lexmiller

This July, we sailed Apex for a B3B, two of those three cruises were Norway itineraries, one being the Arctic Circle 12 night itinerary. Between the 2 cruises, here are the Norwegian ports we visited: Stavanger, Olden, Flam, Tromso, Honningsvag, Kristiansand, Geiranger, Bergen. Flam was the only port which was included in both cruises - we were happy that it was, as there is so much to see there. The Midnight Sun above the Arctic Circle was amazing! Personally, we would not sail Princess or Holland - ever, actually. We feel of course the ports/destinations are the most important thing, but the journey to them is also one of the reasons to cruise, so the quality of the cruise experience is a big factor as well.

Yes, of course - trust me, the playlist on Apex this past July definitely did not contain Clapton - that would have been fine! I know every word to that song! This is not about being a prude, markeb, "nothing new there" - oh please. You clearly aren't getting my point. Whatever.

I am very aware of the music which is piped through the halls as it's the same music that also plays in your cabin on Ch 2, the Navigational Channel. We always have the Nav Channel on in our room as a)I love to watch the maps and our course, I focus on the navigational stats, etc and b)I used to love the music that was played - it used to be calming and relaxing, and a beautiful backdrop in your cabin while reading/relaxing/getting ready to head out for the evening, etc. Our past 7 or 8 cruises, at least, I've been so unhappy with the music that I've written at length about it in the post-cruise survey. Some of it is so bad, I have to mute the sound - harsh, grating, machine sounds, repetitive annoying unpleasant beats..... Most recently, we were B3B on Apex this July, and the music was just bizarre - one of the 'songs' had the word 'cocaine' in it, and no, it was not the original version of Frank Sinatra's "I Get a Kick Out of You", it was a modern ode and wow it was bad. I have always thought that "smooth jazz" is what should be played, something calm, not distracting, soothing sounds yet upbeat, uptempo - not annoying and grating. On your own, you can play what you want through your headphones or your personal speaker from your own recorded music. But the music that is being piped through the halls and on Ch 2, should be not elevator music, no, but also not what they're playing now. It did not use to be like this. Another change, trying to seem hip and relevant? No, it's just awful is what it is and when you've got 'cocaine' in a song - I don't think anyone is even vetting the music.

Two bags of laundry per person, per cruise. So that's 4 bags of laundry in total for each and every cruise, for you and your husband. And once you hit Zenith, the sky's the limit - you can send in as much as you want, as often as you want.

We were scheduled to be in Labadee in January on Eclipse, but it was replaced with Nassau. Urgh. I was looking forward to Labadee, haven't been there since 1989 - although, even then, there were armed guards holding very visible and sizable guns patrolling the perimeter of the fence at the top of the hills. I'm just feeling sour grapes over Nassau. So the rest of you, be grateful!

We were just on Apex, B3B. On 31 July, we were in Porto from 8am - 5pm. We booked the Celebrity excursion "Duoro Valley Winery Tour", 8 hours. Our cost, as we booked long ago and cancelled and rebooked as prices changed through sales, was $87 per person. An amazing deal for the adventures of the day! We had a splendid time, a true example of what a Celebrity shore excursion should be. We had a 90 minute stop in Amarante which was fabulous - our excellent guide gave us a brief walking tour through the expansive outdoor market then set us loose, tons of fun. Really enjoyed this town. Quinta da Avessada in the village of Favaios was the main destination, a beautiful winery where we learned lots while touring various rooms, had free time outside to wander the grounds and admire the vineyards then a multi-course lunch that was not only incredibly delicious showcasing the local foods, but also enjoyable as that it was part entertainment - some musicians, and every course was accompanied by a local fable/story. We tasted several wines and at lunch, various bottles were placed on the tables. Love the vinho verde. Learned lots about the Adega Cooperativa de Favaios-we did not know anything at all about the cooperatives, how this, in this region, is how wine is grown, produced, processed then sold - as part of the Cooperative! Moscatel de Honra was one of the featured wines. Honestly, one of the best Celebrity excursions we've ever done, and this was our 41st Celebrity cruise. We have spent many days in Tuscany, doing an intensive wine land tour, visiting Motalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti - 3 days, 3 wineries each day. This day excursion in the Duoro, was of course, not that - and we knew that. But it was good fun, learned lots, a great mix of free time and enjoyable touring time, outstanding lunch, excellent wines.

One week ago today, leaving Apex in Southampton, we took the Celebrity bus transfer direct to Heathrow Terminal 3. Our Virgin Atlantic flight was departing at 1pm. The bus left the port at 8:15am. We arrived at Terminal 3 precisely at 9:45am. This was a Saturday, so the traffic was light. By 10:15am, a mere 30 min after climbing off the bus, we and our 3 suitcases, were checked in and we were already relaxing in the "Upper Class" lounge of Virgin Atlantic. True- flying first class gets you through security incredibly faster, it was pretty glorious, I have to say! But even if we hadn't flown what Virgin calls "Upper Class", based upon the lines - even though they were long - I feel very confident, absolutely, that we'd have had plenty of time to make our 1pm flight. We got to enjoy the lounge for over 2 hours.

That's "Brittany from Canada" - she's doing a fabulous job as CD!

Sue Denning is now one of the Enrichment Speakers, is what she'd said on her Instagram account a while back when she retired from being CD. I would love to sail with her as a Beyond the Podium speakers! She gave a talk in the theater one of the many times we sailed with her, and what an extremely interesting life she has led as you may already know - she had a big hit on the music charts in England when she was a teenager! But, I do personally feel that Celebrity has several memorable CDs - I just wanted to give a shout out to Luigi, Rich Clesen Giuseppe and Dave - and now, Dominic Crosby, who recently was promoted to CD, was a fantastic Activities Manager and I've heard he's doing great as CD, yay for him!!

Definitely follow him on Instagram to keep up with what he's up to next - his new name is "eddyfromwales". Definitely one of the best. Anyone remember Pete Baker, he was Activities Manager for years, some time back, and was CD for a while......he and Eddy are best mates, Eddy recently posted on Instagram with Pete - I have a fantasy of them doing something together as we also really loved Pete! Happy for Eddy, but sad for his many Celebrity cruising fans.

OMG!!! OK, that's fabulous! I feel like you just ran me through a new NYT game! 😂 Well done!

I don't know what you mean by this, "Easter award winner"; that said, point being, this thread started in 2010! Then I see it was awakened again in 2019.......and then, a new poster, with his very first post EVER on CC, chose to resurrect this thread again? Very strange, right?

Oh trust me, I decorate inside as well! We always come armed with hook magnets for the inside, so that we can hang our tote bags, oft used jackets/wraps, etc but also affix my art work from the various on board drawing classes - just as if I was in 1st grade again! We also usually buy a magnet in most of the ports, so those go up on the inside walls as well.

I love them! I found an Etsy dealer who has magnets in the design of the new Edge Class ships; I ordered two, one for our Ascent cruise in June and one for our B3B on Apex in July. You can customize basically everything on it, including adding all of the ports of call, the year, a saying, etc. But overall, though Celebrity is not Disney - on who's ships the passengers definitely go more "all out" with door decor, I do find that Celebrity passengers are lightening up and embracing door decor more and more. It's especially fun to roam the halls on a self guided door decor tour on holiday cruises. We've been on two Halloween cruises with Celebrity and some of the passengers were very creative with their doors.

OK, so my mind is being systematically blown with all of this non-Greek (or American woman) Celebrity Captain news!! Thank you!

Yes, missed him as well! 40+ cruises with Celebrity but for us, there've only been Greek men and one American woman😂

Sorry, you said the Captain is Nigel Smyth? This is the first I've heard of a Celebrity Captain NOT being Greek - or an American woman, Captain Kate McCue! Interesting, and a news flash to me!

Weather can force a change in venue for an activity, that obviously isn't listed in the paper copy nor the app as it happens too fast. And that has not been our experience, ever, regarding accuracy - the paper has been the gold standard and has been referred to as such by crew.

We always only trust the printed daily planner placed in our cabins every night for the next day. We in fact have been told by several "in the know" cruise crew, on several of Celebrity ships, that the only thing to trust is the printed page. The app is not often updated and is often, wrong.

YES, I just commented on my total brain meltdown, my directionally challenged brain let me down (again) so it's the porthole verandas which are aft, port side, which are just above the Eden smoking area, which are the concern for the possibility of smoke wafting up.

YES, DUH!! 10 Edge Class cruises, I knew that.......Thank you! BUT STILL, there are Porthole Veranda cabins AFT - that is still my concern. Except for my total faux pas, stay with me here, there are porthole verandas aft as well as forward, so the porthole verandas that are AFT PORT (not starboard - I had myself completely turned around) - would have the concern of the smoke.

My only concern about these cabin, the ones which are forward, starboard - is that they are positioned above the smoking section outside Eden - meaning, the smoke from the smokers, if you've got your balcony door open, could waft up there, effecting your outdoor experience. Anyone comment on that?

I've had to be very careful, as I have indeed seen posts deleted by using that name that shan't be named. So many times I've wanted to be very specific about not only the always-more-active-than-here-on-CC roll calls, but also the info packed ship specific threads, like the one about Summit - not the roll call for this impacted cruise, but the ship specific thread.

More first hand accounts from the people who are on board, who are current passengers - who have been personally effected, and are hearing first hand the announcements, etc. There have been a few of those on this thread, definitely, it's just that there is more information, more accounts, more insights, on the other site - the name of which is not supposed to ever be mentioned here on this platform or comments containing such a reference are deleted. That other site is simply easier to use, more user-friendly, very much so - which is why in general, in a case such as this, you'll find more info.

@hcat definitely check it out, too much information to repeat and it's not my story to tell, but I can direct you there. Lots of first hand accounts, many direct quotes from the captain's various addresses. Some of the flooding appears to have been significant depending upon your deck and cabin location on that deck, the toilets being closed down, etc - many eye witness accounts.