Live(ish) report - Celebrity Apex - Greece - 9/4/21

[verizon]

Thanks for the pictures.Will be in Santorini 4th. of next month sailing Apex.

Would like to know what restaurant should I book to enjoy a memorable sunset in Santorini on the ship?

[Miaminice]

11 minutes ago, verizon said:

Thanks for the pictures.Will be in Santorini 4th. of next month sailing Apex.

Would like to know what restaurant should I book to enjoy a memorable sunset in Santorini on the ship?

🤔 mmmh, Rooftop Garden Grill or even the outside space of Oceanview would be best for that.

 

However, I’d recommend watching the sunset at around 7:15pm from the Sunset Bar without distractions and dine later.

[Miaminice]

BTW: we continued to Zakynthos, where we’ll spend the week.

I will post a bit about our stay - and the beautiful hotel we are in.

It will be on a reduced scale since it’s not a cruise… and we won’t be doing much.

 

So much as a heads up. The suffering continued last night…

 

[verizon]

10 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

🤔 mmmh, Rooftop Garden Grill or even the outside space of Oceanview would be best for that.

 

However, I’d recommend watching the sunset at around 7:15pm from the Sunset Bar without distractions and dine later.

Yes that what I have in mind.

Thanks.

[FunCruiser56]

I have never been enticed to take a greek cruise but I sure am now!  Thank you for sharing such beautiful locations.  We will sail APEX in March and thinking ahead to what to book while on board..:)

 

[MACruisers]

4 hours ago, FunCruiser56 said:

I have never been enticed to take a greek cruise but I sure am now!  Thank you for sharing such beautiful locations.  We will sail APEX in March and thinking ahead to what to book while on board..:)

 

What week are you sailing, we will be onboard Apex the first two weeks of March  B2B

[Shadow9612]

Your photos are stunning.  Thank you for this live report!

[mchell810]

@Miaminice Your photos of Santorini are just stunning!  So lovely. 

         Thanks for a wonderful trip report.

 

[Miaminice]

Celebrity Apex 2021 - Greece - Day 9 - Zakynthos 
This morning we woke up to the view of our starting point. The dreaded day had arrived. The ship was cleared at 7:10am and we walked off with our bags. After such an incredible week, the last bing of the seapass card is always an emotional moment. However, knowing we’d have another week in Greece was a small consolation.

 

Our prearranged taxi took us to the airport in about 50 minutes. We could spend the time to our Sky Express flight in their lounge. It was included in the regular (inexpensive) fare.

 

 

Once on our way to Zakynthos, we could wave the Apex goodbye when we flew over the port area of Piraeus.

 

 

[Miaminice]

After our arrival on Zakynthos one hour later, we picked up our rental car just across from the terminal and started our way to our home for the next few days.
We had treated ourselves to the Olea All Suites Hotel. A hotel nestled into a picturesque hillside above Tsilivi Beach. The design award winning, zen like Hotel simply oozes tranquility. The low hard-lined concrete buildings are combined and softened with natural materials like oak, bamboo and rattan. All terraced structures are surrounded by a seemingly flowing landscape of pools. The largest one of them home to a sunken Island with a sand floor bar and a restaurant. 
The correspondence prior to our trip had been very friendly and helpful. So it was nice to eventually meet in person and say thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

We reached our room by following a path through the landscape of pools, lined with olive trees, thyme and lavender, which filled the air with a pleasant scent.
The room or better suite was large and the minimalistic design dominated by earthy colors and natural materials.

 

 

 

 

 

The large patio with a stunning view of the pools and the ocean in the distance was shaded by a large olive tree. We felt home right away.

 

 

Later in the evening we drove to Zante/Zakynthos Town and had dinner at a Greek grill house. We didn’t make it to eat all of the platter we had ordered.

 

 

Back at our hotel, although more than just full, we looked forward to breakfast already. As a heads up: it’s anything but minimalistic 😉

 

[mlanders]

What about specialty dinner in Eden. Edge has a tasting menu no cirque entertainment. Great food, Apex menu for Eden looks more traditional, is that true? Is there and entertainment while eating? On Apex in Caribbean January 

[Miaminice]

4 hours ago, mlanders said:

What about specialty dinner in Eden. Edge has a tasting menu no cirque entertainment. Great food, Apex menu for Eden looks more traditional, is that true? Is there and entertainment while eating? On Apex in Caribbean January 

as much as I know the menus are the same. There’s no entertainment in Eden restaurant, only in the Eden Bar area above the restaurant.

[little britain]

5 hours ago, mlanders said:

What about specialty dinner in Eden. Edge has a tasting menu no cirque entertainment. Great food, Apex menu for Eden looks more traditional, is that true? Is there and entertainment while eating? On Apex in Caribbean January 

I am probably one of the few but I was very underwhelmed by Eden.
It’s a regular 3 course dinner ( the cheese gnocchi was inedible because it was sooo cheesy and I love cheese) and the pastry on the beef Wellington was soggy as if it had been heated in a microwave.  

No quirkiness or fun about it.   just waiters continually asking if everything is ok… Give me Wonderland on RCI any day!!

JMHO. 

 

 

[Miaminice]

11 hours ago, little britain said:

I am probably one of the few but I was very underwhelmed by Eden.
It’s a regular 3 course dinner ( the cheese gnocchi was inedible because it was sooo cheesy and I love cheese) and the pastry on the beef Wellington was soggy as if it had been heated in a microwave.  

No quirkiness or fun about it.   just waiters continually asking if everything is ok… Give me Wonderland on RCI any day!!

JMHO. 

 

 

 

I am sorry you feel that way. Our friends and us, however, were very happy with our dinner.

Don´t really get why you would think it´s supposed to be "quirky or fun"... It is labeled as "Contemporary Fine Dining". The circus you might have expected is long gone! IMHO Good!
It was the reason why we haven´t dined in Eden on Edge. Personally, we are looking for a nice dinner, not a circus 🤷‍♂️ You might have preferred Le Petit Chef instead ?
BTW our pastry on the Short Rib Wellington was just great. So was the Filet Mignon.

And yes, the sheep´s milk Gnocchi were to die for. We have a lot of "real" Italian food, but I have never had such delicious Gnocchi.

[Miaminice]

On 9/8/2021 at 6:09 PM, vickykay said:

So very much enjoying all your posts!  The photos of Rhodes were amazing.  Loved seeing the photos of Blu dinners.  We’re trying Aqua class for the first time this coming April on our Japan cruise ( fingers crossed!). Thanks again for letting all of us come along!

 

Thank you! Japan is simply wonderful! We have done two cruises to Japan already and have a third booked for October 2022. We absolutely fell in love with Japan after our first visit.🥰

If you are interested in some teasers, here are our travelogues of the cruises:

Japan on Millennium:

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Celebrity-Millennium-Japan/celebrity-millennium-japan.html

 

Japan on HAL Westerdam:
http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

 

[Miaminice]

On 9/10/2021 at 4:23 PM, WeBcruisingMN said:

What camera have you been using?

 

Sorry for my late reply!!!

 

I stopped using my big DSLR quite some time ago. All the pictures you see are taken with an iPhone (11 pro). Very happy with the quality!

[Miaminice]

Celebrity Apex 2021 - Greece - Day 10 - Zakynthos

To get straight to the point… Breakfast at Olea Hotel is a delight! It was hard to choose from the vast variety of local and international flavors.

 

The breakfast area is covered and yet open, allowing a breeze to flow. Tables are spaced far apart.

 

 

 

All items are lovingly arranged and presented - and of very, very good quality. Salats, fruit dishes, local pastry, cheese, smoothies, cakes… I could go on and on. Just see for yourselves: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit rainy at first, so we relaxed in our room and on the patio.

 

 

When the weather cleared up, we walked down the hill to Tsilivi Beach and strolled along the beach. When we reached the end, we returned on the street. We passed all the bars, restaurants, cafés, arcades, karaoke bars and a fun fair. Back at our hotel, we were glad to be back in our quiet oasis of tranquility.

 

Birgit took the complimentary yoga class at the highest place of the hotel area overlooking the valley below. She was enthusiastic about Leda, the yoga teacher, who must clearly be a professional.

 

Later in the evening we went to Thymalos Seafood Restaurant. A restaurant recommended to us as rustic and authentic by Rafaela, a lovely young lady at the hotel’s spa. Since it was pretty windy outside, we asked to sit in the covered area. To do so, we had to show our vaccination certificate. It was nice to see that they take things seriously.

The food was fantastic and the ambiance as every bit as good as Rafaela had advertised.

 

 

 

 

 

Another great day…

 

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by Miaminice

[CruisinMama2003]

Just wanted to say Thank You for taking us along on your post cruise trip! Sounds like you two are having a nice relaxing time. The pictures are awesome, and that breakfast WOW very nice! 

[Miaminice]

Celebrity Apex 2021 - Greece - Day 11 - Zakynthos

The weather had cleared up and the blue skies promised a beautiful day. I will spare you the details of yet another exquisit breakfast

 

Birgit wanted to stroll through Zakynthos/Zante Town to take a closer look at the shops which had been closed yesterday evening. Since I am not a sun person, I replied with an obligatory "Yes dear"

 

Zakynthos has a nice large square close to the port area and the pedestrian area with all the shops and many restaurants starts right there. It´s clean and pleasant and and the street are just as alive during the day as they were in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following some very close looks at the shops aka successful shopping, we drove to the small village of Bohali located just above Zante Town. A few restaurants on the edge offer panoramic views on the town and the port. A perfect place for a glass of wine and a snack.

 

 

 

 

The day before Birgit had enjoyed the yoga class so much that we drove back to the hotel in time so she could join Leda again at 5 pm. I used the time to take some more photos of our gorgeous hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

When it was time for - you guessed it - food again, we drove back into town (a 15 minute drive) to have dinner at a restaurant recommended to us by one of the shop owners.

 

The restaurant - Paradosiako has a contemporary take on Greek cuisine which is served in the pleasant ambiance of a nicely illuminated terrace. So far we haven´t had bad food in Greece

 

 

 

 

For dessert we only had an Ouzo at one of the bars along the way.

 

[Searanger]

Wonderful pictures and have enjoyed your trip report.  I get a kick out of you ending each photo shoot with a cute cat.  Getting on the Apex this Saturday with what I'm told is 1300+ guests, a big increase for the crew from previous cruises.  

[maggie.1008]

Can you ask the crew or any staff member if the Apex is going to do the Transatlantic cruise with passengers ? There is a lot of talk about 14 days quarantine needed before arriving in USA.

[GeorgesGal]

With your cat pictures, I assume you left one. or two at home!

Loving this review as I have others of yours which I have read.  Thanks for all the time required to do this!

Donna

[Miaminice]

3 hours ago, maggie.1008 said:

Can you ask the crew or any staff member if the Apex is going to do the Transatlantic cruise with passengers ? There is a lot of talk about 14 days quarantine needed before arriving in USA.

when we were still on board I spoke to Future Cruises about it. Just out of curiosity. They said they have about 1700 passengers booked - but have no idea if it’s going to happen. Reading between the lines, they did not sound overly confident.

[Miaminice]

2 hours ago, GeorgesGal said:

With your cat pictures, I assume you left one. or two at home!

Loving this review as I have others of yours which I have read.  Thanks for all the time required to do this!

Donna

Thank you!

Actually a grandpa dog - our 14 year old Golden Retriever Jay.

But we generally like animals. 😁