Equinox vs Reflection

[Oceangoer2]

31 minutes ago, mikeysed said:

 

Can someone explain what the Revolution did to Equinox vs non revolutionized Reflection? I am not familiar with the updates.

 

Thank you!

Equinox did not update most of the cabins, but did the revolutionize the Retreat Lounge (formerly Michaels Club) and installed a Retreat sun deck, which is quite nice, but no pool or bar as on E class.  They have a staffer which attends the guests, provides any drink or menu item they request..generally pretty quickly. 

[kearney]

4 hours ago, mikeysed said:

 

Can someone explain what the Revolution did to Equinox vs non revolutionized Reflection? I am not familiar with the updates.

 

Thank you!

We don't sail in suites..so I can't address changes there ... but most of the revolution was a color change and new furniture in the public spaces. Equinox only had a partial update because the dry dock in the Bahamas had a situation where a crane fell onto Oasis of the Seas..and that shut down the area... Equinox had to go to Europe for the update..which took time and I suspect some materials were in the Bahamas. As a result some of the structural changes...like taking some of the Sky Lounge for suites (yeah) did not take place and not all of the cosmetic changes were made. I believe Reflection was supposed to be updated in 2020.. and well we know what happened there. Basically they were moving from the warm color scheme built around earth tones..to the cooler gray and blues of Edge. Now... if I recall ...Silhoutte..which did go through the changes..still had the warmer maroon and cream colors in the bathrooms.. with the cooler gray blue in the cabins... To be honest the walls remained a cream color...which kinda looks dirty next to gray..but that may be just me. 

[Redtravel]

On 1/8/2023 at 10:15 AM, terrydtx said:

Not totally true, not a complete extra deck. Deck 12 on Reflection added more Sky Suites, A1 Aqua and C1 Concierge cabins than are on deck 12 on other S class ships and they only added 194 more passenger capacity than Equinox, 2852 vs 3046. We have sailed on both, and 194 more passengers is not enough to seem more crowded.

Reflection was so crowded, we always had problems finding seating….buffet, pool, theater,etc.   Those 194 passengers probably had extra berths.  If you look at the ships capacity , it only indicates 2 people in a cabin.  If you add extra berths, the numbers increase.  After that cruise in 2019, we swore off the Reflection.  Next we went to smaller ships. We love Windstar, Azamara, Viking, and Oceania.  In 2022, we sailed on Summit.  It had been my favorite Celebrity ship.  We were told that the capacity was reduced. At 2500, it was very crowded.  That not pleasant.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Reflection was so crowded, we always had problems finding seating….buffet, pool, theater,etc.   Those 194 passengers probably had extra berths.  If you look at the ships capacity , it only indicates 2 people in a cabin.  If you add extra berths, the numbers increase.  After that cruise in 2019, we swore off the Reflection.  Next we went to smaller ships. We love Windstar, Azamara, Viking, and Oceania.  In 2022, we sailed on Summit.  It had been my favorite Celebrity ship.  We were told that the capacity was reduced. At 2500, it was very crowded.  That not pleasant.  

We were on the Reflection last month and didn't experience this.  We didn't go to the pool, but had no problem at all finding seats in the theater or buffet. 

[DCPIV]

We were on Reflection last February and were on Equinox last October, and we're about to sail on Reflection again.  Basically, I love both ships and really don't know if I prefer one over the other. They both 

One of the biggest differences that will be apparent to all sailing on one or the other is that Reflection's Sunset Bar is much larger and attractive.  We spent entire afternoons and evenings enjoying the Sunset Bar on Reflection as it provided a relatively quiet outdoor venue with a lovely view and bar service.  We spent only a few hours or so at the Sunset Bar on Equinox.  The Sunset Bar on Equinox is nice, mind you, but it's nothing like what you find on Reflection.  A bit of a tradeoff is that Equinox has the Ocenview Bar outside the (Oceanview Café), and that makes for a nice, shady outdoor bar if that's what you are in the mood for.

 

Another big difference is that Equinox has Craft Social while Reflection still has Cellar Masters.  As mentioned, Cellar Masters largely has become a dead space on the ship.  We poked our heads in a couple of times but we never stuck around.  On the other hand, Craft Social was more vibrant and active.  It took it a couple of visits to grow on us, but we came to enjoy it very much.  I'm going to miss it on our upcoming Reflection cruise (but I expect I will not only survive but even thrive, nonetheless).

 

Both my wife and I are ambivalent about the "Revolutionized" areas.  While those areas may have a more "updated" look, they all seem to have lost at least some degree of comfort, especially when it comes to seating.  When it comes to the Revolutionized areas, very little thought was put into passenger comfort or the utility of the space.  It was done more for marketing photos than anything else.

 

When we sailed on Reflection before, we did so in a suite.  However, we did not notice any issue with overcrowding in Luminae.  Service did slow down at the heavily attended times, but that's quite normal and to be expected.  It never was a problem that might keep me away from either Luminae or Reflection.

[Jim_Iain]

22 hours ago, mikeysed said:

 

Can someone explain what the Revolution did to Equinox vs non revolutionized Reflection? I am not familiar with the updates.

 

Thank you!

They add the Retreat Sun Deck lounge and Bar as well as totally remodeled the Retreat Lounge.   Also all of the rooms (others will correct me if incorrect I know Suites were) are renovated with all new furniture, driftwood colored walls, new beds and new softgoods with a different theme.

 

This =

 

vs the Original

 

[Islander500]

We have sailed on both Reflection & Equinox in the last 5 years.  Would pick either of them with no concerns. 
 

We are currently sailing on Equinox and I will say it’s noticeably the best hotel run operation I have ever experienced on any Celebrity ship.  And I’ve sailed on most of them.
 

Extraordinary service all around.  Best staff in Blu, best staff in Oceanview, best cabin steward, great bartenders.  
Notably, I see that the Hotel Director Andrea Muegge is everywhere. She’s always looking around with a smile on her face, giving feedback to staff, interacting with guests, observing operations throughout the ship, available when you go ashore, at the theatre entrance when you go to the show. Early on, I happened to be looking around the ship and saw her training staff in some meeting rooms which I happened to pass.  
Last night, Pete the Cruise Director mentioned (in passing as part of his act) her constant focus on management training & customer service. Well, it’s working.
Great job, Andrea!