LIVE from Equinox (June 24, 2023), sailing on a budget

[happy cruzer]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:13 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

We had an excellent dinner in the MDR last night. We started the evening with wine in the ensemble lounge and listened to live music.

We were seated immediately for dinner, around 6pm. I had the BBQ spring roll and the cream of chicken to start, both were excellent. For my main, I had the braised beef brochette and a side portion of the linguine. 

We then ran up to the top deck to watch the last of the sunset and our sail away. It was a nice, peaceful night! 

While I’ve been typing this, we’ve just been sitting off of Bonaire waiting to pull into port. The engines just kicked in though and we’ll be there for an early, 7AM arrival. I think we’ll plan on getting off the ship and heading to Sorobon beach. We’ll likely get back to the ship for lunch. 

Thank you for posting the pictures of the food.  Just looking at the menu I would have never guessed the food was a good as it looks.  The descriptions of the menu items are not very clear to me - I did not see beef mentioned on the briochet or shrimp on the linguine.  So I would not have known what to order.  Now I know to ask for more detail 🙂  Very helpful.

[Ciaranaman]

Thank you for your wonderful review 😊

Bernadette

[AbbyCruiser45]

11 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Thank you for posting the pictures of the food.  Just looking at the menu I would have never guessed the food was a good as it looks.  The descriptions of the menu items are not very clear to me - I did not see beef mentioned on the briochet or shrimp on the linguine.  So I would not have known what to order.  Now I know to ask for more detail 🙂  Very helpful.

Yes, I thought it was strange that neither mentioned the protein. The brochette I knew only because my parents were on the Silhouette at the same time and they were a night ahead of our menus, so my mom recommended that. The linguine was a complete surprise though. If I was vegetarian, I’d be frustrated. As someone that loves shrimp, I was thrilled 😂

[sunkey1]

Thanks for your excellent review and congrats on your completing your education - kudos!! I am actually looking at this run/ship for October and had a few questions. What did you think about the evening entertainment? Our most recent cruise (NCL) had limited, just okay options and was quite a let down - obvious budget cutting. We like to at least have the choice to go to a show or have some music to listen to. Also, we were on the Equinox many years back and I've gotten leery about going on older ships. How has she been maintained? I would imagine that Celebrity does a better job at keeping things pristine than a lot of other lines do. Thanks!

[conquesodor]

22 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Now I want to say something that might be a strong opinion or not well-received. I've been browsing the boards and the last few months while on board. When doing that, you might think that Celebrity has gone downhill, and it's similar to a line like NCL or Carnival. Similarly, there have been several mentions that you won't be satisfied on X unless you go suite class, and that's what these changes are intended to push you towards. I really do not think that is the case. I had a perfect vacation and felt well taken care of on board.

 

 

I'm glad you had a great cruise on Equinox. I have been reading posts on here about Celebrity going downhill since 2010. Thankfully, my experiences have never matched the complaints that I have seen over the years. Generally speaking, dissatisfied people are more motivated to find a way to share their displeasure, then it is for someone to take the time to write a positive review. Cruisers are no different, but thankfully there is lots of great feedback and advice to be found as well. I appreciate you taking the time to share you experiences with us.

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, conquesodor said:

 

I'm glad you had a great cruise on Equinox. I have been reading posts on here about Celebrity going downhill since 2010. Thankfully, my experiences have never matched the complaints that I have seen over the years. Generally speaking, dissatisfied people are more motivated to find a way to share their displeasure, then it is for someone to take the time to write a positive review. Cruisers are no different, but thankfully there is lots of great feedback and advice to be found as well. I appreciate you taking the time to share you experiences with us.

When I start getting a little down on Celebrity, I look at my beautiful photos from all over the world; Celebrity was my transportation for so many of these great memories!  That, in itself, perks me up and makes me smile.

[AbbyCruiser45]

4 hours ago, sunkey1 said:

Thanks for your excellent review and congrats on your completing your education - kudos!! I am actually looking at this run/ship for October and had a few questions. What did you think about the evening entertainment? Our most recent cruise (NCL) had limited, just okay options and was quite a let down - obvious budget cutting. We like to at least have the choice to go to a show or have some music to listen to. Also, we were on the Equinox many years back and I've gotten leery about going on older ships. How has she been maintained? I would imagine that Celebrity does a better job at keeping things pristine than a lot of other lines do. Thanks!

I thought there were a lot of great options every evening. There was usually live music in at least two venues, like the atrium and a lounge. Then there were shows at 7 and 9 that included from theater productions (which I did not attend) a comedian, a magician, and a singer. The ones I did attend were great, even the magician who was also quite funny. 
 

As for the age of the ship, I think the Equinox is in great shape. There are some signs of outdated design, but not really wear and tear. I didn’t notice things like rust and they are always cleaning and working on the ship. We even saw a crew member hauling a chair out of a lounge that had a broken spring. So to me, it seems like they do a good job at maintaining the ship. 

[MisterMet]

On 7/5/2023 at 2:15 PM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

This will be my last narrative post in this thread! I wanted to wrap it up with a little review/reflection. After getting off the ship, I have had a whirlwind of the last few days. We had moved before the vacation but saved the unpacking and decorating for after. Now that we have that all done, I can make this post! 

 

Overall my review is extremely positive. I also sailed the Equinox last summer, so I have a decently even comparison. The service on this trip was much better. Nothing was super lacking last year besides a really poor Tuscan experience, our stateroom attendant was slow in making up our room, and main dining was super slow. The opposite was true here! Our Tuscan experience was great, our stateroom attendant was fast and fantastic, and MDR was fast and good quality. Maybe it was the luck of the draw, but maybe it's a trend. 

 

Now I know some of you are already reacting to me saying the MDR was good quality. Here is what I think. The menu trial on the Equinox was not great because it was a limited menu. However, the dishes they did prepare were still really nicely done. I hope they return to the normal menu permanently because I missed some favorites.

 

Bar service was also much faster and better this year than last (same capacity). The servers were super attentive, and they were personable too. As for the casino, yes, there was the vaping change. No, it was not noticeable. I imagine it would be unpleasant if someone sitting beside you were vaping. I was sure to leave strong comments in my survey because I recommend Celebrity often to friends and family because of the no vaping rule. Alas, as @Georgia_Peaches mentioned in her live report going on now, surveys likely won't matter, as revenue is the bottom line. 

 

Now I want to say something that might be a strong opinion or not well-received. I've been browsing the boards and the last few months while on board. When doing that, you might think that Celebrity has gone downhill, and it's similar to a line like NCL or Carnival. Similarly, there have been several mentions that you won't be satisfied on X unless you go suite class, and that's what these changes are intended to push you towards. I really do not think that is the case. I had a perfect vacation and felt well taken care of on board. This is my third cruise with X, and I've previously sailed in an IV room and an inside room, this time in a balcony. My level of service has not felt different across the different room types, nor did I ever feel neglected/looked down upon since I was not in a suite. All of the crew were friendly, helpful, and just the best. I recognize that people's tastes and opinions differ, but these are just my two cents. So with that being said, go enjoy your next cruise without too much worry. I think most everything is just fine on board. 

 

Thank you to everyone that has read this far and followed along! I'm still happy to answer any lingering questions. For those interested, I am sailing on the Majestic Princess to Alaska on a family trip at the end of July. Because it is a family trip, I will have less free time and won't do a live thread over on the Princess boards, but I am thinking of doing a post here comparing this Equinox sailing to the Majestic. Happy sailing! 

Great review!  Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[Pippen5]

Congratulations - great achievement!  I will be following along as I'm doing same trip and ship in September.  Have a great time