Live from Celebrity Apex Sept 25th & Oct 3rd B2B!

[cruiz10525]

57 minutes ago, MR_T said:

We’re on the ship 😁

 

first impressions is... it’s a lovely looking ship 😊 

 

more to come... 

we’ve got some relatives also on board, so we look forward to your blog. They were on Edge and say that they see changes in Eden and Grand Bistro as they are walking around. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

[MR_T]

So just spoke to a lovely lady at guest relations regarding a few things and she confirmed the pax count due on this cruise was around 1035+ - a couple ((forgot exact amount)

 

And on the next cruise 3rd October departure currently around 500 which will be amazing 😉 that equates to around 17% capacity 👍🏼😊 

[MR_T]

Cabin pics - Just a standard I/B 

 

 

[Lastdance]

Enjoy each and every second and seize the day.  Life is way too short!

[lienf]

I may have missed it, but did you get upgraded on both legs?

 

Neil

[FLCruiser97]

2 hours ago, MR_T said:

So just spoke to a lovely lady at guest relations regarding a few things and she confirmed the pax count due on this cruise was around 1035+ - a couple ((forgot exact amount)

 

And on the next cruise 3rd October departure currently around 500 which will be amazing 😉 that equates to around 17% capacity 👍🏼😊 

Welcome to your own private ship. 500 pax is nothing. You probably won't see anybody the whole cruise. LOL!

[wynnne]

We just came off today, so jealous. Enjoy! 

 

So many tips, the one you're least likely to discover for yourself is to make sure you pop to the Eden Cafe for breakfast. Most people don't seem to know it exists, but the Bear Claws and Banana Bread we think were the best sweet breakfasts/snacks on the ship. 

[KJE Atlanta]

2 hours ago, MR_T said:

So just spoke to a lovely lady at guest relations regarding a few things and she confirmed the pax count due on this cruise was around 1035+ - a couple ((forgot exact amount)

 

And on the next cruise 3rd October departure currently around 500 which will be amazing 😉 that equates to around 17% capacity 👍🏼😊 

Have a great time! I know you were scheduled to be on the TA on 10/10. Curious to know what, if anything, you hear about the expected occupancy on that sailing. Given all the changes (date change, port swaps), limitations (US citizens/residents only), and uncertainties (CDC guidelines re new homeports, testing, etc), I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of passengers is pretty low for the crossing. 

[Miaminice]

35 minutes ago, KJE Atlanta said:

Have a great time! I know you were scheduled to be on the TA on 10/10. Curious to know what, if anything, you hear about the expected occupancy on that sailing. Given all the changes (date change, port swaps), limitations (US citizens/residents only), and uncertainties (CDC guidelines re new homeports, testing, etc), I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of passengers is pretty low for the crossing. 

1,700 are booked on the TA… that’s what Future Cruises told us when we were on board. IF the TA happens…

[cruiz10525]

2 hours ago, Miaminice said:

1,700 are booked on the TA… that’s what Future Cruises told us when we were on board. IF the TA happens…

I looked for it on Celebrity site and other re-sellers and there is no longer any mention of a TA in October for Apex.  It has the 10/3 cruise from Athens and next is 10/24 from Fort Lauderdale...and nothing to show how the ship gets back across the ocean.  Otherwise, I was looking to see about doing the TA given what I am seeing about the ship with reduced capacity.

 

Thanks for any info you can find from the Future Cruise Sales folks.

[slewis7]

If 1700 or there abouts are booked on the TA, that is likely as many passengers Celebrity would want on a long cruise currently and could be a plausible explanation of why it is no longer for sale.  I am booked on it and totally confident that it remains a planned sailing.  Just over 2 weeks to go!  Meanwhile thanks to folks currently on the Apex who are posting here and making the wait more tolerable.

Edited September 25, 2021 by slewis7

[mari10]

6 hours ago, MR_T said:

So just spoke to a lovely lady at guest relations regarding a few things and she confirmed the pax count due on this cruise was around 1035+ - a couple ((forgot exact amount)

 

And on the next cruise 3rd October departure currently around 500 which will be amazing 😉 that equates to around 17% capacity 👍🏼😊 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise ! 
if possible on your next leg can you inquire about pax load for the TA? 
Someone posted on FB that it’s going to be 1700, I thought that sounded a tad high.

Thanks,

Mari 

[cruiz10525]

2 hours ago, mari10 said:

Hope you have a wonderful cruise ! 
if possible on your next leg can you inquire about pax load for the TA? 
Someone posted on FB that it’s going to be 1700, I thought that sounded a tad high.

Thanks,

Mari 

I just called Celebrity regarding the 10/10 cruise and it is "sold out" that's why it is not online anymore.  

[maggie.1008]

I would love to know any information about the Apex November 4th cruise. I think it will be more heavily booked. 

[madmaxsmom]

Just returned home from the Apex yesterday and find myself still on ship’s time ready for a croissant at Il Bacio.  Apex is a lovely ship and the crew on board are wonderful.  We usually book Aqua, but we were upgraded to a Sky Suite for this trip. As we are booked again on Apex next May we asked to see an Aqua class cabin and though smaller than the suite, it looks quite comfortable and the IV does make the cabin more spacious.  
 

Was wonderful to cruise again and with just 1000 passengers, we never waited for anything, even an elevator.   Restaurant choices are many and our favorites were The Bistro for lunch and The Steakhouse and Cypress for dinner.  
 

Enjoy your second week and hope they let you keep the same room so you didn’t have to pack it all up and move.   

[MR_T]

14 hours ago, lienf said:

I may have missed it, but did you get upgraded on both legs?

 

Neil

Just the first one so far... we do have a big on the next cruise also so fingers crossed we get that also 🤞🏻 

[MR_T]

13 hours ago, KJE Atlanta said:

Have a great time! I know you were scheduled to be on the TA on 10/10. Curious to know what, if anything, you hear about the expected occupancy on that sailing. Given all the changes (date change, port swaps), limitations (US citizens/residents only), and uncertainties (CDC guidelines re new homeports, testing, etc), I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of passengers is pretty low for the crossing. 

I did ask yesterday and I’m not convinced she new as I was asking a lot of stuff and I got the feeling she was just throwing out a number but she did say around 500 on the TA as well so hopefully that is true 🤞🏻 I’ll ask again towards the end of this cruise and post what I find out on the TA thread as well as this thread 👍🏼😊 

[MR_T]

6 hours ago, cruiz10525 said:

I just called Celebrity regarding the 10/10 cruise and it is "sold out" that's why it is not online anymore.  

Guest relations told me yesterday there’s around 500 booked for the TA currently... she did say they had a load of cancellations due to the US entry issue! 

 

I will I’ll ask again to see if I can get a confirmed number.. 🤞🏻  

[MR_T]

The pool is huge 😱 and really nice 😎 

[Miaminice]

10 hours ago, mari10 said:

Hope you have a wonderful cruise ! 
if possible on your next leg can you inquire about pax load for the TA? 
Someone posted on FB that it’s going to be 1700, I thought that sounded a tad high.

Thanks,

Mari 

 

See the posts above! It was 1700…

When we were on board 2 week ago, Future Cruises told us that around 1700 passengers are booked on the cruise - after confirming in their computer.

They were also not overly confident that, given the current regulations, it would sail as planned. I quote “we’ll probably know for sure 2 days before the cruise”. Of course it did not make them too happy either.

 

It seems as if the uncertainty led to a lot of cancellations as MR-T is now given a number around 500.

 

So the fact that the cruise can’t be booked (as some above mentioned) can’t be because it is sold out. It shows how uncertain even Celebrity is about the whole situation.
 

Anyway, I sincerely hope that everyone booked on the TA gets to sail. It would also be good for the cruise line and crew!

 

But I do suggest we stop watering down MR-T’s report with capacity or TA issues. I know how it feels when you make the effort to fight with Cruise Critic technical issues while using the ship’s internet to provide a good report and it keeps drifting off…

 

@MR_T enjoy your cruise! 👍

Edited September 26, 2021 by Miaminice

[MR_T]

[MR_T]

We upgraded the drinks package to the Drinks & More package that gives you the mini bar refilled every day (both guests are required to upgrade), snacks & water in the cabin, $50 casino credit each & 2 bottles of wine each (these are the wines we got) 

 

we both turned or $50 credit into $100 cash so a decent start to the cruise casino find 💴😂

[MR_T]

Forgot to take pictures last night of our meal except these 2 dishes 😋 

[MR_T]

A little about the first day... 

 

As we had only booked this cruise a week ago by the time we could check in online the earliest we could arrive was at the port was 1pm, for us this is very late as we are generally at the port around 9-930 to get in the queue and try to get on as early as possible so this new system was a bit different for us, we somewhat respected our arrival time but maybe we actually arrived 15 mins early... anyway we were greatest at the cab and before we new it our bags we’re off and we we’re taken to a seated area to await our turn to go in for our test, the whole process was very smooth & quick, with both getting our results around 10-15 mins later we we’re on the ship soon after that 😊 

 

first impression was wow what a beautiful ship it is. I think this will be my 23rd cruise and I still felt as excited to get on this one as I did the first one in 2012, 

 

We had a quick lunch in the buffet then did a quick tour (top - button) before relaxing a bit in the cabin before dinner. 

 

We headed to the martini bar for a pre-dinner ring and I ended up having 5 I believe🤷🏼‍♂️😂 

 

For dinner we ate in Normandie and both really enjoyed our food, the restaurant itself is very nicely done and we we’re given a large table by the window which was nice as we could see the lights of the port still as we left Athens. 

 

After dinner we we went to the casino to use our drinks & more credit and managed to leave with $200 which was good. 

 

Back to the martini bar we went and before you new it we we’re on our way back to the cabin at around 2am... don’t judge me it was the others... they know who they are... 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸 😱😜

 

Anyway, for a first day it was a great day and I’m sure the cruise will follow along with more great days, I’ll try to get more pics & info today and update where I can, the free (included WiFi) isn’t great but I’m managing so hopefully we won’t have to upgrade it 🤞🏻 

[MR_T]

Santorini day! 

 

So after a little lay in this morning after the fun night at the martini bar we headed to the empty pool deck for a relaxing start to the day, we stayed for a couple of hours before heading to the island to have a walk around, the tender service was good and we really like the new system of tendering from the magic carpet and the whole area down there is so much nicer vs the other ships where it feels like you are going through the staff entrance... they really have made the new space a much nicer experience. 

 

As mentioned we are are on the following cruise and again our first stop will be Santorini again and it actually falls on our wedding anniversary (3 whole years) so we looked for a nice restaurant to book a table for dinner next week to celebrate our special day, we are thinking it will be pretty special drinking champagne & eating a nice meal while watching the sunset on Santorini from a great spot... 

 

We are now back on the ship for a little rest before we get ready for the night ahead... not sure where we will eat but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be tasty 😋