LIVE from Celebrity Apex: Best of Scandinavia May 25, 2023

[AF-1]

Great review.  Out of all your 12 nights on this cruse;  which port call would you call your #1 must do or must stop at port?  Thanks

[love2crews.]

On 6/21/2023 at 6:31 AM, AF-1 said:

Great review.  Out of all your 12 nights on this cruse;  which port call would you call your #1 must do or must stop at port?  Thanks

 

Hmmm...that's a tough question!

 

I'm gonna go with Copenhagen.  Kronborg Castle and Tivoli were two big highlights.

 

After that, Visby because of our experience at the sheep farm!

 

My favorite place of the entire trip was Giethoorn in the Netherlands.  Not a port stop, but 1.5 hour drive from Amsterdam.

[love2crews.]

TIP:

 

If you visit Tivoli and purchase the photo package, make sure you're able to download the photos BEFORE you leave the park!

 

You have to go to a machine and select your photo, then it prints out a QR code for you to access and download the photo.  I scanned the code as soon as the machine spit out the paper, but nothing loaded so I tried again a day or two later.  Still nothing.  

 

I emailed Tivoli and they weren't able to help.  They said they do not save the photos for more than a day. I didn't see that publicized anywhere or anything that said to download instantly.  So I'm guessing we aren't the only ones who had this issue.

[AF-1]

17 hours ago, love2crews. said:

 

Hmmm...that's a tough question!

 

I'm gonna go with Copenhagen.  Kronborg Castle and Tivoli were two big highlights.

 

After that, Visby because of our experience at the sheep farm!

 

My favorite place of the entire trip was Giethoorn in the Netherlands.  Not a port stop, but 1.5 hour drive from Amsterdam.

Thank you for your feedback.  I did read about your day trip to Giethoorn; and I saw you had a great day.  Cheers

[MissyDot]

Hello! I was on same cruise.  The poor weather really hampered my experience on this ship:  the outdoor areas pretty much shut down for most of the trip.  And too many kids, all over, in solarium particularly.   Thx for sharing your journey! 

[tinaincc]

On 7/15/2023 at 8:08 PM, MissyDot said:

Hello! I was on same cruise.  The poor weather really hampered my experience on this ship:  the outdoor areas pretty much shut down for most of the trip.  And too many kids, all over, in solarium particularly.   Thx for sharing your journey! 

I was on the sailing just after and felt the same way.

[love2crews.]

On 7/15/2023 at 6:08 PM, MissyDot said:

Hello! I was on same cruise.  The poor weather really hampered my experience on this ship:  the outdoor areas pretty much shut down for most of the trip.  And too many kids, all over, in solarium particularly.   Thx for sharing your journey! 

The weather was definitely a bummer.  I understand Celebrity can't control the weather, but they could have communicated the restaurant closures, etc, much more effectively.

 

And too funny-we only noticed a few kids. I'd say maybe 3 total?

 

Thank you for following along!  I hope you enjoyed your sailing. 🙂 

[t18c97]

Just wanted to say thanks for the report. We’re doing the British Isle cruise in a few weeks and this was a nice preview of what we can expect.

[love2crews.]

20 hours ago, t18c97 said:

Just wanted to say thanks for the report. We’re doing the British Isle cruise in a few weeks and this was a nice preview of what we can expect.

 Enjoy your sailing!! 🙂 

[yogini06]

On 7/25/2023 at 9:15 PM, love2crews. said:

The weather was definitely a bummer.  I understand Celebrity can't control the weather, but they could have communicated the restaurant closures, etc, much more effectively.

 

And too funny-we only noticed a few kids. I'd say maybe 3 total?

 

Thank you for following along!  I hope you enjoyed your sailing. 🙂 

I was on this sailing.  I saw very few kids as well.  I thought the weather was good for Scandinavia in early June.  

[love2crews.]

1 minute ago, yogini06 said:

I was on this sailing.  I saw very few kids as well.  I thought the weather was good for Scandinavia in early June.  

 

Yes, we lucked out with the weather, didn't we?  Sunny skies and no rain!!  It was PERFECT!! 

 

Hope you enjoyed your sailing! 😊

[kabmab]

1 hour ago, love2crews. said:

 

Yes, we lucked out with the weather, didn't we?  Sunny skies and no rain!!  It was PERFECT!! 

 

Hope you enjoyed your sailing! 😊

Lucky you!  We were on the next Best of Scandinavia and had rain first sea day, Warnemunde, Helsinki, Stockholm and second Copenhagen day.  Was still a great cruise!

[Tee & Chilli]

Excellent review. Thank you for sharing 

[MMMCruiser]

I've been following along.  Did you enjoy the plate painting and do you think it's worth the time on a short trip to Amsterdam?  Also, did you receive your plates?

[love2crews.]

1 hour ago, MMMCruiser said:

I've been following along.  Did you enjoy the plate painting and do you think it's worth the time on a short trip to Amsterdam?  Also, did you receive your plates?

Absolutely!  It was one of our favorite activities and we all enjoyed it immensely.  I highly recommend it!

 

We painted the plates on June 6th and they were delivered on June 22nd (shipped with the rest of the goodies we purchased at the Delft factory).

 

 

 

[MMMCruiser]

They look beautiful.  Thanks for sharing the photos.  

[luv2ndhalf]

On 5/23/2023 at 12:14 PM, love2crews. said:

We made it to Amsterdam!

 

We had a great flight and Schipol was super easy.  I pre-arranged what they call “Meet and Assist” to have someone escort us through customs and help us collect our bags.  She was waiting for us as we walked off the plane and stayed with us until we found our driver.  I highly recommend this service.  It also allows you to essentially bypass the customs line (you go through the same line the flight attendants go through).

 

We arrived to our hotel around 1pm.  Fortunately, our room was ready before the 3pm check-in time.  I will upload hotel info and photos once we are checked out of the hotel.  So stay tuned! 

 

After dropping our luggage in our room, we were in need of some fresh air from being on the plane for so long.  We made the 30 minute trek to the Albert Cuyp market.  We weren’t too hungry, but needed to check a few snacks off our list.  We went to the original Rudi’s stroopwafel stand and opted to share the chocolate stropwafel.  There was a short line, but it went quick-I’d say not more than 5 minutes.  Right across from Rudi’s is a poffertjes stand and we got Nutella and banana.  YUM!  We also plan to try pickled herring and we looked for a licorice stand, but didn’t see one.  We could have missed it though.

 

On the walk back to our hotel, we were on the hunt for a little sandwich shop that caught my sister’s eye on our earlier walk to the market.  We finally found it, but they closed at 3pm. 😞  She rerouted us to another sandwich shop with good reviews, but we passed a Joe & The Juice before we made it there…so Joe & The Juice it was!  

 

Our last stop of the day was to Albert Heijn.  Contrary to what I read online, they DID accept my US credit card (VISA).  They had some really nice prepared charcuterie meats and cheeses.  We grabbed a couple to try and I’m currently snacking on them as I type this!  The “bests de fuet” is my favorite.

 

A little note: the streets are definitely a little wonky with some of the cobblestones and curbs (as expected in Europe), so you really need to watch your step.  It’s also hard to decipher the street and crosswalk/standing areas at times.  It feels like you’re standing in the middle of the street, but you’re technically standing in a standing area.  It’s confusing.  We almost got run over by bikes several times, too.  They come out of NOWHERE!

 

It’s also virtually impossible to take a bad photo here.  The weather today was wonderful and we didn’t even need a jacket.  No rain at all and sunny skies!  Amsterdam sure knows how to welcome us!  

 

We’ve got a full day planned for tomorrow, so off to bed!  My mom and sister are already asleep and it’s only 7pm here, lol!!  We are TIRED!

Hello! I just came across your thread.... We are sailing Silhouette in August. Can I ask how you arranged the "meet and assist " at the airport? Thanks! I can't wait to read your whole thread!

[love2crews.]

2 minutes ago, luv2ndhalf said:

Hello! I just came across your thread.... We are sailing Silhouette in August. Can I ask how you arranged the "meet and assist " at the airport? Thanks! I can't wait to read your whole thread!

Here is the email address: info@schipolmeetandassist.com 

 

Our escort upon arrival was Regina.  She was great so we requested her for our departure as well and we were lucky enough to get her again. 

 

 

[luv2ndhalf]

Just now, love2crews. said:

Here is the email address: info@schipolmeetandassist.com 

 

Our escort upon arrival was Regina.  She was great so we requested her for our departure as well and we were lucky enough to get her again. 

 

 

Thanks so much!!

[love2crews.]

1 minute ago, luv2ndhalf said:

Thanks so much!!

 Of course!  Happy to answer any other questions you may have as you continue reading the (very lengthy) thread. 🙂 

[luv2ndhalf]

Just now, love2crews. said:

 Of course!  Happy to answer any other questions you may have as you continue reading the (very lengthy) thread. 🙂 

Much appreciated! We are sailing B2B, and I really know nothing about most of our ports this trip...It's so fun and helpful to hear about everyone's experiences! Jumping into the planning stages now- Woooo hooo!

[acme510]

love2crews. Have a question about your tour that you booked with Steve in Amsterdam. Did you have to specifically request him or the only one guide through this sight?

[love2crews.]

7 hours ago, acme510 said:

love2crews. Have a question about your tour that you booked with Steve in Amsterdam. Did you have to specifically request him or the only one guide through this sight?

 

I believe Steve is the only guide.  You will most likely communicate with Marlou (Steve's wife) via email before your tour.  Both Steve and Marlou are extremely helpful and patient-and I ask a LOT of questions, lol.

[acme510]

3 minutes ago, love2crews. said:

 

I believe Steve is the only guide.  You will most likely communicate with Marlou (Steve's wife) via email before your tour.  Both Steve and Marlou are extremely helpful and patient-and I ask a LOT of questions, lol.

 

[acme510]

By chance do you have the specific email address or website?