Celebrity Equinox Review

A Fabulous Time in the Southern Caribbean

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Equinox
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Team Nuke
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2015
Cabin: Concierge Class 3

I've read many cruise reviews and am amazed at the things people will complain about, and wonder if those things truly made their cruise a "disaster", "unenjoyable", "horrendous", etc. I believe for the most part you create your own experience and see what you want to see in the ship, the service, entertainment and food. It's easy to find fault if you're looking for it, but just as easy and far more enjoyable to recognize the best of your experience. That's my perspective as I write this.

My wife and I spent our 30th anniversary aboard the Equinox and had a fabulous time. We had planned to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale on the day prior to departure, but due to severe weather we had to take a redeye and board the ship directly from the airport. I was told (by a Celebrity employee at the airport) that being in concierge class provides no advantage at embarkation. I suspect this depends a lot on when you arrive at the cruise terminal. We were there fairly early. We dropped our bags with the handlers and walked directly to a line showing a "Concierge Class" sign. Our wait was just a few minutes. After providing our documents and receiving our sea pass cards we went upstairs to a mass holding area. There were separate seating areas for suites, concierge, etc. This was at about 11:30 AM. We sat for about 30 seconds before being invited, along with suite passengers, to board the ship. The experience may have been different if we'd arrived later, but I don't know. Being in concierge class did appear to be advantageous at embarkation.

Upon entering the ship we were greeted by smiling staff who were handing out glasses of champagne and making sure everyone got a squirt of antibacterial "Purell" from industrial size dispensers. Some people complained about the very frequent and "mandatory" dispensing of this, but I appreciated the efforts made to keep everyone healthy.

Cabin Review

Concierge Class 3

Cabin C3

This is one of the cabins that protrudes from the ship's standard beam, and coincides with the placement of the main elevators and entryways to main public areas (buffet, entry/exit to pool area, etc.). Because of its placement it has a deeper than standard balcony. Being on the uppermost deck with cabins (deck 12) the balcony is also entirely covered by the structure that is the floor of the Ocean View cafe, above. You might think that this would make for lots of noise, with busy dining traffic above. We found this not to be the case. It was extremely quiet, with the exception of an infrequent trolly / rolling sound which was almost imperceptible and would certainly not wake anyone. For those wanting a lot of sun on their veranda, this cabin would not be a great choice because its cover extends well beyond the edge of the deck rail. The location of the cabin could not have been better. The cafe is just a few steps away, as is the main pool, pool bar, and elevators. In the morning I could grab a cup of coffee and tea for my wife and be back in the cabin within about three minutes. I could also hit the pool bar in the same amount of time. Drawer storage is not exactly plentiful, but if you use your luggage as an extra drawer and place it under the bed you'll have more than enough space. The closet offered more space than we needed. All in all, I'd gladly stay in this cabin again.

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