Pennstatedj

We were on the same cruise and were in mdr. I agreed with all you said. We are also Zenith and experienced retreat bar. All service was great in retreat bar and all dining. I have the same opinions about bar entertainment around the ship. I am over 70 and like acoustic guitars singers. In July on the Equinox there were two great performers, this time jazz and classical genres were the tune. Not our cup of tea. They were good but made us seek out the house band and party band. We still had a great cruise. This is why I like X, every cruise is different when it comes to entertainment. We still enjoy cruising.

With over 100 cruises and 70 on X, I would pick the Apex. More room in cabin and more room on ship. Ships are all packed now. there is more entertainment and venues than reflection. We have been on both recently. The only way I would choose reflection is if I enjoyed breakfast and spent a lot of time on balcony. Then you pick Reflection. we love the infinity cabin, more room in room and can sit there and enjoy view. Food is similar. Each has its advantages. I would choose Apex. If you want a balcony, when you are asked to bid on upgrade, bid on sunset and bid large and you might get it.

We were on Equinox last week. We went to MDH when we boarded and asked for a table for 2 and were granted one. We always do this. You have a real good chance if you want an early time.

My wife talked with Alex yesterday. She is Ascent concierge shoreside when you call. My wife told me who the concierge onboard is but I forgot, my age I guess. Sorry. Call Alex and she will take care whatever you wish. She is great.

I have used X credit card obc and my visa BOA cards on Celebrity. Yes is your answer. However I have had problems with one of the transactions and had to show copy of the reward to get it. So bring along your receipt in hard copy. I also lost a lot of X Boa obc during the pandemic. Celebrity and BOA does not communicate well. It was a nightmare to get some of the credit back. Lost over 500 dollars due to no one being able to follow transactions when cruises were cancelled. I have since cancelled my X card. I have more control over my Visa card thru Boa and ML.BOA is very hard to deal with too and together it was a nightmare.

I do not know what they will do. Others on this site do. I think they will finish with Retreat they cut off before everything stopped. The whole ship needs new chairs and carpets, all are worn out.

Interesting choice. Equinox will just be out of dry dock and Ascent is brand new. I agree with previous. If you are in suite book Ascent, if you are aqua book Equinox, if regular then either will be great. Since you will be in Med you will be in port a lot, ship life is not important. If you like cash, Equinox is best. We just came off Equinox last week, Great cruise. We will be on Ascent first two weeks of Jan, 2024. We love S class and really love E class. E class has more lounges and spec restaurants. Cannot make a bad decision. Have a great time.

They have sticky buns once a weekly at cafe Baccio. They are good but not the same as the Diner.

We checked in at 1045 for a 1130 time. There were no lines. That was Fort Lauderdale and ship was full. Somewhere else boarding might be strictly enforced. Onboard officer said ship is full the rest of the year. It showed on sea days.

We were on same cruise. We were in main dining. We have taken over 70 cruises on X. The menus have a few different items but what was served was great. The fish dishes which are not always cooked well, too dry, were excellent on this cruise. Even the lunches on seas day were outstanding. The chef has a lot to do with good food. Simple apps were good on this cruise. We also ate at Sushi on 5 twice for lunch, great and Le patite chef in Quisine once, again great food this time. Last cruise in July not as good. We did two lunches in Oceanview and they were good. The only criticism we had was side entertainment was not as good as in July. Too many classical groups, not any acoustical guitar acts. We just spent more time in the Martini bar. We will miss the Equinox next summer, but look forward to the Edge and the many differences that it has to offer.

Jim is right. My wife used the drink package.

We carried off the book. Very heavy.

I have for years thought that three things are very important, Food source, Chef, and almost as important is the waiter you have. Believe it or not I asked my waiter why does the ship and mdh fish quality vary so much from table to table. He told me that it depends on how the waiter selects the actual dish he or she brings to you. He tries to find one that is right off grill and sitting around drying out. That week we were with that waiter was the best fish I had on a cruise ship. Before that I stopped getting fish, most of time it had been too dry. Happy cruising.

We will be on same cruise and was just on in July. We were not in aqua at that time but were on in Jan also. Generally Sky lounge is not open from 12 to 3 but each day it can change. You can a drink at mast bar and then take drinks in for the view. We spend time there on some days. Also, usually Blu has lobster when it is in the MDR. It should be on second chic night usually second to last night. Do not believe the app like previous person said. Enjoy Blu, on the Equinox it is usually great both service and food. If you are not happy with either let someone know and the will get it right.

Yes, the menus have changed in MDR. Yes, they have lower priced items. The E class menus have less choices, but marketed well. But if you look at sailing capacity and that is the measure that is most important she must be happy. Also the surveys must be showing positive results. Until there is less bookings they will continue to test what they can put on the menus. For us we have noticed a decline but still enjoy X food vs others at same cruise price point. We have several more cruises booked so we must be happy not a 10 like five years ago.

Hi, Thanks for doing this review. We board for same cruise on OCT 14. Do you remember who is your CC hostess. There is usually three assigned but one you see most of the time. Do the elite breakfast even for just a cup of tea or coffee or Bloody Mary. View is the best. I usually usually do Blu breakfast and meet wife for orange juice and drink. Enjoy.

We took two cruises in July also on the Equinox. We agree with Georgia Peaches. Food was very good and service in MDH was outstanding. We also did a Chefs table and a Murano and a petite chef. All were great. Cuts were evident but none were something we could not do without. The vaping was tested and fortunately stopped.

The book is large and weighs about 7 lbs. Way too big.

It was spectacular. They also gave us a photo and a large book by Daniel B. Very heavy.

We just did Equinox Chef table in July. We had premium package and used that for wine. The experience was the best one we have had. The other 8 people were great and we left the table at 1115, It was a great dinner and experience. Well worth it.

I agree with the original OP. I also think they will cut as long as the ships are full. When people stop seeing the value as to competition ships will start sailing with less people and then it will be too late and they will go away. It's a fine line in business. You cannot save your way to prosperity. Many businesses have tried. You must create a value for the customer. They must keep food above average and treat their loyal customers better like they use to. It will be interesting to see who they are targeting for customers as they continue to cut cruise lengths. It is almost all 7 day cruises in Caribbean. I know because we always did 9 days or longer for about 20 years. Now if we want longer cruises we must do BTB. It's ok but food must be good. Our last two cruises in July even with all the cuts we were happy. It will be very interesting for the whole industry in the next few years.

Yes it was on the Equinox in July.

During our recent July Equinox cruise I had a choc croissant every morning for breakfast. Most morning they were hot and really good. I ate about 8 am in MDH and they were great. When I ate at 830 on two occasions they were not hot and not as good. Either way they were the same size and really good.

Every cruise is different. Sometimes veteran discount is used, sometime FL discount is better, sometimes senior is best. Last cruise it was vet this next one senior was better. They will not combine. So ask for each and see. Good luck.

The same thing happened to me after final payment for my last cruise on Equinox July 8. I almost did not see it. We called and it was straightened out. But what worried us is my wife fell and broke her wrist just two weeks prior to this so we were worried when her operation was two weeks from cruise. The dr gave her ok two days before departure. So we were worried if we had not found the cancellation and reinstated it. Those of us that have been around since 1995, know X has the worst computer systems. It always amazes me how they make changes and it seems they never ask for input from their customers. I do not think they ever beta test anything. I have had several encounters with their IT department on board and once with the Head of X IT. He told me that they have a department of one. That was 5 years ago. My thought was he was a fix it man not a real department manager. It makes me think that they on plug in programs and hope for the best.