Equinox changes

[Bootstrap77]

Can anyone tell me what changes have been made to the equinox? I heard that the solstice deck is now for suite guests only. Any other additions and exclusions? 

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, Bootstrap77 said:

Can anyone tell me what changes have been made to the equinox? I heard that the solstice deck is now for suite guests only. Any other additions and exclusions? 

 

Recently off Equinox, we have cruised on her twice before...

 

As you may be aware her refit was only partial. The Solstice deck is now suite only but the Retreat lounge is what was formerly Michael’s (already suite lounge) and Luminae is still the suite restaurant. No other areas suite only.

 

Some rooms had a more extensive refit than others (concierge?) hopefully someone will confirm. Ours had new bedding and sofa but the same carpets and curtains. The balcony furnishings had changed, looked nice but less comfortable....If you specify your room category hopefully someone who has cruised in your room type can add more detail.

 

We found most restaurants and bars very familiar although Cellar Masters had become Craft Social...

 

Generally we found the changes minimal...We found Equinox in good shape with a caring crew and thoroughly enjoyed.  

[CruisingWalter]

Due to a Royal Caribbean ship causing some damage at the original drydock location, Equinox had to go to Spain I believe to have her drydock renovation.  As such, many changes including additional cabins were not completed.  Equinox will be going in for a 2nd drydock in 2021 to complete the renovations.

 

We just got off the ship a few weeks ago as well and for the most part, she looked the same as she did two years ago.

 

We were in Aqua Class and had new carpets in the cabin.  As confirmed above, the Retreat Sundeck is now up top. Michael's Lounge is a much nicer and much brighter space called The Retreat Lounge.  The walls of the Theater are blue now vs. red originally.

 

And those really bad birdcage cabanas were added to the Lawn Club.  Other than that, not much in the way of changes.

 

I actually wrote a full review of the sailing and covered the changes, and lack thereof, in my review.  

 

[Bootstrap77]

7 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

Recently off Equinox, we have cruised on her twice before...

 

As you may be aware her refit was only partial. The Solstice deck is now suite only but the Retreat lounge is what was formerly Michael’s (already suite lounge) and Luminae is still the suite restaurant. No other areas suite only.

 

Some rooms had a more extensive refit than others (concierge?) hopefully someone will confirm. Ours had new bedding and sofa but the same carpets and curtains. The balcony furnishings had changed, looked nice but less comfortable....If you specify your room category hopefully someone who has cruised in your room type can add more detail.

 

We found most restaurants and bars very familiar although Cellar Masters had become Craft Social...

 

Generally we found the changes minimal...We found Equinox in good shape with a caring crew and thoroughly enjoyed.  

Really helpful! Thanks

[Bootstrap77]

1 hour ago, creativegenius said:

Due to a Royal Caribbean ship causing some damage at the original drydock location, Equinox had to go to Spain I believe to have her drydock renovation.  As such, many changes including additional cabins were not completed.  Equinox will be going in for a 2nd drydock in 2021 to complete the renovations.

 

We just got off the ship a few weeks ago as well and for the most part, she looked the same as she did two years ago.

 

We were in Aqua Class and had new carpets in the cabin.  As confirmed above, the Retreat Sundeck is now up top. Michael's Lounge is a much nicer and much brighter space called The Retreat Lounge.  The walls of the Theater are blue now vs. red originally.

 

And those really bad birdcage cabanas were added to the Lawn Club.  Other than that, not much in the way of changes.

 

I actually wrote a full review of the sailing and covered the changes, and lack thereof, in my review.  

 

Awesome! Thanks I’ll check our your review 🙂

[39august]

The Passport Bar has new carpet and furnishings. We were in Concierge cabin in July and had new carpet, drapes and either a new sofa or a reupholstered sofa. I believe all cabins got new bedding. The basketball court is still up on deck 15 in front of the Retreat Sun Deck.

[helen haywood]

Most importantly, Equinox did not carve up the Sky Lounge to add additional suites on the port side.  It was originally thought this would be done on her next dry dock.  However, the same plan for Silhouette has been changed and she will not add the forward suites nor reduce the Sky Lounge; instead she will add some Sunset Suites aft.  So I would assume this means all the S Class ships (excepting Reflection which already has a smaller Sky Lounge and suites where the conference room is on her sister ships) will not change my beloved Sky Lounge.

[1025cruise]

I don't think all bedding was changed during the drydock. We sailed on her at the end of June, and in Puerto Rico, they were loading mattresses on board. Due to the last minute change, they were unable to get everything to Cadiz in time, so stuff that can be done during normal sailing was being done. One of the officers, when asked, did say that the container was full of items that didn't make it to Cadiz. I assume by now, stuff like that has been completed.

 

And I agree. I am so glad they didn't butcher the Sky Lounge. That's such a wonderful space.

Edited October 19, 2019 by 1025cruise

[kearney]

We were on the Sept 23 sailing... our cabin, 6215... a 1A cabin. The only changes I noticed in the cabin were... new bedding, curtains (bluish gray), dust ruffle to match, and pillows (dark blue). To be honest the sofa (rust colored) really looked threadbare and hopefully they will replace. Not being in a suite, I noticed very little change... deck 3 where the passport bar is, had new carpet and chairs... but beyond that... the areas I use seemed the same (ohh the new craft bar noted earlier too).

 

I like the ship, I do wish they would replace the chairs with ones that people with bad knees can use. As with our other 5 Celebrity cruises... I had to hunt for chairs DH could not get in... but get out of... not too low, too deep and with arms. 

[grandgeezer]

We were on the Equinox the end of August and first week of September in a Sky Suite. It appeared the only changes made in the room was really nice furniture on the balcony, new bedding, and two butt ugly gray bathrobes in the closet.

 

[ROXY GIRL]

We will be on the Christmas cruise. So excited.As long as the ship is clean and the cabins don't have a musky smell we will be ok.

[39august]

The Craft Social is really just a new name for the Gastro  Pub that has been on Equinox for the last two years at least, as that is when we started sailing on her.  Weren't there plans to add several inside cabins that were (thankfully) not done? Never a good idea to add more people to a ship. 

[Pickels]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 1:50 AM, chemmo said:

 

Recently off Equinox, we have cruised on her twice before...

 

As you may be aware her refit was only partial. The Solstice deck is now suite only but the Retreat lounge is what was formerly Michael’s (already suite lounge) and Luminae is still the suite restaurant. No other areas suite only.

 

Some rooms had a more extensive refit than others (concierge?) hopefully someone will confirm. Ours had new bedding and sofa but the same carpets and curtains. The balcony furnishings had changed, looked nice but less comfortable....If you specify your room category hopefully someone who has cruised in your room type can add more detail.

 

We found most restaurants and bars very familiar although Cellar Masters had become Craft Social...

 

Generally we found the changes minimal...We found Equinox in good shape with a caring crew and thoroughly enjoyed.  

I believe the Retreat Sun Deck is suite guests only.

[chemmo]

3 minutes ago, Pickels said:

I believe the Retreat Sun Deck is suite guests only.

 

Yes it is, but it should have been Solstice deck and the basket ball area of the deck below. As the refit was only partial suite guests have no water feature....The suite deck is beautifully furnished and has excellent service but hot and has limited shade...

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, Pickels said:

I believe the Retreat Sun Deck is suite guests only.

 

Yep and it's basically 100% sun from what I saw onboard earlier this month.  Not a value add in my book, especially in the Caribbean.  Maybe in Alaska. 🙂

[CruisingWalter]

On 10/19/2019 at 10:41 AM, helen haywood said:

Most importantly, Equinox did not carve up the Sky Lounge to add additional suites on the port side.  It was originally thought this would be done on her next dry dock.  However, the same plan for Silhouette has been changed and she will not add the forward suites nor reduce the Sky Lounge; instead she will add some Sunset Suites aft.  So I would assume this means all the S Class ships (excepting Reflection which already has a smaller Sky Lounge and suites where the conference room is on her sister ships) will not change my beloved Sky Lounge.

 

We haven't heard about that yet. The cabins were already made and are ready for the Equinox since she was ready to go in and those suites were actually sold prior the dry dock mishap.  Easy to cancel the changes for Silhouette as those cabins may not have been built yet.  

 

Will be interesting to see what happens with Equinox when she comes out of her second drydock next year.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On 10/19/2019 at 8:10 AM, creativegenius said:

 

Due to a Royal Caribbean ship causing some damage at the original drydock location, Equinox had to go to Spain I believe to have her drydock renovation.  As such, many changes including additional cabins were not completed.  Equinox will be going in for a 2nd drydock in 2021 to complete the renovations

 

Actually it was a crane that crashed and caused damage to a RCCL ship and to the dock that caused the Equinox drydock to be moved to Cadiz and limited what could be done. The RCCL ship did not cause the damage - it was a victim too.