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Any advice for upcoming Equinox cruise?


lefy
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Me & my wife will be leaving out of Miami on the Equinox & just wondering if anyone has any tips especially for free places to eat. We usually go to a specialty restaurant one or two nights but I'm not concerned about them as much as I am the complimentary places to eat. On some ships I've found different small places that might serve breakfast besides the main dining room & main buffet station. The same goes for lunches & dinners. I've never cruised on Celebrity but I'm a little disappointed in what I've found so far for eating places. We booked concierge class so there's a few restaurants I've found that are not even available to us. Any ideas appreciated.

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Sailed the Equinox in June, in concierge. You get to eat in the MDR on embarkation, if you get there early enough (we didn't). Otherwise "complimentary" venues are the MDR, Lido, Aquaspa, and the grill. There is a restaurant solely for suites, and a restaurant solely for Aqua class.

 

Not sure what else you were expecting? We predominantly ate in the MDR and had no issues. On port days, we had lunch on Lido, but there were plenty of choices.

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Your Free options are:

The Buffet

The Mast grill (burgers and dogs)

The Main Dining room

Aqua spa cafe, (healthy food, salads and stuff primarily)

Room Service

 

That's it. Aqua Class and Suites have their own separate free dining rooms in place of the MDR. Concierge class is really not all that special.

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Wow only four complimentary places to eat on the whole ship. Things have really changed in the last 15 years since my first cruise. It seems like the ships keep getting bigger & more crowded & there's less places to eat included. A cruise used to be all inclusive but now if you want a decent cruise you have to pay for specialty dining. I'm really disappointed but I guess that's the future of cruising.

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Wow only four complimentary places to eat on the whole ship. Things have really changed in the last 15 years since my first cruise. It seems like the ships keep getting bigger & more crowded & there's less places to eat included. A cruise used to be all inclusive but now if you want a decent cruise you have to pay for specialty dining. I'm really disappointed but I guess that's the future of cruising.

 

Not sure what previous lines you've cruised with or when, but most lines now have speciality restaurants. Some, like Viking Ocean ships do not charge for their speciality eating venues. You'll most likely find the MDR food on any Celebrity ship to be very good.

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I've only cruised on Carnival, Norwegian & Royal Carribean but it seems like there's been a shift in more of an emphasis on pay restaurants & less on the complimentary ones through the years. I started going to Norwegian because of their anytime dining & you never needed a reservation & never had to wait. Now unless you want to eat late you need a reservation or you're going to wait.

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I've only cruised on Carnival, Norwegian & Royal Carribean but it seems like there's been a shift in more of an emphasis on pay restaurants & less on the complimentary ones through the years. I started going to Norwegian because of their anytime dining & you never needed a reservation & never had to wait. Now unless you want to eat late you need a reservation or you're going to wait.

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your cruise and the Equinox is a beautiful ship. Celebrity also has anytime/select dining. That is always my choice and except possibly the first evening, I've never had to wait more than perhaps 10-15 minutes if I wish to dine at a very popular time like 6 - 7PM. Again, hope you enjoy Celebrity - one of my favorite cruise lines.

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Wow only four complimentary places to eat on the whole ship. Things have really changed in the last 15 years since my first cruise. It seems like the ships keep getting bigger & more crowded & there's less places to eat included. A cruise used to be all inclusive but now if you want a decent cruise you have to pay for specialty dining. I'm really disappointed but I guess that's the future of cruising.

 

I can guarentee that under no circumstances will you go home hungry. For example, in the Oceanview Cafe alone you have the following food rotations on a daily basis: early coffee and tea, breakfast which includes eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, ham, eggs benedict, smoked salmon. eggs and omelettes to order, fruit of all kind, yogurt, pastries, muffins followed by lunch (amazing assortment of hot and cold foods and made to order sandwiches, pasta, pizza, carving meat, all sorts of desert, more fruit assortment. DW loves the salad bar.

Plus ice cream, Then there is a late afternoon food display of things like finger sandwiches, scones and accompaniments. Dinner has all the dishes that the MDR has with the advantage that you can go very casual. One night they grill meats to order for you.

 

So just with that one venue alone you should be satisfied, and that's without thinking of the MDR.

 

Now what is a must do thing on the Equinox?

 

You go to the Sunset Bar on deck 15 in the rear of the ship when the ship is leaving port, have a drink and enjoy the passing scenery. If you don't like the backward view you go to the front of the ship up to deck 15 (not everybody knows about that), relax on a big lounger and enjoy the forward view.

 

You go to the Solarium early in the morning and enjoy having the place to yourself.

 

I enjoy having a cappucino (charge) and some chocolate cake later in the morning in Cafe al Bacio.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise without having a negative attitude about anything. We've been on Equinox for 3 10 day trips and loved every minute. What a great crew.

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I sincerely hope you enjoy your cruise and the Equinox is a beautiful ship. Celebrity also has anytime/select dining. That is always my choice and except possibly the first evening, I've never had to wait more than perhaps 10-15 minutes if I wish to dine at a very popular time like 6 - 7PM. Again, hope you enjoy Celebrity - one of my favorite cruise lines.

Thanks for the info & well wishes,

I'm know i sound pretty grumpy but even though I worry a lot about the cruise, we always have a good time in the end.

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I can guarentee that under no circumstances will you go home hungry. For example, in the Oceanview Cafe alone you have the following food rotations on a daily basis: early coffee and tea, breakfast which includes eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, ham, eggs benedict, smoked salmon. eggs and omelettes to order, fruit of all kind, yogurt, pastries, muffins followed by lunch (amazing assortment of hot and cold foods and made to order sandwiches, pasta, pizza, carving meat, all sorts of desert, more fruit assortment. DW loves the salad bar.

Plus ice cream, Then there is a late afternoon food display of things like finger sandwiches, scones and accompaniments. Dinner has all the dishes that the MDR has with the advantage that you can go very casual. One night they grill meats to order for you.

 

So just with that one venue alone you should be satisfied, and that's without thinking of the MDR.

 

Now what is a must do thing on the Equinox?

 

You go to the Sunset Bar on deck 15 in the rear of the ship when the ship is leaving port, have a drink and enjoy the passing scenery. If you don't like the backward view you go to the front of the ship up to deck 15 (not everybody knows about that), relax on a big lounger and enjoy the forward view.

 

You go to the Solarium early in the morning and enjoy having the place to yourself.

 

I enjoy having a cappucino (charge) and some chocolate cake later in the morning in Cafe al Bacio.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise without having a negative attitude about anything. We've been on Equinox for 3 10 day trips and loved every minute. What a great crew.

That sounds pretty good & I really appreciate the advice.

We have the classic beverage package & I think I'm going to upgrade to the premium beverage package. I wonder if that would include stuff like cappuccino too?

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That sounds pretty good & I really appreciate the advice.

We have the classic beverage package & I think I'm going to upgrade to the premium beverage package. I wonder if that would include stuff like cappuccino too?

 

The classic package includes all fancy coffees except a couple that have fancy liquor in them. There are still several "alcohol loaded" coffees you can get with the classic. It includes sodas, juices and water. Only reason to upgrade is if you like top shelf booze such as single malt whiskeys or you are drinking a lot of the fancy Martinis at the Martini Bar. Oh and the World Class Bar cocktails will cost you a few bucks extra with the classic package.

Fear not, there's plenty of food and it's better than NCL, Carnival or RCI.

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That sounds pretty good & I really appreciate the advice.

 

We have the classic beverage package & I think I'm going to upgrade to the premium beverage package. I wonder if that would include stuff like cappuccino too?

 

 

 

I don’t think you will be disappointed with the food offered. We were on the Equinox in October, for a 10 day southern Caribbean itinerary. I don’t care for the busyness of the buffet, but the food served there was very good. One day at lunch they were carving whole roasted pigs, one evening they served cooked to order filet mignon, for a buffet, the food was excellent.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Thanks for the info & well wishes,

I'm know i sound pretty grumpy but even though I worry a lot about the cruise, we always have a good time in the end.

 

If you think about it....

 

You have a pasta and pizza restaurant

 

An Indian station with popudom and chutney starters and a curry choice

 

An Asian station serving a range of noodle and rice dishes

 

A grill station with steaks, salmon, lamb, chicken

 

A carvery roast of the day with all the trimmings

 

All you can eat salad station with a choice of soups

 

Lots of other things...

 

The fact that it is generally just called ‘the buffet’ does at times I think hide the quality range of food in there. We do cruise in suites and have free access to the pay for and the suite only restaurant but we still enjoy a couple of times in the cruise popping into the buffet! If you avoid the peak lunchtime crush it is a pleasant place to dine!

 

Remember if you want a romantic dining venue you can have the full MDR menu on your own balcony....

 

Have a great cruise!

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If you think about it....

 

You have a pasta and pizza restaurant

 

An Indian station with popudom and chutney starters and a curry choice

 

An Asian station serving a range of noodle and rice dishes

 

A grill station with steaks, salmon, lamb, chicken

 

A carvery roast of the day with all the trimmings

 

All you can eat salad station with a choice of soups

 

Lots of other things...

 

The fact that it is generally just called ‘the buffet’ does at times I think hide the quality range of food in there. We do cruise in suites and have free access to the pay for and the suite only restaurant but we still enjoy a couple of times in the cruise popping into the buffet! If you avoid the peak lunchtime crush it is a pleasant place to dine!

 

Remember if you want a romantic dining venue you can have the full MDR menu on your own balcony....

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

 

This is the best description I've ever seen for the oceanview

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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What date are you leaving?? We board the

Equinox the 25th

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We're boarding next month. We always flew in to Fort Lauderdale, rented a car for the day at Hertz, drove to Miami & they would shuttle us to the pier. We decided to do a two day drive & park at the pier this time.

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Getting hungry just thinking about all the food and options. I cant wait to try it out after 10 cruises with Royal only.

 

Sunset bar is defn where I will be spending a good portion of the cruise I am sure by the sounds of it.

 

We do find the food on Celebrity significantly better than on RC. What you will find at a slower pace are activities and entertainment. Personally, now, we cruise more for the food and R&R than action and adventure....really hope you enjoy your cruise! The speciality restaurants are well worth a visit so look at enjoying one or two of them too if you can.

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I can guarentee that under no circumstances will you go home hungry. For example, in the Oceanview Cafe alone you have the following food rotations on a daily basis: early coffee and tea, breakfast which includes eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, ham, eggs benedict, smoked salmon. eggs and omelettes to order, fruit of all kind, yogurt, pastries, muffins followed by lunch (amazing assortment of hot and cold foods and made to order sandwiches, pasta, pizza, carving meat, all sorts of desert, more fruit assortment. DW loves the salad bar.

Plus ice cream, Then there is a late afternoon food display of things like finger sandwiches, scones and accompaniments. Dinner has all the dishes that the MDR has with the advantage that you can go very casual. One night they grill meats to order for you.

 

So just with that one venue alone you should be satisfied, and that's without thinking of the MDR.

 

Now what is a must do thing on the Equinox?

 

You go to the Sunset Bar on deck 15 in the rear of the ship when the ship is leaving port, have a drink and enjoy the passing scenery. If you don't like the backward view you go to the front of the ship up to deck 15 (not everybody knows about that), relax on a big lounger and enjoy the forward view.

 

You go to the Solarium early in the morning and enjoy having the place to yourself.

 

I enjoy having a cappucino (charge) and some chocolate cake later in the morning in Cafe al Bacio.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise without having a negative attitude about anything. We've been on Equinox for 3 10 day trips and loved every minute. What a great crew.

 

Sounds wonderful!!! We will be on her in a couple of weeks and will do exactly that. RELAX! HAVE FUN!, EAT and DRINK!!. We have not been on a cruise yet where we did not have a good time. Beats Ohio in December! (Well the Caribbean beats Ohio most of the time!)LOL

Except football season that is! GO BUCKS!:p

 

I like the sail away options. Will try both of course!

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We were off the Equinox 3 weeks ago, chemmo had a perfect description of the "buffet" it is not like the Millennium class of ship, it is so much better.

 

 

A few days ago we were looking to book our spring cruise and was going to book NCL Dawn Boston-Bermuda-Boston as we would not have to fly. They were offering comp drink package and other stuff, but while talking to TA found out you have to PAY the 18% gratuties on the retail price of the package. Same for dining package. We do not drink very much so that seems really high for us.

 

We booked the Celebrity Summit from Port Liberty NJ to Bermuda to PL with a drink package and we know that it includes specialty coffees(no liquor) bottled water and juices and house brands spirits with gratuities included really complimentary.

 

We had that on our Equinox cruise and I am glad we did. We are not top shelf drinkers and don't like martinis anyway, but the Martini Bar on Equinox was always hoping at night.

 

We have been on NCL before but really for us Celebrity is so much better, but it really depends what you are looking for. For us any cruise is better than not cruising.

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Me & my wife will be leaving out of Miami on the Equinox & just wondering if anyone has any tips especially for free places to eat. We usually go to a specialty restaurant one or two nights but I'm not concerned about them as much as I am the complimentary places to eat. On some ships I've found different small places that might serve breakfast besides the main dining room & main buffet station. The same goes for lunches & dinners. I've never cruised on Celebrity but I'm a little disappointed in what I've found so far for eating places. We booked concierge class so there's a few restaurants I've found that are not even available to us. Any ideas appreciated.

Aqua class is the way to go.

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One thing I hadn't though about is tipping. If you have a drink package are you expected to tip every time you order a drink? I know the 18% is already included in the price but never having a drink package before I don't know what is the norm.

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