brovol

1 minute ago, doghog said:

The Apex doesn't do early or late TD.  The four MDRs are open at 5:30. Show up at the time and at the MDR of you choice when you are ready. 

Thats what I thought/hopped.  But I called and the Celebrity rep (who also seemed a bit surprised) said earliest seating is 6, and confirmed that our group had fixed dining at 6.

6 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Where are you sailing?  Our cruise n tx month in the Caribbean shows the MDRs opening at 5:30.  But on some itineraries it has been 6.

Western Caribbean.

My wife and I are sailing the Apex in April, and will be with other couples and a single, totaling 9.  Our bookings have us with 6pm fixed dining.  We were all hoping to get an earlier time, so I called and asked about switching to the anytime dining option, and was told that I could switch, but it wouldn't help because all main dining rooms open at 6, so that is the earliest you can be seated.  First cruise (out of 40+ cruises) I can remember which doesn't have dining in main dining room seating prior to 6.  This is our first with Celebrity however. 

Does that sound right?  No main dining room option prior to 6pm on the Apex?

Of all the mainstream lines doing these packages, I think Princess Plus is the best deal, and hits the sweet spot for my wife and I.  We didn't order stand alone "drinks packages" before, because we are not big drinkers as a general rule, but I always order the internet plan, and everyone pays gratuities regardless, so we have been getting the Plus plan.  Other lines include excursion credit, which is no value to us because we almost never book excursions, and like to do things on our own. 

Although we don't drink much usually, it is very nice not thinking about the cost of drinks, or internet for that matter, while cruising, and it adds to the chill vibe you want while cruising.  And I will admit, my wife and I do drink more on cruises now.  Sitting out on a lounger in the sun is a lot more enjoyable when the wait staff is running pina coladas out to me. And although we don't do it every time, we tend to order a glass or two of wine at dinner, or a toasted almond in the atrium after dinner while listening to music. 

I debated upgrading to the Princess Premiere, but the Plus really seems perfect for us.

Only thing that attracted me a bit towards the Premiere is unlimited casual restaurants.  But our next cruise is the Regal in November, and Alfredo's is the only attraction there.  Two visits will likely be enough for us, and that's included in the Plus.

Funny to hear folks yip about someone who just has the audacity to desire a faster internet connection.  Although the majority of posters on this thread ridicule the OP, suggesting it is silly to think internet speed is important, the cruise lines have clearly been recognizing quality internet is actually a big deal to a very relevant portion of the cruising public, as every line is working to beef up its internet capacity and speed. 

I think its a bit funny that many of those who are critical of the OP are folks who clearly spend a lot of time online, posting on message boards, and I'm guessing they surf and post when at sea cruising too.

Internet speed and capacity IS a big deal to MANY cruisers, and for a lot of people who dont cruise BECAUSE they don't want to be out of touch with the mainland, work, friends, family, sports games, or whatever, and poor internet on cruises eliminates cruising as an option for them.

people under 40 use their phones or devises as a lifeline.  Many over 50 do too.  I'm 59, and my phone isnt a lifeline, but I certainly have gotten accustomed to having and using it in so many ways.  I also do continue to manage work issues, and maintain work "peace of mind", if not troubleshoot issues, while on vacation, and good internet is critical for that. 

For retirees, or folks who have jobs which permit them from escaping without responsibility, God bless you.  But for those who do have responsibilities which require maintaining a higher level of touch with the homeland, or who just want good internet for their entertainment needs, isnt it ok to seek and desire a strong online connection?

To each his/her own, I say.  this issue reminds me of folks who are critical of others for booking suites or even balcony cabins, because "you shouldn't be spending time in your cabin on a cruise except to sleep".  Really?  I spend time in my cabin sleeping and other things, including hanging on my balcony.  Disparage me if you wish.  but in the end we are different, and all have different priorities or pleasures.  To each his/her own.....

Internet speed is very important for many folks, myself included, and can be an absolute deal-breaker.  for folks who have to conduct some work while on vacation, have other business commitments, or want it for social or entertainment reasons. Internet can be vital nowadays.

I too had fantastic internet two years ago on the Sky.  Not sure why Princess would switch to Skylink if it results in a lesser internet service.

We are on the Regal in November, and have had similar questions.  We booked a mini-suite on Aloha deck, which is one below 14, but I don't think much difference in decks.  I have no insight, because we haven't done it yet, but for what its worth, after researching, we decided to uber from the airport to Galveston (coming in the day before), but booked a Princess transfer to the airport after departing the ship.  We have a 3PM flight home, so I wasn't in a rush, and the transfer seemed reasonably priced.  If we had a morning flight home I would have ubered both ways.

My wife and I have approximately 40 cruises over the years, but this will be first out of Galveston.  The airport proximity makes it different from all other home ports, and certainly adds to the logistical challenge and expense.

Cruise lines, after the totally unfair beating they took from the government during the COVID BS, have had to make pricing adjustments, just as other businesses have.  Goods and services cost twice what they did before is seems.  Either you raise prices or you eliminate some of what you provided before.  I think Princess has done a pretty decent job of giving folks options, so that you can pick your price point.

I too would prefer that Alfredos was unlimited, but only want to buy the Plus plan. Everything else on the Plus is perfect for my wife and me. I get that choise though, to pay just for what I want.  I really like the options Princess provides.  

Overall it comes down to what you get for what you pay; and in my mind Princess is way more than competitive to what other line provide and charge. 

I was looking forward to Starlink being introduced to other cruise lines, because the service was so bad on NCL, HAL and other lines, but we had fantastic high speed internet service on the Sky, before starlink, and was able to stream live ESPN football games without interruption, when we sailed last November.  Princess really did have great internet in our experience, ans now with Starlink the reviews are mediocre at best.  Why fix what wasn't broken?

We are on the Regal for thanksgiving cruise, and one of the reasons I booked it was because the internet was so good on the Sky.  Hope it works as well.  So many mixed reviews of cruise ship starlink.  I agree that the cruise lines are not purchasing the best service from Starlink, and thus the quality is poor.  Hope that changes, because for me high quality fast internet is a difference-maker, and make a significant effect on which cruise line I will book with. 

Im on the Regal this November, and Celebrity Apex in March.  Hope both those ships step up their internet game.

16 hours ago, 1965 said:

Just to make sure I understand- I have an android so I would need whatsapp in order to text onboard without charges, even if I'm connected to wifi with medallion net. If no whatsapp then I should stick to shipmate chat.

I have android phone, and I can text on ships internet using my standard android messaging.  I can also make phone calls.  No special app required for either.  Enable wifi calling on your settings.

1 hour ago, KKB said:

 

Have done 11 Princess in 20 years; 6 in the last 15 mos. Enjoyed them all.

Have done 5 NCL cruises in the last 5 years; 4 in the last year. Encore in Dec. was "meh" others great.

Sailed the Breakaway last month. 

 

OK...itineraries are irrelevant.

 

Feb is NOT big kid season--most kiddos have spring break in Mar-Apr (retired teacher here).

But there will likely be more kiddos on NCL at any time.

 

The Breakaway pool are is MUCH too small for the size of ship, kids or not. 

(there is a "kids" pool & an another pool; plus one for Haven guests)

It DOES have Spice H2O area--doesn't fill as fast as the pool area, tho still be there by 8:30-9 on sea days. ADULTS only (supposed to be). No pool, but it has a waterfall/splash pool.

Tho you have 4 port days. You can get your beach on those days, OR enjoy a quiet pool deck! 

You could also spring for the Vibe pass--about $250 each for the week. No issue getting seats, great service, but NO POOL, tho it does have hot tubs. Not sure it is worth it with 4 port days.

Regal has 4 pools & they are bigger.

Breakaway carried 500 more passengers.

 

Food--honestly we enjoy MDR on both; NCL specialty dining is better than Princess IMO. 

Generally a tie for me.

 

I do appreciate that Princess drink package includes water & coffee. Edge to them.

 

Internet--both fine but NCL is minutes & Princess is unlimited so edge to them.

 

Activities--things like game shows, trivia, musicians, are fairly similar.

NCL offers the sports complex & water slides; nothing like that on the Regal.

 

Breakaway is a step above in shows--Six (tho sadly it will be ending in Jan), dueling pianos, Syd Normans.

Princess production shows are "meh" & offer no dueling pianos.

I am a Syd Norman's groupie & honestly choose my NCL ships ONLY if they have it.

(the only ones we sailed that didn't have it we won)

Syd's is a show that feels like a fun 70s-80s cover band. 

If that's your jam, you will love this. ('84 grad here...right up my alley)

4 different shows/week PLUS a 5th show: the Rumours album from top to bottom with the stories for every song. (done 2x one night)

Line up EARLY (like 45 min-1 hr)--small popular venue.

I don't wait in line for much...but it's worth it. Bring a drink.😉

 

Another thing Breakaway has is Waterfront--EVERY ship should have this.

It is the Promenade Deck 2.0.

Nice seating runs along both sides PLUS a bar on each side! 

AND they pipe Syd's music out there during shows (Starboard side) so it's great if you didn't get a seat inside.

We spend LOTS of time out here...reading, napping, drinking, socializing.

It is covered enough that even rain is rarely an issue.

 

Both are great options.

After our Encore cruise in Dec, I was worried NCL was cutting costs & affecting product, but we didn't find that last month on the Breakaway.

Other than the Encore, we find service in mainstream cruiselines nearly identical.

 

My choice would be BREAKAWAY.

 

(PS I like the Prima option--we are trying her in Jan; but I TOTALLY understand the confinements of an educator's schedule...the joys of retirement now!!)

Sid Normans is FANTASTIC, and the Rumors show is the absolute best cruise entertainment I have seen cruising.  I still prefer Princess overall, but NCL entertainment at night is outstanding.

2 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

Similar to what I said to Tony, if you had asked me 2 years ago I would agree with you, but IMHO times change.  I think the Breakaway-PLUS ships are more upscale than Princess (which, admittedly, the Norwegian Breakaway is not), and our sailings on NCL since Covid left us with an impression of NCL that is brighter, more youthful, and vibrant (and by that I don't just mean the ship--I mean the cruise directors, the programming, the activities, etc.).  Princess was still good (as long as you didn't need to call the corporate phone line), but just seemed to get in a rut.  It seems Norwegian's been really trying to change their image, and at least for us they were successful.  I would have said Princess Medallion is technologically ahead of Norwegian, except that everywhere I look people are struggling to get Medallion to work.  At one point I saw Princess assigning their dance instructors to helping passengers fix their Medallion app.  It's that rut I was talking about:  Princess deployed Medallion, but over time the IT support has just atrophied.

 

Funnily, I think we actually like International Cafe (on Princess) better than O-Malleys.  That's our go-to after a long port call, and we saved our stomachs for the ship.  They both can get pretty busy.  I think maybe O'Malleys might be "better", but International is a better fit for us because we can just walk right up, whereas O'Malleys you have to wait.  Funny that our impressions of Princess vs. NCL are mirror-image opposites.

 

We book both lines, because we like both.  And both have pros and cons.  But in our assessment, Princess is more upscale, refined, and a higher quality.  Different strokes for different folks.  -We like Princess Plus over the NCL program.  Princess internet is ten times faster than NCL.  And I agree that International Cafe is fantastic.  Little distinctions between lines, and my wife and I are both in our 50's, so we would rather have less kids on ships than when we had our own children with us on cruises. Princess and HAL have both jumped over NCL with us for those reasons, and we are sailing Celebrity Apex in the spring, which we expect will be similar.

I still like NCL, but between the two, Ill take Princess ten times out of ten.

Wife and I have sailed both NCL and Princess too many times to count.  We were on the breakaway, but not the Regal (although we have sailed her sister ship Sky).  Sailing on the Regal in November though. 

There is a very relevant distinction between Princess and NCL; and Princess is, as a general rule, a better quality product.  Better service, more refined and adult atmosphere, and less crowded.  We have enjoyed all of our NCL cruises, and will continue sailing with NCL.  NCL has decent value, and lots of cruises in the Caribbean, which is where we typically cruise.  NCL started the casual freestyle approach in the cruise industry, which I love, and O'malleys Irish pub is the best casual restaurant in cruising. But Princess is just a notch up in overall quality. Not to mention, the medallion concept is awesome!  And the internet on Princess is vastly superior to NCL, if that matters to you.

Well, you can only swim with the medallion if you could swim before you got the medallion.  Otherwise, with or without the medallion you will sink!

Another question about the Regal. 

On the Sky, my wife and I really enjoyed the evening shows in the atrium after dinner.  There was either a two person guitar/singer playing a variety of contemporary type music, or a string/piano quartet playing classical and/or contemporary tunes. Both were outstanding.

Does the Regal do something like that?  Not wanting some big loud shows in the atrium; but rather some nice music to chill by.

Have the Regal booked for November (Thanksgiving week).  Sailed on the Sky last year and loved it, but ship wasn't at full capacity then. The internet quality on the Sky was unbelievably good when we sailed.  I know the Regal is an older sister of the Sky.  Can someone confirm the internet quality on the Regal?  I was able to stream live football games, and we could face-time family, all seamlessly on the Sky.  Hope that is doable on the Regal.

We booked the Princess Plus, and are contemplating upgrading to the Premiere.  The Plus was great for us last time.  We drink, but are not sophisticated drinkers, and house wine, domestic beer, and frozen margaritas and pinacoladas pretty much cover our tastes, so thinking the beverage part is covered with the plus.  Anyone think I'm wrong with that? (We are platinum status if that matters).

The Premiere does provide unlimited casual dining and two specialty restaurants.  The specialty dining isn't a deal killer for us.  We would take it if we had it, but we generally are very pleased with the main dining rooms, so will be fine with that.  However, the casual dining is relevant, and being capped at two freebees might suck.  Aside from Alfredo's, which I really like, what other casual restaurants will we have to pay for?  We have plenty of credit, so not too big a deal, but curious.

We are staying at the Clarion Point Galveston Seawall the night before.  Any experience with this hotel? Any decent restaurants within walking distance? Whats best strategy to get to the ship in the morning?

Lastly, the ship is out of Galveston, and flying into bush.  We got the Princess transfer for the trip back, after disembarking.  Any experience with this? Will we receive some instructions on this before disembarkation? 

Thank you in advance for helpful replys.

We have been on about 35-40 cruises over the years, and sailed most mainstream lines several times at least.  We found that over the years things change; both with the cruise lines, cruise industry, our family, our personal preferences, and just about everything else.  We have had great, and less than perfect experiences on every cruise line, and almost every ship we have sailed. We sailed more with Princess, HAL, and NCL than any other line, but also multiple cruises on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  Mostly in the Caribbean, as we prefer getting out of the cold, and to the warmth. Haven't sailed Celebrity yet, but will be on the Apex in the spring.

In my mind cruises are like pizza and s*x; even when its "bad", its still good.  Having said that, cruise lines have personalities, and like people, some you like more than others, because their personality fits yours better.  For us it has been Princess, but we are eager to finally sail with Celebrity.  My wife and I have found Princess to be a more adult crowd and style.  I sounds like Celebrity is similar in that respect. 

Different strokes for different folks.  Some people love Carnival, and will never detour from that line, because it fits their style perfectly.  More power to them.  Sometimes the comparison between two good lines is a hairsplitting contest.  But I admit, I enjoy reading the comments, so keep it up. 

Have Apex booked, and have been given early dining for our group, which  think is at 6pm.  If we switch to anytime how early will we be able to get reservations for?  We would love to get reservations for 5:15.  Is that doable?

17 hours ago, kwokpot said:

No, that price is for ONE bag of laundry. 

Your HAL pricing is a steal of it's unlimited. That's even less that cousin line Carnival charges, since they don't have an unlimited laundry package for people without status. 

Just checked, and it was $59 for unlimited laundry on HAL for our one week cruises.  I think they also have a per bag price of $30.  I agree that the HAL deal is a no brainer. And the turnover was always one day. 

I don't suppose the Apex has a self serve laundry?  My problem is that I work out every morning and I am drenched in sweat.  I hate having to pack up all that sweaty laundry from even the last couple days. 

The $48.99 "wash and fold" that I see in the celebrity website is for just a single bag, or is that unlimited during the cruise?  Last two HAL cruises I was on over past five months has unlimited for close to the same price, so I assumed that is what it would be on the Apex.  Am I wrong?

I'm about to book a cruise on the Apex, and we will have the "all included" package.  It looks like there is no per day drink limit, but it only covers drinks up to $10, which seems low, compared to other cruise lines.  

Few questions.  Does this basic package cover specialty coffees?  Does the $10 limit cover all the basic stuff, like a frozen margaritas, and most wines and beers?  Lastly, if I want to upgrade the package to the premium is it the $18.99 per person per day? 

And another somewhat related question; if I want to upgrade my internet package from the surf , which I get in the all inclusive package, to the premium internet, what will that cost, and does it make a difference if I book it in advance or wait till I get on the ship?

Thanks.

My wife and I are very light drinkers, but we actually do get the drink packages on cruises; primarily so we don't ever think about the cost of drinks while on the cruise.  And, I have to admit, we tend to drink far more when on the cruise as a result.  Kind of motivates us to let our hair hang.  We have never come close to the drink limit, and there are several days where we drink nothing but non-alcoholic beverages, or maybe just a drink or two. 

We have gotten the HIA package on our HAL cruises, but have never used the excursion credit.  We actually love eating in the main dining room, so the specialty dining isnt a big deal for us either.  Hmmmm.....   Maybe the HIA isn't worth it. 

Glad we had this chat.

I always have the same quandary; whether to purchase before the cruise, or wait to purchase once on board, so I can use OBC.  I believe it is more expensive if purchased on board, and thus, for our Nieuw Statendam cruise this Saturday I purchased in advance using the app.  I actually had a HAL gift card to use, so that played into decision as well.

On our cruise this last Christmas i did learn that really there were only three days we sent bags of laundry to be cleaned, because we didn't have much to send the first day or so, and you cant use it the last day.  I contemplated just paying for two bags to be laundered, instead of the unlimited, but the difference in price wasn't significant enough, so I just got the unlimited.  The price jumped about $10 for the unlimited since our Christmas cruise.  Now its $60.  Still very convenient.  I work our every morning, and sweat like a pig, so soaking wet when done.  I need that cleaned!  Too much information?   Lol.  we are all family here, right?

was the internet good?  streaming possible?

Did ship seem crowded?  Hot tubs crowded, or available? 

Thanks for the review BTW.  Nicely done.  I like the format.