MarkWiltonM

On 6/8/2019 at 8:57 PM, poncho1973 said:

We're fairly seasoned cruisers (about 120 nights or so on Royal, a half dozen Disney cruises, and 1 Norwegian cruise) who went on the freshly updated Equinox this past week.  We didn't really have a lot of expectations, but were excited to try something new.  We came in as Elite thanks to our Diamond status on Royal.

 

The good:

• Our stateroom was very nice and seemed MOSTLY upgraded, but not fully.  The bathroom was NOT upgraded, but had a nice new toilet seat (sticker still attached for the entire trip), but the tile was very old and everything seemed a bit worn.  It was fine, but I know several people were asking if the bathrooms were upgraded.  We had a J2 verandah on deck 7 mid-ship.  The balcony was nice and we had zero problems with our room for our entire trip... although this morning (arrival back in port day) about 3-4am I think the a/c stopped working as my wife and I woke up in a sweat with the room very, very warm.  However, it started getting cold again by the time we got up to leave.
• Captain Kate.  I'm going to put her in the good, but with a two caveats.  1st, she's American and this is for my wife.  My wife has this insane bias that all cruise ship captains should be Scandinavian.  My wife did enjoy her being a woman captain, though.  2nd, she's really, really, really, really scripted and corny.  I think this makes her a hit with the older folks, though.  She sounds like she's 100% reading every announcement word for word directly from a script and gives a corny saying of the day and a mostly lame pun/joke of the day.  She might just need a bit more practice, though?  I'm going to put her in the good because she was the most visible captain I've seen in all of my cruises.  She also was standing at the gangway this morning personally thanking everyone as they left.  I was majorly impressed by that move.  It's unlike anything I've seen.  We saw her at a couple of events and she went out of her way to be EXTREMELY kind and friendly to everyone.
• The solarium.  We're big fans of solariums and this was a great one!  We spent a lot of time here and it was excellent.  We napped.  We read.  We swam.  We didn't eat... but that's for another category.
• The lawn.  WOWZERS.  This was personally my favorite part of the ship.  We loved it.  We watched the sunset here.  We watched movies here.  We just relaxed here.  We watched glass blowing.  We loved, loved, loved, loved it.
• The oceanview cafe.  We both thought this buffet was really nice and IF it had handwashing stations would be right up there with the best ones we've been to on cruise ships.  I loved the ice cream station. 
• The smoke-free casino.  We don't gamble, but it was so nice to not have to avoid an entire floor of a cruise ship (the casino and anything near it) because of smoke.  We walked through and went to nearby events several times.  The place was packed, so I don't think it hurt business.
• The ship in general.  For a 10-year old ship, even fresh out of dry dock, it was very nice.  It was a simple ship, but a nice one.
• The staff.  We found a lot of very nice crew members on the ship.  It was a very friendly staff (ok, I think most of them were starting new contracts, but hey!) and we had a lot of fun.
• The shaded areas near the pools and on the lawn.  The number of shaded areas was amazing.  They had awnings and structures and overhangs galore.  It was nice to not have to sit in the direct Caribbean sun, although there were plenty of sun areas, too!  The couches and alternative chairs were fun, too.  It wasn't just pool loungers, they had options.
• Pepper grinders on the tables at dinner.  BOOM!  GOLD!
• Sushi On Five.  This was an excellent place to eat.  It was very lightly populated, though.  It was definitely delicious.  They were running a dinner special of all-you-care-to-eat for $25 a person, which was great and we made the most of it.  My tiny wife is a sushi-eating machine.  She had 3 apps and 4 full (8 pieces) trays of sushi.  The last couple of pieces she just ate the guts and left the rice/seaweed, but she put it down like a champ!  I was both impressed and scared.

 

The less good:

• Some of the service.  I don't want to sound entitled or bratty in any way, but my wife and I looked at each other last night as we were packing and said that we never felt special AT ALL on this entire trip to that point.  I'll add a caveat that Captain Kate's good-bye (12 hours after that conversation) falls into the makes you fell special category, but it was literally the very last 10 seconds we were on the ship.  Disney is pretty much the world leader in making you feel special, but Royal does a really great job of it, too.  When we are on a Royal ship, we feel like we're wanted and we're a priority.  We were just a cog in a bigger Celebrity machine here.  Everyone was polite and said pleasantries, but we never just felt special.  It was kind of a bummer.  I thought this was the fancy line of the Royal family?  It didn't feel like it.
• Elite status.  After the goodies you get as a Diamond on Royal, being Elite on Celebrity was like being Gold on Royal.  You really don't get much at all.  The Captain's Club event on 5 of 7 nights was like the Diamond Lounge's ugly stepsister.  They had 3 canapes each night and the options on the drink list were really light.  It's no wonder the place was a ghost town!  Finding a seat wasn't a problem, you could have almost any seat!
• The spa cafe in the solarium.  This was a the biggest joke on the ship.  It was open for approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds each day.  The servings were legitimately light fare, but I didn't see many people eating it.  The servings were like a spoonful of egg salad or a kale salad that might fit into a ramekin.  I asked one of the guys for some silverware (they were closing and no more food was out, but there were forks, knives, and a flat napkins on a tray behind him) and he said they didn't have any.  I pointed to the tray behind him and he nodded.  "No more silverware" he said and shrugged.  So I tried a different approach "Could you hand me a fork, a knife, and a napkin?" He nodded and said "Sure thing!" and did so.  WHAT??????
• The food desert.  There were hours on the ship when the only food offering was the hamburger place by the pool.  They offered hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and fries.  They also have a turkey burger (pulled out from under the cabinet in a warm box) and a veggie burger (I never saw one, but the guy would tell the "come back in 10 minutes please" and mostly they just said nevermind.  I didn't see anyone get one.
• The oldens.  Holy crap was the age of this cruise INSANELY HIGHER than any cruise we've been on in the Caribbean.  So many hover-rounds!  So, so, so, so many smashed feet because the people driving them were crazy!  So many wheelchairs and canes!  So many Arthur Murray dance lesson graduates!  My wife said it was cute to watch them dance their routines and watch them mouth the step counts, but it was also very Stepford.  I'm no dancing judge, but it seems like dancing should be about feeling and not counting.  But if a song was playing, there was an A-M graduate couple out there counting!  So much perfume in the elevator!  AS A SIDEBAR, the i-Lounge was so funny and great for older folks.  There was always a line in there of older folks asking for help on their phones or tablets.  They had daily classes to teach people how to use them.
• The food.  Generally speaking it was more bland than our other cruise line experiences.  There just wasn't a lot of flavor going on and the food did not impress.  A lot of people told me that Celebrity was a big step up in the food department, but it wasn't for us.
• The specialty dining or our lack thereof.  We tried to get in and they simply don't return phone calls.  I called the day of once and managed to get a real person, he told me that I could ONLY get Le Petite Chef and ONLY at 9pm.  No thanks.  But then we spoke to several people who said their specialty dining was mostly empty.  I called twice more and was forced to leave a message... no returned calls.  They must not have wanted our money.  The second-to-last night we were walking the hallways after dinner and peeped in on 3.  Tuscan was 1/2 empty.  Morano looked like pretty empty.  Sushi on 5 was empty except for 3 tables.  A guy offered us lunch the next day for $30 or dinner for $25... we were on it!  Why did it take until the last day?
• So so so so so so much less to do.  People may poo-poo the rock climbing walls, the ice skating, the bumper cars, the zipline, the slides, the water slides, the FlowRider, etc, but man this ship had virtually no excitement going on!  There just wasn't much to do and it was a good thing there were only 2 sea days because there wasn't much at all to do.
• Everything cost more, or at least almost everything.  Then again, it's the upgraded line, so people with more money come on it?

 

The weird:

• Embarkation was weird.  The new terminal is great in Port Everglades and a vast improvement over the first time we were there several years ago and our terminal was basically the spooky warehouse building from every 4th Scooby-Doo episode (the other 3 locations being a mansion, an amusement park, and somewhere near a graveyard) you watched as a kid.  A very nice older man asked us if we wanted to try the "cool, new" embarkation process.  The line was about 1/1,000th as long, so we said "YES WE DO!" and went to the line with the facial recognition boards and people with tablets.  After absolutely nothing happened with the facial scanners (or maybe it's just instantaneous?)  and about 3 questions from the tablet guy, who glanced at our papers & passports... we were in!  Super fast.  We were then directed to a man who insisted on seeing some documentation about us being in that line, some express pass or something.  I said "that nice man right there asked us to try the new system and we don't have those passes."  This caused the man to get very huffy and start mumbling something.  He then walked away.  We didn't know if we were supposed to stay there and wait or what?  After a few seconds of him being gone and now speaking to someone else & laughing, we just decided to board the ship and see.  Cool.  We were on.  I honestly don't know what happened or didn't happen.  However, the time from entering the hall at the terminal to walking up the ramp was about 3 minutes at most.

 

 

It was our first experience on X.  I think I'd like to try Edge or one of her sisters at some point in the future, but from this very limited experience, I'm not seeing how X is the future for us.  We'll try again, for sure, but after several people IRL told us we'd never go back to Royal after we "moved up to X" I think that it just isn't the case.  It's not going to be a regular thing for us.

 

That said, any day at sea is a good day!  And most importantly, we had a very nice time with what we did.  We're the type to roll with whatever, but for the sake of review I'm laying it all out there.  If you have any questions or comments, I'd welcome them.

I am just about to purchase internet for a 12-night Caribbean cruise in 2020 on Celebrity Silhouette.   They have two tiers of internet now.  The more expensive "unlimited" internet version allows you to stream video and use VoIP technology for Skype, Facetime, etc.  The "Surf" package allows you to surf the internet and check email, etc., without streaming video and VoIP.  For 12 nights, the fees for the Surf package are $129.60 for one device and $194.40 for two devices.  The Unlimited streaming/VoIP version is $269.00 for one device and $404.00 for two devices.  They also have packages for three and four devices.  It seems fairly reasonable to me compared to prices I've paid in the past.  Since I don't need to stream video or use VoIP but my spouse and I may want to be on the internet at the same time, I'm going for the Surf package for two devices.  That works out to $16.20 a day (not sure if there are additional taxes).   

I don't know how you can be aware that it's non-refundable if you are not told in advance.  But, believe me, it won't happen again. 

I booked an Alaska cruise last month (February 2019) on HAL Koningsdam for August 2020 through AARP's Expedia Travel Center.  I was asked to pay a $350 deposit but was not told by the representative at Expedia that the deposit was non-refundable.  We had to cancel the cruise and lost the $350.  I blame this partly on Expedia but HAL should also make sure its travel partners are fully disclosing the requirements, as I was not even aware there was such a thing as a non-refundable deposit.  In this case, it shouldn't even be called a deposit but rather a fee.   And I would never make a reservation that far in advance (18 months!) if I knew the deposit was non-refundable. The person I was speaking to at Expedia when I called to cancel had HAL on the line for about 30 minutes and they refused to re-consider.  When I re-book for Alaska, I am giving my business to Celebrity.  Until this happened, I had begun sailing more on HAL than on Celebrity but I am not sure I will ever sail with HAL again.  So HAL got $350 out of me but has lost many, many thousands of dollars from me in future sailings.   

I was on Nieuw Statendam in January and Koningsdam the year before, and while we enjoyed some of the food in the main dining room,  most of it wasn't anything to write home about (except for the Culinary Council dinner, which was excellent).  I've sometimes not finished my entree because it wasn't that great and then ordered another entree or I went to the Lido buffet to have something else.  But it never occurred to me, for example, to send my entree back like I would do with an entree I ordered at a land-based restaurant that wasn't up to snuff.  But if HAL introduces the $10 surcharge for an extra entree, they should be prepared for some of us to hold our first entree to a higher standard than we otherwise would.  Meaning, if the entree I order isn't delicious, I'll tell the waiter I don't like it and have them bring me something else (at no charge).  And if I order a second entree for $10, it better be worth $10 or back it goes.  I assume they can't charge you if you say the entree isn't satisfactory after tasting it.  If others do the same, HAL may find their additional charge backfiring on them with more food waste and cost than they would have had for the people who occasionally order an extra entree.  (We've already decided not to dine in any specialty restaurants next year on the K'Dam because they aren't, in my opinion, worth the up-charge.) 

I was annoyed to read that HAL is testing a $10 charge for ordering an additional entree in the main dining room.  The article I read said it was to prevent food waste, which is ridiculous.  Obviously it's to increase revenue.  The article also said a lot of people order an extra entree and don't finish it.  Well: Maybe they didn't finish it because it wasn't good!  The entree portions in the main dining room are not large, and my spouse and I sometimes order a third entree to share between us when we can't decide on just two entrees.  HAL: It's a bad, tacky idea.  FWIW:  When we were on the Nieuw Statendam recently, we took the main dining room up on its offer to order lobster for an additional charge (there's a card on every table advertising this option).  We had to wait 45 minutes (!!!) for the lobster.  We assumed they would comp the lobster after that long of a wait but all we got was a "sorry" from the embarrassed server and the head waiter.  We'll not try that again.  

Dave,

Thanks for pointing out that the prices are for 2 "sailors" in one cabin and not per person. I did another spot check for a five-day cruise to Havana in May for a stateroom with an unobstructed veranda and it was $4,000 for two including taxes and fees, which is $800 per night for 2 people.  Still more than HAL or Celebrity Solstice Class ships but not as high as I thought.  And it is a new ship with innovative features.  And I heard one of the lounges will have a resident drag queen performing. 

I just looked on the Virgin Voyages website for a five-day cruise to Havana from Miami for a mid-ship stateroom with a veranda for two people.  The price was luxury-cruise level at $4750 ($950 per day).  My recent cruise on HAL Nieuw Statendam and my booked cruise for February 2020 on the to-be-refurbished Celebrity Silhouette are priced at about half that ($500 per day for a veranda stateroom).  Although The Scarlet Lady sounds fun,  it (and the overpriced Celebrity Edge) will sale without me.   

LocoLoco1, I'm sorry I don't remember what was there other than the jigsaw puzzle table.  But there is comfortable seating. 

I love Celebrity's Solstice class ships but I've been dubious about the Edge since I first heard about the gimmicky Magic Carpet (even the name is stupid, IMO) and the Infinity Veranda staterooms, which looks exactly like the sliding windows that have been on river cruise ships for years  (see, for example, Emerald Waterways).  These verandas were touted as being "revolutionary" but if you read the reviews on this site they aren't popular to say the least.  It turns a veranda stateroom into a windowed stateroom with a window that you can open some but not all of the time.  The only good thing I noticed was that they haven't done away with Cafe al Bacio, but reviewers report there are few places to sit and relax inside or to sit in the shade outside, which is a dealbreaker for me.  We will be on Nieuw Statendam in a couple of weeks (were on sister ship Koningsdam last year and loved it), and we'll be on a newly refurbished Celebrity Silhouette in 2020.   

We were on Koningsdam, the sister ship to Nieuw Statendam, last year and loved it.  We are in our late 50s/early 60s but our cruising habits and preferences haven't changed since we were in our  30s.  We don't require a lot of "activities" to keep us busy or expect anyone to map out our days for us.  We like to relax; read a lot, both in the room and in various locations on the ship, preferably with a strong cappuccino and a pastry; play some cards/games, sometimes with others we meet on the ship; visit the ports of call; take naps in the room and watch movies (Nieuw Statendam/Koningsdam have a  pretty good selection of free on demand films); go to the gym or the running track; and most important, EAT.  In our opinion, Holland America has the best food of any of the mainstream cruise lines, with Celebrity a close second.  The food in the Lido buffet on Koningsdam was the best we've had at sea.  The specialty restaurants Pinnacle Grill and Rudi's Sel de Mer are also worth a visit.  People rave about Tamarind, but pan-Asian restaurants aren't our thing (now if a cruise ship had a good dim sum restaurant we would be all over it).  Nieuw Statendam has a lot of options for music entertainment including the new Rolling Stone Rock Room (a bar with a rock band), Billboard Onboard (a bar with dueling pianos), BB Kings Blues Club (blues band of course), and Lincoln Center Stage (a classical quintet).  On Koningsdam, the only music we thought was top-notch was the quintet, and we rarely go to the theaters on cruise ships because the entertainment is usually mediocre by our standards.  We will be on Nieuw Statendam from Jan. 20-30.  Can hardly wait.  I think you should try it. 

On Koningsdam last year we didn't notice  smoke or the the smell coming from the casino.  The worst smoke was on the deck aft of the Lido Market.  It's nice to  sit and eat out there but the starboard side of that deck was for smokers and depending on which way the wind is blowing it can come over to the port side.  But since it's outside, and it's a lovely deck, we put up with it.  

I got a call that the 02/02/2020 cruise had been canceled. I booked for 02/23/2020 for the same itinerary. They honored the original price but the go-for-2 promotion I purchased wasn't going to be honored until I protested. The first person I spoke to at Celebrity's call center was useless. I called again the next day and got a great service rep who went to a manager and got it all approved. If you don't get good service when you call try again. Of course this does not apply to those who work with an independent travel agent, in which case you have to go through them. 

I wonder why they moved both Billboard AND Lincoln Center. Perhaps the new use of the space will help explain this. Otherwise, I would rather they keep BB Kings in the Queen's Lounge to take advantage of all that great dance floor space.

When I was on Koningsdam in January, I was told they were moving BB King out of the Queen's Lounge on Nieuw Statendam because it was too loud for the shops opposite it. There have also been complaints about noise from the Queen's Lounge, which is two decks high including the balconies and I believe has staterooms above it (or so I was told; haven't checked the deck plans). Because Lincon Center Stage performs earlier than BB King, and is quieter, that would solve that problem as well. I was also told they would add another table to Sel de Mer and position the host stand outside the restaurant to make room for this. We will be on the Nieuw Statendam Jan. 20-30, 2019, cruising to the ABC islands (a/k/a Dutch Carribean). Looking forward to it!

There may be and will be some shake down issues.

But the main reason for not go: the degradation of the HAL product.

The new Pinnacle class ships (Koningsdam) is a big step down from the level that was achieved with the Signature class.

I completely disagree. I think the Koningsdam is an improvement over the prior class of ships in every way. We booked a Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Statendam for Jan. 20 - 30. We figure they will have had a month or so to work out any initial kinks. At least we hope so.

We just got back from an 11-night cruise on the Koningsdam (which we thoroughly enjoyed). There were some books in the Crow's Nest, which appears to be used as a catch-all coffee shop, bar, library, card room, and activity center. There's also a table with a huge jigsaw puzzle in progress you can try your hand at. We like it up there but it's usually pretty crowded, especially at sailaways because of the great views, and it's not particularly quiet because of the activities like trivia games. I am a Kindle reader, and I stocked my e-reader with library books just before we set sail because my primary activities on ships are eating, reading, and napping. We don't do shows and we don't gamble. For me, cruising is a rare opportunity to relax because I don't have to make a lot of decisions. I enjoyed reading on the Lido deck both in the Marketplace during off hours with a cup of coffee and in the pool area on that deck, where we, along with many others, also played cards. We also read and played cards in various places during the day including the Queen's Lounge, which was often empty and had tables with ocean views, and other bars around the ship that have comfortable seating and are all usually quiet, during the day at least. Regarding the Grand Dutch Cafe, at times it got crowded for lunch and one day there were a couple of guys monopolizing a table playing cards who were not eating or drinking anything at the cafe. There were people who had ordered food who had no where to sit and these guys were either oblivious to the situation or didn't care.