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Equinox Transatlantic - some thoughts.....

excitedofharpenden

By excitedofharpenden,
in Celebrity Cruises

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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Having recently completed a cruise on this new ship I thought I'd share some thoughts of the trip.

 

First off this is one beautiful ship and every person I spoke to on the cruise agreed with me. On the whole it is a very successful vessel, well at least to my tastes and requirements. It is very well put together and smacks of quality, from the cabins to the public spaces. There are many design touches that lift things out of the ordinary. An example is the public restrooms. The glass etched wash basins with water that flows out without the need of a plughole is one.

 

I particularly liked the cabin. I know that for many there is not enough wardrobe space, but it worked fine for me and being reasonably tall I could make use of the cupboards over the bed. The bathroom is a big improvement over previous Celebrity ships. There is more space to move around and the shower cubicle is great. The use of eye level cupboards rather than under sink I found preferable. They have opened up the corridor between the cabin door and the living area and this is the reason there is less storage space. Some said the standard cabins felt smaller than previous ships, but I honestly didn't think that. It took me less time to get ready of an evening because of the design improvements.

 

The balcony I had was of standard depth and was better than those standard balconies of other ships I have been on. You gain probably six or so inches in the depth and this prevents one from having feet pressed against the balcony glass when stretched out. I was in 6315 which is one of the aft facing SVs on deck 6, the lowest of the balcony decks. I wasn't sure I'd like to look out over the blue ledge of the Tuscan Grill roof below, but it was a total non-issue and I actually liked being close to the water and not having anyone looking up from the balcony below. As has been written before these balconies are very open. No good it it is raining, but nice on a Westbound TA if it was sunny as you got to enjoy the morning sun which didn't fully disappear into shade until maybe 2 in the afternoon. Soot was an issue at times, but on reflection not overly bothersome.

 

I really enjoyed the food, both in the MDR and Specialty Restaurants. I had one not so good meal in the MDR, but the rest were top notch. The Chicken Ciao Bella was delicious. We went to Tuscan Grill a couple of times. The second time was for the Wine Extravaganza meal with wine pairings. Very enjoyable, but the cheese cart course took an age. The meal from start to finish was four hours or so. I was glad of the very comfortable chairs they had there! Murano was a lovely space to dine. Very intimate and the goats cheese souffle was very good. Silk Harvest is probably not my style of food, but I enjoyed it very much nonetheless and the service was excellent. We tried Bistro on Five one lunch time. I was very impressed with the crepes and once again the service. To eat here at lunch and then again in the evening was a little too much for me. I'd like to do an evening meal at Bistro on Five next time, just because it was so good.

 

We opted for Select Dining as late traditional was advertised as 8.45pm before the cruise, but was actually 8.30pm. This was the only disappointing experience of the trip. Part of it was our fault because we combined two groups into one and hopefully things will work better as experience with it builds, but it was a case of being promised long and delivered short on more than one occasion and feeling like a nuisance that left us frustrated.

 

I wasn't sure if I would like a ship of this size, but once again it sometimes felt like I was the only one around. Passenger flow was very good. If there was one area that felt crowded it was around the walking/running track above the pool. This is quite a key traffic area and there didn't seem much room when the walkers and runners were out in the morning. I often found myself walking along the lower passenger decks and then up the other bank of elevators to avoid this. Although the Promenade Deck isn't a proper affair (and not even called the Promenade Deck) there were a couple of areas of seating on each side which I enjoyed very much for their peaceful view of the sea. I'm glad these areas hadn't been "discovered".

 

There were lots of Elites on the trip so the Sky Observation lounge as substitute for Michael's was well attended both morning and evening.

 

I'm booked on Eclipse for next year, a situation that I was to review after this trip depending on how I felt. I'm not going to cancel. All round I felt this was an excellent trip on a stunning ship.

 

Phil

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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Hi Phil --

Sounds amazing!

How was the weather on the crossing? We are doing the Solstice crossing next week. Am I crazy to hope it will be warm enough to sit or walk on the decks?

The weather was warm on all the sea days and sitting out was nice when the sun was shining. It became more and more humid as we crossed the Atlantic. The sea for the most part wasn't the least bit rough. Subjective of course, but I like a little rocking. Looking at your route from Madeira to FLL it will be cooler on those first couple of days out of Funchal, but should be plenty warm enough if the sun shines. Have a great crossing:cool:

 

I've downloaded some pictures of the cabin and balcony and the link to it is in my signature.

 

Phil

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Sadebud

Sadebud

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Was on this trip too, and my thoughts match Phil's!! Ship is gorgeous!

 

I will add that I think the staff, from the guy who vacuumed the stairs to the senior officers were the most friendlly I have encountered. EVERYONE had a smile, EVERYONE said hello. The service, even for the most minor of requests, was fantastic, and taken care of promptly.

 

This was my first Celebrity...but certainly NOT my last!!

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keela1eva2

keela1eva2

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Thanks Phil. I was on Solstice in October and loved it so have booked the T/A on the 19th April Equinox.

I am travelling with a friend but we both have our own room and to get 2 next door we are aft 7350 & 7352 and wondering how much of a problem soot might be.

I have no doubt that there will be a lot of Elite CC Members on this cruise. I enjoyed it on Solstice and there were never more than around 10 there at any one time.

Mornings sometimes nobody or just another 2 etc. Loved the new rooms and also the CC Elite Perks!

 

So glad that you enjoyed the crossing. I am hoping that we will have reasonable weather in April ending in Rome on the 3rd May.

 

Sue

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Jem 12

Jem 12

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Thanks for the review Phil, we are contemplating the TA in April, I have had a look at the floor plans but can't really see any dance floors, so could you tell me what areas on the ship would have dancing ie disco etc.

 

Many Thanks

 

Jem

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txsloth

txsloth

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Thanks for the review Phil, we are contemplating the TA in April, I have had a look at the floor plans but can't really see any dance floors, so could you tell me what areas on the ship would have dancing ie disco etc.

 

Many Thanks

 

Jem

 

Quasar for disco and Sky Observation Lounge for other dancing.

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Lois R Great Review Rare

Lois R

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Thanks for quick response, I will have a better look at the deckplans.

 

 

Kind regards

 

Jem

 

There was also dancing on Deck 3...in the center area. There was a terrific band and you could look down from Deck 4 and see the people dancing.

I don't think it was a floor specifically for dancing but they used it as such during part of the evening.

Everyone looked like they were enjoying the music very much:)

I was chatting with friends and we were watching all the people and the

band...they were terrific. Horns were great:D

Oh, this was on the 4 night cruise I was just on so I don't know if they were dancing there on the TA.

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Jem 12

Jem 12

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Hi everyone

 

thanks for the responses, now just to decide whether to stick with a ordinary balcony or splurge on an aquaclass. It is about £250 extra each per person, but maybe it is worth it for a transatlantic where you probably spend more time in your cabin. Any thoughts comments welcome.

 

Kind regards

 

Jem

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WELSH WIZARDS

WELSH WIZARDS

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Thanks for your review Phil, I really enjoyed reading it.

I feel almost the same about most of things you did, especially about how quiet some areas of the ship felt, and how much I like these new ships.

We also did the same when crossing the ship on deck 14 , .....better to cross on another deck than risk dodging the heads down and charge jogging brigade. :D;)

 

Jem 12 ....I believe most of the balconies [ except for some special ones, a few others, and most 1As, ] are the same size [ 54 sq. ft]. as the Aqua class, so paying extra ONLY for a bigger balcony would not be necessary. If I am wrong I am sure some one will correct me. :)

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bardstowntraveller

bardstowntraveller

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Hi everyone

 

thanks for the responses, now just to decide whether to stick with a ordinary balcony or splurge on an aquaclass. It is about £250 extra each per person, but maybe it is worth it for a transatlantic where you probably spend more time in your cabin. Any thoughts comments welcome.

 

Kind regards

 

Jem

With the exception of the shower, the Aqua Class cabins are not different from the other cabins. The biggest perks for Aqua Class are Blu and the Persian Gardens. If you don't think you'll enjoy these, save your money.

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librarylady19

librarylady19

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I would highly recommend Aquaclass. We loved dining in Blu, proximity to the Relaxation Lounge & Persian Gardens, Fitness Center and most of all the Solarium. I would suspect on a TA you would be taking advantage of these indoor opportunities frequently. Our cabin was beautifully appointed and our steward Vivianna was excellent. It might be worth the extra pounds just for the shower!!!

Here are my photos of cabin 1519 - loved the location (about equidistant from relaxation lounge and forward elevators) but there was sometimes noise from above but never at night.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575709303cbBHXw

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dzcruisers

dzcruisers

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Posted
Hi everyone

 

thanks for the responses, now just to decide whether to stick with a ordinary balcony or splurge on an aquaclass. It is about £250 extra each per person, but maybe it is worth it for a transatlantic where you probably spend more time in your cabin. Any thoughts comments welcome.

 

Kind regards

 

Jem

 

I don't believe aqua class gives you a larger balcony. Check out the Solstice website for the cabin sizes and also there is a post with the larger balconies. Put in 9241 in search and I believe the posts with larger balconies will come up.

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