Boatharbour

Ouch.

First time cancellation for us so could someone please explain the $200 OBC. Is this on top of the OBC we had for our Antarctic cruise? Or do we lose the OBC associated with the cancelled cruise?

Received an email overnight cancelling our Antarctic cruise, reinstating our FCC and giving us an $200 OBC.

Our booking for Antarctica 18 Jan 2025 is still showing in my app. I did notice there were a lot of sunset verandahs still available last week which I thought was a little unusual given they usually sell quickly.

There was definitely a shuttle fee for most ports(including Copenhagen) on our 19 July Apex Baltic cruise. It actually cost more to buy the shuttle tickets on board than buying shoreside as you boarded the bus. Hop on Hop on buses were servicing many ports, so that it another option.

Absolutely agree. Indeed the vast majority of guests on this cruise followed the dress code.

No comment. No judgement, just responding to above. On Apex two weeks ago a woman walked into Fine Cut for dinner in collarless tee shirt, denim shorts and wearing rubber flip flops. She wasn’t turned away.

I take a “Scrubba” wash bag, plus a stretchy clothes line and use on sea days.

I’m glad you mentioned the cereal as there wasn’t a GF option. I too carry my own cereal on my travels. I just pop a meal size portion into a resealable plastic bag each morning and take it with me to the buffet.

There are a few other recent threads about this that I read before our July cruise on the Apex. I’m not celiac but have a wheat allergy. The buffet worked well for me as everything was labelled so I knew what was GF. There was plenty of variety. There is a GF corner for desserts at lunch and dinner and bread/ pastries in the morning with separate toaster. The first day I had the maître d walk me around and explain the labelling. Dining room options were limited unless you preordered which I didn’t, I did have a superb meal at Eden though. Prior to going on the cruise I submitted a special needs form. Every time we went to dinner it was clear that the wait staff knew about my allergy without me mentioning it,

We have sailed Celebrity four times usually September-November in the northern hemisphere and once in March in the southern hemisphere. Very few children. In mid July we boarded the Apex in Rotterdam and found there were a lot of children on board which was to be expected at this time of the year. However at no stage did we find them disruptive except for one sea day when the kids club decided to have a scavenger hunt around the ship. We didn’t use the pool deck however. We did note that overall the demographic was much younger and more diverse than all of our previous cruises- more representative of the general population. What did annoy us was the constant piped music everywhere, often inappropriate for the time of day. There was nowhere to sit quietly to read, chat or just watch the world go by unless we sat on our verandah.

We got off the Apex last week with an all included classic package. The only time we had to pay extra was at the martini bar. I had a cocktail each day and my husband had various spirits, wines and martini’s. The only anomaly was that when I ordered a sparkling water I was charged an extra $4.50 which doesn’t make sense when I could have had a cocktail for “free”. I realise that sparkling water is part of the premium package, but don’t understand why.

It depends on where you’re sitting though. We had a table for two last week next to the exterior windows and couldn’t hear any noise thing from the central atrium.

Pretty much all of the above is what we experienced on the Apex two weeks ago from the boarding school potato scoops to the limited menus. Our first night in Cosmopolitan was such a let down we cancelled all of our bookings there. The menu was uninspiring and extremely limited in choices for someone who is GF. The tables seemed even closer together than I remembered. I don’t know why Celebrity can’t remove some tables as the restaurant was never full anyway. I like meeting people but I don’t want to feel like I have to make conversation with strangers at every meal. Tuscan was the worst with no GF options available on the specialty menu so it was back to the classic menu which was the same as the Cosmopolitan - chicken or steak. The vegetables at Tuscan were so undercooked they were difficult to cut. I quietly mentioned this to the waiter when he noticed I hadn’t eaten them. Remember he asked, I didn’t make a fuss. This led to an over the top response where the waiter brought the maitre d over to investigate. Ten minutes later the maître d and waiter reappeared with an anxious looking chef sandwiched between them wanting to discuss my meal again. It was very uncomfortable for us seeing this man being publicly humiliated. The atmosphere in that restaurant was “off” and I don’t mean the decor. We’re not regular buffet diners of an evening but after canceling most of our MDR bookings we found the buffet had plenty of variety and we could actually find something we wanted to eat. This mixed in with a couple of specialty restaurant bookings became our new routine during this cruise. So different to our pre covid cruises.

There was definitely salmon on the menu. Tilapia was spotted at the buffet at least once but they often had barramundi too at the grill. Battered fish was featured several times. Shrimp cocktail wasfour small prawns in a heavy handed tomato sauce. The seafood broth entree in Normandie had had perhaps 6-8 very small pieces of seafood in it floating in a brown watery soup with two mussels.

We were on the Apex prior to this cruise and were not impressed with any of the MDR menus. Choices were reduced and the quality was definitely poorer than our previous cruise just prior to the pandemic. You won’t go hungry, but the meals are repetitive and uninspiring. Surprisingly after all I’d read on CC, the buffet at the Oceanview was good. It was busy most nights with a wide range of options. We ended up cancelling some of our pre-booked MDR dinners and either ate at the buffet or paid for specialty dining. Eden was superb and we enjoyed a nice evening at Fine Cut.

We left Apex this morning. When we boarded 12 days ago (at 11.30) I did see a worker using a trolley to help some passengers. Can’t say for sure if he worked for the port or had accompanied a transfer. Bag drop off was outside the terminal, a few steps from the curb. There were two lines - those whose bags were tagged and those that weren’t. Passenger vehicles were directed to an adjacent car park to unload.

I must admit I was initially confused. At first I thought just about everything in the OV was GF until I saw the pasta was also “marked” as GF. My mistake. When I asked the food and beverage manager for clarification he explained that four categories of allergies / intolerances appear on every food label. A second symbol then appears above the relevant word. If you look at the photo from my previous posts, you can see a grain symbol above the word gluten free. That means it’s gluten free, but not lactose free, sugar free etc.

That doesn’t apply to the gelato though. Only the GF option on the sign has a symbol above it.

I haven’t tried the gelato but the ice cream is good. Overall I’ve been happy with my GF experience on board. Having said that it was a bit disappointing to come back on board this afternoon and find a large range of cakes and sweets available in the OV for afternoon snacking, but only cups of orange jelly in the GF corner.

Gelato selection on the Apex at the Oceanview is labelled gluten free.

i checked my order confirmation emails for the MDR’s and the bookings were made on 27 December 2022 for 19 July 2023 sailing.

We made all our dinner reservations online several months ago. Each night on board we have been taken to our table as soon as we checked in with the maitre d. We dine around 7-7.30. I think the problem the other night may have been with the drop ins. We saw two incidents where guests behaved badly because they were told to come back later (an hour later). The maître d was polite but held firm to her credit.

Everything that was in the ice cream / gelato cabinet in OV yesterday was GF. The ice cream is good btw. The desserts have been pretty good too. The first few days there was more variety, yesterday only two mousse type options. I don’t like the “danish “ options though for breakfast. This might only apply to those with Gluten intolerances ( not celiacs), but European wheat is different to that in the US and Australia. It’s soft wheat which contains less gluten. I have been able to eat some wheat products without any symptoms ( we’re on a Baltic cruise). Not suggesting anyone tries it though as it was an accidental ingestion to begin with. We spent four weeks travelling in Europe before boarding and it was often a struggle to find or work out GF options. The fall back was a salad which happened to often unless you’re a rabbit! It has been a relief to board Apex and have so many options available.

Currently on the Apex and very happy with the GF options after four weeks of land travel where it was often difficult to find. The OV has been great for breakfast and some dinners. Everything is clearly labelled and there is also a gluten free area as well. I was assured that separate implements were being used to serve the food. Plenty of options for mains and desserts. The ice cream and gelato is also labelled GF. They don’t have GF cereal though, anticipating this I brought my own. The MDR’s have fewer options. I haven’t specifically asked ahead of time for any GF modifications. I filled out a special needs form before the cruise and found waitstaff were aware when we arrived for our bookings. Our nicest meal was at Eden. Superb food, all GF.