My 8 days on the Celebrity Equinox was the best cruise I have yet experienced. The quality of service, the beauty of the ship, the entertainment, and the food were top notch. We chose this cruise first for the itinerary and timing, and secondly because we enjoyed the last cruise on Celebrity Summit in January, 2018. The three ABC island ports were sandwiched between two sea days, which turned out to be very relaxing. With 2850 passengers, it is not small, yet there is a contemporary grandeur to the Equinox. I was awestruck by how stunning the ship was! It is filled with contemporary art in all of the public areas, including interesting little touches like quotes in the men’s restrooms throughout the ship. The shopping areas are like an upscale mall; the lounges are clean and luxurious, and there are plenty of little nooks to find a private space to read or gaze at the views.

Service was fantastic—a five star service experience almost everywhere. There were very few lines, generally a few people waiting for coffee at Cafe al Bacio in the morning, and only once did we wait for 10 minutes for a table in Blu. However, when we were called with the pager, we were seated at prime location at the window. The only nit about service would have to be focused around the staffing at the pool bars on pool days or coming back from port. There could be a bit of a wait to order a drink then, but it was never more than 5 minutes. There were just a few strolling waiters around the main pool. We never saw a waiter in the solarium. I noted that the Slush Bar for custom blended cocktails open generally from noon until 5 was minimally staffed. However, the attitude of the staff was universally professional, accommodating, and just great to be around.

Dining in Blu was exceptional. Maitre d' Anitsa and her colleague Linda were amazing and friendly. Our waiter Suliana with his assistant Dwight was right on the spot for service and remembering our names, food, and water preferences. Even the sommelier Alexander never made us wait for his recommendations for our choices. The food variety and quality were great in Blu from breakfast and dinner. Nothing was ever bland and meats were cooked perfectly to temperature. We ventured on night one to Murano and were once again blown away by the service and ambiance, especially by our waiter Ljubchek. In Murano, they offer tableside preparation for the lobster, chateaubriand, Dover sole, and strawberry crepe balloons. We liked it so much, we went back again to try different items. We also tried Sushi on 5 for lunch twice. Service again was amazing. While the nigiri and maki selections were not exotic, the taste across everything we had was delicious. I also liked the special beer and sake options available there. For the first time ever, we tried freshly made wasabi as a little splurge and did not find it much different from the standard stuff taste-wise. We ate in Asian fusion restaurant Silk Harvest on the last day. The ambiance in Silk Harvest is modern and urban, a different vibe from the rest of the ship. The food was completely memorable. The menu descriptions seemed like traditional Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, or Japanese items, but they were prepared to fuse the flavors across regions. For example, the miso soup looked ordinary, but had the taste of Vietnamese pho. It was like no other Asian restaurant I have ever eaten in. We tried the Horizon Cafe a couple of times for lunch and once for breakfast. The layout was easy to negotiate; the food quality was surprising and very fresh. There were little surprises among the choices like freshly made guacamole and mini red velvet churros for the Mexican theme, omelets and pasta dishes made to order with minimal wait, and even a delicious full English breakfast station due to roughly 30% of the cruisers among us hailing from the UK. We would often order room service for an early breakfast of coffee, tea or toast. It was always on time. We tried a ‘la carte breakfast once on a port day to avoid rushing and were very pleased with the steak and eggs as well as the smoked salmon omelet with caviar. Read more