Celebrity Equinox Review
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We chose Celebrity because we have had great success and have had three previous cruises with them that have been completely satisfying. This cruise was a bit different though as there was an above average amount of elderly seniors and a noticeable reduction in dining room and bar quality. My wife and I are in our mid sixties and expected more guests in this age group than what we experienced. One cannot really blame the cruise line for this and we have absolutely nothing against these people so do not want to come across that way. However if I had a choice I would rather have been with a younger group. Here are some of the reasons why.
Cruises are generally a great place to meet people and enjoy conversation over a couple cocktails and such. This cruise with it's exceptional large number of elderly guests created log jams for early dining as they like to eat early. We chose select dining but were pretty much stuck for a 7:45 or later sitting. The dining room had plenty of seating available once 8:15 came along. The bars and lounges were quite empty by the time 9:30 came along. There was a parking lot for scooters and walkers at the dining room and this was new for us. I jokingly referred to our cruise as the geriatric cruise. Even the bar tenders were surprised at how little action they had in the evenings.
We did not think twice about booking with Celebrity as we were more than pleased in the past. However this cruise had some noticeable diminishing qualities and although we may very well stay with Celebrity, we really need to check our options moving forward. Most notably would be the menu in the silhouette dining room. I thought the menu selection were nowhere near what they were. I did hear several comments related to this issue. Many guest found better options in the cafeteria. Our eleven day cruise included a couple nights up there as the menu just had no appeal. Of course you do have the option of selecting some special dining experiences but they do not come cheap. I cannot help but wonder if their mission is to force these options a bit more by having a downturn on the dining room menu.
Cabin Review
Concierge Class 3
The cabin was as expectations but was a bit tighter than what I remember on my previous cruises with Celebrity. Perhaps the particular room had a little less room due to the one wall jutting out perhaps for services. It was manageable, had a rattling glass partition on the balcony and although reported was not repaired. Noisy during the windy nights.