I can hear the naysayers already: “You’re going on ANOTHER cruise?!”
The answer is, yes. After only four weeks at home from my Celebrity Beyond sailing in the Mediterranean (make sure to check out all of my coverage on the YouTube channel), I am about to embark on my next cruise. And it’s another Celebrity cruise!
While I am still brand new to Celebrity Cruises, having taken my first cruise with the line less than a year ago in September 2021, this will be my fourth Celebrity cruise! However, this cruise will be on an older ship unlike the first three. I have sailed the Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Edge, and Celebrity Beyond, all of which are the newest and some of the most advanced cruise ships at sea. These ships have all of the bells and whistles when it comes to modern luxury at sea, and I believe they are the best ships at sea today.
Now it is time to take a different look at Celebrity Cruises and see if my opinion of the line, which is currently my absolute favorite cruise line, changes at all.
The specifics
I am embarking on an 8-day voyage on Celebrity Equinox, the 9th newest ship in the Celebrity fleet. Equinox is in the Solstice-class of ships and entered service back in 2009. Absent Infinite Verandas, a Magic Carpet, Rooftop Garden, Eden, and many of the other jewels of the Edge-class ships, Equinox promises to be a ship of discoveries for me.
Although this ship does not have the Infinite Verandas, which I love so much, I discovered some special “hump” balconies onboard and scored one of them! My balcony stateroom will be at an angle and, because of this, will be one of the largest balconies on the entire ship. You can expect to see lots of content on this balcony, including a stateroom tour, on my YouTube channel and Instagram.
I have been on 8 cruises since the cruising shutdown of 2020-2021, and most of these sailings have been with extremely reduced capacity. For instance, when I sailed Celebrity Beyond we only had 850 (out of over 3,000 maximum capacity), while on Celebrity Edge I sailed with only 740 other passengers! This time will be entirely different as things will be a bit closer to normal where capacity is concerned. I am expecting at least an 80% capacity this sailing, especially considering that it falls over the July 4th holiday! I am interested to see how a larger number of passengers changes the overall Celebrity cruise experience that I have become accustomed to.
What I am excited for
I am excited to experience a Solstice-class ship and receive the same excellent quality of service I have come to know from Celebrity on a ship that feels entirely different.
I am also quite excited to see what the food offerings are like on Equinox, especially when compared to the amazing food on Edge, Apex, and Beyond. While there are not nearly as many restaurants available on Equinox, I am expecting the food quality to be on par with what I have come to expect from Celebrity, which has the best food at sea!
I am so excited about my large balcony! I was fortunate, having booked the cruise so close to the sailing date, to snag one of the “hump” balconies on board. My specific balcony is actually on an angle, being between the “hump” of balconies and the normal section. From everything that I have read about the balcony, it is one of the largest on the entire ship. I enjoy sitting on the balcony and reading, especially on sea days, so this will be perfect!
While Equinox does not have a Rooftop Garden, it does have a rooftop Lawn with real grass! The area also has some cabanas available for rent, as well as a large screen television for movies and events, and glass blowing.
Lastly, I am excited to see the venues that I have come to know and love on my Celebrity cruises thus far. Places like Café al Bacio, Sunset Bar, World Class Bar, Craft Social, and Oceanview Cafe. While the ship will not have all of the venues I love on Edge-class, I cannot wait to try all the new venues available in addition to the ones I already love.
The itinerary
This 8-day cruise departs from Fort Lauderdale and has 5 ports of call in the Eastern Caribbean and Bahamas.
After one day at sea, the ship will arrive at San Juan to spend the evening of the 4th of July. What is neat about this port stop is that we do not arrive in Puerto Rico until 4 PM, meaning we essentially have one and a half sea days right up front to start the cruise. We then port at St. Thomas and St. Maarten before a call in Tortola. This will be my first time visiting Tortola, and I am thrilled to experience the famous Virgin Gorda Baths. One final sea day later and we arrive in Nassau for the final port of call.
I have excursions and cool things planned for each of the ports of call, so make sure to check back here and on the YouTube channel to see these beautiful ports of call. I will also be reviewing the Equinox, and food on board the ship, and showing you my huge balcony in a room tour in upcoming YouTube videos.
Make sure to subscribe on YouTube, follow me on Instagram, and check back here for much more content on my Equinox voyage!
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The Discussion