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I agree. Ken always comes up with the good ideas for keeping us healthy. When Covid happened, he also started carrying gloves for pumping gas, and continues that. Like he said, lots of people touch those nozzles. Such simple solutions. I work 7 days a week in January, so I have to stay well in the winter. 🙂

For me too. Def an improvement over the drinks offered in the lounge, which I personally didn’t care for.

Supposed to be, but nothing yet. Here is the thread to watch. 🙂

Me too, all over again! 😁

And last but not least, Day 7. Thanks for joining me on this voyage. 🙂

Day 6

If you show up at night and expect to find seats at the bar, you may not be able to. Sit at a table nearby, and when seats open up, grab one. There are always tables opening up nearby in that bar area. We would dress for dinner, and go there first before dinner, and always found a seat at the bar. We went one sea day afternoon, and had a great time with others at the bar for 3 hours! lol Go early and enjoy would be my recommendation. 😁

Day 5

I really like ‘retreat host’ better than butler. Celebrity has returned to calling them butlers, and that sounds stuffy, which Rajeev was not! lol And that’s how they know?! Thanks for the heads up. 😁

Day 4

Day 3

It was not difficult to find a chair at the main pool. I think our cruise was 80% full. As hard as it would be to choose, since several were really good, I have to give Eden the edge. We have it booked twice for our 9 night next year. 🙂

The food is mostly self serve. There are sandwich, stir fry and pasta stations, where those are prepped/served, and some items are in individual containers, but the rest is self-serve. We always carry hand sanitizer with us to clean our hands when we arrive at the table before eating, and of course wash before going into the buffet. We have done that for years, if attending buffets.

Day 2

Day 1, Celebrity Today

Final musings, and comparing Celebrity with RCI: Small touches: Some of the little touches Celebrity Apex includes are really very, very nice. The cold, wet towels available after boarding (and available on the dock at ports) are really appreciated. The cards left in the cubbyhole at our door, reminding us of reservations we had for paid events and specialty restaurants was thoughtful. The chocolates on our pillows each night made us smile. Not having to checkout towels at the pools was a nice touch as well. Service: We have received excellent service from both RCI and Celebrity now. Celebrity takes it one small step further, and almost all employees onboard Apex cheerfully greeted us as we passed in the hallway. Entertainment: Entertainment is subjective, and this is only our opinion. We have enjoyed entertainment on both lines, but RCI has the edge here. Some of that is because of the many venues on the large Oasis class vessels. There is also more live entertainment on RCI. Celebrity Apex supplemented live music with DJs. That said, I really enjoyed the live entertainment in the Grand Plaza on Apex. It was yet another example of Celebrity bringing people together in community. Food: The food onboard Apex was outstanding. We didn’t have enough time to try the dining rooms, but did eat at the Rooftop Grill, the Grand Bistro for lunch, Le Petit Chef, Eden and of course, Luminae. Ken doesn’t like buffets, but we ate at the Oceanview Cafe twice (pizza snacks two other times), and Ken really enjoyed it. The pizza there is the best we have had at sea. While we enjoy RCI specialty restaurants and Coastal Kitchen, there is simply no comparison between the two. Celebrity wins this one, hands down. Some friends onboard asked me to compare RCI and Celebrity foods, from the perspective of someone that has sailed suite class on both lines. Food is very subjective, but following is our take. On RCI, you have the main dining restaurants, then Coastal Kitchen (suite restaurant) is a step up, and the specialty restaurants are yet another step up from Coastal Kitchen. For a couple of meals, Coastal Kitchen is at the top with the specialty restaurants. On Celebrity Apex, you have the main dining restaurants. Take a step up from there, and you are at the level of the specialty restaurants. One more step up is Luminae. Eden ranks very close to Luminae, and some other meals at the specialty restaurants are very close as well. But, for the most part, to us, Luminae is the top. If you prefer simpler meals, or are not an adventurous eater, Luminae may not appeal to you. The nice thing, on both lines, is that there is something for everyone. Vibe onboard: this is an area we really can’t compare the two lines on. We love RCI for the high energy, fun atmosphere, for the sheer variety of things to do onboard. With Celebrity, we loved the opportunity to slow down and relax, to rejuvenate from a difficult work year. We adored the Martini Bar! And yes, there were plenty fun things to do onboard Apex, it was just lower key, and more relaxed. We enjoy both lines, for the completely different vibes, and plan to continue to cruise both. As a matter of fact. I just booked Edge for the 2024 12-night Vancouver to HI. I love that there are three overnights on HI islands. Gives us time to explore more.

Thanks to all who have participated in this review. 🙂 I appreciate it. We received our disembarkation information in the cabin the last day (hiss, boo!). We opted to walk off with our luggage since we had a 12 hour drive ahead of us. This is the last one-day drive home for us, if we are driving to port. Going forward, we will split that into two days. In retirement, we may just meander home by way of Destin. 😁 Looking forward to those days. We met in Fine Cut Steakhouse, to be escorted off the ship. Quickly thru Customs, and in the car within 10 minutes. Couldn’t have been easier.

I prefer a sit down breakfast as well. We had a couple of quick lunches at Oceanview, and a couple of pizza snacks, but otherwise, there are too many great restaurants to enjoy. 🙂 I agree about the Luminae breakfasts. Will def enjoy on our cruises that are ahead.

We fell in love with this town some 25 years ago. When we relocated to TN 17 years ago, we decided to buy there. We still love living here. And I am familiar with Johnson City too. When we relocated to TN, we drove all over the place, and settled for the greater Knoxville area, so we could be close to the Smokies. 🙂

We live in a little town called Maryville, outside the city limits, with an awesome view of the Chilhowee Mountain (Foothills Parkway). Are we neighbors? 😀

Yes, this is Luminae. There is breakfast available every day in Luminae. There is lunch available at sea days in Luminae, or a limited menu on the suite pool deck while in port. 🙂

Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that. 😕 What a real shame. We were on deck 10, and had no sound issues where we were located, right off the rear elevator area. Can you share where you were so others know?

Thanks. 🙂 There were still a few martinis left that I wanted to try as well. Guess I will have to try them the next time. With RCI, for years it has more than satisfied what we are looking for in a vacation. And the benefit of the loyalty program fit our lifestyle the best of any loyalty program. When our son was younger, it fit the bill for family. He loved the kids program, and so did we. We had to ‘force’ him to check in with us daily when he was a teen. 🤣 We love the look of the RCI ships (as we do Celebrity now), and how the ships are designed to disburse people so you don’t have to feel crowded. We love the fun activities and shows. The ice shows, the dive shows and the Broadway shows are our favorites. RCI is tops for entertainment, and has lots of venues for live music. I like that if I want to be adventurous, I can zip line, or do laser tag, or try a dry slide down multiple decks. 😂. We also love the private island CocoCay, and especially the upscale Beach Club. I also am very partial to Central Park, and enjoying a drink in the evening there, while listening to a guitarist or pianist. Such a beautiful place to hang out. We chose Celebrity because now that we are almost Diamond+ with RCI, we are locked in with benefits there, so wanted to try this line that has been beckoning to us for a while now. 😁 We will be sailing both going forward. Have a great TA! Our first retirement cruise will be a TA.

I will try to finish my last few posts tomorrow evening, and over the next couple of days, post all the daily Celebrity Today newsletters. Have to prep for work tomorrow. 😭 Have a great evening!

And last, but certainly not least, were the desserts. Ken chose the Aztecs Chocolate Pie. I requested the Lemon Meyer Tart. Ken loved his dessert, and I still want another lemon tart! It was the best dessert I had onboard, and that was a very high bar, let me tell you!