Just off Equinox....some thoughts

[Pavovsky]

Everyone's experience is different, but I've never had a bartender even offer to upgrade a drink package for me. As to the people selling the specialty restaurants, I just walk by them. They're doing their job, I'm on my vacation. No need for one to interfere with the other.

 

 

 

If you were on the same cruise Andrea and I were on last week the only way you would not have been asked to upgrade would have been if you had hibernated in your cabin or had a premium package already.

[floridacruisers]

andrea2609...

Being Italian (I am of Italian decent), I suspect food is very important to you. I would go with Aqua class if a suite is too costly. This way you have two places to choose from every night to eat. You can dine in Blu, which we like, or you can go to the MDR. All you have to do is check with the Maitre'D in Blu should you want to eat in the MDR. They will take care of it for you. I don't know what ship you are looking at but I would go with either the Silhouette or the Reflection since only those two currently have the Lawn Club Grill. It is our favorite specialty restaurant because we like the food and dining al fresco, but you are still under a cover.

Regards,

Phil...........floridacruisers

[dd likes to cruise]

As to "Modern Luxury" and it not meeting your definition. I wonder about all the people who see the commercials and print ads for all the cruise lines. They must be awful upset when everyone on board is not in their 30's, Beautiful beyond belief and not a pound over weight. Oh yeah, and smiling and laughing all the time! It's called advertising! :D

[andrea2609]

andrea2609...

 

Being Italian (I am of Italian decent), I suspect food is very important to you. I would go with Aqua class if a suite is too costly. This way you have two places to choose from every night to eat. You can dine in Blu, which we like, or you can go to the MDR. All you have to do is check with the Maitre'D in Blu should you want to eat in the MDR. They will take care of it for you. I don't know what ship you are looking at but I would go with either the Silhouette or the Reflection since only those two currently have the Lawn Club Grill. It is our favorite specialty restaurant because we like the food and dining al fresco, but you are still under a cover.

 

Regards,

 

Phil...........floridacruisers

 

 

 

Thanks. Yes, my dw and I really love food! But as I said, we really liked the dinners at MDR (in fact, we did not find necessary to try any of the specialty restaurants), so upgrading to Aqua wouldn't give us any more value, I guess. We did not enjoy the buffet, and I found its alternatives (for breakfast and lunch) a bit poor..

Thanks anyway!

 

 

 

Italian Cruiser

 

Inviato dal mio iPad utilizzando Tapatalk

[evitacruiser]

I am finding this really interesting and I am currently trying to choose between RCI and Celebrity for a Carribean cruise for July 2017.

 

We have sailed both lines before and found RCI to be more to our taste in certain areas and Celebrity in others. Our choice is between Equinox and Oasis or Allure.

 

Any help choosing between the ships would be welcomed.

 

Current pricing and offers make Equinox more financially attractive but I have issues with the itinerary as I really wanted to have Nassau as a port. Additionally, we haven't yet done an Oasis class ship and that is a factor too. Decisions, decisions!

 

As an aside Andrea, I so envy you living in Venice, we try to visit twice a year, (not on a cruise) it is my favourite place in the world.

Edited August 22, 2016 by evitacruiser

[vadell]

If you were on the same cruise Andrea and I were on last week the only way you would not have been asked to upgrade would have been if you had hibernated in your cabin or had a premium package already.

 

We seem to have had a very different experience on this cruise and no we did not hibernate in the cabin, we were asked only once if we wanted to upgrade the drinks package and never the dining package. There were table set up at various points for the restaurants, we had already purchased the 3 dinner package & when we decided to purchase a further package we actually had problems getting the times we wanted as the restaurants were pretty much booked we approached them. With regards to the OP we only had a problem at the buffet on two occasions, otherwise we were fine there was plenty of choice and we could always find somewhere to sit without it being too busy (maybe the times we visited were less popular, plus we always sit outside), we did also eat in main dining room for breakfast on three occasions and we were pleased with the service there. I agree that an alternative lunch option would be good on port days, we tend not to eat chips and burgers so never visited the mast grill so if we were back in time for lunch we went to the buffet. An alternative venue where we could be served would be good.

[Mynki]

Thanks. Yes, my dw and I really love food! But as I said, we really liked the dinners at MDR (in fact, we did not find necessary to try any of the specialty restaurants), so upgrading to Aqua wouldn't give us any more value, I guess. We did not enjoy the buffet, and I found its alternatives (for breakfast and lunch) a bit poor..

Thanks anyway!

 

At the start of the thread you state that you were disappointed because Celebrity advertising resulted in your cruise not meeting your expectations. You mention their tagline of 'modern luxury' to highlight your point and then state you were not looking for a luxury cruise.

 

Early in the thread you state that Aqua Class sounded interesting and now believe it won't add value.

 

I have to ask, what are you actually looking for out of a cruise? It sounds to me that Aqua and suite class would eliminate your gripes and possibly may even exceed your expectations. But I don't think you'll find what you want in a basic verandah package. I can't stand the buffet on sea days at peak times especially, but I do note that many people claim that it is better than other buffets on other lines which is interesting.

[wallie5446]

I am finding this really interesting and I am currently trying to choose between RCI and Celebrity for a Carribean cruise for July 2017.

 

We have sailed both lines before and found RCI to be more to our taste in certain areas and Celebrity in others. Our choice is between Equinox and Oasis or Allure.

 

We are Diamond with Royal, and Elite with Celebrity having gone back and forth between the two for 25 years.

We are back on the Equinox for the 3rd time with 4 friends that all sailed the Oasis last year. Both couples, one mid 40ties, other mid 50ties, we are mid 60ties. All said they were ready to get back on an S-class after a couple of days.

Why? 5000 ++ passengers were just too many. The Ships are amazing with all the different options, just too many people to truly enjoy the cruise.

[Cindy]

I am finding this really interesting and I am currently trying to choose between RCI and Celebrity for a Carribean cruise for July 2017.

 

We have sailed both lines before and found RCI to be more to our taste in certain areas and Celebrity in others. Our choice is between Equinox and Oasis or Allure.

 

Any help choosing between the ships would be welcomed.

 

Current pricing and offers make Equinox more financially attractive but I have issues with the itinerary as I really wanted to have Nassau as a port. Additionally, we haven't yet done an Oasis class ship and that is a factor too. Decisions, decisions!

 

As an aside Andrea, I so envy you living in Venice, we try to visit twice a year, (not on a cruise) it is my favourite place in the world.

 

 

 

I have done both, and in my opinion they were both fantastic but very different. I loved the Oasis for all the specialty dining options, the uniqueness of the ship, and the wonderful entertainment. I thought the food on Equinox was very good, the ship was beautiful, and the itinerary was much better than Oasis (we were on the 11 night). We were in a suite on Oasis and Aqua Class on the Equinox, so my comments are based on those experiences and special venues. If you have specific questions or want pictures just ask!

 

 

Cindy

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[Pavovsky]

We seem to have had a very different experience on this cruise and no we did not hibernate in the cabin, we were asked only once if we wanted to upgrade the drinks package and never the dining package. There were table set up at various points for the restaurants, we had already purchased the 3 dinner package & when we decided to purchase a further package we actually had problems getting the times we wanted as the restaurants were pretty much booked we approached them. With regards to the OP we only had a problem at the buffet on two occasions, otherwise we were fine there was plenty of choice and we could always find somewhere to sit without it being too busy (maybe the times we visited were less popular, plus we always sit outside), we did also eat in main dining room for breakfast on three occasions and we were pleased with the service there. I agree that an alternative lunch option would be good on port days, we tend not to eat chips and burgers so never visited the mast grill so if we were back in time for lunch we went to the buffet. An alternative venue where we could be served would be good.

 

 

 

I apologise. But I appreciate that this was not your experience and it was not fair of me to insinuate so. And I wish we had had your experience.

 

What I experienced was aggressive - and frustratingly so as the drinks up sell was aimed at other people - we had the premium package - and held up service at bars. Got a big and sustained sell in Blu and the buffet restaurant also on speciality dining.

[pinkrosesdeb]

evitacruiser, if the price is right you should definitely try the Oasis class. There is nothing like it but it will feel a little less like a cruise and a little more like a really, nice resort. There is lots to do, the ships are gorgeous and we did NOT find it to feel overly crowded as there are so many options onboard that only at a few specific times would you find a huge group in one place. Even at embarkation, you will have quite a few dining options open to you unlike most ships that have only a couple. If price is the biggest factor, keep checking daily, we found a couple of great price drops that lasted on a few hours. Luck and timing are everything. On the flip side, we really enjoyed our Equinox cruise also. Our next one is on Freedom of the Seas.

[wallie5446]

Our next one is on Freedom of the Seas.

 

We were on the Freedom Oct 2011, excellent cruise.

EW

[Big_G]

We've sailed many more Royal ships than Celebrity and consider Celebrity a step up in luxury but not necessarily luxury cruise line. We like both lines for their differences. As far as the high pressure sales comments, I must be missing it on both lines. I see the tables outside the buffet and heaven forbid I've been asked to buy a package or two but a simple 'No thank you' usually puts those bullhorn hawkers in their place. 😋

 

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[pinkrosesdeb]

The only "high pressure" pitch that bothered me was when my therapist stopped my treatment 10 mins early to try to sell me $400 of products! Then, she got mad when I said no. She said, "you said you wanted to take care of yourself, I guess that wasn't true". I was shocked and haven't been back to the spa since. I did NOT buy the products LOL Sorry, to clarify that happened on Royal but I didn't try the spa on Celebrity because of it. Otherwise, a sales pitch doesn't really bother me unless they persist after I say no thank you.

Edited August 22, 2016 by pinkrosesdeb

[oneputt18]

Amazing how different cruises on the same ship can be so different. I have sailed the Equinox twice, once for 10 days and the other was 11 days. I have also sailed the Oasis and Allure multiple times. On the Equinox I was never asked nor did I here them ask any other cruiser to purchase a Drink package. As we passed specialty restaurants desk outside the buffet all they did was mention they were taking reservations but no hard sell.

I find the buffet food acceptable and really didn't pay much attention to the decor. Tables were easy to find and a polite wave to a server got the table cleaned. They always stopped by and asked if we needed drink refills. I found their service excellent.

The Oasis pool deck is extremely crowded on sea days(one of the biggest complaints about the Oasis class of ships) Chairs in the immediate pool area are just as close together as on the Equinox. The Solarium on any warm day is just as hot on either ship. The pool on the Oasis in the Solarium is an oversized bath tub, 8 people and it is crowded.

I sail Celebrity now not for "modern luxury" but for their service and friendliness of crew and officers, a cut above any RCL ship I have sailed. We enjoy the subdued atmosphere as we don't need rock walls, Flowriders and zip lines.

I think the excessive smoking is a European cruise problem.

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Edited August 22, 2016 by oneputt18

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[rumpelstiltskin]

Hello,

 

I've sailed on the Equinox twice within the past 18 months.

 

I found it to be a very nice ship, & the food in all venues was the best on any cruise we've sailed.

 

Even the buffet food at dinner was good.

 

And the public toilets were always clean, too.

 

Have sailed mostly on RCL, however not in the Oasis Class. The Navigator is the largest I've sailed on.

 

Prefer X over RCL, but $$$ is always the deal breaker for me.:D

[deliver42]

I don't believe that Jr suites gate any suite benefits, other that priority boarding.

[pinkrosesdeb]

The Jr suites are able to dine in the Coastal Kitchen which is not available on all Royal ships. They also receive the double cruise points. But, you are correct they do not receive the majority of perks afforded to the larger suites. The room size is very nice though.

[wallie5446]

Amazing how different cruises on the same ship can be so different. I have sailed the Equinox twice, once for 10 days and the other was 11 days. I have also sailed the Oasis and Allure multiple times. On the Equinox I was never asked nor did I here them ask any other cruiser to purchase a Drink package. As we passed specialty restaurants desk outside the buffet all they did was mention they were taking reservations but no hard sell.

I find the buffet food acceptable and really didn't pay much attention to the decor. Tables were easy to find and a polite wave to a server got the table cleaned. They always stopped by and asked if we needed drink refills. I found their service excellent.

The Oasis pool deck is extremely crowded on sea days(one of the biggest complaints about the Oasis class of ships) Chairs in the immediate pool area are just as close together as on the Equinox. The Solarium on any warm day is just as hot on either ship. The pool on the Oasis in the Solarium is an oversized bath tub, 8 people and it is crowded.

I sail Celebrity now not for "modern luxury" but for their service and friendliness of crew and officers, a cut above any RCL ship I have sailed. We enjoy the subdued atmosphere as we don't need rock walls, Flowriders and zip lines.

I think the excessive smoking is a European cruise problem.

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We sailed these same 2 cruises with Pat & Joe and second their comments about the Equinox. Our last RCCL was the Freedom in 2011. Celebrity is just a better fit for us at this time too.

EW

[Duanerice1]

We've had more cruises on Celebrity than any other line by a wide margin but have also sailed Carnival, NCL and RCCL. They were all good. I think most lines are stepping up their game now, even Carnival if you pick the right ship. Like you, no suite so comparing them doesn't help. I'd sail on any of the line above without question.

 

I'll agree with what a lot of other's said, no announcements, pool games, generally a non smoking policy..... Those are the things we like about Celebrity. The ships are just a lot classier to me too.

 

I don't think Celebrity cost more than RCCL, at least in my experience. But it might just be the cruises I'm looking at. Also agree, try Aqua Class if you get the chance. We like it mainly for the assigned restaurant, Blu.

 

Now I'd love to try one of the RCCL massive ships. I think that would be fun.

 

enjoy