Short live review from Equinox, June 18th sailing

[benjaminhuf]

Enjoying your trip report immensely. Thank you for taking the time to share.

 

 

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Thanks! Had the cruise critic meet-up today, which was fine. They had coffee and pastries available. Met some nice people there who post here.

 

Also did the "Heart of the Operation" free Galley tour. Hundreds of people showed up for that. They said it was the biggest crowed they could ever remember showing up for it. All the people there seem to have a sense of humor, but take their jobs seriously. Executive chef Javier de Jesus talked about how they make all of their dishes from scratch right on board, including breads, sauces, ice cream, etc. They hand cut all of their meats on board, and they cook them to order after you've ordered it. The Main Dining Room on Equinox is still the real deal, and the behind the scenes tour of some of their huge kitchens proved it.

 

The good food is still a big reason to pick Celebrity over most other cruise lines in this price range imho—although I have to admit I haven't been on the other cruise lines. (Perhaps Holland and some others are similar in quality?)

Edited June 20, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[cruisetimeforme]

Enjoying your review and glad to hear some more upbeat reviews regarding the shows and music. Enjoy the rest of your dad and daughter cruise!

[benjaminhuf]

Really appreciate you taking the time posting the live from Equinox posts -- we are on the June 25th sailing. First time on Equinox and second time to Caribbean. Our last trip to Caribbean was March 2009 and due to bad weather many shore

activities got cancelled -- so keeping eye on weather. Thanks again.

 

Thanks. Hope the weather is a little better for you! Although if you have to be stuck on a ship, this is a very pleasant one. Just had a healthy lunch at the AquaSpa cafe with little bowls of quinoa salad, tomato and mozzarella salad, tuna salad, and lentil salad. All were good imho. And, although I would have liked more zing in the flavors, I understand they make things mostly bland because that's the way most people like it. That's why they have pepper grinders at the table—although actually not at AquaSpa, now that I come to think of it, but probably everywhere else that you eat on Equinox.

[benjaminhuf]

Enjoying your review and glad to hear some more upbeat reviews regarding the shows and music. Enjoy the rest of your dad and daughter cruise!

 

Thanks. This is a very nice ship with a very hard-working and upbeat crew.

 

And, remember that I complained about the tissues? Suddenly with the new batch they are soft. Maybe Celebrity is reading this? If so, hope everyone is getting the soft tissues.

 

Anyway, I don't think I have any complaints now at the moment. What was already a very nice cruise is now close to perfect—esp. if we get to do our shore excursion at Costa Maya tomorrow. Last weather report I saw called for a bit of rain in the morning, but then mostly clearing off, and so I'm optimistic.

[benjaminhuf]

PS For dessert my daughter and I had some of the ice cream made on the ship from the buffet. The coconut sorbet is very nice, and the After 8 chocolate mint ice cream is maybe even tastier.

[Jewelry Girl]

We were on the Equinox in February and will be on again this February, do they still have the free hamburgers and hot dogs above the pool?

[CodyGeorge]

Enjoying your review. We are on the same itinerary in early July. What excursions do you have planned in Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman?

 

 

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[Lorey2007]

Great review we'll be on the Equinox in February. We chose the cruise for Key West sorry you had to miss it I hope we don't.

 

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[benjaminhuf]

We were on the Equinox in February and will be on again this February, do they still have the free hamburgers and hot dogs above the pool?

 

Seems like they have lots of included-with-your-fare food almost everywhere, and so my guess is yes. But since the weather hasn't been very good for going to the pool I don't actually know for sure.....

[benjaminhuf]

Enjoying your review. We are on the same itinerary in early July. What excursions do you have planned in Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman?

 

We are doing a snorkel and beach day at Costa Maya, the long ride to the very impressive Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza from Cozumel, and then on Grand Cayman we are doing a wreck snorkel. Perhaps we should have varied it more? I suppose it's not too late to change Grand Cayman if we decide we want something different.

[benjaminhuf]

Just got back from the taste of Broadway matinee. The theater was about 90% full and the audience was enthusiastic. We gave a standing ovation at the end. The men were all good, but my personal favorites were....Ashley Amber, who gave a show-stopping version of "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Lady. She has amazing vocal accuracy, range, power, and breath control/stamina. That's sounds too clinical or something, but she was great. She was also the best part of Topper imho. She also gave an inspiring very short talk about people from different countries on the stage and in the audience bringing strength through diversity, or something like that. Equally good today, again imho, was Eleanor....?? (she didn't give her last name). Anyway, this British lady also performed a show-stopping number that touched my emotions with I guess my favorite song of the whole show, even though I'd never heard it before. She put it all out there and didn't leave anything on the stage, or however that's said. Finally, the woman from Malta, whose name I didn't catch, was also very good, and performed a song from Kiss Me Kate.

[Islander500]

We were on the Equinox in February and will be on again this February, do they still have the free hamburgers and hot dogs above the pool?

 

They did in May. The burgers with the grilled onions are yummy. Really good fries, too.

 

And of course, the obligatory Piña Colada.

[excited balcony]

Thank you for your posts. We are on the same cruise leaving on 7/2/17. Our excursion through the ship was recently canceled for Grand Cayman. I couldn't find one I wanted to replace it with through Celebrity so I want to book one through a local company. The woman I was trying to book through asked me if the ship was on local or ship time - and I wasn't sure. I called Celebrity but got 2 different answers. Grand Cayman doesn't participate in daylight savings time so there can be a 1 hour time difference between ship and local time. When you get to GC, would you mind letting me know if there is a difference between ship and local time? Thank you so much!!:D

[NCHPcruiser]

Thank you for your review! I hope the weather has improved. Have a wonderful cruise with your daughter!

[benjaminhuf]

Thank you for your posts. We are on the same cruise leaving on 7/2/17. Our excursion through the ship was recently canceled for Grand Cayman. I couldn't find one I wanted to replace it with through Celebrity so I want to book one through a local company. The woman I was trying to book through asked me if the ship was on local or ship time - and I wasn't sure. I called Celebrity but got 2 different answers. Grand Cayman doesn't participate in daylight savings time so there can be a 1 hour time difference between ship and local time. When you get to GC, would you mind letting me know if there is a difference between ship and local time? Thank you so much!!:D

 

Thanks. I'll try. Seems like they try to match the ship time with local time.

[benjaminhuf]

Thank you for your review! I hope the weather has improved. Have a wonderful cruise with your daughter!

 

It's good even with the slightly rough weather. We're hoping for an improvement tomorrow....

 

Dinner tonight in MDR was again quite good. I had two appetizers--slightly spicy tomato vegetable soup, which I liked, and duck confit. Decades ago I had duck and didn't like it, but this was very good. And the presentation was very professional—drops of the wine reduction sauce perfectly lined up and growing in size perfectly. Very stylish. For my main course I had the roasted trout, which was also very good. Skipped dessert after that—just not possible. The chocolate on our pillows will have to do, although I actually gave that to my daughter tonight and last night since she likes them.

 

The show tonight was Canadian A Capella group Eh440 (pronounced "Ay440" since they're Canadian). Very good. Our favorite was Safari, and especially his powerful version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.

[ecourtney]

Just got back from the taste of Broadway matinee. The theater was about 90% full and the audience was enthusiastic. We gave a standing ovation at the end. The men were all good, but my personal favorites were....Ashley Amber, who gave a show-stopping version of "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Lady. She has amazing vocal accuracy, range, power, and breath control/stamina. That's sounds too clinical or something, but she was great. She was also the best part of Topper imho. She also gave an inspiring very short talk about people from different countries on the stage and in the audience bringing strength through diversity, or something like that. Equally good today, again imho, was Eleanor....?? (she didn't give her last name). Anyway, this British lady also performed a show-stopping number that touched my emotions with I guess my favorite song of the whole show, even though I'd never heard it before. She put it all out there and didn't leave anything on the stage, or however that's said. Finally, the woman from Malta, whose name I didn't catch, was also very good, and performed a song from Kiss Me Kate.

 

Ashley Amber is great!! I saw her on Solstice last year and she stole the show. Just wait for her solo show at the end of the week. I'm happy to hear she is on Equinox now! I will be on the July 2nd cruise to the same ports.

[benjaminhuf]

Ashley Amber is great!! I saw her on Solstice last year and she stole the show. Just wait for her solo show at the end of the week. I'm happy to hear she is on Equinox now! I will be on the July 2nd cruise to the same ports.

 

She has a solo show! Can't Wait!++

[Bkchero]

Following. Hope the weather improves. Cindy is moving north which will hopefully help.

[benjaminhuf]

Following. Hope the weather improves. Cindy is moving north which will hopefully help.

 

Smooth this morning. Feeling optimistic. We should dock at Costa Maya soon.

 

Having coffee at the OV Cafe.

 

Forgot to mention that at the CC meet-up yesterday the Captain himself was there. And cruise director Rich Spacey said they even sometimes use cruise critic in training and making improvements....But he also really appreciated that most of the comments here are positive, and that people appreciate the work that goes into giving us a good vacation.

[benjaminhuf]

A few other little things as I wait for my daughter to wake up....

 

The "free" bag that Celebrity includes with concierge class is actually good. It's big enough to fit two towels and some other stuff, and it has a separate snap-in zipper bag that can be used for IDs, $, etc. We are using it today for the shore excursion. I plan to take it home.

 

And the sheets are very soft. Iirc they are softer starting with concierge? Not sure. By I imagine the regular sheets are good too.

 

I can now see Mexico on the horizon. Sea is smooth.

[Mamott]

A few other little things as I wait for my daughter to wake up....

 

The "free" bag that Celebrity includes with concierge class is actually good. It's big enough to fit two towels and some other stuff, and it has a separate snap-in zipper bag that can be used for IDs, $, etc. We are using it today for the shore excursion. I plan to take it home.

 

And the sheets are very soft. Iirc they are softer starting with concierge? Not sure. By I imagine the regular sheets are good too.

 

I can now see Mexico on the horizon. Sea is smooth.

 

 

We are headed to Miami for the June 25 Equinox! Decided to leave today and spend an extra day in Miami! Thank you so much for your travel log. Looking forward to our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet and our first Celebrity Cruise. I hope Costa Maya is amazing for you and your daughter.

[benjaminhuf]

We are headed to Miami for the June 25 Equinox! Decided to leave today and spend an extra day in Miami! Thank you so much for your travel log. Looking forward to our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet and our first Celebrity Cruise. I hope Costa Maya is amazing for you and your daughter.

 

We got to swim in some warm and mostly clear ocean at Costa Maya, and we saw a few fish. We also got to relax on the beach for a good while. As everyone knows who has been there, the site is very touristy, but it is what it is....

[benjaminhuf]

Listened to the good house band, Nu Image today. They are a very tuneful and smooth group of 5 talented musicians and singers. Nice stuff. Had some people dancing on deck 3.

 

Also caught the show Elysium in the main theater. A lot of music, costumes, color, singing, acrobatics, and energy from the talented performers. Some of it wasn't quite my cup of tea, but they really gave it their all. My daughter esp. liked the graceful young women who who did acrobatics. I liked it, but it made me nervous in a few places because done without a net. We gave them a standing ovation.

[Summerlin]

Thanks for taking some of your precious Equinox time, during the summer solstice no less, to share with us! We will be onboard July 16 with the same itinerary. We live in Vegas, where there is record heat (dry heat, though) with highs around 117F.

 

So, I'm curious how humid it is in Mexico and beyond. Is the heat bearable right now?

 

My daughter, who has lived in Texas this last year, surprised our family by letting us know she is moving home this week. So, we ended up calling our TA and added a second suite for our cruise so our party of 5 could all eat together in Luminae. Not a cheap endeavor, but will be well worth it for the time together.

 

Sounds like you are having a great time, stormy weather and all. Cheers.