Jim_Iain - 9/5 and 9/17 Equinox B2B - Come along for a Live Blog

[hcat]

59 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

They no longer publish a paper copy.   It is hidden way down on Ship Information 

 

CC Host is Fabio from Italy.   He is sitting at the crew bar on Helipad day

 

After 1st 4 you have to navigate over and if you press will open a profile of each. 
 

 

 

 

We found this annoying..  hard to find & read  in depth, and impossible to save.. and print it out. It is one if the few items I like to keep in my cruise file.  I get the idea of saving paper but these are VIPs that make the cruise the experience  excellent.   

 

Do they still have paper ads for all the buy and spend more items? Or is it all on tv, app or ?

[taylortime05]

55 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Spas have a sign showing limit of 3

 

 

All the spas at pool around 12:30 were empty as well as the 2 at Aqua Spa

 

Thank you Jim!  I enjoy using the hot tubs.  Hopefully they'll be empty sometimes and me and hubby can enjoy together.  

[taylortime05]

Jim, do you walk 10 miles a day?  If you do, how long does it take?  I'm trying to increase my walking but never considered 10 miles.   

[hcat]

55 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Love the succulents in Al Bacio

 

 

 

 

 

I do not remember these. Are they a new addition...?

 

  Loved the curated plants on EDGE and these reminded me of that...I even suggested they do a booklet or tour of the  many plants and flowers on board.  Great staff takes care of them!

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think it would be wise to investigate your insurance coverage and  evacuation terms to make sure there is a covid provision.     I know MediJet includes but only if medically necessary to evacuation.   I have the others covered both by Chase Sapphire, Personal Medical Insurance.

Thanks. I’ve done that. I was just wondering out loud, so to speak. The assistance plans across the industry were influenced by the CSO, port agreements, and the desire to instill confidence. The need remains, but I don’t expect the free rides to last indefinitely. 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, grahaminca said:

Just curious...Do they still have Hawaiian themed or white nights on board the ship?

I haven't seen anything posted about themed parties.     If I missed it I hope some of our CC pals can correct me and fill us all in.

[funatseascott]

Adding some info about a tour as Jim and Lain stayed on the ship.  We did the Titou Gorge and Hot Springs.  Gorge is very nice and water was refreshing.  Cool to begin with but nice after a few minutes.  One uses a float as can’t touch ground all the time.  We forgot to bring our water cases for the phones but I was still able to swim/float and keep my phone dry.  Reminder for others, bring the water proof cases.  Some scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 were filmed here.  Hot Springs was also nice and relaxing.  Used the volcanic mud to give us a body wrap.  Rub it on, let is dry, wash it off and skin is smooth.  Relaxed in the steam baths.  Some pools are warmer then others so you can find which one is right for your liking.  More primitive setup compared to Costa Rica spring bath experience but still enjoyable.  We would do this tour again.  Celebrity advises that each guests realizes there is uneven surfaces to walk on and roads are very windy - we agree completely.  Not much in the “shopping area” by the pier, so went back aboard to get Sushi on 5 before they closed.

[LouChamp]

20 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I haven't seen anything posted about themed parties.     If I missed it I hope some of our CC pals can correct me and fill us all in.

Thank you so much for your posts. While we are not ready to commence cruising again, we are living vicariously with your posts. Especially the food pictures.  Thank you again and good health!!!

[Jim_Iain]

Scott - that looks like a fun day.    I was told the waterfall was a top site to visit.

[Jim_Iain]

Received instructions on testing for the 9/17 cruise.    They have a link to ordering the home tests.

 

For 9/17 Cruise on Equinox

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Celebrity Equinox® for your Caribbean sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Before we depart, we have some important information to share regarding our Health and Safety Protocols. Out of an abundance of caution, Celebrity Cruises will be enhancing COVID-19 testing requirements for both vaccinated and unvaccinated guests.  For US sailings departing through October 1, 2021, all guests two years of age and older, regardless of vaccination status, will now be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result at the time of embarkation. All vaccinated guests will be required to present this test taken as either a PCR or an Antigen test, conducted within two days of boarding the vessel. All unvaccinated children between the ages of two and eleven years old will be required to bring a negative PCR test conducted within three days of boarding. These guests will have an additional PCR test taken at the terminal prior to embarkation and on the day before disembarkation. A registration link for required testing will be emailed separately. Each guest is responsible for making their own arrangements with an accredited testing provider as well as all associated costs. For additional details on accepted COVID-19 tests please click here. For fully vaccinated guests living in the United States, a home-test kit will be available for purchase as of Wednesday, September 8, 2021. We are working with an authorized medical provider to be able to offer this option to our guests. You will complete your pre-cruise test right at home or at any other place of your choosing with the help of a live video supervision by a Certified Guide. These test kits will be delivered anywhere in the United States and Puerto Rico, within two business days and you will receive validated results in 15 minutes. Order At-home Test Kits

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING THE US FROM ABROAD

• All non-US residents must present a negative NAAT or Antigen test taken with 3 days of travel.

• Be sure to save a copy on your phone and bring a printed copy. Name on test results must match those on government issued identification.

VACCINATION POLICY

All sailings departing the U.S. are subject to guidance from the CDC. Following CDC guidelines, we will sail with all crew vaccinated and at least 95% of guests will be fully vaccinated. Currently, the CDC does not recognize any mixed combination of COVID-19 vaccines as fully vaccinated. For sailings departing the United States, to be recognized as fully vaccinated, guests 12 years of age and older, must complete a vaccine series with products from the same manufacturer, with the last dose administered at least 14 days prior to sailing. Additionally, Celebrity Cruise will not accept any form of Certificate of Recovery.

Acceptable proof of vaccination must be in the form of the original vaccination record document issued by the country’s health authority or healthcare provider that administered the vaccination.

All unvaccinated children 2 to 11 years old will require a complimentary Covid-19 test at the terminal. Registration is required prior to arrival at terminal. A link will be provided via email to the unvaccinated guest.

Guests that do not meet the testing and health screening policy requirements will be denied boarding. For additional details on our health and safety protocols, click here to see FAQs.

WHILE ONBOARD

• Following CDC Guidelines, masks will not be required for vaccinated guests. Masks are required for unvaccinated guests under 12 years old while indoors when not in their stateroom, eating or drinking.

WHILE ASHORE

Shore excursion guidance listed by port of call can be found online here. We will continue to monitor and update as any changes to local requirements occur. Unvaccinated youths or families touring with unvaccinated children may only go ashore if participating in an excursion provided by Celebrity Cruises.

TRAVEL HOME - US AND ABROAD

• Unvaccinated children are required to take a PCR test for Covid-19 prior to re-entry for voyages 4 nights or longer.

• Tests required for home country re-entry will also be administered onboard. Testing will be provided free of charge to our vaccinated guests prior to debarkation. Additional details and registration provided once onboard.

[Jim_Iain]

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Thank you so much for your posts. While we are not ready to commence cruising again, we are living vicariously with your posts. Especially the food pictures.  Thank you again and good health!!!

My opinion is that the food through the ship has been much better than Pre-Covid.    They are really working  to please.   

[funatseascott]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Scott - that looks like a fun day.    I was told the waterfall was a top site to visit.

It was a great day!!  We had 7 people in our group taking a 9 person van.  Not the best social distancing for people that are wondering.  Not bad elsewhere on the tour and at least everybody wore a mask on the bus.

[Richard&JohnSTX]

On 9/9/2021 at 3:06 PM, FL34202 said:

Richard, I see you live in Lakewood Ranch.  We are in Keswick neighborhood.  Where are you?  We have never sailed on Celebrity, but getting very excited about our Dec 10th Equinox sailing thanks to all the photos and descriptions.

Rod

Hi Rod. We are currently in Esplanade at Lakewood Ranch - close on Oct. 14th. Moving to Esplanade at Azario Lakewood Ranch in November. So just north of you. If the villa construction gets delayed anymore then we are thinking of the Equinox Nov 7th cruise to fill in time. We have twenty something cruises on Celebrity - love them! Then we going back to St Croix in December for the holidays.

Richard

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, funatseascott said:

It was a great day!!  We had 7 people in our group taking a 9 person van.  Not the best social distancing for people that are wondering.  Not bad elsewhere on the tour and at least everybody wore a mask on the bus.

Thanks for posting.   I was just going to log back on and ask you to report on how crowded the buses were and if social distancing was possible.

 

I'm working on booking a Private Excursion but the Shore Excursion Manager was on bus duty until 3:45.    Will find out more later and an idea  of the cost.

[BridgeMates]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Mast Bar - also smoking area on 5

 

 

 

 

Is Port Side still the Smoking side on Deck 5?  Appreciate all the info and pictures while waiting our turn to go!

 

[39august]

Jim will you please check down by GS and see if they are still providing daily crossword puzzles?

[dgoz]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

 

Tuscan Grill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the QSine menu. For the price they charge, I wish the dessert would be more inspiring than ice cream sundae though.

[Arzeena]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I saw pax piling into those multi passenger taxi buses with about 5-6 per row.   Probably less than a 1 foot spacing.   We said to each other those people are crazy.     

We observed that too and it disturbed me......both on the Edge and Equinox excursions.....people packed, no social distancing. Where was all that assurance of keeping us safe by skipping rows and all that. I went and asked the Cruise excursion lady on the EQ and the man on the EG.....why was what they said in their sales pitch event on the first sea day so farcical. Their woman on the EQ's answer was its a small bus so smaller number of people......Yaaaa OK, but the smaller number of people are still packed inside without any social distancing or rows left in between. Their warped logic was that if it is a small bus it is safer, no matter if you are sitting cheek to cheek with the next one. NOT! So we did not book any Celebrity excursions and stayed on board where it was mandatory to book one to go out. We seriously feel safer going out on our own, since we know these ports and know what to do and where to go. I did not feel safe going on any ship curated tour.

[Arzeena]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Private Journey by Celebrity

 

Has anyone every used Private Journey to schedule a private tour?    We have lots of OBC and don't want to do the ships tours.     The remainder of the ports will be curated tours only.    If so what was the range of prices and any recommendation on these ports appreciated

 

St. Lucia

St. Maarten

St Kitts and Nevis

 

I was thinking of an iPad but unless I misunderstood the apple agent they ones they have aboard are Gen 7.   When I asked for a price list she said the only one she had was in her head.   I will reconfirm later today.

We asked about "Private Car or van" since we saw that option in the Cruise Planner. Was told that they have to contact the operator with specifics of what we want to do, hours, etc and would have to get back to us with details. They have to be contacted at least 48 hours before and that the price would not be anything less than $250 or so pp. Ummm Ok thanks. The blonde lady from shorex would not budge to give this info, she avoided me since I asked a lot of questions on bus seating and cleaning and others were getting interested to hear. But the nice Mexican lady and her male colleague at the desk on deck 3 waved us back and gave us this little price tid bit.

 

[Arzeena]

8 hours ago, Bluewake said:

  

We had the same experience on our Equinox excursions in August.  On the Health and Safety section of its website, Celebrity states the following:   "Buses will be at reduced capacity and will be sanitized frequently."   Given that, we were expecting there would be spaced seating on buses, vans, etc..  However, what we experienced was that there might have been fewer total passengers on the excursion, but they used smaller vehicles and those 15-16 passenger vans were absolutely packed.  Passengers were asked to wear masks.  Most did but there were always a couple who chose to lower theirs to cover their throat, not their nose or mouth.  Frankly, we might have felt safer on a private tour.

100% agree.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Scott - that looks like a fun day.    I was told the waterfall was a top site to visit.

It was so nice when we went.. our excursion was " pools and falls "  A bit challenging  for me but I kept up!

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think it would be wise to investigate your insurance coverage and  evacuation terms to make sure there is a covid provision.     I know MediJet includes but only if medically necessary to evacuation.   I have the others covered both by Chase Sapphire, Personal Medical Insurance.

Jim, I imagine you know this, but for folks who aren’t familiar with MedJet, they will only evacuate you if you’ve been admitted to a hospital (whether for Covid or otherwise).  They even address this specifically for cruise ship passengers:

 

“Due to the limited medical facilities and testing available on cruise ships, the Member must be admitted to a hospital on shore before scheduling medical transport to another hospital.”

 

https://medjetassist.com/docs/default-source/rules-and-regulations/medjetassist-membership-rules-and-regulations.pdf?sfvrsn=1dc5ce36_4
 

So if a guest on a cruise ship tests positive for Covid but is asymptomatic or not sick enough to be hospitalized, but is disembarked by the cruise line, MedJet would not come into play. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Another happy dance.

 

We were upgraded to the Penthouse for the 9/17 cruise.      Moving next door.

 

 

[grandmahoopie]

1 hour ago, funatseascott said:

Adding some info about a tour as Jim and Lain stayed on the ship.  We did the Titou Gorge and Hot Springs.  Gorge is very nice and water was refreshing.  Cool to begin with but nice after a few minutes.  One uses a float as can’t touch ground all the time.  We forgot to bring our water cases for the phones but I was still able to swim/float and keep my phone dry.  Reminder for others, bring the water proof cases.  Some scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 were filmed here.  Hot Springs was also nice and relaxing.  Used the volcanic mud to give us a body wrap.  Rub it on, let is dry, wash it off and skin is smooth.  Relaxed in the steam baths.  Some pools are warmer then others so you can find which one is right for your liking.  More primitive setup compared to Costa Rica spring bath experience but still enjoyable.  We would do this tour again.  Celebrity advises that each guests realizes there is uneven surfaces to walk on and roads are very windy - we agree completely.  Not much in the “shopping area” by the pier, so went back aboard to get Sushi on 5 before they closed.

Where is this?