Celebrity Equinox Review
2nd Time on Equinox, 3rd time on Aquaclass, 18th Cruise
Rating by category
Additional details
Western Caribbean out of Miami - July 30 - August 6
-Stayed the night before at the Royal Palm Hotel South Beach - great location - few blocks to South Beach and Lincoln outdoor mall. Right on the beach. $34 per day resort fee includes an umbrella and lounge chairs on the beach. Glad we came a day early since flights were being cancelled due the rainstorms in our area. $13 via Uber to the cruise port. It was $35 by taxi to the hotel.
- Embarkation at noon (starts at 11 am). Wait going through security but no line for Aquaclass and maybe 10 people for normal rooms. Buffet was packed with no tables available for lunch. Headed to Sunset bar and at 1 pm, the buffet cleared out when the rooms were ready.
Cabin Review
AquaClass 1
Extended pool deck above the cabin gave great shade and protection from the rain when sitting on the balcony. The next level down, the balcony was in the hot sun. We could sit on the balcony during a heavy storm and only get a light sprinkling of water. If you want a sunny balcony, this is not for you. Supporting post for the deck to the right of the balcony and farther right was the box for window washing and repairs but they did not obstruct our facing out view. The cabins to the front would have had more of an obstructed view.
Bathroom, bed, couch were on the right wall as you enter. Desk/vanity was on the left side near the balcony.
Michelle, our cabin steward, kept the room very clean. Large and small umbrellas, binoculars, bathrobes, hairdryer, fridge.
A big blue beach bag and smaller, white mesh bag (good for the pool) plus lip moisturizer (didn't see any SPF), and 2 pairs of the loofah slippers.
Port Reviews
Key West
Key West tends to get bad stormy weather where the cruise ship may miss it or in our case we had to stay overnight because of the winds and the harbormaster not letting us leave. August weather was super hot and humid. Wear a hat and sunscreen.
Ernest Hemmingway's house (and 6 toed cats) - $14 was worthwhile. Take the guided tour. A/C in the house.
The oldest house in Key West was free and had A/C! Open 2 - 4 pm. Had a dining room, bedroom, living room, and gardens to walk around.
Miami
- Bayside Market - lots of stores and restaurants in an open air mall was nice.
- Lincoln shopping area - was a happening place with tables full of diners at 11 pm on Saturday. Nice stores and safe.
- South Beach had lots of bars and sidewalks that were hard to walk on with the tables and people standing in the walking area. The transvestite Paradise restaurant had closed and moved, so it was just boring, high priced bars now.
- Royal Palm hotel was a great location walking distance to the Lincoln shopping area and South Beach and right on the beach. Get lunch at "Chalan on the Beach" at 1580 Washington Ave. The Lomo Saltado (steak with fries in the steak juice) - the fries were out this world with the special steak juice flavors. The Camarones al Ajillo (garlic shrimp had about 10 good size medium shrimp, potatoes, and rice)
Grand Cayman (Georgetown)
Grand Cayman - do the stingrays excursion if you have not done it before. We just snorkeled at the tiny beach in front of the fish market to the left of the ship. Sign says "Balboa Beach" We swam with 4 - 5 foot tarpons and saw a good collection of tropical fish who were feeding on the fish bones. It is not a place to put out a towel and hang out since there is not much beach. We also walked farther down to the left to find some other areas we could go down the steps to snorkel. We found an area before the Burger King which has some green and blue sea glass but not many fish. You have to be careful of the current in all the places since just out past the docks or rocks, the current can be pretty strong.