Exceeded Expectations

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 50

Review summary

Equinox – Solstice class ship in excellent condition. No complaints worth mentioning. I appreciate quality touches on Celebrity (say, vs. Princess). There are lots of sturdy, padded deck chairs at the pools. Everything is scrupulously clean all the time (unlike the Princess pool rest rooms in the afternoon). Captain, Kate McCue, has tons of charisma and was more visible than most during the cruise. She stood on the deck and shook hands with everyone as we walked off the ship. Never seen that before and appreciated it. Embarkation – Less organized than it should be. That may be a function of the Miami cruise terminal. Disembarkation – Painless. Fast and efficient. Accommodate passenger travel needs. Cabin 7255 – In excellent condition. Not far from central (glass) elevators, but no noise from them. Cabins above and below, so quiet. Not considered an obstructed view, however, life boats do block view of water when looking directly down. Cabin steward, Maynard, was very good. Food: Main Dining Room-Dinner – Mediocre. Dumbed down flavors. Chicken, fish, pasta, vegetarian entree every day. One or two other entrees every day. No change from prior cruises. Our waiter was inattentive and not too personable. Wine steward (Alexander?) was excellent. Food: Main Dining Room-Breakfast – Don’t bother, buffet is same quality, much larger selection. Food: Buffet – Good selection (i.e., Asian, Mexican, Italian etc.) and good quality at breakfast and lunch. Cannot speak to dinner. Food: Pool Grill – Good hamburgers and French fries. Food: Specialty: Murano – The biggest single failure on this ship. Food is simply bad. Lobster bisque was flavorless. Salad was unremarkable. An appetizer with salmon row was fair. Lobster entrée was bland and too rubbery. Veal chops were awful; tasted like dishwater. Service was great. Paying $50 per person for this is a big mistake. People must be catching on since the place was half full at 7:00PM mid-cruise. Food: Specialty: Tuscan Grill – Both pasta and rib eye steak entrees were very good. The location at back of ship makes for some great views. Service was excellent. Is it worth what they charge for it ($45 per person)? I would say only marginally so. Food: Specialty: Sushi on 5 – Small selection (tuna, yellowtail, fluke, shrimp, octopus, salmon, eel) of mediocre sushi. The appetizers, dumplings (chicken and lobster) were bland/uninteresting. Best item was a roll consisting of crab, cucumber and avocado with spicy gold and brown sauces drizzled on top. Is it worth what they charge for it? If you pay by the piece (which is how you would normally do it), I would say no. If you dine there as part of a specialty dining package as we did – you don’t pay by the piece but a fixed price – and you need a sushi fix, I would say maybe. This will be gone soon. I doubt they served an average of ten people per night from what I observed. Food: Café el Baccio – Very good, quick service. Nice seating area. Love the espresso; Lavazza, I think. However, sometimes it felt like, no matter what you asked for, they gave you what they wanted. Specifically, good luck actually getting decaf espresso. If you like Americanos, I advise ordering a triple (or at least double) shot. Otherwise, Americanos are a little weak. Pastries always tended to be on the dry side. Don’t know what’s up with that since that was not true of pastries elsewhere. Bars: Inside – Lots of variety: rowdy, dark & sedate, live music/dancing. Inside bartenders were reasonably competent. Availability of table service varied bar-to-bar. Bars: Poolside – Service was generally good, despite consistently high volume. I noticed many more waiters trolling the area. If you are a little patient, you really do not ever need to get your drink yourself. That is new. The bartenders, unfortunately, are not overly skilled or consistent. I had “dirty bananas” made three completely different ways. I also wonder whether they actually put any alcohol in any of these drinks. Entertainment – Overall, lots of very good entertainment. Three production shows, two comedians, one magician, one vocal group, one violin act and one female singer. The comedians also did second late shows the following night. The cast did a Broadway-type show one afternoon that we did not attend. The second comedian’s second show was a bit of a dud. The female singer, Ashlie Amber, could not hold all her notes. Apparently, she has been contracted to appear on Edge. Can’t imagine why. In-house bands that played at the pool and in the central court were pretty good. Fitness Center – Well above average. Lots of machines both aerobic and weight. Itinerary – Ten days: Miami, at sea, Grand Cayman, at sea, at sea, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, at sea, Key West, Miami. Perfect mix of sea and shore days, in my opinion. Very hot and humid everywhere. Shore Excursion: Double Dip Snorkeling in Bonaire – Liked this a lot. I think it was $79 per person. The crew was great – knowledgeable, personable, attentive, patient. Made sure everyone was prepared. If you are inexperienced, I think you will feel very comfortable on this trip. Each group of ten or so was led by a crew member (or two) who pointed out things of interest as we went along. This is not bright coral like Hawaii. Coral is green and brown. Fish, however, are very colorful and varied. I don’t know how Bonaire snorkeling compares to other islands in the Caribbean. I was told very favorably. Shore Excursion: Hop-on/Hop-off Trolley in Key West – Being a first-time visitor to Key West this was perfect to get an overview of the place. Lots of history, lots to see. This helped us decide what to see. Well-spent $25 per person. “Shore” Excursion: Tour of Ship – Not cheap, $99 per person. About twenty people on our tour. Got to see kitchen, storage areas, garbage/recycling (actually very interesting), laundry, engine control room, one of the crew buffets and bridge. Short talk (plus Q&A) by person in charge at every stop. Learned a lot. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Overall – This cruise exceeded our expectations. We knew not to expect great food. The food we had, with the exception of Murano, was as good as expected-to-slightly better than expected. Nicest ship we recall being on (our last six cruises have been Celebrity or Princess). Staff was as good as we have ever encountered. Entertainment was probably a little more and better than expected. We used to think of Celebrity and Princess as comparable. Not anymore. Celebrity is clearly a cut above Princess in term of quality. Prices appear to be comparable, in most cases.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

George Town, Grand Cayman

Oranjestad, Aruba

Willemstad, Curacao

Kralendijk, Bonaire

Key West, Florida

Disembarkation

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