Not the celebrity I used to know

Item: Celebrity Equinox
Rating: 3
Author: paws393

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

paws393

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 43

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Ultimate Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 22, 2016

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1142

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We were two woman in our late 60's traveling together. We love to listen to music at night and enjoy a nice drink before dinner. The music was all the same, every night, with the same song....longed for a nice piano player. The show were nice and some of the talent brought in where excellent. We bought the dining package so ate at the three extra restaurants in the package. Murano was excellent, Tuscan Grill beyond expectations so ended up eating their 3 times. The total disappointment was the Silk - I enjoy good Thai/Viet food - what a disappointment- everything was soy based - when I asked about their "style" she said they have "westernized" everything. Not good. We selected the classic beverage package.....only thing was that their wine selection was limited and boring. Finally upgraded to the premium package but found out most of their wine by the glass was sold old. Because of the addition of the "Suite" dining room, the main room has now lost 150 seats....we were NEVER able to find a set table - some of the food was good some bad.....the menu was one page - offering mostly the same appetizers every night. One night we couldn't face the "Hall" one more time so ate at the café. No, we would not cruise again on Celebrity but YES we would use the booking company we did AGAIN.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

The dining room reminded me of a big hall - no charm or class. The specialty restaurant were excellent except for the Silk - everything was soy based.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

I longed for the days of past travel where there were small bar offering piano players, or small quiet groups playing a "varied" selection of must.....same groups, same music every night!!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The staff 98 percent FUN! Our "cheers" became the Passport Bar where they were genuinely nice and fun.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cabin was find, steward was wonderful....Only negative was the room smelled like mildew after the 4th day.....We really enjoyed our deck and it became our sanctuary....even with the bad weather and rolling seas we were able to enjoy it.

Ship tip

Best bartenders are at the Passport Bar....also close to the "nightly" music. Try to catch the first night show so you will know the quality and variation of the performances. Some EXCELLENT so ok. Take your own maps of the island with you....they do NOT provide them at the Tour Desk.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

We had a late night flight home and were able to find a day use hotel room....great because it rained most of the day.....But lots to do with the cute water taxi.

Thumbs Up 2

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Took the transportation only tour to St. John. Excellent way to get there and then do your own thing....about $39.

Thumbs Up 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5

Took the zip line tour offered by the cruise line.....FUN and wonderful young men to help us make the whole day excellent.

Thumbs Up 4

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5

Hired a cab outside of the gate....good value and good experience......please visit Hunte's Garden.....you will not be disappointed.

Thumbs Up 2

6 Comments

boldpro 7 years ago

You can't possibly be comparing Carnival to celebrity

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pattikow 8 years ago

We just left Equinox yesterday, and I agree about the diversity of music. While the performers were excellent, there wasn't much variety night after night. Regarding the food on the other hand I would disagree! We ate in MDR 7out of 10 nights and found the food excellent at each meal. I had a difficult time trying to limit myself to 2 appetizers! Entrees were always done just right, and when lobster tails were on the menu, a neighboring tablemate said they we re small, so I ordered 2(not a blink from the waiter). Well when my plate arrived the tails were huge and cooked to perfection. So I feel that food reviews are completely subjective- somewhat useless( after all I just wrote,lol)

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WEGL81 8 years ago

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. We are pretty loyal Celebrity cruisers but cruise mostly in Aqua to be able to eat in Blu. The few times we've eaten in the MDR of any X ship has been not as good. I can imagine it gets frustrating waiting for a table now that all the MDRs have shrunk for Luminae. Oh well, more open cabins for us X loyalists :)

Thumbs Up 1

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whitebus 8 years ago

I had done royal Caribbean b4, and they said celebrity was better? already booked march cruise by myself, so I hope it improves. also glad to know other singles get booked on ships. :)

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steveandteddie 8 years ago

I think you would love Norwegian. we did a 12 day European cruise on the Spirit last May. The restaurants on the ship were great and so was the service. the piano man did requests every night. the shows were awesome. They offered french, italian, japanese, chinese, sushi and a steakhouse in addition to the main dining rooms and buffets. we went to a Sunday jazz brunch that was very nice.

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rogerellenborland 8 years ago

next time try carnival they have a great piano bar. most of the ships have a great wok. most of the appetizers are the same every night but the main course changes. if you want more info go to carnival. com. you can see each ship and what it has to offer.

Thumbs Up 2

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