On the beautiful Apex now - only 300+ Guests!

[fridge]

5 hours ago, nesheiml said:

Did you have to show proof of a negative covid test before boarding or did you do a covid test there while checking in?

You dont need a negative covid test before boarding, you are being tested while checking in. 

[grandgeezer]

12 hours ago, fridge said:

I dont understand your questions. Everyone with a negative test got a Sticker and was directed to the Ship. I did not see anyone not get an embarkation Sticker...

The poster made the comment "I didn't see anybody being denied boarding because of a positive test".

The question was How do you know that someone tested positive and still was let on the ship?That defeats the whole reason of doing the test to begin with.

[fridge]

1 hour ago, grandgeezer said:

The poster made the comment "I didn't see anybody being denied boarding because of a positive test".

The question was How do you know that someone tested positive and still was let on the ship?That defeats the whole reason of doing the test to begin with.

Misunderstanding. I meant that i havent seen anybody with a positive test. You can observe that by watching if someone gets a Sticker or not. 

Sorry for the confusion 

Edited August 16, 2021 by fridge

[Miaminice]

fridge

Not saying that there were any positives...

However, if at all you could only see it while in the waiting area. For how long... 30 minutes? Doesn´t say much about the whole day/process. 

 

Anyway... regardless of that, it´s good the protocols are in place and obviously work (as good as they can).

Edited August 16, 2021 by Miaminice

[fridge]

15 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

fridge

Not saying that there were any positives...

However, if at all you could only see it while in the waiting area. For how long... 30 minutes? Doesn´t say much about the whole day/process. 

 

Anyway... regardless of that, it´s good the protocols are in place and obviously work (as good as they can).

Never said it says much. Just reported what i observed while checking in.

 

Now i'm concentrating on my beach time in Rhodes 😁

[Miaminice]

4 minutes ago, fridge said:

Never said it says much. Just reported what i observed while checking in.

 

Now i'm concentrating on my beach time in Rhodes 😁

 

Enjoy!

[fridge]

1 hour ago, Couple-Somerset said:

.....and bringing it back on topic...........

 

We're booked B2B in a Suite BUT now realise we could have saved ££££ as there will probably be fewer guests in steerage than in The Retreat lol

 

And the Upgrade offer onboard is actually cheap. We declined because there was no availability on aft Sky Skuites. And with the Ship so empty, we don't need the Retreat or Luminae. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by fridge

[Miaminice]

17 minutes ago, fridge said:

And the Upgrade offer onboard is actually cheap. We declined because theres was no availability on aft Sky Skuites. And with the Ship so empty, we don't need the Retreat or Luminae. 

Yep... looked at the MoveUp program for our cruise yesterday. Minimum bid is € 85 for AQ.
Not much!

But even for that price we are not too inclined to move to AQ or suite on E class. Even less at the current capacity.

[Lane412000]

On 8/14/2021 at 6:19 PM, fridge said:

Where is everybody? 😄 Kind of weird with only 10% Capacity but we enjoy every second of it. Embarkation was a breeze and so far we love the Apex.

 

We usually book Sky Suites because of Luminae and the Retreat, but the 4 MDR look gorgeous and Lunch at Ocean View was great!

 

Happy to answer questions... 

hey fridge

 

we are onboard also. When we arrived at the port we had a clue something was up  as there were no other taxis or buses.

 

Checkin was interesting as we were awaiting our antigen results someone tested positive so they moved all of us to the next tent as they sprayed our first location.

 

it is very surreal to be onboard with not many passengers. First night we ate at Cosmopolitan and there were passengers at five tables.  
 

To add to the weirdness is we are in one of the Iconic Suites so even makes us more isolated. Makes us feel like our own private yacht x 10

 

Getting ready to leave Rhodes and then Magic Carpet dinner tonight 

[jwlane]

17 hours ago, Jordanyaya1 said:

 comments on the Sunset Veranda

We were in 12265 on the 9 July sailing, and 7315 17 July.  Both cabins were very spacious, plenty of storage, bathroom was roomy (largest cruise shower I've ever seen).  

[Lane412000]

Adding to the weirdness of the cruise. We are sailing from Rhodes and not a cloud to be seen but is raining 😂

[fridge]

27 minutes ago, Lane412000 said:

hey fridge

 

we are onboard also. When we arrived at the port we had a clue something was up  as there were no other taxis or buses.

 

Checkin was interesting as we were awaiting our antigen results someone tested positive so they moved all of us to the next tent as they sprayed our first location.

 

it is very surreal to be onboard with not many passengers. First night we ate at Cosmopolitan and there were passengers at five tables.  
 

To add to the weirdness is we are in one of the Iconic Suites so even makes us more isolated. Makes us feel like our own private yacht x 10

 

Getting ready to leave Rhodes and then Magic Carpet dinner tonight 

Hello fellow passenger 👋 yes, it feels weird sometimes, yesterday i was alone with two other passengers at the Pool at 10am. Yesterday at Normandie, all window tables were occupied, can you imagine?? 😂

 

enjoy your Dinner at the Magic Carpet, we like the views very much. 

[ian441672]

We were on two weeks ago, and we went for a drink in The Club, just as they were doing a quiz around 6.30pm. We were the only ones in there at that time.....we won the quiz!!  Very surreal, with 680 passengers, The Retreat mostly empty, though Luminae got busy at times. We loved it.

[Jonbiloh]

Has the buffet remained open for dinner despite the low head counts? 

[fridge]

4 hours ago, Jonbiloh said:

Has the buffet remained open for dinner despite the low head counts? 

Yes, Buffet remains open for dinner

[Bruin Steve]

We were on the two prior weeks...

July 31 cruise had 823...

August 7 had 870...

 

They told us they were only expecting 320 this week...

Our waiter in Luminae told us they were only expecting 80 in the Retreat...

 

We thought about staying on one more week...but had other commitments at home...

 

With 800, it all seemed very empty...Hard to imagine 300.

 

I think there are some odd reasons for the variations in numbers.  The July 31 cruise had a large group of 100 something that were guests of Park West...and the casino also made a bunch of free cruise offers to high rollers...

 

Also, a lot of people, like us, pushed back what were supposed to be earlier Apex cruises while lifting and shifting to take advantage of July 31 supposing to be the first Israel cruise (obviously didn't happen but a number of people on that sailing said that was the reason they picked that week).  Plus, a number of us were on back-to-back expecting to do that Israel itinerary and the different Greece/Cyprus itinerary.

 

Interestingly enough, we ran into a lot of folks on our plane ride home who had been on the NCL ship...and they said it was carrying 1,600.  Not sure how they filled so much of theirs.  And judging from the number of tour buses at Lindos from Celestyal (A Greek cruise line), i am guessing their ship sailed close to full... 

[Miaminice]

48 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Interestingly enough, we ran into a lot of folks on our plane ride home who had been on the NCL ship...and they said it was carrying 1,600.  Not sure how they filled so much of theirs.  

 

Look at the price and you know why...
It´s a fraction of Celebrity´s. A Penthouse Suite on NCL Jade is less than a regular stateroom on Apex.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Miaminice

[NMTraveller]

On 8/16/2021 at 6:53 AM, TeeRick said:

There are two camps of folks.  Those booking a ship like APEX knowing about the testing, protocols and masks onboard.  And happily cruising anyway.  A second camp is as you describe.  There was a short window in the US where no testing and no masks were required onboard for EDGE out of FLL and Millennium out of Seattle.  In fact Millennium is an all-US cruise.  We booked Millennium thinking it was going to be stress free.  A ship 100% vaccinated.  Now we need to scramble with the testing requirement.  And if masks become required on board, then what kind of vacation is that?  If we go back to testing and masking for the fully vaccinated, then cruise lines are admitting that there is a COVID risk on these ships.  Back to square one.

I agree.

 

The fact that there is only 300 onboard I would attribute to the mask mandate and other speed bumps put in place.

Edited August 17, 2021 by NMTraveller

[vickykay]

Are any of the main dining rooms open for lunch?  Theme related lunch menus?

[NMTraveller]

Can you get a glass of wine in the theater?

[fridge]

8 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Can you get a glass of wine in the theater?

Yes

[fridge]

8 hours ago, vickykay said:

Are any of the main dining rooms open for lunch?  Theme related lunch menus?

Today is a Seaday and Cosmopolitan is open for Lunch. Dont know about themes 

[vickykay]

Thanks Fridge.

[little britain]

Do people get dressed for “formal” night or whatever they call it now? Any long dresses 👗 or DJs? 

[MMG3]

@fridge do you know by chance the name of the Ukrainian name at Craft Social on Apex?