Currently on the Equinox. Dec 12-22-2022

[lvmypug]

I know folks like to hear about what is happening on board.   We are on day 6 of a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise.  It’s been a very nice cruise with just a few not so great things.  The good:  The ship is about 2/3 full so finding a seat at any of the venues  is easy.  The food  and service is very good in the  main dining room. However getting  drink service in the Oceanview cafe is next to impossible. . Our room is kept neat and tidy thanks to our steward.  Room service is delivered on time and it is warm.  Staff are friendly and you see the Capt out and about every day.  The music in bars and lounges is exceptional and the guest speaker presentations  have  been excellent.   The Xmas decorations are tasteful but only in the grand foyer. 
 

There are a few negatives.   The theater shows have been sub par.   The comedian wasn’t funny, and just threw out old tired jokes.  We skipped the magician, just not our thing. The male singers in the large production shows are good but the women need to be told that screeching is not singing.  It was painful to listen at times.  The dancers were high energy and tried their best but often were out of sync with each other.  It looks like they haven’t danced together very long.  The acrobats added a nice touch to the show.     There isn’t a lot to do during the day if you don’t want to pay extra for activities and the movies offered are very dated  The internet is terrible as many have reported.  
 

We’ve taken a couple of excursions that we ok.  Not great but not terrible.  I would suggest you not  bother going to the tropical garden in Barbados. All the orchids were killed off by hurricanes and volcanic ash so you end up walking through gardens and screened huts of sticks.  I’m not sure why they continue to take tours there.   
 

As I said, it’s been a good cruise and the negatives are not enough to make us regret our decision to take this cruise.  

[ymncruise]

Thanks for the Barbados tip!

[FBWD]

We are leaving on Jan 2 2022, same itinerary. Please keep updating

[hhintz]

Thanks for sharing. Do you have the premium or standard Wi-Fi?  We are boarding on Thursday and it’s our first time on Celebrity. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by hhintz

[horseymike]

Thanks for the updates. They always help.

[hellokittyluver]

Thanks for the information. Would love to hear about St Lucia! 

[wrk2cruise]

On 12/17/2022 at 4:25 PM, lvmypug said:

I would suggest you not  bother going to the tropical garden in Barbados. All the orchids were killed off by hurricanes and volcanic ash so you end up walking through gardens and screened huts of sticks.

@lvmypug

 

What excursion was this?  Destination Highlight: Best of Barbados?  My SIL is booked on that in a couple of weeks.

[lvmypug]

On 12/18/2022 at 9:59 AM, hhintz said:

Thanks for sharing. Do you have the premium or standard Wi-Fi?  We are boarding on Thursday and it’s our first time on Celebrity. 

We upgraded the basic internet package to premium a couple of days ago and it is working better.  Still kicks us off now and then but not as often

[lvmypug]

18 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

@lvmypug

 

What excursion was this?  Destination Highlight: Best of Barbados?  My SIL is booked on that in a couple of weeks.

Yes it was the Best of Barbados excursion. It was a very long tour (8 hrs)  and the time spent at this stop wasn’t worth it imho

[lvmypug]

1 hour ago, lvmypug said:

Yes it was the Best of Barbados excursion. It was a very long tour (8 hrs)  and the time spent at this stop wasn’t worth it imho

Oops.  The Barbados tour wasn’t that long. I’m confusing it with the tour in Martinique 

[mahdnc]

On 12/17/2022 at 3:25 PM, lvmypug said:

I know folks like to hear about what is happening on board.   We are on day 6 of a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise.  It’s been a very nice cruise with just a few not so great things.  The good:  The ship is about 2/3 full so finding a seat at any of the venues  is easy.  The food  and service is very good in the  main dining room. However getting  drink service in the Oceanview cafe is next to impossible. . Our room is kept neat and tidy thanks to our steward.  Room service is delivered on time and it is warm.  Staff are friendly and you see the Capt out and about every day.  The music in bars and lounges is exceptional and the guest speaker presentations  have  been excellent.   The Xmas decorations are tasteful but only in the grand foyer. 
 

There are a few negatives.   The theater shows have been sub par.   The comedian wasn’t funny, and just threw out old tired jokes.  We skipped the magician, just not our thing. The male singers in the large production shows are good but the women need to be told that screeching is not singing.  It was painful to listen at times.  The dancers were high energy and tried their best but often were out of sync with each other.  It looks like they haven’t danced together very long.  The acrobats added a nice touch to the show.     There isn’t a lot to do during the day if you don’t want to pay extra for activities and the movies offered are very dated  The internet is terrible as many have reported.  
 

We’ve taken a couple of excursions that we ok.  Not great but not terrible.  I would suggest you not  bother going to the tropical garden in Barbados. All the orchids were killed off by hurricanes and volcanic ash so you end up walking through gardens and screened huts of sticks.  I’m not sure why they continue to take tours there.   
 

As I said, it’s been a good cruise and the negatives are not enough to make us regret our decision to take this cruise.  

Your sailing date in the title cannot be correct if you are on board already.  Or are you doing a B2B? We originally had the Dec 22 2022 Equinox Holiday cruise booked but unfortunately had to cancel many months ago.  Sure wish we were going.

Edited December 19, 2022 by mahdnc

[KKB]

On 12/17/2022 at 3:25 PM, lvmypug said:

 

There are a few negatives.   The theater shows have been sub par.   The comedian wasn’t funny, and just threw out old tired jokes.  We skipped the magician, just not our thing. The male singers in the large production shows are good but the women need to be told that screeching is not singing.  It was painful to listen at times.  The dancers were high energy and tried their best but often were out of sync with each other.  It looks like they haven’t danced together very long.  The acrobats added a nice touch to the show.     There isn’t a lot to do during the day if you don’t want to pay extra for activities and the movies offered are very dated  The internet is terrible as many have reported.  
 

 

We were on Equinox last month.

Agree that production shows were subpar...tho Life was very good. Felt the leads were all excellent. (didn't find the women screechy at all; I particularly remember the young blond was exceptional).

I haven't seen too many funny comedians on ships in general--not a great trend!

We found PLENTY to do during the day (we love to be busy).

But if  the offerings aren't your thing, certainly I could see. (tho I find them to be typical of past events)

I'm not sure what extra activities there are besides Deal or No Deal, wine tastings or spa?'

I saw the new Top Gun movie, the last sea day...so pretty darn new!

[Dar & Bob]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

Your sailing date in the title cannot be correct if you are on board already.  Or are you doing a B2B? We originally had the Dec 22 2022 Equinox Holiday cruise booked but unfortunately had to cancel many months ago.  Sure wish we were going.

The sailing date is December 12th to the 22nd - not 12-22

[mahdnc]

33 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

The sailing date is December 12th to the 22nd - not 12-22

 

Thank you.  The mind sees what it wants to see.

[MISTER 67]

We've sailed on the Equinox 4 times, 2 right before the pandemic and 2 this past summer, all 4 were great cruises with excellent food, service and entertainment. The Equinox is a beautiful ship and we are sailing on her sister, the Relection on April 2nd.

[lvmypug]

Another update.  We didn’t book a tour in St Lucia since we’ve been there several times.  In Martinique we booked the Best of Martinique tour.  It was a long day but a very nice tour of the island.  In St Kitts we booked the St Kitts Essentials and again we really enjoyed this tour.  
 

One thing that has impressed us is the Captain and other officers are on the pier every day we are in port wishing us a good day as we leave. Like many of the things we like about Celebrity, it’s those small gestures and details that really make the difference.  
 

We had dinner at Le Petite on day 3. This was our second time, having dined there on the Apex last year.   I must admit it wasn’t as exciting the second time but the food was excellent.  They told us they would be switching menus on day 5 for the remainder of the cruise.  We’ve had lunch at the spa cafe a couple of times.  We like the lighter fare for lunch.   Breakfast in the main dining room was tasty but service was quite slow so we tended to go to Oceanview cafe for breakfast. 
 

it’s been quite hectic  since we’ve been in port every day for the past 5 days   We were invited to view the sail away from the helicopter landing pad at the front of the ship yesterday.  Again, a nice touch.  If invited,  I encourage you to attend. The view is spectacular. 
 

The next two days will be sea days and we look forward  to relaxing and attending  the guest speaker’s talks about NASA and the space program.    
 

 

[aml3679]

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line.

Equinox is our favorite ship.

We were spoiled rotten.

Because we live in Florida and are retired, we mostly cruise on carnival now because of the price and the cruise port is very close to our house.

That being said, we have a sky suite booked for next November on Celebrity.

We find the food superior.

Sadly, we also found that the entertainment has much to be said for and that the entertainment on Carnival was much better.

[davidmaveng]

We just completed the December 12 to 22, and have a few different opinions, we have been on Celebrity since before 1990 and found the dinners the weakest ever, if you like pork you will find it on the menu, the steaks were very good, entertainment is fine every night a different show not the greatest but shows for a cruise are not the top of any entertainer list, the staff was terrific and a pleasure to be around. Ship was clean and since it was2/3 full finding lounges was not a problem. We tried the train on st kitts although the island is not that exciting the train ride can get you a little seasick but fun!  We still love celebrity but they need to work on the food for dinner& buffet

[love to cruz]

We just got off today & thoroughly enjoyed the shows in the theater. We personally felt all the singers were great (but it is personal thing) We especially liked the 3 male singers doing "Bring me home." We did miss the comedian however.  After 10 days I found the same breakfast menu every day a little boring. The staff could not have been nicer. We did the St. Kitts train ride & enjoyed the lovely scenery. I felt St. Kitts had the best prices for shopping of any of the islands we went to.

[Rmoosh]

We were on the same cruise. We really enjoyed Chloe singing around the ship. The variety show was a bit too religious specially Christian for our taste. I wonder if a sound adjustment could be made so the female singers aren’t so sharp sounding. 
 

We were disappointed with the best of Martinique excursion mainly because the group was so big (40+ people). Only plus was the lunch!
 

On our own we went to the st Nicholas Abbey and was a bit disappointed for the cost. It’s suppose to include a tasting of rum I believe but we received one small sample of a young 5 yr.

 

The ship was very clean, enjoyed the food and staff was really friendly. Was surprised to see very few bar menus and cocktail menus in the restaurants. I would

like to see a better selection for spirits and wines. Disappointed in Murano - bit stuffy for our taste and only one white by the glass from France which she provided it seemed as a favor.

 

 

[Duanerice1]

On 12/21/2022 at 2:16 AM, aml3679 said:

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line.

Equinox is our favorite ship.

We were spoiled rotten.

Because we live in Florida and are retired, we mostly cruise on carnival now because of the price and the cruise port is very close to our house.

That being said, we have a sky suite booked for next November on Celebrity.

We find the food superior.

Sadly, we also found that the entertainment has much to be said for and that the entertainment on Carnival was much better.

Ha ha. Exactly. Retired and living in FL, Celebrity is our  favorite but have been  sailing a lot of Carnival because of the price.  But, have an ABC booked on the Equinox for April. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Duanerice1

[cheeseheads4ever]

lvmypug,
Don’t know if you or anyone posting on here went to Martini Bar on Equinox but was wondering if you recall the names of the flair bartenders that were there every night and how hard was it to find a seat?

We leave on January 2nd. As usual did they have silent disco, full moon party by pool and any other do not miss things to do?

We appreciate any help.

 

 

 

 

 

[cruising teacher]

Can you ask the passenger count on the next cruise? Can’t wait😎

[cruising teacher]

Sorry wrong cruise. Obviously anxious to get out of Chicago weather 

[Kelownadon]

You say you didn’t do a tour in St. Lucia because you have been there many times. I wonder if you could provide some tips of what would be good to see. We usually like going to a beach or just walking off the ship to tour around for a few hours. However there doesn’t appear to be much worthwhile to see just walking off the ship. I could be wrong so would value your input. 
 

Thanks