Celebrity Equinox Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall Cruise was good. Food was disappointing especially in the dining room.

We had select dining and lucky for us we we able to have the same waiting staff every night and of course we had the same table. They were excellent!

Our lady - Cabin stewart was very polite and pleasant. First time in a long time that the Cruise Director was excellent and of course very funny. I believe the cruise direct made the cruise exciting for us.

Hard to state accurately, Having taken many cruises over recent years, this was the best ship (facilities and personnel) we have experienced in ages.  Great personnel,  fine entertainment, outstanding cruise director...the total package was top-grade.

Joanne, from Cruise One did a fine job organizing the trip.  She was pleasant and helpful. 

Our upgraded room was comfortable and convenient to most activities, such as the dining room, elevators, theater, and other things.

The food was mostly quite good.  There was an excellent variety on the buffet.  The fresh fruits was awesome!

The brought-in entertainment was excellent.  The cast from the ship was very talented, but their Broadway productions didn't fit the audience.  There was no story in the productions and very few songs that we could recognize.

We really enjoyed the Corning Hot Glass Show.  We spent a lot of time watching them.  It was fascinating!

 I have been a loyal celebrity patron for many years, haven't taken at least a half dozen Cruises on this line. However, on this trip, I found the daytime entertainment and lounge asked to be very subpar.  In particular, there was an acoustic guitar rest and a singer who I wanted to strangle with his tambourine.  Additionally, I found the production shows to be confusing without any professionalism or theme. Unlike my last cruise in January 2015 on the Sillouette, , I actually avoided all lounge acts on this trip.  I know this sentiment was shared with many passengers with whom I had discussions about this trips on board entertainment. 

 We miss having more entertainment in lounges after the regular 9 o'clock show .  Usually we would have some comedians at the late night lounges.  Food was very very good.  Staff was very accommodating at breakfast lunch and dinner and very friendly.   

The cruise was wonderful.  First time on Celebrity.  Compared to the Carnival we found it to be more upscale and service levels were great.  Working with , Jonathan was a pleasure.  It was nice to have a contact person. 

Our Elite Plus Captain's Club status testifies to our long-term love affair with Celebrity. That love affair ended a couple of years ago when we saw Celebrity fall from grace by trying to compete with Carnival as a noisy classless line catering to a younger, less-demanding, less-affluent crowd. Nothing wrong with trying to attract younger people, but if you're going to do it, DO IT! Set up a different cruise line; don't destroy a quality brand by trying to be all things to all people. We jumped ship to Oceania and to enjoy what Celebrity once offered. We were amazed at the number of guests on Oceania who recently had done the same thing .... switched from Celebrity to Oceania despite the higher prices.

Our cruise consultant at assured us that, with a new President, Celebrity had returned to its previous glory days... a string quartet, decent pianists in the cocktail lounges, acoustic guitarists who could do more than strum the same cord over and over, music at the Elite Captain's Club party each evening, etc. We relied on that advice and decided to give Celebrity another try. BAD ADVICE LEADS TO WRONG DECISIONS!  When I inquired about the number of formal nights, I was told 3. Three formal nights on a 10-day cruise? Really? Absolutely, I was told. So I lugged along 3 dress shirts, 3 sets of cummerbunds, dress shoes and a tuxedo, Turns out that Celebrity no longer has "formal nights."  Now they're called "chic" nights, there are only 2 of them, and all  it means is that they'd appreciate your sewing up the rips in your cutoffs. Now I'm not a formal-night addict, but I expect correct information from my "consultant."

As far as the other advice goes: there are still half dozen 6 and 7 foot grand pianos on board ... but no one to play them! The lounges are ghost towns after dinner. The extravaganzas in the main theater are now 4th rate instead of 3rd rate. The dining menus have been abbreviated and cut to 3 courses from 4. The luncheon buffet is god-awful: the beef is so tough you could sole your shoes with it, the meat is mis-labeled (in case the chef is unaware, a "steamship round of beef" is NOT cut from the lower leg!), the hamburgers which used to be terrific are pre-cooked and cold, and I could go on with the mystery-meat they peddle.

Celebrity has even stopped providing slippers in top-of-the-Concierge-class (C1) cabins. What are they saving? A quarter? Every cut they make is supposed to "Save the Waves"! If you believe that, I have a nice bridge to sell you connecting Manhattan to  Brooklyn! To "Save the Waves." there are no printed announcements sent to your cabin to remind you of "goodies" you're entitled to as an Elite Plus member. (They still provide printed cards to inform you of what the junk art dealer is peddling.) There isn't even a printed statement of your account sent upon departure. They say that's to "Save the Waves". I say it's so you won't see how they have cheated you out of your discounts. We used only 2 of the many discounts available to Elite Plus members: 10% off a wine package and 15% off any spa treatment received in port. NEITHER DISCOUNT WAS CREDITED TO OUR ACCOUNT UNTIL I COMPLAINED!. One "mistake" I can accept. Two out of two isn't accidental ... especially when the second one was clearly mentioned and agreed to at the time the service was received!

Good-bye Celebrity! It was nice knowing you.

We opted for Select Dining, and it was awful.  Making a reservation ranged from difficult to impossible.  The dining room was crowded and so noisy that it was nearly impossible to talk with our table mates.

Drink prices in the lounges were significantly higher than I have paid on any other cruise, and the service was mediocre at best.  The attendant mixed up the charges on at least three occasions.

Disembarking was chaos.  Trying to get an elevator to the assigned waiting area was impossible.  Having the gangway on a different deck than the waiting area was a bad idea - again, no elevators

got us a great deal as always.  Very happy with the ship and our excursion on mirabella (St. Martin) was especially enjoyable, friendly staff, good drinks and snacks and wonderful beach made a wonderful day!  Loved the beverage package - Big Thanks

This cruise was a perfect getaway.  I would recommend the Equinox (and The Eclipse) as both ships are fabulous.  The crew were very good, shopping was exceptional and the main dining room was extraordinary.

We are veteran cruisers for whom Celebrity is the best, and this trip was no exception.  The entertainment was particularly noteworthy; the only slight reservation was in the production shows, which were spectacular for the quality of singing, dancing, and production qualities, but less so in the story lines, which were hard to decipher.  We suggest a program hand-out, as we might get at an opera.  Food and service is always top-notch, and the Solarium is our favorite hangout. 

The list of activities and port calls was wonderful on this cruise.  Food, service, and accommodations were excellent.  Promptness and comfort were better than expected.  Shore excursion and shopping choices were also well explained and as advertised.  I will be using Celebrity in the future.

Debra Davis helped us get a great deal on this cruise. If Debra can get this same deal with Celebrity again we will use your service.  Thank you. Rich

This ship is nice.  This trip was geared for older adults.  Having been on the Reflection on our last trip, this did not even compare to the overall experience of a great cruise.  So much more to do on the Reflection.  The activities were poorly done and the staging for activities was very bad.    The entertainment was OK at tops but there again it was solely geared to older adults.    Guess we just chose the wrong ship. 

Ship is so awesome, if we go again on this itinerary, we would skip the shore excursions and enjoy the ship.  Loved the open interior, the glass elevators, the library, card room, grass on deck 15, the hot glass shows, and all the great places to sit and enjoy a drink.  Great service.

Beautiful ship in pristine condition.  The entertainment was the worst I've ever encountered in 60 plus cruises.    Choose to eat in specialty restaurants six times as the dining room food was not very good with the exception of formal night. Prepaiding tips for select dining is mandatory.  Having eaten in the dining room four times, we are still billed for the full 11 days we were onboard even though we bought a specialty dining package which is expensive.    We wish that Celebrity would charge a bit more and include more rather than nickel and dime passengers with extra charges.    Being an elite members we look forward to the special venues for members.   It is frustrating when these venues are scheduled at times that are not conducive to attend the event.  

If you are going on celebrity in the next 5 mos find out what they are doing with there entertainment

they are revising and do not notify they have also cut out some services the crew from captain to room steward is above average food is very good

This was our second cruise on Celebrity and we had talked our cruise friends into joining us.  We were sailing on Concierge Class for the first time, and were really disappointed.  We were pretty embarrassed with how poor an experience they had from the beginning.  First, Celebrity check in was a fiasco.  Their key cards could not be found so new ones were issued.  New cards were faulty and tripped security when we tried to board.  Room number was incorrect, and photos did not match, and old cards that were not found were listed as stolen.  Great....back to check in and another wait in line.  Supposably problem solved, wrong.  New, new key card won't open cabin door.  On to guest services, key cards again fixed.  Not so fast, won't swipe in gift stores.  Nothing was offered to them as compensation for the poor service and gross incompetence.  A speciality dining voucher or something would have been nice.  Nope, nothing.

Second, Concierge Class is not worth the up charge.  Afternoon "Savories" were pretty nasty, we didn't eat them on the first day, tried again the next with the same result.  Yuck!  Fresh Fruit was supposed to be in the room and our friends got theirs, we did not.  They make a big deal about having an umbrella and binoculars provided but both were so cheap and flimsy we didn't use them.  The balcony rooms are small with little storage for clothing which is a problem on a ten day cruise with 2 Formal nights.  We had the room steward take all the superfluous pillows out of the room because they took up too much space in the room when not on the beds. I mentioned rooms are small. The limited counter space is taken up with their advertising literature, empty fruit dish, and plates and flatware for in edible PM "Savories".

We found the "entertainment" amateurish, repetitive and fairly boring.  This cruise is geared for an older crowd that still remembers Laurence Welk fondly.

We upgraded the drink package to Premium at an additional cost and I was irritated at dinner when I was told "you can't get that wine because it is too much for your package" not that I could get it and pay an additional charge of the difference, just you can't get that!.  So I asked for a list of wines that were within the Premium package, was handed the original wine list and was quickly told most of all the upgraded wines were not available.  Sold out on last cruise and not replaced. Really!

My husband went down one morning to get us a cup of coffee from the speciality coffee bar (Gastro something) and asked for the coffee to be take away.  Young lady behind the counter sniped "if you are at the counter, it's to go".  OK, a bit early to be chastised by a crew member.  He also neglected to take my key card and was curtly informed "you only get one at a time!".  The coffee they served at breakfast buffet was not very good so it worth the hassle to put up with rude service.  Should you really have to make that trade off.

We had booked this same ship for next November on the 11 day, different port cruise.  Talked our friends into that one as well.  We both are canceling our booking and looking into something else.  For the same dollar amount we can get a Grand Suite on Carnival and comparable perks....oh Carnival will do your laundry for free, Celebrity will do one paper bag of laundry for $45.  

We had a balcony room which is great to be able to relax to the soothing sounds of the waves.  The Equinox is a beautiful ship.  Food was adequate - shows were just okay and for the most part the staff is very friendly.  If you haven't cruised in a while, there are definitely cut backs.  The Corning glass blowing shows were excellent.

We arrived at the terminal at 1:00 P.M. And were having lunch at 1:30. It was the easiest check in we every had. Our room was ready and the luggage arrived. The life boat drill could use improvement ,left standing for a long time waiting ,drill was late starting and most people were tired and fed up. The dining room food and staff were top notch , the variety and quality of the food left nothing to be desired. Breakfast and lunch at the buffet was never crowded and the multiple types of food available. Our room was clean and neat and our steward was attentive to our needs, which really wasn't too many.We have sailed on the Equinox before as week as the sister ships , so we did expect the same standards. The disappointment come in the entertainment in the theater, so should I say lack of same. There was only one night of the general cast singers and dancers, on other nights we had a male singer, comedian, pianist, female singer all on a bare stage with the backup band ,a lot of fake smoke and flashing lights. We let the Officers and Cruise director know our opinion. Overall we has a very good time and the final chore of leaving the ship was handled well.