Review: Equinox Southern Caribbean Dec 6-17

[SusieV]

First, some general comments. My husband and I are in our late twenties, and we cruised with our 14 month old son and my mother and her husband, who were on their honeymoon. This was our fourth Celebrity cruise and our first experience cruising with a baby.

 

My husband had business in Orlando ending 2 days before the cruise, so the rest of us flew to Orlando the day before the cruise to pick him up. We stayed at the Orlando Marriott Airport hotel that night (the restaurant food is excellent) and rented a car from Avis to drive to Fort Lauderdale the next day. In hindsight, I think coming in 2 days early would have been a better decision because there was a huge accident on the Florida turnpike going the other way, and given the length of time required to make the drive I would not want to be worried about missing the ship.

 

Embarkation: Very quick! We arrived at the ship at 12:30pm and the Concierge Class check in line was nearly nonexistent. We were onboard by 1pm and enjoying lunch.

 

 

Stateroom: #9366, C3 Concierge Class. We had the room layout where the bed was close to the door and the dressing area was close to the veranda. Despite the deck plans, this room does not have a larger than standard sized veranda but we still enjoyed sitting out there. We found the cabin to be very tight on space, though- the drawers were very shallow and had little room to store things, and we had to request more hangers so that we had a place for our clothing. The cabinets above the bed were useful but still not really enough. We could have managed much more easily with just the two of us, but with the baby's things it was nearly impossible. They provided a pack n play for him to sleep in and it took up most of the available floorspace. It was very difficult to maneuver around his bed so in hindsight I'm glad we had the arrangement with the bed by the cabin door so that we wouldn't have to walk by the pack n play every time we had to use the washroom! We did like the layout of the S class washrooms, though. The glassed in shower was a nice change from the vinyl curtain, and there was plenty of space to store your toiletries.

 

We had a note on the bed acknowledging our shipboard credit from our TA and it was reflected on our onboard account very quickly. There was also a note about the Bon Voyage gift I had ordered for my husband, the Premium Celebration Package. The roses were beautiful... for two days, until they died. For the price, I was very disappointed. Even the free rose they put in the bathroom of CC staterooms lasted longer. We wound up asking for a refund on the package in part because of this and also because in the past, we received a bottle of vintage Perrier Jouet champagne and this time we received a bottle of Brut, which is less than half the value. We were told the money would be credited back to my credit card but I am still waiting.

 

Unlike a lot of Cruise Critics, I actually enjoy the canapes they serve in Concierge Class. They have switched to a new policy that they will not serve them unless you are in your stateroom to receive them, which I found irritating since we actually do eat them but don't necessarily want to wait for them before going back out. I filled out the form every day requesting them but we never managed to get any even when I was in the room at the appointed time. It wasn't a big enough deal to say anything to the cabin attendant but I was a little disappointed.

 

Our stateroom attendant, William, and his assistant were generally excellent. They played with the baby and fulfilled our every request.

 

 

Dining Room: We knew our experience would be different from our usual since we were travelling with a small child. We booked a table for 3 (my mother and her husband prefer to dine at a large table) and figured we'd see how it went. Unfortunately with the time change that happened the second night, our son got tired very early and had difficulty making it through a meal in the dining room. The first night we were served at the "standard" speed and we knew it would never be manageable for our son. We asked if it was possible to have things sped up but we did have to speak to our Assistant Maitre 'd, Pavel, before it was a more baby friendly pace. Our waiter, Roulan, and his assistant, Aris, did have his meal pre-ordered and brought out immediately, but he got cranky and tired usually by the time we had our soup. The staff were very good about sending either mine or my husband's entree and dessert to the stateroom so that one of us could put the baby to bed and the other could enjoy the rest of dinner. Our sommelier, Laurentiu, was wonderful and ensured my wineglass was always full and assisted my husband with making his selections.

 

There were a few changes that we noticed that were different from our last cruise in 2008. The waiters used to wear tuxedos and dinner jackets, but on this cruise they wore white shirts with black vests over top. It was fine but just didn't create quite the same ambiance. There were no bar servers available, either, so my assistant waiter had to get my Evian every evening which must create a lot of extra work for them. Also, on previous cruises, if you had the same drink every night it was waiting for you on the table. Aris informed me that this was no longer possible and he had to take my card each night and go to get the water. Again, a minor detail, but a little annoying. We were also told that the waiters had larger sections than they used to, and this was reflected in the service.

 

We also both felt that the new menus were very disappointing. I mean, come on- pork chops on formal night? The quality of many items was also quite poor. The ribeye steak in particular was more than half fat and gristle. There were several nights where nothing seemed to be appealing. We miss the Michel Roux menus, or at least the quality from that time. As another minor detail, we liked to have the cheese plate in the MDR before dessert, and in the past it was a nice varied selection with cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese, and usually a gouda or brie or other some such with grapes, apples, and crackers. This time when we ordered cheese, all we got was cheddar, provolone, and gouda- it wasn't really worth the bother.

 

I went into the trip expecting not to like the brunch in the MDR, since I had really liked the midnight buffet, but was pleasantly surprised. It was just as pretty (and you got to have it twice instead of once!) and had lots of choices.

 

I know many people dislike the Baked Alaska parade, but it seemed silly to wave your napkins around and cheer... and then have no parade. I also thought it was incredibly tacky and embarrassing that when Que was introducing the chefs and other staff, half the people didn't even show up.

 

Specialty Dining:We tried Bistro on Five, Murano, and Tuscan Grille. We thought Bistro on Five was the best value of the cruise. Delicious food that was made fresh for you and the service was excellent. For five dollars, it's definitely worth eating there at least once! We went there on embarkation day to avoid the rush at the buffet and several times during the trip for lunch. They always accommodated the baby by making him a plain crepe with chicken and cheese and giving him a bowl of fruit for dessert which he loved.

 

Tuscan Grille was very good- my husband thinks the quality was roughly equivalent to a Morton's. The steaks aren't prepared the same way but the food and service are very good. Definitely try the calamari- it was the best we'd ever eaten. We only ate there once but wished we'd had time to go back again.

 

Murano, of course, was amazing and fully lived up to our expectations. The food is wonderful and the service was excellent. We ate there three times and would have liked to go again. The miniature desserts in the shot glasses were great and of course the goat cheese souffle was amazing as usual. The maitre d' told us that the chef doesn't usually take special requests on S class ships since there are so many options for dinner, but he did make me lobster in champagne sauce on request since I'd had it at Ocean Liners and loved it so much. It was great and I really appreciated it.

 

Dress Code: We found that generally, pax were dressed appropriately. We were disappointed to find there were only 2 formal nights (we were expecting 3) but we dressed up anyway to go to the specialty restaurants. We were the only ones dressed formally at Tuscan Grille but we did notice that pax were also generally wearing business casual/formal to go to Murano which was nice.

 

Room Service: Hit or miss. The CC room service menu did not include all the items that we saw on the ones posted here on Cruise Critic, and we found that writing items in frequently led to confusion. Requesting the granola berry parfait didn't work out as my stateroom attendant said they didn't know what it was. Room service generally arrived quickly and was warm but frequently the orders were wrong. The CC smoothies were great and we enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice in the mornings. Room service was always brought by our attendant or his assistant.

 

Oceanview Café/Poolside Grill: The pool grill was another disappointment. Instead of having the burgers made fresh for you, they sit in puddles of grease in a warming tray, and that definitely was reflected in the taste. We ate there twice in the hopes that it would improve but didn't go back.

 

The buffet was varied and had a nice selection of items to choose from. We never had to wait in line too long to get our food and we liked the freshly made pasta station. However, it was a real pain not to have trays to at least hold your beverage and plate. With a baby, I didn't want to be making multiple trips. Generally a staff member offered to assist me which helped, but when I was on my own it was more difficult.

 

Bars: I ordered the Premium Alcohol Package and never felt like it annoyed the bartenders or waiters. On the contrary, I felt like I actually got better service than I had in the past! I spent a lot of time at the Molecular Bar, Cellarmasters, and Cafe al Bacio. The bartender at the Molecular Bar, Ivan, was really funny and interesting, and the drinks he makes are incredible. I definitely recommend you give it a try. They are unusual but very tasty. I also loved the Cafe in the mornings- they have such a large menu of teas and coffees as well as my favourite drink- an Iglu. They make it in chocolate or vanilla and it tastes rather like a milkshake. They also have delicious breakfast pastries, mini sandwiches at lunch, and desserts for the rest of the day. Our son had his first chocolate chip cookie there and he loved them.

 

With respect to the package, I found it was quite easy to get to $49 per day and it was so nice to get a bottle of Evian whenever I was thirsty. It led to having a much more enjoyable cruise because I didn't have to finish a drink if I didn't want it, and I could try things I wasn't sure I would like without worrying about wasting money. I wasn't drunk even once the entire cruise- a lot of my purchases were water, pop, and fresh squeezed juice. I did have some drinks by the pool, but most of my alcohol intake was a few glasses of wine at dinner. I still did better getting the package even than buying the Premium N/A package and buying wine separately. My husband did not buy a package because he prefers wine by the bottle that is not on the package. He instead bought the wine package that gives a 15% discount on bottles of wine over $75 if you buy at least 3. It was nice that there were options for both of us.

 

I tried the Gelateria but wasn't impressed. The free ice cream at the Oceanview Cafe was very good and had lots of toppings so why pay extra? I was also disappointed that my waffle cone tasted stale. They said they make them fresh daily so I wasn't expecting that.

 

 

 

Public Rooms and Entertainment: The ship is beautiful and well taken care of. The layout is fairly easy to navigate (although it can be awkward to get up to certain areas on deck 15 since not all elevators go to the part of the ship where you may want to go. We were unable to attend any shows because of the baby. In the late evenings when we were able to go out, we spent most of our time in the casino, which was quite busy. They had two poker tables, both electronic unfortunately, but we were told that all the ships will be converted to electronic tables. The rake was ridiculous, at 10% up to $15 on a $1-$2 no limit game. We didn't even bother with the tournaments with the exception of the Officers' Poker Tournament (which I won!).

 

 

We did go to a couple of trivias and that was fun. Que, the cruise director, was excellent- he was always visible and social with the passengers. He even dressed up like Santa Claus for the children.

 

 

If you play Bingo, your choices now are the computerized cards or the usual paper ones, but instead of punching out the numbers like in the past, you have to buy a dabber so bring your own if you don't want to pay for it. On the first day, the computerized bingo didn't work so they had to refund everyone's money and then sell paper cards again, so bingo didn't start for an hour after the posted time. They did send everyone a complimentary X logo item as an apology gift though.

 

 

 

Aqua Spa: I didn't find time to visit the spa on this trip but we did enjoy the Aqua Spa Cafe for lunch on many days. The food was always delicious (definitely try the different breadsticks) and it was nice to have at least one light meal per day! The cafe is staffed with the same people who work at Murano, so it's no surprise that the food is great.

 

 

Fun Factory: Our son loved playing in the toddler room there. He was always excited to go up to the 15th floor and play with the toys. There were occasionally other babies there but most of the time he played alone. It was wonderful to have a facility like this available to keep him occupied since he was not old enough to go into the kids' program.

 

 

 

Photographers: For some reason, no photographer ever came to our table at dinnertime. I would have thought they'd see us as suckers to buy photos because of the baby (we were, actually!) but we didn't get the opportunity. We did get some lovely posed shots though.

 

 

 

Ports of Call: We'd been to most of the ports before so we had decided just to enjoy the ship experience in most of them. We did get off in Cozumel and go to Paradise Beach. Our son loved playing in the sand and the ocean and we got to relax a little.

 

 

 

In Roatan, we did a tour with Victor Bodden and our tour guide was Anthony. He took us wherever we wanted (including a grocery store to buy vanilla instead of a tourist area). We were also impressed at his honesty. We did a "split tour" with my mother and her husband- they went first, then came back and took care of the baby so we could go. They paid him what we thought was the agreed on rate of $70pp plus a tip. When our tour was finished, we tried to pay him and he handed back the money and told us that the email quote must have been incorrect because Victor never charges more than $40pp and that my mother had paid him enough for all of us. Needless to say, he did get a generous tip!

 

 

In Costa Rica, we had arranged with OkeyDokey Tours to do the same split tour we did in Roatan. Unfortunately, to our disappointment, it didn't work out nearly as smoothly. Instead of a quick private tour- my mother and her husband were made to wait for an hour for other passengers and then were taken on a group tour. They protested that they needed to be back by 1pm for our part of the tour (which they saw that Johnny had written in his planner) and were told they would be. Needless to say, they didn't see half the stops that we were told would be on the tour and they didn't get back to the ship until nearly 3pm so we did not get to go sightseeing. I would definitely not recommend this tour guide.

 

 

We planned to skip both Panama and Cartagena, since we'd been there before. We did want to get off in Grand Cayman and have a beach day since our son had enjoyed it so much in Cozumel, but high winds prevented us from docking in Georgetown and we were concerned that a rough tender ride and then a shuttle bus to Georgetown plus then going to a beach would be too long a day for him, so we stayed onboard. My mother told us that Carnival was actually charging for the shuttle bus (the Freedom was in port with us as well) while at least Celebrity made it complimentary.

 

 

Cruising with a Baby: Honestly- I wouldn't do it again. My son loved the food and the attention from the staff, but he was off his routine and didn't like sleeping in the pack n play so most nights he wound up in bed with us. It was very difficult to relax during the day since we needed to keep him entertained, and our night activity was curtailed since someone had to be in the next room (we brought a baby monitor since we had adjoining staterooms, that way someone could watch TV, read, or be on the veranda without disturbing him). We didn't get much sleep at night since our son is a very noisy sleeper and he wasn't comfortable. He sleeps much better in his own crib. So yes, it was a nice cruise, it was great to get away from the cold and not have to cook or do chores or anything like that- but it certainly wasn't a stressless, relaxing trip. Until he's old enough to go in the Fun Factory by himself, we will not be bringing him on another cruise. Also, we'll have to book a larger stateroom because we just found it too cramped with our stuff and his. I know as he gets older he'll have less stuff, but it was just too tight as is. I don't know how people manage with three adults in one stateroom because I definitely couldn't.

 

 

 

Disembarkation: This was fairly painless- we had an afternoon flight so we had breakfast and then relaxed at Cafe al Bacio until they kicked us off the ship. It was a really nice way to spend our last morning onboard. When we disembarked, our luggage was sitting all by itself so we didn't need to dig around looking for it. Customs was quick and then we just had to wait for the prearranged shuttle- which was a disaster. I had booked transportation for the four adults plus requested a carseat for the baby with Ace Tours, and I had an email confirmation of it. I called them via Guest Relations before we disembarked and was told that the van was already in the waiting area and just to call as soon as we were outside and it would be 5 minutes. We called once we were outside, and after nearly half an hour a car pulled up with a trailer behind it. I spoke to the driver and he hadn't been told about us- he came to pick up several other people and drive them places. He called head office, who apparently said I hadn't called! But he said that the office was only a few minutes away and he arranged a van for us with a carseat. So we waited again. Twenty minutes later, a van pulls up. I ask if he has a carseat and he says yes and starts loading out luggage. By this time we're hot and frustrated and concerned about the baby who has been out in the heat for this long waiting. Then we look in the van and there is no carseat. The driver tells us that he wasn't told to bring a carseat, and he unloads the luggage, tells me to call head office again, and leaves! Fortunately, one of the sheriffs who was there directing traffic helped us find transportation to the airport and saved us quite a bit of money as well. I'm still arguing with Ace Tours to get my money back for the transfer but I definitely would not use them again.

 

 

General Comments: We really enjoyed the cruise and the ship itself, especially the specialty restaurants. We booked two more cruises while we were onboard. The only real disappointment was the main dining room. Celebrity still delivers an adequate cruise product, but the little touches that differentiate it from the other lines are starting to disappear. That may affect our cruise loyalty in the future.

 

 

Photos from our trip, including menus for the specialty restaurants and the Molecular Bar, will be posted tomorrow at http://imageevent.com/korbel/allaboutus/vacations/caribbeancruise2010

[sharkwl]

A great review, thanks! :)

[Despegue]

Thank you for the nice review!

 

Did you sail from Terminal 18 in Port Everglades?

 

Do you recall the current senior officers as the Master, Cruise director and Excecutive Chef?

 

When were formal nights?

[curiouscat]

We really enjoyed the cruise and the ship itself, especially the specialty restaurants. We booked two more cruises while we were onboard. The only real disappointment was the main dining room. Celebrity still delivers an adequate cruise product, but the little touches that differentiate it from the other lines are starting to disappear. That may affect our cruise loyalty in the future

 

 

Thanks loved your review..just off Solstice and have to concur with your last sentence about the little touches. We had Aqua Class and ate in Blu. You may want to try that.... I think you will enjoy it better than Concierge class.

 

I'll have more review input later...still trying to wake up

 

CC

[YOW]

Thanks for your review, Susie. Glad y'all had a good time overall. :)

 

Sorry your dining experiences were hit and miss. Guess it's a good sign that you've decided to stay with X at least for the next two cruises.

 

I've been curious about those 'little touches that differentiate it from the other lines' ... we're on Solstice next month and have recently cruised with Disney, so that could be an interesting comparison.

[niomitud]

Nice review.. we also had a fantastic time on the Summit

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[SusieV]

Thank you for the nice review!

 

Did you sail from Terminal 18 in Port Everglades?

 

Do you recall the current senior officers as the Master, Cruise director and Excecutive Chef?

 

When were formal nights?

 

Yes, we sailed from Terminal 18 in Port Everglades. The Cruise Director is Que and he was great. I don't remember the names of the captain or executive chef offhand but I will check my notes.

 

Formal nights were night #2 and then third from the end- the day before Grand Cayman was the last one.

 

 

Thanks loved your review..just off Solstice and have to concur with your last sentence about the little touches. We had Aqua Class and ate in Blu. You may want to try that.... I think you will enjoy it better than Concierge class.

 

I'll have more review input later...still trying to wake up

 

CC

 

CC, we'd have loved to try Blu, but we spend so much time in alternative dining (especially when we don't have the little guy with us) that it isn't really worth the premium. We booked a 1A on Silhouette to get the larger veranda without paying the extra for Concierge- we only get it when it's next to nothing additional since there is no extra space or any additional perks on the S class. I wish we could pay an extra $30 or whatnot to try Blu like a specialty restaurant though!

 

My photos will be up tonight- things are just a little hectic today!

[Island_Chica]

Our son is just a couple of months younger than yours. We traveled with him this fall to the virgin islands. We had a good time, but even with help (my in-laws came along), it was tough. I think that taking a baby out of his routine is the toughest part. Luckily, our son slept in the pack n play at night, but his schedule was completely off because it got dark so early in the vi.

 

This winter, we're leaving our little guy with grandparents for the week and going to the S. Carib. I know we'll miss him, but I agree that taking him along would be too tough.

 

Oh, how things change!

[curiouscat]

Yes, we sailed from Terminal 18 in Port Everglades. The Cruise Director is Que and he was great. I don't remember the names of the captain or executive chef offhand but I will check my notes.

 

Formal nights were night #2 and then third from the end- the day before Grand Cayman was the last one.

 

 

 

CC, we'd have loved to try Blu, but we spend so much time in alternative dining (especially when we don't have the little guy with us) that it isn't really worth the premium. We booked a 1A on Silhouette to get the larger veranda without paying the extra for Concierge- we only get it when it's next to nothing additional since there is no extra space or any additional perks on the S class. I wish we could pay an extra $30 or whatnot to try Blu like a specialty restaurant though!

 

My photos will be up tonight- things are just a little hectic today!

 

 

Keep checking the pricing... we originally booked CC but AQ was over 300 less.... so we did Blu and Muranos... next time we would do Muranos and Qsine... the water,tea,shower,better towels ...way worth it...Oh, and you get expanded breakfast menu and breakfast in Blu:p

 

Not sure what u mean by 1A having a bigger balcony on Silhoutte?

 

CC

 

PS... i'm doing laundry, cleaning,bills and catching up on emails...whew!

[SusieV]

Keep checking the pricing... we originally booked CC but AQ was over 300 less.... so we did Blu and Muranos... next time we would do Muranos and Qsine... the water,tea,shower,better towels ...way worth it...Oh, and you get expanded breakfast menu and breakfast in Blu:p

 

Not sure what u mean by 1A having a bigger balcony on Silhoutte?

 

CC

 

PS... i'm doing laundry, cleaning,bills and catching up on emails...whew!

 

Qsine wasn't on Equinox, was it? I wanted to try it but I thought it was just on Eclipse.

 

What kind of breakfast menu in Blu? I really like the Concierge Class room service menu.

 

I picked one of the 1A cabins on the hump on Silhouette so we get the larger balcony without paying for a more expensive cabin. It was nearly $200pp more to get a C3, and even upgrading to a C1 for that price didn't seem worth it. Instead, we paid for a 2A and got a 1A.

 

Photos are up! I'm still adding captions but if you'd like to look please feel free.

[jd1966]

Thank you for the nice review!

 

Did you sail from Terminal 18 in Port Everglades?

 

Do you recall the current senior officers as the Master, Cruise director and Excecutive Chef?

 

When were formal nights?

Master is Captain Michael Karatzas

Executice Chef is German Rijo

CD is Que

[24butterfly]

It was an absolute pleasure reading your review--the wording, the thoughtfulness of it, etc..We have an X cruise booked next summer---have heard about how great the X food is, but after reading your review (yes, I know that opinions are personal)---you seemed quite fair and reasonable. Uh oh to us for next year..... Glad u had a good cruise--enjoy your next 2.

[jd1966]

I would have to agree that the MDR food was somewhat inconsistent than we are used to. My wife was not too crazy about several meals and had to return one of them. Service was very slow the first two nights resulting in us leaving the MDR after 8:25! A comment to the Head waiter changed that for the remainder of the cruise although I don't believe that the wait staff was the issue. After that we were pretty much done between 7:30 and 8:10.

 

I am surprised that the OP had no bar service since we had it every night. My Diet Coke and extra ice was there every night. The photographers also never came to our table (although we were not going to complain!!).

 

I would also agree that the Bistro on Five is high quality and well worth the price. We also enjoyed the Tuscan Grille and the Cafe Al Bacio gelateria.

[UKDeb]

I just stumbled across your review whilst searching for information on the bed location in the Eclipse Concierge cabins, but I soon got drawn into reading the entire thing. It was a pleasure to do so, thanks to your very agreeable writing style and balanced perspective.

 

Having booked a C1 for our first Celebrity outing, I'm really disappointed to hear of the policy change regarding the hors d'œuvre. Our main reason for choosing this class is its aft position, but it would be nice to think we could take advantage of what appears to be one of the very few perks of Concierge. I can't see us wanting to schlep back to the cabin at the 'right' time every day just to make sure we get them.

 

We've booked Murano, Tuscan Grille and Qsine, but that still leaves 4 nights in the main dining room, so your remarks on the dumbing down of the food there is concerning. We're real foodies and sub-standard fare is just a wasted opportunity!

 

Overall, though, your observations are very reassuring and I'm particularly pleased to read your glowing appraisal of Bodden Tours. :)

 

Do you know, by the way, if the cabin layout you experienced is identical in all Concierge Class?

 

ETA: D'oh! I've just realised that your reivew is of the Equinox. That's what you get for using the 'search' function and not checking the results properly! Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the read!

[SusieV]

I just stumbled across your review whilst searching for information on the bed location in the Eclipse Concierge cabins, but I soon got drawn into reading the entire thing. It was a pleasure to do so, thanks to your very agreeable writing style and balanced perspective.

 

Having booked a C1 for our first Celebrity outing, I'm really disappointed to hear of the policy change regarding the hors d'œuvre. Our main reason for choosing this class is its aft position, but it would be nice to think we could take advantage of what appears to be one of the very few perks of Concierge. I can't see us wanting to schlep back to the cabin at the 'right' time every day just to make sure we get them.

 

We've booked Murano, Tuscan Grille and Qsine, but that still leaves 4 nights in the main dining room, so your remarks on the dumbing down of the food there is concerning. We're real foodies and sub-standard fare is just a wasted opportunity!

 

Overall, though, your observations are very reassuring and I'm particularly pleased to read your glowing appraisal of Bodden Tours. :)

 

Do you know, by the way, if the cabin layout you experienced is identical in all Concierge Class?

 

ETA: D'oh! I've just realised that your reivew is of the Equinox. That's what you get for using the 'search' function and not checking the results properly! Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the read!

 

Hi Deb,

 

The ships are fairly close to identical with a few cosmetic issues. I believe the cabin layout alternates in the balcony staterooms, with the bed close to the balcony in one and close to the door in the next. Perhaps if you check the stateroom thread you will be able to find yours and a definite answer.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed my review! I hope the meals on Eclipse are enjoyable.