Current Situation: Equinox vs Silhouette?

[Rayhorn]

Hello All.

 

My wife and I are thinking of taking a B2B cruise on either the Equinox or Silhouette in February. I am aware of the few small physical differences after the Revolution refit such as Lawn Club Grill on Silhouette vs the hot glass studio on Equinox, difference in sunset bar, difference in retreat sun deck, etc.

 

My question is more directed toward those who may have been on both ships recently or know someone who has.

 

Is there a difference in the quality of entertainment, service, activities, or food?

 

We plan on mostly making the ship our destination, especially with so many ports being skipped or rescheduled. Therefore, the onboard experience might give one ship the edge over the other. We like an active/exciting activities staff and talented musicians to enjoy during our days and evenings (especially since we’d be with them for two cruises).

 

We will not be staying in the Retreat so service specific to that or Luminae wont affect us. 

 

Thank you very much for any input!

 

PS: Yes, I have perused the different live threads, but I was hoping to find somebody who has experienced both ships recently who might provide some insight into whether there were substantive differences to the onboard experience.

[chemmo]

Have cruised on both since their refit. 
 

The biggest differences are for suite guests, Silhouette winning for a much better sun deck. However, if you use the basket ball court at all Equinox still has one…

 

Dining, we really enjoyed the extra dining venues on Silhouette. Both Lawn Grill and the Porch offer relaxing dining venues. If you are spending a lot of time on the ship they can be great alternatives for a leisurely lunch as well as evening option (additional cost, obviously). 
 

Rooms, we believe on the Silhouette all rooms had a makeover whereas on Equinox I think suites only had soft furnishings changed, perhaps Aqua also had rooms refreshed? I think other rooms remained the same. Perhaps, someone can confirm. Certainly our suite on Silhouette had had much more of a makeover than our suite on Equinox.

 

We did not use the MDR on either ship. The buffets seemed very similar as did most of the bars other than the Sunset bar where the additional seating areas on Silhouette made a big positive difference.

 

Entertainment. We find the strength of entertainment on Celebrity are the individual and small groups of artists that play in the lounges and atrium area. I would say our experience on both ships is similar. It is important to check your Today so that you don’t miss things.

 

Activities. I would not see this as a strength of any Celebrity ship where most guests seem happy to focus on rest and relaxation. Again, you need to check your Today as there are no announcements after the 10am one. Far more activities on other lines like RC. Cannot really offer a comparison between ships as our Equinox cruise was pre covid and our Silhouette one was a few months ago when more restrictions were in place. However, having cruised all S class ships, some multiple times, we have noticed very little difference in offerings.

 

So in summary…The rooms may be a bit fresher on Silhouette, also she has more dining options. For suite guests she has a better sun deck too. If none of these were important to me I would judge on pricing and itinerary…

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a fantastic cruise!

[Cruise a holic]

Both excellent ships- We prefer the Silhouette as we enjoy the lawn club grill which isn't on the Equinox.  However both are great.  You cannot trust that the ports will be as advertised during covid.  Some have refused ships.  So times and ports might vary.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Prefer Equinox as like the basketball court.  Little difference outerwise unless you are a suite.  Just be flexible as everything travel related can and will change often.

[Rayhorn]

Try #2…I just typed a long reply, hit post, and then CC reloaded and lost everything I typed. 🙄

 

Thank you three for your responses! Especially @chemmo, that was a fantastic overview!

 

To clarify regarding activities…We don’t like the crazy or goofy activities like parades, hairy legs, bellyflop, etc. But what we have experienced to differing degrees on Celebrity is a nice range of interactive activities like game shows, trivia, sing alongs, sometimes even karaoke. These usually took place in the observation lounge or in Celebrity Central (on S class). We find that this brings variety and gives us the option of attending if we’re feeling a bit more adventurous. On the other hand, we have had Celebrity cruises where there were basically no extra activities and Celebrity Central was never used except for screening movies. This is fine too, we just like the option of some of those activities and didn’t know if there was a difference in this regard between Equinox and Silhouette. Maybe it depends on the current CD.

 

Oh, and can anyone confirm @chemmo’s suspicion that the cabins on Equinox didn’t get the same level of makeover as Silhouette? That would definitely be a major consideration for us. We’d just be in a standard cabin, not a suite or AQ so having a refresh makes a big difference. I especially like the look of the updated bathrooms. I always assumed that both ships got the same treatment in this regard. 

 

Thank you everyone for sharing your awesome knowledge.

[Lastdance]

12 minutes ago, efussander said:

Try #2…I just typed a long reply, hit post, and then CC reloaded and lost everything I typed. 🙄

 

Thank you three for your responses! Especially @chemmo, that was a fantastic overview!

 

To clarify regarding activities…We don’t like the crazy or goofy activities like parades, hairy legs, bellyflop, etc. But what we have experienced to differing degrees on Celebrity is a nice range of interactive activities like game shows, trivia, sing alongs, sometimes even karaoke. These usually took place in the observation lounge or in Celebrity Central (on S class). We find that this brings variety and gives us the option of attending if we’re feeling a bit more adventurous. On the other hand, we have had Celebrity cruises where there were basically no extra activities and Celebrity Central was never used except for screening movies. This is fine too, we just like the option of some of those activities and didn’t know if there was a difference in this regard between Equinox and Silhouette. Maybe it depends on the current CD.

 

Oh, and can anyone confirm @chemmo’s suspicion that the cabins on Equinox didn’t get the same level of makeover as Silhouette? That would definitely be a major consideration for us. We’d just be in a standard cabin, not a suite or AQ so having a refresh makes a big difference. I especially like the look of the updated bathrooms. I always assumed that both ships got the same treatment in this regard. 

 

Thank you everyone for sharing your awesome knowledge.

Many suites were not finished, but I am not sure about the rest of the ship's cabins, but I believe most were.

[kearney]

8 hours ago, chemmo said:

Have cruised on both since their refit. 
 

The biggest differences are for suite guests, Silhouette winning for a much better sun deck. However, if you use the basket ball court at all Equinox still has one…

 

Dining, we really enjoyed the extra dining venues on Silhouette. Both Lawn Grill and the Porch offer relaxing dining venues. If you are spending a lot of time on the ship they can be great alternatives for a leisurely lunch as well as evening option (additional cost, obviously). 
 

Rooms, we believe on the Silhouette all rooms had a makeover whereas on Equinox I think suites only had soft furnishings changed, perhaps Aqua also had rooms refreshed? I think other rooms remained the same. Perhaps, someone can confirm. Certainly our suite on Silhouette had had much more of a makeover than our suite on Equinox.

 

We did not use the MDR on either ship. The buffets seemed very similar as did most of the bars other than the Sunset bar where the additional seating areas on Silhouette made a big positive difference.

 

Entertainment. We find the strength of entertainment on Celebrity are the individual and small groups of artists that play in the lounges and atrium area. I would say our experience on both ships is similar. It is important to check your Today so that you don’t miss things.

 

Activities. I would not see this as a strength of any Celebrity ship where most guests seem happy to focus on rest and relaxation. Again, you need to check your Today as there are no announcements after the 10am one. Far more activities on other lines like RC. Cannot really offer a comparison between ships as our Equinox cruise was pre covid and our Silhouette one was a few months ago when more restrictions were in place. However, having cruised all S class ships, some multiple times, we have noticed very little difference in offerings.

 

So in summary…The rooms may be a bit fresher on Silhouette, also she has more dining options. For suite guests she has a better sun deck too. If none of these were important to me I would judge on pricing and itinerary…

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a fantastic cruise!

I am wondering when you sailed Equinox?... we did so just after the 'refresh' and only the curtains and pillows had been updated. I assumed that over the months the carpets and other items would have been refreshed. We are sailing in Feb...we hope... and in a cabin close to one we had last time..so I guess we will learn then if those changes were made. We just got off silhouette... I was glad to see that the Sky lounge still had its broad view forward...the upgraded decor in the cabins was nice and the gray tone look better than the Equinox's mix of gray and beige/rust. However.. the bathroom tile still goes better with the older color scheme.

 

To OP... We didn't even go to the shows when we were recently on Silhouette..so I can't comment. We did stop at all ports of call..but we had no known covid cases. It appears that most of the ports that have closed have done so because of an outbreak onboard the visiting ship. It there is an outbreak.. entertainment might be modified as well... I seem to have come across that. So your onboard experience may vary depending upon the health of the ship. We lucked out in early Dec..hope we will do so again in mid Feb...but only time will tell.  

[chemmo]

46 minutes ago, kearney said:

I am wondering when you sailed Equinox?... we did so just after the 'refresh' and only the curtains and pillows had been updated. I assumed that over the months the carpets and other items would have been refreshed. We are sailing in Feb...we hope... and in a cabin close to one we had last time..so I guess we will learn then if those changes were made. We just got off silhouette... I was glad to see that the Sky lounge still had its broad view forward...the upgraded decor in the cabins was nice and the gray tone look better than the Equinox's mix of gray and beige/rust. However.. the bathroom tile still goes better with the older color scheme.

 

To OP... We didn't even go to the shows when we were recently on Silhouette..so I can't comment. We did stop at all ports of call..but we had no known covid cases. It appears that most of the ports that have closed have done so because of an outbreak onboard the visiting ship. It there is an outbreak.. entertainment might be modified as well... I seem to have come across that. So your onboard experience may vary depending upon the health of the ship. We lucked out in early Dec..hope we will do so again in mid Feb...but only time will tell.  

 

We sailed on Equinox, just after the refit. September 2019 (I think….)? Our RS had a new sofa, new chair, new bedding, hundreds of pillows and new but uncomfortable balcony furniture. Carpet and curtains were the same. So pleased you have come back with information re other rooms. As far as I know no further upgrades to any rooms on Equinox have taken place. It would be great if someone who has been on Equinox very recently could advise the OP.

 

On Silhouette in September we were in the PH and everything had been upgraded, curtains, carpet, furnishings, piano stolen!?!? Obviously it is impossible to offer information about rooms you haven’t visited.

 

We have had fantastic cruises on both ships…Two further ones booked on Silhouette, but would happily cruise on Equinox again (with or without further refurbishment)….