Equinox: Western Caribbean 3/10/18

Just off the Equinox yesterday. My wife and I took this cruise as part of a group of 11, including friends and family. For context, this is our third cruise on X. We are Elite due to our Diamond status on Royal. We have also cruised a few times on Carnival. The following is a brief review based on our experience. We are pretty easy to please so keep that in mind! Any questions, just ask.

Pre-Cruise: Flew into Fort Lauderdale a day early. Chose FLL mainly due to availability and cost of flights from Hartford but stayed at the Hampton Inn Brickell in Miami. Uber from FLL to the hotel was $41. We had dinner on Friday night at Havana 1957, a Cuban restaurant near the hotel. Great place, good food, free entertainment!

Embarkation: Left the hotel by Uber (I think it was around $10) and arrived at the port at 10:30. We checked in right away and were put in a holding area until around 11:15 when they cleared the ship and allowed us to board. Easy process.

The Ship: First time on the Equinox and it didn’t disappoint. A close copy to its sister ships that we have been on (Reflection, Silhouette). The Gastropub was a nice change and new to us. Very clean and well-kept (no surprise). The Hollywood Hot Glass was up and running and there were some demos taking place early in the cruise and then passengers signed up for workshops. We didn’t take part but I heard many people talking quite favorably about the experience. I love the size of this ship. My last cruise was on the Carnival Imagination for a quick 4 night in the West Coast. While the cruise was fun, the ship was very small. Last spring I was on the Allure for the second time. We loved the cruise but do think that the Oasis class is a bit too big for us. The Equinox seemed perfect. My wife said she enjoyed the “smaller ship”. Pretty sad when 120,000 tons is a “small ship”!

Cabin: We were in a 2A cabin (7272) on the hump. We have been in that general location for all three of our X cruises. Perfect accessibility to elevators, stairs, etc. After many cruises, it was our first time with a bed near the bathroom and not the balcony. We really enjoyed it and it seemed as if we had more space. Good cabin steward although we are low maintenance. I only ask for ice each day and that’s about it. He greeted us in the hall daily and was quite friendly.

Food: We ate in the MDR for all of our dinners at a large table in the center of the dining room. Hernando was our waiter and one of the best we have ever had. He was awesome. He was friendly and efficient, making good recommendations along the way. Our wine steward, Rashid, was ever present and with 11 of us having the drink package, just left bottles on the table and kept coming around and filling our glasses if we hadn’t. The menu was great, food was hot and seasoned well. A few in our group had never cruised with X prior and they noticed an uptick in food quality from Royal. Desserts were excellent, as well. We love long and leisurely dinners in the MDR, especially with a group and each night were there until the lights came on! A highlight of each day.

We ate breakfast and lunch each day in the OceanView café and were happy with the selection. I love the Eggs Benedict made to order each morning, a nice touch that X has that Royal does not.

For those who like late night options, the late night pizza ends at 1:00am. My adult son and his friends wish it were available longer. No 24 hour pizza like on other lines!

Many of the group made good use of the Mast Grill with their burgers, toppings and fries. High marks. Various members of our group visited Sushi on 5, Café Al Bacio, and Aqua Spa Café. All good options.

Entertainment: We love the shows at night and went to a show each night. There were three production shows, a comedian/impersonator, male R/B singer, and a Jersey Boys type band. I might be missing something else but overall the entertainment was pretty good and quite entertaining. Lots of activities throughout the ship with late night up in the sky lounge, two nights of parties on the pool deck and the ever popular Silent Disco! Quite fun. I made good use of the casino as my late night entertainment as well!

Service: This is where the ship really shines! Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Every crew member who passed us in the hall, on deck, in lounges, acknowledged us. Their goal is to server the passengers and they do a very good job at it! My last cruise on Royal (Allure) was just missing something, probably due to the size of the ship. Service wasn’t bad but just didn’t have the extra effort that was ever present on the Equinox! Kudos to X.

Ports: Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Cayman. We did Key West on our own. Our first time there and loved it. Did a lot of walking and took the Conch Railroad tram. Very informative. On Costa Maya, we took a taxi to a beach. $2 for the taxi, $10 for the beach, including chairs. We had food there and drinks but very low pressure and good service from our beach waiter. Fun day. On Cozumel we took a private snorkeling excursion. Just 12 of us in a boat, three different snorkeling sites. Saw lots of sea life. Ocean was pretty choppy and some of us were a bit queasy as we were in the water for over 2 hours total. On Grand Cayman we just tendered into town and walked around. Very crowded but we still contributed to the local jewelry economy!

Debarkation: Ate breakfast in the Ocean View and were out of our cabin by 8:00am. We waited in the Tuscan Grill and had our number called at 8:45. We were off the boat and through customs, in a Uber on the way to the airport at 9:30. Plenty of time to make our 11:45 flight out of FLL!

In closing, it was an awesome week. Great weather (although a bit cloudy at times), with temps hovering around high 70’s F. My only complaint was chair hogs were in full force during sea days. We hung out on the Solstice Deck and ended up taking bags off of a couple of chairs that had been unoccupied for almost 4 hours, so that others could sit down. The people came back and were annoyed but I told them I would get a crew member to settle it and they just went off in a huff. I know the rule is 30 minutes but if somebody is gone for an hour, ok, I get it. But 4 hours? I had no guilt about taking their towel off.

Thanks for reading. Any questions, let me know, I’ll try to answer and if I can’t, I’m sure somebody else will be able to!

Thanks for the review. Equinox is now our favorite. We sail on her in 3 weeks for fifth time in a row.

Agree 100% about the officers and crew, most friendly of any ship we have sailed.

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Excellent summary, thank you!

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We are new to Celebrity too! Did the Equinox last month as our first X experience too and also loved her too.

Thanks for your excellent summary. We sail on the Equinox April 7 with a group of 16. I'll be sharing your review with everyone to get them even more excited. Is Captain Kate on board yet?

Enjoyed your review/report and glad that you had a great time.

Keith

My sister and I did same itinerary Feb 24. I was glad to see on our last sea day the pool butlers were monitoring and enforcing the 30 minute rule. First time in over 8 Celebrity cruises that was done! We really enjoyed the Equinox but my husband and I are back to San Juan in October to sail the Summit.

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Thanks for your review!

just off the equinox yesterday. My wife and i took this cruise as part of a group of 11, including friends and family. For context, this is our third cruise on x. We are elite due to our diamond status on royal. We have also cruised a few times on carnival. The following is a brief review based on our experience. We are pretty easy to please so keep that in mind! Any questions, just ask.

 

pre-cruise: Flew into fort lauderdale a day early. Chose fll mainly due to availability and cost of flights from hartford but stayed at the hampton inn brickell in miami. Uber from fll to the hotel was $41. We had dinner on friday night at havana 1957, a cuban restaurant near the hotel. Great place, good food, free entertainment!

 

embarkation: Left the hotel by uber (i think it was around $10) and arrived at the port at 10:30. We checked in right away and were put in a holding area until around 11:15 when they cleared the ship and allowed us to board. Easy process.

 

the ship: First time on the equinox and it didn’t disappoint. A close copy to its sister ships that we have been on (reflection, silhouette). The gastropub was a nice change and new to us. Very clean and well-kept (no surprise). The hollywood hot glass was up and running and there were some demos taking place early in the cruise and then passengers signed up for workshops. We didn’t take part but i heard many people talking quite favorably about the experience. I love the size of this ship. My last cruise was on the carnival imagination for a quick 4 night in the west coast. While the cruise was fun, the ship was very small. Last spring i was on the allure for the second time. We loved the cruise but do think that the oasis class is a bit too big for us. The equinox seemed perfect. My wife said she enjoyed the “smaller ship”. Pretty sad when 120,000 tons is a “small ship”!

 

cabin: We were in a 2a cabin (7272) on the hump. We have been in that general location for all three of our x cruises. Perfect accessibility to elevators, stairs, etc. After many cruises, it was our first time with a bed near the bathroom and not the balcony. We really enjoyed it and it seemed as if we had more space. Good cabin steward although we are low maintenance. I only ask for ice each day and that’s about it. He greeted us in the hall daily and was quite friendly.

 

food: We ate in the mdr for all of our dinners at a large table in the center of the dining room. Hernando was our waiter and one of the best we have ever had. He was awesome. He was friendly and efficient, making good recommendations along the way. Our wine steward, rashid, was ever present and with 11 of us having the drink package, just left bottles on the table and kept coming around and filling our glasses if we hadn’t. The menu was great, food was hot and seasoned well. A few in our group had never cruised with x prior and they noticed an uptick in food quality from royal. Desserts were excellent, as well. We love long and leisurely dinners in the mdr, especially with a group and each night were there until the lights came on! A highlight of each day.

 

we ate breakfast and lunch each day in the oceanview café and were happy with the selection. I love the eggs benedict made to order each morning, a nice touch that x has that royal does not.

 

for those who like late night options, the late night pizza ends at 1:00am. My adult son and his friends wish it were available longer. No 24 hour pizza like on other lines!

 

many of the group made good use of the mast grill with their burgers, toppings and fries. High marks. Various members of our group visited sushi on 5, café al bacio, and aqua spa café. All good options.

 

entertainment: We love the shows at night and went to a show each night. There were three production shows, a comedian/impersonator, male r/b singer, and a jersey boys type band. I might be missing something else but overall the entertainment was pretty good and quite entertaining. Lots of activities throughout the ship with late night up in the sky lounge, two nights of parties on the pool deck and the ever popular silent disco! Quite fun. I made good use of the casino as my late night entertainment as well!

 

service: This is where the ship really shines! Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Every crew member who passed us in the hall, on deck, in lounges, acknowledged us. Their goal is to server the passengers and they do a very good job at it! My last cruise on royal (allure) was just missing something, probably due to the size of the ship. Service wasn’t bad but just didn’t have the extra effort that was ever present on the equinox! Kudos to x.

 

ports: Key west, costa maya, cozumel, grand cayman. We did key west on our own. Our first time there and loved it. Did a lot of walking and took the conch railroad tram. Very informative. On costa maya, we took a taxi to a beach. $2 for the taxi, $10 for the beach, including chairs. We had food there and drinks but very low pressure and good service from our beach waiter. Fun day. On cozumel we took a private snorkeling excursion. Just 12 of us in a boat, three different snorkeling sites. Saw lots of sea life. Ocean was pretty choppy and some of us were a bit queasy as we were in the water for over 2 hours total. On grand cayman we just tendered into town and walked around. Very crowded but we still contributed to the local jewelry economy!

 

debarkation: Ate breakfast in the ocean view and were out of our cabin by 8:00am. We waited in the tuscan grill and had our number called at 8:45. We were off the boat and through customs, in a uber on the way to the airport at 9:30. Plenty of time to make our 11:45 flight out of fll!

 

in closing, it was an awesome week. Great weather (although a bit cloudy at times), with temps hovering around high 70’s f. My only complaint was chair hogs were in full force during sea days. We hung out on the solstice deck and ended up taking bags off of a couple of chairs that had been unoccupied for almost 4 hours, so that others could sit down. The people came back and were annoyed but i told them i would get a crew member to settle it and they just went off in a huff. I know the rule is 30 minutes but if somebody is gone for an hour, ok, i get it. But 4 hours? I had no guilt about taking their towel off.

 

thanks for reading. Any questions, let me know, i’ll try to answer and if i can’t, i’m sure somebody else will be able to!

BD- We are staying at the Hampton in Brickell on 5/3 for the 5/4 Equinox sailing. Been on the Solstice to Alaska and agree with you on all points. You say the Hampton is OK? Easy access to shops, dining?(walking). Looking forward to this.

Thank you for the review!! I am on Equinox on the 31st but our itinerary is different from yours. I think I like yours better but I'll be on a boat in the Caribbean so who can complain?! Like you, I have also been on the Allure and found something lacking. I think it's the size of the ship...somehow looses its intimacy. Thank you for mentioning the hot glass show. I was wondering if it was open yet. We are think about participating in the glass blowing...something I've never done before.

Again, thank you for the review. I especially appreciate that you didn't knit pick every detail but gave a broad review instead.

christina

Thanks for taking the time to do a review. We will be doing the Equinox on the same itinerary in December.

Rollie

Thanks for the review!

We're doing the same itinerary starting this Saturday...

Thank you for the great review we will be on the equinox next year for the second time. We really enjoyed our time and also did enjoy the addition of the Gastro pub.

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Much thanks for the review, especially good to hear from folks who have experienced other cruise lines as well.

We will be back on the Equinox in April, so am glad to hear that things are still as good as I remember.

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. Was on the Equinox in February for 14 day Southern Caribbean and agree 100 % with you. Planning on a Western Caribbean cruise on the Equinox in Feb2019 with a group of friends and now I’m really excited! Thanks again

What snorkeling tour did you do in cozumel? Was it a celebrity excursion or 3rd party? We are doing the same itinerary in June.

Thanks for your excellent summary. We sail on the Equinox April 7 with a group of 16. I'll be sharing your review with everyone to get them even more excited. Is Captain Kate on board yet?

March 24th she is expected on and then a 1-2 weeks after she takes over.

Thanks for the review. I will be on that ship same itinerary on Saturday. What beach did you go to in Costa Maya? Thanks.

Was there any musical entertainment in the Gastropub, please? RCI usually has a guitarist/singer in their pubs and the last few I've encountered were just awful. Hoping for better on Equinox. This will be our second X cruise in July. We are definitely booking more X and much less RCI in the future!

Thanks for your excellent summary. We sail on the Equinox April 7 with a group of 16. I'll be sharing your review with everyone to get them even more excited. Is Captain Kate on board yet?

She is not. The current captain is going to be the captain of the Edge. He did not announce when the switch might be.

BD- We are staying at the Hampton in Brickell on 5/3 for the 5/4 Equinox sailing. Been on the Solstice to Alaska and agree with you on all points. You say the Hampton is OK? Easy access to shops, dining?(walking). Looking forward to this.

Yes, we really liked the hotel. The complimentary breakfast was quite substantial and the breakfast area was huge. Shuttle was $8pp and left at 10,11,12. We did not sign up for it as Uber was more cost efficient. And, we forgot to sign up!

What snorkeling tour did you do in cozumel? Was it a celebrity excursion or 3rd party? We are doing the same itinerary in June.

It was a 3rd party excursion. We have used an outside company 4 times for Cozumel and have no complaints. I am not sure if I am allowed to say which company it is. We booked last minute (day prior) and the tour I wanted was booked and they offered a more intimate snorkeling tour for cheaper. Lots of fun!

Thanks for the review. I will be on that ship same itinerary on Saturday. What beach did you go to in Costa Maya? Thanks.

I have to admit I don't know. We walked outside the port because taxis are not allowed to pick up inside the port, only drop off. When we came to the taxi stand for a taxi to the International Hotel (not sure of the exact name but was recommended by somebody on board), the gentleman who hailed the taxis told us about this beach which featured some water activities, free loungers and access to "cheap food and drinks". There were bathrooms and some stores in the area as well. All for $10! We said why not and paid him the $10pp. He put bands on our wrists and we hopped in the taxi ($2) which took us to an area with some beach clubs. It was pretty crowded but they moved the loungers to the front row of the water and we just hung out standing in the warm water. We bought a couple of bucket of beers ($25/6 beers) and a plate of chips, quac, salsa and queso. Aside from some drunk spring breakers who embarrassed themselves, an enjoyable day.

There are no real picturesque beaches in Costa Maya, at least not that I'm aware. This was quite serviceable, however.

Was there any musical entertainment in the Gastropub, please? RCI usually has a guitarist/singer in their pubs and the last few I've encountered were just awful. Hoping for better on Equinox. This will be our second X cruise in July. We are definitely booking more X and much less RCI in the future!

There was no entertainment in the Gastropub. There are TVs in there and the tennis tournament and NCAA tournament was on most of the time. It was quite a popular place with an extensive beer list.

Every night there was a guitarist/singer in the Ensemble Lounge. She was pretty good and we met there a few times for pre-show drinks.