Welcome to our review of the Celebrity Equinox! This cruise was a last minute decision as we hadn’t planned to do a second cruise for our honeymoon last year. We had booked our initial honeymoon cruise on Harmony of the Seas in early 2018, with the intentions of spending a week on the cruise and then a week in Florida. However, since it was our honeymoon and we wanted to do something a little different, we started looking at a second cruise. Fate should have it that the Equinox fell within our dates and we got a great deal. We hadn’t done a lot of research on the older Celebrity ships and there were limited reviews and YouTube videos available for the Equinox, so we went into it without a lot of expectations. Keep reading to find out why we were pleasantly surprised!
Ship Design & Layout
Celebrity Equinox launched in 2009 and underwent a semi-refurbishment in 2019 (it was supposed to have a full refurbishment but due to dock issues, did not get all the work completed). At 121,878 gross tonnes and with a capacity of 2850 passengers, it is the smallest cruise ship we’ve been on. With a gorgeous navy blue hull, the Equinox is looking as sharp as ever. The ship has modern-looking stylings throughout with lots of mid-century modern style furniture and interesting sculptures.
The top deck of the ship features the Lawn Club, an outdoor area with a bar, glass-blowing classes, outdoor movie screen and real grass. While it doesn’t have a lot of kid-friendly amenities like rollercoasters, surf simulators, water slides, or go karts, it has everything that I could ever need on a cruise ship.
Because the ship is small(er), it is super easy to navigate. I did miss the promenade of Royal Caribbean ships, but at least I could easily walk from one end of this ship to the other in a few minutes! Another fun design feature of the Equinox is a real, live, floating tree in the middle of the ship. You can catch a glimpse of the tree while riding the elevators!
Celebrity Equinox Solarium
We didn’t have any trouble finding a lounger on the Celebrity Equinox, even on sea days. I love the fact that the ship has padded loungers as opposed to the usual uncomfortable fabric loungers. There was plenty of places to lie in the sun or in the shade, whatever your preference is. We spent a lot of time in the adults-only Solarium, which was covered and air-conditioned. There is no bar directly inside the solarium, but there are many just outside the solarium doors on the pool deck. The solarium has a spa-like feel, with tranquil music playing in the background. There are also two hot tubs located in the solarium, as well as number of “cuddle bed” loungers.
Celebrity Equinox Public Bathroom
In terms of cleanliness, the ship was spotless. Even the public bathrooms were immaculate. I also appreciated the fact that the bathroom doors opened by a push button located on the wall as I try to touch as few door handles as possible in public areas!
Service on the Celebrity Equinox
I knew the service would be remarkable when we were handed a glass of champagne immediately upon boarding the ship. From there, the great service continued. We had excellent bar service, especially at the Martini Bar. The staff at Cafe al Baccio were super friendly and efficient whenever we went there for our morning lattes. Our stateroom attendant Ariel was the kindest, sweetest, loveliest person ever and did a great job of keeping our room clean and tidy. He always went out of his way to speak to us every day as we were leaving our room or coming back at night and ensured we had everything that we needed.
The service provided at mealtimes was also top-notch. We love the fact that the Equinox doesn’t just have a waiter and an assistant waiter for your table, but also a designated sommelier and a bar server to take care of your wine and other drinks! Our waiter Reggie was amazing – he went above and beyond every night. He always gave excellent food recommendations and if I was debating between two choices, he would bring both. The meal service was exceptionally efficient but we never felt rushed. If you can get Reggie as your waiter, you are in luck!
Celebrity Equinox Martini Bar (the bar top is iced!)
Stateroom Design & Functionality
Unfortunately the staterooms only got partially upgraded during the refurbishment, so while we had new bedding, curtains and artwork, we had the old carpet and sofa. The new furniture is modern and blue-grey, while the old decor is red, earthy tones so needless to say, it really doesn’t coordinate well.
Celebrity Equinox Balcony Stateroom
The size of our stateroom was about average for a balcony room, but the storage design wasn’t my favourite. There was a closet, five desk drawers, and cabinets above the bed. We stored most of our clothes in the cabinets above the bed, but it wasn’t practical, especially for anyone with poor mobility.
The bathroom, however, was probably the most spacious of any ship we’ve been on! The bathroom cabinet had lots of storage and there was a decent amount of room in the shower. The shower always had hot water and good water pressure.
Our balcony had two reclining chairs and a small table. It was a standard size balcony compared to other cruise ships we have been on.
Celebrity Equinox Balcony
Activities
We didn’t partake in many activities on this ship. As a rule, we typically prefer to relax and read by the pool as opposed to participating in classes or events. We do enjoy going to shows in the evening but none on this ship seemed particularly appealing to us.
We did attend an ABBA tribute one night, which had everyone dancing and singing. I would have liked to watch a movie on the Lawn Club but to be honest, I wasn’t feeling the best (more on that later) so we didn’t do that. Because the ship has an older clientele, it seemed that there wasn’t a lot happening after 11pm. It didn’t bother us since we tend to head to bed around then anyway, but a forewarning to anyone looking for a party ship!
Food and Drinks
Celebrity certainly excelled in the food and drink category. We mostly ate breakfast and lunch in the Oceanview Cafe buffet and went to the main dining room for supper each night. I found the buffet food to be fairly monotonous by day 3 as the selections didn’t change much. However, they do offer a selection of Indian and British food each day. Despite the lack of variety from day-to-day, the food in the buffet was all delicious.
Some days we had lunch at the Mast Grill, located on Deck 14. It was a convenient place to grab a burger (veggie, chicken or beef) or a hot dog as well as fries to eat by the pool. For those who prefer a healthier option, there is also the Spa Cafe located inside the Solarium. Open for breakfast and lunch, it features smoothies and small bites.
Celebrity Equinox Mast Grill
We ate supper each night in the Silhouette dining room. We had “Celebrity Select” dining, which meant that we could choose to go whenever we wanted (as opposed to having an early or late seating each night). Occasionally we had a 5-10 minute wait for our table, but we were provided with a handheld buzzer to notify us when the table was ready. We often had a drink at the nearby Martini Bar while we were waiting.
Rather than a bread basket, Celebrity Equinox provides a combination of bread and bread sticks, along with two dipping sauces and a whipped butter. The dipping sauces change each night, which we really enjoyed. Celebrity had the best selection of appetizers, mains and desserts of any cruise line we have been on. Supper typically took 1-1.5 hours and we never felt rushed. As always, supper was my favourite part of our cruise!
Celebrity Equinox Main Dining Room Food
Celebrity Equinox has four specialty restaurants – Murano (french), Tuscan Grill (Italian), Le Petit Chef (Global- 3D table animation) and Sushi on Five. We didn’t try any of the specialty restaurants on this cruise.
Must-Try Food: Salmon with hollandaise sauce, grilled branzino
Celebrity Equinox drinks
The drinks on the Celebrity Equinox were also amazing. I really appreciate that they mix the alcohol into the blender for frozen drinks, as opposed to pouring it over the top which makes the drink quite strong. We spent a few nights at the Martini Bar, which features an ice-top bar and a DJ playing remixes to popular songs. The martinis were tasty but quite strong, however, the staff there is the absolute best! There is a reason that the Martini Bar is always really busy. We had a few drinks at Craft Social as well. They have over 40 beers so Jordan tried a few but sadly there was no sour beer for me to enjoy.
Must-Try Drinks: French Caribbean and Blue Note
Overall Impressions
Despite being the smallest cruise ship that we’ve been on, it was my favourite. The food, drinks and service was top-notch. I loved the design of the ship and the fact that I never felt crowded. I also appreciated the more mature, well-behaved passengers. We did an Eastern Caribbean itinerary with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau. The seas were incredibly rough and I felt a lot of movement in our stateroom, which was located at the very front of the ship. I’m not sure if the movement seemed worse because it was a smaller ship or if that was just a coincidence. Either way, it wasn’t enough to stop us from booking another cruise on the Equinox for this year! Without a doubt, the Celebrity Equinox has become my favourite cruise ship thus far.
Celebrity Equinox Daily Travel Diaries
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