Loyal Royal goes X! Equinox Nov 9-20 2015 Photo Review

Hello folks! This will be my first ever photo review for a Celebrity ship. Hopefully, it will give a little back to this part of CC as I have scooped much information from various peoples here for some months now. May you find a few laughs as well. On we go!

After some 18 months of planning and waiting, our trip began with flights on Delta from Kansas City International airport. Frankly I hate flying with a passion, but I have to say Delta did a very good job with our flights out this time. Return flights were even better. On three of the four flights we were aboard the newer 737-900 series aircraft that have MUCH better pressure control than the older 700 and 800 series. That left me with only one flight that really hurt ( yes I use all the tricks, gum, yawn, swallow etc etc ).

Delta not only left on time on the way out, they were early on arrival. Given that we had to change flights in Atlanta, that made the outbound flights that much easier. Take the good where you can get it!

P1000827 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

No complaints about the weather. Just about as nice as you could ask for.

P1000838 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Fort Lauderdale as we came in for landing. After we left the plane, we had our bags in hand in under 15 minutes. I call that a good start.

Got a cab and headed for the Sonesta hotel. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show was in full swing so the traffic was really bad. Lots of lane cutting in and out, impatient drivers, etc. Took twice as long as normal, but we got there soon enough.

The Sonesta hotel is very nice. The pool is quite warm. All white room decor for linens and such. Great views of the beach from every single room.

P1000839 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

P1000840 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Food was not tried there as the prices were extremely high. Go the less than 100 feet to Primanti Brothers Pizza 24 hours a day for excellent by the slice pizza and sandwiches. They also do straight-forward American style breakfast from 8am to 10am. Coffee is also very good. Crew has to hustle a lot as they are never empty. One fellow we saw there, (Dillon) worked two twelve hours shifts in two days. We were in there five times over the weekend and he was there every single time except the last. If you go in there now, tell him he's famous! ;)

Our single full day in Fort Lauderdale was my GF's birthday so we had some beach time in the morning, went to PF Chang's in the Galleria Mall for lunch, and walked around Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.

Great beach weather!

P1000849 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

P1000850 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Somebody was getting on the fancy side with a very cool ride at the hotel.

P1000853 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

The pool de.. area at the Sonesta. Quiet when I took this, but it got pretty busy later in the day.

P1000855 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

We'd met up with some friends also staying at the hotel by now. Had a few drinks and then late that evening, cheerfully ambushed long time CC member Dirtgirl when she arrived. Time for some sleep and a cruise the next day!

Looking forward to the full review. Thanks!

A quick look at a few things near the hotel.....

Boat Show yachts moored all over the ICW. This is actually a less crowded location...

P1000858 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

State Park

P1000863 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Spider in the park (lots of these)

P1000867 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

And the weather continued to be very good. If humid.

P1000869 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Next up.. Equinox!

Enjoying the photos, hope the review is as good. With regards to the air pressure when flying, my Wife suffered terribly on our honeymoon flight in 2004. She was advised to put cotton wool balls in her ears prior to take-off and again prior to descent. She has been doing that for the last 30 years and has never had a problem since.

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to see more! :D

Thanks for the review, Darkwolfe. Interested to hear and see your impressions of your first Celebrity cruise. Plus it will be a great reminder of the fun time we also had on this cruise!

Great start with some lovely pictures. Looking forward to the comparison.

Looking forward to your review!

I'm reading David! Hoping to hear about some of the antics I was not involved in!

I'm reading David! Hoping to hear about some of the antics I was not involved in!

Some of the antics can't be posted here. "Happens on the ship, stays on the ship" ya know. Must keep professional reputations relatively intact after all. ;)

Enjoying the photos, hope the review is as good. With regards to the air pressure when flying, my Wife suffered terribly on our honeymoon flight in 2004. She was advised to put cotton wool balls in her ears prior to take-off and again prior to descent. She has been doing that for the last 30 years and has never had a problem since.

My daughter use to suffer flying with her ears. She now uses pressure relief ear plugs. They have a valve in them that release the pressure. She puts them in as we board. Then she removes them when the plane levels out. She will then put them in an hour before landing. We haven't had any trouble since finding these.

Met up with most of the folks we were traveling with at this hotel as well. Dirtgirl, my long running friend on this board and that "social page that shall not be named" was leading the mayhem. Almost ten years of trading jokes quips and various yarns and we finally wind up on the same ship.

Bemusedly, myself, my girlfriend, and two others were the only US residents in that group. Naturally, given this past World Series, there was a little baseball humor batted around. Good humor in the group was the rule. I'd sail with these folks again anytime!

I'd set up a van transport for us from the hotel to the port for Monday the 9th. Our driver was early, good humoured, and not once acted like we were anything but his best guests for the week. Cheers John and thank you very much!

Outside the Sonesta, about 20 minutes before we left for the ship.

P1000877 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

This was the last day for the boat show. Once again, traffic was unreal. So were the prices on parking spaces. I saw one lot, that's usually $5 for the day, selling spots for $100.:eek:

Eventually however, we found our way to the ship. Port Everglades had Equinox assigned to Terminal 18, which I was quite curious about. I've boarded at a different terminal every time I've sailed from PE, so seeing the newest one was of interest. It worked well, even more so considering that boarding actually started relatively on time! And after a TA no less! Still we did have to wait for some extra time while the cabins were completed. I'm not entirely sure of the time but we did get to the cabins between 2 and 3pm.

Celebrity Equinox (Note- Picture taken at Grand Caymen. Had a bit too much rush going on to get one at Port Everglades)

DSCF0082 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

I never quite remember to get a cabin picture until we've looked at all the papers left on the bed and dropped gear everywhere. This is 7282 on the aft hump. Quite comfortable for two, but three might find the storage limited.

P1000881 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

One of everyone's most common and favorite scenes in Fort Lauderdale. They way out!

P1000885 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Next up, some notable spaces aboard the Equinox!

I'm really enjoying your picture review and the fabulous photos, even the scary spider! We'll be on Equinox in a week, so please keep the photos coming.

While we were waiting for the cabins to open, we had lunch at the Bistro on Five. That was a bit of a madhouse. We were well aware that a fairly large crew change was likely after the TA and the effects of that were showing in the Bistro. Lots of missed, mis-directed, or just wrong orders took place that day. We waited the better part of an hour for our lunch, but we had good company so there was no real stress. Still, the crew was not a well-oiled machine at that point. It's a ding on the review, but it's one that should be well corrected after a few trips.

P1010340 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Later in the week we dined with our group at Silk Harvest. Now the crew here gets a HUGE 5-star rating for service for our visit. My girlfriend (Jolene) cannot eat seafood and of course Asian fare has a lot of seafood in it as a matter of course. We gave them the fast heads up on it and they were extremely careful and considerate of her needs. To such point as to offer to make special items just for her in some areas. Jolene, being who she is, did not have them make anything extra special. She was quite content with the non-seafood offerings. They did bring her a vegetable based roll to replace the sushi roll course. Quite a bit more than she could eat on her own.

To top that off, our group closed the place down that night!

Many cheers and much thanks to the Silk Harvest team!

P1010336 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

We did not get a chance to eat at the other specialty places. Our regular dining room company and menu were excellent and we would have felt like we missed out had we gone. The best seasoning for a meal is excellent company after all!

However, here are the other two specialty restaurants to at least take a look at.

Murano

P1010335 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Tuscan Grill

P1010337 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

If any of my fellow travelers on this trip would like to add their experiences in these two restaurants, please feel free to do so.

Incidentally, do feel free to ask questions, make comments, or offer constructive critiques throughout the review. I appreciate that kind of thing.

Sometimes someone will ask about something I might have encountered but did not think to include in the review.

 

Got a cab and headed for the Sonesta hotel. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show was in full swing so the traffic was really bad. Lots of lane cutting in and out, impatient drivers, etc. Took twice as long as normal, but we got there soon enough.

 

The Sonesta hotel is very nice. The pool is quite warm. All white room decor for linens and such. Great views of the beach from every single room.

 

P1000839 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1000840 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Food was not tried there as the prices were extremely high. Go the less than 100 feet to Primanti Brothers Pizza 24 hours a day for excellent by the slice pizza and sandwiches. They also do straight-forward American style breakfast from 8am to 10am. Coffee is also very good. Crew has to hustle a lot as they are never empty. One fellow we saw there, (Dillon) worked two twelve hours shifts in two days. We were in there five times over the weekend and he was there every single time except the last. If you go in there now, tell him he's famous! ;)

This brought back some memories. Stayed here a couple years ago when it was B Ocean. Like you we quickly found the Primanti Bros. next door and ate most of our meals there.

I think a visit for a slice will be on our agenda this Christmas even though we are staying at a different hotel.

Enjoying the review..and photos. Thanks.

We'll be back on Equinox in Jan and this is really making us excited...Hope Murano is still there...and wonder if Tuscan has the new or older menus...(onion soup,). Hoping to get a roll call group for Silk Harvest.

The ear pressure plugs are sold as Ear Planes..in most drug stores...they work great!

This brought back some memories. Stayed here a couple years ago when it was B Ocean. Like you we quickly found the Primanti Bros. next door and ate most of our meals there.

 

I think a visit for a slice will be on our agenda this Christmas even though we are staying at a different hotel.

Worth the going. We had dinner there twice for under $20. I just took the change and threw it in the tip jar every time we were in the place.

Enjoying the review..and photos. Thanks.

 

We'll be back on Equinox in Jan and this is really making us excited...Hope Murano is still there...and wonder if Tuscan has the new or older menus...(onion soup,). Hoping to get a roll call group for Silk Harvest.

 

The ear pressure plugs are sold as Ear Planes..in most drug stores...they work great!

I don't think there will be any major change before you sail. They did open up a high end whiskey store up on Deck 15 on our last full day. Good stuff, but pricey!

I'll have to check out those "Ear Planes". If I could drop the pressure problems, I'd be a far happier flyer.

Great review so far. Looking forward to any/everything else to come in your review. We sail the Equinox on 11/30 and cannot wait!!

Great review so far. Looking forward to any/everything else to come in your review. We sail the Equinox on 11/30 and cannot wait!!

You'll be having a good time. But skip Panama. That rant is yet to come, but since you are sailing so soon, I'll give you the heads up now. At best, maybe take the ship tour to the Miraflores locks. Other than that, stay on board. Just look out the window when you dock. It gets clear rather quickly.

More to come tomorrow!

I'm reading David! Hoping to hear about some of the antics I was not involved in!

I am innocent! :o:p;)

Looking forward to the rest of your review..will be on the Equinox on the 30th :D

You'll be having a good time. But skip Panama. That rant is yet to come, but since you are sailing so soon, I'll give you the heads up now. At best, maybe take the ship tour to the Miraflores locks. Other than that, stay on board. Just look out the window when you dock. It gets clear rather quickly.

 

More to come tomorrow!

Can you post your itin for this cruise

.We are booked on EQ in 2016 for an E Carib; then EQ in 2017 for the one going to Panama and Cartagena...we want to see Cartagena... and maybe the new locks...

EQ often gets the newer and better cruise terminal in Ft Lauderdale...a big plus getting on & off.

Enjoy!

Also...pls see post 593 of link...pictures of tbe ear planes...I posted them on the wrong thread..oops!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48345749#post48345749