Scottishclover

If it were me, I would definitely book something beforehand. Portree is really just a little village. One thing to think about is traffic congestion on Skye. It’s not unusual to sit for hours in jams ( Skye is heavily overtouristed and nearly everyone arrives on the island by car and most have no idea how to drive on single track roads) so make sure if you are going DIY you leave plenty time to get back to the ship.

Just to confirm the above - there is no direct train Greenock to Edinburgh. You would need to get off at Glasgow Central and walk to Queen Street for the train to Edinburgh. Trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh are very frequent. Also busses every 15 mins between Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow and the main bus station in Edinburgh.

The stock menus from above were the menus we had on Apex in July. Be aware that there’s not a lot of eating in some of the main course dishes, especially the ones without cheese. My daughters are vegan and Celebrity were happy to work with them and adapt dishes. I also don’t eat meat and switched between the vegetarian menu and fish/seafood from the normal MDR menu. At lunchtime in the OVC there was a nice selection of veggie dishes too. I just hope the vegetarian menus haven’t been cut since last year.

If you look at the main dining menus on the current Apex sailing on the App and scroll right down you can see the vegetarian menus for the MDR. For some reason it is not listed on other ships. Sorry can’t help with Luminae.

I’m going to say that those prices are amazing. I’ve just had a look on the Deutsche Bahn website and lowest prices are €79. I usually book direct with Deutsche Bahn and find them cheapest. Make sure you reserve seats - it will be a busy route.

Yes, my husband recently paid some of the balance on our summer cruise in order to get the cash back. £150 was in the account really quickly.

I was out in Glasgow with friends at the weekend and they had booked a table at Mharsanta which is a Scottish Restaurant and bar in The Merchant City. Now it’s not a typical pub but it does offer what you might consider typical Scottish dishes - lots with seafood, haggis, steak pie, chicken balmoral etc. I had Shetland mussels and irn-bru cheesecake ( surprisingly nice!) A big selection of whisky or Scottish gin cocktails. The servers are in tartan and there was trad music playing in the background. I think it might give you the Scottish experience you are looking for. It’s a 5-10 min walk from George Square so really quite central.

I totally agree with the recommendations from @fruitmachine. I’m a teacher and often go to Dynamic Earth and Museum on the Mound on school trips. You can press pennies there too. National Museum was a favourite of my own girls when they were younger. There is quite a big area dedicated to children. While Camera Obscura is great ( especially if it’s wet) we find it expensive for the amount of time you spend there. We also used to enjoy The Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile. It has lots of toys from previous times. Not huge but if you are on the Royal Mile anyway - why not? Also there’s quite a good playground in the “Meadows” for children and lots of space in Princes Street Gardens to let off steam. BTW Copenhagen is a great city for children. Lots to do.

Shopping - I mentioned that Haarlem is lovely to visit. I have two older teens and they loved the shopping there. Mix of upmarket and usual fashion. Can’t comment on vintage but I think we would have noticed something as my daughters tend to shop for second-hand clothing. Anne Frank - you MUST book tickets in advance. I booked the last slot time ( think it was around 7.30 pm) and it was relatively quiet. I think it would be quite claustrophobic if it was really busy. I would book that slot again. - Try Indonesian food, lots of options in Amsterdam. We ate in the Laachende Javaan in Harlem but my sister also recommended Bistro Bar Indonesia, also in Haarlem. Lots of foodies go to Haarlem to eat. - I find the best place for bars/shops for younger age group is normally in the vicinity of universities. Not sure where that is in Amsterdam but I’m sure someone else might help.

By public transport it’s a bit tricky. You can get a train to nearby Leuchars and then a regular bus to St Andrews from there. Buses straight from Edinburgh take a while as they stop in a lot of wee places. I’ve been looking into this as our daughter hopes to study at St Andrews next year. St Andrews itself is lovely. Beautiful location on the coast. Depending on when you go I will say all the students can be a bit much. Not in term time is best😉. There is a golf museum and plenty of golf shops too. Not sure about playing but I imagine if you are meaning the Old Course it will be pretty pricey and lots of rules and regulations too. Would I give up a day in Edinburgh for St. Andrews? Probably only if I was in in Edinburgh for 5 days or more. There’s plenty to keep you going for a few days in Edinburgh.

It really depends on what type of traveller you are. Do you want to be right in the city central to everything or would you prefer to stay out a bit and experience a local area? Do you like chain or independent places? The choice is endless. Now living near Edinburgh we never need a hotel but I will suggest something off piste. A few years ago I had German friends come over and they stayed in the Abercorn Guesthouse in Portobello. When I went to meet them there I got a tour and it was absolutely lovely. Elegant decor and the owner was so welcoming and friendly. My friends loved the options at breakfast ( both porridge and haggis is on the menu if you want to go full Scottish!) They thought the whole experience was great and it gets excellent reviews from all sources. Now Portobello is the seaside section of Edinburgh and has had a revival in recent years with lots of independent shops and cafes. Great transport links to the centre with Lothian buses ( just buy a Day-rider ticket) but also it’s a good place to escape the crowds in the city centre. You might want to be nearer the action though. If you would prefer to stay a little bit out the centre, somewhere in the Morningside area would be my preference. Lots of buses on the route but also walkable. I much prefer staying in a local area in independent hotels rather than chains in busy city centres but that is just my preference. You may be different. If that’s the case the aforementioned Novotel at Lauriston Place always seems to be busy when I drive past it so it must be okay. Good location too. Enjoy Edinburgh - it’s a great place 😀

We docked there for an overnight last summer. It’s about half an hour to the main downtown area. You walk by the water past Fotografiska ( photography museum) until you come to Slussen station. In July there was a bit of construction to negotiate there. Then over the bridge to the main area. It’s really not far but we always walk everywhere on holiday and walk at quite a pace. Day 2 we got on a boat literally right next to the ship which took us straight over the water to Djurgarden. It was called the MS Emilie and you pay with card on the boat. It was only us and the speaker/ lecturer who was on board so I get the impression it is not well known. We got to Vasa Museum just at opening. We visited attractions there and then walked the long way back to the ship back through the waterfront. There was lots to see and it was great to soak up the atmosphere. Stockholm was lovely and walking helps you appreciate the surroundings more I always think.

My daughters are both vegan and were quite happy with the choices on the Apex. They normally pre- ordered something from the separate vegetarian menu which could be made vegan and if there was nothing they liked, they requested something else like Dahl. My husband needs to eat gluten free so he pre- ordered too. Even although we moved between the MDRs we tended to be given the same servers when we revisited. The movement between the 4 MDRs worked fine. The server just goes to the kitchen and can see what you pre ordered the previous evening. At lunch there was a vegan corner with a couple of dishes and overall the girls had no problem finding something at the buffet in Ocean View Cafe. Spa Cafe also have a couple of options and there was dairy free milk at Cafe al Bacio and at breakfast. We were on a 12 night cruise and were often approached by food and beverage officers to ask if the vegan and gluten free options were working for us.

Hiring a car would be the best option. The drive to Penrith is very straightforward. Once out the airport head south on the M74 for about 2 - 2 and a half hours until you see the turn off for Penrith. It really couldn’t be easier. The M74 was extended a few years ago meaning you can avoid the traffic on the notorious M8. Also around 45 minutes out of Glasgow the motorway cuts through some nice scenery and the traffic gets quite sparse. As always , the worst part of renting a car is getting out of the airport! While you are in Penrith it would be worth delving deeper into the Lake District - it’s really pretty.

We were on the Apex in July. The sofa beds are the same size but if it’s a double , you just pull out the trundle. Single just means no trundle so there is no impact on space. We were travelling with our daughters and when the trundle is out there is not a lot of space to walk around. For anyone who is wondering the sofa beds are brick hard. The trundle section was much comfier and our girls alternated each night to save any arguments.

On our Baltic Cruise on Apex from Amsterdam this past summer, there were just 500 Americans out of 1,100. The rest was made up of a large number of Mexicans and Dutch with a few Germans, Canadians, Brits etc. There may have been less Americans due to Covid. I wouldn’t worry about the language. The Dutch spoke better English than me! Anyway part of the joy of travelling is meeting people from different countries and cultures. It makes life more interesting. Observing and discussing differences in national behaviours on our cruise was a hot topic at dinner for our family.

What a great start to your review, I am looking forward to what has to come. Local for you perhaps but very exotic for the rest of us. My sister lived in NZ for 5 years and used the opportunity to visit many places on your cruise. I have lots of friends who now live in your neck of the woods. Bay of Plenty - lucky you! Have a great time😀

Yes, you can buy a Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ticket to use from Hamburg to Rostock. Regional trains only, not intercity. It’s good value, especially when travelling as a family.

😂😂 It’s the Scottish word for friendly chat. Get into a black cab with a Glaswegian driver and you won’t know what has hit you! Either they will give you their life story or make you tell them yours. It’s a very local experience.

Has anyone participated in this activity? I wanted to try it on our last cruise but it clashed with Zumba. Hoping to give it a go on the Beyond in the summer. I’d really like to know 1) what type of ballroom dancing? 2) if you need to bring a partner? ( my husband is not a dancer) 3)is it fine if you are a novice? I’m just back from a swing dance workshop and it’s safe to say I’m no expert! Thanks

Jim, if you had to chose between a Pacific Coastal or Mexican itinerary, which one would you pick? I know Pacific Coastal is close to home for you but I would appreciate your viewpoint. Me and my husband are looking to do a cruise on our own to celebrate both our daughters finally being away at university. We are not big beach people and much prefer to hike and sightsee, which is why the Caribbean doesn’t really have much appeal for us. As usual, enjoying your review and especially love the port photos.

Although it’s been a while since I’ve used it, Im certain you will have plenty time to do the hoho bus. I would do a whole route on it without getting off then go and spend some time in the west end. There are also a few companies doing walking tours these days. I can’t help you with taxi/ Uber Greenock to Glasgow. There is a regular train service to Glasgow Central though. I have used Uber within Glasgow it would be a viable option back to the ship but I find the Glasgow “patter” is much better from the original black cab taxi drivers.

My husband has coeliac disease and we sailed on Apex in July. He was really happy with the experience. We were given the same server in each of the MDRs we went to who always brought gluten free bread to the table. The servers were really knowledgeable and the head servers always came along to check everything was ok. We also have 2 vegans at the table so we weren’t the easiest group to deal with. We pre- ordered for the next night. With regards to comments from the previous poster, I understand the frustration with the limited gf choices ( after all you have paid the same fare) but I think pragmatism comes into play here. There will be a very small percentage of coeliacs on board so I don’t think you can expect anymore than 3/4 breakfast items or desserts. Think of the food waste if there was more offered. There are very few restaurants/cafes on land where you would have a big choice, unless they are dedicated gluten free and those are few and far between. If you cruise with realistic expectations you will be fine with Celebrity. Food and service is always going to be subjective. My husband is not a big foodie anyway and the main aim for him when we travel is to stay healthy and not get glutened. I’m just pleased it’s not me doing the cooking.

@Beachlover1989 Hi, yes I can imagine you might be finding getting a tour difficult. We aren’t really as well set up here for the cruise ship economy as the Med for example. I’m afraid I can’t recommend a specific tour but I will tell you what I think would make the best day out. While I love Glasgow, if it’s your first time in Scotland, it is not a must see. It’s a city with atmosphere but a bit rough round the edges. If you really are set on Glasgow, then there is a hoho bus. The famous Glasgow market is The Barras but I’m pretty sure it is not the type of market you have in mind. There are lots of local pubs ( wouldn’t want to eat in many of them😂) but for lunch I would go for modern Scottish somewhere in the West End near Byres Road and Glasgow Uni. Lots of choice and more preferable to typical pub grub. However from Greenock, I would be looking to do a day trip to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, for some scenery, and then to Stirling Castle for some history. I was at Stirling Castle a couple of years ago and was impressed by the free guided tour. I also like Loch Tay and surrounds but it may just be a bit too far. Others might have better ideas for tour providers. The majority of distilleries are a bit further north but there a couple near Glasgow - Glengoyne and Deanston at Doune which could be combined with my day trip suggestion above. I hope this helps and that you find a suitable tour. I’m noticing a wee gap in the market. If I lived a bit closer to Greenock I would be giving up my teaching job and starting my own tour business for cruisers!

Really enjoying your review and the pictures bringing back some great memories of our first Celebrity Cruise on the Apex in July. We had an IV cabin and loved the extra space. Can’t wait to read more!