Celebrity Equinox: “Here Comes The Sun”

It’s official, Celebrity Equinox has been christened by Godmother, Nina Barough (pictured here) who surprised everyone, including Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Chairman & CEO Richard D. Fain, by saying “no one knows I’m doing this” (which Fain admitted sent a shiver of fear down his spine).

With that warning, Ms. Barough blessed not only the ship, but also the show lounge where guests were invited to hold hands and think of something meaningful in order to leave lasting good karma for those who will sail after us. As the founder of “Walk the Walk,” she electrified those in attendance with her personal story as a breast cancer survivor who works tirelessly to raise funds (almost 50 million pounds to date) for vital breast cancer causes.

By cutting a pink ribbon—symbolic of breast cancer awareness—Ms. Barough sent a champagne bottle created by Corning Museum of Glass smashing against Celebrity Equinox’s funnel in an updated twist to the time-honored tradition.


Did the day reveal any other surprises? I would say that if you liked Celebrity Solstice, you’ll love her younger fleetmate. After boarding at about noon yesterday, a walk around confirmed that Celebrity Cruises took the best of Solstice and made it better on Equinox. There are some décor changes—mostly in terms of color schemes and splendid works of modern art. Some of the art may look familiar to Celebrity Cruises past passengers. Much of the collection that formerly graced Celebrity Mercury made its way to Celebrity Equinox when the older ship left the fleet.

While the art is special, so far the crew has also proven to be just as outstanding. We enjoyed a made-to-order pasta for lunch in the Oceanview Café and a celebratory dinner in the Silhouette Dining Room. As the evening winds down, it’s showtime in the newly “christened” Equinox Theater.

Tomorrow promises to be a full day at sea and there’s some Italian gelato calling my name, so it might be a good time to hit a treadmill in the fitness center first thing in the morning.