Cruise Review - Celebrity Equinox - 3/24/17 - 4/2/17
Background: We are 46 and 48 and this is our 6th cruise, first on Celebrity. It has been 6 years since our last cruise so there were some firsts for us on this cruise. We booked an everything package which included the premium beverage package, unlimited WiFi, prepaid gratuities and some onboard credit.
Pre-cruise: We stayed at Rodeway Inn Cruise Port which boasts free shuttles from the airport and to the cruise port. The shuttle arrived at the airport about 20 minutes after we called and we were dropped off at the cruise terminal as promised. The hotel is bare bones but suited our purpose for an 11-hour stay.
We took a taxi ($11pp) to Sapphire Beach and rented only one chair ($9) since I’d be snorkeling most of the day. The snorkeling was fairly good here and the only location from shore worth anything on the trip.
We arrived at 3pm the first day and 4 other ships were in port. 15,000 guests were scrambling back to their ships as we left ours. We grabbed the bus ($2pp) to Marigot. It was rush hour and it took us almost an hour to get there. Had some pastries at Sarafina’s and walked around for a while and took the bus back. All the shops close at 6. On Day 2, we got a shared taxi ($7pp) at the port and headed Orient Beach. We walked a couple doors down from the dropoff to Orange Fever. Here we got 2 chairs, an umbrella, and 2 welcome drinks all for $16. Food was delicious and beers were $3 each or $14 for 6. Returned in a shared taxi ($7pp) and got dropped off in Philipsburg for some last-minute shopping. The walk between the ship and Philipsburg is an easy 15 minute walk.
We had planned in advance to take Thenford Grey’s Grand Island Tour ($55pp) as we had never been here before. It was a wonderful 6-hour tour with Thenford himself narrating. We drove through Basseterre, visited Romney Manor and the fort, and ended up at Shipwreck with the black sand beach. Thenford was an excellent host and gave us a special surprise for our anniversary. This tour was more than worth the money.
We took a cab to Boatyard ($5pp) and got our chair/umbrella/drink/turtle tour/taxi ride back for $20pp. There are about 8 beach clubs on the same stretch the offer similar amenities. My highlight was walking all the way to the other end to Cuz’ Fish Shack for a flying fish sandwich ($4).