Hopefully Live Celebrity newbs on the Equinox

[Reel Love]

Thoroughly enjoyed your review and looking forward to hearing your final thoughts  🙂   

Your commentary and pics have encouraged me to consider re-booking our cancelled Mediterranean cruise (thank you Covid 😒) sooner rather than later.

[desibee]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:43 AM, hmcrn said:

Curious how disembarkation went? We are disembarking in Civitavecchia in 3 weeks.  

Was it organized to get off the ship and through to your bags?  I realize you took a tour, but did it seem crazy busy outside to get to transportation? We have a private car picking us up, so are curious how difficult it will be to find him.  Thank you!!

It was not difficult to disembark and collect our bags.  You get tags with a number on them, if you aren’t on a tour then you just listen for your number to disembark and collect your bag from the area marked with that number.  
 

Our bus was parked right next to the ship but I am not sure whether private transportation can park in the same location?  They stressed to everyone that Civitavecchia isn’t the kind of port where you can just step off and hail a taxi.  You need to prearrange your transfers.

[desibee]

After a very exhausting day of travel I am finally back home in Canada, missing the ship but glad to sleep in my own bed.

 

Our flights on Air France were fine, not comfortable enough to sleep of course, even in premium economy but we got a good meal and their entertainment system is top notch.

 

We didn’t have any difficulty navigating from 2F to 2E in Charles de Gaulle airport even though we were worried about it.  The lack of lounges at CDG that accept dragon pass is really my main problem with it.

Time to summarize my trip with scores out of 10.

 

Ship Design: 9/10

 

The decore was upscale and lovely, every area of the ship was beautiful to look at.  I especially liked how much certain areas were structured to showcase ocean views such as the main dining room and restaurants like Tuscan Grille and the Sky Observation lounge.  I thought the bars were well designed so that you could sit at any of them and hear the entertainment/live music they usually had in the foyer. This could be an issue for the Library though because it’s location made it easy to hear the music too and that’s not exactly what you want when you’re trying to quietly read.

 

Cabin: 7/10

 

Our cabin had a few issues such as some staining on the curtains and carpet.  It was not one of the refurbished rooms (or at least I hope not) so the decor was a little dated.  The beds could have been softer and I think next time I would definitely ask for a topper of some kind.  Also I had no troubles but Chris is a good deal taller than me so his feet had difficulties with the shape of the bed curving so one side is shorter than the other.  The air conditioner tries very hard but it was just unable to cope with the massive heat of the ports we were in on some nights so it was not as frosty as I like it when I sleep.  The bathroom was large and clean and water was always hot.  So many storage spaces we couldn’t use them all!  I wish the balcony had better lounge chair as they were not comfortable at all but it was so hot we barely used the balcony except to dry our clothes and bathing suits so next time I think I’d rather have a window instead.  Maybe an infinite balcony would be better for my tastes.  The tv worked well except for one channel where the audio was always mismatched to the video.  You could easily access your account details on the tv.

 

Service:  10/10

 

Every bar, restaurant, dining room, and guest service staff I talked to gave excellent service.  You were asked if you wanted a drink the moment you approached a bar or sat at a table.  If something wasn’t available at one bar they would send someone to fetch it for you right away.  Our room was always sparkling clean and our cabin steward anticipated our needs with extra towels and soaps without us even needing to mention them.  I cannot fault Celebrity on its service although I do wish they would stop forcing the poor servers to beg for high survey scores.  In our last three nights the survey was mentioned multiple times and it was stressed that anything less than a 10 is no good.  We were going to give 10 anyway as the service we received was excellent but being asked and reminded to give 10s on the survey over and over again does get aggravating.  
 

Food: 10/10

 

Every meal I had in the main dining room was excellent.  Beef was always perfectly cooked and tender, food was always hot, the portions were huge, and our waiter was always quick to point out what the best things on the menu were to try.  Speciality dining was also amazing.  I would give Murano the grand prize, Tuscan Grille coming in second, followed by La Petite Chef and Sushi on 5.  The only restaurants we did not try were Blu and Luminae as we were only in a standard veranda room.  To be honest, I don’t think you need any specialty dining (although I was glad we tried it all).  The main dining room suited us well enough.  We ate at the buffet for breakfast every day and it was fine.  Nothing special really.  I don’t like eggs or omelettes so I would have rather gone to Cafe Il Bacio for coffee and pastry instead but Chris likes a “real breakfast”.  The coffee at il Bacio was outstanding.  Best I’ve had on a ship.  I am already missing the caramel latte I had every morning.  The little sandwiches and cakes and pastries at il Bacio were good too.  They weren’t different from what you would find on the buffet but it was a much more relaxing experience to grab a snack at the cafe instead of the buffet.

 

Drinks: 10/10

 

We bought a premium drink package and were glad we did.  I was able to sample any cocktail I wanted except at the World Class Bar, where it was only a few dollars extra.  I had a specialty coffee every morning, champagne at dinner every night and a coffee cocktail nightcap every evening.  We brought water and vitamin water on excursions with us.  I wish they had gateorade but vitamin water was a good substitute.  The drinks at the pool bar and the sunset bar were super strong.  I vastly preferred the drinks at the Martini bar and the World Class bar though.  They were well balanced and didn’t make me cough with every sip.  The only drink I didn’t care for was the juices and smoothies at the Solarium cafe.  Totally not worth it for those.  I had much better fresh squeezed juice on Royal Caribbean ships.

 

Entertainment: 9/10

 

Every night there was something on in the main theatre and those shows were excellent.  The Rock On! group, Life, Salvatore Hassard, Youmia, Topper, the Broadway review were all top notch.  The only shows I could have done without or didn’t see were the magician and the comedian.  The live band was amazing and they backed up whoever was headlining effortlessly despite only getting to practice with the guest performers maybe three or four hours.  The bands that played in the foyer or in bars and lounges around the ship were all very good too.  Music was very top 40s from five years ago but that’s fine with me.  Sometimes there was more classic rock, sometimes more 60s and 70s vibes.  Most of the time I knew the songs being played so I was happy.  
 

Ship Activities: 6/10

 

Here is where Celebrity falters a bit.  There were various activities listed in the dailies happening around the ship but they either took place too close to a meal time or too early in the day to participate in or they were too crowded (mostly on sea days) to enjoy.  I think some of the spaces could have been better used for activities.  Like, maybe put karaoke always in Quasar and not sometimes in the Sky Lounge?  Use Celebrity Central more for game shows and trivia?  I don’t know, it just felt like sometimes these areas of the ship were abandoned.

 

Excursions: 8/10

 

We booked all our excursions with Celebrity, this being our first European cruise and I was glad we did.  The people who ventured on their own for Florence and La Spezia seemed to have a huge amount of difficulty getting back to the ship with train fires and cancelled buses.  Our excursions always arrived and made it back on time.  The bus was always air conditioned.  The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly.  We always got to see everything outlined in the tour descriptions.  The weather was brutal so each tour ended with exhausted and dehydrated passengers but that was not Celebrity’s fault.  The only tour I think that was misleading was our Portofino and Brown Castle tour.  First, the tender boat was terrible.  So claustrophobic and hot I had to sit up top on the way back or I think I would have passed out.  The port was so crowded and our tour guide liked to talk in the bright sun for long minutes while we lightly roasted.  They had marked the tour as “moderate” but then there was a death hike up a mountain to the castle Brown. I suppose on a day where it was cool and breezy it would have been moderate but on that day?  I skipped the castle entirely.  I am sure I would have had an asthma attack and died trying to make it up the hill to the castle.  So don’t do the Portofino and Brown Castle tour in the summer unless you are a seasoned desert hiker.

 

Would I do a Celebrity cruise again?

 

Yes!  Though maybe not in the summer or if in the summer, maybe not to a hot climate.

 

Would I cruise on the Equinox again?

 

Absolutely, although now I am curious about other S class ships and how they compare.

 

We are already considering a cruise on the Ascent in March, that’s how much I liked my celebrity experience!  I would choose Celebrity over a Royal Caribbean cruise for the food alone. 

[Galaxy2004]

@desibeeThanks for a great review and summary!

[Martha1974]

Thank you for your excellent and well-balanced report. We are new to Celebrity too and have checked in today for our cruise on the Equinox in 6-weeks. It seems to be the same ports as yours but not in the same order, so all the information you have provided has been super-useful. It’s always reassuring to hear when the answer to ‘would you do it another one?’ is Yes! 

[Missusdubbya]

Wonderful review, thank you!

Edited August 19 by Missusdubbya

[denby]

Highly recommend the Ascent.We’ve sailed all the E Class ships and love the Infinite Verandas. We have Exel booked for February 2025. We will be on the Equinox Transatlantic in November. As a retired teacher it’s so nice to cruise whenever we want. Glad to read your awesome review. Welcome to the Celebrity Family!

[Reel Love]

7 hours ago, desibee said:

 

 

Would I cruise on the Equinox again?

 

Absolutely, although now I am curious about other S class ships and how they compare.

 

 

Welcome home!   

I know you did not ask specifically for feedback, but chiming in with an unsolicited opinion about the other S class ships since you said you were curious.  My last two Celebrity cruises were on the Equinox and the Silhouette and my vote would be to try the Silhouette if you are choosing to cruise S class again (have also sailed Eclipse and Reflection in the past).   Love the S class design, however the "Silly" as she is affectionately referred to, has had the full refurbishment so everything, including all cabins, have been updated.  Nicer colours and overall a much "fresher" look.   

Thanks again for the great review  🙂

[desibee]

On 8/19/2024 at 8:46 PM, Reel Love said:

Welcome home!   

I know you did not ask specifically for feedback, but chiming in with an unsolicited opinion about the other S class ships since you said you were curious.  My last two Celebrity cruises were on the Equinox and the Silhouette and my vote would be to try the Silhouette if you are choosing to cruise S class again (have also sailed Eclipse and Reflection in the past).   Love the S class design, however the "Silly" as she is affectionately referred to, has had the full refurbishment so everything, including all cabins, have been updated.  Nicer colours and overall a much "fresher" look.   

Thanks again for the great review  🙂

Thanks for the recommendation!  I am definitely eyeing the repositioning cruise on the Silhouette from New Jersey to Iceland next July...

 

How did you find the mattress on the Silhouette?  That's the main complaint I had about the Equinox, is the hard bed.

[jelayne]

On 8/8/2024 at 10:42 AM, hcat said:

Guess it depends on the weeks one travels.  We never go during any school vacation. 

 

Made that mistake once over Easter on Royal from Miami...it was a week of  h__l!  Now we check  dates carefully!

We were on the beyond last week, full of kids.  Sitting at the Martini bar for hours drinking soda while Mom and Dad milked a beer and glass of wine for almost 2 hours. Retreat had a fair number of families with kids in the 5-9 year range who while cute were bored  and entertaining themselves  playing tag in the z lounge and Sundeck.  The buffet was dangerous as small groups of mid-teen kids enjoying ruining and sliding  in from the front to the back. We didn’t go near the pool deck.  
 

It was by far the most children I have ever seen on a  Celebrity ship.  It didn’t ruin our trip but the experience we have had in the past was  more enjoyable.

 

 

[kjctc]

We were on same trip and we saw tons of kids and families. I was not expecting it but should have considering it was August which is Europe’s time to go on holiday. The kids became more brave and independent as the week went on with full on midnight tag games in the hallways by the end. It is interesting how 2 couples go on the same trip and experience things differently. We did not eat at any specialty restaurants as we really enjoyed our wait staff in Blu and no excursions- just enjoyed roaming the towns independently. The cruise director, Drew, was great and the entertainment all week was exceptional. The ship is older, paint chipping and rust could be seen through out but took nothing away from the trip. 

[Reel Love]

On 8/26/2024 at 1:49 PM, desibee said:

Thanks for the recommendation!  I am definitely eyeing the repositioning cruise on the Silhouette from New Jersey to Iceland next July...

 

How did you find the mattress on the Silhouette?  That's the main complaint I had about the Equinox, is the hard bed.

I don't recall feeling either way that I hated the mattress or loved it, so I guess it was fine since nothing sticks out in my memory about it, lol.  Sorry I could not be of more help!  

[jmps]

Thank you so much for your very complete review!  We were on the Equinox in July on a Spain, Portugal, and Morroco itinerary and had a wonderful time.  I think your ratings are spot on.   We were very lucky to have great much cooler weather for our cruise.

 

Several years ago we had taken the Equinox on an eastern med itinerary and LOVED it. The only thing I can add to your review is our take on a change that affected the experience for us.  Unlike you, we dined in the fixed seating on the lower level of the main dining room. Food and service were wonderful as you stated.   We found on this cruise carving out Laminae from the lower level makes it feel claustrophobic and dark.  It will probably push us away from fixed seatings on any future sailings. 

 

With the industry trend to specialtty restaurants, I expect the low prioritize of main dining space  quality will continue.