Equinox LIVE Solo Review March 23-30, 2019

[GenerationX]

Hello CC!

 

In just just a few days I will be heading to Miami for my first solo cruise on the Equinox.  I did a live review a few months ago of DH and I's Christmas sailing on Infinity and enjoyed the experience and figured since I'll probably have much more free writing time traveling by myself, I'd do it again for this trip.

 

A little about me and why this cruise:

 

Corporate attorney, mid-30's, live about an hour outside of St. Louis, MO and commute into the city every day for work.  DH and I are experienced Celebrity cruisers (I think we "leveled up" from classic to select after our Christmas cruise) but usually only get to sail once a year...

 

So why is it just 3 months later I'm hopping aboard again?

 

Short answer: Q1 of 2019 has whipped me like I stole something.  The weather in St. Louis has been brutal.  I think the running total is 4 snow storms and 3 ice storms since the new year.  It has completely depleted the battery recharge that I got from our week of sun and warmth in December.  It has also been an incredibly busy few months at work that saw me working 60 hour weeks while also battling the flu (January) and strep throat (February).  The last straw was at the beginning of this month when a friend of mine took her own life just a few weeks after she received a diagnosis of advanced stage cancer.  I was absolutely devastated for her and her family.  I decided I needed to get away, relax and clear my head for a fresh spring start.

 

So I started researching last minute cruise options.  This proved more challenging than I expected for a woman who needed specific travel dates and to stay in a strict budget.

 

 In November, DH and I are taking a belated honeymoon on a 12 day Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands cruise in a star class suite on Ovation of the Seas, so I didn't want to break the bank on this impulse purchase. When I first started looking, the only cabins left for this Equinox sailing were in Aqua and suites and were priced well above my budget.  However, a few days later, while I was still pondering trying out NCL on a much cheaper sailing, my TA called and told me a sunset veranda on Equinox had opened up in my price range!  To make it even more cost effective, I was able to use deposits from two other previously booked Celebrity sailings that I'd been meaning to cancel and apply them to this cruise.

 

Why am I solo?  Well, DH wasn't able to get the time off work last minute to join me and my girlfriend who had planned on coming backed out when she found out we weren't going to be on the NCL ship with all the waterslides, climbing walls, etc.  She thought the Equinox would be too "boring" for a whole week. I was shocked given that I had offered to pay for her cruise (the price was only a couple hundred dollars different to go solo vs. with a cabinmate considering the single supplement and I owed her a birthday gift anyway).  Personally, I would never turn down a free cruise, but to each their own.  I much prefer to spend my cruise time drinking fruity drinks and reading by the pool, taking interesting tours in port, maybe a cocktail/wine event or 3 with an occasional late night in the martini bar mixed in.

 

Our last 2 cruises on Infinity and Silhouette have been in suites and we've never sailed in anything below Aqua class, so I'm interested to see how much I actually miss the small and big "perks" that we've sailed with in the past.  I received a good amount of OBC from my travel agent and with only one person to spend it on (woohoo!) I plan to have lots of fun!  I upgraded my included beverage package to premium and have specialty dining reservations at Murano, Tuscan Grille and Silk Harvest.  I'm excited to try Silk Harvest for the first time (and probably last as I've heard it's becoming La Petit Chef after the refurbishment).

 

If anyone has specific questions or things they'd like me to look into, just let me know.  Looking forward to taking everyone along!

[julia]

Wishing you a wonderfully therapeutic, relaxing, memorable, and healing cruise!

[heatheranderson13]

Enjoy your trip

[garyl62]

See you Saturday!  Looking forward to reading as we travel along with you.

[hcat]

Sorry about your loss...

Hope the cruise gives you a chance to re charge and chill out....and of course  have some  fun. Great cabin !   Looking forward to the review!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I'm sorry for all the loss! I hope that your cruise is all you need it to be!

 

Also, looking forward to the review as my first venture into Celebrity will be on the Equinox next February.

[Pier290]

Following 😎

[LMEEE06]

Have a great time! Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

[GenerationX]

15 hours ago, garyl62 said:

See you Saturday!  Looking forward to reading as we travel along with you.

 

Looking forward to sailing with you and meeting in person at the Connections event!

[GenerationX]

Starting my last day at the office before vacation!  Finishing up my last few pending projects and then time to go home and pack.

 

Tomorrow I’ll be running pre-trip errands then I’m going to try and get to bed by 7pm so I can be up at 1:30am on Friday to make the 1.5 hr drive to the airport for my red eye flight to FLL.

 

AAAAHHH, in just 48 hours I’ll be replacing this gray sky with the Florida sunshine!!!

 

[mfs2k]

Looking forward to your perspective of our cruise.

 

See you at the Connections event ! 

 

Safe travels.

[GenerationX]

11 hours ago, mfs2k said:

Looking forward to your perspective of our cruise.

 

See you at the Connections event ! 

 

Safe travels.

 

Looking forward to meeting you!

[GenerationX]

Pre-cruise traditions have begun...first order of business: organize and pack the pile of cruise clothes I’ve been throwing on the reading room couch for a week, while watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

 

The realization that he’s about to miss a week in the Caribbean on a Celebrity ship finally seems to be getting to DH. Although to be fair I’m not  doing a very good job of tempering my excitement for the sake of not rubbing salt in his wounds.

 

He walked through the room a few minutes ago and I started to serenade him with my own personal performance of “Bye Bye Baby” (with lawyer caliber choreography).   He rolled his eyes and poured himself a bourbon on the rocks and went to his man cave to play video games.

[petefoss]

On 3/20/2019 at 10:13 AM, GenerationX said:

Starting my last day at the office before vacation!  Finishing up my last few pending projects and then time to go home and pack.

 

Tomorrow I’ll be running pre-trip errands then I’m going to try and get to bed by 7pm so I can be up at 1:30am on Friday to make the 1.5 hr drive to the airport for my red eye flight to FLL.

 

AAAAHHH, in just 48 hours I’ll be replacing this gray sky with the Florida sunshine!!!

 

 

I'm semi retired and consult from my home office!  I'll raise you one frozen Michigan lake!  See you on-board in two days!

[lola2013]

I'm looking forward to your review.

 

I, too, will be sailing solo on Equinox in May, 2020.  The friends that I usually travel with have different plans for next year.  I can't stand the thought of being trapped in Chicago for an entire winter so off I will go to the sunny Caribbean.  (Not counting the first week of December this year when I sail on EDGE!).  

 

I'm anxious to hear how the solo journey goes.  I did it many years ago, but on a small Cunard ship that I had previously sailed on.  Those were the days when passengers could mingle with the crew so I felt like I had many friends onboard.  Even though this will be my third Equinox cruise, the crew is much more reserved these days; and since it will be almost five years since I sailed on Equinox, I don't anticipate seeing many familiar friends.

 

One thing you'll enjoy is having the cabin all to yourself...no one to share closet, drawer or bathroom space with!

 

Enjoy,

Susan

[GenerationX]

30 minutes ago, petefoss said:

 

I'm semi retired and consult from my home office!  I'll raise you one frozen Michigan lake!  See you on-board in two days!

See you soon!  What part of Michigan are you in?  I lived in St. Joseph for a few years.  Beautiful place in summer but the extended gray winters with howling lakefront winds were more than I could handle!

[micheleata]

Looking forward to your review!!!

[GenerationX]

14 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

I'm looking forward to your review.

 

I, too, will be sailing solo on Equinox in May, 2020.  The friends that I usually travel with have different plans for next year.  I can't stand the thought of being trapped in Chicago for an entire winter so off I will go to the sunny Caribbean.  (Not counting the first week of December this year when I sail on EDGE!).  

 

I'm anxious to hear how the solo journey goes.  I did it many years ago, but on a small Cunard ship that I had previously sailed on.  Those were the days when passengers could mingle with the crew so I felt like I had many friends onboard.  Even though this will be my third Equinox cruise, the crew is much more reserved these days; and since it will be almost five years since I sailed on Equinox, I don't anticipate seeing many familiar friends.

 

One thing you'll enjoy is having the cabin all to yourself...no one to share closet, drawer or bathroom space with!

 

Enjoy,

Susan

 

 Thank you Susan!

 

Very jealous that you’ll be sailing on EDGE!  I will be sure to report on how the solo experience is comparing to my prior Celebrity sailings.

 

When I was looking for cruises my TA got me a quote on a Silversea Carribean sailing that had a low single supplement and airfare credit that made it affordable. DH and I have been thinking about trying the line since these days their pricing isn’t that much higher than what we paid for a suite in S-Class and our TA gives good perks for their bookings. I thought it would be a cost effective way to try it out.

 

Then I spoke to another attorney in my firm who has sailed on Silversea a few times and he cautioned me it could be a “very awkward” experience for a younger woman traveling alone.  He mentioned that on the one sailing where he saw a solo cruiser it seemed to him that both the other passengers and crew “weren’t sure what to make of him” and were distant as a result.

 

I am pretty outgoing and have never had a problem starting conversations and making new friends on Celebrity during my solo hours when DH is engrossed in a card game in the casino, so I’m hoping this won’t be too much different.

 

If you don’t mind me asking, what was it like dining alone on your Cunard solo sailing?  

 

On MDR nights I was thinking I’ll just asked to be seated at a large table, but I assume at the specialties I’ll be sitting at a 2 top alone.  Hopefully I don’t get too many stares!  When we were on Reflection a few years ago I ate alone in Tuscan Grille one night when DH wasn’t feeling well.  The waiters, sommelier and maitre d  all made a point of checking on me often and chatting with me for a few minutes when they could.  I’m hoping this experience will be similar.  If nothing else it will allow me to take great notes and keep up with my reporting on food quality!

[GenerationX]

Just received an email notifying me that my bid to upgrade to aqua class for the minimum bid ($400) was rejected. I’m not too disappointed. I knew it was a long shot on a spring break sailing and while having access to Blu would have been nice, I most likely would have lost my aft veranda.

 

Im actually surprised I got an email because I’d been reading that a lot of folks just get silence = rejection.

 

I guess thanks for not ghosting me Celebrity!

[scottygirl]

Sounds like a tough couple of months for you.  Hopefully this cruise will heal your heart and mind.  Enjoy!

[snyniew]

13 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

 

 Thank you Susan!

 

Very jealous that you’ll be sailing on EDGE!  I will be sure to report on how the solo experience is comparing to my prior Celebrity sailings.

 

When I was looking for cruises my TA got me a quote on a Silversea Carribean sailing that had a low single supplement and airfare credit that made it affordable. DH and I have been thinking about trying the line since these days their pricing isn’t that much higher than what we paid for a suite in S-Class and our TA gives good perks for their bookings. I thought it would be a cost effective way to try it out.

 

Then I spoke to another attorney in my firm who has sailed on Silversea a few times and he cautioned me it could be a “very awkward” experience for a younger woman traveling alone.  He mentioned that on the one sailing where he saw a solo cruiser it seemed to him that both the other passengers and crew “weren’t sure what to make of him” and were distant as a result.

 

I am pretty outgoing and have never had a problem starting conversations and making new friends on Celebrity during my solo hours when DH is engrossed in a card game in the casino, so I’m hoping this won’t be too much different.

 

If you don’t mind me asking, what was it like dining alone on your Cunard solo sailing?  

 

On MDR nights I was thinking I’ll just asked to be seated at a large table, but I assume at the specialties I’ll be sitting at a 2 top alone.  Hopefully I don’t get too many stares!  When we were on Reflection a few years ago I ate alone in Tuscan Grille one night when DH wasn’t feeling well.  The waiters, sommelier and maitre d  all made a point of checking on me often and chatting with me for a few minutes when they could.  I’m hoping this experience will be similar.  If nothing else it will allow me to take great notes and keep up with my reporting on food quality!

I did the Equinox solo (kinda friends were there but didn't go to specialty dining). Same experience that everyone was very attentive to me. I cancelled my final dining in Tuscan as I'd rather be w/ friend in MDR but friends I met on the cruise who were dining in Tuscan were looking for me to ask me to join them. Everyone I've met on Celebrity has been very nice and inclusive when they find out you are a solo cruiser.

[mfs2k]

1 minute ago, GenerationX said:

Just received an email notifying me that my bid to upgrade to aqua class for the minimum bid ($400) was rejected. I’m not too disappointed. I knew it was a long shot on a spring break sailing and while having access to Blu would have been nice, I most likely would have lost my aft veranda.

 

Im actually surprised I got an email because I’d been reading that a lot of folks just get silence = rejection.

 

I guess thanks for not ghosting me Celebrity!

 

And I just got the emails that my bids from Aqua to suites were also rejected.  

Maybe if I got an upgrade, you would have gotten yours.  oh well. 

[petefoss]

46 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

See you soon!  What part of Michigan are you in?  I lived in St. Joseph for a few years.  Beautiful place in summer but the extended gray winters with howling lakefront winds were more than I could handle!

 

Just north of Detroit.

[greykitty]

I'm so sorry for your loss, and also that you had such a hectic busy season.  Hoping your cruise helps you find peace and rejuvenation, as well as some fun in the sun.

[hrhdhd]

Just ignore any stares or rude comments. I leave my DH at home about once a year to travel alone (cruises and other travel), and there's nothing I like more. 🙂 In fact, I just booked a solo transatlantic for 2020.

 

When I was on the Silhouette solo last May, I had the four-night specialty dining, with three nights in Tuscan and one at the Lawn Club. Each dinner was fabulous, and the staff were very attentive. I had my remaining dinners in the Oceanview; the dinner buffet was quite good, and I could pick when I wanted to eat.

 

I wish you a great cruise!