Equinox Revolution

[blueboro]

21 hours ago, FirstTimeFreddy said:

If you're expecting Celebrity to match RCCL in terms of entertainment, you can think again. 🙁 We've also cruised on the Allure and in terms of entertainment there is simply no comparison. You can forget Aqua Theaters, Broadway Shows, Bumper Cars, Comedy Clubs, Jazz Clubs, Bowling Alley's and all the rest that comes with a ship of that size. In contrast, when we cruised with Celebrity for the first time on the Reflection, we were shocked how little there was to do onboard. The age range on board was a lot higher and everything was geared towards this age range. Everything was conservative and civilised and one bar felt very much like the next. Having cruised with four other lines I would say that Celebrity is the company you cruise with for some R&R and few children on board. The only reason we're returning to the Equinox in September is because the perks offered by Celebrity are unmatched right now, which makes them the best value for money. But oh how I wish they would diversify their onboard offerings 😩

 

We have found that, for the most part, the guest entertainers on X have been very good to excellent.  Acts like Savannah Jack, A Hard Day's Night, Billy McGuian and others are GREAT.  On the other hand, productions shows have been equally unappealing on every line we have sailed. 

Edited June 17, 2019 by blueboro
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[The Fun Researcher]

The one time we sailed with Celebrity on the Equinox, we felt the entertainment in the theater was pretty close to what we were used to on the Freedom and Voyager classes of Royal Caribbean.  No complaints

 

Now, talking entertainment as a whole, well yeah there is MUCH less on the Equinox.  No rock climbing wall, flow riders, water slides, ice rink, laser tag, Escape room, putt putt golf (all of which the newly Amped Navigator had for our 9 night southern route this past March)  I do wish the Equinox had even a decent putt putt golf area, but not even that.

 

We still filled our time relaxing on Celebrity and enjoyed it.  We felt the service and food was a small, but noticeable, step up from Royal.

 

I am a little concerned with bringing our kids on the Equinox this upcoming March.  They are getting older and don't do as much of the "one and done" activities, but the fact it, Celebrity has almost nothing besides the nightly shows.

 

Dan

[kearney]

I am wondering if anyone who has experienced Equinox with a scooter... can tell me if it will fit in a veranda cabin. I have made sure our bed is by the veranda... to help ensure there will be enough room. We have only used a scooter on Edge and on Harmony of the Seas.... DH was not using one when we booked the Equinox cruise. Thanks in advance.   And no we don't plan on parking or trying to park in the hallway.  Oh while we are at it... anyone with experience with a scooter on M class?? Those cabins all seem to have bed by the bath... so we have avoided booking this class in recent planning... since the ships are older and likely did not consider scooters. I wish we didn't need to rent one...but boy it made a real difference on our last two cruises.

 

Thanks again

[chemmo]

19 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The one time we sailed with Celebrity on the Equinox, we felt the entertainment in the theater was pretty close to what we were used to on the Freedom and Voyager classes of Royal Caribbean.  No complaints

 

Now, talking entertainment as a whole, well yeah there is MUCH less on the Equinox.  No rock climbing wall, flow riders, water slides, ice rink, laser tag, Escape room, putt putt golf (all of which the newly Amped Navigator had for our 9 night southern route this past March)  I do wish the Equinox had even a decent putt putt golf area, but not even that.

 

We still filled our time relaxing on Celebrity and enjoyed it.  We felt the service and food was a small, but noticeable, step up from Royal.

 

I am a little concerned with bringing our kids on the Equinox this upcoming March.  They are getting older and don't do as much of the "one and done" activities, but the fact it, Celebrity has almost nothing besides the nightly shows.

 

Dan

 

Why not get your kids involved in the research? As a teen our son was more interested in the port activities and destinations than a specific ship. With a lively port schedule involving water sports and sight seeing he enjoyed the more relaxed ambience of Celebrity.

 

If you join them in on discussions they will board understanding Celebrity is a different (not better or worse but different) experience than RC.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Fun Researcher]

41 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

Why not get your kids involved in the research? As a teen our son was more interested in the port activities and destinations than a specific ship. With a lively port schedule involving water sports and sight seeing he enjoyed the more relaxed ambience of Celebrity.

 

If you join them in on discussions they will board understanding Celebrity is a different (not better or worse but different) experience than RC.

 

Thanks.  That is a good suggestion, and they are involved currently.  They have watched a good walk-through of the ship, and helped decide one of our excursions so far. (Maya Chan beach in Costa Maya which we loved last time we visited)  The good thing is that it's a fairly port intensive itinerary for a 7 night cruise.  (Key West, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Cozumel).  Ports tend to fill up most of the day, so after dinner and the nightly entertainment there really isn't much else needed on those days.

 

All they've cruised is Royal Caribbean (4 cruises) which has tons of entertainment, so I'm just hoping that they adjust well to the more R&R pace of Celebrity.

Dan

[MissLittle1959]

19 hours ago, micheleata said:

 

I think this is going a little overboard...  I am not a 'cirque' show person,  so I can skip their production shows, as I walked out of each of them after 15 minutes on our first cruise.  We also walked out on a Latin vocalist, and thought Ashley Amber was ok,  but probably won't sit through that again.   But some of the other shows were great.   December 63 was fabulous and I hope they are still there in October.  If so I may go at 7 and 9.   There were 2 brothers that played the electric violins that were amazing.  Comedian Ralph Harris was very funny,  until the last 10 minutes.  The Uptown show was very good.  And we had a good magician on our last cruise.  Maybe the best entertainment that trip was when our CD Dan France sang Opera one night.  Incredible.   

 

At least go and sit through 10 minutes or so before you decide that it sucks.  You can always quietly walk out.

I was being sarcastic.  People in here are basically saying it sucks by saying they've walked out of the theater.  I plan on giving it a shot.   Not everyone has the same taste.  what I may enjoy, you might not.  Going overboard is complaining about footstools and tiny tables and cancelling their cruise bc of it.  

[goofysmom99]

11 minutes ago, MissLittle1959 said:

I was being sarcastic.  People in here are basically saying it sucks by saying they've walked out of the theater.  I plan on giving it a shot.   Not everyone has the same taste.  what I may enjoy, you might not.  Going overboard is complaining about footstools and tiny tables and cancelling their cruise bc of it.  

Seems to me that that could also apply to balcony furniture.

[MissLittle1959]

16 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Seems to me that that could also apply to balcony furniture.

Ok fair enough. So people shouldn’t take what others say as going overboard.  Enough said.  It gets tiresome defending one’s self.  

[keesar]

39 minutes ago, MissLittle1959 said:

I was being sarcastic.  People in here are basically saying it sucks by saying they've walked out of the theater.  I plan on giving it a shot.   Not everyone has the same taste.  what I may enjoy, you might not.  Going overboard is complaining about footstools and tiny tables and cancelling their cruise bc of it.  

 

I think the issue deals with escalating prices together with cutbacks in services, activities and amenities.  Many do not complain about a modest price increase to maintain the quality of the experience.  But the types of cutbacks are ridiculous. Experienced cruisers are aware of the changes.  

 

The biggest difference we have found on Celebrity is the lack of energy on the ship.  This is often related to the types of entertainment being offered.    

[TheCount]

6 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The one time we sailed with Celebrity on the Equinox, we felt the entertainment in the theater was pretty close to what we were used to on the Freedom and Voyager classes of Royal Caribbean.  No complaints

 

Now, talking entertainment as a whole, well yeah there is MUCH less on the Equinox.  No rock climbing wall, flow riders, water slides, ice rink, laser tag, Escape room, putt putt golf (all of which the newly Amped Navigator had for our 9 night southern route this past March)  I do wish the Equinox had even a decent putt putt golf area, but not even that.

 

We still filled our time relaxing on Celebrity and enjoyed it.  We felt the service and food was a small, but noticeable, step up from Royal.

 

I am a little concerned with bringing our kids on the Equinox this upcoming March.  They are getting older and don't do as much of the "one and done" activities, but the fact it, Celebrity has almost nothing besides the nightly shows.

 

Dan

 

  Being many time cruisers on Royal and a number of times on Celebrity, there is a huge difference for entertainment. Celebrity, is an older rest relax atmosphere and the place goes off to bed by 11pm.  When on Royal, lots of places to be entertained, include IMO much better shows and cruise director staff show type activities.  We find we go to Celeb for a truly R&R break and Royal for a vacation with some activity.  Both have their market place.

 

[4cats4me]

6 hours ago, MissLittle1959 said:

I was being sarcastic.  People in here are basically saying it sucks by saying they've walked out of the theater.  I plan on giving it a shot.   Not everyone has the same taste.  what I may enjoy, you might not.  Going overboard is complaining about footstools and tiny tables and cancelling their cruise bc of it.  

 

.Luckily, I was still outside of final payment.   I booked  a different cruise yesterday on another line  immediately after I cancelled the Equinox Cruise. I’m saving half, and now I don’t have to come up with airfare either, a win-win. I have no regrets.  

I will return to X when they return the foot stools  back to Aqua Class, which is what they advertise as an amenity of booking Aqua.  If they’re no longer going to provide them, they shouldn’t advertise it as an amenity. 

On my new cruise, I will have a normal sized table to set my food and drinks on, plus I will have a giant balcony with FOOT STOOLS! 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by 4cats4me

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

 

.Luckily, I was still outside of final payment.   I booked  a different cruise yesterday on another line  immediately after I cancelled the Equinox Cruise yesterday. I’m saving half, and now I don’t have to come up with airfare either, a win-win. I have no regrets.  

I will return to X when they return the foot stools  back to Aqua Class, which is what they advertise as an amenity of booking Aqua.  If they’re no longer going to provide them, they shouldn’t advertise it as an amenity. 

On my new cruise, I will have a normal sized table to set my food and drinks on, plus I will have a giant balcony with FOOT STOOLS! 

 

 

FYI, it's only after the ships have been Hoppenized that they no longer have footstools and regular balcony tables.  I'm just off Solstice, had a concierge class cabin with a lovely large balcony, footstools, and a regular table.

[4cats4me]

1 minute ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

FYI, it's only after the ships have been Hoppenized that they no longer have footstools and regular balcony tables.  I'm just off Solstice, had a concierge class cabin with a lovely large balcony, footstools, and a regular table.

 

Well, this Hoppenization needs to end, it sounds like.  It almost seems  like they’re catering to younger people who don’t want or need comfort, and not us older people,   who have more aches and pains. 

[ssymyroz]

3 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

 

.Luckily, I was still outside of final payment.   I booked  a different cruise yesterday on another line  immediately after I cancelled the Equinox Cruise. I’m saving half, and now I don’t have to come up with airfare either, a win-win. I have no regrets.  

I will return to X when they return the foot stools  back to Aqua Class, which is what they advertise as an amenity of booking Aqua.  If they’re no longer going to provide them, they shouldn’t advertise it as an amenity. 

On my new cruise, I will have a normal sized table to set my food and drinks on, plus I will have a giant balcony with FOOT STOOLS! 

 

 

I'm sorry, but you seem pretty uptight.  I am just taking a wild guess that your room attendants won't mind that you changed your mind and booked elsewhere.  Sheesh.  A helluva lot of talk about foot stools

[Alushar]

First Equinox in September and really looking forward to it. Entertainment wise we carefully pick our Main Theatre visits and generally avoid production shows but what was great on our Feb cruise on Millennium were the bar entertainers. They were beyond fab. we planned out evenings around which bars had live music on and hope EQ offerings are as good!

[Cruise a holic]

We have sailed about 50 times on multiple lines.  Our favorite is Celebrity and next Royal.  The others do not even come close-  We will be on the Equinox again in a few weeks and really are looking forward to sailing on her.  We also did the edge and enjoyed that experience- 

 

I think it has to do with attitude- so people are never satisfied and will always find fault- others look at the big picture- We are happy to be healthy and enjoy the cruise together- It is a special time for us and we love sailing.  

 

The ship isn't our home- but a different experience and since the furniture doesn't come home with me- who cares!   We once did have a smelly room on the NCL Breakaway- Haven suite- but it was like the people before us had horrible BO!  It lasted about a day.  PS the ship was almost as bad-well actually worse, then Carnival ships.  But with a nice martini in hand- who cares!

 

Enjoy your cruises folks!

Edited June 18, 2019 by Cruise a holic

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, keesar said:

 

I think the issue deals with escalating prices together with cutbacks in services, activities and amenities.  Many do not complain about a modest price increase to maintain the quality of the experience.  But the types of cutbacks are ridiculous. Experienced cruisers are aware of the changes.  

 

The biggest difference we have found on Celebrity is the lack of energy on the ship.  This is often related to the types of entertainment being offered.    

I am not debating your feelings on cutbacks.  But here are my own thoughts on entertainment. I think there is a difference in definitions.  Some consider entertainment the act of performers entertaining guests like in the theater or at a bar.  Some take it as the whole package of offered activities many of which are self- performed like rock climbing and water slides.  I enjoy RCCL and Celebrity but what you might define as "lack of energy" on Celebrity is the quiet refinement that many of us are attracted to.  It is a Celebrity cultural distinction.  Maybe that means less younger, active adults and less kids overall.  It is more retirees or just people that want to be in a less crowded relaxed environment. 

[chamima]

20 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

 

 

 

15 hours ago, keesar said:

 

I think the issue deals with escalating prices together with cutbacks in services, activities and amenities.  Many do not complain about a modest price increase to maintain the quality of the experience.  But the types of cutbacks are ridiculous. Experienced cruisers are aware of the changes.  

 

The biggest difference we have found on Celebrity is the lack of energy on the ship.  This is often related to the types of entertainment being offered.    

 

21 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I am not debating your feelings on cutbacks.  But here are my own thoughts on entertainment. I think there is a difference in definitions.  Some consider entertainment the act of performers entertaining guests like in the theater or at a bar.  Some take it as the whole package of offered activities many of which are self- performed like rock climbing and water slides.  I enjoy RCCL and Celebrity but what you might define as "lack of energy" on Celebrity is the quiet refinement that many of us are attracted to.  It is a Celebrity cultural distinction.  Maybe that means less younger, active adults and less kids overall.  It is more retirees or just people that want to be in a less crowded relaxed environment. 

 

 

I'm also not thrilled about the cutbacks.

As far as entertainment - you are correct there is a difference in definition.

To us it's a choice of things to do in the evening . Live music to listen to. Singers in different venues around the ship.  Maybe a comedian in Celebrity Central. Etc., etc.

I've found the energy on the ship seems to be directly related to who the CD is.

Some schedule the performers often and in multiple venues and some just don't.

I don't think "quiet refinement"  has to mean absolute quiet after 10 or 11 pm.

[ssymyroz]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We have sailed about 50 times on multiple lines.  Our favorite is Celebrity and next Royal.  The others do not even come close-  We will be on the Equinox again in a few weeks and really are looking forward to sailing on her.  We also did the edge and enjoyed that experience- 

 

I think it has to do with attitude- so people are never satisfied and will always find fault- others look at the big picture- We are happy to be healthy and enjoy the cruise together- It is a special time for us and we love sailing.  

 

The ship isn't our home- but a different experience and since the furniture doesn't come home with me- who cares!   We once did have a smelly room on the NCL Breakaway- Haven suite- but it was like the people before us had horrible BO!  It lasted about a day.  PS the ship was almost as bad-well actually worse, then Carnival ships.  But with a nice martini in hand- who cares!

 

Enjoy your cruises folks!

AMEN!

[goofysmom99]

8 hours ago, ssymyroz said:

I'm sorry, but you seem pretty uptight.  I am just taking a wild guess that your room attendants won't mind that you changed your mind and booked elsewhere.  Sheesh.  A helluva lot of talk about foot stools

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[colliercruiser]

26 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

9 hours ago, ssymyroz said:

I'm sorry, but you seem pretty uptight.  I am just taking a wild guess that your room attendants won't mind that you changed your mind and booked elsewhere.  Sheesh.  A helluva lot of talk about foot stools

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Anyone remember the time when this Equinox Revolution thread was about the significant upgrades intended for Equinox, those which could not be accomplished due to the shift in dry dock and the final result?  I never realized that some items, such as table sizes on the veranda and whether a bottle of so-so sparkling wine was found in the cabin, are of similar significance.  😕

[misterkevin]

14 minutes ago, colliercruiser said:

 

Anyone remember the time when this Equinox Revolution thread was about the significant upgrades intended for Equinox, those which could not be accomplished due to the shift in dry dock and the final result?  I never realized that some items, such as table sizes on the veranda and whether a bottle of so-so sparkling wine was found in the cabin, are of similar significance.  😕

I do remember that. Similar significance is a matter of opinion. However, everything matters to people here. Sometimes I wonder why people want to know who the bartender is at a particular bar, or why they want to see the entire daily plans on the ship for their itinerary, but these issues matter to them or they wouldn't ask.

 

I think it's relevant to talk about how the Revolution for the Equinox has changed any experience that is associated with the ship. Some of these things may not be due to the Revolution and had been scheduled. In any case, I've only been cruising on Celebrity since 2017, and the types of changes, whether they be upgrades, updates, or cutbacks, are significant when I look at them in their entirety.

[Alushar]

2 hours ago, chamima said:

I'm also not thrilled about the cutbacks.

As far as entertainment - you are correct there is a difference in definition.

To us it's a choice of things to do in the evening . Live music to listen to. Singers in different venues around the ship.  Maybe a comedian in Celebrity Central. Etc., etc.

I've found the energy on the ship seems to be directly related to who the CD is.

Some schedule the performers often and in multiple venues and some just don't.

I don't think "quiet refinement"  has to mean absolute quiet after 10 or 11 pm.

The Live music thing happened on the Millennium which could have been down to CD who's name I don't remember. Effectively there was live music for 45 mins an hour from about 2pm until 10:45pm moving around various bars including Cafe al Bacio. At 11 everyone was suposed to head for Cosmos lounge

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, colliercruiser said:

 

Anyone remember the time when this Equinox Revolution thread was about the significant upgrades intended for Equinox, those which could not be accomplished due to the shift in dry dock and the final result?  I never realized that some items, such as table sizes on the veranda and whether a bottle of so-so sparkling wine was found in the cabin, are of similar significance.  😕

 

This is completely selfish on my part not trying to look back at the previous 37 pages to find my answer, but...

 

Can someone list the things that were planned, but were not completed due to the shortened dry dock?

 

Thanks,

Dan

[mikkelhansen]

38 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

This is completely selfish on my part not trying to look back at the previous 37 pages to find my answer, but...

 

Can someone list the things that were planned, but were not completed due to the shortened dry dock? 

 

Thanks,

Dan

Post #302 on page 13 has both the "original" and the "revised" revolutionization schemes.