Equinox Retreat

[pmcue]

Does the Equinox have a retreat pool / deck?   I see they say it has retreat, but do not see it on deck plan.

[39august]

Retreat deck, yes, no water feature at all. Can only be accessed by stairs. No bar, but staff gets drinks from Sky lounge one deck down. Very little shade 

[Pickels]

Hot, no or very limited shade, no water venues, [poo], no bar, just lounges so you can sit and bake, 😎

[ipeeinthepool]

2 hours ago, Pickels said:

Hot, no or very limited shade, no water venues, [poo], no bar, just lounges so you can sit and bake, 😎

 

Sounds like Modern Luxury to me.

[WonderMan3]

The hot tub was not added as originally planned due to the problem at the Freeport dry dock which forced Equinox to go to Cadiz, Spain for the Revolution updates and reduced the amount of time for the work which meant certain things had to be cut. I assume the hot tub will be added in a few years whenever the ship has its next drydock.

[kokopelli-az]

On 11/17/2020 at 10:15 AM, 39august said:

Retreat deck, yes, no water feature at all. Can only be accessed by stairs. No bar, but staff gets drinks from Sky lounge one deck down. Very little shade 

 

We encountered this on the Equinox.    Very unfriendly for anyone with mobility issues or using a wheelchair/scooter/walker.....

[phe8800]

Does anyone know, when (if?) Equinox is scheduled for a dry dock to finalise the things missing from her latest shortened dry dock ? Still missing a pool and/or hot tub(s) at the retreat sun deck .. 

[Algebralovr]

It is supposed to get a hot tub, not a pool. 

 

They have not scheduled a date at this point for when the tub nor the elevator will be added.  At one point, it was expected they would "work in" a drydock for what remained needed, but the last I heard, those plans were on hold as so much else was delayed due to the closures in 2020. The next regularly scheduled drydock should be 2024.  They may wait until then or they may work one into the schedule.  No one knows for now.  

 

There is a closet where they stock some commonly requested beverages in bottles/cans and towels for the person assigned to that deck while people are expected to be there.  

[mac_tlc]

Definitely needs a water feature. Nice area but stairs are steep. Some pictures:

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

is there a shower up there?  A great way to cool of while on deck...

[PTC DAWG]

On 11/17/2020 at 6:01 PM, WonderMan3 said:

The hot tub was not added as originally planned due to the problem at the Freeport dry dock which forced Equinox to go to Cadiz, Spain for the Revolution updates and reduced the amount of time for the work which meant certain things had to be cut. I assume the hot tub will be added in a few years whenever the ship has its next drydock.

The best part of the “change” was the Sky Lounge remaining intact...doing less was very good for that area. 

[keesar]

6 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

is there a shower up there?  A great way to cool of while on deck...

No shower is located there.  

[phe8800]

Maybe they fix some things on the ships right now, while there are no guests onboard anyway .. I guess it would make sense to use the time? 

[Fouremco]

9 hours ago, phe8800 said:

Maybe they fix some things on the ships right now, while there are no guests onboard anyway .. I guess it would make sense to use the time? 

Unfortunately, there's a rather severe cash shortage right now, so Celebrity has put a lot of renovations on hod.

[marieps]

Their creditors would not look kindly upon any cap ex right now while they're still burning cash just to literally stay afloat.  

[Pickels]

On 11/17/2020 at 4:34 PM, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Sounds like Modern Luxury to me.

typo, meant to say no pool !

[ipeeinthepool]

1 minute ago, Pickels said:

typo, meant to say no pool !

 

Never good to eliminate the pool

[Pickels]

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Never good to eliminate the pool

We recently sailed on Princess and reserved The Sanctuary, also no pool, but, we were able to walk to one of two pool, one was on the same deck as the Sanctuary the other, one deck down, BUT, there were elevators for those who had trouble with the stairs. 

[LGW59]

4 hours ago, Pickels said:

We recently sailed on Princess and reserved The Sanctuary, also no pool, but, we were able to walk to one of two pool, one was on the same deck as the Sanctuary the other, one deck down, BUT, there were elevators for those who had trouble with the stairs. 

we were able to walk to one of two pool, one was on the same deck  I think you may have just become ipeeinthepool's new best cruise friend.

[miched]

I wish  that they would add shaded areas and wind protection.  

I don’t need their cesspools as I never use them because I have a hot tub/ spa at home that I do enjoy and know and control what is in it. 😱

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

[dkjretired]

18 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Never good to eliminate the pool

They never had plans to put a pool there, just a hot tub. I’m sure you could use that for your purposes.

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

They never had plans to put a pool there, just a hot tub. I’m sure you could use that for your purposes.

 

Absolutely.  Confucius says:  One man's hot tub is another man's pool.  

[ipeeinthepool]

15 hours ago, LGW59 said:

we were able to walk to one of two pool, one was on the same deck  I think you may have just become ipeeinthepool's new best cruise friend.

 

Nope, you're still my Best Friend because you buy me drinks.

[chemmo]

When we cruised on Equinox post revolution we were upset that the upgrades had been limited. One of the reasons for booking the cruise had been to experience an upgraded suite experience.

 

However, our room was fresh (new sofa and chair same carpets and curtains).

 

The suite deck was a bonus...Yes, in hotter climates it does need a water feature but there were always plentiful, comfortable  sun-beds and the service was excellent. I do have some mobility issues and found accessing the deck from the inside stairs was both safer and more comfortable than using the steeper and metallic outside steps. Certainly better than not having anything. We tended to head from our suite to the Solarium for a swim then either drip to the sunset bar or the retreat deck for a relaxing drink.

 

We found the previous Michael’s Club/now Retreat lounge very pleasant. By the time we boarded they had raised the height of some lamps and had modified some furnishings which had received negative comments. Service again was very good.

 

To us the biggest negative of the revolution was the uncomfortable balcony furnishings. We have cruised in many RS and found the ‘upgraded’ bare metal chairs and loungers very basic. We much preferred the cushioned chairs and lounger we had experienced on previous cruises.

 

Would we book a suite cruise on Equinox again? Certainly, we would have welcomed a water feature of any type and more shaded areas on the retreat deck but if you are aware of the positives and negatives of a ship you can work with it or choose to look at alternatives. The description of having a ‘suite deck’ means different things on different ships on Celebrity at present.

On 11/17/2020 at 6:12 PM, pmcue said:

Does the Equinox have a retreat pool / deck?   I see they say it has retreat, but do not see it on deck plan.

 

If Suite deck outside space is important to you then you may find it worth looking at the newer Edge/Apex which has had its retreat deck designed rather than retro fitted. I haven’t cruised either of these ships so cannot really advise but certainly the retreat deck looks far superior to the one on Equinox.

 

Sincere best wishes that you manage to get the information important to you and book a fantastic cruise!