Observations From The Poop Deck Christmas/New Years Equinox

[morpheusofthesea]

3 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

The rum raisin gelato is my reason to visit there.  It's high-test = the raisins are soaked in rum.  Very tasty occasional dessert.

Now you tell me? It is the last night of the cruise. Important information like this should be reported much earlier in ones posts.

[morpheusofthesea]

It’s 5:40 pm and no dance band in atrium. Planner said 5:15pm

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Chocolate. I know you never pay extra, because you always report to us from top level suites and know all the included amenities that come with these suites. You are always one of the most helpful posters on this forum.

Thank you.  Previously I used my one free scoop.  I always enjoy your on board reports.  They are much appreciated.

[morpheusofthesea]

No after dinner live music in the atrium this evening. Went to the show and Captain Matt made his final address. Two interesting announcements. One, that the mask policy will continue through January on Celebrity dictated by the CDC. Two, that there are 40 passengers that are staying on board to enjoy another cruise.

  We know of several passengers that are having free tests on board Equinox that are using them to board the Apex as well. So folks, there are hardcore cruisers with guts, or else they are all retired postal workers.

[morpheusofthesea]

Heard RUMOR. 800 hardcore cruisers next cruise.

[morpheusofthesea]

DW made a very astute observation of the situation on board the Equinox as pertains to flu-like symptoms reported by one staff member. This member tested negative, but mentioned that he just got his flu vaccination 2 days ago. He could not be the only one to get this shot/jab while on board ? In the mean time, as a precaution, 5 days in quarantine.

Edited January 3, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[helen haywood]

If one wants to experience/enjoy true gelato one must go to Italy.  YUM!!!

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, helen haywood said:

If one wants to experience/enjoy true gelato one must go to Italy.  YUM!!!

Thirty years ago, I thought it was 'safe' to eat at the world's largest' Mickey D's' in Beijing (three stories high). Called corporate office in advance to find out that the beef was sourced from western Europe, potatoes from Poland,  milk was local. It was last day of post cruise, I became terribly ill after that meal. (Figured it was the milk shake and their local pasteurization process). Very weary of eating outside the US unless on board a cruise ship. So the closest I will ever come to having gelato is the Venchi gelato on board the MSC Seashore next month.

[morpheusofthesea]

Reading other posts on CC has reminded me of a poem by Rudyard Kipling. The opening line to be exact of "IF". 

"If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs"......

There are posters, not on board this ship, that are 'losing their heads', over blowing the situation. Most of which is all precautionary on the part of Celebrity. One has even changed my post #236 when I stated tested "negative" to "positive". 'The sky is not falling'.  Take simple precautions. You will have a great time this January......on board.

[phoenix_dream]

On 1/1/2022 at 2:13 PM, RollWave said:

Frankly, having had COVID (pre- vacinations / 7/2020), I disagree with any statement from anyone about a case NOT being serious. We were not hospitalized.  For the most part we looked fine too however we lost our sense of taste & smell for close to a year. It is still not back to normal. 

I think people are nitpicking about the meaning of serious.  Yes, of course, all Covid cases are serious in that symptoms can linger and in fairly rare cases (for vaccinated people) develop into pneumonia or other issues.  But I think most people would understand that he meant the people are recovering in their staterooms and do not require hospitalization, ventilators, etc..  

[morpheusofthesea]

Back home ! Got up before dawn and watched to make sure the CDC, Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration, SWAT, or ambulances were NOT there to greet us. Nothing, just passenger aircraft coming in for a landing every 15 minutes overhead bringing in more and more visitors to South Florida.

   Had a great time. Compared to the last 5 cruises it was the most crowded. DW is delighted when she got off the scale this morning at home, she only gained 1.8 lbs. (we had to use the stairs too much). Already looking forward to our next cruise. Thought we couldn't handle having to wear masks while on board any cruise ship, but it wasn't as bad as anticipated. Thanks Celebrity !

[UniPac]

On 1/2/2022 at 8:35 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

ent down to deck 3, atrium deck, and noticed a transformation. Before and after photos of Christmas 2021. Stood in line, social distanced and masked, to ask guest services a very important question. What is the difference between the free, complimentary ice cream on deck 14 Ocean View Cafe and the charged for ice cream on deck 5 opposite end of Cafe al Bacio ?  Well, a smile came upon the purser's face as he described the difference about textures and flavors and that the kiosk on deck 5 was really 'gelato' not 'ice cream'. They fooled me, I couldn't tell the difference.

 

 

 

I was on the Apex until 20th December. We always forget to "use" our free gelato, so it came the she tried it on the last evening. And guess what? We have been told that it is all complimentary!

That made me feel like I missed something 😆

 

However, this might be a difference from E to S-Class ships or because of those times... we had only about 30% on our cruise and a ratio 1:1,3  guest to staff. Don't remember how it was on the Edge back in 2019 before Covid, but I think it wasn't complimentary.

[UniPac]

On 1/3/2022 at 3:32 AM, helen haywood said:

If one wants to experience/enjoy true gelato one must go to Italy.  YUM!!!

 

Gelato on MSC ships - at least Seaside class - is also really good. That way you can board Italy in Miami.