Voyage! You will enjoy the Equinox, we have sailed her many times and loved her. Smooth seas and fair skies for your sailing. Have fun!

 

[SonuvaBeach]

56 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Yes, going to have to keep an eye on Grace now. Still. It should be great!

 

 

Thank you!
 

 

Yes! I’m sure I’ve seen your “name” before. Maybe the 2017 Reflection cruise. My last three have been with Royal, so that’s possible too if you ever frequent the RCCL board. Either way, thanks for the well wishes!

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!

[aring75]

34 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Health questionnaire complete.   Nothing left to do but get on the ship.  😄😄😄

Just did ours too! One of the questions was:

 

Have you experienced fatigue/muscle aches in the past 14 days?

 

We are in the middle of a remodel. That my whole life right now!

 

37 minutes ago, bama4cruisin said:

Thank you for taking us along!  This is helping fill my need to cruise until our cruise in a couple of months.

 

have a wonderful time!

 

Thank you!
 

16 minutes ago, ginnynj said:

Bon Voyage! You will enjoy the Equinox, we have sailed her many times and loved her. Smooth seas and fair skies for your sailing. Have fun!

 

 

Thanks!!
 

5 minutes ago, 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!

 

Pictures of alcoholic beverage availability?? I’m on it!!

[aring75]

Just made it to the hotel. Room is comfy and a good size. 
 

 

Hotel basically located in the middle of a mall area. That’s not a bad thing. There are maybe 25 restaurants within walking distance. 
 

Drizzly rain right now. Hoping it isn’t too bad at dinner time. 
 

Just one more sleep!!

[Robkat]

A75:  Wishing you a fabulous cruise ... you lucky sons-of-a-gun!  👏👏

We are on the Equinox in November for this exact itinerary (prior to your changes ... hope we get the same changes! 🤞).  This was to be our first cruise cruise back ... post the "Bad Days" of the cruising lockdown 😢, but we couldn't hold out until then, so we're sailing next month on the Edge.

BUT, no 7-dayer will ever beat out a 12-dayer, so we'll be eagerly following.

Have a wonderful time, celebrating being back out on the high seas!

[jg51]

17 hours ago, aring75 said:

Hi jg51 and thanks for the kind words. I will definitely take photos of the MDR menus. Not sure if they are doing printed menus right now or if they are suggesting we use the app. I will let you know what I find. 

.

Unless there has been a sudden change, you should be able to see the printed menus.  Various guests, during the last two months (on each ship) have all reported the use of paper menus, rather than menus viewed via app.

 

In mid-to-late-afternoon, on a day when you will be dining in a specialty restaurant, you should be able to see (and photograph) the MDR's dinner menu -- posted "under glass" outside the dining room's main doors.  [The only thing that you would not be able to see (without a special request of a crew member) is that night's MDR dessert menu.]

 

A final -- and potentially very interesting -- MDR menu, which is often unknown to, or forgotten by, photo-takers is the children's dinner menu!  It used to have some unique main courses and desserts.  Some night, when you dine in the MDR, you could ask your waiter for a look at this menu.  [Actually, we can't recall if there are separate (1) children's main menu and (2) children's dessert menu (or if they are combined).]

.

Edited August 14, 2021 by jg51

[aring75]

11 minutes ago, Robkat said:

A75:  Wishing you a fabulous cruise ... you lucky sons-of-a-gun!  👏👏

We are on the Equinox in November for this exact itinerary (prior to your changes ... hope we get the same changes! 🤞).  This was to be our first cruise cruise back ... post the "Bad Days" of the cruising lockdown 😢, but we couldn't hold out until then, so we're sailing next month on the Edge.

BUT, no 7-dayer will ever beat out a 12-dayer, so we'll be eagerly following.

Have a wonderful time, celebrating being back out on the high seas!

We have also become spoiled by the longer cruises. Our last cruise before the plague was a B2B Eastern & Western for 14 days. That’s just about perfect!

 

6 minutes ago, jg51 said:

.

Unless there has been a sudden change, you should be able to see the printed menus.  Various guests, during the last two months (on each ship) have all reported the use of paper menus, rather than menus viewed via app.

 

In mid-to-late-afternoon, on a day when you will be dining in a specialty restaurant, you should be able to see (and photograph) the MDR's dinner menu -- posted "under glass" outside the dining room's main doors.  [The only thing that you would not be able to see (without a special request of a crew member) is that night's MDR dessert menu.]

 

A final -- and potentially very interesting -- MDR menu, which is often unknown to, or forgotten by, photo-takers is the children's dinner menu!  It used to have some unique main courses and desserts.  Some night, when you dine in the MDR, you could ask your waiter for a look at this menu.  [Actually, we can't recall if there are separate (1) children's main menu and (2) children's dessert menu (or if they are combined).]

.

In the meantime, I like to use this site (https://www.myvirtualvacations.net/menus.html) to look at Celebrity menus. It shows all 14 available menus. I will still get photos since things may have changed slightly. But these look pretty good!

[bandp407]

 BON VOYAGE!! Have the best time! We love the Equinox & all the Solstice ships! Enjoy Morano- our favorite!
 

 

[aring75]

7 minutes ago, bandp407 said:

 BON VOYAGE!! Have the best time! We love the Equinox & all the Solstice ships! Enjoy Morano- our favorite!
 

 

Thank you! We have specialty dining reservations for Murano, Tuscan Grille, and Sushi on Five. Can’t wait for yummy food, yummy drinks, and amazing desserts!

[cricketts]

On 8/13/2021 at 6:22 PM, aring75 said:

 

 

Any idea why Barbados, Grenada and St. Kitts were pulled?

 

[aring75]

39 minutes ago, cricketts said:

 

I saw that the government of St. Kitts cancelled all cruises through August.

 

https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/news/st-kitts-nevis-bans-cruise-ships-for-august/

It wouldn’t surprise me if other Caribbean islands followed suit.

 

I know St. Maarten won’t allow passengers to come ashore without a negative COVID test and they were talking about limiting visitors to vaccinated passengers (I don’t know what came of that.)

 

[bandp407]

4 hours ago, aring75 said:

Thank you! We have specialty dining reservations for Murano, Tuscan Grille, and Sushi on Five. Can’t wait for yummy food, yummy drinks, and amazing desserts!

ENJOY EVERY MINUTE!!! Wish we were there!! 

[cricketts]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

I saw that the government of St. Kitts cancelled all cruises through August.

 

https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/news/st-kitts-nevis-bans-cruise-ships-for-august/

It wouldn’t surprise me if other Caribbean islands followed suit.

 

I know St. Maarten won’t allow passengers to come ashore without a negative COVID test and they were talking about limiting visitors to vaccinated passengers (I don’t know what came of that.)

 

 

Thank you!

Keep us posted - you'll be visiting so many of the islands, you're bound to have the best first hand information!!

Most importantly, have a marvelous time!! 

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for doing this.  We're on for a 9 day in October, and I'm happy to see that they are doing the longer cruises.

 

Have a blast.  I was on the Summit two weeks ago and can't wait for the October cruise.

[pumpkin 11]

On 8/13/2021 at 5:22 PM, aring75 said:

Can you believe we are finally getting back to cruising?! Have you been reading every single LIVE thread just hoping it helps the time move a little faster, like I have? Are you so ready to get back onboard that you’ve been packed for two weeks!? No? Just me?

 

My husband Mark and I are onboard Equinox for twelve whole days (!) starting Sunday. Our ports have been changed, but we DO NOT care. We are so happy just to get back onboard that we could float around for twelve days and be supremely happy. 
 

 

Went today to CVS Minute Clinic for our rapid antigen tests. Q-tip in the nose. Easy peasy.
 

 

Nurse will call with results in 20 minutes. Felt like I held my breath that long. 
 

Phone call on the way home…

 

 

Aforementioned suitcases are packed. We are driving down halfway the day before. Staying in Ft. Myers (which may end up being a really stupid choice given that Tropical Storm Fred will likely be arriving around the same time we do) Saturday night at Crowne Plaza at Bell Tower Shops.  

 

 

We will drive the remaining two hours Sunday morning hoping to arrive somewhere near our 12:30 pm scheduled boarding time. 
 

 

Barbados was not friendly to cruise passengers in June, no problem missing that port.

[TeaBag]

Bon Voyage.  We look forward to this cruise through your eyes.  Thank you for taking time to post.

[PinkSandGirl]

Have a wonderful, safe cruise!!!  I'll be on an upcoming 9-night on the Equinox.  Happy to see the longer cruises are about to start since so many of us were nervous about that pesky 7-day rule a few months ago. 

 

Looking forward to everything you'll share.  I like information and pictures so thanks for taking time out of your vacation to share with the rest of us.  😃

 

🍹

[Ipeeinthepools]

Perhaps it’s an error but the Port Everglades port schedule shows Saint Martin as the next stop for the Equinox  🤔

[countess5]

 

Good Morning! 

 

That day has arrived!  Safe sailing. 

 

Cheers! 🍸

[aring75]

It’s Cruise Day!!

😁😁😁

[cltnccruisers]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:22 PM, aring75 said:

Can you believe we are finally getting back to cruising?! Have you been reading every single LIVE thread just hoping it helps the time move a little faster, like I have? Are you so ready to get back onboard that you’ve been packed for two weeks!? No? Just me?

 

My husband Mark and I are onboard Equinox for twelve whole days (!) starting Sunday. Our ports have been changed, but we DO NOT care. We are so happy just to get back onboard that we could float around for twelve days and be supremely happy. 
 

 

Went today to CVS Minute Clinic for our rapid antigen tests. Q-tip in the nose. Easy peasy.
 

 

Nurse will call with results in 20 minutes. Felt like I held my breath that long. 
 

Phone call on the way home…

 

 

Aforementioned suitcases are packed. We are driving down halfway the day before. Staying in Ft. Myers (which may end up being a really stupid choice given that Tropical Storm Fred will likely be arriving around the same time we do) Saturday night at Crowne Plaza at Bell Tower Shops.  

 

 

We will drive the remaining two hours Sunday morning hoping to arrive somewhere near our 12:30 pm scheduled boarding time. 
 

 

We're on Equinox for an ABC on 8/27.  Starting to pack today.  Repacking starts tomorrow. COVID tests on 8/24 with CVS.  Have a great time and leave the light on for us.  

[SonuvaBeach]

2 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

We're on Equinox for an ABC on 8/27.  Starting to pack today.  Repacking starts tomorrow. COVID tests on 8/24 with CVS.  Have a great time and leave the light on for us.  

We are on for Sept 17...my wife packed a week ago! I will probably pack on September 16! 🙂

[cltnccruisers]

7 minutes ago, countess5 said:

 

Good Morning! 

 

That day has arrived!  Safe sailing. 

 

Cheers! 🍸

Maybe I'm nuts but for the second weekend in a row I sit here with the webcam on watching Odyssey do a 3 point turn while having morning coffee.