This was our 6th Celebrity cruise and our 2nd on Equinox, and as usual, it was great. We were in a Sky Suite and embarkation was literally 10 minutes from when we entered the port until we entered the ship. From what we saw it looked like other passengers were embarking quickly as well. It's always nice to be welcomed onboard with a glass of champagne.
The ship still looks fresh and clean, she has been well maintained in both public spaces and cabins. All of the public restrooms and very clean and well kept. The staff overall are friendly and accommodating and take pride in their jobs. There is an exception and that is the Sky Lounge and Martini Bar, on every Solstice Class ship the service seems spotty at best. The flair at the Martini is very cool to watch, but at normal times the service can be a bit cold.
The food continues to be very good across the ship. There's something for everyone from pastries at Cafe al Bacio, to the Gelateria, to everything under the sun in the Oceanside Cafe (buffet) to Luminae. Being our first time in Suite-Class we took advantage of Luminae except for in-room breakfast. The staff at Luminae are top notch! The food is great too, however, some of the steaks were a bit overcooked, we learned to order medium-rare to get medium. I would put the food and service in Blu nearly on par with Luminae, based on past experience.
This was our first stay in a Sky Suite and it was worth the wait! The room was very large (by cruise cabin standards) and bright, it was well maintained and clean, the bathroom was spotless, plus loads of storage space (this is the first time we didn't fill all the available storage). The colors are warm/neutral, the bed is soft and comfortable and the linens are quite nice. I didn't think it would matter, but the Bulgari soaps/shampoos are actually better than what you get in Aqua Class. We were on Deck 11 aft and there was zero vibration and we didn't notice any more movement than we were used to with midship cabins.
Our Butler Dominick, and our room attendant Babylyn were excellent! They were very responsive to any requests and made us feel like they actually cared. For example, he dropped what he was doing and came immediately to help us book shore excursion eventhough he didnt have to. Also, when we were ready to tender into Grand Cayman he personally came and escorted us to Michaels Club to wait for the tender!
Miami is a cool town with lots to do, but it can be expensive.
Key West is a great place to visit, though I think a longer stay is in order to really get the feel of the place. We took the trolley for $25 and were able to get on/off all day. We did the loop of the island, saw the southernmost point in the US, ate at the original Margaritaville and strolled the shops and art galleries.
This is a new port and the area is just starting to develop, so dont expect much here. Your best bets are a beach day at one of the "resorts" in town, or a bus trip to the ruins.