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Equinox, returned May 5, short review

LSauls7537

By LSauls7537,
in Celebrity Cruises

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LSauls7537

LSauls7537

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We returned from the Equinox last evening after 11 days on a jazz fest cruise.

The crew was incredible, we've cruised a lot on the major lines and must tell you this is the best crew ever. You MUST go to the martini bar and watch the antics of the bartenders. If you don't laugh, there's no hope for you. A very special bar server is Guillermo Arias, he's from Peru. Once in a long time you'll meet that "special" person who just radiates kindness and caring and this he is. Please stop by and tell him Linda and Lou say Hi. Many reviews have been written, so I'll try to just tell you some things you may...or may not know. Room service: write what you want on the order form, even if it's not on the menu. If it's available in the main dining room, it will come to your door. (same for lunch and dinner) Service times were spot on every morning we ordered. Have OBC you want to use? Wait till the last sea day, the sales offer 75% off for Invicta watches, Michael Kors, Kate Spade for purses etc. T shirts are on sale from day 3 at 2/$15, or 2/$30.

Your OBC is non refundable. You can use in the casino, but they will give you only the cash you win over your OBC, not the whole thing. You cannot receive cash anywhere with your OBC. The drink package was included in our fare, it sure saved time not needing to sign every ticket. Those that posted the wine is mediocre...could not be more true. The best of the group for me was "Haven", but not even up to Rodney Strong category of wine.

To those of you who are going to Key West, there's just so much to do, it's your own taste. We went to Freeport and they have added dockside shops. There are no trams at this port and it is a hike to the shops on shore. The same for Cozumel, shops are improved over the past several years, but long walk and no trams. Many beach excursions are offered, but we're not beach people. I heard no complaints about any excursions.

If you book excursion thru the ship, you ARE the first ones off the ship.

Little niceties are ice cold cloths when you return to ship, as well as hot long pool towels when it's raining. (It POURED in New Orleans and there are no trams there either) since it's a working port, you will walk a decent distance. Celebrity was there with the hot towels.

Service was impeccable, We had a nice table in the back of the dining room in a little nook. Table 466. It was a great place to be, quiet enough we could talk to our tablemates and the table next to us. Our waiter was Arsapha Halisanto, incredible guy. I asked for 1/2 orders of a 1/2 order as I don't eat a lot at one time. We had our own language by day 2 so if I ordered a 5th grade portion, it was 1/2 order, grade one was about 1/4 cup of pasta. He was great.

Ship is immaculate!

Want to alone time? Library. Or gastropub early in the day.

El Bacio coffee is great and offers alcoholic drinks as well as a Starbucks type coffee menu. Also no charge for cookies, croissants , muffins etc.

Service and attention in the Murano is second to none, if you try it on the FIRST night, you'll get 30% off (good use of your OBC)

Sushi bar, you can order the sushi and take to your room or outside, no need to sit and eat unless that's your choice.

Slush bar is great when you're hot, frozen drinks with/without alcohol. All fresh fruits.

Solarium pool is great, easy for us older folks cause it has a hand railing and steps instead of a ladder for easy access.

Soltice area is not crowded cause' there's no elevator and it's maybe 30 steps to the top. No bar or restrooms, just peace and quiet.

My negative is disembarking in Miami. It was an epic fail on this first sailing. Only 2 small elevators and many people with multiple suitcases using self assist (MIA won't allow more than 1 suitcase per guest on the escalator). Line was long. We left our stateroom at 7:00 AM and not off ship until 8:30. Next time we'll leave them handle the bags and be able to use the escalator.

You no longer need to fill out a declaration form....wow, when you finally do get to immigration, they ask if you have anything to declare instead of the whole paper thing. I expect the disembark problem to be resolved as this was the first cruise for the Equinox of Miami.

We stayed the day before at the Hilton Garden Inn, had a great room for the night, left our car for 11 days, full breakfast and transport to port for $149. Hotel was great, staff very friendly, we'd do it again. Coming back we used a "rogue" company, you can spot them, like hackers trying to get you to buy from them. We went from the port to our hotel in a Mercedes van for $10 per person plus tip. Much less expensive then the cab. Only caveat..ask WHEN WILL YOU LEAVE? They do try to fill up the van. No problems though.

Liquor policy has changed. You can pick up your on board liquor purchases the morning before you pack instead of trying to pick up liquor in the evening and trying to pack. Much appreciated by those I heard speaking about this.

Richard Spacey is the CD, he's like the engine that never quits, he's everywhere as is his activity director Justin.

Have a great time on your cruise!

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george35

george35

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I agree with your review all but 1 thing. If you get your OBC from a T.A. you can go to the GUEST RELATIONS desk on the last day whatever you have left they will give you cash. Remember it is only the OBC you get from your TA not from CELEBRITY. We just got back yesterday off the EQUINOX 7 our TA gave us $300 OBC & we just went down & asked for cash & was handed 3 $100 bills..

 

george35

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LSauls7537

LSauls7537

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I agree with your review all but 1 thing. If you get your OBC from a T.A. you can go to the GUEST RELATIONS desk on the last day whatever you have left they will give you cash. Remember it is only the OBC you get from your TA not from CELEBRITY. We just got back yesterday off the EQUINOX 7 our TA gave us $300 OBC & we just went down & asked for cash & was handed 3 $100 bills..

 

george35

 

Hi George,

We did go to the Guest Relations and the way OUR TA gave the OBC it was listed as "casino", OBC so that may be the difference, that for us was $100, the other was from Celebrity and we were told no.

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bluecruisin

bluecruisin

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We would really appreciate any information you can give us on New Orleans and the Jazz fest. Any info on logistics and did you attend the Jazz Fest and what other sights you saw or places you went. Also what the port was like. Thank you so much for any help!!

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AzJenn

AzJenn

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thanks for the review! I leave on the Equinox in a few weeks and haven't been onboard her since 2012, and in my opinion its my favorite celebrity ship. I am really getting excited!

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Majkman

Majkman

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LSauls, thank you for the great review!!! Will be on the Equinox for the 2nd time in July!!! Plus, my parents live in the Springdale community of The Villages!!

 

Keep the seas calm, and the sun bright!!

 

Andy

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SunSandSea

SunSandSea

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Solarium is covered, temp is I would say maybe 99, not hot or cold, very pleasant. No one was covered with a towel while sleeping.

 

Hi Linda and Lou, Thanks for the wonderful review.

 

We sail EQ on 5/15 and again in November. This will be our 5th and 6th cruise on her and we just love her!

 

Hope they straighten out the debark issues. Last year we used the epass exit by using phone and ipad where we had stored copy of passport; then wand it and we're out. Forgot the name for it. Of course, that was from FLL.

 

I love the Glass Show. I know it's "time" is probably limited but I have asked and never got an answer. Do you know?

 

Thanks again. Peg

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LSauls7537

LSauls7537

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We would really appreciate any information you can give us on New Orleans and the Jazz fest. Any info on logistics and did you attend the Jazz Fest and what other sights you saw or places you went. Also what the port was like. Thank you so much for any help!!

 

The port has no trams, so you walk to the ship. 3 blocks out of the port you can catch the trolley to the French market. If you go to the end of the line, walk across the street, you can catch another trolley (canal street) that will take you a long way out canal street, past the cemeteries, tree lined streets and old beautiful homes. There are 4 trolley lines that will take you all over the city, do NOT rent a car, there is no parking and what there is costs an arm and leg. The trolley has a pass you can buy when you board for $3 per person and it's good for 24 hours! Right outside the port is a huge outlet shopping mall, everything you could want. We of course had the Café DuMonde beignets, but as an FYI, you can get them in that mall as well, there is an outlet there. We walked till we thought we'd drop on day 1, day 2 we did the trolleys and more looking at the historical sites. Day 3 rained and we stayed on the ship. We didn't go to the jazz fest...it appears there was a bit of misinformation. There ARE places to sit, get out of the sun and plenty of porta pots. The best day according to many we spoke with was the first day (Friday) as the locals and many visitors are just arriving. You can get there using the trolley. Sat and Sun were reported as really crowded, but all who attended said it was not to be missed. They do sell a "comfort" package on board which is a mini fold up seat, poncho, water and something else for $29. Can buy at the venue but it's $59! Cost for the festival is $75 per day and you can't come and go. Once you leave...you need to pay an additional $75 charge. Oh, for the trolley, NO CHANGE, must have dollar bills, although if you have a smartphone you can download an app and pay that way. The port of NO is a working port, no trams, no covered walkways and no place to sit from the ship into town, probably a 10 min walk. This is one cruise I would advise you to attend the port talk about NOLA, you will get lots of great info. Would I go again? Yep

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LSauls7537

LSauls7537

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Hi Linda and Lou, Thanks for the wonderful review.

 

We sail EQ on 5/15 and again in November. This will be our 5th and 6th cruise on her and we just love her!

 

Hope they straighten out the debark issues. Last year we used the epass exit by using phone and ipad where we had stored copy of passport; then wand it and we're out. Forgot the name for it. Of course, that was from FLL.

 

I love the Glass Show. I know it's "time" is probably limited but I have asked and never got an answer. Do you know?

 

Thanks again. Peg

 

The glass show is still going strong! In fact they now have an auction during the cruise and the money goes to the Corning Museum. They do the shows on sea days.

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Moonlitherial

Moonlitherial

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We were also on this sailing and I concur with most of your review, it was a fabulous trip. We did luggage valet for the first time on this trip and we'll be doing it every trip going forward. Totally worth the $25. With that disembarkation was the easiest we've ever had. Embarkation was a bit rough but again, it was the first time in the Port of Miami and the staff worked very hard at smoothing every bump that appeared. I'm sure it will get better every trip.

 

We bought rum in both New Orleans and Cancun and in neither location was the alcohol confiscated, so it sat in our closet until it was time to pack. First time ever on a cruise that's happened.

 

We did JazzFest on Saturday and were very happy we had chosen that day. Sunday was horrible but it wasn't anything the organizers could have fixed - it was quite simply the most rain I've ever seen. Saturday there was great, we spent a fair amount of time in the Blues and Jazz tents, both had seating and misters to reduce the temperature. Food was amazing there and by event standards it was cheap.

 

We had a hiccup at the beginning when an AC issue had our room smelling terribly but the crew worked extremely hard to fix the issue and when it wasn't able to be repaired they moved us to another cabin. Although the fact that the issue existed wasn't great we were very happy with the efforts they put forth, particularly our cabin attendant Peter who, despite the fact that we were fairly certain it wasn't a cleanliness problem did extra cleaning a couple times a day until they moved us.

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LSauls7537

LSauls7537

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We were also on this sailing and I concur with most of your review, it was a fabulous trip. We did luggage valet for the first time on this trip and we'll be doing it every trip going forward. Totally worth the $25. With that disembarkation was the easiest we've ever had. Embarkation was a bit rough but again, it was the first time in the Port of Miami and the staff worked very hard at smoothing every bump that appeared. I'm sure it will get better every trip.

 

We bought rum in both New Orleans and Cancun and in neither location was the alcohol confiscated, so it sat in our closet until it was time to pack. First time ever on a cruise that's happened.

 

We did JazzFest on Saturday and were very happy we had chosen that day. Sunday was horrible but it wasn't anything the organizers could have fixed - it was quite simply the most rain I've ever seen. Saturday there was great, we spent a fair amount of time in the Blues and Jazz tents, both had seating and misters to reduce the temperature. Food was amazing there and by event standards it was cheap.

 

We had a hiccup at the beginning when an AC issue had our room smelling terribly but the crew worked extremely hard to fix the issue and when it wasn't able to be repaired they moved us to another cabin. Although the fact that the issue existed wasn't great we were very happy with the efforts they put forth, particularly our cabin attendant Peter who, despite the fact that we were fairly certain it wasn't a cleanliness problem did extra cleaning a couple times a day until they moved us.

 

So glad you had a great time! We live in Fl so couldn't use the valet program. Agree the storm was pretty nasty. Yes, we will go back knowing we can sit!

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