Oolie

On Equinox…

Self serve in Oceanview began on 6/26 sailing. I was on 6/18 and 6/26, change occurred on the second cruise. 

Yes, 39August, on the 6/26 Equinox back to backs were tested. We met a couple who were staying on for the 7/2. I read elsewhere that Captain Matt when questioned stated 5 Covid cases on the 6/26 sailing. Approximately 2100 or so on that sailing. 

I am currently on the second of back to back cruises on the Equinox. My husband and I were tested on the last day of our first cruise. We tested negative, so not sure of options if we were positive, but assume we would not be continuing on the second cruise. By the way, Captain indicated only 3 cases on the first cruise. Nonetheless all back to backers were tested.

A quick note to let you know we’ll miss you at the Ensemble Lounge tonight. Thanks for the 40th anniversary well wishes. We are being thoroughly spoiled as we celebrate today. You made our cruise last week very special. Hope to sail with you again! Safe travels home…
 

K&B

Cruised many, many times in Oceanview on 3, closest cabin being about 6 cabins from foyer area. For the same reason, close to the Passport Bar & Dining area. We’ve had no noise issues and if it gets noisy, they close the doors to the hallway. Loved being able to pickup a drink on the way to the cabin. Enjoy!

Olympia in Retreat Lounge… so much fun!

Bob and I BTB on Summit sailing 11/27 also… celebrating my 70th! Looking forward to following along with you and Edward. Cheers!

I read a charter got cancelled and they took as many last minute bookings as they were able to get. 

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

@39august    I checked yesterday and they DO NOT have any crossword puzzles.   They say they were temporarily discontinued to reduce touch points.

Jim… on the 8/27 Equinox my husband inquired at the front desk on deck 3 and was able to get printed crossword puzzles and sudoku for me… daily.  FYI.

Loving following you… Kathy

Love. Taz!

Irony is, no Dewars at our dive bar.... settled for Grants! Send the truck, quick!

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Good afternoon from beautiful Aruba. We did not decide to go to a beach today but we did get off to walk around, grab lunch, and a couple drinks of course.

 

In the distance there appeared to be clouds rolling in but they stayed away and it’s been a nice dry and sunny day here in Aruba.

 

For those not familiar with the port area if Aruba you should know it is very easy to navigate. There are no beaches within walking distance but there is a very vibrant shopping area with plenty of restaurants, bars, tons of shopping, multiple casinos, hotels, etc all within a very easy walk.

 

We walked off the ship, through the port building and onto the main strip. We made an immediate right and walked around a bit. We decided to have lunch at a second story restaurant called Iguana Joes. It was a fun little place and we got a nice high top table by the railing so we could people watch. We both ordered a couple of Aruba beers, some jerk chicken, and fish tacos (grouper). You can see from the photos the racks were huge and very good. The beers went down like water which is a good thing when it’s as warm as it is.

 

We saw our friends Bob, Kathy, and “Uncle Jim” walking by. They were going to one of their favorite dive bars down the street. Bob and Kathy primarily drink dewars, and a lot of it. Well, about 20 minutes after we saw them

walk by we saw this truck drive by. Coincidence? Haha

 

 

Here are a few additional photos from this afternoon.

 

 

 

Balashi, the Aruban Pilsner.

 

 

 

Now the below drink we didn’t order but it seems like it can pack one hell of a punch.

 

 

The “Lethal Lizard”

 

 

 

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For lunch today we went to Luminae. We had three courses but they weren’t too heavy. See the photos below.

 

 

 

 

After lunch we went to a future cruises talk about an African Safari add on package.

 

 

Lastly we walked through the shops a bit. Here is a photo for Mr. and Mrs. Dewars. You know who you are!

 

 

 

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OMG, chicagopaul! I just found your blog... I’m cracking up...you remembered! We did the crossing on Eclipse from Southampton after 2 weeks in Scotland so I’ve been busy catching up. Taking a 6 day with Uncle Jim on Reflection Jan 2. We miss you, hope our paths cross again!!

Oolie

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Lucky to be sharing this cruise with chicagopaul - what a great time we had... yes, it's the crew, but also meeting some fantastic new friends!!!

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I was also very impressed by Lisa. She is doing quite a bit to improve diversity especially in areas that have been predominantly male over the years. Her commitment to the crew was evident.

She was asked about Cuba as a port. Apparently even the Millennium class ships are too big to dock there and the infrastructure is not able to support tendering. But if and when the situation improves they would like to include Cuba as a port but not as a destination. In other words, as a day visit but not for several days as some cruise lines currently do.

They are also going to replace Choice Air with new flight services in conjunction with cruises since 82% of passengers fly to the departure ports. I don't recall exactly but something like Flights by Celebrity is the branding and it will incorporate some kind of mileage program. All still under development.

I left before it ended but no question had been asked about the web site. But they had another blurb on the daily schedule today asking us for our comments specifically on web access. Sounds like they know there are issues!

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