Review Equinox 6 August Part 2

[Podie]

As we were boarding the train to go from Venice to Rome on 2 Aug, the phone rang and I was told our lost luggage had arrived in Venice the night before! Of course no one had called, and now we couldn't turn around to get it. Luckily my son-in-law drove to the airport, got the luggage, and brought it to us in Rome the next day.

 

The Eurostar train from Venice to Rome took 3.5 hours and was very relaxing. We had a car waiting for us in Rome and it took us right to our apartment rental overlooking Campo de' Fiori. We spend the next four nights in this nice two bedroom two bath apartment in Rome, with a one day sidetrip to Naples for Pompeii and pizza.

 

By 5 August, all nine of us were in Rome. This included me, my husband, our two friends, daughter and son-in-law, and his parents and uncle. We had arranged a pickup from Bob's Limousines and they picked us all up in a bus promptly at 10:30 AM for 250 euro. We stopped at a supermarket on the way to buy two bottles of wine per cabin, arrived at Civitavecchia at noon, and unloaded our luggage with the porters, who surprisingly were not pleased with 4 euros per bag, but that's what we gave them.

 

We were on board in less then 15 minutes. Celebrity had 35 counters open and most were empty. What a fantastic experience! We had planned to eat at Bistro on Five for some crepes, panini, and salad, but when we found the Oceanview Cafe buffet just about empty, we took over a large table by the windows and chowed down. The food was fresh and excellent, and we were still there when the cabins were ready at 1:30 PM.

 

Our cabin 8246 was just as I expected - with the sofa by the balcony for a change of pace - and our friends were next door in 8244 (where the placing of the bed and sofa were opposite of ours). The steward, Antonio, immediately arrived and introduced himself. He was charming and spoke perfect English. We had him remove the balcony divider and we were ready!

 

Because they were offering 2 for 1 at the speciality restaurants, and our 6 PM sailaway would be missed if we went to our 6:15 MDR dinner, we made later reservations for Silk Harvest and watched the sailaway from the Sunset Bar until cigar and cigarette smoke from there drove us down one deck to the Oceanview Bar.

 

I was the only one who liked Silk Harvest. The staff provided over the top service and wanted us to try everything on the menu, and I hate wasting food, so tried to eat most of it. I would not pay for this or any other speciality restaurant again. The food in the MDR was excellent.

 

That night I started a nightly trend of getting on the treadmill in the fitness center for 45 minutes before they closed at 11 PM. It was never busy at that time and it was great penance for dinner!

 

Our first night at sea was wonderful, and we looked forward to our arrival in Naples, a town I've spent lots of time in while in the Navy.

[Keith1010]

Thanks again for posting this.

 

Keith

[Solstice23]

We have cruised many times and find the specialty at murano and find it far superior to the MDR and the best of any line as for Tuscan it's better then mdr and a good change of pace and service. Just our opinion and I guess it depends on what you order, but Silk Harvest was great and the fee paid was worth the service and fun selections we feel but it not as amazing as Murano :)

[jg51]

Hello, "podie."

Will you be posting your complete review in the "Members' Reviews" section of the CruiseCritic site?

 

Thanks!

[CruisinManiac]

Glad you found your luggage.

 

That night I started a nightly trend of getting on the treadmill in the fitness center for 45 minutes before they closed at 11 PM. It was never busy at that time and it was great penance for dinner!

Sounds like a waste of a good slumber. That's what I do after a big meal. :D I find that exercising before the meal burns the calories even better than after the meal! But, who am I kidding. The only exercise I do on a cruise is walking...up and down the stairs and at ports. :cool:

 

Keep up the great review! Looking forward to reading more about the ship, the stateroom and the dining room food, of course! :D

 

toronto25 - Which do you find better for a good steak, Murano or Tuscan?