Equinox Live Review March 31st - April 7

[Georgia_Peaches]

TY Mary Lou. I was on the fence anyway about the Chef's Table, having done several on several cruise lines. The price, and no "generous pours" would mean it would have to be beyond fabulous food to justify that price. Especially when we can do specialty dining any time, and some of the courses are available there. So thanks for your review. I know food is REALLY subjective, but I think we'll pass.

 

3 other questions when you get a chance regarding specialty dining. Did you have any issues regarding getting a specialty restaurant on any given night? I mean if one were fully booked, was it easy to get a reservation elsewhere? How long in advance did you have to book? Day of or days before. I assume you just asked your butler to do it.

I happen to think Luminae is fantastic. My travel companion wasn't all that impressed; I don't think she gave it enough of a chance... she didn't like her first meal there so decided not to go back. I love it so we'll have to come to some compromises. :D Thanks once again. This has been very informative. My first, last and only R/S was a while back, and as I recall, the unlimited specialties were not part of the experience.

We actually booked all of our specialty restaurants in advance of the trip but it got all messed up when Tuscan Grill was closed for a private event that the shore side concierge didn't know about. On our Tuscan Grill night we were escorted to Murano instead and seated immediately. From that night on (our second night in) our reservations were out of sync so we just played it by ear and didn't pursue any further reservations. Each night we were able to get a table at whatever place we chose and there was never a wait. We actually ate at Silk Harvest one night and never thought we would until we saw their food display...it looked pretty good and we ended up enjoying it very much. As for the chef's Table and wine pairing meals, they are not included in the unlimited specialty meals. We did, however take advantage of Sushi on 5 two times for lunch...it was excellent. I especially enjoyed their craft cocktail made with cucumber and jalapeno infused vodka, I think...I had 2 of them! I hope you enjoy your trip!

Christina

[Georgia_Peaches]

Georgia Peaches

Did you happen to notice the earliest flite from MIA for luggage valet?

Have enjoyed your review. Heading to the Equinox December 1st.

 

Also have you seen Milton aka Santa Claus on board?

 

Thank you

I didn't pay too much attention because my DH told me that we didn't qualify bc our flight was too early. Our flight time was 10:05 AM...so I guess whatever it is, the cutoff is later than 10 AM. Sorry, I can't tell you more.

Christina

PS...I did not see Milton.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Thanks for posting the day by day. We're doing the Eastern itinerary on 8/4. I have a sales rep in San Juan so he is picking us up and taking us on a tour and then dinner. I would rather have the early day as well. My question is, what time does the casino open that night? I would assume it's after we are out to sea by a few miles so it would be a late night.

Michelle

Casino didn't open until after 11:30...we went to a party on the pool deck instead and then called it a night...

[Georgia_Peaches]

Day 8 Home from the Equinox...

Much as I love cruising, I hate it when it comes to an end. We had such a great time on the Equinox and would definitely do it again. Following are my final thoughts on this cruise starting with the Royal Suite.

 

Royal Suite:

Loved the suite itself and all of the extras that came with it. We were perfectly situated on deck ten (1118) near the elevators. Despite being close to the doors, we never heard any sound. Our suite was clean and beautiful and showed no signs of wear. My Bvlgari bath products were replenished daily as was our ice and mini bar. Each day we were met with some little surprise, like roses and even a bottle of red left by our Butler Jo about three days into the cruise. He took care of our every need but was never overbearing. Bernie kept our cabin spotless and was also very unobtrusive. On night 1 of the cruise I noticed the bedroom was much warmer than the living room. I asked Bernie to check on the a/c in the bedroom. He had maintenance out right away and it got somewhat fixed but Bernie arranged for a fan to be put in our room just in case I got too warm. He explained that the previous passenger requested it to be warm...

We also enjoyed the balcony every morning and evening. My mistake was not taking into consideration the position of the sun in the morning when picking our location and we took a lot of direct sunlight. We ended up having to move our table closer to the bath tub in order to get into the shade. This was the only issue the entire time...

My DH and I enjoyed receiving the Royal treatment that is associated with this suite but we did not really drink the spirits that were set up in our room because of the drink package. We did, however take advantage of the constant supply of water and soft drinks that were always at our finger tips. So would we do this category again? Absolutely yes! Even if it means cruising a little less often, we would definitely splurge again for the right itinerary.

 

The cruise itself:

I said I was going to pay attention to chair hogs, up-selling, cut backs, and the role of the cruise director...to name a few. My over all assessment of the chair hogs is that there were some out there. But the pool attendants were also hard at work keeping an eye out for things that seemed to be reserving chairs and removing them for others to sit. Even with those who never got caught, there was always a place to sit.

Cut-backs: I didn't really notice them all that much...a book was no longer included in the Chef's Table experience...but we received a group photo (8x10 size).

Up-selling: didn't really see much of that either. There were lots of events advertised in the dailies that required a fee but I don't consider that an up-sell as much as an advertisement. Strangely, on the last day of the cruise, as I was walking into Persian Garden, I passed the salon and someone asked me if I wanted a pedicure. This was the first time the whole trip that someone asked me point blank if I wanted a special service. I declined and laughed to my husband that I thought it was odd that I was asked on the last day...guess she thought I might want one for the trip home. I'm sure there were up-selling attempts out there, we were just lucky enough not to be bombarded by them.

Cruise Director Maarten: He was pleasant enough but if he's in charge of scheduling the activities for the ship, he could use some revision on his evening line-up which tended to be a little on the sleepy side. I encountered a gentleman in Luminae who indicated that he was moving on to the Edge. This is different from what I had heard but he insisted it was true. Some Cruise Critic followers have posted that they think it's Richard Spacey. IDK...either way, for me the cruise director had very little to do with the experience we had on our cruise.

Final thoughts:

This was perhaps our best Celebrity experience. Everyone on board ship (employees) was eager to please and seemed very happy. Even the bar tenders who were constantly pouring, mixing, and shaking, remained light hearted and pleasant. From the time we embarked, to this morning when we effortlessly left the ship, there isn't anything negative I can say about the experience. We left the ship this morning at 8 Am and were through customs and and in the taxi line by 8:15...no more declaration forms to complete. In fact, nobody even asked if we bought anything.

My only regret is that it's over and work awaits me again on Monday...

Bon Voyage, everyone!

[bighairtexan]

Christina (I guess for some weird reason I've been referring to you as Mary Lou so I apologize... but you'll ALWAYS be Mary LOU TO ME!) :D

 

Anyway your answers have been extremely detailed and helpful to me. My travel pal had asked me a few questions and I said I'd find out. But you know how it is calling Celebrity shoreside service. Polite but as for informed.... well they're POLITE.

 

ANYWAY, your review was really informative and helpful. You answered questions I didn't know I had! :D

[garyl62]

Thanks for the great thread! It was nice to read a little summary of each day, and since you limited your postings it sounds like you were able to enjoy your trip and not seem tied to your keyboard. You mentioned you flight time home from MIA departed at 10:05 and you were in the taxi line at 8:15. Did you feel you had plenty of time to make the flight? Obviously you made it, but was there any anxiety in the process? We're starting to look at flight time for our next Equinox trip and I'd love to catch the 10:05 if I was confident it wouldn't be an issue.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Thanks for the great thread! It was nice to read a little summary of each day, and since you limited your postings it sounds like you were able to enjoy your trip and not seem tied to your keyboard. You mentioned you flight time home from MIA departed at 10:05 and you were in the taxi line at 8:15. Did you feel you had plenty of time to make the flight? Obviously you made it, but was there any anxiety in the process? We're starting to look at flight time for our next Equinox trip and I'd love to catch the 10:05 if I was confident it wouldn't be an issue.

Gary, making the 10:05 was really a breeze in our case. MIA isn't very far from the pier and the airport itself is on the smaller side and easier to navigate than some (like ATL). It took about 20 minutes to get through the security line in the airport. We got to our gate a little after 9 and started boarding at 9:40. However, here's the caveat, since we were in a suite, we were escorted past the groups waiting to have their number called to exit the ship. I have no idea how long their wait time was. For us, getting off the ship a little before 8 was pretty easy, but had we been much later than that, we may not have been as lucky due to the growing customs line following the 8 AM rush. So yes, if you don't linger on the ship and keep your luggage with you, 10:05 is doable.

Safe travels,

Christina

[cruisefreaks]

Hi Georgia Peach! I have enjoyed following you on the Eclipse. Can you tell me who were the officers on the ship? Thanks!

[cruisingagentone]

Georgia Peaches

Thank You for your response.

Glad to hear you had a good time

[Lois R]

We've done the Chef's Table 4 or 5 times. The first few times the dishes were not available at any other restaurant. Then they started to use several dishes from other restaurants. That, coupled with the amount of food, caused us to stop doing them.

 

Glad you are enjoying your cruise

 

Hi Mary Lou:)....they also used to offer a different type of Chef's Table than this one in Murano......and not just food from other restaurants either. I remember years ago I ate inside the Galley......they set up a table in front

of one of the "Chef's offices".......I think there were about 8 or 10 people.....totally off the menu foods prepared

separately from everything else......so over the years. X has done many changes for this particular dinner.

[mmmongo]

Gary, making the 10:05 was really a breeze in our case. MIA isn't very far from the pier and the airport itself is on the smaller side and easier to navigate than some (like ATL). It took about 20 minutes to get through the security line in the airport. We got to our gate a little after 9 and started boarding at 9:40. However, here's the caveat, since we were in a suite, we were escorted past the groups waiting to have their number called to exit the ship. I have no idea how long their wait time was. For us, getting off the ship a little before 8 was pretty easy, but had we been much later than that, we may not have been as lucky due to the growing customs line following the 8 AM rush. So yes, if you don't linger on the ship and keep your luggage with you, 10:05 is doable.

Safe travels,

Christina

 

 

Customs line got REALLY long by the time we were off and our final bag presented itself on the carousel. We were doing an excursion, so were Group 8, but we had to wait on bags as well. But needless to say having Suite escort plus not waiting for bags certainly sounds like it helped! :-)

[rilco33647]

I agree completely with this review. On the same cruise! Marteen IS going to Edge! He's 25! People love him!

[garyl62]

Thanks for the replies, we're in a suite so we have that advantage. We've never disembarked with our bags but it can't be much different than schlepping through an airport with them. Good to know that flight could be an option. Thanks again.

 

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[FredZiffle]

Thanks for the replies, we're in a suite so we have that advantage. We've never disembarked with our bags but it can't be much different than schlepping through an airport with them. Good to know that flight could be an option. Thanks again.

 

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We've been carrying our own bags off for at least 15 years and would never go back to having to pack the night before; hoping we didn't pack something we'll need in the morning; hoping all our bags are waiting in the terminal; and waiting for our group to be called to disembark. We enjoy the last night of our cruise; leisurely pack after breakfast; and stroll off whenever we feel like it. I am truly amazed that everyone doesn't do it, but, if they did, it would be a mess. As is, the only even remotely challenging part is finding an open elevator on the ship.