The Equinox: Comparing the Royal, Celebrity and Sky Suites

[Zoolander]

New to Celebrity, though I have spent a good amount of time searching the CC engine and Celebrity's home site.

 

My wife turns 60 in January of 2011 and we would like to do something special.

 

We have cruised with Regent (3), SilverSea (1), and Disney (1). By the time of her birthday we will have also cruised with Azamara.

 

Though the Equinox is much larger than what we are used to, I like alot of what Celebrity is doing. We like the late January 2010 cruise out of Florida that goes as far south as Central and South America. Now, if they do that 11 day cruise in 2011 we would be very interested.

 

Four Questions:

 

1) I really like the Celebrity Suite because of its size and verandah. The Royal as beautiful as it is, is quite a bit more, and the major difference looks to be the large dining table and the spa. Don't get me wrong, I would love the spa, but I doubt we would use the dining table and it looks like a difference of around 5K total. The Sky Suite isn't that much less expensive than the Celebrity, but size of the suites is more than nominal. So, anybody have a favorite suite of these three and have specific reasons why?

 

2) I have read on this site that Celebrity doesn't honor "new bookings" rates. That is odd, as we always receive the new rates or upgrades with the lines we have booked in prior years. So...is this correct? If so, once the 2011 itineraries come out, is it better to wait or would that be a mistake when booking a suite?

 

3) I have also noticed on this site that some people have mentioned that the Resort Deck is very loud, so if you are on the Penthouse Deck you can expect quite a bit of excessive noises off and on throughout the cruise. Any thoughts?

 

4) We have never done traditional dining and always eat as soon as the evening restaurants open. I am seeing some conflicting information. Is Celebrity doing both "dine as you wish" and "traditional" dining, or just "traditional" dining?

 

Thanks in advance.