Dreamer68

Spa plus gym/fitness centre located above the spa.

Here's the Spa. How blessed are the folks who can afford this. I had a lovely time visiting!

Hello there, I was on the Celebrity Apex to Key West, Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman back in January 2023 to celebrate a milestone anniversary. I had meant to do a trip report but life got super busy following a Covid visit and then later by a death in the family (not connected to the virus). Such is life. I'll blog about my impressions of our trip but I thought some of the photos I took were just too good to keep to myself. The Apex is a STUNNING ship!! I was last on the Summit to Bermuda about 6 or 7 years ago and loved it but omg, the Apex is absolutely GORGEOUS! Especially if you love art. So, I will share mainly photos here. If you have questions, feel free to ask but otherwise as mentioned, I hope to blog about this wonderful trip. Unlike what seems to be the majority, I am not a Luminae/ Concierge/ Aqua club type of cruiser. If I want to splurge, I'd get a balcony stateroom. Otherwise, I'm an Oceanview sailor. I'm an educator with an engineer DH and most of our budget is taken up by long trips to Asia. I was however a TA for 7 years before the kids arrived so we've travelled a decent amount. Starting with Day 1 - embarkation was super easy (15 mins tops at 11:30 am-ish) at Fort Lauderdale. Wonderful day of ship exploration (go for the Spa tour and stay awhile. I had a blast!) We were on Jan.7th cruise and were told we were at about 1/2-2/3 capacity following two FULL capacity ships at Christmas and New Year.

Hi, I don't know if you've already gone on your trip but as several others mentioned, the Oceanview Café is available for late night dining till 1 am. Small selection but unless you are very picky, there will be enough to eat. Pizza and pasta stations are open, definitely there are sandwich meats, breads, cheeses and desserts. Here are a few photos I took when I was on the Apex in January. I had purposely gone to the OCV just to see the offerings because of many comments about the "lack of dining" here. While it is not fancy cuisine, I am quite sure most people will have a full tummy stopping by after 10 pm. My date stamp on these photos are around 9:50 pm. Also, extra desserts at Café al Bacio. Love that place! I picked up something around 10 pm almost every evening for a late night snack in my stateroom.

I'd agree with this in general, yes, indeed! It sounds to me that both itineraries on the Connie and the Ascent are equally interesting to the OP. If this is true, then I would also agree with another commentor who said to save the Ascent for an itinerary with more sea days. There's lots to explore on Edge-class ships. I've been on the Summit to Bermuda (same class as Connie) and I just got off the Apex to the Caribbean this January (same class as Ascent). I loved the Summit for many reasons (I think I did a review back then on Cruise Critic)...but omg, the Apex (Edge-class ship) is jaw-droppingly gorgeous!!! Art everywhere, contactless sinks and doors in public areas...MDR broken into 4 different restaurants, each with their unique twists while carrying the main Celebrity menus as well) and I gotta say, as a mere mortal with no budget (yet) for anything fancier than oceanview staterooms, that I loved the glass shower doors of Edge class ships a lot more than the shower curtains. ☺️ So, I think you can't go wrong, no matter which option you choose @Sigyn. You will have a wonderful vacation either way. 🙂 PS - I am considering the same options for May 2024 😉along with Virgin's Resilient Lady. Our priority is to see Croatia...so, my group is leaning towards booking the Constellation.

I was on the same cruise and honestly, after my scrumptious breakfast with all the choices, I should have gone without lunch at the OVC. 😉 But I didn't as lunch was just as interesting in choices. I wish I could have tried more but honestly, my tummy though big, is not as big as my eyes think it is. 🤣

I just got off the Apex and the stir-fry station was there at lunch daily (rice and noodles). I had Eggs Benedict every single day and they had ham, spinach and smoked salmon right there and I always popped over to more smoked salmon where the charcuterie meats were for a bit more indulgence. Which ship were you on, by the way? DH enjoyed getting his unique omelette daily as well.

I was on this cruise and honestly after a few misses at the MDR (Normandie & Tuscan), and checking out OVC options early in the evening half the week, especially the Tuesday and Wednesday offerings (we only got late seating at all the MDRs), DH and I almost chose the OVC for our final night dinner. Sometimes, it's nice to have the choice of small nibbles of more than a handful of dishes. There's enough to have a good meal at dinner time... just not as extensive and bountiful an option as lunch or breakfast. The cake showcase was gorgeous though and I'm glad I saw it. I actually liked the different dessert options in the evening for the OVC. One night they had churros with chocolate sauce or caramel sauce. No chance of getting a churro at the MDR. 😉 Oh, and definitely sometimes, I prefer to just stay in my shorts and t-shirt to have my meal. 🙂 In the end, we went to Cyprus for our final dinner because the OVC offering on Friday night (Rockumentary was GREAT!) was actually smaller than other nights. I thought it surprising for a final night at the OVC. The staff at the pizza oven said we could definitely order a whole pizza with ingredients we wanted. And looking at the sparse crowd at dinner at the OVC, I am not against Celebrity cutting down on waste. But then again, there are those who will argue that there are less people because of less options available. Capt. Nikolas said we were at 2250 pax vs about 3200 at Christmas/ New Year the week before.

Apex lunch OVC Grill station - over the whole week, I tried barramundi, tuna, snapper, flank steak, duck, salmon. Other offerings at the grill station: turkey, and what you mentioned. I think DH had "minute steaks" one lunch time. I was looking for lamb specifically and did not see it at the Grill station but saw it in other stations, for example, one evening, there was Roast Lamb at the OVC as one of the 3 or 4 main meats. For me, a foodie, there were more options than I could eat so although I checked out the Grill Station daily, I chose from other stations for multiple helpings. 🙂 For this thread though, I can confirm a scaled back OVC offering for dinner time and I specifically chatted up a staff member about it.

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I am speaking specifically for the Apex. 🙂

I just got off the Apex on the 14th. Everything in the OVC is open at breakfast and lunch. The Grill station at lunch time is magnificent! Loved the fish station on the last day with a veritable buffet of different gravlax/ smoked salmon offered and at least 4 different grilled fish. On other days, I enjoyed flank steak and also duck at the Grill station. Delish! Will do a trip report soon with photos. DH complains I took too many food photos. I don't think there is ever any "too many" for food photos. 😉

I have just come off the Apex that sailed on the 7th of January. The Celebrity.com menu for Cyprus is off. It's a duplicate of Normandie. I questioned that before my departure. The Cyprus menu on the Celebrity app is correct. I can confirm the Cyprus exclusives are the Sea Bass (delightful light meal), the Lamb Tagine (amazing robust meal) and the Chicken Souvlaki (in between the other 2 offerings). I will do a trip report once I fully get my land bearings again. Because of this thread, I did check out the Oceanview situation for the evening, took some photos, spoke to a supervisor-looking staff member one late afternoon and he confirmed that a reduced buffet is being offered at OVC. One station called "Chef's Favourite" which has about 8 items that include at least 3 meats, and then the hot sides (there is ALWAYS a carving station in that Chef's Favourite section)... a salad bar, breads and dessert station. That's it, really. He said there are nightly themes but I checked out the OVC 3 different evenings and I did not see a pattern of themes. I have to say though that there really is enough options for a good-sized meal....(not so much good-sized variety). Will cover that in my trip report. 🙂

@keywester33, belated thanks for your input! Love supporting anything local. Looking forward to experiencing Key West for the first time next week.

@KKB, the Sea Bass is ALREADY in my meal selection when we dine at Cyprus. LOL!! I actually looked at all the daily offerings plus the signature for each of the 4 MDRs and chose my venue per that (and yes, I know the Classics and general Celebrity Signatures are available at all MDRs). I love the idea of browsing OVC though for desserts as per @Homosassa! I'll do that. Originally I booked 5 evenings at MDRs with 2 options at OCV but after reading the thread here, added the last 2 evenings at the MDRs...and I will adjust accordingly when I get on board....in 48 hours!!! Woot woot! Except...err.... flights are cancelled and delayed today out of Montreal all day due to freezing rain. Arrrgghhh! Winter! Hope all clears up tomorrow when we fly in one day before the cruise. 🙏

Really interesting thread! Pros and cons for both cabs and Ubers/ Lyfts. Now I am more undecided than before. Ugh. It's our first time at Port Everglades and FLL. We will disembark from the Apex on Saturday, the 14th of Jan. We wanted to see a bit of FLL before flying home to Montreal. Our flight leaves in the evening. DH and I thought we'd cab it to the airport, drop off our luggage (only carry-on - trying to travel light) in storage for the day and then cab it to Riverwalk to start our exploration using the water trolley. Due to the freedom of having an exploration day, we were going to disembark late (around 9:30?) with our carry-ons.... is that still considered a super busy time grabbing rides (cabs or others) everywhere? I think there were several folks here who said that'd be no problem but there was at least one whose experience differed. We did not book the Celebrity shuttle transfer as I read that cabs to the FLL airport were ranging around $15 from Port Everglades (so half the cost). Hope to be successful getting a cab between 9:30 and 10 am... 🤞🙏

I am an educator as well @Lastdanceso I am THRILLED to read about your experiences. I often wonder, reading these forums how with my paycheck, I will ever get to experience things like Aqua or Suites or actually, even Specialty Dining. I also teach for the love of investing in my future, my students are my future...they will be the next leaders of my country. ❤️ Too bad the paycheck does not reflect the work educators do. I hope i the near future to get opportunities (like you) to experience some of the things I mentioned. Indeed, life is short and we never know anyway, how much time we have left. Just finished booking my final dinner at one of the MDRs...and my last shore excursion. Now, if I can snag one of those hanging basket chairs at Eden a few afternoons/ mornings during the cruise to do some reading and journaling, I'd be happy. 🙂 PS - hope your DH is fully recovered!

Hey Leandro @leangranflor, thanks for chiming in! We are on the Apex this weekend, on the 7th of January and one of us LOVES pizza. We'll definitely stop by to taste some of your hard work. 🙂 😋 PS - loved this simple and unexpectedly pleasurable thread to read on CC. 🙂

Not related to scaled back dining but wow @Lastdance! Your lived experience cruising is what I dream of. What a blessing of multiple cruises in high up places for you. Someday, I hope to afford more than a 7-day cruise, and try other staterooms apart from Inside or Oceanviews...and therefore get access to places like Luminae. For now, I am simply thrilled to try out a relatively new and gorgeous ship like the Apex. I look forward to enjoying the OVC for various meals and intrigue to see the difference. 🙂

I am getting on the Apex in 3 days' time. We booked our cruise late and just got on the Celebrity app to reserve our "Anytime Dining" reservations at one of the 4 MDRs. Well, only late reservations were available, i.e. 9 and 9:30 pm, for the entire week for all 4 restaurants! I'm feeling bad for anyone with children who might need to eat earlier...IF the Oceanview is now limited in choices. I was actually hoping to catch a few dinners at the Oceanview, just for the more relaxed atmosphere...I had originally heard Oceanview was a great alternative choice to the MDRs. PS - it looks like our cruise is full or almost full.

Thank you!! Did exactly as you said today and took a look on Google... T1 and T2 looked quite walkable indeed. My experience with airport shuttles between terminals is that the distance is beyond walkable for most people. I'm doing some research now on the Water Taxis and will probably do that to see the city. I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be with 5 days to go but I'll be grateful for a vacation in the middle of winter. 🙂 Thanks again!

Thanks lots, @bookbabe! Good to know that crews are helpful to beginners. ❤️ The cruise-sponsored excursions to see stingrays are starting at Cad$130. I'm checking the links you shared for alternatives. I see on the forum lots of references to Captain Marvin. The stop in GC is not long though so I'm trying to figure out what's the best time for us to get off and come back. I'm guessing there's usually a mad rush to get off on the tenders as early as possible to all the excursions....

OMG! "engine compressor stalls" !!! I sure hope my flights there and back are completely uneventful! Glad you got home okay! 3 hours vs 14 hours sound really, really okay now. I'm hoping it's easy enough to cab it back to T1 to get our two carry-ons out of Bags to Go storage after my Water Taxi adventure on my own. I should probably choose my final stop wisely to get easy access to cabs. DH wants to do a half-day fishing charter from 1:30 to 5:30 pm so I'm happy to gallivant on my own. So, I'm responsible for getting our stored carry-ons before 5:30 pm in T1. I'm just a bit nervous about my unfamiliarity with FLL in general. Glad for this forum that has helped fill out all my knowledge gaps. Thanks for your guidance!

Thanks for all this information @bookbabe! We will be visiting GC for the first time in about 10 days, while on Celebrity Apex. I've been scouring these destination boards for the last month since we booked our trip. It seems like there are lots of repeat visitors who don't care for Stingray city or turtles. While I want to listen to advise from people who've gone before, I cannot shake our newbie curiosity. DH and I are not strong swimmers but do enjoy beginner's snorkelling. We are easily awed by anything marine life and white sand beaches with possible dips in gorgeous calm waters although we are not sun worshippers. Lounging in a chair just looking at the water for 4 hours is no fun for us either. I am leaning towards braving the crowds anyway to do the Stingray City Sandbar bit.... we don't want to stay out too long at any one port as it looks like the Apex is a stunning ship. Do you have any tips for the newbies in us for our first GC stop? It just seems "wrong" to get a chance to go to the Caymans and not even see the stingrays.... thank you, from your "neighbour" in Montreal. 🙂

Thanks a bunch, @Elaine5715! The Bagstogo website seems like it's more up to date that the FLL airport website! Or at least I sense that Bagstogo site is more current. I've bumped into too many websites that are not updated to reflect the most current situation (even local municipal ones). My flight leaves from T2 at 8:45 pm in FLL so if I take the Bagstogo option, I will need to get myself to T1 FLL before 5:30 pm (their closing time) to pick up my bags...and then spend 3 hours at FLL airport... hope there are nice/ decent seating areas at the airport to wait it out. Alternatively, I sure hope Celebrity has a similar program to Princess' EZ-Check as mentioned by @lx200gps above. Fingers crossed that Celebrity does and that would allow us another extra hour in town... either way an hour and a bit is no big deal I guess to spend people watching at the airport. I'd rather be early for my flight than get stressed by traffic or whatever squeaking in just in time at FLL. Anyone has any fave spots at FLL airport to eat or spend some time, do chime in. I've been reading on on the airport and it seems there's quite a bit of art around...and there's a viewing area to watch planes take off and land, located above the Hibiscus Garage (will have to check where that is)...so that might be interesting. 😎

@capriccio - SO helpful, these tips! Thanks!! Will follow bullets #3 and #1 in a couple of weeks. 🙂