Jan. 30th on Equinox 12 Nights

[bnurick]

7 hours ago, WNCtourist said:

Thank you  for this wonderful review -- this itinerary is a dream of mine. Seeing the bright sunshine and blue seas are quite a contrast with this morning's grey skies and freezing temps at home. Best wishes for continuing enjoyment of your cruise!

Appreciate the post!  Just sharing information and perspective so everyone can better plan.  Appreciate all the advice others have given me over the years on Cruise Critic so just doing my part in return.

 

Enjoy your next cruise!

[bnurick]

Dominica was the entire reason we booked this cruise over Disney. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and Celebrity canceled what we booked. Crushed. We worked with Port Excursions to book something under their private options and after a couple days they pulled it together.

 

Morning was a 3.5 hour whale watch and short snorkel. We saw 5 whales 🐋. Tears fell after the first one.

 

Afternoon was a snorkel fest with Champagne Reef, Scott’s Head and a relaxing natural heated pool in a small village.

 

Simply amazing. My face is as red as a cooked lobster, but regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s final port excursion, this trip is complete. 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by bnurick

[RetroSister]

4 minutes ago, bnurick said:

Dominica was the entire reason we booked this cruise over Disney. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and Celebrity canceled what we booked. Crushed. We worked with Port Excursions to book something under their private options and after a couple days they pulled it together.

 

Morning was a 3.5 hour whale watch and short snorkel. We saw 5 whales 🐋. Tears fell after the first one.

 

Afternoon was a snorkel fest with Champagne Reef, Scott’s Head and a relaxing natural heated pool in a small village.

 

Simply amazing. My face is as red as a cooked lobster, but regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s final port excursion, this trip is complete. 

 

So happy for you!! Dominica was the reason we booked this itinerary, too. First time back to our honeymoon destination, circa 1992! Really, really want to get to Trafalgar Falls and recreate some of the photos we took way back then, but I'm skeptical that the whole area will be as unspoiled as it was. We were really the only people up there, and that seems highly unlikely now. It is such a special place, so happy for you that you hit the whale jackpot!

[bnurick]

9 minutes ago, RetroSister said:

So happy for you!! Dominica was the reason we booked this itinerary, too. First time back to our honeymoon destination, circa 1992! Really, really want to get to Trafalgar Falls and recreate some of the photos we took way back then, but I'm skeptical that the whole area will be as unspoiled as it was. We were really the only people up there, and that seems highly unlikely now. It is such a special place, so happy for you that you hit the whale jackpot!

Thanks for your post. Such a special place for sure.  It was a day to remember!  The whale searching for and watching is totally off the chain amazing.  I’m not kidding on being so red and I think my eyes are still stinging from salt water. Totally worth it!  Memories for life!

[kptbylorraine]

Dominica is definitely a special place. I had no idea there was whale watching! We will remember that if we ever return. So glad you are enjoying your tours. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/6/2022 at 3:12 AM, Cebse said:

Could I ask when it states guests only booked on official Celebrity excursions may disembark the ship, it then say if booked with local government taxi's you can also get off. How do you get these local taxi's ? Do you have to book beforehand or are you allowed off to go and get one. Thanks for all your help.  

From my experience in October at all the ports that were restricted passenger could get off the ship into the fenced off pier area with some shops, duty free and street vendors allowed in.  Only those on Celebrity Tours could immediately depart with their groups.    They had stands setup for government approved Taxi and Private tours.    Once you completed the payment you were escorted to a gate where they scanned your temperature and then escorted you to the waiting cabs. 

 

We instead had arranged private tours using Private Journey so the tour director just escorted us to the gate and and a form that cleared us to enter the waiting Van  We of course had our temperatures taken also and had to sanitize our hands every time we got in and out of the van.    The driver was behind a plexiglass shield but had a microphone and speakers to the back.

[bnurick]

Morning from Antigua.  We decided yesterday couldn’t be topped, so we are doing a short 3 hour catamaran ride and plan to chill out and enjoy a relaxing day on the water. Celebrity Today for Day 10:

 

[kptbylorraine]

David -

 

Thanks for your brief review. Our last cruise on Celebrity was on Reflection in March 2020. Two days after we disembarked cruising shut down. I agree the ships are in a time warp. We’ll be on Beyond in November so we will have a different experience. 
 

We are looking forward to good food and great service. I never have high expectations about entertainment but hope to be pleasantly surprised. 
The weather is mild in NY so no worries about flying to FLL on Thursday. 
Tests tomorrow. 🤞
 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 
 

Lorraine
 

 

[ohiolovescrusing]

So it looks like currently Antigua must be a Celebrity tour, and no option for possibly a government approved tour from the pier area?  That’s a stop we do not have a tour purchased yet for our soon cruise, and wasn’t thrilled with the remaining open options. What tour did you do and what was good/bad about it?  Thanks!

[bnurick]

Catamaran sail, snorkel and beach (3 hours)

 

After yesterday’s 8 hours, we needed something more slow paced.

 

Exiting the ship we had to show our Celebrity excursion ticket.

 

A long walk from the Ship to the catamaran, was nice to have no taxi.  52 passengers.  Masks optional once boarded and everyone in place. Crew is very professional as was the shoreside staff.  Crew all have their names on their t-shirts which I thought was a nice touch.

 

First stop is a snorkel reef. Current strong and visibility low today. We opted to not snorkel.  Captain said if it sounds like I’m trying to scare the s$$t out you, I am!  Stay close to the boat if you are not a strong swimmer.  For those, one of the crew fead fish in the water which was neat. The others who swam to the far reef had a guide. The Captain positioned the vessel so the current would pull them back towards the catamaran after they were tired out and explained it to them before they ventured out.

 

Second stop is a beach in a cove so there is no wake. Pulled right up to the beach to walk down the stairs.

 

After about 30-45 minutes we headed back to port.  Rum punch, music, some dancing was a lot of fun.

 

After our 8+ hour Dominica marathon this was a relaxing end to 7 straight port stops.  Can’t say enough positives about the crew, total veterans in action.

5 cruise ships at port.  Guessing supply and demand meant the options are limited.

 

[bnurick]

1 hour ago, ohiolovescrusing said:

So it looks like currently Antigua must be a Celebrity tour, and no option for possibly a government approved tour from the pier area?  That’s a stop we do not have a tour purchased yet for our soon cruise, and wasn’t thrilled with the remaining open options. What tour did you do and what was good/bad about it?  Thanks!

Just added. Thanks!

[bnurick]

Last night at Tuscan Grille (20% off pre-cruise booking). Great experience and skipped dessert to hit the craps table before gelato. BIG mistake.  At the fear of being wine-shamed we opted for the staple Tignanello from 2016 to now the awesome 2018 vintage (20% discount). It was excellent.  Cheers from the Equinox!

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by bnurick

[Dreamer10]

On 2/2/2022 at 8:01 PM, snowballs mom said:

If you take an excursion they usually supply the equipment. My husband loves to snorkel, but I have not in done it in about 15 years. He brings his own mask and snorkel and does not use the flippers. I had an old set from Costco, and I will use the snorkel from that along with a new mask I just purchased from Amazon.

Thank you for the information. Buck Island here I come!

[bnurick]

Celebrity Today Day 11.  It’s Lobster 🦞 night onboard.  Cheers!

 

[canderson]

@bnurick

Hard to tell with the sunglasses, but you have a doppleganger that spent some time in front of the cameras for BBC.  Wish I could recall her name... I'd post a pic.

[kidz_rn]

For those not on a b2b (lucky you!), I hope you had a wonderful cruise and wish you safe travels home. How nice that you had zero covid cases! Amazing!

And thank you to OP bnurick for all your useful info and courteous postings.

[bnurick]

Morning, Day 12. Celebrity Today below.  Cheers!

 

[Luvcrusn]

For those of you lucky enough to be B2B this was posted on the X website today.

While On Board

Effective for all sailings departing February 12, 2022 forward, masks will not be required onboard for vaccinated guests unless attending activities in the Theatre or Casino.  Masks will continue to be required for unvaccinated guests, under 12 years old, at all times indoors except while eating or drinking.

 

[SandG]

Which island is the best bet for purchasing bottles of alcohol to bring back home (or are the prices better on the ship)?  For Americans, I'd thought there is some benefit in buying booze in the Virgin Islands, and we have taken advantage of that in the past when visiting St. Thomas.  It makes me wonder if St. Croix is a good option?

(It just occurred to me that I've asked two questions here and they were about wine and alcohol.  I'm not a heavy drinker in spite of what it seems.  😄   It's more about finding a good deal.)

=Sue=

[chamima]

6 minutes ago, SandG said:

Which island is the best bet for purchasing bottles of alcohol to bring back home (or are the prices better on the ship)?  For Americans, I'd thought there is some benefit in buying booze in the Virgin Islands, and we have taken advantage of that in the past when visiting St. Thomas.  It makes me wonder if St. Croix is a good option?

(It just occurred to me that I've asked two questions here and they were about wine and alcohol.  I'm not a heavy drinker in spite of what it seems.  😄   It's more about finding a good deal.)

=Sue=

 

St. Maarten used to be the best place pre Covid.

[JaneAustenCruiser]

On 2/8/2022 at 1:15 PM, ohiolovescrusing said:

So it looks like currently Antigua must be a Celebrity tour, and no option for possibly a government approved tour from the pier area?  That’s a stop we do not have a tour purchased yet for our soon cruise, and wasn’t thrilled with the remaining open options. What tour did you do and what was good/bad about it?  Thanks!

@ohiolovescrusingOur upcoming Equinox cruise in April has a stop in Antigua as well and we don't have one either. I'm hoping there will be the 3rd party gov't approved tours we can find in the port. None of the Celebrity ones floated our boat (LOL).

[bnurick]

Disembarkation information…. Gotta get off no later than 9:30AM…

 

[RBKL]

On 2/4/2022 at 8:48 AM, brzymom said:

I was looking into this myself, and it appears you can do so once on board for $12 per day. Hubby is mostly a beer drinker, so thinking of leaving him on Classic and moving me to Premium. 

We were able to call ahead of our Mar h 13 sailing and upgrade to the premium drink package. Also received discount for elite status. Same for WiFi - able to upgrade ahead of sailing with discount.

[GottaKnowWhen]

6 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

For those of you lucky enough to be B2B this was posted on the X website today.

While On Board

Effective for all sailings departing February 12, 2022 forward, masks will not be required onboard for vaccinated guests unless attending activities in the Theatre or Casino.  Masks will continue to be required for unvaccinated guests, under 12 years old, at all times indoors except while eating or drinking.

 

We depart on our 2nd leg on Feb 11. 

[hopeless holiday booker]

14 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

We depart on our 2nd leg on Feb 11. 

looking forward to hearing about it.  I follow you on the 20th.