Our Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review

[Arwen]

Hello All!

 

We just arrive home a week ago from an 11 day Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Equinox, to sail out of Port Everglades.

 

Check-in: Yes, we were assigned a time frame for checking in. I was bothered at first because I wanted to choose the time.

 

However, we showed up at our allotted time and found everything to be so organized and quick. Lines were segregated by deck number. Fastest check-in in all of our previous 17 cruises.

 

Dining: We had breakfast and lunch in the Oceanview Cafe. The selection, IMHO, was excellent, and the food pretty good! Only complaint: Lunch time after folks return from shorter shore excursions makes for mayhem in the buffet area.

 

But that has been true on all other ships, too. This is one area that could improve. Looking and looking for a place to sit down or for that matter get food on these days is a bit stressful.

 

Dinner was at the first fixed dining in MDR. We had a table for two and the meals were good, not too varied though. High Points: The escargot offered daily (yummy). The Lobster on formal night was tops...and other nights I had Prime Rib (excellent) and the Jerk Chicken.

 

However, with every main dish, you also had mashed potatoes, carrots, or rice...in different order, but generally every night, LOL. I don't think I want to any of those three food items for quite a while!

 

Easy to order extra salads or appetizers and leave the mashed taters behind :-) Deserts were just so-so.

 

Stateroom 9235: Veranda...small but laid out very efficiently..no waste of space here! Best feature? The bathroom. Very roomy, nice shower with glass doors and lots of storage space. Best bathroom on any ship we have been on in the veranda category. And a low level night light built in!!

 

Bed: Very comfy. Our bed has a semi-circle at the foot of the bed. This meant that my 5'11" husband had to be sure to position himself in the middle of the bed. A tall person finds their feet hanging over the foot of the bed, otherwise. I am short at 5'0", so it was not a problem for me.

 

Entertainment: We attended several Stage Productions and enjoyed the first one immensely...Broadway songs. The dancers were excellent ( I am a passionate amateur dancer, so I appreciated their skills).

 

One of the other Dance/Stage Productions we attended was entertaining but the choreo was very mish mash. In other words, the dancers and acrobatic dancers were excellent but the elements just didn't fit into the 'story'. A bit of ballet, and lots of acrobatic stunts were part of this show. One of the dancers performed in the air (attached to a harness).

 

One of the featured singers with the Pro Dancers had the voice of an angel. Sorry I do not have her name. Her voice sounds like Jodie Benson (the singing and speaking voice of the Disney 'Little Mermaid movie')

 

Other stand out entertainment on stage: Ben Mills. He has a Rod Stewart voice! We saw him on the elevator one day and he was very sweet and friendly guy!

 

Dining Room Staff and Crew: Unobtrusive but friendly enough. With every ship, I believe there should be more staffing in the buffet eating areas. This is not a problem exclusive to Celebrity.

 

Princess excels at service in their Horizon buffet: always having someone to bring you coffee or tea in their Horizon buffet as soon as you sit down. And they are also better about getting around to clearing off tables.

 

We had lunch one day in Silk Harvest. Nice ambiance and reasonably decent service. Champagne with a lychee in our champagne glasses! I must stay gluten free and they said most of their items were gluten free.

 

The food was okay. I enjoyed the change of pace. The chicken satay was good as appetizer. You have a choice of beef satay. Mistakenly one beef satay was on the plate and I actually liked that much better.

 

The Phad Thai did not taste like Phad Thai. Maybe because it was gluten free? It did not have the usual crushed peanuts and the flavor was a bit bland.

 

The Miso Soup was excellent (though a lady next to me though it was too watery). I have had lots of Miso soup in my time, and it wasn't the best, but pretty good nonetheless.

 

Dessert: featured small samples of gelato. Oh, was it ever goooood! There is the Gelateria on the ship ($5.00 charge). I wanted to pay a visit there days later but because of shore excursions and whatever, never made it there. Highly recommend the gelato, especially the coconut flavor.

 

Dessert also included small bites of caramelized banana.

 

The Silk Harvest rates an okay...nothing spectacular about it really.

 

We dined one night in the Oceanview Cafe and was very impressed by their selection that particular night. Lots of veggies and other entree choices.

The best and my favorite...the East Indian food...the curry beef and the papaddum (sp?)

 

Pizza: Oceanview offers GF Pizza. Not easy to access, though. I ordered it twice. You must place your order there and then it is a 20 minute wait. It was a very very good GF pizza though quite light on the pizza tomato topping.

 

The Atrium and Piazza on the ship were always a venue for entertainment. Lots of music and dancing. Princess has deck parties at night and there is usually far more room for those who wish to participate.

 

On Equinox, people crowd the stairs, hang over the balcony railing and crowd what few chairs are available that surround the Piazza. Still we attended two dance nights and had fun.

 

One night featured the Pro Dancers dressed up in aristocratic colonial dress, men with the white stockings and powdered wigs and the women...the same. They did a lovely choreo on the Piazza followed by a dance for all.

 

Another night it was Michael Jackson music (which I missed out on) and then went on to include a mix of music including some Zumba tunes.

 

Only thing I missed? Wished there had been a night devoted to Carib music..like Reggae or Reggaeton. This was done briefly on two sail away (45 minute) parties on deck in the late afternoon.

 

The Ship: Clean and so modern. Built in 2009 it has some wonderful stateroom and design features. The climate control in our stateroom worked very well (a problem on other ships).

 

Our shower door would not close all the way. Prompt response by maintenance with the door being fixed just less than two hours later!

 

Artwork: Weird. But everyone has their own tastes. I do not choose a ship based on their artwork.

 

Room Stewards: Our primary room steward, Sylvester was very attentive in making sure everything was taken care of in our stateroom. He said hello many mornings and made eye contact. No one was over friendly, but I am fine with that. Just acknowledgement and good service is all I care about.

 

MDR Staff:. They were under a lot of pressure for sure,but still were able to deliver great service.

 

GYM: oh wow, and I do mean oh wow! This was just as good as any excellent land based gym. The best ever (We have been on many many ships). Very large. Lots of towels and cool, rolled washcloths available.

 

There are lots of treadmills, ellipticals, circuit machines, and even a decent array of free weights. The aerobics room is lovely. Large exercise balls available and other workout gear and lots of mats.

 

I did not attend any of the classes, but the daily activities sheet listed a stretch class every morning and another class following that. Other free and pay classes offered in the late afternoon.

 

Zumba is offered in the afternoon but there is a charge for it.

 

Mid morning a free 'Burn Cardio Dance Class' is offered. I even saw a Latin Dance Exercise Class offered one afternoon (free)

 

 

Other staff encounters. Hubby loved Richard Shillington, the Apple 'Guy' who taught the seminars. Excellent knowledge of Apple products and other techie info.

 

I had some interaction with Shawna, one of the activities' coordinators. She is a certified fitness instructor and dancer. She organized practice sessions in the Piazza for a Thriller choreo and Beyonce (Put a Ring on It).

 

She was good in breaking down the steps and repeating them. However, the second session, a woman came up to me asking me why I knew all the steps (only my third session).

 

I told her she had to be bold and get there early and be 'up front' to see Shawna.

 

I am also a certified fitness Instructor. Note to Shawna and others who teach: It helps to have the first row change out with the last row or participants. This encourages the others to see clearly all the steps.

 

Eye contact: No one has to be 'my friend', but quick eye contact is not a bad thing.

 

This young lady 'looked over the tops' of our heads. Big deal? No..maybe she is burned out as I am sure she works long hours like everyone else on the ship's staff. It still seemed weird though.

 

But I had a brief interaction with Shawna on the night of the 'Dancing with the Officers' contest. Shawna: please make quick eye contact with someone speaking to you. It really cannot hurt. She is the only one who left a 'meh' impression on me.

 

On the other hand, one of the Pro-dancers came up to speak to me. I will not go into the conversation here. But she was gracious and sweet. It really isn't hard to do :-)

 

Overall, we loved the Equinox and credit the relative newness of the ship and the French Hotel Manager's capable management!

 

If you have any questions about the ports or excursions let me know.

 

Here is a link to a short video tour of our stateroom 9235

 

[still-learning]

Thank you for your very nice review. We look forward to boarding Equinox again soon.

 

I understand how you feel about making eye contact but what is considered appropriate eye contact is actually very culturally different around the world. In many cultures it is considered to be very inappropriate to make direct eye contact and not making eye contact is a sign of respect.

Edited January 29, 2015 by still-learning

[Texed]

We will be on Equinox in June and July. So......

Thanks for posting. :)

[miched]

I am 5-11 and never had a problem with the bed being too short. I think he just wanted to sleep on the crack ;) :rolleyes:

 

happy cruising 🌞🚢🇺🇸🌞

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise Arwen! Thank you for posting a review of the Equinox.

[cruisingdelt]

Arwen-Thx for the review. We will be on the same itinerary on April 6. COunting the days!

[KBD1516]

What category cabin is this?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rclibertygirl5]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this!!. We are going to be on the Equinox 2 weeks from tomorrow and we can't wait!!

[Arwen]

Thank you for your very nice review. We look forward to boarding Equinox again soon.

 

I understand how you feel about making eye contact but what is considered appropriate eye contact is actually very culturally different around the world. In many cultures it is considered to be very inappropriate to make direct eye contact and not making eye contact is a sign of respect.

 

I totally understand what you mean having traveled to the Middle East before.

 

However, the vast majority of pax were Americans, with lots of Canadians and then German, French, and Swedish.

 

Our room steward was East Indian and he did make brief eye contact and would smile.

 

The activities instructor spoke with no accent, was young, and was either American or Canadian. It would have been nice if she didn't just 'go through the motions'. I suspect she is burned out. Just got a very unpleasant vibe from her. Guess it is more 'my problem', but it certainly made no impact on the enjoyment of the cruise.:D

Edited January 30, 2015 by Arwen

[Arwen]

What category cabin is this?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

We were in the 1 B category, The Deluxe Ocean View Veranda Stateroom.:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review and the video of your cabin.

[Arwen]

Thanks for your review and the video of your cabin.

 

You are most welcome! Totally fell in love with Equinox. It IS a big ship, but just amazing in what it offers.

[wallie5446]

Great to read you had a good GF experience!

We have booked again for Nov.

[TeaBag]

Thank you for your review. We enjoyed Equinox too.

[Cooso]

Arwen-Thx for the review. We will be on the same itinerary on April 6. COunting the days!

We're also on this cruise with you. We have a very active and friendly roll call if you want to pop over :)

 

OP, thanks for the review. We haven't been on her (or another cruise) since June 12 so can't wait! Hubby is 6 ft 7 so a little worried he might struggle with the bed (we had a sky suite for our honeymoon) but hey, he's used to cold feet!

 

Can you remember which day the silk harvest lunch was and how much it cost?

Edited January 30, 2015 by Cooso

[Arwen]

We're also on this cruise with you. We have a very active and friendly roll call if you want to pop over :)

 

OP, thanks for the review. We haven't been on her (or another cruise) since June 12 so can't wait! Hubby is 6 ft 7 so a little worried he might struggle with the bed (we had a sky suite for our honeymoon) but hey, he's used to cold feet!

 

Can you remember which day the silk harvest lunch was and how much it cost?

 

Hi!

 

The lunch is $20.00 per person. Cannot remember the specific day, but it was a sea day. :)

[topside2]

Thanks for the review and excellent video, we will be on board her this March for an 11 day western cruise.

Harry/Linda

[Im A Happy Cruiser]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the Equinox for the first time for the February 23rd 11 night sailing. Do you remember when the formal nights were held and if the majority of people were dressed appropriately? We will also be in a sky suite for the first time. I would love to hear comments from anyone who has stayed in 8345 before.

[Iamthesea]

We were in the 1 B category, The Deluxe Ocean View Veranda Stateroom.:)

 

What happened to the sofa's? We were on the Equinox a few years ago in a Cat. 1A and the sofa's were all white. Your stateroom has half white, half red. :confused:

 

Eye Contact - Last year, my then 28 year old daughter got called out by our waiter because she was making eye contact with him. He said that it is not appropriate for a female to make eye contact with a male in his country, unless they were married. Sorry that I cannot remember where he was from. She thought it both funny and embarrassing that he said something to her. :D:o

[Im A Happy Cruiser]

Did you go on any of the ship's shore excursions? If so, would you give a description of each and share if you felt like you had gotten your money's worth. Were there any delays on dockking or tendering times at the various ports? Were there any good shops at the port areas? Did you feel at all unsafe during your time at any of the ports? Thanks,!

[wallie5446]

Did you go on any of the ship's shore excursions? If so, would you give a description of each and share if you felt like you had gotten your money's worth. Were there any delays on dockking or tendering times at the various ports? Were there any good shops at the port areas? Did you feel at all unsafe during your time at any of the ports? Thanks,!

 

When you get on ship the shore excursion desk has a booklet you can pick up. There are 14 pages!:eek:

[gold1953]

Did you go on any of the ship's shore excursions? If so, would you give a description of each and share if you felt like you had gotten your money's worth. Were there any delays on dockking or tendering times at the various ports? Were there any good shops at the port areas? Did you feel at all unsafe during your time at any of the ports? Thanks,!

We were also on this cruise and took two ships excursions

\ One in Costa Rica .. white water rafting. It was well worth the money It started with a narrated tour on route which was very good. We rafted down a 5 mile stretch of river with rapids up to 2plus. Well organized and professionally run. The included lunch buffet was good as well. We saw sloths , monkeys and birds as we paddled and bounced down the river. We also stopped to swim.

 

Also went snorkeling on the barrier reef off Belize. First time for us and it was also a well run event. This was a tendered port and we boarded the catamaran from the ship which was great. They took us to the most beautiful 4 acre island and we saw lots of coral reef and fish. Worth the money!

[teltrainer]

What happened to the sofa's? We were on the Equinox a few years ago in a Cat. 1A and the sofa's were all white. Your stateroom has half white, half red. :confused:

 

Eye Contact - Last year, my then 28 year old daughter got called out by our waiter because she was making eye contact with him. He said that it is not appropriate for a female to make eye contact with a male in his country, unless they were married. Sorry that I cannot remember where he was from. She thought it both funny and embarrassing that he said something to her. :D:o

 

hope he was joking..if not, he's definitely working in the wrong industry. I'm sure cruise ships discuss these things in the trainings they give so it was inappropriate of HIM to tell her that.

[chamima]

We were also on this cruise and took two ships excursions

 

 

Also went snorkeling on the barrier reef off Belize. First time for us and it was also a well run event. This was a tendered port and we boarded the catamaran from the ship which was great. They took us to the most beautiful 4 acre island and we saw lots of coral reef and fish. Worth the money!

 

 

 

Would you happen to remember the name of the island?

[Du vent dans les voiles]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the Equinox for the first time for the February 23rd 11 night sailing. Do you remember when the formal nights were held and if the majority of people were dressed appropriately? We will also be in a sky suite for the first time. I would love to hear comments from anyone who has stayed in 8345 before.

 

We'll be on the same cruise, trying Aqua C this time.

 

To the OP, thanks for your nice review.

 

Josée