On Equinox now- glass half full midweek report

[DevilinaBluDress]

I guess this is turning into a live report...

 

Yesterday in San Juan, Will and I strolled around Old San Juan and windowshopped until we found a Marshall's. Then we really shopped. Will needed a pair of sandals because he forgot his at home and I needed a pair of jeans (well, NEED might be a little exaggerated.) I also played a little Pokémon Go-yup, I am a nerd. I have to keep catching 'em all. I caught my first Clamperl, so I am happy as a you know what!

 

Back on the ship, we changed and ate in Blu. After dinner, Will wanted to resting the cabin. We had walked a lot! I went down to the Martini Bar for the first time and picked up a couple of drinks for us. I don't like sweet martinis but thought Will might. Candy Apple for him and an Eurekatini for me. Bringing them back to the cabin was a challenge, but some I met a couple of good Samaritans who knocked on the door for me. Back on the balcony, Will tried both and liked the Eurekatini much better, surprise now it's his drink!

 

Will opted to staying the cabin while I went to the juggling show. It was amusing, especially his interactions with the kids in the audience.

 

Looking forward to today- we have an excursion in St. Thomas.

 

Molly

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great report. Thanks for bringing us along. 

[DevilinaBluDress]

Oops, I forgot to add my pictures from yesterday. Here ya go!

[Silkroad]

Molly, you drank the candy apple martini (as Bill the Cat would say, Gack!!) and let Will have your tasty martini? You are the best mum😂 I see that Will is sporting another great t-shirt. Great photos! 

 

Cheers!

Michelle

[phabric]

Following along.

[hiccups]

Well, my DH and I will now have to take a cruise that stops in San Juan so that we can buy a carved cat   >^,,^<   Another reason I wish we'd booked the eastern Caribbean itinerary rather than the western.  That's the last time I let my husband choose 😉

[spammie]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!  What a great Mom you are for taking your son on a cruise for a little mom-son bonding time.    We have stayed in your cabin a few times.  Love the cabin and location.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!  Wanda

[lola2013]

Love your review and pics!  I have done Equinox twice and will sail her again May, 2020 in a SV!  Counting the days.  Hope you and your son enjoy the rest of your trip!

Susan

[LMEEE06]

Have a wonderful time! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip - we are cruising for the first time on Equinox in April!

[Loucat]

Loved all of the carved cats!! Did you find those shops in the Old San Juan area? Have to go there. I see a sign to help animals-are the carvings part of a fund raising for homeless kitties?

Your pics are still great and I am following along. Watching Blu for sure!

[DevilinaBluDress]

Yesterday was  a fun day starting with room service breakfast on the balcony. I wrote in a request for smoked salmon/lox and it was honored! Yippee! The forgot my request for wheat toast, but it was simple enough for me to zip up to the Oceanview café to get some. We had a leisurely morning as the ship docked in St. Thomas. Three out of our four cruises stopped in St. Thomas, so we've done a different excursion each time. This time, we did a noon excursion on the Kon Tiki party boat. It motored over to the other port to pick up passengers from the MSC Seaside. Then on to Water Island and the beach while sipping rum punch, listening to the steel drum band, and learning about St.Thomas.   One passenger particularly got into the beat ( see video below).  We mostly stayed in the shade people watching. Will had conch fritters for lunch while I ate  protein bar. We waded in the water a little.

 

Note on my standout attire when at the beach: I am covered head to toe - swim leggings and a long sleeved rash guard with a  brimmed hat. I am very pale and have had some super bad burns when I was younger that were compared to being in the house fire- 2nd and 3rd degree that took a long time to recover from. I take not getting burned again very seriously. For the little bit of me not covered - 50 SPF! 

 

Back on the Kon Tiki, I met some of the 48 people who are celebrating a wedding on board, including the bride. The newly weds tied the knot on Sunday in Blu with the reception in the Tuscan Grill. In my pics below, the bride is in denim shorts and a bikini top. Everyone was having a fantastic time, doing the Cupid Shuffle, YMCA, and the conga. I think one of her bridesmaids won the limbo contest.

 

Getting off the Kon Tiki, I played a little more Pokémon Go (gotta keep the streak going). The Port shops were fewer than I remembered. I think the other times we docked where the MSC was.

 

Back on board the Equinox, Will had his first Pina Coloda and I tried some sugar-free pecan ice cream. We rested in the Persian Garden had a sample Thai massage and went to dinner a little later than we had previously.  Just before leaving for dinner, I tried the World class bar's old fashioned without simple syrup. OMG- it was the absolute best drink I've had on board (so far).

 

We ended up in a different quiet section of Blu with different waitstaff. We went against the recommended lamb shank. Will had the chicory salad and seared duck breast which he liked. Both my crab leg timpali and the seared tuna salad were "off" and too fishy for me. I ended up ordering the lamb as a replacement. It was better, but still a huge portion!

 

Tuckered out from the excursion and eating so much, we retired early.

[DevilinaBluDress]

More pictures - Internet is a little wonky today. Videos will need to wait for later.

 

Molly

[DevilinaBluDress]

More... I included some of Wills more artist photos, too

[cruising grandma]

Following along. Thanks for posting and hope you and Will continue having a great cruise! My husband and I will cruise in an aft concierge cabin on Equinox 4/6/19. Could you please tell me who the cruise director is on Equinox?

 

Food looks amazing and drinks sound delicious!

[USVIcruizer]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 6:44 AM, MadisonMom said:

There was a coupon on the back of my group number for the free kitchen tour on Day 2. I just asked the host if there were any specials yesterday and was offered the $25 all you can eat.

 

Molly

Thank you very much for the reply, we look forward to eating there...enjoy your remaining days aboard!

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by USVIcruizer

[DevilinaBluDress]

10 hours ago, cruising grandma said:

Following along. Thanks for posting and hope you and Will continue having a great cruise! My husband and I will cruise in an aft concierge cabin on Equinox 4/6/19. Could you please tell me who the cruise director is on Equinox?

 

Food looks amazing and drinks sound delicious!

Simon is the energetic cruise director this week. I've been admiring his fancy shoes all week.

 

Molly

[DevilinaBluDress]

It was a tender port day to Punta Cana yesterday. Will and I chose to stay on the ship, eat and relax. While Will slept in, I had a Chai latte and croissants at Café al Bacio. Will had a room service breakfast and I opted to eat my second breakfast at Blu. There I met a charming couple from Toronto who were in their 37th Celebrity cruise. After checking in with Will, I went to see the first 2/3 of A Star Is Born. I saw it before and was devistated by the ending but loved the story and the music until that last third of the movie. I ran into Will who has left the cabin to give José a chance to clean it. Will had a burger and fries at the Mast Grill already, so I was on my own for lunch. Nothing looked that appetizing at the Oceanview café Italian buffet, so I had a light lunch at the Aqua Spa Café. While looking over the ocean, I saw a whale! (I think)

 

On my way to the Persian Garden, I saw a hammock that wasn't filled or claimed, so I decided to give it a try. Next thing I knew, I woke myself up snoring! 😂

 

I headed back to our cabin to see if Will wanted to have a drink and snack on the balcony. We saw a beautiful sunset (pic below with my old fashioned from the World Class bar.)

 

Dinner at Blu was good. Will had corn fritters and the duck confit ravioli. I had the mixed baby green salad and the halibut (it was a little dry, but the sauce helped.) we shared the Apple Tart Tatin and the Olive oil Cremeux (the winner dessert.)

 

After dinner, we walked on the deck and saw the beautiful super Equinox moon. I was able to get a shot of Will smiling. He had just exclaimed, "Happy Spring Equinox from the Celebrity Equinox!" which cracked us both up. Back inside we heard the live band and Will broke out into a spontaneous dance (video below.) 

 

Will chose to hangout in the cabin for the rest of the night. I stopped by the Word Class Bar to get another old fashioned. (Really the best drink!) I overheard part of a conversation at the bar between a Swiss couple and a couple from Montana. One of the Swiss couple mentioned that he was from Glarus, Switzerland and that his relatives helped found New Glarus, Wisconsin. I introduced myself and that I live very close to New Glarus. We toasted to our connection and I went to the theater to check out the show.

 

There was a band playing rock and roll oldies that had everyone singing. Since I arrived a little late, there weren't any seats left that were easily accessible without disturbing others. So I stood and listened to a couple of songs then I left. One more stroll on the deck and saw that beautiful moon once again.

 

Molly

 

[cruising grandma]

1 hour ago, MadisonMom said:

Simon is the energetic cruise director this week. I've been admiring his fancy shoes all week.

 

Molly

 

 

Thanks! Continue the fun times! Can’t wait until it’s our time on the Equinox!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Thanks for the great review and pictures.  We are on the Western sailing in November.  It's been a long time since we were on Equinox.

[las52]

Thank you for your posts.  They've been very helpful.  I hope the rest of your cruise is equally as wonderful.  We sail on the Equinox March 30.  It will be our first Celebrity sailing and are looking forward to it.  I've been reading about many of the past cruises not being able to stop in Punta Cana  due to rough seas.  I would be very interested to know about your Punta Cana stop.  Were you able to stop there? If not, did you stop in another port or have an additional sea day?  If you did stop there, did you do an excursion?   

[DevilinaBluDress]

6 minutes ago, las52 said:

Thank you for your posts.  They've been very helpful.  I hope the rest of your cruise is equally as wonderful.  We sail on the Equinox March 30.  It will be our first Celebrity sailing and are looking forward to it.  I've been reading about many of the past cruises not being able to stop in Punta Cana  due to rough seas.  I would be very interested to know about your Punta Cana stop.  Were you able to stop there? If not, did you stop in another port or have an additional sea day?  If you did stop there, did you do an excursion?   

The ship did stop at Punta Cana yesterday. It's a tender port. The first picture in my recent post has a picture of the tender (one of the life boats.) Will and I chose to stay on board, but over the PA, it sounded like they gave people who did want to tender into port group numbers and asked them to wait in the Quazar lounge until their group number was called. At about 10 am, there was an announcement that no group number was needed anymore.

 

Have a great time in a little over a week!

 

Molly

 

 

[las52]

30 minutes ago, MadisonMom said:

The ship did stop at Punta Cana yesterday. It's a tender port. The first picture in my recent post has a picture of the tender (one of the life boats.) Will and I chose to stay on board, but over the PA, it sounded like they gave people who did want to tender into port group numbers and asked them to wait in the Quazar lounge until their group number was called. At about 10 am, there was an announcement that no group number was needed anymore.

 

Have a great time in a little over a week!

 

Molly

 

 

Thank you for your speedy reply - Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks again for there report! I'll be on the Equinox in Aqua for an Eastern next February - but we're stopping in Tortola rather than Punta Cana...though the last time I could see the Cruise Planner (2 weeks and counting...they are aware of it, and I spoke with someone on the Captain's Club number who was escalating and said she would let me know as soon as it was cleared) it said Tortola but showed Punta Cana excursions. LOL. Lord love technology.

 

Hope you continue to have a great trip!

[DevilinaBluDress]

Thursday was a sea day and Will's first breakfast in Blu. The day's biggest event for us was lunch at Murano. It was good, but we both decided to cancel our dinner reservations for Friday and use the on board credit for massages today. 

 

I got up early for my new ritual of tea in Café al Bacio before breakfast in Blu. I think I've turned into a Hobbit this week. First breakfast at Café al Bacio and second breakfast at Blu. Before heading to Blu, I went back up to the cabin to make sure Will was up and ready to go to breakfast. Thinking he was still in the bathroom, I hung around for about 10 minutes before I realized he wasn't there. I went down to Blu to find him already eating! He had yummy blueberry pancakes and I had a couple of poached eggs with rye toast and sautéed spinach. 

 

We went up to the Persian Garden to lounge and read until we needed to change for lunch. In the distance we saw the Summit heading in the opposite direction. We currently have reservations for Spring break 2020 in a Sky Suite on the Summit so it was fun to see her and her new blue hull. 

 

After changing for lunch, I watched the first 45 minutes of Bohemian Rhapsody in the big theater. They have had a lot of showings of both Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born. Other movies shown this week were Ocean's 8, Venom, and Hotel Transylvania.

 

Lunch in Murano was very good. I had scallops and Will had the risotto for our appetizers. We shared three entrées: the lobster, the lamb chops, and the filet mignon. For dessert, we both had the soufflé. They didn't have the late harvest wine in the wine list so they recommended port instead. Then we both felt food comas coming on, so we went back to the cabin for naps. 

 

Upon waking up, Will felt a little sea sick. The ship was definitely rocking more. I gave him a dramamine and got a ginger ale for him. He stuck to ginger ale for the rest of the night. 

 

Dinner in Blu was OK. Will is a huge ceasar salad fan, but not last night's salad that had tofu on it. He ended up eating most of my crabcake which looked deep-fried which I don't eat. I had the baked lobster and Will had the stuffed pasta shells. Both we good. Dessert we tried the roulade and the chocolate fondant. The fondant was the winner!

 

Watched a beautiful sunset from the balcony to end our day. 

 

 

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, MadisonMom said:

I got up early for my new ritual of tea in Café al Bacio before breakfast in Blu. I think I've turned into a Hobbit this week. First breakfast at Café al Bacio and second breakfast at Blu.

Your morning sounds remarkably like mine. I must be only part hobbit, because I don’t quite manage to have seven meals😊