Review of Equinox and Retreat from infrequent cruisers

[lukaaj12]

Hi all! This board has been so helpful as I planned a big cruise for the first time in awhile, so I wanted to repay all of the kindness, tips, and tricks I learned and provide a review of our cruise.  We had an amazing experience overall, with just one complaint really about the butler changes, that I'll explain further below.

 

My husband and I were on the 10/14 ABC islands sailing on Equinox.  We are mid-thirties, and this was our 3rd cruise together, 2nd on Celebrity, but we haven't cruised since 2017 (having kids and a pandemic got in the way for a bit).  This was my 12th cruise overall, having cruised quite a bit with my family growing up.  My first cruise ever was the Celebrity Century sometime in the late 1990s and I've always liked the product/brand so we have stuck with it and my husband basically loves everything about cruising.

 

We decided to splurge for our first kid-free trip to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, and booked a corner sunset veranda Sky Suite.  We booked about 18 months in advance, before some of these crazy price hikes went into effect, and took advantage through our TA with some price drops, so ultimately I feel like what we paid with the perks included was around the same if not less than if we had a regular veranda and had to purchase drink package/internet separately.  I was initially indifferent about the Retreat areas but my parents were on the Beyond in Retreat about a month before us so gave us a good idea of what to expect, although I knew we were on an older ship with not quite the same areas, but was looking forward to it nonetheless.  Lots of posts on here throughout the summer and fall had me worried about the level of service, food, and ship, but honestly we couldn't have been more impressed.

 

Since this was our first trip without the kiddos (we had 2 in 2 years during the pandemic!!) we picked this itinerary to have more sea days for relaxation, as well as explore the ABC islands which were new to both of us (requirement by my husband since I've traveled much more than he has).  We almost exclusively hung out in Retreat areas just for smaller crowds and more attention by staff, which was surprising to me as I didn't think we'd use the areas so much.  The Sundeck was fantastic although the drink service was a little slow as they only had one worker get drinks and no bar up there, we'd sometimes pop down to the Mast Bar to grab things ourselves which was no big deal.  We ate lunch out there most days and found the food to be very fresh and served hot.  But overall we preferred the quieter vibe of the sundeck over the pool decks which got quite crowded and a bit rowdy throughout the sea days.

 

Our cabin (#1666) was HUGE, much bigger than I was expecting, not sure if it was larger than a typical Sky Suite because it was the corner or not.  It was great to have a large porthole side window, and the balcony was large enough for 2 loungers (we had to request the second one) and a table/chairs, although we didn't spend a ton of time on the balcony.  I found the bed to be quite comfortable and our room attendant/Retreat Host was happy to give us some extra pillows.  Everything in the bathroom was spotless and worked great, although the rainfall shower head was surprisingly short over the tub and my 6" husband had to duck to fit underneath!

 

We typically ate breakfast in the OVC which was fine, albeit very crowded but tons of options and we didn't tire from it.  We ate all dinners but one in Luminae and were blown away by the staff.  We had the most excellent waiter, assistant waiter, and sommelier who really took care of us and made us feel at home the entire week.  If you're going on the Equinox soon and eating in Luminae, ask for Vinod and Sajo!  I am a bit of a picky eater and Vinod had learned my preferences by the second night and would bring me different menus from Blu or the main dining room if he felt like I wouldn't like the Luminae menu, and he really took care of us.  Food was fantastic, really no complaints.  To be honest, I was expecting a lot more sad steamed vegetables and ice cream scoops of mashed potatoes than I had, but we didn't eat in the main dining room so cannot speak to the quality there.

 

I thought the ship was in great shape, some of the carpets were worn and the public bathroom sinks had some buildup, but I know Equinox is going into dry dock soon so I'm sure those will be addressed.  I had read so many negative things about the ship, I really tried to meter my expectations but honestly was quite blown away and impressed with almost every aspect of our 8 day cruise.

 

The only thing that didn't work out for us was this Sky Suite butler team.  I read extensively about it through CC posts, and knew what to expect.  We had a card in our room for a Head Butler John, who we never met once during the cruise.  The Retreat Lounge had 2 concierges for all suite guests, Gazelle and Ian who was absolutely fantastic and so accommodating to any request we had.  Our Retreat Host/room attendant Efren was equally wonderful, and was sure to point out different perks and things we got as suite guests (like to disregard the room service charges, etc).  We had called the Head Butler once or twice to assist with a few things, and while he would always answer the phone, he'd tell us to reach out to someone else, or let us know we'd be getting a call to follow up, but there was never anything further.  We leaned on our host and the two concierges who were able to handle everything we needed (nothing major, just some room service orders, and a spa appointment), so we just didn't bother with John after that.  In all it was an annoyance, but there were others to pick up his slack and it didn't detract from the cruise whatsoever.

 

I love live music and was looking forward to grabbing drinks in various lounges and bars, but I wasn't a big fan of any of the entertainment groups that were on the Equinox.  Plenty talented, just not my personal preference, so we skipped most of that and only went to one of the production shows, which I also wasn't that impressed with.  This was quite different than our 2017 Med cruise on the Reflection where there were multiple musicians we loved and saw alot of throughout the cruise, so just a small disappointment.

 

We used OBC for 2 different shore excursions.  I'd typically prefer to plan my own adventure but we had received quite a bit of credit, and the excursions were great.  A bit like herding cats in the beginning but well-executed and easy to get off the ship and onto the adventure.  We did a boat/snorkling excursion in Curacao and a kayak/beach snorkle in Bonaire.  We did our own thing in Aruba, heading over to Renaissance Island for the day which included lunch and massages for a flat rate fee (tip I picked up from someone on here- thank you!)

 

In all, it was a fantastic cruise, everything we were hoping for to celebrate our anniversary and explore some new islands.  I was a bit nervous about the state of the Equinox based on reviews here, but those were completely unfounded.  I do acknowledge that I'm probably not the typical Celebrity cruiser, and I do cruise infrequently, but the brand has held up to me throughout the years and I will cruise on Celebrity again in the future.  It will be very hard to go back to a "regular" cabin after being completely spoiled in the Retreat!

 

 

[montythecat]

Have a look at Holland America for some great live music,

particularly on the newer ships. It might be more your cup of tea.

[39august]

We were on EQ the cruise before yours as last of a b2b2b. Also disappointed with on board music. Usually that is a highlight of my Celebrity cruise entertainment. These were just OK, nothing I really, really enjoyed as on past cruises. I hope this is not a trend as we are back in Jan. 

[miched]

We had Vinod many cruises.    We is fantastic.  
 

Why didn’t you have breakfast, and lunch in a Luminae?  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[mailmama]

I am sailing on Equinox in a couple weeks. I'm so hoping Vinod is still in Luminae. He was fantastic last year!!

[lukaaj12]

I believe he is on until January, please tell him Andrew and Allison say hello!

[hcat]

Nice review..you might find music  better on  E class ships.

Happy Anniversary!

[RichYak]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:59 AM, lukaaj12 said:

We had called the Head Butler once or twice to assist with a few things, and while he would always answer the phone, he'd tell us to reach out to someone else

IMO this answer is unacceptable. The “someone else” I would have called would be the Hotel Director to have him “retrained”. That seems to be a magic word that makes things happen. 
 

If Celebrity wants to remove butler service for Sky Suites, they should just do it so guests can adjust their expectations. If not, we should simply insist on the level of service we received in the past. Surely someone on this alleged “butler team” can get things done. 

[miched]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

IMO this answer is unacceptable. The “someone else” I would have called would be the Hotel Director to have him “retrained”. That seems to be a magic word that makes things happen. 
 

If Celebrity wants to remove butler service for Sky Suites, they should just do it so guests can adjust their expectations. If not, we should simply insist on the level of service we received in the past. Surely someone on this alleged “butler team” can get things done. 

What really ticks me off is I have booked 10 cruises in SS while on board because of the butler service and other perks that were in the suites.  They are NRD bookings.    I booked for those services and now they aren’t being provided.   If I cancel I will lose my deposits.   It is a breach of contract.  It isn’t worth suing over as It would cost more legal fees but it may be something to look into for a class action lawsuit.   🤷‍♂️

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[RichYak]

42 minutes ago, miched said:

What really ticks me off is I have booked 10 cruises in SS while on board because of the butler service and other perks that were in the suites.  They are NRD bookings.    I booked for those services and now they aren’t being provided.   If I cancel I will lose my deposits.   It is a breach of contract.  It isn’t worth suing over as It would cost more legal fees but it may be something to look into for a class action lawsuit.   🤷‍♂️

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Thankfully I have nothing booked and I certainly have no plans to. If I did and received the kind of service I’ve been reading about, I’d constantly be in the face of the Retreat Manager (not the concierges) and the Hotel Director. I suggest that everyone who reads this do the same. 

[zitsky]

49 minutes ago, miched said:

What really ticks me off is I have booked 10 cruises in SS while on board because of the butler service and other perks that were in the suites.  They are NRD bookings.    I booked for those services and now they aren’t being provided.   If I cancel I will lose my deposits.   It is a breach of contract.  It isn’t worth suing over as It would cost more legal fees but it may be something to look into for a class action lawsuit.   🤷‍♂️

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Sign me up for that lawsuit.  I signed up for another SS before the bait and switch.  Also an NRD.  
 

I would cancel but my husband is from that part of the world (Malaysia) and he is already making plans to visit friends and family.

 

I completely agree with @RichYak.  If nothing changes, I plan to be the worst kind of SOB to the Retreat Manager.  Sorry not sorry but we booked a $14K cruise with a $1400 NRD.

Edited October 30, 2023 by zitsky

[wrk2cruise]

8 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Thankfully I have nothing booked and I certainly have no plans to. If I did and received the kind of service I’ve been reading about, I’d constantly be in the face of the Retreat Manager (not the concierges) and the Hotel Director. I suggest that everyone who reads this do the same. 

 

Full chain of command is Butler -> Retreat Manager -> Guest Relations Director -> Hotel Director.

 

I assume the Retreat Host (stateroom attendant) still reports to the Assistant Chief Housekeeper but I would take any issue there to the Retreat Manager and up that chain as well as the Retreat Manager is really responsible for your in-suite experience.

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Full chain of command is Butler -> Retreat Manager -> Guest Relations Director -> Hotel Director.

 

I assume the Retreat Host (stateroom attendant) still reports to the Assistant Chief Housekeeper but I would take any issue there to the Retreat Manager and up that chain as well as the Retreat Manager is really responsible for your in-suite experience.

Thanks. This is helpful as I’ve never heard of or been introduced to a Guest Relations Director. 

[RichYak]

18 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I plan to be the worst kind of SOB to the Retreat Manager.  Sorry not sorry but we booked a $14K cruise with a $1400 NRD.

This is how to effect change. Celebrity needs to be informed of their failures and be graded accordingly. 

[wrk2cruise]

16 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Thanks. This is helpful as I’ve never heard of or been introduced to a Guest Relations Director. 

 

They are basically in charge of the customer service aspect.   The Front Desk Manager,  Concierge Team also report to him/her.   Maybe Future Cruises to some extent but they also get lots of direction direct from Miami.

 

The front desk agents all report to the Front Desk Manager.

 

I've been amazed at the bloat of the middle managers (1-2 stripe) in the last several years.  You see them all over and rarely are they directly interacting with passengers.  (4 assistant bar managers is one example).  In the current environment of cost cutting it seems that the customer facing positions are being reduced but these positions remain.

 

In my years in the IT industry when things got tight the middle management layers were hit hardest often removing entire layers.

Edited October 30, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[Cap_D]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

I've been amazed at the bloat of the middle managers (1-2 stripe) in the last several years.  You see them all over and rarely are they directly interacting with passengers.  (4 assistant bar managers is one example).  In the current environment of cost cutting it seems that the customer facing positions are being reduced but these positions remain.

@lukaaj12, great review.  Thanks. 

 

@wrk2cruise We observed these 1-2 stripe walkie talkie/ phone and ipad crew members on the two cruises we took.  We found it annoying that they'd be standing just a step or two away from another crew member but rarely engage directly with a customer.  In hindsight, we rationalized this as they were for quality control and their roles were a result of low cost labor and the ship caste system.  That may still be the case, but it also could result in the feeling no one was responsible or owning a particular issue and inefficiency.  In some ways I hope it keeps crew on their toes.  But, the impression made might get worse now in light of the cutbacks.  How many crew does one need to interact with for [fill in the blank] or to make a decent meal?  The answer may or has become it won't matter, because the middle management and the crew don't have the right material, ingredients, parameters to be customer centric. 

 

Agree with @zitsky and @RichYak - We'd take any customer service issue directly to the top (Hotel Director) and let them sort it out in the absence of anyone clearly taking ownership and being reliable.  If they can't handle it they can appoint a designee, and report back to HQ that the new team doesn't work.  (Not that anyone seems to care at HQ). 

 

Of course, it's possible the Hotel Directors and Retreat Managers won't care about customer service.  I haven't read anyone comment on that yet.  Given the changes and orders from HQ, the days of relying on the Hotel Director to care may be numbered.  At some point they may be fine with Retreat customers being given the run around and back of the hand by the head butler or whomever. 

 

There are possible solutions to the service issues that could be implemented, but all involve wanting to be customer centric and giving customers access to things that cost money, including food.  The changes are still very disappointing, and seem like a bait and switch.  

 

Was recently at a top hotel in a top tourist city known for hospitality and found the physical hotel had seen better days including cleanliness and other areas that could be helped by active management and staff.  Some physical issues won't be helped by the staff, but would be looked over if the service was better.  Yet, the manager was never present and didn't do a thing when the issues were brought to their attention.  Hopefully that isn't what the shipboard experience becomes on Celebrity.  

Edited October 30, 2023 by Cap_D

[RichYak]

8 hours ago, Cap_D said:

Of course, it's possible the Hotel Directors and Retreat Managers won't care about customer service.  I haven't read anyone comment on that yet.  Given the changes and orders from HQ, the days of relying on the Hotel Director to care may be numbered.  At some point they may be fine with Retreat customers being given the run around and back of the hand by the head butler or whomever. 

Well, then all we can do is name names and give the back of the hand on post cruise surveys. I have no problem calling out customer service issues. I've never really had one on any of my past Celebrity cruises until Summit this past August where there I had numerous issues.

[zitsky]

And to be clear I plan to be as pleasant with the front line staff as I can be.  But if the butlers try to pass me around to my cabin attendant I will give them and the Hotel Director some feedback.  Loudly.

[PTC DAWG]

The OP stated they enjoyed the cruise, with maybe a hiccup or two..yet many of y'all take that as a sign to go off on Celebrity.

Edited October 30, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[hcat]

18 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

The OP stated they enjoyed the cruise, with maybe a hiccup or two..yet many of y'all take that as a sign to go off on Celebrity.  Some of y'all can't be pleased, I'm positive of it.  

positive review ..... they were happy with X and said they would book again.

 

There are other threads to air grievances with Xs "Butlergate". 

 

Would like to hear more from new X cruisers!

[RichYak]

21 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

The OP stated they enjoyed the cruise, with maybe a hiccup or two..yet many of y'all take that as a sign to go off on Celebrity.

How do you get from taking issue with, and acting on, the attitude and performance of a head butler to going off on Celebrity? Don't be so melodramatic.

[Pennstatedj]

We were on the same cruise and were in mdr. I agreed with all you said. We are also Zenith and experienced retreat bar. All service was great in retreat bar and all dining. I have the same opinions about bar entertainment around the ship. I am over 70 and like acoustic guitars singers. In July on the Equinox there were two great performers, this time jazz and classical genres were the tune. Not our cup of tea. They were good but made us seek out the house band and party band. We still had a great cruise. This is why I like X, every cruise is different when it comes to entertainment. We still enjoy cruising. 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

The OP stated they enjoyed the cruise, with maybe a hiccup or two..yet many of y'all take that as a sign to go off on Celebrity.

You read a comment from a few cruisers saying they would give Celebrity feedback about service levels and you’re confused?

[chisoxfan]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:08 AM, montythecat said:

Have a look at Holland America for some great live music,

particularly on the newer ships. It might be more your cup of tea.

Comment struck a chord. Please forgive moving off target a bit. On Apex the vocal groups seemed to be controlled by someone running a computerized mixing board. The sound was muddy and 'artificial'. I felt that they may have been using background music tracks in their performance. Very disappointing.

Love HAL with their live music venues where you don't have to ask 'is it Memorex' (an ancient reference from the 70's which referred to the sound difference between recorded and live music). Thanks for the indulgence.

[CruisinShips]

Good review, thank you.  But being the child at heart that I am, I did chuckle at this bit of TMI:

 

"Everything in the bathroom was spotless and worked great, although the rainfall shower head was surprisingly short over the tub and my 6" husband had to duck to fit underneath!"