Semi Mini Cruise Review - Equinox Jan 8th, 2024

[Cruise till you drop]

Cruise - 10 night Southern Caribbean from Jan 8 to 18th on Celebrity Equinox.  Stayed in an SV on 11th deck.  Ports of call - Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, Martinique and St Kitts

 

Travelled with 3 other couples (total group of 😎

 

Background - DW and I cruised close to 25 times on Carnival, Princess and Celebrity.  This is our 3rd Celebrity and first 2 were on the Edge on SV’s (I mention this as some of my ratings are swayed because of traveling on the Edge)

 

Here goes:

 

Embarkation (10 out of 10) - we had 11:30 slot but showed up at 11:10 and got checked through very quickly

 

Ship (8 out of 10) - we thought the ship was in great shape and it was decorated and maintained very nicely

 

Weather (10 out of 10) - we lucked out with both great weather during our cruise and terrible weather back home.  A little rain in St Kitts but it cleared by the time we reached the beach.

 

Staff (10 out of 10) - we thought everyone worked very hard to please the guests and they were all very pleasant.  Room steward Efrain and waiters Yuhda and Suthan were wonderful

 

Celebrity app (7 out of 10) - it was generally ok but there were several activities that were not accurate and we ended up missing some things because the app indicated wrong place and time.

 

Food (8 out of 10) - overall I would have to say we were generally pleased.  Breakfast and Lunch in the OVC were very good and dinners in Silhouette were good.  Lots of choices and food was good most nights.  They had Prime Rib on the 1st night and Lobster, Beef Wellington on the 2nd last night

 

Advanced Dining Reservations (1 out of 10) - we all had Anytime dining.  This category was probably one of our biggest pet peeves that we couldn’t ever connect our reservations prior to the cruise so that we could pre book Anytime Dining (we tried everything in vain).  Even when we boarded the ship, we couldn’t get decent dining times together.  Celebrity IT and systems are awful.

 

MDR and Walk in seating (8 out of 10) - Because of above, we relied on Walk in seating and generally were able to get in with a relatively small wait, which made us wonder why they couldn’t give us advanced reservations.  Also we kept getting moved around to different tables in the dining room even though we generally arrived at the same time daily.

 

Specialty restaurant (6 out of 10) - we did one night in Tuscan Grille and it was basically ok but I can’t say it was a step up from MDR to be paying $55pp

 

Casino (9 out of 10) - love that it’s non smoking .  Open hours at 10am seemed odd.  We liked that they had Deal or no  Deal but none of our group ever won enough matches to get a prize.

 

Bars (7 out of 10) - during busy times they lacked enough servers and it was tough to get a drink.  And we never really saw many bar servers roaming around like we used to.  Martini bar show at 10pm was incredible.

 

Music (8 out of 10) - they had lots of music around the ship and the talent was pretty good

 

Theater Shows (8 out of 10) - they had good talented singers and dancers who were in the final week of their contract and they did well.  Acrobats were especially talented.  Craig A Meyers Elton John show was the highlight of all the shows.

 

Pool area (7 out of 10) - if you got there early enough it wasn’t hard to get a deck chair but if you waited till closer to 10am on sea days, the deck got very crowded.  Hot tubs were plentiful but always busy it seemed unless you went early morning or late afternoon

 

Walking track (2 of of 10) - next big pet peeve. Distance is good at 8 laps per mile but the track goes right through many deck chair areas and the smoking areas.  Also many people use the track to get around so you’re constantly running into a lot of slow traffic which was very frustrating

 

Drink package (6 out of 10) - it is very frustrating to have the package yet constantly have to pay an up charge as many drinks exceed the $10 max by like a dollar or two, which many times required you to sign a receipt for the difference.  Very nickel and dime-ish if you ask me.  My guess is it’s to frustrate the clients to sign up for the Premium package. 

 

Internet (8 out of 10) - you can’t do alot of stuff with basic package but it was enough for us for texting, looking up stuff on the internet, checking emails, etc.

 

Stateroom - SV (7 out of 10) - location at back of the ship we love, however, you do get a bit of black soot on the balcony (room steward did a good job to keep it clean).  Room is smaller than the Edge and storage space is terrible. Bathroom size isn’t too bad.  TV channel choices are not great but we could find something usually. Lack of electrical outlets (nothing on the nightstand).

 

Sunset Bar and Green space (5 out of 10) - bar is nice and the views are awesome but in the lawn areas near the bar is smoking so not very enjoyable for non smokers

 

Ports and Excursions 

• Antigua (8 out of 10) - we did a private tour with Lawrence of Antigua to English Harbour, Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, and the entire national park. Then we went to Valley Church beach.  Unfortunately long time spent in a van getting there from the port.
• Barbados (7 out of 10) - did ship tour to Harbor Lights beach. Beach was nice but Celebrity screwed up with the pick up back to the ship so we were 30 min late getting back.
• St Lucia (6 out of 10) - did a private island tour with Cosol tours which took 7.25 hours instead of 5-6 hours and missed the waterfall stop.  Seemed to spend 4.25 hours of that in a van driving and the tour took us to many short sites where there were many push vendors.
• Martinique (10 out of 10) - did private island tour with Karambole tours which was one of the best excursions we’ve ever done
• St Kitts (7 out of 10) - did ship tour to Nevis which included island highlights, lunch and Pinney’s beach.  Not sure it was worth what we were charged but was a nice day

 

 

Disembarkation (10 out of 10) - we changed to Group 1 with an 8:10am plan.  Ship docked at 6:45am and we got called at 7:45am.  Arrived at airport and through security by 8:30am (flight at 11:06am)

 

 

OVERALL - I would give this cruise a very respectable 8 out of 10.  And again, I think some of my ratings are swayed with us having sailed the Edge in the past.  

We would sail this class of ship again (although our next 2 are on the Beyond and XCel).

Edited January 18 by Cruise till you drop

[dogsdogs]

Thank you for your review.  Would you share which tour you did with Karambole on Martinique?  I looked at their website and they have a few to choose from.

[Cruise till you drop]

56 minutes ago, dogsdogs said:

Thank you for your review.  Would you share which tour you did with Karambole on Martinique?  I looked at their website and they have a few to choose from.

Pilet et Face tour

 

https://www.karamboletoursmartinique.com/en-GB/offers/pile-et-face.html

[cwayne]

Loved, loved the ship! This was our 3rd and 4th time on the Equinox. We are elite with Celebrity so have sailed quite a bit with her. We found the food to be VERY good in the MDR and we ate most of our breakfasts, some lunches and dinners there, with the exception of the specialty restaurants of which we did all 3, Tuscan Grille, Murano and Petit Chef. The filet mignon in Tuscan was outstanding. The lamb in Murano was equally good and the lobster and show in Petit Chef were also wonderful. We are doing the b2b so will be in Tuscan again tonight. The staff as always is top notch. The ship was spotless. She is going in for her"facelift" in April so am excited to see how she looks after that. Embarkation was only slightly delayed due to a Coast Guard inspection. The staff in the Martini bar always put on a great show and I have a couple of new favorite martinis. I already miss some of the wonderful people we met last week. I hope our new shipmates are equally as nice. 

Edited January 18 by cwayne

[PTC DAWG]

Starboard side of the Sunset Bar lawn area has always been the non smoking area on my prior cruises on Equinox…has something changed..?

 

That itinerary is on of my favorites out of Port Everglades..glad you enjoyed the cruise. 

Edited January 18 by PTC DAWG

[Cruise till you drop]

41 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Starboard side of the Sunset Bar lawn area has always been the non smoking area on my prior cruises on Equinox…has something changed..?

 

That itinerary is on of my favorites out of Port Everglades..glad you enjoyed the cruise. 

 I could be wrong but I recall both port and starboard sides of Sunset bar to have ashtrays on the tables

[PTC DAWG]

22 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 I could be wrong but I recall both port and starboard sides of Sunset bar to have ashtrays on the tables

That's a big change if your recollection is true...

Edited January 18 by PTC DAWG

[Cruise till you drop]

34 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

That's a big change if your recollection is true...

One of the things I noticed is many smoking areas (more than any other ship we’ve experienced).  There are several on Deck 5 deck, Sunset bar, Deck 14 by the Master Grille, maybe other areas

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 I could be wrong but I recall both port and starboard sides of Sunset bar to have ashtrays on the tables

We disembarked Equinox on January 8, 2024.  Smoking at The Sunset Bar has always been only on the port side.  It is possible someone didn’t know this and carried an ashtray over to the starboard side.  There is smoking at the Mast Bar which is on the starboard side of the ship.

[PTC DAWG]

18 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

We disembarked Equinox on January 8, 2024.  Smoking at The Sunset Bar has always been only on the port side.  It is possible someone didn’t know this and carried an ashtray over to the starboard side.  There is smoking at the Mast Bar which is on the starboard side of the ship.

👍

[Cruise till you drop]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

We disembarked Equinox on January 8, 2024.  Smoking at The Sunset Bar has always been only on the port side.  It is possible someone didn’t know this and carried an ashtray over to the starboard side.  There is smoking at the Mast Bar which is on the starboard side of the ship.

You’re probably right but I did see ashtrays on both sides and your guess seems reasonable.

[hrmkr]

We are sailing in 5 weeks.  You gave the music a 8 out of 10.  What type of music was being played throughout the ship?  

 

After the shows in the evening, what was there to do for entertainment?  Which venues had music? 

[Cruise till you drop]

8 hours ago, hrmkr said:

We are sailing in 5 weeks.  You gave the music a 8 out of 10.  What type of music was being played throughout the ship?  

 

After the shows in the evening, what was there to do for entertainment?  Which venues had music? 

During the days by the pool, they had a band playing Caribbean music.

 

In various bars, they had some guitar and violinists playing instrumental music. One night the violinist was doing Beatles instrumentals 

 

Every evening they had a band playing cover songs on Deck 3 foyer.

 

We didn’t do this but they had silent disco every night

 

This is just a taste of everything going on

Edited January 19 by Cruise till you drop

[hcat]

sounds like enough going on..

 

Carib music at the pool is a plus . X used to have authentic Island bands , then just a keyboard. and lately  none..

 

We also enjoy Jimmy Buffet music on Carib cruises.. esp at the pool.

 

Very nice review!

Edited January 19 by hcat

[Z'Loth]

From another perspective.... this is from a solo traveler who stayed in an Oceanview on Deck 3 and had his third cruise on Celebrity and second solo cruise. This is also the first cruise I've taken since September, 2018. There was a significant percentage of cruisers who came from the northern latitudes of the United States as well as Canada, and there was representation from both the UK and Australia as well.

 

From my perspective, the embarkation process was quite speedy. While the line was a bit long, it also kept moving, with the longest "standing there" time was the showing of the passport and the taking of the photograph. The disembarkation process was the best of the five cruises I've taken. I was part of group 4 which had the early bus transfer to FLL airport. 

 

One of my big gripe areas had to do with the MDR scheduling. I had taken the early dining which was supposed to be at 6:00 PM each night. The printed schedule said 5:30 PM while the app said 5:00 PM each night. The correct time is 5:30 PM. On most nights, we were able to complete out meals and make the early evening show. Also, there was challenges with the solo/single traveler scheduling which was brought up with the activities director. The food in the MDR was excellent as well as the afternoon meals in the Oceanview Cafe.

 

As for the basic WiFi.... ouch. While not being able to stream audio and video was to be expected, other functionality was limited as well. The JavaScript and some other content was apparently blocked for Cruise Critic, so once the cached content expired on the browser, Cruise Critic became unusuable until I used on-shore WiFi to refresh content. Other sites, because of the servers used, had broken graphics or were unreachable (blocked) through the basic WiFi. WiFi calling and texting through my mobile device were also blocked, but Google Voice voicemail packages got through. 

 

Of the five islands visited, four were associated with UK, and there was no need to carry your passport book or card with you. Martinique is part of France, and you were required to take your passport book with you. As far as I can determine, since January, 2020, passport cards can NOT be used for that port of call. On the activities ticket, all it said was "passport is required", and the additional clarifying word "book" needs to be added to this destination documentation. 

 

From the room perspective, my room attendant did a great job. However, my room as far as I can determine, did not have any USB ports nor did I locate any outlets near my bed. One of the room drawers starting coming apart during the cruise. 

 

One thing that I had noticed in the pool area when it was especially busy was that if your stuff was unattended for more than 30 minutes, they would remove it and put a card reminding you of the 30 minute time limit. 
 

Did I enjoy this cruise? Yes. One of the personal challenges was that some of the shipboard activities such as those related to the Spa, Casino, Effy, Health Seminar, Art Auction, or drinking were of no interest to me. Also, the movies on the cruise television were of no interest to me, so I relied on the movies that I had downloaded to my tablet prior to the cruise for movie viewing. 

 

 

[Cruise till you drop]

5 hours ago, Z'Loth said:

.As for the basic WiFi.... ouch. While not being able to stream audio and video was to be expected, other functionality was limited as well. The JavaScript and some other content was apparently blocked for Cruise Critic, so once the cached content expired on the browser, Cruise Critic became unusuable until I used on-shore WiFi to refresh content. Other sites, because of the servers used, had broken graphics or were unreachable (blocked) through the basic WiFi. WiFi calling and texting through my mobile device were also blocked, but Google Voice voicemail packages got through. 

 

Martinique is part of France, and you were required to take your passport book with you. As far as I can determine, since January, 2020, passport cards can NOT be used for that port of call. On the activities ticket, all it said was "passport is required", and the additional clarifying word "book" needs to be added to this destination documentation. 

 

 

 

Interesting take on the WiFi.  We don’t have any high expectations and we really don’t use if for a lot except email and texts

 

As for Martinique and passports, we really didn’t observe anyone being asked to show their passport so we wondered if you really needed to take it. Kind of like on the other islands where they tell you to take a form if ID and never being asked to show it (so why bother)

 

[Z'Loth]

4 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Interesting take on the WiFi.  We don’t have any high expectations and we really don’t use if for a lot except email and texts

 

As for Martinique and passports, we really didn’t observe anyone being asked to show their passport so we wondered if you really needed to take it. Kind of like on the other islands where they tell you to take a form if ID and never being asked to show it (so why bother)

 

Unfortunately, there were several items that needed my attention from my home including some emergency ordering of items from Amazon. Thus the WiFi. Having said that, it was part of my cruise package. I would not pay for WiFi on a ship or plane, and if my workplace wanted me to be connected, they have to pay for it.

 

Per French immigration policy, you are required to carry your passport while in "France". It was explicitly stated in the daily cruise newsletter, and printed as part of my expedition ticket. This was the only time during the cruise that my passport didn't live in my room's safe, but in my bag which was close to me. 

[hcat]

what activities were of interest to you on and off the ship ?

[upwarduk]

15 hours ago, Z'Loth said:

all it said was "passport is required", and the additional clarifying word "book" needs to be added to this destination documentation.

I have never ever seen book in a description for a passport.

I live in UK and a passport is in book format.

[Z'Loth]

1 hour ago, upwarduk said:

I have never ever seen book in a description for a passport.

I live in UK and a passport is in book format.

 

See this US State Department page on passport books vs cards. A United States passport book is valid for international land, sea, and air travel. The United States also has available a credit-card sized passport card that fits in your wallet and allows for land or sea travel between United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and "Caribbean countries" which can be interpreted as including French West Indies, which includes the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy. Under French immigration law, you have to carry your passport book when visiting Martinique.

 

Why is this important? A passport book for United States Citizens costs $130 per adult while a passport card costs only $30 per adult. (Passport books and cards are slightly cheaper for children under 16, but are valid for only five years verses ten for adults.) There are some "frugal" cruisers who find any way to avoid paying for a passport, and may even try to cruise with the cheaper passport card. From what I have observed, the cruise lines use the guideline of their most restrictive port-of-call, and for this cruise, it's Martinique which requires a passport book. 

 

Being the detail-oriented person that I am (usually), stating "passport" is a bit vague while "passport book" is very specific. 

[cwayne]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:46 PM, PTC DAWG said:

Starboard side of the Sunset Bar lawn area has always been the non smoking area on my prior cruises on Equinox…has something changed..?

 

That itinerary is on of my favorites out of Port Everglades..glad you enjoyed the cruise. 

You are correct. We never saw any smoking on that side and I'm sure the staff would have been quick to correct it if someone made a mistake and smoked there.

[Z'Loth]

One other thing that I noticed was that the laundry service was not as expected. I had bagged out some underwear and shirts to be washed and put it out on Friday morning. The paperwork for laundry service said standard service would be next day by 9 AM, while a 50% surcharge applied to same day service. However, my room attendant said that it would be back by Sunday which is two days.

[mbrust]

Amazing to see the positive reviews for the food in MDR. I'm not a beef eater so don't have that to compare. The servings of all fish ,except the branzino, were pretty bad.   The cod was to have "crispy " coating but had soggy bread crumbs and returned all the others or left on my plate. Pork ,veal and lamb cuts were very tough and had to use a steak knife to cut. Maybe just unlucky in my servings.

This is our 6th cruise on Celebrity since Oct. 2021 and have experienced a steady decline especially in the food selections and quaility of meat. Difficult to find a white wine without an upcharge and have removed all red blends from the basic package. 

Headliners were very good but had seen all the production shows on other ships. Glad to see the smoking trial failed for the casino. Staff remains very good and work so hard. 

We will be trying other lines in the future.

 

[janabelle61]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:06 AM, Cruise till you drop said:

Staff (10 out of 10) - we thought everyone worked very hard to please the guests and they were all very pleasant.  Room steward Efrain and waiters Yuhda and Suthan were wonderful

 I was on the 1/8 cruise and am still on the ship. Suthan is my waiter this time, so wanted to give him another shout out! I had Eduardo & Allan last cruise and still see them frequently during the day,  but am always relieved on a B2B when the second evening dining team is as good as the first!!

[Cruise till you drop]

8 minutes ago, janabelle61 said:

 I was on the 1/8 cruise and am still on the ship. Suthan is my waiter this time, so wanted to give him another shout out! I had Eduardo & Allan last cruise and still see them frequently during the day,  but am always relieved on a B2B when the second evening dining team is as good as the first!!

Tell Suthan “hey” from the party of 8 (DW and I were in room 1668).

 

When we first dined with Suthan, he was the asst waiter and was working alone that night and did a fabulous job. No idea what happens to that waiter but by the next day or two, Suthan was promoted to the main waiter. You will be impressed.

 

Because we were Anytime dining, we got moved to various tables but the bulk were with either Suthan, as well as Yuhda.  Both were tremendous

Edited January 20 by Cruise till you drop