My View: An Equinox Christmas, Naughty Room and All!

[APDMOM]

A few views on the way back to the ship.

 

Regal Princess docked at Havensight:

 

The Marriott will not be completely restored and open until end of 2019 or spring 2020:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Dinner: Day 5 - Saint Thomas:

 

 

Butternut Squash Soup (Repeater) It was different from last night’s recipe, but still excellent.  Tonight’s was more salty, while yesterday’s was more fruity.  I preferred the fruity version, but both were very good!  I also LOVE the different butter and cream cheese options for dinner rolls:

 

Seared Branzino (Repeater) - A light white fish

 

Lamb in phyllo dough (Repeat, Repeat, Repeater - one of the two best dishes of the week!)

 

We skipped dessert to grab a later sweet snack from the Oceanview Café.

 

  Tip: I personally found the desserts at Café al Bacío and the Oceanview Café to taste much better than the few we tried in the MDR.  Also, if you like candy, you can get jelly beans or Reese’s Pieces from the ice cream stand in the Oceanview Café.  Yum!

 

PS: They had cook-to-order seafood in the Oceanview Café on this night:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My Favorite View:  End of Day 5 - Saint Thomas

 

DH in the Sky Lounge with White Zinfandel: (It is beginning to sound like “CLUE”) 😁

 

A few Christmas lights around Crown Bay Center:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 6 - At Sea

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

We spent a large part of the day on our balcony to avoid the crowds.  We bought 2 for $20 T-shirts and enjoyed hotdogs and hamburgers on the balcony (which we had picked up from Mast Bar Grill).  

 

 

My View:  Broadway Cabaret

In the afternoon, we attended the Broadway Cabaret with the Equinox band and singers.  The singers did much better with these songs, and seemed to be more familiar with the harmonies. 

 

 I come from a musical home and background, so take what I say with a grain of salt.... Although the show was entertaining, there were unfortunate intonation problems.  Also, not every “strong” voice is a “singing” voice.  I prefer singing over forcing the song by belting out the tune.  So, some of the songs were over-performed, which compromised quality.

 

Overall, it was still enjoyable and worth attending, as there were some very good musical moments! 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite performances in the show:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Dinner: Day 6 - Sea Day:  This was the second formal night.  

 

 

 

DH had 3 salads!  The two below, plus his traditional Caesar Salad.

Mixed Greens (Repeater):

 

Prosciutto with Arugula (Repeater):

 

Tomato Bisque: (Okay)

 

Herb Crusted Haddock (Okay):

 

Leg of Lamb (A No Go) This was very disappointing.  Leg of Lamb is my favorite meal on Royal, but this Celebrity version was tough and over-cooked:

 

Smoked Salmon (Repeater - DH had it almost every night):

 

We looked at the dessert menu, and decided to go to Café Al Bacío instead:

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Tonight was the Senior Officers’ Cocktail Party.  The music was excellent and entertaining.  Jill and Julie both are better singers than the other performers we encountered on the ship.  I enjoyed this evening immensely.  Unfortunately, DH had to leave early as the rocking seas were getting to him in the Sky lounge.  

 

Tip:  If you tend to get affected a bit by the rolling seas, Café al Bacío or the Martini bar are better spots to sit.  You feel much less movement in these midship areas.

 

 

 

 

I LOVED this song!  If anyone knows the name of the gentleman singing with Julie, please post it for us!  I tried to find out - he has an excellent voice!

 

Dan on stage:

[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 6 - At Sea

 

A video clip of Julie, Jill, and our mystery man performing: 😍

Edited December 30, 2018 by APDMOM
My view

[Silkroad]

Thanks for the great photos & video of the Senior Officers’ cocktail party. I would love to hear Julie and the other two sing!

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 7 - At Sea

 

 

What is left of the “Full moon” that started our cruise:

 

[APDMOM]

Oceanview Café Outside Seating:

 

 

 

 

Aft Balconies do not seem to be very private on Equinox:

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by APDMOM
typo

[APDMOM]

We spent extra time in Tuscan Grille this morning to enjoy our last opportunity of a free Bellini, Cappuccinos and Lattes. 

 

 

My View:  A majority of this sea day was spent on the lounger on our balcony... even evening entertainment was skipped in lieu of the ocean breeze and sounds on the balcony:

[APDMOM]

Our Final Dinner:

 

I forgot to take pictures of the menu, but here are our dishes...

 

Some kind of salad with Boston lettuce and Feta Cheese: (Repeater)

 

Grilled/ Broiled Chicken from the daily menu (Repeater):

 

Crab Cake (Okay - too dry):

 

Short ribs?  (Repeater):

 

Grilled/Broiled Chicken: (Repeater)

 

 

 

 

[Mparis184]

Your photos are all excellent.  What kind of a camera are you using, your moon photo is exceptional!  I have stopped taking my big cameras with me when I travel and are now just taking photographs with my iPhone 8.  I am learning how to use several editing apps that have really taken my photos from good to fantastic and having a lot of fun doing it!

 

Thanks again for all your helpful information about the Equinox and taking us along with you on your cruise.  Happy New Year!

[Gimpy McFarlan]

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

My View:  A majority of this sea day was spent on the lounger on our balcony... even evening entertainment was skipped in lieu of the ocean breeze and sounds on the balcony:

 

If you do not mind sharing... Which cabin are you in? My wife and I prefer the cabins with the slightly larger and angled verandas. We have one reserved on Equinox in February.

[Mparis184]

Your balcony was very nice and having a lounge chair is a big added plus you could rest out there in comfort! The overhead for shade is nice too. 

 

Marion

[Peptmf]

We’ll on board this Saturday and have some questions.  Was the outside pools water warm? How about the ocean ? Favorite bar? Are there two formal dinners?

My friend that’s been following your post mentioned “She wins!”. Hope we have the same fun.

[APDMOM]

8 hours ago, Gimpy McFarlan said:

 

If you do not mind sharing... Which cabin are you in? My wife and I prefer the cabins with the slightly larger and angled verandas. We have one reserved on Equinox in February.

Hi, Gimpy!

We were in 8197.  It was a GREAT location and size.  I will be posting many pictures of the cabin later tonight.  🙂

[APDMOM]

2 hours ago, Peptmf said:

We’ll on board this Saturday and have some questions.  Was the outside pools water warm? How about the ocean ? Favorite bar? Are there two formal dinners?

My friend that’s been following your post mentioned “She wins!”. Hope we have the same fun.

 

Hi, Peptmf!  Hopefully, someone can help about the pools.  We did not use them this time, as it was very busy.  We live in Florida.  So, tanning and swimming are not that high on our priority list, especially since it was so crowded at the pools.  This cruise had many people staying onboard in the ports too, which was highly unusual.  

 

We did not visit the beaches this time, but have been all over the Caribbean in November and December during prior cruises.  The ocean water is always very pleasant.  

 

Our favorite bar for daytime was the Sunset Bar.  We did not have a drinks package, and usually just shared the drink of the day.  We love the aft views though!  At night, we only did the Captains Club, but noticed that the Martini bar was very popular.  

 

We did have 2 formal dinners, yes.  🙂 Enjoy your cruise!  

[APDMOM]

My View:  Return to Miami

 

 

 

 

The new Royal Caribbean Terminal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Our Room: 8197

 

The location of our room was very convenient to us, as we were only 3 decks from the Entertainment deck, and 5 decks from the pools.  We climbed stairs most of the time.  When we did need the elevator, we found the forward elevators to be much less busy.

 

Tip:  If you return from port and you can manage stairs, climb one deck up to deck 3 and walk to the opposite side of the ship for an elevator, especially if a lot of people are returning at once.

 

Back to our room, with views by day and by night:

 

 

There is plenty of storage above the bed, if you are tall enough to reach:

 

 

 

 

Tip:  We pack magnetic hooks for the room to hang our hats and jackets.  This time, they were handy for our stockings.

 

 

[APDMOM]

Storage throughout the room:

 

 

 

The safe is very nice and large!  We fit 3 iPads, wallets, my large P900 Nikon, and had plenty of space to spare.  I think even an iPad Pro will fit in there!

 

The fridge was also nice and cool - much cooler than the ones on Royal.  We even kept milk in there with good results.

 

Available outlets:

 

Mini Bar List:

 

Beware 🙂These water bottles are not free, nor are they included in the drinks package... 

 

Tip:  If you are Elite and up, and don’t use the 3 free drinks, pick up water bottles from a bar.  Between DH and me, we usually only manage 2 or 3 of our combined 6 drinks, so we get 3 water bottles per night.  

[APDMOM]

The bathroom has plenty of little cubbies, but I still like the convenience of the over-the-door hanger for quick access to frequently used items.  So, I now always travel with this:

 

 

 

I love that the shower has a shaving bar!  Wish they would install these on all ships.  The only downside of the shower is that the head can not adjust higher or lower.

 

Tip:  If you put a rag on the wire rack inside the shower, it will prevent the shampoo bottles from falling over, and your razor from slipping through onto the shower floor.

[APDMOM]

Tomorrow, I will be back with My View of Equinox and our overall cruise experience.  Did she top the charts for us?  Stay tuned for my “glass-half-full” summary from the comfort of my balcony lounger (If only in my dreams now that we are on land again) 😁

 

I will also post “too many” ship pictures, for those who are interested.

 

 

[Mparis184]

Thanks for the nice tour of your cabin, what category was it?

 

Marion