Relaxing time, but culinary wasteland

Item: Celebrity Equinox
Rating: 3.9
Author: jpmato16

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review

jpmato16

Contributor Level: First Mate

55 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 110

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

8 Night Eastern Caribbean & The Bahamas (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 30, 2022

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1074

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Relaxing time. Food has to improve to get my repeat business.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

20 minutes from going through the door until boarding the ship. Would have been faster, but needed manager clearance to clear my vaccinated 11 y/o to board without the test at the port.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food on this ship 3 years ago was excellent. Dining has taken a downturn. The temperature in the dining venues was often very warm, with people visibly sweating.

Tuscan Grille

2 out of 5

Do not expect anything approaching real Italian food. Calamari was thickly breaded and rubbery. Goat cheese on salad was also thickly breaded and fried. Steak was chewy and fatty. Pasta was good. Desserts delicious, especially the gelato.

Murano Restaurant

4 out of 5

Excellent service. Good ambience. Food quite good. Lobster cooked table side, very flavorful. Crepes finished table side, and also very good. Bread fresh and tasty. Standout meal of the cruise.

Silhouette Restaurant

3 out of 5

Food often overcooked. Restaurant was always hot, with staff visibly sweating. Lobster was chewy and very salty. Salads and soups generally good. Bread quite fresh. Staff were overworked, but still good service.

Oceanview Café and Bar

3 out of 5

Buffet food was very often very overcooked. Fresh sliced ham tasted like pork jerky. Panini sandwiches were good every day. Pizza was hit or miss. Sometimes delicious and sometimes way overcooked. Indian food choices were odd, for example some featuring beef. Scrambled eggs on buffet were slimy. Could order fresh ones to order. Some seemingly easy items were mishandled. For example, one day there were cannolis on the buffet. Usually, the shells are the hard part. In this case, shells were delicious but the filling tasted like nothing. No flavor whatsoever. It’s like the chef didn’t taste them. Fruit was usually good, with watermelon hard to come by.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Something to do throughout the day. Live music throughout. Limited options for children, though. Kids club pretty good, but sometimes they combined groups of different ages when there aren’t that many kids.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

“Life” and “Elysium” shows were good. Comedian Jeff Shaw was funny, and we actually talked to him for 30 minutes in the buffet one time. Entertaining guy.

Children's Programs

4 out of 5

Kept kids entertained. Can’t complain. Hours were good as well.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Ship was clean. Starting to show its age, though. Some chairs in main dining room had worn completely through the material on the armrests. No excuse for this. Many outside painted areas were in need of stripping and painting. Some carpets needed changing and were musty. For example, the carpet in the buffet was disgusting. No reason to have carpet in this area. Noticeable change from the last trip I had on her in 2019.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Carpet was recently changed. Cabin was clean. Showing its age in some spots, with some loose trim. The bathroom is very cramped, especially when using the toilet. If you’re a “fluffy” person, I’d recommend either an accessible cabin or a suite.

Ship tip

It is a very relaxing trip, with not a lot of excitement. Age of passengers over 60 y/o, on average. Some younger folks and families, but certainly an older crowd.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5

Docked at 4pm, able to disembark at 4:30. Most museums (forts) closed by 5:30 or 6. Not easily accessible if you have limited mobility. Some sketchy folks hanging about after dark.

Thumbs Up 0

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5

This island was hit hard by hurricane 5 years ago. Still a lot of damage and debris. An entire resort of bungalows by a beach was destroyed and abandoned. No attempt at repairs. Did a Jeep tour, but saw lots of poverty and damage still. Eye opening for sure.

Thumbs Up 2

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

8 Comments

Other reviews of this sailing

The best cruise

Amazing first experience!!!