On the Equinox - Live

[musik07]

You said you saw the show Elyseum. I am just wondering if the said it was new to the Equinox? We were onboard last week and there was only one production show, Topper. It was very good, but I was somewhat disappointed that there was only one production show. My parents told me that the shows on Celebrity were great, and I was expecting more than one production show. We saw 2 comedians, a singer, an impressionist, a rock show, the Broadway show and Topper. Is that not the norm?

[cruisehome]

yes there are usually two shows

 

will look forward to your review

 

we have done many many cruises on princess - what I prefer on princess is the pizza and fettuccini Alfredo

 

what I prefer on celebrity is the free drink package

[Woobstr112G]

Hi Abby. I just found your live from thread. Hope you and Glenn are having a great time.....:):):)

 

Bob

[JaniceB]

Following along, nice to hear that there is some shade for the glass show.

[Syracruisin]

Thanks for the review. We sail as a family on the Equinox on Sunday. Can you tell me what other options are offered on the ship that might entice people in their 20s-30s who might be looking for something a little more exciting than the glass blowing or Emma Thompson? We previously sailed Royal, and although I know Celebrity is supposed to be more "relaxed" and doesn't have the pool events or waterslide-type features, I'm getting a little worried we will be bored on the ship, although there really are only two sea days to have to worry about. Thanks again.

[abbydancer2003]

Hi Abby. I just found your live from thread. Hope you and Glenn are having a great time.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Thanks - I'm having a blast. I doubt Glen is, since he's at work right now. (I'm sailing with my sister who is having a great time.

[helen haywood]

There generally is a Hot Glass show at night as well.

 

 

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[hcat]

Thanks for the review. We sail as a family on the Equinox on Sunday. Can you tell me what other options are offered on the ship that might entice people in their 20s-30s who might be looking for something a little more exciting than the glass blowing or Emma Thompson? We previously sailed Royal, and although I know Celebrity is supposed to be more "relaxed" and doesn't have the pool events or waterslide-type features, I'm getting a little worried we will be bored on the ship, although there really are only two sea days to have to worry about. Thanks again.[/quote

 

There are activities at the pool, usually water volley ball, great gym and spa,on board, at night there's live music, shows, DJ, silent disco and various night time events in the upper lounge, sports on tv at the Gastro pub,..you will find stuff to do.Enjoy your cruise...

 

Enjoying this review!

[abbydancer2003]

It was the best of meals, it was the worst of meals ...

 

Actually, not the worst, it just went with the title. Stay tuned on this ...

 

So our first port day, but not until late afternoon, so we decided to a late breakfast at the buffet. Once again, a lot of choices but I settled on a eggs bennie with some bacon. Because of the drink package, we could get better OJ which was interesting to me. I also liked that the servers came around with a plate of pastries. Nice touch.

 

During breakfast we heard that the galley tour started at 11. I've been on a few on Princess, but Beth's never been so we headed to the restaurant for that. It started with the Cruise director introducing the various department heads, and then a long q&a while they called groups of 2-20 people for their tour through the main galley. Why the number varied was that as you entered or stood in line to enter, you were given a ticket with a group number. Some groups were very small so I guess people left.

 

Our group was headed by one of the pastry chefs - I think the head pastry honcho. We went through various salad, main, side, etc stations. As I learned on previous tours, entrees are cooked to order, although some things that take hours are prepared in advance, much like a restaurant. We also learned that they have a completely separate area for preparing food for those with allergies, or gluten issues. The tour ended at the entrance to the specialty restaurants with a redo of the food demos and the crew ready to take your reservations. They do push those restaurants hard.

 

We then took a brief break before lunch and then headed to the dining room. Lunch is on deck four (we are in fixed and on deck 3) so that was interesting. We were seated at a table for 8 with a group of four from Montreal. We enjoyed talking with them. However, we both ordered the every day beef hotdog, and they brought Beth a sandwich by mistake. The waiter sent the assistant waiter for a hot dog and it took many minutes for it to arrive. And by many, I'm talking over 10 minutes - at one point the hostess from the front came by and asked how everything was - we pointed out that she still hadn't received her food. She went to go check, but it still took a while - by the time she got everyone else was just about done. If this were a restaurant, the meal would have been comped. It did eventually arrive, but with not even an apology. The servers also slightly messed up the desserts as well. Overall the service has been very good, so this was surprising.

 

From the table, we watched the sail in to San Juan. After lunch, we decided to head to Cafe Bacio (notice this is becoming our favorite hangout) to meet with some Cruise Critic folk to head into town for drinks for us, drinks and dinner for them.

 

A couple of people showed up, but it was supposed to be 6 of us. We waited about 15 minutes, then gave up and headed off the ship. Luckily, we were docked in Old San Juan, so walking distance from just about everything. Beth wanted a Walgreens and there was one right there. We didn't know where the bar was that our group was going to, but Michelle (one of our group) knew the name, and I had google maps and Waze, so we found it. It's on the rooftop of a small hotel. When we got up there, the rest of our group was there, so we settled in for some conversation and really good strawberry mojitos. We also order some fried cheese balls to have something to eat with my drink. It turned out it was happy hour, so two for one Mojitos. Whoo hoo!

 

After a while we left to do the drugstore run and headed back to the ship. We opted to skip the comedian for the night, and just did a Cafe Bacio run followed by in room relaxing before dinner.

 

We fully expected our tablemates to be there tonight since none of said we were eating in town. We headed to our entrance and were told it was closed, because there was only open seating due the late departure. They then told us to go up a deck to the open seating level. When we arrived, we asked to share a table for 6, not 8. They told us they only had tables for 2, and took us to one in the back area of the dining room. It was a a table for 4, so they could have added a couple of people. They handed us the menu, and in looking at it, we realized it was the menu that was listed as the menu for the next day on the onscreen menus. We decided that was the least appealing menu, and that's why we'd booked specialty for it, so maybe we'd leave and throw ourselves on the mercy of the specialty restaurant host to see if we could move the night.

 

On arrival, they said they were booked, but if we could wait until 9pm they would likely have a table for us. Another host came by and pointed out a table we could have. We were in!

 

Dinner was in Murano, the steakhouse/french restaurant. We had a great server from Serbia, who explained you could either have the 5 course fixed menu or the a la carte menu. Both were the same price, it was just how you ordered. We opted to start with 3 shared appetizers - a poached pear in phyllo, a goat cheese souffle and caprese salad. All were excellent, although the caprese salad was the least interesting. We skipped the optional caviar course, and went straight to entrees, rack of lamb for Beth, veal for me. Both very good. For dessert, we did the souffles (Grand Marniar for me, Chocolate for Beth) and also split a strawberry crepe, with the sauce flambed table side.

By this time it was after 11 and we were sailing - up to the room, actually call Glen, and bed. Tomorrow - St. Thomas.

 

I'll try to answer some questions tomorrow - we're back at sea after port port port

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for the review. We sail as a family on the Equinox on Sunday. Can you tell me what other options are offered on the ship that might entice people in their 20s-30s who might be looking for something a little more exciting than the glass blowing or Emma Thompson? We previously sailed Royal, and although I know Celebrity is supposed to be more "relaxed" and doesn't have the pool events or waterslide-type features, I'm getting a little worried we will be bored on the ship, although there really are only two sea days to have to worry about. Thanks again.[/quote

 

There are activities at the pool, usually water volley ball, great gym and spa,on board, at night there's live music, shows, DJ, silent disco and various night time events in the upper lounge, sports on tv at the Gastro pub,..you will find stuff to do.Enjoy your cruise...

 

Enjoying this review!

 

We did line dancing at the pool. It was fun, but helpful if you already know electric slide (grapevine right, grapevine left, forward touch, back touch, forward touch, kick to the side to change walls - I think)

[KuffMUp]

We went once to the glass blowing show a year or so ago, and to tell the truth found it a most unusual cruise ship attraction especially on a Caribbean cruise. We enjoyed chatting with one of the artists proud mothers, but must admit ONCE was enough for that bit of entertainment.

 

Ruth

 

I think you would have to be into glass to really enjoy watching it. I can watch glass blowers for hours watching them turn a blob of molten glass into some beautiful artwork. I have loved glass since I was little but alas only work in cold (stained) and warm (fused) glass.

[musik07]

Thanks for the review. We sail as a family on the Equinox on Sunday. Can you tell me what other options are offered on the ship that might entice people in their 20s-30s who might be looking for something a little more exciting than the glass blowing or Emma Thompson? We previously sailed Royal, and although I know Celebrity is supposed to be more "relaxed" and doesn't have the pool events or waterslide-type features, I'm getting a little worried we will be bored on the ship, although there really are only two sea days to have to worry about. Thanks again.

 

You are on the same itinerary we were on! I am 28 and I had a great cruise with my parents. Now I am very laid back and like to relax and lay on the pool deck and go to shows in the evening. I have cruised quite a bit with Royal, and have also sailed on MSC, Carnival, and Princess. Overall I would put the entertainment somewhere between Royal and the rest. There was a show every evening and some were good and some were not so good. We only had one production show (someone in this post said there was one that wasn't on our sailing already this week!) with a good mix of music and great dancing and acrobatics. We also had a singer who did a great mix of music (Stacey Kay) and then two comedians, an impressionist and a rock band. I missed one show to go to the evening glass show and I thought the glass blowing was great (I had never seen it live before!). Overall I felt a bit let down by the evening activities, but I only had my parents who went to bed early and who didn't want to go out dancing with me. I think I would have enjoyed the two silent disco's if I had people to dance with. We also enjoyed the band "Sweet Criminals" both on the pool deck and around the ship. There were some pool deck activities (olymipics, volleyball, dancing) every day, but no where near as much as Royal). However there are activities all over the ship and you can find others your age and have fun too. I saw groups of people my age, I just tend to stick to myself more! Overall I really enjoyed my cruise and loved having the time to relax, I actually wished we would have had an extra sea day.

 

If you need plans for Costa Maya look into Tropicante if you don't want to do the all inclusive. We e-mailed in advanced and it was a great decision! We had a great day and the food and beers were very affordable!

[abbydancer2003]

I think you would have to be into glass to really enjoy watching it. I can watch glass blowers for hours watching them turn a blob of molten glass into some beautiful artwork. I have loved glass since I was little but alas only work in cold (stained) and warm (fused) glass.

 

I've done some fused and some torchwork beads (just a couple of classes). We enjoyed it for about an hour. Apparently this afternoon's show was 2.5 hours. We might stop by tomorrow for a bit on the last show.

[abbydancer2003]

Saint Thomas! Today, we have a two hour walking tour called the Tasting and Cultural tour. We were told to be at the Ft. Christian entrance for a 10:00 tour, and to be 15 minutes early. We figured it was about a 40 minute walk, and I had google map printouts of the route. So at about 9am we left the ship. It was very hot, so we opted to take the shared taxi to downtown. It was 4.00 each. So, everything I googled and printed said Ft. Christian. I told the taxi service I wanted the Courthouse. No idea why I did that. I'm sure the driver was surprised why anyone would want to go there.

 

When we got there, we checked the voucher and then realized it was Ft. Christian. Fortunately we were 20 minutes early. We asked at the Courthouse they said to turn right and it was the big red building a block away. Needless to say, we arrived in plenty of time.

 

Just before 10, Gerard, our guide arrived. Turned out we were the only two people on the tour today, so we set out. The tour was a tasting and cultural tour of the downtown area. We learned about the US purchase of the Virgin Islands, how Charlotte Amalie was built up, slave revolts and other fun facts. We visited a tea shop for hibiscus tea, saltfish quiche and a small salad. The next stop was for Rum Cake at a bakery owned by a nonprofit that helps at risk kids get job training. They opened a very good back for those kids to work at. Next stop was Gladys's cafe - a well known cafe featuring local favorites - a conch fritter, a cornmeal and okra mix and callaloo soup. Beth pointed out that there was a Cosby episode about Callaloo soup. Our final food stop was at a place called Cuzzins, where we were served goat stew, rice and beans and a plantain. The plantain was the best I've ever had. We finished the tour at a bar, and were served a bushwacker a local drink with about 5 kinds of liquor in it. Google it for a recipe.

 

Following that, we decided to see the building where Camile Pressaro, the father of modern impressionism was born. It turns out, while it's called the Pressaro building, it's pretty much retail with a lawyer and doctors office. There is a plaque indicating that's where he was born, but that's about it. After that, we went to the synagogue - the oldest in North America, and one of three with a sand floor. They have a small museum and we learned a bit about it's history. Pressaro's family were members back in the 19th century.

 

We also went to a craft shop run by a retired english teacher, and Beth bought a Moko Jumbie for her doll collection (that's a Carnivale stilt walker). I also bought a pair of earrings with a local stone. After that, we decided to head back to the ship. Our guide had told us that to get a shared cab back, we should cross the main street on the beach (they drive British side but with American left side drive, driver in the weeds) and find an indent in the road. I thought we were at a taxi stop, because it said Taxi parking only, but Beth thought it wasn't indented enough. An open air taxi stopped, but by the time we asked how much, he drove on because the light changed. About 5 minutes later a closed van taxi came by, and told us it was 4.00 each back. He told us to hurry in, so we did and back to the port we went.

 

It was a zoo when we got to the port, probably because the Allure of Seas (nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Seas by some of us when it was new) and it was dumping over 5000 people. It had been docked for a couple of hours, but I suspect that people had lunch and then left. An hour later it was quiet again.

 

We didn't want lunch, so went to Cafe Bacio for coffee, and then sailaway. After that, we didn't do much until dinner.

 

It was great going back to our regular table for dinner. The dinner was the usual good, and featured the menu we thought we'd have the prior night. All was well in the food world. We enjoyed our dinner, and pretty much closed out the dining room. We wanted to keep the conversation going, so we decided to go to the sky lounge up on deck 14. Once we got there we discovered it was Latin Night with the DJ and impossibly loud. So we decided to move to the Ensemble lounge on deck 5. Back down we went. We ordered drinks, and then a subset of the orchestra, the jazz ensemble, started playing jazz loudly. Too loud to talk, so decided the library would be good. The library is on the 10th floor, and opens up to the atrium. There was a party going on in the atrium and the music was very loud, and carried up all floors. That wasn't going to work. Finally we settled on going outside to the back of the ship. We found a table, chatted for a while and finally around midnight called it a night. Quick facetime to Glen and then bed.

[wallie5446]

The seating outside the Oceanview, on the Aft, is a hidden jewel for a most relaxing time away from the hustle and bustle of the interior. :D

 

We would at time have 8-10-12 sitting and yapping about life over a glass of wine.

[karena1]

can you post pictures of the ship? i need them for my wallpaper. Thanks

[Cuizer2]

can you post pictures of the ship? i need them for my wallpaper. Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

Really nice photos of a great ship..

[Luckynana]

Beautiful pictures! Will be on her for the 2nd time in November! Thank you for sharing!

 

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[mtbjazz]

Hi!

 

Quick question - Do you know in St. Thomas if the ship docked in Havensight or Crown Bay? I called Celebrity and they were not able to give me a definitive answer. We'll be on the Equinox in a couple weeks.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Mike

[Nanatravel]

Hi!

 

Quick question - Do you know in St. Thomas if the ship docked in Havensight or Crown Bay? I called Celebrity and they were not able to give me a definitive answer. We'll be on the Equinox in a couple weeks.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Mike

 

We are interested in the same thing. I know it can vary because of other ships in port, but website show only the Equinox at St. Thomas.

[happicruzer]

Hi!

 

Quick question - Do you know in St. Thomas if the ship docked in Havensight or Crown Bay? I called Celebrity and they were not able to give me a definitive answer. We'll be on the Equinox in a couple weeks.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Mike

 

Always the far port which I believe is Havensight. RCI, the parent company, signed a long-term lease. Should a third RCI/Celebrity be in port, that could change.

 

Equinox was the only ship in port last June and we were at the far port.

[jandlbudde]

From a quick Google search...found cruise schedules for st thomas. it seems most if not all rccl and celebrity ships dock at crown bay..which was where summit docked while we were onboard 11/2016

[AkSusan]

Hi!

 

Quick question - Do you know in St. Thomas if the ship docked in Havensight or Crown Bay? I called Celebrity and they were not able to give me a definitive answer. We'll be on the Equinox in a couple weeks.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Mike

 

We are interested in the same thing. I know it can vary because of other ships in port, but website show only the Equinox at St. Thomas.

Starting in 2016, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have a 10 year lease (with a possible 5 year renewal) at Crown Bay.

 

This is a link to the port http://www.**********/cruise/ship-schedule/ CC doesn't like part of the link, so, where the **** comes up, it's vinow dot com

 

Susan :)

[Cuizer2]

Always the far port which I believe is Havensight. RCI, the parent company, signed a long-term lease. Should a third RCI/Celebrity be in port, that could change.

 

Equinox was the only ship in port last June and we were at the far port.