DragonOfTheSeas goes LIVE to Mardi Gras on the Equinox 2.20.17

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am back. Lets hope CC is working today. :)

 

The Celebrity custom of greeting guests with a flute ofchampagne when they board is a nice touch. I am glad to see this has not changed. Laissez les bon temps rouler[Let the good times roll]

 

 

The thing that strikes me is how sleek and modern this shiplooks. Our last cruise was on the Harmony of the Seas for hertransatlantic. That is Royal Caribbean’snewest ship and it is very modern, but the Equinox reminds me of the modernminimalist décor in hotels in Barcelona.

 

Here are some pictures of the pool area.

 

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I like the lounge area by the pool.

 

 

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I see the pics are still not loading properly so I will leave those out until later.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The Connections Party was held at 11 am this morning in theTuscan Grill. We had a real crowd. [it was a mad house!] The space was way toosmall. The restaurant had a few Mardi Gras decorations, but not nearly as many as the participants were wearing. There we lots of blinking necklaces, pins and beads.

 

The Cruise Director said almost 600 signed up, but I thinkthat is an exaggeration. [maybe 300 or so there]

 

 

The ConnectionsParty was all work and no play for Dragon of the Seas. I was in charge of the cabin crawl. I took a few pictures of cabins and I willpost those later when I have better luck with CC. However, the thing that I noticed afterseeing many categories is that there is really no difference between the Veranda,Aqua and Concierge cabins in size. Someof the cabins had bigger balconies or were located in a more desirable area, but that was all I could see.

 

We are noticing the little things that are different betweenRoyal Caribbean and Celebrity. Forexample, the Captain’s Club delivered a rose in a bud vase to our cabin thisafternoon. We are getting canapes each afternoon. At the pool a pool butlerpass out iced towels to cool down while we were lying in the sun. We feel thefood is better so far. We are having a good time being pampered.

 

 

The one negative is the slow services at the bars. Almost everyone has a drink package and thebars are swamped.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Also following along!

We are not back on the Equinox till November :( so thanks for going live!

EW

 

ps: tell everyone in the GastroBar hello from the crazie Cowboy fans from Tx.

I will add the pictures as soon a s I can make them load.

[DELTABLUE]

Glad that things are going well. I do remember glasses of champagne and OJ upon arrival and you know that I loved the rose delivered to the cabin.:D I think the rose is a Captain's Circle perk and not necessarily done for all passengers. Nice to know that they are still doing both these things. I also remember that the food was a notch or two better than on RCCL.

[cruise47]

Thanks to the OP for sharing their review and observation of this cruise.

[eesenior]

Thanks so much for your live posts. We are on the ship when you return on the 3rd and very excited to read your review.

[easyboy]

Following along.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

One of the things Celebrity does well is service. The staff is well trained and they go out oftheir way to do anything for you. Ourwaiter at dinner is the exception --the service is very slow. The other people at our table feel the sameway. So we hope he improves. . . . But—Iam not cooking or doing the dishes, so I am still happy!!

 

The bar service has improved a lot. I think lots of people tried to get their “money’sworth” out of the beverage packages the first day. LOL They took a more measured approachyesterday and the rest of us could get to the bar.

 

Also, supplies were distributed. The first night I tried to order a pinacolada at two bars [after waiting a long time at each] only to be told theycould not make a pina colada. GRR! It seems the last cruise used up all the mixand they had to resupply. They did notget it out to the bars until yesterday. No doubt they will need to do the same afterthis cruise. Everyone is in the MardiGras spirit. There are lots ofgreen/gold/purple hats, ties, necklaces, boas, etc being worn. I have my beadsready to go, too.

 

Last night was the 50’s show in the Sky Lounge. It started at 10:30. (It was a good thingbecause we did not finish dinner until 10:30] That is a large disco type loungeon deck 14. It was very crowded withlots of people having a good time. The CruiseDirector, John, and the Activities Director, Justin, are both from the US. Theyhave lots of energy. When the main partof the show was over John grabbed an electric guitar and played a set with theband. He was great!

 

There are lots of Canadians onboard. In fact, announcementsare made in English and French. I amused to hearing Spanish or German as the second language on most of mycruises.

 

 

Today we are in Grand Cayman. We are thinking of staying on the ship. We have never done that before. We have always gone ashore for at least ashort while. One of the perks for having Elite status is free use of thePersian Gardens [in the spa] for one day while in port. I will let you know howit is. We were told to wear our bathingsuit and that it is a onetime use. So, you cannot come and go during the day.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Glad that things are going well. I do remember glasses of champagne and OJ upon arrival and you know that I loved the rose delivered to the cabin.:D I think the rose is a Captain's Circle perk and not necessarily done for all passengers. Nice to know that they are still doing both these things. I also remember that the food was a notch or two better than on RCCL.

 

 

I thought of you when I got the rose. I know you always bring fresh flowers on the ship.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We wanted to book this cruise when we were on board the Equinox in 2015. Unfortunately Concierge and above was fully sold out that far back.. As a result there were no perks on other staterooms, so we backed out and booked for a later cruise which is now only 2 weeks away.

We will be following your posts with extreme interest.

Have a great time

 

They are selling this cruise for 2018 and 2019 now. I understand they are filling up quickly.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

DH and went to the Persian Gardens in the late morning. It consists of a main area, 2 saunas and ashower. The main area has 9 heated stone loungers. It has floor to ceiling windows with a greatoutside view. I could see Grand Caymanand the tenders servicing the various ships. There were 5 empty loungers whenwe arrived. There is a sign that say to limit use to 20 minutes so everyonegets a chance to use them. I stayed anhour because there were no less than 3 available loungers at any one time duringthe time I was there. It was heavenly! It was warm; it had soothing music; and agreat view. What more could you want?

 

There is a steam sauna and a dry aroma therapy sauna onopposite sides of the loungers. I likedthe aroma room with its eucalyptus sent. DH tried the steam sauna, too, butfelt it was too hot. There is a shower with a choice of spring rain or tropicalrain. DH said it was a cold shower. Yikes!

 

 

If you have a suite or an Aqua cabin you get the use of thePersian Gardens free. If not, it is $119pp+ 18% gratuity for our 11 day cruise. AlthoughI enjoyed the visit I do not feel it is worth that for me. Years ago on another Celebrity ship we paid afee to use the Thalassotherapy pool [not sure of the spell]. I would likely goto the Persian Gardens a few times on the cruise, but I used the T-pool everyday of that cruise. I would sign up forthat, but there is no T-pool on this ship.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Say "hello" to my Canadian friends Rick & Belinda and Sharon & Graham for me please! Following your travels. Bon voyage to all! :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Say "hello" to my Canadian friends Rick & Belinda and Sharon & Graham for me please! Following your travels. Bon voyage to all! :)

 

We have lots of Canadians aboard this cruise. I have not run into them yet. :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

As I mentioned earlier, we decided to stay on the ship inGrand Cayman. I do not like totender. It has been our experience onmany Royal Caribbean ships that the tender process takes a long time. Twice we waited more than 2 hours for ourtender number to be called to go ashore. [it cuts into your time ashore] Thatwas not the case today. We arrivedaround 7 am and cleared customs within a ½ hour. By 8:30 they announced tendernumbers were no longer needed—there was no line at all.

 

 

It started out as a very nice and sunny day. By afternoonthe weather took a turn for the worse. Getting back on the ship was not easy for many people. There was a rain squall and the seas turnedrough. From 2 pm on the tenders hadtrouble getting passengers back on the ship. They would pull up to the ship and they would be bobbing like acork. :eek:

 

 

Several had to pull away and tryagain. It took so long we were more thanan hour late leaving. The Captain cameon the intercom and thanked the passengers for their patience and announcedthat no one had been hurt in the tender process. . . . Good to know!

 

It was a good day to stay aboard.

 

 

 

Tomorrow we are in Costa Maya in Mexico.

[bluwes]

They are selling this cruise for 2018 and 2019 now. I understand they are filling up quickly.

 

 

We already have a land vacation booked for early March 2018 so that's not doable.. However I am not seeing the 2019 cruise on the UK website

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We already have a land vacation booked for early March 2018 so that's not doable.. However I am not seeing the 2019 cruise on the UK website

 

The Cruise Director, John, mentioned it in our Connections Party. This cruise opened up in Dec 2014. I would think the 2019 sailing opened up in Dec 2016. Maybe ask your travel agent or call Celebrity directly.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Today we are going to visit the Mayan Ruins at Chacchobenwith a tour company called the NativeChoice. [not with the cruise ship] One of our roll call members contacted the company and got a commitmentfor a private group tour. We signed up withthem. . . . Then that person decided hedid not want to go on the cruise. So, I agreed to step in and organize thetour. The company has excellent reviewson Trip Advisor; however, they have been difficult to work with. They are not responsive to email and in onecase a couple that wanted to join and pay a deposit never got a response fromthem. I have my fingers crossed thateverything works out well.

The date of Chacchoben's settlement is approximately 1000 BCE.It was an active Mayan city off and on for ~ 2,000 years. I do not know exactlywhen the structures were built that we are going to see. I hope to get more information today. Thesite was rediscovered by a local Mayan family in 1946 and excavation began in1994. It has only been open to the public since 2002.

 

DH and I visited the ruins at Altun Ha in Belize in 2011. We both taught history and government and usuallyvisit the historical sites wherever we visit places. OK—DH would be happy to visit a few less historic sites. . . but, heknows the adage “happy wife, happy life.”

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am going to test to see if I can load a picture and get it to display properly on CC.

 

 

Here is the library:

 

 

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edit: I can see it is still not working--sorry! I have lots of pictures I want to share. I will keep trying. :D

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I am going to test to see if I can load a picture and get it to display properly on CC.

 

 

Here is the library:

 

 

[/url]

 

 

edit: I can see it is still not working--sorry! I have lots of pictures I want to share. I will keep trying. :D

 

Re pictures: it has been my experience that I can load them on PhotoBucket and then select what size to have them appear (I recommend medium). PhotoBucket then produces code for this which you copy and paste into your CC post. Good luck! Would enjoy viewing your pictures.

Just followed your link which does work. There are 4 options to the right for sharing your photos. It's been a while since I've done this, so I don't remember the correct one, but I think it's the HTML one. Experiment with all 4 ways--one should work.

[wwcruisers]

Dragon -- thank you for your postings on this thread. My DH and I were originally booked on your cruise, but decided to cancel, last year. I hope that you are not too busy having fun in NOLA to post your experiences from the festival itself. Glad to hear that you guys are enjoying the cruise, so far. :cool:

[hcat]

Today we are going to visit the Mayan Ruins at Chacchobenwith a tour company called the NativeChoice. [not with the cruise ship] One of our roll call members contacted the company and got a commitmentfor a private group tour. We signed up withthem. . . . Then that person decided hedid not want to go on the cruise. So, I agreed to step in and organize thetour. The company has excellent reviewson Trip Advisor; however, they have been difficult to work with. They are not responsive to email and in onecase a couple that wanted to join and pay a deposit never got a response fromthem. I have my fingers crossed thateverything works out well.

 

The date of Chacchoben's settlement is approximately 1000 BCE.It was an active Mayan city off and on for ~ 2,000 years. I do not know exactlywhen the structures were built that we are going to see. I hope to get more information today. Thesite was rediscovered by a local Mayan family in 1946 and excavation began in1994. It has only been open to the public since 2002.

 

 

DH and I visited the ruins at Altun Ha in Belize in 2011. We both taught history and government and usuallyvisit the historical sites wherever we visit places. OK—DH would be happy to visit a few less historic sites. . . but, heknows the adage “happy wife, happy life.”

 

 

We have enjoyed Altun Ha and Chachoban...Hope you enjoy Chachoban...very well done..great history...

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Today we are going to visit the Mayan Ruins at Chacchobenwith a tour company called the NativeChoice. One of our roll call members contacted the company and got acommitment for the tour. We signed upwith them. . . . Then that persondecided he did not want to go on the cruise. So, I agreed to step in andorganize the tour. The company hasexcellent reviews on Trip Advisor; however, they have been difficult to workwith. They are not responsive to emailand in one case a couple that wanted to join and pay a deposit never got aresponse from them. I have my fingerscrossed that everything works out well.

The date of its first settlement is approximately 1000 BCE.It was an active Mayan city off and on for ~ 2,000 years. I do not know exactlywhen the structures were built that we are going to see. I hope to get more information today. Thesite was rediscovered by a local Mayan family in 1946 and excavation began in1994. It has only been open to the public since 2002.

 

DH and I visited Altun Ha in Belize in 2011. We both taught history and government and usuallyvisit the historical sites wherever we visit. OK—DH would be happy to visit a few less historic sites. . . but, heknows the adage “happy wife, happy life.”

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The port area at Puerto Costa Maya is private. Only the tours booked via the cruise line arepermitted to pick up in the port area. So, we had to walk to the tour office [or take a taxi] 4 blocksaway. They said it would take us 10minutes, but it took us a good 20+ minutes to get there. The dock is very longand they run a tram to take you to the port terminal. We missed it and had to walk on the way out. On the way back we caught it and it wasgreat.

 

The Chacchoben ruins were very interesting. It was not as large a complex as we had seenin Belize. We saw 4 pyramid temples andseveral smaller structures. The guide,Hugo, was excellent. I worried that wemight have problems with the tour since TheNative Choice had been hard to communicate with. However, all went well. They were a very goodcompany to deal with. When I learn the secret handshake to post pictures on thenew Cruise Critic format I will share the pics I took.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

This morning when we went to breakfast a waitress at theentrance to the buffet asked if we would like to go to the Asian specialtyrestaurant tonight for a reduced fee. [shehad a stand and menus from all of the restaurants] I told her no—but, what about the otherrestaurants. She said she could give usthe Tuscan Grille at 20% off at 8:30 pm. That is our regular dinner time, but is late for many people. I asked for 30% off, she hesitated and then she found us at ourtable at breakfast and said –OK. This isour 25th cruise and the only specialty restaurant we have gone to isJohnny Rockets. [i am not sure thatcounts.]

 

The Tuscan Grille is an Italian Steakhouse. We had so much greatfood. The Tuscan Grille isexcellent. We are going to sail on theEquinox again in May. DH and I have already decided we will do the TuscanGrille again on that cruise. I considerthat high praise.