Aboard the Celebrity Equinox…

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Fabulous homes along the canal while our ship maneuvered from of the pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

To say the Celebrity Equinox is larger than the Celebrity Century is an understatement. With a capacity for over 2800 passengers, as compared to 2000 on the Century this seems as if it’s twice the size. Everything is huge! 

Banks of elevators line the halls, support staff at every corner, restaurants, theatres, two outdoor and one indoor pools with amenities for every age group abound. It’s daunting!

Our Concierge Class cabin is more exciting than we’d imagined. After reading a few reviews at
www.cruisecritic.com we anticipated that the upgrade was barely worth the extra fare. Ha!
We’re in heaven!

Speaking of heaven, last night, during our elegant dinner in the Silhouette Dining Room, the main formal dining area, Tom left mein stitches.

Looking at me with a twinkle in his eye he said, “You know what?”

“What?” I inquired, anxious to hear what he had to say.
“Today is the one month anniversary of Mayan calendar’s end of the world,” he said with a huge grin on his face.
“Oh, that’s true,” I agreed, anticipating his next comment.
“And I was right,” he said. “The world did end and we’ve died… and gone to heaven.”
We both laughed aloud. He was right. This is heaven.  And no, we don’t expect this glorious feeling to last forever but while it does we’ll relish in every moment. When it changes and it will, as it does when one first falls in love later settling into a familiar and comfortable feeling, we’ll accept and welcome the familiarity of our ever changing lifestyle along with the consistency of our relationship.
Our cabin is larger this time at 196 square feet as opposed to 186 on the Century, a seemingly small difference that provides us with a full sized sofa so we don’t have to lie in bed when lounging.
Packing and unpacking smarter this time, it took us only an hour and a half to unpack yesterday as opposed to several hours when we boarded the Century only nineteen days ago. I knew we’d get better at this! Again, Tom handled it all so well.
After we arrived onboard we wandered each of the multiple decks of this huge ship checking out all the activities, the 10 restaurants, the pools and Jacuzzis, the library, the Internet center and the 13 bars and lounges. 
Last point in Fort Lauderdale, as our ship sailed out to sea yesterday afternoon.

Returning to our cabin a few hours later, we were delighted to find a bottle of chilled sparkling wine, a platter of elegant canapés, fresh flowers, discount coupons, personalized stationery and our awaiting Cabin Steward, Juan, anxious to welcome us explaining options available to us. 

If we so choose, we may order room service, snacks, desserts or drinks 24 hours a day at no extra charge.  Tips, although already included in our fare, are expected by waiters, cabin attendants, bartenders and other on the date of departure (which in this case will be next Tuesday, the 29th when we disembark early to stay in Belize), as we’ve learned from other seasoned cruise passengers.  Based on the quality of service we experienced thus far, we have no issue with this. We’ve also included additional tips in our budget.

On board only 24 hours, we’ve already spent $254.64. This includes cocktails and tips last night, $199.95 for our minimal Internet package and $29 for a nifty pair of Steve Madden sunglasses for me (been wearing the same $10 pair of Target sunglasses for the past nine years). We had received a $100 on board credit so at the moment, our bill is $154.64.

(BTW, we just sailed by the north western tip of Cuba. Cigar anyone?)

Only additional charges that we anticipate going forward will be beverages and additional tips.
We don’t fall prey to all the “extras” aboard ship. The 17 appealing high end shops are fun to
investigate but offer no temptation for us. There are enough included activities and of course, casual and fine dining. 
Today for fun, we perused the menus of the “extra cost” restaurants, of which there are five.  None of them appealed to us to justify the extra expense. Most of the foods wouldn’t work for my limited way of eating or were very similar to the offerings in the main dining room, the Silhouette, an Old Hollywood style formal dining room as I mentioned above.
After traveling on the Celebrity Century for 15 days, we were upgraded to the Captain’s Club with three credits for “Classic” status.  The ideal is “Elite” requiring ten credits, a long way away based on the fact that our remaining six cruises are on other cruise lines.

Arriving in our cabin, we expected documentation stipulating our Captain’s Club status.
Alas, there was none although we’d received an email from Celebrity with our membership numbers only two days ago.

Determined to reap the benefits of the multiple cruising status, we marched off to Guest Services last night before dinner, diplomacy in hand, requesting our new Sea Pass cards (both a room key and on board charge card linked to our credit card) which should have been gold with a
Captain’s Club designation. We were politely informed that the staff in that department wasn’t available until this morning.

Unruffled, we sauntered off to dinner leaving the task for the morning, along with the required “lesson” in the Internet center as to how to log on and off their somewhat complicated system to ensure we weren’t charged for minutes we weren’t using. (This was different than on the Celebrity Century for some goofy reason).

After breakfast this morning we headed to complete our “tasks,”  which definitely was not as good as on the Celebrity Century…coffee was too strong, the smoked salmon too vinegary, too long a line for real poached eggs, the bacon was too fatty, blah, blah, blah. (No whining allowed. We ate our breakfast, chatting with a delightful couple from England on their 14th cruise).

Off to the Captain’s Club office with a 20 minute wait in chairs, a gracious young woman surprised to see we had “documentation” on my computer stipulating that we are in fact Captain’s Club members, our new Sea Pass cards were issued, we were handed a ton of printed materials along with a coupon for 10% off for Internet services we could drop off for credit.
Finally, we could get online to check email, Facebook and post on our blog and look forward to a private party for Captain’s Club members upcoming on Thursday. 
Tonight is formal night.  We goofed, failing to make a reservation for dinner in the main dining room, leaving our only option for 8:30 PM.  If we want to see the “show” in the Equinox Theatre, we’d have to attend the production at 10:45 PM tonight, a little late for me, although not Tom. Perhaps,  I’ll drink something with caffeine and try to stay awake, early bird that I am awaking at 5:30 am this morning as usual.  
Maybe it’s time for me to rearrange my hours to coincide with Tom’s, who prefers to go to sleep late and wake up later. Hum, us retired folks, eat early, bed early, up early. I need to get a grip! I use the excuse that I’m five years older than Tom. 
Lying in the warm sun on our patio at noon, we soaked up some rays as the ship began the journey past Cuba.  A class, again offered by the Smithsonian Institute, entitled  Beyond the Podium with James Karr, a retired college professor from Washington, on “Volcanoes, Connect Continents and Spawn Magical Webs of Life.” Very interesting! More classes to follow. We love these!
Now back in the cabin, I write this at 4:30 PM.  
Many have questioned the need for our excess baggage.  As we move from spot to spot, we’ve realized the benefit of the items we have brought along.  As we continue, we’ll either leave behind or ship some items back to the US which we don’t use or need. It’s a learning process that we’ll fine tune as we go along..

Today, our “stuff” served us well. Tonight, being formal night, we had carefully packed our dressy clothes in the few bags we needed to open for this cruise, one for each of us plus toiletries. Scrounging around in another suitcase, we pulled out our new unopened clothing steamer. Our clothes for tonight were wrinkled messes.

Yes, we purchased low wrinkle fabrics as much as possible. But Tom’s Hugo Boss suit and recently washed wrinkled proof dress shirt were also a mess.  My dressy dress was also riddled with wrinkles. Reading the directions, it looked easy enough. Minutes later, the trusty little steamer was spewing hot steam and I couldn’t wait, laundress that I am, to get my hands on
it!
In a matter of minutes, not only were our clothes for tonight wrinkle free but I also “unwrinkled” outfits for both of us for tomorrow night’s less dressy evening. In totaling the cost of having the same items done by the ship’s laundry service, we saved $34.65.  It took me less than 20 minutes. It more than paid for my Steve Madden sunglasses. Love the steamer!
Our appetizers will arrive in a few minutes. We’ll make a drink (somehow we managed to get Tom’s bottle of Courvoisier aboard without question), I’ll have an icy mug of Crystal Lite iced tea
and we’ll meander out to the balcony, plop down in the comfy chairs and begin yet another night in heaven.

Nice.

Scary night aboard ship!…

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View as we sailed away from the Panama Canal area with numerous ships awaiting beyond the breakwater for their upcoming transit through the canal.

Most likely, cruising is one of the safest modes of travel. 

We haven’t given our safety a second thought until last night during dinner as the ship was literally rolling back and forth, our glasses tinkling at our dining table nearly splashing out their contents. 

Tom and I glanced at each other with a look of uncertainty. We shrugged, returning to yet another enjoyable evening, again sitting next to a new couple engaging in lively animated conversation.  They had cruised many times and had traveled the world extensively.  It was reassuring to hear they’d been to and loved many of the places we plan to visit in the near future.

A discussion ensued concerning our upcoming
cruise to Dubai in May 2013 which they had the pleasure of experiencing a few years ago. This particular cruise offers several excursions in which we’ll surely partake: the Great Pyramids; the Sphinx and Giza.  They advised against paying additional fees to actually venture inside the Great Pyramids, saying that it was a waste of money with the space too small, too commercialized, and outrageously hot.  We take their advice seriously.

We welcome any advice from our readers worldwide as we share places we’ve yet to visit or while we’re staying in a particular area.  Please suggest restaurants, markets, local foods, places to visit and people to see.  Also, if you have knowledge of medical resources/doctors in the area, let us know.  We can’t be too prepared.  Please comment at the end of each daily post to which we’ll respond within 24 hours, once we’re able to get online.

We find ourselves suspicious and cautious of commercialized offerings that make one feel like cattle herded along to awaiting salespeople barking to “buy, buy, buy” which is often the scenario at most ports of call. 

Most of the excursions offered by the ship present the ultimate goal to place the passenger into a “buying” mood.  Most outings end up in some form of a retail area. We’ve recently discovered that most of the
excursions are owned by the cruise lines. Certainly, they are entitled to their profits. But then again, we are entitled to keep our money for our chosen future plans, not trinkets, artwork, local clothing, or jewelry. 
 
After yet another elegant dinner and the 9 PM show in the Celebrity Theatre, a nightly event we’ve only missed twice (the first night aboard ship and the Panama Canal night after which I was too exhausted with only two
hours sleep), we headed to our cabin as the ship continued its wild thrashing about in the strong winds.

Tom, bless his heart, can go on and on into the night but then again, he is five years younger than I.  Oh, it’s “hell to get old.” How we used to be able to manage the next day on so little sleep! 

Walking down the long hallway to our cabin, we faltered back and forth between the narrow walls as
the ship continued to sway. I had a particularly difficult time walking in 3″ heels weaving as if I were drunk (I don’t drink).

Once inside our cabin, we turned on the TV to the ship’s GPS station, showing our exact location, wind speed, etc. After checking our email, we decided to try to get some sleep as the ship raced toward our next destination, Cartagena, Columbia, (expected time of arrival at 8:30 am today). We were asleep by 11:30.

At 1:30 am I was startled awake by the sound of something falling off of a shelf in our cabin as the ship
flailed wildly in the sea. Twice, I got out of bed stumbling over our shoes and power cords scattered on the floor to witness the high white waves splashing up the sides of the ship.  On the 8th deck, the floor of our balcony was
covered with water.  I was a bit scared, to say the least.
 
Tossing and turning for hours unable to fall back to sleep, the sounds escalated around
4 am.  I wanted to wake up Tom during that period.  I couldn’t believe he was sleeping through it all. Finally, I turned toward him and in a whispered tone, I asked, “Are you awake?”

Mumbling, he said, “No, not really.” 

Hesitant to awaken him further I said, “Do you feel the rollin’?”  Hard of hearing after 42 years on the railroad, he said “Did you say “rollin’…rollin’?”

“Yes,” I answered in a louder voice, “rollin’!”

“On the river?” he asked.

“No,”  I laughed aloud, “on the sea!”

Leave it to my guy to make me laugh when I’m scared.  He has a magical way of comforting me with his non-stop sense of humor.  It was 4:00 am. Cuddling up we both wandered off to sleep.

At 7:15 am we were awakened by the loud roar of the ship’s side thrusters.  We were finally approaching Cartagena, Columbia. Bolting out of bed at exactly the same moment we threw back the balcony door drapes, opened the heavy sliding door and this is what we saw.

Downtown Cartagena Columbia.  All the buildings are white.

Again, tonight we’ll dine in the Grand Restaurant to later attend the live show “Groove,” an interactive 60’s party in the Grand Foyer, and then off to the Celebrity Theatre for their last live show of the evening.  Quite fun! We’re having the time of our lives!  Our new lives couldn’t be more fun, rolling seas or not.

We survived it all..December 21 and MIFI rental for world travel…

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As Tom’s three sisters and two brothers-in-law walked out the door yesterday, the day after Christmas, they asked us of we were getting excited. 

Tom, not giving me a chance to answer, chimed in, “You know what?  Jess planned all of our world travels.  And I just went along with it, figuring that the world was gonna’ end on December 21st and it wouldn’t matter.  So now, it does matter, and it’s time to start getting excited.”

We all roared with loud bursts of laughter. I had nothing more to say after that.  They were all headed back to their winter homes in Apache Junction, Arizona, and us, today back to our awaiting vacation home in Scottsdale to hook up with them again on December 30th for final goodbyes and sister Colleen’s birthday party.

Yesterday morning, we met up with my dear sister Julie and her significant other at son Richard‘s office in Henderson to have our wills and health care directives witnessed and notarized which will be secured in the family member’s hands while we travel. Yes, it was morbid doing this, but a necessary element of our travels and life itself.

Handing Julie our complete medical files put our minds at ease that should we ever need anything she’ll have it readily available. Julie like me, embroils herself in the details, making her a logical choice.  Of course, she would immediately notify all of our children if anything happened to us.

In addition, we have designated Julie as our contact person.  We will report to her with the contact information, phone numbers, and email for property owners prior to departure and arrival at each location. For instance, if we are due to arrive in France on a certain date and Julie doesn’t hear from us within 24 hours, she will immediately notify our adult children and begin the process of finding out what has transpired.  This is important.

We’ve all heard stories of travelers being kidnapped, lost in a jungle, or any other possible scenarios. It’s unlikely any of this will occur to us. In the event, an unforeseen situation does occur Julie will be highly diligent in tracking us down.

This provides all of our families with a sense of security. Although a little time consuming, it’s also a comfort to Tom and me to know that a nearly immediate effort would be instituted to “find us” if we’re missing. Julie, a TV producer, is an experienced world traveler with many worldwide contacts.  It’s logical for her to be assigned this task.  Thanks, sis!

Yesterday, we ordered our MIFI from XCOM GLOBAL that provides us with global wireless Internet access for up to five devices from a small wallet-sized device.  I’ve mentioned this many times on this blog finally placing our first order.  Pricier than we anticipated at $538 for the first month, we bit the bullet. 

The usual cost for using the device in one country is $399 a month plus shipping which may be as much as $100 each time it is shipped to us, with the high cost of international shipping.  We refused the $3.95 a month insurance for the device, at another $120 a month. 

The reason this particular first month’s rental was so high is due to the fact that we chose to try the device while cruising through the Panama Canal, which including it being set to work not only in Panama but also Mexico, Columbia, and the US while we’re in ports of call.  While at sea, it won’t work being too far from a cell tower. 

During those periods of time, we’ll use the ship’s Internet access at $395 which provides us each with one hour online per day for each of the 15 days for this first cruise.  This is expensive at $26.33 at roughly $13.17 apiece per day. 

MIFI from XCOM GLOBAL, although represented on their website that they offer unlimited access, will not allow more than 750 megabytes in any three day period.  If we do, they will turn off the system.  This allows us each 100’s of email messages per day, many more than either of us currently receive. 

We had decided that this would not be sufficient online usage for us.  We have personal business to conduct, ongoing travel research and arrangements, and of course, email messages from family and friends.  Thus, when Internet access if of poor quality or unavailable, we will order the device to be sent to us.  At this point, we anticipate using the MIFI approximately six months of the year since many vacation homes will have high-speed Internet access.

We are asking everyone to please continue to send us an email with text only beginning January 1, 2013, while we’re using the MIFI.  Receiving text-only email messages will mean “the world” to us being so far removed from everyone we know and love. Please keep the communication coming minus the videos and multiple photos.  Posting those videos and photos on Facebook will enable us to see them when we aren’t monitoring our usage.  We love hearing from you.

Today we’re heading back to Scottsdale, after more sorrowful goodbyes, for our final four days before our trip to San Diego for two more days before boarding our cruise to the Panama Canal, taking us away at long last. It’s hard to believe it’s finally only one week away. 

We have to repack all of our bags, clean our condo, finish our insurance planning, go to a birthday party, and brace ourselves for what is yet to come.