chimchimtx

Impatiently waiting in Ft Lauderdale for tomorrow’s embarkation on Equinox in Aqua. We were on her in September and loved Blu. My husband hasn’t stopped talking about the French onion soup. Hopefully the increased occupancy won’t be too much of an issue. We really enjoyed the reduced passenger count last fall.

Sorry to hear that. It was pretty bad in September and I was hoping for better with starlink when we return in a few weeks. I already purchased my husband's upgrade bc he has to have decent internet for work, but I was hoping to avoid it for the rest of us as we don’t need to be on that much and it’s a shorter cruise.

Oh yes, sorry, I misread that. I would think they would allow him to sleep in with his parents as all they care about is the money for the two cabins. Speaking for the couches on Equinox, they were pretty long so stretching out wouldn't be a problem but they were a hard leather contemporary design. It would be like sleeping on a rock. Since they are already expecting to pay for two cabins I would just try for adjoining cabins, and give it a try the first night. If it doesn't work and it is miserable then worst case they can have someone sleep with him in one cabin and someone gets to sleep by themselves in the other. I have found Celebrity to be as accommodating as they can within what they can safely do, so I am sure they will work with you to find a great solution. Enjoy your family cruise!

You really need to contact Celebrity on this but the limit to 2 to a room is partly a space issue. If even a few people had extra passengers then they would run out of room in Blu. Aqua class in only a single floor of rooms. So I find it highly unlikely that they would be allowed to book him into their room. You can't even select Aqua class with 3+ in a room. Is anyone in the family sailing solo in Aqua? They could add him to their room but then he just goes down the hall to sleep with his parents. The couches truly are miserable though. They aren't designed for sleeping like the cabins that allow 3+ which have convertible beds. I also recommend doing a suite and then asking permission to dine down in Blu with the rest of the family. Everyone will enjoy the cruise more getting better sleep.

Celebrity site says "in-room water service" for Aqua class. It doesn't technically state only 2 per day. We did start with 2 per day, but as I mentioned earlier a few days in he was leaving 4 or more per day. I drink a lot of water. I would put some in the fridge and the ones on the counter got replaced. We easily had 6+ at one point in our cabin. Sometimes new ones would appear again at turn down if we had used the ones from the morning. So no, while everyone's experience is different we were definitely not limited to 2 per day.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. We were on Equinox in September and had no issues. It was such a great cruise we are sailing her again in a few weeks. I know everyone's experience can vary even on the same cruise. If you really want to escalate you can search for the celebrity engagement team email. They are generally helpful and responsive. For future reference you can ask for water from any bar and take it back to the room. We used bottle water for taking meds/drinking partly because it was easier to pour in a glass and use than getting under the tiny faucet. But we brushed our teeth with sink water and had no issues.

What class are you traveling? Aqua and above include daily in-room water. We generally travel Aqua and two bottles are always in the room, but it's been my experience that just being nice to your cabin attendant gets you a lot of things that aren't normally included. When ours saw that we drank it all each day we started getting multiples. If you don't have in-room water you can always get it at any bar as suggested. (The buffet has a small bar inside that most people miss.) You can order two drinks at a time if one is water. The classic water is canned with a screw top so it is easy to take back to the room. On port days I would take a couple off the ship. I have been on other cruise lines that suggest pre-ordering cases of drinks and bringing refillable cups but I have not found that to be a need on Celebrity. Save yourself the hassle and just enjoy yourself. I don't think it will be a problem to find enough water.

You will pay the regular rate plus gratuity and it will be delivered by the bar separately from your room service food.

I suggest you get off early and pick up your cart as soon as possible if you are attempting to do both loops. They are very popular and we had long lines waiting to check in. Their process is not very streamlined and they are not in any kind of hurry. Island time I guess. They are super nice but the only person who moved fast was the kid who blurted out all the cart/driving instructions in less than 30 seconds. We had a reserved cart and it still took about 30 minutes to get ours. They do not have separate lines for reservations so we had to wait behind multiple people who came up asking general rental information while they decided whether or not to proceed with a rental.

Yes, there is a charge for premium wifi beyond the basic wifi included in your package. In September the basic wifi on Equinox was terrible for us (although others on the same sailing claimed they streamed a game on their basic package from the pool deck). If you talk to the ilounge they will tell you that basic is only for emails and text based items. No pictures or streaming. We did not even get that level of signal on basic. I am hoping with the conversion to starlink that basic will at least be fast enough for email now. Before leaving home I download books, music, shows, etc and don't bother with streaming anything onboard. For our upcoming cruise, we have already purchased the premium upgrade for my husband who needs better access for work. The signal does vary in different locations of the ship but my biggest complaint/feedback to Celebrity on our last cruise was that claiming they include basic wifi is false advertising when it not enough bandwidth for the most basic of uses.

Agreed. Admittedly we book Aqua class partly for the refurbished rooms but the rest of the ship was lovely when we were on in September. Well with the exception of those awful throne chairs in Al Bacio. Those I could do without.

All of that to say they will still give you a bill at the end with another tip line, so be prepared to have them act like you need to fill it out. We are actually big tippers and would give even more bc I think it’s only 18%, but personally I found the spa services to be a huge disappointment. I’m okay with inflating prices onboard if it’s good but I was very underwhelmed by both my massage and pedicure. They seemed to have perfected the art of looking busy without actually being busy. I’ve never had a massage where they spent more time gather different lotions or positioning the sheets so much. Then went for a pedicure later in the week and they did the exact same thing. Spent a lot of time moving things around. I won’t ever waste my time or money again. If I’m spending that kind of money I will do it at home where I know it will be excellent.

No show reservations on celebrity. Part of the reason I book them. I don’t know what I want to do until it’s time to go. But show up early if you want a good seat. Chair hogs still a thing but mostly the prime spots around the pool. I prefer Tuscan Grill first night at sunset for sail away dinner but lots of people will say they prefer the food in Murano. We have yet to make it there as we usually sail Aqua and Blu is fine for us the rest of the nights. I honestly don’t remember where we ate embarkation day. Buffet is open and pool bar. There is a special lunch for concierge class. I honestly only remember going to check in for muster then heading up to the sunset bar. 🤷🏼‍♀️

We did that same cruise last September. Just mentally prepare for rain. It’s the beginning of hurricane season and it can be great or not so great. We didn’t have any terrible weather but did have several overcast days and got drenched several days coming back to the ship. Then sadly didn’t get to get in the water in Curaçao at all which was our last stop. I highly recommend Gone Caribe for a private tour in Curaçao. Super couple. They will design the trip to your interests and it’s very reasonable compared to ship excursion pricing. They were able to pivot due to the weather and it was fabulous. Other excursions did get interrupted by weather as well so you might consider not planning all beach or all snorkeling excursions. But overall it was a fabulous cruise and we love the Equinox. We are back on her in a few weeks.

Mast grill burgers were terrible on Equinox in September but the room service burger was thick, juicy and delicious. Unfortunately it’s also no longer included for free due to the new room service charge.