First time Celebrity cruiser, thoughts on Equinox Oct. 6-16 Southern Caribbean

We have been long time HAL cruisers (3 star Mariners) and just completed our first Celebrity Cruise and these are a few of our thoughts. Let's begin with saying, WOW. I think we fell in love with Celebrity within the first 30 minutes on board.

Embarkation at the Miami Terminal was very easy and efficient. We arrived via our transfer from Ft. Lauderdale about 11AM and were on board by noon. I do think that we arrived at a good time, shortly after we arrrived the lines became very long, but for us all was good. We had the Classic Beverage Package included as a perk of our cruise, along with some onboard credit, so after talking to some of the bar staff, decided to upgrade to the Premium Package. We both enjoy martinis and some premium liquors, so this made sense for us, we probably could have managed with the Classic Package, but decided this was a good way to use up some of that OBC.

Food is subjective, but we felt that Celebrity had the edge over HAL. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Oceanview Café daily, and were well satisfied. Comparing it to HAL's Marketplace (Lido), I would say it exceeded HAL in selection and taste, and the way the Oceanview is laid out handles the lunch and breakfast crowds quite well. There have been times on HAL, where I have wondered through the Marketplace and have not found anything that I would care to eat at lunch, this was not a problem on the Equinox. The last day was a day at sea, and the Oceanview gave us a great send off. It was like the Grand Finale of Food, there were beautiful Thanksgiving style turkeys at the carving station, sautéed garlic and butter shrimp as a few examples. The desert area had a wonderful assortment and a chocolate fountain. They went all out. We had burgers at the Mast Grill twice, and each time they were quite good. Dinner was early fixed seating in the dining room at a table for 6. We had 2 very good waiters, but there was a quite large table they had to take care of where the passengers seemed to be very high maintenance, so some nights it took a long time to eat. The food was good, but nothing exceptional comes to mind, but then I wasn't cooking or cleaning up, so I was well satisfied. We were given a complimentary dinner to a specialty restaurant by Celebrity, we picked Murano, we were both disappointed in the food. The wait staff was very good, but the food, not so good. We both picked the lobster and it was just OK, but since we did not have to pay for it all was well. I think next time we will try the Tuscan Grill.

I will put some more thoughts in another entry to make it a little easier to read.

We found the Equinox to be a beautiful and well laid out ship. The hub of activity was the Atrium area with music provided by an adequate house band that was set up on the lowest level of the Atrium, so that the music made it to all 3 levels. We spent most evenings for before dinner drinks at the Martini Bar, a VERY popular place. It was sometimes difficult to get seats at the bar, but seats were usually available in the surrounding lounge area. We met some fun people there and the staff did a good job, considering how popular the place was. We also visited the Gastro Bar and Casino bar that were nearby. We stopped at the World Class Bar a time or two, but did not really care for the drinks there, and they did not go "off menu", so not really the place for us. But, it was a beautiful bar and seemed to be well run. The pool bar, Mast bar and sea view bars all were top notch, too. We did not go to the lawn club, except on embarkation day, too many other places we enjoyed spending out time. It seemed nice enough.

The evening entertainment was OK. The production shows were good, not great, but it was a pleasant way to spend a little time after dinner. We did enjoy the addition the aerialists to the productions shows. There was a magician and singer, and a singer impressionist that put on pretty good shows, and a comedian that we did not see, but heard that he was pretty good. Silent disco was surprisingly fun, weird like you would expect, but fun. We used the walking track one day, but it gets pretty crowded and is rather short, so it makes for a boring walk. We checked out the fitness center one day, it was busy. The solarium pool was busy, too, but we preferred the outdoor pool area. It gets quite crowded on sea days and finding a lounger can be difficult. We are early risers, so we would get one right after breakfast without a problem. If we would have waited longed, we would not have had a good choice.

Hi - I was on the same cruise and we also had a great time...I thought the food on the buffet at lunch was usually better than what I got in the MDR most nights - I especially liked the fish grilled to order a couple of days and also the roast suckling pig one day was so good I went back an hour later for another helping.

I am not usually a show goer - but I really enjoyed the December63 group and also Ashley-Amber.

My sommelier at dinner - Yelana - was the best I have had on a ship - she checked with me immediately each night to see what I was having and then paired me off the wines that were on my Premium package, and she did not ever let the glass get empty.The waiter and assistant waiter remembered my Irish Coffee and cheese plate each night after dinner.

We stayed in a verandah stateroom. #7301. It was a very nice room, with enough storage for 2 people on a 10 day cruise, a third passenger in the same room would have been a little challenging. The bathroom was a bit crowded, but there is a nice vanity area at the desk for applying makeup and hair styling, with good light and enough electrical outlets. Our room steward did a fine job, and when asked, provided us with an ice bucket that was replenished twice a day. He also kept us supplied with extra body lotion, shampoo and hair conditioner when requested.

The ship was very easy to maneuver, with enough signage in the right places, so I never got lost. On some ships, it takes me a while to get my bearings, this was not the case on the Equinox, even though it is larger than the ships we have been on before. Overall, we really liked this ship.

The ports are all places we have visited before, so we did not do a lot of shore excursions, mostly we found a beach to enjoy. Grand Cayman is not our favorite port, we spent the day at the Royal Palms beach resort, it had a bar, grill, pool and shower facilities. Not great, but suited our need and it was a short taxi ride from the port area. The beach is not our favorite there. Aruba, we went to Eagle Beach via the local buses and stayed at an area by the Coco Loco Beach bar, they had a bar and grill and restrooms and you could rent loungers for $12.00 each. We just found a nice area to lay our towels and enjoyed the beautiful water. Bonaire has beautiful snorkeling, so we went on the Sea Cow double dip excursion through Celebrity. It was a top notch run excursion, very professional with good guides in the water with you pointing our sea turtles, squid, barracudas and an assortment of other tropical dish. Curacao, we just walked around town and did a bit of shopping before returning to enjoy the Equinox. Falmouth, Jamaica, was not our original port, but a substitute for Key West. The new cruise port in Falmouth seemed very nice, but we did not spend a lot of time there. We did an excursion, Bambooo Beach VIP package, after over an hour on a bus, we were taken to Bamboo Beach Resort, a very rustic location. We had about 3 hours at the beach, with an all inclusive package with rum punch, frozen drinks and a lobster and jerk chicken lunch. Nothing about this trip was VIP, I would not recommend this trip to anyone. Each bus had 2 hostesses to take care of the passengers, they got drinks and brought the food around. Two hostesses are not enough, since they hand deliver everything. We had to ask for drinks and food. A simple solution would be to have the food available buffet style and let the guests go to the bar themselves. We were given wrist bands to identify which package we had, but did not receive the "perks" that we were supposed to. We did have a fun day, thanks to the friends we were with and made the best of the circumstances, but would steer anyone thinking of choosing this excursion to choose something else.

All in all, we had a great vacation and enjoyed the Equinox. We will definitely be cruising on Celebrity, again.

Any questions you may have, I will answer to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading.

Linda

Hi - I was on the same cruise and we also had a great time...I thought the food on the buffet at lunch was usually better than what I got in the MDR most nights - I especially liked the fish grilled to order a couple of days and also the roast suckling pig one day was so good I went back an hour later for another helping.

 

I am not usually a show goer - but I really enjoyed the December63 group and also Ashley-Amber.

 

My sommelier at dinner - Yelana - was the best I have had on a ship - she checked with me immediately each night to see what I was having and then paired me off the wines that were on my Premium package, and she did not ever let the glass get empty.The waiter and assistant waiter remembered my Irish Coffee and cheese plate each night after dinner.

I forget to mention December of 63, a Frankie Vali tribute group, very good. Ashlie Amber was also quite entertaining.

Our wine steward in the MDR was also good, never letting our glasses go empty. We had Bailey's coffee to end our dinner.

Was there a fee for the mast grill? Some time back it had been posted that the mast grill now had a fee.

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I forgot to mention disembarkation day. We had a 1:50PM flight from Ft. Lauderdale, so we had a late disembarkation time, 9AM. We went to breakfast, then left our room at around 8:15 and headed to the Equinox theater to wait. We were called right on time and went to collect our luggage. Customs was very quick and we did not need to fill out a form. We called our transfer company and waited outside. Leaving the Miami terminal was a little crazy, so many people waiting at the same time made for a very crowded street side. When our transfer arrived, we were glad to be on our way. Ft. Lauderdale airport is only about a 30 minutes ride away, and as we like to fly Southwest, a very easy transfer to make.

Was there a fee for the mast grill? Some time back it had been posted that the mast grill now had a fee.

 

 

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No fee for the Mast Grill. From what I understand, Celebrity tried a fee, but it was not well received, so the fee has been revoked.

No fee for the Mast Grill. From what I understand' date=' Celebrity tried a fee, but it was not well received, so the fee has been revoked.[/quote']

Thank you for your wonderful review. We were on the same cruise with you! I was going to write a review, but there are already a few from our date. I will say however, this was unequivocally, the best cruise we have ever been on.

Thank you for your wonderful review. We were on the same cruise with you! I was going to write a review, but there are already a few from our date. I will say however, this was unequivocally, the best cruise we have ever been on.

Yes, I agree, one of our top cruises. Can't wait to sail Celebrity, again.

I will say however, this was unequivocally, the best cruise we have ever been on.

Yes' date=' I agree, one of our top cruises. Can't wait to sail Celebrity, again.[/quote']

 

Good to hear. Thanks for posting. :)

I was on this ship for the September sailing. Our itinerary got changed twice. Thanks to Irma and Maria. Overall this was my best cruise yet. I fell in love with Celebrity from this cruise.

Loved the layout of Oceanview Cafe as you said. We didn't have a bad meal in the MDR one night. The dessert menu is very limited IMO. So many places to eat we didn't get to try the Mast grill.

I didn't care for the production shows. I however loved Ashley- Amber and the comedians they had.

I loved where the Martini bars at. Easy to get a before and after dinner drink.

Thank you for your review- and we had the same Wow experience when we tried Celebrity! Still enjoying our bookings on Celebrity....the officers, crew and staff are top notch!

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Thanks for the review! Boarding in a few weeks and CAN'T WAIT!!

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Equinox in March. Can't wait! I love the personalized sommelier service. You're correct, they never let the glass run dry! We've been on the Reflection and Silhouette. Can't wait to try one of the "older" ships!

Thanks for the review.

I think the problem wasn't Murano, but that you ordered lobster. [Lobster in the Caribbean isn't Lobster, but some other species entirely. If you want lobster, go to Maine!] Next time try the Chateaubriand or the Venison Loin.

Did you do the Corning Hot Glass Show? [it's only on 3 Celebrity ships, and was a surprise highlight of our cruise on Eclipse]

Thanks for the review.

 

I think the problem wasn't Murano, but that you ordered lobster. [Lobster in the Caribbean isn't Lobster, but some other species entirely. If you want lobster, go to Maine!] Next time try the Chateaubriand or the Venison Loin.

 

Did you do the Corning Hot Glass Show? [it's only on 3 Celebrity ships, and was a surprise highlight of our cruise on Eclipse]

Thanks for the suggestion, we will definitely try a different entree if we try Murano, again. However, we do like the spiny, Caribbean lobster. We did not make it to the hot glass show, too many other things to do. Something to look forward to on our next Celebrity cruise.

Thanks for the well-written review.

We were on the Equinox last March and had the pleasure of enjoying St Thomas, St Kitts, St Maarten and Barbados. This was our 2nd Celebrity cruise and we have also fallen in love. We found the Equinox to be a beautiful ship. We also had the pleasure of being entertained by Ashley Amber! We also enjoyed the martini bar several nights! Glad to hear others are enjoying this ship & line also!

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Enjoyed your review.

Keith

I am glad you enjoyed the Equinox, and I enjoyed your review. We are boarding her on Friday, October 27, 2017. Can't wait!

Great review we are also boarding on Fri wife wants to try silk harvest I just can't wait to be on celebrity again

Great review - thanks for posting. We are boarding on Nov. 6th. Can't wait!

We were also on this cruise and for the most part, agree with the OP. However, we thought the production shows were not good. Elysium was completely confusing and the tribute to Broadway had few songs that anyone other than a musical aficionado would even recognize! We didn't even bother with Toppers or whatever it was called. However, I will say that for the most part, the featured singers were pretty good. December 63 were undoubtedly the highlight and the comedian was very funny, which coming from me, is high praise indeed!

IMO, the magician took too long for each of his tricks and even then, they were pretty basic. The singer/Whitney Houston impersonator wasn't terrible, but not good enough to hold our attention.

Food was good in most free and pay restaurants. Oceanview Cafe had an English Breakfast station, which was a delight for me as an English ex-pat who's lived in the US for almost 20 years! It was nice to get British style sausages and good bacon! From our time on the ship, there was a high proportion of Brits on board - far more than any other sailing we've done (14 in all), which could account for the breakfast.

We ate in the Tuscan Grill on the first night (30% off was offered) and ate way too much. Quality and service was very good. So much so, that we bought a four-meal package, with which we ate at TG once more, Murano twice and Silk Harvest once. All but the latter produced very enjoyable meals. DW had the veal on our first Murano visit and it was so tough, she was not impressed. Second time, we had the chateaubriand (and lobster), which was excellent! Tuscan, with smaller choices, was even better second time around, but Silk Harvest failed to impress completely. We did not enjoy pretty much all of the dishes we ordered. The Maitre'D tried to offer us uther items and we tried the Orange Chicken, which was just OK.

On the final Saturday, we were offered all you can eat for $20 at Sushi on 5. We took up the offer and I calculated that we ordered in excess of $100 at menu prices! DW, not a fish lover, really enjoyed the Kobe beef slider and had a couple portions of that. I am a little more adventurous and had a good range of sushi and sashimi.as well as ramen and dynamite shrimp & lobster. Would we eat there again? More than likely not.

We loved the ports. We'd been to Grand Cayman and Falmouth before, o it was the ABC islands we were most looking forward to. We went on a trike excursion in Aruba which was awesome, despite almost losing a foot (or worse) at one point! My fot slipped off the floorboard and under it. It was my right, braking, foot, too! Luckily, despite an aweful sound and everyone being sure I was in for helicopter ride to the hospital for amputation, I was ok and nothing was broken!!

In Curacao, we joined an excursion arranged by Liz on our roll call board. We had around 150 people on this tour, but it was broken up enough so it wasn't crowded. We had a tour of the island, including the liquouer factory and a beach break, with drinks on board the bus, all for $30. Pretty good value if you ask me!

We had nothing booked in Bonaire, so we got off he ship and walked around. We were offered an air coditioned van tour for $25, which we accepted. There were nine of us in all, including four Scots ladies, who were a blast! We had a great laugh reciting early Billy Conolly sketches and singing the 'Welly Boot Song', which made us laugh harder and our American cousins wondering what the heck was going on!

Falmouth, for us, consisted of a walk around the immediate re, which has some good shopping andd is reasonably safe.

In all, a good vacation. We decided we WOULD sail X again and it was a relaxing time. Embarkation, debarkation and tranportation were all easy and a positive experience too.

Thank you for your review. We board the Equinox on Friday.

Did the Coco Loco Beach Bar have shade or umbrellas to rent?