Enjoyable cruise, but a bit off

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 147

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Equinox

9 Night Aruba Bonaire & Curacao (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 03, 2022

Ship: Celebrity Equinox

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7191

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

First cruise since the COVID pandemic. Overall, we had an very enjoyable and relaxing cruise, as always. We enjoy cruising on Celebrity. The ship’s staff were very friendly. The food was plentiful and good. Entertainment was ok, seen better on other cruises. Poor ship layout design, but not a deal breaker. Hopefully. as we and the cruise industry recover from the COVID pandemic things will improve and return to normal. Until then, I will continue cruising. Next cruise in February on Carnival Vista. Looking forward to it.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Fast. Never have had it so easy.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Completely satisfied with MDR, specialty and buffet.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Only took advantage of the fitness center. Nice, large and plenty of machines.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Cruise productions and performers were ok. Shows didn’t seem to have a real theme or make sense. Cruise band was very good. Magician was average, seen better on America Got Talent. Comedian was funny. Female invited performer was good.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Staff were friendly, nice and accommodating. Bar service at the Pool and Casino bars was poor. These two busy bars always appeared to be understaffed. Wished some of the other bars would open earlier.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Older ship but we’ll maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Overall, satisfied with the cabin. Couch was a bit stiff. Bed was comfortable, but mattress needs replacing. Nice size balcony.

Ship tip

Nice older ship. Although ship’s design and or flow appears to be a bit off or broken up.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5
Really didn’t do much in Ft. Lauderdale other than stay in a hotel before and after cruise. Ate at a couple of restaurants.

George Town, Grand Cayman

1 out of 5
Disappointed with port. Did not take an excursion. About a third of the businesses were closed. We visited Grand Cayman before and it was livelier and a happier place. Not sure if this was due to our ship being the only one docked there or result of the COVID pandemic. Margaritaville was closed, as well as, other well-known port stores. Hopefully, things will change as the cruise industry recovers.

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5
Ok port, many more options to shop. Did not take an excursion.

Willemstad, Curacao

2 out of 5
Same as Grand Cayman port. Some stores appeared to be desperate to make a sale. There was even a store having a going out of business sale, everything was $5. Sadly, not the same port visited several years ago. Fortunately, we took a third party excursion which made the visit enjoyable.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

2 out of 5
Same as the other ports. Did not take an excursion.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Was not as good or fast as embarkation. It did seem to go faster through customs than previous disembarkations.
Was this review helpful? 17

4 Comments

Other reviews of this sailing