The Equinox is the prettiest ship I have sailed on. After 3 cruises aboard Voyager and Brilliance class ships in the RCCl, we cruised last year aboard a solsticized Celebrity Millennium ship and now this cruise, on the Equinox. Pretty may not be the best word but it fits this ship's spa-themed decor. The other word would be serene. The general feeling is one of relaxation throughout all of its public and private rooms. There are no gaudy, primary-coloured, gold-leafed embellishments and your general impression after boarding her is that it's all aqua, turquoise and blues. It isn't, of course, but that's what it feels like - being at a spa.

A special mention: there is no doubt in my mind that the Martini Bar is the best bar at sea (and the Cruise Critic awards seem to concur) because it is always busy and quite the hub during sea days. The flair shows are well-done and the bartenders have obviously been hand-picked for their skills at entertaining. Given that Celebrity leads the industry in its class of ships by including beverage packages in their pricing, they have backed it up by paying special attention to providing more than the usual bunch of bars with overstuffed chairs and gaudy decor that I have seen in other ships. Well-done Celebrity! The World Class Bar gets a special runner-up prize (and it's less busy, for the quieter moments of a cruise).

Celebrity staff are uniformly happy and uniformly excellent at providing good, efficient and personal service. Little unexpected touches, like having a favourite cocktail waiting at your dining table for when you sit down. Chilling your glass and red wine because your sommelier overheard the mention in table conversation. That is the high-class service that goes over and above the expectations of today's service in this category of cruising but it makes such a difference in the client's overall experience. Celebrity gets so many things right. Read more