Booked Equinox 11/16/17

[lovevacadays]

We are so excited! We cancelled our RCI cruise for 2017 after looking at some YouTube videos of the lounges at night. Yikes!

 

We really want to try something besides Princess for 2017 so Celebrity looks closer to what we are used to but still enough differences. A couple of ports I haven't been to and excited to see Roatan again.

 

We booked Concierge class. What can you tell me about that type of booking?

 

Any other tips and thoughts on the Equinox would be appreciated.

Edited June 15, 2016 by lovevacadays

[Lastdance]

We are so excited! We cancelled our RCI cruise for 2017 after looking at some YouTube videos of the lounges at night. Yikes!

 

We really want to try something besides Princess for 2017 so Celebrity looks closer to what we are used to but still enough differences. A couple of ports I haven't been to and excited to see Roatan again.

 

We booked Concierge class. What can you tell me about that type of booking?

 

Any other tips and thoughts on the Equinox would be appreciated.

First of all, Celebrity is not boring, although there could be some boring people on Celebrity, but that is IMO a valid way of classifying the Equinox. I think your age group and expectations have a lot to do with Celebrity sailings. If you really like to party and drink, Celebrity might not be your best choice. I guess what I am saying is, more information about you and your expectations is needed. Concierge rooms look just like balcony cabins; you still eat in the same dining room. Let us know more specifics...

Edited June 15, 2016 by Lastdance

[Cruise Raider]

Wow...different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I think this ship is absolutely gorgeous with outstanding service. We've sailed on her twice and booked her again. I am with you ... most of my cruises have been on Princess and find that Celebrity just meets our cruising style so beautifully.

We love all the different entertainment venues, sometimes in the grand foyer, sometimes in the Sky Lounge, theater or by the pool....even some fun happenings in the casino.

Our first time on her, we booked a C2 -- fabulous experience. The rooms are so nice on the Equinox although I have also had great experiences in a regular balcony cruise on the S-class ships. I wouldn't pay a lot more for the concierge but you will get some nice extras, including early boarding and additional captain's club status points. I have heard that concierge class now also gets a special luncheon upon boarding. Nice touch!! I really do love the Aqua class, only because I really love Blu ... others may not agree with me. If not much more, you may want to research this to see if it meets your needs. It also includes unlimited access to the Persian Gardens and relaxation lounge throughout your cruise, the latter of which is really underutilized in my opinion.

If you like a nice intimate and excellent dining experience, I would get the specialty dining package -- all 3 for $99. There is also now an umlimited photo package (cannot say if that will be available late next year) and if you are into savings your memories on photos, the price is not all that bad.

Far from boring as far as I am concerned ... 5 star experience if you ask me!

[lovevacadays]

Not to us. We have been on Equinox 3 times, and we are about to go on 2 more. :)

 

Thanks. Any specific tips on Celebrity or the Equinox? I'm reading a lot of information. It's fun but always open to some specific tips.

 

Wow...different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I think this ship is absolutely gorgeous with outstanding service. We've sailed on her twice and booked her again. I am with you ... most of my cruises have been on Princess and find that Celebrity just meets our cruising style so beautifully.

We love all the different entertainment venues, sometimes in the grand foyer, sometimes in the Sky Lounge, theater or by the pool....even some fun happenings in the casino.

Our first time on her, we booked a C2 -- fabulous experience. The rooms are so nice on the Equinox although I have also had great experiences in a regular balcony cruise on the S-class ships. I wouldn't pay a lot more for the concierge but you will get some nice extras, including early boarding and additional captain's club status points. I have heard that concierge class now also gets a special luncheon upon boarding. Nice touch!! I really do love the Aqua class, only because I really love Blu ... others may not agree with me. If not much more, you may want to research this to see if it meets your needs. It also includes unlimited access to the Persian Gardens and relaxation lounge throughout your cruise, the latter of which is really underutilized in my opinion.

If you like a nice intimate and excellent dining experience, I would get the specialty dining package -- all 3 for $99. There is also now an umlimited photo package (cannot say if that will be available late next year) and if you are into savings your memories on photos, the price is not all that bad.

Far from boring as far as I am concerned ... 5 star experience if you ask me!

 

Thanks. We didn't pay much more for concierge. I haven't checked Aqua prices. Since I haven't cruised Celebrity and my cruise fund is looking pretty good, I'll take a look at Aqua and see what we think. $99 for 3 specialty restaurants sounds like something we would do. I'm not sure what the MDR experience is like on Celebrity but have found it lacking on Princess in recent years. My family and I are cruising on the Regal Princess in December and will most likely eat in other venues than the MDR, for the most part.

[Texed]

Not to us. We have been on Equinox 3 times, and we are about to go on 2 more. :)

 

Thanks. Any specific tips on Celebrity or the Equinox? I'm reading a lot of information. It's fun but always open to some specific tips.

 

It really depends on what you like to do. We usually grab the Celebrity Today and highlight the things we want to do daily.

 

We love the specialty restaurants, and are looking forward to the new shows in the theatre they have recently released.

 

I am sure you will have a great cruise on Equinox. :)

[vickykay]

We were on the Equinox this past March and loved our cruise. The MDR was excellent. We also tried Silk Harvest for the first time and really enjoyed it. We usually book CC rooms which usually are not that much more than higher level balconies. It's a beautiful ship. Enjoy!

[Cruizen Susan]

We are also booked for our 3rd sailing on the Equinox! Our favorite ship! :) :) :)

[Heartfelttraveler]

I enjoyed the Top Chef Competition on Solstice. It is a fun hour if they have it on your itinerary.

 

Also on our twelve might cruise Celebrity gave everyone a five dollar credit in the casino. I never gamble but I used the credit in a slot machine and won $14.

 

Make an effort to go to the shows. They were all fun.

 

We were in a RS traveling with friends in a balcony. We ate in the main dining room most nights (went to each of the three specialties once and Luminai) and were very happy with the food and service.

 

Celebrity is just the right mix of sophistication and comfort. (From the perspective of a veranda and a suite.). All the staff we encountered were genuinely happy to be of service and enhanced our experience.

 

The public spaces were in good condition and very clean.

 

It was not a party experience (NCL or Carnival) or a family fun experience (Royal Caribbean or NCL) but an all around great experience.

[Cruise Raider]

Thanks. Any specific tips on Celebrity or the Equinox? I'm reading a lot of information. It's fun but always open to some specific tips.

 

 

 

Thanks. We didn't pay much more for concierge. I haven't checked Aqua prices. Since I haven't cruised Celebrity and my cruise fund is looking pretty good, I'll take a look at Aqua and see what we think. $99 for 3 specialty restaurants sounds like something we would do. I'm not sure what the MDR experience is like on Celebrity but have found it lacking on Princess in recent years. My family and I are cruising on the Regal Princess in December and will most likely eat in other venues than the MDR, for the most part.

 

If you do go to Aqua, just choose the A2 category ... the A1s are in a worse location in my opinion (right under the pool deck).

Just of note, in the Aqua class, you will get Blu so don't have to book the specialty restaurants if you love Blu. I meant to make note that the $99 for 3 specialty dinners is per person. They will, no doubt, be offering specials onboard so you don't have to decide until you are onboard if you want to book this package or just single restaurants depending on how you feel about Blu.

My favorite of the three restaurants is Silk Harvest, followed by Murano and then the Tuscan. When you buy a package, you try all three. If you book separately, you can go back to the one(s) you like. Usually the first and second nights will offer discounts and then probably an additional discount will be offered on another dinner for the same deal as you are on your way out. I just cannot eat that much food every night....even though it is excellent.

I thought the dining room service was impeccable, though, which is another reason we only booked individual specialty restaurant dinners instead of the package. Our table included the nicest people ... great way to meet others with similar interests. Even though we signed up for select dining, we ended up liking our table mates and the hostess, Gorica, saved the table for us every evening for 7:15 for our group. Our waiters and sommelier were the best!! The food was very good ... not quite so excellent as in the specialty restaurants but still very good.

 

We travel a lot on Princess and have no complaints about the dining room service or food, though ... so you might enjoy the more intimate dining experience found in Blu or the other specialty restaurants.

I just think you will love it no matter which option you choose. Hope you have an amazing time.

[BBsails]

We've sailed on the Equinox three times and have had a great experience each time.

 

Be sure to join the Captain's Club to start amassing points, which earn you perks.

 

Bon voyage!

[ednria]

We are so excited! We cancelled our RCI cruise for 2017 after looking at some YouTube videos of the lounges at night. Yikes!

 

We really want to try something besides Princess for 2017 so Celebrity looks closer to what we are used to but still enough differences. A couple of ports I haven't been to and excited to see Roatan again.

 

We booked Concierge class. What can you tell me about that type of booking?

 

Any other tips and thoughts on the Equinox would be appreciated.

 

FYI, there is a roll call started for this cruise on the "Celebrity Connections Roll Call" page, elsewhere on this site. You might check that thread for further information.

[lovevacadays]

If you do go to Aqua, just choose the A2 category ... the A1s are in a worse location in my opinion (right under the pool deck).

Just of note, in the Aqua class, you will get Blu so don't have to book the specialty restaurants if you love Blu. I meant to make note that the $99 for 3 specialty dinners is per person. They will, no doubt, be offering specials onboard so you don't have to decide until you are onboard if you want to book this package or just single restaurants depending on how you feel about Blu.

My favorite of the three restaurants is Silk Harvest, followed by Murano and then the Tuscan. When you buy a package, you try all three. If you book separately, you can go back to the one(s) you like. Usually the first and second nights will offer discounts and then probably an additional discount will be offered on another dinner for the same deal as you are on your way out. I just cannot eat that much food every night....even though it is excellent.

I thought the dining room service was impeccable, though, which is another reason we only booked individual specialty restaurant dinners instead of the package. Our table included the nicest people ... great way to meet others with similar interests. Even though we signed up for select dining, we ended up liking our table mates and the hostess, Gorica, saved the table for us every evening for 7:15 for our group. Our waiters and sommelier were the best!! The food was very good ... not quite so excellent as in the specialty restaurants but still very good.

 

We travel a lot on Princess and have no complaints about the dining room service or food, though ... so you might enjoy the more intimate dining experience found in Blu or the other specialty restaurants.

I just think you will love it no matter which option you choose. Hope you have an amazing time.

 

Thank you. Great info. I've seen your posts on Princess as well. I have typically enjoyed the MDR on Princess but on my last two cruises not as much. I'm cruising Princess in December and we will most likely go to the MDR at least once.

[farmerslou]

My wife and I sailed on the Summit in March 2016, which was fantastic.

While cruising, we had an issue with our plumbing (we were aft CC cabin). Celebrity gave us a $700 credit for our inconvenience. I had already decided to book my first European cruise, so this was just icing on the cake.

 

Since I made that booking, my wife has repeatedly said...."I am not going", soooooooo, I decided that I did not want to travel alone, and I switched to this itinerary instead.

 

We booked cabin 2101, which I believe is on the bubble, and a CC category again. As we took advantage of the GO BEST promotion, we felt it a good enough value to do again for this cruise. In addition, we thought the ultimate dining package was a good value for us when we were on the Summit in March, so we plan on doing this again. It's just easier to not have to worry about cash, tips, etc for us to do so.

 

I am looking forward to this, although it is a long way off!

[Flamencacha]

The equinox is a beautiful ship. Service is great. She won me over.

 

 

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