Equinox 9/17 LIVE BLOG; Aqua Class - 1st Time Celebrity! Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

As cruise progresses look for Spa treatment specials!  They always have them.  Also try port pricing discount  ( ship must  actually be in the port to apply)

 

I am definitely looking for those specials! My only problem with port pricing discounts is you’ll never find me on the ship on port days!

[hcat]

5 hours ago, rastone79 said:

“ The only discounts for Aqua Class for treatments were on monster packages of $1,000 in treatments; you save $200...not useful AT ALL; I wish there was a general percentage off individual treatments for Aqua.”

 

I thought the same thing that Aqua class received discounts on individual spa treatments …. My wife loves her spa time which was part of the reason I booked Aqua class.  That’s disappointing.  

Aquaclass and Spa..no connection other than use of the lockers abd thermal suite/ Persian Garden! You might have some exercise stuff in cabin..we did on EDGE..Took up alot of rm.  There were also some workouts on the TV we never used 

[hcat]

16 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

Me at Sail Away (right before the rain started) thanks to @SonuvaBeach and the barest sliver of sunset after the rains stopped 

Love all  your photos and Commentary. Great Sailaway outfit and the  clouds give a great atmosphere .  Thanks for sharing!

[hcat]

5 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I am definitely looking for those specials! My only problem with port pricing discounts is you’ll never find me on the ship on port days!

but if the ship docks early you might grab an 8 am slot or maybe late afternoon before ship sails.  Slots fill up but worth getting a discount.

Rule #1.. get all appts and prices in writing..have them initial it.

 

I always book a basic massage early in the cruise and a nice facial towards the end  and will add a combo special if I like the combo.   I never buy the Elemis products they pitch.. cheaper on line at home and often free shipping.. sometimes the cosmetics/ perfume store has a sale.. 

 

Spa staff sometimes give  free on deck tasters on sea days to drum up businessm

 

. Also if you attend the ladies seminar...lots of free samples!

 

Now you know where my OBC goes!

[Janet524]

Thanks for "taking us along."  I was wondering what the situation is with masking.  Is it required indoors except for "vax only" areas?

[PinkSandGirl]

16 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

Dinner at Blu; 

Hi!  If you could...can you ask if the Main Dining Room dinner menu (besides the Classics) be ordered in Blu?  I know many people say it isn't possible on S-class ships due to location but I have also read that people have been able to order the MDR menu as well.   I'll be on in a few weeks and since it's the same ship and close time frame...perhaps it depends on who is running Blu/waitstaff. ???

 

There are some nights the Blu menu does not appeal to one of us/all of us in my traveling party so if items can or can not be taken from both menus, it would help when deciding which nights we eat in specialty restaurants.  😉

 

Thank you for taking time to post information and pictures.  😃

 

Continue having a wonderful time!  😃

 

Thank You!

 

🍹

[larry_s_taco]

Following. We are due to embark on Oct. 20th. 

[Baynanno1]

3 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

Ok, not a great picture, but I snapped it with my iPad. Can anyone tell me what type of sea bird this is?

 

Possibly a Laughing Gull https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Laughing_Gull/id#

 

[sunsetme]

how crowded is the pool and the buffet at lunch??

[TravelBluebird]

6 hours ago, hcat said:

I always book a basic massage early in the cruise and a nice facial towards the end  and will add a combo special if I like the combo.   I never buy the Elemis products they pitch.. cheaper on line at home and often free shipping.. sometimes the cosmetics/ perfume store has a sale.. 

 

Spa staff sometimes give  free on deck tasters on sea days to drum up businessm

 

. Also if you attend the ladies seminar...lots of free samples!

 

Now you know where my OBC goes!

 

Nice! I’m considering perhaps a facial towards the end of a cruise. I don’t do anti-aging treatments; not sure if its because I’m not vain enough or because they are so expensive!

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, sunsetme said:

how crowded is the pool and the buffet at lunch??

 

Yesterday (sail away) not crowded at all. Didn’t get there at all today; I’ll look for you tomorrow since its super late and I’m exhausted; considering sleeping in a little late and have an early massage ,so may get small, early buffet lunch instead of my usual breakfast.

[TravelBluebird]

When I last left everyone, we were heading into our evening activities and dining.

 

We did the Slow Flow Yoga together at 5:00; only 4 people in the class total. Madeline (Maddie) from South Africa who does the fitness classes and Yoga is excellent. We were trying to hold yoga poses while the boat was moving a fair bit; it was slightly comical, since trying was the operative word!

 

Then we headed to the Martini Bar. Loved it; loved watching the incredible bartenders there. We ran into @dwitt (Doug and Pam) and all got seats at the bar together. When I turned my head, Hubby traced a heart in the ice on the bar (so dear!) I tried the Lycheetini (grey goose vodka, lychee juice, pineapple juice, guava juice, coconut cream and lime juice. Not too sweet; good blending of flavors.  We enjoyed talking and watching the skillful bartenders - they really put on a show!

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

oops; missed this one

[TravelBluebird]

We watched the earlier 7pm Topper show since we had 8pm reservations in Murano.

 

The show was totally new to us, and we were very impressed! I’ve seen a lot of cruise productions, and I’ve seen a lot of bad cruise productions, and this was not one of those! I have a musical theater background (performed for years in Northern California) and honestly, this show fires on all cylinders. The singers, dancers, acrobats were talented and fun to watch. The production values and costumes outstanding—a visual feast. Reminded me a lot of Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE in Las Vegas. I also liked the pop songs chosen for the show. OK, not much of a story, but what can you do in 45 minutes?   I can understand if people have seen it multiple times so want something new, but for new eyes, GREAT SHOW. Here are a few images (they said take as many photos as you like and post on social media! So here you go (I have more but don’t want to spoil the whole show):

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

Ok; its midnight and I have GOT to go to sleep! I will tell you all about our fantastic Murano dinner experience tomorrow, and I’ll also tell you about the blast I had at the Cruise Line is It Anyway Improv. Figures the internet is working great when I need to sleep (I assume its because everyone else IS asleep) although this is a very lively boat for 1,000 guests; big late night crowd; they love the shows and comedy. Improv was packed (I felt a little COVID nervous in there), and when I left improv, was a ton of people still in the casino!

 

 

[countess5]

You will love the Martini Bar on Edge. Jut off the ship two weeks ago. Talk about a show! Interesting observation,  the bar top is not ice. Was surprised.  The bar slowly slopes up from left to right. 

 

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

Good morning! Slept in a little (8:30am) and woke up to rain. Husband had already left for a morning Yoga Class; breakfast at the OceanView Buffet so I could have it very quickly (and check it out).  Caught my morning espresso at the bar right a front of the buffet (thanks to Cruise Critic I knew about that!) and had some fruit and a bit of protein ; didn’t want to wait for made to order eggs so tried the corned beef hash (it was OK) Fruit very nice!

 

Ocean View is not crowded at all; I’m right by the water.. There is so much room and this couple comes and sits right down next to me (not COVID aware AT ALL) so I’m off!  I’ll be back with the Murano//Improv info from last night later.

 

Off to a Couples Massage in a few!

 

 

[Missymo]

On 9/16/2021 at 11:36 AM, TravelBluebird said:

Massive back up on I-40 due to a crash. No faster alternate route. Good thing we left super early for BNA because otherwise I’d be so stressed!

 

This is my one and only fear (besides not testing Negative).  I am driving from the  south end of Miami to Port Everglades for my cruise next week.(Its only an hour away) but.,If any disruptions or major accidents, it may be toast to get to the Port. Now thinking to  leave my home 1.5  hours earlier for the drive up..

[Jim_Iain]

20 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

I have not been snapping photos of all the menus and schedules etc; I know @Jim_Iain is in his marvelous Live Blog so you can find them all there; I will try to remember to get Blu Menus the rest of the week, as well as the specialty menus!

 

That would be nice.   We have not been to Blu yet but want to join some friends in Aqua soon.

[Jim_Iain]

20 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

And I am really enjoying yours! I have a whole day of yours to catch up on, now that my internet is working again!  And I hope I see you on the ship!

Good hearing.    The internet was terrible while in Port Everglades but has been pretty solid for me.   Like you pointed out earlier -  steaming does a nice job buffering but web pages can be slow. 

 

At least for me photo  uploads have really been quite good. 

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, Missymo said:

This is my one and only fear (besides not testing Negative).  I am driving from the  south end of Miami to Port Everglades for my cruise next week.(Its only an hour away) but.,If any disruptions or major accidents, it may be toast to get to the Port. Now thinking to  leave my home 1.5  hours earlier for the drive up..

 

Yes, definitely build in some extra time; if you get to the port area early, stop for coffee!

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

At least for me photo  uploads have really been quite good. 

 

Photo uploads are doing better for me now! I had to stop switching between my devices; for some reason, it was making things slow and when I’m trying to blog between activities or late night, I get a little impatient!

[TravelBluebird]

I’m out in the Solarium at the moment; not crowded at all!

 

But I want to back track to last night. Murano. Murano was good. So good. Worth every penny, and may have been my favorite meal ever at sea!

 

For starters, we each picked two appetizers. We both had the Diver Scallops (very nice) and then I had the Smoked Salmon and Peekytoe Crab Parfait, which I really loved; great blending of flavors, light and delicious! The clear winner of the appetizers, however, was the Porcini and Morel Risotto. Wow. My husband is an excellent chef and makes incredible risotto, so we hardly ever order it out, but this, with the truffle foam, was intriguing. We both absolutely loved it!  Some of the textures reminded us of Japanese Chawanmushi (Japanese Egg Custard) which doesn’t make sense since this is a rice dish, but try it, you’lls see!:

 

ps: The dish with the white “soup” look is the risotto! 

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

For our entrees at Murano, I HAD to try the Murano Lobster with the at-table presentation. Russ had the Potato Laced French Turbot. The cognac flambe of the lobster is fun to watch, and OMG the aromas as it is cooking—divine!  Flavor was nice as well; not a huge portion of lobster, but it was fine, and again, great melding of flavors; Russ thoroughly enjoyed his Turbot.

 

The entrees ,and hopefully a short video of the flambe-ing of the lobster:

[TravelBluebird]

Ack. Just had a nice, long post about our cheese course and dessert all ready to post and I hit a wonky button, lost it, and it did not pop back up in the editor. 

 

I have consoled myself with a pina colada before I re-draft the post: