LIVE Apex Suite Review 2/25-3/4: Love in the Time of Relaxed Luxury

[PSU]

Love the Hyatt Centric. I always enjoy your review.

[terrydtx]

29 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

the Hyatt Centric Las Olas.

I just checked this hotel out online and it looks fabulous. We will have to try it out next time we are in FLL on our own. Pricing is very reasonable too. We are staying at the Hilton Ft Lauderdale beach resort in June for 3 nights pre cruise with our young Granddaughter who wanted to stay on the beach. Using points and some cash for the Hilton 2 room suite.

Edited February 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[GenerationX]

 

Good afternoon from the poolside walkout patio of our cabana room. 

 

After lunch Jeremy and I did a little shopping on Las Olas to add to his Hawaiian shirt collection.  Then he decided he needed to sleep off some of the lunch with yet another nap, so I threw on my bikini and went out our patio over to the pool bar for a margarita and a dip.   The nice thing about these cabana rooms is that when the pool deck is crowded and there’s no shade or louncgers to be found, you have your own private reserved poolside seating and umbrella.

 

An extra perk that I enjoy about this hotel: 

 

They seem to have a deal with a spirits distributor to promote certain alcohols at the hotel bars.  Last time I stayed here, at checkin, the front desk gave me a voucher for two free Absolut cocktails at the hotel bar.  

 

This time, we not only got 2 vouchers for 2 free High Noon canned cocktails at the hotel bar, but also vouchers for 2 free tequila cocktails (made with a craft tequila we’d never hear of, but Jeremy’s philosophy is free tequila is free tequila) at the pool bar.

 

The pool water here is once again a perfect temperature for this low 80’s sunny day.  We have dinner reservations at a Cuban spot later tonight so I’m hardcore resisting the urge order the oh so good grilled fish tacos at this hotel for pool bar delivery.

 

The mind reels though that I could even be hungry after our lunch at Casa Sensei.  

 

In addition to the ceviche, we also ordered a waygu beef tartare, crab rangoons, tostones and pad kee mow noodles.  The noodle dishes at the restaurant can be topped with your choice of protein for additional charge and we decided to go best life and ordered ours with a lobster tail on top. It was a brilliant decision!

 

The crab Rangoon was not your average Chinese takeout and in a very good way. It was made with fresh, sweet blue crab meat and the ratio was about 90% crab to 10% cream cheese mix.  

 

The only disappointing dish was the tostones. The plantain chips and shrimp were way under seasoned. I’ve had much better tostones at the Cuban restaurant in the the Hyatt Centric in Miami (don’t sleep on those if anyone is staying there for an upcoming cruise).

 

The restaurant is right next to the launch point for the private gondola tour boats. If you’re looking for a fun and unique lunch/dinner, apparently food from the restaurant can be delivered to the gondolas for you to eat while on your river cruise.  While we were eating we saw a family board a boat and pop a bottle of BYOB champagne, then a gorgeous sushi boat was delivered to them to eat while they set sail. Next time Jeremy and I are in FLL pre-cruise I am totally setting that up!

 

I’m going to tackle a few work emails and then maybe doze a little on the patio myself before time to get ready for the evening.  Our plan is to spend happy hour checking out a wine bar that we saw on our walk that had a sign saying they’d have live music starting at 6.  Then head to our Cubano dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[allinwonderland]

I already had this restaurant bookmarked after your first post about it (I have lots of family in the PBI/FLL/MIA areas), but now you've got me craving crab rangoon and Pad thai... Thinking I might need to order Thai food for dinner now... 😂

[GenerationX]

9 hours ago, weacat said:

So excited to read another one of your live blogs!  

 

Question for you - do you find that you have enough bandwidth to work on the cruise?  I am considering a "working" cruise but I will need to attend webex meetings and do some actual work here and there.  I am nervous that I wouldn't have enough service to actually work.

Pre-starlink it was kind of a coin toss on how good wifi was. Especially on S and M-class ships.  Some ships wifi was great, others it would be terrible for chunks of the day.

 

On Beyond this past November and on my silhouette cruise last month (where starlink had been implemented) the premium wifi worked fine for me. I was able to use my vpn and remote into my desktop at the office. I also did a couple of Teams meetings without issues.  I’ll be sure to report on how it is on Apex.
 

 

[Azulann]

I must say you and Jeremy sure know how to start a vacation from the moment you get on the plane. 

The lunch in FL looks awesome. Looking forward to reports about your dinner...👏

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

Wow, just off Silhouette yesterday, flew home last night and today I see this new GenX review that’s already at 5 pages and you haven’t even boarded yet lol. This will really help me with my cruise withdrawal. Hope you and Jeremy have a fantastic time aboard Apex, despite all the recent grumbling on the boards our group of four had a wonderful 10 nights and we were only in lowly balconies 🤣. I’m sure in your SS you’ll both be spoiled. 

[sdnich]

I am looking forward to following you on this cruise!! We board the solstice next Saturday for one week and then head to Fort Lauderdale and will be on the edge for 10 nights!! Can’t wait!! 
 

Cheers and have an amazing trip!!🥂🛳🍷

[weacat]

3 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Pre-starlink it was kind of a coin toss on how good wifi was. Especially on S and M-class ships.  Some ships wifi was great, others it would be terrible for chunks of the day.

 

On Beyond this past November and on my silhouette cruise last month (where starlink had been implemented) the premium wifi worked fine for me. I was able to use my vpn and remote into my desktop at the office. I also did a couple of Teams meetings without issues.  I’ll be sure to report on how it is on Apex.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question.  If you have a chance - would love to know how it is on Apex as it is the next cruise we have booked as well.  Enjoy your cruise!

[cruzzzinma]

I hope you two have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy this and travel while you can.

[mac_tlc]

Your chariot awaits……

 

 

[Cruise a holic]

We will be on the Apex in less then two weeks.  We also are staying at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas.  We know about the construction as some was going on in December during our last cruise.  We will make sure our room doesn't face the front of the hotel to avoid any noise- however, by dark the construction will cease and we are early risers- not concerned.  Love the location and the hotel.  

[GenerationX]

Good morning and happy embarkation day to all my fellow cruisers!

 

I’ve just finished swimming a few laps and am taking in some sun and hydration poolside while waiting for Jeremy to emerge from his rum coma from last night.

 

About dinner last night:

 

For dinner I got dressed in a Havana Nights-inspired ensemble and we went to Cuba Libre on Las Olas. I got interested in trying the restaurant after watching their cocktail making videos on TikTok.  It was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel.

 

We started with the plantain chips and a trio of dips (housemade hummus, salsa and pineapple guacamole) then did their dinner for two Gaucho platter which came with a little of every meat on the menu (all cooked on the open kitchen woodfire grill) served, of course, with the Cuban staples of rice, beans and plantains.  

 

Our shrimp was a little over cooked and lobster was kind of small, but other than that, everything was delicious!  

 

For dessert we split the pineapple upside down cake and we each had a Cuban coffee, offered with a shot of rum added for an additional $4.  As you can see from the pics, that “shot” of rum is really more like 3 shots.  When that coffee kicked in on top of the cocktails we’d had with dinner, my usually reserved husband was ready to be the life of every party in Broward County.

 

Fortunately the restaurant atmosphere is conducive to such behavior. If you’re looking for a quiet, laid back dinner, this is not your spot.  There was a DJ and light show going in the dining room starting at 7pm.  

 

Our server told us the restaurant turns into a full on night/dance club at 11pm and once the drinks hit we were VERY tempted to stay for the real party.  But we made that mistake pre cruise a few years ago (ended up in a club on South Beach at 2am drinking Cristal and doing shots of patron with some Dolphins players, spent embarkation day praying for the sweet kiss of death) and are older and wise enough not to make it again.

 

We had an awesome time at the restaurant though and will definitely go again.

 

Well, I think it’s about time for me to head in and fish out the map dress and start putting on luggage tags.  Next time you hear from me we’ll be on Apex! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

Your posts make me immediately hungry!

[GenerationX]

4 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Your chariot awaits……

 

 

I love this so much. Thank you!

[Stem to Stern]

[mac_tlc]

26 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

I love this so much. Thank you!

Your welcome, I love watching the ships come in and sailaway!!!!

 

mac_tlc

[KKB]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:23 AM, GenerationX said:

 

The first was regarding my (spoiler alert) recently booked bargain April solo sky suite cruise on Beyond, for which I’ve been emailing back and forth with the general customer service email address about similar booking issues (missing perks, random balance due email when the cruise was paid in full at booking, etc.).   

 

I was SO tickled when I found this thread this morning--and SURPRISED! 

(hey, didn't she JUST do the Celebrity/MSC challenge? Not like I am sailing that much...🤫)

Have a wonderful week with your sweetie!

 

BUT HOLD ON--WHEN are you sailing the Beyond in April??!!

@mac_tlc alerted me to the Retreat DEAL on the Beyond April 9--it was basically the same price as our interior on Beyond in December...so we JUMPED. Excited to be sailing with @mac_tlc again.

Edited February 25, 2023 by KKB

[GenerationX]

Quick update:  Full details on embarkation to come, but basically it took me longer to shampoo and condition my hair this morning than it did to get from our Uber pulling up at T25 to drinking kir royals in the Retreat Lounge.  Sharing a few first photos from exploring Apex!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[islabahia]

Hey Charla!  I loved your map dress so much that I bought one and it arrived Thursday! Thanks so much…..if not for your posts, I would never have thought that a map dress actually existed!

[GenerationX]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

I was SO tickled when I found this thread this morning--and SURPRISED! 

(hey, didn't she JUST do the Celebrity/MSC challenge? Not like I am sailing that much...🤫)

Have a wonderful week with your sweetie!

 

BUT HOLD ON--WHEN are you sailing the Beyond in April??!!

@mac_tlc alerted me to the Retreat DEAL on the Beyond April 9--it was basically the same price as our interior on Beyond in December...so we JUMPED. Excited to be sailing with @mac_tlc again.

O…M…G that is totally the Beyond April sailing that I’m on!!!

 

I also got alerted to the deal through CC and couldn’t resist the pricing. 
 

It’s going to be a fun sailing!

[lola2013]

2 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Is this how I’ll recognize you when we sail on Silhouette next April? 😉

[mac_tlc]

5 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

O…M…G that is totally the Beyond April sailing that I’m on!!!

 

I also got alerted to the deal through CC and couldn’t resist the pricing. 
 

It’s going to be a fun sailing!

As I recall, someone scheduled a 2PM meet in the Retreat Lounge? 🤔

[kjaw]

1 hour ago, islabahia said:

Hey Charla!  I loved your map dress so much that I bought one and it arrived Thursday! Thanks so much…..if not for your posts, I would never have thought that a map dress actually existed!

Me too!  I've worn it on embarkation day for my last two cruises and it is so flattering and comfortable.  I would never have found it without Charla -- thank you!

[GenerationX]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

As I recall, someone scheduled a 2PM meet in the Retreat Lounge? 🤔

I believe that it’s the plan! Hopefully I haven’t hijacked an official roll call meet up. 😂

 

@KKB hope to see you there! You already know how to find me: map dress, cocktail in hand, look of immense self satisfaction on my face.