Equinox Venice to Istanbul June 14 – June 21, 2014 Review

[NCruiser2012]

We cruised on the Equinox on June 14 – June 21 from Venice to Istanbul. We had a wonderful cruise! I will try to comment on things I have not seen on Cruise Critic before. Thanks to all of you who posted before me.

 

Venice

 

Water Taxi

We took a water taxi from the airport to our hotel. We did not book ahead, but at the desk at the Venice airport. There were six of us, so the cost per person was not too bad. However, be warned, there were some extra costs added to the price of the taxi. Since the taxi had to go through the Grand Canal to get to the hotel, they charged us extra. There are a few different companies at the water taxi desk and they all charged the same price. We were given a slip of paper with the taxi number and boat slip number. When we got to the pier, another driver hustled us into his boat. I protested this, but other drivers said it was OK. Really? We had already paid, so we went with the new taxi. This began our adventure with taxi drivers.

Anyway, the water taxi was a fabulous introduction to Venice. We came in through the Grand Canal and many little, tight canals. The water taxi took us right to the back door of the hotel. What an experience arriving in Venice.

 

Hotel Saturnia International

 

We stayed at the Saturnia International. This was not my initial choice, but the other hotel we previously booked has house cats. We are all allergic, so I was afraid to stay there. The Saturnia was wonderful. I am so glad we stayed at this hotel. It was a little expensive, but I thought it was worth every penny. I had struggled whether to book the “Minimum”, un-updated rooms or the more expensive “Classic” rooms. I used a code from TripAdvisor which reduced the cost a little, so we went with the “Classic”. When we arrived, we were blown away by the rooms. The first room may have been a Minimum room. The bathroom was not as nice as the others, but was great compared to some other European hotels. The room was big and over looked the main “street”. The second room was beautiful. It must be a triple, since there was a sofa in it that looked like it could be converted to a bed. The nicest room of all was my husband’s and my room. It was fabulous. I am sure it was not a Classic room. It had to be deluxe. It had beautiful beamed ceilings, a couch, and overlooked the Bulgari shop. The bathroom was unbelievable. The best part was the balcony in the back. We sat out there several times with a glass of wine. What a nice experience.

The breakfast was good at the Saturnia as was the roof-top patio.

 

Venice

 

I loved Venice. Did not think I would like it so much, but it is very charming. We walked and walked. Saw the major sites. We probably went at a good time of year. It was lovely. You would not think the steps would be an issue, but after three days, my legs were sore. I made my son help an older couple get their luggage over a bridge. They were really struggling. Be very aware of the bridges when you book your hotel.

[NCruiser2012]

Embarkation in Venice

 

We splurged on a water taxi from our hotel to the port. This was an experience. I think everyone was trying to arrive at once. Put on your Celebrity luggage tags before getting on to the taxi. When we landed, the suitcases were whisked away. My daughter had to grab her bag back to put on her tags.

 

We had no special status, so we were with the masses. I had filled out all our paper work ahead of time, but when we arrived at 1:00, there were lots and lots of people. Attendants checked our paperwork and we were given a number. Then we waited almost two hours for our number to be called. It was a stuffy while waiting. There was no place to get food. Celebrity did furnish water and punch, but would frequently be out of both. The problem was that you could not hear what number was called. I frequently had to ask someone what the current group number was. I would get three different answers. I felt sorry for one couple. They missed the calling of their number, but the port people would not let them get in line. I think they were supposed to wait until everyone went through. What a system! I think this couple contacted a manager who then let them wait in line.

 

Now this number would only allow you to get in line in the ropes like the airport. So once our magic number was called, we had to wait in a long line to get checked in. Check in went well, but our representative failed to give us another number that would allow us to go through security and get on the ship. We discovered this when we got to the end of the security line. Fortunately, the person in front of us said we were part of her group, so we were able to go through security. I have been on other cruises on larger ships. I have never had to go through this experience.

 

Wine

 

Celebrity allows you to take 2 bottle of wine on for free during embarkation. We had three rooms, so I had six bottles of wine in my carryon. I thought someone would be checking for this. My suitcase was scanned twice, but no one stopped me. I had the allowed amount, but I thought it was odd that there was no place to declare the wine.

 

Our rooms were ready, so we went right in and left our carry-ons.

[NCruiser2012]

Lunch in the Oceanview Cafe

 

We had cruised before on the NCL Epic which has a wonderful buffet. We had lunch on the Equinox the first day and the food was not that good. I am not sure if we were relatively late or if the staff had served a lot of people that day. It was after 3:00 before we boarded, but we were hungry since we had not eaten lunch before embarkation. Lunch is not the strong point at the buffet. I can’t put my finger on it. This was probably our most disappointing meal.

 

The Equinox

 

As I said before, we had cruised the Epic twice before and loved it. The first afternoon on the Equinox was a shock to us because embarkation was such a zoo and the buffet food was not great. While the Epic is Las Vegas, the Equinox decor seemed a little bland. But, this all changed. As we stayed longer on the Equinox, we learned to love it.

 

More on the room and the staff later.

[NCruiser2012]

Adjoining cabins

 

I had booked two adjoining cabins. There are the two normal doors and then a very large door outside the little alcove to the cabins. We thought we would be able to have the large door closed when we wanted to go back and forth between rooms. Our steward told us it was all or nothing. Either you use the small doors or the large door for the entire cruise. The large door would be great if you had young children, but did not give us and our young adult children much privacy, so we decided not to use this. The moral of this story, is that you may not need to book adjoining cabins.

 

We did request that the balcony partition be open. This was great. If we needed to go back and forth between cabins, we did so this way.

Something I did not know: Balcony sliding glass doors do not lock. I guess people will not get locked out, but this seemed to be a security issue. Also, it is an issue when your teenager comes into your room in the middle of the night, looking for something. This scared me to death.

 

Food

 

Like I said, the buffet was OK, but not wonderful. We had breakfast there every day. I wish we had a coffee maker in the room. In the morning they put out paper cups with lids so you can take coffee back to the room. After breakfast, they did not put out these cups. We learned to save our cups and reuse them in the afternoon if we wanted a cup of coffee.

 

We chose Celebrity Select dining. We ate fairly early, 6-7pm. We never had to wait for a table. Meal service was very efficient. I appreciated this, since we were hungry and tired at the end of the day.

 

Ok, now the good part. The food in the main dining room was very, very good. Some of my meals were fine restaurant quality, not just cruise line quality. I had the pork chop special the first night that was breaded and very thick. It was delicious. The next night I had the veal special. Very, very good.

After all this meat, I had fish a few times. It is probably difficult to make fish for a crowd. Mine was a little dry. The appetizers were all good especially the onion soup. The desserts were iffy. I had an apple dessert with ice cream that was very good. The baked Alaska was not great. I did not think desserts were the high point of the meal.

 

We ate one night at the buffet for dinner. I thought my food that night was very good.

 

The main dining room food was so good that we never ate at any of the specialty restaurants except one night at the GastroBar.

[NCruiser2012]

Formal nights

 

I know this is controversial. I could do without formal nights. There were two on our cruise. The ladies in our group wore dresses, but they were not fancy, more like sun dresses. Two of the men wore nice pants, sports coats, and collared shirts with no ties. They were dressed better than many of the other men. My sons were not planning to dine with us on formal night, but accidently came to dinner with us on one of the formal nights. They wore golf shirts, nice pants, and tennis shoes (oops). The hostess gave them suit coats to put over their chairs, but there were many gentlemen who were just as casual. I think the hostess ran out of suit coats, or maybe gave them to my sons because of their age. Some guys were in tuxes, but they were in the minority.

 

Elevators

 

We had rooms near the elevators. I highly recommend this. I thought the elevator service was pretty efficient. We had to wait sometimes, but it was not bad. I loved the glass elevators. It was always fun to see what was going on. We were on deck 9, right outside the elevators. I only heard noise one night from the atrium. It was after 11:00, so I decided to get dressed and go downstairs. Everyone was dancing and having a good time. The DJ was very good. That was the only time I heard music from our room.

 

GastroBar

 

One night we wanted a more casual meal, but not the buffet. We went to the GastroBar. There were not a lot of tables. It is not really set up as a restaurant. The portions are huge so you may be able to share many of the food items. The World Cup was on the TV that night, so there were a lot of people watching the match. It made for a fun atmosphere. I thought the food at the GastroBar was good for the money. It took a lot of time for us to get our food, but I blame this on the crowd. I think the staff was overwhelmed.

[NCruiser2012]

More to come...

[drychi]

Thanks for the nice review.

[jonsmum]

We're on the Venice to Barcelona (Istanbul etc included) in Sept. Thanks for the heads up re embarkation in Venice. Forewarned is forearmed as they say! Mind you Barcelona was total, utter chaos when we had an embarkation there. Hopefully Venice won't be quite as bad as that.

[Chitown12562]

This cruise is on my bucket list. The rich history of the destinations are too much for words.

 

Thanks for the review.

[NCruiser2012]

This cruise is on my bucket list. The rich history of the destinations are too much for words.

 

Thanks for the review.

 

It was a wonderful itinerary. We loved every port. You are so right about the history. It was very interesting to us being in a Muslim country.

[NCruiser2012]

Room

 

Lovely room, great balcony, fantastic bathroom, comfortable beds. I had no complaints. Would have liked a coffee maker, but it was not problem to just run up to the buffet and grab a cup of coffee to go.

 

Staff

 

Our two stewards were friendly, efficient, and helpful. I felt sorry for them because my sons’ room was always such a mess.

 

Drink Package

 

We did not get the drink package as part of the 1-2-3 offer. We chose the onboard credit instead. Because this cruise was so port intensive and we had no sea days, we had very little time to grab a drink. I was happy with my wine on the balcony. I think we spent less than $100 total on beer and soft drinks for my husband and two sons. We usually had a local beer or wine with lunch when we were off the ship.

 

I was afraid that since so many people would choose the drink package that there would be a lot of heavy drinking on the ship. I noticed nothing unusual. If we ordered a drink, it came quickly and efficiently. The sommelier at dinner visited us often.

 

Warning: Be careful when ordering after-dinner coffee. If we ordered it through our waiter in the main dining room, it was free. If we ordered it through the "drinks" person who comes around to the tables, coffee was $6.00 each. This was not espresso coffee, just the regular brewed coffee.

 

Speaking of drinks, we actually enjoyed the tea, lemonade, and juice in the buffet. Many times we would stop at the buffet to get a cold drink and enjoy the view.

Edited August 2, 2014 by NCruiser2012

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[NCruiser2012]

We're on the Venice to Barcelona (Istanbul etc included) in Sept. Thanks for the heads up re embarkation in Venice. Forewarned is forearmed as they say! Mind you Barcelona was total, utter chaos when we had an embarkation there. Hopefully Venice won't be quite as bad as that.

 

You will love your cruise! Barcelona is one of my favorite cities.

 

We have cruised before and were lucky enough to just walk on all both times. This time in Venice was the exception. I would just plan a little differently and expect a little wait.

[Algebralovr]

My family of 6 was on the same cruise. We actually arrived at the embarkation hall close to 11 am and had very little wait. They did hand us a registration group letter, but when I spoke u p that we were Select, they young man pushing my DDs wheelchair checked with his supervisor and we were allowed to go straight to check in. It turned out that even if we had waited, they were already on that letter, so there was no reason to wait.

 

Then, they gave us an embarkation number, and it turned out they were beyond that number by the time we were escorted to the security lines.

 

In some ways, the seats and beverages were a nice touch, since in Miami you just stand in line. Additionally, they had tables set up to purchase drink packages and specialty dining there in the embarkation hall, so if you wanted that you had a little something to do while waiting to board.

 

My entire party had non-alcoholic premium beverage packages. We had gotten the veranda for an inside price last summer, which did not come with 123GO, but was a lot less expensive. We liked the packages we got. My DD and sister decided the free coffee on board was not to their liking (both are coffee snobs) but did like the Café AL Bacio drinks. Mom was fine with the free coffee - DD'S response was "and at home she drinks Folgers". We bought a couple of bottles of wine over the cruise, but that was about all. Both my DH and DS wore their Tuxes on the formal nights. They did not feel out of place.

 

We can't wait to take the family on Silhouette in 18 months! We've decided that for the next few years, that is going to be how we spend the holidays.

[Scott6428]

I appreciate the detail of your review as I will be going on this cruise in September. Even for those less than perfect things at least we will know what to expect.

 

Thanks!

[gfkcruiser]

"Something I did not know: Balcony sliding glass doors do not lock. I guess people will not get locked out, but this seemed to be a security issue. Also, it is an issue when your teenager comes into your room in the middle of the night, looking for something. This scared me to death."

 

I have been on S class 4 times and on the Equinox November, 2013 in the Mediterranean. I do believe the balcony door does lock. The handle flips to lock and unlock. I believe there was a sign on the door indicating this. You cannot lock yourself out though.

 

We did a 12 day on the equinox and agree with your review. Food great room great and great ports.

 

We will be on this ship in December for a winter cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Gail

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[NCruiser2012]

My family of 6 was on the same cruise. We actually arrived at the embarkation hall close to 11 am and had very little wait. They did hand us a registration group letter, but when I spoke u p that we were Select, they young man pushing my DDs wheelchair checked with his supervisor and we were allowed to go straight to check in. It turned out that even if we had waited, they were already on that letter, so there was no reason to wait.

 

Then, they gave us an embarkation number, and it turned out they were beyond that number by the time we were escorted to the security lines.

 

In some ways, the seats and beverages were a nice touch, since in Miami you just stand in line. Additionally, they had tables set up to purchase drink packages and specialty dining there in the embarkation hall, so if you wanted that you had a little something to do while waiting to board.

 

My entire party had non-alcoholic premium beverage packages. We had gotten the veranda for an inside price last summer, which did not come with 123GO, but was a lot less expensive. We liked the packages we got. My DD and sister decided the free coffee on board was not to their liking (both are coffee snobs) but did like the Café AL Bacio drinks. Mom was fine with the free coffee - DD'S response was "and at home she drinks Folgers". We bought a couple of bottles of wine over the cruise, but that was about all. Both my DH and DS wore their Tuxes on the formal nights. They did not feel out of place.

 

We can't wait to take the family on Silhouette in 18 months! We've decided that for the next few years, that is going to be how we spend the holidays.

 

I spoke to a lady while waiting in line. She said her friends had also arrived at 11:00 like you did and they walked right in. Maybe people were spending a little extra time in Venice. This was opposite of what we had seen on NCL. Usually things quiet down by 1:00.

Edited August 3, 2014 by NCruiser2012

[NCruiser2012]

"Something I did not know: Balcony sliding glass doors do not lock. I guess people will not get locked out, but this seemed to be a security issue. Also, it is an issue when your teenager comes into your room in the middle of the night, looking for something. This scared me to death."

 

I have been on S class 4 times and on the Equinox November, 2013 in the Mediterranean. I do believe the balcony door does lock. The handle flips to lock and unlock. I believe there was a sign on the door indicating this. You cannot lock yourself out though.

 

We did a 12 day on the equinox and agree with your review. Food great room great and great ports.

 

We will be on this ship in December for a winter cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Gail

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Maybe we did not try hard enough to lock the door. If the handle was up, it was not locked from the outside, same for down and sideways. I was always able to open the sliding door to my sons' room.

[CathyCruises]

Maybe we did not try hard enough to lock the door. If the handle was up, it was not locked from the outside, same for down and sideways. I was always able to open the sliding door to my sons' room.

 

You have to make sure the door is pushed all the way closed before locking it. If you do it before the lock is engaged, the handle will go down but the door will not be locked. But they do definitely lock if you slide them all the way closed

[Algebralovr]

Lock vs secured....

If you rotate the handle correctly, you definitely secure the door, preventing it from sliding open unexpectedly.

 

Our door had a know above the handle that I had not seen on previous cruises. I believe in locked the door. That know was only on the inside so that you could not lock yourself out. Our kids room did not have the know, so I think we had a replacement door. We didn't engage it, and used the balcony to go between the 3 rooms.

[markf]

taking Equinox in Sept, and was going to take a water taxi each way.

Is there a need to reserve a taxi at airport before we leave?--I was expecting to pay 100 E , to San Marco area where we will be staying-

Also I was surprised to hear about 2 hours to get on the ship--we were thinking about getting on around 2 Pm we don't leave until following day

[NCruiser2012]

Glass Show

 

Believe it or not, we spent two nights watching the glass show. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to sit and watch for a while after strolling around the deck. The three artists were very interesting and produced lovely pieces of glass. Some of their work was auctioned off at the end of the cruise to support breast cancer research. Come towards the end of the show each night when they raffle off some of their work from the previous nights.

 

Entertainment

 

We did not see any of the big shows. On this cruise, we enjoyed the smaller entertainment. The guitar player/singer was fantastic. He played in the atrium several nights. We enjoyed him very much. We also listened to a violin/viola duo. They, too, were very good.

 

Age of Cruisers

 

I was concerned that the average age of the cruisers would be much older than my kids – teen and above. Because it was summer, there were more family groups. There were not a lot of younger children. I did see the teen group several times, but they were no problem. They appeared to be having a lot of fun. It was a short cruise with no sea days, so we did not have a chance to socialize.

[NCruiser2012]

taking Equinox in Sept, and was going to take a water taxi each way.

Is there a need to reserve a taxi at airport before we leave?--I was expecting to pay 100 E , to San Marco area where we will be staying-

Also I was surprised to hear about 2 hours to get on the ship--we were thinking about getting on around 2 Pm we don't leave until following day

 

We booked the water taxi at the airport by the baggage area. I don't remember how much it was. It was over 100 Euro because our price was more than the online price. We had six people, so our taxi was more expensive. Also, if you have to go down the Grand Canal to get to your hotel, they charge you more. I think it was well worth the price. What an unforgettable entrance to Venice!

 

On the way to the ship, our hotel booked the water taxi for us. It was cheaper than the airport transport.

 

I was surprised at the long wait, also. I thought we had left late enough that we would avoid the crowds.

Edited August 4, 2014 by NCruiser2012

[NCruiser2012]

I appreciate the detail of your review as I will be going on this cruise in September. Even for those less than perfect things at least we will know what to expect.

 

Thanks!

 

The first day was less than perfect, but the rest of the cruise was a wonderful experience.

[NCruiser2012]

Dubrovnik

 

It rained this day, but we still walked the entire wall in sea of Celebrity umbrellas. The misty rain kept the heat and the crowds down. One thing I did not know is that there are a ton of stairs on the wall. We were OK, but even my 19 year old athlete was out of breath at one point. We ate at a café outside in the rain under a big umbrella. It was nice. We tried Cevapi which Is a mixture of ground meats that is grilled. Ours were served with a spicy eggplant sauce and French fries. This dish is delicious with a Croatian beer.

 

We found the Buza bar(s), but one was closed because of the rain.

 

Taxis advertised their price at 9-10 Euros to get to the old town from the cruise port. This was great. However on the way back to the ship, half of our party got in a taxi that took them to an area outside the port and charged them a huge fare. I think it is a fixed price if you are driven back into the port. They were obviously ripped off. The moral of this story is to check the pricing before you get into a cab. Check your change, because this driver gave my husband a Serbian bill which was worthless. Besides this one idiot, the rest of the Croatian people we met were very lovely.

 

There are a few shops in the port area. In one the sales lady allowed me to pay partly in my remaining Croatian Kuna and partly in Euros.