Just back from Apex Eastern Caribbean-really fine cruise

[Folsomdoc]

We cruised many times when our now 40 something kids were little. We then spent years touring mostly Europe independently and on Rick Steves tours. We started getting back to cruising and had two Celebrity cruises under our belts when the world shut down. We are mid 70’s and active. This was a 75th birthday cruise! We booked an Aqua Sky Suite on Apex,

 

Boarding was an amazingly fast. From the Uber to stateroom maybe 15 minutes. We toured the spa and although we liked it the aggressive sales attempts were a turnoff. We lunched at Luminae and enjoyed the first of many very good meals. And I don’t mean good for cruise food, I mean as good as it gets with a (very) few exceptions. We had two specialty dinners-La Petite Chef, which we have done twice before (I know, I know, but my wife loves it. Did you hear her laughter by chance?) and Eden. Both meals were very good. Eden maybe a slight edge on Luminae but not by much. We enjoyed excellent service throughout our cruise. We had a butler who had the steward empty our fridge and stocked it with our requested waters daily. She dutifully refreshed our champagne bucket when we did not uncork the welcome bottle. On our return from dinner on my birthday we found that she and our steward had decorated our room with balloons and left a bottle of wine and a charcuterie plate. What a nice surprise!

 

The only shortfall, IMHO, was in the wine department. Full disclosure: we live in California in one of the lesser known wine regions and visit Napa and or Sonoma county 4-5 times per year. Our son is a sommelier and a wine distributor in CO. The world is awash in really good wine. There are so many that are well priced. Why RCG with its buying power can’t do better in this department is beyond me. I know there is a lot of love on this board for Decoy cab but, believe me folks, there are many better at the same price. And the selection of Pinot Noir, a really versatile food friendly wine was pitiful.

 

We did not use the additional perks the Aqua Sky Suite came with and in hindsight the additional cost over a standard Sky Suite was a waste of money. We thought we would, but we just didn’t. If I had to do it over I would have booked a Celebrity Suite or bigger.

 

We enjoyed sailing on Apex. Being a Retreat guest made it for us. We can never go back. The lounge was comfortable, the cocktails well made. Never talk of any upcharge there; not even a need to show our sea pass. The Retreat pool was nice but there are not enough shaded areas on the pool side of the deck. As I mentioned above the food and service at Luminae was exceptional. I even tried the famed pig foot carpaccio and turned it back (the couple next to us ate it with gusto). Several times we ordered shrimp cocktail, escargot, ceaser salad which were always available as was filet.

 

debating our next cruise. If we sail in a higher priced cabin we are paying about the same as a higher end cruise line. Since we don’t gamble, and only go to a few of the shows it’s a conundrum as we enjoy Celebrity.

[Mrs_Tiki]

Nice review, glad you had a good time!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Thank you for the review and happy birthday!  It's nice to see them go a little extra mile on your birthday celebration.  Did you have a dedicated butler or was it a butler team?

 

Agree with you whole heartedly about the wine.  I think we are all so excited about the return of Decoy because there's little else on offer that's great.  We do enjoy Conundrum, which was once a part of the premium package but is now an upcharge.  Sigh..

Edited April 1 by Georgia_Peaches

[Folsomdoc]

Her badge said butler. She told me she had 23 staterooms. But same woman served as our butler. Honestly, we are low maintenance. I like fetching our cappuccinos and treats from Bacio every morning using my little caddy which I ordered from Amazon thanks to a tip on this forum.

[Texed]

Thanks for posting. 😊

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 minutes ago, Folsomdoc said:

I like fetching our cappuccinos and treats from Bacio every morning using my little caddy which I ordered from Amazon thanks to a tip on this forum.

What is this elusive little caddy???  Sounds like I must have one...

[Folsomdoc]

[Mrs_Tiki]

13 hours ago, Folsomdoc said:

That is brilliant! Ordering one for our next cruise. X has priced us out of The Retreat butler service, so we will be grabbing our own from Cafe Al Bacio.

[CruisinShips]

Nice review, thanks.  Very similar to our (Retreat) experience on the Apex in February.

[mac_tlc]

8 hours ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

That is brilliant! Ordering one for our next cruise. X has priced us out of The Retreat butler service, so we will be grabbing our own from Cafe Al Bacio.

As we have discussed, we are in a similar position….although I was looking at a December Ascent sailing that was tempting …..UGH. There are two weeks that look “Celebrity-reasonable”. Also a couple in Spring 2026 on Silhouette.

 

Hope Mr. Tiki is doing well. 

Edited April 2 by mac_tlc

[Folsomdoc]

Forgot to mention: luggage valet worked brilliantly. Cost $29. We had one large suitcase we sent along. Butler delivered our boarding passes and the luggage tag the afternoon before departure. Next saw the bag at our home airport.

[kk20]

On 4/1/2024 at 7:05 PM, Folsomdoc said:

We love our drink caddy!! Sooo convenient

(But we got a four cup holder so we can put our al bacio treats in it too 😉)

[NMTraveller]

Just curious what your thoughts are on the Caymus and Gingrich Hills wines?

 

Agreed about the Decoy and most others under the Premium package price.

[Folsomdoc]

Both Caymus and Grgich are well known Napa cabs (I assume you mean the cab) but IMHO are very overpriced. Caymus tends to be a big bold have it with a steak kind of wine while Grgich, in good years, seems more balanced to me. One of the problems they and many producers are facing is climate change. The summers are hot and long which produces really ripe grapes. The wines are higher in alcohol and jammy. Lots of folks like that style and seek it out so the wineries roll with it. The cabs from Sonoma county always seemed a little softer. Now to me they drink like the Napa cabs of 10 years ago and that’s what I go for although I drink far more Pinot Noir than cab. BTW Grgich makes a great Chardonnay in cool years. Problem is, not many cool years.