Newbie tidbits-Equinox, W. Caribbean, Feb. 23-Mar.2

[horatio123]

We are boomers who have just completed our first big boat cruise having spent the last few years doing river cruises in Europe.  We have yet another cruise in Europe in 2020 with a new Viking ship, Venice to Rome.  We knew the ports on our Western Caribbean adventure were not that remarkable but went primarily for the big boat experience in preparation for next year.  Thought I would send some thoughts this way. 

 

DEPARTURE:

Arrived in Miami the morning prior to cruise day and decided to stay a little away from the airport as the nicer hotels were quite pricey and the the more reasonable ones did not have consistent reviews.  We booked ourselves in at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sweetwater about 8 miles away.  Very nice hotel, comfy rooms and complete breakfast all for $184.  We were right across from the Dolphin Outlet Mall, just in case we decided to go shopping, plus it had some good dining options.  There is no free shuttle to this hotel but we had rented a car for the day so it was no issue.  Uber is plentiful at the airport.  The next morning we returned the car to the airport.  Alamo had a free shuttle for any cruisers but when we saw the lineup we decided to hop a taxi..$27 for the four of us "plus tip".  Not bad.

EMBARKATION:

Smooth and quick.  No issue.  They were welcoming.  I found all staff pretty good and helpful.  We wandered around the ship and grabbed a burger, fries and drink at the Mast Grill by the pool.  Yummy.  By about 2:00 our room was ready and we went in to do some changing into swimsuits and hung out in the Solarium for the rest of the day.  This was our pool of choice.  Air conditioned and quiet and if you want the action you would just have to go through the sliding doors to join the more active bunch.

DINING:

I  found the food good overall but not phenomenal.  The Oceanview Cafe got old after awhile but it was so easy to pop over and grab a bite..be sure to try their Berliner donuts fresh out of the oven at 3:30 and the pizza was always there and quite good. Breakfast items never changed.  French toast or good pancakes might of been nice. The mini danishes every morning were not that fresh nor tasty.   Hot meats did not look that appetizing for the most part.  Lots of fruits, cheeses, everything.  Desserts were always anywhere excellent.  We went to the Silhouette dining room only three times.  I found the 8:30 dining time too late for my tummy.   As well, because it was on the third floor I found the vibration of the ship too much.  More on that later.  Options here were pretty good.  Always something on the menu that we liked but lacking a consistent wow factor. The sweetest most polite servers.  Be sure you go to Cafe el Bacio on the fifth floor for your specialty coffees, teas and desserts...nicest atmosphere.  The trying to sell fine dining no matter where you went or while you were in the OVC has got to stop.  We felt bombarded at times.

ENTERTAINMENT:

I was surprised at how much action there was on the boat.  Lots of dancing and lots of people having a great time.  You could hear laughter as late as 3 in the morning somewhere off the lobby.  We never got to the silent disco but made sure we got to some things.  The theatre was a lovely venue..one night there was a Canadian comedian, another an excellent singer doing all things Whitney, another a variety show and the Uptown which was excellent, a Motown tribute.

PORTS:

Key West: Many people found it rather hot and did not spend a lot of the day in town.  We had been so stayed on the ship.

Costa Maya: disembarked and wandered the port area and then went back on the boat to the Solarium.

Cozumel:  Same as CM.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman: We opted for an excursion through the ship.  A bus took us to a beach area at Calico Jacks.  We got a rum punch, lounger and umbrella.  This afternoon was appreciated as we got to spend time in the ocean.  And I know we could of gotten it for less than $58 independently but because there were 6 ships in port we did not want to take a chance with counting on cabs.  In hindsight it would of been easy to do.

SHIP:

I was impressed but understand why it will be refurbished later this year.  Some of the areas are just too dark, colour schemes in rooms need to be changed as the brown theme in hall and rooms is very boring.  I heard more than a few people comment on the vibration on the ship(don't eat your food near the ice cream in the OVC) and that it was less stabilized than they would of thought...we had waves 1-3 metres.  And then there is me who, as you have read from my post last week, had motion sickness because of this.  Sitting or laying in bed it would start.  Stopped during the day time when in port and I was not sitting or laying down...the solarium was a good place not to feel it so much. Took their Meclizine all week.  got to sort out my next plan of attack for May 2020.

so that is it..hope any bit of this helped.....

[mfs2k]

Glad to read the motion sickness you experienced early on in your cruise, didn't ruin your entire week.  

Looking forward to the same itinerary in 2 1/2 weeks.

 

I expect to stay onboard in Costa Maya and Cayman (tender port)