Gleaming Celebrity Ship: Super Service, Great Food and a Wonderful Itinerary

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

AtlantaCruisers

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

10 Night Ultimate Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 11, 2015

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6228

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was our second Celebrity cruise (both on Equinox) and our 6th cruise overall. We are a 60ish couple and we travelled with our children and our two toddler grandchildren; there were a wide range of needs / interest to satisfy. We really liked the quiet "adultness" of our December '15 voyage.

There were many highlights to commend / recommend on this 10 night voyage: we had the dine-at-will package (buffet) and were again pleased with the variety and quality; the ship is ultra clean and has a modern design; crew is always at the ready to assist with any need (especially appreciated since we had babies to tend to). We ate at four of the upcharge specialty restaurants and found it a bargain as well as a good way to break up our dining experience.

The port stops of St Thomas, St Kitts, Barbados, St Maarten and Dominica provided a diverse offering of off-ship exploration opportunities. Each island had its own unique flavor and we felt welcome anywhere we went. Dominica, with its raw forested beauty and tall peaks was especially beautiful, even as roads and attractions were being rebuilt after the August hurricane.

We have sailed with Princess and Royal Caribbean before but find that Celebrity gets the highest marks for the things that matter most to us: quality food, service and ship size. Even with 3,000 other cruisers on the Equinox, we never felt crowded or waited on line for anything. Our prior experience would have been enough to sail with Celebrity again, but their offering their famous "1, 2, 3" package (choice of alcohol, gratuities or shipboard credit) locked us in.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Superb generally, but the up charge fine dining experiences are each superior and worth the $30-$50 / person fee.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We especially liked the ventriloquist, which we were least excited about beforehand.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff's service, cheeriness and attention to detail was a real highlight.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin is right near the elevator bank but we were never disturbed. We like sleeping with the balcony door open to hear the sea. This cabin's bed was closer to the balcony (vs near the entry door), which we liked.

Ship tip

Invest in the upcharge fine dining package. Each restaurant is superior and a good value.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5

In fairness, we didn't make it out of the tourist zone very far on this island.

Thumbs Up 1

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5

A bustling but friendly port.

Thumbs Up 0

Roseau, Dominica

5 out of 5

Dominica is the Hawaii and Bali of the Caribbean. It is less developed and naturally forested beautiful. The only issue is there was ongoing repair being done on roads / buildings after the August hurricane damage.

Thumbs Up 3

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Take a cab or tour to the French-side town of Marigot for a leisure walking adventure in the Paris of the Caribbean. We also enjoyed nearby Orient Beach (except the $20 beach chair rental fee).

Thumbs Up 3