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Equinox - 11/19 - very long review & photos!

Infi

By Infi,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Infi

Infi

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This review will be written in journal style, and may take a few days for me to complete. Thankfully, the cruise is only 4 days, so there’s a lot less to write about! Warning: I’m overly wordy at times, so consider yourself warned. ;) If you have any questions about the ship or cruise, please post and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

About us:

I took this cruise with my teen DD, this was my 50th cruise and her 21st. We are elite on Celebrity and have also sailed most other lines, with Princess being our second favorite line. We chose this cruise because we enjoyed the Solstice so much last year, we wanted to come back and try the newest in Celebrity’s fleet. This cruise was the perfect chance to see Equinox, even if 4 days is too short! We have plenty of photos of the ship and copies of the menus/dailies during our cruise, which I’ll post later if anyone is interested.

 

Day 1, Embarkation:

Since we live in Ft.Lauderdale, we usually try to arrive in the port as early as possible (usually because DD can’t stand waiting one second longer on embarkation morning). We were running a bit late this morning, and arrived at the pier around 10:30am. As Oasis was docked at Celebrity’s usual terminal 18, we were docked at 25. When we arrived, there was still quite a few disembarking passengers milling around outside the terminal, much to my surprise. The organization at the terminal was initially a bit confusing, with the dropoff area placed after the pickup area and some misplaced signage. After dropping off our luggage, I parked the car in the midport garage, which has a rate of $15/day. Some offsite parking is available for a bit cheaper per day, but the extra hassle isn’t worth it for me. I became a bit concerned when there were only a handful of spots available in the garage even though it was quite early in the morning. Honestly, I don’t think Port Everglades is prepared for the traffic and parking issues associated with such a large ship homeporting here, but that’s a discussion for another time. Lesson learned: arrive early and arrive with a backup plan for parking, because the parking situation won’t be getting much better in the future.

 

Security and check-in were uneventful, with plenty of check-in desks to handle the growing crowd. The priority check-in lines (elite, AQ, Concierge class, etc.) were empty, and we breezed through easily. Celebrity provided fruit punch and water inside the terminal, which is a nice touch. The morning was off to a decent start – until we encountered the lines.

Today was the day of lines and poor crowd management. First, I’ll preface this by acknowledging that Equinox had just arrived from Europe on her transatlantic, and this was her first time in the US. This meant a multitude of US Coast Guard inspections and certifications before she could sail from the port. I completely understand the delay was unavoidable, and was more than willing to wait. The issue I had was the poor management of the crowds, making large groups stand for long periods of time and the general cluelessness of the terminal employees. A bottleneck first occurred before even taking SeaPass photos, with several messy lines and close to a half hour wait. If you couldn’t stand for long periods of time (which was the case for quite a few older folks), you were out of luck as you had to get out of the line and fight for one of eight chairs. The staff was unsympathetic to this and more interested in walking around, observing people cutting in line. There was one employee who was kind enough to keep the crowds updated over the PA system, which was greatly appreciated. I think the phrase “Welcome to Celebrity Equinox. We have not begun the boarding process yet due to US Coast Guard inspections” is permanently etched in my brain. A broken SeaPass machine was blamed for the initial wait, but it was likely a stalling technique because there was no more space in the other waiting rooms. Once they began moving the crowds upstairs, the SeaPass line was reopened and we were processed and sent into a waiting room with actual seating. There was no priority boarding for CC elite or any of the cabin classes, which I think was disappointing because people do pay for that perk when they book those cabin categories. As the noon hour ticked by, people were becoming quite anxious to board, but the staff kept reminding us of the Coast Guard inspections and that nothing could be done until then. Finally, we were permitted upstairs, row by row, where we waited yet again because of a “traffic jam on the gangway”. Honestly? Sheesh. We finally boarded at 1pm. By that time, most people were really pouncing on that glass of free champagne.

 

Now that that unpleasant adventure is out of the way, we can get on with the rest of the cruise (and review). The cabins weren’t open yet, so we headed up the Oceanview Café. It was quite crowded, considering that it was the only place for people to go and such a large group of people had boarded almost all at the same time. The best game plan here? Get one of your party to reserve your table while taking turns at the buffet, otherwise you may find yourself searching for a table with plates in tow.

I really dislike buffets, but the S-class buffet has won me over. It’s my favorite of all the lines, by far. The station layout concept is perfect, and now that the food and stations are properly labeled, there’s little confusion. The food is served warm, and there's a lot more variety and unique dishes here than at your typical cruise ship buffet. A personal favorite is the made to order sandwich bar in the center – give it a try if you get a chance, most people don’t even notice it. The made to order stir fry and Mexican stations are also quite good.

At 1:30, the announcement came that the cabins were ready, and people rushed out, making room in the Oceanview Café. I got the feeling that the crew had really been thrown for a loop today, with disembarkation, the USCG inspections, and loading passengers all in such a short span of time. You had to feel for them, because the ship usually runs so seamlessly and according to schedule, and this was out of their routine.

 

Cabin:

Our cabin was #7251, Cat 2B on Sunrise deck. The location was perfect, only a short walk from the midship elevators. I would definitely choose this cabin again. Our steward was Michelle, who was efficient and very sweet. Our CC coupons were waiting for us on arrival, and Michelle presented us with the elite card for Michael’s Club/Sky lounge. Our cabin had the bed by the window orientation, which I think is just fine – the supposedly inferior orientation doesn’t make it feel any less spacious. If the beds were set up as twins, it does take away from some floor space, but what can you do?

Having previously stayed in a Cat 7, the balcony on this cabin seemed larger, though it could have been my imagination. You still have a nice view of the ocean from these rooms even with the lifeboats below, but I wasn’t bothered by that issue in the Cat 7 either. The balcony rail and table seemed a bit worse for the wear, but I chalked that up to the beating they must have endured on the transatlantic. The balcony furniture is quite comfortable and adjusts to recline. As many on here have mentioned before, the storage space is lacking in the S-class cabins, but the shower/bathroom design and rest of the cabin makes up for it. My daughter absolutely loved the TV, with its on-demand movies free of charge (you can even pause them and pick it up later) and the various Equinox and Solstice documentaries. Compared to Princess, with its friendly shower curtains and TV where one can’t even check their account balance, Celebrity blows them away.

 

Muster drill:

On the S-class, the muster stations are divided into smaller lounges and areas based on where your cabin is location on the deck. Our muster station was in Murano, with about 75 other passengers. Get there early if you want a seat! We were not required to bring our life jackets to the drill. I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, it’s nice not to have to lug around the jacket and go through the rigamorale of trying it on and hearing dozens of others try out those oh-so-sanitary whistles. On the other hand, I felt people paid even less attention than usual to the video presentation. Oh well. We were not brought outside for the drill, which was greatly appreciated on such a hot day.

 

Sailaway:

We left on time at about 4:45, which is always nice. Enchantment of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas were also in port with us, and many were buzzing about Oasis and her first cruise that day and trying to get a glimpse of her from across the way. The pool band is Top Secret, and they were really quite good and fun to listen to. Celebrity is not a party line by nature, but Top Secret managed to get the passengers up and dancing, which was nice to see.

 

Dining:

We requested early seating, traditional, as we dislike anytime dining. After talking with some fellow passengers, it seemed like there was still some confusion regarding the Select dining among the passengers and the crew was still working out the bugs. Traditional dining was on the first floor, with Select on the second. I would recommend double-checking your table location if that’s important to you. We requested a large table and were placed at a table for four in the dreaded aft of the dining room. The Maitre D’ tried to pass this off as the “private dining room” to my DD, but she wasn’t buying it and we got a change to the center of the dining room, which was just perfect.

Our wait staff, Faruk from Turkey and Alex from Peru, were wonderful. As the years go on, I’ve noticed that the wait staff have less time to socialize with guests because of increasingly demanding work schedules. Faruk and Alex always had time for their tables and were a pleasure to chat with.

 

Prior to our cruise, I had read many complaints on CC about the new Jacques van Staden menus in the DR. We had also been disappointed with the food on our Solstice cruise, as the food and meat quality had declined noticeably. I’ve been sailing Celebrity since they started, and I don’t think I ever completely got over the departure of Michel Roux, to be honest. So, the two of us went into the food situation feeling a bit apprehensive about what we were getting into. Well, those fears were almost all in vain, as we were pleasantly surprised by both the food quality and menus. Each night offered some wonderful dishes, and the expanded anytime menu is a real treat. You won’t find nightly escargot on any other mass-market lines, that’s for sure! The goat cheese tart and crab were excellent starts to a very good meal. Two thumbs up, Celebrity!

 

Entertainment:

After dinner, a large crowd gathered in the Grand Foyer for a disco hour with Top Secret. I thought this was a creative use of the atrium space and it made for a lively atmosphere. Like I mentioned before, something about this band really had people up and dancing.

Afterwards were two showings of the welcome-aboard show, with a performance by the singers and dancers from the production show Remix; a set from the Manny Kellough jazz quartet; a Jersey Boys medley by the acapella group, Sound Decision; and the hilarious comedian, Troy Thirdgill. Troy left the ship after our sailing, but if you get the chance to see him on another cruise – don’t miss it. Everyone really enjoyed his set. The CD, Gary Walker, was pretty good – not too over the top and decently funny. A video also introduced the notion of the Celebrity Life series. While the “cosmopolitan, foodie, and guru” guides is a bit cheesy, the activities and concept are executed well.

 

That’s all for day 1! I’ll try to post day 2 tomorrow.

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librarylady19

librarylady19

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Hi Cindy,

Thanks for posting your Day 1 review; it's hard to believe we were on that beautiful ship just one week ago. It was nice to meet you and your daughter. I also really enjoyed the comedian and wish he was given more time on stage. I wonder if there are comedy shows in Celebrity Central on the longer cruises.

Looking forward to more of your review.:o

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librarylady19

librarylady19

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thanks for the details...we'll be on Equinox 2 weeks from tomorrow...cant wait and look forward to seeing pics

I'm sure you'll love the ship. I am still uploading my pics but here's a link to some photos our wonderful cabin (Aquaclass 1519). The pictures really don't depict how beautiful the ship is!

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575709303cbBHXw

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dkjretired

dkjretired

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Hi Infi:

 

Great review, just one point, I was towards the front and they did have a broken picture machine. We went through the line without having taken our picture and then had to go back through again about a half hour later to get our pictures taken. It then broke down a second time while we were in the area....

 

Also, I don't know if it was because it was the first cruise but some of the Celebrity personnel did not know there were seperate lines for Suites, Elite, AQ, etc. We were directed by the first person to the deck we were on which was funny since our room number was in the 1500s but was on deck 11. Guy was confused but luckily I saw the AQ sign and went there. Hopefully their personnel after a couple of cruises will direct people to the right place. The man was very nice but did not know what Aqua Class was...

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6502programmer

6502programmer

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For those not in the know... Terminal 18 is for the Oasis. Terminal 25 is for the Celebrity. Celebrity was at Terminal 18 - practice run.

According to Celebrity execs, it's not just for Oasis, despite how people are reporting it. According to the Port Everglades schedule, when Equinox comes back on 12/4, she'll be at berth 18, which I would assume corresponds to Terminal 18.

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Infi

Infi

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First, just wanted to write a quick note - thanks to everyone for your kind replies so far. :)

 

Travelgodes, funcruiser, cruiserbryce (and anyone else who's sailing on Equinox soon and I might have missed) - I'm very jealous! You'll have a wonderful time. I'm trying to go a little faster with writing this review (and DD is captioning her photos as well) so I can finish before you all leave. Glad you're enjoying the review, and bon voyage to you all. :)

 

Sandi, it was nice meeting you too. I agree completely that the comedian should have had an extra show in Celebrity Central or something (isn't that what the room is for, anyway?)...he was really great. The other shows were quite good though, so I can't really complain.

 

Lois, thanks again for our night in Murano, we enjoyed it very much. We had a nice time chatting with you, it was fun to finally meet.

 

Don, thanks for that extra info on the broken seapass machine. I really thought they were pulling our chain with that one. :o The staff did seem pretty confused that morning, I wonder if most of them were new. That would explain a few things from that morning.

BTW - DD says hello, too!

 

Orator - thanks!

 

got2gocruzn - we did not have the fuel surcharge for our sailing.

 

foflocruiser - this review is not about the Oasis parking situation, so I'd appreciate it if you got off that topic. You seem to have a vested interest in counting parking spaces, perhaps you can submit your findings to RCI or someone.

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Infi

Infi

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Day 2, at sea:

We began with a nice breakfast in the MDR, open seating. One thing I noticed about this sailing is that there were many TAs onboard participating in Celebrity seminars (we ended up having a few meals with TAs during open seating).

 

Hot Glass show:

After breakfast, we went upstairs to watch the Hot Glass show. When we sailed on Solstice, both of us loved watching the show. Even if you’ve seen glassblowing before elsewhere, I’d recommend checking out the show because it’s quite unique. (And if you haven’t seen it elsewhere, then you most definitely should see it!) To us, this is the highlight of the S-class. It’s really unique, and each time the glassblowers make something different and really let their creativity shine. The show is run by the Corning glass museum (a nonprofit), though some glassblowers are individually contracted artists. There are three glassblowers aboard, and they do the show as a cooperative effort: one narrates the process, cracking jokes and taking questions along the way, and the other two work in tandem to create a piece. Shows last about 2 hours, and there’s usually three sessions/three pieces made during that time. They really make some amazing things: animals, huge bowls, fruit, goblets with elaborate stems, vases – you name it.

 

One unfortunate change from Solstice was that they no longer do raffles at every show – just one each cruise, and it’s not announced when it will be. DD spoke with one of the glassblowers about this and he confided that people were becoming very pushy about the raffles and only attending the ends of the shows so they could get tickets for the raffle. That’s a shame. The glassblowers do auction off pieces on longer sailings (with the money going to a glassblowing scholarship fund), but they don’t sell any of the pieces aboard. This way, the glassblowers can devote their time to creativity and “edu-tainment”, as they call it. For example, one neat activity was that the childrens’ program kids all drew pictures and the glassblowers chose one to recreate. On our cruise, it was a giraffe, and the young artist got to keep her creation. Another fun fact: the glass pieces in the display cases in the Grand Foyer are all made at the show, and the vases in Murano are also made by the glassblowers.

 

By the time the glassblowing show ended, it was time for lunch in the dining room. Sadly, this was the only MDR lunch on our cruise, as the MDR was closed while we were in Cozumel and there was brunch served on the last sea day. I really wish Celebrity would go back to opening the MDR on port days, but it looks like it’s not to be. You do have to wonder, though, if this is cost cutting at work by only offering the buffet on those days.

 

CC party:

After lunch, we headed upstairs to the Sky Lounge for the Captain’s Club celebration. There was an invitation for the vent in our cabin when we boarded. We arrived a bit late, and there was no one at the door checking cards for membership. This is the first one of these that we’ve attended since the new CC perks rollout, and I must say, I was very impressed. I didn’t expect Celebrity to have such a nice party on this short cruise. There was a carving station, sushi, crepes, and fruit. All of these would have been nice snacks if we hadn’t had lunch first! DD went to “take a look” and came back with two plates full of sushi, fruit, and crepes – but isn’t that how it always goes? Each table had a drink menu, though you could ask for whatever you wanted. Before the program, there was some entertainment by the acapella group and the singers, and officers and managers were present as well. Captain Michael Karatzas and the CC hostess (whose name escapes me now!) presented the most traveled award to a couple with 100 cruises – in just 9 years! (The rest of us had better get cruising!)

 

Formal night:

I expected this cruise to be less formal because of its length, and I was correct. I could have counted the number of long gowns and tuxedos on one hand. Most wore cocktail dresses and suits.

Dinner tonight was excellent again. I’ve noticed that Celebrity is a bit heavier on the meat dishes than Princess, with one or two beef offerings each night. Tonight I had the chateaubriand, which was very tender. DD raved about the beef carpaccio appetizer, and it looked delicious as well.

 

Another note about the dining room: I don’t know if this was because of our short cruise or not, but many tables remained empty each night. Even the center of the dining room had many tables that were missing guests or were completely empty. I’m sure many people were out trying to fit in all the specialty restaurants in the four days, but I couldn’t help wondering if some had switched to select and abandoned their tables in traditional. This happens a lot on Princess, despite the fact traditional is waitlisted before every cruise, there are always open tables in the dining room. Finally, there was also some confusion on when dinner began. The dailies had conflicting info that early seating began at 6 and 6:15pm, with the doors closing thirty minutes after that time. People continued to stroll in during that time period, and quite a few even came in after that, after 7. I really feel for the waiters when that happens, and wonder why people who do that just don’t choose select now that it’s offered.

 

Entertainment:

Prior to the show tonight was the Captain’s party. I’ve compared Celebrity to Princess at various points in this review, but here’s where the difference was really noticeable. Upon entrance into the theater, waiters offered drinks and chocolates, which was a nice touch after dinner (instead of hors d'oeuvres). On Princess, the Captain’s party is combined with their champagne waterfall party, held at an less-than-convenient time for both seatings, and in the atrium, which lacks real seating and discourages lingering. Both parties are examples of cost cutting (chocolates instead of hors d'oeuvres, combining parties/making it less easy to get a drink), yet Celebrity does it in a way that makes it feel less obvious. If you have to make cuts, at least be scrupulous about it – cruisers notice these things, after all.

 

Tonight was the first of two production shows, Equinox: the Show. The show itself is almost identical to Solstice: the Show in terms of acts, but is themed differently. It’s definitely one of my favorite shows I’ve seen at sea, and the acrobatics are really amazing to watch. The show’s vibe is very ethereal – not your typical Broadway song-and-dance repertoire. Really, it’s about as close as you’ll get to Cirque de Soleil on a ship. Try not to miss the first part if you can. It was held before the Captain’s speech, so it lost a little bit of its mystery that way. If you’ve arrived too late, you’ll know it. ;)

 

I made a short stop in the casino after the show was over. There’s a good variety of machines (everything from penny slots and beyond) and plenty of tables, too. Thanks to Celebrity's new smoking policy, the casino is not smokey in the slightest. The slots weren’t too kind to me, but the tables were really hopping. I hope someone made money that night, even if it wasn’t me!

 

Tomorrow, it’s on to Cozumel!

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ken85121

ken85121

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I would recommend double-checking your table location if that’s important to you. We requested a large table and were placed at a table for four in the dreaded aft of the dining room.

 

What does the "dreaded aft" mean? Why is it dreaded? :confused:

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