Our experience on the Equinox cruise the "Ultimate Caribbean" that sailed on 2/15/10: This is our third cruise with Celebrity. We were in stateroom 1600 in the Aqua Class. The positives certainly include the ship itself which was beautiful and well conceived. The cabin was spacious and very comfortable, the balcony adequate. The bed was terrific. I wanted to take it home with me. Many of the activities, especially the variety shows with singers and dancers and the bands for the main show and around the boat were outstanding and the best we've seen. The itinerary was excellent. Embarkation and disembarkation were quick and easy. We paid extra for the Aqua Class, which we felt was a waste of money, especially after talking to those in the Concierge Class. Our room was nice and high up but the view from our deck 11 balcony was obstructed by the deck above, obstructed by the large struts that supported the deck above, and obstructed below by the life boats that stick out from the side of the boat. On other boats the life boats are "tucked into" the side of the boat and do not block the view of the water. We felt closed in. We had concern and dismay about a condition we had read about on Cruise Critic regarding the smell of urine in the hallway and even in our bathroom. This is quite a problem. A few days into the cruise the odor became chemical/electrical in nature - even more troubling. It was confirmed by Guest Relations that they were aware of this dilemma. A member of the staff assured my wife that the problem was known and even that some engineers from Germany were coming to inspect and deal with this worrisome problem. Why didn't they communicate this via a note to the affected levels? It would have squelched the gossip and rumors. Some negatives stood out. The food was mostly just fair. I had a some exceptional meals, but only a few. The service was mostly perfunctory. While the Oceanview Cafe was expansive with many options, they were mostly the same options day after day after day. It was often apparent that frozen food was being served - the telltale texture in meat and the diminishing flavor. The sommeliers in most of the restaurants had to be chased down almost every meal; their knowledge dubious. One even poured wine into just washed glasses completely covered with water drips. A true sommelier would NEVER do that. Blu, which was part of the Aqua Class "amenities" was, in a word, much ado about nothing. Very fancy menu, comfortable but crowded space, but the food was, again, nothing special. I think the "healthy" aspect of Blu was the small portions they served. It certainly was not exclusively for Aqua Class members as we were led to believe. We chose to not eat at the "specialty restaurants". I think that when we pay plenty for a cruise and for a better cabin in the Aqua Class that we shouldn't have to pay extra for better food. Apparently one must. People who did eat at the specialty restaurants generally said the food was much better there; which again I took for an indictment of the mediocre food in the main restaurants. The specialty restaurants appeared to be marginally occupied and it would have served the Celebrity image to open them up to the Concierge and Aqua Class cruisers with a couple of vouchers and a more nominal fee - not $35/person. The Aqua Cafe was a joke. Healthy?!?! Hardly. One final note about our dining experience. I won't go into great detail except for what would have been our last meal on board at Silhouette which was a disaster and a disgrace. We were seated at about 8:30 at a table for two I ordered a Caesar salad and my wife ordered a Caprese salad with arugula. My salad was warm and wilted. Clearly it had been left out for hours. My wife's salad included exactly 5 tiny arugula leaves and "fresh" mozzarella that was old, soured, yellowed and rancid! Any sous chef or prep cook who cared what they were doing could have seen this. Our waiter appeared to abandon us as we sat there, unable to eat this inedible food. Fifteen minutes later when the assistant came to clear the plates I told him to leave the plates and find our waiter. He came back quickly with the maitre d'. I expressed our displeasure and walked out of the restaurant in disgust. When I later read about people getting sick on another Celebrity cruise ship, I was not surprised. Enough about food. Otherwise the boat was nice, but the pool decks were crowded. Swimming in the pools was impossible as people stood in the pools shoulder to shoulder. On days at sea the pool decks were mobbed. The inside pool area was more calm although also crowded. The "entertainment" with Ms. Leiberman and Ms. Bates was at most, interesting. Their talks were better suited to a smaller more intimate room like Celebrity Central. The spa prices for massage may be appropriate for Europeans but is out of line by American standards. $130 for a mediocre 50 minute massage is too much. All in all, there seemed to be a disconnect between staff, events and information in the daily newsletter, signage and a sense of taking responsibility. We were told more than once by staff that they would find out an answer and "get back to us." They did not. There were some excellent staff members but I would say they were in the minority. This did not match the level of satisfaction we have experienced on previous Celebrity cruises and therefore cannot recommend this ship other than to say, it was a beautiful ship. 2800 people is a lot of people and I'm not sure Celebrity has figured out how to deal with them yet.