Celebrity Virgins...Booked on Apex

[Eriksgarden]

Wow, I have never posted on this board.  We have cruised a number of times, almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean.  We just booked a cruise on Apex, and we are so excited!  We are obsessive planners, so when the time comes we only need to show up and enjoy.  Any pointers, tips, suggestions are most welcome.  Thanks in advance!

[miched]

Don’t miss getting on board before the ship sails. 

 

I would suggest not being so obsessed with all of the planning.   Just go with the flow and enjoy the ship and cruise.  Rarely does anything go as planned and why would you want to be on a schedule?  If we are having a great time some where we will stay and enjoy it.  Improvise and adapt.   

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited April 22, 2023 by miched

[danceswithphones]

Need to know the departure port, cabin type, and sailing date to be much help. I, too, plan in painful detail.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

In contrast from Royal Caribbean, you don't need to reserve times for the theater shows or check in and out pool towels. So, much less hassle.

 

I'd recommend choosing or changing to Select dining so that you can pre-reserve dinner times at the 4 different main dining rooms in your cruise planner. They are a nice feature of the Edge class ships.

 

My wife and I were on Apex in December and we enjoyed the late night shows they do in the Eden venue. However, if that interests you, make sure to show up at least 20 minutes early as it gets packed and there's only so many decent seats in the venue.  Also, don't miss the Crystalize show in the main theater. Out of this world. With the main theater, you could stroll in 5 minutes before the show and find a decent seat without issue.

 

Besides that, we enjoyed just going at our own pace and checking the daily activity schedule for things that interested us. The pool olympics was really fun to watch so don't miss that if they are doing it.

 

For a late night snack, the pizza at the back of the buffet was a go-to spot for us. They were so accommodating to make my wife a gluten free pizza whenever we asked.

 

We loved the ship and are sure you will too. Have a great cruise! My guess is you'll probably not want to go back to Royal Caribbean after.

[Eriksgarden]

9 hours ago, danceswithphones said:

Need to know the departure port, cabin type, and sailing date to be much help. I, too, plan in painful detail.

We booked an infinite veranda cabin.  We live in Fort Lauderdale about 20 minutes from the port, and wouldn't mind staying on the ship, but this goes to a few I haven't been to before.  I've never been to Grand Cayman or Belize, so looking forward to them.  We also stop at Key West and Cozumel.  Usually, in Cozumel we grab the ferry to Playa del Carmen and head toward Tulum or Chichen itza, but look forward to hanging out in Cozumel this time.  In Key West, we may stay on the ship or go visit the butterfly garden.  We've been there so many times living in Florida.  We're super excited about our first Celebrity cruise.  The ship itself is the destination.

[Texed]

13 hours ago, Eriksgarden said:

Wow, I have never posted on this board.  We have cruised a number of times, almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean.  We just booked a cruise on Apex, and we are so excited!  We are obsessive planners, so when the time comes we only need to show up and enjoy.  Any pointers, tips, suggestions are most welcome.  Thanks in advance!

 

Find the roll call for your sailing.  Probably some folks that you can get hints and information from.  😊

[AbbyCruiser45]

14 hours ago, Eriksgarden said:

Wow, I have never posted on this board.  We have cruised a number of times, almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean.  We just booked a cruise on Apex, and we are so excited!  We are obsessive planners, so when the time comes we only need to show up and enjoy.  Any pointers, tips, suggestions are most welcome.  Thanks in advance!

Im a planner too 😊 there are plenty of YouTube tours of the Apex or you can also look at the Edge (nearly identical). The Beyond is the same class of ship, but has more changes, so don’t look at those videos. 
 

Here’s a link to a trip report I wrote up on my Edge sailing in 2021 with pictures and some tips: 

 

[danceswithphones]

I got off the Beyond for a photo op in Cozumel. Pleasantly surprised we were at the 'Royal Caribbean' dock. Much shorter than the one I was used to. Not shown on Google map. 

[Sigyn]

14 hours ago, Eriksgarden said:

Wow, I have never posted on this board.  We have cruised a number of times, almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean.  We just booked a cruise on Apex, and we are so excited!  We are obsessive planners, so when the time comes we only need to show up and enjoy.  Any pointers, tips, suggestions are most welcome.  Thanks in advance!

Sounds exciting! I see it's next year for you. I will be on my first Celebrity cruise in July this year, but on the older but much loved Millennium. I look forward to experiencing one of the newer Celebrity ships after that!

[TeeRick]

3 hours ago, Eriksgarden said:

We booked an infinite veranda cabin.  We live in Fort Lauderdale about 20 minutes from the port, and wouldn't mind staying on the ship, but this goes to a few I haven't been to before.  I've never been to Grand Cayman or Belize, so looking forward to them.  We also stop at Key West and Cozumel.  Usually, in Cozumel we grab the ferry to Playa del Carmen and head toward Tulum or Chichen itza, but look forward to hanging out in Cozumel this time.  In Key West, we may stay on the ship or go visit the butterfly garden.  We've been there so many times living in Florida.  We're super excited about our first Celebrity cruise.  The ship itself is the destination.

Many of us have cruised RCCL and crossed over to Celebrity.  Welcome!  Hopefully you will enjoy the quieter experience with less kids!  No amusement parks and no constant announcements.   Grand Cayman is a tender port and sometimes gets missed due to high seas.  That happened to us a couple of times.  Also Celebrity does something strange for this port and closes all of the bars on board except the Pool Bar.  When we go to Cozumel we always go to Nachi Cocum private beach club but you need to book in advance ($55 pp).  Includes free drinks and food.

Edited April 23, 2023 by TeeRick

[NutsAboutGolf]

1)  Change to SELECT dining as @NorthStarStateCruiser pointed out

2)  21 days before sailing you can "bid" for an upgrade, if you like the price, go for it

3)  On seadays during lunch, go to the Eden cafe and try their free cookies and brownies

4)  Bring board games, cards, dice, etc as the downside to "Relaxed luxury" is there isn't a ton to do during seadays outside of the casino or sitting by the pool and drinking all day

5)  The specially restaurant Le Voyage, which has the highest cover charge of all specialty restaurants has top service and atmosphere but food is the same quality as the other special restaurants; many think the Eden specialty restaurant is better if taking the price into consideration

6)  Know that with the IV window down your stateroom AC shuts off regardless whether the bi-fold doors are closed or not

7)  In the 4 MDRs, you can order any of the exclusive items at any restaurant, so if you're the Cosmo and want a Tuscan exclusive entrée, you can order the Tuscan item

😎 If you go to a MDR like the Tuscan and there's a wait, the Tuscan host can see if there's a wait at the other three MDRs

9)  Specialty restaurants like Fine Cut Steakhouse can have areas that funnel atrium music in, you can ask the host to seat you a quiet location yet those tables are usually the first to fill up

Edited April 23, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[AbbyCruiser45]

16 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

21 days before sailing you can "bid" for an upgrade, if you like the price, go for it

 

Not always the case. I’m sailing this June and got my MoveUp email about 2 months before our sail date. Just keep an eye on your inbox. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

8 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Not always the case. I’m sailing this June and got my MoveUp email about 2 months before our sail date. Just keep an eye on your inbox. 

 

Good datapoint, we've never received them earlier than 21 days

[davekathy]

19 hours ago, Eriksgarden said:

Wow, I have never posted on this board.  We have cruised a number of times, almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean.  We just booked a cruise on Apex, and we are so excited!  We are obsessive planners, so when the time comes we only need to show up and enjoy.  Any pointers, tips, suggestions are most welcome.  Thanks in advance!

No dedicated DL like with RC. There is a dedicated lounge for suite guest. Retreat Lounge/ Michaels Club. CC HH in the evening (except for the first evening, nothing) from 5 to 7:PM is at most bars and the drinks are from the CC HH beverage menu. Unlimited drinks during that time frame. Like with RCs CAS you will receive in your stateroom a detailed list of Celebrity CC perks/benefits for your cruise.

 

A huge plus for Celebrity is no inside smoking including the casino. Unless you're a smoker than that may not be a huge plus. 

 

RC's Crown and Anchor Society To Celebrity's Captain's Club tier level matching .Your CAS points do not transfer over to Celebrity:

Gold - Not applicable

Platinum - Select

Emerald - Select

Diamond - Elite

Diamond Plus - Elite

Pinnacle Club - Elite

[tinaincc]

On 4/23/2023 at 8:27 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

5)  The specially restaurant Le Voyage, which has the highest cover charge of all specialty restaurants has top service and atmosphere but food is the same quality as the other special restaurants; many think the Eden specialty restaurant is better if taking the price into consideration

 

Le Voyage is on the APEX?  I missed that somehow....

[mac_tlc]

2 hours ago, tinaincc said:

Le Voyage is on the APEX?  I missed that somehow....

It is not on Apex, only Beyond (and eventually Ascent).

 

+1 for Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. 
 

mac_tlc

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, tinaincc said:

Le Voyage is on the APEX?  I missed that somehow....

 

Valid; was stating the E-Class in general but did not point that out.  Only on the Beyond, will be on the Ascent and probably the Excel/Vertex

[Sigyn]

On 4/23/2023 at 9:44 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Not always the case. I’m sailing this June and got my MoveUp email about 2 months before our sail date. Just keep an eye on your inbox. 

Same here. I'm sailing July 7 and received my MoveUp email the last week of April. 

[karmamule]

We were 'Celebrity virgins' too when we went on our January cruise on the Apex. Lots of great tips from other posts above. I'd definitely recommend dining at least once at Eden. It's our favorite specialty restaurant from any cruise ship. (And we've been on NCL, RCL, Carnival, MSC, and Virgin). We were also surprised we liked the filet mignon from Le Grand Bistro more than the one at Fine Cuts. We also enjoyed the Rooftop Garden more than the mixed reviews led us to believe.

 

We're normally not fans of big shows on cruise ships, but we loved both shows we went to in the Apex's theater. They used its giant screen well, and the singers were all excellent.

 

It's a great ship, and we'll definitely be back on another Edge-class ship in the next couple years. We hope you enjoy it all as much as we did!

 

 

[Cruise a holic]

We love the ship!  Have done three sailings on her.  We enjoy all of the specialty restaurants- but not fans of sushi-  The service is excellent and we especially loved the suite facilities.  But overall the ship is the best-  I am sure you will consider other celebrity E class ships in the future. 

 

Have a great cruise!

[Cruise a holic]

17 hours ago, tinaincc said:

Le Voyage is on the APEX?  I missed that somehow....

Nope