Equinox - Fresh out of dry dock/refurb June 1-8, 2019 _First time Celebrity cruisers_

[Oceangoer2]

4 hours ago, kearney said:

Understood. But in all fairness.... there was a time when I wondered about people on scooters... in my naiveté I thought they just did not want to walk.... for several years DH would not consider a scooter..... but just looking at the pain on his face.... one cruise... I insisted... it was a life saver... or perhaps I should say 'cruise saver'. But with age comes experience and with experience a bit of wisdom.

I feel his pain, not from my experience but DH...back surgery without alleviation.  Walking is hard, but he golfs as much as I without complaint.  Like your DH, he will not use a cane, walker or anything that will help...macho ego.  There may come a time he'll give in and may be one of the 'annoying oldens'.  But for the OP to come on this site with the sarcasm and condescending remarks, I just had to comment.  Maybe he's special with Royal  but I think X cruisers are somewhat classier and kinder and would keep those opinions to themselves if they felt that way.  Comment generally on the scooters but not personally on those who must use them to enjoy their holiday.  'nuff said....I'm closing out of this thread.

[brillohead]

There are entirely too many knickers in a knot in this thread.

This thread is not about old people or people with mobility issues -- it's a review of a cruise and a comparison between Royal and Celebrity.  One of those comparisons was the demographic between the two cruise experiences that the OP has encountered.

For the record, I don't know the OP personally.  I'm almost Diamond level on Royal, and I've also cruised on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity, and Princess through the years. 

I have a bum knee, I'm 50yo, I don't use a scooter, I'm an RN and have worked closely with people with a variety of mobility needs, and I also often travel with a friend who is paraplegic due to an automobile accident (for the record, he has a standard wheelchair that he powers with his arms, not a scooter or electric wheelchair). 

I am well aware of the plight of the mobility-challenged, and quite sympathetic to their many issues in navigating the world in general.  

With that being said, just because someone has a hardship of some sort, does not mean that they have the right to injure other people!!!  If someone can't handle driving a scooter safely, they shouldn't be allowed to drive the scooter in public areas.  It's not about hating old people or hating people with mobility challenges, it's about protecting the safety and well-being of the general population.  

Nobody has the "God-given right" to injure another person, no matter what hardships they may have encountered in their life!  

If someone is blind, they can't drive a car legally -- the state won't issue them a driver license, because it's not safe to let someone drive a car when they're blind.  Nobody has a problem with that law, because it makes complete sense. 

If someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they can't drive a car legally -- there are laws against driving a car when mentally incapacitated in that manner, and nobody has a problem with that law, because it makes complete sense. 

If someone gets a ticket for causing an automobile accident every single month, the state will take away their driver license at some point because they are a danger to society when behind the wheel, and nobody has a problem with that law, because it makes complete sense. 

NOBODY in this thread is saying that old people should not be allowed on a cruise, and NOBODY in this thread is saying that people with mobility challenges should not be allowed on a cruise, and NOBODY in this thread is saying that people with mobility challenges should not be allowed to use a scooter on a cruise.  

The only thing being said is that people who DO use scooters should be able to drive them safely.  No running over peoples' toes.  No plowing into people.  No dragging tables that they run into. No knocking people over.  And no leaving them in the hallway instead of pulling them into their staterooms.  

Since these are all things that make sense, nobody should have a problem with this.  And if you're one of the people arguing about this, maybe you should ask yourself why you think it's okay for you/your scooter-driving companion to injure other people.  Or, if your scooter experience involves safe driving only, ask yourself why you have your knickers in a knot over defending people who have no business driving a scooter. 

Because this thread is NOT an anti-scooter or anti-age commentary -- it's about people BEING UNSAFE with their scooter usage as part of a general discussion comparing the demographics of a Royal cruise with a Celebrity cruise.  Period.

[mayleeman]

56 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Period.

You have reduced the issues raised by the OP drastically. No one is saying that anyone should be able to drive carelessly and virtually everybody commenting on scooters has agreed on safety. It is the lumping of the bad drivers in with complaints about the number of old people driving them, blended with cheap shots at seniors dancing, that has provoked the criticism. 

 

For the record, on my Reflection 10-day, I was bumped into, and pushed, and spilled on, and cut off in line, and disturbed by other passengers' loud behavior, far more by younger people than I was threatened in any fashion by anyone driving a scooter or inconvenienced by any slow or halty senior. To the contrary, scooter drivers I saw were invariably more polite as a group, and those old dancers were sweet and cautious in the buffet lines to avoid getting trampled.

 

Period.

[hcat]

On 6/14/2019 at 2:26 PM, poncho1973 said:

 

There is a lot of humor in using a 106 year old dictionary to show me up on this topic!!!  That's epic.

Was not meant to show you up...not a contest...

[brillohead]

3 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

You have reduced the issues raised by the OP drastically. No one is saying that anyone should be able to drive carelessly and virtually everybody commenting on scooters has agreed on safety. It is the lumping of the bad drivers in with complaints about the number of old people driving them, blended with cheap shots at seniors dancing, that has provoked the criticism. 

 

For the record, on my Reflection 10-day, I was bumped into, and pushed, and spilled on, and cut off in line, and disturbed by other passengers' loud behavior, far more by younger people than I was threatened in any fashion by anyone driving a scooter or inconvenienced by any slow or halty senior. To the contrary, scooter drivers I saw were invariably more polite as a group, and those old dancers were sweet and cautious in the buffet lines to avoid getting trampled.

 

Period.

But the OP wasn't complaining about the "oldens" being there, with the exception of the overly-perfumed ones.  

He was simply commenting on their presence.  Giving others an idea of the difference in demographics in what was a COMPARISON thread.  

People took offense when none was intended or implied, IMO.  

Period.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

19 minutes ago, brillohead said:

But the OP wasn't complaining about the "oldens" being there, with the exception of the overly-perfumed ones.  

He was simply commenting on their presence.  Giving others an idea of the difference in demographics in what was a COMPARISON thread.  

People took offense when none was intended or implied, IMO.  

Period.

 

Putting them in the “less good” section (as opposed to the “weird” - though I’m not sure that would be better) does make it seem like they are complaining about them.

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

There are entirely too many knickers in a knot in this thread.

 

Amen!  To 1000th degree

 

Dan

[poncho1973]

11 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Putting them in the “less good” section (as opposed to the “weird” - though I’m not sure that would be better) does make it seem like they are complaining about them.

 

The oldens aren't the less good part.  As was stated in my original post (and reiterated by brillohead) the only older people that I was complaining about were the ones with too much perfume/cologne and ones unsafely using scooters. 

 

I found the dancers humorous, but I support their having as much fun as they want to have on their cruise.  It was odd in a very Stepford way, but I don't begrudge them having fun at all.  If it helps I find line dancing, anything along the entire spectrum from the Electric Slide to the Boot Scootin' Boogie, to be weird as well.

 

If I made a statement about 3 women smoking in my face, that doesn't mean I dislike women.  It means those 3 smokers, who are women.

 

 

I was, however, commenting about how the demographics of the cruise were older than our typical Royal experience.  I also want to frame this by saying that this cruise also featured fewer children and I found that to be more positive than our typical Royal experience.

 

My review was what we experienced.  I tend to write like I talk.  Some people get that, some don't like it.  I'm getting the picture that it's not just the X cruise line that probably isn't a great fit, it seems like the X forum might not be a good fit either.  Although, I will still gladly finish what I started in this thread and continue to respond or answer any questions.  I've learned my lesson.  If we cruise on X again, don't bother talking about it here.

[poncho1973]

23 hours ago, oceangoer2 said:

This is sad that there are those on this thread who feel the need to almost apologize for being that hampered by immobility they must use a scooter.  This could be any age group, but the OP CHOSE those who are in the next generation from him/her to literally make sarcastic and self-amusing remarks.  It isn't only the scooter issue (they settled on that) but being old"er" in general on X cruises.  I am very flexible, agile, walk and golf almost every day.  I've said two of the cruelest hits in life I could take is losing my reading and/or walking ability, so I definitely feel for those who enjoy being away from their home and holiday,  and to do so must use some sort of assist.  I am also surprised the site host hasn't commented on the direction, from the very beginning, this thread has taken re ageism.  If it was about obesity or a mental problem it would have been taken down.  I guess ageism is allowed.

 

Probably because it isn't about ageism.  I think a key point that you are missing is that commenting on something isn't the same as persecution.  Noticing that someone is Asian or Hispanic isn't racism.  Commenting on someone being male or female isn't sexism.  Noticing someone is Buddhist isn't religious persecution. 

 

The demographic was older and I made some comments about it. I don't want them removed from the ship because of their age.  I don't want them banned because of their age.  I don't want them sent to bed without their dinner because of their age. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

44 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

 

The oldens aren't the less good part.  As was stated in my original post (and reiterated by brillohead) the only older people that I was complaining about were the ones with too much perfume/cologne and ones unsafely using scooters. 

 

I found the dancers humorous, but I support their having as much fun as they want to have on their cruise.  It was odd in a very Stepford way, but I don't begrudge them having fun at all.  If it helps I find line dancing, anything along the entire spectrum from the Electric Slide to the Boot Scootin' Boogie, to be weird as well.

 

If I made a statement about 3 women smoking in my face, that doesn't mean I dislike women.  It means those 3 smokers, who are women.

 

 

I was, however, commenting about how the demographics of the cruise were older than our typical Royal experience.  I also want to frame this by saying that this cruise also featured fewer children and I found that to be more positive than our typical Royal experience.

 

My review was what we experienced.  I tend to write like I talk.  Some people get that, some don't like it.  I'm getting the picture that it's not just the X cruise line that probably isn't a great fit, it seems like the X forum might not be a good fit either.  Although, I will still gladly finish what I started in this thread and continue to respond or answer any questions.  I've learned my lesson.  If we cruise on X again, don't bother talking about it here.

 

Then you should not have lumped the entire group under the "less than good" section. Which you did in your first post. You lumped everything about the "oldens" into that section. Including the dancers which you now claim you found entertaining.

 

Put the perfume over-wearers (which can happen at any age - my school shares space with a middle school, and those kids are WORSE than some older people I've encountered) in the "less than good" category and make a "Different from past cruise experiences" category.

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, poncho1973 said:

 I've learned my lesson.  If we cruise on X again, don't bother talking about it here.

 

That's may be correct.  If you do cruise another line, please post a review here comparing your experience on this  forum.

[PTC DAWG]

• Re the age of the cruisers on Celebrity compared to Royal..I'm not sure why anyone would expect it to be any different than we all KNOW it is.   Same with Princess vs Carnival.  Same with Oceania vs NCL.  

I am taking the Bride cruising on Celebrity EQ 11 day southern Caribbean this fall.  Looking forward to being some of the younger folks on the ship. 🙂 We're mid 50's and have sailed NCL a good bit lately, too many kids at times...MSC was even worse.   

[Cyber Kat]

13 hours ago, brillohead said:

But the OP wasn't complaining about the "oldens" being there, with the exception of the overly-perfumed ones.  

He was simply commenting on their presence.  Giving others an idea of the difference in demographics in what was a COMPARISON thread.  

People took offense when none was intended or implied, IMO.  

Period.

 

The point that many are trying to make is that it’s not so much WHAT the OP said, but HOW he said it.

 

The OP claims it was said in jest, but there is kind-hearted humor and there is mean-spirited humor that pokes fun at others through unkind remarks. The OP may not have intended the latter, but that is how it came across to many.  Even back in my 20s I would have been disturbed by those unkind remarks. 

 

In some cases, it is purely a matter of the intention not coming across properly with only text and no vocal inflections or facial expressions, but in others it is a case of someone who has not learned the nuances of humor. It could also be a person used to only speaking within their own circle, where their brand of humor is accepted and encouraged, but not speaking with a broader audience.  

 

It’s a shame that what could have been a useful review was spoiled by a few thoughtless remarks that were added without any idea of how they would be received.  

[kearney]

agree....  we all need to lighten up..... in many ways social media seems to have ended up killing humor... we don't seem to recognize it... we can't laugh at ourselves anymore. We are becoming conditioned to assume the worst intent.

 

We watched Blazing Saddles the other day and noted that this movie could not be made today and it is only a matter of time that it and other films are likely to be banned for being offensive....   

 

Anyway.... I enjoyed the review.... I too watched people dancing... I would love to... but don't know enough to even count steps... I would be a total mess on the dance floor.

[MarkWiltonM]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:57 PM, poncho1973 said:

We're fairly seasoned cruisers (about 120 nights or so on Royal, a half dozen Disney cruises, and 1 Norwegian cruise) who went on the freshly updated Equinox this past week.  We didn't really have a lot of expectations, but were excited to try something new.  We came in as Elite thanks to our Diamond status on Royal.

 

The good:

• Our stateroom was very nice and seemed MOSTLY upgraded, but not fully.  The bathroom was NOT upgraded, but had a nice new toilet seat (sticker still attached for the entire trip), but the tile was very old and everything seemed a bit worn.  It was fine, but I know several people were asking if the bathrooms were upgraded.  We had a J2 verandah on deck 7 mid-ship.  The balcony was nice and we had zero problems with our room for our entire trip... although this morning (arrival back in port day) about 3-4am I think the a/c stopped working as my wife and I woke up in a sweat with the room very, very warm.  However, it started getting cold again by the time we got up to leave.
• Captain Kate.  I'm going to put her in the good, but with a two caveats.  1st, she's American and this is for my wife.  My wife has this insane bias that all cruise ship captains should be Scandinavian.  My wife did enjoy her being a woman captain, though.  2nd, she's really, really, really, really scripted and corny.  I think this makes her a hit with the older folks, though.  She sounds like she's 100% reading every announcement word for word directly from a script and gives a corny saying of the day and a mostly lame pun/joke of the day.  She might just need a bit more practice, though?  I'm going to put her in the good because she was the most visible captain I've seen in all of my cruises.  She also was standing at the gangway this morning personally thanking everyone as they left.  I was majorly impressed by that move.  It's unlike anything I've seen.  We saw her at a couple of events and she went out of her way to be EXTREMELY kind and friendly to everyone.
• The solarium.  We're big fans of solariums and this was a great one!  We spent a lot of time here and it was excellent.  We napped.  We read.  We swam.  We didn't eat... but that's for another category.
• The lawn.  WOWZERS.  This was personally my favorite part of the ship.  We loved it.  We watched the sunset here.  We watched movies here.  We just relaxed here.  We watched glass blowing.  We loved, loved, loved, loved it.
• The oceanview cafe.  We both thought this buffet was really nice and IF it had handwashing stations would be right up there with the best ones we've been to on cruise ships.  I loved the ice cream station. 
• The smoke-free casino.  We don't gamble, but it was so nice to not have to avoid an entire floor of a cruise ship (the casino and anything near it) because of smoke.  We walked through and went to nearby events several times.  The place was packed, so I don't think it hurt business.
• The ship in general.  For a 10-year old ship, even fresh out of dry dock, it was very nice.  It was a simple ship, but a nice one.
• The staff.  We found a lot of very nice crew members on the ship.  It was a very friendly staff (ok, I think most of them were starting new contracts, but hey!) and we had a lot of fun.
• The shaded areas near the pools and on the lawn.  The number of shaded areas was amazing.  They had awnings and structures and overhangs galore.  It was nice to not have to sit in the direct Caribbean sun, although there were plenty of sun areas, too!  The couches and alternative chairs were fun, too.  It wasn't just pool loungers, they had options.
• Pepper grinders on the tables at dinner.  BOOM!  GOLD!
• Sushi On Five.  This was an excellent place to eat.  It was very lightly populated, though.  It was definitely delicious.  They were running a dinner special of all-you-care-to-eat for $25 a person, which was great and we made the most of it.  My tiny wife is a sushi-eating machine.  She had 3 apps and 4 full (8 pieces) trays of sushi.  The last couple of pieces she just ate the guts and left the rice/seaweed, but she put it down like a champ!  I was both impressed and scared.

 

The less good:

• Some of the service.  I don't want to sound entitled or bratty in any way, but my wife and I looked at each other last night as we were packing and said that we never felt special AT ALL on this entire trip to that point.  I'll add a caveat that Captain Kate's good-bye (12 hours after that conversation) falls into the makes you fell special category, but it was literally the very last 10 seconds we were on the ship.  Disney is pretty much the world leader in making you feel special, but Royal does a really great job of it, too.  When we are on a Royal ship, we feel like we're wanted and we're a priority.  We were just a cog in a bigger Celebrity machine here.  Everyone was polite and said pleasantries, but we never just felt special.  It was kind of a bummer.  I thought this was the fancy line of the Royal family?  It didn't feel like it.
• Elite status.  After the goodies you get as a Diamond on Royal, being Elite on Celebrity was like being Gold on Royal.  You really don't get much at all.  The Captain's Club event on 5 of 7 nights was like the Diamond Lounge's ugly stepsister.  They had 3 canapes each night and the options on the drink list were really light.  It's no wonder the place was a ghost town!  Finding a seat wasn't a problem, you could have almost any seat!
• The spa cafe in the solarium.  This was a the biggest joke on the ship.  It was open for approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds each day.  The servings were legitimately light fare, but I didn't see many people eating it.  The servings were like a spoonful of egg salad or a kale salad that might fit into a ramekin.  I asked one of the guys for some silverware (they were closing and no more food was out, but there were forks, knives, and a flat napkins on a tray behind him) and he said they didn't have any.  I pointed to the tray behind him and he nodded.  "No more silverware" he said and shrugged.  So I tried a different approach "Could you hand me a fork, a knife, and a napkin?" He nodded and said "Sure thing!" and did so.  WHAT??????
• The food desert.  There were hours on the ship when the only food offering was the hamburger place by the pool.  They offered hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and fries.  They also have a turkey burger (pulled out from under the cabinet in a warm box) and a veggie burger (I never saw one, but the guy would tell the "come back in 10 minutes please" and mostly they just said nevermind.  I didn't see anyone get one.
• The oldens.  Holy crap was the age of this cruise INSANELY HIGHER than any cruise we've been on in the Caribbean.  So many hover-rounds!  So, so, so, so many smashed feet because the people driving them were crazy!  So many wheelchairs and canes!  So many Arthur Murray dance lesson graduates!  My wife said it was cute to watch them dance their routines and watch them mouth the step counts, but it was also very Stepford.  I'm no dancing judge, but it seems like dancing should be about feeling and not counting.  But if a song was playing, there was an A-M graduate couple out there counting!  So much perfume in the elevator!  AS A SIDEBAR, the i-Lounge was so funny and great for older folks.  There was always a line in there of older folks asking for help on their phones or tablets.  They had daily classes to teach people how to use them.
• The food.  Generally speaking it was more bland than our other cruise line experiences.  There just wasn't a lot of flavor going on and the food did not impress.  A lot of people told me that Celebrity was a big step up in the food department, but it wasn't for us.
• The specialty dining or our lack thereof.  We tried to get in and they simply don't return phone calls.  I called the day of once and managed to get a real person, he told me that I could ONLY get Le Petite Chef and ONLY at 9pm.  No thanks.  But then we spoke to several people who said their specialty dining was mostly empty.  I called twice more and was forced to leave a message... no returned calls.  They must not have wanted our money.  The second-to-last night we were walking the hallways after dinner and peeped in on 3.  Tuscan was 1/2 empty.  Morano looked like pretty empty.  Sushi on 5 was empty except for 3 tables.  A guy offered us lunch the next day for $30 or dinner for $25... we were on it!  Why did it take until the last day?
• So so so so so so much less to do.  People may poo-poo the rock climbing walls, the ice skating, the bumper cars, the zipline, the slides, the water slides, the FlowRider, etc, but man this ship had virtually no excitement going on!  There just wasn't much to do and it was a good thing there were only 2 sea days because there wasn't much at all to do.
• Everything cost more, or at least almost everything.  Then again, it's the upgraded line, so people with more money come on it?

 

The weird:

• Embarkation was weird.  The new terminal is great in Port Everglades and a vast improvement over the first time we were there several years ago and our terminal was basically the spooky warehouse building from every 4th Scooby-Doo episode (the other 3 locations being a mansion, an amusement park, and somewhere near a graveyard) you watched as a kid.  A very nice older man asked us if we wanted to try the "cool, new" embarkation process.  The line was about 1/1,000th as long, so we said "YES WE DO!" and went to the line with the facial recognition boards and people with tablets.  After absolutely nothing happened with the facial scanners (or maybe it's just instantaneous?)  and about 3 questions from the tablet guy, who glanced at our papers & passports... we were in!  Super fast.  We were then directed to a man who insisted on seeing some documentation about us being in that line, some express pass or something.  I said "that nice man right there asked us to try the new system and we don't have those passes."  This caused the man to get very huffy and start mumbling something.  He then walked away.  We didn't know if we were supposed to stay there and wait or what?  After a few seconds of him being gone and now speaking to someone else & laughing, we just decided to board the ship and see.  Cool.  We were on.  I honestly don't know what happened or didn't happen.  However, the time from entering the hall at the terminal to walking up the ramp was about 3 minutes at most.

 

 

It was our first experience on X.  I think I'd like to try Edge or one of her sisters at some point in the future, but from this very limited experience, I'm not seeing how X is the future for us.  We'll try again, for sure, but after several people IRL told us we'd never go back to Royal after we "moved up to X" I think that it just isn't the case.  It's not going to be a regular thing for us.

 

That said, any day at sea is a good day!  And most importantly, we had a very nice time with what we did.  We're the type to roll with whatever, but for the sake of review I'm laying it all out there.  If you have any questions or comments, I'd welcome them.

 

[MarkWiltonM]

On the subject of "the oldens":  I truly believe the time will come--hopefully sooner rather than later---when making fun of people based on their age will seem as barbaric as racist, anti-Semitic, or homophobic comments. 

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, kearney said:

agree....  we all need to lighten up..... in many ways social media seems to have ended up killing humor... we don't seem to recognize it... we can't laugh at ourselves anymore. We are becoming conditioned to assume the worst intent.

 

We watched Blazing Saddles the other day and noted that this movie could not be made today and it is only a matter of time that it and other films are likely to be banned for being offensive.... 

 

Off topic but I agree that Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today.  Today's society's loss.  Also true of Animal House.  This article talks about the white producers fearing offending the black audience and Richard Pryor set them straight.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/movies/animal-house-oral-history.html

[poncho1973]

2 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

That's may be correct.  If you do cruise another line, please post a review here comparing your experience on this  forum.

 

Yeah.  I'm not coming back to this section of the forums after this thread. 

[poncho1973]

29 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

On the subject of "the oldens":  I truly believe the time will come--hopefully sooner rather than later---when making fun of people based on their age will seem as barbaric as racist, anti-Semitic, or homophobic comments. 

 

I'm not a Millennial, but seriously, if you think oldens get made fun of... you should see Millennials!  Those poor kids are getting blamed for everything.  I've never see a group of people get abused for their age more than them.

 

They have apparently killed breakfast, cars, diamonds, restaurants, and on and on and on.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=things+millennials+have+killed+so+far

 

RIP: Here are 70 things Millennials have killed

26 Things Millennials Are Killing, According To Older People

Here are 19 things Millennials are killing

All The Things Millennials Killed In 2018

What's the latest thing millennials killed? According to Bloomberg, it's...

18 industries which are being killed by Millennials

Millennial mass murderers? All the things the age group 'killed' in ...

12 Industries Experts Say Millennials Are Killing — And Why

 

Those are just the first page of headlines!

 

 

 

[baabtx]

I'm not going to totally disagree with this post.  I too was on the cruise, and even pushing 60 I felt that I skewed the age down.  That being said, there were a few oldens that really did have fun! (the guy with the cane, that was amazingly agile on the dance floor - really grooving).  The Martini bar was packed every night and that's where I really noticed the age difference, but hey didn't bother me - everyone was having a good time and the drinks were good!

 

I will also agree with the Sushi Restaurant and wish more would try it (it's not all raw fish).  We used the special and pigged out!  The service was fantastic and the Sushi, etc was very good!

Really, really loved the Silent Disco - that was epic!

[PTC DAWG]

34 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

 

Yeah.  I'm not coming back to this section of the forums after this thread. 

You dished it out, you need to learn to take it.  🙂

[PTC DAWG]

14 minutes ago, baabtx said:

I'm not going to totally disagree with this post.  I too was on the cruise, and even pushing 60 I felt that I skewed the age down.  That being said, there were a few oldens that really did have fun! (the guy with the cane, that was amazingly agile on the dance floor - really grooving).  The Martini bar was packed every night and that's where I really noticed the age difference, but hey didn't bother me - everyone was having a good time and the drinks were good!

 

I will also agree with the Sushi Restaurant and wish more would try it (it's not all raw fish).  We used the special and pigged out!  The service was fantastic and the Sushi, etc was very good!

Really, really loved the Silent Disco - that was epic!

I will be looking for the special at the Sushi bar for sure.  Re the Silent Disco..looking forward to trying it on Celebrity...we were recently on MSC and every thing they did was too short...silent disco the same.  

 

We have neighbors who cruise Celebrity exclusively...mainly European cruises..they are in their later 60's..they never dream of eating in a specialty...always eat at the same time, same table, same waiters..3 meals a day when not in port.  IF they are with a group, they expect the group to do the same.  They are very regimented old school cruisers....that's  not my style at all.  But I realize whey some folks want it that way.  It used to be the ONLY way.  

Edited June 17, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

22 minutes ago, baabtx said:

I'm not going to totally disagree with this post.  I too was on the cruise, and even pushing 60 I felt that I skewed the age down.  That being said, there were a few oldens that really did have fun! (the guy with the cane, that was amazingly agile on the dance floor - really grooving).  The Martini bar was packed every night and that's where I really noticed the age difference, but hey didn't bother me - everyone was having a good time and the drinks were good!

 

I will also agree with the Sushi Restaurant and wish more would try it (it's not all raw fish).  We used the special and pigged out!  The service was fantastic and the Sushi, etc was very good!

Really, really loved the Silent Disco - that was epic!

 

It may not “all” be raw fish, but if I see or smell it, I will be sick. Even seaweed tastes too fishy for me. So nope. Never darkening the door.

[AnneDieuLeVeut]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:57 PM, poncho1973 said:

We're fairly seasoned cruisers (about 120 nights or so on Royal, a half dozen Disney cruises, and 1 Norwegian cruise) who went on the freshly updated Equinox this past week.  We didn't really have a lot of expectations, but were excited to try something new.  We came in as Elite thanks to our Diamond status on Royal.

 

The good:

• Our stateroom was very nice and seemed MOSTLY upgraded, but not fully.  The bathroom was NOT upgraded, but had a nice new toilet seat (sticker still attached for the entire trip), but the tile was very old and everything seemed a bit worn.  It was fine, but I know several people were asking if the bathrooms were upgraded.  We had a J2 verandah on deck 7 mid-ship.  The balcony was nice and we had zero problems with our room for our entire trip... although this morning (arrival back in port day) about 3-4am I think the a/c stopped working as my wife and I woke up in a sweat with the room very, very warm.  However, it started getting cold again by the time we got up to leave.
• Captain Kate.  I'm going to put her in the good, but with a two caveats.  1st, she's American and this is for my wife.  My wife has this insane bias that all cruise ship captains should be Scandinavian.  My wife did enjoy her being a woman captain, though.  2nd, she's really, really, really, really scripted and corny.  I think this makes her a hit with the older folks, though.  She sounds like she's 100% reading every announcement word for word directly from a script and gives a corny saying of the day and a mostly lame pun/joke of the day.  She might just need a bit more practice, though?  I'm going to put her in the good because she was the most visible captain I've seen in all of my cruises.  She also was standing at the gangway this morning personally thanking everyone as they left.  I was majorly impressed by that move.  It's unlike anything I've seen.  We saw her at a couple of events and she went out of her way to be EXTREMELY kind and friendly to everyone.
• The solarium.  We're big fans of solariums and this was a great one!  We spent a lot of time here and it was excellent.  We napped.  We read.  We swam.  We didn't eat... but that's for another category.
• The lawn.  WOWZERS.  This was personally my favorite part of the ship.  We loved it.  We watched the sunset here.  We watched movies here.  We just relaxed here.  We watched glass blowing.  We loved, loved, loved, loved it.
• The oceanview cafe.  We both thought this buffet was really nice and IF it had handwashing stations would be right up there with the best ones we've been to on cruise ships.  I loved the ice cream station. 
• The smoke-free casino.  We don't gamble, but it was so nice to not have to avoid an entire floor of a cruise ship (the casino and anything near it) because of smoke.  We walked through and went to nearby events several times.  The place was packed, so I don't think it hurt business.
• The ship in general.  For a 10-year old ship, even fresh out of dry dock, it was very nice.  It was a simple ship, but a nice one.
• The staff.  We found a lot of very nice crew members on the ship.  It was a very friendly staff (ok, I think most of them were starting new contracts, but hey!) and we had a lot of fun.
• The shaded areas near the pools and on the lawn.  The number of shaded areas was amazing.  They had awnings and structures and overhangs galore.  It was nice to not have to sit in the direct Caribbean sun, although there were plenty of sun areas, too!  The couches and alternative chairs were fun, too.  It wasn't just pool loungers, they had options.
• Pepper grinders on the tables at dinner.  BOOM!  GOLD!
• Sushi On Five.  This was an excellent place to eat.  It was very lightly populated, though.  It was definitely delicious.  They were running a dinner special of all-you-care-to-eat for $25 a person, which was great and we made the most of it.  My tiny wife is a sushi-eating machine.  She had 3 apps and 4 full (8 pieces) trays of sushi.  The last couple of pieces she just ate the guts and left the rice/seaweed, but she put it down like a champ!  I was both impressed and scared.

 

The less good:

• Some of the service.  I don't want to sound entitled or bratty in any way, but my wife and I looked at each other last night as we were packing and said that we never felt special AT ALL on this entire trip to that point.  I'll add a caveat that Captain Kate's good-bye (12 hours after that conversation) falls into the makes you fell special category, but it was literally the very last 10 seconds we were on the ship.  Disney is pretty much the world leader in making you feel special, but Royal does a really great job of it, too.  When we are on a Royal ship, we feel like we're wanted and we're a priority.  We were just a cog in a bigger Celebrity machine here.  Everyone was polite and said pleasantries, but we never just felt special.  It was kind of a bummer.  I thought this was the fancy line of the Royal family?  It didn't feel like it.
• Elite status.  After the goodies you get as a Diamond on Royal, being Elite on Celebrity was like being Gold on Royal.  You really don't get much at all.  The Captain's Club event on 5 of 7 nights was like the Diamond Lounge's ugly stepsister.  They had 3 canapes each night and the options on the drink list were really light.  It's no wonder the place was a ghost town!  Finding a seat wasn't a problem, you could have almost any seat!
• The spa cafe in the solarium.  This was a the biggest joke on the ship.  It was open for approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds each day.  The servings were legitimately light fare, but I didn't see many people eating it.  The servings were like a spoonful of egg salad or a kale salad that might fit into a ramekin.  I asked one of the guys for some silverware (they were closing and no more food was out, but there were forks, knives, and a flat napkins on a tray behind him) and he said they didn't have any.  I pointed to the tray behind him and he nodded.  "No more silverware" he said and shrugged.  So I tried a different approach "Could you hand me a fork, a knife, and a napkin?" He nodded and said "Sure thing!" and did so.  WHAT??????
• The food desert.  There were hours on the ship when the only food offering was the hamburger place by the pool.  They offered hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and fries.  They also have a turkey burger (pulled out from under the cabinet in a warm box) and a veggie burger (I never saw one, but the guy would tell the "come back in 10 minutes please" and mostly they just said nevermind.  I didn't see anyone get one.
• The oldens.  Holy crap was the age of this cruise INSANELY HIGHER than any cruise we've been on in the Caribbean.  So many hover-rounds!  So, so, so, so many smashed feet because the people driving them were crazy!  So many wheelchairs and canes!  So many Arthur Murray dance lesson graduates!  My wife said it was cute to watch them dance their routines and watch them mouth the step counts, but it was also very Stepford.  I'm no dancing judge, but it seems like dancing should be about feeling and not counting.  But if a song was playing, there was an A-M graduate couple out there counting!  So much perfume in the elevator!  AS A SIDEBAR, the i-Lounge was so funny and great for older folks.  There was always a line in there of older folks asking for help on their phones or tablets.  They had daily classes to teach people how to use them.
• The food.  Generally speaking it was more bland than our other cruise line experiences.  There just wasn't a lot of flavor going on and the food did not impress.  A lot of people told me that Celebrity was a big step up in the food department, but it wasn't for us.
• The specialty dining or our lack thereof.  We tried to get in and they simply don't return phone calls.  I called the day of once and managed to get a real person, he told me that I could ONLY get Le Petite Chef and ONLY at 9pm.  No thanks.  But then we spoke to several people who said their specialty dining was mostly empty.  I called twice more and was forced to leave a message... no returned calls.  They must not have wanted our money.  The second-to-last night we were walking the hallways after dinner and peeped in on 3.  Tuscan was 1/2 empty.  Morano looked like pretty empty.  Sushi on 5 was empty except for 3 tables.  A guy offered us lunch the next day for $30 or dinner for $25... we were on it!  Why did it take until the last day?
• So so so so so so much less to do.  People may poo-poo the rock climbing walls, the ice skating, the bumper cars, the zipline, the slides, the water slides, the FlowRider, etc, but man this ship had virtually no excitement going on!  There just wasn't much to do and it was a good thing there were only 2 sea days because there wasn't much at all to do.
• Everything cost more, or at least almost everything.  Then again, it's the upgraded line, so people with more money come on it?

 

The weird:

• Embarkation was weird.  The new terminal is great in Port Everglades and a vast improvement over the first time we were there several years ago and our terminal was basically the spooky warehouse building from every 4th Scooby-Doo episode (the other 3 locations being a mansion, an amusement park, and somewhere near a graveyard) you watched as a kid.  A very nice older man asked us if we wanted to try the "cool, new" embarkation process.  The line was about 1/1,000th as long, so we said "YES WE DO!" and went to the line with the facial recognition boards and people with tablets.  After absolutely nothing happened with the facial scanners (or maybe it's just instantaneous?)  and about 3 questions from the tablet guy, who glanced at our papers & passports... we were in!  Super fast.  We were then directed to a man who insisted on seeing some documentation about us being in that line, some express pass or something.  I said "that nice man right there asked us to try the new system and we don't have those passes."  This caused the man to get very huffy and start mumbling something.  He then walked away.  We didn't know if we were supposed to stay there and wait or what?  After a few seconds of him being gone and now speaking to someone else & laughing, we just decided to board the ship and see.  Cool.  We were on.  I honestly don't know what happened or didn't happen.  However, the time from entering the hall at the terminal to walking up the ramp was about 3 minutes at most.

 

 

It was our first experience on X.  I think I'd like to try Edge or one of her sisters at some point in the future, but from this very limited experience, I'm not seeing how X is the future for us.  We'll try again, for sure, but after several people IRL told us we'd never go back to Royal after we "moved up to X" I think that it just isn't the case.  It's not going to be a regular thing for us.

 

That said, any day at sea is a good day!  And most importantly, we had a very nice time with what we did.  We're the type to roll with whatever, but for the sake of review I'm laying it all out there.  If you have any questions or comments, I'd welcome them.

 

Thank you for your review, poncho1973.  We're taking our first cruise ever, on the June 22nd sailing of the Equinox, and it's refreshing to hear a counterpoint to Celebrity's marketing.

[CikraB]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

• Re the age of the cruisers on Celebrity compared to Royal..I'm not sure why anyone would expect it to be any different than we all KNOW it is.   Same with Princess vs Carnival.  Same with Oceania vs NCL.  

I am taking the Bride cruising on Celebrity EQ 11 day southern Caribbean this fall.  Looking forward to being some of the younger folks on the ship. 🙂 We're mid 50's and have sailed NCL a good bit lately, too many kids at times...MSC was even worse.   

Go Dawgs!!!! Y'all going on the Oct 14th sailing by any chance?

Edited June 17, 2019 by CikraB
wrong date.