Host Andy's Insights - Live From Equinox

[awhfy]

Andy, we were in 2104 last year & had same noise in the bathroom until maintenance came and made adjustments to the shower & sink drain. Voila! No more noise! I'm sorry about your cabin attendant, ours (Hector) was wonderful, he's the one that brought in maintenance on Day 2. We did have an issue on Night 1 when our bed broke...everyone knew our names after that [emoji6] (the weld broke). We did get several bottles of wine

[SkystheLimit]

We were on the Equinox in February. Gastropub became more and more popular as the cruise progressed. We liked the location and open aspect of the venue. Food preparation was inconsistent--flatbread was never the same consistency. We did like that you could get a decent sparkling wine at this bar with the premium beverage package. Not the case in some of the other popular bars.

 

This location on the Equinox is ideal for a sports bar. They just had some strange program selections. Think there is good potential here they just have to tweak it a bit.

[hcat]

Thanks for a great running review Andy. Always appreciate the time you devote to keeping us up to date.

 

Would agree about loss of Celebrity pier agents to be replaced with contract employees.....new ones will have a learning curve ..and sorry for those who will be cut.

 

Sorry you are stuck with Miami DJs....hope they are gone by the time of our next 2 booked cruises on Equinox. How are live music groups on board?

 

Have you gotten any feedback on BLU and specialty restsurants?

 

Hope cabin noises get fixed and that you enjoy your cruise...Looking forward to more feedback.,,

 

HCAT

[SkystheLimit]

Also meant to say thank you Andy for posting. We are in complete agreement about the Miami DJ's. Chased many of us away from several venues on the Equinox in Feb.

[c-legs]

Thanks ever so much for your usual devotion to our community through such threads as this one.

Re; shoreside personnel....Weren't they not working for Intercruises all along ? RCCL ( and its brands) are using Intercruises pretty well all over N.A.....at least IMO. I know they do here in Vancouver.

As RCCL owns '' intercruises'', are we to beleive they have actually deep-sixed that outfit in order to outsource the whole shoreside operations ?

OR; has RCCL been using its own employees in Florida ports up to now, and are NOW introducing Intercruises ? As regards pay & benefits...at intercruises, very similar to another competing company used by HAL,CCL, and others in the CCL corp family ; low & almost non-existent ( I know by experience as I worked for them here 2 seasons some years ago as a source of extra $$$ for my ''day job'' in the trade ).

 

The '' Miami DJ '' scenario is now becoming an aggravating issue. Obviously there is no appetite at ==X=='s offices to pay the slightest attention to the wave of protests and pleas to rid the ships of that disastrous ''moderen luxury'' product component.

 

Re; luminae; I think many of your followers suspected the collateral damage to the MDR was inevitable. I agree with your views that somebody(ies) ran with the bright idea before actually looking into the whole near and far implications.

 

Enjoy the rest of what appears to be yet another ''working '' cruise for you.

Cheers

Claude

[Beanb41]

Regarding the guys at the pier:

Downunder Celebrity hire outside contractors and security for embarkation and in our limited opportunities we have found them to be quick and efficient. They don't seem hung up on 2 bottles of wine like the on board security guys are either.

[nekzaadvakil]

Hi Andy,

 

Couldn't agree more, Hotel Director, Christophe Belaubre is outstanding. He was the Hotel Director on the Silhouette last year and he runs a fantastic show. Saw him many times in the atrium near the casino chatting with guests, asking for feedback and if his team could do anything more to make our holiday better. People like him make us love the Celebrity brand.

 

He even convinced my wife that the Baltic seas were not too rough, and thanks to him, we will be on the Celebrity Silhouette on our Baltic cruise in just about a month. Too bad he wont be on the Silhouette.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

[dutchclogs]

Hi ImpulsivePuppy,

 

The Molecular bar remains (for now) on Equinox. As reported by Cruise Critic today, Celebrity is in the process of updating this venue fleetwide, to be renamed the World Class Bar. Details can be found here : http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6319 .

 

Hope this helps !

 

 

Thanks Andy. Is there any word when the molecular bar is scheduled to be replaced on Equinox? Have read all ships will have new bar before the end of the summer season? We're on Equinox in July.

[tinaperth]

Andy, we were in 2104 last year & had same noise in the bathroom until maintenance came and made adjustments to the shower & sink drain. Voila! No more noise! I'm sorry about your cabin attendant, ours (Hector) was wonderful, he's the one that brought in maintenance on Day 2. We did have an issue on Night 1 when our bed broke...everyone knew our names after that [emoji6] (the weld broke). We did get several bottles of wine

 

Well done!!! Honeymoon??:D

[ghstudio]

uh oh! I just booked a "sneaked in" 10 day on the equinox in December....hopefully, your review/experience will improve.....

[texansharon]

Thank you, Andy, for taking away from your vacation to keep us posted. We will be on the Equinox on Monday for our first TA. It has been since 2011 that we sailed Celebrity. Hope we find things in great shape :)

 

Sharon

[doublemm16]

We just got off the Equinox on April 17th, as you were getting on. We had a veranda cabin on Deck 7. We also had strange sounds coming from our bathroom at varying time of the day and night. Almost like a constant running sound. But it was not all of the time.

 

Our room steward was not the best we ever had. However, both he and his assistant were very nice.

 

All of the staff onboard were very friendly with the exception of one...a female bartender in the Molecular Bar who was more than rude. I tried to get her name but couldnt. In all of my years of cruising I have never come across someone who seemed very unhappy. My mom got very ill on the last night of the cruise. Not sure if it was noro or food poisoning (the nurse told us she was the only reported case of gastrointestinal illness). I had to summon someone from the medical center twice to give her injections. The nurse was wonderful. My mother got a letter telling her she would receive credit on a future cruise for the time she was quarantined (which thankfully was only a half a day), and no charge for the medical services.

 

We also found the food in the main dining room to be inconsistent. Our waitstaff was pleasant but again not the best we have ever had. We were a group of 12 and they were able to accomodate us at one table off the beaten path near a window. It was nice to be able to hear everyone while conversing. My mom is a very picky eater, and would be happy with a bowl of pasta and marinara sauce most nights. When there was nothing on the menu that appealed to her, the waiter did not make any suggestions, and when she asked for pasta, he said he was not sure if he could do that. Although, eventually he did, and told us that pasta was on the kids menu. If that was the case, this should not have been a major undertaking. Mind you, my mom is very easy going and would have been fine with some appetizer choices from the everyday menu, but a request for plain pasta should that is apparently available to kids should not be a big deal.

 

All in all we did have a great time. We had a very interesting intinerary and enjoyed all of the shows we saw. If you have Tenors of Rock on your cruise Andy, go see it! They were amazing!!!!

 

Enjoy your time with your family!! :D

[miched]

Well done!!! Honeymoon??:D

 

Or over ate in the buffet on embarkation day. :eek: :D

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[Ontario Cruiser]

So disappointed on RCI firing of the cruise embarkation people. They were so friendly and loved meeting everybody as they boarded. We became good friends with some of them on our many cruise. We board on Monday for the TA. Hope the food is warm and roast beef is good on the first night. I can't understand after all the complaints here on cruise critic about the so loud music even in the theatre that nothing is done about it. We were on the Caribbean Princess in February and they had some nice old music like somewhere over the rainbow piped in around the pools. I have complained so many times while on the ships and the answer is that all the decisions are made in Miami. However we are looking forward to our crossing and will be Elite Plus after this one and doing the Reflection crossing in October.

Great reporting Andy

Ontario Cruiser

P,S, It is snowing lightly here today

[Andy]

Thanks Andy. Is there any word when the molecular bar is scheduled to be replaced on Equinox? Have read all ships will have new bar before the end of the summer season? We're on Equinox in July.

 

Hi dutchclogs,

 

I will see if I can obtain a date for the changeover on Equinox. Stay Tuned !

[CruisingChick]

Hi Andy, glad you are having a good time, and thanks for taking time out of your vacation to post.

 

I am a bit disappointed to hear about bad cabin steward and assistant and the continued ruination of the Main Dining Room. I fear if the trend continues we will have to go elsewhere.

 

We will be sailing Summit in 31 days and I am hoping for the best.

 

Food and service are the main reasons we cruise.

 

Anne Maria

[norwegianwood57]

I encourage everyone that when the food in the MDR is not satisfactory, please keep bringing it to the attention of all concerned. That is the only way to make sure that things change/improve. If you suffer in silence , nothing will change.

[CruisingChick]

I encourage everyone that when the food in the MDR is not satisfactory, please keep bringing it to the attention of all concerned. That is the only way to make sure that things change/improve. If you suffer in silence , nothing will change.

 

I agree 100% percent.

[sassyw]

Hi Everyone,

 

We're having a very enjoyable time onboard Equinox. Not one of our best sailings, but we are happy. At this point, I'd call the cruise average to slightly above average, but there's still plenty of time for things to improve.

 

Instead of a full post cruise review, I plan to share my cruise insights while onboard Equinox, so my thoughts are current. Hope you enjoy my insights.

 

Embarkation : Excellent ! We arrived at the pier around 10:45, and had no problems securing a wheelchair for Mom, which is crucial. Thankfully, we also had outstanding assistance from a great shoreside person, who made the embarkation and check-in incredibly easy. We were onboard by about 11:30 am. Interestingly, my sister arrived about an hour later, and reported the embark was awful - mostly due to pc issues with the pier agents. Glad that we missed out on the drama. Pre-Cruise, we received several alerts, advising us to arrive around 2 pm. As our travel plans could not be changed, it turned out to be a good thing by arriving early. On a related note, many guests are experiencing issues with their seapass cards. We are not experiencing issues, though my sister is on card #5, and I've noticed long lines at guest relations.

 

I must sadly report, that most, if not all of the pier agents will be losing their jobs on May 31st. In another savings effort, Royal Caribbean has poorly chosen to hire outside agents who will be making much less, and not receiving any of the benefits that the current employees receive. It's decisions like this, that deeply sadden me, as it's a lousy corparate cutback, especially as so many of these wonderful folks have been in the Royal Caribbean family for years. I'm hearing they can re-apply, at the lower salary and no benefits. I wonder if the executive (who's probably making six figures) is proud of their "accomplishment", while hurting many lives. Personally, I think it sucks.

 

The Ship : Equinox looks as great as ever. Very clean, with the usual visual of Celebrity employees cleaning constantly.

 

Cabin : 2104 Concierge Deck 12. So much to talk about. Cabin visuals are fine, in an excellent mid-ship location. However, there's a constant loud noise in the bathroom, probably from above. It's affecting our sleep, along with various noises, possibly due to a public bathroom located directly above. Cabin attendant is very poor. He's brand new on the ship (as is his assistant). The cabin attendant is making numerous excuses for his shortcomings. I'd highly recommend avoiding this cabin. I'm finding that all new (or new to the ship) cabin attendants and assistants are assigned to Deck 12, as if it's a penalty zone. Why, you ask ? There are less cabins on this deck, and they make less money. Something is very wrong with this setup, as some of the more expensive cabins are located on this deck. Celebrity needs to look into this. A minor issue : our cabin refigerator has not worked since Day 1. Finally, a very nice electrician came to the cabin moments ago. After checking it out, he came to the conclusion that "it's broken" (wow, he's good LOL), but would either repair or replace it by tonight. Better late than never.

 

BTW, we are supposed to receive canapes each afternoon. They are back with the silly "order form", where you must select your delivery time. It also states that you must be in your cabin at the time of delivery, or they will not be left in your cabin. I thought that practice ended some time ago. Apparently, it's back. Ugh.

 

Luminae : Can't share any firsthand insights about it, as we're in Concierge, so we're unable to experience the venue. As with other ships, they have not received the new tables and chairs..... but the venue itself looks *very* nice. I've spoken with several guests who are dining in Luminae. They have mentioned that the cuisine is good to very good, but I have not heard any raves. I've heard comments about service being very slow. On the bright side, it seems you can order from the MDR menu if you aren't happy with the Luminae menu. BTW, Luminae is not open for lunch on Sea days, which is utterly ridiculous - especially as Celebrity sold it that way. I hope Celebrity will reconsider this ill-advised decision.

 

Silhouette Dining Room : Very disappointed in what they've done to the beauty of the venue, by adding Luminae. It absolutely ruins the Dining Room, as there's now only 1 entrance. On a positive note, they've opened the dining room 5-10 minutes early on most evenings, which is helping to avoid a mad rush by the entrance, had they not done so. Last night, they opened the MDR closer to 6 pm, and it was wall to wall people outside. In addition, the additional wall from Luminae, takes much of the sunlight out of the MDR, and, there's an endless stream of guests trying to reach their tables - all coming in, from one side of the MDR. Once again, it seems that Celebrity ran with a hot idea in Luminae, but did not think things out fully, and executed poorly. Too late now. What's done is done, and we must learn to live with it.

 

As for the MDR service and cuisine.... spotty is the word that comes to mind. Service is generally too slow, despite asking to be served a bit faster. Cutbacks seem very obvious. On night 1, I was served a slice of Prime Rib, that was razor thin. The taste was excellent, but was about 1/4 the cut, of what's been served on recent sailings. Yes, it was delicious, and I asked for a 2nd slice, which was nearly as thin as the first one. Mashed potatoes and veggies are miniscule portions as well. The other issue is food temperature. Everything is cool or warm. Hot Appetizers, Soups and Entrees are not hot. An example.... last night, we ordered the crab cake appetizer. The outer part was warm, and the center was cool. My sister had the Escargot, and they served it with the garlic butter mostly unmelted. Clearly, one or more persons are not paying attention in the Galley. On a very positive note, the Sirloin steak from the left side of the menu has been outstanding. Again, not served very hot, but delicious nonetheless.

 

Casino : Very friendly staff. They've added about 40 new slot machines on this sailing, which look great. My sister is enjoying them very much - though not winning. What else is new ? LOL. They also have a new player rating system for table games, which is slowing up the game quite a bit - maybe because it's new. Hope it gets better in time.

 

Crew : Mixed results so far. Some are absolutely wonderful, but I've also noticed many who fail to say hello, or do not smile. I'm hearing there was a large turnover on embarkation day, and an even larger turnover coming when this sailing ends. Hopefully, they will get it together very soon.

 

Bistro on Five..... Seven..... Ten : What began as $7 for the first few days, became $10 last night. Yes, the new menu has arrived - the one with the new entrees, daily specials and milkshakes. I think the menu looks great, and we plan to try it for lunch tomorrow..... but, as always (other than embarkation day) the place is near empty. Last night, I noticed a few officers dining there, and maybe 2 paying guests. While I applaud Celebrity for trying some new ideas for Bistro.... I must ask.... If nobody went when it was $5 and $7, what makes them think it will do better at $10 ??? I sincerely hope Bistro attains much success with the revamp, but I'm skeptical.

 

Gastrobar : My observations are virtually identical as to what I observed in January. Very few guests at the bar, and virtually nobody ordering anything from the menu. Unless Celebrity can figure out ways to promote this venue pre-cruise, and moreso, while onboard.... I cannot see how it survives under present conditions. IMO, it can be saved, but Celebrity must be far more proactive in promoting the venue. Perhaps consider some discounts or BOGO food coupons for Captains Club members.

 

Entertainment : Mostly Excellent with one exception. We were totally wowed by the Beatles tribute show a couple of days ago. it was by far, the best Celebrity show we've ever seen. We hope Celebrity will offer more shows like this going forward. Last night's show, singer Claire Vinkesteijn, was outstanding as well. If you are lucky to have either (or both) of these shows onboard, they are not to be missed ! Guitarist Canaan Cox, and party band Front Row, are excellent as well.

 

Now, for the exception : Unfortunately, the Miami DJ's are onboard (again), and IMO, are dreadful. It's loud banging whenever they perform, and, it's the same beat all the time. To me, that's not music - it's noise. On most occasions, guests leave after a few moments. While I'm sure they are good at what they do.... IMO, they should be performing at some trendy club in Miami, not on a cruise ship.

 

Internet : So far - very good to excellent. A few hiccups and outages along the way, but it's been fairly reliable, and with good speed. Also getting a strong Wi-Fi signal from the cabin, which is a huge plus - as I must connect several times per day.

 

While there have been some disappoinments, and the overall experience is not as outstanding as what we experienced on Equinox in late January, we are determined to have a wonderful time. Hopefully, things will improve during the second half of the cruise.

 

Please do not be overly concerned with the shortcomings. I must be fair & balanced, and, call things as I see them. With that said, it's especially important to note there are many positives on this sailing, and, we remain very optimistic for the balance of the cruise !

 

I will try to post another installment in a couple of days. Hope you enjoyed my insights !

 

I had read that Luminae was closed for lunch on PORT days only. Could you verify? We will be in a suite on TA April 27th. Can't wait!!!:)

[Andy]

I encourage everyone that when the food in the MDR is not satisfactory, please keep bringing it to the attention of all concerned. That is the only way to make sure that things change/improve. If you suffer in silence , nothing will change.

 

Great advice, and I frequently suggest the same thing, on my forums. Frankly, I waited a day too long to speak with the maitre ' d, so that's on me. As soon as I discussed the uneven food temperature, it was much improved last night. Hopefully, this particular concern has been resolved.

Edited April 23, 2015 by Host Andy

[Andy]

I had read that Luminae was closed for lunch on PORT days only. Could you verify? We will be in a suite on TA April 27th. Can't wait!!!:)

 

Hi sassyw,

 

I asked about this a few days ago, and can confirm that Luminae is closed for lunch on port days only. Hope this helps !

[Cruzinram]

With 30 Celebrity cruises to our credit, I am disappointed to hear of the short comings. DW and myself like so many others have noticed changes in the onboard experience we have come to expect since our first sailing on the Zenith in 1995. We have tried other lines, but Celebrity has provided us over the years with wonderful memories. Since we do not have any other line that we feel can come close to Celebrity, if Celebrity wants to increase pricing to maintain their standards, then I am willing to pay. Others know doubt will not agree. I just do not want to be disappointed. When we walk on board the energy we both feel, runs through our veins. It is just like being home again.

[wwcruisers]

Great advice, and I frequently suggest the same thing, on my forums. Frankly, I waited a day too long to speak with the maitre ' d, so that's on me. As soon as I discussed the uneven food temperature, it was much improved last night. Hopefully, this particular concern has been resolved.

 

Andy, I'd suggest a similar approach, re: your sub-par cabin crew. If they haven't picked up their game by now, a nice chat with the housekeeping supervisor may be in order. Since the only cabins on that deck are sky suites and concierge class, they should be among the best cabin stewards -- not the worst! :eek:

 

Hope that you and your family have a great cruise. With Century leaving the fleet this week, I've been thinking a lot about our Century Caribbean b2b, last February. So glad that we got the chance to cruise with you and your lovely mom! :)

[doublemm16]

I encourage everyone that when the food in the MDR is not satisfactory, please keep bringing it to the attention of all concerned. That is the only way to make sure that things change/improve. If you suffer in silence , nothing will change.

 

I will add that on our last cruise there was more of an effort to get feedback on all of the food and service not only in the Main Dining Room but in the Buffet as well. Our waiter asked us every night for feedback stating that he is responsible for our satisfaction with all food and beverage in both locations. I had never noticed this much direct questioning before.

[Eloise4Ever]

Thanks so much for your honest observations Andy. It will be interesting to compare our experience with yours when we board Equinox next Monday. If you get a chance can you please enquire as to the current upgrade price onboard from the Classic to Premium beverage package?

 

Thanks again Andy.