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2 Caribbean Sailings - Help me decide

gordylad

By gordylad,
in Celebrity Cruises

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gordylad

gordylad

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we love the caribbean but finding it hard to decide between 2 sailings so any thoughts appreciated:

 

Reflection Nov - Fort Lauderdale, Kralendijk, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Cartagena/Colombia, Cayman/George Town, Fort Lauderdale [have visited all ports except Cartagena and really like the ports]

 

Equinox Oct - Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie, Saint Croix, St. John's/Antigua, Bridgetown, Castries, Philipsburg, Fort Lauderdale [have visited only St Maarten]

 

cheers 

 

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chemmo Holiday Sharing Rare

chemmo

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New destinations are always good. Antigua and St Lucia are two favourites of ours so we would favour the Equinox itinerary...

 

In terms of ship choice...

 

Reflection does have more guests on board with no additional pool area so on sea days we found the outside space really busy in comparison to the other S class ships we have cruised on. However, it does have additional speciality restaurant choices which we did like.

 

Equinox’s part Revolution has not particularly added anything that you would notice in my opinion (we cruised on her last month).  If you are looking at booking a suite there is now a specific suite deck area but underused as it is very hot and no water feature. Michael’s has become the Retreat. Best service in Murano’s and Tuscan we have ever experienced.

 

Is there a difference in length of cruise? Or price? You aren’t going to wrong with either ship or itinerary really. When we did our Equinox cruise it came down to 11 nights for the same price as 10 that clinched our choice....

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bluehengal

bluehengal

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The Equinox is my favorite ship....not too big, not too small.  We are sailing on the Oct 5, 2020 sailing and it will be our third time on this ship.  Antigua and Barbados will be new for us and St. Maarten is our favorite island, so we are looking forward to getting back there as well.  Like it was mentioned before, you can't go wrong with either ship....or Celebrity overall!

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TeeRick

TeeRick

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1 hour ago, gordylad said:

we love the caribbean but finding it hard to decide between 2 sailings so any thoughts appreciated:

 

Reflection Nov - Fort Lauderdale, Kralendijk, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Cartagena/Colombia, Cayman/George Town, Fort Lauderdale [have visited all ports except Cartagena and really like the ports]

 

Equinox Oct - Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie, Saint Croix, St. John's/Antigua, Bridgetown, Castries, Philipsburg, Fort Lauderdale [have visited only St Maarten]

 

cheers 

 

If ports new to you are important then Equinox.  But hard to help you decide unless you give more info on your likes, dislikes, priorities.  Why make everybody guess?

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Mynki

Mynki

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Reflection for me as I personally find visits to the ABC islands more fun than the alternative. Colombia would also peak more interest too. That said perhaps you should investigate tours at every single port and work out which interests your party the most. 

Either way I'm sure you'll enjoy some winter sun. Both will make a great holiday. 

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Ozzmund

Ozzmund

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We have sailed both itineraries and both ships.

 

We would take the Equinox and that itinerary. As we really enjoy Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia.


With that said we are heading to the ABC islands in a couple of weeks on the Silohuette.

Edited by Ozzmund
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Alsmez Great Review Rare

Alsmez

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It would depend on cabin class for me, and whether you like the Persian Gardens. If so, I would do Reflection in AQ, just because the PG is fantastic on that ship. Otherwise I would lean toward Equinox so you can see new ports, although personally I don't love many of the ports on that itinerary - you should check them out so you can decide for yourself! Btw, Cartagena is worth seeing if you enjoy history, architecture, etc., but I agree that the vendors and cabbies can be pushy.

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Fouremco

Fouremco

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Tough decision. If you were talking about a February cruise, I'd definitely go with the Equinox and the opportunity to visit new ports, but in October, you do run the risk of a late hurricane. Worse, the Eastern Caribbean bears the brunt of most hurricanes, so even if you avoid any in October, any significant hurricane earlier in the fall could effect the ports on this itinerary. The Southern Caribbean islands generally see far fewer hurricanes and resulting damage, and a November sailing should be clear of destructive weather. It comes down to choosing between a potentially riskier cruise with the opportunity to visit new ports or one offering less risk but offering only one new port. Given the weather over the past few years, I'd be inclined to pick the Reflection.

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chemmo Holiday Sharing Rare

chemmo

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1 hour ago, RNCheryl said:

Just a personal observation:  Did not enjoy Cartagena at all.  The most aggressive street vendors ever.

 

We (thankfully) had booked a horse drawn carriage ride, kept us above most of the hustle and bustle. We did find it attractive though...

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chemmo Holiday Sharing Rare

chemmo

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2 hours ago, gordylad said:

same number of nights same cost......

 

Well that doesn’t help!

 

How about flight and hotel costs...We saved £600 by flying back to the U.K. on a Saturday rather than a Friday recently and our post cruise hotel stay was much cheaper than our pre cruise hotel stay... may be worth checking...

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evandbob

evandbob

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We just returned from the Equinox Oct 14 sailing, and thoroughly enjoyed that cruise.  The ports were fantastic for us as beach lovers, we found quiet sandy calm beaches in every port.  We needed water shoes in St Croix just to get past the first 6' of rocks and shells at the shoreline there.  Otherwise Secret Sands, Vigie Beach, Karakter Beach, Boatyard and Fryes beach were wonderful!

 

About the only thing we had difficulty with was finding a table to eat breakfast in the buffet.  We either went to breakfast in the dining room if we had time or used room service instead.

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phoenix_dream

phoenix_dream

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7 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

Just a personal observation:  Did not enjoy Cartagena at all.  The most aggressive street vendors ever.

I was surprised to read this.  We absolutely loved Cartagena and had no issues at all with street vendors.  In each of the two times we have been there we took tours - once with a local taxi and once with the ship.  One of our very favorite ports.  

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phoenix_dream

phoenix_dream

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For me, unless the length of the cruises are considerably different, I will choose the cruise with the ABC islands every time - my favorite.  If I were choosing on ship alone I would pick Equinox as Reflection is much more crowded IMHO, especially in Blu where we eat.  Equinox is one of my favorite Celebrity ships by far.  There is something to be said also for visiting places you haven't been yet.  I will say however that to me (with the exception of the ABC's and Cartagena) most of the Caribbean ports tend to be so similar after awhile.  Maybe I'm just jaded because I have been to all of them so many times.  They all tend to have nice beaches, similar shopping, and some have casinos.  There really is not a lot of very different sightseeing - historical or otherwise on any of the islands  (not saying none, just not all that much)

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hcat "Live from...." Rare

hcat

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:

The ABC's are my favorite Caribbean ports.  However Reflection is my least favorite X ship.  Just too crowded.  

Wow..I have the same comment.  

 

Tough choice but for us Ref was a one and done!

 

Glad EQ won out!

Edited by hcat
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Shadow9612

Shadow9612

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2 hours ago, hcat said:

Wow..I have the same comment.  

 

Tough choice but for us Ref was a one and done!

 

Glad EQ won out!

 

4 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

The ABC's are my favorite Caribbean ports.  However Reflection is my least favorite X ship.  Just too crowded.  

I was thinking the same thing.

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NMTraveller Holiday Sharing Rare

NMTraveller

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7 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I was surprised to read this.  We absolutely loved Cartagena and had no issues at all with street vendors.  In each of the two times we have been there we took tours - once with a local taxi and once with the ship.  One of our very favorite ports.  

We saw the same thing with the aggressive vendors in Cartagena.  It is a one and done port for us.    

Edited by NMTraveller
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