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Our first cruise. Equinox is amazing--ship is spotless, staff polite and always working to please. Embarkation was easy with no lines, and the glass of champagne was a wonderful touch upon boarding. Stateroom was bigger than expected; large bed was comfy. More than ample storage in the stateroom with bags nested under the bed. Lots of hangers in closet, and toiletries in bathroom were just right. Only one day did housekeeping forget to give us facecloths.
Concierge class added nice touches we appreciated. The daily fruit was nice to have although we didn't eat it all. Afternoon canapes were a nice touch, but not particularly special. Nice large robes. Our TV gave us problems from the start; it was eventually replaced and worked well afterwords (TV is how you access our account billing, so it is important). Calls to guest relations resulted in immediate attention.
Wonderful activities on board. We enjoyed the Corning hot glass show, but probably wouldn't attend on a next cruise (the show is 2 hours). Excellent gym and wonderful public spaces. Staff in the internet cafe could have been a bit more patient, but they also seemed overwhelmed by the number of guests needing their services. Public spaces were always clean and tidy.
Entertainment: Ship's evening entertainment varied in quality from very good (music and dance) to mediocre (juggling/magician). Entertainment seems geared mostly for the 65+ crowd. There was a very good piano player one evening whose repertoire stopped at the Beatles with a finale of Auld Lang Syne.
Meals on board were delicious. Beware, the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) is quite a zoo with other passengers in a feeding frenzy. We avoided it or went in off hours. We preferred breakfast in the main dining room. We also dined at Tuscan Grill and Murano, and enjoyed both--well worth the extra cost. We were amazed that the servers in one bar or restaurant remembered our drink preferences when we saw them in a different bar or restaurant.
Downsides: Toward the end of our 11-night cruise small number of food items were in short supply and we were told that some wines were no longer available.
Disembarkation was controlled chaos, but this was not Celebrity's fault. We easily found our checked luggage once off the ship. You'd think that Port Everglades would figure out how to handle incoming passengers, but apparently not yet.
Bottom line: We liked it enough to book another cruise next year, but mainly because we met some really nice people who also were booking the same cruise.
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