My wife and I are frequent cruisers and have noticed a general decline from the luxury experience it was when we started to a much more ordinary experience across the industry. Our faith has been renewed. From the time we entered our stateroom, we could tell that things were definitely not going to be ordinary on this cruise. The ship as a whole was of the period where everywhere you turn, the crew is smiling and greeting you as they shine the ship again and again.

The entertainment was such that we found ourselves looking forward to the shows each day. Whereas we have found ships with one decent singer and a supporting cast of singers, most of the cast on the Equinox could likely have been the top singer on many of the ships we had been on. And the headliners were exceptional. We walked in to the theater on the final night of the trip expecting typical fare redoing some of the things we had seen throughout the trip, and a Beatles tribute band came out that rivaled the best shows we had seen on the water.

The dining was also back to the way we remembered from the beginning. It seemed that other cruises were trying to force people into their specialty restaurants by lowering the standards in the main dining areas, but that was not the case here. We went three nights to specialty restaurants, one to the buffet and the rest to the main dining. Though the specialties had things unavailable in the main (Chateaubriand for two, 2" filet mignon, unique pastas and desserts) the other areas held there own items and their own character. It was also clear that the specialty and the main were operating out of different kitchens because certain things that overlapped (mashed potatoes, pasta fagioli) were clearly different. And some preferred the main dining room's version.Then I have to mention Armony, our main dining room server. She was like a cross between Flo from "Alice" and Shirley from "What's Happening". Great service with a big smile but no BS. She was awesome. Read more