Trip Review: Celebrity Equinox - 9 Dec 2017 to 16 Dec 2017

[kag19]

Hah! :D:D:D I have an iPhone 7. Sometimes the good pics are just being in the right place, right time!

 

Definitely need to go phone shopping! Your pics are gorgeous! Thanks!

[cherinorm]

We did the St. Kitts Beach Break and had a totally different experience. We arrived there the next day after you. There were several ships in port thay day. We arrived later in the morning to a packed beach and coukd only get chairs right by the bar area in the last row . We could not get an umbrella as it was too crowded amd were not impressed with the beach other than the view. The bathrooms had no locks in stalls, no toilet paper or running water. As the saying goes, what a difference a day makes! Glad you had a better time!

[journeycollector]

Thursday, December 14 - Day at Sea

 

No more early ports meant sleeping in! We had breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe. Then we lounged outside near the pool for a couple hours. I visited the library and picked up a couple books to read (hey, I am a librarian!).

 

We decided to try lunch in the MDR. It was good! I had pad thai and B had some more salmon (I think he might be growing gills!). After lunch, B and I camped out on the wooden chairs on Deck 5 for awhile taking in the sea air. I wish this deck wrapped around the entire ship--that's one thing I loved about the Crown Princess when we did Alaska.

 

We were back to our specialty dining for the last 2 nights of the cruise. Tonight we ate in Silk Harvest. It was good, but also reminiscent of any Asian food we could get back home. I do compliment them for their attention to detail with B's gluten allergy.

 

After dinner, it was our usual hot tub routine, followed by the 9pm show. Tonight it was another comic. Ehhh, not so great. However, the highlight was a bonus acrobatic routine to start the show. ***They*** are great!

 

Friday, December 15 - Day at Sea

 

Pretty much the same routine as yesterday!

 

We spent sunset, around 5:30-6pm walking the ship to take it all in. Gotta make those mental memories!

 

Our final dinner was at Murano again. A classy place to end the trip! We had Sandra again and she took good care of us. B must like the lobster because he had it again! I oped for the veal tenderloin (sorry baby cows!) and it was delicious!

 

After dinner, we did hot tub time and packed before the 9pm show.

 

Classy, understated, elegant...that's how I would describe Celebrity Equinox:

 

 

 

 

 

X marks the spot!

 

The entertainment for the evening featured the Equinox singers, dancers, and acrobats. The show was called "Life." I liked it the best, along with "Topper" from the first night.

[journeycollector]

We did the St. Kitts Beach Break and had a totally different experience. We arrived there the next day after you. There were several ships in port thay day. We arrived later in the morning to a packed beach and coukd only get chairs right by the bar area in the last row . We could not get an umbrella as it was too crowded amd were not impressed with the beach other than the view. The bathrooms had no locks in stalls, no toilet paper or running water. As the saying goes, what a difference a day makes! Glad you had a better time!

 

Oh no...sorry to hear that!

[journeycollector]

Saturday, December 16 - You mean I have to get off this thing?

 

We woke up early (for once!) so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe and do a quick walk of the ship before leaving.

 

Mother Nature returned us a favor: For the rain and clouds upon leaving Miami, we were treated to a gorgeous cotton candy skies for sunrise upon our return!

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disembarkation

This was super simple. We had booked an Everglades tour and airport drop-off through Celebrity. We met at the Celebrity Central theater, cooled our heels for about 5 minutes, then we were cleared to leave the ship. We collected our luggage in the cruise terminal, cleared through Immigration, and walked to the shuttle bus for our excursion. Total time from walking off the ship to getting to the shuttle bus was around 15 minutes.

[journeycollector]

Saturday, December 16 - Everglades Ecotour w/ FLL Airport Dropoff

 

Our flight out of FLL wasn't until 5:15pm, so we booked this excursion and airport drop off through Celebrity. It was $79/pp. Neither of us had been to the Everglades before, so we thought "why not?"

 

The ride from Port Miami out to Gator Park in the Everglades took around 35 minutes. Traffic was not particularly heavy. We appreciated the narration by the tour guide, particularly with the environmental concerns/development associated with the Everglades.

 

At Gator Park, we were promptly given our tickets for the airboat ride. Who doesn't like a fast ride through alligator and snake infested waters? Just kidding...it was fun! The airboat operator shared trivia about the flora and fauna. The water levels were high due to the hurricane. The area of the Everglades we were in is actually considered a slow moving river. We spotted three alligators. The airboat tour didn't last as long or go as far as I thought it would...but it did the job.

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

Alligator!

 

[journeycollector]

Saturday, December 16 - Everglades Ecotour w/ FLL Airport Dropoff (cont'd)

 

After the airboat tour, there was an animal show. We learned about the differences between the American Alligator and the American Crocodile and the threat of invasive species in the Everglades like pythons (which people have released as unwanted "pets") and now even anacondas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the animal show, we had a bit of time to walk around the park, or buy some food and souvenirs. Alligator tastes like salty chicken.

 

The ride back to FLL airport was uneventful. We checked in and waited for our flight and got back to Wisconsin around 9pm. I'm still gathering thoughts on the whole cruise experience. As I write this, it's snowing...let me back on the ship!!! I'll be sure to post some concluding thoughts here.

[nimiq]

That was a fun not complicated and not too long review. The pictures taken are all amazing WoW. Your visit to St Thomas was to me pretty well done as I for next time might take a few things you did plus then go to our favorite beach Coki Beach. We prefer that beach as it perfect for snorkeling and lots of fish.

 

We were on Celebrity Silhouette in January 2017 and also thought Celebrity did a fantastic job with that class of ship. Enjoyed it so much that this cruise line might get a bit more of my business in the futur. Looking for a cruise in February and spotted the Equinox but haven’t decided yet.

 

Did you guys participated in the Silent Disco ? We had a blast two night with that.

 

My only little negative point about Celebrity is the high drink prices compare to others lines.

 

Once again thank you for that review.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

[vickykay]

I have read you took an Uber to the port. Did it drop you off directly at the ship? Thanks.

[journeycollector]

That was a fun not complicated and not too long review. The pictures taken are all amazing WoW. Your visit to St Thomas was to me pretty well done as I for next time might take a few things you did plus then go to our favorite beach Coki Beach. We prefer that beach as it perfect for snorkeling and lots of fish.

 

We were on Celebrity Silhouette in January 2017 and also thought Celebrity did a fantastic job with that class of ship. Enjoyed it so much that this cruise line might get a bit more of my business in the futur. Looking for a cruise in February and spotted the Equinox but haven’t decided yet.

 

Did you guys participated in the Silent Disco ? We had a blast two night with that.

 

My only little negative point about Celebrity is the high drink prices compare to others lines.

 

Once again thank you for that review.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

 

Thanks for your kind words! Yes, we thought silent disco was a blast!

[journeycollector]

I have read you took an Uber to the port. Did it drop you off directly at the ship? Thanks.

 

Yes, directly in front of our cruise terminal.

[nimiq]

Thanks for your kind words! Yes, we thought silent disco was a blast!

 

 

 

Do you guys have any other cruised planed ?

 

 

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[micheleata]

Loved your report! Looks like you had a great time!!!

[journeycollector]

Do you guys have any other cruised planed ?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Nothing planned yet...but maybe something for December 2018 or January 2019. Escaping winter in the north for a week has been nice! :cool:

 

Definitely open to doing Celebrity again, but will look at price/value and itineraries. I think we now prefer 4 ports on a 7 day cruise (instead of the 3 port cruise we were on).

[journeycollector]

Loved your report! Looks like you had a great time!!!

 

Thanks! We might have to make a winter cruise an annual tradition now! ;p

[madcitymaven]

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us! Your review was a delight to read and the pictures you took were awesome. You have a gift for writing and I will be looking forward to your next review!

 

We will be sailing on the Equinox in April and can’t wait to sail her.

 

Randy from Madtown

Edited December 23, 2017 by madcitymaven
eliminate redundant wording

[DENIE]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! We will be on the Silhouette next November, and appreciated your ship photos!:)

[twoflyers]

Oh my gosh teach me your iPhone editing ways! Your photos are seriously spectacular.

 

Also, I really appreciate your honest review of Charlotte Amalie. Very helpful in determining how we should spend our time there. Did you happen to hear from anyone who went to Magen's Bay in St. Thomas? That's what we currently are thinking about doing when we are there...

 

Pearldentist is absolutely correct, your photos are amazing. Not just the colors, but you frame the shots beautifully. Kudos.

My husband and I were on the same cruise and did make the trip over to Magen's Bay. We used the van transportation available at the port's gate and shared the ride with 10-12 other cruisers. The same fellow who took us over waited and brought us back to the ship.

The ride over was eye-opening. Roads washed out, trees and telephone poles down, houses with their contents blown out. Sobering.

When we got to Magen's Bay, we found that the storm surge had done a great deal of damage. The palm trees on the beach must have toppled, however had been righted and propped up with boards. The area behind the beach was totally wiped out by the storm surge and, since not the first priority, everything was still downed.

Despite this, the beach and the water were still be beautiful. They have a temporary bar set up and "Carrie", the bikinied waitress, was doing an incredible job walking up and down that amazing expanse ensuring thirsty customers were served. Loungers and umbrellas are available for a fee, but many visitors just used their ship beach towels. Restrooms are available, although we did not visit them, so cannot judge their condition.

As we were leaving I saw that crews were working to repair the original bar and it appeared to be near completion.

I saw a recent article about Royal Caribbean's partnership with the Island's leaders to restore Magen's Bay - RCL is providing both financial and infrastructure support. From our experience, they are making great strides.

So, in short, I can definitely recommend a trip over to Magen's Bay for a beautiful and relaxing day.

[journeycollector]

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us! Your review was a delight to read and the pictures you took were awesome. You have a gift for writing and I will be looking forward to your next review!

 

We will be sailing on the Equinox in April and can’t wait to sail her.

 

Randy from Madtown

 

Thank you! I'm sure you will have a great time on your cruise!

[journeycollector]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! We will be on the Silhouette next November, and appreciated your ship photos!:)

 

Thank you! I love reading everyone's reviews so I can know what to expect! ;)

[journeycollector]

Pearldentist is absolutely correct, your photos are amazing. Not just the colors, but you frame the shots beautifully. Kudos.

My husband and I were on the same cruise and did make the trip over to Magen's Bay. We used the van transportation available at the port's gate and shared the ride with 10-12 other cruisers. The same fellow who took us over waited and brought us back to the ship.

The ride over was eye-opening. Roads washed out, trees and telephone poles down, houses with their contents blown out. Sobering.

When we got to Magen's Bay, we found that the storm surge had done a great deal of damage. The palm trees on the beach must have toppled, however had been righted and propped up with boards. The area behind the beach was totally wiped out by the storm surge and, since not the first priority, everything was still downed.

Despite this, the beach and the water were still be beautiful. They have a temporary bar set up and "Carrie", the bikinied waitress, was doing an incredible job walking up and down that amazing expanse ensuring thirsty customers were served. Loungers and umbrellas are available for a fee, but many visitors just used their ship beach towels. Restrooms are available, although we did not visit them, so cannot judge their condition.

As we were leaving I saw that crews were working to repair the original bar and it appeared to be near completion.

I saw a recent article about Royal Caribbean's partnership with the Island's leaders to restore Magen's Bay - RCL is providing both financial and infrastructure support. From our experience, they are making great strides.

So, in short, I can definitely recommend a trip over to Magen's Bay for a beautiful and relaxing day.

 

THANK YOU! :D I appreciate your details on the situation looked like outside of Charlotte Amalie. So sad to hear! Glad to hear about your experience at Magen's Bay. I tried not to be too "down" on Saint Thomas, because I know what we experienced is just temporary. Friendly, welcoming people...I know it will all be back!

[Lastdance]

You did a great job with your review and photos. I also have a 7 and get nice photos too. Glad you had a wonderful trip and hope you get to cruise again soon; I have to wait until the end of April for Italy and Greece, but the time will pass quickly...

[journeycollector]

Concluding thoughts on Celebrity Equinox

 

TL;DR: It was great! This was our first cruise on Celebrity and first cruise to the Caribbean. Now with two cruises under our belt, we have a better sense of what we prefer going forward.

 

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Embarkation: Arrived just before 11am in pouring down rain. I’m not sure we will ever beat the 11 minutes from curbside to ship. We simply got lucky.

 

Stateroom: Inside cabin, deck 7, room 7304. We felt it spacious for an inside cabin, with lots of lighting. Bed was comfortable. Room featured two soft chairs and a desk chair. No couch. Plenty of storage space. Shower worked well. Room was next to a crew stairwell but we never heard any noise. It’s quiet. Easy access to elevators and stairs. We spend most of our time outside the cabin, so inside for us is not a big deal.

 

Service: This is where we thought Celebrity excelled. It’s top-notch. From waitstaff to the steward to the cleaners, everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Even though we were mere “plebs” in an inside cabin, staff made everyone feel special.

 

Food: Average to excellent. I know food is subjective. We had four nights in the specialty restaurants and that spoiled us! Murano was absolutely wonderful. That rack of lamb is to die for! Tuscan Grille: I thought I might have to loosen my belt, hah! We ate in the MDR for 2 nights and it’s pretty much what I expect from banquet-style food. That’s not a complaint; just a fact of institutionally serving such a large quantity of food. We liked Oceanview Cafe for breakfast and lunch and we were impressed by the various options and spaciousness of the set-up. Lunch on Friday was particularly nice, with large carved turkeys, peel and eat shrimp, and a chocolate fountain. OVC didn’t feel like a struggle to find a spot to eat. Also, B, with his gluten allergy, appreciated the alterations that could be made in the specialty restaurants and MDR and was also impressed with the options in the OVC, including have more than a couple GF desserts to always choose from!

 

Facilities: We loved all the different spaces on the ship and felt it easy to navigate. It’s classy and elegant. The word “refined” comes to mind. It has a touch of sparkle, but it is in no way garish. Also, it’s clean...like sparkling clean. Housekeepers were always polishing, painters were always painting. We did notice large air dryers set up on the carpet all week down the hall from us, pointed at a couple balcony cabin entrances. I wondered if there was a leak of some kind? Favorite places to lounge outside: besides the usual poor area, we appreciated the solarium on the first day (weather was a tad cooler and drizzly), the chairs up on the Lawn Club, the chairs on the Deck 5 promenade. Inside: for quiet, we liked the Library (duh!) and the seating area by the elevators on Deck 7. We’re not big drinkers, but we liked the Martini Bar for inside and Sunset Bar for outside. Negatives: I thought there was an overabundance of smoking spaces--one side of the Deck 5 promenade, one side of the pool bar, one side near the Mast Grill by the jogging track, one side of the Sunset Bar/Lawn Club. We would see open seats in those areas, go to sit down, and then realize…"oh, it’s a smoking area...that’s why no one is here." I also missed self-service laundry facilities. Heck, we never even got a “stuff the bag” offer either. I also wished the deck 5 promenade was entirely accessible around the whole of the ship--I minor quibble, I know.

 

Onboard Activities: The shows were good, but we went in knowing the musical-type shows here generally don’t have a plot. Mostly singing and dancing. There were two particularly good female leads. We loved the acrobats! The comedians weren’t our style, but others were laughing heartily. The hot glass show was fun to watch. We found daytime activities to be lacking...or at least very little that caught our eye. It’s not that we got bored, but we would look the “Celebrity Today” newsletter and just go “meh.” There seemed to be an overabundance of “medical” type seminars (botox, dental implants, joint pain). Went on the galley tour but really missed a cooking demo like we had on our Alaskan cruise on Princess. The library was well stocked and I read a couple books during some “down” time.

 

Disembarkation: Almost as easy as embarking. From ship to our shuttle, it was about 15 minutes to get our luggage and proceed through Immigration. Super simple!

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Ports…

 

San Juan: Old San Juan looked better than I expected despite all the news we had seen about the hurricane damage. Vibrant buildings, friendly people. We walked on our own from the pier to El Morro and explored the fort. Enjoyed a self-guided walking tour. Wish we would have had more daylight hours at this port.

 

Saint Thomas: Ship docked at Crown Bay, not Havensight. We took the $4pp shared open-air taxi into Charlotte Amalie. Still a lot of hurricane damage in town and many shops closed. Some that were open, had lost power on our day there. Made the mistake of not booking an excursion (either through Celebrity or independently). We just walked around Charlotte Amalie. We’re not into jewelry, so this port didn’t have a lot to interest us.

Saint Kitts: Our favorite port for relaxing. Booked a “beach break” through Celebrity to Cockleshell beach. PERFECT!

 

Miami: Booked an Everglades eco-tour and FLL airport drop-off through Celebrity. Enjoyed the airboat ride and appreciated not have to worry about luggage/arranging travel to the airport.

 

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So what did we learn?

The biggest thing: We realized we prefer port-intensive cruises, so this one probably wasn't the best match for us. Don’t get me wrong; it was still a ***GREAT*** vacation! This was only our second cruise, so we’re still testing the waters. But the 3 sea days was 1 too many for us. However, that’s what I like about cruising: There are so many options/itineraries to pick from! You probably won’t ever see me on transatlantic or Hawaiian...but ***now*** we know what we prefer.

 

The Celebrity experience provided excellent service in classy surroundings. We would definitely consider sailing Celebrity again, but we also tend to not be loyalists; preferring to shop around instead. We liked Princess on our Alaskan cruise and would consider them again too.

 

And escaping a week’s worth of winter in Wisconsin (like the alliteration?), we now think a December of January cruise could become habit forming! However, the are other times of year and areas would we would consider exploring: Mexico, west coast, Alaska (again), Mediterranean, New England/Canada.

Bottom line: What we like about cruising is that it's pretty hassle-free: Once on board you have your hotel, your dining, and transportation to exciting ports of call. For us, that makes for a relaxing and valuable experience!

 

[journeycollector]

You did a great job with your review and photos. I also have a 7 and get nice photos too. Glad you had a wonderful trip and hope you get to cruise again soon; I have to wait until the end of April for Italy and Greece, but the time will pass quickly...

 

Italy and Greece sound lovely! I chaperoned a group of 20 college students in Italy this past summer and had a great time!

[davekathy]

journeycollector...thank you for taking us along on your cruise. Really enjoyed it. We are doing a B2B on the Equinox 24 March and 31 March 2018. I hope you don't mind but I pirated one of your pictures of the Equinox (just the ship) to save as my desk top. I always like a photo of the ship on my desk top that we will be cruising on.