Background: We've cruised both Celebrity and Princess - about 10 times on each. This was our annual "anniversary present to ourselves" cruise; 2nd time on Equinox. I'm a regular "Elite" with Captain's Club, not the super-premium or mega-elite type. We had Classic beverage packages using the 123Go promotion. Both mid-50s, active, but cruising mostly to just relax.

Embarkation - arrived around 11:15, very smooth security and check-in process. Sat upstairs at Pier 18 for about 5 minutes before they opened boarding and the stampede began. On the ship at 11:50; we had lunch in the Oceanview Cafe – not very crowded that early - and then wandered a bit. Cabins available at 1:15PM.

Cabin: Concierge Class veranda cabin on deck 9 (C2), cabin 9241. Fantastic cabin - very quiet, no service closets nearby, over-sized veranda on the back side of the aft hump. Easy access to stairs/elevators. Comfortably appointed with adequate storage, although some of it's hard to get to (large over-the-bed cabinets stored a lot of stuff but required standing either on the bed or the sofa to reach. Ditto for the shelf above the closet. Life jackets are stored under the bed in crates so you lose some space there, but sufficient room for 2 large roller cases plus little stuff.) That said, we did have plenty of room for everything. Not many power outlets on the desk, so having a multi-device charging station really helped for charging Ipads, Kindles, camera, GoPro, laptop... geeky, I know. Bathroom was great; loved the glass shower. Wish there was a laundry line in it, like on Princess, for hanging wet bathing suits. There were two pegs on the wall but no line. Cabin service was the best ever, on any cruise line. Sally and her assistant, Ed, were absolutely great. DH asked if she had any memory foam pillows and 2 appeared by the time we got back from the muster drill. The cabin was spotlessly clean and they made sure we were comfortable and cared for, right up to the minute we left. Afternoon canapes were actually terrific - used to be inedible mystery spreads on circular bread, but now they're basically tapas: hummus and pita chips, corn chips and salsa, marinated olives, shrimp on chopped pineapple, grape tomatoes and marinated mozzarella and so on. Very tasty. Read more