Just off Apex (Retreat). Any questions?

[TFree]

10 minutes ago, tonyinoc said:

that is correct as long as the app your are using supports Chromecast . I used F1 Tv the girls used Netflix it worked good .. We did have the premium package, And I have to stay Netflix had no buffering at all 

 

Were you able to use Netflix without a VPN, or do you have a VPN?  Just curious as we will be on the transatlantic and the British Isles cruise, and I don't know if there are issues using Netflix on a cruise ship when out of US territory.

 

Tom & Judy

[tonyinoc]

Just now, TFree said:

Were you able to use Netflix without a VPN, or do you have a VPN?  Just curious as we will be on the transatlantic and the British Isles cruise, and I don't know if there are issues using Netflix on a cruise ship when out of US territory.

 

Tom & Judy

we did not use VPN . the way it worked was there was a link to a website on the screen with a 4 digit code.. enter that on the phone when you go to a link and then start the app on your phone and share it ..but you could also cast from the app and look for the TV in your room .. I have a feeling that since its an US ship you get the US Netflix as the internet showed it was coming from FT Lauderdale . I know when i was on it in Greece the Internet showed as coming from the ship yard in France 

 

[micruiser2002]

2 minutes ago, tonyinoc said:

we did not use VPN . the way it worked was there was a link to a website on the screen with a 4 digit code.. enter that on the phone when you go to a link and then start the app on your phone and share it ..but you could also cast from the app and look for the TV in your room .. I have a feeling that since its an US ship you get the US Netflix as the internet showed it was coming from FT Lauderdale . I know when i was on it in Greece the Internet showed as coming from the ship yard in France 

 

Were you streaming from an Apple or android device?  Does it make a difference?

[tonyinoc]

11 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

Were you streaming from an Apple or android device?  Does it make a difference?

nope I used an Android and my daughters Iphone 

[Mimiya11]

Thanks for this post.   We are looking forward to our first time on the Apex for a Transatlantic November 2023, having booked a SS.   From what I see, when booking, it is a pretty full ship.    A couple of ?  

 

Must try Specialty Restaurants?  Eden is a new concept for us, while the other standards on other ships, we know.   

 

Best places to hang out on sea days? (other than our balcony 🙂

 

Retreat experience?  We were just off the Reflection which has not been "revolutionized" yet so didn't really experience the retreat pool, found Michael's club dark and gloomy so chose not to go there. We love Luminae so assume it will be a similar experience.     

 

Any things you didn't like about this level of ship?     

 

[micmacmissy]

4 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Thanks for this post.   We are looking forward to our first time on the Apex for a Transatlantic November 2023, having booked a SS.   From what I see, when booking, it is a pretty full ship.    A couple of ?  

 

Must try Specialty Restaurants?  Eden is a new concept for us, while the other standards on other ships, we know.   

 

Best places to hang out on sea days? (other than our balcony 🙂

 

Retreat experience?  We were just off the Reflection which has not been "revolutionized" yet so didn't really experience the retreat pool, found Michael's club dark and gloomy so chose not to go there. We love Luminae so assume it will be a similar experience.     

 

Any things you didn't like about this level of ship?     

 

 

We couldn’t get into Eden- we did Fine Cut steakhouse and Rooftop Grill.  Both were very good but we didn’t love the ambiance of Fine Cut- it was loud!

 

Sea day hangouts- definitely the Retreat pool deck.  One level down is a shaded outside area adjacent to the Retreat lounge.  Great place for shade, playing cards, reading a book.  If you want indoors, the back of Eden is a great space. 

 

We found the Retreat lounge to be stuffy and filled with much older folks who weren’t that friendly.  Eden or Martini bar are great spots for a pre dinner drink.  

 

Service and food in Luminae was FANTASTIC.  We absolutely loved it and didn’t even use our 3rd night in specialty dining because Luminae was so good!

[LindaGSF]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:43 PM, micmacmissy said:

Eden was fully booked so we couldn’t have dinner there and didn’t see any shows in there.  Eden was fully booked before anyone stepped onboard.  Told they serve 40 per night.  

We are cruising on Apex in October and already booked our dinner in Eden. We heard great things about it and didn’t want to miss out. Sounds like we made a good decision to book it early.

On 4/16/2022 at 3:43 PM, micmacmissy said:

Eden was fully booked so we couldn’t have dinner there and didn’t see any shows in there.  Eden was fully booked before anyone stepped onboard.  Told they serve 40 per night.  

 

[LindaGSF]

On 4/17/2022 at 9:34 AM, ian441672 said:

Normally it hates me too. Luck must have been shining on us last July on Apex's 3rd cruise out, and only 600 pax.  Not only did I win the spot machine prize for gentleman (I  think I had a 1 in 5 chance!) of a bottle of expensive eau de something, but on the last night I pulled a $1100 dollar spin on one of the fruit machines. Despite their instance I had to pay tax on it, I had to prove I was UK and it was all tax free! Lovely end to a marvellous cruise. Cant wait to go back next year on our trip to Iceland, but I don't think I will be so lucky next time!

Hope you love Iceland as much as I did. Of all the places we’ve cruised to, Iceland is the one I’d love to visit again.

[WKUTopperFan]

First time Celeb cruiser and will be on Apex this Thanksgiving so trying to take in as much info as I can find (22 previous cruises on other lines). Booked in Infinite Verandah so no Retreat for me. I like my space and sun  and see that cabanas are available to rent fir the day? Are the cabanas functional? Has anyone utilized them and have comments to share? The  pricing is great in comparison to cabana rental  rates at resort properties on land. It seems to me to  be a no brainer to secure one for each sea day. Not having to hunt for space on the deck or contend with chair hogs seems like a no brainer.  Am I missing something? I'm kind of shocked they're not sold out ( which makes me think there is something I'm missing).

[micmacmissy]

6 hours ago, WKUTopperFan said:

First time Celeb cruiser and will be on Apex this Thanksgiving so trying to take in as much info as I can find (22 previous cruises on other lines). Booked in Infinite Verandah so no Retreat for me. I like my space and sun  and see that cabanas are available to rent fir the day? Are the cabanas functional? Has anyone utilized them and have comments to share? The  pricing is great in comparison to cabana rental  rates at resort properties on land. It seems to me to  be a no brainer to secure one for each sea day. Not having to hunt for space on the deck or contend with chair hogs seems like a no brainer.  Am I missing something? I'm kind of shocked they're not sold out ( which makes me think there is something I'm missing).

 

If not fighting chairhogs and having your own space is important, the cabanas will fit the bill.  They are functional (large sofas and I believe wait service).  They face the outer walkway, so to access them you have to walk around to the pool.  They aren’t very private because you will have people walking by.  Location is definitely odd.  That said, I HATE dealing with chair issues and this would solve that problem!  I am not sure how well protected from the sun they are.

[WKUTopperFan]

4 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

 

If not fighting chairhogs and having your own space is important, the cabanas will fit the bill.  They are functional (large sofas and I believe wait service).  They face the outer walkway, so to access them you have to walk around to the pool.  They aren’t very private because you will have people walking by.  Location is definitely odd.  That said, I HATE dealing with chair issues and this would solve that problem!  I am not sure how well protected from the sun they are.

Thanks for the info. SOLD!  I hate having to get up super early on sea days to procure a lounger on sea days. As for shade, I'm a sun worshipper (hit the tanning bed 2 to 3X a week at the gym) so I'll enjoy getting any I can.

 

There is only the 2 of us but after looking  at a couple pics of the units I opted to book the full sized cabana for the first sea day. That should give us room to stretch out ( the 1/2 size  for 2 looks a bit tight).  I'm gonna hold off booking for the other two sea days until I try the experience out. If we enjoy it and they are available the other two days, we can reserve them then. If the experience is poor ( you saying they are not very private is kind of concerning) I won't waste an additional $600

[jelayne]

The cabanas do not face the pool.  As mentioned they face a walkway that gets a fair amount of foot traffic.  They have placed some potted shrubs in front of the cabana to give more privacy but they are still pretty open to those walk-in by.  There are no lounge chairs like the type around the pool.  It has cushioned couch and chairs, not ideal for sunbathing. 

[FLcruisergrl]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:48 PM, micmacmissy said:

Lord.  In Luminae one guy complaining to every server that he was told to put on pants.  He whined through dinner.  

 

Another couple asked to see the chef and then proceeded to lecture the poor guy about the proper way to make gluten free pancakes. 

 

Numerous people not wanting to wait at Retreat pool bar for service.  

 

Finally:  really jerky people chair hogging.  Overheard a guest in the retreat complaining to a retreat attendant:  “I set my alarm at 6am to reserve chairs and the good ones were all gone!”

 

 Our waiter even commented how poorly they’ve been treated.  

Please don’t assume the pancake people are entitled. Perhaps one had celiac? Proper food handling and preparation is vital to ensure a celiac doesn’t get very ill and have their intestines damaged. The others sound ridiculous and entitled, but I’d give the gluten free couple some grace and not assume. Even chefs often don’t understand celiac food handling.

Edited April 24, 2022 by FLcruisergrl

[micmacmissy]

2 hours ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Please don’t assume the pancake people are entitled. Perhaps one had celiac? Proper food handling and preparation is vital to ensure a celiac doesn’t get very ill and have their intestines damaged. The others sound ridiculous and entitled, but I’d give the gluten free couple some grace and not assume. Even chefs often don’t understand celiac food handling.

It is one thing to politely advocate for your health and food allergies.

 

It is quite another to insist that the chef come out so you can lecture him (for a solid 5 minutes) on why rice flour is superior to almond flour…in a loud and rude tone, and tell him that the pancakes he made taste like crap.

 

I’m not assuming anything…I was sitting 3 feet away and was privy to the entire conversation.

[cangelmd]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:53 PM, txtechmk said:

Okay, thanks for the clarification.  I'll try and get a reservation for dinner.  I've heard great things about this restaurant.  But I heard the lunch in the cafe is good too. Might do both. 😉

Good plan! Someone should get the Reuben and the chocolate chip cookie

[FLcruisergrl]

32 minutes ago, micmacmissy said:

It is one thing to politely advocate for your health and food allergies.

 

It is quite another to insist that the chef come out so you can lecture him (for a solid 5 minutes) on why rice flour is superior to almond flour…in a loud and rude tone, and tell him that the pancakes he made taste like crap.

 

I’m not assuming anything…I was sitting 3 feet away and was privy to the entire conversation.

Ok, yeah, that sounds entitled! I just saw a few people quote this part of your post and wanted to make sure that it wasn’t assumed they were acting entitled just because they were gf. Sounds like GF actually has nothing to do with it, they were just jerks!

[CruiseloverfromGA]

Do you remember what nights the Magic Carpet serves Raw on Five?

[Whinenowine]

On 4/24/2022 at 7:41 AM, micmacmissy said:

It is one thing to politely advocate for your health and food allergies.

 

It is quite another to insist that the chef come out so you can lecture him (for a solid 5 minutes) on why rice flour is superior to almond flour…in a loud and rude tone, and tell him that the pancakes he made taste like crap.

 

I’m not assuming anything…I was sitting 3 feet away and was privy to the entire conversation.

Amen!  I've been forced to be gluten free for 12 years now and it's always nerve-wracking trying new dining venues because gluten is like sand at the beach, it sneaks in....everywhere!  But I found X to be incredibly accommodating (I told the shoreside concierge in advance, highly recommended for any food allergies), particularly in Luminae.  

 

I never had a problem with any of the food onboard, with plenty of GF options (including that damned super tasty gelato).   While I agree that almond flour is better than rice flour for pancakes/waffles/etc, there's a way to communicate and a way not to.  What ever happened to the Golden Rule?  But it sounds like you didn't let it ruin your time, which is the most important thing.

[CruiseloverfromGA]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:41 PM, micmacmissy said:

We purposefully didn’t book a 9:30am flight, and regretted it!  We were at the airport (after full breakfast at Luminae) by 8:45am. 

 

Did you carry your bags off?  We have an 11 am flight