Observations From The Poop Deck- Equinox Aug 1

[cltnccruisers]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes -- you receive an invite and when you log on it shows each option open for bidding (those rooms may not be available) and it will show a Min - Max bid range.    You enter a bid in that range.   If you win the bid your CC is billed immediately (usually first sign you won if you have bank notifications turned on) and your room will show in your reservation summary. 

Makes sense.  We're just lil old balcony folks but may want to be "movin' on up to the East Side" someday.  😀

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Makes sense.  We're just lil old balcony folks but may want to be "movin' on up to the East Side" someday.  😀

 

There is only one downside to bidding on a Suit Upgrade.    If you win you will never be able to go back.

It's very addictive. 

[cltnccruisers]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

 

There is only one downside to bidding on a Suit Upgrade.    If you win you will never be able to go back.

It's very addictive. 

We're doing mini-suites on a couple of upcoming Princess cruises.  That will be our first taste of any kind of suite.

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

Had he been our porter I'd still have given in to the extortion but it would have been cut in half.

LOL--- The number of bags on board might have been cut in half also.

Here's a " tip "-- I doubt anyone thought of this ????

Watch the porter put all your bags onto the baggage cart before rushing to the " slugfest on 14 ". 

 

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

LOL--- The number of bags on board might have been cut in half also.

Here's a " tip "-- I doubt anyone thought of this ????

Watch the porter put all your bags onto the baggage cart before rushing to the " slugfest on 14 ". 

 

 Speaking from your own experiences. 🤣

[cltnccruisers]

8 minutes ago, davekathy said:

 Speaking from your own experiences. 🤣

Once we were pulling up to FtL dropoff one of the porters could be seen throwing luggage on to the carrier.  It reminded me of the old Samsonite/Gorilla commercial.  🙂  By the time our shuttle was being unloaded that porter was being escorted to an office.

[davekathy]

5 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Once we were pulling up to FtL dropoff one of the porters could be seen throwing luggage on to the carrier.  It reminded me of the old Samsonite/Gorilla commercial.  🙂  By the time our shuttle was being unloaded that porter was being escorted to an office.

I try not to watch baggage handlers no matter who they work for. 😉

[cltnccruisers]

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I try not to watch baggage handlers no matter who they work for. 😉

It's made us much more methodical in our packing over the years.  I'll be taking my laptop for the first time on our 8/27 Equinox.  It's definitely goin in a carry-on but even then will be overly protected.

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

It's made us much more methodical in our packing over the years.  I'll be taking my laptop for the first time on our 8/27 Equinox.  It's definitely goin in a carry-on but even then will be overly protected.

On one of our first cruises in 1990's a friend tried to smuggle a bottle of Tequila in his luggage on the ship, when he got the bag in his cabin, the bottle had shattered in his luggage and he smelled like stale Tequila the whole 7 days. Those bag handlers can be tough.😁

[morpheusofthesea]

We are in port in Nassau. It is a holiday here so every one is told the shops are closed for this reason. I guess the holiday has lasted since last month because the shops were all closed then as well. One really nice benefit on board Equinox , not found at this time on the Edge, is that the Luminae is open for Retreat guests on port days.(Until further notice). On board the Edge, after a couple of days, the Future cruise desk will become swamped and guests will have to make appointments (if they already have to) because of the Book Now or Book Later Offer. A guest MUST do this on board. One puts down $100 onto their shipboard account and receives a 'ghost' booking number and has up to 90 days to choose a cruise, or they can just book a cruise and get up to $500 obc on that future cruise. Gives one time to shop around for the best price on a cruise before turning the booking over to the 'winner'.

[cltnccruisers]

12 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We are in port in Nassau. It is a holiday here so every one is told the shops are closed for this reason. I guess the holiday has lasted since last month because the shops were all closed then as well. One really nice benefit on board Equinox , not found at this time on the Edge, is that the Luminae is open for Retreat guests on port days.(Until further notice). On board the Edge, after a couple of days, the Future cruise desk will become swamped and guests will have to make appointments (if they already have to) because of the Book Now or Book Later Offer. A guest MUST do this on board. One puts down $100 onto their shipboard account and receives a 'ghost' booking number and has up to 90 days to choose a cruise, or they can just book a cruise and get up to $500 obc on that future cruise. Gives one time to shop around for the best price on a cruise before turning the booking over to the 'winner'.

Holiday in Nassau - kind of figures.  😀

[sn2792]

21 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We are in port in Nassau. It is a holiday here so every one is told the shops are closed for this reason. I guess the holiday has lasted since last month because the shops were all closed then as well. One really nice benefit on board Equinox , not found at this time on the Edge, is that the Luminae is open for Retreat guests on port days.(Until further notice). On board the Edge, after a couple of days, the Future cruise desk will become swamped and guests will have to make appointments (if they already have to) because of the Book Now or Book Later Offer. A guest MUST do this on board. One puts down $100 onto their shipboard account and receives a 'ghost' booking number and has up to 90 days to choose a cruise, or they can just book a cruise and get up to $500 obc on that future cruise. Gives one time to shop around for the best price on a cruise before turning the booking over to the 'winner'.

We were on Edge last week and Luminae was open for lunch on all the port days. So they must have changed that after your cruise.

[morpheusofthesea]

6 minutes ago, sn2792 said:

We were on Edge last week and Luminae was open for lunch on all the port days. So they must have changed that after your cruise.

Thanks, very good to know. We are booked again on the Edge Sept 4, 2021 in the Retreat for another 7 day cruise. We are making up for 'lost time'. Already made our appointment for PCR test 72 hours before that one. We do not want to run afoul of the CDC which in their CSO restricted cruises over 7 days. Besides it takes me exactly 3 weeks after a cruise to loose the weight I gained on the last cruise.

[morpheusofthesea]

Well I have to report that the Equinox wins over the Edge in its teatime scones in the Retreat Lounge (butler made an express comment there is no longer a Michael's Club). Though I liked the idea of bite sized ,the original biscuit sized scones still offered on the Equinox were warm adding to their appeal. Next in line was the creamy sweet cheese cake, which made the donut bland and the eclair cream center bitter. If one must, I recommend starting with the eclair, then donut, followed by scones and finishing with the creamy cheese cake. I passed on the quiche. (My diet on land consists of no sweets).

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Well I have to report that the Equinox wins over the Edge in its teatime scones in the Retreat Lounge (butler made an express comment there is no longer a Michael's Club). Though I liked the idea of bite sized ,the original biscuit sized scones still offered on the Equinox were warm adding to their appeal. Next in line was the creamy sweet cheese cake, which made the donut bland and the eclair cream center bitter. If one must, I recommend starting with the eclair, then donut, followed by scones and finishing with the creamy cheese cake. I passed on the quiche. (My diet on land consists of no sweets).

OMG ! - My mouth is watering 

Keep up the informative posts

 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

7 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

We're doing mini-suites on a couple of upcoming Princess cruises.  That will be our first taste of any kind of suite.

 

Mini-suites are REALLY different from Suites - really no special amenities - just a little more room 

We used to cruise Princess quite a bit -

ENJOY  

[cltnccruisers]

11 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

 

Mini-suites are REALLY different from Suites - really no special amenities - just a little more room 

We used to cruise Princess quite a bit -

ENJOY  

That's about all I'm expecting.  One is taking extended family so we just need the extra room to accommodate everyone.  The second is just us on our first TA and figured it would be nice to have it for the cruise length. 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, sn2792 said:

We were on Edge last week and Luminae was open for lunch on all the port days. So they must have changed that after your cruise.

Thanks  for sharing.    That will be nice that they are open for lunch.    I just checked the current sailing on Equinox and it is showing open every day on the app.

[Reijo]

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Thanks, very good to know. We are booked again on the Edge Sept 4, 2021 in the Retreat for another 7 day cruise. We are making up for 'lost time'. Already made our appointment for PCR test 72 hours before that one. We do not want to run afoul of the CDC which in their CSO restricted cruises over 7 days. Besides it takes me exactly 3 weeks after a cruise to loose the weight I gained on the last cruise.

Will you get the PCR test or Antigen Test.  A lot of confusion about the two since some places give Rapid tests that are apparently not considered Antigen.  Gosh, sure hope we got the right one.

[morpheusofthesea]

9 hours ago, Reijo said:

Will you get the PCR test or Antigen Test.  A lot of confusion about the two since some places give Rapid tests that are apparently not considered Antigen.  Gosh, sure hope we got the right one.

We take a copy of the email sent to us by Celebrity to the testing agency appointment to make sure it is the test required by the cruise line. The testing agency appointment is 3 days (72 hours) before embarkation. I am hoping that an early morning appointment 8 am before work will suffice for a 12 noon boarding time. The testing agency states a 2 day test result. Extra cost in our area for this service is $189 pp. At the terminal the check-in attendants were only concerned with the date July 18 which I heard bantered about between them. My guess is that date signifies the cut-off date for the second dose of the vaccine.

[morpheusofthesea]

The show last evening was Topper. The first time we saw the show was on this Equinox in 2018 and again in 2019, both times I felt it was one of the worst shows, next to Elysium, that I ever witnessed. But for some uncanny reason it has now transformed in my mind to one of the best I have ever  been allowed to attend.  Show events I once took for granted are so much more appreciated once again.

[cangelmd]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks  for sharing.    That will be nice that they are open for lunch.    I just checked the current sailing on Equinox and it is showing open every day on the app.

Someone, Retreat concierge, I think, told us the Luminae opening was because it was so hard to just get off the ship and visit a restaurant or get a snack. That may only y be the case on the Western Caribbean sailings, maybe even just this week, who knows. It was not publicized, although they told us when we asked - we first heard about it from reading Morpheus’ post. But we are creatures of habit and habit says no Luminae on port days.

[morpheusofthesea]

I 'heard' that on Sunday the Equinox was sailing with around 1400 passengers. Our sailing on the Edge 3 weeks earlier sailed with around 1535. I just checked with guest services and they said we are sailing with 1207 passengers ( DW says my hearing has been diminishing, I just think it is selective). The Retreat is full, cabins are all taken, yet all the Retreat venues are not busy at all. Somethings just do not 'tally' or reflect the numbers; or the Retreat guests are all like me and 'hide-out' in our cabins.  Another difference between the Equinox and the Edge, there was no social distancing on the Edge. Here on the Equinox the passengers are voluntarily, on their own volition, social distancing . At the pool at 10 am, overcast, 82 degrees, light breeze, traveling at 10 nautical miles/hr there are less than 20 passengers (easy to count or everyone is passed out in their cabin this morning). At the 'Topper' show last night (7 pm) the theatre everyone was social distanced with no seats marked reserve. Everyone took it upon themselves to social distance and it as easy with only 1/2 to 1/3 the seats occupied by attendees. Also, many more passengers are walking on board the Equinox  with face masks, more than the allotted 5% mandated on the Edge. I guess so many vaccinated are masking up while on board, DW asked me if we should as well. On the Edge, guests on occasion had a short wait for a table for dinner even with a reservation at the Luminae. Here on the Equinox, this morning a couple Zeniths were allowed in (they were not recognized by the staff as Retreat guests) but were still treated like 'royalty' (like the rest of us). The staff on board the Equinox is very 'flexible' and this is a great time to be cruising. The hours just fly by between meals.

[morpheusofthesea]

Our Maitre d', being ever so polite, asked us how was our 'nap' or if we were going for a 'nap' after lunch, (all I 'heard' was the word "nap"). DW goes for a 'walk' for an hour and half after most meals on board. All the word "nap" brought to my mind was a waste it would be of valuable time I am spending per day for this trip. I can "nap" all I want for free at home ! Butler was kind enough to bring me a more comfortable lounger for the balcony than the 2 provided already on the balcony, but the footstool type with the steep slope is not laptop friendly. He mentioned that he first had it cleaned before he brought it into the cabin, which prompted DW to disinfect it further when he left. Cleaning is constantly going on all over the ship as it was on Edge. Being alone on the balcony while DW is walking, I can not 'hear' the door bell to the cabin (fueling DW argument about my hearing), so whoever made the delivery had a key card access and let themselves in to deliver our newly monogrammed pajamas that come with the suite.

[FLCruiser97]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Our Maitre d', being ever so polite, asked us how was our 'nap' or if we were going for a 'nap' after lunch, (all I 'heard' was the word "nap"). DW goes for a 'walk' for an hour and half after most meals on board. All the word "nap" brought to my mind was a waste it would be of valuable time I am spending per day for this trip. I can "nap" all I want for free at home ! Butler was kind enough to bring me a more comfortable lounger for the balcony than the 2 provided already on the balcony, but the footstool type with the steep slope is not laptop friendly. He mentioned that he first had it cleaned before he brought it into the cabin, which prompted DW to disinfect it further when he left. Cleaning is constantly going on all over the ship as it was on Edge. Being alone on the balcony while DW is walking, I can not 'hear' the door bell to the cabin (fueling DW argument about my hearing), so whoever made the delivery had a key card access and let themselves in to deliver our newly monogrammed pajamas that come with the suite.

IMG_1104.mov

Morpheus, are you a writer? I love your posts. It's like reading someone's daily diary. Please keep writing and letting us know your adventures. P.S. I have never sailed in a suite but after reading your posts, I feel I have to eventually treat myself and DH to this luxury.