Outstanding Southern Caribbean Cruise with Celebrity Cruises!!
Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 17
9 Night Aruba Bonaire & Curacao (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 04, 2023
Ship: Celebrity Equinox
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 1571
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 11 months ago
Review summary
What more can I say. This cruise was fabulous and it was so nice to go cruising again after the pandemic!!Embarkation
Very smooth embarkation. We had gone online a few weeks before and filled everything out. Just showed them our passports and we were on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We stayed in the Aquaclass and dined at the Blu restaurant for breakfast and dinner. We enjoy that restaurant for the smaller dining room size and the impeccable service. The food was terrific! The appetizers and main entrees were great and when we didn't see anything we were interested in, we could order from the main dining menu. Breakfast items were also very good from omelets, pancakes, or Eggs Benedict. The service from Sierra (our head waitress) was superb...she greeted us by name each day with a friendly smile and great service. . Lillian was also very friendly and excellent!! She assisted Sierra serving us different breads and desserts with coffee. My wife loves her coffee and cream. Lillian always kept our cups full without us needing to ask her. Lillian was amazing in the evening knowing we would see the early evening show. She would expedite us getting our delicious dessert and coffee so we wouldn’t miss any of our evening show. We really appreciated Lillian so much! In the morning, Riska would serve us pastries as soon as we sat down with a friendly smile and checked throughout breakfast to see if we needed anything. Our sommelier was either Sladjar or Joana. They were very prompt and took care of any wine or alcohol we wanted at dinner time. We did dine in the main Silhouette dining room the first night and had excellent food and service there as well with head waiter Don Ryan with his assistant Tenci. We had prime rib the first night of the cruise and it was delicious. We ate lunch in the Oceanview cafe buffet for our lunches and were surprised at the quality of food there. They had tasty batter fried fish and chips a few times and some jumbo seasoned shrimp. There was always a carving station with different meats. The variety was wide from Mediterranean, Italian, Indian, to simple chicken and egg salad sandwiches. The fruit was outstanding. My wife and I had the Classic drink package and were able to get most alcoholic drinks we enjoyed without needing to pay extra for premium drinks.
Onboard Activities
We went to a few activities in the fitness center and the spa. We had our foot analyzed which was very interesting and fun. We also had a lesson on how to best give massages. My wife and I used our onboard credit to get a nice relaxing massage after our last excursion. The masseuses were friendly and gave us both an excellent massage. We could have done without the up sell on add-ons and trying to sell us expensive products afterwards though. We went to view a few people who had paid to create a glass blowing sculpture which was really interesting. They didn't have Bingo like in the past. We went to the Deal or no Deal in Celebrity Central to see if we would be interested in playing that. Basically only 3 people out of over 100 have a chance to win real money. They play it twice and both people won about $160-170 but could have had more. The last person spins a digital wheel and has a chance to win a cruise which he did when we watched. Our son went to 2 other Deal or no Deals and they won similar amounts and one person won a cruise. The ping pong table area was not great...they stuck the 1 table by the elevator on the 15th floor next to a column. They should have a few ping pong tables and put them in an open area. I saw people playing Bocce ball which looked fun on the natural grass. The sports court was pretty sad. They have 1 court for the entire ship and it has so many lines it is hard to tell which is which....Tennis or Pickleball. Plus it doubles as a soccer and basketball court.
Entertainment
The stage shows we saw on this cruise was far better than any of our other 3 cruises we have been on. The cruise entertainment director, Lewis, from England was always upbeat and funny. He and his staff did an excellent job putting together all the shows. The stage orchestra was top notch and did an amazing job. The best show we saw on this cruise (and every cruise we have been on!!) was from the singing group named "Electric Soul". Each of the 4 singers and entertainers in this group from New York City could easily be headliners but when you put them together it is really something special. They sang a variety of Motown hits and popular songs everyone knew and could sing along with. They had many of us dancing in the aisles and in our seats. They sang on the third night and again at a standing room only matinee the next day. Vinny Grosso, a magician and mentalist with Americas Got Talent, from Las Vegas wowed us with his magic tricks and mind reading abilities for a few nights. Singer Leah Canali entertained us for a few nights with her strong female voice singing many popular songs from female artists. She mentioned she sang at a satellite event in the north east for a presidential inaugural celebration so you know she is good...sounds a lot like Christina Aguilera. She did songs from Whitney Houston, Dua Lipa, and Adele and didn't miss a note. Comedian Jason Blanchard from Canada entertained us for a few nights with his hilarious humor. The Celebrity Production Cast was also amazingly talented. They put on at least 3-4 big time stage presentations..Elysium, Topper, a Broadway Cabaret, and Life (with aerialists) to name a few. All were broadway caliber shows.
Children's Programs
Just have adult children
Service and Staff
Our room steward, Ricky, was the BEST!!! He was always in our hallway and greeting us with a friendly smile. He went out of his way to please us with any requests we had. Our room was always clean, neat, and orderly and towels were always restocked. The service from Sierra (our head waitress at the Blu restaurant) was superb...she greeted us by name each day with a friendly smile and great service. Lillian was also very friendly and excellent!! She assisted Sierra serving us different breads and desserts with coffee. My wife loves her coffee and Lillian always kept our cups full without us needing to ask her. Lillian was amazing in the evening knowing we would see the early evening show. She would expedite us getting our delicious dessert and coffee so we wouldn’t miss any of our evening show. We really appreciated Lillian so much! In the morning Riska would serve us pastries as soon as we sat down with a friendly smile and checked throughout breakfast to see if we needed anything. Our sommelier was either Sladjar or Joana at the Blu restaurant. They were very prompt and took care of any wine or alcohol we wanted at dinner time. We did dine in the main Silhouette dining room the first night and had excellent food and service there as well with head waiter Don Ryan with his assistant Tenci.
Ship Quality
This is our second time on the Equinox since it was refurbished in 2019 and it was in great condition. I like the layout and design of the ship. Common areas were always clean and well maintained. I like the outdoor theater on top with the natural grass lawn. I think they need to put a artificial putting green in instead of natural grass which was too long to putt on. If you need a quiet place to enjoy the evening and unwind go to the Sunset bar at the back of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
The room was clean and adequate. They designed the bathroom well for the small space it has. We were glad under the bed was open to put our suit cases there. My wife would have liked a makeup magnifying mirror with light...she used the desk mirror next to the balcony window to get more light. The toilet tissue was horrible and so rough in quality! If we had known, we would have packed our own TP. Storage was good. Our room steward, Ricky, always kept our room clean and tidy, even giving us a chocolate on our pillows each night.
Ship tip
We have an excellent cruise agent at named Connor Cross (1-800-259-5642 extension 38426). Check with him when you get ready to take a cruise. Once you book your cruise check the price of your cruise up until the 90 day deadline to pay. If you see it decrease then call Connor or your agent and they will reduce your price. Also, if you are sailing single and on a budget, our son stayed in an interior room to save money and the room on the 10th floor was just as big as our Aquaclass room. It just didn't have the balcony. He paid about $1300 for the single room + $157 for gratuities...not bad for a 9 day cruise on the Equinox. You have to book these interior rooms early as they go quickly on the 11th and 10th floor. We booked around Black Friday/Cyber Monday to get additional perks like 3X American Advantage miles and additional On Board Credit(OBC). Our son had $200 OBC which he used for wifi and an excursion. We had $650 OBC for our Aquaclass room which paid for all our excursions and a couple of massages. Book your excursions early through Celebrity...about 2 weeks before we sailed they discounted the excursions so we called and had them rebook at the lower price. This sale is only for a few days so keep a lookout for it.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
We came in a day early and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport 1500 SE 17th Street Causeway Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 US. This is close to the Cruise port and they have a shuttle for $15 per person to drop you off (sign up at desk). We got a return shuttle to the FLL airport for $20 per person with the same company. When you get off the cruise ship and get your luggage immediately call the shuttle company. You may be able to save some by getting an UBER but we felt better with a local shuttle company.
We went on an excursion thought American Airlines Cruises to Stingray City, Barrier Reef and Starfish beach. The price was $67 per person. The vendor was Captain Bryan's Sail and Snorkel Tours. You can save $2 per person going directly to their website which has this for $65 per person. They have a big white tent when you get off the ship in Grand Cayman. They take you on a bus up to where the boat is. I would have preferred the catamaran over the boat we were in. Seemed like the boat held about 30-40 people and was crowded. It was difficult to hear the captain and would have been nice if he had a loud speaker on the boat or told us all to gather around him when he spoke. The snorkel equipment wasn't the best and could be improved. My wife's mouthpiece was missing from hers and she had to get a replacement. Fins were stiff. The first stop was the barrier reef which was our only snorkeling for the excursion. It seemed rather short stop at about 20 minutes. They threw some food in the water to attract the fish and stingrays. By the time you start looking around it was time to get back in the boat. Water was nice but I didn't really see any coral reefs. Then we went to Stingray City where all the tourist boats back up to form a ring. It is shallow there and you can see the stingrays swimming around. They took pictures with the stingrays and sell you the pictures for $50 when you get back on the boat....what a rip off...they should come with the excursion price. You can save some money if you have someone you know take your pictures while you pose with the stingrays. The water there was a beautiful light blue. Then they take you to Starfish point where you can hold some starfish under water and take pictures. They had several jugs of fruit punch in the cooler but never offered it to anyone. They did have some water but they ran out of cold water and put some warm water in the coolers. This excursion was ok but for the price I think it should have been better...request their catamaran if you go with them.
We had an Antilla Shipwreck Sail and Snorkeling Tour through Celebrity. We paid about $51 per person after watching for excursion discounts. We walked about 100 yards from the ship to a beautiful red and white catamaran and headed up to Boca Catalina on the west side of Aruba. The snorkeling there was fantastic. I saw many different types of fish and eels. The captain said the waves were too rough to go to the ship wreck so he took us to an area where the sea turtles congregate which was ok with us. We saw many turtles on the ocean floor about 20-30 feet down and they would occasionally come up to the surface for oxygen which was exciting. The waters off the coast of Aruba are beautiful. On the way back to the ship, they served us some tasty rum punch. When we headed back to the ship, this was the best spot for a souvenir.
We had a Sea and See tour through Celebrity for about $55 per person (Dive into the undersea world on Seaworld Explorer, a semi-submersible featuring a large glass viewing station and then, drive through the historic streets of Willemstad. Curacao to the Chobolobo Curacao Liqueur Factory). Unfortunately, this was our tour guides first tour to host and she wasn't very entertaining. I would have expected an experienced tour guide or at least someone to work with her. The Seaworld Explorer was a bust because the water was so churned up and it wasn't very clear. The sub is in the Dreams resort but you have to walk directly to the sub and back with no wandering in the shops at the resort. Strange rule...you would think they would welcome tourists. The bus ride through Curacao was underwhelming. The highlight she pointed out all the cemeteries for the different religions on the island and the new hospital. When we got to the Chobolobo Curacao Liqueur Factory I was expecting a nice guided tour from our tour guide but she did nothing. We ended up tagging along another bus tour guide who was going through the factory with her group. The samples were nice at least...we helped ourselves to a few rounds.
We had a Salt Flats and Ricon Village tour through Celebrity for about $40 per person. This island doesn't have any beaches so unless you are a scuba diver or want to snorkel off of Klein Bonaire uninhabited island, the land tour is all that's left. The tour guide for this excursion was very knowledgeable and had lived on the island for about 30 years. He used to be in the scuba diving industry and was very interesting. We drove all around the island going north to the lake where we saw some pink flamingos in the distance and the old oil storage containers, down to Ricon Village where we stopped and saw the museum. FYI, this island is very dry and arid with lots of cactus which they even use for fencing. It is not lush and tropical. We then drove down to the south to see the salt flats, which was picturesque. Our guide explained how the salt was made and mined there on the island and we got to have a salt sample. When we got back to the ship, we noticed there were not many shops for souvenirs. I gave this excursion a 3 rating for our guide but the overall island was a 2. Don't think I'll visit this island again.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation went smoothly. We put our suitcases out the night before and had the last possible time at 9:15AM to leave. We had to leave our room at 8AM but we sat at the Cafe al Bacio and had coffee and cookies until they called our number.