LIVE BLOG! From the EQUINOX - AUG 25th Sailing - CHICAGOPAUL

[Northern Aurora]

Just want to comment that I thoroughly enjoyed this blog, and appreciate the time taken to post so frequently. We have been on the Equinox five times and now I want to return.

[miched]

Sure. Just dump them in your purse. Just kidding. Ask for a doggie bag.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Take ziplocks inside of a huge shopping bag size purse. I hear that many do it all the time at Golden Coral. They really need to get their money’s worth at a slop trouff.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[chicagopaul]

Hi, Paul, I have been loving your blog. Please excuse a silly question. Those wonderful pictures of the cheese plates have me in lust! Do they serve crackers with them? If we are unable to finish it all, can we ask to take them to our cabin for future reference?

 

I am sure you could. I have not seen this done with cheese, but I don't see why not. I have seen them make small purses out of foil and small foil swans for leftovers. Though be warned some of the cheese in Murano is quite strong so you may not want that odor sitting in your cabin for to long!

---

As a heads up to everyone I'll have much more posted tomorrow regarding recaps of certain areas of the ship, I'll break down the staff I remember, and I'll get some more photos and videos uploaded!

[chicagopaul]

Paul - have not been following, until now, just read every post. Fantastic job!

 

My partner, Rick, and I sailed an 11-nighter on Equinox back in November, 2016, had a fantastic time and fell in love with it.

 

I'll be sailing on Equinox on November 5. Unfortunately, my partner of nearly 16 years lost his battle with cancer and passed in May of last year so I will be cruising solo. But, I won't be alone, sailing with dear friends Amy and Mark (MrsB05) ... and, who knows, maybe I'll meet someone onboard! LOL

 

We fell in love with the Martini bar, and the Sunset Martini, had several each night. There were two servers that were fantastic, Boris and John, more than once they both brought us drinks at the same time since they knew what we liked. I have to wonder if they might still be onboard, it would be great to see them again.

 

Anyway, thanks for your fantastic blog ... I can hardly wait until November!

 

Hi Terry - Thank you so much for following along! And thank you for sharing the story of you and Rick. I think it is a gentle reminder to all of us how precious life is and to treasure each day with those who we love (no matter how much they may annoy us that day! haha).

 

 

I'm not sure who the bar servers were as we always sat by the bar. I know there is one guy I recognized from countless other cruises. He is shorter, a bit later in age, and has a mustache. He is an incredibly hard worker, we never see him stop!

 

 

Enjoy your Equinox cruise! We too are cruising on Nov 5, but on Reflection so our countdown is the same. Cheers to 60 days away!

[upwarduk]

Doesn’t sound good:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2675972

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[chicagopaul]

Now that I am home and fully rested after spending all day in Miami Airport, let me start recapping our cruise for you all. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I’ll repeat a few things here but I’ll try to keep it short and sweet, though you know that is difficult for me to do!

 

Let’s start with passengers.

 

Passenger Mix

 

Most passengers were from North America with few being from Europe, at least that was my experience. I know the current cruise on the Equinox has a pretty large UK contingent (I think around 1100). I heard that there was not a huge number of Elites on board. This was evident by the Elite Happy Hour actually being held in the Sky Lounge I believe the number I heard from a fellow passenger who asked the Captain’s Club Host was just over 400 Elite and 100 Elite Plus. I know Tommy was on board so that means at least one Zenith was present!

 

The one item I’d really like to comment about with regard to passengers was the number of people complaining was very low! Maybe it is just because our recent cruises have been longer (14 nights) and those cruises have a more seasoned cruiser on board with different expectations that they tend to be a bit more vocal about complaints. However, on this cruise whenever someone had to wait at the bar they never complained, they told bartenders to take their time. There was no pushing leaving muster drill, etc. Everyone was very relaxed. Exactly how it should be in my humble opinion.

 

Ship Cleanliness / Bottled Water / Straws

 

Despite the cloth towel issue I mentioned in the bathrooms, we found the ship to be extremely clean as usual. We did not spend a lot of time around the pool deck this cruise, but in our passing by it looked well maintained. The Sunset Bar was always very clean with empty glasses being removed immediately. When the wind blew chairs around they were picked up immediately and placed back in the right position. All bartenders at every interior bar would very diligent and giving our napkins for glasses. I mention this as I know it was a topic of discussion previously on Cruise Critic. The exterior bartenders were also very diligent at wiping down bars from condensation from glasses.

 

Walking back to the room at night (we were far forward) we’d usually be coming from more mid or aft of the ship, we’d walk through the room corridors on deck 10. We rarely saw room service trays in the hallway. The hallways always looked clean and well kept.

 

The ship is now not giving out straws unless they are asked for, or of course if you get a frozen drink they’re automatically given to you. So if you still want a straw you can have one. I am told starting in January they will be switching to biodegradable straws.

 

Evian bottled water usually will start off with glass bottles and then as they run out of those plastic Evian bottles are used. Regular plastic water bottles are still available. I am told there is canned water on the ship as well from one of the bartenders but I personally didn’t see any.

 

Dining

 

When we were in port we mostly at lunch then. On the ship we did eat at Mast Bar a couple of times, once in the buffet (when we were ported in Curacao), twice in Gastro Bar, and once in Sushi on 5. On the days we were at Mast Bar it wasn’t crowded, but we did see decent lines there on sea days at peak times. We both had hot dogs so I can’t comment on the burgers this go around. Fries were god. Tables were being cleared very fast as people left so that helped with finding seats there.

 

Gastro Bar Food - First time we ate there the food took a little while for the food to come out. We had ordered the grilled cheese and mushroom flat bread. I remember last cruise on the Equinox it took a very long time for the food (we had burgers then). The second time we split a grilled cheese and pork buns. This time the food came out much quicker. My favorite item there is the grilled cheese. It may look very large when it comes out, but it is surprisingly light when you bite into it. Very tasty.

 

Ocean View Cafe - Only ate in there once for lunch. They had a very good selection for lunch when were there. I really enjoyed my Indian food at lunch. Edward made a couple evening passes for pizza and pasta (after midnight) and he enjoyed it. We did pop up there once for dinner to check out the selection and we were not impressed the night we walked through. With the exception of the grill area where you can have steaks, chicken, fish grilled to order, the highlight appeared to be meatloaf. Besides that the options seemed pretty standard fare unless we missed something. But this was just a regular night, I’m sure on a night such as Evening Chic it is much more extravagant.

 

Main Dining Room - We did eat in MDR one night to try it out. We had a wonderful window table and great wait staff. Our sommelier (Tanya) was very quick and extremely attentive. Quick story on Tanya. When she came by I ordered a glass of wine and Edward comment his water preference as Evian. He didn’t really pay attention to her thinking she was the assistant waiter. He then apologized and said he didn’t want any wine. A few moments later our waiter comes by asking our water preference but he was holding a pitcher of ice water. Edward was thirsty so he just said ice water is fine. Well, when Tanya brought me my wine she saw the ice water. She said “Oh no this isn’t Evian. One second” She grabs the glasses, promptly fills with Evian and comes back in less than 30 seconds. Really appreciated that level of detail from her, even though it technically isn’t her exact job in the restaurant.

 

Our waiter and assistant waiter were very good. The food we had, even though we only ordered a couple things, was quite good. I had the Tuna Poke to start and Edward had some soup. Then Edward had the tomato and gorgonzola pasta and I had the lamb skewer. Overall, I was quite impressed with the meal overall and it definitely put a very positive impression of MDR in my head.

 

I’d also like to add, which I mentioned earlier in the blog, that I heard the wait staff at the table next to us discussing dietary restrictions. Not only were they very accommodating they were very happy, if anything quite excited, to provide alternative off the menu options and make suggestions. Great job.

 

Sushi on 5 - We ate there for lunch on the last sea day (such a sad day :( ) Service was great. We were very pleased with the food, especially considering it was the last day. Sushi seemed quite fresh and we left feeling very full. Almost too full!

 

Murano

 

So Murano gets a special section as we ate there 8 nights out of 9. I won’t elaborate too much since you have seen all my comments on it during the cruise and you’re probably sick of me typing the word “Murano.” Overall, it was a great experience. Timing of the dishes was excellent. While we did take our time, if you needed a quick meal in there, it was not a problem. After day 1 they remembered our preferences. We always had great tables (this of course was Nenad’s doing) but we did have different wait staff here and there and they were all fantastic, enthusiastic, and very proper in their presentation of dishes and table setting. It was a perfect combination of being laid back and welcoming, while still adhering to the etiquette one would expect (and I certainly expect and appreciate) in a fine dining establishment. This was a stark contrast to the Murano experience I had on the Eclipse back in December that you may remember me posting about. Ironically, after my Eclipse cruise Nenad was moved from Luminae to Murano to help fix issues. I definitely give him notable mention for that.

 

Food quality in Murano was terrific across the board regardless of dish. Cook point on food was on point (pun intended, haha). While food is subjective, there are many aspects of food that is objective such as quality standards, cook point that is requested, and basic preparation. Overall, everything was executed as it should be in the kitchen.

 

My favorite dish? Ugh, this is a hard one. They’re all good. Lets go with the dish that surprised me the most…The Lamb. Fantastic. I ordered mine medium rare, Edward got his medium (that is what the chef recommends). Either way you can’t go wrong. The quality of the lamb was excellent and the crust on the exterior was amazing.

 

Sommelier - The current Somm in Murano is Star. She is fantastic. First, she is very quick at reaching tables when she needs to. Secondly, she loves taking the time to understand what you like and what you don’t like. She does not push her preferences onto you, but she enjoys telling you what she enjoys and WHY she enjoys it. She is my favorite kind of Somm as she is one to understand that while it is important to pair food with wine, it is more important to enjoy the wine you’re drinking as opposed to making a “perfect” pairing. So if you want a glass of Cab with your dover sole, she won’t look down on you! Not that I would ever commit such a faux pas. Hehe

 

 

OK, More to come.....

[dutchclogs]

Hi again Paul,

 

I was curious about passenger mix too. Concierge told me Spanish and Germans were biggest European groups only about 40 each or so though! Don't know number of Brits . Did hear that about a 1000 were on the next cruise, apparently there was a very good Celebrity airfare promotion.

[SCGirl3211]

Have totally enjoyed your blog! Glad to hear your cruise wasn’t filled with whiners!! My pet peeve...people you are on vacation!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[calicakes]

I'm commenting before I read the blog. I came here looking for the cruise itinerary my wife and I are considering for next September. Its been this one and a US virgin Island one. We've been to 2 of those ports before and only Key West on this one. Now back to read the entire thread.

[chicagopaul]

I'm still compiling the remainder of my written review. However, here are some videos in the meantime. They include some video I took on the cruise as well as some photos.

 

Enjoy!

 

Part One

 

Part Two

 

Part Three

[MrsB05]

I'm still compiling the remainder of my written review. However, here are some videos in the meantime. They include some video I took on the cruise as well as some photos.

 

Enjoy!

 

Part One

 

Part Two

 

Part Three

 

Just watched video one. Sorry about the rain in Miami. Yeah, we in FL are all sick of the rain!

Question. Is there a separate ice bar somewhere from the martini bar? I thought I read about it, but now I'm wondering if I made it up in my head! I know we'll be in the martini bar every night!!!!!

[Purplsmurf]

The ship you saw in Aruba is the Freewinds. It’s a training center for the Church of Scientology. It’s not used by the public. It is there for awhile, then leaves and goes back. It is there quite often. I have been going to Aruba for 20+ years and have seen it there more often than not....and I have never seen anyone on it either.

 

Nice to see a picture of Edward! He really does exist! Lol! Guess he likes to stay out of the limelight 😉

[packerpegster]

Thank you thank you thank you for the great blog posts!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[ecslady]

Your videos made me feel like I was back on the Equinox & the ABC islands! :)

[upwarduk]

The ship you saw in Aruba is the Freewinds. It’s a training center for the Church of Scientology. It’s not used by the public. It is there for awhile, then leaves and goes back. It is there quite often. I have been going to Aruba for 20+ years and have seen it there more often than not....and I have never seen anyone on it either.

We were moored next to Freewinds in March 2013 and we did see people on the deck.

[oskarNZ]

Thank you so much for taking time out of your travels to blog your trip.

Over the last few days, I have read through all your posts and thoroughly enjoyed the read.

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks again Edward and Paul. Incredible job with everything from wiriteup to pictures.

Made us feel like we on Equinox again...

Larry and Cindy

[micheleata]

Really enjoyed your review and great pictures. We board the Equinox in 8 days!

[MisterMet]

Really enjoyed your review and great pictures. We board the Equinox in 8 days!

 

 

 

See you onboard! We are on your sailing. Sooo excited!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[chicagopaul]

Recap review continued.....

Cabin / Room Steward

 

Our Cabin was 1007, which was a Concierge Class cabin, forward on the ship. It was a C3, on deck 10.

 

Our cabin steward was Max from India. Very nice guy. We never need much from the cabin attendant expect to keep the room cleaned and we have our soap replenished when needed, specifically the liquid body wash which we tend to over use for some reason. We never had to ask him, it was always replenished. He was very good at timing when we left the cabin. On port days for instance Edward might leave at 10:30 to join me for a drink at Sunset Bar in the morning and then we’d pop back to the room at 11:30am to grab what we needed to go into port. Our room was always cleaned and ready. Never once did we return to find it not done.

 

We had Laundry sent out once. It came back exactly at 24hrs. No issues noted with the laundry service. All was good. In case anyone asks, since we are Elite Plus we both get 2 bags of free laundry (up to 30 pieces I believe the limit is).

 

As much as I sometimes hated the walk all the way forward to our cabin, we found it pretty quiet. We did hear some noise from above, but nothing major. We never felt any vibration and sea movement was not noticeable at all really. It was a cool cabin since we could look at the bridge and watch the officers as they were standing on the part of the bridge (the wing I think they call it) that sticks out.

 

 

Entertainment

 

We don't cruise for the entertainment on the ship. Sometimes we go to the shows, sometimes we don’t. On this cruise we only went to one show to pass some time.

 

We can say that the parties around the ship, whether it was Silent Disco or the Full Moon Party, Great Gatsby Party, etc. was very well attended and the production dancers, singers, and aerialists that participated seemed to be having a lot of fun and were very interactive with the guests. I always think this is a major plus. I think some people remember a great show, but I think the interactive parties where people can “put their hair down” so to speak, will make more lasting memories. So in this department, if we put shows aside since I know many of you have your own opinions on the shows, we can give a big thumbs up for this cruise.

 

Bars

 

Ah the bars, you know that is my favorite place on a Celebrity ship! So let me tell you the bars that we actually visited while on the ship and then I can go into how crowded they were, what we usually drank. I will separately go into the bartenders later, but I’ll just give their names here.

 

Here are the bars we visited: Sunset Bar, Martini Bar, World Class Bar, Casino Bar, Gastro Pub, Pool Bar, Cafe Bacio.

 

Sunset Bar

 

We were normally here in the morning, though we did pop up here at night a couple times. On this cruise they opened at 10am each morning and that is when I arrived. Taz was our morning bartender as was Rodolfo. Taz and Rodolfo would be done by late night and there were two other gentleman working who were very nice, but I didn’t catch their names.

 

I never found Sunset Bar to be packed, but it had a halfway decent crowd. I’ve definitely seen it much more crowded on other cruises. The bar was stocked exceptionally well. They made very good bloody marys and took their time to actually shake them so the spice mix properly mixed throughout. They always made sure to have celery, olives, even cucumber for the bloodys.

 

My morning drink however is usually vodka and grapefruit juice and in the past sometimes grapefruit juice would run out easily. Here Taz always had it in stock. In the evenings the cigar selection was aways full and they always had a proper lighter and cutter on hand.

 

Martini Bar

 

The Martini Bar was crowded as usual. This cruise there was always a very steady crowd and it did have its peak times during certain parties, etc. but thankfully the bar was never “over packed.” The bartenders did not do a ton of “flair” as you might see on some cruises, but they did a fair amount. The nice thing about them not doing a ton of martini fights is the fact that they can focus on getting drinks for everyone. Even when you had to wait you never had to wait that long and this doesn’t just mean us who knows the staff, but this means everyone who walked up to the bar even if they were taking a drink to go. The bartenders did a very good job of scanning the bar and taking orders. If a group ordered 3 or 4 martinis they always did make sure to stack them or line them up and pour at the same time to put on a small show. As fun and crazy as some of the HUGE flights can be, I like the way this bar was run. It seemed to allow them to provide more steady service.

 

Boon was our primary bartenders, there were two Ari’s on board, you had a bartender with a long name that we would usually just call Win, and then Peter (bald crazy guy) showed up mid cruise.

 

The DJ would play music in the evenings there. He wasn’t as good as my favorite DJ on board, DJ Mace who is now with Royal, but he did a good job and played a nice variety of music.

 

My drink: Ketel One straight up with a twist. This was Edward’s drink too

 

World Class Bar

 

We visited World Class a couple of times. Santos is one of the bartenders there that we have met in the past. He is a very nice guy. Pretty quiet and matter of fact, but once you get him talking he can talk for a while and is very personable.

 

The drink prices have gone up a bit here for the drinks that are above the package. The ones included in the package have stayed the same. For instance the Zacapa old fashioned is only $12, but the Zacapa above the clouds (the drink that is smoked) is now $20.

 

We never saw World Class packed, but it seemed busier this cruise than we’ve seen in the past. Whenever they were open and we walked by we aways saw some one there.

 

My drinks here were: Zacapa Old Fashioned, Zacapa above the clouds, and just a plain and simple Zacapa neat.

 

Casino Bar

 

We’d stop by the Casino bar because one of our bartender friends we know from the Reflection, Equinox and Silhouette is Zanu, and we saw him working the Casino Bar at night. So after multiple drinks in the evening we’d stop there for a night cap or at the very least a bottle of water and chat with him for a little while.

 

The casino bar seemed well stocked for our needs which were simple, water, vodka, and sparkling water which they always had. There was always a handful of people hanging out there and there was usually two bartenders there as one would be working the floor a bit. Service was always quick.

 

Gastro Pub

 

We both ate and drank and Gastro Pub for lunch twice. I did like the beer selection. It was pretty familiar with lots of favorites I’m used to here in Chicago and a few others I haven’t heard of before. They did have a full liquor selection as well along with some TVs. In the evening I noticed they did get a good crowd in there on some nights and even so during the day as well when they were open on sea days. I really do like the Gastro Pub and I think it is a nice addition. Drinks are still included in the package and if you want to pay a little extra for some different food you can. I think it is a good venue and is definitely more utilized than Cellar Masters was.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see a wine bar on the ship, but it needs to be done in a different style than Cellar Masters is currently set up.

 

Pool Bar

 

Since we were at Sunset in the mornings we only utilized Pool Bar in the evenings when there was a deck party. The good news to report is that during the deck parties they had at least 3, in some cases 4 bartenders working the pool bar so service was very quick. Mostly they were martini bartenders so they knew their way around making different drinks.

 

Cafe Bacio

 

Roland is currently working at Bacio. He is a shorter bald guy from Indonesia. Very friendly and always a bit quirky. I stopped by Bacio a handful of times, sometimes in the morning for coffee and sometimes in the afternoon for some water or a ginger ale. Service was always very quick. Even when there was a “line” the line moved fast. They always had espresso made and ready to go to start making drinks. I was impressed with how well it was run. Now granted this is the Caribbean so it is not as crowded as lets say a TA would be, but overall I give it a big thumbs up.

 

 

Still more to come......

[GrazieMommy]

Recap review continued.....

 

 

Cabin / Room Steward

 

 

 

Our Cabin was 1007, which was a Concierge Class cabin, forward on the ship. It was a C3, on deck 10.

 

 

 

Our cabin steward was Max from India. Very nice guy. We never need much from the cabin attendant expect to keep the room cleaned and we have our soap replenished when needed, specifically the liquid body wash which we tend to over use for some reason. We never had to ask him, it was always replenished. He was very good at timing when we left the cabin. On port days for instance Edward might leave at 10:30 to join me for a drink at Sunset Bar in the morning and then we’d pop back to the room at 11:30am to grab what we needed to go into port. Our room was always cleaned and ready. Never once did we return to find it not done.

 

 

 

We had Laundry sent out once. It came back exactly at 24hrs. No issues noted with the laundry service. All was good. In case anyone asks, since we are Elite Plus we both get 2 bags of free laundry (up to 30 pieces I believe the limit is).

 

 

 

As much as I sometimes hated the walk all the way forward to our cabin, we found it pretty quiet. We did hear some noise from above, but nothing major. We never felt any vibration and sea movement was not noticeable at all really. It was a cool cabin since we could look at the bridge and watch the officers as they were standing on the part of the bridge (the wing I think they call it) that sticks out.

 

 

 

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

 

We don't cruise for the entertainment on the ship. Sometimes we go to the shows, sometimes we don’t. On this cruise we only went to one show to pass some time.

 

 

 

We can say that the parties around the ship, whether it was Silent Disco or the Full Moon Party, Great Gatsby Party, etc. was very well attended and the production dancers, singers, and aerialists that participated seemed to be having a lot of fun and were very interactive with the guests. I always think this is a major plus. I think some people remember a great show, but I think the interactive parties where people can “put their hair down” so to speak, will make more lasting memories. So in this department, if we put shows aside since I know many of you have your own opinions on the shows, we can give a big thumbs up for this cruise.

 

 

 

Bars

 

 

 

Ah the bars, you know that is my favorite place on a Celebrity ship! So let me tell you the bars that we actually visited while on the ship and then I can go into how crowded they were, what we usually drank. I will separately go into the bartenders later, but I’ll just give their names here.

 

 

 

Here are the bars we visited: Sunset Bar, Martini Bar, World Class Bar, Casino Bar, Gastro Pub, Pool Bar, Cafe Bacio.

 

 

 

Sunset Bar

 

 

 

We were normally here in the morning, though we did pop up here at night a couple times. On this cruise they opened at 10am each morning and that is when I arrived. Taz was our morning bartender as was Rodolfo. Taz and Rodolfo would be done by late night and there were two other gentleman working who were very nice, but I didn’t catch their names.

 

 

 

I never found Sunset Bar to be packed, but it had a halfway decent crowd. I’ve definitely seen it much more crowded on other cruises. The bar was stocked exceptionally well. They made very good bloody marys and took their time to actually shake them so the spice mix properly mixed throughout. They always made sure to have celery, olives, even cucumber for the bloodys.

 

 

 

My morning drink however is usually vodka and grapefruit juice and in the past sometimes grapefruit juice would run out easily. Here Taz always had it in stock. In the evenings the cigar selection was aways full and they always had a proper lighter and cutter on hand.

 

 

 

Martini Bar

 

 

 

The Martini Bar was crowded as usual. This cruise there was always a very steady crowd and it did have its peak times during certain parties, etc. but thankfully the bar was never “over packed.” The bartenders did not do a ton of “flair” as you might see on some cruises, but they did a fair amount. The nice thing about them not doing a ton of martini fights is the fact that they can focus on getting drinks for everyone. Even when you had to wait you never had to wait that long and this doesn’t just mean us who knows the staff, but this means everyone who walked up to the bar even if they were taking a drink to go. The bartenders did a very good job of scanning the bar and taking orders. If a group ordered 3 or 4 martinis they always did make sure to stack them or line them up and pour at the same time to put on a small show. As fun and crazy as some of the HUGE flights can be, I like the way this bar was run. It seemed to allow them to provide more steady service.

 

 

 

Boon was our primary bartenders, there were two Ari’s on board, you had a bartender with a long name that we would usually just call Win, and then Peter (bald crazy guy) showed up mid cruise.

 

 

 

The DJ would play music in the evenings there. He wasn’t as good as my favorite DJ on board, DJ Mace who is now with Royal, but he did a good job and played a nice variety of music.

 

 

 

My drink: Ketel One straight up with a twist. This was Edward’s drink too

 

 

 

World Class Bar

 

 

 

We visited World Class a couple of times. Santos is one of the bartenders there that we have met in the past. He is a very nice guy. Pretty quiet and matter of fact, but once you get him talking he can talk for a while and is very personable.

 

 

 

The drink prices have gone up a bit here for the drinks that are above the package. The ones included in the package have stayed the same. For instance the Zacapa old fashioned is only $12, but the Zacapa above the clouds (the drink that is smoked) is now $20.

 

 

 

We never saw World Class packed, but it seemed busier this cruise than we’ve seen in the past. Whenever they were open and we walked by we aways saw some one there.

 

 

 

My drinks here were: Zacapa Old Fashioned, Zacapa above the clouds, and just a plain and simple Zacapa neat.

 

 

 

Casino Bar

 

 

 

We’d stop by the Casino bar because one of our bartender friends we know from the Reflection, Equinox and Silhouette is Zanu, and we saw him working the Casino Bar at night. So after multiple drinks in the evening we’d stop there for a night cap or at the very least a bottle of water and chat with him for a little while.

 

 

 

The casino bar seemed well stocked for our needs which were simple, water, vodka, and sparkling water which they always had. There was always a handful of people hanging out there and there was usually two bartenders there as one would be working the floor a bit. Service was always quick.

 

 

 

Gastro Pub

 

 

 

We both ate and drank and Gastro Pub for lunch twice. I did like the beer selection. It was pretty familiar with lots of favorites I’m used to here in Chicago and a few others I haven’t heard of before. They did have a full liquor selection as well along with some TVs. In the evening I noticed they did get a good crowd in there on some nights and even so during the day as well when they were open on sea days. I really do like the Gastro Pub and I think it is a nice addition. Drinks are still included in the package and if you want to pay a little extra for some different food you can. I think it is a good venue and is definitely more utilized than Cellar Masters was.

 

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see a wine bar on the ship, but it needs to be done in a different style than Cellar Masters is currently set up.

 

 

 

Pool Bar

 

 

 

Since we were at Sunset in the mornings we only utilized Pool Bar in the evenings when there was a deck party. The good news to report is that during the deck parties they had at least 3, in some cases 4 bartenders working the pool bar so service was very quick. Mostly they were martini bartenders so they knew their way around making different drinks.

 

 

 

Cafe Bacio

 

 

 

Roland is currently working at Bacio. He is a shorter bald guy from Indonesia. Very friendly and always a bit quirky. I stopped by Bacio a handful of times, sometimes in the morning for coffee and sometimes in the afternoon for some water or a ginger ale. Service was always very quick. Even when there was a “line” the line moved fast. They always had espresso made and ready to go to start making drinks. I was impressed with how well it was run. Now granted this is the Caribbean so it is not as crowded as lets say a TA would be, but overall I give it a big thumbs up.

 

 

 

 

 

Still more to come......

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your review Paul. I’ve really enjoyed it. We’re on the September 14th sailing. I feel as though I will be quite familiar with the ship thanks to you. I can’t wait for more reviews from the 2 of you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[pd7277]

Question. Is there a separate ice bar somewhere from the martini bar? I thought I read about it, but now I'm wondering if I made it up in my head! I know we'll be in the martini bar every night!!!!!

 

Amy - I believe you mean Crush, which really isn't a bar, i.e., no bartenders. It is really just a table with bar stools with crushed ice and Vodka bottles next to the Martini Bar. I seriously doubt the bottles have booze in them. See link.

 

8 1/2 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/bars-and-lounges/martini-bar-and-crush

[upwarduk]

Was this a late booking, leaving you little choice of position of your room (1007)

The only time we have been so far forward was one day when my husband attended the choir, which was held in the conference room on deck 14. I just hadn’t realised the amount of movement compared to mid ships, where fortunately our cabin was.

[MrsB05]

Amy - I believe you mean Crush, which really isn't a bar, i.e., no bartenders. It is really just a table with bar stools with crushed ice and Vodka bottles next to the Martini Bar. I seriously doubt the bottles have booze in them. See link.

 

8 1/2 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/bars-and-lounges/martini-bar-and-crush

 

Thanks for this. Yeah, doesn't look like any big deal to me! One less bar to worry about visiting, LOL!

 

Yes, we're getting closer and closer to our big day!

[MrsB05]

Cabins were ready at 1pm. The room is very clean though no welcome bottle of “champagne” in this concierge room. Not that we ever drink it anyway. They have placed a full list of the concierge benefits on a nicely organized piece. See below.

 

 

The rain continues but that is ok. The inside of the ship is just as beautiful.

 

We purchased the 9 night package from a young man who was beyond thrilled when we told him we wanted the 9 night. We could have bought it online but figured we’d wait to buy on board in the hopes it helps out whoever sells it to us.

 

So after buying the package we grabbed a bite at the Mast Grill (just a quick hot dog and fries) and then decided to make reservations at Murano. We decided to reserve every night in Murano and then we can decide which nights we are going to change.

 

While we were in Murano waiting to make reservations we ran into Nenad! Some of you may know him and if you’ve read my blogs in the past you may remember him as our Maitre d in Luminae for a couple of cruises. He is fantastic! It turns out he is now in charge of all the specialty restaurants. He just asked for our room number and asked what time we like, we told him 8:30 and he said no worries it’s fine. Any specialty we want. But we had him put Murano in the system.

 

So far so good! We’ve already run into some familiar faces and we are now just resting in the cabin waiting for the infamous muster drill.

 

Below you’ll see a list of the Elite Plus activities.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm starting to pay attention to what Concierge and Elite receive since we've never been on Celebrity (Elite only because we're Diamond on Royal Caribbean).

 

Curious as to what you said: The room is very clean though no welcome bottle of “champagne” in this concierge room

 

From what I can tell, all Concierge class rooms receive this? Not that we care, either, as we always do the drink package, but, just trying to understand why not. I didn't see any difference in benefits between C1, C2 or C3 (other than room location) in any of the info available re CC.