Live report Equinox Eastern Caribbean, July 30-Aug 7, Aft Corner Sky Suite

[carolinagirlsince1993]

Enjoying reading your live reviews.  So excited for our cruise in 2 weeks.  We haven't been to Carribean in too  long.

 

[Midlo]

Have mostly lurked in the past but really appreciate your posts. Thank you for taking the time to do this. We are scheduled to cruise on the Equinox in early October in one of the PH suites after a three year hiatus and your posts are really helping to get us in the mood.

 

 

 

[kwis29]

Thursday: Tortola

 

The last time we stopped at Tortola, we took an amazing cruise excursion to White Bay at Jost Van Dyke. We still rank it as our #1 beach. While we contemplated returning there for this cruise, we decided to try a new excursion instead: the Baths at Virgin Gorda. 

 

For the first time on this trip, we had a ROUGH night sleeping. Every 5-10 minutes, we were jolted around. Not the typical shaking. It was a severe jolt. Every 5 minutes. All night long. Let's just say that we were not our "best selves" when the alarm went off at 5:55am. We ordered room service breakfast since we had to meet for our excursion at 7:15am. It arrived promptly a little bit after 6am by our Retreat Host. He commented that we ordered such a small breakfast for the two of us. Made us wonder how many boxes people tick on that door hanger! The early morning views from our balcony were lovely.

 

After some fuel and much needed coffee, we started to feel rejuvenated for the excursion. We met in the main theatre and then headed down to the ferry that would take us to Virgin Gorda. 

Word of warning that we felt was not clearly included the description for this excursion: if you get motion sickness, I would not recommend this excursion to you. The ferry boat went very fast through some rough water for the 30 minute journey to Virgin Gorda. It was intense! There were a few options for seating: inside, upstairs (open air) or a few rows of covered seats in the back on the bottom level. We quickly grabbed the covered seats in the back to enjoy the open air but not the intense wind and sun on the top deck.

Once we arrived at Virgin Gorda, there were the typical open-air taxis waiting to take us to the Baths. It was a 10 minute ride.

 

The excursion included 2 guides who kept us all moving along to the 3 different stops. This is not an intimate excursion. There were a lot of people. Maybe 150 people? We ended up moving through the stops at our own pace to avoid some of the crowd.

 

The first part involves a 15 minute hike down to Devil's Bay for some beach time. This hike would be challenging to some. It is downhill, steep and slippery in some spots. The beach was gorgeous and the water felt great after the hike down.

 

You could wait for the tour guides to take you through the caves, but we wanted to be able to enjoy them without the large crowds. We headed off on our own and were so glad we did. We took our time to explore and were happy to not be held up by those who would struggle with maneuvering through the caves. It took  flexibility to crouch down and squeeze through tight spots, plus ladders and ropes. Watch some YouTube videos of the caves to see if you would be able to handle it. Also wear water shoes, Tevas, etc. All in all, the caves were spectacular.

 

 

 

The caves led us to the last section of the excursion for some beach time at the Baths beach. Another gorgeous spot where a lot of people were snorkeling. There was a small food and drink stand where we purchased two local beers and enjoyed some more time in the ocean.

About an hour later, we were called to return to the taxis and get back on the ferry. 

It was a well organized excursion and a unique experience. You can get to the Baths on your own, but I would recommend going on an excursion.

 

Upon returning, we did a quick loop of the port area. There were quite a few food stands that looked delicious and some stores to explore. It was a very nice port area. The views from our aft balcony were beautiful. DH and I agreed that Tortola is now one of our favorite Caribbean ports.

Up next, lunch at Oceanview and a glass of Rosé at the Sunset Bar before taking a long nap to make up for a lost night of sleep. We woke up refreshed and ready to have a great night!

We went to the Retreat Lounge in search of a redemption Manhattan from the previous disappointment in the Ensemble Lounge. It was perfect. My grandma would approve! (I love Luxardo cherries now, but she loved the classic bright red ones!)

Tonight, Sushi on Five satisfied our desire for Asian flavors and a more casual meal. I had a wonderful view of the clouds from the sunset. The meal was really great, and service was on point as well. We had edamame and potstickers to start. Then we shared pork Ramen and some sushi rolls. The specialty cocktails come from the bartenders at World Class Bar so those were yummy too. Overall, we were glad we returned to Sushi on Five, and it was a nice change from Luminae. I would suggest you give it a try, even if you don't like sushi. DH doesn't really eat much sushi, but he finds plenty of other items to order.

We ended the night in the Equinox theatre to see a Whitney Houston tribute singer who was on an early season of American Idol. It was OK. Entertaining for sure and we had a nice time, but we thought it could have been a bit more lively.

 

I spent some OBC on a perfume I scoped out earlier in the week and then it was bedtime. Another successful day!

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by kwis29

[chemmo]

9 hours ago, Midlo said:

Have mostly lurked in the past but really appreciate your posts. Thank you for taking the time to do this. We are scheduled to cruise on the Equinox in early October in one of the PH suites after a three year hiatus and your posts are really helping to get us in the mood.

 

 

 

The S class PH suites are wonderful, simply a decadence of light and space, enjoy!

[CruiseNYC]

Thank you both so much!  I’m really enjoying virtually cruising with you!  We’ll be on the Equinox next June with a similar itinerary. I’m taking lots of notes!

Quick question:  we’ll be in Retreat. Does Luminae on Equinox also bring main dining and Blu menus?  Thank you!  

[miched]

Why do they always serve you Manhattans in those Martini Glasses?    It should be in a Manhattan Glass.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[wrk2cruise]

2 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

Quick question:  we’ll be in Retreat. Does Luminae on Equinox also bring main dining and Blu menus?  Thank you!

 

Equinox Luminae and MDR galley's are co-located so we've never had a problem getting items off either menu.   Blu galley is co-located with Blu on deck 5.  We have never been offered the Blu menu on S class ships.

[CruiseNYC]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Equinox Luminae and MDR galley's are co-located so we've never had a problem getting items off either menu.   Blu galley is co-located with Blu on deck 5.  We have never been offered the Blu menu on S class ships.

Thank you so much!

Looks like our itinerary for next year is very similar although the order may be different. I’ve already started a file and added your Tortola excursion to wishlist. 
Love following along with your trip!

[kwis29]

Friday: Sea Day

 

This will be a quick one with not many photos since we did a whole lot of nothing! 😀 

 

Happy to report that we both had a much better night's rest. There is still some rattling and shaking but nothing that prevented a solid sleep.

 

Back to our normal routine for a day at sea: gym, coffee, breakfast outside the Oceanview. The gym was again pleasantly not busy. My only gripe with the gym is the lack of floor space to stretch, do my ab routine, etc. The only space that would work is the group class area, but it was being set up for a group class. Maybe in the newer gyms on the Edge Class they solved this problem? Instead, I had to use some random carpet space next to the weight machines. Sorry to the people on the machines who had their space invaded by my stretching routine. Awkward!!

 

It was a hot day at sea! Not as breezy as our first sea day, which made our day up on the Retreat Deck even better than the last one. I don't have much to report since at the end of the afternoon, DH and I both said "what did we even do today?" We read our books, napped, and enjoyed the perfect weather in the shade. I can tell you that we continued to be spoiled by great service up there. Wow! You really live the "suite life" on the Retreat Deck. Shout out to Luis who runs around (and up and down stairs) all day!

We ordered lunch again from the Luminae deck menu, then enjoyed some time on our shaded aft balcony before getting ready for Chic night.

We received the dreaded luggage tags last night and information about disembarkation for Suite guests. I am not looking forward to packing. It is the worst part of the trip! 

 

The night ended with another production show. The aerial acrobats were the stars this time. So impressive (and scary)! It was the cast's last show since their contract is ending with this cruise. 

I had a dream last night about returning home to our dog, so that is a signal that my vacation brain is shifting back to home life. One more day to enjoy!

[kwis29]

2 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

Thank you so much!

Looks like our itinerary for next year is very similar although the order may be different. I’ve already started a file and added your Tortola excursion to wishlist. 
Love following along with your trip!

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the Tortola excursion. I have a lot more pictures as well that I could share

[CruiseNYC]

6 hours ago, kwis29 said:

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the Tortola excursion. I have a lot more pictures as well that I could share

Thank you so much!  I’m anxious to see where you’re off to next!  Looks like ours next year has San Juan first (same as yours) but then St Thomas and St Maarten.  Tortola is in the middle. 
 

[Host Anne]

Thanks so much to Kwis29 and MR.Kwis29 for sharing  your cruise experiences with everyone here on Cruise Critic.  So glad you had a great cruise and enjoyed that corner aft Sky Suite.  Your photos were great, too.  I know it takes a lot of time to do a LIVE FROM thread.  Everyone here appreciates it.

 

Sorry we never got to meet.  Hopefully next time...

[kwis29]

Time to catch up now that we are home from a longer than expected day of travel. Quick note on internet speed: now that I am at home, it is no longer painfully slow to upload to Cruise Critic. What a difference!

 

Saturday: Nassau, Bahamas 

 

We had zero plans, so we slept in and mixed up our morning routine. We didn't leave our room until 9:30. That is very late for us. Our stateroom attendant was surprised to see us leave so late! He was amazing by the way. A bit shout out to Jason!

 

Breakfast first today, then a leisurely coffee. I think we might have gotten too much sleep, and I just couldn't wake up. Maybe a trip to the gym would help? DH disagreed so he stayed behind to watch the news and check work emails. 

 

I headed off for what ended up being my best workout of the trip. As I started running on the treadmill, we were pulling into Nassau right next to the Disney Wish. What a beautiful, new ship! The best part was passing by all the balconies and seeing the little kids wave. The guy running on the treadmill next to me and I had a great time. We were just laughing and running and waving and smiling for a solid 10 minutes. It was, for lack of a better phrase, some "Disney magic."

yes, I took these pictures while I was running- do not try this at home

I definitely felt energized after that, so DH and I broke our rule of staying on the ship in Nassau. It is our least favorite port, and we usually spend the day by pool. Instead- we walked around the port, got hot and sweaty, annoyed by all the people (3 ships in port, the most of the entire trip), and then returned to the ship. We should have just followed our rule! 

Time to pack, and DH had the best idea all day when he suggested that I grab a glass of Rosé to make the packing more enjoyable. 😀 

 

After an hour of packing, we went down to the pool deck and spent a lovely late afternoon by the pool. It wasn't crowded, so I was able to hang out in and around the pool and just savor our last hours of the Caribbean sunshine.

 

As we were getting ready for dinner, the Disney Wish was leaving. We had a perfect view from our balcony, so DH and I both went out to wave at all the kids again. It was so cute as they yelled "bye!" and "see you later" to us. Smiles all around again. 

the view from our balcony

Final night of a drink at the Martini Bar, dinner and then the show in the main theatre. Tonight it was a quartet of male singers who performed mash-ups of classic and new songs.

We only stayed for a few songs and then went to the casino. DH had some OBC left to spend, and he converted it to promotional chips. I spent some OBC at the shops. I was surprised by the lack of Celebrity merchandise. And any Equinox merch was outdated as evidenced by the ship being white as opposed to the newer paint job. After some losses at the Blackjack table and slots, we turned in for the night.

 

Sunday: Time to leave!

 

The final perk of Retreat guests is to have a nice quiet morning in the Retreat Lounge and then be personally escorted off the ship. We had a coffee and a croissant and some fruit and waited as long as we could since our flight didn't leave until 12:30.

 

There was a "secret" door and passage that led right out to the deck for departures. Connor escorted us to the front of the line (literally stopped the line of guests for us to cut in!) for one last beep of the sea pass. What a pleasant end to the cruise!

the secret door to Narnia (and also to leave the ship)

Our bags were waiting for us in the Retreat/Zenith area. Customs was super efficient. No need to have your passport out. Just a quick facial recognition and we were out the door. So much better than the old days of snaking through a long line eith your luggage. We have Global Entry, but I didn't see a separate line for that. Not needed anyway since there was zero wait.

 

It was pure chaos outside as so many people were trying to catch ride shares. No organization or system in place like at FLL or other airports. Luckily our Uber driver was experienced and called us to help us locate him more easily. 

 

Smooth sailing until our 12:30 flight was delayed for 3 hours due to weather in Chicago. Ugghh! Luckily DH found an empty gate in the Southwest terminal and we settled in to wait, hoping our flight wouldn't be cancelled completely.

 

We eventually made it back home, taking a longer flight path to avoid the storms. ORD was crazy! So many people everywhere due to the delayed and cancelled flights. Long lines at lost baggage. Groups of people sleeping everywhere. Lines of traffic outside. Such chaos compared to when we left last week and remarked at how calm the airport was.

 

By 7:15pm, we were home, cuddling with our dog (who has not left my side since then) and making piles of laundry.

 

I will write a review with thoughts on the Suite life and the cruise in general, but it is safe to say that we had a great time with little to complain about.

 

Thanks for following along! 

[markeb]

3 hours ago, kwis29 said:

The final perk of Retreat guests is to have a nice quiet morning in the Retreat Lounge and then be personally escorted off the ship. We had a coffee and a croissant and some fruit and waited as long as we could since our flight didn't leave until 12:30.

 

There's a total bummer! I'm guessing you were the other couple that Connor escorted out at 9:30 for last call...

[kwis29]

Some videos now that I have a real internet connection. We'll see if they work.

 

1) St. Maarten catamaran excursion. Stopped at Maho Beach to see some planes. 

 

 

[kwis29]

2) Nighttime view of the wake from our balcony

 

 

[kwis29]

3) Tortola: morning view from our balcony. Breathtaking!

 

 

[LMHSRN]

On 7/31/2022 at 6:39 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Good morning from the Equinox!! I’m currently sipping coffee and watching the sunrise, and runners that are way more motivated than I am. We had a great first day boarding this full ship. I did want to pop in and say we had quite the awful experience at Tuscan last night. I’m not one to really complain but to briefly summarize, we were only served our steaks over 2 hours after sitting down. The pasta course came 15 minutes later and was cold with hardened sauce. We left before dessert because we wanted to get to bed, which is unfortunate because the limoncello cheesecake sounded incredible. The server was incredible and apologetic, it sounded like kitchen issues. Oh well though! Onto what will be a great sea day today. 
 

Also for those curious, I’m posting this with the basic Wi-Fi and it was a little slow to load, but fine overall. 

We were also in Tuscan that night.  cold food after 2 1/2 hour wait.  Cx all additional reservations as we were B2B.  Horrible experience.....

[ctrabada]

On 7/28/2022 at 3:22 PM, North of 60 said:

We are on Equinox in September (lowly balcony, not a suite).

My significant other, hereinafter referred to as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" or "SWMBO", likes the odd Gin and Tonic. But she is currently doing the weight watchers thing and is obsessed with asking "how many points is that?".

So - can you check if they have diet tonic on board, please?

If not, I will be relegated to schlepping a case of it onboard when we board.

 

Thanks for your help in keeping this Sherpa under-employed.

 

 

Cheers, and thanks!

Chris (and Bev) in Inuvik, NWT, Canada

OMG, I'm like SWMBO.... we are sailing Equinox in 2 weeks in a Royal Suite and we are so excited! Have lost 30 lbs on WW since April and I'm also a gin and tonic fan. I just asked our shoreside concierge to stock mini bar with diet tonic. And yes, "how many points is that?" is an obssession.

 

Also, like Mr and Mrs Kwis I have seen every youtube video and read every CC post I could on the Equinox. Can't wait to continue reading this live thread (well, not so live for me now, but better late than never).