Video trip report/review: Equinox Ultimate 10 day 3/27/15-4/6/15

[DevilinaBluDress]

it would be nice to see a picture of the name tags...i'm not very imaginative when it comes to crafty things. They sound wonderful though.

if you have a photobucket account or web picture hosting account, you could upload a picture and post it on here.

 

Edited April 20, 2015 by MadisonMom

[DevilinaBluDress]

Another great daily wrap-up and video. So you went snorkelling rather than Zip Lining. LOL!

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

 

The Zip line was sold out! I do want to try that sometime, too. Will had a bad experience zip lining, so I would have to do it solo.

 

-Molly

[Nanatravel]

[attach]346838[/attach]

 

Thanks Molly. It would take me forever to learn how to post a photo of the Name Tags!

[midwestchick]

Thanks Molly. Love the name tags...not sure I'm crafty enough to make them.

[dodger1964]

Great review. Thanks for taking time to let us know about your great trip!!

[Tiggertastic]

Really loving the review and how you use you tube for the pictures instead of putting them into the thread

 

Well done on the weight loss

[Texed]

Madison,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[luvstosail]

Very nice review. I too enjoy your style.

 

Kudos for you for taking your son by yourself on a cruise.

 

I have a son with Aspergers so can relate a bit.

 

You are lucky to have met Bev aka Nanatravel. We met her here on CC and also cruised with her and Sid. She was very very gracious and helpful to my wife and I when we were looking to relocate near her in South Carolina. Invited us to her home and took us around for several "tours'.

 

LOL, Bev, you know I'm always lurking somewhere. Say hi to Sid and Mark for us.

 

Louis aka Luigi

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.tell me who were the cruise and activity directors. Was it Ben and Martin? they are both fantastic!!!

 

thanks, Luvs to sail

Boston Ma

thanks

[DevilinaBluDress]

Day 6: Barbados

 

We started our day with a room service breakfast. Will had pancakes and tea. I had mistakenly just written an "x" next to the various melon plates and ended up with 2 of each! Luckily, Will likes melon, too. Of special note, my typical salmon plate breakfast was not available on the printed menu, so I wrote it in hoping that it would be delivered. I figured if it wasn't, I'd pop up to the buffet and get something to supplement my melon. It was a pleasant surprise when I found under one of the cloches - my salmon plate! Thanks, Celebrity!!!

 

We had 9:30 am reservations at a nearby gourmet chocolate factory in Barbados for a chocolate tasting and tour. The ship was delayed getting cleared, so we were among a lot of people trying to get off the ship as soon as it was cleared. The ship was docked pretty far from the port and they were running shuttles. I was afraid that the shuttle would be too slow because it looked like they were being hampered by all the foot traffic. So we hoofed it. Once out of the shopping area, we followed the directions to the warehouse area where Apagey Chocolate Factory was. We were about 10 minutes late, but they were just starting as we arrived. It was a small batch operation and the tour/chocolate tasting was hosted by the owner. There were just two other couples on the tour with us. We got to sample some amazing chocolates - my favorites were the rum/caramel/coconut-filled one and the almond one. I had planned to buy about $100 worth of chocolate to bring home, but he didn't have that much packaged yet. The owner said if I returned around 3 pm, I could get the chocolates then.

 

So, back to the ship we went for lunch at the Bistro on 5. I had the cowboy & French crepes and Will had the Buffalo and Spanish crepes. They were yummy!

 

Our assistant waiter from last night told us that there was free wifi at the port, so after lunch, we went the port. We found a bench to sit on and to surf the 'net. It was so overloaded that it took several tries to connect. Will realized that he forgot his laptop and went back to the ship to get it. I spread out our stuff to save his spot on the bench. This is when I had the most unpleasant encounter of the whole trip. There were two ships in port, so there were a lot of people coming and going. At one point while Will was getting his laptop, a mother, father and their two young daughters (about 7&9) sat at the other end of the bench. The daughters sat on my stuff that was saving Will's spot. It wouldn't have been a big deal except they never asked (parents or kids) if I would move my stuff or even make any effort to be courteous. I asked politely if they wouldn't sit on my stuff because I was saving the spot for my son who would be returning shortly. Mind you, there were plenty of empty benches around. Instead of apologizing or just moving to an empty bench, the father starts shouting and making a big deal about it all. I pointed out that there were empty benches near by, but instead they moved to another occupied bench all the while complaining loudly to the person sitting on that bench about me. Just when I thought it was over, another person comes to my bench and sits down. Just as the new person sits down, the father starts yelling over to him not to sit next to the mean woman and that I'll cause trouble. It was so embarrassing and upsetting. (and where was Will -he was taking a long time getting his laptop!) I kept thinking what a horrible example he was being to his daughters. Finally they left and Will reappeared and we spent the next hour or so sending emails and Facebooking.

 

It was time for me to get my chocolates, so I left Will at the port while he was still surfing and got my thermal tote and a bag of ice. Back at the factory, I met the owner's small son - a real cutie! Filled up my tote with chocolates and on my way back to the ship I ran into one of the other couples from the tour who were headed back to get their chocolates. We chatted for a bit and touched the third rail a bit about politics -we didn't agree about a potential presidential candidate. I actually thought he might be pulling my leg since it was April Fool's Day. It turned out he wasn't and we agreed to drop the subject and wish each other a pleasant journey!

 

Back on board the ship, with the chocolate stored in the fridge, I wanted a stiff drink. I went up to the pool bar and ordered the drink of the day thinking it was a reduced price and would be covered by my classic drink package. Turns out that it wasn't covered, but the bartender let me have it anyway. Another thanks for great service, Celebrity!

 

Dinner in Blu again - by this time we are mainly following the waiter's recommendations unless an ingredient or preparation are not in my diet guidelines. Always spot on and wonderful!

 

After such a day, it was nice to just relax and read in the Persian Garden - a nice Aqua Class perk!!

 

A short video recap:

 

Molly

Edited April 22, 2015 by MadisonMom
add a title

[DevilinaBluDress]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.tell me who were the cruise and activity directors. Was it Ben and Martin? they are both fantastic!!!

 

thanks, Luvs to sail

Boston Ma

thanks

 

Patti and Shawna

[DevilinaBluDress]

Really loving the review and how you use you tube for the pictures instead of putting them into the thread

 

Well done on the weight loss

 

Thanks so much! I'm having fun making the videos. It makes it easier to share than the 1000+ photos and videos I took on this trip.

 

-Molly

[FRMPEI]

Hi Molly,

 

Do you have any of your Agapey chocolate left? Actually I think we have a small piece of it left in our cupboard. We did notice at the terminal in a particular store that Agapey chocolate was for sale. My big take away from the tour was that the coco beans were actually coco seeds.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[DevilinaBluDress]

All gone :-(. Details in my last day report.

[Aloha 1]

Thanks for your trip report.We were also on this cruise with our autistic son. Although he is very high functioning, he is not at the level your son appears to be. Good for you for making him get outside the "comfort zone". Our 30 year old son has been all over the world with us and this has made him a more social person. I agree with your son about the MDR versus Blu. :)

[cruisehome]

enjoying the review

[DevilinaBluDress]

One of the best parts of Blu was the couch end seating. Will really liked being able to lean on the tall end during our meals.

 

Will was the one who opted to forgo the Internet on the ship in lieu of more excursions! Until he decided that, I was planning to use it in the early morning while he slept like we had done on our last cruise. We managed to find Internet free or low cost in 3 of the 5 ports, so we were both happy.

 

Another tactic I learned early on when traveling with Will is that he can really only do one big activity/excursion per day. More than that is really asking for a meltdown and neither of us want that.

 

Upon reflection, there have been two types of vacations that have worked the best for us: cruises or renting an apartment/house/cabin for a week. Both have the advantage of sleeping in the same bed every night. I like cruising because I don't have to do any dishes. ;-)

 

Molly

[codie902]

I am also taking my autistic son on an 11 day cruise. I was worried about how he would be but after reading your report I think that I have made the right decision. Thank you for your report.

[DevilinaBluDress]

Sorry for the delay this week for getting the rest of the trip report done! April is a crazy month work-wise so far. It may be a week or two before I can finish the report because I have some time consuming work and family commitments this week like Will's IEP meeting for next year.

 

On to our favorite day of the whole trip (which is saying a lot because it was all fun):

 

It was a dreary, drizzly day as we came into port. Looking out of our balcony was the most beautiful double rainbow! Dominica was the least commercialized of the ports we visited on this trip. Even the dock was wooden and relatively short. Just off the dock was an outdoor market selling touristy items. On our rollcall, we met JackieJ who had arranged for a small whale watching tour with Captain Jerry. Words cannot describe how awesome that trip was - you must watch my video below to get the feel of it. Of note for those with sensory issues, the exhaust of the boat was a bit smelly and the engine was very loud. However, the experience was once in a lifetime and I fully recommend it!

 

After whale watching, we went back on board for lunch at the Aqua Cafe/Mast Grill. Since the ship/port/dock was so close, it was very easy to get on and off the ship in a short amount of time.

 

For the afternoon, we went back to the Fort Henry Hotel (where we met Capt. Jerry for the tour), purchased beverages and received the wifi password for the very fast Internet on the covered patio. I was even able to Skype with my husband. I didn't watch the time and soon it was time to get back on board. When we got back to the room, I saw the invitation for sail away from the helipad that we had received the night before. We didn't have time to change since we needed to gather right then. So off to the helipad we went.

 

The sail away on the helipad was a lot of fun! We were given mimosas, lots of pictures were taken and we had a chance to talk with the Chief Computer Operations and Finance Officers. A large part of the invited group to the sail away were folks who were cruising with their motorcycles. One fellow I talked with said that a couple of years ago, he told his wife that he would only go on a cruise if he could take his Harley, so here he was. He said that Celebrity would unload the bikes first thing in port and then they'd ride the islands all day. Sounded like a lot of fun!

 

On this trip, one of the books I read was Cruise Ship Stories-12 Years of Working on Cruise Ships by Guy Beach. I had just started it the night before and one of the first stories is about the crew bar. On the Equinox, the crew bar is under the helipad. Kind of a cool coincidence to see it just as I was reading about one.

 

After the sail away, we went back to the cabin to shower and change for dinner at Blu. Of course it was another wonderful dinner!

 

Will wanted to see the movie of the day, Grand Budapest Hotel, I wanted to see the juggler show and spend some time at the Persian Gardens so we each went our separate ways. I caught the last 45 minutes of the show by Pete Matthews. I'm glad that when I came in, he didn't notice because about 10 minutes later another couple came into the show and they were called out by Pete many times. The show was fun and Pete was talented. Then up to the Persian Gardens to wind down for the evening. I was alone in the Persian Gardens and fell asleep reading about life on the cruise ship. When I awoke, the spa was closed! Luckily it was easy to reach over the counter and get my sea pass from the file box. Will said that he really like the movie. We watched a little tv and went to sleep.

 

Day 7's adventures:

 

-Molly

Edited April 26, 2015 by MadisonMom

[DevilinaBluDress]

I am also taking my autistic son on an 11 day cruise. I was worried about how he would be but after reading your report I think that I have made the right decision. Thank you for your report.

 

I'm so glad that you are finding my review helpful! Did you see the post that Celebrity is now a silver-level Autism on the Seas cruise line? I think that they were very accommodating for my son.

 

-Molly

[Chicogirl]

IEP's they are so fun right [emoji27], just had my daughters last week.

Your trip looks like a lot of fun. How do you get invited to the helipad?

[Chicogirl]

I've been looking at Autism of the sea. Maybe after our trip to Alaska. Have you heard anything about them?

Edited April 26, 2015 by Chicogirl

[DevilinaBluDress]

IEP's they are so fun right [emoji27], just had my daughters last week.

Your trip looks like a lot of fun. How do you get invited to the helipad?

 

We didn't do anything special (to my knowledge) to get the invitation to the sail away. The invitation just appeared the night before.

 

-Molly

[DevilinaBluDress]

I've been looking at Autism of the sea. Maybe after our trip to Alaska. Have you heard anything about them?

 

I don't know much about them except that they help cruise lines become more aware of autism and become more autism-friendly. I think they also do charter cruises.

 

-Molly

[DevilinaBluDress]

Day 8 Friday St. Maartin

Up early showered and dried my hair in the Spa. I've found this to be a great way to get ready and not disturb Will. Kind of like a second bathroom, but better because the hairdryer is better and there's a make-up mirror.

 

Read and watched the ship arrive at the St. Maartin port from my "second stateroom" otherwise known as the relaxation lounge.

 

Will slept in until 8:15, then we ate breakfast at Blu. I went out of my usual comfort zone and had the Smoked salmon and asparagus frittata which had caviar and goat cheese on top - super yummy!

 

Then I showed Will the Persian gardens room which he seemed to like. He had not been up there yet.

 

We then met with our 10:30 am excursion which was horseback riding on the beach. Along with our group was one of the glass blowing artists, Helen. The excursion started with a 20 minute ride to the stable which was a nice trip through town and over a mountain. Helen told us to look for goats on the mountains, but we didn't see any. The stable was right next to the power plant for the island. We were outfitted with helmets and given a locker to put our things in. Then we were matched with horses. The first one Will was matched with was deemed not slow enough for him since he had not ridden since he was 5. It was an hour ride up and down mountain trails. On the way up, Will was having a little difficulty with his horse occasionally stopping. John, our guide, attached a lead to Will's horse and pulled him along the trail. Then we went down to the beach where we were given flotation belts and we were guided into the water. One of the horses pooped into the water, so part of the time we were trying to avoid the poop. Then we went back up to the stable for rum punch/ punch and to look at the pictures (270!) taken by the stable photographer. $60, if you wanted to buy them. I passed. I took a lot of photos along the trail and John even took some for me.

 

Back on ship by 1:30pm for lunch (pizza for Will, Aqua Café for me.) I was already a little sore, so up to the Persian gardens for me. Will joined me for a while, too. I tried one of the herbal steam rooms for about 5 minutes. Then I tried a whirlpool in the solarium. It was OK, but not hot enough IMHO.

 

Dinner at Blu. Will prefers to sit at the end of a sofa and unless we get there at 5:35, typically we end up sitting away from the windows. At first I thought this might be a repeat of the first night when it seemed that we were in a forgotten corner, but the last three nights in the unpopular section have been wonderful. The waiters and sommelier have anticipated our needs- extra humus is always on the table for us: Will has his soda. The only downside, IMO, is that no one is close enough to socialize like at the two tops near the window. Ce la vie! I started bringing my kindle to read while Will reads his.

 

After dinner, we went to the t-shirt sale, but didn't find any that we liked. No Dominica ones by the time we arrived at the sale.

 

We headed back to the stateroom. I started feeling nauseous and decided to go to bed ( the anti-nausea med makes me sleepy.) Will went to see the movie Fault in Our Stars. I woke up for a few minutes to learn that he liked the movie. Back to sleep. G'night!

 

Horseback riding adventure on St. Maarten:

[FRMPEI]

Another great roundup of your day's adventure. That darn "poop".

 

What would happen it you did want to get that wet on the water part of the ride? Well! I guess it is called beach ride.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid