We were five people (ages 39-50) who traveled together in three separate concierge class staterooms on the 9-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on January 2-11, 2016, on the Celebrity Equinox. Others have already written about the messy and irregular embarkation process due to the ship having to make port at a non-standard pier, but suffice to say that as first time cruisers we did not get an especially good first impression, and it felt like a missed opportunity for Celebrity to "get us on board" already from that first interaction. However, the rest of the cruise was fantastic, and therefore the overall impression is still 5 of 5.

Firstly, the ship was beautiful and a pleasant place to spend nine days. As a first time cruiser, I do not have that much to compare with, but I do feel that Equinox's reputation for being a sophisticated and modern premium vessel is 100% correct. The central atrium that leads all the way up "to the sun" is truly spectacular, and the Lawn Club is absolutely unique and an incredibly pleasant and tranquil space, where we spent more and more time the longer the cruise went on. The pick nick on the lawn while a troubadour played was a nice arrangement, and we spent several evenings having a cocktail or champagne on the lawn, watching the sunset and that day's island disappear as the ship left for another port. It is worth sailing on the Equinox just for this experience.

The Hot Glass Show, next to the Lawn Club, was an unexpected, unique and intriguing feature. It sounds strange, but in practice it really works as a very different type of distraction. The location, on the top deck by the lawn, is itself great, and the "show" was perfectly and skillfully performed by master glass blowers Carl, Stephanie and Charlie. I really do hope that Celebrity will keep this feature on the the Solstice-class ships that already have it (the Solstice, the Equinox and the Eclipse). Read more