Celebrity Apex's Blocks Are In The House!

[vtcruising]

21 minutes ago, SausPud said:

Questions, what did you actually do? That list is long. 

Some new things I didn't know about and sound fun I know want to do, like 3 and 4.

Planning to do 1, 2, 6 and 11 anyway. 

I make spreadsheets on what I want to do and when to do it. Sometimes we go off plan and do something unexpected. That's the fun of cruising.

If you have some time, you can see what I did - here are my live threads from the 4 cruises: 🙂

 

 

[Tall-Cruiser]

I think that one of thee things that will change on Apex is the interior furnishings, at least on thee Sky Suites. I understand that some of the furniture is already being replaced on the Edge. So with that, Apex should have better and more appropriate stuff one would think.  

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

I think that one of thee things that will change on Apex is the interior furnishings, at least on thee Sky Suites. I understand that some of the furniture is already being replaced on the Edge. So with that, Apex should have better and more appropriate stuff one would think.  

I’m hoping so too and booked a Sky Suite on the Apex. I’ll have time cancel if that’s not the case. 

[hcat]

Hi EDGIES

Glad to see some of the old gang here!

We are not jumping on the APEX bandwagon til we see what if anything is changed.  We enjoyed EDGE and are going back, but there are some things that could be improved..,Vt and others have  listed quite a few but here is my "wish list":

 

▪Add sun shade,  and wind barriers to upper deck Rooftop  area and Sunset Bar,  and a daytime  sun shade in EDEN.. too bright to watch the guitarists etc.

 

▪ do something other than  the obstructive, dark and dangerous on the path to  BLU  and EDEN..maybe happy color flowers!

 

▪add more dining tables to EDEN Cafe along the entry space to the Cafe, 

 

▪ replace EDEN furniture & other uncomfy furniture  on board or add normal size  tables, and chairs with  arms throughout

 

▪eventually change / diversify the EDEN experience,..Remove the  odd stage, add a      small dance floor and  area for band and other performers  One theme there is  taking up a  very large social space on board...one trick pony!

 

▪  improve acoustics in BLU, mdrs, Fine Cut and and Grand Foyer area. Very loud  din prevents comversation and muffles music

 

 ▪  Diversify the shopping experience...eliminate some expensive  jewelry stores 

 

EDGE  is very nice and we did fine with the AQ class Veranda.  However, if APEX  is a clone...we'll pass on it.  We have one more cruise booked on EDGE, then Summit, and probably EQ or Silho after that.  And the name APEX  is awful...(ladies may know why!)

 

Hcat

Edited March 4, 2019 by hcat

[Silkroad]

Hcat, I hope some of the  items on your list will be fixed by the time I board Edge next month (hope springs eternal lol). To your list, I would add that I hope they replace one or more overpriced stores with a lounge akin to the Rendevous Lounges or Ensemble Lounges. We have another cruise booked on Edge next year, but none yet on Apex. I know X is already trying to remedy some of their mistakes on Edge (and avoid them on Apex) so we'll make our decision about our other Edge booking (and future Edge class bookings) after our TA. BTW, I agree with you about the name, Apex. Hate it.

[hcat]

Great idea about adding a lounge like Ensemble to APEX....One of those fancy stores could  probably be converted on EDGE..not too late 🌴

 

Enjoy your cruise,..let us know how it went!

[vtcruising]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Hi EDGIES

Glad to see some of the old gang here!

We are not jumping on the APEX bandwagon til we see what if anything is changed.  We enjoyed EDGE and are going back, but there are some things that could be improved..,Vt and others have  listed quite a few but here is my "wish list":

 

▪Add sun shade,  and wind barriers to upper deck Rooftop  area and Sunset Bar,  and a daytime  sun shade in EDEN.. too bright to watch the guitarists etc.

 

▪ do something other than  the obstructive, dark and dangerous on the path to  BLU  and EDEN..maybe happy color flowers!

 

▪add more dining tables to EDEN Cafe along the entry space to the Cafe, 

 

▪ replace EDEN furniture & other uncomfy furniture  on board or add normal size  tables, and chairs with  arms throughout

 

▪eventually change / diversify the EDEN experience,..Remove the  odd stage, add a      small dance floor and  area for band and other performers  One theme there is  taking up a  very large social space on board...one trick pony!

 

▪  improve acoustics in BLU, mdrs, Fine Cut and and Grand Foyer area. Very loud  din prevents comversation and muffles music

 

 ▪  Diversify the shopping experience...eliminate some expensive  jewelry stores 

 

EDGE  is very nice and we did fine with the AQ class Veranda.  However, if APEX  is a clone...we'll pass on it.  We have one more cruise booked on EDGE, then Summit, and probably EQ or Silho after that.  And the name APEX  is awful...(ladies may know why!)

 

Hcat

Lots of good ideas! I also don't like the name Apex. They really should check with us before naming their ships (and choosing colors, furniture, etc.) 😉. I don't like the name Silhouette either, but like the ship!

[hcat]

49 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Lots of good ideas! I also don't like the name Apex. They really should check with us before naming their ships (and choosing colors, furniture, etc.) 😉. I don't like the name Silhouette either, but like the ship!

I didn't think the name Silhouette fit with the other Solstice  Class names ..,but they never asked! Silhouette and Equinox are our favorite ships right now. We'll see how it goes after they are all re done,

 

I am looking forward to following the APEX build..glad to see that Lloyd is back here!

[cgolf1]

9 hours ago, vtcruising said:

1) Dinner on the Edge.  I did a dinner on the Magic Carpet on 5 and that was nice, but hoping with better wind protection on the Apex (or maybe even the Edge eventually), the buffet on 16 will work (was too windy on my cruises).

 

2) Go to Eden to see the whole show. I saw pieces of it, but never saw the whole thing.

 

3) Would like to play Table Maze, a game they did in Eden. People worked in teams to solve puzzles/mazes on a big wooden board. I walked in twice part way through and watched - it looked like fun.

 

4) Deal or No Deal in the Club - a game that you pay for (replaces Bingo) - after reading more about it, I think I would have enjoyed doing that once.

 

5) Dinner at the RTG - did lunch there, but the evenings we had free were too windy.

 

6) Watch a whole movie in the RTG.

 

7) I would like to have at least watched and maybe tried archery and drone racing in the Club.

 

8 ) Ladies Pamper Party - in the Spa and reportedly not a sales push - actually sounded like fun.

 

9) Bandaoke

 

10) Pool party - only went to pool at night when quiet.

 

11) Try all the MDRs - only tried Cyprus.

 

That's a start! 🙂

 

The table maze was a blast, I thought I would be a weak link, but I did ok. 

 

As as far as the Eden show goes I still can’t figure out if I saw the whole show or not or even what the story line was. The space was nice, but hope they forget the scent machine for Apex:)

 

We never saw the drone racing thing, I was looking forward to that. I fly radio control helicopters and planes so that would have been perfect for me. 

 

The other thing I wish we could have done was caught more of the live music around the ship, we always were busy doing something else. 

 

I do worry about putting some sort of wind screen by the RTG. While there were times it was really windy, there were times it was super hot because there was no air moving around. Not sure there is a good answer. 

 

The big thing we would like to see them change is the layout or make the retreat area smaller to return some forward facing views for all. When we walked past the area, it didn’t look like a lot of people were utilizing the space. We sailed concierge on DCL and the exclusive outdoor area was a lot smaller and even that was underutilized. 

 

Otherwise it would just be minor tweaks to personalize our shared gigantic yacht;)

 

Almost forgot, dual Magic Carpets, we really enjoyed hang out there. 

Edited March 5, 2019 by cgolf1

[vtcruising]

17 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

The table maze was a blast, I thought I would be a weak link, but I did ok. 

 

As as far as the Eden show goes I still can’t figure out if I saw the whole show or not or even what the story line was. The space was nice, but hope they forget the scent machine for Apex:)

 

We never saw the drone racing thing, I was looking forward to that. I fly radio control helicopters and planes so that would have been perfect for me. 

 

The other thing I wish we could have done was caught more of the live music around the ship, we always were busy doing something else. 

 

I do worry about putting some sort of wind screen by the RTG. While there were times it was really windy, there were times it was super hot because there was no air moving around. Not sure there is a good answer. 

 

The big thing we would like to see them change is the layout or make the retreat area smaller to return some forward facing views for all. When we walked past the area, it didn’t look like a lot of people were utilizing the space. We sailed concierge on DCL and the exclusive outdoor area was a lot smaller and even that was underutilized. 

 

Otherwise it would just be minor tweaks to personalize our shared gigantic yacht;)

 

Almost forgot, dual Magic Carpets, we really enjoyed hang out there. 

LOL about the dual MC's - we enjoyed that space on our first 3 cruises (had drinks out there  a few times and dinner one night), but the Jan cruise was windy a lot of the time. I booked a later cruise and going East so maybe less wind next time?

 

I'm glad to hear from someone who did the table maze - I wish I had gotten a team together. Hope they are still doing it next year!

[cgolf1]

12 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

LOL about the dual MC's - we enjoyed that space on our first 3 cruises (had drinks out there  a few times and dinner one night), but the Jan cruise was windy a lot of the time. I booked a later cruise and going East so maybe less wind next time?

 

I'm glad to hear from someone who did the table maze - I wish I had gotten a team together. Hope they are still doing it next year!

 

For the table maze, just my wife and I went. We joined up with another table of three and it was a blast. The staff does a good job of getting teams together. 

 

We actually had pretty good weather overall, but could see how it could be difficult to eat on the RTG. It has seemed that on all cruises it has been really windy at night on the top decks. I know they go faster at night, but it seems like it gets windy too. 

 

I also hope they redo the cabana area to make it more private for people renting them and easier for people to walk through the area. I also didn’t understand why the cabanas themselves didn’t have direct access to the pool area. 

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Great idea about adding a lounge like Ensemble to APEX....One of those fancy stores could  probably be converted on EDGE..not too late 🌴

 

Enjoy your cruise,..let us know how it went!

Thanks😊 We’re looking forward to exploring the wonderful art, starting with Mr. Edge, of course😉 I hope the Reckless Charms will still be aboard. We’ll have 15 days to explore, and I’ll definitely post a review (and add our cabin assessment to VT’s spreadsheet).

[TeeRick]

hcat- really good list!  At the very least they should eliminate the incense in Eden and maybe add a description for the show- but I probably would not sit through it again anyway.  Also Luminae needs some way to minimize the sound too.  A reasonable shop on the ship would be a big improvement. Also I would really like something like Cellar Masters on board. The Club is sort of a replacement for the Ensemble Lounge already.  

[vtcruising]

36 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

hcat- really good list!  At the very least they should eliminate the incense in Eden and maybe add a description for the show- but I probably would not sit through it again anyway.  Also Luminae needs some way to minimize the sound too.  A reasonable shop on the ship would be a big improvement. Also I would really like something like Cellar Masters on board. The Club is sort of a replacement for the Ensemble Lounge already.  

The more I think about it, I think Cellar Masters should be considered for Apex. One thing missing on the Edge was wine events. One sommelier, who tried to get us to do Blendtique, said that there were no other wine events on the ship that week. We usually do at least one wine tasting (we especially like the Around the World tasting) and do visit Cellar Masters at times to try a flight or to buy a bottle for the cabin on S Class and spend more time there on M Class because we like the set up better.

 

We have done Blendtique and enjoyed it, but it is like Le Petit Chef, we don't need to do it again soon. They had said there would be wine tastings in Eden, but I guess that didn't work out. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I did miss Cellar Masters. If they did add it to Apex in the shops/deadspace area, having an area within the space for mellow music performances in the evening would make it even sweeter.

 

I think the Club partially replaces Ensemble, but it is multi-purpose in the evening (often have game shows in the evening, as well as performers). Decreasing the number/length of the Edenist shows and adding other performers at night would go a long way to giving more lounge choices in the evening, IMO.

 

 

[Silkroad]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

hcat- really good list!  At the very least they should eliminate the incense in Eden and maybe add a description for the show- but I probably would not sit through it again anyway.  Also Luminae needs some way to minimize the sound too.  A reasonable shop on the ship would be a big improvement. Also I would really like something like Cellar Masters on board. The Club is sort of a replacement for the Ensemble Lounge already.  

Definitely agree that they should ditch the scent in Eden (before April 28th lol). Agree that they should have a reasonable shop and Cellar Masters. However, I’m not sure the Club replaces the Ensemble Lounge, though it sounds like it’s a fun place to dance. I’ve not yet seen it myself, but many quite balanced reviewers have stated that Edge lacks a good venue for pre-dinner drinks, with live music that allows conversation. Regardless of how they do it (modifying the Eden or Club vibe during the pre-dinner period or replacing an underused venue/store), they clearly need to do more.

Edited March 5, 2019 by Silkroad

[maggie.1008]

I would like to see a nice piano bar where you can listen to music but still have a conversation. On Crystal Cruise line they have the Avenue Saloon that is perfect and enjoyed by all. Princess has something similar. 

[Presto2]

Great to be back watching the build up to another new ship. Have to say though, we looked at Apex's first cruise and the prices were ridiculous so gave it a miss and have booked a 2 week fly / cruise on another cruise line and a week's ski holiday for less !

 

If we were to book APEX it would be one of those SV cabins

[TeeRick]

On 3/5/2019 at 3:22 PM, maggie.1008 said:

I would like to see a nice piano bar where you can listen to music but still have a conversation. On Crystal Cruise line they have the Avenue Saloon that is perfect and enjoyed by all. Princess has something similar. 

I don't think there is a piano bar on any current Celebrity ship.  I enjoy the Schooner Bar on RCCL ships because they have live piano sing-along's nightly.  In fact in Jan when we were on Harmony there was frequently a piano rolled into an elevator with a piano player singing to the elevator passengers. When it stopped on your floor it was unexpected when the doors opened but fun!

[ecslady]

23 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I don't think there is a piano bar on any current Celebrity ship.  I enjoy the Schooner Bar on RCCL ships because they have live piano sing-along's nightly.  In fact in Jan when we were on Harmony there was frequently a piano rolled into an elevator with a piano player singing to the elevator passengers. When it stopped on your floor it was unexpected when the doors opened but fun!

 

You are correct.  No "piano bar" on Celebrity.  RCCL has the Schooner Bar which I love, and some other lines have something similar. But not Celebrity.  

[cgolf1]

I am surprised Celebrity doesn’t have a piano bar. We enjoyed the one on the Disney Magic for sure depending on the player. The piano location on RCCL always seemed to be near the casino so we didn’t sit there often because of the cigarette smell. Really hoping RCCL makes their casinos smoke free like Celebrity. 

[hcat]

They do have pianos on board...even if it was a pop up "show" it might be fun..or even piano player  song trivia!

 

We will follow AOEX  and reactions from those who sail the first few cruises, Hope  EDGIES are among the first.,

[ecslady]

On 3/6/2019 at 6:34 PM, hcat said:

They do have pianos on board...even if it was a pop up "show" it might be fun..or even piano player  song trivia!

 

We will follow AOEX  and reactions from those who sail the first few cruises, Hope  EDGIES are among the first.,

 

On all my Celebrity cruises, , I have never seen a "Piano player song trivia". Yes , there are pianos onboard, but it is not the same as a dedicated piano bar as on RC and other lines.  On the EDGE on my December inaugural cruise,  no one played the piano in the Grand Plaza.  I have seen sets of an entertainer, depending on their musical ability, play the piano in Cafe El Bacio on M class ships, but that does not equal a true piano bar. IMO, RC does it he best with the Schooner Bar. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by ecslady

[hcat]

1 hour ago, ecslady said:

 

On all my Celebrity cruises, , I have never seen a "Piano player song trivia". Yes , there are pianos onboard, but it is not the same as a dedicated piano bar as on RC and other lines.  On the EDGE on my December inaugural cruise,  no one played the piano in the Grand Plaza.  I have seen sets of an entertainer, depending on their musical ability, play the piano in Cafe El Bacio on M class ships, but that does not equal a true piano bar. IMO, RC does it he best with the Schooner Bar. 

They used to have a piano bar set up in Michaels before it was devoted to Elites,  and then exclusive to  suites...guess I've been around awhile!

 

The popular  entertainer  Perry Grant used to pack them in....SRO!     See link if you are curious

 

http://www.perrygrant.com/resume/

Edited March 8, 2019 by hcat

[ecslady]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

They used to have a piano bar set up in Michaels before it was devoted to Elites,  and then exclusive to  suites...guess I've been around awhile!

 

The popular  entertainer  Perry Grant used to pack them in....SRO!     See link if you are curious

 

http://www.perrygrant.com/resume/

 

Ah, yes, Perry....I've been around that long too! But, I always considered that Perry's place....LOL.  Never was a fan.

[hcat]

9 hours ago, ecslady said:

 

Ah, yes, Perry....I've been around that long too! But, I always considered that Perry's place....LOL.  Never was a fan.

Not a fan either,  They could have done something  elsewhere on other ships,  but basically leave the pianos sit there!