APEX of our year, 12/3 — 12/10/22

[samplecd02]

I was on the Apex in September in an Edge Villa. Nice to see what the Sky suites look like. Loved the whole ship.
Was Tada and Dolphin still at the Martini bar? they really made our cruise!

[barbeyg]

Just now, samplecd02 said:

I was on the Apex in September in an Edge Villa. Nice to see what the Sky suites look like. Loved the whole ship.
Was Tada and Dolphin still at the Martini bar? they really made our cruise!

Yes, they were! Tada was a hoot.  I asked for some kind of strawberry martini, any kind of strawberry martini, and after glaring at me for a while, he made one (and another different one later).  When I asked what they were, he would only say “Tomato”. 😂

[Bailey & Sophie]

4 hours ago, barbeyg said:

 

 

 

WOW. Just wow. We love Celebrity. Haven't been for a few years. May have to

re-think.

 

 

[barbeyg]

One of my (several) favorite drinks onboard Apex was the Bourbon and Peaches served in Luminae.  I’m going to have fun trying to duplicate this recipe.  I hear that bars closest to Luminae can also make them, if there is a bar close by. I had this every night as the Sommelier tried desperately to get me to try a glass of wine. Ken loves wine, but I prefer a mixed drink.
 

I did redeem myself (slightly) later in the week when we attended the premium wine tasting with him. 🤭

[miched]

Does the tv swing away from the wall so you can watch it while in the bed? 
 

Thanks

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[barbeyg]

Dinner the first night was in Luminae.  Every night there was outstanding.  We ate there 4 nights, and did specialty dining the others.  My photos of these are hit and miss….depending on just how many martinis I had before dinner.  I had the Grilled Beef Sirloin with roasted cauliflower purée, salted caramel onions, beer infused jus.  Ken had grilled Barramundi Fish with artichoke purée, leeks and fave bean pesto.  He had the Green Tea Cake for dessert.  
 

I went to the Martini Bar and had the Bananas Foster Martini for my dessert.  No judgment please. 😂

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[barbeyg]

6 minutes ago, miched said:

Does the tv swing away from the wall so you can watch it while in the bed? 
 

Thanks

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Yes it does. Perfect angle for laying in bed and watching. I love that the app (and our phones) can completely operate the tv, the curtains and the lighting. 🙂

[darknitecruiser]

Hello,

Was starlink available on your sailing?

[Texed]

1 hour ago, MLP12 said:

We board on January 7.  

Barb, married to Ken,

Thanks for posting your review because we board Apex January 7th also.  😎

[barbeyg]

37 minutes ago, darknitecruiser said:

Hello,

Was starlink available on your sailing?

It was not. If there was any ‘failing’, it was the slow internet.  Next to last day headed back, it was very slow.  We had hoped it would be available, but it was so slow that it was def not Starlink.

[barbeyg]

38 minutes ago, Texed said:

Barb, married to Ken,

Thanks for posting your review because we board Apex January 7th also.  😎

Absolutely! Will post the daily Celebrity Today at the end, in case you or anyone is interested. 🙂

[samplecd02]

2 hours ago, barbeyg said:

Yes, they were! Tada was a hoot.  I asked for some kind of strawberry martini, any kind of strawberry martini, and after glaring at me for a while, he made one (and another different one later).  When I asked what they were, he would only say “Tomato”. 😂

He is a great guy. We would go in  and tell him just to make us a martini any flavor as long as it was fruity. He had this one that tasted like an orange creamsicle that we used to eat in  our youth. He was an excellent bartender.

[barbeyg]

7 minutes ago, samplecd02 said:

He is a great guy. We would go in  and tell him just to make us a martini any flavor as long as it was fruity. He had this one that tasted like an orange creamsicle that we used to eat in  our youth. He was an excellent bartender.

He is. He was a real jokester with the regulars on our cruise. I told him if we ever crossed paths, I would ask for another “tomato”. 🙂

[Cruise a holic]

Thank you for sharing!  We will be on the Apex for New Years and be doing a b/2/b. We have sailed on the Edge, but have heard that the suite lounge and deck are much better on the Apex.  Looking foward to our cruise in less then three weeks.  I am already getting my cruise clothes packed!  We like to be ready a few days before as in the Northeast snow happens!  Want to be ready to leave asap in the event of a pending snow storm.  Do not want to miss our cruise!

Edited December 12, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[karmamule]

As someone else cruising for the first time on Celebrity and on the Apex (coming up in 40 days) it's always great to hear first impressions from someone else who just did the same thing. There've been a couple of these 'new to Celebrity' threads recently on CC and it's great to see another one pop up.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this, Barb!

[barbeyg]

43 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Thank you for sharing!  We will be on the Apex for New Years and be doing a b/2/b. We have sailed on the Edge, but have heard that the suite lounge and deck are much better on the Apex.  Looking foward to our cruise in less then three weeks.  I am already getting my cruise clothes packed!  We like to be ready a few days before as in the Northeast snow happens!  Want to be ready to leave asap in the event of a pending snow storm.  Do not want to miss our cruise!

The suite lounge is very nice on Apex, as well as the suite deck.  And the suite deck bar has a limited lunch menu (including that great burger) even when in port, so there is that bonus.  It’s a shaded area with tables.  I didn’t get any real pics of the two areas, but did get a couple of the view from the lounge.  We loved to relax there. 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[Ellencruise]

Wow great review. I’ve never been on Celebrity but need to try.

[karmamule]

We just had our first real snow of the year and that view out the suite lounge of warm Caribbean islands has me sighing in anticipation. These 40 days can't pass fast enough!

[barbeyg]

The Martini Bar — knew it would be my favorite venue, and it was.  Ken likes a nice glass of wine with dinner on the weekends, but I only seem to drink when traveling….and I will make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini, or a Crescendo (RCI 270 lounge specialty drink) on a Friday night of a tough workweek.  The normal 4 free drinks a day on RCI for Diamond usually suffices, but the premium drink package enticed me to try 12 different martinis on the menu, 4 others I requested, some of them more than once.  The Gangster-tini quickly became a favorite, along with the toffee apple martini, and surprisingly to me, the Mexicali.  
 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[barbeyg]

We had some nice touches in our cabin, courtesy of our butler, Rajeev.  In our first day discussion with him, we asked him not to send afternoon snacks every day, that an occasional one of meats, cheeses and/or fruit would be nice, but not necessary.  He also knew my birthday was last week, and I told him I preferred a low-key birthday celebration. The second day, he left a vase with flowers in the cabin, and those were fresh to the last day! Took a pic the first and last days. He also decorated and left cake on my birthday. Very nice! 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[barbeyg]

21 minutes ago, Ellencruise said:

Wow great review. I’ve never been on Celebrity but need to try.

Thank you for your kind words. You really should try Celebrity! We were blown away by the great food, the relaxed atmosphere, and the great people working aboard.  The ship itself is beautiful as well.  I should have taken more pics of the ship, but spent so much time just enjoying myself. 🙂

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[barbeyg]

14 minutes ago, karmamule said:

We just had our first real snow of the year and that view out the suite lounge of warm Caribbean islands has me sighing in anticipation. These 40 days can't pass fast enough!

I hope you have fantastic weather for your cruise. We had sunny days every single day onboard.  One day, we had a light rain as we went into port, but it cleared and the sun was shining when we docked.
 

We had some slow rolling waves from the Atlantic while we were cruising down and back that gave a bit of a rocking motion those days, but I personally love a bit of movement that lets me know I’m onboard a ship, and was gently rocked to sleep at night.  Of course, I’ve seen the Atlantic like a sheet of glass as well, so you never know what you will have. 🙂

[terrydtx]

I am following your great review and postings. We will be on the Apex next September from Amsterdam to Athens. We are also in a Sky Suite. so happy that your first Celebrity cruise was a hit, we love Celebrity, and it is our favorite cruise line. We have found that the Retreat Sky Suites suit us best and love the pampering now that we are retired. 

[barbeyg]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I am following your great review and postings. We will be on the Apex next September from Amsterdam to Athens. We are also in a Sky Suite. so happy that your first Celebrity cruise was a hit, we love Celebrity, and it is our favorite cruise line. We have found that the Retreat Sky Suites suit us best and love the pampering now that we are retired. 

I think it would be hard to budge Ken from the Retreat. 😂 I would personally be fine with a balcony cabin, just to be onboard, but he is spoiled now. We do have a southern Caribbean booked on Beyond next Thanksgiving that he is already excited about.  
 

I can def see why it is your favorite line.  It certainly ranks right there with RCI for us now, both lines for different reasons. 
 

Hope your cruise is wonderful!

Edited December 12, 2022 by barbeyg

[barbeyg]

We had breakfast at Eden a couple of days. Intended to return, but there is a great breakfast at Luminae as well, plus we had the Elite breakfast at the Grand Bistro too.  We really needed a second week to try everything we wanted to.  
 

The breakfast at Eden is great. I had a wonderful breakfast sandwich, Ken had steel cut oats one day, and the breakfast sandwich the second time. We shared a fruit plate with that.