Live on the Apex March 18-25, 2023

[garyl62]

56 minutes ago, Beachlover1989 said:

Wonderful information Gary! Thanks for sharing!

 

We are on Apex in a CS in August and I was wondering how you feel about the split bathroom?

We LOVE IT!!!  We are very happy with this suite. The split bath gives the illusion of having 2 bathrooms. We can both be getting ready at the same time, our toiletries are stored in separate rooms and in the middle of the night neither of us needs to navigate around the end of the bed to get to the bathroom.

[garyl62]

Quick update from today as we enjoyed our last sea day before ending our cruise tomorrow.

 

Started with coffee and snacks and the retreat lounge and then decided to go to ocean view for a quick breakfast. Sat outside with an aft view and enjoyed some waffles and coffee.

 

Then we had a mid morning appointment with the future cruise representative and booked something else for the summer of 2024. Once that was over we had nothing but free time so we spend some time on the Retreat Sun deck, did some more shopping to use up  our OBC, then our Butler had arranged a nice surprise of shrimp and cheese and some champagne for a mid afternoon snack on our balcony.

 

Getting ready to go to Eden for dinner and then we will come back to pack and get ready head home tomorrow. 

[Norwaylady]

They take good care of you🥰 

Enjoy Eden😊 

 

 

[AF-1]

Great review.  We sailed on Apex the week before your cruise.  I agree with the retreat hosts.  The three ladies aim to please;  as does the butler.  My first time sailing Celebrity and was very impressed.  Cheers and thanks for sharing your review

[Texed]

2 hours ago, garyl62 said:

Quick update from today as we enjoyed our last sea day before ending our cruise tomorrow.

 

Started with coffee and snacks and the retreat lounge and then decided to go to ocean view for a quick breakfast. Sat outside with an aft view and enjoyed some waffles and coffee.

Waffles?  😋

[haynesra]

Following up on the Dinner on the Edge, is this something you have to book pre-cruise (zero chance getting reservation once onboard or day of)? My concern is as Gary noted it getting canceled at 7pm and not having reservations anywhere that night.

 

Also as Jim noted, $118 is going pre-cruise right for my May 14 Apex cruise, but no indication what day? If you start to make the reservation it says Day 1 at 10 AM so you know it is just a place holder.

[garyl62]

2 hours ago, Texed said:

Waffles?  😋

With strawberries 😉

[Stem to Stern]

4 hours ago, garyl62 said:

With strawberries 😉

Breakfast is all that much better with the sea as the backdrop.  Wow!  Thanks for taking us along.

[Cap_D]

Gary, how was tendering to Grand Cayman?  We are considering a day pass at a hotel, but have read plenty about  congestion and other issues.

[garyl62]

6 hours ago, Cap_D said:

Gary, how was tendering to Grand Cayman?  We are considering a day pass at a hotel, but have read plenty about  congestion and other issues.

Our arrival time was 10:00 and as our Cruise Director said the night before, "With a 10AM arrival, everyone will be showered, dressed, finished breakfast, and all ready to go at exactly 10AM so the lines will be long.  Please be patient"

 

We went onshore around 10:30 but since we were in the Retreat we had priority access.  No issues at that time, but there were several long lines we went past on the way to the tender.  We came back about 90 minutes later and there were still some lines then also.

 

If you're in the Retreat you will have no problem, not sure about various Captain's Club status benefits, but if you just line up as a non-excursion tender it could be a wait.

[Cap_D]

21 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Our arrival time was 10:00 and as our Cruise Director said the night before, "With a 10AM arrival, everyone will be showered, dressed, finished breakfast, and all ready to go at exactly 10AM so the lines will be long.  Please be patient"

 

We went onshore around 10:30 but since we were in the Retreat we had priority access.  No issues at that time, but there were several long lines we went past on the way to the tender.  We came back about 90 minutes later and there were still some lines then also.

 

If you're in the Retreat you will have no problem, not sure about various Captain's Club status benefits, but if you just line up as a non-excursion tender it could be a wait.

Many thanks, Gary.  And, thank you for sharing your experience.

[garyl62]

Well all good things must come to an end..... although an upgrade on a three class aircraft is a nice way to finish a trip! Now I just need to figure out how to get my coffee and almond croissant ready for me when I get up.

 

If anyone has more questions just ask, I'll post a final review within a day. 

[Stem to Stern]

Happy travels.  I enjoyed your report.

[asnaleah]

What did you think of the balcony space? Looks a lot smaller than on S class ships. Thanks for the review! 

[garyl62]

@asnaleah Actually we selected a Celebrity Suite for the size of the balcony. We enjoy spending time on our balcony both relaxing and having a full breakfast. This balcony provides a proper table and chairs, as well 2 chairs for relaxing.

 

I doubt it's smaller than the S class Celebrity Suite balcony unless you compare it to one with the deeper angle balcony. We were very happy with the size of this and would book it again without reservations. 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by garyl62

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Actually we particularly selected a Celebrity Suite for the size of the balcony. We enjoy spending time on our balcony both relaxing and having a full breakfast. This balcony provides a proper table and chairs, as well 2 chairs for relaxing.

 

I doubt it's smaller than the S class Celebrity Suite balcony unless you compare it to one with the deeper angle balcony. We were very happy with the size of this and would book it again without reservations. 

We have booked a couple of S class Sky Suites cruises and love the very large 30" tables for dining on the balcony. The extra sq feet of space is really nice. Unfortunately, the E class ships do not have a functional table for balconies in Sky Suites.

Edited March 26, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, garyl62 said:

Well all good things must come to an end..... although an upgrade on a three class aircraft is a nice way to finish a trip! Now I just need to figure out how to get my coffee and almond croissant ready for me when I get up.

 

If anyone has more questions just ask, I'll post a final review within a day. 

You must be on a wide body FLL to Chicago flight, love those BC seats.

[garyl62]

On 3/22/2023 at 8:45 AM, terrydtx said:

Gary, I am enjoying your blog, we will be on the Apex in September in Amsterdam sailing to Athens. We are in a Sky Suite and look forward to the Retreat deck and lounge. Has the Retreat deck been open for lunch on port days?

Sorry I didn't respond earlier, yes the Retreat Deck does serve lunch on port days.

[asnaleah]

Thanks for the photos @garyl62. We did indeed have the deep angled balcony on Silhouette. It was fabulous, but I dislike the bathroom. Thanks too @terrydtx for the info on the sky suite balcony. Seems like CS is a great choice on E class ships.

[gfkcruiser]

Great review as we will be on our first Edge class for the April TA.  Sadly, no suite for us - maybe one day!    I require a true veranda so we have a sunset veranda.  Have dinner reserved at Eden.  

[davekathy]

14 hours ago, Cap_D said:

Many thanks, Gary.  And, thank you for sharing your experience.

The CC was doing priority tendering at Belize and Grand Cayman for Elite, Elite Plus and Zenith. The meeting place was in the Club. We were escorted to the tender. Very organized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davekathy]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:14 AM, Bookdiva said:

Nice report, Gary! The entertainment on board has been our salvation due to the heavy clouds and rain!😡 no chair hogs on this cruise! 😂all the shows and entertainers are fantastic! Hoping for sunshine tomorrow. Few are even getting off in Belize due to weather. Our tour was cancelled. Having a coffee in Luminae lounge right now and scheduled massages. 

You must have been on a different cruise than us. Key West was over cast when we were walking around town. No rain. We were off the ship at 9:AM back on the ship by 1:PM. The only rain we experienced in Belize was when we were tendering over to the port. Once at the port no rain. My wife took an umbrella but never needed it. Back on the ship by 1:PM. No rain at Cozumel or Grand Cayman when were off the ship. First and last sea day hot and sunny. When returning from the ports I would sit on the balcony or the pool deck or do an afternoon walk on the track. No rain.  Agree with the entertainment during the day and night except the last night. The performer in our opinion was horrible. We would have walk on her but we were to far forward in the theater. My wife didn't feel comfortable getting up and leaving. First time on an E class ship and we really liked it. Great walking track. I walked it every morning from 5:45  to 7:15 every morning. The four MDR would have been better if they weren't one level. Staff in all areas were outstanding, well except for one Spa employee. That problem was resolved within 30 minutes of me writing and turning in my complaint on the mid cruise comment card. 

Edited March 26, 2023 by davekathy

[Missusdubbya]

Great review, thank you!

[Croooser]

Very nice review. It was much appreciated.

[Zoe506]

21 hours ago, davekathy said:

You must have been on a different cruise than us. Key West was over cast when we were walking around town. No rain. We were off the ship at 9:AM back on the ship by 1:PM. The only rain we experienced in Belize was when we were tendering over to the port. Once at the port no rain. My wife took an umbrella but never needed it. Back on the ship by 1:PM. No rain at Cozumel or Grand Cayman when were off the ship. First and last sea day hot and sunny. When returning from the ports I would sit on the balcony or the pool deck or do an afternoon walk on the track. No rain.  Agree with the entertainment during the day and night except the last night. The performer in our opinion was horrible. We would have walk on her but we were to far forward in the theater. My wife didn't feel comfortable getting up and leaving. First time on an E class ship and we really liked it. Great walking track. I walked it every morning from 5:45  to 7:15 every morning. The four MDR would have been better if they weren't one level. Staff in all areas were outstanding, well except for one Spa employee. That problem was resolved within 30 minutes of me writing and turning in my complaint on the mid cruise comment card. 

 

Are you talking about Anne Martinez from Vegas?? She was incredible! Best performance the entire week in our opinion.

 

Also, she made up for the terrible comedian from the night before. 🙂

Edited March 27, 2023 by Zoe506