The embarkation and disembarkation in Civitavecchia was a breeze compared to what we experienced on the Summit in San Juan before, but that was the only area where the Equinox excelled. Maybe we expected too much after a great cruise on the Summit, but I feel that the Equinox fell short, especially with dinners.

We dined 4 nights in the MDR (Select dining), including the 2 formal nights. Food was hit or miss with my wife having most of the misses. One night she was all but scolded by a waiter for not ordering a special meal, because she had previously requested a dish prepared with olive oil instead of butter and that apparently made its way into the almighty computer.

We dined 2 nights in Murano and were quite disappointed. The welcome and service after being seated was completely over the top, with everyone trying to explain things about the food and the restaurant, but forgetting to serve drinks and food in a timely manner. Again my wife got the short end of the stick when she ordered lobster tail and the next night venison. The lobster tail came cold and in little pieces, instead as one lobster tail and was supposed to be prepared table-side, but that did not happen until a subsequent night, when we mentioned that. The venison she ordered was so hard, it was difficult to cut, leave alone chew. They brought another piece, but that was none better. We have eaten venison may times, but never this tough. All in all, Murano tries so hard to be special, that they forget the basics of good food and service. Read more