Celebrity Equinox - disappointed

[We_like_to_cruise]

We spent eight days on the Equinox last month and were underwhelmed. 

 

As long time (Elite) Princess cruisers we decided to try Celebrity again after an absence of a few years.  Our most recent cruise was on the Island Princess, fairly similar in age and size to the Equinox.

 

We were pleased with our previous Celebrity cruises, especially the food and service.

 

But this cruise – not so much.

 

First, our balcony cabin – storage was a disaster.  Seriously - we had to climb onto the bed to store clothing in the only cabinet.  Whose bright idea was that???  Our cabin had no night tables but instead a couple of dingy damaged wooden triangular shelves on wheels.  We had to leave some items in the suitcase under the bed as there was nowhere to store them.

 

Gosh, we spent four months on the IP and had an accessible place for all of our belongings!

 

On the bright side our bathroom was refurbished and modern but storage was again at a premium.  Plenty of tiny little drawers that were not too useful.  We did enjoy the space capsule shower – no curtain! – with plenty of hot water although the water pressure could have been better.

 

The cabin had exactly two US plugs at the desk and none at all behind the bed. Our wonderful cabin steward Michael ran a very long extension cord all the way around the room to provide bedside electric access (CPAP).  The duct tape did not add to the room decor.  🙄  The bed was very comfy and our cabin was quiet.

 

Food of course is subjective but I think all would agree that if you wait over two hours for your dinner and it arrives cold then this is a problem.  The ice cream for dessert was half melted – obviously sitting around for some time.  We spoke with the head waiter and were eventually assigned to a new location with better service, but still had issues.

 

The menu was very repetitive.  DW loves escargot.  But this is the only cruise we have been on where it was a choice every single night.  The other starters were also basically the same every night and it did not take long to get bored with the lack of variety on even this shorter cruise.  The mains were ok, but nothing spectacular.  Certainly not worthy of the impression we had that Celebrity would wow us again with their meals.

 

We did have dinner at Le Petit Chef one evening and yes, it was gimmicky – but fun.  The food was not the main attraction, but it was better than the standard MDR fare.

 

Not impressed with the OVC food.  Yes, the area was large and there was plenty of seating.  But the stations were repetitive and gave the appearance there was more on offer than there actually was.  And we were spoiled at Princess by the constant appearance of the roving coffee servers happy to provide a refill.  Here it was every man for himself as we waited on line at the coffee urns.  (Don’t get me started on the morning one of the urns was not working when the OVC opened!)

 

Once, at breakfast, I attempted to add some walnuts to a bowl of oatmeal.  The walnut offering (in two locations) was literally dust with a sprinkling of tiny walnut pieces.  Seriously, it was the walnut dust you get at the very bottom of the container when you are at home and you would probably just discard it. I asked a server if I could get some real walnuts and a visit to the kitchen provided me with a nice helping of walnut halves.  So, why would you even serve your customers that walnut “dust”???  Truly pitiful.

 

Our only attempt at the sit down breakfast was not good.  We were seated and served coffee and offered pastries and then…nothing.  No waiter ever came to take our order.  Another couple later sat right next to us and within minutes a waiter took their order and then started to walk away.  I called out to him and politely informed him we had been sitting and waiting to order.  He said he was not our waiter - but would take the order anyway.  Our assigned waiter appeared after our food was served!

 

Our best meal was a four course luncheon on the last sea day.  Our booking was a special “warehouse club” discounted offering.  The featured Chef Sam Hazen luncheon was very very good and by far the best meal the entire week.  Pricing for this “Buyer’s Choice Cruise” was a great value and also included the classic drink package, internet, gratuities a welcome reception and a couple of chef run food demos.  We compared booking directly with X but the equivalent package was considerably more money.

 

One evening we stopped at a bar before dinner to get a drink.  I ordered a Jameson neat (Irish whiskey) and was curtly told by the bartender “We don’t serve that” as he walked away.  Turns out we were at the World Class Bar and being unfamiliar with the ship did not realize they specialized in exotic cocktails.  He could have educated me and offered a suggestion for a different bar that met my needs instead of being dismissive.  Or even offered a cocktail I might consider instead.  He was just plain rude.

 

Service by the bar staff was in general lackluster.  We sat for about 15 minutes in one bar area while three bartenders were at work.  No one ever came to take an order from us.  We sure missed the Princess medallions that worked flawlessly for us on our last voyages.

 

Ship layout seemed to concentrate on getting pax to sit around bars and drink.  No lounges with a small stage for activities.  We like to participate in fun activities before and after dinner but they were held in “Celebrity Central.”  This area had exactly 15 total chairs and there could be a hundred people participating – but standing around and blocking the walkway to the theater.  Very odd.

 

The “Grand Foyer” was humdrum and not a focal point for gathering.

 

Our healthy morning walks around the jogging path on Deck 14 were marred by the groups of smokers we had to walk by at the Mast Bar.  Is no one at Celebrity thinking when they put these ideas in place??? A smoking area adjacent to the jogging track?  At least the inside casino was no smoking.

 

The theater was lovely and we never had a problem getting a good seat.  We enjoyed the shows and the onboard talent was very good.

 

The ship seemed to be in a good shape and any minor maintenance issues did not affect us in the least.

 

Any interaction we had with guest services was prompt and courteous. 

 

Occasionally we had pre-dinner cocktails at the Ensemble Lounge after we made contact with a friendly bartender.  However this venue was dark, gloomy and claustrophobic.  As a matter of fact just about all of the lounges were interior with no outside view of the ocean and sky.  Puzzling design.

An exception was the Sky Lounge – a very large but underutilized space which infrequently held trivia contests. 

 

Pre-cruise we were inundated with “sale” offers for internet, upgraded bev packages, specialty dining, excursions, etc.  We are not ones to generally take ship sponsored excursions (prefer our own semi-private ones) but some of the offers were remarkably inexpensive.  Especially when we compared them with third party similar excursions.  As a result we did book a few.  Although we had been to most of the Caribbean ports numerous times, we did particularly enjoy our first visit to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.  The tour company did a wonderful job transporting us to the Virgin Gorda Baths and we had a lovely day there.  Highly recommended.

 

In conclusion, we give our voyage a grade B-  to  C+.  It was not the upscale experience we anticipated and just enough aggravations to make us reconsider future bookings with Celebrity.  We cancelled a 2024 Celebrity cruise on a sister Solstice class ship upon our return home. 

 

The majority of the thoughts in this review were forwarded to Celebrity in our post-cruise survey last month.  No reply from them yet, not sure if there will ever be one.

 

If you have any interest in reading about our 111 days on the Island Princess, click here:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by We_like_to_cruise
e

[Savage2017]

I have to agree, We did a cruise last month on Equinox, our first post Covid cruise. Our last cruise in 2019 was fantastic and unfortunately were left disappointed on our 2023 cruise. We have no problem with older/smaller ships as we find the staff and service is better. Equinox was different, the food was very disappointing and very salty some nights in the MDR and we made a complaint on a few nights. The variety is not there and yes a lot of items being repeated, some nights there was 3 soups as starter choices!!! MDR is normally our favourite place to eat as on past ships the staff and food were brill and added hugely to our experience, however we were constantly being seated in different areas so never got to know any staff fully, we tried to reserve but the hostess told us we could not. We did find out from guests at the end of the cruise if you went down after 5:30pm you could reserve a table!!! We ate in Tuscan Grill on one night, the staff and food was lovely.
We are not theatre people however we love the live music and found the entertainment at sunset bar, and other bars/areas extremely disappointing. We noted all this in the survey and also mentioned it to our TA who advised we were not the first to mention about the disappointing food and entertainment. We normally give extra tips to staff who we love and often have a long list but this is the first cruise our list was very small. Definitely a big difference between pre and post Covid.

Also noticed in comparison to previous cruises a lot of smoking areas, always thought there was just one area but not on equinox.
 

On a positive note,There was 4 guys at the Sunset bar who were fantastic we made sure to mention this to their manager and also score them highly in the survey.

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

There seems to be a certain type of arrogance associated with the bar tenders at the World Class Bar. They only make what’s on the menu. Like you, I found them to be unfriendly. The WCB on E class (at least on Ascent) however, is a full service bar. They make the craft cocktails plus whatever else one may desire. 
 

We also find the Ensemble lounge to be dark with a heavy atmosphere. It’s funny because several years ago, like in 2015, I thought it was very posh, with almost a speak-easy type of vibe. My taste has changed but Equinox is stuck in a design time-warp and is in need of a refresh.  
 

Your dining experience is disappointing. While style and decor are out of the hands of the chefs and servers, presenting quality, hot food can be controlled and can also go a long way to make up for shortcomings in other areas. 
 

Im glad you made your thoughts known to Celebrity. I doubt you will hear from them. Thanks for sharing!

[hcat]

Sounds like Equinox fell short

esp for  long time Princess cruisers. Hope X takes note..Eq was always a great ship but seems not  so any more.

 

World Class Bar was introduced as a cutting edge Concept Bar..only serving the drinks on the MENU.  That's what we have always ordered..even on BEYOND, which we enjoyed.   Won't know about ASCENT til next month!  

[seasoon]

2 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

First, our balcony cabin – storage was a disaster.  Seriously - we had to climb onto the bed to store clothing in the only cabinet.  Whose bright idea was that???  Our cabin had no night tables but instead a couple of dingy damaged wooden triangular shelves on wheels.  We had to leave some items in the suitcase under the bed as there was nowhere to store them.

Good morning....read your review and agree with most of it.  You mentioned it's been a few years since your last X cruise, but the first comment re 'storage' confused me.  All S class have had these overhead bins since inception.  You didn't remember that from your prior cruise on this class? or was it another ship you're comparing this to.  There are drawers which I find enough for our needs along with the overhead.  I'm not tall but can reach these, however I do use packing cubes and it's easier to access these than individual folded items.  Sorry you had a bad experience...we also felt that after our last cruise.  Something is indeed 'off'.

Edited December 19, 2023 by seasoon

[NMTraveller]

How is the Island Princess being maintained?  We sailed on her about 5 or more years ago.

 

The Island Princess is about 6 years older than the Equinox.  The Celebrity Millenium would be a closer comparison in age and passenger count.

 

I really enjoyed my last Island Princess cruise.  I felt that the crew was very attentive.

Edited December 19, 2023 by NMTraveller

[We_like_to_cruise]

1 hour ago, seasoon said:

Good morning....read your review and agree with most of it.  You mentioned it's been a few years since your last X cruise, but the first comment re 'storage' confused me.  All S class have had these overhead bins since inception.  You didn't remember that from your prior cruise on this class? or was it another ship you're comparing this to. 

I checked our cruise travel history and our last couple of X cruises were not on Solstice class ships.  Hence the dismay with the overhead storage. 

[We_like_to_cruise]

11 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

How is the Island Princess being maintained?  We sailed on her about 5 or more years ago.

 

The Island Princess is about 6 years older than the Equinox.  The Celebrity Millenium would be a closer comparison in age and passenger count.

 

I really enjoyed my last Island Princess cruise.  I felt that the crew was very attentive.

Well, we spent almost four months on her and enjoyed it very much.  You can read and see more details on the ship and our experiences on my "live from" post linked up above.

Edited December 19, 2023 by We_like_to_cruise
e

[Veinless]

Thank you for your honest review. This is consistent with the degradation in service we have witnessed on Celebrity. I was hoping it was just a temporary challenge, but looks like the new CEO/whatever is really focused on hitting her personal bonuses at the expense of Celebrity's long-term well-being.

 

I wish their board of directors would wake up and recognize the reputational harm she is causing.

[lv2cruisgrl]

We try to sail newer ships or ships that have been revolutionized.  Try Apex, Beyond or Ascent.  

[Pinboy]

4 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

No reply from them yet, not sure if there will ever be one.

 

Not sure you will receive a reply--

They would need 17 Jr Staff to respond to all your complaints or perhaps 1 Sr Staff to with " Was anything ok " ??

 

 

 

[Travelw]

We were on the Equinox in January 2022, also very underwhelming.  We are loyal Princess cruisers and in our view Princess ships are nicer and staff very helpful.  Trying Celebrity again in January on Silhouette, hopefully our experience is better.

[seasoon]

42 minutes ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

I checked our cruise travel history and our last couple of X cruises were not on Solstice class ships.  Hence the dismay with the overhead storage. 

So long ago I sailed M class.  Can't remember their storage.  No overhead but more cabinets? 

[lienf]

One thing we enjoy on our cruises is the balcony. It’s been a while since we did a Princess cruise which I think was on the Crown Princess and if I remember correctly the balcony seemed small. Am I correct and are the balconies on the newer Princess ships larger?

[Jimmym1981]

We have a sailing on the Reflection next month and I too am worried about all these changes. We sailed on the Edge last September 2022 and we could already see the lack of this and that...and the ship was only half full. We booked 4 deposits for future cruises and have now transferred 2 of them to friends. We liked the Edge, but prefer the Soltice class ships better. I took notes and will compare to our experience. More than 12 cruises on Celebrity that were incredible, but the last one was already showing signs of downgrade. Fingers crossed it's just temporary, but I do not feel like that.

We were looking at the Sun Pricess this coming Fall and might try that one out to see the difference. We also have a Virgin Voyages scheduled for Feb 2025 to give them a shot. If Celebrity doesn't step back up to becoming "a step above" they are going to lose a lot of loyal customers - especially with a lot of lines doing status match. 

 

Thanks for the great and detailed review. 

[HUNKY]

The balcony on the Regal Princess class ships are quite small.

 

We board Equinox in about an hour (December 19, 2023).  It probably will not be perfect, but our balcony cabin WAS cheap.

 

My expectations are not too high, so they should be easily met.

 

Even on our Viking Ocean cruise there was room for improvement.

Edited December 19, 2023 by HUNKY

[PTC DAWG]

I was on Equinox in the fall of last year, no issues..balcony cabin, storage is fine for the Wife and I. we have sailed her 4 times..two post covid..
 

The WCB will pour any liquor they have straight up, or make a cocktail from the menu.  
 

Your review doesn’t come close to anything I have ever experienced on Celebrity. 
 

 

[hucifer]

6 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

We spent eight days on the Equinox last month and were underwhelmed. 

 

As long time (Elite) Princess cruisers we decided to try Celebrity again after an absence of a few years.  Our most recent cruise was on the Island Princess, fairly similar in age and size to the Equinox.

 

We were pleased with our previous Celebrity cruises, especially the food and service.

 

But this cruise – not so much.

 

First, our balcony cabin – storage was a disaster.  Seriously - we had to climb onto the bed to store clothing in the only cabinet.  Whose bright idea was that???  Our cabin had no night tables but instead a couple of dingy damaged wooden triangular shelves on wheels.  We had to leave some items in the suitcase under the bed as there was nowhere to store them.

 

Gosh, we spent four months on the IP and had an accessible place for all of our belongings!

 

On the bright side our bathroom was refurbished and modern but storage was again at a premium.  Plenty of tiny little drawers that were not too useful.  We did enjoy the space capsule shower – no curtain! – with plenty of hot water although the water pressure could have been better.

 

The cabin had exactly two US plugs at the desk and none at all behind the bed. Our wonderful cabin steward Michael ran a very long extension cord all the way around the room to provide bedside electric access (CPAP).  The duct tape did not add to the room decor.  🙄  The bed was very comfy and our cabin was quiet.

 

Food of course is subjective but I think all would agree that if you wait over two hours for your dinner and it arrives cold then this is a problem.  The ice cream for dessert was half melted – obviously sitting around for some time.  We spoke with the head waiter and were eventually assigned to a new location with better service, but still had issues.

 

The menu was very repetitive.  DW loves escargot.  But this is the only cruise we have been on where it was a choice every single night.  The other starters were also basically the same every night and it did not take long to get bored with the lack of variety on even this shorter cruise.  The mains were ok, but nothing spectacular.  Certainly not worthy of the impression we had that Celebrity would wow us again with their meals.

 

We did have dinner at Le Petit Chef one evening and yes, it was gimmicky – but fun.  The food was not the main attraction, but it was better than the standard MDR fare.

 

Not impressed with the OVC food.  Yes, the area was large and there was plenty of seating.  But the stations were repetitive and gave the appearance there was more on offer than there actually was.  And we were spoiled at Princess by the constant appearance of the roving coffee servers happy to provide a refill.  Here it was every man for himself as we waited on line at the coffee urns.  (Don’t get me started on the morning one of the urns was not working when the OVC opened!)

 

Once, at breakfast, I attempted to add some walnuts to a bowl of oatmeal.  The walnut offering (in two locations) was literally dust with a sprinkling of tiny walnut pieces.  Seriously, it was the walnut dust you get at the very bottom of the container when you are at home and you would probably just discard it. I asked a server if I could get some real walnuts and a visit to the kitchen provided me with a nice helping of walnut halves.  So, why would you even serve your customers that walnut “dust”???  Truly pitiful.

 

Our only attempt at the sit down breakfast was not good.  We were seated and served coffee and offered pastries and then…nothing.  No waiter ever came to take our order.  Another couple later sat right next to us and within minutes a waiter took their order and then started to walk away.  I called out to him and politely informed him we had been sitting and waiting to order.  He said he was not our waiter - but would take the order anyway.  Our assigned waiter appeared after our food was served!

 

Our best meal was a four course luncheon on the last sea day.  Our booking was a special “warehouse club” discounted offering.  The featured Chef Sam Hazen luncheon was very very good and by far the best meal the entire week.  Pricing for this “Buyer’s Choice Cruise” was a great value and also included the classic drink package, internet, gratuities a welcome reception and a couple of chef run food demos.  We compared booking directly with X but the equivalent package was considerably more money.

 

One evening we stopped at a bar before dinner to get a drink.  I ordered a Jameson neat (Irish whiskey) and was curtly told by the bartender “We don’t serve that” as he walked away.  Turns out we were at the World Class Bar and being unfamiliar with the ship did not realize they specialized in exotic cocktails.  He could have educated me and offered a suggestion for a different bar that met my needs instead of being dismissive.  Or even offered a cocktail I might consider instead.  He was just plain rude.

 

Service by the bar staff was in general lackluster.  We sat for about 15 minutes in one bar area while three bartenders were at work.  No one ever came to take an order from us.  We sure missed the Princess medallions that worked flawlessly for us on our last voyages.

 

Ship layout seemed to concentrate on getting pax to sit around bars and drink.  No lounges with a small stage for activities.  We like to participate in fun activities before and after dinner but they were held in “Celebrity Central.”  This area had exactly 15 total chairs and there could be a hundred people participating – but standing around and blocking the walkway to the theater.  Very odd.

 

The “Grand Foyer” was humdrum and not a focal point for gathering.

 

Our healthy morning walks around the jogging path on Deck 14 were marred by the groups of smokers we had to walk by at the Mast Bar.  Is no one at Celebrity thinking when they put these ideas in place??? A smoking area adjacent to the jogging track?  At least the inside casino was no smoking.

 

The theater was lovely and we never had a problem getting a good seat.  We enjoyed the shows and the onboard talent was very good.

 

The ship seemed to be in a good shape and any minor maintenance issues did not affect us in the least.

 

Any interaction we had with guest services was prompt and courteous. 

 

Occasionally we had pre-dinner cocktails at the Ensemble Lounge after we made contact with a friendly bartender.  However this venue was dark, gloomy and claustrophobic.  As a matter of fact just about all of the lounges were interior with no outside view of the ocean and sky.  Puzzling design.

An exception was the Sky Lounge – a very large but underutilized space which infrequently held trivia contests. 

 

Pre-cruise we were inundated with “sale” offers for internet, upgraded bev packages, specialty dining, excursions, etc.  We are not ones to generally take ship sponsored excursions (prefer our own semi-private ones) but some of the offers were remarkably inexpensive.  Especially when we compared them with third party similar excursions.  As a result we did book a few.  Although we had been to most of the Caribbean ports numerous times, we did particularly enjoy our first visit to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.  The tour company did a wonderful job transporting us to the Virgin Gorda Baths and we had a lovely day there.  Highly recommended.

 

In conclusion, we give our voyage a grade B-  to  C+.  It was not the upscale experience we anticipated and just enough aggravations to make us reconsider future bookings with Celebrity.  We cancelled a 2024 Celebrity cruise on a sister Solstice class ship upon our return home. 

 

The majority of the thoughts in this review were forwarded to Celebrity in our post-cruise survey last month.  No reply from them yet, not sure if there will ever be one.

 

If you have any interest in reading about our 111 days on the Island Princess, click here:

 

 

 

 

Thank you for you review. Hubby and I were on her in September of this year, and to say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. Just a few observations from our 6-night cruise:

 

STORAGE: The only thing I will slightly disagree with you on is storage. I thought it was adequate...nothing like on the Beyond, but manageable for the two of us. We did use the overhead storage for additional items.

CABIN: The lack of outlets is common on these older ships, and could use a serious upgrade. Otherwise, I thought our balcony cabin was decent. Cabin steward introduced himself briefly on the first day, and then we never saw him again. We saw other stewards while walking down the hall that we greeted several times a day, but never saw ours. He must have been invisible, because our room did get serviced twice a day.

MDR: OMG, this was a huge fail. Our waiter and assistant waiter were horrible, and the food options were pathetic. The first night of the cruise, the waiter comes up and asks what I want to order. I said, "Do you want to offer any suggestions?" There was zero personal interaction with us during the cruise, and the food took forever to get to our table. One night I asked for coffee cream three times from both of them, but never received it. And you are right about the soups as starters and hardly anything that sounded particularly appetizing. As someone who loves ALL kinds of food, I'm not particularly difficult to please, but Celebrity really failed on this one. An interesting note is that a coworker went on the Equinox a few weeks after I did....this coworker is not a foodie in any sense of the word, and even he said the food was barely above cafeteria standards. He said, "They covered everything in gravy and sauces to disguise the lower quality of meat."

PETITE CHEF: We did PC on the Beyond, and honestly, it was my favorite meal of the cruise. That one had a tomato tarte thing for a starter and short ribs for the main entree. And the dessert! So good! On the Equinox, we wanted a different meal, so we chose another show. That food was seafood and it was fine, but nothing worth paying extra for. The dessert was a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream that was too icy and had little flavor. I couldn't believe they served it.

MURANO: This was one of the highlights of our cruise. A must-do, IMO. We split the Chateaubriand. Holy crap, that entire meal was amazing.

SUSHI ON FIVE: We ate here on our last night because the MDR was so disappointing. Excellent!

 

OVC: Standard buffet fare, nothing that enticed me, except for the Indian food. The iced tea had the strangest taste all cruise long. I will say that their red velvet cake was AMAZING.

BAR SERVICE: Not impressed. As Elite, I only took advantage of the free Happy Hour once or twice. Mostly because of the ridiculous restrictions they put on what you can drink. On Beyond, I found a bartender or two who would allow me drinks off of the list. We happily kept slipping them tips throughout the cruise.
 

CREW: I prepay gratuities and bring extra money for exceptional service, especially for the waitstaff and cabin steward. This time I kept all of the tip money I brought. That was a first for me. I couldn't believe how meh the service was.

ACTIVITIES: This was a huge complaint of mine, as well-attended events were crammed into the Celebrity Central area where there was no room for anyone. Really dumb planning. I love silent discos, but the one we attended played music that you couldn't really dance to. The silent disco on the Beyond was much better.

SHIP: The ship itself was in good condition. My favorite place to park myself was in the Sky Lounge, where I could soak up some sun through the windows and look out over the ocean.

This may not be a valid side-by-side comparison, but I was also on Royal's Serenade of the Seas in July. That ship is 6 years older than the Equinox. She was in GREAT condition, the crew was amazing, the food in both the MDR and buffet were much better, and the ship had better flow. Just a gorgeous class of ship. Given a choice, I would choose Serenade over Equinox any day.

Edited December 19, 2023 by hucifer

[Cruise till you drop]

2 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

Well, we spent almost four months on her and enjoyed it very much.  You can read and see more details on the ship and our experiences on my "live from" post linked up above.

We are sailing on Equinox next month and very excited for it.  We’ve learned not to overpack so I’m not too concerned about storage.  And we’re happy they brought back the old menu items so there should be plenty of choices for dinner.

[bikerunner]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

There seems to be a certain type of arrogance associated with the bar tenders at the World Class Bar. They only make what’s on the menu

Why I enjoy sitting at WCB the first night and watch guests pout and throw mini tantrums because they cant get a gin and tonic etc.  

[NMTraveller]

46 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Why I enjoy sitting at WCB the first night and watch guests pout and throw mini tantrums because they cant get a gin and tonic etc.  

I enjoy sitting there also.  It is nice and quiet.  You can actually have a good conversation in there.

[Georgia_Peaches]

48 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Why I enjoy sitting at WCB the first night and watch guests pout and throw mini tantrums because they cant get a gin and tonic etc.  

While I'm sure it makes for good people watching, I've never personally seen that happen.  OP said he wasn't aware that the WCB only served from a set menu and if one isn't familiar with the craft cocktail concept of the WCB, they wouldn't know.  The customer service oriented bar tender would politely explain and advise of a different bar.  JMO

Edited December 19, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[doghog]

What we like about Celebrity is their no inside smoking policy, fleetwide. Princess is starting to slowly catch to this great idea by shutting down Churchills Cigar Lounge. But the bummer is they still allow smoking in the casinos. Celebrity's CC for the top three tier levels blows Princess Captains Circle perks/benefits out of the water. Hopefully the Enchanted Princess doesn't have shower curtains.  Looking forward to our March Enchanted cruise. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by doghog

[di T]

We did a Reflection b2b in September 2022 and had a brilliant cruise, so much so we booked almost the same b2b for September 2023! This was our 34th Celebrity cruise. What a difference, the MDR food was very limited and poor, we ate in the buffet and the pay for restaurants most nights. Have  5 Celebrity cruises booked next year booked ages ago.Hope they have changed those menus.We have been trying other brands and will continue to do so, 

[HUNKY]

So far so good!

 

Embarkation was quick and painless.  Onboard in under ten minutes!

 

A quick hello to our muster station and we headed to lunch in the dining room (concierge perk).  Short ribs were excellent as was the butternut squash soup.

 

A can of Coca-Cola is $5.08 with tax and tip.  (still in port)

 

Fajar our cabin attendant just stopped by explaining a few details.

 

Rust is visible, but the ship is headed to dry dock in April 2024.