This was our first cruise on Celebrity and we were very disappointed in the food and entertainment on the Equinox. Will not sail on Celebrity again. Princess was so much better in every respect.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Quick and easy
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Silhouette Main Dining room and buffet's meats were consistently overdone-everything including chicken, fishes, pork, beef, ham, prime rib, ribs, brisket. Never went back for seconds on anything. Even the escargot was underwhelming. First night French onion soup- was all bread and cheese, no onions. Soups throughout cruise were uninspiring. Shrimp cocktail was small, not jumbo shrimp. Even lobster was half of a small lobster including in Murano specialty dining restaurant. Sushi on 5 was expensive for what was offered (Tiny pieces of unagi on sushi). Tuscan Grill and Murano was good but we shouldn't have to pay extra for a decent meal on a cruise ship. Napkin sets in buffet only had a knife and fork so I had to look all over for spoons whenever I needed one. No tartar sauce with fish entrees. Even the first time cruisers in our group were very, very disappointed in all of the food offerings in the buffet and MDR. Totally disappointed in the food on the Celebrity Equinox
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Fitness center was nice but you were only limited to 21 minutes on the treadmill. Nice rubberized outdoor jogging track but the smoking area next to the track was not a good idea.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Stage shows were extremely loud and performers were enthusiastic but none of the shows made any sense or theme. Went on first 3 nights, then never returned.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The room steward, guest relations, and waitstaff were very good. No issues
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was very clean throughout but no trash cans anywhere. Furniture in the cabin was old and worn but clean. A/C worked very well. Only one toilet by the Specialty restaurants and there was always a waiting line in the men's room to use the toilet. Big fail there!
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Balcony cabin- few drawers in room, only 2 sockets by a tiny desk, none by the bed. Large sofa in the room that took up a lot of space where a love seat would be more than adequate. Limited selection of movies on TV, no free choices like on Princess. Lots of hot water in the shower.
Ship tip
Avoid this cruise ship and Celebrity. Choose Princess instead
Notre Dame du Garde was excellent. Took a La Petite train and it was only 10 euros. There was some demonstration in port so the ship dropped us off a long way from Old Port.
Ugh. We were supposed to spend 2 days in La Spezia when we booked this cruise as we all looked forward to hiking the Cinque Terre but Celebrity changed the port to 2 days in Livorno on us without informing us of the change. If we had known of the change we would have cancelled this booking but by the time we learned of the change we had already purchased our plane and train tickets. I am very, very angry about this and Celebrity said there wasn't anything they could do about it- no compensation, no onboard credits, etc.
Hubby and I spent last year cruising various lines, and have chosen Celebrity as our main go to. We also love Princess, but the smoking in the casino creates wafts of cigarette smoke throughout other areas of the ship. We love that Celebrity does not allow smoking in the casino, so we can actually enjoy those activities as well. We do miss having a self service laundry like on Princess, but otherwise, our cruises on Celebrity have been awesome! Did back to back on 2 ships with NCL a couple of months ago, and we will NEVER do that again! So, Celebrity is our choice. I hope you give them another chance.
We got off the Equinox November 30, 2023 after 19 days & had a wonderful experience. The ship was beautiful, food & service great. We decided that for the extra money you pay for Celebrity, we would stick to Royal Caribbean & Princess, but still thought Celebrity & this ship was great (you can read my review). I am sorry you didn’t have the same experience. Hope your next cruise is better. 😎
I did Equinox before the pandemic, and it was a fantastic time. Food, service, entertainment, etc. all excellent. Did Equinox again after pandemic, and it was a 180 degrees turn. The food was abysmal, like I was on another cruise line. After day 4, we stopped going to MDR because there wasn’t anything palatable. Did the buffet, where at least we didn’t have to wait to receive an awful dish. You could just get something else quickly. I completely understand your point of view. Did Celebrity Apex last year, and it was definitely better than Equinox but still not great.
I have never been on Equinox but I’ve been on other Celebrity ships. I find it very hard to believe this review. No other cruises or pictures listed even though they said they’ve been on Princess. Celebrity has always been 5 stars in everything. Ships are beautiful, food is delicious, staff friendly and helpful, ports great. So I think this is a fake review.
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