Scottishclover

To avoid London, I would suggest taking an Avanti West Coast Line direct to Birmingham and then change there to a train to Southampton. It’s around 4 hours to Birmingham by train. Full disclosure, I have never done this and it will probably take much longer than using the East Coast Line. Also, there always seems to be a lot of work/ delays going on on the West Coast Line for some reason. If you were to go on the East Coast Line to Southampton with any company, you would always change in London as this would be the usual and quickest route. No problem to take luggage on the train, if you are happy to lug it about when you change trains. Sorry, can’t help with luggage transportation. You may not know this but you can actually fly direct Edinburgh to Southampton with Loganair ( if you like tartan, you will love Loganair😂) The train however would be a greener choice, of course. Happy to answer any more questions you have about Edinburgh.

We have booked early dining for our Beyond cruise next summer. So really we would be better changing to anytime and actually making reservations pre -cruise rather than having to queue up? This open dining for all actually happened too on our Apex cruise in July but we just assumed it was because the ship was at very low capacity. We were told just to turn up when we wanted and we always got a seat without waiting. We like to have the same serving team due to allergies and we were seated in the same server’s section regardless of when we are. I’m sure this wouldn’t have been the case though on a busier ship. Thanks for letting us know about the change in policy. Appreciate it😀

Now was it fudge or tablet? Tablet is very unique to Scotland and has a different texture to fudge. Delicious and should be tried on a visit to Scotland, mind you, you would need a visit to the dentist after eating it 😂The National Museum is another attraction worth a visit and is just behind the Royal Mile on Chambers Street. It’s free to enter although any special exhibitions have a fee.

I agree with much of what John Bull said, especially about going further afield from Invergordon but will give a few more suggestions on the Scottish ports. In 2021 due to covid travel restrictions, we had a staycation and based ourselves in Evanton, just down the road from Invergordon. The whole point of ships docking there is to take advantage of typical Highland scenery and I would whole heartedly suggest you organise some kind of private tour. Can’t stress enough, no real infrastructure to accommodate cruise ship numbers so find something as soon as possible. I know the road to Skye has been mentioned but Skye should be avoided at all costs in the summer - it’s just crazy with people and traffic. Here’s some alternatives: - Head over to the village of Lochinver via Lairg. Scenery is just stunning. You would need private tour for this. The mountain formations are amazing and you can have a lovely seafood lunch once you get there. The famous beach of Almelvich is nearby but avoid due to traffic jams on a single track roads. Not worth it in high season. On the way back visit the Geopark for stunning views and information about the geology of the region. This was the favourite thing we did on our 7 day trip. If you like to hike, there’s also some fantastic short hikes on this route. - Loch Ness is not the prettiest loch by any stretch of the imagination and the nearby town is very touristy. Urquhart Castle has an attractive setting though. Much better in my opinion is the drive up Glen Affric. It has everything you expect from true Highland scenery. We were blown away ( but should add the weather was lovely too). It’s in the vicinity of Loch Ness so could be combined. Also worth a wee stop is the Highland town of Beauly. - Cairngorms area is lovely but you need to be a hiker to get the best of it. Also getting over touristed. You would need a tour to get there. - We loved Culloden, the museum is very well done and the walk on the battlefield was quite poignant. It’s a nice half day trip but wouldn’t be a priority if I had one day. - Not for first timers, but The Black Isle makes a lovely day if you wanted to stay nearby Invergordon. It’s very quaint and there is a famous dolphin viewing spot. I couldn’t believe how close the dolphins were to the shore. Again, I’d say this is more for people who have been to Highlands before. Regarding Edinburgh, you get great views over the city from Calton Hill. Obviously being Scottish ( and living a half hour from Edinburgh) the Royal Mile is not high on our list but as a tourist it’s a priority. Just ignore all the tartan tat 😩Our favourite part of Edinburgh is Stockbridge and the Village of Dean. It’s walkable from Princes Street and you wouldn’t believe you were in a major city, especially down by the Water of Leith. If it’s a nice day when you are there be sure to spend some time in “ the gardens,” the green area around The Mound between the old town and new town. It will give you a nice slice of local life. Some final pieces of advice - if you plan to visit the castle book in advance. The queues can be awful . Also expect crowds, Edinburgh has become very popular recently. We NEVER head into town in August during the festival. If your cruise falls in that month plan accordingly!! I hope this helps and happy to answer any questions you have.

Really looking forward to reading what you get up to in Rome as we are staying there for 4 nights before our cruise on the Beyond next summer. It’s been 25 years since our last visit so I need a wee memory jog. Thank you for including details of your pre- cruise trip. Enjoy 😊

We did this tour in 2017 and loved it. It is not strenuous at all and a great way to see Key West. One of our daughters was not a confident cyclist at the time and she managed it fine. Our tour guide was informative but very chilled and honestly answered questions about the cons of living in the town. The whole tour was so relaxing and we finished with a lovely slice of key lime pie at the end. My husband needs to eat gluten free and they had organised a special pie for him too. Can recommend. We would do it again if we are ever back in Key West. Much more fun than the trolley tour.

As others have said, you won’t be able to do all 3 cities in a day. We spent a week in Nice in April and did a bit of travelling around so here’s my advice. Forget Cannes and focus on Nice for a day. Bus from Villefranche drops you at the port in Nice. it takes 15 mins at most. Train stations are a wee bit further out. There’s so much to see and do and although there’s lots of tourists, it still has some authenticity. We didn’t enjoy Monaco at all - ugly buildings and designer shops. Spent an hour there and then got the bus to the delightful town of Menton near the Italian border. The 100 bus goes to Menton.If you MUST do Monaco, I would combine it with Menton or the mountain village of Eze. Eze was so beautiful but we were there early on and it was quiet. I would not like to be there when all the bus tours arrive. You can get a bus there from Monaco. Villefranche is also a pretty port for drinks/coffee. There is a great walk from there round Cap Ferat. A nice alternative if you get sick of wandering around cities on your cruise. We found Bus 100 to be pretty reliable. It’s generally busy at rush hour times as commuters use it. A tip is if you are travelling back from Monaco/ Menton to Nice/Villefranche around 4 pm , it’s best to take the train or you will be standing. Also great views from the bus as it hugs the coastline.

Agree with the above. The best trip we have ever done was a land trip to Iceland. Scenery is other worldly. We did a fjord cruise in 2016 and Norway is beautiful from the water. Added bonus you don’t need to eat out much at exorbitant prices. Norway prices were eye watering. If you were to have a week in South Iceland before this itinerary, that would be the perfect trip.

The Grand Central Hotel is a lovely hotel actually attached to Glasgow Central Station. There is a popular champagne bar inside the hotel with big windows looking onto the main station concourse. You will have a 10 min downhill walk from Buchanan bus station to the hotel if you catch the airport bus. And well you literally could not get any closer to catch your train to Greenock! The hotel is right in the heart of Glasgow with lots of eating, drinking and shopping options nearby. I would recommend taking a trip up to the West End ( the area surrounding Glasgow University). It is walkable - maybe an hour - but probably easiest is to take the subway ( yep that’s what the underground is called in Glasgow) from Buchanan Street to either Kelvinbridge or Hillhead. The university is a lovely building and the newly refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery is there too. The National Trust has a property in the centre of Glasgow called The Tenement House, which shows what it was like to live in this typical type of crowded house which you will see everywhere in Glasgow. If you visit there be sure to visit my favourite cafe in Glasgow called the “Singl-end” at the very end of Renfrew Street near the Glasgow School of Art. It has a great lunches/cake and coffee as well as some non - tacky Glasgow souvenirs. If you have anymore questions, ask away. I know Glasgow pretty well. Enjoy your couple of days there - it’s a city with personality.

Has anyone walked the path from Paleokastritsa to Lakones? We are keen hikers and thought we could do this in the morning before returning to Corfu Town in the afternoon.

If you have time, take a 20 minute train journey to Haarlem. It’s a really pretty town, almost like a mini Amsterdam with lots of independent shops and cafes and an imposing church on the main square. It’s great for an afternoon stroll to escape the crowds in Amsterdam.

Super review so far😀 I visited Toronto around 20 years ago so your photos brought back some great memories. Can’t wait to read more about your travels.

Agree with the above poster about the app. We used it a lot. We were normally asked where we planned to eat the next night. In truth it only really matters if you want one of the MDR exclusives made gluten free.

We took the bus to Osterport then train to the airport after a cruise in 2016. It worked like a dream, in fact we were at the airport much earlier than we needed to be. There was a huge line for taxis so it was a great option. We bought tickets at the kiosk. I imagine you could use an app to buy tickets nowadays. So easy to use public transport in Scandinavia.

We were on the Apex in July and my husband is gluten free after being diagnosed 10 years ago with coeliac disease. Gluten free-corner at breakfast , although he said the muffins were tasteless. The gluten- free bread is not the best. Lunch in OV was easy as everything was marked ( we had also cruised Disney and this wasn’t the case). Gluten free dessert section on lunch buffet looked impressive but you need to like mousses. Not a lot of cake/ sponges which my husband prefers. He did order a gluten free pizza, chef changed aprons and made it separately but didn’t look happy about the extra hassle😂 DH said it tasted good but wouldn’t risk it again as too much as flour in the area for cross-contamination. Ice cream is marked too but you need to be careful as cones are going around. Cafe Al Bacio - coconut macaroons/balls are a must! Occasionally there were other cakes but much to DH’s delight the coconut ones were there daily. There is gluten-free beer. It’s Daura Damm and came from Craft Social, our server went there especially to get it as we were in The Club at the time. Not sure about other venues. DH not a big drinker, occasionally a cider and there’s a few different options on board. Dinner was where the service was fantastic. We had originally booked early dining so we would have the same servers every night. However capacity was so low on our sailing you could go to any of the 4 MDRs at anytime. When you go to the desk there is a red flag against you so they know instantly about your dietary requirements. My daughters are both vegan so we were known pretty quickly!! When we returned to a MDR to eat we were automatically given the servers we had had before, which was great. First night was a bit slow but after that we pre-ordered for the next night ( even if we were going to a different MDR). If there is something you would like on the menu but it isn’t marked as gluten-free, just ask as they will try to make it without gluten. Sometimes it’s a quick fix like no croutons in soup but they were really accommodating.Desserts were either chef’s special or sorbet/ice cream. We could absolutely not have faulted the attention to detail in the MDR but not sure what it will be like on a full ship. I’m sure there’s a few options at Eden Cafe and Spa Cafe but my husband never ate there. There were no gluten free rolls at Mast Grill for a burger, which was disappointing. We didn’t eat at any speciality restaurants so can’t comment there. We went diy for all our ports ( Best of Scandinavia cruise) and let me tell you there is no problem eating gluten free ( or vegan) in that part of the world. I have always wondered how dietary restrictions are catered for if you are on a ship excursion. I hope this information helps. People who have no dietary needs have little idea how restrictive it can be. Let’s face it, food should play a big part in your holiday and not be the thing which spoils it.

@chamima if you click on the current sailing on the Apex on the App, then main dining, then the menu on Cyprus you will find the vegetarian menu. I was mistaken, you need to scroll right down to after the desserts. Maybe your cruse is too far in the future or the app is just a bit unreliable. We are sailing on the Beyond next year and the vegetarian menu is also missing. I found seeing the menus on the app beforehand really useful but tbh our servers were amazing and took time to make sure the meals worked out for us.

My daughters are vegan and I am vegetarian. We were given the vegetarian menus every night. Normally one choice was vegan. The vegetarian dishes were very reliant on cheese, mushrooms and aubergine. We would have preferred more dishes with lentils/ beans for protein. We preordered for the next night ( only really necessary for vegan) and they would have made us anything we requested. One night we asked for Dahl. We were on the Apex and it was sailing at half capacity- maybe this wouldn’t have happened if the ship was full. We never had any problem eating at Oceanview Cafe - there’s lots of veggie options as well as a vegan corner. I was able to view the vegetarian menus on the app beforehand, maybe check menus on the app for other ships?? You need to scroll down, past the children's menu. Hope this helps.

There were 5 Zumba classes on our recent summer cruise on the Apex. This was led by cruise director Shawna who is a certified Zumba instructor. It was in The Club on the 4 sea days and also on a day when we didn’t port until noon. Shawna was great, lots of energy and the class was really well attended. While there are other fitness classes on board, true Zumba, instructors have to have completed special training. As far as Shawna was aware, Celebrity doesn’t have any other activity staff who do Zumba, so really it’s the luck of the draw if you have her on board.

Thank you so much for your review of this unique itinerary. I loved that you covered the entertainment options onboard - few people do. You should try a land trip to Iceland, there are so many amazing views and landscapes, especially on the South coast. Safe trip home.

Don’t know about Silhouette, but it was available on the Apex in July. My husband ordered it one night in The Club and the bartender went to Craft Social to get it. So it may not be available in all venues. Cost was $10. Although you get many good gluten free beers now, when my husband was diagnosed many years ago this wasn’t the case so he soon became a cider drinker. He’s so used to it now that’s his drink of choice.

What a wonderful review. We just booked this same itinerary on the Beyond next year. We were swithering between this and another itinerary but your fantastic photos have confirmed that we came to the right decision. With all the detail you included, you’ve made my planning a lot easier too! Thank you.

In Reykjavik go to Valdis for ice cream. We were there in July 2020 on a land trip and it was very popular with locals. Salted liquorice is a very “local” flavour. Didn’t try it though - there was an abundance of flavours on offer.

Your photos of Greenland were stunning. The ones of the island reminded me of remote parts of the Scottish Highlands. Looking forward to the photos of Prins Christian Sund.

Review Round Up: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly The Good 1) Capacity- At around half capacity, I think we sailed on the Apex at the optimum time. There were no cutbacks due to low numbers and at times, especially in the MDRs, I’d go as far as to say the service was over-attentive. 2) Crew- Just fantastic. Special shout out to the cleaners in particular, who never get the recognition they deserved. We witnessed them hoovering the underside of the stairs( I mean, come on!) and DD1 said one jumped in the lift with her to clean a single finger mark she had spotted, just as the doors were closing. Everywhere was spotless and there were even times you could hardly go to the toilet in peace, without an industrious cleaner joining you in the public bathrooms! 3) Entertainment - I can only compare with Disney but the entertainment exceeded my expectations. Most guest entertainers got standing ovations and the three big production shows, as well as Caravan and some of the shows in Eden were great. 4) Food - It would be very difficult for us to get the variety of vegan and gluten - free food that we got on Apex, anywhere on land. I know because we have tried and it is not easy. Even in major cities, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. In truth, we would need to go to a specialist vegan hotel. It was just so easy on the ship and meant I finally got a lovely break from the kitchen sink 😀 5) Ports - For anyone not sure about a Baltic Itinerary, I’d say go for it. A land trip in Scandinavia can work out very expensive so cruising is a value for money way to visit this beautiful part of the world. The Bad You may have guessed this already but we are pretty easy to please. We laughed every night when asked at dinner, “What is your water preference?” If you’re Scottish, there is only ever one answer to that and it’s “from the tap!!” Maybe if we had cruised more, we might be a little more picky but really we had absolutely no major complaints. Perhaps only one, very minor gripe. Being a planner, I would have liked a bit more info about where we were docking in advance. In Riga, Stockholm and Copenhagen I had looked at transport options from the other docks. It wasn’t until I looked at the app, I realised I had boobed. So that’s one thing to be aware of if you go this itinerary. The Ugly The only thing ugly about this cruise was the 3 and a half hours it took to get through security at Schipol Airport on our way home! Oh and the terrible, but typical, Scottish weather when we returned. It put a real spanner in the works trying to get all the holiday washing hung out on the line. So really nothing Celebrity Cruises had any control over. So our first cruise on Celebrity was hailed a success by DH and the DDs. So much so that we have 2 more booked. Next summer, we go to Italy, Greece, Croatia and Montenegro on The Beyond and then we are doing Best of Southern Japan in Easter 2024. I suspect after that, DH and I may start cruising a bit more on our own, but we have the girls to put through university first. Thanks to all who read and commented - I appreciated it very much and maybe one day our paths might cross somewhere out on the ocean waves. Cheers!

Enjoying your live report Ken. We are just off our first Celebrity cruise,Apex to the Baltic, and also enjoyed the game shows each night with our teens. Great that you’re including some of the entertainment options. We would love to do this itinerary but there are quite a lot of sea days - is there enough to do, especially when the weather isn’t great?