Fabulous Fort Lauderdale & Celebrity Caribbean Cruise - Equinox
We spent 5 nights luxuriating at the Lago Mar Resort & Spa prior to our cruise. This was our eighth visit to Fort Lauderdale and our third time at the Lago Mar having tried other hotels in the area for the past 6 years. It is expensive but the location, ambience and quality of service make it well worth it. Located on the Inland Waterway at the front and with its own magnificent stretch of private beach at the rear and close to the port it is perfect for our needs. Our room was spacious and comfortable with a large lounge area leading to a balcony with table, chairs and a sun lounger overlooking the main pool. There was also a kitchen area with microwave, toaster, and coffee machine etc., if you fancy doing your own catering from the Soda Shop or elsewhere. Free Wi-Fi is available in rooms and throughout the resort. Set in lovely gardens are two large pools leading out to the private beach so there is room for everyone to relax. As there are no umbrellas around the two pool areas we preferred to use the beach where chairs are provided free of charge but there is a $25 charge per day for two sun loungers and an umbrella or cabana.
Each morning we enjoyed the excellent buffet breakfast outside on the Palm Garden Terrace which had a wide choice of hot and cold options with omelettes, eggs, waffles and pancakes made to order. The Deli in the Soda Shop is open all day and offers hot/cold sandwiches, pizzas, burgers etc., as well as soft and alcoholic drinks to have in or takeaway. For lunch we used the promenade bar located right by the main pool which offered a choice of light bites, salads or rather substantial fish or meat sandwiches/burgers and cocktails or beers etc., to drink. In the evening we dined al fresco in the excellent Acquario restaurant which has the outdoor Palm Garden terrace as an alternative to the elegant indoor facility and offers international meat and seafood dishes. For a pre or after dinner drink we relaxed in the elegant ambience of the Wine Cellar Lounge although the service when busy would be improved by use of waiter. We loved our time at the Lago Mar. It was even better than we remembered from previous visits and we will certainly use again when next in Fort Lauderdale. Our five days passed all too quickly and it was time to head off by taxi to the port and join the Celebrity’s magnificent Solstice Class ship “Equinox”. See my blog on Celebrity “Silhouette” For specific details about the Solstice Class ships.
Our Cruise itinerary began with two days at sea giving more time for rest and relaxation. The first port of call was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. As we had visited on previous cruises we took a 40 minute boat trip to the smaller island of St John and included a safari style bus tour of the island. It is only accessible by boat and so kept very exclusive with some excellent beaches hotels and villas. Next stop was St Kitts which we had also toured previously so we stayed on board and enjoyed the facilities of the ship while most people were ashore. Fabulous! The following day we docked in Barbados and visited the duty free shop in the port area for some gifts and souvenirs before again enjoying the peace and quiet aboard the ship with the pool and bar tender all to ourselves!
Our next port of call, Dominica, was a new experience for us. Dominica is known as the Nature Island of the Caribbean and located between the two French Islands of Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south and about 29 miles long and 16 miles across at its largest point, with an area of 289 sq miles. We went ashore in Roseau the capital and enjoyed a tour of the vast tropical rain forest and visited the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar Falls attractions before driving through the islands botanical gardens which contain many unusual trees and shrubs. Finally we went to the viewing point at Morne Bruce for a spectacular view of the southern half of the island and Equinox in port in Roseau. Dominica is very different to the usual beach and palm tree islands in the Caribbean.
On arrival at our final stop, St Maarten we took the water taxi across to Phillipsburg the capital in the Dutch sector. We spent a lazy morning on the beach front promenade in a friendly bar providing free Wi-Fi for customers followed by a long lunch in anther beach front bar restaurant looking back across the harbour to our ship. Following two more very relaxing days at sea we disembarked in Port Everglades and took Celebrity’s transfer to Miami airport where we ended our adventure with a day room at the Sofitel airport hotel before our late night flight back to London.
As I said in my earlier blog on Caribbean cruises, Fort Lauderdale really is a great destination to enjoy a few days pre or post cruise. Cruising is a fabulous way to holiday and there is a ship and cruise line for everybody but it is important to choose the right one for you and I choose Celebrity for my cruise holidays as I think they are the best!!!