JUST OFF THE EQUINOX - 12/21 HOLIDAY CRUISE pt 2

[redwings1958]

5. SHIP ACTIVITIES - A cut above RCCL;  No Bingo, Belly flop or drinking contests;  Instead more sophisticated games like Deal or No Deal (where you and the audience can win up to $1000), Frisky feud,Minute to win It,  Bocce Ball, Daily trivia, Music trivia, and my favorite Water Volleyball Tournament, Guests vs Crew( single elimination semi's and then the winner plays the Crew on a 1 game 30 pt championship game[which our team won by the way]) 

6. CASINO - Small but adequate with enough table games to keep people involved and plenty of video poker, Keno, and slot machines, as well as 2 crap tables;  Table minimums range from $10 to $100 so pick your poison;

7. NIGHTTIME ENTERTAINMENT - Always a 7 and 9 show;  Singers, dancers, Comedian, Family Magician, Comedian as well as an Awesome Journey Tribute spectacular;  Because it was a Holiday cruise, American Ballet theater presented the Nutcracker;  In addition, there was the arrival of Santa, Full Moon (wear your whites) party and 2 Silent Disco nights;

8.  HOLIDAY EXTRAs - Santa's gift giving activity for the kids,Kids Xmas Holiday parade with Santa,  Daily Hanukkah service complete with Latkes and Sufignot, and Gelt, Sabbath service with an actual Rabbi and Challah

9. PORTS of CALL - Did not use any of the Ship sponsored excursions; SJU walked around old town, then Barrachina's for the Original Pina Colada and appetizers, STT took the ferry to St John and spent the day at Trunk Bay, Tortola - spent the day at Cane Garden Beach complete with beach chairs and Lunch;  Nassau, the weather was bad until about 3pm then just walked around downtown and got some chachkees;

10.  DEBARKATION - Smooth and easy very organized, except that some jerkwad took my son's bag by mistake; Luckily we were able to track him down and exchange suitcases before he left the pier; Had 8 hours to kill before our flight so we took a Lyft to a movie theater and saw UNCUT GEMS;  BTW, SW in FLL won't allow you to self check bags until 2 hours prior to flight

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for your review.

 

[hcat]

Wow, ABT Nutcracker sounds like a real treat! Even if an  abbreviated version.

Sounds like they went all out for Chanukah!

Glad you enjoyed Celebrity!

[Travrat]

12 minutes ago, hcat said:

Wow, ABT Nutcracker sounds like a real treat! Even if an  abbreviated version.

Sounds like they went all out for Chanukah!

Glad you enjoyed Celebrity!

Abbreviated is an understatement!

They performed a Pas De Deux- it was excellent but it’s like saying you went to a Rolling Stones concert and they sang one song 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Travrat

[CruisinDawn]

You said you had 8 hours to kill. Seems we have experienced airlines have a 4/6 hours max early luggage check in policies. Sure this wasn't the case? We have been to many airports more than 2 hours early. This will cause a real issue for us in Feb if we can't check our bags until we are within 2 hours and they cut off luggage 60 minutes prior to departure, EEK! Can you elaborate please? Thanks!

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[redwings1958]

Southwest in FLL has a 2 hour window;  FLL does have a private storage facility that costs $8/bag

[PROCRUISE]

3 minutes ago, redwings1958 said:

Southwest in FLL has a 2 hour window;  FLL does have a private storage facility that costs $8/bag

Doesn't  SW Airlines also have the service in FLL where for $25, your luggage is taken from outside your room the night before and you don't see it again until you arrive at your home airport? Used this service in early December, with RCCL, in Port Canaveral and it worked like a charm - well worth the cost.

[british lady]

we used the luggage valet $25 for each person per checked bag, 3 different airports  the last flight time was 7.15pm worked very well

[Covepointcruiser]

I see you wrote about the Chanukah services every night and a gift hand out from Santa. Did they have at least one service for Christmas or Christmas Eve officiated by clergy?   

[pd7277]

On 12/29/2019 at 11:52 AM, redwings1958 said:

6. CASINO - Small but adequate with enough table games to keep people involved and plenty of video poker, Keno, and slot machines, as well as 2 crap tables;  Table minimums range from $10 to $100 so pick your poison;

 

That would be two roulette tables and one craps table.

 

Is there a reason you are posting your review in parts?  It would be much easier to follow if it was all together.  At the bottom of the page, click in the Reply to this topic box (image below).  Then you can just add additional information. 😎

[redwings1958]

I did it in parts because as I think of things I create another post;   Long posts tend to be boring and people can't remember all the info.

I know there was a midnight mass service as well as an Xmas day service;  Since we don't celebrate xmas, didn't pay too much attention

I don't like the idea of not seeing your bags until your final destination;  We tried this once out of SJU and the porters went through my wife's luggage and stole all here jewelry;  Had to get a police report, and then file a claim with our homeowners insurance

[Cruiseoholic000]

Is the nutcracker ballet offered only Christmas week cruises or other December cruises?

[hcat]

On 12/29/2019 at 3:57 PM, Travrat said:

Abbreviated is an understatement!

They performed a Pas De Deux- it was excellent but it’s like saying you went to a Rolling Stones concert and they sang one song 

Bad!

[DaKahuna]

Our experience has been that United’s policy at Orlando has been 3 hours. 
We try and use Luggage Valet every time to avoid the issue.