Just back from Equinox Retreat Ultimate Southern Caribbean--Random Thoughts

[markeb]

We were on the Equinox Ultimate Southern Caribbean cruise from 11/11-11/21/23. This isn't so much a day-by-day or a review as some general impressions.

 

TLDR: Great cruise. Some obvious differences from August 2022 on the Equinox. 

 

We boarded Equinox on Veteran's Day (Remembrance Day in the rest of the world). On the first afternoon, the Equinox hosted a Remembrance Day ceremony in the English/Canadian tradition, complete with a trumpeter playing Last Post. Different from a US Veteran's Day and a very nice touch.

 

We had the same cabin we'd had on our last Equinox cruise in 2022, a 12th deck Sky Suite. We enjoyed the cabin, although you could see some minor maintenance issues.

 

Retreat Host/Butler: This was the most obvious difference from our last cruise, but honestly the experience was pretty much the same as our first Sky Suite in 2018, pre Retreat. We had the combined Retreat Host/Room Attendant. We saw him, but he never really offered to do much, and we really never asked. We ordered room service breakfast two mornings and as others have reported it was delivered by room service, not our butler. It worked, but it felt different. He constantly replenished the big bottles of Evian in the cabin (at one point I think we had 4 bottles!), but as was the case in 2018, and officially in 2022, he pointed out the minibar was not included and made no offers to restock. In 2022, our Retreat Host/Butler bent over backwards to do things even in a SS, including pointing out the minibar wasn't included, but she'd restock the soda and water anyway. We expected the policy to be followed, and it was.

 

Dining: We ate all but two dinners in Luminae, but only the first day's lunch. And we had breakfast probably 6 of the 10 days in Luminae. The breakfast was always great. Dinner was very good, IMHO. At 10 days, you notice some of the menu limitations more. Everything was good, but there was a point where I just wanted something simple, like a grilled chicken breast (which is on the everyday menu from the MDR that was available). Filet mignon was good, black bass and snapper were excellent. One of the surprises was an incredible seafood fettucine with shrimp and calamari. Also an amazing salmon poke appetizer. My wife had the vegetarian option a couple of nights; one was a mushroom and rice dish with a nice kick of garam masala. We commented how much we liked it and our waiter who was from India surprised my wife the next night with a very nice curry dish. I wish they'd put those on the menu!

 

We ate one dinner and lunch at Sushi on 5 and were both impressed. Having said that, they were not busy either time we at there, and the concept is an odd fit for a cruise ship where people tend to eat as couples; it's a lot better to share with 4-8 people and share the different items. They have Sake (not a big Sake drinker so I do struggle here), but it seems it's been intentionally selected to be inoffensive (the heavily citrus flavored Sake is apparently their most popular). Our server told us their tempura roll is their most popular dish; it's the only fully cooked roll on the menu...

 

Our last night we ate at Tuscan Grill. It was the only night with a later reservation when we got on board, and honestly it was too much food for that night. Everything was very good but after talking to the servers we were expecting more Italian sized portions. No such luck! The ribeye was very good.

 

More to follow so this stays readable!

[markeb]

Continuing with the food and drink theme...

 

We had the premium package as part of the Retreat Package. I pretty much consider the wine and spirits situation to be a mixed bag at best. The by-the-glass selections have always been adequate, especially if you weren't really looking for a California cab, but the alternate red selection that's been really good in the past seemed limited this time. The first night, I had the filet and ultimately paid the upcharge for the Grgich Hills Cabernet, which was well spent for me. My wife enjoyed the Cherry Pie Pinot Noir one night, which isn't really my pinot noir preference. The Kendall Jackson was acceptable. We had better luck with whites. They had a very nice unoaked French Chardonnay and a nice California Fume Blanc. If you're into oak and butter for your chardonnay or grapefruit in your Sauvignon Blanc, they had those as well; I just don't generally care for those styles.

 

We had a bunch of OBC, so we intentionally had bottles for two nights in Luminae and at Tuscan. The wine list in the app is not really dependable, both in inclusions and omissions. There was a very nice Washington Red Mountain merlot from a smallish winery we've visited (in the app) and an excellent Penner-Ash Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon that was not in the app. Tuscan had two Amarone in the app but they weren't available but they had an excellent Brunello di Montalcino.

 

Wine Tastings: I did the World Wine Tasting, which I'd done before, and the Premium Wine Tasting. I'm not sure I can recommend the World Wine Tasting in the format from last week, and I don't know how you find out the format ahead of time. It was I think 7 countries with a red and a white wine each. Almost all of them were completely forgettable. The winner was a Penfolds Shiraz and, secondarily, an Antinori Super Tuscan. I didn't take notes but I recall another wine, I think from Argentina that was opened 3-5 years early and probably would be a really nice wine in 3-5 years. Otherwise it used up OBC...

 

The premium tasting was either $89 or $99 and was five wines. They were all good. A nice Perrier Jouet champagne; an unoaked or minimally oaked Burgundian chardonnay; Gran Moraine Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir; a very young Barola that was tragically sacrificed in its youth for this tasting; and an Inniskillin Ice wine. Given the cost, I'd have mixed feelings about this tasting, but if you like nice wine, I'd do it rather than the current World Wine Tour.

 

Bars...

A couple of quick comments. It's amazing how much the passenger population impacts the cruise. This was a much older group than our previous Celebrity cruises. We've always loved the World Class Bar. On our last cruise it was so busy I couldn't get to the bar after the first night. This cruise it was mostly dead and I didn't go back after the second night. I don't normally go to the martini bar because it's usually such a zoo. This cruise it really wasn't and I had 2-3 martinis there. They had my current preferred gin (Plymouth) and they had real lemon twists where the other bars put a lemon slice in the martini.

 

I'll try to post a little more later.
 

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[marieps]

Great review so far, Mark.  

[dlh015]

Thanks @markeb...appreciate your observations. I was on the Equinox this past January in an SS...I enjoyed it and Luminae. Still had a butler then...like you, I didn't use his services all that often but it was nice. 

 

I'm staying tuned...

[markeb]

I'll add a few truly random thoughts on entertainment!

We're not production show people. This was our third cruise on Equinox, and we realized at some point that we didn't actually go into the theater other than meeting for excursions. There are a few reasons for that. First, we were eating mostly at 7-7:30, which is an awkward time for the shows. Second, we'd seen the production shows, and honestly don't care for either Topper or Elysium. I don't know that we've successfully made it through either of them. That's probably a thread unto itself, but I hate seeing the talent they have onboard wasted on this bizarre song and dance, with a for no particular reason interlude into an aerobatics performance. That may just be us. The singers and dancers are pretty good. I just wish they had some better material to work with.

On the other hand, the musical performers around the ship on this cruise were outstanding. There were actually too many of them, and we only caught a couple of very good acts once or twice. I am now convinced the Grand Foyer on the S-Class is the worst-designed venue for live music maybe ever! The acoustics aren't great, the sound carries up rather than out, and the support pillars completely break up the sight lines if you want to see the band.

Two acts stood out. The house "Party Band" (a new title for me) was a British quintet called The Waves. There was a keyboardist/vocalist who was clearly the bandleader (probably the band organizer, in all honesty), a drummer, a bassist (smallish female, kind of unusual), a very good lead guitarist who could shred a Strat pretty well, and a "frontwoman" vocalist with an impressive range. We found out they'd been on Equinox since July and this week's (11/21-29) cruise is their last. They did a little bit of everything, including the guitar solo from Hotel California (look up how that was recorded...) with one guitar and a couple of Adele covers (and some Eddie Van Halen). We started following them around the ship early on, and they were a blast.

There was also a string duo, male acoustic guitar and female violin that were equally great. They just were mostly one set off our schedule, although we walked down to the Ensemble one evening and the violinist was about midway through doing Jimmy Page's "Stairway to Heaven" solo on a violin!

They did a silent disco in the foyer one night with two channels of DJ and one channel of live music (The Waves). That was a lot of fun.

They also had an 80's music trivia night that I somehow got drafted into leading one side of the room after the original volunteer was having serious problems. My decade, but the other gal was generally faster. I did successfully get "Dancing in the Dark" on the first note, or I would have to give away my five Bruce tickets for next year...

The weirdest thing was a British rock performance with the ship's cast mostly trying to do Queen. Unfortunately, the male performers were almost baritones maybe barely into the tenor range. Sad mutilation of Freddie's work.

Overall, we enjoyed the entertainment, but did not go to the theater. Can't help those of you who love the shows.

[markeb]

A little about the ports. We chose this cruise largely because we'd only been to one of the ports, and DW had just retired after 34 years of teaching and we could finally travel during the shoulder season and on a longer (10-day) cruise. We had a significant ($1600) amount of OBC from booking the Retreat onboard during a promotion so we did ship's excursions. We tend to do things independently in the Caribbean, but we didn't know the ports, and the excursions worked well for us.

Antigua: We did an excursion to Nelson's Dockyard. About an hour bus ride each way but a fascinating piece of history that we both enjoyed. I need to do some research on that history to understand how this little protected harbor in the Caribbean was discovered and became essentially a maintenance depot for the British fleet, including the time that Nelson was there.

Barbados: We had a hard time picking an excursion. They sold out early. We had booked one beach day that was canceled two days out and we ended up on a different excursion to Carlisle Beach. It was a wonderful day. A little bit of rain (but we were in the water anyway), gentle surf, clear water, and mostly sunshine. We'd go back in a heartbeat!

Saint Lucia: A "small group" tour. More or less. There were 2-3 20-passenger buses on the same route with 10-15 minutes between groups. We had lunch with one of the other groups. It was a long but generally enjoyable day. It rained, of course. The bus driver apparently fancied himself in NASCAR, and the island is nothing but one hairpin switchback after another. But we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of the island.

Martinique: We picked an excursion that went to one of the old churches and the nearby botanical garden, then went to the Clement plantation and rum distillery.

Saint Kitts: The only port we'd visited. We did a beach day, but this was last Saturday as the storms were working their way up the Caribbean and the Florida coast. Even the Caribbean side of the island was pretty brutal. We had fun, but it would have been much nicer on a calmer day. That's just luck of the draw.

[bjahil47]

We have been on the Equinox 7 times the latest being last month.  Totally agree with you about the production shows.  I don’t think we went in theatre once except for excursion meets.  And, I did not care for Topper or Elysium.  I don’t think we stayed for the entire show the one time we saw them.

 

We love Sushi on 5 and ate most lunches there.  My husband tries to eat his way through the menu.  My absolute favorite drink is the Asian Pear Smash which you can only get there.

[1Virgo]

35 minutes ago, markeb said:

I'll add a few truly random thoughts on entertainment!

We're not production show people. This was our third cruise on Equinox, and we realized at some point that we didn't actually go into the theater other than meeting for excursions. There are a few reasons for that. First, we were eating mostly at 7-7:30, which is an awkward time for the shows. Second, we'd seen the production shows, and honestly don't care for either Topper or Elysium. I don't know that we've successfully made it through either of them. That's probably a thread unto itself, but I hate seeing the talent they have onboard wasted on this bizarre song and dance, with a for no particular reason interlude into an aerobatics performance. That may just be us. The singers and dancers are pretty good. I just wish they had some better material to work with.

On the other hand, the musical performers around the ship on this cruise were outstanding. There were actually too many of them, and we only caught a couple of very good acts once or twice. I am now convinced the Grand Foyer on the S-Class is the worst-designed venue for live music maybe ever! The acoustics aren't great, the sound carries up rather than out, and the support pillars completely break up the sight lines if you want to see the band.

Two acts stood out. The house "Party Band" (a new title for me) was a British quintet called The Waves. There was a keyboardist/vocalist who was clearly the bandleader (probably the band organizer, in all honesty), a drummer, a bassist (smallish female, kind of unusual), a very good lead guitarist who could shred a Strat pretty well, and a "frontwoman" vocalist with an impressive range. We found out they'd been on Equinox since July and this week's (11/21-29) cruise is their last. They did a little bit of everything, including the guitar solo from Hotel California (look up how that was recorded...) with one guitar and a couple of Adele covers (and some Eddie Van Halen). We started following them around the ship early on, and they were a blast.

There was also a string duo, male acoustic guitar and female violin that were equally great. They just were mostly one set off our schedule, although we walked down to the Ensemble one evening and the violinist was about midway through doing Jimmy Page's "Stairway to Heaven" solo on a violin!

They did a silent disco in the foyer one night with two channels of DJ and one channel of live music (The Waves). That was a lot of fun.

They also had an 80's music trivia night that I somehow got drafted into leading one side of the room after the original volunteer was having serious problems. My decade, but the other gal was generally faster. I did successfully get "Dancing in the Dark" on the first note, or I would have to give away my five Bruce tickets for next year...

The weirdest thing was a British rock performance with the ship's cast mostly trying to do Queen. Unfortunately, the male performers were almost baritones maybe barely into the tenor range. Sad mutilation of Freddie's work.

Overall, we enjoyed the entertainment, but did not go to the theater. Can't help those of you who love the shows.

 

our thoughts exactly. how many years has elysium run now. We sat through it about 5 th time….few changes.  far les Cirque du Soleil embedded in any performance.  We enjoyed the music around ship better. the small bar near Retreat Lounge had great music

 

Thanks for sharing

[zitsky]

I see this itinerary offered on different ships.  I’d like to book in early 2026.  I wonder if the ship makes a lot of difference?

[zgscl]

14 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I see this itinerary offered on different ships.  I’d like to book in early 2026.  I wonder if the ship makes a lot of difference?

I don’t think so on this one, other than of course the onboard venues are different depending on the class of ship. And if you go on an Edge class ship you will probably pay significantly more for the exact same itinerary. 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

I am now convinced the Grand Foyer on the S-Class is the worst-designed venue for live music maybe ever! The acoustics aren't great, the sound carries up rather than out, and the support pillars completely break up the sight lines if you want to see the band.

I would argue the NCL breakaway plus ships atrium would be a close competitor for the atrium being an awful music venue! They don’t even have enough chairs and are constantly setting up and folding down hundreds of folding chairs for every activity/event. And they use this for most of the daytime programs and night time music/dancing. Totally bizarre design choice. 
 

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!!
 

 

[markeb]

Random thoughts on the Retreat Experience on this cruise

This was our third cruise in a Sky Suite, all on the Equinox. One was supposed to be the Edge in 2020, but we had some personal issues even before the shutdown, and Equinox in 2022 was a better itinerary and price. Each has been different, with 2018 being "BR" or Before Retreat.

It's kind of strange, but we probably enjoyed our Retreat experience as much on this cruise, but used the Retreat unique venues less. That's counterintuitive, even writing it. Part of that was because this was a port heavy itinerary, and we did lunch at Sushi on 5 when we might have gone to the Retreat sundeck. We did go to the sundeck 2-3 times during our sea days, but we did that last cruise with fewer total days—just one of those weird things.

The Retreat lounge on Equinox has always seemed underused. It's a great place to grab a couple of sodas or bottles of water on the go. The bar was fine, but it was never bustling, so the social aspect that was present in Michael's in 2018 wasn't there. I suspect that varies from cruise to cruise, and you can't generalize.

Luminae was still a great venue and the staff was terrific. In the right mood, I could write a dissertation on the challenges of maintaining Luminae as both an upscale restaurant and a primary dining room. It's not an easy balance. I think they did it well, but it's far from perfect.

"Worth it" is a value judgment. We paid for the Retreat. A significant upcharge, offset somewhat by the OBC that really doesn't exist today. We enjoyed the experience, so for us, it provided value. We will likely eventually explore the true premium/luxury lines, but Celebrity may still provide the value we want. I think there are itineraries where we'd explore other lines, probably HAL, again. I know the Edge class was designed for the Retreat experience, but I kind of enjoy the S-Class where you get that experience, but have plenty of other options. And we both enjoy listening to music, dancing on occasion, and meeting other people. I would have to do a lot of research on the premium/luxury lines to know if they offer that balance; a lot of posts here lead me to question that. 

 

We were invited to sail away on the helipad from Saint Kitts. Our departure was delayed for a medical issue, and we basically went to the helipad with a bunch of other people and never actually sailed away. Interestingly, we talked to several people and more than one just randomly offered how well they felt Celebrity was doing the Retreat experience. Random convenience sample, just like Cruise Critic, but a resoundingly different view than is commonly expressed here. If that's more representative of their customer base, then...

We booked this cruise and an Alaska southbound next spring before rates went crazy. I don't expect those rates to drop dramatically if they continue selling cruises. We keep talking about planning a longish trip to Italy, for instance, and just finding a nice place to stay for 10-14 days in Tuscany and day-tripping. We'll see.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

I see this itinerary offered on different ships.  I’d like to book in early 2026.  I wonder if the ship makes a lot of difference?

 

I don't know that the ship would make a lot of difference. It's a port intensive itinerary, almost like Europe. There were four sea days, so the ship could matter there. If you're booking Retreat, I suspect Edge class would be nice, but probably (much?) more expensive.

[markeb]

2 hours ago, bjahil47 said:

We have been on the Equinox 7 times the latest being last month.  Totally agree with you about the production shows.  I don’t think we went in theatre once except for excursion meets.  And, I did not care for Topper or Elysium.  I don’t think we stayed for the entire show the one time we saw them.

 

We love Sushi on 5 and ate most lunches there.  My husband tries to eat his way through the menu.  My absolute favorite drink is the Asian Pear Smash which you can only get there.

 

We really enjoyed Sushi on 5. I'm the sushi/sashimi eater. DW doesn't do raw fish. My biggest issue is they have the same portion control problems as the rest of the ship. I'd love a sampler. I think that's why sushi became popular for groups of friends who could share.

 

They did have at least one nice Sake by the glass. I suspect the better offerings were the bottle selections, but my experience with Sake is pretty limited.

[markeb]

44 minutes ago, zgscl said:

I would argue the NCL breakaway plus ships atrium would be a close competitor for the atrium being an awful music venue! They don’t even have enough chairs and are constantly setting up and folding down hundreds of folding chairs for every activity/event. And they use this for most of the daytime programs and night time music/dancing. Totally bizarre design choice. 
 

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!!
 

 

 

I haven't cruised NCL, so can't compare, but the foyer is pretty horrible. There is space to dance, which is nice, but it's impossible to see the band from many if not most locations.

[zgscl]

7 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I haven't cruised NCL, so can't compare, but the foyer is pretty horrible. There is space to dance, which is nice, but it's impossible to see the band from many if not most locations.

Totally agree! 

[HUNKY]

I've not been on Celebrity for years. 

 

Do they still have sushi on the buffet at dinner every night?

 

It was fun to stop by before dinner and have a few pieces.

[buncosquad]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

 

I don't know that the ship would make a lot of difference. It's a port intensive itinerary, almost like Europe. There were four sea days, so the ship could matter there. If you're booking Retreat, I suspect Edge class would be nice, but probably (much?) more expensive.

But their non-Edge class ships look dreadfully outdated by comparison, especially their Millennium class.

 

So many people ask "How are the room conditions?" Or "What is the shape of this or that?" These older ships look so tired (by comparison).

 

There is a reason they cost less.

[hcat]

thanks for a comprehensive review

sorry you had  some bad weather.. great itin..some of our fav ports..

[cruisegirlppp]

9 hours ago, markeb said:

I'll add a few truly random thoughts on entertainment!
We're not production show people...Overall, we enjoyed the entertainment, but did not go to the theater. Can't help those of you who love the shows.

We are the same, we enjoy music in the other venues and the occasional comedian but not the production shows. We always feel a little awkward when dinner companions rave about "last night's show" or ask if we are going tonight but that's the great thing about a cruise, there is something for (nearly) everyone.

[billc23]

7 hours ago, buncosquad said:

But their non-Edge class ships look dreadfully outdated by comparison, especially their Millennium class.

 

So many people ask "How are the room conditions?" Or "What is the shape of this or that?" These older ships look so tired (by comparison).

 

There is a reason they cost less.

Looks vs personality...  Some prefer M class and/or S class for various reasons.  Room-wise, the M class PH is a great space while the M class RS lacks a second bathroom. The S class RS is nicer and more functional (nicer balcony and much nicer living space) for me than the E class RS. The S class PH is really nice too. Trying the Ascent PH in January. We considered the IC but after sailing in the Reflection Suite the motion from being forward and high up is just too much. The E class has more energy which some prefer and others find the loud music in most venues too much. E class has more restaurants but the ambient noise level makes it difficult for some to carry on a conversation. Good thing there are choices to accommodate different preferences.

[buncosquad]

30 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Looks vs personality...  Some prefer M class and/or S class for various reasons.  Room-wise, the M class PH is a great space while the M class RS lacks a second bathroom. The S class RS is nicer and more functional (nicer balcony and much nicer living space) for me than the E class RS. The S class PH is really nice too. Trying the Ascent PH in January. We considered the IC but after sailing in the Reflection Suite the motion from being forward and high up is just too much. The E class has more energy which some prefer and others find the loud music in most venues too much. E class has more restaurants but the ambient noise level makes it difficult for some to carry on a conversation. Good thing there are choices to accommodate different preferences.

Agreed.

 

Though I wouldn't sail on one of their non-Edge ships, I checked price comparisons. They are definitely an order of magnitude less than Edge class.

 

Yes, the old(er) ships look dated, but with so many questions/comments about wear and tear and lower service levels (all subjective), at least I know the newest ships don't suffer as much wear and tear, and likely have their better staff.

 

Never had motion issues in my two IC and two EV experiences, even one day in somewhat rough seas. Made Elite+ after only these 4 cruises, though not what I was going for.

 

I've got two more longer cruises scheduled totalling 29 nights in ICs. These are rather nice, and the views! Few ships, of any type or brand, can match an IC offering.

 

Love larger ship extras, though still will sail small luxuries for unique itineraries. 

[Lastdance]

20 hours ago, markeb said:

Continuing with the food and drink theme...

 

We had the premium package as part of the Retreat Package. I pretty much consider the wine and spirits situation to be a mixed bag at best. The by-the-glass selections have always been adequate, especially if you weren't really looking for a California cab, but the alternate red selection that's been really good in the past seemed limited this time. The first night, I had the filet and ultimately paid the upcharge for the Grgich Hills Cabernet, which was well spent for me. My wife enjoyed the Cherry Pie Pinot Noir one night, which isn't really my pinot noir preference. The Kendall Jackson was acceptable. We had better luck with whites. They had a very nice unoaked French Chardonnay and a nice California Fume Blanc. If you're into oak and butter for your chardonnay or grapefruit in your Sauvignon Blanc, they had those as well; I just don't generally care for those styles.

 

We had a bunch of OBC, so we intentionally had bottles for two nights in Luminae and at Tuscan. The wine list in the app is not really dependable, both in inclusions and omissions. There was a very nice Washington Red Mountain merlot from a smallish winery we've visited (in the app) and an excellent Penner-Ash Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon that was not in the app. Tuscan had two Amarone in the app but they weren't available but they had an excellent Brunello di Montalcino.

 

Wine Tastings: I did the World Wine Tasting, which I'd done before, and the Premium Wine Tasting. I'm not sure I can recommend the World Wine Tasting in the format from last week, and I don't know how you find out the format ahead of time. It was I think 7 countries with a red and a white wine each. Almost all of them were completely forgettable. The winner was a Penfolds Shiraz and, secondarily, an Antinori Super Tuscan. I didn't take notes but I recall another wine, I think from Argentina that was opened 3-5 years early and probably would be a really nice wine in 3-5 years. Otherwise it used up OBC...

 

The premium tasting was either $89 or $99 and was five wines. They were all good. A nice Perrier Jouet champagne; an unoaked or minimally oaked Burgundian chardonnay; Gran Moraine Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir; a very young Barola that was tragically sacrificed in its youth for this tasting; and an Inniskillin Ice wine. Given the cost, I'd have mixed feelings about this tasting, but if you like nice wine, I'd do it rather than the current World Wine Tour.

 

Bars...

A couple of quick comments. It's amazing how much the passenger population impacts the cruise. This was a much older group than our previous Celebrity cruises. We've always loved the World Class Bar. On our last cruise it was so busy I couldn't get to the bar after the first night. This cruise it was mostly dead and I didn't go back after the second night. I don't normally go to the martini bar because it's usually such a zoo. This cruise it really wasn't and I had 2-3 martinis there. They had my current preferred gin (Plymouth) and they had real lemon twists where the other bars put a lemon slice in the martini.

 

I'll try to post a little more later.
 

I totally agree with your comment about the choices of food in Luminae when on a longer cruise, especially on a b2b...we have a 10 night coming up soon, so will try to avert this with a better plan if possible.  We always try to eat early to avoid the crowds as much as possible, but on a cruise ship, that is a real challenge.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!  

 

On a side note, the crowds in Italy were awful this year, as I try to do Europe as much as possible.  I am doing my first Caribbean cruise in decades, so I know the experience will be a lot different, not to mention very crowded onboard, as many stay on the ship as the destination.  The entire world seems to be seizing the day, even during off-seasons.  Next time we are staying in the region all around the Dolomites.  We all just have to monitor and adjust!

Edited November 23, 2023 by Lastdance