Celebrity Equinox

We had a really nice dinner with Susan on Thursday evening at Market 17. This restaurant's menus are entirely market-based and will change on a daily basis depending on what is available. Talk about constant inspiration for the chef. The menus also list the sources for the meats, seafood and produce that was used in that day's creations. It was funny that although we have stayed in the area many, many times, we had never really noticed that the restaurant was there right beside the Bridge.

               

 

 

On Friday morning, we wandered over to the Harbour Cafe for breakfast, as we like to do when we're in the area. Just like with Market 17, it was amazing how much more we could see by walking around instead of driving. Now there are even more little places to check out, from Irish to Mexican and Italian, no more than a few minutes' walk from either the Hyatt Place or the Hyatt Regency.

Once we were checked in and on board Celebrity Equinox, we started our regular wander around to get oriented with the ship and where everything is. Our first impression: it is a beautiful ship, and very nicely laid out so that there never seems to be a crowd anywhere (but then we haven't been at the outside pool on a sea day yet!). Lots of windows in the public areas and the seating is really thoughtfully done; there are little alcoves where a small group can gather, many of them partially divided from the corridor with lightweight curtains to give the idea of some privacy and hold the sounds from conversations inside the area.

                

The specialty restaurants, Tuscan Grille (Italian), Murano (Continental) and Silk Harvest (Asian), are all in one area and have their own bar.  It is a really nice way to elevate the specialty dining experience.

The hallway from the bar/lounge to the specialty restaurants

            

The Bistro on 5 is a great alternative dining venue for something light. They do really nice salads, soups, panninis and even crepes.  In fact, the specialty is crepes - breakfast, lunch and dessert types. Really good, too! And on the other side of the ship is the Cafe al Bacio, where you can get a selection of coffees, teas and pastries.

               

The Bistro on 5

                

Cafe al Bacio

The central foyer is actually called Entertainment Court. They have everything there from dance lessons to a table tennis tournament between officers and guests. The whole area is covered by a glass dome up at the pool deck so there's lots of light during the day, and the elevators are all glass-fronted, which some people we've ridden with have found a little disconcerting.

               

              

We've had dinner at the Tuscan Grille and Silk Harvest already, and have been very pleased with the food and the service in both. We purchased a package that discounts the cover charges for the specialty restaurants, so we have one more dinner in each along with one at Murano. Then we found out that, as suite guests, we also have two complimentary dinners, so we've added one more at Murano and another at Tuscan Grille. So we're not going to be spending much time in the dining room this cruise!

Dessert creme brulee at the Tuscan Grill

             

More food photos to come, of course.

Our suite is a nice size, facing aft so we get the soothing sounds of the ocean when we sit outside - except that sometimes people scrape the chairs on the deck above which happens to be the outdoor eating area of the buffet restaurant and it sort of grates a bit. Not a big problem, though. The only thing about where we are is that, as usual, there are only two elevator/stair lobbies on each deck, so we have to walk about 1/3 of the way up the ship to be able to get anywhere. We'll keep you posted on our Fitbit mileage!

              

We've been to a couple of lectures by an astrophysicist from the Austrian Space Forum. He specializes in development for manned missions to Mars and is as enthusiastic about his particular field as any of the other astrophysicists we've seen on 'The Universe' and similar programs on TV. He's hoping to be able to do some stargazing one night, and is also hoping for good weather where we may be able to see a couple of flyovers of the International Space Station.

Tomorrow we're in St. Thomas. We're doing a catamaran/snorkel/beach tour just for something different. Hopefully the weather will be better than the captain's forecast - clouds and some showers.  Right now it's a nice day, just windy and a very little on the rough side. More later...