Celebrity Equinox - disappointed

[Cruise Junky]

Island Princess is 7 years older than Equinox.  Not a fan now they butchered her but the cruises we had on her were fine.  Friends did the world cruise on her this year and definitely warned us off taking that ship. Too many maintenance issues.  
 

interesting comment on the storage. Solstice, Equinox’s sister,  is our favourite ship. We loved the storage above the bed. Thought it was genius.  
I sadly think Equinox has been the experiment to see how low they can lower the bar on menus recently.  Hope they come to their senses soon.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

5 hours ago, di T said:

What a difference, the MDR food was very limited and poor, we ate in the buffet and the pay for restaurants most nights.

oh, no.... I am starting to regret booking Reflection.

[Georgia_Peaches]

47 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

oh, no.... I am starting to regret booking Reflection.

One thing I have found to be very consistent is that you can’t base a travel decision (in this case a booking on Reflection) on the experiences of others on cruises either before or after yours occurs. I look at each sailing as independent of the previous voyage. Each will have its own unique nuisances. Your stateroom attendant may be a go getting perfectionist who loves to go the extra mile while the attendant a few doors down, not so much. Your server in the MDR could be top of the line while someone else may get a newly arrived and jet lagged novice. Each experience will be unique. It’s why the reviews are so varied from ship to ship and voyage to voyage. 
 

While I respect OP’s experience on Equinox, I sailed her in July in a Standard veranda and had a fabulous cruise…even though they were testing vaping in the casino at the time. My point is, keep looking forward to your upcoming cruise with no booking regrets. Your experience will be largely what you make it and will undoubtedly be different from the next person and the next and the next. Reflection is a great ship!

Edited December 20, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[We_like_to_cruise]

20 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

We try to sail newer ships or ships that have been revolutionized.  Try Apex, Beyond or Ascent.  

We sail on all of the major cruise lines and book by destination not by ship.  Our expectation is that food and service in the line should be similar among all of its ships. 

[We_like_to_cruise]

15 hours ago, doghog said:

What we like about Celebrity is their no inside smoking policy, fleetwide. Princess is starting to slowly catch to this great idea by shutting down Churchills Cigar Lounge. But the bummer is they still allow smoking in the casinos.

Agree there.  The smoking in the casinos on Princess is definitely a negative for us.  And, when that door to Churchill's Lounge opens, the clouds of smelly smoke drift out into the hallway.

[ISABELLA]

From reading a lot of posts about sailings on Equinox lately, including our own experience during our 10 days cruise ended December 10, it is clear that X experience is not what used to be. And the only pax that are truly happy with experiences are the ones who never sailed with X before or didn't sail before pandemic.

I have to say that our cruise on Equinox in March of 2022 and November 2023 were day and night in most areas. I graded last cruise 6 on the survey. I hope big cheeses are reading these reviews and make some changes. 

[diesel1973]

We did the Halloween cruise this year on Equinox and had a great time. First cruise since 2019 so we wanted to see if any different. Some small differences but not enough to deter from our enjoyment. Also I did not witness anyone  being carted off the ship suffering from starvation. The Equinox is one of our favorite ships.

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, ISABELLA said:

And the only pax that are truly happy with experiences are the ones who never sailed with X before or didn't sail before pandemic.

We sailed Celebrity before the pandemic and since and can sincerely say say we remain truly happy with the experience that much so we have 2 Celebrity cruises booked for next year. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Reflection is a great ship!

I am more worried about the food quality in MDR and buffet. I cruise to eat. Although, ABC island itinerary is a treat in itself.

We are very low maintenance, but I want good food.

 

P.S. We were and still are super happy with both RCI and Princess pre- and post-pandemic, but also wanted to try something different for the fun of it this and next year. RCI's prices have become unreasonable post-pandemic, so we are searching for something more reasonably priced.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, diesel1973 said:

I did not witness anyone  being carted off the ship suffering from starvation.

Well, some of us hold Celebrity to a higher standard than mere survival. I'm glad your expectations were met.

[ISABELLA]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

We sailed Celebrity before the pandemic and since and can sincerely say say we remain truly happy with the experience that much so we have 2 Celebrity cruises booked for next year. 

Different expectations. 

[C4HCG]

8 minutes ago, ISABELLA said:

Different expectations. 

How do you know what our expectations are?

[diesel1973]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

Well, some of us hold Celebrity to a higher standard than mere survival. I'm glad your expectations were met.

Excuuuuuse me !

[parrothead1]

Ok, I am going to ask a very dumb question.  What is this World Class Bar and where is it?  Sounds like a place I want to miss, but only been on M Class ships since Covid.

 

Thank you in advance.

[39august]

WCB not on M class ships. S class and I think Beyond. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, parrothead1 said:

Ok, I am going to ask a very dumb question.  What is this World Class Bar and where is it?  Sounds like a place I want to miss, but only been on M Class ships since Covid.

 

Thank you in advance.

It's a bar on S and E class that specializes in craft cocktails...some are smoked, some are muddled...very nice menu.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Have heard many complaints, but this is the first I've heard a complaint about storage.  Sounds like Princess has a lot more storage

[eroller]

The great thing about the cruise industry is choice.  There is something out there for everyone.  This being said the common theme for all cruise lines seems to be cutbacks and price increases.  Just browse any of the various cruise boards and you will see it.  
 

Dare I say Princess is probably worse than most in this regard.  What was once free just months ago for everyone now requires buying a package to have it included.  I’m Elite on Princess but have little desire to return.  Maybe the SUN PRINCESS since it’s a new class.  For now at least, I find Celebrity far superior to Princess in almost every category.  The Edge Class ships especially blow anything Princess has out of the water.  And just like Celebrity the older Princess ships are showing their age and looking quite dated.  I actually think the older Celebrity ships look better as they were far more stylish than Princess to begin with.  The Cheesecake Factory Tuscan Piazza decor of Princess is as passé as it gets.  Hoping the SUN PRINCESS has slightly more cutting edge decor.  
 

I guess what I’m trying to say is the grass isn’t always greener.  The irony is people are jumping ship from all the major lines thinking whatever new line they choose will be better.  Bottom line they have all cutback and the loyalists can tell.  Maybe your new choice of cruise line will be better and maybe it won’t.  Some of it is just perception because it’s different than what you’re used to, and if you haven’t sailed that line or its been years since you have, you probably don’t know what the cutbacks are … but they are there!   
 

So to each their own.  Sail the line that best suits you.  

[eroller]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Have heard many complaints, but this is the first I've heard a complaint about storage.  Sounds like Princess has a lot more storage

You may have storage but no sitting area.  No couch.  Just a single extra chair in a standard balcony cabin.  Very small.  And the dreaded shower curtain which all Princess ships currently have, even the latest.  The new SUN PRINCESS will finally have glass shower doors and sofas in the standard balconies like most lines … but less storage.  Such is life.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I like the over the bed storage , very easy to get into 

I really hate any storage lower than knees 😁

[ISABELLA]

18 hours ago, C4HCG said:

How do you know what our expectations are?

Clearly - something is OK for you, is not OK for me ( and I can see for many others). Just a matter of opinion. After sailing with Celebrity on over 35 cruises, I was a custom to premium product, not average. Celebrity is still a very nice cruise line, but not what used to be. That is my point. 

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, ISABELLA said:

Clearly - something is OK for you, is not OK for me ( and I can see for many others). Just a matter of opinion. After sailing with Celebrity on over 35 cruises, I was a custom to premium product, not average. Celebrity is still a very nice cruise line, but not what used to be. That is my point. 

Our expectations are what I would define as realistic. In todays world we feel incredibly lucky to cruise, and our enjoyment of post covid cruises has matched that of pre. As you say, all about opinions.

[iTownPrincess]

On 12/19/2023 at 9:49 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

One thing I have found to be very consistent is that you can’t base a travel decision (in this case a booking on Reflection) on the experiences of others on cruises either before or after yours occurs. I look at each sailing as independent of the previous voyage. Each will have its own unique nuisances. Your stateroom attendant may be a go getting perfectionist who loves to go the extra mile while the attendant a few doors down, not so much. Your server in the MDR could be top of the line while someone else may get a newly arrived and jet lagged novice. Each experience will be unique. It’s why the reviews are so varied from ship to ship and voyage to voyage. 

So, so true! DH and I sailed Equinox in June and Caribbean Princess in November. Our Equinox cruise was wonderful, lovely aft cabin, excellent MDR experiences, liked the OVC. I do agree with OP that service in the bars was abysmal - at Martini Bar we practically had to beg for service and there was a general lack of customer service at the other bars (except for OVC and MDR - excellent bar service! Of course OVC has its own bar, so there’s that!)

 

Unfortunately our Caribbean Princess cruise was IMO one step up from a Carnival cruise - partly our fault for booking a cruise that departed on Halloween. The public spaces were cramped and our forward balcony cabin just adequate. Ironically, the great bar service was the highlight of that cruise. Not to mention I think the crew at the IC were either androids or aliens, because the same folks were there day or night and disturbingly shared a sullen attitude and inability to smile or even assume a pleasant facial expression.

 

As always, YMMV. 🧐

[riredsox]

18 hours ago, parrothead1 said:

Ok, I am going to ask a very dumb question.  What is this World Class Bar and where is it?  Sounds like a place I want to miss, but only been on M Class ships since Covid.

 

Thank you in advance.

The WCB is on S class and Beyond and Ascent.  It is the best bar at sea!  You do not want to miss it.  The drinks are fantastic.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 hours ago, riredsox said:

The WCB is on S class and Beyond and Ascent.

So not all E class ships have a WCB?  Huh...I didn't know that!