We have booked our next cruise for 2010, the Celebrity Equinox 10 Day Ultimate Caribbean with stops in St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Maarten. For us this cruise is much more about the ship and the relaxation that it has to offer, than the actual destinations. In some ports we may not get off the ship, in others, we may just pay a simple visit to the closest beach. I do enjoy snorkeling, so we are hoping to possibly do one snorkeling excursion either on our own or through the ship. The Equinox itself is the real attraction. We have enjoyed such excellent service, entertainment, and a relaxing atmosphere on our previous Celebrity cruises, and even more so on our most recent cruise on sister ship Solstice. We are sure to enjoy every minute on board the Equinox. For this cruise it will be just my husband and I cruising, with Grandparents coming to stay with the kids and dogs back home.
We haven’t taken a cruise for just the two of us since 1993, so while we’ll miss the kids, it will be a chance to spend time with just the two of us. With only two of us, the cabin selection was much easier. In the past we have tried to insure we had a family size room, and hadn’t been able to take advantage of the standard size rooms being offered at a nice discount.
We booked through my favorite cruise travel agency, Skyscraper Tours and got a better deal than I could have booking directly. This happened to be one of her cruises for which she had a special deal. Skyscraper was able to offer me a Concierge Class cabin at the same rate at the entry level partially obstructed view balcony cabins. The Concierge Class cabins are the same size and lay out as standard cabins but are located higher up on the ships and offer a few more small amenities like fresh flowers and premium bath robes. The location on the higher deck was the important selling aspect for us. We enjoy the views and the slightly better proximity to many of the ship’s features that we enjoy. There were many of these cabins from which to choose, but I selected one that was about 1/2 from the back of the ships to the block of elevators and not located across the hall from inside cabins. My thinking was less walking to get to the elevator or stairs, and less traffic on our side of the hall. We were so please to get more than what would have expected when we booked.
As usual we only booked the cruise portion of the vacation through our agent. We were able to use frequent flier miles for our air in and out of Ft. Lauderdale. Since we won’t be arriving until after 9 pm the night of the cruise we looked into value priced hotels. Many hotels in Ft. Lauderdale offer free shuttle transportation to and from both the Airport and Cruise terminal. However, I determined that with our later arrival, it might do better to book a lower room rate and take a taxi to the hotel and to the cruise port.
We are looking forward to a fabulous cruise this year.
I was on the Equinox last December and found it to be lovely. Was on deck 9. Have been booking rooms nearer the library for the next two cruises since I spend a lot of time there. Every ship I have been on has been a treat and I don’t really care what ports they travel to. I prefer to stay on board when everyone else leaves.
See you soon,
We are on deck 9 or 10. One of the Concierge Class rooms – they were running a special where got the concierge class room for only $20 more than a standard balcony room.
And concur on the ports. we dont choose a cruise based on ports and often stay on the ship. more sea days make a better itinerary for us.
You should go with us!