Pleasantly surprised by Equinox Retreat Lounge!

[Ginnyfyr]

Wasn't expecting much after all I've read online over the last few months, but hubby and I were quite happy with the new set up! Loved how bright the new lounge is and we were happy to see there's an actual bar in the lounge (loved the small self serve fridges too - handy to grab soft drinks and bottled flat/sparkling water). Apparently HQ is listening to online complaints and the teeny tiny round chairs have been replaced with round chairs with an, um, wider capacity? Overall we thought the lounge was very welcoming and comfortable (and I might have eaten about 100 of the delicious egg salad sandwiches offered during afternoon tea - they were so good!) 

[hulamoon]

Ginnyfyr thank you for sharing the pictures. It is a lovely area. Are there new retreats on ships without bars? 

[bikerunner]

you sure you want to spend time in the lounge and not get free movies back to watch in your room?

[Ginnyfyr]

23 minutes ago, hulamoon said:

Ginnyfyr thank you for sharing the pictures. It is a lovely area. Are there new retreats on ships without bars? 

I've read there isn't a bar in the Retreat Lounge on Summit (we sailed her in a balcony cabin in July so we didn't have access to the Retreat Lounge) so based on that, I wasn't sure what to expect on Equinox. 

 

BikeRunner...if only we could have free movies in the Retreat Lounge!

Edited September 15, 2019 by Ginnyfyr

[riredsox]

There isn’t a bar in the Retreat Lounge on the Edge!  When we were there I asked an officer about that and he said everybody has brought that to his attention!  He said we are learning for the next Edge class ships.  Also no World Class Bar and he said that would be on the 3rd Edge class.  Even without a bar we still enjoyed it!

[miched]

7 minutes ago, riredsox said:

There isn’t a bar in the Retreat Lounge on the Edge!  When we were there I asked an officer about that and he said everybody has brought that to his attention!  He said we are learning for the next Edge class ships.  Also no World Class Bar and he said that would be on the 3rd Edge class.  Even without a bar we still enjoyed it!

 

 

I thought the Eden bar was the equivalent World Class Bar.   They had those extra cost specialty drinks plus unlike the  WCB anything else you wanted.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[hulamoon]

So, what? 

 

If there is not a bar in the retreat are people just sitting around? Do they go to other bars to get a drink and bring them in? Or is it a new concept, meditation like area.

 

[hulamoon]

18 minutes ago, riredsox said:

There isn’t a bar in the Retreat Lounge on the Edge!  When we were there I asked an officer about that and he said everybody has brought that to his attention!  He said we are learning for the next Edge class ships.  Also no World Class Bar and he said that would be on the 3rd Edge class.  Even without a bar we still enjoyed it!

 

It seems like there was a big disconnect between what passengers like and the design. 

[DiamondDiva]

Some more comfortable chairs than the ones in the Suite Lounge on Millenium in late August.  Hopefully, they will replace those on Millenium as well,and more people will then make use of it. We did enjoy many of the little bites and snacks there, such as the empanadas and the tuna also.  

[hulamoon]

It sounds like an airline guest area. I will be checking it out soon myself but I don’t understand why they would degrade it this way. But I did notice the decline in service compared to the early concept for bartenders. Not that it was horrid it just wasn’t the first class it once was. Maybe it wasn’t a mistake but a choice to cut costs and staff.

[hcat]

13 minutes ago, hulamoon said:

So, what? 

 

If there is not a bar in the retreat are people just sitting around? Do they go to other bars to get a drink and bring them in? Or is it a new concept, meditation like area.

 

Maybe they will show movies on the TV monitor.

[chemmo]

Great news we board soon!

 

I had been worried about fitting in those tiny chairs at the beginning of the cruise and was sure I would have no chance by the end!

[cangelmd]

2 hours ago, Ginnyfyr said:

Wasn't expecting much after all I've read online over the last few months, but hubby and I were quite happy with the new set up! Loved how bright the new lounge is and we were happy to see there's an actual bar in the lounge (loved the small self serve fridges too - handy to grab soft drinks and bottled flat/sparkling water). Apparently HQ is listening to online complaints and the teeny tiny round chairs have been replaced with round chairs with an, um, wider capacity? Overall we thought the lounge was very welcoming and comfortable (and I might have eaten about 100 of the delicious egg salad sandwiches offered during afternoon tea - they were so good!) 

DH swears those are the same tiny round chairs- I think he’s wrong! I agree with you, Ginny.

Does anyone have any pre-pictures to post? We didn’t take any shots of the lounge.

We thought the lounge was very pleasant- the 4 pm snacks were delicious. Bar service was excellent, bar isn’t huge for bar sitters, but most people on our cruise used the banquettes and other tables, so the bar regulars always had a spot.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Thanks for the pictures.  We have 2 Equinox cruises in suites booked.

[CruiseLifeIsTheBest]

22 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

DH swears those are the same tiny round chairs- I think he’s wrong! I agree with you, Ginny.

Does anyone have any pre-pictures to post? We didn’t take any shots of the lounge.

We thought the lounge was very pleasant- the 4 pm snacks were delicious. Bar service was excellent, bar isn’t huge for bar sitters, but most people on our cruise used the banquettes and other tables, so the bar regulars always had a spot.

The seriously tiny chairs were switched out during the 8/24 sailing. Got a shot before they were changed. 

[RichYak]

That looks more like a throne, if you get my drift. 😎

[wrk2cruise]

I believe Edge is the only Retreat lounge without a bar.  Summit definitely has one.  On Equinox on 8.24 sailing and found the service in Retreat lounge not up to what I have come to expect.  Sitting at a table could take 10's of minutes to be asked if you wanted a drink.  Concierge didn't really mingle at all (or notice the lack of service) and the Suite Manager was non-existant.  It was 1/2 way through the cruise when I first saw him in the lounge.

 

Of course I filled the post cruise survey with these comments.  Would have shared with Suite Manager if I had been able to build any sort of a relationship with him.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by wrk2cruise

[dkjretired]

8 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

I believe Edge is the only Retreat lounge without a bar.  Summit definitely has one.  On Equinox on 8.24 sailing and found the service in Retreat lounge not up to what I have come to expect.  Sitting at a table could take 10's of minutes to be asked if you wanted a drink.  Concierge didn't really mingle at all (or notice the lack of service) and the Suite Manager was non-existant.  It was 1/2 way through the cruise when I first saw him in the lounge.

 

Of course I filled the post cruise survey with these comments.  Would have shared with Suite Manager if I had been able to build any sort of a relationship with him.

 

 

We are just off the Summit, the room was beautiful and there definitely was a bar.   

[K.T.B.]

Great pictures!  Thank you for sharing!  I'm looking forward to being on board Equinox!  I've head/read a lot of great things about it.

[wrk2cruise]

Just now, dkjretired said:

We are just off the Summit, the room was beautiful and there definitely was a bar.   

 

And I presume service was great if Alexandra is still there.  I do think that arrangement without stools at the bar but with the high top tables close by keeps the bartender from being monopolized by the people seated at the bar.  This was part of the problem with Equinox.

 

Who was suite manager?  If Joanna do you know how long she will be on?

[hulamoon]

2 hours ago, CruiseLifeIsTheBest said:

The seriously tiny chairs were switched out during the 8/24 sailing. Got a shot before they were changed. 

 

I hope I am laughing with you about those chairs. Could be footstools?

[calicakes]

I glanced lovingly @ The retreat today on our way to Blu.  We're available if you'd like a guest. LOL

[hrhdhd]

Where does the concierge work from? The old desk location, while not overly private, allowed for business to take place separate from the lounge area. I'd prefer not to make my requests or ask questions about my account in the middle of the lounge when the concierge wanders by. If that's what the concierge does now. 🤨

[wrk2cruise]

It's a podium just inside the door.   Not very useful.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, dkjretired said:

We are just off the Summit, the room was beautiful and there definitely was a bar.   

I'm sailing Summit for the first time in December. I was under the impression from other posts that there was no longer a bar since the Michael's refit. I'm very glad to hear this and may actually give it a visit now.