Thoughts on Equinox

[prim8keeper]

So we just returned from a 10 night cruise on the Equinox. This was our second time taking this cruise so I thought I would share some of the things I noticed that changed since last years cruise.

 

The level of service has improved greatly in all areas. I had seen on the main boards prior to leaving that X was going to really start focusing on service and it really shows. It seemed like everyone was doing everything they could to please the guest within reason. Now if they could only get this same level of service at their call center life would be great!

 

The quality of the food has improved leaps and bounds from a year ago. We were in Aqua class and as a result dined in Blu so I can not speak to the food in the MDR. Even on nights when we were not blown away by what we saw on the menu for Blu we found ourselves talking about how good the food was anyway. My favorite dish was a Maine Lobster salad starter that they served on the first night. If you are in Blu do not miss this! I also noticed in Murano that if you order the Lobster Murano you are now getting an actual full tail instead of just cut up pieces of lobster. Again this lobster was also very good. If you are on Equinox and have previously gone to Silk Harvest or have never tried it I would highly encourage you to visit. They revamped the menu and brought in a new chef. This was hands down my favorite specialty restaurant. We went there twice during the cruise and both times had an outstanding meal.

 

Overall bar service seemed to be on par with what we experienced on previous cruises. It did not seem as though there was an over whelming number of people with the beverage packages.

 

Since music always seem to be a hot topic on the boards I thought I would just throw in my two cents. There wasn't any place on the ship where I thought the live or canned in music was too loud. They also seemed to have plenty of live music around the ship during the cruise. The only time I saw a DJ was on embarkation day in the atrium.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation seemed to flow pretty well. When we showed up just after 11 am we were able to check in and walk right onto the ship. The rooms were ready before 1 pm. It was probably our smoothest boarding yet. For disembarkation we were in group 10. While we did briefly wait in lines they always seemed to be moving. That said there were only 4 agents that we could see working to clear everyone so I'm sure as the process moved along people experienced long waits.

 

This was the first cruise where we took some X excursions. I'm not sure I would do this again. They were ok, however having previously done only private excursions I think I prefer this method unless its a short port day or I am doing something that is far away from the port.

 

We are only classic captain's club members and thus did not attend any of the captain's club events since we aren't invited to very much.

 

I think that's it. Please feel free to ask any specific questions. I also have all the dailies, however I know someone recently posted those so I'm not sure if there is anything new in them. That said if anyone wants them I'll be happy to post them.

[PEIpair]

Thank you for your update. It is all good to hear as we are on the next 10 night Equinox sailing on the 21st. A recent review said that the guitarist Sean Golden had left the Equinox in January. Do you happen to know who may have replaced him as "easy-listening' type entertainment for places such as the Sunset Bar? Also, would love to know the names and your impressions of, any other musicians/entertainers that you may have seen while onboard. Thanks.

[PEIpair]

I would actually LOVE to see the most recent dailies if not too much trouble.

Thanks!

[OCA REP]

A recent review said that the guitarist Sean Golden had left the Equinox in January. Do you happen to know who may have replaced him as "easy-listening' type entertainment for places such as the Sunset Bar?

 

Sean was the best of the rotating entertainers on the Equinox when we did the November Transatlantic. I wonder if he's moved to another ship... or just moved on?

[2Fltravelers]

I posted a review of our 1/10-20/ Equinox sailing and agree with much of what prim8keeper said. We did not have the same experience in Silk Harvest so I hope that things did, in fact, improve. If anyone is interested you can read my review at

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248885.

[4cats4me]

Hi OP. you mentioned the food and how it has improved. We're you in the MDR last year or in BLU last year as You were on the most recent sailing?

[prim8keeper]

Thank you for your update. It is all good to hear as we are on the next 10 night Equinox sailing on the 21st. A recent review said that the guitarist Sean Golden had left the Equinox in January. Do you happen to know who may have replaced him as "easy-listening' type entertainment for places such as the Sunset Bar? Also, would love to know the names and your impressions of, any other musicians/entertainers that you may have seen while onboard. Thanks.

 

Sean was still on board during our sailing, but we left on 1/31 so maybe that was his last cruise. We came across several crew members who's contracts were ending after our sailing. Overall I would say that the singers were ok, but overall were not great. Then again I saw people listening to them every night and I think its subjective. Some nights it was great, other nights, not so much.

 

I also looked at my dailies and it seems that the DJ spent his time in the sky lounge where we did not go. They did have a live band and dancing in the atrium on several nights though.

 

I would actually LOVE to see the most recent dailies if not too much trouble.

Thanks!

 

Ok, I'll post all of them.

[prim8keeper]

I posted a review of our 1/10-20/ Equinox sailing and agree with much of what prim8keeper said. We did not have the same experience in Silk Harvest so I hope that things did, in fact, improve. If anyone is interested you can read my review at

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248885.

 

A crew member told us that they had replaced the chef yet again in Silk Harvest right before our cruise. They went through a total of three. Apparently it was based on feedback they were getting from the guest so it does sound as though X is really trying to step things up.

Edited February 11, 2014 by prim8keeper

[prim8keeper]

Hi OP. you mentioned the food and how it has improved. We're you in the MDR last year or in BLU last year as You were on the most recent sailing?

 

We were in Blu both times. Last time around though I ate in the MDR for one meal which I did not do this past time. So I can't say overall if the food got better. That said friends we were traveling with on this cruise that were on the TA over in November and they said they thought the food in the MDR had also improved substantially. This was their first time back in Blu in some time and they also agreed with us that the food quality had gone up.

 

On this cruise I ate in the buffet, Aqua Spa Cafe, Blu, and all the specialty restaurants including Bistro on Five if you have any questions in relation to any of them.

[Lilycat2010]

Thanks so much for the opinions. I read your original review from last year when deciding to book this cruise! Our first with Celebrity.

 

Any feedback on which shows not to miss? We sometimes get 'stuck' in the casino and forego the shows. I always like to figure out which ones are the best, so my hubby and I can peel ourselves away from the tables.

 

We're getting very excited about our sailing.

[prim8keeper]

Thanks so much for the opinions. I read your original review from last year when deciding to book this cruise! Our first with Celebrity.

 

Any feedback on which shows not to miss? We sometimes get 'stuck' in the casino and forego the shows. I always like to figure out which ones are the best, so my hubby and I can peel ourselves away from the tables.

 

We're getting very excited about our sailing.

 

I missed all of them...:o We have been lucky enough to always be traveling with friends so we usually just spend the evening hanging out in the various bars. We also generally like to go to dinner around 7 or 7:30 pm which can make attending the shows difficult. One of my goals this cruise was to make at least one show, but we never did. I guess I'll just have to book another cruise...:D

[rubinstein2r]

We thought both singers were above average. All the other shows were average cruise ship fare meaning that alcohol is required for enjoyment which increases in proportion with the amount imbibed.

 

 

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[CaribbeanBound]

How about reviews of your excursions in each port?

[rubinstein2r]

I did post a review on the reviews boat but will summarize here. In Cayman we did Hell and Turtle Farm and Stingrays with Captain Marvin's. Recommended. In Cartagena we did a tour that included a community center, patio garden and day care center as well as walking tour of old city with Friends For Colombia. High point of our trip. In Costa Rica we did Aerial Tram tour. Recommended. In Colon we went to see the Embera Indians with Embera Village Tours. Highly recommended.

[dcruisers]

We were also in Blu this sailing - our second time in AQ. However, both my DH and I and the couple we were traveling with decided the menus were just ok. We checked out the menus in the MDR and they offered much better options. We had some delicious meals and other nights we didn't like anything on the menu. Quite different from our first experience. We would never pay extra for AQ; however, if we got upgraded for a very small amount , we might consider it

We did go to Tuscan Grill and had a great meal.

As OP said, service was great every where and we still prefer Celebrity over other cruise lines!

Now back to cold weather-and more storms.

[tauep24]

I am looking to go on the Equinox for my 15 year wedding anniversary in 2016. My wife and I will have just turned 40. I am afraid there will people on the ship much older. Can anyone give me some insight?

[prim8keeper]

I am looking to go on the Equinox for my 15 year wedding anniversary in 2016. My wife and I will have just turned 40. I am afraid there will people on the ship much older. Can anyone give me some insight?

 

 

I am 31 and my DH is 27. We were probably some of the younger people on the ship however there were others our age. Last year there was a better mix however, this year I noticed it seemed like it was an older crowd. So there is really no way to tell. Both years we had a great time. I would consider booking this cruise again however next year we are going to give the two week Eclipse sailing a try.

 

 

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[prim8keeper]

We were also in Blu this sailing - our second time in AQ. However, both my DH and I and the couple we were traveling with decided the menus were just ok. We checked out the menus in the MDR and they offered much better options. We had some delicious meals and other nights we didn't like anything on the menu. Quite different from our first experience. We would never pay extra for AQ; however, if we got upgraded for a very small amount , we might consider it

 

We did go to Tuscan Grill and had a great meal.

 

As OP said, service was great every where and we still prefer Celebrity over other cruise lines!

 

Now back to cold weather-and more storms.

 

 

They defiantly seem to be tweaking the menus. The soups in my opinion are what Blu does best. Food is so subjective though I think it will vary from person to person. I will say though in Blu they were very happy to accommodate us if we wanted to tweak what was on the menu so it was more to our liking. I was also happy to see that they added the classic desserts from the MDR since for me Blu's desserts were always a let down. We have a cruise on Silhouette booked in congiere so we can give the MDR a try since we have always sailed in AQ on X.

 

 

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[jackdiamond]

I am looking to go on the Equinox for my 15 year wedding anniversary in 2016. My wife and I will have just turned 40. I am afraid there will people on the ship much older. Can anyone give me some insight?

There will be a plethora of people our age-very old.

[tauep24]

What about going in March. Will there be young people?

[CaribbeanBound]

tauep24...

 

If you're really worried about seeing too many people over 49, just stay up past 10pm. Younger folks rule the ship after the second theater show lets out.

 

If you really want a younger crowd, the more of these you can check off, the better:

1. Depart from a popular US port

2. Cruise during the summer or during school break

3. Cruise for 7 days or less

4. Take a Disney cruise

 

If you really want the oldest crowd possible, the more of these you can check off, the better:

1. Depart from a foreign or territorial port, like Puerto Rico

2. Cruise during the winter, spring, or fall when school is in session

3. Cruise for 8 or more days

4. Take a HAL cruise

 

Relative to March, if you happen to be on a Spring Break cruise, the ship will trend younger.

Edited February 12, 2014 by CaribbeanBound

[wallie5446]

I am looking to go on the Equinox for my 15 year wedding anniversary in 2016. My wife and I will have just turned 40. I am afraid there will people on the ship much older. Can anyone give me some insight?

We sailed X the first time in 1994 at the age of 40, took our son ( now 37)and daughter, now 31. Both have sailed NCL, HAL, Cunard, RCCL, and Celebrity over the years, and Celebrity is theirs and our 1st choice to sail. The DD worked on ship for RCCL. We have also sailed Princess and Admiral cruise lines. The S-class ship are very nice, you will not regret sailing Equinox.

[prim8keeper]

How about reviews of your excursions in each port?

 

St. Thomas

 

This is one of the locations where we did an X tour. We did the tour that went to St. John and then allowed you to explore on your own. While it was ok and defiantly easier than having to taxi over to redhook to grab the ferry, I would not book this tour again. It left directly from the pier where we were docked. The boat they use for this excursion is rather small which meant it was difficult to get out of the sun which was not ideal. Also on the way back it started to rain and there was no where to go. We did have a great time in St. John though. Overall the way the whole tour was run was off putting including the fact that X printed the wrong time on the tickets which meant we all spent an extra 30 minutes standing outside in the sun prior to the tour starting. I will fully admit this may have colored the way I saw the rest of the excursion.

 

St. Kitts

 

Here we did another X tour. We hiked up to the summit of the volcano. We booked the ships tour for this since it started earlier and meant we didn't have to worry about missing the ship since it takes six hours. Our tour guide for this tour was excellent. The hike up the volcano was difficult at times but defiantly do able although we did loose three members of our group along the way. That said, since I have now checked this off my bucket list I wont be doing it again. :rolleyes:

 

Barbados

 

In Barbados we went on our own to the beach. We went to the boatyard. It was a quick $5 pp taxi ride to get there. For $15 you got a chair, a shared umbrella, a welcome drink, had access to all the toys/facilities and got to take a shuttle for free back to the port (those started around noon). One tip for this is that if you are going to go make sure you go early otherwise they will run out of chairs.

 

Dominica

 

In Dominica we took another X tour where we went river tubing. This tour was a lot of fun. In addition to the river tubing we also stopped at Hibiscus falls which was very nice. This was our second time to the island so we had previously done a general island tour which I would recommend to anyone who is visiting this port for the first time. Its a beautiful place.

 

St. Martin

 

In St. Martin I organized a private tour for a group of friends from our roll call who had all cruised together the previous year. We visited Orient Beach, Marigot and Maho Beach. This tour was a blast but I had done the exact same tour the previous year with the same company so I knew it would be fun. I have some videos I took at Maho that I can post if anyone is interested.

[CaribbeanBound]

Thank you

[riclop]

Glad you enjoyed it.