APEX DINING.....

[hcat]

We are booked on APEX  and hope  to start a discussion of  the dining options. As far as I know  there are no photos or menus yet  other than what is shown for EDGE. We do not use the app..

 

We are not in a Suite ( Luminae) or AQ Class ( BLU)  and will  have the 4  mdr Select Dining plan, which we recently enjoyed on EDGE. We thought the plan was great..so much to choose from and each room has its own   ambiance, decor and  menu exclusives. The food and service on  EDGE was excellent..hoping the same for APEX!

 

We booked our dining res today...The dining venues  had the same names as those on  EDGE. We booked 2 nights each in Tuscan, Cypress and Normandie...the ones we liked best on EDGE.  We  passed on Cosmopolitan...as we will use it now and then for breakfast or lunch, assuming it  will be the designated go to MDR for these meals.

 

We also booked Fine Cut Steak for our one big splurge! Hope it does not disappoint! We will also visit the Cafe Bistro for lunch which on EDGE had great choices,  yummy everything, service and wine!

 

 If anyone has any info, preview pics etc, please share!

Edited December 5, 2019 by hcat

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I would expect menus and dining options on Apex will be identical to those on Edge. No indications they are introducing any new options. Grand Plaza Cafe has been removed in favor of additional seating for the martini bar if the deck plans are accurate. 

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I would expect menus and dining options on Apex will be identical to those on Edge. No indications they are introducing any new options. Grand Plaza Cafe has been removed in favor of additional seating for the martini bar if the deck plans are accurate. 

I would love to know as well. I am on the Apex May 30th Mediterranean sailing. Nervous as to expectations as I enjoyed the solstice class ships and heard the edge doesn't even come close.

[Lastdance]

I am on the western Apex TA, along with the cruise right before it.  My issue is whether or not I can go.  I am in an SV for my first Med cruise, and a suite for the TA.  Celebrity keeps sending me all sorts of discount booking options, but for a cruise on which I am not booked.  My expectation is also that the bookings will be the same as Edge, but only because that makes the most makes sense to me.  Beyond is truly another story.  I enjoyed FCS on Edge; however, it was a little loud for our party of six.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Lastdance

[hcat]

4 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I would expect menus and dining options on Apex will be identical to those on Edge. No indications they are introducing any new options. Grand Plaza Cafe has been removed in favor of additional seating for the martini bar if the deck plans are accurate. 

Yes, the plaza Cafe is def gone... but the Bistro ( perhaps i am using wrong term) was up from the MB area and is where they show Le Petit Chef at night...serve lunch by day.  No breakfast but  one brunch. Would be surprised if it was gone  and disappointed.

 

Guess I'll take a look at the deck plan for APEX.. Do you have a current link? 

Edited December 6, 2019 by hcat

[hcat]

3 hours ago, drakes2 said:

I would love to know as well. I am on the Apex May 30th Mediterranean sailing. Nervous as to expectations as I enjoyed the solstice class ships and heard the edge doesn't even come close.

We like S Class ..esp Silhouette and Equinox    but think E Class is awesome.

Different style and approach!

[KAE27]

Happily following along.  We are on the April 23, 2020 sailing, so might be a bit earlier than some of you, and I'd be happy to report back here to let you know what we find.

 

We are in a suite, but I also reserved one night in Cyprus and one in Normandie because I loved the look of their specialty menus.  We especially adore Greek food.  We also plan to try Raw on 5 for dinner one night and the Bistro for lunch - the menu for the latter looks fantastic.

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Yes, the plaza Cafe is def gone... but the Bistro ( perhaps i am using wrong term) was up from the MB area and is where they show Le Petit Chef at night...serve lunch by day.  No breakfast but  one brunch. Would be surprised if it was gone  and disappointed.

 

Guess I'll take a look at the deck plan for APEX.. Do you have a current link? 

Here is the link:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-apex

 

 

[dani negreanu]

@Miaminice kindly posted the menus of the 4 restaurants -- 

 

 

[hcat]

8 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Here is the link:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-apex

 

 

Thanks.. a bit confusing  site.  Photos are probably EDGE.  Will they really use the same exact colors?  ..that will be boring.

 

When I click through to where it says deck plans..it dies.. Is there a more direct link to the Deck Plans? 

Edited December 6, 2019 by hcat

[hcat]

11 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

@Miaminice kindly posted the menus of the 4 restaurants -- 

 

 

Many menu choices..excellent food.

Only one pasta dish was too al dente.

What foods do you prefer? 

 

All beef and fish were nicely prepared, food was served hot...  

[hcat]

14 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I would expect menus and dining options on Apex will be identical to those on Edge. No indications they are introducing any new options. Grand Plaza Cafe has been removed in favor of additional seating for the martini bar if the deck plans are accurate. 

The restaurant  is called  Le Grand Bistro..same deck as Cafe Baccio...opposite side of ship.   There was a bakery area, small take out deli,  casual  cafe looking seating area , and the larger dining area..sea views.  I can post  some photos later.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

15 hours ago, hcat said:

We booked our dining res today...The dining venues  had the same names as those on  EDGE. We booked 2 nights each in Tuscan, Cypress and Normandie...the ones we liked best on EDGE.  We  passed on Cosmopolitan...as we will use it now and then for breakfast or lunch, assuming it  will be the designated go to MDR for these meals.

 

 

I'm planning to book my Select Dining for my 7/2021 Edge cruise after my 2/2020 Edge cruise once I've experienced the MDRs and know which I prefer.

[hcat]

42 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

I'm planning to book my Select Dining for my 7/2021 Edge cruise after my 2/2020 Edge cruise once I've experienced the MDRs and know which I prefer.

That sounds like a good plan...it should be early enough to get the times and venues you prefer.  In general the early you can book, the better .  We had one night when our excursion with dinner was changed to lunch and we had limited ladt minute choices  for the early  time we prefer.  Managed to get in to Tuscan...one of our favorite spots

[hcat]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

The restaurant  is called  Le Grand Bistro..same deck as Cafe Baccio...opposite side of ship.   There was a bakery area, small take out deli,  casual  cafe looking seating area , and the larger dining area..sea views.  I can post  some photos later.

Such a nice space...varied menu....great value for the lunch upcharge!

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, hcat said:

We are booked on APEX  and hope  to start a discussion of  the dining options. As far as I know  there are no photos or menus yet  other than what is shown for EDGE. We do not use the app..

 

We are not in a Suite ( Luminae) or AQ Class ( BLU)  and will  have the 4  mdr Select Dining plan, which we recently enjoyed on EDGE. We thought the plan was great..so much to choose from and each room has its own   ambiance, decor and  menu exclusives. The food and service on  EDGE was excellent..hoping the same for APEX!

 

We booked our dining res today...The dining venues  had the same names as those on  EDGE. We booked 2 nights each in Tuscan, Cypress and Normandie...the ones we liked best on EDGE.  We  passed on Cosmopolitan...as we will use it now and then for breakfast or lunch, assuming it  will be the designated go to MDR for these meals.

 

We also booked Fine Cut Steak for our one big splurge! Hope it does not disappoint! We will also visit the Cafe Bistro for lunch which on EDGE had great choices,  yummy everything, service and wine!

 

 If anyone has any info, preview pics etc, please share!

hcat- Did you dine in Fine Cut on Edge previously?  It is very good.  But they gave us a table at the rail overlooking the Martini Bar area.  It was so noisy that we asked to be moved to an inner table.  

[C-Dragons]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Thanks.. a bit confusing  site.  Photos are probably EDGE.  Will they really use the same exact colors?  ..that will be boring.

 

When I click through to where it says deck plans..it dies.. Is there a more direct link to the Deck Plans? 

That's odd about the deck plans, when I click on them they do come up. I have compared them with those of the Edge and they are identical which seems reasonable because LLP said Edge and Apex would be twins.

As far as color schemes, X tends to keep things consistent across each ship class, choosing to use artwork, furniture, carpeting and things like the walkway to the dining venues (aka the creepy forest on Edge) as distinguishing features.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

hcat- Did you dine in Fine Cut on Edge previously?  It is very good.  But they gave us a table at the rail overlooking the Martini Bar area.  It was so noisy that we asked to be moved to an inner table.  

No..we had a  pre booked res in January for over a yr..we went to confirm a day ahead and learned  they switched us to a later time " for our benefit",  Really! The nasty  officious maitre d woukd not give us back our tp res time,  and then made a huge scene when we asked  him  cancel it.,  But we insisted so he had no choice!

 

In Nov we passed on Finecut for dinner,  They wanted $45 pp   for lunch so we passed again.  They have installed some plexiglass, I think,  so hope not as noisy!

Edited December 6, 2019 by hcat

[C-Dragons]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

No..we had a  pre booked res in January for over a yr..we went to confirm a day ahead and learned  they switched us to a later time " for our benefit",  Really! The nasty  officious maitre d woukd not give us back our tp res time,  and then made a huge scene when we asked  him  cancel it.,  But we insisted so he had no choice!

 

In Nov we passed on Finecut for dinner,  They wanted $45 pp   for lunch so we passed again.  They have installed some plexiglass, I think,  so hope not as noisy!

So sorry to hear about your experience. I hope that you will try Finecut in the future. It really is very good.

If the Maitre D’ had behaved like that with us, I would have left to have a private chat with the Food & Beverage Manager.

[dani negreanu]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

What foods do you prefer? 

 

Well, for starters, I'm not keen on fish, much prefer sea food. I'm also a "certified" carnivore, with a huge predilection to grilled items... Therefore, out of the 4 menus (3 entrees, one of them fish), nothing appeals to me on the Cosmo & Tuscan, Cyprus -- I'd have liked to try the moussaka, but not with feta cheese, the souvlaki without the mint; Normandie - the pate seems appealing. C'est tout 😒

[hcat]

1 hour ago, C-Dragons said:

So sorry to hear about your experience. I hope that you will try Finecut in the future. It really is very good.

If the Maitre D’ had behaved like that with us, I would have left to have a private chat with the Food & Beverage Manager.

We are booked for APEX..hopefully  a better  experience with our ressies

[hcat]

53 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Well, for starters, I'm not keen on fish, much prefer sea food. I'm also a "certified" carnivore, with a huge predilection to grilled items... Therefore, out of the 4 menus (3 entrees, one of them fish), nothing appeals to me on the Cosmo & Tuscan, Cyprus -- I'd have liked to try the moussaka, but not with feta cheese, the souvlaki without the mint; Normandie - the pate seems appealing. C'est tout 😒

You also get the everyday menus that are the same for all 4 mdrs  and change in rotation,  and the unchanging Classics.. There is an EDGE dining thread  somewhere that shows them.

[DebInAntigua]

We frankly were not that impressed with Fine Cut Steakhouse. The food was pretty good but not amazing. We did ask to be seated far into the restaurant to avoid noise and that helped, but it was still not as elegantly quiet as Murano. And we had an unpleasant experience with a female assistant sommelier who literally sneered at us when we told her we preferred wines on the sweeter, fruitier side instead of very dry. That was a big turnoff.

 

I don't think we'll bother to book FCS on the Apex. We enjoyed other specialty dining much more on Edge.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I think there is some confusion.

 

Le Grand Bsitro on deck 4 is not going anywhere.

 

The Grand Plaza cafe on deck 3 adjacent to the Martini bar is what is going away. The service counter will be replaced by additional seating for the Martini Bar. It was essentially a duplication of Cafe al Bacio and the Martini Bar needed more seating evidently. 

 

There are some other minor changes happening. The iLounge is moving to deck 3 where the Shore Excursions Desk was on Edge. Shore Excursions will move to deck 4 where the Photo Gallery is on Edge and the photo Gallery will inhabit the space occupied by the iLounge on Edge. This just seems to be a reshuffling based on usage habits and attempting to improve visibility for the Shore Excursions desk. 

 

I found these changes on the Celebrity travel agent site (cruisingpower) using the deck plans provided when in the booking flow. I'm not sure they yet appear in the publicly viewable deck plans, which seem to just be a cut and paste of Edge at this point. 

[hcat]

Grand Plaza Cafe is aleady  gone on EDGE.  Still  not enough seats at prime time in that whole area but it did help quite a bit & was previously mostly  unused  as a cafe./ deli.

 

Interesting about the other changes but nothing critical.

 The I lounge will be out of the gen flow on the corridor between Cafe Baccio and the stores and theater... It is most busy early on when folks are baffled about starting their internet minutes,  and at the end for printing boarding passes. I think the photo gallery space will be smaller than it was,  but just an impression.  It is also not that busy until the end of the cruise when everyone makes their photo choices,

 

Did you see anything about Luminae moving?