Equinox LIVE Solo Review March 23-30, 2019

[Mike981]

15 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

 

This man received a good amount of tip money from me and deserved it.

[GenerationX]

Just went back to my room to read on the balcony and found a HORRIBLE smell in the hallway.  

 

Ive spent a lot of time around horses, cows and chickens so I’ve got a pretty high threshold for foul scents, but this one had me in my bathroom with tears in my eyes desperately trying to keep down my lunch. 

 

It was a mix of raw sewage and extremely strong bleach and ammonia.

 

On my way back to the elevator I saw a poor lady who looked really pale and told me she actually did throw up.

 

On Infinity in December we experienced a sewage smell a couple of times on the first day of the cruise but if that smell was a 3-4 to me, this one was a 12!  

 

Ive adjusted my plan and now have a book and a blue note punch in my hand in the fresh air of the pool deck.  Hopefully whatever this is is fixed by dinner time!

[GenerationX]

34 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

 

This man received a good amount of tip money from me and deserved it.

 

Oh yes, I can’t say enough good things about Dewa. I have an envelope to deliver to him this evening and it has the highest amount of any I’m passing out today.

[GenerationX]

18 hours ago, british lady said:

Thank you for your review, we get on when you get off.

I have been taking notes on the Cocktails you have enjoyed, my daughter is sailing with us this time so I can recommend drinks to her.

Would love to see photos of the special dinner at silk harvest.

Safe journey home.

Sara 

 

Safe travels Sara,

 

I think you’ll have a wonderful vacation.

 

Please tell your daughter to also try the hurricane in the Gastro Pub and the Pain Killer at the mast bar.  Both are included in the alcohol beverage packages and were also delicious!

[GenerationX]

To quote from the original Overboard (one of my favorite movies):  It’s a hell of a day at sea!

 

The Cardinals are doing a great poolside Motown set.

 

If you want in-seat drink service there’s a bit of a wait with the crowded deck, but I set my phone timer and it hasn’t taken me more than 7 minutes to get a beverage in hand if I get my lazy butt off this lounger and walk the 10 feet to the pool bar myself (again, additional exercise I could very much do with given I probably had 300 calories just in the Gizu martinis and sake I consumed at lunch).  

 

Speaking of lunch, when I finally got in at Sushi on 5 it was worth the wait.

 

The maitre d poured me a premium sake and was very apologetic about the reservation confusion and wait. 

 

I had had a yummy Kobe “slider” served on fried ramen instead of a bun and my all time favorite:  the pork ramen.

 

I know I still have to go back and report on my multi course sushi and sake pairing lunch there from a few days ago and will do that soon. Spoiler alert: it was a fantastic value for the cost and I highly recommend, but only for those with a decent alcohol tolerance.

[CruisinRoxy]

The last day of a cruise is always so bittersweet!!  Enjoy til the last minute......Love the foodie pictures by the way!

[MartinsCruise]

20 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

Absolutely!  I’ll stop by the martini bar tonight after dinner...just for the sake of the review, of course. 😁

I really hated sending you back to the Martini bar especially to find out he's not the bartender I was thinking of.   Thank you for posting the pictures.   I'll be on the Reflection in a couple of days so let me know if I can repay the favor. 😁

 

Sue

[Buckeye94]

GenerationX, I have enjoyed reading your posts!  I travel solo quite often and it's nice to see someone else enjoying the experience. I sail Eclipse solo next week.  Thanks to your review, I think I might try Murano one evening. Torn between Tuscan Grille and Murano, but I've dined at Tuscan before.  Happy travels! 

[GenerationX]

2 hours ago, Buckeye94 said:

GenerationX, I have enjoyed reading your posts!  I travel solo quite often and it's nice to see someone else enjoying the experience. I sail Eclipse solo next week.  Thanks to your review, I think I might try Murano one evening. Torn between Tuscan Grille and Murano, but I've dined at Tuscan before.  Happy travels! 

 

If you try Murano I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!  At the last minute I booked it again tonight and just finished a dinner that has me seriously considering investing in a tableside cooking cart for home! 

[GenerationX]

4 hours ago, MartinsCruise said:

I really hated sending you back to the Martini bar especially to find out he's not the bartender I was thinking of.   Thank you for posting the pictures.   I'll be on the Reflection in a couple of days so let me know if I can repay the favor. 😁

 

Sue

 

 

No worries Sue!  As you can see, a trip to the martini bar is a major inconvenience for me 😁😁😁😁

 

I’d love for you to have a martini for me on Reflection!  I’ll be pretty ship-sick by then so it’ll be nice to live vicariously through you.

 

Bon Voyage!!!!

[GenerationX]

Good morning from the shores of cold, hard reality and happy embarkation day to you lucky people boarding Equinox today.

 

I'm having one last buffet breakfast while pondering how I’m going to live through tomorrow morning when there’s no fresh baked croissants awaiting me when I wake up.

 

Im doing luggage valet so we are free to leave the ship any time after 8am.  My flight out of FLL isn’t until early afternoon so I don’t need to rush to leave, but I’ve found it’s easier for me emotionally if I just rip the bandaid off quickly.

 

Once I get to the airport I’ll find a bar to drown my sorrows with a non-beverage package Bloody Mary and do my last few posts. 😭😭😭😭

[martiniren]

Thank you for bringing Miss Equinox back safe and sound to Miami for me. I start my solo B2B in a matter of hours now. Safe travels home to you. 

 

[micheleata]

Thanks for answering my questions on the stingray excursions.

 

I am so glad you had a great solo vaca and will be disappointed when your trip report comes to an end!  I did start reading your Christmas report though,  and am loving that.

 

Thanks again for sharing your trip and your great pictures!

[GenerationX]

Whelp, the party is officially over! Sitting in the airport drinking a blue margarita and looking across the runway at the X on Infinity’s smoke stack.  

 

I briefly pondered how hard it would be on luggage valet, my credit score, employment status and my marriage if I just headed over to Port Everglades this afternoon and threw down the AmEx and booked a little 5 night jaunt to coco cay.  I quickly determined that the answer on all counts is: catastrophic.  So here I shall remain.

 

Disembark went very very quickly with no baggage (well worth the valet fee) but sadly Captain Kate wasn’t at the deck saying goodbye to everyone as I’ve read she’s done in the past.  She sent me some love on Instagram though, so that was pretty cool.

 

I’m reading back through my review to remind myself where the holes are I need to fill in and it’s becoming clear to me that, overall, I had one heck of a week.  More to come soon!

Edited March 30, 2019 by GenerationX

[hiccups]

Thanks for taking us along on your trip!  Can you tell me what the drinks in your posts 99 and 180 are?  I think I need to start a list!

[Lisamarie18]

Really enjoyed your review!  Thanks for taking the time to bring us along 😀

[OhioDogLover]

Thanks for your review.  What fun!

 

 

[jojoshumate]

Welcome back and thanks for taking us on the cruise!  Safe travels home and hope the warm memories from this cruise will help if there is still cold weather in St Louis!!

[petefoss]

Since this will see lots of views on GenX's review,  we REALLY enjoyed The Cardinals all week.  Great tunes to dance to all week!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Hope you had a safe trip home and reentry is not too horrible!!

 

Thanks for taking us along on your first solo venture!

[smojeo]

Thank you so much for taking us along with you! Your review was great, and the pictures were wonderful!!! 

 

[margsipie]

Curious to hear about your sake lunch and your thoughts on downgrading from a suite/aqua class if you find any time for another post!

 

Great review - thanks for taking us along!

[GenerationX]

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

 

Hello to everyone who followed along on my Equinox cruise in March!  

 

After our New Zealand honeymoon cruise plans for this fall fell through, my husband and I last minute booked an Alaska cruise on Solstice for next month (no way was I getting away with leaving him behind again 😂).  

 

I was pondering whether I’ll do another live review...and it reminded me I never got a chance to come back and finish this one!

 

 If anyone is still interested I do still have all my notes and pictures saved on my phone, so I can at least go back and report on 2 items I don’t see covered much on CC:  the sushi-sake pairing lunch at Sushi on 5 and my impressions on stepping down from years spent in aqua class and the suite life to a regular balcony stateroom.

 

If there are other questions folks still have, I’m also more than happy to field those too.

 

Please let me know if anyone is interested and my apologies for leaving you all hanging!

[pd7277]

56 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

 

Hello to everyone who followed along on my Equinox cruise in March!  

 

After our New Zealand honeymoon cruise plans for this fall fell through, my husband and I last minute booked an Alaska cruise on Solstice for next month (no way was I getting away with leaving him behind again 😂).  

 

I was pondering whether I’ll do another live review...and it reminded me I never got a chance to come back and finish this one!

 

 If anyone is still interested I do still have all my notes and pictures saved on my phone, so I can at least go back and report on 2 items I don’t see covered much on CC:  the sushi-sake pairing lunch at Sushi on 5 and my impressions on stepping down from years spent in aqua class and the suite life to a regular balcony stateroom.

 

If there are other questions folks still have, I’m also more than happy to field those too.

 

Please let me know if anyone is interested and my apologies for leaving you all hanging!

We are ready for anything you have to say!!!  Bring it on!

[Smmessineo]

Thanks for this great review ! I am on the Equinox at the end of August and you have reminded me to enjoy every minute of it.  The food the drinks the music the scenery the passengers and especially the crew !