Ergates The Ant

When we visited a few years ago, we walked from Filipstad quay to Frognerpark. It was a nice day, a pleasant walk through residential streets. Printed off a map, and as we got nearer, we were able to follow the tram rails on the road! There were public toilets at the entrance to the park, needed cash then ( maybe different now) but they took euros and dollars as well as Norwegian Kroner.

Our experience wasn’t as good as it could have been as there was a lot of scaffolding around the central sculptures, and quite a lot of large and noisy tour groups. I did see one American complaining on a forum that the sculptures were of nude people, so be aware!

We only drink one cup of ‘proper’ caffeinated coffee a day. Usually at breakfast on the ship, but will skip that if we are planning on having a coffee ashore. I don’t drink fizzy drinks, although OH will have one can a day, (sugar free and caffeine free)  and I’d prefer to drink water that hasn’t been bottled. So it looks as if the refreshment package is a waste of time for us, and with the loyalty discounts on a couple of coffees, the coffee card may not be worth the bother.

Loved the Eclipse, but as I was getting rather bored with the artwork, was looking forward to trying the Silhouette. Thanks to Covid, that never happened, but we did cruise on the Apex last month. 
Apex had no wow factor, apart from Eden, which looked great but we found rather unusable. Uncomfortable chairs, odd seating layout, and a rather weird entry area, a narrow mirrored corridor. Much of the public area was more like a rather dark conference hotel, whereas the S class ships seemed airy and bright. The S class central lifts gave great views of the atrium, and the interesting areas on the upper floors, such as the library and the suspended tree. Lots to look at and admire. Apex was sadly lacking. In fact, the best thing for us by far ( on a cooler weather cruise to Norway) was the Infinite Veranda, which worked really well for us! 
I’d think twice about booking a ship with no forward facing lounge, it was sadly missed on Apex.

Anyone thinking of booking a cabana on Apex would be wise to look at them first before parting with your money! They were laughable!

Thanks LB_NJ, didn’t occur to me to check our loyalty benefits ( they are usually of no interest to us) As Platinum members, it looks as if we get two coffees each at 50% discount, so that’s worth having! Plus some worthwhile discounts on a couple of glasses of wine, ( which as my OH doesn’t drink, will go twice as far!) That’s excellent!

We enjoy a black americano each with breakfast pastries. A lot will also depend on how easy it is to get a coffee. Just off Celebrity Apex, where a black americano cost $6 each, but we only managed to partake twice because there were rarely any seats free in the coffee shop ( and one of those times, we had to sit in the ‘overflow’ speciality restaurant next door. So we had our coffee ashore in Norway instead, much better coffee and half the price! Sounds like we might as well wait until we are on board, and give the coffee a try before buying the card.
Thanks all, for the information. 
 

First time in an Infinite Balcony cabin to Norway in May, and we loved it. We have a cruise booked for October, to western Spain and Portugal, Royal Caribbean in a regular balcony cabin. I’ll be sure to make a detailed comparison. It will be interesting to see how we find it.

I’m pretty sure there is never a 3pin UK socket in the bathroom. Maybe the poster is thinking of the 2 pin shaver / toothbrush socket in the bathroom?

I’m considering buying a coffee card for my upcoming cruise on Anthem. I note that it can’t be used in stand alone Starbucks coffee shops, but I’m not clear whether I can use it in the Patisserie opposite cafe Promenade. Where can I use it on the Anthem, and what venues can’t I use it? It looks as if it will be a significant saving over individual cups of coffee. 
Also, can I buy it on board, and is there any benefit on buying the card in advance? It’s not showing as a pre cruise saving.

Many thanks for any information.

Just been out for lunch today, and looking at the price of a glass of wine. Nearly as much as I’d  pay for a whole bottle in the supermarket, and much of that price is tax and duty. However, the extra cost covers the convenience of having a nice venue to enjoy my drink, and having someone pour a glass for me and bring it to me. Fair enough.

Just thinking back to the prices of a glass of wine on my recent Celebrity cruise. When I first started cruising, alcohol on ships was very reasonably priced as it was duty free. Have things changed, or is it that the cruise companies are happy not to pass on the benefits? 
Well, never mind, I’m paying for the privilege of having someone open the bottle, pour me a glass and bring it to me. But hang on, Celebrity aren’t even doing that, the ‘service charge’ is added on afterwards! Hmmmm!
 

Our go-to cruise destination is Norway, making sure that the ship visits at least two of the long fjords on a week long cruise. 
Several reasons for that. We like to sail to and from the UK, and just for 7-8 days, and there are fewer interesting destinations that meet that requirement. 
Norway is also hideously expensive, so having the convenience of eating on board the ship is a benefit. We are also picky eaters, not keen on fish, and not general fans of Scandinavian cuisine ( we have relatives in Sweden, so are well aware of what’s considered good food there - and at least they don’t eat whales)

The best scenery in Norway is down the fjords, and so more easily accessible by water. Road trips can be lengthy, and the terrain necessitates multiple tunnels and ferries. Weather can be unpredictable, one of our few road trips there was abandoned because we couldn’t appreciate the scenery through the rain. So gliding down a fjord, in a warm and dry cabin, with amazing scenery just outside the window was magical! 
As I said before, best to make sure that you can visit as many of the long fjords as possible. Some cruises are heavy on coastal towns, which are ok for a Quick Look but get a bit samey once you’ve visited two or three. It’s the snow capped mountains I want to see!

We always request only one service a day on cruises, morning clean and bed making etc, and then leave us in peace for the rest of the day. Our cabin steward left us extra towels every morning in case we needed them. Our newsletter was left outside the room in the rack - no chocolates though, although I wasn’t bothered as I don’t remember them being good, and I did have a supply I picked up in Bruges!

I didn’t know about the go Green program until just before our cruise in May. I’ve seen our extra points on our profiles, but didn’t see anywhere what the breakdown was. Do I have to work it out myself?

Thanks for your comprehensive review, which I really enjoyed. We recently did a cruise to Norway on the Apex, and you have summed up quite a few things about the Edge class ships which I was struggling to put into words. 
The Apex was missing a lot of the charm of the other Celebrity ships we have cruised on before, we also missed the forward facing lounge, and after looking into the main dining rooms, decided we’d be happier in the buffet with its big windows and less crammed in tables, than being in a low ceilinged room in the bowels of the ship. 
No wow factor, like the atrium on the S class ships, or the tiered dining room. I didn’t see anything to tempt me in the on board shops (my husband wondered if I was coming down with something!) although I had a good laugh at the prices of the ‘luxury’ goods, many of which seemed to be second hand. I’m assuming everyone who did buy stuff smuggled it home, as the import duty they should have paid would have wiped out any supposed savings.

The theatre was amazing, and capable of such incredible special effects, although we did have to abandon some of the musical numbers. As tends to be the case, the backing orchestra was trying to drown out the singers, who in turn had to shout rather than sing, and the sound engineer turned everything up to distortion level!

But we loved the Infinite Balcony cabin, perfect for cool weather cruises with scenic viewing.

Thanks again for taking us along.

First time we visited Bergen, the queues for the Funicular were too long for us, so we walked up and back down instead. Can’t remember how long it took, but it was a pleasant enough walk. Saw one of the ships officers who had run up, and was running down again! As you are there on a Sunday, expect to see lots of local families also out for the walk. It snowed briefly when we got to the top! 
Did I mention the Resistance Museum? Very interesting, an easy walk from the Bryggen, free to enter and clean loos! We enjoyed it very much.

Why should the cruise line take any responsibility for passengers failure to take out appropriate travel insurance? It’s second nature for us in the UK, in particular because we don’t want to get landed with massive medical bills, but there is so much that could go wrong during the journey to the port, and that is covered. 

I would be very annoyed if my cruise schedule was disrupted by late comers, because where would the responsibility stop? Would the ship wait for one passenger who had chosen a late flight that was disrupted by weather miles away? If the weather isn’t disrupting the ships departure, then I would expect it to be leaving on time.

Fair enough if the cruise line has organised the flights, then they should, and seemingly do, take responsibility for getting the passengers to the ship. However, it does seem that this might have to be at the next port of call, and hopefully passengers so disrupted get adequate compensation for the inconvenience and worry.

We started cruising with Celebrity because at the time, it was the only cruise line which didn’t allow smoking in any indoor places. That’s a deal breaker for us. 
We also prefer to eat in the buffet for convenience, and Celebrity ships had the best laid out buffet, with easily the best food and choices.

Service was always excellent, and it was noticeable how friendly all the staff were. The on board ambience was adult and stylish, and we loved the wow factor on the S class ships. We’ve just cruised on the Apex, but although we enjoyed ourselves, I thought the layout and styling were a bit too hotel / conference centre for my liking.

our second choice is Royal Caribbean. We enjoy seeing the activities like the flow rider and the parades, although it was noticeably more attractive to families with children, although we typically travel outside school holidays. The casino was non smoking on cruises out of the UK, so that was good.

Zitsky, here are a couple of photos taken from the open window of the IV. To get similar views from a regular balcony, I would have needed to go out to the balcony railing. I also enjoyed the relative privacy of a solid wall between us and our neighbours, rather than the balcony dividers. 
Hope this will give you an idea.

We found the chairs perfectly comfortable on our recent trip to Norway. We sat for hours by the window watching the fjords and enjoying the sea views. If it was warm enough outside, we had the window completely open. I especially liked it during the early hours when we entered the fjords. In our previous balcony cabins, I would put a coat on and lean on the railing to see the sights, until I got too chilly to enjoy it. Also no point sitting on the balcony, as the view upwards, and forwards and back was restricted by the roof of the balcony, or the screens to the adjoining cabins. View from inside the room was obviously even more restricted. 

Instead I was able to sit in comfort right by the window, with a really expansive view, binoculars on the table next to me! We thought the IV cabin was perfect for this situation, and were very pleased we took the risk booking it rather than our usual balcony cabins.

Disclaimer that we don’t close the blinds at night, can sleep perfectly well without having to have a very dark room. Also hate having to use air conditioning, as would rather have fresh air any day. We did find the air con / heating mercifully quiet on the Apex though. We often find the noise from air conditioners very intrusive, and inclined to keep us awake particularly in hotels in the US. The sound of the sea from a slightly open IV window was wonderfully relaxing and sleep inducing though. 
Must remind readers that I have never cruised in the Caribbean or similar, no interest in taking holidays in a climate where I had to be trapped inside an air conditioned room to escape the heat and humidity, just not my thing.

Agree, the wine waiters circulating in the buffet were there to serve paid for drinks, including coffees from Il Secondo Bacio. Free coffee and teas were self service. Having said that, in the mornings, there was often a server circulating with flasks of coffee, offering free tops ups without having to head back to the machines.

The Magic Carpet bar was open all the time, but it was really cold and blowy out there! Not a lot of use on a cold weather cruise.

The seating in Eden was really badly designed, so less available than it looked at first glance. For instance, three single seats, all facing away from each other? Maybe good for solo cruisers or couples having had a row! Benches so wide that people had to sit with their legs up on the seats? Style over utility.

You will have to remove your car from the cruise parking when you get off the ship. They will be filling the car park with passengers for the next cruise, and you could risk getting locked in until the ship gets back from the following cruise! 
However there are plenty of car parks off West Quay Road, ( turn left at the roundabout after leaving through Dock Gate ) most are open 24 hours apart from the Ikea car park which I think doesn’t open till 10am. You can find details and charges on line. 
 

We didn’t hear any comments about survey scores, but we didn’t have an evening turndown. We just received an e Mail survey after our return home. I think if I’d been pestered about giving high scores, I’d have been straight down to Customer Services to complain.

I didn’t go to the last night show either, but someone on this forum said that the cruise director had made a big speech about the importance of giving scores of 10. Again, I’d have walked out, and made a complaint. 
 

Thanks for your review. We got off Apex as you got on! Re the Infinite Veranda windows, they should go down to be flush with the lower window. However, we did have to press the switch a few times to ensure it went all the way down. Same thing happened when closing the window. We noticed it got rather cold one evening, and it was because we hadn’t completely closed the window. The button seemed to cut out before the last few inches, and had to be held down again.

No, if the window is open, the AC goes off. The folding doors seem to be purely decorative, and don’t obscure light either. We didn’t bother using them.

As we were cruising in Northern Europe, we mainly closed the window when it got too cold! Only once did it get too hot, when we were facing the sun for a few hours, so we closed the window and let the AC cool the room down. 
But if you are hoping to sit in the ‘balcony’ section and keep the AC on by closing the folding door screens, that won’t work.

I think there was a roast Turkey at least twice on our cruise ( and it was very good) OH had a Turkey burger from the Mast Grill one afternoon, there was a wait while it was cooked, there were also waits for the beef burgers, as these were also freshly cooked. 
If the Rooftop Grill is open, you can book and pay for a meal there and I’m pretty sure posh burgers are on the menu - at a price! 
However, apart from actual burgers, there was always sufficient ‘straightforward’ food in the buffet at night, to ensure that you wouldn’t go hungry.

Having looked at the menus for Luminae, that has confirmed I’m not missing anything on the food front by not booking a suite! 

We are just back from an 8 nighter on Apex, and ate in the buffet every night. Our preference, like to see what we are going to eat, and choose little portions as tasters, rather than committing to something off the menu which we then find we don’t like. 

Im not a burger fan, and didn’t notice if they were available. If there were, they would not have been cooked to order but ready made and kept hot. 
The evening selection was not as extensive as the lunch offerings. However, there was always enough choice to put together a decent meal. Always a roast carvery, and there was usually roast chicken as well. There were makings for fajitas at every meal too, beef, chicken and fish plus the extras. Always grilled chicken breast slices, minute steaks and fish.   
The rolls were delicious, so if we weren’t very hungry, we would have rolls and butter with roast meats from the carvery. 
There was a pasta station and a stir fry station, which I never used, but seemed popular. The curry was always excellent. Didn’t try the pizza, not our thing. Big selection of salads, some cheeses ( no Cheddar! And there was blue cheese labelled as !blue cheese!)
We are fairly picky eaters, in that we don’t like fish, rare beef, duck or veal. Never have room for starters, OH would prefer chips to mash, and I’d eat rice with everything! At home, we eat free range meats and eggs, and  have lots of excellent nearby restaurants serving local produce, so cruise ship food isn’t that big a deal for us.
We also loved the layout and seating in the buffet, with its wonderful sea views, instead of having to hang around for the next course on a table for two, six inches from its neighbour, in the bowels of the ship!