Equinox March 8th - Top 10 Lists

[Oradellian]

:):):)Equinox March 8th – March 19th:):):)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Top 10 Lists

 

The Good:

1) What a nice new ship. Everything is shiny and works well!

2) Such excellent food. Sunset dining at the Tuscan Grille! Blu! Murano! Silk Harvest!

3) Impressively large bathrooms in the cabins, plus good size balcony furniture. Plus, a safe big enough for a laptop or SLR camera.

4) Interesting artwork. I especially liked the silver potato with human legs.

5) Discounts at the Martini bar, plus St. Patrick’s Day discounts on Guinness, Bailey’s and Bushmill’s.

6) Funny comedian named Tony. Who knew that Canada did not have a national cuisine?

7) Happy staff, each of whom seemed glad to be aboard.

8) Exotic ship’s captain, who occasionally told us we were on the Solstice.

9) Persian Gardens. Wow.

10) The ship’s photographers were unobtrusive. The announcements on the PA were minimal.

 

The Bad:

1) The night tables. Big enough for my eyeglasses?

2) The cabin storage space. Sorry I am size XL.

3) The Library. I have more books in my house.

4) The prices of wine and liquor.

5) The 12 Mbit speed on my laptop wireless connections.

6) The rounded bed. My feet hung overboard.

7) The table minimums at the Casino.

8) The prices at the Spa.

9) The Lawn. Why?

10) The 14 bars and lounges. Too many?

 

The Ugly:

1) Steel Drum guy. Please, we be jammin’ too long.

2) Murano fed me over 2 ½ hours. Way too slow!

3) Aqua Spa personnel running raffles over the loudspeaker in the Solarium. Please!

4) Guitar guy sang “Michele…” three nights in a row. Enough!

5) Oceanview Café: the menu never changes!

6) The frozen top on the Martini Bar is off during the day!

7) Folks just don’t understand the elevators. Down arrows mean down; up arrows mean up; there is no negotiation!

8) Nudity on the Solstice Deck! Oh really?

9) Souvenirs. Nothing to steal!

10) AquaClass check-in closed at 1:00 pm. Why?

[greeneg]

Two things to comment on:

 

10) Ships Photographers were the absolute worse I have ever seen. Aggressive and intrusive on boarding and later in Ports, and cluttering up the entire interior of the ship with their gear and "studios". Much better had they set up shop in one, unobtrusive area, that way they could have been avoided much easier.

 

5) Library wasn't the lack of books, I bring my own, but the lack of a wall to shut out the noise from the elevators in the Atrium. It was like trying to read in a bowling alley. Given the fact that you cannot read comfortably in your cabin because there really isn't any place to sit, the inability to read quietly in the library is a more glaring defect in the ships design.

 

Otherwise, you're pretty much right on by me.

[Denny01]

Thanks for an interesting review. Good points. Disagree with the library and subsequent library comment. Was on the Solstice (so I assume no big difference) and the library was stocked 'OK', and not noisy. Couldn't hear the elevators....could be my hearing??

 

Denny

[jwattle]

Nudity on Solstice deck? Like topless or full monty? Not trying to start a debate, just curious; we didn't experience this last year on Solstice...what was the crew response to this?

[39august]

There is "really no place to sit" in your cabin? Huh? All the cabin pictures I have seen for balconies show a sofa sitting area. Please tell me the picures are true. Also, there is a "sticky" about cabins in S class describing whether the sitting area is near the balcony or the bath.

[sailor2010]

Martini specials...do tell. I heard they only do a "tropical" drink of the day.

As for the nudity, you wont notice if you have enough martinis :D Although - have you ever noticed most nudists are not what you would want to see...:eek: Not American, I saw it many times in the Caribbean and Europe.

The eating time at Muranos depends on what you are looking for. I think people take much more time to eat outside the US than in, I have heard to allow 3 hours for Muranos or Tuscan (Europeans give high marks to this, US slightly lower).

[c-boy]

But I like laying naked on the lawn with a twelve dollar martini and singing Michelle.;)

[CruisinNana]

What were the minimums at the tables in the casino?

[greeneg]

There is "really no place to sit" in your cabin? Huh? All the cabin pictures I have seen for balconies show a sofa sitting area. Please tell me the picures are true. Also, there is a "sticky" about cabins in S class describing whether the sitting area is near the balcony or the bath.

 

The sofa or couch is a thinly disguised third berth and I found it impossible to sit on and read for more than a very few minutes, usually while waiting to shower and get dressed. The veranda chairs are very comfortable but that's about the only place in the stateroom that I found.

 

As for the noise from the elevators in the Library, Better Half says that I am getting deaf as a post, but I sure had no problem hearing them.

[Oradellian]

Nudity on Solstice deck? Like topless?

 

The last Celebrity cruise we took (Millennium, Mediterranean May 2007) had an "adult" section approximately where the Solstice deck is on the Equinox.

 

Unfortunately, it looks like Equinox + Caribbean = No Topless.

:cool::cool::cool:

[Oradellian]

Martini specials...do tell. I heard they only do a "tropical" drink of the day.

 

:):):) Definitely got "2 for 1" after 10:00 pm at the Martini Bar ... not sure which night, but it was early in the cruise ... I think the "twofers" rotate among the many bars ... yes, also $5 drink specials every day ... frozen Margaritas were good ... :):):)

[librarylady19]

Thanks for your lists - gave me quite a chuckle and an interesting alternative to a standard review! If you didn't find the Library to your liking, there were lots of other seating options around the ship. I particularly enjoyed the Passport Lounge; nice background music from time to time.

[Gonzo70]

:):):) Definitely got "2 for 1" after 10:00 pm at the Martini Bar ... not sure which night, but it was early in the cruise ... I think the "twofers" rotate among the many bars ... yes, also $5 drink specials every day ... frozen Margaritas were good ... :):):)

 

 

Were the 2 for 1's advertised in the daily newspaper? I don't remember hearing about those on my Equinox cruise! I'll have to look for those next time.

[nikless]

Unfortunately, it looks like Equinox + Caribbean = No Topless.

:cool::cool::cool:

 

 

From my experience on the winter cruises, I'd say it's fortunate....;)

[hcat]

Sounds like the steel drum guy we had on Solstice-- he was very good but would prefer a real reggae band..Who was the guitar player on board? That's one area that X should work to improve..bands & music on board!

 

announcements in the spa--not very relaxing!

on our S cruise the botox people were trying hard to get business by speaking to everyone sitting in the first waiting area...seemed not so classy

[sailor2010]

5) The 12 Mbit speed on my laptop wireless connections.

 

Quick question, this is pretty fast, are you sure this is what you meant?

[Oradellian]

5) The 12 Mbit speed on my laptop wireless connections.

 

Quick question, this is pretty fast, are you sure this is what you meant?

 

It was definitely slow(er) than normal. My netbook (Lenovo S10) has a 54g card and I am used to seeing it "connected" at 54mbs in the WinXP properties tab.

 

Connections were always the same speed, even in the Equinox computer lab.

 

No big deal. It took a few extra minutes to do daily email and download the news.

[sailor2010]

It was definitely slow(er) than normal. My netbook (Lenovo S10) has a 54g card and I am used to seeing it "connected" at 54mbs in the WinXP properties tab.

 

Connections were always the same speed, even in the Equinox computer lab.

 

No big deal. It took a few extra minutes to do daily email and download the news.

 

Thanks, my DH will have to do some "business at sea" so I am very interested in the speed. Have heard differing comments...:rolleyes:

[Oradellian]

Were the 2 for 1's advertised in the daily newspaper? I don't remember hearing about those on my Equinox cruise! I'll have to look for those next time.

 

 

:):):) Yes, on pg. 2 of "Celebrity Today", there is a column named "Top X Tips", where it states "St. Patrick's Happy Hour - 2 for 1 drinks from 4 - 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm - midnight at selected bars".

 

I apologize if indeed, this was special only because of St. Pat's. My mistake! I'll buy the next round. :):):)