Equinox Review July 13 - 20, 2019

[micheleata]

Nice review, thanks.   I also knew what you meant..  Traffic in Miami is CRAZY!

[TeaBag]

18 hours ago, chuly said:

Oh I presume you don’t get off the ship in Key West and God forbid in any of the Mexican ports as that would REALLY be scary!  Way down South......

You quoted a huge long post not once but twice to make two 2 sentence comments?  For the record, I was mugged in Miami INSIDE our car while DH went into the gas station for a few minutes.

[Denny01]

18 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

You quoted a huge long post not once but twice to make two 2 sentence comments?  For the record, I was mugged in Miami INSIDE our car while DH went into the gas station for a few minutes.

Wow, so sorry to read that. Every big city has it’s dangers but that story is a tough one. 

 

Driven the FLL to MIA a number of times, and when you’re an out-of-towner, 95 is crazy. Driven LA (grew up there!) and ATL a good deal, but there’s nothing like that section - cars going 100MPR+ through tight traffic, and not just one or two. Last time I drove Hwy 1 through town to Miami. Longer with so many lights but much more interesting.....and safer! Found some great local restaurants that way. 

 

But back to the OP - good review. Thanks for taking the extended time. We all know reviews are not something you just rip out, it takes time to think through and organize. Too bad some comment has to nitpick some minor point. Some posters forget we are all sharing info about cruising and enjoy sharing instead of posting cheapshots. 

 

Den

[helen haywood]

Part of it is the speed.  Why do they even post speed limit signs?!  Part of it is the way people pass you and cut right back in front of you.  Part of it is the people in the far left lane who suddenly see their exit and cut through five lanes of traffic.  Then there are the non-professionals driving huge RVs and pulling a towed car behind them.  And the commercial truckers who can’t stay within the lanes.

 

And I just find Ft. Lauderdale easier to get around...and less expensive hotels.

 

 

[keesar]

On 7/22/2019 at 4:32 PM, hcat said:

Thanks for your review.  Did you have any food at the Solarium cafe? Seems menu has changed recently.  No more grilled salmon or chicken for lunch??

No more grilled salmon or chicken.  Chicken, tuna, and salmon salads.  Fruit plates.  Lighter fare.

[39august]

We were on both July 6 and July 13 in a concierge cabin, also redone with new drapes, carpet, and recovered sofa. Fortunately, nothing had been taken away, so we had the usual storage.Our 1A veranda had 2 new reclining chairs and one lounger which was in the old style. The veranda table was the new little one. Fine with us as we don't eat meals on the balcony. Looking down from the OVC at the aft I could see that some of the aft suites and cabins had the new small tables and some had the larger replacements. We went directly to our cabin upon embarkation, left our carry ons,  put items in the safe and took our cards to the OCV and were there about 11:20. Very uncrowded.  Yes, the calamari was a nice surprise! The second week there was one lunch with fresh sea bream. So good! No the Spa Cafe is not now open on embarkation day. A real set back for finding lunch that day. It is open on debarkation day until 8:30 AM. So glad none of the proposed new cabins or suites were added. Sky Lounge is still so elegant. We  had the worst wi-fi we have ever experienced in several years of cruising. Better reception in the library, but that is inconvenient. Christopher, the CC host, was very visible during the Elite happy hour. Captain Kate as usual very approachable and visible around the ship. Service everywhere was outstanding!

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

We were on both July 6 and July 13 in a concierge cabin, also redone with new drapes, carpet, and recovered sofa. Fortunately, nothing had been taken away, so we had the usual storage.Our 1A veranda had 2 new reclining chairs and one lounger which was in the old style. The veranda table was the new little one. Fine with us as we don't eat meals on the balcony. Looking down from the OVC at the aft I could see that some of the aft suites and cabins had the new small tables and some had the larger replacements. We went directly to our cabin upon embarkation, left our carry ons,  put items in the safe and took our cards to the OCV and were there about 11:20. Very uncrowded.  Yes, the calamari was a nice surprise! The second week there was one lunch with fresh sea bream. So good! No the Spa Cafe is not now open on embarkation day. A real set back for finding lunch that day. It is open on debarkation day until 8:30 AM. So glad none of the proposed new cabins or suites were added. Sky Lounge is still so elegant. We  had the worst wi-fi we have ever experienced in several years of cruising. Better reception in the library, but that is inconvenient. Christopher, the CC host, was very visible during the Elite happy hour. Captain Kate as usual very approachable and visible around the ship. Service everywhere was outstanding!

Is the Sky Lounge open to all passengers? I am in an angled balcony 1-A on deck 9...

[helen haywood]

Yes!  The Sky Lounge is the forward lounge on deck 14 with a view 180 around outside.  There are times it is closed for private functions but in general it’s open to all.  It was slated to be cut in half to add some suites on the port side...but fortuitously (IMHO) the shortened dry-dock due to the Oasis accident in Freeport meant Sky remained untouched at least for the present.

[kearney]

42 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

Yes!  The Sky Lounge is the forward lounge on deck 14 with a view 180 around outside.  There are times it is closed for private functions but in general it’s open to all.  It was slated to be cut in half to add some suites on the port side...but fortuitously (IMHO) the shortened dry-dock due to the Oasis accident in Freeport meant Sky remained untouched at least for the present.

Glad they haven't changed the Sky Lounge yet... look forward to those nice forward views... really missed that on Edge... looking out the stern is just not the same.... I like to see where I am going... less interested in where I have been. Can't wait for September to see what ever changes they were able to complete...but glad Sky Lounge is still large.

[Dom G]

8 hours ago, helen haywood said:

They must have made that announcement either before or after we were in the terminal....  Good to know for future reference.  As the procedure has changed substantially since we last cruised Equinox I wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing...

 

Hope you had a great cruise!

 

They made the announcement one time (that I heard), right before boarding began at 11am. If you were just arriving at that time, you may have missed it. We were in and out of our room in 3 minutes, sea passes in hand, passports locked up in the safe and back packs dumped on the couch. 

 

We had a great time. My first time on Celebrity (Royal Caribbean a few times with our kids previously) and first cruise in over 10 years. We’ll definitely do more and on Celebrity. A cruise week seems to last a month. Other vacation weeks feel like 3 days. I did a full review on the review forum here. Waiting for them to post it. 

[Wisteria101958]

Thank you so much for your insightful musings. It’s been four and a half years since I’ve sailed with the Equinox (I have eight weeks logged before the hiatus). Your review has whet my appetite for her September 13th voyage. Back in the day, we were given three vouchers (as Elites) for cocktail hour to be enjoyed in various lounges, is that still the case?

[helen haywood]

Oh, you’ll be a Happy Camper!!  Now your Sea Pass card is loaded with unlimited drinks from 5-7 pm  (from the Captains Club Happy Hour menu) in all bars except the World Class Bar, the MDR or any speciality restaurants.  Not available on embarkation night as the CCHH was never on that night.  So enjoy the Sky Lounge if you want...or go elsewhere...or both!!!

[aml3679]

Thanks for your review.  We have also sailed on the Equinox and have 2 upcoming cruises on her - one in February 2020 and one for my 60th birthday in February 2021 - looking forward to both.

[StartrainDD]

Thank you for the review.  We sailed two weeks prior in cabin 1560, so same as yours on the starboard side.  Here is the link to our review:  https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=660503&et_cid=3214772&et_rid=16969669&et_referrer=Contest_NCL_2013

 

We loved Aqua and we also like the large overhang - gave us much more use of the verandah as we don't tolerate a lot of direct sun.  In general I believe Aqua is overpriced for the benefits but we would go for it at $200/pp or less over a standard verandah.  At less than $200/pp you can buy a specialty dining package for seven nights, giving a variety of restaurants to choose from.

 

Fully agree with comments about the Sky lounge.  That is a great spot and that is one reason we have a general preference for HAL over X - there is always a full view from their "Crows nest."  But with that said, we found Equinox to be the best overall on-board cruise experience in several years.

 

One thought on South Florida driving.  Fully agree I-95 south of FLL is crazy.  One option is the turnpike.  Pay the toll but it's not as nutty.  Uber / Lyft or a shuttle is another good option!

[helen haywood]

I’ve “solved” the south Florida driving issue by staying in hotels in north Ft. Lauderdale and taking Uber/Lyft from there.  I had thought about the turnpike...but it seemed like there were some stretches of it that didn’t have manned toll booths so you needed to have purchased a pass...I didn’t think we’d use it that much.  Perhaps I’m wrong about that...or perhaps I’m putting too low a value on my sanity...

[waterbug123]

On 7/22/2019 at 4:32 PM, hcat said:

Thanks for your review.  Did you have any food at the Solarium cafe? Seems menu has changed recently.  No more grilled salmon or chicken for lunch??

 

I didn't see any.  They had pasta salads, small scoops of chicken salad or tuna salad, a few other light bites and cookies. 

 

 

On 7/22/2019 at 10:33 PM, mermaidgal said:

I knew what you meant Helen, I used to live in South Florida and if I had to travel past FtLauderdale I was very uncomfortable because there are numerous lanes on 95 to contend with and it was really difficult to maneuver all those lanes safely.

 

As I recall, 95 NORTH of Ft. Lauderdale is something like 5-6 lanes in each direction, on average, at least up to/through Palm Beach County.  Is there a drastic difference south of Ft. Lauderdale?

[RedIguana]

Heading south on 95 you notice the first real difference at Jupiter, another difference at Palm Beach Gardens (old north end of I-95), and another pretty big jump south of SR 84 (old,old north end of 95). At least this is my experience as a Florida Native. Born in Hialeah, grew up in Fort Lauderdale, now in Daytona, with 3-4 trips to S. Fla every year.

[helen haywood]

Maybe in my panic I was seeing double.  Or it was that they were traveling at double the speed limit.....😬

[PTC DAWG]

16 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Yes!  The Sky Lounge is the forward lounge on deck 14 with a view 180 around outside.  There are times it is closed for private functions but in general it’s open to all.  It was slated to be cut in half to add some suites on the port side...but fortuitously (IMHO) the shortened dry-dock due to the Oasis accident in Freeport meant Sky remained untouched at least for the present.

Thanks, I knew the dry dock was changed.  I agree, for the better.