Recently off Equinox, Dec 19th-24th 2023. What did we think? Come inside. (long)

[Cruiscs]

On 1/1/2024 at 10:21 PM, hcat said:

Thanks for your thoughts..

It def sounds like this ship was not a hood fit for your group compared to your experiences on larger ships of  ROYAL C ..with  central malls, dining options and more lively shows.

 

You might have enjoyed an E Class ship much more!  Glad you had a good time anyhow.

Edge class doesnt even have a atrium. The Frans placa is only 3 decks

[MD_Dan]

Fun Researcher,

    Thanks for this review.  We are in the same position ... all but one sailing on Royal (our first was Disney when DD was preschool).  And we're very curious about trying a X cruise. 

    From your review, we certainly want to try an Edge class ship.

    Our problem is very different from most.  DW and I enjoy a good meal but several issues have limited our diets.  How is X with passengers requesting off-menu items - modified or completely replaced printed dishes?

 

Thanks again!

[gfkcruiser]

3 hours ago, MD_Dan said:

Fun Researcher,

    Thanks for this review.  We are in the same position ... all but one sailing on Royal (our first was Disney when DD was preschool).  And we're very curious about trying a X cruise. 

    From your review, we certainly want to try an Edge class ship.

    Our problem is very different from most.  DW and I enjoy a good meal but several issues have limited our diets.  How is X with passengers requesting off-menu items - modified or completely replaced printed dishes?

 

Thanks again!

If you require a special diet, I have seen diners receive special or modified meals.  You must make the waiter aware of this along with letting Celebrity know prior to your cruise.  There are many people who have done this and will probably let you know how to handle these requests.  There are many who don't realize they can get menus to match their dietary issues and then are not happy after.  

[The Fun Researcher]

On 1/5/2024 at 9:23 PM, hrmkr said:

The Fun Researcher, thank you for the detailed review.

 

For the evening entertainment, what was there to do after going to the show?  Were there many venues that were open to go listen to music other than the Sky Lounge with a DJ? 

 

What type of music was being played throughout the ship?  Rock, Jazz, Classical, etc?

 

In what way was it "sleepy".  Did it completely die at night?

 

Thanks

 

After the show there was typically a three person band in the main atrium.  The lead female singer was very good, but the song choices were more along the lines of "easy listening" in my opinion.  I did notice a violinist one evening in the Ensemble lounge as well.  Again, very nice but not very lively.

 

Besides the really late night DJ, yes it felt pretty lifeless at night.  If you like to belly up to a bar and just chill, there was plenty opportunity for that.  There were football games on the TV's in the Craft Social bar as well some evenings.  

 

However, the entire pool deck was essentially completely shut down by 9-10pm.

 

The entertainment and activities might perfectly suit some folks, but not us.  Again, we had a good cruise but not what we've become accustomed to.

 

 

[The Fun Researcher]

On 1/7/2024 at 10:51 AM, MD_Dan said:

Fun Researcher,

    Thanks for this review.  We are in the same position ... all but one sailing on Royal (our first was Disney when DD was preschool).  And we're very curious about trying a X cruise. 

    From your review, we certainly want to try an Edge class ship.

    Our problem is very different from most.  DW and I enjoy a good meal but several issues have limited our diets.  How is X with passengers requesting off-menu items - modified or completely replaced printed dishes?

 

Thanks again!

Like @gfkcruiser mentioned, they will certainly accommodate special dietary needs.  I would contact them beforehand, and also speak with the Maître D and head waiter when you get on the ship.

[wrk2cruise]

11 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Like @gfkcruiser mentioned, they will certainly accommodate special dietary needs.  I would contact them beforehand, and also speak with the Maître D and head waiter when you get on the ship.

 

Agree  with this.  We notify special needs department several weeks before sailing.  Then we speak with the Maitre D when boarding.  They will present the next nights menu after diner and will discuss with you your selection for the next evening offering to modify selections to accommodate.

[kayehall]

On 1/3/2024 at 10:53 AM, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Depends on what you like to do in ports.  Rather than just staying in the local port areas, personally, we like to get a better appreciation for the islands we visit.  Having said that, we've done this tour twice and have really enjoyed it both times.  It takes you around a good portion of the island of Curacao.  Irie tours...  All west beach hopping.

https://www.irietours.com/all-west-beach-hopping/

 

It's a guided open air bus tour with bottled water, and some beers if desired.  It takes you to some amazing beaches as well as the rustic north coast.  If you are beach people, or would like to swim with sea turtles, this is a great excursion.  The last beach you go to does have a bar, and some food options.  The second to last beach typically has a woman selling a few items that are like soft tacos/burritos but food options are limited on the tour fyi.

I would also recommend Irie Tours.  Check out their website to see what they offer for when you are there!!

[Oliver6144]

10 hours ago, kayehall said:

I would also recommend Irie Tours.  Check out their website to see what they offer for when you are there!!

Thank you, it looks like they only do tours on Weds and Sat.  We will be there on a Friday.

[cruising in]

A quick question.  We will be on the Equinox Feb. 5, for a 10 night Caribbean cruise.  My husband no longer has a dinner jacket and we're wondering about formal nights.  Will we still be able to eat in the main dining room if he has on,y a button down shirt and slacks?

[Arubamoose]

1 hour ago, cruising in said:

A quick question.  We will be on the Equinox Feb. 5, for a 10 night Caribbean cruise.  My husband no longer has a dinner jacket and we're wondering about formal nights.  Will we still be able to eat in the main dining room if he has on,y a button down shirt and slacks?

 

No real formal nights.  Button down and slacks are fine.  

Airline luggage weight restrictions killed formal nights.

[The Fun Researcher]

5 hours ago, cruising in said:

A quick question.  We will be on the Equinox Feb. 5, for a 10 night Caribbean cruise.  My husband no longer has a dinner jacket and we're wondering about formal nights.  Will we still be able to eat in the main dining room if he has on,y a button down shirt and slacks?

 

3 hours ago, Arubamoose said:

 

No real formal nights.  Button down and slacks are fine.  

Airline luggage weight restrictions killed formal nights.

Agreed, no need for a jacket.  I had one but 1/2 the guys in our group did not.  A button down shirt and slacks are perfectly fine.  It’s interesting but Celebrity did away with “formal” nights moreso than Royal.  Dress as you like.  Happy cruising!

[SRch]

You will enjoy the golf carts in Bonaire. We did at the end of November. We did the south tour and have previously done the north side in a twizzie. Depending on if you want to spend the whole day I would do the south tour. The golf carts don’t go that fast so I think it would take forever to do the north side. You can do part of North but once you commit to the one way section on the north side you are committed and have to continue the whole way. We did the south as far as we could…bridge out so couldn’t go all the way around then came back and took an inside road to sorobon beach and had a nice lunch and then found some beach chairs and went for a swim. The water was amazingly warm. For the abc’s…our favourite cruise we recommend bringing water shoes as beaches in Curacao and bonaire can be very rocky. In Curacao we like Mambo beach if you go really early. we were there before 9 and left at noon we are glad we did as several buses showed up and it looked like it was going to be a zoo. That being said there are several outdoor restaurants you can eat at. We were on the Equinox as well…over Thanksgiving and we found it was really quiet at night we were shocked that there were available seats at the martini bar on most nights. I have never seen that before but the were a lot of very elderly passengers on the ship! 

[Beba-Beba]

On 1/13/2024 at 9:22 AM, cruising in said:

A quick question.  We will be on the Equinox Feb. 5, for a 10 night Caribbean cruise.  My husband no longer has a dinner jacket and we're wondering about formal nights.  Will we still be able to eat in the main dining room if he has on,y a button down shirt and slacks?

@cruising in

The answers above are all correct.  However, if you enjoy glam, do it you will not feel uncomfortable.  You will see some couples where he is dresses more casually but my lady is dressed to the nines, gowns do still exist on X cruises and the gentlemen are sooo handsome in a dinner jacket or tuxedo.  If you are driving to the port there is no excuse.  Whatever makes you feel good.  This is your vacation do what feels good for you.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19 by Beba-Beba