Recently off Equinox, Dec 19th-24th 2023. What did we think? Come inside. (long)

[The Fun Researcher]

It had been 6 years since we last sailed Celebrity, on the same ship, the Equinox.  On that prior cruise we noted the slight bump up in food quality, as well as excellent service all around.  (This is compared to Royal Caribbean which is our primary cruise line.)

 

If you just want the executive summary, we had a good time, but not great.  We’ve realized that Celebrity is probably too sleepy for us, and the bump up in food offerings and quality didn’t really exist any longer.  I think we’ve been spoiled by Royal’s newer and bigger ships with so much to do, excellent ship layout, and decent food.

 

This cruise was a 5 night just before Christmas (19^th – 24^th), stopping in Cozumel and Nassau.  We were two family groups totaling 11 of us, five of which were our kids and one boyfriend (ages 16, 16, 19, 19, and 22).  Overall ages ranged from 16 - 70.

 

Embarkation:

We arrived around 11 am (for 11:30 check in) and had a very smooth and quick embarkation.  Our daughters 19 yo boyfriend is from China going to college here in the states.  This was his first cruise.  Despite all my concern of having the required documentation, it was a breeze.  A quick review of his passport and F1 visa documentation and we were good to go!  One thing that was super nice was the ability to immediately go to our cabins and drop off our carry on bags.  That is something I wish all cruise lines would copy.  There were notes saying that the rooms weren’t completely ready, but you could drop bags off and carry on with having fun on the ship!  Awesome!

 

Food and drink:

MDR was fantastic.  No complaints at all.  They were able to get us one large table for 11.  I had emailed about this before the cruise.  I’m not sure if that is what worked, or what, but they nailed it perfectly.  Our servers, Mark and Salih were excellent.   Can’t say enough about how great the MDR experience was.  Food was consistently very good.  However, there was nothing on the menus that were standouts versus what we’re used to on Royal.  Don’t get me wrong though, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the MDR experience.

 

We did Sushi on 5 for two of our lunches, using up some of our OBC.  Everyone loved it.  Very good sushi, sake, etc…  The Kobe beef ramen slider was a particular hit as well.

 

The buffet was o.k.  We only had two lunches in the buffet, so I don’t have a lot to comment on here, but it was good overall.  We found food to satisfy our appetites.  No real complaints.

 

The burgers and fries at the Mast Grill were fantastic, better than I remembered.  Loved the sauteed onions, mushrooms, and all the toppings.  We only ate there once but it was great.

 

Late night offerings in the buffet were disappointing.  The hand tossed pizza was tasty, but it went fast so it was hard to get some.  The big problem was the pasta station.  It was not manned well, disorganized, and the pasta was way undercooked.  This was something we remembered being a hit on our prior cruise on the Equinox.  Not so at all on this sailing.  I did appreciate the other stations, like the bread, cold cuts and salad.

 

Drink service was good.  Two of the adults had the classic drink package and two (my wife and I) had the premium package.  We upgraded for $6.99 per person per day during pre cruise sales.  Our family had $350 of OBC between our 3 cabins.  It only cost my wife and I $480 combined to upgrade to the “all in” package that included gratuities, wifi and the classic drink package, and then later another $6.99 per day to upgrade to premium.  Upping to the premium package was well worth it even if it was only for the ability to get $6.50 Red Bulls included.  It was nice to ask for top shelf liquor for our drinks.  We don’t typically purchase the drink package on Royal because it is so expensive and we get 4 free drinks daily due to being Diamond.   …so having the package was a nice perk on this cruise.  Speaking of this, our friends were really disappointed in the 5-7pm happy hour.  They did not purchase a drink package.  They are Diamond on Royal, so Elite on Celebrity, and didn’t like how happy hour directly conflicted with our 5:30pm dining time.  You couldn’t order drinks for happy hour in the MDR, so instead you would need to walk out and find a bar and go get them yourselves.  Royal’s system is far superior for guests (maybe not the bottom line of Celebrity though)

 

Entertainment:

This was a fail.  It really felt like there were significant budget cuts.  The cast was small, show sets were minimal.  Nothing grand about the shows or headliners.  The theater just didn’t seem like a popular spot like we are used to.  I would say it was 1/3 full at best each evening (9:30 shows).  They had a special holiday show the last evening, but had not one Christmas song or carol.  There were the nice secular songs, and even a Jewish Hannukah song for which they learned Hebrew to sing.  It was disappointing to not have ONE single song that dealt with the Christian Christmas.

 

Live music was present around the ship and was nice, but there are limited venues. This is due to the ship design and layout, which I’ll discuss later.

 

The “game shows” held in the Centrums were mildly entertaining, but mostly cheesy and certainly passable.

 

Overall it felt like the ship mostly went to bed after dinner.  Maybe they did.  😊  We can easily keep going to midnight or 1am, but we quickly ran out of options in the evening.

 

Activities:

Very limited.  Granted, we knew this would be the case going into this cruise, but we didn’t realize just how it would impact us all.

 

The big highlight was the glass blowing class.  6 in our groups did it and it will be a special memory for everyone.  Items ranged from a jellyfish paperweight, vases, bowls and even a pumpkin. 

 

We were very disappointed to have ALL of the hot tubs and pools close by 9 or 10 pm.  We sorely missed the ability to have a late night soak in a hot tub with an adult beverage or two.  This might seem trivial to some, but was a major bummer for us.  Also, the hot tubs overall were pretty small.  The Solarium was chilly inside, which made it less inviting.  Many guests in loungers were covered head to toe in towels to keep them warm.

 

Ship layout and condition:

I do like the good connection to the sea that you have on the Equinox.  Besides that, we just don’t care for ships that have the two centrums rather than a central long royal promenade.  Ships with centrums just feel chopped up inside.  It makes for lots of small venues and shops, but just makes the overall layout complicated, less grand and less inviting (to us).

 

The pool deck is very nice, but again hot tubs were pretty small.  Like the lawn area, sunset bar, and the outdoor seating out back of the buffet. 

 

I thought the ship felt in good condition.  Nothing I would complain about.  It does need a refresh though.  The new ships have surpassed it now, and decor is starting to feel dated.  The refurb coming this year will be a welcome freshening.

 

Cabins:

Three of our cabins were prime balconies on deck 7 starboard.  All three cabins were next to each other.  This allowed us to remove the balcony dividers between the three cabins which made for an amazingly large balcony.  That was awesome.  The inside of the cabins were laid out well enough and accommodated us nicely, and our room steward (I Made) was excellent.

 

Summary:

So…  while we had a good time with family and friends, there were enough misses to keep it from being a truly great time (which is what we’re used to on our cruises).  This was the first time I’ve questioned if it was worth the money we spent on the cruise.  Knowing now, I very well may have saved the money and used it for another vacation option.  Again, it's hard to complain about a cruise, but this one just didn't hit like all of our others.  It is something we're thankful to have done though.

 

Thanks for following along if you made it this far. 😊  Feel free to fire away with any questions or comments.

Edited January 1 by The Fun Researcher
corrected title

[Oliver6144]

Thank you for your honest review.  We are going on the Equinox the end of January, it will be our first cruise on Celebrity.  We are loyal Rccl cruisers.  We are diamond on royal, and will be elite on Celebrity.

 

We chose this cruise, because of the ports.  We have never been to Aruba, Bonaire or Curaçao.  I to love the promanade  on the Royal ships, so this will be different for us.

 

I hope this cruise doesn’t disappoint.  I am usually exhausted by the end of the day and like to go to the casino after dinner, then early to bed.   We have late seating for dinner.  I like to be up early for pool time.

 

I have always wanted to try Celebrity, so I am looking forward to it and the ports of call.

Edited January 1 by Oliver6144

[The Fun Researcher]

The ABC's are our favorite ports and itinerary bar none!  That alone should make for a great cruise. 

 

Being your first time on the Equinox you'll have a few days, at least, just getting to know the ship. That will be fun in and of itself.  Sounds like your evening style will work well for this ship.  I wouldn't let my negatives worry you, we had a lot of positives too.  Happy cruising!!

[Oliver6144]

1 minute ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The ABC's are our favorite ports and itinerary bar none!  That alone should make for a great cruise. 

 

Being your first time on the Equinox you'll have a few days, at least, just getting to know the ship. That will be fun in and of itself.  Sounds like your evening style will work well for this ship.  I wouldn't let my negatives worry you, we had a lot of positives too.  Happy cruising!!

Thank you so much.  All your information is helpful!

[hcat]

Thanks for your thoughts..

It def sounds like this ship was not a hood fit for your group compared to your experiences on larger ships of  ROYAL C ..with  central malls, dining options and more lively shows.

 

You might have enjoyed an E Class ship much more!  Glad you had a good time anyhow.

[The Fun Researcher]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

 

You might have enjoyed an E Class ship much more!  Glad you had a good time anyhow.

Funny you say that.  I agree.  I was thinking the same thing partway through the cruise.  👍🏼

 

I’ll have to look up some YouTube videos of the newest ships.  There is a lot we like about Celebrity, we just need more activities, better shows, and if possible an open hot tub or two later in the evening.  I’m guessing Celebrity has something for us.  This cruise just fell short unfortunately.

[hcat]

never boring on E Class.. esp with 4 included mdrs. beautiful Solarium, outdoor pool,   hot tubs,   EDEN (by day and night)  , the CLUB, modern shows in state of the art theater, CAFE BACCIO, and Martini Bar area..  Beautiful ships..and  not over crowded  in the buffet!

 

Maybe with a smaller group it would be easier to enjoy!

[Arzeena]

23 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks for following along if you made it this far. 😊  Feel free to fire away with any questions or comments.

I am glad you had a good time. Equinox is our favorite Celebrity ship. Don't ask me why, but it is.
I was reading about the boyfriend's paperwork issue/question that you had mentioned here on the boards and been wondering about it and if he was good to go. I am very happy it worked out. Happy New Year!

[PTC DAWG]

IF I was a teenager, I wouldn't like the Equinox, or Celebrity in general.  There are much better options for that age group, IMHO.  

 

So no silent disco, or late night DJ in the Sky Lounge?  

[The Fun Researcher]

9 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

IF I was a teenager, I wouldn't like the Equinox, or Celebrity in general.  There are much better options for that age group, IMHO.  

 

So no silent disco, or late night DJ in the Sky Lounge?  

Yeah, it was worth a try.  Now we found out.  

 

There was a silent disco in the sky lounge a night or two but we've all done them numerous times and the novelty has worn off and we weren't interested.  There was a DJ in the sky lounge but I think that was really late like 12am and later.  Before that I think it may have been karaoke and the house carib band in the Sky lounge.

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Yeah, it was worth a try.  Now we found out.  

 

There was a silent disco in the sky lounge a night or two but we've all done them numerous times and the novelty has worn off and we weren't interested.  There was a DJ in the sky lounge but I think that was really late like 12am and later.  Before that I think it may have been karaoke and the house carib band in the Sky lounge.

The silent disco they do with 3 live DJ’s is the best version…they don’t always do it that way..

 

You mentioned everyone being asleep, I was hoping they still did the late night thing in the Sky Lounge..

Edited January 2 by PTC DAWG

[Oliver6144]

On 1/1/2024 at 4:12 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

The ABC's are our favorite ports and itinerary bar none!  That alone should make for a great cruise. 

 

Being your first time on the Equinox you'll have a few days, at least, just getting to know the ship. That will be fun in and of itself.  Sounds like your evening style will work well for this ship.  I wouldn't let my negatives worry you, we had a lot of positives too.  Happy cruising!!

Any suggestion as to what to do in Curaçao?  I have checked the boards but nothing is jumping out to me.  We are doing the golf cart rentals in Bonaire.  Are there shops near the ports?  

[DingoMom]

Yes! Curacao is a great port! If you don’t have mobility issues, it is a fun place to walk around their little downtown area! (It is quite a bit of a walk, but no ‘level changes’ if you do have mobility issues.)

[Oliver6144]

11 hours ago, DingoMom said:

Yes! Curacao is a great port! If you don’t have mobility issues, it is a fun place to walk around their little downtown area! (It is quite a bit of a walk, but no ‘level changes’ if you do have mobility issues.)

Thank you!

[The Fun Researcher]

15 hours ago, Oliver6144 said:

Any suggestion as to what to do in Curaçao?  I have checked the boards but nothing is jumping out to me.  We are doing the golf cart rentals in Bonaire.  Are there shops near the ports?  

 

Depends on what you like to do in ports.  Rather than just staying in the local port areas, personally, we like to get a better appreciation for the islands we visit.  Having said that, we've done this tour twice and have really enjoyed it both times.  It takes you around a good portion of the island of Curacao.  Irie tours...  All west beach hopping.

https://www.irietours.com/all-west-beach-hopping/

 

It's a guided open air bus tour with bottled water, and some beers if desired.  It takes you to some amazing beaches as well as the rustic north coast.  If you are beach people, or would like to swim with sea turtles, this is a great excursion.  The last beach you go to does have a bar, and some food options.  The second to last beach typically has a woman selling a few items that are like soft tacos/burritos but food options are limited on the tour fyi.

[Arubamoose]

Thank you for your straightforward and honest review.  We are going on the Equinox with our best college buds in two weeks.

 

Was mostly worried about the quality of the food on board.  Happy to hear that the MDR was good.  We are not expecting the wow dishes that we have gotten on Celebrity before (thinking back to the Michael Roux days) but glad that it was not awful as it been reported this year. 

 

Glad to hear Mast Grill was ok - we had it on the Apex last year and they were awful hockey pucks.  Hopefully we can get close to rare or medium rare.

 

Always do at least two or three lunches at Sushi and a couple of lunches in the MDR.  We are not big buffet people but I do enjoy the Indian fare offerings.

 

Not happy to hear about the entertainment.  Our last four cruises were on E class and we were blown away by the shows and variety.  We are coming into the Equinox with much lower expectations based on E class but we have enjoyed S class in the past.

 

We did not get a drink package this time as it was cost prohibitive, especially with one non and one light drinker.  We are Elite in our own right on Celebrity (D+ on RCCL) and haven't done a non- drink package cruise since before COVID.  We have 7 pm dining just for that reason.  How were they with the Elite drinks otherwise?

[The Fun Researcher]

1 minute ago, Arubamoose said:

Thank you for your straightforward and honest review.  We are going on the Equinox with our best college buds in two weeks.

 

Was mostly worried about the quality of the food on board.  Happy to hear that the MDR was good.  We are not expecting the wow dishes that we have gotten on Celebrity before (thinking back to the Michael Roux days) but glad that it was not awful as it been reported this year. 

 

Glad to hear Mast Grill was ok - we had it on the Apex last year and they were awful hockey pucks.  Hopefully we can get close to rare or medium rare.

 

Always do at least two or three lunches at Sushi and a couple of lunches in the MDR.  We are not big buffet people but I do enjoy the Indian fare offerings.

 

Not happy to hear about the entertainment.  Our last four cruises were on E class and we were blown away by the shows and variety.  We are coming into the Equinox with much lower expectations based on E class but we have enjoyed S class in the past.

 

We did not get a drink package this time as it was cost prohibitive, especially with one non and one light drinker.  We are Elite in our own right on Celebrity (D+ on RCCL) and haven't done a non- drink package cruise since before COVID.  We have 7 pm dining just for that reason.  How were they with the Elite drinks otherwise?

Elite drinks themselves were good.  Bar service was fine/good overall.  The gripe our friends had with the Elite drinks were with the 5-7pm hours and the lack of ability to order while in the MDR.  This was our choice/fault, but with our fixed 5:30 MDR time it severely limited this perk to the point of making it almost unusable.  Sounds like for you that will not be an issue starting dining at 7pm.  That's a good call.

 

I'm also o.k. with medium rare burgers, but I think ours were more in the medium to medium well range.  Having said that they were still juicy, tender and fresh.  I think the key is the timing.  If what they have on hand on the flat top look overdone I would just ask if they can cook yours to order.

 

Re. entertainment, I would go in with low expectations and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.  Maybe you'll luck out with better headliners which could make a big difference as well.  However, I don't think the onboard crew will be that much better than what we experienced.  Their talent was pretty good, it's just that the cast and sets felt limited/cut.

 

Happy cruising!

[Oliver6144]

4 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Depends on what you like to do in ports.  Rather than just staying in the local port areas, personally, we like to get a better appreciation for the islands we visit.  Having said that, we've done this tour twice and have really enjoyed it both times.  It takes you around a good portion of the island of Curacao.  Irie tours...  All west beach hopping.

https://www.irietours.com/all-west-beach-hopping/

 

It's a guided open air bus tour with bottled water, and some beers if desired.  It takes you to some amazing beaches as well as the rustic north coast.  If you are beach people, or would like to swim with sea turtles, this is a great excursion.  The last beach you go to does have a bar, and some food options.  The second to last beach typically has a woman selling a few items that are like soft tacos/burritos but food options are limited on the tour fyi.

That sounds great!  I will definitely look into it. Thank you!

[RedIguana]

9 hours ago, Arubamoose said:

Was mostly worried about the quality of the food on board.  Happy to hear that the MDR was good.  We are not expecting the wow dishes that we have gotten on Celebrity before (thinking back to the Michael Roux days) but glad that it was not awful as it been reported this year.

          I was also on this sailing. Of the 40 something nights since the restart on HAL, Princess, RCI, and Celebrity last year, I have had one MDR meal that I found was really just not edible. On this cruise, 2 of five nights I just could not eat it (the Branzino and Drum). Thankfully they have brought back (kept?, might be just Royal that reduced the nights) escargot and French Onion soup every night, which was very good. First night prime rib was decent, but not as good as in the past. The Steak Diane was not a filet. They listed it as a sirloin cut, I'm just not sure of what animal or lab experiment it was a cut of sirloin from. Mystery meat.  Whatever I had the fifth night is apparently forgettable, literally ( I literally don't remember what is was, so must not have made much of an impression). The concierge lunch short ribs was the best meal of the cruise (and that used to be a filet). It was easily the worst culinary experience of the nine cruises I have been on since the restart. I hope it is better for @Arubamoose.

         I found the one musical/dance show I managed to make on time to be pretty good, worth attending anyway. Not up to the production shows on the voyager class and above on RCI, but about average for the sub 3000 passenger ships. The comedians family show was just OK, his adult routine was much better but not outstanding. The late night adult game show (11 pm last night) was hilarious, but not for the the easily offended (yeah, probably not for the moderately offended either, it was pretty raw). I did not make the last night Christmas show, my wife and one of my daughters who did make it said it was very good.

          As @The Fun Researchersaid, there was just something off on this cruise (besides the food). Probably due to being a short cruise the week before Christmas. And then there is the story of the wanna be commando attacking my wine class from behind.......

[The Fun Researcher]

15 hours ago, RedIguana said:

          I was also on this sailing. Of the 40 something nights since the restart on HAL, Princess, RCI, and Celebrity last year, I have had one MDR meal that I found was really just not edible. On this cruise, 2 of five nights I just could not eat it (the Branzino and Drum). Thankfully they have brought back (kept?, might be just Royal that reduced the nights) escargot and French Onion soup every night, which was very good. First night prime rib was decent, but not as good as in the past. The Steak Diane was not a filet. They listed it as a sirloin cut, I'm just not sure of what animal or lab experiment it was a cut of sirloin from. Mystery meat.  Whatever I had the fifth night is apparently forgettable, literally ( I literally don't remember what is was, so must not have made much of an impression). The concierge lunch short ribs was the best meal of the cruise (and that used to be a filet). It was easily the worst culinary experience of the nine cruises I have been on since the restart. I hope it is better for @Arubamoose.

         I found the one musical/dance show I managed to make on time to be pretty good, worth attending anyway. Not up to the production shows on the voyager class and above on RCI, but about average for the sub 3000 passenger ships. The comedians family show was just OK, his adult routine was much better but not outstanding. The late night adult game show (11 pm last night) was hilarious, but not for the the easily offended (yeah, probably not for the moderately offended either, it was pretty raw). I did not make the last night Christmas show, my wife and one of my daughters who did make it said it was very good.

          As @The Fun Researchersaid, there was just something off on this cruise (besides the food). Probably due to being a short cruise the week before Christmas. And then there is the story of the wanna be commando attacking my wine class from behind.......

Yeah, agree it just felt off...  maybe the best word I can think of is "lifeless".  Very few surprise Wows.  In my opinion we are pretty easy to please people and organically make our own fun wherever we go, but it was just more of a challenge on this cruise.  Overall, we love cruising and they have all been wonderful.  This one was just our least wonderful by a noticeable margin.  Maybe it was the timing.  I'm sure a lot more planning was going into the Christmas and New Years cruise and maybe ours got overlooked a tad.

 

Bummer about your food experience.  With the number of cruises you've done, having such a high percentage of strikeouts is disappointing.  We lucked out with the branzino.  A couple of us (including me) at our table had it and enjoyed it.  Can't comment on the drum though. I don't remember anyone having that.  Loved having the escargot available each night, and there were those at our table that had the French onion soup every evening.  Lots of shrimp cocktail ordered too.  My problem is that I love trying so many of the appetizers.  Normally I would get the escargot every meal if it's offered, but there were so many new apps on the Celebrity menu that I tended to get 2-3 of those and then I felt like a pig also ordering escargot so I dropped it from my order a couple of times.  Agree completely about the lower quality of beef cuts.  Not having tenderloin in the steak Diane is just wrong.  Not having tenderloin offered at all was disappointing.  There were no truly WOW dishes in the MDR for us either, but fortunately ours were consistently very good.

 

Would love to hear about the wine class wanna be commando.  🙂

Edited January 4 by The Fun Researcher

[becanden]

Thank you for your excellent review!!!  I have a quick question.  Are they still offering a "Premium Selections" menu in the MDR, for an additional cost?  Thank you!

[The Fun Researcher]

4 hours ago, becanden said:

Thank you for your excellent review!!!  I have a quick question.  Are they still offering a "Premium Selections" menu in the MDR, for an additional cost?  Thank you!

Great question. You know, I do not remember seeing that on the menu.  Maybe @RedIguana will remember?

 

I am used to seeing extra paid for options on Royal Caribbean’s menu, but I do not recall seeing it on Celebrity

 

ETA:  I don’t see it on the menu in their app either

Edited January 5 by The Fun Researcher

[RedIguana]

4 hours ago, becanden said:

Thank you for your excellent review!!!  I have a quick question.  Are they still offering a "Premium Selections" menu in the MDR, for an additional cost?  Thank you!

They were not available on our cruise. I asked, as I did not see it on the menu. 

[becanden]

Thank you both!! It was a pilot-program they rolled out last summer, I believe along with vaping in the casino. Perhaps they both flopped. 

[hrmkr]

The Fun Researcher, thank you for the detailed review.

 

For the evening entertainment, what was there to do after going to the show?  Were there many venues that were open to go listen to music other than the Sky Lounge with a DJ? 

 

What type of music was being played throughout the ship?  Rock, Jazz, Classical, etc?

 

In what way was it "sleepy".  Did it completely die at night?

 

Thanks