Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

"Do You Feel Lucky?" Georgia Peaches takes a Blue Chip Cruise! Live from Equinox, July 2-8!

Georgia_Peaches

By Georgia_Peaches,
in Celebrity Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

Georgia_Peaches "Live from...." Rare

Georgia_Peaches

Posted
Posted (edited)
LauraS
This post was recognized by LauraS!

"And another from Georgia_Peaches! Thank you for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic!"

Georgia_Peaches was awarded the badge '"Live from...."' and 5 points.

“Do you feel lucky?”  That’s what I asked DH when I set the stage for our next cruising adventure beginning tomorrow, July 2nd!  Mind you, what you are about to witness started out as merely a test.  I had no intention of actually booking a cruise for July.  After all, we just returned from the Mexican Riviera in March and we have a cruise on the books for August and November…so July was pie in the sky and never meant to be a thing until it became a thing. 

 

I’ll explain…

 

I read here on Cruise Critic about a little known (to me) site that will take your comps from one entity and swaps them into comps on other entities.  It seemed pretty too-good-to-be-true TBH 💁‍♀️ but when I received a casino offer from Carnival for a “free” seven night cruise for two with $200 to spend in the casino, I scooped up the chance to parlay that offer into something with Celebrity.  Willing my skepticism to remain in check, I followed the steps on the comp swap website and uploaded my Carnival offer into their database.  I then selected my preferred cruise line and to my surprise, several dates appeared for Celebrity Equinox.  For kicks (because I had no intention of booking), I picked the Independence Day cruise juuuussst to see how it worked.  I was on an exploratory mission…that was all. 

 

Consider me gobsmacked when an offer hit my inbox that not only matched Carnival’s, but upped the ante from an ocean view category (Carnival’s offer) to a category 2A Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Veranda on Deck 7…lucky number 7?  It this where they put all the Blue Chippers?  Hmmm.

Needless to say, I then started to take this opportunity a little more seriously.  After all, July is my birthday month and we were going to take a trip anyway…

 

Now all I had to do was convince DH that we needed to squeeze in a "free" July cruise as a pre-gamer for our cruise in August.  I had everything rehearsed and ready to present.  Blame it on the wine if you must, but DH needed very little convincing…so I booked it!  Woohoo!

 

This cruise will be a complete 180 from our last one in March where we sailed on Solstice in a Royal Suite.  To off set some of the little bonuses I’ve grown to love about sailing in a suite, DH and I will fill in the gaps by leveraging some of our Elite status perks instead.

 

As with all my reviews, I include the accounting.  I do this because it gives fellow cruisers an idea of what they might expect should they endeavor book a similar scenario.

 

Here’s my thrifty little breakdown (I’m so proud!):

Celebrity Equinox 6 night cruise in Veranda stateroom:  No charge

Port fees and taxes: $320

Premium drinks package purchased on a flash sale (thank you @RichYak) before they increased the prices:  $777  (hmmm, I’m sensing a pattern)

Tuscan Grille:  $117

Two first class tickets on Delta from ATL to FLL:  $36 (we used Skymiles)

Round trip door-to-door Car service:  $200 plus tip paid by DH so that doesn’t count.

Grand total for 6 nights:  $1450 or $241 per day or $120 per person  (I know we will have gratuities to pay at the end.  I didn’t pre-pay them so I will account for that later.)

 

In light of @AbbyCruiser45’s great review of her 8 night Caribbean cruise on Equinox finishing up today 😔, I will focus my live review primarily through the lens of the Blue Chip experience so as not to be repetitive.  Our itinerary includes two sea days, a stop in Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Bimini (a new stop for us!)

 

Throwing caution to the wind and furthering testing our gambling stamina, we have made the cringy decision to fly into FLL on the day of embarkation 😳!  I know, I know…living on the edge.  Our flight leaves ATL and 8:47 AM and if all goes well, will land in FLL at 10:49 AM.  My rationale was simple…if we miss the boat due to flight delays, the money invested is refundable (I think).  Worst case, we hang out in Florida for a week or adjust our flights and go home.  DM was especially critical of this plan pointing out that she read  Hartsfield-Jackson is not only switching over to 5G this weekend but that the airport is expected to be record-setting busy for the holiday weekend.  Buzzkill...thanks, mom.  So what’s a Blue Chip gambling cruise without a few gambles?

 

I’m optimistic though because last night we lost power from 2 AM – 7 AM.  Had we been scheduled to leave today we would’ve had no power by which to get ready…A good sign, right?

 

We’ve lessened some of the things that usually tax passengers traversing Hartsfield-Jackson by eliminating the need to stand in line to check a bag (thanks @cw2go for your carry-on inspiration) and holding a first class ticket gives us access to the priority security line…PLUS, we’ll get the airport around 6 AM…

 

Will it be enough?  Stay tuned…

Edited by Georgia_Peaches
  • Like 20
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
AbbyCruiser45 "Live from...." Rare

AbbyCruiser45

Posted
Posted

I’m excited to follow along!! If you’re flying Delta, I don’t think this will be an issue because this was in North terminal, but when we checked in at ATL, they directed us to a “new” security area below the checkin level. There was not a separate line for TSA pre-check (if you have it) and it took over 20 minutes for us to get through. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mahdnc "Live from...." Rare

mahdnc

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

“Do you feel lucky?”  That’s what I asked DH when I set the stage for our next cruising adventure beginning tomorrow, July 2nd!  Mind you, what you are about to witness started out as merely a test.  I had no intention of actually booking a cruise for July.  After all, we just returned from the Mexican Riviera in March and we have a cruise on the books for August and November…so July was pie in the sky and never meant to be a thing until it became a thing. 

 

I’ll explain…

 

I read here on Cruise Critic about a little known (to me) site that will take your comps from one entity and swaps them into comps on other entities.  It seemed pretty too-good-to-be-true TBH 💁‍♀️ but when I received a casino offer from Carnival for a “free” seven night cruise for two with $200 to spend in the casino, I scooped up the chance to parlay that offer into something with Celebrity.  Willing my skepticism to remain in check, I followed the steps on the comp swap website and uploaded my Carnival offer into their database.  I then selected my preferred cruise line and to my surprise, several dates appeared for Celebrity Equinox.  For kicks (because I had no intention of booking), I picked the Independence Day cruise juuuussst to see how it worked.  I was on an exploratory mission…that was all. 

 

Consider me gobsmacked when an offer hit my inbox that not only matched Carnival’s, but upped the ante from an ocean view category (Carnival’s offer) to a category 2A Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Veranda on Deck 7…lucky number 7?  It this where they put all the Blue Chippers?  Hmmm.

Needless to say, I then started to take this opportunity a little more seriously.  After all, July is my birthday month and we were going to take a trip anyway…

 

Now all I had to do was convince DH that we needed to squeeze in a "free" July cruise as a pre-gamer for our cruise in August.  I had everything rehearsed and ready to present.  Blame it on the wine if you must, but DH needed very little convincing…so I booked it!  Woohoo!

 

This cruise will be a complete 180 from our last one in March where we sailed on Solstice in a Royal Suite.  To off set some of the little bonuses I’ve grown to love about sailing in a suite, DH and I will fill in the gaps by leveraging some of our Elite status perks instead.

 

As with all my reviews, I include the accounting.  I do this because it gives fellow cruisers an idea of what they might expect should they endeavor book a similar scenario.

 

Here’s my thrifty little breakdown (I’m so proud!):

Celebrity Equinox 6 night cruise in Veranda stateroom:  No charge

Port fees and taxes: $320

Premium drinks package purchased on a flash sale (thank you @RichYak) before they increased the prices:  $777  (hmmm, I’m sensing a pattern)

Tuscan Grille:  $117

Two first class tickets on Delta from ATL to FLL:  $36 (we used Skymiles)

Round trip door-to-door Car service:  $200 plus tip paid by DH so that doesn’t count.

Grand total for 6 nights:  $1450 or $241 per day or $120 per person  (I know we will have gratuities to pay at the end.  I didn’t pre-pay them so I will account for that later.)

 

In light of @AbbyCruiser45’s great review of her 8 night Caribbean cruise on Equinox finishing up today 😔, I will focus my live review primarily through the lens of the Blue Chip experience so as not to be repetitive.  Our itinerary includes two sea days, a stop in Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Bimini (a new stop for us!)

 

Throwing caution to the wind and furthering testing our gambling stamina, we have made the cringy decision to fly into FLL on the day of embarkation 😳!  I know, I know…living on the edge.  Our flight leaves ATL and 8:47 AM and if all goes well, will land in FLL at 10:49 AM.  My rationale was simple…if we miss the boat due to flight delays, the money invested is refundable (I think).  Worst case, we hang out in Florida for a week or adjust our flights and go home.  DM was especially critical of this plan pointing out that she read  Hartsfield-Jackson is not only switching over to 5G this weekend but that the airport is expected to be record-setting busy for the holiday weekend.  Buzzkill...thanks, mom.  So what’s a Blue Chip gambling cruise without a few gambles?

 

I’m optimistic though because last night we lost power from 2 AM – 7 AM.  Had we been scheduled to leave today we would’ve had no power by which to get ready…A good sign, right?

 

We’ve lessened some of the things that usually tax passengers traversing Hartsfield-Jackson by eliminating the need to stand in line to check a bag (thanks @cw2go for your carry-on inspiration) and holding a first class ticket gives us access to the priority security line…PLUS, we’ll get the airport around 6 AM…

 

Will it be enough?  Stay tuned…

 

May the gods of fortune smile upon you during your cruise.

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Georgia_Peaches "Live from...." Rare

Georgia_Peaches

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 minute ago, Gambler458 said:

Can you provide the comp swapping website, please?  I have free offers on carnival also.  I am sailing on the Equinox on July 30th, can't wait to hear how your cruise was.  ENJOY!!!

Sure.  I will put it here so that it can be easily removed should it accidentally break the rules. 😇

 

URcomped.com

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stem to Stern "Live from...." Rare

Stem to Stern

Posted
Posted (edited)

Your cruise is in the 7th month.  What ae you doing for internet on board?  What is your plan for Bimini?  We took the free trolley ride around Resorts World and on the way back stopped at a parking lot full of carts.  We rented one from a local character and headed for the south end of the island to do some exploration on our own.  Ended up at the Dolphin House Museum catching the owner before we headed off to church.  He has quite a place and showed us every inch of it.  Check it out if you get the opportunity.  Bon voyage!

Edited by Stem to Stern
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Georgia_Peaches "Live from...." Rare

Georgia_Peaches

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

Your cruise is in the 7th month.  What ae you doing for internet on board?  What is your plan for Bimini?  We took the free trolley ride around Resorts World and on the way back stopped at a parking lot full of carts.  We rented one from a local character and headed for the south end of the island to do some exploration on our own.  Ended up at the Dolphin House Museum catching the owner before we headed off to church.  He has quite a place and showed us every inch of it.  Check it out if you get the opportunity.  Bon voyage!

Thank you so much! The 7th month!  That's awesome!   

We don't have a plan for Bimini but I like this a lot.  I'm down to just explore.

 

As for internet, we are going to use our 90 minutes of free internet and go from there.  I imagine I will end up buying something along the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Georgia_Peaches "Live from...." Rare

Georgia_Peaches

Posted
  • Author
Posted
35 minutes ago, cinderellen said:

Looking forward to your report! Hope tomorrow goes smoothly. I just went back and reread your March nightmare flight! 

One for the record books right there!  I feel a little more confident this time around…perhaps foolishly. But we have family in West Palm Beach so that’s our backup plan. 😊

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stem to Stern "Live from...." Rare

Stem to Stern

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

We don't have a plan for Bimini but I like this a lot.  I'm down to just explore.

As for internet, we are going to use our 90 minutes of free internet and go from there.

The cart is a great way to do it.  Bimini bread is a thing, but we never found any.  There are a few souvenir shops to stop at along the way if you want to support the locals.  There were mounds of freshly caught conch like I had never seen.  Beaches on the south side have lovely views back toward the dock and the ship.  The ship backs in which is totally cool.  Great internet plan.  See how many days you can stretch that 90 minutes.  It would be a fantastic exercise in restraint for myself.  😄

 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...