My husband and I sailed on the Celebrity Equinox on January 7, 2011 out of Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean. We arrived the evening before and stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel, close to the seaport terminal. The hotel van picked us up at the airport- we had to wait about one half hour at the airport for the courtesy van. We arrived at the hotel before noon, and we were advised that the room wasn't ready and it was suggested that we have lunch in the hotel dining room and wait until the room was available. The hotel is very isolated albeit near the cruise terminal, so we didn't have options to walk to other restaurants or to walk to stores to kill time. The room was very clean and comfortable. The next day we arranged for a private car to take us to the airport as the hotel charged a $5.00 pp to take us the short distance to the cruise terminal and a private cab just a few dollars more. The private car worked at well as we didn't have multiple stops at other ships to drop off passengers.

We arrived at the terminal at about 11:15 AM. The terminal was the same terminal that we had departed from the year before on the Oasis of the Seas. We also were Aqua Class guests and the check-in was very easy and efficient. We boarded the ship at 11:45 priority as we were Aqua Class guests. Upon entering the ship, we were advised that the cabin wasn't ready and that we should have lunch at the oceanview cafe buffet and tour the ship. Since we had sailed on the Celebrity Solstice, we were familiar with the layout of the ship as it is identical. The layout of the buffet is great. Multiple stations are available so you never see a long line-up of people- except at the free ice-cream station. The food was good- however during the course of the 10 night cruise, it was identical. I have been on ships that vary the daily menu which we prefer. They also had a grill outside that had hotdogs, fries and burgers.

I made arrangements at the spa to have my hair done on formal nights. We then went to our cabin. It was nice and clean- and since we were aqua class- had nice added amenities including a bottle of champagne, fresh flowers, fruit and upgraded bathroom amenities. The cabin is nice- but the "ladies" who designed the cabins didn't think about drawer space- not enough- we did have a cabinet above the bed- but could have used additional storage for a 10 day cruise. We then proceeded to the top deck for the sail away party- very few people at the "party". The majority of the guests during this sailing were super seniors so perhaps they weren't interested in the festivities. We dined in Blu. This is the special restaurant reserved for Aqua class guests. The Blu restaurant was wonderful. Great service never crowded like the main dining room. We also had dinner at the Tuscan Grill twice it was excellent and Murano's also very good. We didn't go to the Asian restaurant or the crepe restaurant but heard they were good. I am a starbucks fan and the coffee on the ship tasted like instant coffee- even the premium coffee bar wasn't great. We totally enjoyed the adult pool area- it was great- very relaxing - nice pool and hot tubes. We didn't use the gym but it was nice- not like Royal Caribbean for those gym enthusiast. The Martini bar was a favorite before and after dinner night spot. The bartenders and waitress were wonderful. The shows were fair to good- a couple of production shows- while the performs were talented they were boring and repetitive . The ship had a great violinist who was really talented. The comedians were poor- I felt like they were out of the 1960's catskills mountains- We went on shore excurisons at all the ports- except on our own in St. Thomas. We enjoy walking around St. Thomas and looking at all of the stores. We enjoyed the ports- Celebrity is really good about not pushing drinks and selling too much mediocre merchandise. In face we didn't buy much on board as we do on Royal Caribbean as we have many more choicesl- so maybe that is a good thing! Celebrity has the best internet access WiiFi service of any ship we have ever sailed on. We had our iPads and got e-mail very quickly- unlike Carnival, Princess and Disney all had very slow internet access in addition we never were able to use an ipad. I do not recall if the Oasis of the Seas had good internet access and when we go on the Allure next year, I will inquire if they are iPad accessible. I did like the fact that smoking areas were kept to a minimum. The Soltice class ships have a Corning glass show on the upper deck- it is outside and if you go to it during the day it is sunny at most spots. You also have to sit on hard uncomfortable benches for two hours. It must be very difficult to sit and watch during hot summer days. So we didn't stay long at the show which was entertaining- Celebrity should consider backs on the benches and perhaps cushions on the seats. Perhaps they could shade the area more efficiently- It would definitely be better for the guests to enjoy the show. We didn't go into the casino but it is no smoking which is great. The lounges were nice and had a variety of different music. We did experience a problem with our cabin and the Guest Relations department, headed by Mr. Mohammed Ali went out of his way to ensure that we were satisfied and turned a negative experience into a positive one. Read more