APEX 02/26-03/05 2022 Retreat, Eastern Caribbean out of Ft Lauderdale

[miched]

17 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Not sure.  I actually saw someone post around here somewhere that they went to customer service to inquire about an upgrade and actually got one for a nominal fee.

 

That has been relatively unheard of for the last several years.  Kind of like every once in a while someone will ask "can I go to the pier and buy a cheap ticket for the cruise the day of sailing?"  Answer is always, "no"!

You could try going to the pier to buy a cheap ticket for a cruise.  If you do find someone selling them I would suggest paying in $3 bills as that is what the ticket would be worth

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[graphicguy]

31 minutes ago, miched said:

You could try going to the pier to buy a cheap ticket for a cruise.  If you do find someone selling them I would suggest paying in $3 bills as that is what the ticket would be worth

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

LOL!  

 

On the totally opposite end of that, just got the "Move UP" offer.  Minimum to move up to the ICONIC SUITE is $10,000....the MINIMUM!  So, probably wouldn't even get it with the minimum offer.

 

Was so looking forward to it, too! 😉

[Reel Love]

9 hours ago, graphicguy said:

I know the MDR on Celebrity had some fairly loose dress rules for dinner.  But, only ate in any of them.  

 

Luminae, even on Chic nights, was pretty casual.  I never dressed like a schlub, but did wear nice jeans for dinner most nights in Luminae.

 

Always wore shorts for breakfast and lunch.

 

Don't want to get into a dress code debate.  But, most of the mainstream cruise lines have been moving to more casual dress, even on "dress up nights" for quite a few years, now.  

 

 

Hahaha....I've no interest in a dress code debate either lol.  Just thought the info from my hubby's experience may have been helpful.  

Sadly we have not cruised since February 2020 just before the shutdown and this particular incident was probably about five years ago, so guess I am pretty out of date with some of the evening dress code requirements!!!!  Sorry about that... 😊

[Shadow9612]

11 hours ago, graphicguy said:

LOL!  

 

On the totally opposite end of that, just got the "Move UP" offer.  Minimum to move up to the ICONIC SUITE is $10,000....the MINIMUM!  So, probably wouldn't even get it with the minimum offer.

 

Was so looking forward to it, too! 😉

10,000 ??  Minimum!?  Yikes

 

Were there any other reasonable move up options?

[graphicguy]

6 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

10,000 ??  Minimum!?  Yikes

 

Were there any other reasonable move up options?

Reasonable?  Not particularly.  I think the least minimum offer to move from an S3 to a Celebrity Suite was somewhere around $2,000 for both of us.  Looked at the difference between a Sky Suite and a Celebrity Suite, and really did not see that much of a difference.  Location, maybe?

 

For 2 Grand, we can book a whole other cruise.

[graphicguy]

Packing……It took me a while to convince the GF she may not need all the clothes she packed into a large checked bag as well as a back pack and her large purse (more like a bag, that barely fit under the seat back).  Up until recent years, my efforts were futile (“My love, do you really need 7 pairs of shoes?  See if you could get by with dress up shoes, casual shoes, workout/hiking shoes”).  Over the years, I’ve sort of chipped away at her want (not need) of packing for every conceivable clothing situation we would ever encounter, in our lifetime, for 4 time zones, 6 geographic climate changes, 12 distinct social situations, which would require an outfit change multiplied by 7 days.  God love her.  I certainly do.  She means well.

 

After getting her (our) luggage lost and/or delayed a couple of times by checking it, she’s now convinced carry on is the only way to go.

 

Granted, we push the limits of what can fit in the overhead and under the seat.  She even found a way to fit her purse in her backpack and has learned to gate check if she’s really overstuffed her roll-aboard.  But, even doing a gate check, on our NCL Alaska cruise, they seemed to have lost our luggage somewhere between the gate and the jet’s cargo hold, 100 feet away.  So, even that’s become dicey.

 

There are lots of different luggage companies, particularly on line.  GF bought AWAY luggage and was one of their Kickstarter backers a few years ago.  Later, she pointed to a story about them that stated their (then) CEO was a jerk to her employees, berating them constantly, and driving them to work obscene hours without compensation.  I should be more alarmed, but I do like their luggage.  My GF, on the other hand, won’t use it anymore, as a result.  So, I’ve absconded hers, choosing (sometimes unwisely) to ignore her disapproving glares.

 

I like eBags, too.  I use their backpacks exclusively.  

 

 

 

 

[graphicguy]

Happens every time we book a cruise.  Regardless of how much research, now much hand wringing, how much shopping around we do, after booking we continue to look and shop.

 

We have Platinum status with NCL (although they have really PO'd me the last 6-8 months).  While not as high status with Celebrity, booking the Retreat mitigates any "status".

 

Here's how the conversation went last night while I was starting to organize for tax season....

 

HER-"looking at Carnival and we could have booked a Suite cheap".

ME-"yeah, but it would have to be really cheap.  Our last Carnival Cruise was in the Havana and even though we enjoyed it, we decided Carnival isn't for us.  (pause while I ponder)..."How cheap?

HER-"You really want to know?"

ME-(another pause) "No, don't tell me.  I don't want to know".

 

HER-"Found an NCL Encore Haven cabin a little cheaper than our Apex Retreat cabin.  It includes Specialty dining, drinks, internet, and $50 excursion credit". 

 

ME-"How much less?"

 

HER-"About $300 less"

 

ME-(wheels turning in my cranium) "Well, I still have to pay the mandatory specialty dinner and drink fees. No specialty coffees or smoothies are included.  The Haven Restaurant serves the same thing for the entire cruise.  They make certain you know that tips in the Haven are NOT included either.  

"Lessee...Retreat includes the $600 OBC, all premium drinks, Streaming internet, tips...give or take, probably a wash.  Although, the Encore is a pretty cool ship.  But, so is the Apex."

 

ME-"Why do we torture each other.  We're going on a very nice cruise, in a very nice cabin, on a very beautiful ship".

 

😉

 

 

[Shadow9612]

14 hours ago, graphicguy said:

 

HER-"looking at Carnival and we could have booked a Suite cheap".

ME-"yeah, but it would have to be really cheap.  Our last Carnival Cruise was in the Havana and even though we enjoyed it, we decided Carnival isn't for us.  (pause while I ponder)..."How cheap?

HER-"You really want to know?"

ME-(another pause) "No, don't tell me.  I don't want to know

Does that mean we'll never know how cheap the Carnival suite that she found was? 

🤣

[graphicguy]

12 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Does that mean we'll never know how cheap the Carnival suite that she found was? 

🤣

Believe it or not, a Havana Suite on the Carnival Vista was about $600 MORE than the Celeb Retreat Sky Suite.  But, the Vista sailing went out of Galveston vs FLL for the APEX. And the Vista included their drink package and $500 OBC.  Still, not close in pricing to the NCL Encore Haven nor the Celebrity APEX Retreat.  Was a bit surprised by that.

 

Carnival’s “regular” suites aren’t really comparable to the Haven or Retreat.

 

We quit looking at Royal Caribbean Star Suites.  They’ve been WAY MORE expensive.

Edited January 29, 2022 by graphicguy

[MarKay525]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:01 AM, graphicguy said:

Flights….kind of wondering about this.  I’ve stated before, if there are flights that are direct, early, and alternates available that I can book and still get me to the port on time, I will fly in the day of.  Going in and out of FLL is ordinarily pretty easy.

<snip>

Leaning towards flying in the day of the cruise.  Ship departs at 4:30 p.m.  I have to be going up the gangway by no later than 3:30 p.m.  <snip>

You must live in the section of SW Ohio that never has winter storms that impact the airport!

(A former Hoosier)

Edited January 29, 2022 by MarKay525

[julia]

Soooo....  flying from CVG huh? Can I assume that you're a Skyline loving Bengals fan?! 😅🏈🍷🍺

[graphicguy]

17 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

You must live in the section of SW Ohio that never has winter storms that impact the airport!

(A former Hoosier)

It happens.  It’s just rare.  I live just north of Cincinnati and fly out of CVG mostly.  Once in a while I’ll fly out of DAY if the flights line up right.

 

It has to be a very bad storm for the flights to be impacted.  We don’t get the kind of winter storms  I read about in the NE, North Mid-West, etc.  We got a dusting of snow (less than 1”) this weekend.  Airport was not affected.

 

It’s 19ºF here right now.  We get a week or two, in total of below freezing temps every winter.  But again, if it goes below that, it’s rare.  The snow dusting we got Friday, has almost totally melted given it was sunny yesterday.

 

I used to fly every week for work.  In 3+ decades of flying over 3M miles, I think I could count the times on one hand I had a flight cancelled because of weather going out of my home airport.  Now, if you want to include cancelations and delays because of airline ineptitude when it comes to personnel, faulty equipment, not wanting to fly because the flight was not full, that’s an entirely different story.

 

All the airlines are bad when it comes to unforced errors regarding flight cancellations and delays.  I’m damning with faint praise here.  But, out of all of them, Delta is probably the best.  They used to use CVG as a hub.  So, they still fly a significant amount of flights out of CVG, even though we’re no longer a hub.  They have several daily flights to MIA and FLL daily.  So, if one goes sideways, there’s another you can take.

 

Can’t say I’ve ever flown out of Indianapolis, at least I don’t recall.  Chicago  O’Hare?  A nightmare to fly in or out of regardless of weather.

Edited January 30, 2022 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

16 hours ago, julia said:

Soooo....  flying from CVG huh? Can I assume that you're a Skyline loving Bengals fan?! 😅🏈🍷🍺

Oh yeah!  Just dropped off a couple of friends at the airport yesterday flying to Kansas City for the game, today.  Another friend  is having a huge party at his house today for the Bengals game.  He and his wife have invited 75 people.  He bought a new 65” TV for one room and an 85” TV for another just for this occasion (and to watch the Super Bowl).  He actually has a Bengals tiger tattoo on his back shoulder.  He’s a FAN.  LOL!

 

He’s having it catered by another Cincinnati tradition…….Montgomery Inn BBQ!

 

Been a while since I’ve had Skyline (not the healthiest food out there).  Plus, it’s a staple after a night of imbibing (which I don’t do nearly as often as when I was younger).  Good treat now and then, though.  Also like #Graeter’s ice cream.

[julia]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Oh yeah!  Just dropped off a couple of friends at the airport yesterday flying to Kansas City for the game, today.  Another friend  is having a huge party at his house today for the Bengals game.  He and his wife have invited 75 people.  He bought a new 65” TV for one room and an 85” TV for another just for this occasion (and to watch the Super Bowl).  He actually has a Bengals tiger tattoo on his back shoulder.  He’s a FAN.  LOL!

 

He’s having it catered by another Cincinnati tradition…….Montgomery Inn BBQ!

 

Been a while since I’ve had Skyline (not the healthiest food out there).  Plus, it’s a staple after a night of imbibing (which I don’t do nearly as often as when I was younger).  Good treat now and then, though.  Also like #Graeter’s ice cream.

Graphicguy:  Although I haven't lived there in many years (born and raised in North College Hill, went to UC, etc), I fondly remember those Mongomery Inn ribs... the BEST!  We'll be glued to our big screen here, dressed in orange & black, and serving chili dogs. 

Who Dey!!

🏈💕🏈🍺🏈🍷🏈🎶

[r2h2]

6 minutes ago, julia said:

Graphicguy:  Although I haven't lived there in many years (born and raised in North College Hill, went to UC, etc), I fondly remember those Mongomery Inn ribs... the BEST!  We'll be glued to our big screen here, dressed in orange & black, and serving chili dogs. 

Who Dey!!

🏈💕🏈🍺🏈🍷🏈🎶

As Bill Cowher once said, "We Dey!". Go Bengals! Represent our division in the Super Bowl!

[neverlaysup]

On 1/25/2022 at 1:09 PM, graphicguy said:

Booked the flight...earliest I could get the day of embarkation.  I know the pros and cons of flying in early, and flying in day of.  My rules of thumb to fly in day of the cruise embarkation...

 

1.  Must be early enough in the day to offer at least a 4 hour embarkation cushion

2.  Must have at least 2 other flights (outside of my original flight) I could take to get me to the pier on time for embarkation

3.  Must be direct (to remove the possibility of an additional flight having issues)

4.  Must be able to have only carry on luggage so there is no issue with lost/stolen luggage...including delays at the luggage carousel

 

I need to walk off the plane, with my luggage, directly to the waiting taxi/uber/bus, etc to take me directly to the pier.

 

I certainly understand others' need to get in a day (or more) early.  Admittedly, spending extra time in FL bothers me just because of its status as a virus hot bed.  If I could not mitigate and reduce the possibilities of missed, canceled or late flights, connections, etc, I  would come in early.  Or, for example, if I was sailing during hurricane season out of FL, I'd probably consider coming in early, too.

 

Given airlines are allowing to change tickets at no charge right now, I'll keep an eye on the weather a couple of days before embarkation and if there are no weather issues, I'll still come in the day of the cruise.

 

In brief,  we'll depart (Delta) at 8:00 a.m. and arrive at 10:35 a.m. from CVG to FLL.  Our check in time is noon.  So, we'll have time to be bums for an hour to grab an overpriced airport cocktail and make fun of all the people who aren't going on a cruise shlepping through the terminal before grabbing a taxi.

 

Delta has been pretty good in (mostly) helping me when things get a little sideways.  And, they're one of the most punctual airlines in the biz (which is kind of damning with faint praise for the airlines).

Why not just charter a private jet and avoid all this hassle? LOL

[joetop2467]

The game isn’t going well. We’re in Northern Kentucky and will be flying to Miami on February 18 for our Symphony of the Seas cruise before this.  Everybody needs to send good vibes for Bengals right now.

[Lastdance]

On 1/25/2022 at 2:20 PM, Chippytoes said:

While we are not Retreat (SV though! haha!), my husband & I are on this cruise too. Can't wait! Maybe we'll see you around 🙂 Flying in day before.

 

SV's are mini-suites without the Retreat and very cost efficient compared to a suite; you can always try to Move-up!  I like to pair them with a TA Suite/b2b.

Edited January 30, 2022 by Lastdance

[lilalila]

graphicguy -

I'll also be onboard Apex's 2/26/22 sailing.  If I happen to see you would you  have a problem if I approach and inquire as to who you use for a travel agent/travel advisor?  I'd love to get some of my cruise fare rebated back!

[joetop2467]

Thanks for all your good Bengal vibes.  BENGALS aware going to the SUPERBOWL!!WHO DEY!!

[joetop2467]

Now I have a dilemma.  Super Bowl party or not.  Can’t risk COVID the week before the cruise???

[graphicguy]

22 hours ago, julia said:

Graphicguy:  Although I haven't lived there in many years (born and raised in North College Hill, went to UC, etc), I fondly remember those Mongomery Inn ribs... the BEST!  We'll be glued to our big screen here, dressed in orange & black, and serving chili dogs. 

Who Dey!!

🏈💕🏈🍺🏈🍷🏈🎶

WHO-DEY!  Indeed!  After hearing of all the hype surrounding Mahomes, and how loud Arrowhead would be and Burrow would not be able to function as a result, we beat them....TWICE....in January....and yesterday, it was in their home stadium.  WE-DEY!  IT IS US!

 

Sorry...still hyped about the Super Bowl this year.

 

I have friends that live in North College Hill.  I like that area.  I graduated from MIAMI (OH).  Bought my first house in Wyoming (OH).  My son graduated from University of Cincinnati.  He lives in Loveland.  I live up in the Mason burbs.  GF has an apartment in Glendale but she spends most of her time at my place.

 

Small world!

[graphicguy]

20 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

Why not just charter a private jet and avoid all this hassle? LOL

LOL!  Given the liberal flight change policies that Delta has adopted (at least termporarily), I can keep an eye on the weather and see if I need to make a change and come in the day before.  I seriously doubt I will.

 

If I stick with my time honored plan....

 

-Direct flight

-earliest flight of the day

- at least 2 back up flights to get me to the port with 2 hours to spare (actually have several to choose from if I look at both MIA and FLL)

-all carryon luggage, so the chance of delayed or lost luggage is mitigated

 

We should be fine.

 

But, we have some crazy weather swings around here.  It's going to be near 60º here later in the week.  But, snow is predicted for the weekend.  LOL!

 

[graphicguy]

18 hours ago, joetop2467 said:

The game isn’t going well. We’re in Northern Kentucky and will be flying to Miami on February 18 for our Symphony of the Seas cruise before this.  Everybody needs to send good vibes for Bengals right now.

Wish granted.  

 

Looking at some real estate in Covington.  Trying to downsize. I like the area.

 

I haven't been on a Royal ship in quite some time.  I think the last one was on Harmony about 5 years ago.

 

I wouldn't mind going on one of their new ships to see what's changed.

[graphicguy]

15 hours ago, lilalila said:

graphicguy -

I'll also be onboard Apex's 2/26/22 sailing.  If I happen to see you would you  have a problem if I approach and inquire as to who you use for a travel agent/travel advisor?  I'd love to get some of my cruise fare rebated back!

Looking forward to it!  Bmore than happy to make that recommendation.  If you'd like, my email is my Cruise Critic user name at yahoo.  Drop me a line and I'll get you the contact info.