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Trip Review: Celebrity Equinox - 9 Dec 2017 to 16 Dec 2017


journeycollector
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The CC boards were invaluable when planning our Alaskan cruise last year, so it's time to pay it forward again. We just got back from a 7-day cruise on the Celebrity Equinox from Miami. I like to live vicariously through everyone's trip reviews, so I'll blog a little bit about each day, excursions, and ship activities. Fair warning: I LIKE PHOTOS! This was our first experience with Celebrity.

 

About Us

I'm Joe. My husband is "B." We were married in April, but have been together nearly 10 years. Instead of honeymooning right away, we decided to save a big trip until December to escape winter in Wisconsin (brrr!). We're both in our 30s--although I'll be the big 4-0 towards the end of next year (I think we should celebrate with a cruise, don't you?). I work as a research librarian at a university and B is a reporter.

 

Choosing this Cruise

This is only our second cruise...still newbies compared to most people on here! Price is a major factor in on our decision, but we're also not willing to go "bottom of the barrel" either. We don't need water slides or raucous crowds to have a good time. For us, a vacation is intended for us to R-E-L-A-X. Around mid-May, I started checking cruise prices and we found a good deal with Celebrity so we booked it!

 

Then came the hurricanes... The original itinerary was San Juan--St. Maarten--St. Kitts. St. Maarten was axed and replaced with Punta Cana, then St. Croix, and then finally switched to St. Thomas. It didn't really matter to us. We were happy to escape the cold in Wisconsin and knew that Celebrity would get us to warm and sunny places. Any inconvenience pales in comparison to what the people in the Caribbean are going through in recovering from the hurricanes.

 

Prior to the cruise, we decided to spend two nights in Miami Beach--a place neither of us had been to prior.

 

Itinerary

  • Thursday, Dec. 7: Fly to Fort Lauderdale, spend night in Miami Beach
  • Friday, Dec. 8: Miami Beach
  • Saturday, Dec. 9: Leave Miami on Celebrity Equinox
  • Sunday, Dec. 10: Day at sea
  • Monday, Dec. 11: San Juan
  • Tuesday, Dec. 12: Saint Thomas
  • Wednesday, Dec. 13: Saint Kitts
  • Thursday, Dec. 14: Day at sea
  • Friday, Dec. 15: Day at sea
  • Saturday, Dec. 16: Return to Miami, Everglades Ecotour, Fly home

More to come!...here's a little photo collage I did of 3 photos I took.

 

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Thursday, December 7 - Heading South to Miami Beach!

So B and I have this tradition on our vacations of booking the earliest flight possible to maximize our sightseeing on Day One. The alarm clock went off at 3am to catch our 5:30am flight out of Milwaukee. We flew Southwest, changed planes in Orlando, and then made the quick hop over to Fort Lauderdale, getting in around Noon.

 

We got an Uber from FLL and headed down to Miami Beach. Traffic was heavy and it took almost an hour. I had booked us into the Chesterfield Hotel and Suites on Collins Avenue. The hotel was a quick walk to the beach and restaurants. After checking in (and changing into shorts!), we walked over to the restaurants on Ocean Drive to have a bite to eat.

 

Then it was time to relax and walk along the beach. Here's me:

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And here's B:

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Seeking warmer climes!

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...and when in Miami, have a mojito! This is at Larios on the Beach - owned by the Estefans.

 

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Friday, December 8 - Beach day

 

Being from Wisconsin, a beach day was definitely in order. Well, we do have beaches on Lake Michigan...but up here, a "beach day" in December is no fun (unless ice fishing counts)!

 

Weather was great in Miami Beach on Thursday and Friday: 80-84F / 26-28C.

 

We entered the beach around 9th Street and got an umbrella and two chairs and had a relaxing morning and afternoon lounging and swimming. Despite the nice weather, the beach didn't feel too crowded.

 

R-E-L-A-X

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After getting in our required beach time, we walked along Ocean Drive and then headed north on the boardwalk.

 

The former Versace mansion

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The famous Fontainebleau Hotel. B is a huge James Bond fan. The hotel was featured in "Goldfinger."

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Some art installations on the beach

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Along the boardwalk...

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Love Miami Beach (actually I like it but my wife loves it, so we love it) and the Equinox is our next scheduled cruise.

 

Looking forward to reading you review.

 

We loved the vibe and the architecture, but found it pricey! :D Next time if we were leaving from Miami again we would probably just fly in the day before and stay closer to the port.

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Saturday, December 9 - Embarkation at Miami

 

OK, OK, on to the stuff that matters...the cruise!

 

Our documentation from Celebrity said to show up anytime between 11am and 2:30pm. At 10:30am, I called for an Uber to take us from Miami Beach to the Port of Miami.

 

The cloudy skies started to get a bit darker, then it started sprinkling, and then the heavens opened up and it was pouring down rain as we were approaching the cruise terminal.

 

Our attitude is always, "were on vacation" and a little rain won't stop us!

 

I've read lots of reviews about the length of the boarding process. I don't know what it was in our case. The bad weather? The early arrival? I timed it: From curbside to ship, it was 11 minutes!

 

Let me repeat that...11 MINUTES!!!! And we do not have fancy, schmancy priority-elite-platinum-blood of your children status. We just got lucky.

 

I felt like I barely blinked and all the sudden I was on board with a glass of not-quite-champagne-but-I'll-drink-it-anyway.

 

B and I did our usual gawking, had lunch in the Oceanview Cafe, and awaited the announcement that staterooms were ready.

 

First impressions of the ship: classy, elegant, and clean.

 

Here are a few pics:

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Look, can this librarian get a job here, lol!

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Us "cheapies" booked an inside stateroom on Deck 7...

We don't spend a lot of time in our room...just to sleep, so it's never bothered us. It was actually pretty roomy with 2 soft chairs and desk chair and plenty of storage. It had a lot more room than what we had on a Crown Princess inside cabin last year.

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Cloudy Miami

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Saturday, December 9 - Sail away, sail away, sail away...

 

Because I had to sit through the required muster drill, you should also be forced to watch the "

" video like we did. There...now you can have that song stuck in your head like I did!

 

Even though it was still spritzing a bit, we went to the upper decks and watched sail away. Cloudy skies did not matter...we were on vacation!

 

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Will post more tomorrow.

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Next time, fly in early and spend a few days in Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors. You'll find it less expensive and you'll have a nice time. Nice pictures, what type of camera/phone are you using?

 

My husband and I are doing the Equinox for New Years Eve, leaving on Dec. 30 so I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

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Saturday, December 9 - first night

 

My mom and I usually get each other travel-related gifts for our birthdays. For my birthday, she gifted us 3 nights in speciality dining for this cruise. After muster drill, B and I headed over to the specialty restaurant area on Deck 5 to get our reservations squared away for the week. Tuscan Grille was offering 30% off Saturday night so we dined there that night, which meant our dining schedule for the cruise was: Sat (Tuscan Grille), Sun (Murano), Mon (eat dinner in San Juan), Tue (MDR), Wed (MDR), Thu (Silk Harvest) and Fri (Murano).

 

Then we started exploring this beautiful ship!

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We had 6pm dinner reservations in Tuscan Grille. The food was good! We started with the antipasti board. I had the grilled branzino for my entree, but also got a side of shortrib pappardelle because I wanted to taste a bit of pasta. B has a gluten intolerance which they easily accommodated. He had a seafood pasta. For dessert, B got into his usual creme-brulee-every-night routine and I had the tiramisu. Complimentary limoncello shots were delivered, but you can't convince me that it doesn't taste like lemon furniture polish in liquid form...hah! Service was excellent.

 

That evening we attended the 9pm production of "Topper" in the Equinox Theater. Entertainment is definitely subjective and we go into these shows knowing it's mainly music and dancing...and very little plot. But we enjoyed it.

 

Equinox Theater:

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Next time, fly in early and spend a few days in Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors. You'll find it less expensive and you'll have a nice time. Nice pictures, what type of camera/phone are you using?

 

My husband and I are doing the Equinox for New Years Eve, leaving on Dec. 30 so I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Thanks for the tip...will definitely stay there in FLL area next time. We just wanted to try Miami Beach to say "been there, done that!" :)

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