A Celebrity Newbie Random Thoughts on 11 Day Eastern Med Itinerary on Equinox

My husband and I have recently sailed mostly on Princess and are pretty happy with the product it delivers. However, we were attracted to the itinerary AND price for the 5 Nov Eastern Med Cruise on the Equinox. So thought we would give Celebrity a try.

We booked an AQ guarantee. Received cabin 1535—much more forward than I would have preferred but it was under the acupuncture room so no noise from above. I thought it would be an advantage to be close to the relaxation room and the spa/Persian garden, but to be honest as there were only 3 sea days, we used the amenities only a few times. I am sure if you have a trans-Atlantic it would be great. Seemed that we were always walking aft!

Used Rome Cabs for our transfer to and from FCO. Found couples to share the ride on our roll call. On time, professional, and painless transfer. We had six people from the airport (175 euro total) and eight to the airport (200 euro total). The Celebrity transfer was $92/person each way!

We got to the ship very early—about 930 AM. We sat in the waiting area about 30 minutes and transferred to the second waiting area for a wait about another 30 minutes. We were on board by 1030 or so. While the champagne or mimosa greeting is a nice thought, being told finish it here, don’t take it with you, wasn’t very pleasant. We didn’t realize if we had walked just past the elevators, we could have sat down and enjoyed the drink. Despite assurances by those in our limo, we weren’t allowed in our cabin to put our carryon in it. So—we hauled it up to the Oceanview café for brunch. Layout is quite nice, large selection, and we were there early enough so there was plenty of seating. There was extra cleaning due to a norovirus outbreak on the previous cruise, so we weren’t able to get to our cabin until 2 PM.

The cabin—our last Princess cruises have been in a mini-suite. Our AQ cabin seemed a little cramped and we had to use the over the bed storage. For my 6’1” husband, it wasn’t a problem. For me, at barely 5’4”—I had a hard time seeing what was up there and, a few times, I had to pull everything down to find what I wanted. The bathroom was nice with lots of storage for grooming items in a side cabinet. We both liked the shower with the option for the body jets and/or shower head. The plastic doors versus a shower curtain was nice along with the bar to put your foot on when shaving your legs. The only downside to the cabin was the attendant—he did the bare minimum. Had to call for robes—he only brought robes, no slippers. No flowers. Had to empty out the refrigerator ourselves. He told us to put the stuff by the trash can and he would remove them later—24 hours later still sitting there. One sea day cabin was not cleaned/bed made until 3 PM—we were gone twice for over two hours. We had some lint on the carpet that we used to see how effective the vacuuming was—took 5 days for it to be gone. This was the only poor service we had.

BLU—excellent food and outstanding service. Will certainly make it hard to book Celebrity again and not AQ. The menus that are posted somewhere here have not changed. Portions were just right and, except for the night we both had prime rib, we never left the restaurant feeling uncomfortably “stuffed.” I received two bottles of Moet/Chandon sparkling wine through Celebrity Celebrations as a birthday present. As we already had one from Celebrity, we asked the sommelier if we could bring them to BLU and trade/exchange for something else. I had seen another couple with a bottle of La Crema Chardonnay. I asked for it and the sommelier went to Murano’s to get a bottle as it wasn’t on the BLU wine list. The second bottle we traded for a Raymond Merlot. I recommend both. The last night I had the Kobe-style beef meatloaf—it was SOOOOO good. I know ordering meatloaf isn’t quite the entrée you dream of when cruising—but it is excellent. Also, the escargot are back and available as an every night appetizer. I probably had it 6 of the 11 nights. Note that BLU is open at 630 AM on disembarkation day for breakfast—so you don’t need to go to the Oceanview cafe. Two days we needed to leave the ship too early for breakfast at BLU and had room service—food was hot and promptly delivered. Nice selection.

Shows—were good to very good. The big show, The Equinox (?), is great if you love a Cirque du Soleil type show. I find about 15 minutes plenty for me but my husband and our friends we sailed with all loved it.

Oceanview Café—for lunch was good especially the pizza and ice cream. For the one breakfast we had when we got up too late to eat in BLU, we found that many of the dishes were COLD—not just not warm anymore, but COLD! Cold scrambled eggs are not appealing and neither are COLD hash browns. Do yourself a favor and get your eggs or omelet made to order—there is a place to order at the back center and front center of the café.

Excursions—with the exception of Santorini and Mykonos, we booked our excursions with people on our roll call. I planned none of them—but can give you the details if you would like. We really wanted to see Oia and its magical sunset, so we booked the tour through the ship. For almost $160 ($79 plus per person), we should have just taken a cab from Fira and asked it to come back after sunset. It was cloudy so the magical sunset wasn’t too magical—but we do get say we saw the sunset over the crater. For Mykonos, we just walked around, shopped, checked out the windmills, and looked for the pelican. Our private excursions were about 45% less expensive than the ships; in smaller vehicles with a personal guide.

The weather was much warmer than the average and we had almost no rain—we couldn’t have asked for better weather for this time of year. Our guides frequently said that the weather the day or two before was cold and rainy or was expected to be cold and rainy the next day. It was very windy on Mykonos—but reading the guide books I think it is always windy on Mykonos. We had rough seas our first day out and one night—made me wonder if we should have booked our usual mid-ship cabin. Also, being so far forward, when the forward thrusters were being used to dock the ship, it felt like the “magic fingers” massage bed from childhood family vacations. Friends forward on deck 6 felt like they were going to be thrown out of bed due to the vibration from the thrusters.

The captain was very friendly, proficient in English, and readily available to talk to. He attended our cruise critic party and showed up for pictures for “pictures with the officers” on the last formal night. We did get a picture with him—my husband didn’t believe me that in the olden days with the smaller ships you always had a photo op with the captain. Wish my dad was still alive to see the picture, he would have enjoyed seeing it.

Soda card. My husband is a heavy diet Coke drinker—so I purchased the Soda card for him when it was on sale in June (?). He got our money’s worth. In BLU, after the first breakfast and dinner, they always brought him a can (and seconds (and possibly thirds)) without him asking. His cruise card was always scanned in other venues despite having SODA on it because the package can be turned off during the cruise. If this hadn’t been such an intensive port itinerary cruise, I may have ordered the standard beverage package for me. Certainly makes it easy to have a cocktail or glass of wine or mimosa without worrying about the cost. Being AQ eliminated the need for buying bottled water to take into the port with you--plus as it was 90 degrees plus it wasn't as necessary as it would be during the summer.

Prepaying—At first I was annoyed that I had to pay for anything I ordered on the Celebrity website when I ordered it. But—it was nice to walk off the ship owing less than $200 on our shipboard account. We had significant OBC from our TA and when we purchased our cabin.

Other restaurants—we were going to go to either Murano’s or the Tuscan Grille but decided we liked the food and especially the service in BLU so much we didn’t. Didn’t get anything at the Café or Bistro either, so can’t provide any thoughts on them.

I do have all my Dailies, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Great review, Patricia! Thanks for taking the time to share it as I think there are probably quite a few people now who are planning the Eastern Med for 2013 so your thoughts are helpful.

We were on your same hallway in June (Rooms 1521 and 1523). Had Dexter and Carlos as our cabin stewards and they were terrific. We, too, thought we'd use the Relaxation Room and maybe the Persian Gardens but we liked being out on our balcony more or at the pool with our teens.

The walk aft didn't bother me but maybe that's because it was our first cruise so we didn't know any better! Still gained 4 pounds even with all of that walking. We are on the complete other side of the ship when we sail the Connie in a month so it will be interesting to see what we think.

Who was the Captain's Club Hostess, and who was the Hotel Director?

Who was the Captain's Club Hostess, and who was the Hotel Director?

Didn't go to Captain's Club, so can't tell you the hostess's name. Couldn't find it in the Dailies either.

Officers:

Master: Captain Apostolos Bouzakis

Hotel Director: Raffaele Bernardini

Chief Engineer: Andreaas Kavouras

Cruise Director: Damian de Lorenzis

Staff Captain: Leonardos Palaiokrassas

Food and Beverage Manager: Duarte da Silva

Guest Relations Manager: Christian Bell

Executive Chef: Donovan Campbell

Disembarkation--must have been one of the smoothest ever. We were assigned to the theater at 8 AM. Got there at 7:42 and our luggage number was called at 7:45. Had some trouble finding one of our couples for the ride to the airport or we would have all been on the way by 8 AM rather than 815 AM. Rome Cab driver was there with a sign with our name by 750 AM when we had our luggage.

Luxstx--thank you--this was nothing compared to your very lengthy, helpful review. I had good intentions, but poor follow through. Brought a journal to take notes with--took some notes at LAX terminal 6 and that was it!

Didn't go to Captain's Club, so can't tell you the hostess's name. Couldn't find it in the Dailies either.

 

Officers:

 

Master: Captain Apostolos Bouzakis

Hotel Director: Raffaele Bernardini

Chief Engineer: Andreaas Kavouras

Cruise Director: Damian de Lorenzis

Staff Captain: Leonardos Palaiokrassas

Food and Beverage Manager: Duarte da Silva

Guest Relations Manager: Christian Bell

Executive Chef: Donovan Campbell

 

Disembarkation--must have been one of the smoothest ever. We were assigned to the theater at 8 AM. Got there at 7:42 and our luggage number was called at 7:45. Had some trouble finding one of our couples for the ride to the airport or we would have all been on the way by 8 AM rather than 815 AM. Rome Cab driver was there with a sign with our name by 750 AM when we had our luggage.

 

Luxstx--thank you--this was nothing compared to your very lengthy, helpful review. I had good intentions, but poor follow through. Brought a journal to take notes with--took some notes at LAX terminal 6 and that was it!

Thank you.:)

PatriciaF: Thanks for the informative, concise comments.

Just one question -- as a repeat Princess cruiser, how did you find the Celebrity smoking policy?

Who was the Captain's Club Hostess, and who was the Hotel Director?

I just got off the same cruise. I was in an Aqua Class guarantee also ... a great deal! ... in 1547.

Captain's Club hostess was Donna, a lovely woman who was available and helpful and often called our cabin to leave reminders about events, changes in Elite schedules, etc. I really enjoyed her.

I just wrote a very long ... probably too long ... review of this sailing that should post soon, with my recommendations for tour companies we had great luck with. This was a fabulous cruise ... great itinerary and, as Patricia said, we lucked out with splendid weather.

Fern

PatriciaF: Thanks for the informative, concise comments.

 

Just one question -- as a repeat Princess cruiser, how did you find the Celebrity smoking policy?

We don't smoke--so we thought it was wonderful. The only smoke we encountered was the day we ate lunch at the grill and the only table available was in the smoking area. The casino got lots more of my money too as I couldn't stand to be in the Princess casino, even on no smoking night.

We will be on the Coral Princess in March, so looking forward to the new Princess smoking policy.

So are you saying that there is no smoking in the Casino on the Equinox?

So are you saying that there is no smoking in the Casino on the Equinox?

There is no smoking anywhere inside on Celebrity & Azamara ships but there are a few areas outside.

So are you saying that there is no smoking in the Casino on the Equinox?

Hi. There is no smoking in the casino on any Celebrity ship. There is no smoking in any indoor space on Celebrity ships. It'll be up to you to determine if that is good news or bad news.

We also were on the Nov. 5 cruise with Patricia and Fern. Pat, you were right on with your review. This is the first cruise I have ever been on (36th) that I have lots of complaints regarding the room stewards. We were not allowed into the room until 3PM and the pillows were on the floor, the matress pad was wadded up on the bed and there was glass on the floor..............Our steward appeared and appologized and said the room would be ready in 15 minutes. It was, however, it took three days and a call to room service to get ice in the ice bucket. I asked very nicely if the ice machine was broken. From that point on, we had ice twice a day and on the last evening, the steward knocked on the door and asked if we needed ice???? I am sure he was looking for an additional tip. HA! HA!.

Also a bit disgusted with the $8 per person charge for the bus ride into Mykonos. Multiply that by the number of persons on board and Celebrity could have purchased outright all the buses available!!! Shame on you Celebrity. Sure I got a good rate when I purchased the cruise but I really check everyone's prices before I book, Lots of people do not use all the tools available to get the best "deal" possible and overpay to begin with. When in the airport before taking Rome Cabs to the port, there were lots of groups following Celebrity reps with signs to busses who paid close to $100 a piece for the transfer. We were not even offered a transfer from Celebrity and orranged with Rome Cabs.Patricia was correct with the price we paid for 6 passangers. A terrific savings.

We did this cruise because of being able to visit Turkey and it was a land of wonder topped off by wondeful tour guides and shop owners. To think where these people live, in between Syria and the Gaza Strip and they have the patience of Job. As one shop owner put it " we are patient people but we will take just so much (motioning his had to his nose) and then we will blow!" I pray for them daily....................

Would I go back on Celebrity as this was our 10th cruise with them? Don't know and will check out Royal Princess on her 18 day Maiden Transatlatic next October and our 8th cruse with them. Only time will tell!!

The dining room food was okay, had great servers and wine steward. Ate one night in Tuscan Grill on our anniversary and ordered the filet, ok but not up to Ruth Chris Steak House standards and actually preferred the French onion soup in the dining room to the one in Tuscan Grill which was more bread than soup.

Hey, Pat, how did you get the two bottles of wine for the brithday? We won a bottle of champaigne because we were the longest married on the newlywed and anniversayr party but all we got were two chocolate cakes. One from Tuscan and one from the diningroom. Both delivered to our cabin and nibbled on from time to time...............

The tours planned by Cruise Critic passangers were fantanstic and we really enjoyed all of them although very strenuous................I am still recouping!!

Happy Thanksgiving and lets give thanks that we can do a wonderful cruise with gliltches and still have a fantastic time!!!

So are you saying that there is no smoking in the Casino on the Equinox?

Casinos on the Celebrity fleet have been non-smoking since late 2008.

Carol--welcome home. This was my 19th cruise and very disappointed in the cabin attendant--and yes he became very friendly the last 3 days or so. Too late. We were sailing AQ so we did expect a bit more of service--but you never know who you are going to get.

My daughter ordered the Birthday Celebration package that was suppose to come with a cake, a bottle of champagne (really sparkling wine at the price point she picked), flowers, and decorations. Absolutely no decorations--but two of everything else. Don't know if there was a mix up aboard ship and the order went to two departments or ????? I have told her to check her bank statement. One cake was about 12" across, the other very similar to what we were presented with in BLU. The waiter had the BLU cake delivered to the stateroom--but upon returning and finding two cakes, we just gave it to the room service attendant who was thrilled to get it.

We did love the non-smoking atmosphere and look forward to the restricted smoking on Princess in March.

Pat

Odd,we were in 1527 on the same sailing, had the same attendants as you, no issues and did not feel they "did the minimum", they did all we needed, were you wanting butler service?

The sizes of the cabins are specified, i am not sure why people think the may be bigger. The robes were in our room on arrival, i did not expect slippers

As for the bus service to Mykonos, with gas at $14/gallon in Europe why do you expect it for free? It was not advertised for free and you had the option of a taxi ...or, do what I did. Walk.

Odd,we were in 1527 on the same sailing, had the same attendants as you, no issues and did not feel they "did the minimum", they did all we needed, were you wanting butler service?

The sizes of the cabins are specified, i am not sure why people think the may be bigger. The robes were in our room on arrival, i did not expect slippers

 

As for the bus service to Mykonos, with gas at $14/gallon in Europe why do you expect it for free? It was not advertised for free and you had the option of a taxi ...or, do what I did. Walk.

Are you sure we had the same people? Like I said, no robe until I called the next day; no other AQ amenities. Asked to have the refrigerator emptied and was told to do it myself and the items would be picked up in the morning. On the second morning we had to ask someone else to do it. Bed not made until 3 PM one sea day after being out of the cabin twice for over two hours each time. Probably petty--but piece of lint not vacuumed up for 5 days--which made me think that the cabins weren't vacuumed every day. I don't think any of this is "butler service." Do you consider this adequate service--I don't. Did this deserve an additional tip besides the auto tip amount--no I don't think so. But, unlike Carol, we did have ice in the ice bucket after the second day without asking.

I was fine with the charge for the bus service--and the buses were readily available. Cab may have been cheaper for the four of us, but my husband returned after lunch while I stayed aboard ship.

Do you vacuum your bedroom every day? It is not needed, just like it is not needed to change linens every day, They are changed twice a week, and that is more than sufficient.

Interesting how we all differ in our perspectives and were only cabins apart. We were in 1547 and our cabin attendant and his assistant were wonderful from the beginning, always checking to see if we needed anything or could be of assistance. We gave him an e tra tip for his extra efforts.

I must admit I thought Celebrity could have helped out more with the cost of the required bus service in Mykonos. No big deal but my DH and I had a discussion on the bus about whether Celebrity was making money on this. Had to conclude they were, with 2850 passengers, more or less, needing to get into town.

Still I thought it was a fabulous cruise with a beautiful ship and very good crew. I would love to do it again!

Fern

Alg63, I think your response to Patricia was out of line. She said that this was here first Celebrity cruise and if you have ever been on a Princess ship as she has indicated, the storage is far superior on Princess. Walk in closet and lots of drawer space. Sure the shower is standard but the storage is really great and far exceeds Celebrity

Crusingbart, our cabin was vacuumed daily. Usually not until 3 - 4PM but I was there and saw the process. My problem was with the giant bottom sheet that was far to big for the two beds together. Also one evening when I pulled back the sheets, there was a huge blood stain the size of a dime and neither myself or my DH had a cut anywhere to cause this. The next day the sheet was changed although it was still too big.

Alg63, I think your response to Patricia was out of line. She said that this was here first Celebrity cruise and if you have ever been on a Princess ship as she has indicated, the storage is far superior on Princess. Walk in closet and lots of drawer space. Sure the shower is standard but the storage is really great and far exceeds Celebrity

 

Crusingbart, our cabin was vacuumed daily. Usually not until 3 - 4PM but I was there and saw the process. My problem was with the giant bottom sheet that was far to big for the two beds together. Also one evening when I pulled back the sheets, there was a huge blood stain the size of a dime and neither myself or my DH had a cut anywhere to cause this. The next day the sheet was changed although it was still too big.

I agree, both Alg63 and Crusingbart could ease up a bit. Everyone has, and is entitled to their opinions. I think that the comments are quite typical of the "Defenders of Celebrity" cult though.

I think that Princess. Her opinion on the service is what happened to her.

I think YOU are a bit harsh with your slight on "defenders of Celebrity."

I would like to know if the service issues were addressed with anyone above the cabin steward or just endured.

What time generally are the aquafit classes on sea days? also the trivia games? Those are the two things I like to do on sea days. I prebooked a couple of massages, but I will change the times if it looks like it will interfere with other stuff. Thanks, Anita

I think YOU are a bit harsh with your slight on "defenders of Celebrity."

I would like to know if the service issues were addressed with anyone above the cabin steward or just endured.

Thanks for the link to the S Class cabins in your signature. I have used it to decide which cabin to select before but have had to search old posts for it. I have even added my comments on the old one. (I see they are no longer there)

As for my "Defenders of Celebrity" comment. I do not think it is harsh at all. I believe there are a group of people out there that will not and cannot tolerate any negative comments anbout Celebrity. It is very difficult to make less than perfect comments on anything about Celebrity in a review. There are many people who will just demean anything even slightly critical. Some folks can make direct comparisons and like some things the other cruise line offers. This is quicky taken as a slight against Celebrity.

There are good things and not so good things on every cruise and the person writing the review should be given the leeway to express their own personal observations without being chastised, thats all. :)

Thanks for the review!

We were on this sailing and had a wonderful time meeting many people from various walks of life. Normally, we have been in a Concierge class room, but this time we were in a standard room, 9219. We felt that our cabin attendant was not as attentive as our past experiences and chalked it up to not being in the concierge class. I had to ask him to replace the small water glasses in the bathroom, one day the toilet paper was empty and when we asked about it they showed us where they stored extra rolls. I thought the attendant should have replaced it automatically. When we ran out of Q-tips, I left the cover off the jar, but that didn't matter, no Q-tips appeared until I asked two days later. One night our bed wasn't even turned down (no chocolates :( ) and the room wasn't made up one day until very late. These are small things, but a little bothersome. I wonder if the attendants had some internal issues they were dealing with? We will definitely cruise Celebrity again, but maybe stick with Concierge class.