Equinox - TV, Internet and carrying on soda/water questions

[kywildcatfanone]

I've only sailed on Celebrity once, the Infinity last year.  Cruise was fine, but the internet was downright terrible, and since it hadn't been refurbished it had the small TV, and nothing but live TV channels, maybe 6 in total.

 

I've read that ships that are either newer or refurbished have bigger TV's, but do they also have on demand options for shows/movies?  We are typically Princess cruisers, but enjoyed Infinity last year, and bought a FCD, and are thinking of the Equinox in the Caribbean.  I know it's newer, and has been refurbished, but is the internet any better on it in the Caribbean, and are there on demand TV options? On Princess, the wifi for us has been good for every Caribbean cruise, mostly good for streaming, and for audio calls for work, and lots of on demand tv shows ,and movies to choose from. Wife and I aren't much for all the evening entertainment, and generally prefer to go back to our room and watch TV stuff.  On Infinity, I brought some DVD's, but would prefer not to.

 

Also, if you don't buy a drink package, can you bring on your own soda/water?  If so, how much and checked bags or carry on or either?

 

Thanks in advance!

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I've only sailed on Celebrity once, the Infinity last year.  Cruise was fine, but the internet was downright terrible, and since it hadn't been refurbished it had the small TV, and nothing but live TV channels, maybe 6 in total.

 

I've read that ships that are either newer or refurbished have bigger TV's, but do they also have on demand options for shows/movies?  We are typically Princess cruisers, but enjoyed Infinity last year, and bought a FCD, and are thinking of the Equinox in the Caribbean.  I know it's newer, and has been refurbished, but is the internet any better on it in the Caribbean, and are there on demand TV options? On Princess, the wifi for us has been good for every Caribbean cruise, mostly good for streaming, and for audio calls for work, and lots of on demand tv shows ,and movies to choose from. Wife and I aren't much for all the evening entertainment, and generally prefer to go back to our room and watch TV stuff.  On Infinity, I brought some DVD's, but would prefer not to.

 

Also, if you don't buy a drink package, can you bring on your own soda/water?  If so, how much and checked bags or carry on or either?

 

Thanks in advance!

I was on the Equinox in February and with the premium wifi, it was heaven.  We were binging Succession HBO season 3 and no issues at all.  We were also streaming sports games.  Husband was doing work meetings without issue.  BUT you need the premium.

Check celebrity website for what you can bring on.  

The ship doesn't care about bags.

[kywildcatfanone]

Am I right in reading that even with the drinks, wifi, and gratuities package, that is still the basic wifi and you still yet pay more for the premium on top of that?

[chimchimtx]

12 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Am I right in reading that even with the drinks, wifi, and gratuities package, that is still the basic wifi and you still yet pay more for the premium on top of that?

Yes, there is a charge for premium wifi beyond the basic wifi included in your package.  In September the basic wifi on Equinox was terrible for us (although others on the same sailing claimed they streamed a game on their basic package from the pool deck).  If you talk to the ilounge they will tell you that basic is only for emails and text based items.  No pictures or streaming.  We did not even get that level of signal on basic.  I am hoping with the conversion to starlink that basic will at least be fast enough for email now.  Before leaving home I download books, music, shows, etc and don't bother with streaming anything onboard.  For our upcoming cruise, we have already purchased the premium upgrade for my husband who needs better access for work.   The signal does vary in different locations of the ship but my biggest complaint/feedback to Celebrity on our last cruise was that claiming they include basic wifi is false advertising when it not enough bandwidth for the most basic of uses.

[kywildcatfanone]

55 minutes ago, chimchimtx said:

The signal does vary in different locations of the ship but my biggest complaint/feedback to Celebrity on our last cruise was that claiming they include basic wifi is false advertising when it not enough bandwidth for the most basic of uses.

That was my experience on Infinity last year.  Basic internet should be enough for emails and images in emails to display.  On Infinity, I could read emails, but not open attachments or even see peoples signature lines with images.  That's pretty ridiculous.

And if I'm on the website, looking at the right information, the premium over the basic is $15/day higher, is that per user? If so, that is super expensive.  

One thing I like about Princess is that the internet is usable and affordable.  

 

Anyway, still wondering about TV options and what soda/water you can bring onboard with you.  On Princess, you could bring on whatever you wanted.  I guess a side question would be, can you buy soda/water in ports and bring it back on and take it to your cabin?  That would work too.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

One more question regarding the inside rooms on Equinox, were they updated when it was refurbished in 2019?  Not just the TV's but other areas of the room/bathroom?

[kywildcatfanone]

Can anyone comment on if the TVs have some on demand programming or not?

 

I did read in other threads that carrying on soda for embarkation and at ports was allowed, so now mainly curious if the TV has on demand content,  or do I need to bring my own.

 

Thanks!

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Can anyone comment on if the TVs have some on demand programming or not?

 

I did read in other threads that carrying on soda for embarkation and at ports was allowed, so now mainly curious if the TV has on demand content,  or do I need to bring my own.

 

Thanks!

yes

[phoenix_dream]

The tvs do have some on demand programming, but IMHO fairly limited.  I always get comments from haters regarding statements like this, but I personally would like to see more options offered on their televisions.  Unlike some, I like to go back to the cabin fairly early to chill and would love to be able to relax and watch some good tv before nodding off.  Same for on sea days.  Celebrity has really cut down on television options over the years.  If you like news, you're good.  If you like to watch soccer, you're good (and occasionally some other sports).  If you want a choice of a handful of movies you may like most ships have them (exception was when we were on Connie last year - they didn't have any, at least on our tv).

[kywildcatfanone]

1 minute ago, phoenix_dream said:

The tvs do have some on demand programming, but IMHO fairly limited.  I always get comments from haters regarding statements like this, but I personally would like to see more options offered on their televisions.  Unlike some, I like to go back to the cabin fairly early to chill and would love to be able to relax and watch some good tv before nodding off.  Same for on sea days.  Celebrity has really cut down on television options over the years.  If you like news, you're good.  If you like to watch soccer, you're good (and occasionally some other sports).  If you want a choice of a handful of movies you may like most ships have them (exception was when we were on Connie last year - they didn't have any, at least on our tv).

Thanks for that.  We are the same.  Go to few shows and just like to go back to the cabin and relax.  I will bring some dvds and download some Netflix offline stuff.

 

We love the options on Princess.