kwokpot

I was just on the Apex out of Rotterdam for and Iceland and Northern Europe cruise from July 6-19th and the flew to Rome for a 7 night Greek Islands and Mediterranean cruise on the Odyssey from July 23-30. I enjoyed both cruises immensely but it was night and day. The Apex did have lots of kids but it was calm and relaxing. The Odyssey on the other hand was just shear craziness with the amount of families on board. We were at capacity and there were some interesting statistics given at the Diamond and up event. Only 20% of the passengers were previous RCL customers and about the same % were Americans. The Europeans sure love sunning, The pool decks were just a mass of people EVERYWHERE and with the heat it was stifling and honestly uncomfortable to be on the pool deck. And this was the week of record breaking temperatures in Southern Europe. Luckily I've been to Rome too many times to count but precruise it was just way too hot to do any touring when it was 98 degrees in Rome. Luckily the temps started to moderate a bit and it was manageable temps for a great beach day in Mykonos. This was my first and will be the LAST time I EVER do a Mediterranean cruise during the summer months. Previous trips have always been Spring or Fall but family scheduling required a summer trip.

When was the last time you remembered seeing that? And where was this live band, in the theater? What kind of show was it that included a live band? I don't ever remember seeing anything like that.

The advantage is for the MAJORITY of people that book balcony cabins bet never actually sit outside on the balcony for any significant time. People want the balcony for the views and the fresh air, which an IV cabin provides. You are correct in saying that for those that lie to really be outdoors laying on a lounger on your balcony an IV cabin isn't the right fit for you. But that's definitely not the majority of people who book balcony cabins.

When applying for an URComped cruise you are asked what your gambling budget is. I'll have to check the disclaimers to see if there's any stipulations that there may be a charge back if no gambling is detected. I know in the past on certain URComped offers there was indeed that statement, but i don't remember if it's present on current offers. I'm writing this at baggage claim at JFK after finishing two cruises. URComped booked cruise on the Apex, a 12 night Iceland itinerary. But we actually disembarked a 2nd cruise this morning,the Odyssey of the Seas 7 night Greek Islands which was the first non- comped cruise we've taken in years and first RCL cruise since March 2020. My husband lost all hs Casino Royale status but attained Prime on the cruise and winning 13 jackpots!!! Oh and he won ZERO jackpots on the Apex. It was TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT!!!

Twice a day. I think you are referring the Green program or something to that effect. Although I didn't receive an email to participate in it for this cruise, I've done it before on a previous one. At that time I didn't notice any difference since they still came in the evening to freshen up the cabin. I think the idea was no change out of towels to lessen the amount of laundry. But I didn't opt for it on this cruise.

It's all about how much one gambles. Sometimes people LIE and don't tell you the truth about how much one spends in the casino. In other words, no cruiseline is going to give away a comped cruise or even a highly discounted cruise if you only spent $200 in the casino for the entire cruise. Anyone that claims that is NOT TELLING YOU THE TRUTH. Edit: last year Blue chip club did have a big marketing giveaway where they were giving away comped cruises for non gamblers. I know because I received such an offer. I booked that free cruise on the Solstice this past February and gambled about $150 total. Haven't gotten any other offers. The Solstice Mexican Riviera cruises were severely undersold, which is why Blue Chip was giving away cruises on that ship to non gamblers, just to fill the ship. That won't be happening to that degree anymore.

Correct, your Captain's Club #.

The fees you're quoting are per person, and not the total for a double occupancy cabin.

Cruise wrapup and final thoughts I'm laying in bed in my hotel in Rome almost ready for my next cruise (7 day Greek Islands and Mediterranean on Royal's Odyssey of the Seas) and I just wanted to wrap up my thoughts on the Apex cruise. Ship This was our second time on the Apex, the first time in December 2021 and the ship looks just like it did when we first sailed her. Everything about the ship, the facilities, staff, food was on point. The only disappointment we had was our dinner at Fine Cut Steakhouse. Nothing was bad per se, but our experience just didn't rise to the level of a specialty restaurant that warranted an extra $60/pp cover. One could look at it as saying we felt the service and food quality of the four main dining rooms was equal to our experience at Fine Cut. We had zero issues with our cabin and the same goes for our cabin attendant. We enjoyed our dinner experiences in the MDR and for me only one dinner entree didn't meet my expectations. The Oceanview Cafe/buffet was consistently excellent with a wide variety of choices which also extended to dinnertime. Cafe Al Bacio is our favorite venue and the coffee, tea, and dessert quality and choices were top notch. The same goes for the staff there who remembered our orders and were always such a pleasure to interact with. Although we didn't partake in too many of the entertainment choices on board on the whole they were varied and high quality. Many times we enjoyed listening to the entertainment from the Grand Plaza while enjoying our coffee at Cafe Al Bacio. The fitness center is well equipped and although it was busy every day during our sailing the crowds never hindered my ability to complete my workout routine. The Ports Every port on this itinerary besides Rotterdam was new to us, which is why we chose this sailing, and it didn't disappoint. The three Iceland ports were a great sampling of what Iceland has to offer. We did tours at two of the three ports and they were both independent. We did have issues with the tour companies in both Isafjordur and Reykjavik but ultimately we got resolutions with both companies and were able to see the attractions that we wanted to see. I thought our port time in Cobh would be too short to visit Cork but my fears were unfounded and we enjoyed a short afternoon in Cork. Both Glasgow and Belfast were very enjoyable just to walk around the City Centers and get a small glimpse of what each town was like and had to offer. Weather I was so concerned pre-cruise about the weather for this itinerary but we definitely lucked out and in Iceland we had no rain and mild temperatures. The rain did come and go a couple of times in Belfast but it didn't hamper walking around town. And it was a wonderful surprise to see the Gay Pride Parade and the thousands of participants go through the streets of Glasgow. Summary All in all besides Robert getting sick and basically in the cabin for 2.5 days and the mishaps with our private tours we couldn't have asked for a better cruise. Both Amsterdam and Rotterdam were great places to embark and disembark and although it obviously would have been easier to have boarded from Amsterdam it gave us the opportunity to visit Rotterdam a second time (The first time was via a cruise port stop) and enjoy a great one night pre-cruise stay and meal in this beautiful city.

The port fees and taxes are listed on every cruise booking you do and are the same for everyone regardless whether you're on a casino complementary. To determine the port fees and taxes just do a sample dummy booking of a cruise you're interested in. Go through the booking process . I just did it for you while laying in my hotel bed in Rome. If you look at the screen shot I even included the gratuities, so on a complementary casino cruise you would pay the cabin price of $530.42 which includes port fees, taxes and gratuities. Your savings is $1,724.00.

That's it. And just to be clear, it's not a scam or false advertising. You're saving the base fare. Standard well drinks are free in the casino while actively gambling.

Do you know if this shuttle bus is provided by the city or it was Celebrity organized?

I'm sorry, I don't know. I didn't attend any question or answer session.

Disembarkation Day We woke up this morning at 6:00am with the same view of Rotterdam as we did at the start of the cruise. They had just made an announcement in the hallways/public spaces that self debarkation has started. Too early for us! We went up to the buffet for breakfast. It was busy but less frantic than a port day morning. We needed to vacate the room by 7:30 and we figured we would walk off at the same time. At 7:30 we proceeded out of the room and slowly walked down from Deck 8 to 4, where using the aft stairwell put us right at the ship exit. It was one of the easiest walk offs we've had. No ID or passport checks needed. We walked out and towards the street tram stop, which we planned to take to the Rotterdam Central train station. We had purchased single use tram tickets prior to the cruise so it was easy to board the tram, which was sitting at the station, scan the ticket at the activation machine (photo below) to activate the ticket, and wait for the tram to depart. It was an easy ride and the train station was just behind the street tram stop. Our plan is to take a train from Rotterdam directly to Brussels Airport, where we will board a flight to Rome. After a four night stay we will board Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas ship for a seven night Greece and Mediterranean cruise. We are meeting other family members and there will be nine of us traveling together. The train ride to Brussels Airport was uneventful as was checking our luggage. One annoying thing was the airport security scanning required EVERYONE to transfer their allowed liquids, creams, and pastes into ONE airport provided and sized ziplock bag to go through the scanners. Other than that we had no issues. We are now relaxing at one of the Airport lounges (Courtesy of Priority Pass from AMEX platinum card) until our 2:55pm flight to Rome, where it's 100 degrees!!! 🥵 I'll do a whole cruise summary in the next post. Photo of Rotterdam street tram ticket activation scanners

The porthole verandas should all be the same size.

Day 12 Sea Day, Last day of cruise We had to turn the clock forward one hour the previous night to get onto Rotterdam time and given it's a sea day the ship was quieter than usual for our normal 8:45-9:00am breakfast time. We went to Eden Cafe and got a few breakfast items; oatmeal, fruit, bear claw pastry, egg, bacon, cheese sandwich. Unfortunately the oatmeal was so watery it was more like hot milk with some oatmeal in it (The oatmeal at Eden Cafe is made with milk rather than water as in the buffet). We went to the Spa Cafe to try out the oatmeal there for the first time on this cruise and as I remembered correctly it is made with apple cider. As I also remembered correctly the preparation is hit or miss and this time it was a miss. It was way too tart and not pleasant tasting. The coffee though is great at the Spa cafe since it comes from one of those automatic espresso machines rather than a drip coffee machine. The last day of the cruise usually has that downbeat feeling. But that wasn't the case on this cruise. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the different activities on the ship. We did some onboard shopping as Robert had some onboard credit to use up as compliments of the casino for his play. It was sunny out and very breezy and the main pool deck was occupied by people enjoying the sun but at that point it was a bit too brisk for me (Probably low, mid 60s). Lunch was a bit chaotic as to be expected but there were all kinds of good things to eat and a deluxe dessert offerings for the last day. After lunch I decided to get my packing done so it was out of the way. It felt good to be all packed and it gave me the time later in the afternoon to get in a good final workout. On this cruise the gym was busier than most cruises, especially European ones. There were many young adults and the late afternoons the fitness center resembled a college gymnasium. After my workout I went out to the main pool deck and the sun was shining brightly and the breeze had subsided so I enjoyed a Negroni cocktail under the Elite Cocktail hour. It was a great to enjoy pre- dinner drinks outside sailing the English Channel. We had dinner at Cyprus dining room at 7:30pm. I started with a appetizer portion of the ravioli and then the beet salad. Robert asked for his usual custom basic salad. For the main course I had a Chief special grilled codfish and Robert had the Cyprus Special Greek style pasta. We decided to go to Al Bacio one last time for our decaf Americanos and desserts. The ship was hopping with activity. Great music from the Grand Plaza and people coming and going from the shows. We decided to skip the late show but we heard that it was excellent! Attached is the daily planner for you to see all the activities scheduled despite it being the last day.

Disembarkation Information Attached is the disembarkation information sheet, including a little blurb in the Daily planner regarding Celebrity transfers from Rotterdam to Amsterdam airport for a very cheap price of $39.99/pp!!!

The around the horn South America cruise is one we haven't done and on our bucket list. We've done South America coastal from Buenos Aires to Santos and enjoyed that cruise immensely.

Day 11 Cobh/Cork, Evening Today is Robert's birthday. We are on a casino complementary cruise as Robert is a gambler of the family. For his play on this cruise the casino treated us to a dinner at Fine Cut Steakhouse. Our reservation is 6:00pm and when we arrived there were only a handful of occupied tables. That would soon change and by 7:00pm the dining room was filling up. Our dinner came with a bottle of wine, so I chose a Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. For starters l had the lobster cocktail and Robert had the Arugula salad. The lobster cocktail was good and the lobster pieces were firm and tasty, and not mushy nor rubbery. For the entrees we both had the ribeye. I'll have to be very honest; both Robert and I were disappointed with the quality of the steak, considering this is an extra charge specialty restaurant. We sailed on the Beyond last October in Aquaclass and we had a ribeye in Blu that was similar in quality, so I would expect a ribeye in Finecut to be even a better quality of beef than what's served as part of Blu. Our overall experience in Finecut was no better than the MDRs on this ship. I will not pay extra to dine in Fine Cut in the future. After dinner Robert and I spent some time in the casino. Overall Robert has had fun in the casino on the Apex but the slots were very, very tight and this cruise was probably the first in years where he didn't win at least one jackpot on the slot machines. We didn't see any shows but I'll publish the daily planner for everyone to see what entertainment was available on the second Chic Night of the cruise and the second to last day of the cruise.

Day 11 Cobh/Cork, Morning and Afternoon We woke up our regular time and with Robert feeling better and still no fever we went up for breakfast in the buffet. Since our arrival into Cobh wasn't until 11:00am the buffet wasn't crazy busy at 9:00am. The Captain did inform us we will get into Port about 30 minutes earlier which is always welcome. We didn't decide until this morning that we would take the train into Cork and walk around. Our IV cabin is on the Starboard side of the ship so we waited until we saw the gangway being hoisted into place that we went to queue up to disembark. We waited about 15-20 minutes and all if the sudden the line started moving. What's convenient about Cobh is the train station is literally a stone's throw from the Port dock. The train runs every 30 minutes on the half hour from Cobh to Cork, and the same in reverse for the 25 minutes ride. The cost was just under $8/rt/pp. We were able to make the 11:30am train. The Cork City Centre is rather compact and the River Lee flows around a peninsula portion of the city so there are multiple small bridges both pedestrian only and cars and people bridges to cross. We enjoyed checking out the English Market which was more akin to Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market than Belfast's in that the English Market offered more meats and produce vendors than prepared food vendors so that it's more geared towards locals than tourists. Having said that we enjoyed a sandwich at the Sandwich Stand in the Market, and washed it down with some delicious Irish Apple juice. We checked out Elisabeth Fort and the adjacent Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral. We then checked out some the many pedestrian only streets filled with shops, restaurants, and bars. since Robert was just recovering from being sick we decided to head back to the ship after enjoying two hours in Cork. Despite a short Port call in Cobh with an all aboard at 5:00 the convenience of the train to Cork allowed us to see a small glimpse of the city in a short time. We were able to get back and take a rest/nap before our early 6:00pm dinner at Fine Cuts Steakhouse(It's Robert's birthday today!!!).

That's an interesting question. The way that I'll answer is it depends on your frame of reference. I'm a born and bred NY'er, who now lives in Philadelphia for the past 17 years. So from my frame of reference, street art is part of the Urban fabric of life. I'm 61 so I know New York City of the 70s and 80s when graffiti was rampant and ubiquitous. In Philly street murals were a way of camouflaging blank walls due to buildings being abandoned and torn down leaving empty lots with blank walls like a mouth with missing teeth. I can see someone who's never lived in a big urban city that's faced urban decay be uncomfortable with the amount of graffiti and street art, but it is now considered a legitimate art form. Just look at Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat or Banksy. https://www.discoverphl.com/blog/city-of-murals/

Day 10 Belfast, Evening Dinner tonight with Robert was in the Cosmopolitan dining room. I was hungry so I decided to have two starters. I asked for an appetizer portion of the Spaghetti a la mallorquin. It was a delicious red sauce with a little bit of heat, and rich tasting. Robert requested a basic lettuce and tomato salad. My second starter was the Boston lettuce and Gorgonzola salad. For entrees I had the pan seared Black Cod and Robert had the salmon. I really enjoyed the Cod with the Asian inspired flavors. It was cooked properly and neither dry nor mushy. For dessert I had the Apple Tarte Tatin and Robert had the apple pie. The Tarte Tatin was as far away from an authentic French recipe as can be. As you can see the apple slices are too large and we're never caramelized thus never achieving the golden brown color that is emblematic of a true French Tarte Tatin. Accompanying the desserts were decaf Americanos, which have been consistently brewed and served nice and strong. Dinner was a good pace at 75 minutes. We didn't partake in any evening shows and returned to the cabin to relax and watch some TV for the evening. I'll include the Daily planner in the photos so you can see what kinds of evening entertainment and activities are available.

Day 10 Belfast, Afternoon The vast amount of street art and murals in Belfast deserves it's own photo section.

Day 10 Belfast, Morning and Afternoon First off Robert woke up this morning feeling much better. He had no fever and took another COVID test and it was negative (2 consecutive days negative for COVID). He decided to play it safe and stay in the cabin for the day and be rested up for dinner in the MDR for the first time in two days. After breakfast in the buffet and getting Robert some food to eat in the room I leisurely got ready for an afternoon in Belfast. The City provides a shuttle service that cost 10 dollars/pounds/euro return which is a great deal. It picks and drops off right in front of Belfast city hall by the Visit Belfast tourist office. Starts at 9:00 and last shuttle back from Belfast was 5:30. It was about a 15-20 ride. Having never been to Belfast I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised how o much new construction has obviously occurred among the traditional Irish architecture. The weather was all over the place. It was around 62 but when the rain clouds moved in a cold wind comes with the rain showers. Then after awhile the rain stops and the sun is out and it becomes warm. The St. George's market was crowded with people and it was a fun place to explore. In Philly we have one of the country's top market, The Reading Terminal Market, and this has a somewhat similar vibe, albeit a lot less grocery stalls and more individual prepared foods stalls. It was interesting to see some food stalls were wildly more popular than others with long queues of people. Lots of photos to follow. I enjoyed just walking all around enjoying all the architecture and especially the street art (Another attraction that Philly is famous for the world over, street art/murals). I was out about four hours and had an enjoyable afternoon. Took the shuttle bus back and after a brief rest had enough energy to do a short workout at the gym before dinner with Robert.