This was our first cruise with Celebrity. We have done several cruises with Royal Caribbean (RC). We chose Celebrity on this occasion because the dates worked for us (anniversary) and we really wanted to go to Key West and Grand Cayman. The following comments and assessments are therefore based on a comparison with RC vessels.

Embarkation was acceptable, but nothing special and no preference was shown to anyone designated as a 'select member' . First impressions of the ship were OK, but quite unlike RC ships. The decor of the Equinox is rather understated and a bit 'old school' catering perhaps to an older clientele.- nothing the matter with that, just a question of choice. But it was very irritating to be immediately bombarded by staff trying to hard-sell us the premium drinks package. When we eventually got into our balcony cabin it was nice enough and pretty much on a par with RC.

The cruise got off to a very poor start (initial impressions and all that) in that the emergency drill brief was unacceptable. We were horded into the C1 area of Equinox which was simply not big enough to accept the numbers assigned to it. By no means were we the last to arrive but when we did, all seats were taken and there was packed standing room only. The briefing was mainly confined to a spoof James Bond/Q parody which was not very amusing and far too long given that old ladies and guys (me) with newly replaced knees were required to stand shoulder to shoulder for far too long next to tired, irritated and sweaty fellow passengers. Just to add insult to injury the sound system in our ‘room’ was out of sync with next doors, which we could plainly hear, and our briefing crewman came across as rude. For this reason alone I would not sail with Celebrity again. I was seriously irritated by the whole debacle so this is something that I suggest Celebrity address as a matter of some urgency. There must be alternative accommodation available on such a large ship ! Read more