sail equinox in march or wait until after refurbishment?

We sailed equinox a couple years back. We booked her a while ago to sail on March 16, 2019 before the refurbishments were announced. We have the family stateroom with the balcony cabin 8104. Its $1000 more to sail her after refurbishment. Think its worth waiting and rescheduling our cruise from March to June?

I don’t know. I think it’s a personal decision. We were on the equinox last year. She was in great shape and we loved the ship. We are currently scheduled for November 5 and then again in January 5 and 12 back to back. I did look at prices in June. Depending on which week in June compared to our January weeks, it is either a $900 total increase or $1300 total increase with the go best package. We are sticking with the January trips. I would enjoy cruising on her again in June to compare but it’s just not in the budget.

We sailed W Caribbean on Equinox this June and it was Hot! We will be sailing same itinerary on her Mar 23rd. Would have loved to have waited for the refurb but the weather is key for us on this trip. Living in CO winters are COLD and we are looking forward to the escape from the snow. Other factors to consider are the other additional costs like flights and any hotel stays. Seems they are higher during “spring break” season.

Is the new deck plan available to see what the changes will be? Because one of many rumors is that during the refurb S class will lose their sky lounges to make room for suites. Not confirmed and need after refurb deck plans to see if that’s true. But if it is indeed true I’d rather do it before the refurb.

Not sure where you are coming from, but a March sailing is much more desirable to us in the mid-west than a June date. Obviously that is a personal choice that only you can decide. No doubt there will be improvements and changes, but as Mosttoyswin said, the ship isn't in bad shape now, so you have to decide if the design changes are worth $1,000. For me personally, I'd stick with the March date and wouldn't spend the extra money unless I was in a suite as I think (pure speculation here since details are scarce) there will be more changes for suite class vs everyone else.

I suspect the price difference is more due to the time of the year than the refurbishment. In March EVERY cruise line has several ships in the Caribbean. In June it is mainly just the RCL mega ships. Causes much higher prices during the summer months!

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Higher prices in summer are also due to many want to sail while children are out of school. Even tho' X is not geared toward families with children( thankfully ) there will still be lots of children in the summer. We sailed in July this year and noticed quite a different "vibe" from our winter cruise.

We are sailing with three of our boys (ages 10,10,9)! To date...their favorite ship was the equinox (they have been on 17 cruises). I'm looking for feedback from someone who might have more information about the refurbishment. On some threads I have read that they might replace the basketball court with the retreat area? These are all speculations but it sure would be nice if celebrity would release more info. I was on the phone with them today and spoke with 3 different people who had no idea what was happening. Finally one guy read to me the information they have on the refurbishment...which is basically no different then what we already know.

It's too bad they can't release drawings of what the ship will look like...specifically the equinox. The family veranda 8108 that we have stayed in previously had a lot of wasted space...if they are going to do something more innovative and make the bathroom larger use the space differently it would help me decide. If the room layout will be exactly the same with new carpet and bedding then its easy...will save the $1000 and keep my march booking.

Unfortunately, you are looking for information that no one on this board has (but I'm sure you know that). So bottom line it is really a personal decision. I would ask -how often do you cruise? If this is a once in five years thing you may want to wait to experience the new amenities (although June is not a very desirable month to cruise the Caribbean IMHO). If you cruise yearly or so, then if it were me I would go in March. Equinox is still in great shape and it is a wonderful ship (our favorite of all the X ships). Why pay $1000 extra at a less desirable time of year just to experience something new?

you are right phoenix dream! Every once in a while i will see a posting by someone who might have inside info....but it seems there is no more info out there.

We sail multiple times a year...so yeah we can sail her again later i guess no big deal. Having said....if anyone out there knows more....please do tell ;)

I'm kind of a "seize the moment person", so my advice would be if you really like Equinox, sail it sooner and not wait for the refurb. Then you may be able to sail it at a later date once it is refurbished, especially if you have head good things about the changes. I really like Equinox just the way it is. You'll probably have a good cruise either way.

Equinox isn't even ten years old yet.

It might be a good idea to wait for refurbishment if you were on an M-class ship. Those are showing their age. It also might be good to wait if you are in a suite. A lot of the upgrades seem to be geared toward that class.

For regular rooms (inside, outside, veranda) I'm not sure the upgrades will be of much value to you. The new open room designs look sharp, and will probably create a "wow" factor the first day, but I'm not sure they will change your overall experience that much.

I don't think the upgrades are responsible for the price increase. The higher price simply reflects the higher demand and lower supply of Caribbean ships that time of year.

We sailed equinox a couple years back. We booked her a while ago to sail on March 16, 2019 before the refurbishments were announced. We have the family stateroom with the balcony cabin 8104. Its $1000 more to sail her after refurbishment. Think its worth waiting and rescheduling our cruise from March to June?

We were on the Equinox in April and July this year. Great shape. We'd sail her again tomorrow in a heartbeat.

My take is to sail when and while you can. Tomorrow is not guranteed.

I book many cruises ( may be. It as many as others but more than most). I have 10 cruises booked i to 2020 and still looking for more. Want to spend and enjoy my money while I can and not give it up for a nursing home. If I have money they will drain me if I don’t they will take care of me. Going thru this with my MIL.

I work for it and earned it so I will enjoy it while I can. Don’t need to leave anything for my heirs. Sorry.

Happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

My take is to sail when and while you can. Tomorrow is not guranteed.

 

I book many cruises ( may be. It as many as others but more than most). I have 10 cruises booked i to 2020 and still looking for more. Want to spend and enjoy my money while I can and not give it up for a nursing home. If I have money they will drain me if I don’t they will take care of me. Going thru this with my MIL.

 

I work for it and earned it so I will enjoy it while I can. Don’t need to leave anything for my heirs. Sorry.

 

Happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

I love this! You are so right! Cruise while you can! We absolutely LOVE to cruise! Our friends and family make so much fun of us! Its really the only vacation we enjoy as a family. I have three boys who enjoy a little freedom....I feel more comfortable giving them SOME freedom on cruises then i do at all inclusives. There at an age where sightseeing is not of any interest. My husband wants to relax on vacation and not run around! About to embark on our 23rd cruise! So blessed that we can do this!

We sailed equinox a couple years back. We booked her a while ago to sail on March 16, 2019 before the refurbishments were announced. We have the family stateroom with the balcony cabin 8104. Its $1000 more to sail her after refurbishment. Think its worth waiting and rescheduling our cruise from March to June?

As I think you can take from all the responses, there is only one acceptable choice: DO BOTH! Even if it means registering as a driver with uber, save those nickels and get out there in March and June...and then let us know the results....

We’ve been on the Equinox 4 times this year already and we’re booked for our first suite in December on her. We ended moving our Alaskan cruise we had on the books to the Equinox for next July in a suite so we can experience the revolution. We’re going on the Edge next March and squeezing in a 4 day on the Infinity in November to get married in Key West! That will be our first on an M class. I vote as well to do both since you only live once!

IMO, don't wait. You can sail after the refurbishment also.

From the limited information released it is difficult to decide on future cruise bookings and the benefits of the upgrades. We are booked on Equinox after the refurbishment but we cruise in suites so should benefit from the suite deck area.

We were on Reflection last year and did enjoy the extra dining venues. It would be nice to know if we will have a Lawn Grill or equivalent on our cruise...Hopefully Celebrity will release more information on the Revolution programme once the Edge has completed its first voyage.

From the limited information released it is difficult to decide on future cruise bookings and the benefits of the upgrades. We are booked on Equinox after the refurbishment but we cruise in suites so should benefit from the suite deck area.

 

We were on Reflection last year and did enjoy the extra dining venues. It would be nice to know if we will have a Lawn Grill or equivalent on our cruise...Hopefully Celebrity will release more information on the Revolution programme once the Edge has completed its first voyage.

Chemmo

Looks like Lawn club is not coming to Equinox...

Somebody posted a link to a celebrity2-pager that shows schedules for ships over the next 2 years as well as a graphic listing eateries on each ship click to go to the Specialty dining list. I apologize for not providing the link but ended up downloading the file and now can't find the original link!

 

Chemmo

Looks like Lawn club is not coming to Equinox...

Somebody posted a link to a celebrity2-pager that shows schedules for ships over the next 2 years as well as a graphic listing eateries on each ship click to go to the Specialty dining list. I apologize for not providing the link but ended up downloading the file and now can't find the original link!

Thanks for that! Ah well, it will make me look forward more to our booking on Silhouette the year after!