This was our 4th cruise with Celebrity and 26th cruise overall. Our first cruise with Celebrity was on the Reflection back in 2014. Everything about that cruise was amazing and we were wowed. We declared Celebrity our favorite cruise line. We took the Solstice to Alaska in 2015 and while it is identical to the Reflection in terms of ship architecture, the Reflection's interior decor we found more pleasing. Nonetheless, the food was good and we had a great time. We cruised the Celebrity Infinity on a Panama Canal cruise in 2017. This is when Celebrity fell out of favor with us. While the main dining room food was good, the buffet food was often at lukewarm temperature at best. The grill where they had hot dogs and hamburgers was serving cold french fries. I don't mean barely warm, I mean cold. Ever eat a cold french fry? The hamburgers and hot dogs ranged from barely warm to cold. When the food temperature was mentioned to the grill attendant, he just shrugged. We decided to give Celebrity one more try. Hence, this cruise on the Equinox. Since cruise critic had it rated as best overall ship two years running, we were looking forward to repeating our Reflection experience. Sadly, this was not the case.

My wife and I are active seniors and experienced cruisers. We love cruising. The ship is our destination and we do not choose our ship on the basis of itineraries. We do not do excursions. We have taken several cruises where we never got off the ship at the ports. Food is 50% of the cruise for us. Entertainment 25% and the last 25% is divided among stateroom and activities, facilities, service, etc. We normally shop for bargains and get an oceanview room, unless we are going to Alaska, in which case it is worth the extra money for the balcony view. My reviews are geared toward rating those items on a ship that are important to me.

I will start with what I think was outstanding about the ship. The ship is beautiful. The public areas are all grandly decorated and pleasing. The layout is very good. Service by all personnel from room attendant to dining room wait staff to guest relations was outstanding. The one consistency that I have found on all Celebrity ships is that their pizza, which in my opinion, is the best pizza of any cruise line at sea and is virtually always available, except at breakfast. Entertainment was not exceptional but was very good. The singers and dancers at the production shows were above average. Costuming and staging was average. Story lines and ability to follow what the shows were supposed to be about were poor. Acrobats were very good. All of the specialty acts in the main theater were very good. Music in the atrium and on decks was good. Read more