Which Celebrity Ship is a favorite for...

[DJLDRUMS]

doing the Ultimate Southern Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale in mid to late March or early April. Those ships in question would have better entertainment, shows and things to do on board.

The  Beyond had been our ship of choice but looks like the issues with lots of unexplained noises outweigh the positives to want to do this one. Any out there tried the Silhouette or the Equinox for this particular itinerary?

[Oceansaway17]

I enjoyed the Summit in 2016 out of Bayonne to Bermuda.  Also we ha Capt Kate at the time and she took the ship upstream to view the Statue of Liberty.

 

I also enjoyed the Silhouette out of Southampton to Canaries.

 

looking forward to the EDGE from Barcelona this summer for 7 days in which the itinerary is better than the Symphony so that a visit to Monaco can be had.  Edge will end up in pacific and Alaska market for a while.

[keesar]

13 minutes ago, DJLDRUMS said:

doing the Ultimate Southern Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale in mid to late March or early April. Those ships in question would have better entertainment, shows and things to do on board.

The  Beyond had been our ship of choice but looks like the issues with lots of unexplained noises outweigh the positives to want to do this one. Any out there tried the Silhouette or the Equinox for this particular itinerary?

 

I would tend to lean to the Silhouette.  It has the Lawn Club Grill which is a plus for us.  

 

Don't be too concerned with the Beyond if you can get a room that does not have a noise problem.  It may take some reviews on your part.  We had an Aqua Class room that was dead quiet on Beyond.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

For the Caribbean I would just a land resort 

and I would never go in March or April because of Spring break time 😱

[39august]

I also would never take a Caribbean cruise on any ship during March or the first couple of weeks in April. Can you say "Spring Break"? I agree don't be thinking RCI. We are Pinnacle on RCI and after just our first Celebrity cruise in Dec. 2017, we have never gone back to RCI. 

[prmssk]

Silhouette and Equinox are the same class so almost the same ship.  I believe both have been revolutionized.  The Equinox has the hot glass studio.  The Silhouette has the lawn club grill.  But other than that they are pretty similar.  Does one have better timing or different better ports you prefer or better pricing?

 

And 10 nights during spring break time will be better than a 7 night cruise.  I agree I usually try to avoid this time of year but at least you aren't looking at a 7 night cruise.

[kearney]

The ultimate Southern Caribbean cruises are longer than 7 day cruises.. not really an issue for spring break.. A few years ago we went on an Easter timed cruise, it was a two week cruise.. we had perhaps 100 kids... vs passenger load of about 3000. Most of the kids were younger and British..I assume their break was longer than US breaks. Hardly noticed them... but our typical 10-12 night cruise has a dozen or so kids. We like the S class ships over the E class. The E class noise issues are mostly structural.. and there are a few cabins over the Club area that are impacted by heavy bass sound..or at least that was the issue on Early Edge ships. I suspect the entertainment is better on E class... the theater is spectacular.. We love the Sky lounge on S class with great views out front with large windows.. especially Equinox..since the view has not been impacted by the planned redesign which took some of that space for suites. Lots of nice quiet spots on S class ships.. they are very much alike..but Reflection has and extra deck with more cabins.. can't recall the difference between Silhouette and Equinox..except Equinox has the glass blowing where the Lawn Club is. and a few other differences.

[George C]

I prefer E class for entertainment also for suite perks 

[LMHSRN]

Equinox is my preference.  I love that ship.  Has not been fully upgraded.  No bar in Retreat deck.  Only some of th

e cabins have been upgraded, etc.  No Lawn Club Grill.  Still has Glass Show and grass areas.

But I love the ship, the ports and the crew!

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by LMHSRN

[davekathy]

We like the ship that is sailing  the itinerary we like. 

[DJLDRUMS]

44 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We like the ship that is sailing  the itinerary we like. 

Like that awesome answer. You pick the itinerary followed by the ship, hey, it works for you folks, that's all that matters.

[C-Dragons]

50 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We like the ship that is sailing  the itinerary we like. 

For us the ship is the destination, no matter where it's sailing. 😊

Currently the E-class are our favorites. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Both ships are simular enough that it comes down to price to itinerary

[davekathy]

32 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

For us the ship is the destination, no matter where it's sailing. 😊

Currently the E-class are our favorites. 

Exactly why there isn't a wrong answer to the OPs question or many other threads like this one. Personal preference for the selection process. 

 

Agree about the E class ships. Our first was on the Apex, March of this year. WOW! Booked a future Edge cruise while on the Apex. 

[C-Dragons]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Exactly why there isn't a wrong answer to the OPs question or many other threads like this one. Personal preference for the selection process. 

 

Agree about the E class ships. Our first was on the Apex, March of this year. WOW! Booked a future Edge cruise while on the Apex. 

We started off with Edge, then sailed Apex and our next cruise is on Beyond.

We have 2 on the books for Ascent, she's the one I'm really looking forward to! 😎

Edited April 9, 2023 by C-Dragons

[phoenix_dream]

Equinox is my all-time favorite Celebrity ship and we have sailed that itinerary multiple times.  In fact, we have a B2B booked on her next January for that itinerary.  I personally love time on my balcony so I won't book Edge class except perhaps if I can afford a suite.

[DJLDRUMS]

6 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We started off with Edge, then sailed Apex and our next cruise is on Beyond.

We have 2 on the books for Ascent, she's the one I'm really looking forward to! 😎

From what I've been reading from numerous threads about the Beyond's unaccounted for noises when sailing on just about every floor has me thinking twice about sailing her in 2024. Both the Apex and Edge sound terrific, i haven't read anything about the cracking-ticking noises coming from either ship that the Beyond is getting a lot of publicity about. if any of you haven't read about it, you might want to look into that thread. let's hope the Ascent's builder wont have this issue.

[DJLDRUMS]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Equinox is my all-time favorite Celebrity ship and we have sailed that itinerary multiple times.  In fact, we have a B2B booked on her next January for that itinerary.  I personally love time on my balcony so I won't book Edge class except perhaps if I can afford a suite.

Did you find that there was much to do in the evenings after dinner particularly if there wasn't any shows or other venues of entertainment on the Equinox?

[NMTraveller]

45 minutes ago, DJLDRUMS said:

From what I've been reading from numerous threads about the Beyond's unaccounted for noises when sailing on just about every floor has me thinking twice about sailing her in 2024. 

I think that they should call Ghost Hunters to get rid of the noises on the ship.  Time to kick these scalawag ghosts off of the ship and have them walk the plank.  After all they are stow aways.

[C-Dragons]

10 hours ago, DJLDRUMS said:

From what I've been reading from numerous threads about the Beyond's unaccounted for noises when sailing on just about every floor has me thinking twice about sailing her in 2024. Both the Apex and Edge sound terrific, i haven't read anything about the cracking-ticking noises coming from either ship that the Beyond is getting a lot of publicity about. if any of you haven't read about it, you might want to look into that thread. let's hope the Ascent's builder wont have this issue.

I have read everything. I'm not concerned at all.

YMMV.

[TeeRick]

13 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Equinox is my all-time favorite Celebrity ship and we have sailed that itinerary multiple times.  In fact, we have a B2B booked on her next January for that itinerary.  I personally love time on my balcony so I won't book Edge class except perhaps if I can afford a suite.

We used to say Silhouette but now I would have to agree about Equinox being our favorite.

[jules815]

17 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We started off with Edge, then sailed Apex and our next cruise is on Beyond.

We have 2 on the books for Ascent, she's the one I'm really looking forward to! 😎

It's always exciting to have a booking on a brand new ship. 😃

 

[39august]

There is plenty of entertainment on Equinox. There are shows in the theater every night at 7 and 9. Live music is playing at several different venues, and the music styles are varied. I believe every night there was the "house" band playing in the main foyer with lots of dancing going on. There will be at least one Full Moon Party up on the pool deck one night lateish. There will be at least one Silent Disco night. The barttenders at the Martini Bar put on a good show each night. And theres always the casino. There is usually a game show in front of Celebrity Central most nights as well. And during the day there are often speakers on various subjects in either Celebrity Central or the theater.THere are also art auctions for those so inclined. Various presentations and trivia in various venues daily. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by 39august

[mfs2k]

11 hours ago, DJLDRUMS said:

From what I've been reading from numerous threads about the Beyond's unaccounted for noises when sailing on just about every floor

I sailed on Beyond in October and had zero noise.

I suspect the problem is overstated.

[PinkSandGirl]

I've sailed all 3 of the ships you have listed but not on the 10-night ultimate Southern Caribbean itinerary.  As for the itinerary, I'll be on the Beyond in '24 for it.  When deciding which cruise to pick, I narrowed it down but ultimately chose the Beyond again.  We decided we needed to sail the Beyond again because we felt there were aspects we didn't experience/experience enough of even though we were on for 9 nights.  

 

I loved my cruises on the Silhouette, Equinox and Beyond.  The Beyond was my first E-class.  Do I love everything 100%, no, but loved it enough to try it again.  We were in Sky Suites and loved the Retreat aspect and I had that in mind when deciding which ship to pick for the '24 cruise.  

 

As for the shows.  The theatre on the Beyond with the screens really is nice. I wasn't so sure I would like it, but I did.  I would say live music and DJ's are pretty similar across the ships.  Onboard activities as well.  I sailed the Silhouette pre 2020 and the Equinox and Beyond post 2020 so I think activities have changed slightly in general from pre and post 2020.  

 

Beyond Creaking.  I can attest to experiencing the creaks.  Did it keep me awake?  No.  Was it bothersome? No.  Was it a tad concerning at times?  Yes, but only because I never experienced that on a ship.  Did it have to 'settle' or get 'broken in'?  I don't know.  The creaks didn't stop me from booking.  It became comical hearing those creaks. 

 

🍹

Edited April 11, 2023 by PinkSandGirl