sallyc

On our last cruise, we had a table at dinner (late seating) behind us with a man and woman, a 2 year old, and a 1 year old. After the first night, the father would come alone, bring an empty stroller to dinner, order meals (including dessert) for his entire family, and have the waiter pack it all up and stack it in the stroller to take back to his room. I don't know why he didn't just order room service.

As long as you stay near the beach, the sea breeze keeps things comfortable. If you want to take an excursion inland, though - like Chichen Itza - be prepared for life-sucking heat and humidity.

I laughed out loud at the "life-sucking heat and humidity" in your post. So true! Been there, done that.

Hi, do you bring your passport with you on shore excursions or leave in your room? Thanks!

We do not take our passports off the ship. BUT, we do take our ship card, drivers license and a photocopy of our passport along with plenty of cash and 2 different credit cards. Before anyone tells me that it's illegal to make a copy of your passport, I don't care. If the ship leaves without me, at least I will be able to go to the US Embassy with my passport number etc. to get help. We have watched our ship leave people on the dock for being late, and I CANNOT imagine the hassles they are in for.

How many people recommend turning off the water to the house before leaving for the cruise?

We always turn the water off when we go on vacation. A friend's icemaker line came loose while they were on a two week vacation, and water ran for an undetermined amount of time. They had to replace most of their first level flooring. I'm not taking the chance.

So Elite gets "priority" after suites and Elite Plus. I planned on using Luggage Valet anyway, so 12:45 it is. Thanks.

By the way....there was NO line at customs when we left the ship at 10 am AND our 2 pieces of luggage were the first ones to come down the chute at baggage claim when we got home. Sweet!

We just got off of Equinox this past Sunday. They have a service called "luggage valet" that is fantastic. You pay $25 per person and they print your boarding passes and deliver them to your cabin AND take your luggage to the airport and you don't see it again until you get back to your home airport. It is worth EVERY PENNY. We also hung around on the ship until the final call for passengers to um.... "remove themselves from the ship" at around 10 AM. LOL Your flight has to leave after 11:30 AM to get the luggage valet service. The form that you have to fill out for the service gets delivered to you with your daily program about the 3rd day on board.

We just got off the Equinox on Sunday. The MDR menus and food were quite good. We also enjoyed the Oceanview Café for dinner twice while on board. The Oceanview had a great salad bar and a grill bar where you chose your fish, chicken or steak and they cook it to order. We did hear a little grumbling from other passengers about the specialty restaurants having slow service. We thought about trying a specialty restaurant but we really were happy in the MDR.

At this point in time I think you should book your excursions through the cruise line. I wouldn't risk trying to book private excursions with fellow passengers through CC. Most have already firmed up their plans by now. But, you can try going to http://www.romeinlimo.com and inquiring about private excursions if you really want to go that route. I have used them in the past and they were great. They still may have room on some excursions. They are in most major cities in Italy. Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

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No and this is usually strictly enforced. Suite guests can dine in Blu on a space available basis.

Thank you mandream!

We are booked on the Celebrity Equinox this May. We managed to book a Concierge Class cabin. I am wondering if it is possible to dine at Blu, and pay a fee? Have any of you ever done this?