GenerationX

Enjoy your cruise! Yes the catamaran had the stairs right to the water and the crew had skeleton shirts on. They were great! Entertaining without getting to the point of corny and annoying. They did play music on the way back but I didn’t think it was too loud. I was having conversations with everyone during the sail and it wasn’t loud enough that you had to shout or strain to hear each other. It was more like background volume. I’m working on writing up St. Maarten while I sip my Miami Vice so I promise it’ll be posted soon!

I am ashamed to admit that I am extremely tardy in joining the roll call for our cruise. I think we need to plan a little cocktail party meet up!

Wow that sounds amazing! Congrats on such a big solo adventure! I’m so glad I asked. I’ve always been interested in trying Silversea. Their ships and food look so nice on Dream Cruises episodes and they sometimes have a solo fare pop up that’s not much more than suite class on celebrity. I’ve been hesitant though because I met a woman years ago who told me that she sailed Silversea solo and most of her fellow passengers weren’t very friendly and in a couple of cases were even outright hostile to her as a woman traveling alone. Sounds like you had a very different experience! If there’s a review of your cruise posted somewhere that I can lurk, please let me know!

It’s another perfect morning at sea. I hope I don’t jinx it by saying so but I could not have asked for better weather this cruise. We arrive in St. Maarten at 8am and I have to be assembled for my tour at 8:30 so I ordered a light room service breakfast to be delivered 7-7:30. This is my second room service breakfast order this cruise and it’s one of the few places where I’m really feeling the downgrade from the suite life. And not just because there’s no Retreat host (butler) setting it up on my veranda for me. A couple of thoughts: 1) Bread for toast has been a little dry and stale. If you want to start your day with baked goods, the room service croissants, English muffin and bagels have been much better (I write in a request to have my bagel/muffin toasted on the order hang tag). 2) Both times now the dairy product with my order (last time a carton of milk and this time yogurt), it is room temp or warmer by the time it gets to me. Not sure if they’re being put on trays next to hot food much too soon or they’re being stored in a fridge like the one in my room (which also doesn’t get especially cool). Either way I passed on partaking. No sense in taking all the steps to avoid Noro then end up giving myself food poisoning from my yogurt. After I get dressed for the day I’ll go grab some properly chilled from oceanview instead. Also maybe a mimosa while I’m there. Cuz vacation. I’ve noticed that yesterday and today, my premium wifi is extremely slow (if it works at all) early in the morning. This is somewhat frustrating because I’d much rather get up early and knock out any work projects I need to take care of before I start my day of fun than have to deal with it in the afternoon, but oh well. Such is the price I pay for still having a day job but also scheduling 6 cruises this year. Still to come later today, a report on yesterday evening. For now it’s time to start my St. Maarten day!

Good evening from a starry night on my veranda as we sail towards St. Maarten. While I’m sitting here in my comfy cotton yoga pants polishing off the last glass of my Super Tuscan from last night, a report on my St. Thomas excursion: I booked the St. John half day champagne catamaran sail and snorkel. The tour started with about a 20 minute ride to the marina in an open air bus. We were split between two busses and catamarans and I don’t think I saw anyone on mine wearing masks. We’d been told by Celebrity to bring our vaccination cards with us, but no one ever asked for or checked them. Fair warning, that bus ride to the marina is pretty hilly and over some steep and curvy roads. If you get car sick easily, maybe take some Dramamine or something in advance. Also, when your driver tells you to secure your hat and other loose articles well, take him seriously! One girl seated at the end nearly lost her sunglasses around a fast turn. Once we boarded the catamaran we had about an hour sail out to St. John island and the catamaran moored right off honeymoon beach where we could snorkel the reef or they had a small zodiac to take passengers who wanted to over to the beach to relax and swim. I snorkeled for about a half hour but quickly realized it was nowhere near as good as the snorkeling in the ABC islands. Not a lot of colorful reef and not nearly as many fish. But I did end up having one of the coolest ocean experiences of my life . At one point I looked down in the water there he was…a HUGE and GORGEOUS sea turtle! His shell must’ve been at least 3 feet (about a meter for the non-Americans following) across! When we got back on the catamaran, the crew had rum punch and some bubbly free flowing. Low end sparkling wine and direct Caribbean sun sounded like a recipe for a killer headache, so I stuck with the rum punch which was actually pretty good for a mass mixed all inclusive concoction. Once we were underway, the crew put out a small cold buffet of crackers and basic meats, cheeses and fruit for us to snack on. By no means a proper lunch, but enough to keep the rum punches from knocking me on my aft. The crew of the boat were all American expats (do we still use the term expat when the island is technically a US territory?) and very friendly and fun to sail with. The trip out to and back from St. John really is a beautiful sail and I was very happy with what I got for the price I paid. Any questions please feel free to ask!

Welcome to the party!!! Where/what ship were you sailing? How was it? I’m not sure the Emily Post on this but I feel like it’s not thread hijacking if the OP asks you for the dish. 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

Me: Currently sitting on my veranda on Equinox on a solo sailing sipping my wine and feeling a little bad about how many of my planned cruises for the next year don’t involve my husband. Also Me: Reads this post. Chokes on sip of wine. Pulls Celebrity credit card out of safe. Transfers some assets back to my individual accounts in case the solo booking spree I’m about to go on causes my husband to file for divorce. 😂

Good afternoon friends! Is there anything more amazing than coming back from a hot sunny day at port to a cool, clean stateroom with a beautiful view? Full report on my day in St. Thomas to come, but I had a wonderful time. I was famished though by the time I got back onboard and today’s concierge canapés were not gonna cut it for snack. The melon and prosciutto were good but the potato salad stuff not so much. So I’m sitting at OVC again hearing the steel drum band in port and munching some pizza and rehydrating. BTW please forgive me for making a quick plug: If you’ll be cruising to St. Thomas and this Rising Stars steel drum group is playing in the port shopping area right as you get off the ship, be sure to stop for a listen and consider making a donation in their donation box in front of the stage. When I got off the ship, I realized that all the talented musicians I’d heard at breakfast are local children and teens and they’ve had kids rotating out playing in the port all day in the heat. I looked up the Rising Stars group online and it’s actually a program started by a judge in the criminal court here on the island with the purpose of giving local youth a constructive outlet through music education and thus preventing school dropouts and juvenile delinquency. The money the band raises goes to cover expenses for music teachers, uniforms, instruments, etc. but also to fund SAT/ACT prep courses and college scholarships for the kids who participate. Giving a little something seems like a great easy way to give back to the local community in a small way and support an important mission while in port. I think I’ll hang out here to watch sail away then head back down to take a shower and throw something on for an early buffet dinner. More to come tonight!

Good morning from the US Virgin Islands! While I’m eating my al fresco breakfast at OVC and listening to the welcome steel drum band in port, sharing a little about last night: Pre-dinner I had my nightly visit to Komang and Abdul in Ensemble and listened to a set by our party band BR4. For dinner #2 in Murano I was thinking of doing the 5 senses pairing meal where each course comes with a different glass of ultra premium wine for a $90 upcharge. But then Pavle the Murano sommelier, having gotten a sense of my tastes during the food and wine pairing workshop yesterday, told me that he had a better idea. He had a few old world red blends in the cellar by the bottle that he thought I would love and would go well with all the courses that I ordered and would save me $20-30 vs the 5 senses fee (even before my by the bottle discount with the premium wine package). I decided on a blend from a woman owned/run Italian winery. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and I was very happy with my choice. Pro tip: if the ship is going to be in port late evening while you’re dining, especially in Puerto Rico or USVI (which are subject to US alcohol tax rates), ask the sommelier if they can hold off on charging your account for your dinner wine bottle purchase till the ship sets sail so you can avoid the extra tax. For my meal courses, I went with the lobster bisque, mushroom risotto, baked pear, venison loin and chocolate cake. I desperately wanted to finish the lobster bisque, but knew that would be a poor decision with 4 more courses coming. You know you’re living your best life when you’re sipping a 5 year old Super Tuscan and telling yourself not to fill up on lobster bisque. This was my first time trying the risotto at Murano and I’m kinda mad now that I’ve been sleeping on this dish. Did you guys know that garlic foam was a thing? First project when I get home is to get on YouTube and learn how to make this stuff. Totally gonna host a garlic foam (dinner) party! The pear in phyllo I wasn’t a huge fan of. The flavor profile just seemed weird. I’m glad I tried something new, but won’t be ordering that one again. After a few bites I called it quits on it to save prime real estate for venison and chocolate cake. As for the venison, this is another one I haven’t ever ordered because my husband hunts (no judgement please, deer are horribly overpopulated in the area where we live and as a result they spread disease and destroy food crops so managed hunts are an important part of ecosystem maintenance) so we usually have a freezer full of venison. This one though is going into my Murano rotation going forward. It’s super tender and not at all gamey. I recommend ordering it chef’s recommended temp (medium rare) and swirling each bite in the lingonberry sauce and the celery root purée. The chocolate cake: does not beat my favorite the Gran Marnier soufflé, but I liked it better than the crepe ballon rouge which had been my go to back up dessert choice. That white coffee ice cream that comes with it is just as good as the gelato in the gelateria. After dinner I headed to the pride party at sea which was moved from the pool deck to the grand foyer due to weather. The party was well attended, including a stop by from Captain Matt and a surprise dance performance by the production dancers. After the party wrapped up I hit the sky lounge for a bit with some new friends from Detroit and then put myself to bed around midnight. When I got to my room I saw that Pavle had already arranged to have the rest of my bottle of wine sent up along with an appropriate Reidel glass. I can’t wait to spend my evening tonight finishing that baby off on my veranda in my PJ’s. After breakfast I’m going to go hang by the pool for a bit till it’s time to head out on today’s excursion: a half day champagne catamaran sail and snorkel.

This sounds like a very good plan. I’ve thought of going in 2-4 days ahead as well to avoid flight issues, but with the testing requirements right now it presents so many financial and logistical complications. I don’t want to fly all the way to Florida, pop positive on a covid test and then have to pay for quarantine accommodation in FL till I can fly back or rent a car and drive 17 hours back home. So I don’t feel comfortable going wheels up till I know I’m negative and able to board. So much easier when you have a place in FL!

Yes both the dumplings and the lobster ramen are still available. Those lobster dumplings are one of my favorites too. I also really enjoy the pork ramen. I think it’s one of my favorite dishes on the whole ship actually. I too was underwhelmed by Raw on 5 on Edge. I saw a menu somewhere online that someone posted from Raw on 5 on Beyond and it looks MUCH improved from the Edge menu. I’m looking forward to trying it in November.

Just got back to my room after my afternoon at the pool and I’m munching on my concierge afternoon snack which was again much improved from the canapés of a few years ago. Funny story: When I got to my stateroom door, I fished around in my favorite Tory Burch pool tote for my seapass card and was super vexed when after a couple of tries it still failed to open my door. It took me a minute to realize the issue…oh Charla…wrong room, wrong stateroom class, WRONG SHIP…time to drink some water and lay down, sweetie. Also maybe ease up on the cruise bookings.

Thank you! The water has been gorgeous! I can’t wait to swim in it in St. Thomas!

Yes, staff is still serving. Personally this is one COVID change that I would not mind at all if Celebrity made permanent. Pre-pandemic I saw some truly disgusting hygiene practices from my fellow passengers in the buffet over the years and it really turned me off eating there which is a shame because there are so many good options!

Halfway through semi-sea day check in: After my morning getting through a few chapters of my book and a couple of sangria spritz’s I headed to the food and wine tasting workshop. I’ve done this wine event once before years ago on Reflection. That time, it was held in the late morning after Jeremy and I had celebrated a promotion he’d just found out he got at work with TWO bottles of Taittinger at dinner followed by a late night in the sky lounge. In other words, at the time, I was in no condition for a food and wine pairing class. I thought it would be nice to finally give it another try when I wasn’t running on 3 hours of sleep and praying to all the sea gods that my head wouldn’t explode. I definitely enjoyed the event much more this time! After wine tasting I decided to try and get into lunch at Sushi on 5 for lunch without a reservation, but they were completely booked up, so I headed to MDR lunch instead and was very happy with everything I ate. If you’re a mushroom person, that mushroom soup is fab! When I ran back to my room after lunch to change into a swimsuit I found another nice little surprise from Ana. I’m letting my lunch digest relaxing on the pool deck drinking something special that my awesome pool bartender from South Africa recommended. It’s slightly sweet, quite strong and the flavor reminds me of a pink Starburst candy (my favorite Starburst flavor btw). I can’t post the name directly without violating CC terms of service but it’s called a Fruit [Term Frequently Used in Game of Thrones that Refers to a Child Born out of Wedlock]. I’m pretty sure this has replaced the Miami Vice as my frozen drink of choice for the duration of the cruise! More to come later from Puerto Rico!

Thank you! I’ll definitely give it a try my second night.

It’s a lovely breezy morning at sea as we steam towards a 4pm arrival at Puerto Rico. Post-room service breakfast I’m curled up in a chair by the sunset bar watching the activities team set up the lawn club golf putting area. I get the shanks bad playing around water hazards and since the world’s largest water hazard currently just to starboard, for the safety of my fellow guests and Celebrity’s golf ball supply, I’ll sit this one out and have a cocktail instead. I’ve decided to stay onboard for PR, but have plenty planned. Today’s agenda: -Morning reading and sipping -Food and Wine Pairing Workshop -Perhaps another lunch at Sushi on 5 -Afternoon pool olympics -Dinner #2 at Murano -Full Moon Pool Deck Pride Party After tonight I have GOT to ease up on the late night antics or I may be dead on my feet by Tortola.

Thank you! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the review! Here’s a link to the dress. It packs well and is very comfortable. I bought it in 3 different prints! GRACE KARIN Sleeveless Solid Floral Summer Cocktail Dress A-Line Wrap Wedding Guest Dress https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TWK2LX3/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_PMKSPA35EAJC72DBAMXA_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Good Morning Everyone! Remember that plan I had to get up early this morning and go to the gym before breakfast? Well, if by “early” I meant “15 minutes before the start of my selected room service delivery window” and by “gym” I meant “my veranda in my robe with a bottle of cold water”, mission accomplished. I can totally explain though. I’ll start with dinner at Tuscan Grille. On my previous two Equinox sailings (one pre and one post pandemic) I remember most of the food in Tuscan being particularly good on this ship. That trend continues and for the most part this was a significant redemption from my “meh” food experience in Tuscan on Millennium in March. Another perk of solo travel: if you reserve your specialty restaurants in advance, you’ll often get one of the best seats in the house. Tonight I was escorted to a table directly overlooking the center of our wake. I love it when I can get a wake seat at Tuscan. I swear I could sit and sip wine and watch that water churn all night. Kinda made me miss having a sunset veranda. The bread that came to the table was actually served WARM. I had no business eating it given how nuts I went with my dinner order (we’ll get to that in a moment), but my Italian mother in law would have a fit if she heard that I ever turned down warm bread with fresh basil and good olive oil. For dinner I ordered the calamari and Caesar salad to start. I normally get the ribeye for my dinner steak but I decided to splurge on the $18 up charge dry aged porterhouse. Because clearly what I need in my life right now is more carbs, I ordered a side of spaghetti and meatballs with my steak and the sommelier poured me a decent Valpolicella, $13 a glass (so included in the premium package) to pair with it all. The calamari was perfectly cooked and tender. If you get it, don’t forget to squeeze some juice from that grilled lemon on the side on top before you dig in. That makes it! The Caesar salad was the one low light of the meal. I remember being unimpressed by it last Equinox cruise too and sad that it wasn’t even as good as one I got in the buffet. Sadly there’s still a temperature issue. Nobody likes a room temp salad. As much as I love a good Caesar, I think I’ll probably give up on this salad and save the stomach space on future Tuscan trips. It’s not like fresh vegetables are that important for one’s diet anyway. lol The spaghetti and meatballs was a vast improvement from the watery, flavorless sauce on the one I had on Millennium. And unlike Millennium I was offered (and took full advantage of) fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top. As for the steak…this is the first time I’ve had the dry aged upcharge steak. I’ve always avoided it on principle because I’ve already paid for the restaurant so why would I sign up for an extra price steak when the ribeye (my favorite) is included. I’m glad I stepped out of the box though because that dry aged porterhouse is a very good steak. Cooked medium rare exactly as requested. My knife cut through it like butter. It had a subtle smokey flavor at the finish. I don’t think I’d take a hit to my credit card balance for it (because again, Tuscan has such a good ribeye) but if you have OBC to burn (or are sailing in an upper level suite where specialties are included, so the $18 charge is the only hit your account will take) in my opinion it’s worth the upgrade to that bad boy. Plus when I thought about the math, the total cost for Tuscan dinner cover charge and this porterhouse upcharge was about $80 after tip/service charge. I’ve seen steakhouses in STL charge that just for a comparable size/quality porterhouse without any sides, much less including 3 other courses with it in the price. So the upcharge doesn’t seem so unreasonable. After the entree I felt like I was in an either or scenario: either I was gonna have dessert and port at Tuscan OR I was gonna make it to World Class Bar. No way I would pull off both without collapsing. My wonderful server Ashlam, however, swooped in with all journey wonderfull logic and reminded me that I can sleep at home after the cruise for free and brought me an espresso to ensure that I could hold it together for both fig gelato (my favorite Tuscan dessert, made fresh onboard BTW) and tawny port and a World Class night cap. When I got to World Class bar, Z and Putu were hard at working serving some new friends that I made the night before. Despite the best made plans of mice and men to go to bed with my book, the espresso kicked in right about then and I ended up two Kentucky Callings deep and headed to shut down the martini bar with my new friends. Once again at 1am when I finally headed to bed, the ship was by no means a ghost town and there was a decent crowd clamoring to get one more drink order in with the martini guys before they shut down for the night. As for me, I took my regrets and 2 bottled waters to go and finally put myself to bed. My breakfast should be arriving any minute now so after I eat I’ll get myself fit for public viewing and then report on my plans for the day. Wifi seems a bit fickle this morning but I promise I’ll post pics from last night as soon as I can get them to load.

Thank you! The dress is actually a $40 Amazon find. It comes in several prints. LMK if you’d like the link. And aren’t these shoes the best??? Believe it or not, they’re Badgley Mischka and I paid like $35 for them on a Nordstrom spring shoe clearance rack! The wide block heel makes them perfect for cruising on a rocky ship! I have so much respect for the women who dare brave wearing full stilettos onboard. I fractured my ankle once in my 20’s in a pair of Jimmy Choo’s on an uneven sidewalk (soooo embarrassing, and that after countless years of being thrown from horses and coming out of it every time with nothing more than a bad bruise!) Ever since then I’m very careful about my shoe choices when footing may not be optimal.

It’s our first evening chic night on Equinox! I planned to split my pre-dinner cocktail time between Ensemble Lounge and World Class bar but Radio Duo is killing their set tonight at Ensemble and every time my Grey Goose cosmo starts to get past half empty, here comes Komang or Abdul with a shaker filling it back up. I guess I’ll adjust and plan to stop by World Class after dinner in Tuscan Grille. The ships is rocking a bit tonight, so I think I’ll be calling it a night with my book and glass of wine after that. Tomorrow morning I want to get up early and hit the gym before my room service breakfast arrives. Cheers from Equinox!

Quick Report: I had to run down to guest services to put some cash on my onboard account and while standing in line I noticed that the forward hallway on the port side of deck 3 is closed off and had this sign. It’s tough to see even with me zooming in (for obvious reasons I wasn’t going to get any closer) but the Healthy at Sea logo is at the top of the sign. According to the deck map there are staterooms down that hallway. I wonder if this may be the quarantine area?

Thank you! No I don’t mind at all, please do come say hello! I love meeting new people. Looking forward to sailing with you!

I was just sitting on my veranda reading (btw @cinderellen this is my book for this cruise! I’m about 100 pages in, so far a nice read, would be good for a Mediterranean cruise) when my stateroom attendant Ana popped out to deliver me a snack. It looks like Celebrity has stepped up its canapé game since I last sailed in concierge class. Im still pretty full from Sushi lunch, but there’s always room for cured meat and cheese.