This is a review of the Celebrity Equinox Ultimate Caribbean Cruise on February 28, 2011. My wife and I traveled with our friends (Shelly531)who already wrote a review. This was our first cruise on the Equinox, but we had sailed on the Solstice twice before. We really enjoyed this cruise, and it was the best of the three new Solstice class cruises. We found that senior officers were very visible, interested in making sure we all had a wonderful experience, and very responsive to our comments. One could feel a very good vibe among the staff on the ship. Embarkation: We live in the Fort Lauderdale area so getting to the port was an easy 20 minute drive and we arrived around noon. The ship was docked at Terminal 18. Our bags were promptly taken by stevedores, and we proceeded through security to the concierge check-in counter, without any problem. This terminal was expanded two years ago to accommodate the RCL Oasis and Allure so it is commodious, with many check-in counters that make getting registered very easy. Our cruise cards were waiting and the whole process from curb to getting on the ship took no more than 15 minutes. Once onboard we were offered a glass of champagne and headed to the Oceanview Cafe (more on that below). Our bags arrived at our cabin around 3pm.Stateroom: Our concierge stateroom, 2108, is on the backside of the rear hump, so we looked out to the starboard side and could look back to the rear of the ship from our balcony which, because it is angled on the hump, was larger than the normal balcony. We had two chairs that reclined and a table. The cabin seemed small to us since we were in S1 and S2 sky suites on our previous trips on the Solstice. However, I think it was actually larger than other veranda cabins we have had in the past on other ships. Nevertheless, the storage space was barely adequate. The over-bed storage was large but difficult to use and there were only a few drawers. Our cabin had the desk and sofa near the balcony which we liked. Our friends had a similar room but the desk was near the door. Otherwise the rooms were the same. The bathroom had a nice countertop and several drawers and medicine cabinet for storage. The shower door was a curved slider that worked very well and made the bathroom seem larger than it was. Our cabin was on deck 12 (resort deck) with the pools, spa and fitness room on the same deck. We like staying on this deck so that all activities are close by. There is no noise or other distractions from being on this deck. Also our cabin was not under the Oceanview Cafe so we heard no chairs moving though our balcony may have been under a public bathroom since we occasionally heard a toilet flush when sitting outside. No noise inside. In general, a very good cabin, however, we did have some minor problems (the room wasn't properly prepared) with the cabin when we first boarded. I found a cabin attendant from the deck below who solved our problems when the scheduled cabin attendant did not get on board ship in Fort Lauderdale. The Assistant Chief Housekeeper permanently assigned the "found" attendant and he proved to be excellent for the remainder of the cruise. He also arranged for a bottle of wine for our inconvenience. So we were happy campers. Finally, was concierge class worth it? Since we like breakfast in the room, the menu is more extensive than a regular cabin. Also, canapEs and fruit are delivered daily. But the cabin itself is a standard veranda cabin. I am not sure if the linens and towels are different... they seemed comparable to what we got in a suite. So for us, if we are not traveling in a sky suite, concierge is worth it if is not significantly more money than a regular cabin. On this cruise, through CruCon travel ,we got the upgrade for free... so it was a no brainer.Ship Common Areas: The Equinox is a big, beautiful vessel. While I don't think there was quite as much artwork as there is on the Solstice, everything was tastefully done and otherwise the ships are virtually identical. Moving around the ship was quite easy even though there were about 2,800 passengers on board. The glass elevator banks were close to our cabin and they were rarely crowded. The open elevators certainly help claustrophobic people (like myself at times) cope and the views of the ship from the elevators are fun to look at... from the huge globe , the big, hanging tree, the library and of course, the atrium on the promenade deck. The Equinox theatre was quite large and comfortable with the same type of Cirque d'Soleil equipment as on the Solstice. Dining: As mentioned above our first culinary experience was in the Oceanview Cafe. Since the cabins were not yet ready when we boarded and apparently no one had eaten for the last few days, the buffet lunch was mobbed and getting a seat was difficult. However, with help from staff, we did find a table. That was the only time we had trouble getting a table. The buffet is set up so that there are many stations with varied types of food at each. I think this makes it easier to get food and one doesn't have to wait in a line for items you don't want as on a conventional cafeteria line. The food was good and varied but not exceptional. Interestingly, at breakfast there was fruit, but no strawberries. Also, for one or two mornings they had actually run out of fresh eggs, so there were no fried eggs available, though they were available in the main dining room or from room service. While they blamed a vendor who failed to deliver an entire order, that really was unacceptable. On balance, we did not go to the buffet that often, but when we did, it was adequate.I should mention that my wife drinks a lot of water and on this cruise they offered a water card for $11 per day plus 15% tip which provided bottled sparkling or still water throughout the ship, including at shows, in all the restaurants, on the gangway when leaving ship at ports and in cabins. She was able to get large and small bottles so she occasionally shared with me. Looking over our final invoice, it may not have been quite financially smart to get the card, but it was close enough to have the convenience. Also, since the card was a relatively new concept, I think some wait staff was not happy they were losing out on commissions for selling drinks. We discussed this with some officers and they were going to look into our comment.Our friends and we had late seating at dinner and were assigned a table for 10 (346) with another group of four people from Connecticut. Two of the seats at the table were never assigned. We were on the lower level of the Silhouette Restaurant. Our waiter and busboy were experienced cruise staff, knew how to describe and recommend good dishes and bring extra entrees for tasting. Celebrity now limits the amount of wine allowed to be brought on board to 2 bottles per cabin, which we brought. They now charge a $20 corkage fee (plus tip) but they will keep the bottle once opened for the next meal. The wine stewards did not object at all that we had our own bottles, indeed since I had some interesting estate wines, they were happy when I offered that they try a tasting. I will not review specific dinners, since frankly I don't remember what we had each night, but I'd say that, in general, the food was very good, but not gourmet. The only disappointing dish that stood out was the roasted turkey. While the turkey was good the dressing was only fair. Somehow, ships can never get American style roasted turkey correct. The brunch served on the sea day before Grand Cayman was both spectacular and tasty. The presentation reminded us of the "midnight" buffets of old. The full dining staff was there and their dedication, teamwork and enthusiasm to put together this feast was apparent.Specialty dining on board was excellent. We went to Murano twice and once to Tuscan. The food was always well prepared, beautifully presented and served with panache. We really enjoyed dining in both venues. We also tried 3 other venues. The Mast Grill on 14 had ok hamburgers and hot dogs...just fine for a quick snack. Bistro on 5 had excellent crepes and was a nice change of pace for lunch. And the Gelateria on deck 5 had excellent gelato that was worth the price. Activities: My wife and I used the fitness center often. The facility is large with excellent, high quality equipment and we were able to time our visits so we didn't encounter any significant waits for the treadmill or bicycle. The only problem I had was that there were only two upright bicycles, and one didn't work for almost the first half of the cruise. With both working, I don't think any more are needed. Both my wife and I got massages in the spa. I have had very mixed experiences with on-board massages. However on this cruise my masseuse was better than I had expected. My wife, though, was getting a massage as the ship went through a sudden, very windy, short storm and she said the entire spa staff started freaking out until things calmed down and it ruined her relaxing experience. The casino is quite large with many slot machines and about a dozen gaming tables. Initially, the minimum bet at most of the blackjack tables was $10, as the cruise went on with not much action, it came down to $5. Staff at the tables was friendly and helpful. We used the internet Wi-Fi in our cabin as we purchased a $99 package for 240 minutes. The internet connection was faster than on the Solstice and the package was almost enough for the 10 days. Finally we enjoyed the behind the scene tours. The galley tour which broke down the old conga lines into manageable groups with someone to explain what we were seeing was very good. We also liked the opportunity as a Captain's Club Select member to get to see the bridge, the engine control room and backstage. It is amazing to get a new perspective on how the ship works. Service: As noted, the officers and crew were extremely friendly and competent. They truly worked hard to keep us, as guests, satisfied. If there was any kind of blip in the service, someone was always there to make it right. As far as I am concerned, you can't ask for anything more. Entertainment: Led by cruise director Dru Pavlov, the entertainment on board was top-notch, probably the best of any previous cruise we have been on. The Showtime entertainers and band, the Celebrity requisite A Capella quartet "Jukebox", the Cirque de Soleil type acrobats and Sean O'Shea were great in the Equinox Theater. We also particularly enjoyed the Manny Kellough Jazz Quartet and the Top Notch dance band who performed around the ship. The late night comics Dave Burleigh and Cory Kahaney provided some laughs. Finally, Dru knows how elicit the best of people playing the "Newlywed, Not so Newly Wed Game." Dru proved to be a very engaging, not overbearing, cruise director, who we found out later married the future cruise manager on our previous Solstice journey.Port & Shore Excursions: First, let me start by saying since we live in Fort Lauderdale we do not have cabin fever and are not beached starved. We go on Caribbean cruises to simply get away easily. Our expectations of these Caribbean ports are low. On this trip we were not interested in real shopping, so we have no comments on the jewelry stores we passed near the piers where we docked. In addition, we typically don't take the ship excursions, but this trip we did. That being said we were pleasantly surprised with several ports. In Roatan, we took a tour RT04, Tabayana Beach snorkel and lunch. Tabayana Beach was nice but very crowded. The excursion was fine, but next time we go to Roatan, I will take a taxi or rent a car and explore. In Costa Rica we took tour PL39A, the Veragua Rainforest and Research Center. While we had a good tour guide and bus driver, we were taken to a "forest" developed for tourist excursions. The open gondola we took through the woods was nice but we did not see anything overly exciting other than a sloth. The research center had frogs and snakes...something we didn't need to drive over an hour to see. Next time we'll take the zip line or try to find something off the beaten path. In Panama, we took Panama Canal Tour CO26A which is a bus ride to a tour boat that goes through Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks to the Pacific Ocean. We were then bussed back to the ship. As mentioned by Shelly531 in another review (who we traveled with), try to get on the first bus out so you can get to sit in the rear of the boat under cover with a crosswind. If it is hot, this is the best spot to sit. We found the boat ride to be very interesting and going through the locks with a large ship right behind us an experience. I don't think this tour is offered by private vendors and would recommend it. Grand Cayman was the final port and was the only one where we tendered into port. We took the ship excursion to Stingray City (tour GC27) and swam with the stingrays. We were given snorkels but the sandbar is so shallow, they really weren't useful. Our tour guide made those of us who were nervous about touching and being near the rays comfortable by first explaining what was going to happen before we got off the boat and then holding up a ray in the water to show it is safe to be near one. The island itself was clean, modern and the people were friendly. We'd go back. Finally, a general comment about the ship's excursions. We were impressed by the way they had tour groups meet on board ship as opposed to assembling on the pier. (On Grand Cayman, we also had to meet on the pier and the tour operator was not very organized getting buses in place.) This seemed to make breaking all of the groups into smaller ones a lot easier and was more comfortable than standing in the heat. Disembarkation: We followed our usual routine of going to the main dining room for breakfast. We take our time eating and then wait for our time to disembark and go straight to the gangway. We actually got off a few minutes late so when we got to the baggage hall, our bags were sitting all alone and easily identifiable. We found a porter who took our bags (and friend's bags) and then stayed with us through the immigration/customs line. It took about 10-15 minutes and was painless. We were picked up and home by about 9am. There is nothing like living close to port. Summary: This cruise was excellent. The ship and crew were great. The ports were better than expected and we got to eat well and relax for 11 days. I should add that if you have the time to go for 10 or 11 days, it is well worth it. We weren't ready to get off the ship after seven days. The ship offers the brunch buffet and some better menus on these longer cruises. And even after 11 days, there were people we saw only once and never saw again on the ship. Finally, don't be intimidated by the size of the ship. It has fabulous amenities that you can't get on a smaller ship, yet they know how to control the passengers so it doesn't feel overwhelming. We heartily recommend this ship and itinerary.