Your thoughts on Equinox?

[phabric]

I have been on Reflection and Silhouette and will going on the Apex in 2022.

 

I know Equinox was revolution in 2019.

 

What are your thoughts on the Equinox?

[PTC DAWG]

Sailed her on the Southern Caribbean Cruise in the fall of 2019...was a great ship.  

 

Had cabin 9192 on the Hump...giant balcony...Sunset Bar was our favorite hangout...easy to find a seat in the theater..

 

The crew was great, but I'm sure it won't be the same folks when they restart.

 

Looking to book the Equinox again for the ABC Islands Cruise fall of 22.  

[marieps]

Have been on her several times, but not since revolution.  She was our first S class, and first introduction to Aqua.  We love the ship.  Wish they hadn't added the cabanas on the Lawn Club.  We liked the open feel.

[sydbarrett]

I haven't been on her but I really want to! Have only heard great things.

[39august]

During her "revolution" the Retreat Deck was not finished. There is no water feature and little shade. The attendants have to use the bar beneath the Retreat which is the Sky Lounge  as there is no bar actually on the Retreat deck. We didn't find that to be a problem, however. Service there was fantastic. The lack of shade is true of all Retreat decks on revolutionized ships. Of course, this is only of interest if you are going to book a suite. Otherwise, the ship is beautiful and classy.  The crew was wonderful the food very, very good. We particularly enjoyed having a couple of meals at Sushi on 5, which is by no means only sushi. The buffet was superb. Who knows how any of this will be when cruising resumes. 

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

During her "revolution" the Retreat Deck was not finished. There is no water feature and little shade. The attendants have to use the bar beneath the Retreat which is the Sky Lounge  as there is no bar actually on the Retreat deck. We didn't find that to be a problem, however. Service there was fantastic. The lack of shade is true of all Retreat decks on revolutionized ships. Of course, this is only of interest if you are going to book a suite. Otherwise, the ship is beautiful and classy.  The crew was wonderful the food very, very good. We particularly enjoyed having a couple of meals at Sushi on 5, which is by no means only sushi. The buffet was superb. Who knows how any of this will be when cruising resumes. 

I heard that the suites were not revolutionized, specifically S1 corner afts, but that may have changed.  

[39august]

Some of the veranda cabins got new carpets, drapes, furniture and balcony furniture. We had those last time on EQ. The balcony furniture was less comfortable than the previous furniture. Table smaller too. 

[1025cruise]

And the best part was that they didn't hack up the Sky Lounge to put in more suites.

 

I was on her in June 2019 and had a wonderful time.

[evandbob]

We cruised the Equinox Oct 2018 for the 1st time and were impressed.  Really loved the specialty restaurants and the smoke free casino.  Our balcony was quite comfortable being 15' deep on the bulge and the public areas on the ship were clean and well maintained.

 

They could use some additional seating in the buffet for peak breakfast and lunch times, it took a while to find a free table for the 4 of us.  We cruised with friends who had their own balcony.

 

We liked it so much, and got a casino fare, we re-booked the EQ for a 9 day sailing.  Unfortunately it's in March of this year and will likely get cancelled. Hopefully, we'll just L&S that booking and be able to retain the casino rate.

Edited January 8, 2021 by evandbob

[phabric]

Thanks for all the helpful information.  My agent is booking 2 cabins for Feb 2023.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I loved that the Equinox didn't get totally trashed during the last "upgrade."  Things got refreshed, but they didn't put in all the Hoppencrap.  If you're booking a suite, be aware that there is no elevator access to the Retreat sun deck.  The staff in Luminae was beyond awesome.

 

[Lastdance]

1 minute ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I loved that the Equinox didn't get totally trashed during the last "upgrade."  Things got refreshed, but they didn't put in all the Hoppencrap.  If you're booking a suite, be aware that there is no elevator access to the Retreat sun deck.  The staff in Luminae was beyond awesome.

 

Was your suite refurbished?

[PTC DAWG]

43 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

And the best part was that they didn't hack up the Sky Lounge to put in more suites.

 

I was on her in June 2019 and had a wonderful time.

Exactly, that's a great space.  I never knew Abba had so many songs and fans.  Wife and I stumbled into an Abba party one night around 11PM...was a blast...

[marieps]

39 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I loved that the Equinox didn't get totally trashed during the last "upgrade."  Things got refreshed, but they didn't put in all the Hoppencrap.  If you're booking a suite, be aware that there is no elevator access to the Retreat sun deck.  The staff in Luminae was beyond awesome.

 

What, you're not keen on beige, gray and more beige?

[chemmo]

We cruised in a RS post revolution. New bedding, sofa and chair, carpets and curtains looked the same. Room layout and bathroom unchanged.

 

Balcony furnishings a downgrade in our opinion. Smaller dining table, chairs without cushions and two recliner chairs with footstools again without cushions. Our butler rounded us up some scatter cushions but if you moved then they did. No furnishings you could comfortably relax in to read a book or enjoy an afternoon snooze! Why they couldn’t have bought recliners with at least cushions to the back and seat is beyond me. Those of us who book higher suites usually plan on spending time on the balcony. We made our views clear on board and on post cruise survey but I don’t think the Silhouette has anything better. Someone else has already commented re suite deck. Michael’s/Retreat was nicely decorated and by the time we boarded they had changed the height of some lights and removed some chairs which had received some negative comments straight after refit.

 

The ship generally was in good order, speciality restaurants and Luminae much as we remembered from a few years previous. We would happily cruise on her again but we don’t consider her ‘superior’ in any way to the S ships that haven’t been revolutionised...So little  was done and in so few areas and with compromises...

[CHEZMARYLOU]

1 hour ago, Lastdance said:

Was your suite refurbished?

We were in the PH in November 2019 and it was well maintained.  The sofa looked new, or at least reupholstered. It still had the piano and the glass dining table. It was our 1st PH so I have nothing to compare it with.

[Lastdance]

My DH and I haven't cruised the Caribbean in many, many years, but did want to try a cruise that fell over Christmas and New Years, so that's why I booked 1/22/2022 on Equinox.  If a better deal comes along, I might cancel and move to that one.  So far, Equinox is the only one available at this point in time.  I know it cannot compare to all my European cruises, yet I have quite a few of those booked.  There is just something about European cruises/land stays that are very special.

[dani negreanu]

We've been lately in 2014, but were very impressed with the ship, and the food was fantastic. One of our best cruises, I'll return in a heart beat, revo or not 😁

[jg51]

.

Thanks for asking, "phabric."

We can share some much older Equinox reflections [no pun intended] with you.

 

The Equinox was launched in mid-2009.  We had the privilege of being aboard for back-to-back, magnificent cruises (totaling 27 nights) in the autumn of 2010 -- and it was one of our cruising-life's best experiences. 

 

First, there was a 13-night leg (from/to Rome [Civitavecchia]) ... visiting Naples ... Messina, Sicily ... Corfu, Greece ... Alexandria, Egypt ... Ashdod (for Jerusalem) ... and Haifa (for Galilee).

Second, there was a 14-night leg (from Rome) ... visiting Livorno (for Florence/Pisa) ... Monte Carlo, Monaco ... Barcelona, Spain ... Cartagena ... Cadiz (for Seville) ... Tenerife, Canary Islands ... and Fort Lauderdale.

 

Having enjoyed the above so much, we were again aboard the Equinox in 2013, for a shorter voyage.

 

The above good experiences led us to try the Solstice, Reflection, and Silhouette (each for back-to-back cruises, at least once each ship) in subsequent years.  We like the "S" class so much that we are reluctant to try the "E."

 

We are glad to see (from other folks' positive reports, above) that Equinox has continued to impress CrCr members since 2013.  After a seven-year absence, we were booked aboard Equinox for back-to-back cruises in the spring of 2021, but decided to cancel them, this past autumn, because of the likelihood that the cruises would be canceled by "X" (or that CDC would forbid back-to-backs).  Maybe another day ...

.

 

[phoenix_dream]

I've sailed Celebrity 60 times, all ships except Edge class, and Equinox has been my favorite.  

[homedepot124]

We were on the March 7-14, 2020 sailing of the Equinox.  The last sailing before cruising was stopped.  We were told they only had a mini-upgrade due to their shipyard space being taken up by RCCL Oasis OTS because of the emergency repairs required due to the crane collapse.  The Sky Lounge on deck 14 definitely got nicer furniture.  The tables are all still way too close together in the MDR.  I don't see how those waiters function. 

[mom says]

We were on a B2B on the 2 sailings prior to homedepots  cruise last year. I'm glad Equinox only had the partial refit so that the Sky Lounge was left as it had been. We found our balcony cabin just as comfortable as any of the other ships, although I agree the new balcony furniture was a definite error in judgement on Xs  part. The crew were great, and the food was on par with most X ships. Loved Sushi on 5. Their lobster ramen  is to die for.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

8 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Was your suite refurbished?

 

It had new carpeting, drapes, a new bed and bedding, and new balcony furniture.  It was lovely.  I don't care for how Hoppen designed the suites.  Not at all functional.  None of that had been done.  I was grateful that it hadn't been.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

7 hours ago, marieps said:

What, you're not keen on beige, gray and more beige?

It's not the colors I object to, it's her nonfunctional design of furniture and no storage space.

[ipeeinthepool]

13 hours ago, Lastdance said:

My DH and I haven't cruised the Caribbean in many, many years, but did want to try a cruise that fell over Christmas and New Years, so that's why I booked 1/22/2022 on Equinox.  If a better deal comes along, I might cancel and move to that one.  So far, Equinox is the only one available at this point in time.  I know it cannot compare to all my European cruises, yet I have quite a few of those booked.  There is just something about European cruises/land stays that are very special.

 

I'm assuming there was a typo in your post and you are referring to the 12/22/2022 Equinox cruise and not a date in January.  Cruises during the holidays are usually the most expensive cruises of the year.  Cruising during the holidays will also attract families with a lot more kids than other times of the year.  For a number of years I chose to cruise between Christmas and New Years because of school schedules, but I've evolved into sailing early in December or early January.  Early January and early December usually have much lower prices and fewer kids.  If you compare the Dec 12 price for a veranda to the December 22 price it is $1999 vs $2799 although the Dec 22 cruise is one day longer.  

 

Enjoy your cruise

Edited January 9, 2021 by ipeeinthepool