Live from Apex - 6/19

[KKB]

19 minutes ago, Kreative03 said:

 My family is now officially over the Luminae menu 

When ships are busier I thought I might consider booking the retreat for us.

Taking a look at some Luminae menus, I'm not so sure.

I'm a pretty adventurous diner. We loved Blu. 

We never have any problem finding things to try in the MDR or specialty restaurant--typically have difficulty choosing.

But I looked at some past menus & typically found MAYBE one entree that MIGHT be good. 

 

[CalTexCruiser]

24 minutes ago, Kreative03 said:

My host this time was pleasant but he did exactly one thing without being requested.

 

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that "host" is the "butler" LOL. 

 

By the way, thanks for repeatedly coming back to post your experience...I've been monitoring reports for the Apex cruise to decide on whether or not we want to make final payment Sunday (tomorrow) for our sailing.

 

I have not heard angry complaints about the mask policy onboard so I assume there is no overly zealous enforcement by the crew.

[excitedofharpenden]

Kreative, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and photos. 👍

 

Phil 

[LewieE]

Kreative and everyone on this sailing,

 

Thanks for the great posts.  I will be sailing with DW on 31 July and the information has been great.  I’m sure things will continue to evolve, and hopefully improve where needed, before we set sail.  

 

[portofrome]

Kreative03, thanks for your thoughts and photos.

[Mike981]

@Kreative03 Thank you so much for taking the time to let us live through you.

Save travels home.

[Kreative03]

1 hour ago, PokerFaceNJ said:

 

What week are you specifically on the Summit?  We are on the 7/17 sailing and if on the same, would love to say hello!

We are on it then as well. You may rather wish to run the other direction!

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the follow up report. The Eden menu on the Apex looks much better than what I saw for the Edge. Hoping that Luminae works out. So far I have several nights booked in the specialty dining restaurants. 
 

Hopefully Celebrity gets it together with this ship soon. 

[WonderMan3]

2 hours ago, Kreative03 said:

Eden dining photos - including the menu. I missed getting the rest of the deserts (yes we had them all) and my gnocchi starter.

 

Food and concept are different than Edge. No welcome drink, no interactive performances (or at all when we were there) and no set menu. They brought us plates to share as well as our choices of appetizers and mains. Also was the only place onboard utilizing real menus for all guests (available upon request only elsewhere), but they didn’t for the beverages.

 

Didn’t love the food but the experience overall was vastly improved for me and I hope they continue to evolve it so it works and makes sense. Right now it’s not quite there yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the Eden info. The menu definitely looks like an improvement. You said there was no interactive entertainment. Are there any performances that take place during or before/after dinner or is this strictly a dining experience now? If it’s the latter have prices been reduced compared to Edge to reflect that? I seem to recall this venue being very pricey.

 

And just to save an extra post, since you took photos of Craft Social, we’re there food items being served there or is it just drinks? It would be a convenient spot to visit since we like to spend a lot of time in the casino.

[CanuckCruizer]

Kreative03 and others who reported - thank you so much.  We are doing a B3B on her next year and I am taking notes about everything.  Hope you have a great time on Summit, Kreative.😀

 

Cheers,

Canuck

[Shadow9612]

13 hours ago, Kreative03 said:

Internet - the speeds were absolutely abysmal no matter what we did. It didn’t feel slow, and the streaming services worked fine (Netflix, Disney plus, YouTube, hbomax), but the Speedtest barely showed 3mb. I had thought about booking an extra week before the end of the year once my daughter turns 3 and can do kids club so I can work and cruise, but that’s not happening if this speed issue continues.

I've noticed a few different posts about internet speed being weak. Is this worse than  speeds pre-pandemic? And if so, what do people think the reason for that is?

 

I too had thought about working on future cruises but would need reliable internet speed to do so...

[mahdnc]

@Kreative03, thanks so much for your report on the cruise.  

[almostnewtocruise]

Thanks for all the informative posts.

One last question.. What time could you get off the ship back in Athens?

 

TIA!

[cruisemom42]

On 6/26/2021 at 9:11 AM, phabric said:

We will have a port day in Athens. We stayed in Athens before.  We might just get off the ship and walk the dock.

 

There is a small but lovely archaeological museum in Piraeus that is worth a visit. Walkable from the port. You can pick up a map from the TA in the terminal. 

 

They have a group of bronze statues as good or better than anything you'll see in the Athens Archaeological museum. (They were found in Piraeus....)

 

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

On 6/26/2021 at 9:11 AM, phabric said:

We will have a port day in Athens. We stayed in Athens before.  We might just get off the ship and walk the dock.

 

 Last time, I was not looking around the dock area before getting on the ship.  Is there anything at the dock - Duty Free?

 

Nothing in the port area.  Some cafes adjacent to it and maybe some small shops, but, I can't recall anything special.  As an alternative, might I suggest that you take the 40 minute ferry ride over to Aegina and explore.  Some nice beaches, take a taxi to the Temple of Aphaia or just hang out along the beachfront promenade cafes in Aegina Town with views back to Pireaus and the Attica coast.

[TeeRick]

10 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

I've noticed a few different posts about internet speed being weak. Is this worse than  speeds pre-pandemic? And if so, what do people think the reason for that is?

 

I too had thought about working on future cruises but would need reliable internet speed to do so...

Maybe has something to do with Greece or the satellite?  On EDGE, I found the WiFi to be better by far than any other ship I have cruised.  It was out of Florida though.  But it was full to capacity with a lot of users, unlike APEX right now.  Strange.

[scrabble6]

Thank-you so very much, Kreative, for the photos and great info!  

 

Happy Trails! 🛳️

[camella]

On 6/26/2021 at 2:51 AM, PTCruizer said:

Getting ready to head to the port! Just a quick picture of the Parthenon from our hotel rooftop bar. 

Nice shot what hotel is that?

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

10 minutes ago, camella said:

Nice shot what hotel is that?

I believe the poster is doing another 'live' this week.  

 

The first post says Intercontinental.

 

[camella]

1 minute ago, Steeler Nation At Sea said:

I believe the poster is doing another 'live' this week.  

 

The first post says Intercontinental.

 

Thanks!  I will be following their posts.  I'm concerned about the internet because I'm going to be bringing my daughter and her friend who can't live without the internet!!  Wondering if you can upgrade using the Captain's club internet money that we usually get. 

[tonyinoc]

On 6/25/2021 at 10:23 AM, irvington said:

we got this message and I know another cruise did, so probably most if not all. I too am curious about the options for a sunset sail or something like that.

someone said on this weeks trip to Santorini Celebrity added a sunset sail boat excursion - but i dont see it online  

[tonyinoc]

16 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

I've noticed a few different posts about internet speed being weak. Is this worse than  speeds pre-pandemic? And if so, what do people think the reason for that is?

 

I too had thought about working on future cruises but would need reliable internet speed to do so...

one of the reason i am thinking internet speeds might be slow as the whole ship has gone wifi on the app for most things they might be having a bandwidth issue with some many people on wifi

[mozartwon]

Has anyone eaten at a restaurant in Microlimino, at the port?

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

59 minutes ago, mozartwon said:

Has anyone eaten at a restaurant in Microlimino, at the port?

 

My friend's mother lives in Pireaus.  They like Zorba's.

[excited balcony]

1 hour ago, tonyinoc said:

someone said on this weeks trip to Santorini Celebrity added a sunset sail boat excursion - but i dont see it online  

I was looking for that as well and couldn’t find it.