Back from the Equinox! I'm new Celebrity Convert!!

Hi everyone,

We are 30somethings (2 of us only). This was a sisters only trip and this was also our first cruise with Celebrity. We have cruised previously on RCI (3), Carnival(4), Princess (1) and NCL (2). We loved the Equinox!!

This is a quick review!

Embarkation was great - we got there early around 11:15am and were eating lunch 1/2 hour later. The Buffet was really good! I was really impressed with the choices of food and the set up so it was never crowded waiting for food - even on Sea Days.

MDR was great - but again food is subjective. You can't go wrong with the steaks and the desserts were always good. Sometimes I would take a few bites of something and if I didn't like it the waiter would bring me something else within a few minutes which was awesome!

The waiters we had throughout the cruise were amazing (we always ate breakfast and dinner in MDR) - actually all the crew we met exceeded our expectations.... always asking us what they could do to serve us better! They always greeted us with a smile and provided excellent customer service.

We loved the NU Image live band onboard. They were fantastic and very versatile in the music they played! one of the best bands I have EVER SEEN on a cruise! They got the crowd dancing where ever they played on the ship.

Loved the Silent Disco! Wish they had it more times on the ship! make sure you go early and get headphones because towards an hour into the event they seem to run out! and then you have to wait until people return them to use them.

The Hot Glass show was really interesting - we saw it as we departed Miami. I didn't sign up to make my own piece because I thought it was too expensive but watching the glass show and how pieces were made was cool!

Theater shows were ok overall. I did not enjoy the Impressionist, he was boring. and we did not like the "Elysium" production show. However the acrobats used in all the Celebrity production shows were truly awesome! The "Topper" show was great and "Life" was good with all the modern music! The stand up comedian on the last night was just ok - I had seen him on a previous cruise and he was good. So maybe it was the new material :)

One suggestion I have for Celebrity....you need to provide more activities for 30somethings who are single/travelling with friends and travelling without kids.

For example: Adult only Stand up Comedy shows every night like on NCL or Carnival. (The Frisky Feud was not funny just very immature.)

-maybe you should do Food demos with free samples

-Need more live music that caters to our generation - dance/soca/pop/reggae/Caribbean music in a separate venue

- Specialty restaurants were too expensive for us to try as a first timer to Celebrity they should have given us incentives (like buy 1 get one free)

- alcoholic drinks were too expensive

Overall, however it was a great cruise. One of my best trips! I would definitely sail on Celebrity again!

P.S Almost forgot to tell you about the ports we visited :) I have a preference for Eastern Caribbean but we picked this cruise because the new ports for us were Key West and Costa Maya.

Key West is totally doable on your own. We walked to the Southernmost Point down Duval St and then took a Lyft to Smathers beach in the afternoon. The beach was clean but cool for this time of year. I only went up to my waist.

In Costa Maya - the beach was amazing!! you take a $2 ride pp to the beach. Tell the driver to stop in front of Tropicante. Chairs are free but they expect you to buy food/drinks. My sister and I just bought a big plate of nachos and beer and it was fine. The beach was clean with crystal waters!

In Cozumel we went to Playa Mia on our own..cheaper than the cruise excursion. As soon as you get off the boat - they were selling tickets for a day pass and transportation. $39 USD. We just wanted a beach day so two of us did that. There were 7 ships in port that day = crowded!

Beautiful beach - bring water socks/shoes if you are sensitive to pebbles and little rocks. But I thought it was way better than Paradise Beach. I was at PB a few years ago but didn't want to go this time because I was harassed to buy food and drinks from the time I got there to the time I left.

Plus at Playa Mia - the beach was definitely less rocky. Great for kids because they had pools, outdoor showers, clean bathrooms, water sports, slides etc.

Then our last port was Grand Cayman - we took a taxi ($4 taxi ride per pp) to Royal Palms. Favourite day!! Expensive to rent a chair over there ($12USD) each and umbrella ($15USD) AND there is a $2 admission fee as well. But I saw people just paying the admission fee to get in and then throwing down a towel on the sand.

So hope this helps! I wanted to write a quick review when everything is fresh in my mind. Definitely would like to sail on Celebrity again! Happy Cruising!!!

Almost forgot - make sure you try the desserts at Cafe Al Bacio! My sister and I made sure we were there between 4-6pm to eat a slice of that heavenly cheesecake! and the tres leches cake and the eclairs!!!

Oh and make sure you try the Passion Fruit cheesecake on the MDR dinner menu - SO GOOD!!!

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We love Celebrity, and they’ve actually improved their music a lot. You should have sailed with them 5 years ago. Snooze fest.

Celebrity has a much more relaxed vibe than Carnival and RCCL, so none of the fast paced clubby type venues.

That is what is so wonderful about cruising, there are certain cruise lines that cater to certain demographics. Celebrity has never catered to the party crowd and I doubt they ever will.

We are in our 50s and are so glad that they’ve stepped it up a notch, as we don’t yet have one foot in the grave, but the last thing we would want is a cloned cruise line of RCCL or Carnival. [emoji79]

I was curious about the 'things to do' aspect of the Celebrity cruise line for younger demographic. We are mid 40's and are looking for a couple's getaway. We love great food and relaxation so we are looking at Equinox Concierge or Aqua class.... but I admit I'm a bit concerned about what we will do to fill our evenings. I'm not into magician shows and immature comedy shows. Also concerned about the music - is it mostly older music or do they offer a good mix of things (modern pop, some party music/dance at night)? What about around the pool deck. I read somewhere that there is live music at times but it leans toward 50' & 60's style music. If so, is it loud or can I drown it out with my music and headphones?...just not my thing. If it was Caribbean steel drums style music - that is a different story.

I guess I'm mostly wondering if we will find a place to fit in the demographics and activities of the boat. Mostly I imagine us eating and sunning on sea days but I want to know I will find somethings for the two of us to do after supper so we aren't tempted to fall asleep in a food coma at 10pm LOL.

Thanks.

Great review and happy you enjoyed your first Celebrity Cruise.

Keith

Thanks for taking the time to write this. We have booked our first Celebrity sailing for June, also on the Equinox, and your review has made us feel as though we made the right choice.

~Brian

If you don’t mind me asking... what was the cost of the hot glass making-your-own thing show?

If you don’t mind me asking... what was the cost of the hot glass making-your-own thing show?

They had different prices - the cheapest was to make a flower or paper weight for $55 up to a large vase for $150

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review. We are leaving Friday on the Equinox - Western.

Almost forgot - make sure you try the desserts at Cafe Al Bacio! My sister and I made sure we were there between 4-6pm to eat a slice of that heavenly cheesecake! and the tres leches cake and the eclairs!!!

 

Oh and make sure you try the Passion Fruit cheesecake on the MDR dinner menu - SO GOOD!!!

Thank you for a great review! Are Cafe Al Bacio desserts complimentary?

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

Rollie

Can I ask as a RCI fan, given the points you raised, what makes you a Celebrity convert .... what aspects are better/different , we have been looking at Celebrity as a future option ?

Thank you for a great review! Are Cafe Al Bacio desserts complimentary?

Yes they are and you do not have to order specialty coffee or tea to ask for them so be sure to enjoy!. If you have a Classic or Premium beverage package the specialty coffees/teas are included. (There is a small charge of the difference between the Classic limits + 18% on some of the drinks).

 

- Specialty restaurants were too expensive for us to try as a first timer to Celebrity they should have given us incentives (like buy 1 get one free)

- alcoholic drinks were too expensive

 

Just a note for future reference, specialty restaurants almost always offer large discounts on the first night of a cruise and often offer discounts during cruises depending on bookings that make it more economical especially if you can be flexible about when you want to dine. If you see dining staff offering discounts don't be shy about making an offer and asking, all they can say is no! Also, if they are selling discounted to one venue and you desire another, just ask for what you'd like. The pre-cruise dining packages also offer discounted rates.

 

As to drink prices, often beverage packages are offered as perks, especially by the large online TA's. Those are nice and cover both alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee/tea (from anywhere on the ship), fresh squeezed juices, and bottled water.

Thank you!

They had different prices - the cheapest was to make a flower or paper weight for $55 up to a large vase for $150

Thank you. It will definitely look forward to signing up for in the future. There is so much meaningless crap that you can buy on a cruise. This might be something to consider of more interest.

Thank you for a great review! Are Cafe Al Bacio desserts complimentary?

Yes, they are :)

I was curious about the 'things to do' aspect of the Celebrity cruise line for younger demographic. We are mid 40's and are looking for a couple's getaway. We love great food and relaxation so we are looking at Equinox Concierge or Aqua class.... but I admit I'm a bit concerned about what we will do to fill our evenings. I'm not into magician shows and immature comedy shows. Also concerned about the music - is it mostly older music or do they offer a good mix of things (modern pop, some party music/dance at night)? What about around the pool deck. I read somewhere that there is live music at times but it leans toward 50' & 60's style music. If so, is it loud or can I drown it out with my music and headphones?...just not my thing. If it was Caribbean steel drums style music - that is a different story.

I guess I'm mostly wondering if we will find a place to fit in the demographics and activities of the boat. Mostly I imagine us eating and sunning on sea days but I want to know I will find somethings for the two of us to do after supper so we aren't tempted to fall asleep in a food coma at 10pm LOL.

 

Thanks.

We were on the Equinox 2/24/18....They played all varieties of music. I think you will be pleased. We really didn't care for the Comedy Shows & they only had 2 shows for the week.

Thanks for the review. We are leaving Friday on the Equinox - Western.

I think you might be disappointed on Friday when you try to get on the Equinox -- it doesn't sail until Saturday with me. haha. I wish we could get on Friday though.

Michelle,

Thanks for posting your thoughts on the Equinox. We love the Equinox too!

I was curious about the 'things to do' aspect of the Celebrity cruise line for younger demographic. We are mid 40's and are looking for a couple's getaway. We love great food and relaxation so we are looking at Equinox Concierge or Aqua class.... but I admit I'm a bit concerned about what we will do to fill our evenings. I'm not into magician shows and immature comedy shows. Also concerned about the music - is it mostly older music or do they offer a good mix of things (modern pop, some party music/dance at night)? What about around the pool deck. I read somewhere that there is live music at times but it leans toward 50' & 60's style music. If so, is it loud or can I drown it out with my music and headphones?...just not my thing. If it was Caribbean steel drums style music - that is a different story.

 

 

I guess I'm mostly wondering if we will find a place to fit in the demographics and activities of the boat. Mostly I imagine us eating and sunning on sea days but I want to know I will find somethings for the two of us to do after supper so we aren't tempted to fall asleep in a food coma at 10pm LOL.

 

Thanks.

Hi L!

Trust me!! I had concerns as well -being 30something and people have been talking about the target market for celebrity beings 50+ part of me thought ok it might be boring. But honestly I never felt bored once! I actually wished we had another Sea Day just to explore more of the ship!

I chose this ship as I do all my cruises - choosing a cruise based on the islands I haven't visited. I was out the whole day when we were at port and really enjoyed it. People were super nice and friendly...I would say mostly older *(50+) Mostly Americans and Canadians - there were a few families on board with kids but not as much as I'm used to on Carnival and RCI.

I really missed the strictly "Carribean" style band...but I loved the NU Image band because they played everything. So we enjoyed it and danced whenever we saw them playing.

The production shows could have been better but it wasn't totally boring just not for our taste.

We purposely had a late dinner so we could come back to ship, relax and shower and not feel rushed after a Port Day. By the time we finished dinner it almost 10pm but it was fun! Only one night we went to bed around 10:30pm because we were so tired.

But I would say - try Celebrity and see! We were first timers and we would definitely book with them again :)

I was curious about the 'things to do' aspect of the Celebrity cruise line for younger demographic. We are mid 40's and are looking for a couple's getaway. We love great food and relaxation so we are looking at Equinox Concierge or Aqua class.... but I admit I'm a bit concerned about what we will do to fill our evenings. I'm not into magician shows and immature comedy shows. Also concerned about the music - is it mostly older music or do they offer a good mix of things (modern pop, some party music/dance at night)? What about around the pool deck. I read somewhere that there is live music at times but it leans toward 50' & 60's style music. If so, is it loud or can I drown it out with my music and headphones?...just not my thing. If it was Caribbean steel drums style music - that is a different story.

I guess I'm mostly wondering if we will find a place to fit in the demographics and activities of the boat. Mostly I imagine us eating and sunning on sea days but I want to know I will find somethings for the two of us to do after supper so we aren't tempted to fall asleep in a food coma at 10pm LOL.

 

Thanks.

The live bands usually play a wide range of stuff, a few 50s up to modern stuff. In the late evenings it tends to be more modern. The will have a few theme nights (70's, 80's etc) but they only play the theme music for about an hour then usually start moving to modern popular stuff. There's also a DJ and they usually play modern music (although by the time they come on most people are in bed). The Silent disco is fun and will have 3 channels of music. Usually modern, Latin and oldies (60's thru 80s). The pool music usually blows. The house band and maybe a guest entertainer will play for about 45 min to an hour once a day. The rest of the time there is music playing over the PA. Most of the time the volume is reasonable to too low. Bring headphones or a bluetooth speaker!

A lot of the music selection will be determined by the passenger mix. If there are enough younger/middle aged people I find the music better (shorter cruises). On cruises where the pax are older the music tends to blow (usually longer cruises and more expensive ones). Our 14 day carib on the Eclipse was painfully bad music wise and a 12 day we did in New Zealand was slit your wrist bad. However our last 2 were very good and one of those was a 7 day on the Equinox last summer.

Thank you for a great review! Are Cafe Al Bacio desserts complimentary?

Yes!