Live from Apex - 6/19

[kjb1466]

We are on the next cruise, 06/26 and are newbies to Celebrity. Any pointers on what to do after embarkation (11:30)? 

Do we head to our room and to lunch? Check out the ship? We have Select Dining...haven't made any reservations yet. Thanks for suggestions on how to spend Day 1!

[TowandaUK]

Thanks so much to all those on Apex who are taking time out to post here - much appreciated.😀   We are on Apex in September. 
Are they doing the chefs table on your cruise?  If so how/where do you book and what is the cost?

Many thanks. 

[ocdb8r]

Sorry for no quotes to specific posts above, just skimmed and will answer questions that stuck out to me:

 

Greece PLF - we entered our hotel address first and then just Celebrity Apex, Piraeus Athens for our second "location"....no details of the ports.  The forms are barely scanned upon entry and unless you're one of the randomly selected airline passenger to be tested on entrance, interaction with the authorities was nearly nil (basically just a quick glance to prove you'd filled out the form).

 

Have already posted my experiences on Santorini.  For Mykonos we booked the Pasaji beach club on Ornos Beach on our own (highly recommend, as it was great).  The one hiccup was there were nearly ZERO taxis at the port. We got lucky a tour driver saw us wandering and offered to take the seven of us there for €40. I got his number, texted him and he picked us up and took us back for the same.  Yesterday while playing in the casino, spoke with a guy who said his family waited an hour behind two other people at the taxi stand and finally gave up and re-boarded.  My take - the resorts are decently staffed but the island itself still not fully up to speed.  I would try to find a drive ahead of time if you're going to explore on your own.  Masking was like Santorini, infrequent outside of eating establishments and non existent on the beaches.  Celebrity was running a free shuttle into the Mykonos old town and back for free.

 

Limassol - made Mykonos feel like a hotbed of activity. Port was absolutely DEAD save for the Apex and cruise excursions.  We took the free Celebrity shuttle into the old town (15-20 min drive) and it was VERY quiet.  Very few of the tourist focused shops and restaurants open. We walked into the more "downtown" area and found a bit more activity, but on your own I think you'd struggle to kill more than a few hours.  This is an early port though (all aboard at 3:30pm).  

 

Eden - as I mentioned, we love the space itself, but it's poorly utilized.  In addition, we are actually interested in some of the performance artist elements, but the are horrible about making clear when they might be happening. We've now heard about two performances there that were not in any of the dailies, but just mentioned by Luigi the cruise director.  We then went to one night featured in the daily, and it was nothing more than one of the regular music acts doing a set.  The other issue here is the absurd drink prices with many things requiring and upcharge from the Premium package we all already paid dearly for.

 

Casino staff have been lovely.  They have only 11 dealers currently given low passenger numbers and requirement that crew cannot share staterooms.  As a result, we've gotten to know several of them very well.  No true hold 'em table or tournaments running (they don't think they can fit enough at the table with the distancing requirement to make it financially viable - either they rake too little to make it worth their while or they rake too much because of the smaller pots due to low player numbers allowed).

 

I'm will post my thoughts on the MDR experience when we get back. By then we will have done all 4 plus Eden and 2xFine Cut.

[ocdb8r]

1 hour ago, kjb1466 said:

We are on the next cruise, 06/26 and are newbies to Celebrity. Any pointers on what to do after embarkation (11:30)? 

Do we head to our room and to lunch? Check out the ship? We have Select Dining...haven't made any reservations yet. Thanks for suggestions on how to spend Day 1!

 

We dropped our stuff in the room, explored the shop for about 30 minutes to orient ourselves and then ate at Ocean Grill.  Dining reservations line was a bit long and to be honest, never necessary.  Have been told by staff numbers for next week just slightly down from this week, but they're hoping for some last minute European bookings on the back of further relaxation here in general and positive news from the first cruise going well. This is the first cruise in a long time where we've been truly able to forget about making definitive plans.  There hasn't been a single show, event or restaurant that we couldn't have walked into when we pleased to eat (and we're a group of seven!).

[Homestyle]

Have there been any deals going for Specialty Restaurant upcharges. Sometime we have been lucky enough to get 30% off the price on the day.

[happy cruzer]

ocdb8r, thanks for the reports.  Very interested to hear more about your views on Eden when you return.  I looked at the wine list for Eden, it looks good but expensive.  Additionally depending on the food served some of those good wines would not pair well.  So very interested in anyone's views of the dining with wine experience there in Eden.

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, Homestyle said:

Have there been any deals going for Specialty Restaurant upcharges. Sometime we have been lucky enough to get 30% off the price on the day.

They offered 3 specialty dinners for $137/pp on my 7/31 Edge cruise. I don’t know how much of a “deal” that is.  I suppose if I chose 3 Specialty Restaurants that charged $50/pp it’s somewhat if a deal.

[phabric]

I am following along.  I will be on the Apex in 2022.

[little britain]

@ocdb8r thanks for the info re the free shuttles in Mykonos and Limassol.👍

[Eloise4Ever]

Thank you to Kreative03 for starting this thread and to others onboard who are posting here. It is wonderful to read about the return of our beloved Celebrity to Europe 🤩. 

 

We are considering making a booking on Apex for August or September. I would be really grateful if anyone currently onboard could ask Cruise Director Giuseppe when his contract finishes? He adds so much to our cruising experience I would hate to miss him by a week or two.

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, Eloise4Ever said:

Thank you to Kreative03 for starting this thread and to others onboard who are posting here. It is wonderful to read about the return of our beloved Celebrity to Europe 🤩. 

 

We are considering making a booking on Apex for August or September. I would be really grateful if anyone currently onboard could ask Cruise Director Giuseppe when his contract finishes? He adds so much to our cruising experience I would hate to miss him by a week or two.

 

He IS wonderful isn't he!!!  We were so glad he was promoted back in 2019.  Have never cared much one way or the other about who the Cruise Director was but he is special and great fun!!.

[taznremmy]

@pumpkin 11 Do you remember who the Captain was on the Millennium?

[pumpkin 11]

45 minutes ago, taznremmy said:

@pumpkin 11 Do you remember who the Captain was on the Millennium?

Theos? I believe

[ocdb8r]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

They offered 3 specialty dinners for $137/pp on my 7/31 Edge cruise. I don’t know how much of a “deal” that is.  I suppose if I chose 3 Specialty Restaurants that charged $50/pp it’s somewhat if a deal.

This is what we purchased pre cruise.  We're doing Eden, and 2xFine cut, each of which would have been $55 so it's a small savings.  I have not seen any offers mentioned (and the restaurants are quiet).

 

3 hours ago, Eloise4Ever said:

Thank you to Kreative03 for starting this thread and to others onboard who are posting here. It is wonderful to read about the return of our beloved Celebrity to Europe 🤩. 

 

We are considering making a booking on Apex for August or September. I would be really grateful if anyone currently onboard could ask Cruise Director Giuseppe when his contract finishes? He adds so much to our cruising experience I would hate to miss him by a week or two.

OMG, so embarrassed I called him Luigi above. 😳. I will ask....most people have indicated their current contract runs throu November with a possibility to extend (I know CDs don't always run on the same schedule).

[Eloise4Ever]

58 minutes ago, ocdb8r said:

OMG, so embarrassed I called him Luigi above. 😳. I will ask....most people have indicated their current contract runs throu November with a possibility to extend (I know CDs don't always run on the same schedule).

 

Giuseppe isn't precious, I am sure he would find that amusing. At least you called him by an Italian name instead of something like Kevin!😄

Edited June 23, 2021 by Eloise4Ever

[skubapooh]

Looks like Greece has just dropped their outdoor mask mandate:

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/greece-ends-mandatory-face-mask-162227429.html

 

Hopefully the cruise ships aren't far behind...

[eckosd2]

On 6/22/2021 at 5:10 PM, bigbenboys said:

This is from Celebrity website. See top of page 2 of Normandie-Dinner in the pdf. CLASSIC “CAESAR” SALAD Hearts of Romaine, Garlic Croutons, Parmesan Cheese CHILLED SHRIMP COCKTAIL Classic Cocktail Sauce ESCARGOTS À LA BOURGUIGNONNE Shallots, Garlic, Parsley, Pernod Butter FRENCH ONION SOUP Herb Croutons and Melted Gruyère Cheese BROILED SALMON* Plain or with Classic Hollandaise Sauce; Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST Garden Thyme Jus; Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables GRILLED NEW YORK SIRLOIN STEAK* Beurre Maître d’ Hôtel; Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables. Sad that they dont have Creme Brûlée listed. Still one of my favorite deserts. Since we are not cruising I had to make my own Creme Brûlée. Luminae does have some nice deserts. See photos. What is nice about Luminae is that you can give them 24 notice and they will cook your request. 

https://www.celebritycruisespresscenter.com/press-kit/10/celebrity-edge-menus/

What dessert was that chocolate fire one? Looks so good

[eckosd2]

13 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

Sorry for no quotes to specific posts above, just skimmed and will answer questions that stuck out to me:

 

Greece PLF - we entered our hotel address first and then just Celebrity Apex, Piraeus Athens for our second "location"....no details of the ports.  The forms are barely scanned upon entry and unless you're one of the randomly selected airline passenger to be tested on entrance, interaction with the authorities was nearly nil (basically just a quick glance to prove you'd filled out the form).

 

Have already posted my experiences on Santorini.  For Mykonos we booked the Pasaji beach club on Ornos Beach on our own (highly recommend, as it was great).  The one hiccup was there were nearly ZERO taxis at the port. We got lucky a tour driver saw us wandering and offered to take the seven of us there for €40. I got his number, texted him and he picked us up and took us back for the same.  Yesterday while playing in the casino, spoke with a guy who said his family waited an hour behind two other people at the taxi stand and finally gave up and re-boarded.  My take - the resorts are decently staffed but the island itself still not fully up to speed.  I would try to find a drive ahead of time if you're going to explore on your own.  Masking was like Santorini, infrequent outside of eating establishments and non existent on the beaches.  Celebrity was running a free shuttle into the Mykonos old town and back for free.

 

Limassol - made Mykonos feel like a hotbed of activity. Port was absolutely DEAD save for the Apex and cruise excursions.  We took the free Celebrity shuttle into the old town (15-20 min drive) and it was VERY quiet.  Very few of the tourist focused shops and restaurants open. We walked into the more "downtown" area and found a bit more activity, but on your own I think you'd struggle to kill more than a few hours.  This is an early port though (all aboard at 3:30pm).  

 

Eden - as I mentioned, we love the space itself, but it's poorly utilized.  In addition, we are actually interested in some of the performance artist elements, but the are horrible about making clear when they might be happening. We've now heard about two performances there that were not in any of the dailies, but just mentioned by Luigi the cruise director.  We then went to one night featured in the daily, and it was nothing more than one of the regular music acts doing a set.  The other issue here is the absurd drink prices with many things requiring and upcharge from the Premium package we all already paid dearly for.

 

Casino staff have been lovely.  They have only 11 dealers currently given low passenger numbers and requirement that crew cannot share staterooms.  As a result, we've gotten to know several of them very well.  No true hold 'em table or tournaments running (they don't think they can fit enough at the table with the distancing requirement to make it financially viable - either they rake too little to make it worth their while or they rake too much because of the smaller pots due to low player numbers allowed).

 

I'm will post my thoughts on the MDR experience when we get back. By then we will have done all 4 plus Eden and 2xFine Cut.

Thanks for the info! Do they have an active roulette table? Any chance do you know if they use the standard 0/00? Do you know what the BJ table minimums are on board?

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

Limassol - made Mykonos feel like a hotbed of activity. Port was absolutely DEAD save for the Apex and cruise excursions.  We took the free Celebrity shuttle into the old town (15-20 min drive) and it was VERY quiet.  Very few of the tourist focused shops and restaurants open. We walked into the more "downtown" area and found a bit more activity, but on your own I think you'd struggle to kill more than a few hours.  This is an early port though (all aboard at 3:30pm).

 

Shame not to venture outside Limassol. The rest of Cyprus (that I've seen) is so lovely but Limassol is just dusty and sad (even pre-COVID).

 

Later cruisers -- do yourselves a favor a book a tour somewhere outside Limassol, either to Kourion, Paphos, or anywhere else really!

 

[Lagranger36]

10 hours ago, eckosd2 said:

Thanks for the info! Do they have an active roulette table? Any chance do you know if they use the standard 0/00? Do you know what the BJ table minimums are on board?

Active roulette yes and it’s double zero.

 

BJ minimums $10 at 6/5 pay for BJ.

[poffles]

23 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

Eden -

 

...... The other issue here is the absurd drink prices with many things requiring and upcharge from the Premium package we all already paid dearly for.

 

Yes this is a bummer really.  I ordered one drink there while on the Edge, it was the Forbidden as it sounded like it might be good and the presentation of it in the apple glass looked so cool.  I figured a few dollars extra from my Premium package I would try it but lets just say it didn't live up to my expectations.  Firstly it did not get presented in a glass anything like the menu picture (think they were out of that glass or they simply didn't have it) and the taste was nothing what I expected and I kept thinking it was the wrong drink and I even double checked with the bartender;  I took maybe two sips and left it.  It all seemed so odd.  That taught me not to be so easily enticed by a picture and especially not if it cost me any extra $$.  

 

[eckosd2]

1 hour ago, Lagranger36 said:

Active roulette yes and it’s double zero.

 

BJ minimums $10 at 6/5 pay for BJ.

Awesome, thanks!

[Eloise4Ever]

I would appreciate hearing from somebody onboard how the traditional self-service dining options are being run at the moment. Are guests permitted to serve themselves or is all food served by staff?

[pumpkin 11]

2 hours ago, poffles said:

 

Yes this is a bummer really.  I ordered one drink there while on the Edge, it was the Forbidden as it sounded like it might be good and the presentation of it in the apple glass looked so cool.  I figured a few dollars extra from my Premium package I would try it but lets just say it didn't live up to my expectations.  Firstly it did not get presented in a glass anything like the menu picture (think they were out of that glass or they simply didn't have it) and the taste was nothing what I expected and I kept thinking it was the wrong drink and I even double checked with the bartender;  I took maybe two sips and left it.  It all seemed so odd.  That taught me not to be so easily enticed by a picture and especially not if it cost me any extra $$.  

 

What is the cap for premium package drinks $15 (per drink)? I know classic is $9...

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, Lagranger36 said:

Active roulette yes and it’s double zero.

 

BJ minimums $10 at 6/5 pay for BJ.

 

Do you see BJ tables that pay 3:2, and what are the minimums on those?

 

Also, is there a craps table?