LIVE!! FROM THE EQUINOX PRESIDENT's Cruise August 27th, 2017 - ChicagoPaul

[bebe1234]

Hi Paul. I'm enjoying your postings, we board on Monday. Who's the current Captains Club hostess onboard? Enjoy your final days! It sounds like you're having a blast!

 

 

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[kwokpot]

Hi Paul. I'm enjoying your postings, we board on Monday. Who's the current Captains Club hostess onboard? Enjoy your final days! It sounds like you're having a blast!

 

 

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The current Captain's Club hostess is Raluca. She is a wonderful woman who we had the pleasure of meeting several years ago on a reposition cruise on the Millennium and she remembered us!

 

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[TommyD3]

The current Captain's Club hostess is Raluca. She is a wonderful woman who we had the pleasure of meeting several years ago on a reposition cruise on the Millennium and she remembered us!

 

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Actually the last two weeks both Raluca and Elaine have been the Captain's Club Hostesses.

Raluca leaves on Monday and Elaine will be the CCH by herself.

[chicagopaul]

Haha! Thanks for checking and tell Edward thanks for having my back. Best of luck, hope you win big!

 

 

 

So our CC friend Oolie checked and I just did a swipe of the casino too. Sorry to report for your husband no Pai Gow Poker. But at least that means you can see him more!

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul (and Edward),

We have REALLY enjoyed your posts and pictures on this cruise.

The blog and pictures have allowed us to follow each day of the cruise and enjoy each new event with you.

The pictures have been great HOWEVER you need to include pictures of you and Edward.

You both are the central focus of this exciting venture and you need to be included in this photo log of the cruise.

Have fun on the remainder of your cruise. We ALL appreciate your efforts.

Bob

 

 

 

Haha. You are correct. Here you go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

Haha. You are correct. Here you go!

 

 

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Paul, great pic of a very handsome couple. Following along and enjoying your trip report.

Norris

in Chicago

[lojax]

So our CC friend Oolie checked and I just did a swipe of the casino too. Sorry to report for your husband no Pai Gow Poker. But at least that means you can see him more!

 

 

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Thanks for checking, guess that means I will have more money to go to the spa with. And I get to see him more. Have a good evening, great photo of you and Edward! We fly to Miami tomorrow morning. :D

[KikisDad]

Paul, thanks for the great review, we can't wait for our November 6 sailing on the Equinox

I may have missed it but are they currently offering a luggage valet service?

Thanks,

[chicagopaul]

Tonight we ate dinner at Silk Harvest. We very much enjoyed it. Excellent food and service. If you love Asian food you'll love Silk Harvest. Well executed and you can adjust the spice on many of the dishes. Fantastic. Here is what we had.

 

 

Well first that is me in front of the restaurant.

 

 

Miso Soup

 

 

Appetizers of rock shrimp and pot stickers

 

 

Main entree which is Green Curry Chicken, Duck, and Pad Thai (made extra spicy)

 

 

Carmelized bananas with coconut ice cream.

 

We really enjoyed Silk Harvest. This was our first time. I highly recommend it if you enjoy Asian food / Thai food.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Before our dinner we were at the Martini Bar. Passing by the bar was bar manager Irena. We first met her 4 years ago when she was a bartender at the Molecular Bar on the Reflection. We got to know her well then. She was awesome. A couple years later we ran into her and found out she was a bar manager. She remembered us. Then on this cruise we finally had some time to chat. Tonight while sitting at the Martini Bar she came over with two drinks. The drink pictured below is "The Lucky Cat." This drink used to be on the menu at Molecular and was the drink Edward and I ordered everyday 4 years ago when Irena was bartending. I was amazed she remembered. She was so excited to give us the drinks. Furthermore I found out that the other night she also made these drinks for us but we had already left the bar.

 

 

 

1) This is exactly the reason why we cruise Celebrity. While some may complain about cuts here and there it is actions like this which continue to amaze me and will always keep me coming back.

 

2) Some day you'll see Irena as head of F&B on a ship and probably for all of Celebrity. Her professionalism, customer service, and extreme attention to detail is outstanding.

 

I met some awesome people tonight. I have some fun pics of a pub crawl and some other great photos. They'll all come in the morning. Have a wonderful evening all and I'll report to you in the morning from the Sunset Bar.

 

 

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[Ma Bell]

Before our dinner we were at the Martini Bar. Passing by the bar was bar manager Irena. We first met her 4 years ago when she was a bartender at the Molecular Bar on the Reflection. We got to know her well then. She was awesome. A couple years later we ran into her and found out she was a bar manager. She remembered us. Then on this cruise we finally had some time to chat. Tonight while sitting at the Martini Bar she came over with two drinks. The drink pictured below is "The Lucky Cat." This drink used to be on the menu at Molecular and was the drink Edward and I ordered everyday 4 years ago when Irena was bartending. I was amazed she remembered. She was so excited to give us the drinks. Furthermore I found out that the other night she also made these drinks for us but we had already left the bar.

 

 

 

1) This is exactly the reason why we cruise Celebrity. While some may complain about cuts here and there it is actions like this which continue to amaze me and will always keep me coming back.

 

2) Some day you'll see Irena as head of F&B on a ship and probably for all of Celebrity. Her professionalism, customer service, and extreme attention to detail is outstanding.

 

I met some awesome people tonight. I have some fun pics of a pub crawl and some other great photos. They'll all come in the morning. Have a wonderful evening all and I'll report to you in the morning from the Sunset Bar.

 

 

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I agree with that 100%. It's always the people. They always work hard to make your time special.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Bollinge]

Are you able to find out about any itinerary changes due on the Equinox next cruise because of Hurricane Irma?

 

Many thanks.

 

 

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[rossco_p]

Great review Paul. Really impressed with your attention to detail and terrific pictures.

[wallie5446]

Paul, thanks for the great review, we can't wait for our November 6 sailing on the Equinox,

Larry,

Since we had to cancel would you pleas consider doing one of these like Paul? That way we can get our ongoing Equinox fix! :D

Thanks again Paul!

EW

[chicagopaul]

Are you able to find out about any itinerary changes due on the Equinox next cruise because of Hurricane Irma?

 

Many thanks.

 

 

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As of yesterday afternoon, according to the crew, no change has been announced yet. I'll ask this morning at Sunset to see if they have any new information. It does appear all the staff however is aware of the storm.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Good Morning everyone. Happy Sunday. Unfortunately this is our last day on the ship. But we will enjoy it to the fullest. Here is today's Daily as well as the port day spa specials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Last night the bars were pretty busy. Everyone was in a great mood. The Martini Bartenders were doing their thing! A total of a 44 Martini flight. And yes I have it on video! But of course ship wifi may prevent the loading of it so you can expect it hopefully tomorrow while we are waiting for our flight or Tuesday morning. In the meantime here are a few Martini bar photos.

 

 

 

The Martini Bartenders on this ship are plentiful! Here is the list.

 

Rhory, Suana, Jonie, Agus Andi, Novi

 

So that is a total of 5. And you know what. They are all awesome. Usually there are a couple very good. All are amazing on this cruise and they work so well together.

 

 

 

 

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[Bollinge]

As of yesterday afternoon, according to the crew, no change has been announced yet. I'll ask this morning at Sunset to see if they have any new information. It does appear all the staff however is aware of the storm.

 

 

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Thank you Paul.

 

All information gratefully received.

 

 

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[DCCruiser57]

As of yesterday afternoon, according to the crew, no change has been announced yet. I'll ask this morning at Sunset to see if they have any new information. It does appear all the staff however is aware of the storm.

 

 

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From September 4th roll call

 

Tentative update, from RC/Celeb's chief meteorologist via Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesVanF...207683/photo/1

 

This is his account:

https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesVanF...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Edited September 3, 2017 by DCCruiser57
add info

[upwarduk]

They do the safest possible route, for the safety of crew and passengers alike.

I still have to visit Curaçao, as we were unable to dock due to high winds on Easter Monday 2013.

[chicagopaul]

From September 4th roll call

 

Tentative update, from RC/Celeb's chief meteorologist via Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesVanF...207683/photo/1

 

This is his account:

https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesVanF...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

 

 

 

Thanks for posting this. I'm sharing this with the crew on board as they've mostly been in the dark about it.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Yesterday we met some great people at the Martini Bar who started their own bar crawl at 11am. Not a bad idea for a sea day. Here is their list. You can see they numbered them as they went along.

 

 

And they also brought along a friend on the bar crawl

 

 

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Ah the last day. How depressing! We had a quick lunch at the Mast Grill and then some coffee at Bacio. Then a farewell drink at Sunset but we very possibly might be back there tonight after dinner.

 

Sunset Bar: This bar became our go to in the morning since we had so many port days. The views from Sunset are gorgeous, especially when in port.

 

The Bartenders and servers there are great. First there is Milton, who goes by Santa. He will wear a Santa hat in the evenings and sometimes mornings too. He loves to say "Let it snow! Joy to the world! Come let us adore him!" The looks on people's faces who don't know him are priceless. This is our third cruise with him. If you don't know him, make a point to get there early when the bar is empty and chat with him. He's great to talk to.

 

Then there is Rhory. Rhory also works in the Martini bar. He can seem a bit shy but he's one of those guys that observes every single thing around him. He will know your drink and card number from day 1. He's always working, extremely attentive, and enjoys talking once he gets to know you.

 

Bailey. Bailey is such a nice guy. He is also very quiet until you start talking to him. He's been working on ships for years and for Celebrity I believe for 11 years? Guess what...this is his last contract! He's done after this. He is opening up a bed and breakfast and is taking over a restaurant his aunt is leaving him. We talked to him today about his plans and he is so excited to get going. If you're looking for a B&B in Jamaica for next year talk to him. He had some pretty cool plans regarding private tours and partnering with other small hotels around Jamaica.

 

Nestor. Nestor is another very quiet guy but such a nice guy. He knows his cigars well and is one of those people that is such a genuinely nice guy. The other Bartenders give him a hard time but it is all out of fun. Nestor typically works in the afternoon or later at night. He works hard. Makes a point to always check on you at the bar no matter how busy he is.

 

Lastly there is Jorge (from Jamaica). We didn't get to know him too well since we didn't see him much. But this didn't stop him from knowing our drinks after one visit. When we were smoking cigars sitting on the side he'd check on people. If you even flinched he'd come over to see if you needed anything and he was quick.

 

So when you get on board remember all these characteristics of these guys. Get to know them.

 

Zanu- Zanu is from Jamaica and works at the bar in Ocean View outside. It's mostly a service bar but it has s handful of stools. We've known Zanu from 2 TA cruises and our Reflection cruise in February. He's a great bartender, has an awesome memory, and is very service oriented. We'd see him working bar service in the theater and around the ship and no matter where we'd see him, even if he was in the middle of something else, he'd ask us if there was anything we needed or that he could do for us. So his bar might be a bit lonely but stop by and say hi from Paul and Edward. He also makes awesome frozen drinks (really takes his time) and puts them in nicer glasses than pool bar, etc.

 

OK. That is my update there. I will have plenty more.

 

QUESTION for all of you! So we have a late flight tomorrow, 6:45pm. Apparently when we booked it we were being cheap and wanted to save $100 each. So we booked the hop on and hop off bus so they can store our luggage (our flight is too late for luggage valet on Southwest).

 

So our plan is to find a place for brunch / lunch. It's Labor Day so there should be plenty of options.

 

Let us know if you have any recommendations that might be near the hop on / hop off route. I'm looking for a nice place where I can park myself for a while. Get drinks, eat and ideally plug in my phone so I can upload photos and video for you all. I'm open to hotels, etc. even if it's overpriced at this point I'm picking convenience over anything else, I learned my lesson!

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Paul, thanks for the great review, we can't wait for our November 6 sailing on the Equinox

 

I may have missed it but are they currently offering a luggage valet service?

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Yes they are offering luggage valet! The times vary depending on MIA or FLL. We wanted to do it with Southwest but it was limited to flights after a certain time (I think 1 or 2) but before 6pm! Our flight is at 6:45 :(

 

We've seen luggage valet envelopes on several cabin doors so people are booking it. I believe in your welcome packet of info in your cabin you should have something for it. Otherwise just check with guest relations ok a slow day to get the info. But sign up early on in your cruise.

 

 

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[ArizonaCruisers]

So when a late schedule change is made like the upcoming Equinox posted above, how does that affect excursions? Most of the ports look the same but dates changed. Will people lose deposits on the two ports that are skipped altogether now?

Just curious, never had this happen to us.