Celebrity Cruises has a new baby; the Equinox. Being someone who doesn’t mince words, let alone mispronounce them, I found myself saying over and over is it “EEE-quinox” or “ECK-quinox?” Finally after several sleepless nights I turned to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/equinox to hear it correctly pronounced.
While we’re on the subject of mispronounced travel-related words, here’s another common mistake. Every time I hear a Royal Caribbean cruise director talking over the loudspeaker, this drives me nuts: “Tomorrow we will be stopping at beautiful CocoCAY.” It’s not CAY like KAY; it’s KEE. http://www.wordnik.com/words/cay/pronunciations . Think Key West. When was the last time you visited the Florida “Kays?”
Shall I continue? ANTIGUA. Say “An-TEE-gah,” forget the “u.”
DOMINICA. Doe-min-EEK-ah not Doe-MIN-ick-ah.
Heading to St. Thomas on a cruise? You’ll dock or tender at the largest city on the island: Charlotte Amalie. Pronounced Ah-MAH-lee-ah not Amalie like Emily.
Now for the biggie…is it Ca-RIB-ee-ahn or Care-ah-BEE-ahn? Personally, I prefer the first pronounciation. BUT…I’ll use the latter if the people I am with are pronouncing it like the yellow & black striped insect.
Buzz ya later…I’m off to start packing for my 10-night cruise aboard the Celebrity EE-quinox. On the itinerary: Charlotte A-MAH-lee-ah, St. Thomas and Roseau, Doe-min-EEK-ah. I’ll save “Cay” West for next time.
