Equinox dry dock

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Will they have a press release that details exactly what is new when she comes out of dry dock?

 

We'll be on her June 4th so I'll be sure to get pictures and share it with you guys in a live thread, but hopefully we learn what's new before that sailing as there are a couple before ours.

[Venice123]

On 3/5/2024 at 11:27 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

When you go to room selections for the Equinox and look at the Retreat suites it shows this photo on the Sundeck with a bar.

 

Either this is false advertising or maybe this is one of the things they'll be doing while in dry dock next month?

 

Would you please let me know I’m on b2b starting July 20 to august 8, 2024 to europe thx

marioandliliana@gmail.com

 

liliana 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 hours ago, Venice123 said:

Would you please let me know I’m on b2b starting July 20 to august 8, 2024 to europe thx

marioandliliana@gmail.com

 

liliana 

 

I'll hopefully have good news to share after our June 4th sailing, but there are two before us so I'm guessing somebody will share the updates before we're onboard.

 

Are you sailing in the Retreat?

[Cruiscs]

Any info?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

How do things work after dry dock? Will Celebrity publish and official press release that details exactly what was updated? Or will we have to rely on guests to share these things online?

 

We'll be on the ship June 4th and I'm planning to do a live thread and I'll do my best to share everything, but there are two sailings before us so it'd be great to know sooner. 

[CruiseImage]

6 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

How do things work after dry dock? Will Celebrity publish and official press release that details exactly what was updated? Or will we have to rely on guests to share these things online?

 

We'll be on the ship June 4th and I'm planning to do a live thread and I'll do my best to share everything, but there are two sailings before us so it'd be great to know sooner. 

Celebrity are terrible at promoting what goes on in dry dock for any of their ships.

in fact it’s non existent!!!! 
 

you’d think any company would want to “showboat” what’s coming, and not just leave it to a few guests post dry dock to post the odd update or two.

 

in the times of social media I really think they are missing the point 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

#JustSaying 

 

here’s the latest shot of the ships outside virtually complete. 
I expected the rest of the Retreat Sundeck to have been done, but with the basketball court netting still there, indicates that maybe it hasn’t. 
 

21 days in dry dock is time for a LOT of work to be done, but not a word from the company. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, CruiseImage said:

Celebrity are terrible at promoting what goes on in dry dock for any of their ships.

in fact it’s non existent!!!! 
 

you’d think any company would want to “showboat” what’s coming, and not just leave it to a few guests post dry dock to post the odd update or two.

 

in the times of social media I really think they are missing the point 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

#JustSaying 

 

here’s the latest shot of the ships outside virtually complete. 
I expected the rest of the Retreat Sundeck to have been done, but with the basketball court netting still there, indicates that maybe it hasn’t. 
 

21 days in dry dock is time for a LOT of work to be done, but not a word from the company. 

I appreciate the insight and the sleuthing on the basketball nets!

 

I was very confident they'd be adding a bar to the Retreat Sun Deck... Hopefully I'm not wrong about that or we probably won't spend much time up there on our cruise. 

 

Fingers crossed people update us before I do, but at a minimum I'll figure it out onboard June 4th.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, CruiseImage said:

Celebrity are terrible at promoting what goes on in dry dock for any of their ships.

in fact it’s non existent!!!! 
 

you’d think any company would want to “showboat” what’s coming, and not just leave it to a few guests post dry dock to post the odd update or two.

 

in the times of social media I really think they are missing the point 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

#JustSaying 

 

here’s the latest shot of the ships outside virtually complete. 
I expected the rest of the Retreat Sundeck to have been done, but with the basketball court netting still there, indicates that maybe it hasn’t. 
 

21 days in dry dock is time for a LOT of work to be done, but not a word from the company. 

I thought you might find some way to post some pictures 😁
Celebrity does a terrible job in Social Media

 

They should be sending out a daily email of the upgrades of the ship instead of those lousy emails of fake cruisers they send out 10x a day 

 

Edited May 14 by Ex-Airbalancer

[CruiseImage]

6 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I thought you might find some way to post some pictures 😁
Celebrity does a terrible job in Social Media

 

They should be sending out a daily email of the upgrades of the ship instead of those lousy emails of fake cruisers they send out 10x a day 

 

I’ve tried my best to get some insights to what’s actually happening, but as always they lock down their crew telling them to “not” post anything on social media for the duration of the dry dock.

 

I’m not giving up yet 🤣🤣

[cruzfiend]

We'll be on her again in September (hopefully). Looking forward to more pictures.

 

[terrydtx]

Last year while we were on a tour of the Equinox, the Captain was asked the question concerning the completion of the Retreat Deck and he said there were no plans by Celebrity to do any further work on the deck. If that was true, there is nothing being done to the Retreat deck during the current drydocking. I would hope that the suites furnishings are getting an upgrade, the furnishings in our SS were in terrible shape and well worn.

Edited May 14 by terrydtx

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Last year while we were on a tour of the Equinox, the Captain was asked the question concerning the completion of the Retreat Deck and he said there were no plans by Celebrity to do any further work on the deck. If that was true, there is nothing being done to the Retreat deck during the current drydocking. I would hope that the suites furnishings are getting an upgrade, the furnishings in our SS were in terrible shape and well worn.

I'm liking your comment because I appreciate the information, but not because I like what you have to share 😝

 

I suppose it makes sense to focus on things that will impact the most guests on the ship vs 5% of us, but selfishly I'm disappointed.

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I'm liking your comment because I appreciate the information, but not because I like what you have to share 😝

 

I suppose it makes sense to focus on things that will impact the most guests on the ship vs 5% of us, but selfishly I'm disappointed.

After being on the Equinox in June and then the Apex in September both in the Retreat, I would not pay the cost of a suite again in any non-E Class ship. The Retreat facilities on E Class are 200% better than the rest of the fleet. We were also in the Retreat on the Edge in January for 22 days in Australia.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

After being on the Equinox in June and then the Apex in September both in the Retreat, I would not pay the cost of a suite again in any non-E Class ship. The Retreat facilities on E Class are 200% better than the rest of the fleet. We were also in the Retreat on the Edge in January for 22 days in Australia.

This will be our first Retreat experience (we've sailed suites on other lines but not Celebrity) and I definitely wish it was an Edge-class ship. 

 

We have a suite booked on the Sun Princess over Thanksgiving so I'm looking forward to comparing Celebrity's Retreat to Princess's Sanctuary, but I suspect it may not be a fair comparison. 

[RichYak]

11 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

After being on the Equinox in June and then the Apex in September both in the Retreat, I would not pay the cost of a suite again in any non-E Class ship. The Retreat facilities on E Class are 200% better than the rest of the fleet.

Therein lies my constant struggle with Celebrity. M and S class Retreat has the intimacy that I want but inferior outdoor facilities--if any--and makeshift indoor facilities. E class has great outdoor facilities but too many Retreat passengers, completely diluting the advantage for me.

[CruiseImage]

12 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

This will be our first Retreat experience (we've sailed suites on other lines but not Celebrity) and I definitely wish it was an Edge-class ship. 

 

We have a suite booked on the Sun Princess over Thanksgiving so I'm looking forward to comparing Celebrity's Retreat to Princess's Sanctuary, but I suspect it may not be a fair comparison. 

I’ve recently been on Sun Princess with access to their suite areas, and let me reassure you they are VERY MUCH on par with X’s Retreat. The Signature Lounge and suite only Sanctuary area is outstanding !! And come September the whole paid Sanctuary area on Sun is becoming a Suite ONLY area and for the location and amenities in the area , personally think it’s matches that of the Retreat Sundeck on the Edge Series ships. The Signature restaurant is also outstanding. 

[terrydtx]

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Therein lies my constant struggle with Celebrity. M and S class Retreat has the intimacy that I want but inferior outdoor facilities--if any--and makeshift indoor facilities. E class has great outdoor facilities but too many Retreat passengers, completely diluting the advantage for me.

Over the last year we spent 32 days in E Class ships, Apex and Edge, in the Retreat and I never felt like the Facilites were crowded even though the Retreat was at 100% capacity. We spent so much more time in the Retreat Lounges with the high deck spectacular views and open covered verandah area. The bar in the huge Retreat Sun deck was our second favorite place to spend time. The upper deck 12 location of Luminae also offered much better view while dining. The lower deck location of the same facilities in M and S ships to me are a big negative.

Edited May 14 by terrydtx

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, CruiseImage said:

I’ve recently been on Sun Princess with access to their suite areas, and let me reassure you they are VERY MUCH on par with X’s Retreat. The Signature Lounge and suite only Sanctuary area is outstanding !! And come September the whole paid Sanctuary area on Sun is becoming a Suite ONLY area and for the location and amenities in the area , personally think it’s matches that of the Retreat Sundeck on the Edge Series ships. The Signature restaurant is also outstanding. 

I meant it wouldn't be fair to compare a brand new ship to the Equinox Retreat, but it's good to hear you had a good experience. 

 

It definitely comes at a premium - 2 adults and 2 kids in a Vista Suite (previously Penthouse Suite) was $20,400 for 4 of us over Thanksgiving week.

 

One thing to consider with the changes is the Sanctuary space are going to be open to mini-suites and Sanctuary Balconies as well (vs only suites), so we'll have to see how crowded they are. 

 

The Signature Restaurant will also be open to the additional rooms as well vs only suites.

 

The only area exclusive to suites will be the lounge. 

 

Hopefully they have the capacity for both - if we have to wait to get a table at dinner because of the increased capacity, that will be disappointing for something we've paid so much for. 

[fabo]

I was able to find a company that did some interior work (see pictures from their linkedin) on equinox during this dry dock. They are called Ready2Sail. On their portfolio they list some turn key projects (see picture) including Equinox. According to that list they did: CARPET AND TILES INSTALLATION IN OCV, MDR,
CELEBRITY CRUISE LINES ENSAMBLE ENTRANCE, TUSCAN GRILL AND CELEBRITY CENTRAL

 

EDIT:As mentioned in the linkedin post they also replaced some stage flooring.

 

 

Sadly so far I was unable to find any details on what if any work was done to the cabins. I sure hope they have been refurbished to reflect the standard of Silhouette. From what I have been seeing most of the cabins are in a horrible state between to styles and worn down. Anyone find anything else?

 

Another video I found showing some of the outside work done: https://www.facebook.com/reel/979725683589407

Edited May 16 by fabo
Another refurbished location

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

45 minutes ago, fabo said:

I was able to find a company that did some interior work (see pictures from their linkedin) on equinox during this dry dock. They are called Ready2Sail. On their portfolio they list some turn key projects (see picture) including Equinox. According to that list they did: CARPET AND TILES INSTALLATION IN OCV, MDR,
CELEBRITY CRUISE LINES ENSAMBLE ENTRANCE, TUSCAN GRILL AND CELEBRITY CENTRAL

 

EDIT:As mentioned in the linkedin post they also replaced some stage flooring.

 

 

Sadly so far I was unable to find any details on what if any work was done to the cabins. I sure hope they have been refurbished to reflect the standard of Silhouette. From what I have been seeing most of the cabins are in a horrible state between to styles and worn down. Anyone find anything else?

 

Another video I found showing some of the outside work done: https://www.facebook.com/reel/979725683589407

Thanks for this.

 

People have already embarked on the Equinox this morning so hopefully we'll find out more soon!

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, fabo said:

I was able to find a company that did some interior work (see pictures from their linkedin) on equinox during this dry dock. They are called Ready2Sail. On their portfolio they list some turn key projects (see picture) including Equinox. According to that list they did: CARPET AND TILES INSTALLATION IN OCV, MDR,
CELEBRITY CRUISE LINES ENSAMBLE ENTRANCE, TUSCAN GRILL AND CELEBRITY CENTRAL

 

EDIT:As mentioned in the linkedin post they also replaced some stage flooring.

 

 

Sadly so far I was unable to find any details on what if any work was done to the cabins. I sure hope they have been refurbished to reflect the standard of Silhouette. From what I have been seeing most of the cabins are in a horrible state between to styles and worn down. Anyone find anything else?

 

Another video I found showing some of the outside work done: https://www.facebook.com/reel/979725683589407

Strange that description doesn't mention the renovation of the Family Veranda to Horizon Suites at the front of the ship......  Hope they got done or whoever has booked those rooms is not going to be happy.

[fabo]

I am hoping there were other contractors involved and they did not only change a few carpets. I mean the suites were sold and advertised so I am pretty sure they put them in.

 

As far as I understand the only reason Equinox is in this state is because her original revolution was cut short. Since then afaik she has not completed another dry dock until this one. So it stands to reason at least some of the upgrades originally planned back then have been done now. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

14 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

Strange that description doesn't mention the renovation of the Family Veranda to Horizon Suites at the front of the ship......  Hope they got done or whoever has booked those rooms is not going to be happy.

This company it appears was only doing some common areas 

There could another company working on suites and cabins 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

I asked the folks currently on the ship what they've noticed had been done during drydock and the only things so far are: 

 

- New carpets

- Reupholstered seats in MDR

- Hull repainted

 

I'm extremely confident they made the Horizon Suites since those are being sold, but is it possible they didn't do anything the customer facing?

[Gracie115]

5 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 I'm extremely confident they made the Horizon Suites since those are being sold, but is it possible they didn't do anything the customer facing?

Not sure what you mean by "customer facing"