Just back from Equinox Holy Land

[I'mGrammy]

The ship was fabulous, great food, and we had no complaints! If anyone has any questions, I'll try to answer. Grammy

[Woobstr112G]

How about, if you have the time, some details of the ship, service, food, etc.....:):):)

 

Bob

[sealover155]

We'd love to hear about your adventures ashore. Did you use Celebrity or private suppliers in Israel and Egypt?

[nanci_dru]

Hi,

 

We just got back also...had the time of our lives, truly.

 

We used Ramses Tours (http://www.ramsestours.com, NOT .net, which is apparently a different company) for Egypt. Did an overnight tour, totally private, just my husband and me. I HIGHLY recommend them. The tour was less expensive that Celebrity's, where we would have been on a bus with 45 people. We were able to customize our itinerary that way, too. You can also do tours up to about 15 people with Ramses, and that brings the price down a little, but in my humble opinion it was worth paying a little more for the totally private tour. For instance, we could cut down on some of the touristy shops and eat at different restaurants. Our tour guide was great -- friendly, personable, and full of great information. Egypt was amazing -- not only the pyramids, etc., but also seeing the culture. We stayed at the Mena House Oberoi, right next to the pyramids. It's a historic hotel and I recommend it. (My review of the hotel is on Trip Advisor under the same user name.)

 

For Israel, I wish I'd had time to book with Guided Tours Israel in advance but they were booked up when I contacted them. Hence, we used the ship's tours. They are through Patra Tours. The first tour of Jerusalem was awful. Our tour guide was not friendly and did an awful job of keeping the group together. So much time was wasted with her trying to keep tabs on everyone in the group. The second tour of Jesus' ministry was great. But again, you're on a bus with 45 people. Although we probably won't be in Israel again soon, I'd love to know about how people liked Guided Tours.

[DHADEN]

We are going to be on the Equinox next week doing the Caribbean.

 

Would like to know about the SHIP....

 

How was the crew/staff??

How was the Dining Room and the food?

How was the service from your room steward?

How were your waiter/assist. waiter and Head Waiter as for personal touches?

 

I know the ship is barely a year old - has she been kept up well? Looking like new, or a bit used??

 

Who is the Cruise Director, and was he/she really entertaining, personable, very active??

 

That's it for now, but I'll get back with more questions later. :p ;)

[staygulf]

I echo Nanci Dru's comments. We've recently returned from the Equinox Holyland cruise. Our Haifa tour was useless (the guide was rude and arrogant) and despite a 2 page complaint handed in to the tour desk, Celebrity didn't want to know. That 5 hour tour cost us over a hundred pounds and I would definitely think twice about using the ships tour again. The Jerusalem tour was better, but those who booked private tours seem to have seen more. We had already done a nile cruise so in Alexandria we stayed local, but again the feeling was that those who booked private tours had a better experience, and those who did the overnight trip thought it was magnificent. Celebrity obviously make a commission when you book a ships tour, but all they do is use a local company without accepting any responsibility for poor service. Stay clear !

[d4m]

For both of you who just returned from the Equinox cruise, I would like to know what each of you thought of the dinners in the MDR and lunches in the buffet. Also, did either of you have dinner at the buffet and did you notice any changes, meaning there has been confusion whether they were adding carved meats to the nighttime buffet.

 

If you ate in the MDR for lunches or breakfasts, what did you like best and least? Did you have meals or snacks delivered to your rooms and how was the service and the food?

 

Overall, how was the dining room staff? I just read a review (not from this ship) that the service was slow and customer requests were denied. Sounded like service had declined somewhat.

 

Lastly, how were the pools? Were you able to use the outside pool/hot tubs and what was the temperature like in the indoor pool? After reading that the indoor pool is not heated, wonder if it is usable during the Spring & Fall?

 

Thanks for all the information you can give. Love hearing all about this ship, what kinds of daily activities were planned during the TA and anything else you want to share!

[staygulf]

We are going to be on the Equinox next week doing the Caribbean.

 

Would like to know about the SHIP....

 

How was the crew/staff??

Very attentive

 

How was the Dining Room and the food?

Food in the MDR was great to start with then good to average for the last nine days of a 13 day cruise. Lots of mashed potato.

How was the service from your room steward?

We had a verandah stateroom, and the steward was excellent. Not once did we go back there without the beds being freshened up no matter how long we'd been away. And he was often there to open the door for us, appearing out of nowhere as if by magic !

How were your waiter/assist. waiter and Head Waiter as for personal touches?

Being British, I can't stand the table being cleared whilst people are still eating. A word to the assistant MD when she did her rounds put that right. The servers were often forgetful, but maybe we just had a bad pair. But our table companions were good company so it didn't really matter.

 

I know the ship is barely a year old - has she been kept up well? Looking like new, or a bit used??

She's like new, you'll absolutely love her. I would say that, out of 12 ships, this is the best we've been on.

 

Who is the Cruise Director, and was he/she really entertaining, personable, very active??

A Canadian called Dru Pavlov. He was very personable, reasonably entertaining and very active. Try and go to the Liars Club, a game show which they held twice in Celebrity central to the right of the theatre on deck 5. Very funny.

 

That's it for now, but I'll get back with more questions later. :p ;)[/q

What more could you possibly want to know ?!! Just go and enjoy it !

[staygulf]

For both of you who just returned from the Equinox cruise, I would like to know what each of you thought of the dinners in the MDR and lunches in the buffet. Also, did either of you have dinner at the buffet and did you notice any changes, meaning there has been confusion whether they were adding carved meats to the nighttime buffet.

MDR food was great to begin wth for three or four days then good to average. Lunches in the buffet were exceptional, so much choice and yes there were carved meets. Portions in the MDR were quite small. I often had two starters and two different mains. We usually went to the buffet at around 6 for tea and cakes, and there were lots of people who we knew were on late sitting with us tucking into the buffet dinner.

 

If you ate in the MDR for lunches or breakfasts, what did you like best and least? Did you have meals or snacks delivered to your rooms and how was the service and the food?

Only had lunch once in the MDR as there was not enough choice on the menu. At breakfast in the MDR the service was mediocre, one waiter was rude to my wife and I gave him short shrift.

 

Overall, how was the dining room staff? I just read a review (not from this ship) that the service was slow and customer requests were denied. Sounded like service had declined somewhat.

There was one night when the kitchen obviously had some sort of problem and the service was late and food overcooked. Apart from that the service was quick, too quick for my liking. I had to complain about plates being cleared away whilst I was still eating.

Lastly, how were the pools? Were you able to use the outside pool/hot tubs and what was the temperature like in the indoor pool? After reading that the indoor pool is not heated, wonder if it is usable during the Spring & Fall?

Did not use the pools, although they were in use. We were in the eastern med, so temperatures were in the 80's.

Thanks for all the information you can give. Love hearing all about this ship, what kinds of daily activities were planned during the TA and anything else you want to share!

What is TA ? is it trans atlantic ? If so, n/a to my cruise. Generally, as Brit I find the activities and the entertainment pretty poor on Celebrity, not a patch on P&O, but I love the Celebrity ships. They did have a couple of interesting lecture series, one on forensics and one on astronomy. Apart from these, not much else.

[tak2]

Hi,

 

.......

For Israel, I wish I'd had time to book with Guided Tours Israel in advance but they were booked up when I contacted them. Hence, we used the ship's tours. They are through Patra Tours. The first tour of Jerusalem was awful. Our tour guide was not friendly and did an awful job of keeping the group together. So much time was wasted with her trying to keep tabs on everyone in the group. The second tour of Jesus' ministry was great. But again, you're on a bus with 45 people. Although we probably won't be in Israel again soon, I'd love to know about how people liked Guided Tours.

 

I was on your cruise. From what my private tour group( 5 couples) had concluded, after talking to many who used Celebrity's shore excursions to Jerusalem, we saw more but did not have a decent guide and driver. This may be an isolated case, but someone on a different cruise ship( oceania ) also had aweful experience with this guide. For details on comments about Guided tours israel, there is another thread under " Celebrity ".

To me, Guided Tours Israel did not deliver what they were advertising. For example, they promised new vans.... the one I was on was an older Ford with tight seats, poor A/c , and no microphone, hence it was hard to hear from the back. Guided Tours israel promised " gettiing you back to ship ontime, NO EXCEPTION( their emphasis)",. Well, another Cc member posted that they were left behind and had to taxi their way back to the ship ( an hour away) almost missed the sailing.

 

On the other hand, we heard many good comments from people who used Ramses Tours for Alexandria and Cairo. We used it for a day tour of Alexandria, and were most impressed. Couldn't believe the very inexpensive rate for a private tour for two ( 7 hr tour, lunch included, USD95 per person) Tour guide was prepared to log in more time, and the driver was very courteous and careful, unlike the two in Israel who drove poorly and constantly talking on their cell phone while driving.

 

Bottom line, book with Ramses in Egypt, but avoid Guided Tours Israel.

[DHADEN]

We are going to be on the Equinox next week doing the Caribbean.

Would like to know about the SHIP....

How was the crew/staff??

Very attentive

How was the Dining Room and the food?

Food in the MDR was great to start with then good to average for the last nine days of a 13 day cruise. Lots of mashed potato.

How was the service from your room steward?

We had a verandah stateroom, and the steward was excellent. Not once did we go back there without the beds being freshened up no matter how long we'd been away. And he was often there to open the door for us, appearing out of nowhere as if by magic !

How were your waiter/assist. waiter and Head Waiter as for personal touches?

Being British, I can't stand the table being cleared whilst people are still eating. A word to the assistant MD when she did her rounds put that right. The servers were often forgetful, but maybe we just had a bad pair. But our table companions were good company so it didn't really matter.

I know the ship is barely a year old - has she been kept up well? Looking like new, or a bit used??

She's like new, you'll absolutely love her. I would say that, out of 12 ships, this is the best we've been on.

Who is the Cruise Director, and was he/she really entertaining, personable, very active??

A Canadian called Dru Pavlov. He was very personable, reasonably entertaining and very active. Try and go to the Liars Club, a game show which they held twice in Celebrity central to the right of the theatre on deck 5. Very funny.

That's it for now, but I'll get back with more questions later. :p ;)[/q

What more could you possibly want to know ?!! Just go and enjoy it !

 

Thank you so much, Staygulf!!

 

This is all great information and gets me even more excited.

 

I did think of another question, but don't know if it will apply to our cruise the same as yours:

 

What about the Cruise Critic "Connections Party"????

Some ships really go all out - have a big layout, lots of staff, even the C.D. shows up....

Sometimes it's minimal and dissappointing. Were you involved in a Rollcall, and did you go to the Connections Party?

[staygulf]

 

Thank you so much, Staygulf!!

 

This is all great information and gets me even more excited.

 

I did think of another question, but don't know if it will apply to our cruise the same as yours:

 

What about the Cruise Critic "Connections Party"????

Some ships really go all out - have a big layout, lots of staff, even the C.D. shows up....

Sometimes it's minimal and dissappointing. Were you involved in a Rollcall, and did you go to the Connections Party?

 

We booked our cruise 3 weeks before embarkation, and I found this site by accident. We were the last couple to log into the roll call and we booked into the connections party just in time (I think this has to be done at least about a week before embarkation. I couldn't believe the volume of communication that people had been having for eighteen months before the cruise (77 pages). I could never book a holiday that far in advance. One lady, Sally (optifire), had even created a separate website for our cruise which was absolutely fantastic. There were around 100 + people at the party and we had to take a small gift (no more than $10) representative of where we live to participate in the gift exchange. Mind you, we had to ask about the party as Celebrity didn't send out invitations which they are supposed to do on the first night. Some people missed the party because they didn't get an invitation, but commonsense dictates that they should have asked ! Because we were the only Brits at the party and were late comers to the roll call, we probably didn't bond as much as those who had been talking to each other for months. But it was still worth it ! Come on now Darrell & Donna, you've seen enough of the Carribean, come on over to Europe, there's great cruising over here !

[DHADEN]

 

We booked our cruise 3 weeks before embarkation, and I found this site by accident. We were the last couple to log into the roll call and we booked into the connections party just in time (I think this has to be done at least about a week before embarkation. I couldn't believe the volume of communication that people had been having for eighteen months before the cruise (77 pages). I could never book a holiday that far in advance. One lady, Sally (optifire), had even created a separate website for our cruise which was absolutely fantastic. There were around 100 + people at the party and we had to take a small gift (no more than $10) representative of where we live to participate in the gift exchange. Mind you, we had to ask about the party as Celebrity didn't send out invitations which they are supposed to do on the first night. Some people missed the party because they didn't get an invitation, but commonsense dictates that they should have asked ! Because we were the only Brits at the party and were late comers to the roll call, we probably didn't bond as much as those who had been talking to each other for months. But it was still worth it ! Come on now Darrell & Donna, you've seen enough of the Carribean, come on over to Europe, there's great cruising over here !

 

We DEFINITELY want to do a Trans Atlantic, and then a Mediteranian Cruise. I will have to wait until after I retire (hopefully in just a few more years). I teach school, and the best times to that are in Oct. or April - times I can't get away.

 

Thanks for the info on the party. Did the ship's staff do a good job of setting it up? Were there Officers (maybe the Cruise Director or at least part of his staff) there?

 

When we were on the Infinity last year, we were amazed at how GREAT the C.C. party was - the C.D. emceed it and part of the orchestra was even there playing at the beginning!

 

We have about 160 in our Rollcall now, so I hope to have a good showing.

[staygulf]

 

We DEFINITELY want to do a Trans Atlantic, and then a Mediteranian Cruise. I will have to wait until after I retire (hopefully in just a few more years). I teach school, and the best times to that are in Oct. or April - times I can't get away.

 

Thanks for the info on the party. Did the ship's staff do a good job of setting it up? Were there Officers (maybe the Cruise Director or at least part of his staff) there?

 

When we were on the Infinity last year, we were amazed at how GREAT the C.C. party was - the C.D. emceed it and part of the orchestra was even there playing at the beginning!

 

We have about 160 in our Rollcall now, so I hope to have a good showing.

 

As far as I could see there were no other staff there apart from the 2 waiters who were manning the coffee station. the main input seems to have been from 2 rollcall members who were the driving force behind the party. There were no officers there, and as I've mentioned there were no invitations sent out. Whether or not that reflects the ship's staff attitude to these parties I couldn't say, it was my first party, but I'm sure with that many on your rollcall you'll have great time. One of the members had organised name tags for everyone so that helped. Only a week to go ! Have a great cruise.

[I'mGrammy]

We had anytime dining, and never had to wait more than a minute or so. We even changed our dining times several times, and the staff was very accommadating. The food was better than expected, and the waiter, assitant waiters were always helpful. The wine steward was very attentive as well as we ordered wine every night.

Our room butler was always available for any special needs, and the cabins were always clean.

Shore excursions were all booked with Celebrity. We did the Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii tour. Our guide was excellent. In Taorimina and Corfu we were on our own. Egypt was a different story. We did the Cairo, Pyramids, and Tombs. Although we did see everything on the tour, our guide was more interested in selling cartouches and rarely guided us once we were out of the bus.

Our second day in Egypt we did the El Alamein tour, and it was very interesting and we had a very nice guide.

In Jerusalem, we did the Eternal Jerusalem tour, and our guide was superb!

I Haifa, we went to Tsippori National Park, and it was amazing. Our guide again was superb.

All in all, I would recommend all of the tours except the first in Egypt.

[KruzPrincess]

Did anyone go to the evening buffet?? There's been much discussion on the boards about whether it is the same very limited buffet from the past of if they've enhanced it have more to offer now. If anyone ate dinner in the EVENING buffet, please share your experience. Tell us what is included on the evening buffet.

 

Also, did anyone have enough free time to notice what movies were showing?

 

Thanks in advance.

[susietb]

We were on the September 22 Holyland sailing!!!

 

We had a fabulous time. All the arrangements that we made on the Roll Call worked out fabulously. We all met for sailaway in the Sunset Bar where it seemed to be love at first sight.

 

We used RomeCabs for port transfers. They were dependable and got us to and from the airport in plenty of time.

 

We used Ramses Tours in Egypt, staying overnight at the Mena Oberoi and we could not of been more pleased. The guide (Romeini) and driver were wonderful and were very flexible to our needs.

 

We stayed overnight in Jerusalem at the Harmony Hotel, using a private guide Danny Herman. He was an antiquites specialist and he made the sights we saw extra special.

 

We had late seating with a fabulous waiter. We enjoyed the food very, very much. We ate one night in Murano, where the food and service was over the top.

 

Of the two ships tours we took (Corinth and the Canal and the Godfather Villages) we were very, very pleased.

 

The ship is beautiful and we found the crew to be extremely accomodating and helpful in every way.

 

We took advantage of the fitness center daily and found the equipment to be clean and nicely maintained.

 

We did not eat in the buffet at night because we enjoyed the dining room and didn't mind getting dressed up.

 

Hope this helps.

 

PS: We shared the Egypt and Israel tours with people we met on the roll call.

[stipmom]

Can you give me Danny Herman's e mail? Thanks

[susietb]

His website is: www.dannythedigger.com