Cabin 8342 Sunset Veranda; Cruise 36
The Master, Captain Michael Karatzas; Guest Rel Mgr., Ken Ismall / Touch Ung; Hotel Dir., Simon Weir/ Raffaele Bernadini; Cruise Dir., Gary Walker; Capt Club hostess, Ria Erasmus; Room Steward, Anthony; Waiter, Mr. V from India; Asst, Olha; & Asst Matre'D “badda bing,” Dorian.
Ports: FLL, Grand Cayman, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honouras, Cozumel and 4 sea days.
The embarkation process was easy since we used the same pier facility as the 6000 pax Oasis. There were plenty of agents available.
Once on board, we toured the new ship. It was smartly decorated and lit in neon and LED high tech lighting. It was spacious, wide and inviting.
We then had some lunch in the Oceanview Cafe which was very tasty but I felt I was more in a cafeteria, then a restaurant.
We sadly found out that our friend Touch, the Customer Relations Manager was called away to tend to his sick father. We were relieved to see him once when he returned on the last port of the cruise. He gave us 2 beautiful
Equinox inaugural mementos.
We also bumped into Taylan, Chief Housekeeper, who originally was our waiter a few years ago.
Our aft cabin was spacious with a larger then usual couch and a curved 
footer on the bed. The bathroom was set up nicely, with enough surface space and a comfortable shower head with cylindrical sliding glass doors. The only downside to the room was the lack of drawer space. It did have additional storage space over the bed but that was hard to reach. The balcony was standard size with little 
sun cover.
The next day, Thanksgiving, we spent at sea. We passed up the Capt. Club party and the Cruise Connection parties in place of some well deserved solitude and relaxation. At dinner, we opted for the turkey and it was excellent.
In Cartagena, we booked an old city walking tour which was interesting and historic. There were many "tourist police" as well as regular police in the area. Our guess was that the great police presence was to make tourists feel safe from previous past disturbances. At no time did we feel threatened. The flip side to the old city was the adjacent new city which was very modern, like the condos of Miami Beach. Many of these units were rentals by out of towners.
For dinner in the Silhouette restaurant, we requested a large table but were surprised to find ourselves at a table for 2. The Matre'D showed us to a large table. When we arrived, we found the table to be full. Next we were taken to a table for 6. When we saw our table mates one asked if we speak Spanish, since that was only what the other couple spoke. We all tried hard to communicate but it became frustrating when only small words were understood. A day or so later, the Argentine folks left for a Spanish speaking table and for the rest of the cruise, we enjoyed Robert and Robert's company at table 234.
After a wonderful sea day, in our 1st port, Grand Cayman we walked around town. I bought Randi an eternity ring at Diamonds International. She later purchased a watch for me on board ship. This was our early Christmas presents. The tender back was the only negative point to this cruise. The usual 10 minute process, turned out to be almost an hour with multiple delays.
That evening, we dined in the Tuscan Grill, billed as an Italian steakhouse. Randi's steak and my spaghetti bolognese were very good. Service was fine. The courses just happened too quickly.
In Cartagena, we booked an old city walking tour which was interesting and historic. There were many "tourist police" as well as regular police in the area. Our guess was that the great police presence was to make tourists feel safe from previous past disturbances. At no time did we feel threatened.
The flip side to the old city was the adjacent new city which was ver modern, like the condos of Miami Beach. Many of these units were rentals by out of towners.
In Colon, we took a Gaton Lake eco cruise from the vantage of the boat. Our guide pointed out various birds, sloths, white-faced monkeys and howler monkeys. The tour also took us to the Gaton Locks; the eastern entrance to the Panama Canal.
In Puerto Limon, we transported to a nature preserve, where we got up close to sloths, "pet raccoons, bats, and various birds including fly catchers, parrots and toucans.
In Roatan, we decided to do a walking tour. Typical souvenir shops lined the main street. We purchased a few items. Many kids asked us to buy their bracelets.
This was also the 2nd formal night which was out of the normal position by one day earlier then usual. We had a wonderful and lively dinner hosted by the Hotel Director, Raffaele Bernadini.
The last port was Cozumel where we took our Christmas card picture with flowers, palm trees and blue water in the background. We didn't go into the main town since we had been there before and decided to explore the newly built shops nearby the ship. Randi got perfume and I got a bottle of tequila.
Meanwhile we were parched so we stopped at Senior Frogs for a cold drink. We sat next to the cruise director and took a few pictures with the clown from the establishment, not the CD.
Some Observations on the new EQUINOX:
* The additional Capt. Club perks were excellently received. Many evenings we spent in the Sky bar sipping on complimentary cocktails and finger food. The other great new benefit was complimentary laundry and dry cleaning for up to 32 items.
* I couldn't help feeling a "crowdedness" from time to time in some of the public areas and especially when cueing for dinner.
* The entertainment on board seemed to have improved. The Equinox, Cirque du Soleil show was very good as was the violinist, guitarist and comedian magician.
* No multi-flavor breadsticks in the dining room, but there was a larger "every night" menu as well as a revamped daily menu to chose from.
* The cafe on deck 14 always had the same food for lunch. No theme days.
* Brunch was again delicious as was all the food in the Silhouette restaurant.
* The person to space ratio seems to be off since this is the 1st time on a Celebrity vessel that crowds developed.
All in all, a fun relaxing cruise on Celebrity's newest ship-Equinox.
To see all the pictures please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/markdegennaro/Equinox112309
