Short live review from Equinox, June 18th sailing

[benjaminhuf]

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.

 

It is humid but bearable, in part because it's not actually very hot. The highs have been around 80, I think?

 

Congrats on the upcoming cruise with your daughter! I think you'll have a good time.

 

My daughter is making good use of the library, which is right near our stateroom. She only brought one novel with her, and she was halfway done with it when we started. Anyway, she finished it the first day, but then walked right over to the library and picked up another novel, which she's now read about half of. Long day today for us of bus rides to and from the huge Mayan site of of Chichen Itza, and so good to have a book for that. I've picked up a book from the library too for that.

Edited June 22, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[benjaminhuf]

Chichen Itza was fun today! But tiring....More later.

[Bkchero]

Chichen Itza was fun today! But tiring....More later.

 

How much time did you actually have at the site, and do you get to see everything?

 

I have never been there but from reading reviews and speaking with people who have it seems that you really need a full day there and not just an hour or 2 that you get on a cruise excursion, or even a bus trip from Cancun.

[benjaminhuf]

How much time did you actually have at the site, and do you get to see everything?

 

I have never been there but from reading reviews and speaking with people who have it seems that you really need a full day there and not just an hour or 2 that you get on a cruise excursion, or even a bus trip from Cancun.

 

Yes, a full day is better. I did that 25 years ago. But since that wasn't in the cards for us this time—and probably never will be—90 minutes at the site with an expert guide was very nice. Philipe, our guide, was wonderful. More can be explored in articles and books, even after you get home, but nothing is quite like being there.

Edited June 22, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[benjaminhuf]

After yesterday's tiring trip to Chichen Itza we decided to just relax on the ship today, which has been very nice. After she finished her last novel, my daughter found another big novel at the ship's library. It's 600 pages, and there was no way it would be done by the time we leave the ship, and so I called up hoping I could buy it from them—but they said to take it as a gift. My daughter was very happy about that.

 

Pepper is now available at the AquaSpa cafe where I ate both breakfast and lunch. One of my breakfast items was a raisin bagel, very lightly toasted, with a very thin spreading of peanut butter, and then 4 thin banana slices—topped by little decorative bits of shredded apple and an edible flower. How's that for over-the-top? But it was actually rather tasty, in addition to being kinda nice looking. For lunch they had a lentil salad, a little salmon dish, etc. The breads at the AquaSpa were also nice, and are things not found elsewhere on the ship as far as I can tell. I like that their dishes are small so that you can try more of them. I do think the flavors could be a little more adventurous, since most things are good and healthy but rather bland even with pepper.

 

Since my daughter wanted to eat at the OV Cafe for lunch instead, I tried a little of the jerk chicken there, which had a nice zing of spice to it that I appreciated. Then we both got fresh coconut with the tops cut off with straws, and we sipped fresh coconut milk on the lawn at the top of the ship.

 

The water in Grand Cayman is a beautiful blue, and the sky is likewise another lovely shade of blue.

 

Almost down to the end of the cruise. We just have a sea day tomorrow when we'll start to pack, and then we leave the ship Sunday at dawn.

[ForeverAtSea]

Thank you so much for your live posting. We will be on the Equinox soon, so have appreciated, not only your factual comments, but your reflections as well.

 

I

[L1211]

Great start! What a shame you are missing Key West. :( Looking forward to more of your review.

 

 

 

Does that happen often? I'm a

Cruise novice planning something that stops at Key West. I've not heard of that being a missed port. Thanks for the review!

 

 

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[benjaminhuf]

Does that happen often? I'm a

Cruise novice planning something that stops at Key West. I've not heard of that being a missed port. Thanks for the review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Probably it doesn't happen often, but it surprised me because the wind did not seem severe to me in Key West. Maybe 20 mph? I was kinda shocked and surprised they nixed it.

[benjaminhuf]

Thank you so much for your live posting. We will be on the Equinox soon, so have appreciated, not only your factual comments, but your reflections as well.

 

I

 

Thanks—and I hope and expect you will enjoy your time on Equinox.

 

Tonight my daughter and I gave the show "Life" a try, but it just wasn't our cup of tea, and we decided to leave early. Again, we were sitting in the top tier in the dark, and so were able to leave very quietly and in an inconspicuous way. One song by Ashley Amber was going along beautifully imho, with her playing piano as she sang, but then one of the men "broke in" with a rap number which to us just didn't fit with the song, and weakened the emotional moment that seemed to be coming up. She continued singing after that rap section was over, but for us the moment seemed lost. Of the big shows in the main theater, I think the Broadway show was my favorite, but aside from that it seems like most of the time they don't seem to think that just great songs well done will do it. Instead it seems more about the lights, the dancing, and the costumes than the quality of the songs and the singing sometimes. Plus the songs in this "Life" show just aren't as good as Broadway classics. But I'm 52, and I like classic movies and musicals, and so I'm not typical. Just my 2 cents, and probably worth about that much.

Edited June 24, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[benjaminhuf]

A couple of points for newbies like me re: Celebrity Select dining....They are flexible once you are on the ship. For instance, by the time we were making reservations some days the only times available were around 7. But we decided to just show up and 5:45 to see if they could seat us—and they always did. The number for reschedules (x7000) is hard to get through sometimes, but if you want to try for off peak times (early—5:30-6, or late—8-9) they'll probably be able to help you if you just show up and ask nicely.

 

One time we just didn't show up, and I couldn't get through to cancel. It was the second chic night and my daughter was too tired from the long shore excursion that day to dress up, and so we just went to the OV cafe instead. They missed us though in the MDR, and asked the next day what happened. But they weren't annoyed at all (or if they were, they hid it well) and were just curious why were weren't there. Another time we showed up 25 minutes late and somehow they had still kept the table.

 

We happened to be seated in the far back corner of the MDR, in what you might describe as one the "back rooms, and we liked that, because it was significantly quieter that the main room, which is a bit loud.

 

But, by playing around with our dining schedule we've unfortunately made things a bit confusing and difficult for our room attendant. He was trying to clean the room while we were at dinner, but since we were mostly eating early he often wan't done.

 

So, in other words, if I were doing this again I would try to arrange things a bit better once I got on board rather than winging it each night. Although being flexible has made it a better vacation overall for us, I think. Being a slave to a schedule is sometimes not what a vacation is about.

Edited June 24, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[benjaminhuf]

In terms of music there are choices. So as I just mentioned the "Life" show turned out not to be a good fit for me and my teenage daughter, but now she's happily reading her book in the library, while our room is made up and getting the chocolate turn-down service, while I'm in the Ensemble Lounge (on deck 5 near some of the extra-cost restaurants) as I write this listening to the very groovy and quite to my taste duo "Fernando Bridge."

 

The woman and man who do this have a good, funky, jazzy, postmodern vibe that I enjoy. Somehow hip and classy at the same time. And it's not just me—the audience here is liking it and most of them are applauding after each number.

 

And the Nu Image house band has also been playing tonight. So there are choices. Experienced cruisers know this, but for newbies like myself it's obvious but good advice to look for what you like to hear.

 

Also, although almost everyone is having a drink at this nice bar, I've been ok just politely waving off the waitresses (who have only come by twice in c. 25 minutes). They seem fine with me not drinking, unlike at a regular bar on shore with a band where that would probably be frowned upon a bit. (I had a glass of wine before dinner, but that's all I wanted....)

Edited June 24, 2017 by benjaminhuf

[excited balcony]

Was there any difference in ship time and local time in Grand Cayman?

[benjaminhuf]

Was there any difference in ship time and local time in Grand Cayman?

 

I doubt it, but I'm afraid I don't know for sure, because my daughter was tired yesterday and just wanted to stay on the ship and relax.

 

I'm now waiting for her to wake up, but have already had my first coffee and small breakfast at the AquaSpa cafe. As mentioned, the breads here are mostly different than elsewhere. Today was an interesting and good tender oat bar around a very slightly baked banana slice. I liked it. At lunch yesterday they had something a bit thicker than a bread stick (I forget the name of it) that was slightly twisted and was flavored with basil, a little tomato and some very mild spices—and yet it was light and had a soft crunch. Also good.

 

Today for second breakfast, or hobbit breakfast, if we can make it, we'll probably go to the mdr. Behind-the-scenes ship tour today at 10:15.

[GordonJasmine]

Really enjoying your review. Thanks! My daughter and I were on the Equinox last month and had all but one of our breakfasts and all our lunches at Aqua Spa Cafe. Really love the good food there and the selections.

[benjaminhuf]

Really enjoying your review. Thanks! My daughter and I were on the Equinox last month and had all but one of our breakfasts and all our lunches at Aqua Spa Cafe. Really love the good food there and the selections.

 

Glad to find another AquaSpa cafe fan.

 

Just got through with the ship tour. Good but maybe a bit long, since ours ran almost 3 hours.

 

Tonight is our last night, and we have the concert by Ashley Amber, which I'm looking forward to. Apparently it's a tribute to Whitney Houston. Wish I were more up on Whitney Houston, but although I think I like her music, I probably know maybe one or two of her songs. I guess it's too late to educate myself before the concert....

[benjaminhuf]

Jerome, our waiter in the MDR, said he's been with the company for about 20 years. He's taken good care of us. One day when I didn't like my soup, they whipped up a custom salad for me.

[Ustayhungry]

Thank you for the review!!!!

 

 

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