Equinox 9/26 a few comments

[hertz4319]

Hi All,

 

My husband and I just came back from the Equinox. First I want to see we had a great time. This cruise did for us what we always need on a cruise to relax, and get away from ordinary life.

 

This is not a review I just want people to be aware of what sailing on the Equinox will be like during COVID-19. 

 

From the moment we entered the ship no masks where required. In fact celebrity did nothing to promote social distancing. I am fully aware almost all passengers were vaccinated and tested two days prior. I think especially how the website is worded they could have limited people on an elevator and social distance in the theater. By the way all crew members are fully vaccinated and wear masks all the time.

 

In the dining the staff was very accommodating to seat us by our selves and we a good distance from other guests. 

 

I think where celebrity failed the most is in shore excursions, before we went on the cruise I read on cruise critic how there was no social distancing on tours. Knowing this we went to the shore excursions desk upon getting on the ship. I told the associate what I read.on cruise critic. She told me she can't tell me how many tickets would be sold until they know what vehicles would be used. Also she told me they will continue to sell tickets until the excursion leaves. She offered to call me with the information on how many on each tour but that information is irrelevant if they keep on selling tickets. I then asked her if I could get a refund if I went out to see how the bus looks and didn't take the tour. I was told no. We cancelled all tours at that point.  I am the type of person that believes it is my responsibility and my responsibility alone to do what is right for me. No one else can nor should make that decision.

 

In Dominica my husband and I did a private tour and it was very good. Since we had on board credit we used it for the tour. We were in a van which sat 16 passengers. We were supposed to be on a 3 hours tour but lasted 2.5 but we saw everything. The cost was $ 165.00 for each of us. We passed a large bus and it was packed full and on the road we passed a few vans and they were absolutely packed. No social distancing nor masks were worn. This really irritates me because of what celebrity promotes on the website. I strongly suggest celebrity removes all about making the tours safe from their website.

 

Also I had a chat with the excursions manager. She told me the shore side team that manages excursion will be have all excursions at least 100% capacity.

 

I hope you find my comments helpful.  Again I feel a company can do what they want to and therefore I as a consumer can do the same. 

[Fouremco]

This shore excursion nonsense really has to stop. I really don't know what the answer is, but I hope that everyone who has been displeased has made a strong negative comment in their survey. The social distancing and mask wearing I can control for myself, but not the packing of vans and buses. I'm particularly disappointed in the response when you asked about cancelling if you find the vehicle not meeting the supposed protocols.

[chotton]

I read on a Facebook board that they had to wear tracing bracelets on a recent cruise. I'm very skeptical if this is true. Was this a policy on your sailing?

 

Heading out on Equinox on November 19 so I'm curious. 

 

Also, 100% agree with your post above. These days you have to do what's comfortable for you, it's not a one size fits all world anymore. 

 

[hertz4319]

Thank you very much for your reply. I do appreciate it.

[LGW59]

15 minutes ago, hertz4319 said:

Hi All,

 

My husband and I just came back from the Equinox. First I want to see we had a great time. This cruise did for us what we always need on a cruise to relax, and get away from ordinary life.

 

This is not a review I just want people to be aware of what sailing on the Equinox will be like during COVID-19. 

 

From the moment we entered the ship no masks where required. In fact celebrity did nothing to promote social distancing. I am fully aware almost all passengers were vaccinated and tested two days prior. I think especially how the website is worded they could have limited people on an elevator and social distance in the theater. By the way all crew members are fully vaccinated and wear masks all the time.

 

In the dining the staff was very accommodating to seat us by our selves and we a good distance from other guests. 

 

I think where celebrity failed the most is in shore excursions, before we went on the cruise I read on cruise critic how there was no social distancing on tours. Knowing this we went to the shore excursions desk upon getting on the ship. I told the associate what I read.on cruise critic. She told me she can't tell me how many tickets would be sold until they know what vehicles would be used. Also she told me they will continue to sell tickets until the excursion leaves. She offered to call me with the information on how many on each tour but that information is irrelevant if they keep on selling tickets. I then asked her if I could get a refund if I went out to see how the bus looks and didn't take the tour. I was told no. We cancelled all tours at that point.  I am the type of person that believes it is my responsibility and my responsibility alone to do what is right for me. No one else can nor should make that decision.

 

In Dominica my husband and I did a private tour and it was very good. Since we had on board credit we used it for the tour. We were in a van which sat 16 passengers. We were supposed to be on a 3 hours tour but lasted 2.5 but we saw everything. The cost was $ 165.00 for each of us. We passed a large bus and it was packed full and on the road we passed a few vans and they were absolutely packed. No social distancing nor masks were worn. This really irritates me because of what celebrity promotes on the website. I strongly suggest celebrity removes all about making the tours safe from their website.

 

Also I had a chat with the excursions manager. She told me the shore side team that manages excursion will be have all excursions at least 100% capacity.

 

I hope you find my comments helpful.  Again I feel a company can do what they want to and therefore I as a consumer can do the same. 

Thanks for sharing this, and it is exactly why there is no cruise in my future until mid-2022 at the earliest.  

[hertz4319]

Absolutely no bracelets. 

[brockmom]

I have been reading everything I can about Equinox as we are cruising Nov 19 as well. Apparently the bracelets were not working.

I also love your attitude…I will do what I am comfortable with and if wearing a mask makes me feel better then that is what I will do…even if they say they are not required.

I had read on cc early on that the tours were way too full….for MY liking…and we decided we will either stay on board or do our own thing.

And as much as we enjoy meeting and chatting with new people, we are planning on enjoying this cruise for us…and enjoying the sunsets, the wake, the views….plus all those other things we have missed the last 18 months….including tours organized by us. 

Good of you to remind people what these tours will be like.

thank you.

[Cg52]

Very helpful. Thank you. 

[chotton]

44 minutes ago, hertz4319 said:

Absolutely no bracelets. 

Thanks for confirming this. One more question. How many passengers were on your sailing?

[wrk2cruise]

They stopped using the tracelets starting with the 9/5 sailing.   We were on the 9/5 & 9/17 sailings which Jim blogged.   I agree with the OP that Celebrity is doing nothing to promote social distancing on sailings.  We were on Edge 7/3 as well.   It's working for them currently with the 50% or less capacity but I don't see how they will be able to ramp up capacity without making some adjustments.     

 

I expected at least some signage in elevators/theaters/buffet/casino but nothing.  I realize there is probably a percentage of passengers who won't honor it anyway but they should at least walk the walk.

[hertz4319]

Thank you everyone one for the positive feedback. We don't know how many people were on board because we didn't do all the shows and hardly any activities. For whatever reason we chose to remain by ourselves. Which in the past was not like us but this is not the past it is the present.

 

Brockmom -  I totally agree with you. Just beware at the time we took the cruise some ports you couldn't get off the ship if you didn't have a celebrity excursion and at some ports could only go into the port area without a celebrity excursion. 

[mayleeman]

@hertz4319 You can almost completely control how exposed you are in a potentially crowded situation by using properly fitted N95 masks instead of the surgical masks everyone uses that are more suited to stopping you from exposing others.

[MLP12]

2 hours ago, hertz4319 said:

Hi All,

 

My husband and I just came back from the Equinox. First I want to see we had a great time. This cruise did for us what we always need on a cruise to relax, and get away from ordinary life.

 

This is not a review I just want people to be aware of what sailing on the Equinox will be like during COVID-19. 

 

From the moment we entered the ship no masks where required. In fact celebrity did nothing to promote social distancing. I am fully aware almost all passengers were vaccinated and tested two days prior. I think especially how the website is worded they could have limited people on an elevator and social distance in the theater. By the way all crew members are fully vaccinated and wear masks all the time.

 

In the dining the staff was very accommodating to seat us by our selves and we a good distance from other guests. 

 

I think where celebrity failed the most is in shore excursions, before we went on the cruise I read on cruise critic how there was no social distancing on tours. Knowing this we went to the shore excursions desk upon getting on the ship. I told the associate what I read.on cruise critic. She told me she can't tell me how many tickets would be sold until they know what vehicles would be used. Also she told me they will continue to sell tickets until the excursion leaves. She offered to call me with the information on how many on each tour but that information is irrelevant if they keep on selling tickets. I then asked her if I could get a refund if I went out to see how the bus looks and didn't take the tour. I was told no. We cancelled all tours at that point.  I am the type of person that believes it is my responsibility and my responsibility alone to do what is right for me. No one else can nor should make that decision.

 

In Dominica my husband and I did a private tour and it was very good. Since we had on board credit we used it for the tour. We were in a van which sat 16 passengers. We were supposed to be on a 3 hours tour but lasted 2.5 but we saw everything. The cost was $ 165.00 for each of us. We passed a large bus and it was packed full and on the road we passed a few vans and they were absolutely packed. No social distancing nor masks were worn. This really irritates me because of what celebrity promotes on the website. I strongly suggest celebrity removes all about making the tours safe from their website.

 

Also I had a chat with the excursions manager. She told me the shore side team that manages excursion will be have all excursions at least 100% capacity.

 

I hope you find my comments helpful.  Again I feel a company can do what they want to and therefore I as a consumer can do the same. 

I agree 100 percent with your comments and found them very helpful.  I am so excited to be cruising again, but probably won't take any excursions.  I also plan on using the stairs instead of the elevators, although my husband won't be able to.  It's just not worth the risk for us. Thank you for sharing your experience.  

[marieps]

If I may inquire of the OP, were there any positive cases on your sailing of which you are aware?  I think =X= may have a misplaced sense of security if no one was positive during the actual cruise.  Who's to say someone's infection week later was in no way related to the lack of SD on the ship?

Edited October 10, 2021 by marieps

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

This shore excursion nonsense really has to stop. I really don't know what the answer is, but I hope that everyone who has been displeased has made a strong negative comment in their survey. The social distancing and mask wearing I can control for myself, but not the packing of vans and buses. I'm particularly disappointed in the response when you asked about cancelling if you find the vehicle not meeting the supposed protocols.

 

Celebrity is trying to get to something approaching 100% occupancy as soon as possible.  If this isn't acceptable to you, then perhaps you should reconsider sailing for the indefinite future.

[Northern Aurora]

We were on both the September 17th and September 24th Millennium Alaska sailings.  While we felt safer on the ship than in our local grocery stores, we also felt the shore excursions had the potential to be an issue. 

 

In our case, we had a ridiculous amount of non-refundable OBC on the first leg and a generous amount on the second leg.    We actually live in Alaska, and while we have done a number of Alaska itineraries through the years I doubt we have ever taken a Celebrity sponsored shore excursion.  This time we decided to spend some of that first leg N-OBC on shore excursions.

 

The first excursion in Ketchikan (crab feast at George Inlet Lodge) was somewhat problematic in terms of distancing, the second in Juneau (marine search of whales and other wildlife) was perfect in terms of the limited number of folks spread out on the vessel, and the third (a 2.5 hour whale watch trip out of Icy Strait Point) started well in terms of social distancing as we were spaced out in the vessel by the captain but became somewhat problematic when we found a resident pod of whales and watched bubble feeding NONSTOP for ninety (yes --90) minutes.  At that point a number of folks crowded out onto the bow of the small vessel.  It was such a show folks just weren't thinking.  And it was so phenomenal I told my husband we can never do another whale watching trip anywhere in the world as nothing will ever match that.

 

The second leg we didn't do any shore excursions with the ship at all.

 

We were in the same suite for both legs.  We have been in suites on M-class ships and  Luminae looked normal to us in terms of how full it was.   We were told that the suites were sold out.  

 

We did have a passenger test positive on the first leg, but none on the second.  The captain addressed the ship on the first day after departing Seattle to announce that a passenger tested positive.  We did see more passengers wearing masks on that first leg than on the second.

 

We essentially lived on decks 4, 5 and 6 so used the stairs frequently.  With the three banks of elevators on M-class ships the few times we used one it wasn't a problem.  

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Celebrity is trying to get to something approaching 100% occupancy as soon as possible.  If this isn't acceptable to you, then perhaps you should reconsider sailing for the indefinite future.

I almost never take cruise line excursions to begin with, so Celebrity not following its health and safety protocols actually doesn't effect me. But there are many other passengers who do like to book ship excursions and do so now under the impression that the protocols will be adhered to. If Celebrity wants to rush back to 100% excursion occupancy, no problem, just be honest about the excursions, drop the posted protocols and return to pre-pandemic conditions.

[wrk2cruise]

On many of  the itineraries private excursions (other than those arranged by Private Journeys) are not allowed.   So in many places if you want to tour the destination you are pretty much stuck with Celebrity excursions.

 

We have cruised the Caribbean many times we had pretty much stopped getting off the ship even before Covid.

[Silkroad]

16 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I almost never take cruise line excursions to begin with, so Celebrity not following its health and safety protocols actually doesn't effect me. But there are many other passengers who do like to book ship excursions and do so now under the impression that the protocols will be adhered to. If Celebrity wants to rush back to 100% excursion occupancy, no problem, just be honest about the excursions, drop the posted protocols and return to pre-pandemic conditions.

Agree. We prefer to explore on our own or arrange small private tours. We have a cruise booked on Edge in two weeks and another on Equinox in two months. We’re aware that we may not be able to go ashore in some ports unless we’re with a Celebrity tour group. Since Celebrity isn’t honest about the conditions under which their group tours operate, we won’t take any. One possibility is to arrange a Private Journey such as the one @Jim_Iainarranged on a recent cruise, but we will be quite happy enjoying the ship if we must miss some ports.

Edited October 10, 2021 by Silkroad

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

I almost never take cruise line excursions to begin with, so Celebrity not following its health and safety protocols actually doesn't effect me. But there are many other passengers who do like to book ship excursions and do so now under the impression that the protocols will be adhered to. If Celebrity wants to rush back to 100% excursion occupancy, no problem, just be honest about the excursions, drop the posted protocols and return to pre-pandemic conditions.

 

If you are concerned about 100% occupancy on shore excursions, I suspect that you will also be disappointed with the lack of any restrictions and no social distancing in the casino, Ocean View cafe or theatre.  If you are ready to cruise under these conditions,  Welcome Aboard.  If not, I doubt you will be happy onshore or on board the ship.

[Fouremco]

14 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

On many of  the itineraries private excursions (other than those arranged by Private Journeys) are not allowed.   So in many places if you want to tour the destination you are pretty much stuck with Celebrity excursions.

 

We have cruised the Caribbean many times we had pretty much stopped getting off the ship even before Covid.

I have no idea what the port conditions will be like for our next cruise. But if private or DIY excursions aren't available, DW and I are also quite content to stay aboard.

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

If you are concerned about 100% occupancy on shore excursions, I suspect that you will also be disappointed with the lack of any restrictions and no social distancing in the casino, Ocean View cafe or theatre.  If you are ready to cruise under these conditions,  Welcome Aboard.  If not, I doubt you will be happy onshore or on board the ship.

Well, I don't spend any time in the casino, so no problem there. As for the other two, I'm not seeing any number of complaints. In fact, most threads are commenting on the lack of crowds aboard. But thanks for your concern.

[brockmom]

3 hours ago, hertz4319 said:

Thank you everyone one for the positive feedback. We don't know how many people were on board because we didn't do all the shows and hardly any activities. For whatever reason we chose to remain by ourselves. Which in the past was not like us but this is not the past it is the present.

 

Brockmom -  I totally agree with you. Just beware at the time we took the cruise some ports you couldn't get off the ship if you didn't have a celebrity excursion and at some ports could only go into the port area without a celebrity excursion. 

Totally agree.

This will be a Thanksgiving cruise for the American folks and I suspect it will have a higher pax number. We are prepared to stick to ourselves, and stay on and enjoy the ship if we are not comfortable with anything.

Right now our ABC islands are looking good but a lot can change in 6 short weeks and we will be fine with that.

cheers

[Northern Aurora]

13 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

If you are concerned about 100% occupancy on shore excursions, I suspect that you will also be disappointed with the lack of any restrictions and no social distancing in the casino, Ocean View cafe or theatre.  If you are ready to cruise under these conditions,  Welcome Aboard.  If not, I doubt you will be happy onshore or on board the ship.

 

We don't gamble but while on the Millennium last month we noted that in the casino a number of the slot machines had either notes on chairs informing folks not to sit on them, or there was no  chair in front of the machine at all.

 

We also noted that there were fewer bar stools in Cellar Masters and in some other bars.  Tables in bars were spaced out farther from each other.  

 

While folks on those three shore excursions we took on the first leg were very good about masking, on that ISP excursion in particular the spectacular bubble feeding show was so exciting folks became very distracted and just weren't thinking.  But they were outside.

 

Given our experience it seemed that Celebrity was trying hard, but those shore excursions may be an issue, particularly if and when passenger occupancy increases.

[Silkroad]

4 hours ago, brockmom said:

I had read on cc early on that the tours were way too full….for MY liking…and we decided we will either stay on board or do our own thing.

And as much as we enjoy meeting and chatting with new people, we are planning on enjoying this cruise for us…and enjoying the sunsets, the wake, the views….plus all those other things we have missed the last 18 months….including tours organized by us. 

This is exactly how we feel. If an area is too crowded for our comfort, we’ll leave. I can’t wait for that first night at sea, when all my cares slip away and I sleep more soundly than I have in months. Sunrises. Sunsets. Fresh tropical fruit at breakfast. Delicious Indian food for lunch. No phone calls, emails or texts from work. I hope  you’re enjoying a lovely holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!