Wonderful couples cruise

Item: Celebrity Equinox
Rating: 4.9
Author: jmp594

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review

jmp594

Contributor Level: Second Mate

182 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 227

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 04, 2020

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1269

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Fun 5 night cruise. We enjoyed the refurbished ship and just our second Celebrity cruise choosing to spend our time mostly relaxing and enjoying some booking perks which included WiFi, tips, OBC and drinks as well as concierge class perks and Elite Captain’s Club benefits from our Royal Caribbean status. We got a great deal on a ship tour that we took on our first sea day. A great experience to see how the ship operates.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We were in the fairly new terminal 25. Check in is a breeze. We parked in the garage across the street and wheeled our bags with us from the car. Dropping off our bags outside, we headed into the terminal for the priority check in line which had a dedicated security line. We were able to use this line because we checked in on the app including scanning our passports and taking a photo. Once you get past security it is a brief facial recognition on a screen and then a quick verification with an agent to verify some information. This whole process took only a few minutes. Being in concierge class we were among the first to get onboard since we arrived about 10:30.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Overall the food was excellent. We ate in the MDR each evening and had breakfast at the buffet most days. The food options were excellent and well presented. Some dishes were small but you can always order more or something else.

Le Petit Chef at Qsine

5 out of 5

Great experience with really good food too. A cooking competition between four chefs making one dish each is animated on your plate and table. Each animated chef prepares the dish and then you are served the actual dish. It was entertaining and delicious. We went for lunch due to the lower cost and the seafood heavy dinner menu.

Oceanview Café and Bar

5 out of 5

Very impressive buffet with great views of the sea. They offer a good variety of food options at different stations throughout the restaurant. Breakfast didn’t change too much daily but the egg and omelette stations were a great option and the waffles were excellent.

Mast Grill and Bar

4 out of 5

Very limited options here burgers with beef, turkey and veggie options and hotdogs and fries and limited drinks. The toppings did include grilled onions and mushrooms.

Cafe al Bacio and Gelateria

5 out of 5

Excellent coffee spot which always had some wonderful breakfast pastries in the mornings or cakes and other desserts the rest of the day.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Pool

5 out of 5

Really nice area with two slightly separated pools. They provide tools without the need to check them out. Some pool beds and other seating options are available beyond the typical recliners. The recliners are nicely padded. There are plenty of chairs available in the sun or shade except at peak times on a sea day.

Solarium

5 out of 5

Indoor pool area that is adult only. It is climate controlled. I have been in other solariums that were too warm and the temperature in here was ideal.

Lawn Club

5 out of 5

The weather was a little cool the first week of January or I would’ve spent more time up here on the lawn club.

Fortune's Casino

5 out of 5

It is a smoke free casino so I was willing to spend more time here.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The main nighttime shows were good but not great. Three of the five nights were outside performers. Two nights were the ships singers, dancers and talented acrobatic performers. I found the ships entertainment to be superior and wished for more of it.

Grand Foyer

4 out of 5

Was used frequently for evening entertainment activities. It did not have enough space always to get a good view especially when the captain was making an appearance.

Celebrity Theater

5 out of 5

A nice venue with very few seats with a bad view. The sound was excellent and the numerous stage changes during some of the shows for various performances was impressive.

Sky Observation Lounge

5 out of 5

Went to a couple of events here and it was also used for Captain’s Club evening happy hour. It is a large venue with plenty of seating and great views of the sea.

The Lawn Club

4 out of 5

It’s a good alternative to the pool deck. It can be windy and potentially too warm in the sun or too cool in the shade seasonally.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Room attendant was very personable and did a great job. Our server and assistant server did an excellent job making sure we were satisfied. We never met our head waiter. All staff we met were friendly and helpful.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was well maintained and looking great a few months after a major refurbishment. The common areas were nice and clean including public bathrooms.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The room a concierge class balcony was adequate with a decent amount of storage. It had two reclineable chairs on the balcony.

Ship tip

Discover the World Class Bar early in your cruise. They serve the best made from scratch cocktails. Specialty dining filled up before the end of our cruise so consider booking it early.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Embarkation port. It was super easy to get on and off the ship at the beginning and end of our cruise here especially when using passports and the app for check in. We drove to the port the day before the cruise and parked in the port garage across the street.

Thumbs Up 4

Key West, Florida

5 out of 5

First time here via land or cruise. We took the conch train tour because it was $10 each cheaper when we booked through the ship as compared to the trolley tour. It got us near the sights we wanted to see and provided a decent narrative to give some history of the area. We were able to tour Heminingway House, Truman’s little White House, southernmost point, Kermits Key Lime Pie and more.

Thumbs Up 1

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Only spent a short time off the ship as we have been to this port many times and only did a little shopping. There are a large variety of excursions in this port.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

We were in Key West the day prior and we were required to go through customs there even if we didn’t get off the ship. So, disembarkation involved grabbing checked luggage and being asked if we had anything to declare.