Yet another 5/11/12 Equinox Mediterranean review! :)

[Shooraq]

Just like sooper and LoisR, I also got to enjoy a wonderful Mediterranean cruise onboard the awesome Celebrity Equinox. This cruise was one of the best trips my DH Ben and I have ever done. What made it even better was the amazing friends we made from this roll call. Our CC members helped generate lots of great experiences and memories, along with new friendships that will keep going whether by email/facebook or visits and future cruises! I highly recommend that when you can, to take advantage of the CC roll calls and meet-and-mingles. They can end up enhancing your cruise experience and gaining new friends! :D

 

My review might go a little differently, only because my photo editing is soooo much slower than this review will develop. :rolleyes: I won't be posting photos directly on this review, but instead will post links to my Flickr photo page related to the topics I'm covering. You must be patient... haha! :p But I will try to focus on the tours I arranged for this cruise, highlights of food eaten both at specialty restaurants and at the ports, and other activities or thoughts about the overall cruise experience.

 

Should you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask. Though I've been on Cruise Critic for a few years now, this is my first time writing a review of a cruise I've been on. Any input is greatly welcomed! :D

 

PS - If you want to "cheat" and look at the photos I've done so far, here is the link for the overall vacation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157629855984202/

[Shooraq]

Precruise (Day 1 in Rome):

 

Flight: We flew out May 8 from Boston to Rome using US Airways, with a layover in Philly. Smooth sailing the entire time (unlike the flight back... will comment later on). Arrived at FCO Wednesday morning and had a prearrange taxi pick us up and take us to the B&B.

 

Hotel: A Peace of Rome is highly recommended B&B on TripAdvisor, and I can see why. http://www.bbapeaceofrome.it/bb/en The location is only a 10 minute walk to the Vatican, along a safe section of Rome. The B&B is also close to the bus and metro stops, which came in handy for our tours. The host Daniele was waiting for us when we arrived, and went thru the process of explaining the hotel, offering a map that he circled places to visit and places to eat at. He wrote down recommended meals to try at a couple of restaurants. After reviewing everything, we got to relax in our room for a little bit. Good size room, double bed, air conditioning and plenty of windows to allow fresh air to come thru. Our entire stay at this B&B was worth it for the price, service, comfort and location.

 

Lunch: We grabbed lunch across the street at La Compagnia del Pane. We had these amazing sandwiches... well, let the photo do it justice! http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/7253005884/in/set-72157629855984202

 

Tour: Shortly after lunch, we headed over to our afternoon tour of the Vatican. I booked a tour with Roman Empire Tours: www.romanempiretours.com. We lucked out in being the only two people on his tour that day, giving the feel of a private tour. Jimmy has this warm, inviting personality, while being humorous and informative at the same time. His knowledge of the Vatican from an art history perspective, especially the Sistine Chapel, was impressive. Although you can spend so much time in the Vatican, the 3.5 hours was enough to get a sense of the museum, the Sistine Chapel, and finishing in front St. Peter's Basilica, which you can visit at your own leisure. Here are the photos taken while in the Vatican City: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/tags/vaticancity/show/

 

Dinner: In the evening, we ate at "Da Vito e Dina." Our host at the B&B recommended this place for dinner. We were not disappointed! We enjoyed the bruschetta, the rigatoni amatriciana, a spaghetti dish, tiramisu, the house red wine and limoncello. Everything was delicious and the price was reasonable. Next time we are in Rome, we will definitely eat dinner here again! Photos of our meal are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/tags/davitoedina/show/

 

Back to the hotel to sleep... needed our rest for everything planned of day 2 in Rome!

[Cruise Junky]

Great review and your pictures are great. Looking forward to the rest.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Good so far...

[DivasDare]

Great review and am so waiting for more of your beautiful pictures!

[sooper]

Great photos Robyn!

[tright]

Really nice review hope there will be more! I will be sailing on her in NOv

[jennifers490]

fantastic pics!

[Shooraq]

Precruise (Day 2 in Rome):

 

Breakfast: We went back to La Compagnia del Pane, but this time for breakfast. What a treat – they had a breakfast platter of sliced meats and cheese, along with bread, jam, fresh squeezed OJ and a latte. Delicious!:D

 

Morning tour: We then took a bus to get over the Roman Forum. This proved to be a little stressful. It was hard to determine where to get off from the bus so that there would be little walking to the tour meeting spot. Luckily Ben had us jump off just at the right time. Then again with map difficulties, I was panicking about where to meet. It wasn’t obvious between my tour guide instructions and the map we had from the B&B. Doesn’t help that we don’t speak Italian… Luckily we ran into someone who spoke English and pointed out the way. We got to the meeting spot just in time – whew!

 

Both tours we took this day were with Through Eternity, recommended on the Italy boards of CC. http://www.througheternity.com

 

For the morning tour, we had Stefano D’Ovidio. He was very upbeat and energetic. For some reason, I think a union meeting perhaps, the Roman Forum was closed for the morning. So our tours got reversed by visiting the Colosseum first, getting a break for lunch, and then back to the Roman Forum. Visiting the ancient ruins of Rome are so amazing… you just keep dropping your jaw at how expansive and impressive everything is.

 

The tour guide was extremely informative and friendly. It was a hot day with the strong sun bearing down on us, so by the end of the tour, which ended later than I expected, we took our time walking around and finding something cold to drink and eat. (Beer and gelato, anyone?) Since it didn’t make sense to head back to the B&B, we walked all around Rome, killing time before meeting up with Cruise Critic friends for dinner.

 

Dinner: One of our roll call friend, Jon-Paul, arranged dinner at Ristorante Di Rienzo, located right at the foot of the Pantheon. http://www.gruppodirienzo.com/en/restaurant.html

 

Fourteen of us attended and it was nice to meet some of our roll call members prior to the ship. Dinner was pretty good. I had a pasta dish, but I honestly liked the prior night’s dinner better. But the company made it worthwhile!

 

Evening Tour: We left the group dinner a little early so we could make our evening tour with Through Eternity. Again, was a little confusing figuring out the meeting spot. Biggest tip – leave PLENTY of time in order to get to your tour meeting spot so you do not get stressed on your vacation.

 

This tour was basically a sunset tour of the piazzas and fountains of Rome. Our guide was Caterina Panetta, and we were the only two on this tour. Caterina was very nice and gave a little history about some the sights we saw. We covered a lot of ground, visiting the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Fountain of the Four Rivers, among other sights. We also got to eat some homemade gelato… that’s twice in one day!

 

Although the tour was nice, in hindsight, packing two walking tours in one day was a little too much for us. At the end, we stopped at a wine bar and had some limoncello and cake (both were average). Ben’s feet were hurting badly and since we were so far away from the B&B, we hailed a taxi back. That was an adventure too, because he drove very fast and crazy, and started driving down a one-way street with a car coming at us! Yikes! He back out though, and proceeded to our B&B. We got out alive and crashed for bed, eager to begin our cruise vacation the next day!

 

Photos of the whole day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157630046695366/

[SkystheLimit]

Oh my goodness. I should not have looked at your food photos during lunch break. My turkey sandwich looks pitiful.

 

Great photos!

[Shooraq]

Oh my goodness. I should not have looked at your food photos during lunch break. My turkey sandwich looks pitiful.

 

Great photos!

 

Thanks my dear! Trust me, my tofu salad pales in comparision too. This is the price one pays for eating well in Italy and Greece. Although I lost whatever little weight I gained the week after, so that's a plus. That never happens to me on a cruise! :D But I miss all that yummy food.... drool...

[portofrome]

Fantastic photos. Thanks for posting.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Oh my goodness. I should not have looked at your food photos during lunch break. My turkey sandwich looks pitiful.

 

Great photos!

 

I know, someone else posted pics of crepes and I was drolling!!! I still have 12 days before I can partake of them though *sigh*

[Andy]

Hi Shooraq,

 

Thank you for your review. I'm glad that you had an excellent Cruise on Equinox. If you haven't done so already, I hope you will consider submitting your review to our Member Reviews Section : http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/

 

Welcome Home !

[Shooraq]

Hi Shooraq,

 

Thank you for your review. I'm glad that you had an excellent Cruise on Equinox. If you haven't done so already, I hope you will consider submitting your review to our Member Reviews Section : http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/

 

Welcome Home !

 

Hi Andy,

 

Once I finish up this review, I will certainly post it in the member review section! :)

[Shooraq]

Equinox Day 1 - Embarkation

 

Leaving Rome: We woke up, and grabbed breakfast again at La Compagnia del Pane. We heard that there was some type of transportation strike that day, so we were happy that we had arranged a shared van in advance. We checked out of A Peace of Rome, and then lugged our suitcases a few blocks to meet with other CC members staying at the sister B&B, A View of Rome. Seven of us shared a van from Rome Cabs. The driver was prompt and helpful in storing the luggage in the van. We left Tome and headed to the port of Civitavecchia. It was about an hour drive and we kept busy with small talk and gazing out the windows. We arrived at the port and paid the driver.

 

Embarkation: Luggage drop-off was easy and the embarkation lines were smooth sailing. Online check-in makes things so easy. As we were checking in, we ran into more Cruise Critic members. It’s easy to do when one roll call member set up a photo website and we shared our photos so we can better recognize each other. Not that it’s hard for people to spot us -a tall, teddy-bear white guy with a Kangol hat next to a shorter black woman with glasses and a near shaved head!

 

Before we boarded the ship, there was a table taking specialty restaurant reservations. Since we didn’t book our formal night dinners yet, we took advantage of the table. We booked Silk Harvest for the 1st formal night and Tuscan Grille for the second formal night, both at 6:30pm, the only early seating time available for a party of 2. Once those reservations were confirmed, it was time to board the ship and enjoy my mimosa!

 

Lunch: From the advice of some roll call members, we headed to Bistro on Five for lunch instead of battling the buffet lines. What a nice choice – the restaurant was relatively quiet and we were seated immediately. As time went on, a bunch of us from the CC roll call had the same idea and dined there, so we got to meet more people. The crepes we had were delicious, and we decided we would come back during the week.

 

Exploring the ship: After lunch, we were able to drop off our luggage in our room. We originally booked an inside stateroom, but with the price drops, upgraded to a Concierge Class balcony. This was a treat to further celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. The room was a nice size, with a comfortable bed, reasonable storage and a balcony with a clear view of the water. We got settled and then grabbed our cameras to explore. We have only been on the Century before, so experiencing a S-class ship was cool. The Equinox is definitely a different feel from our usual Royal Caribbean cruises. Classier is what comes to mind. We got a feel of the ship’s layout and ended up at Café al Bacio for a latte. This is when we learned that perhaps the classic non-alcoholic beverage package would be in our best interested, after waffling about it back home a few times prior to the cruise. We headed to guest relations to resolve a card issue, and purchased the beverage packages, which were WELL worth it on this trip.

 

Muster and Sailaway: Attended muster which was thorough and uneventful. Our muster station was in Michael’s Club and we watched a video about emergency procedures. Once cleared, we headed up to the Sunset Bar for the sailaway party. One CC member brought blue beads to wear so that we could recognize each other. It was a nice turnout and I had a couple of drinks to celebrate our cruise vacation.

 

Dinner: We met with a friend from the roll call for dinner at Murano. Since the first night at a specialty restaurant was 20% off, it made sense to go to the most expensive restaurant that night. (We planned to try all three specialty restaurants this trip, Ben and I like doing that on cruise ships.) We expected dinner to run on the slower side, but it was actually better than I thought. The food was good from appetizer to dessert. All courses were documented in my photos. I really enjoyed dinner at this restaurant and would do it again.

 

We pretty much called it a night and set the alarms to prep us for our first cruise port – Messina!

 

Photos of Day 1 of the Equinox are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157630048827156/with/7294246744/

[lovestx]

Loving this review, Shooraq! We leave on Friday night (on American from Boston) and depart on June 11th. Can't wait!

 

When do you get picked up in Rome and when would you say you were onboard? We're hoping to try Bistro on Five so was glad to hear it wasn't too crowded on embarkation day.

[Shooraq]

Loving this review, Shooraq! We leave on Friday night (on American from Boston) and depart on June 11th. Can't wait!

 

When do you get picked up in Rome and when would you say you were onboard? We're hoping to try Bistro on Five so was glad to hear it wasn't too crowded on embarkation day.

 

I arranged a pickup of 10:30am since checkout for our hotels was 10am. It took just about an hour. So by the time we got onboard it was probably no later than noon.

 

Bistro on Five I'm sure will be quiet. If it wasn't for a bunch of us saying we'd eat there in advance, it probably would have been close to empty! :D

 

Side note - glad you are using American... US Airways on the way back was rough. I will try to get a lot of my review up this week so you can enjoy it before you leave!

[PatriciaF]

Loved your first day pictures! As Ben apparently takes up the entire bed--do you order a rollaway? ;)

 

Keep the review coming--we will be on the Equinox in November for the 11 day itinerary. Our first X cruise.

[Shooraq]

Loved your first day pictures! As Ben apparently takes up the entire bed--do you order a rollaway? ;)

 

Keep the review coming--we will be on the Equinox in November for the 11 day itinerary. Our first X cruise.

 

Too funny. Nah, I just use the mini-couch in the stateroom as my bed. ;) I think he was just happy to relax and collapse on the bed.

 

The Equinox is a great ship... though I won't be back on a S-class Celebrity ship for a while, I hope to go on one again in 2014! I bet you'll love it. :)

[mcleonella]

Equinox Day 1 - Embarkation

 

Leaving Rome: We woke up, and grabbed breakfast again at La Compagnia del Pane. We heard that there was some type of transportation strike that day, so we were happy that we had arranged a shared van in advance. We checked out of A Peace of Rome, and then lugged our suitcases a few blocks to meet with other CC members staying at the sister B&B, A View of Rome. Seven of us shared a van from Rome Cabs. The driver was prompt and helpful in storing the luggage in the van. We left Tome and headed to the port of Civitavecchia. It was about an hour drive and we kept busy with small talk and gazing out the windows. We arrived at the port and paid the driver.

 

Embarkation: Luggage drop-off was easy and the embarkation lines were smooth sailing. Online check-in makes things so easy. As we were checking in, we ran into more Cruise Critic members. It’s easy to do when one roll call member set up a photo website and we shared our photos so we can better recognize each other. Not that it’s hard for people to spot us -a tall, teddy-bear white guy with a Kangol hat next to a shorter black woman with glasses and a near shaved head!

 

Before we boarded the ship, there was a table taking specialty restaurant reservations. Since we didn’t book our formal night dinners yet, we took advantage of the table. We booked Silk Harvest for the 1st formal night and Tuscan Grille for the second formal night, both at 6:30pm, the only early seating time available for a party of 2. Once those reservations were confirmed, it was time to board the ship and enjoy my mimosa!

 

Lunch: From the advice of some roll call members, we headed to Bistro on Five for lunch instead of battling the buffet lines. What a nice choice – the restaurant was relatively quiet and we were seated immediately. As time went on, a bunch of us from the CC roll call had the same idea and dined there, so we got to meet more people. The crepes we had were delicious, and we decided we would come back during the week.

 

Exploring the ship: After lunch, we were able to drop off our luggage in our room. We originally booked an inside stateroom, but with the price drops, upgraded to a Concierge Class balcony. This was a treat to further celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. The room was a nice size, with a comfortable bed, reasonable storage and a balcony with a clear view of the water. We got settled and then grabbed our cameras to explore. We have only been on the Century before, so experiencing a S-class ship was cool. The Equinox is definitely a different feel from our usual Royal Caribbean cruises. Classier is what comes to mind. We got a feel of the ship’s layout and ended up at Café al Bacio for a latte. This is when we learned that perhaps the classic non-alcoholic beverage package would be in our best interested, after waffling about it back home a few times prior to the cruise. We headed to guest relations to resolve a card issue, and purchased the beverage packages, which were WELL worth it on this trip.

 

Muster and Sailaway: Attended muster which was thorough and uneventful. Our muster station was in Michael’s Club and we watched a video about emergency procedures. Once cleared, we headed up to the Sunset Bar for the sailaway party. One CC member brought blue beads to wear so that we could recognize each other. It was a nice turnout and I had a couple of drinks to celebrate our cruise vacation.

 

Dinner: We met with a friend from the roll call for dinner at Murano. Since the first night at a specialty restaurant was 20% off, it made sense to go to the most expensive restaurant that night. (We planned to try all three specialty restaurants this trip, Ben and I like doing that on cruise ships.) We expected dinner to run on the slower side, but it was actually better than I thought. The food was good from appetizer to dessert. All courses were documented in my photos. I really enjoyed dinner at this restaurant and would do it again.

 

We pretty much called it a night and set the alarms to prep us for our first cruise port – Messina!

 

Photos of Day 1 of the Equinox are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157630048827156/with/7294246744/

 

Great review! Thanks for posting :)

 

Was wondering you mentioned that the drink package was really worth it. I've heard that since it's so port intensive that getting a drink package can be a bust, which drinks package did you get?

 

I'm debating between the premium non-alcoholic, classic and premium.

 

Thanks!

[Shooraq]

Great review! Thanks for posting :)

 

Was wondering you mentioned that the drink package was really worth it. I've heard that since it's so port intensive that getting a drink package can be a bust, which drinks package did you get?

 

I'm debating between the premium non-alcoholic, classic and premium.

 

Thanks!

 

Good question. We had friends that had the premium alcoholic package and man, it was used probably from 5pm to bedtime. They got their money's worth!

 

DH barely drinks alcohol while on a cruise and I like maybe 1 drink per day. So for us, there is no value to the alcoholic packages.

 

So for me, the classic non-alcoholic made sense. I don't need sparkling or premium waters, and the coffee beverages at Cafe al Bacio ARE covered under the classic as long as there is no alcohol in it. So a typical morning would go like this:

 

- fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast at buffet

- latte or cappuccino at Cafe al Bacio afterwards.

- pick up regular water bottle to take with me for tour/port

- back from tour, another coffee/tea from Cafe al Bacio.

- diet coke with dinner

- decaf coffee/tea before bed.

 

Added together, these were over $14 in a day. So it was worth it. Next time, DH might get the premium nonalcoholic so he can have the sparkling water and gatorade whenever he wants. But if you drink the level that I did above, then yes, it is. Does that help? :)

[mcleonella]

Yup! Thank you. :)

[Erik101]

Hello there! First of all, thank you very much for posting your experience and pictures regarding your Mediterranean adventure. My first three sailings were in the Caribbean and while they were fun, I need a change of scenery and your photos have given me some enlightenment as well as satisfaction that I made the right decision in booking the Equinox. :)

 

With that said, I do need to ask you about any language barriers that you experienced (if any) while in Rome or any of the ports in the Mediterranean. In other words, did you feel that there were enough people who spoke english at these destinations that you were able to get around? I speak French and a little German but I don't think these languages will help me in Italy, Spain and Greece. :eek:

 

Thanks again for your review! We're looking forward to experiencing cruising from a Mediterranean viewpoint as well as with Celebrity! :)

[Shooraq]

Hello there! First of all, thank you very much for posting your experience and pictures regarding your Mediterranean adventure. My first three sailings were in the Caribbean and while they were fun, I need a change of scenery and your photos have given me some enlightenment as well as satisfaction that I made the right decision in booking the Equinox. :)

 

With that said, I do need to ask you about any language barriers that you experienced (if any) while in Rome or any of the ports in the Mediterranean. In other words, did you feel that there were enough people who spoke english at these destinations that you were able to get around? I speak French and a little German but I don't think these languages will help me in Italy, Spain and Greece. :eek:

 

Thanks again for your review! We're looking forward to experiencing cruising from a Mediterranean viewpoint as well as with Celebrity! :)

 

The only slight language barrier we encountered was while staying in Rome prior to the cruise. If we were eating at a restaurant or needed directions, not everyone knows English. So sometimes it would be challenging order a meals, but you would just point and signal how many or how much. We used tours that were English speaking, so that helped majority of the time. And the shop vendors near the ports all could speak English. So you can manage fine, I think.