Just off Equinox Oct 6th Sailing - Any Questions

Hello everyone, we have just been on the Equinox October sailing out of Miami (Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Falmouth. We had a great cruise in most areas.

Anybody has any questions or need any information please ask. I do not have many pictures and certainly not of any dailies, menus or food but I will help where possible.

Graeme (UK)

By having a great cruise in “most area”, can you share which port you did not enjoy?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hello everyone, we have just been on the Equinox October sailing out of Miami (Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Falmouth. We had a great cruise in most areas.

 

 

 

Anybody has any questions or need any information please ask. I do not have many pictures and certainly not of any dailies, menus or food but I will help where possible.

 

 

 

Graeme (UK)

Love to hear what you did Aruba, Curacao & Bonaire. We have similar cruise on Equinox in October 2018 and have never been to those

ports. Also, was the entertainment good?

Thank you for you reply !!

By having a great cruise in “most area”, can you share which port you did not enjoy?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We did not enjoy Jamaica but this port was a replacement for Key West. Having been here twice before we only had a walk around the port area shops which were selling same stuff in each one. Then back on the ship so really it was a bit like another sea day. Lots of people did the same.

Graeme

Love to hear what you did Aruba, Curacao & Bonaire. We have similar cruise on Equinox in October 2018 and have never been to those

ports. Also, was the entertainment good?

Thank you for you reply !!

Hi Kentucky, we had been to all the islands before and Aruba is one of our favourites. Here's what we did in each:

Aruba (11am - 11pm). Got off ship around 11.30 and headed for Nikki beach, this is a small beach near the airport, lovely and not crowded, also only $6 for a sunbed. We went back to the ship around 3.30, had a shower and change of clothes and headed up towards eagle beach area to a great beach bar called Bugaloe beach bar, this is next to the Riu hotel. Happy hour 5 - 6 and live music from 7pm. Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Got back to ship about 10pm - Great day.

Curacao (8 - 8), had a walk into town (10 mins walk) and did a little shopping. Then we headed to Kontiki beach for the afternoon. Again great day.

Bonaire (7 - 4), we had booked a private snorkelling trip with accompany called Woodwind. We have used them before and are excellent if you like to snorkel, thousands of fish on the reef. The cater for all levels of snorkelers, from beginners to expert, $55 pp incudes food and drinks. Then we had a walk in town, not a lot else to se in town but is very pretty. Again had a great day.

As for the entertainment, I am not a song and dance person but my DW is. She said the production shows were 'ok'. Guest entertainers were Ashley Amber - good (Whitney Houston act), December 63 act (did not see), comedian (did not see) and a guy doing impressions of singers on last night - dreadful, we have seen him before and gets no better. Highlight of the team is Richard Spacey the Cruise director he was excellent. The two house bands were only average, no oomph in my opinion.

Hope this helps.

Graeme

We did not enjoy Jamaica but this port was a replacement for Key West. Having been here twice before we only had a walk around the port area shops which were selling same stuff in each one. Then back on the ship so really it was a bit like another sea day. Lots of people did the same.

 

 

 

Graeme

As much as possible, we also avoid Jamaica itineraries after one visit. The 2nd time, we find the shop salespeople too aggressive in selling that we felt intimidated at one point.

Thank you for your response.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Kentucky, we had been to all the islands before and Aruba is one of our favourites. Here's what we did in each:

Aruba (11am - 11pm). Got off ship around 11.30 and headed for Nikki beach, this is a small beach near the airport, lovely and not crowded, also only $6 for a sunbed. We went back to the ship around 3.30, had a shower and change of clothes and headed up towards eagle beach area to a great beach bar called Bugaloe beach bar, this is next to the Riu hotel. Happy hour 5 - 6 and live music from 7pm. Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Got back to ship about 10pm - Great day.

 

Curacao (8 - 8), had a walk into town (10 mins walk) and did a little shopping. Then we headed to Kontiki beach for the afternoon. Again great day.

 

Bonaire (7 - 4), we had booked a private snorkelling trip with accompany called Woodwind. We have used them before and are excellent if you like to snorkel, thousands of fish on the reef. The cater for all levels of snorkelers, from beginners to expert, $55 pp incudes food and drinks. Then we had a walk in town, not a lot else to se in town but is very pretty. Again had a great day.

 

As for the entertainment, I am not a song and dance person but my DW is. She said the production shows were 'ok'. Guest entertainers were Ashley Amber - good (Whitney Houston act), December 63 act (did not see), comedian (did not see) and a guy doing impressions of singers on last night - dreadful, we have seen him before and gets no better. Highlight of the team is Richard Spacey the Cruise director he was excellent. The two house bands were only average, no oomph in my opinion.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Graeme

It does help, we might shamelessly copy some of what you did, if you don't mind?

Had a feeling the entertainment might not be as good. Oh well, more to a cruise than shows!

Hi Graeme we are on the same cruise next week (in the U.K. and the rain is chucking down at the moment so looking forward to some sunshine)When you say you went to Nikki beach and Eagle beach area are they walking distance from the ship ? (we don’t have any walking difficulties) or did you get a bus/taxi ?

Again the same question for Kontiki Beach from the ship: walk /taxi ?

In Bonaire Can we walk into town from the ship?

What did you do in Grand Cayman? Are you able to walk to places?

We have booked a ship tour for Jamaica.

We are happy to book organised trips if needed but would prefer to wander off the ship and walk to places when possible,

Thank you

Hi Graeme we are on the same cruise next week (in the U.K. and the rain is chucking down at the moment so looking forward to some sunshine)When you say you went to Nikki beach and Eagle beach area are they walking distance from the ship ? (we don’t have any walking difficulties) or did you get a bus/taxi ?

Again the same question for Kontiki Beach from the ship: walk /taxi ?

In Bonaire Can we walk into town from the ship?

What did you do in Grand Cayman? Are you able to walk to places?

We have booked a ship tour for Jamaica.

We are happy to book organised trips if needed but would prefer to wander off the ship and walk to places when possible,

Thank you

Eagle Beach is not in walking distance, but a quick 10 minute cab/bus ride.

Bonaire, yes, just walk right off the ship and you are in town.

The same with Grand Cayman....you are able to walk to places.

Hello everyone, we have just been on the Equinox October sailing out of Miami (Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Falmouth. We had a great cruise in most areas.

 

Anybody has any questions or need any information please ask. I do not have many pictures and certainly not of any dailies, menus or food but I will help where possible.

 

Graeme (UK)

Did you try Silk Harvest by chance, and if yes, how was it? Sailing on Equinox December 2-9, Western Caribbean cruise! Have yet to try this Specialty restaurant!

Did you try Silk Harvest by chance, and if yes, how was it? Sailing on Equinox December 2-9, Western Caribbean cruise! Have yet to try this Specialty restaurant!

We were on the same sailing. We were in a RS & didn't have to pay extra for the specialty restaurants. We went to Silk Harvest on our 2nd to last night. If we would have been charged for the dinner, I would have asked for a refund. ☹️

Our reservation was for 6:30, we arrived about 6:25. There were about 10 people ahead of us waiting to be seated. We were seated by 6:35. Our waiter had zero personality. Our appetizers were brought to the table separately. At 7:10 they brought my husband's soup, a little over 5 minutes later they brought my salad & spring rolls. At 7:50, they brought my orange chicken, it was cooked & crispy, but room temperature. Not even slightly warm. The fried rice was warm (not hot) in the center of the bowl. I asked for white rice; it was hot. My husband's entree, was brought when the waiter brought with white rice. It was hot, but neither of us can remember what it was, so that tells you how memorable it was. We didn't stay for dessert.

We ordered hot tea, the pot was hot. The waiter put the tea leaves in the pot of hot water, it never did taste like tea. By the time we waited for the tea to steep, it was warm. The hot sake was hot.

The restaurant is crowded & loud. A woman at a table next to us picked up her mojito glass, the bottom of the glass stayed on the table. Needless to say, fluid spilled all over the table. A waitress was slow to come over, sopped up a little of the liquid & then was gone. The guests at the table all used their napkins & a couple plates the clean up the table.

There seems to be a disconnect between the kitchen & the wait staff. The orders don't come out together & the service is extremely slow. I looked around the restaurant, most people were sitting around waiting for food. We found out later some "new friends" we met on the cruise had eaten there a few days prior, they had an experience similar to ours. They spoke to the manager of Silk as well as the person above him. I didn't take complain to management, but I wouldn't pay for the experience.

The food tasted good. If I could have had it delivered to my room in little cardboard boxes, it would probably be hot, tasty & more enjoyable!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Did you spend any time at he Martini bar? If so any favorite bartenders, for that fact at any bar. We are getting on the Equinox on Oct 27.

Norma

Did you spend any time at he Martini bar? If so any favorite bartenders, for that fact at any bar. We are getting on the Equinox on Oct 27.

Norma

We were at the Martini Bar almost every evening. We didn't have a favorite bar tender, they were all pretty good. With all the drink packages given away on the cruise, the alcohol was flowing at full force. I am not much of a drinker, but did a lot on this cruise. There were a lot of fun people on the ship, we gathered at the Martini Bar every evening. A couple evenings we took over the seating in the back corner & played Cards Against Humanity- definitely a riot. [emoji33][emoji23]A server came over & got our drink orders when we were in that area.

The drinks were not always consistent, but they would make another if someone wasn't happy. If they had the ingredients, they would make whatever you wanted. Lots of shots were poured too, most of the shots were doubles or triples (we didn't ask for doubles or triples, that's just how they were served).

The World Class Bar was quieter, the drinks & bartenders were excellent. It is very bright & some nights had an art auction going on right behind it, so it doesn't really feel like an upscale bar. A few times we got a drink there & took it to the Martini Bar. [emoji846]

We also went to Sky Bar & Oceanview, they were also fine. Depending on what was going on, bartenders would move from one bar to another. I didn't encounter any unfriendly service at the bars. Sometimes the service was a little slow, but that was understandable due to the sheer volume of drinks they were serving.

One thing that was a little odd, several times the bars ran out of bottled water. They did eventually get more, but a bottle of water here & there helps when people are drinking so much alcohol. I didn't run across any unruly guests, but there were a lot of happy people.

We didn't go to the Gastro Pub, which surprised me since we generally spend time in the Irish Pub on RCCL ships. The GP is open and doesn't have a pub feel. Mostly people watching football & MLB playoffs in there. We could see it clearly from the Martini Bar and walked by several times during the day.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Kentucky, we had been to all the islands before and Aruba is one of our favourites. Here's what we did in each:

Aruba (11am - 11pm). Got off ship around 11.30 and headed for Nikki beach, this is a small beach near the airport, lovely and not crowded, also only $6 for a sunbed. We went back to the ship around 3.30, had a shower and change of clothes and headed up towards eagle beach area to a great beach bar called Bugaloe beach bar, this is next to the Riu hotel. Happy hour 5 - 6 and live music from 7pm. Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Got back to ship about 10pm - Great day.

 

Curacao (8 - 8), had a walk into town (10 mins walk) and did a little shopping. Then we headed to Kontiki beach for the afternoon. Again great day.

 

Bonaire (7 - 4), we had booked a private snorkelling trip with accompany called Woodwind. We have used them before and are excellent if you like to snorkel, thousands of fish on the reef. The cater for all levels of snorkelers, from beginners to expert, $55 pp incudes food and drinks. Then we had a walk in town, not a lot else to se in town but is very pretty. Again had a great day.

 

As for the entertainment, I am not a song and dance person but my DW is. She said the production shows were 'ok'. Guest entertainers were Ashley Amber - good (Whitney Houston act), December 63 act (did not see), comedian (did not see) and a guy doing impressions of singers on last night - dreadful, we have seen him before and gets no better. Highlight of the team is Richard Spacey the Cruise director he was excellent. The two house bands were only average, no oomph in my opinion.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Graeme

We also had Dec. of 63 on our similar Equinox cruise in Sept. They do Frankie Valli and the Four seasons and are excellent.

Had Jamaica also as a replacement and have been there many times before. We just walked around the enclosed area at Falmouth where the shops are located. Suggest you not leave area on your own and take only Celebrity excursions for safety reasons. There is a Margaritaville Bar at the port which many people go to.

Grand Cayman we did the Palm Hotel for the day, pool, beach, restaurant, bar, very clean with facilities.

This is our first Celebrity cruise in Nov. We, too, have received the Premium Drink Package. My question is: How is this signified on your cruise card? On princess, you would get a sticker. How does Celebrity do this? I am assuming that the bar tips are included with the drink package. Is this correct?

This is our first Celebrity cruise in Nov. We, too, have received the Premium Drink Package. My question is: How is this signified on your cruise card? On princess, you would get a sticker. How does Celebrity do this? I am assuming that the bar tips are included with the drink package. Is this correct?

It’s imprinted on the card and bar tips are included.

This is our first Celebrity cruise in Nov. We, too, have received the Premium Drink Package. My question is: How is this signified on your cruise card? On princess, you would get a sticker. How does Celebrity do this? I am assuming that the bar tips are included with the drink package. Is this correct?

the premium package will show on your sea pass and gratuities are included in the drink package. We did at the end of the cruise tip those bartenders that we got to know that gave us excellent service.

Thank you both for your quick reply. We are Elite on Princess and wanted to try Celebrity. It's weird, bur exciting to be a "newbie" again!

We were on the same sailing. We were in a RS & didn't have to pay extra for the specialty restaurants. We went to Silk Harvest on our 2nd to last night. If we would have been charged for the dinner, I would have asked for a refund. ☹️

 

Our reservation was for 6:30, we arrived about 6:25. There were about 10 people ahead of us waiting to be seated. We were seated by 6:35. Our waiter had zero personality. Our appetizers were brought to the table separately. At 7:10 they brought my husband's soup, a little over 5 minutes later they brought my salad & spring rolls. At 7:50, they brought my orange chicken, it was cooked & crispy, but room temperature. Not even slightly warm. The fried rice was warm (not hot) in the center of the bowl. I asked for white rice; it was hot. My husband's entree, was brought when the waiter brought with white rice. It was hot, but neither of us can remember what it was, so that tells you how memorable it was. We didn't stay for dessert.

 

We ordered hot tea, the pot was hot. The waiter put the tea leaves in the pot of hot water, it never did taste like tea. By the time we waited for the tea to steep, it was warm. The hot sake was hot.

 

The restaurant is crowded & loud. A woman at a table next to us picked up her mojito glass, the bottom of the glass stayed on the table. Needless to say, fluid spilled all over the table. A waitress was slow to come over, sopped up a little of the liquid & then was gone. The guests at the table all used their napkins & a couple plates the clean up the table.

 

There seems to be a disconnect between the kitchen & the wait staff. The orders don't come out together & the service is extremely slow. I looked around the restaurant, most people were sitting around waiting for food. We found out later some "new friends" we met on the cruise had eaten there a few days prior, they had an experience similar to ours. They spoke to the manager of Silk as well as the person above him. I didn't take complain to management, but I wouldn't pay for the experience.

 

The food tasted good. If I could have had it delivered to my room in little cardboard boxes, it would probably be hot, tasty & more enjoyable!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks! We have Luminae to enjoy most of the week of our cruise, but that might steer me away or do Murano instead, but I might give it a one time chance to see how food, atmosphere, etc. plays out! Thank you so much for your response!!!

Did you try Silk Harvest by chance, and if yes, how was it? Sailing on Equinox December 2-9, Western Caribbean cruise! Have yet to try this Specialty restaurant!

We where on this same cruise. We did go to Silk Harvest and thou all was good, suggest finding 2 other couples for a party of 6 to truly enjoy all the offering they have. Ends up being more of a buffet style with everything on the menu place in front of you.

Did you spend any time at he Martini bar? If so any favorite bartenders, for that fact at any bar. We are getting on the Equinox on Oct 27.

Norma

Spent 2-3 hours every night for 21 days at the Martini Bar. Do ask for Goose at the bar and tell him John Wayne says hello. Inside joke , but he'll get it.

Lawn club grill or still glass show?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Forums mobile app

Lawn club grill or still glass show?

Silhouette and Reflection are the only ships that have LCG. :)

Silhouette and Reflection are the only ships that have LCG. :)

also featured on equinox, very good all three even if a girl was less good, she went down on October 16th

Lawn club grill or still glass show?

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Forums mobile app

the glass show was excellent!