mysparky

Apologies if this question has been asked/answered already.

I'm Equinox in November and online check-in just became available.  I completed the check-in process on the phone app and noticed that the app only reflects 1 of my specialty dining reservations.  The Celebrity website accurate reflects the 3 reservations that I have.  Is this a glitch w/ the phone app or something I need to contact Celebrity about?

Thanks in advance.

8 hours ago, aml3679 said:

A food tour out of Little Havana - culture, food, drinks, and fun.

Agree with this suggestion.  There's a great tour company (Art Deco Tours) that offers the Little Havana walking tour as well as an Art Deco walking tour.  We did the Art Deco Cocktail tour (evenings only) a few years ago and it really was interesting and we learned a lot.  For lunch, we ate at Naked Taco in the South Beach area (awesome). 

Only concern w/ both of these suggestions is that the tours take about 2 1/2 hours and not sure if you'll have enough time for the tours, lunch & getting to airport. 

I've read on this board about renting golf carts (you need a parking pass too though).  May be a fun alternative to uber/taxis

1 hour ago, Igggy said:

I've booked a Monday 10 AM flight out of FLL after our Reflection cruise in January. This is the first time we've gotten an early light versus staying a night and leaving in the morning, Any helpful suggestions? Also, is a luggage valet service for SWA still available? Thanks.

I've made a 10:30 flight out of FLL on a Monday morning with no problem, at all.  I did self-disembarkation and there was a little bit of a holdup (we couldn't get off until about 7:15), but I was at my GATE by 8:15.  I have global entry so that helped move things along at both the port and the airport.  The fact that your flight is on a Monday, rather than Saturday or Sunday, should also help (you won't be contending with volumes of passengers from the mega ships).

It definitely sounds like it's worthwhile to at least check it out.  Thanks for the responses!

1 hour ago, lovecruzin said:

We have done the mixology class at the World Class Bar, it is a lot of fun. If you are on a ship that has WCB, ask the bartender on first day and they should be able to get you signed up. In my experience it is not held on every sea day.

 I was also thinking that the mixology class would be fun, but I was wondering how basic it is?  Do they show simple cocktails, or do they get into designing more complex cocktails?  Thanks!

We've stayed at the Courtyard before and it's fine, just not my first choice. 

If you want to stay at the beach, check out the rates at the Westin.  Often they can be about the same as the Courtyard and the Westin is a better choice.

Lately, we've been staying at the Fairfield Inn - Las Olas.  It's a good area for restaurants & night life, but not right on the beach (you'd have to take a bus, cab or uber).  Fairfield Inn provides free shuttle service from the airport as well as complimentary breakfast.

Sorry - I can't remember the taxi rates to the Courtyard but I would definitely recommend Uber or Lyft.  Definitely much more reasonable.

Enjoy!

Helpful information from all - thank you!

Hi all -

We're Elite and we will be sailing on Equinox.  I understand that one of the Elite perks is a 1 day pass to the Persian Gardens while the ship is "in port".  Do you know if this pass is valid on day 1 (embarkation)?  Also, does anyone have recent pricing for day/weekly passes?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks so much for detailing your experience.  I often wondered how this transfer worked and if a TA would honor additional discounts if you booked via future cruise desk.  We'll be sure to look into this next time we're onboard!

17 hours ago, Knighton said:

I read somewhere that some ships have 2 different Le Petit Chef experiences, each completely different from the other.  I can't really find any details either here on the forums, and the Celebrity website doesn't say anything about it at all either.  Can anyone shed some light on this?  Which ships have it this way?  Thanks!

Thanks for posting this question as I've been unclear about the 2 experiences as well.

We're on a 7 night cruise on Equinox and  looking to reserve for the later part of our cruise (probably night 5 or 6).  Does anyone know if the 2 shows follow a typical schedule?  As in, typically the single chef for the first few nights and then the competition for next few nights?  

Thanks in advance.

2 hours ago, ShipMonster said:

Guten tag, I don't know much about this cruise line but my wife follows an Equinox facebook group that's more active than this board. She was telling me they they're still preforming the re-fitment during certain port days. Literally throwing out furniture and materials at a port and installing new ones on the same day. She also said that Celebrity won't be done with the *total* refurb until 2021. We're booked for aqua class in Nov and with a toddler, we were hoping we'd have new carpeting in the room. I think the take away from all of this is that the Equinox will be changing over time, week to week. We're just sitting back watching the trip reports drip in.

Shipmonster - I just joined the Equinox roll call and noticed we're on the same sailing!  Would you mind sharing the name of the Equinox facebook group that your wife has been following (is that against the rules on these boards?!) .  I'm excited to learn about the continued changes. 

Props to X for figuring out how to rework the renovations due to circumstances beyond their control!

First is to figure out what to do with your bags, and then you have several options.

If your cruise offers a luggage valet service and you're able to take advantage of that, you could get around w/o need of a rental car.  Just pick up an uber from the cruiseport and go about your day without worrying about your luggage.

If that's not an option, renting a car for the day is a decent option so that you can throw your bags in the trunk.

We've usually rented a car from Hertz (free shuttle from cruiseport to an office nearby).  Depending upon the season, we've taken a trip to the Gulfstream Casino/race track (about 20 min drive) and spent a few hours there.  Definitely fun if the horses are racing.

If you're able to ditch your bags but don't have a rental car, take an uber to the beach, rent a lime scooter for 30-60 mins of fun, walk around, get lunch.  Or, get a ride to the Las Olas area, walk around and check out stores, take a tour of the Stranahan House, get lunch.  As someone has mentioned above, the water taxi is a nice option too.

We've never been up for taking a ship tour, but that's an option as well.

Happy to hear that your initial impressions of the changes are very positive.  Have a wonderful cruise!

We stayed at Springhill Suites Airport/Cruiseport in Dania Beach and they provided free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel (until 11:30pm) as well as free shuttle service to the cruiseport (you just sign up when you check in).  It's my understanding that this is still offered, but wouldn't hurt to confirm w/ them on the phone.

It's a good choice for a family.  Free breakfast in the am but rooms are decent sized as well.  Chipotle, McD's and Burger King within walking distance, but I don't think there's much else in terms of restaurants.

Just off Independence on Monday (12/11) and didn’t see/hear anything indicating an outbreak. Seems like it just started with the very next cruise. What a bummer! Like others have mentioned, I wash my hands constantly and try avoiding touching my face, but as added precaution, also bring wipes to use after touching the menu and/or going through the buffet line. I’ve seen too many women exit the restroom without washing and too many others not use hand sanitizer before entering dining venues. Ick.

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We were on the same 12/7/17 sailing. This was the 6th year in a row that I took this same particular cruise (was originally on Liberty) and I can say that I also felt a decline in service. Most disappointing was our experience in Chops and Giovanni's. Neither the food (very dry chicken, somewhat flavorless filet, pretty boring desserts) nor the service was on par with what we've experienced in any years before. For instance, in Chops, it took 40 mins to receive our appetizers and, I should note, that we were dining late and the restaurant was at about 25% capacity at the time.

In addition to this, I had purchased the BOGO specialty dining online and had selected 8:30 as the requested dining time. When I got onboard, I was expecting to find additional information in my room regarding which restaurant for which night, but there was nothing. I asked the concierge in the Diamond Lounge and she said that I had not selected the restaurant or time online. I showed her on my phone how my "calendar" indicated a 8:30 selection for the BOGO. She didn't know what happened and told me she didn't think I had done it correctly. Long and short of it was that they didn't have a reservation for us for the 2nd night and the only option was for a 9pm dinner.

Lunch in the MDR was ok - service was good, but food was really not. I was happy that they had the salad bar, but the entrees were very unimpressive (we sat at a table for 4 and no one finished their lunch).

I also felt that bar service wasn't great. There just aren't as many bartenders. We were at the champagne bar at 7:30 one evening and it took 10 mins to get a drink (really not exaggerating that). On the last night of the cruise, we were at Olive & Twist at 11pm. There was a live band playing, people were dancing, we were sitting at the bar that had no seats available and several tables were occupied, yet there were only 2 bartenders (and sometimes only 1 if someone had to replenish supplies). Pool service was ok, but in 2 days, I literally saw ONE server walking around the deck taking orders. This has simply not been our experience in the past.

I did feel a real improvement in the Windjammer, though. We ate there for breakfast once and dinner another time and felt a real "service" presence. There were lots of choices at both meals and some options were actually quite good.

Would I go back to Independence? Likely. For someone that is newer to cruising and/or this class of ship, I don't know how you couldn't really enjoy it. I just felt disappointed in certain areas based upon what I've been accustomed to.

One final note, an earlier comment suggested that the turnover of crew could have played a role in service not being up to standards. Someone told me that either the hotel director or the restaurant director had just come on board as well. I would agree that could be a possibility as many of the crew members we spoke with were only 2 weeks into their contracts (ship had come from Europe).

On board now - ping is around 200ms so pretty sure we have O3B internet. I checked the VOOM roll call thread and it has been listing Indy with O3B for a bit. Performance varies a lot depending on time of day.

That’s good news! Thanks for reporting back! Enjoy your cruise!

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Anyone with recent experience on Independence? I️ was on Enchantment and didn’t have any issues with dropped calls or static, but wondering about Independence?

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I noticed on the cruise compass that you posted that room entry wasn't available until 2:00pm on embarkation day. I thought it used to be 1:00 and I'm wondering if this is a change or if there was an exception on the day you boarded. Anyone know?

A few years ago, we did an evening Art Deco Cocktail Tour and it was very interesting and fun. We have a much better understand and appreciation of the Art Deco style as a result.

This is a walking tour and the meeting place was at a hotel in South Beach. They offer the same tour, sans cocktails, during the day as well and I think it is about 2 hours in length and the cost is approx $30/pp.

We haven't had an opportunity to do the "Little Havana" tour, but that sounds interesting as well.

Hi All -

In June, I sailed in Enchantment and was able to use WiFi calling to make daily phone calls home. I was very pleased with the clarity of all of my calls and didn't run into any problems with delays or dropped signals.

This December, we will be sailing on Independence and I'll have the same need to call home. Does anyone have experience with WiFi calling on Independence? I know that all RCCL ships have been upgraded to VOOM, but I also know that this doesn't equate to necessarily great service because the internet may be on the older service.

Thanks!

It's been a few years, but we booked directly with Wild Tours 7 years ago (for the ATV tour) and 6 years ago for the Xrails Tour. We did it this way, both times, because we didn't want to return to the cruise ship right after the tour (wanted to go to Paradise Beach) and that wasn't an option if we booked directly through cruise line.

I was on Enchantment in May and also found that wifi worked very well. I didn't use it for streaming, but did use it for WiFi calling. I had the basic "surf" service (not "surf & stream") and had no issue loading up web content or calling home (every day). Was very pleased.

Just off of Enchantment and it was $30/pp for the first night instead of $35. Made arrangements right as we got on board.

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