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Item: Celebrity Equinox
Rating: 4
Author: PattiB

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

PattiB

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Eastern Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 16, 2011

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

Beautiful decor, stateroom was roomy (for a cruise ship), staff was friendly, attentive and helpful. Food was good overall and the specialty restaurants were excellent. Wine prices were steep, especially with the gratuity. They had a hot glass show on board that was really fun to watch. Overall, the entertainment was lackluster.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Main dining room was good, but got old over 12 days. Specialty restaurants were all excellent with excellent service. My favorite was Silk harvest with Asian cuisine. The sushi rolls were outstanding as were the pork ribs. You get a lot of food! Murano was equally good with excellent service and unique food preparation. The chocolate souffle was superb - just wish I had still been hungry! Tuscan Grill food was good, but the service was lacking.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Shows were rather dull, in my opinion. Only had one comedy routine which I thoroughly enjoyed. Acapella group was very good and entertaining. Some of the singers for the venue entertainment sounded like karaoke.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

clean, well-laid out and fairly roomy for a cruise ship

Ports of call

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5

Istanbul wasn't as exotic as I expected, but still exotic. We took a half-day tour then explored on our own the first day. Easy to get lost in the bazaar and surrounding area, but we always felt safe and eventually worked our way down to the spice bazaar which to me was better than the Grand Bazaar. We even took the subway! Blue Mosque was interesting. Topkapi palace was a little disappointing. To enjoy Istanbul shopping, you have to consider bargaining a sport or game and just have fun with it. Second day we took the boat cruise up the Bosphorus which was beautiful - so glad we did that. Don't remember the restaurants we ate at, but food was delicious! Outdoor restaurants near the spice market are great for people watching and hearing the call to prayer.

Thumbs Up 1

Don't Miss: Bosphorus cruise. Spice market.

Naples, Italy

3 out of 5

We did the Amalfi Coast drive. The scenery is gorgeous, but the traffic is horrible and it made for a very long 10 hours on the bus (with a few stops). Try the lemonade in Sorreno. We had a lovely lunch in a hotel along the way. Don't do this if you get car sick! Could have skipped the Cameo demo/shopping stop although it was nice to stretch our legs. Didn't have time to see Naples itself and didn't go to Pompeii

Thumbs Up 1

Santorini, Greece

5 out of 5

Beautiful place. The wait to get tendered and then take the cable car up was long since we didn't take a tour, but worth it. Skipped Fira and went straight to Oia via cab. Very quiet and lovely city with nice shops and restaurants. We had wine and mezes at the Blue Viking (I think) on the terrace overlooking the city. Felt like we were in a movie!

Thumbs Up 1

Don't Miss: Oia

Mykonos, Greece

3 out of 5

Pretty place, but dulled in comparison to Santorini Island. We didn't take a tour - just wandered on our own. Didn't seem to be a lot to do here. Very windy!

Thumbs Up 1

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5

This completely changed my impression of Turkey. Kusadasi is a beautiful port city. Shopping is similar to Grand Bazaar but on a smaller scale (bargaining still a sport). People are friendly and accommodating. Ephesus tour was very interesting - wear tennis shoes, shorts and a hat - it's hot and terrain is a little rough (not difficult - but not good for heels or sandals).

Thumbs Up 1

Don't Miss: Ephesus

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

3 out of 5

Parthenon was under construction and very crowded, but that was to be expected. Overall city is crowded and dirty. We got dropped off at the Plaka for shopping and eating which was very enjoyable. People were very friendly and accommodating.

Thumbs Up 1

Pros: decor, stateroom, service, specialty restaurants, hot glass show

Cons: entertainment

Recommends Celebrity Equinox? Yes!

1 Comment

glomarrone 9 years ago

Thanks for posting your first review here. Sounds like you had a great cruise.

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