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.

A lot of you have mentioned it’s cheaper to do the excursions through the roll calls. I tried to google the ship excursions but finding them hard to find, wanted to see just how much they are or what is offered?

Also is it expensive to stay in bankgok for the overnight ?

Sounds so good so far, looking forward to hearing about the rest of your fab holiday 😎

Thanks so much everyone, some great info there we really appreciate it. We have haven’t done these stops before so it’s great to get the advise.

If we do the cruise we may not have the time off work to stay on longer at the end Would ye suggest starting the cruise at Singapore or Hong Kong. We are hoping to arrive couple days prior to the start of the cruise but unsure if we have the time to stay on at the end.

Looking forward to the mahdnc cruise review next week. 😉

We are looking at a 12 night cruise in 2024. Starts Singapore or Hong Kong and ends in Singapore or Hong Kong. Stops include Bangkok/Laemchbang Thailand, Ko Samui Thailand, Ho Chi Minh (Phu My) Vietnam, NHA Trang Vietnam, HUE/Danang (Chan May) Vietnam, Hanoi (Halong Bay) Vietnam.

For anyone who has done this cruise or something similar, would love to know what you thought.

Did you find there were things to do at the ports or did you end up doing excursions in order to see the sites? Only wondering as if it’s all excursions we have to do it can be exhausting and add to price.

Thanks ☺️

Thanks everyone, didn’t realise about the points that is very handy ☺️ 

Curious as to how much better if anything concierge class is to just booking a stateroom with balcony? It was on offer when we booked and I see a few things listed on celebrities website.  Is it worth it, or any tips you have picked up on which we shouldn’t miss out on or not expect?

Didn’t use a search engine, I searched Antigua here on Cruise critic, find the topics here very informative.

 Can I ask what time you were picked up from the pier at and back to the ship?

Thanks Fairgarth for the website, I’ll have a look hopefully see something to do/see 😉

Antigua is one of our cruise stops in November. We have been twice already, first time we did a tour of island through the ship and the lovely guide brought us to the beach in front of “Anas on the beach”, it was lovely and not busy, some cruise crew were there and asked how we found the place. The second time we decided to go back to the same beach unfortunately it was VERY busy for such a small area, we didn’t enjoy it at all.
 

This time round, we are thinking of taking a walk and exploring the town, maybe go to a rum shack/shop along our walk and hopefully go to a nearby beach (want to fit as much in the limited time).

Has anyone done their own walk of the town, would love to know where you went. I found a similar post in the Grenada section and we did the walk route the cruise member detailed in their post and it was fab including a chocolate cafe they recommended.
Also any recommendations on beach nearby?

Can I piggy back on this post.  Not sure if this is a crazy idea but How about trying to get to The Outlets Montehiedra?

We will be doing B2B cruises and we both have shops in both the Plaza and The Outlet we would like to try to get to. We were thinking of trying to go to one from our hotel before getting on our first cruise maybe The Outlets seeing as we will probably be up early due to the jet lag 😆 Then go to The Plaza at the start of the next cruise?

how long or much does it take/cost to get to The Outlet ? we may or may not have access to the internet so we not be able to get an Uber.

Holy moly that’s a great list thank you so so much reedprincess ☺️

I know this question is asked a lot, so apologies. This will be our third time to St Lucia, first time we did a full day tour by land and sea which included the mud baths and Pitons. Second time we went to Marigot Bay which to be honest we didn’t enjoy. For some reason we have yet to fall in love with St Lucia and we both love the Carribean. We will be visiting in November and are not sure what to do, we will we stay onboard the ship or what? We do find when you get off the ship trying to decide what to do is tough when you have many locals shouting at you to take their tours, it’s off putting so we’d love to have an idea of ANYTHING to do.

Any recommendations for just the morning/half day would be greatly appreciated, please 😎

Thank you for the advice :)

Thanks so much everyone, some very helpful information, next step is ringing celebrity.  

We have another snorkle excursion booked on another island so if we do cancel we still have that :)

Thanks for reminder, meant to add it to port of call 👌  I looked it up on TripAdvisor but not much information and usually that’s one of my go to sites when researching. I’m hoping someone on cruise critic has more information on either the place or if they have experienced a change in a pre booked excursion before I call celebrity. 

😎

Hi,

We booked and paid for a Pitons cruise and snorkel excursion in St Lucia with Celebrity but I have been informed it’s now called Cruise and Snorkel at Marine Park. The excursion is now a coastal cruise followed by snorkel in the marine park, and the excursion is now 3hrs rather than 4hrs. 

What originally attracted us to the excursion was the snorkel at the Pitons, which is now not the case. Where on the island or what is the Marine Park, has anyone been to it? We have done a coastal cruise before of St Lucia therefore We are considering cancelling as this is not what we booked and paid for but unsure of our options or if the Marine Park is worth it?

Would you recommend any other excursions?

thanks as always for your help 😎

Hi,

We booked and paid for a Pitons cruise and snorkel excursion in St Lucia with Celebrity but I have been informed it’s now called Cruise and Snorkel at Marine Park. The excursion is now a coastal cruise followed by snorkel in the marine park, and the excursion is now 3hrs rather than 4hrs. 

What originally attracted us to the excursion was the snorkel at the Pitons, which is now not the case. Where on the island or what is the Marine Park, has anyone been to it? We have done a coastal cruise before of St Lucia therefore We are considering cancelling as this is not what we booked and paid for but unsure of our options or if the Marine Park is worth it?

Would you recommend any other excursions?

thanks as always for your help 😎

Oh I’d definitely love to hear from someone who has recently been to the restaurant too please 🙏

Thanks sounds fab x

There are ship excursions but would love to know what suggestions from fellow cruisers who have been there.

Have gotten some great suggestions in the past for other places which have turned out fab, therefore would love to know what people loved or would do again on the island. ❤️

Thank you, i will do some googling on your suggestions, much appreciated x

Hi,

My husband and I will be visiting Curacao for the first time in November, we normally like to do a half day excursion followed by the beach with snorkeling or relaxing or both if possible so we can get the best out of the islands.

Would love to know your suggestions 😎❤️

Hi,

My husband and I will be visiting Bonaire for the first time in November, we normally like to do a half day excursion followed by the beach with snorkeling or relaxing or both if possible so we can get the best out of the islands.

Would love to know your suggestions 😎❤️