Apex Eastern Caribbean April 9-16 Photo Review

[micmacmissy]

 Hi everyone,

 

We are just off Apex, our first cruise since 2017.  Previous cruises include Celebrity (Mercury, Millenium, Silhouette) and Royal Caribbean (Independence and Allure).  This was the first time cruising as a couple without anyone else…and after a couple of rough years, we felt we were entitled to some pampering so we booked a Sky Suite in the Retreat.

 

We booked pretty last minute (2 months out) and got a great deal by using a website where you can input the cruise you want, and travel agents compete with one another and offer you bids on your cruise.  This has worked really well for us in the past and we once again scored a good price and $1,600 OBC.

 

I’ll break down the cruise day by day with as much detail as I can remember.  

 

Here we go!

 

[micmacmissy]

Day Zero

 

We departed Baltimore on a direct flight to FLL.  Husband forgot to check us in so we were in middle seats in the back of a Southwest plane…which was then delayed.  Joy.  (This is why you fly in a day early, friends!)

 

Since we are dealing with spring break week, all of our usual favorite hotels were booked.  (Embassy Suites, Hyatt Place).  We also avoided the oceanfront resorts, as the Tortuga music festival was going on, and we knew the traffic up and down that drag would be a nightmare.  The Ritz also was booking at $850/night so we tried a new option…Le Meridien in Dania Beach.

 

[micmacmissy]

Le Meridien is not in a walkable area, but it’s close to the airport and to Port Everglades ($25, ten minute cab ride).  It’s a pretty new hotel with a nice lobby bar and comfortable rooms.

 

 

[micmacmissy]

We got checked in and we were starving!  We headed to Toro, which is attached to the hotel.  It’s a Latin restaurant with a Tequila library (whatever that is).  Toro was really nice and the food was outstanding, as were the cocktails.  Check them out at www.torodaniabeach.com.

 

[micmacmissy]

After some ridiculously delicious guacamole, a few cocktails, and dinner, we hit the lobby bar.  Cocktails were definitely not as good there, but it was a good way to end the evening.  Off to bed we went!

 

The next morning we decided to take a walk and we walked across the street to the Fort Lauderdale airport greenway - it’s about a 2 mile loop that’s really pretty, and we were able to stretch our legs.  Lots of greenery along the way…after that, we hit up the gym at Le Meridien.  It was small, but serviceable.

 

[Straughn]

I am staying, for the second time, at this hotel next Friday, before my Apex cruise. I really liked it when I was there the first time. Toro sounds like s great restaurant and I will check it out. Last time, I just ate at the bar. The fish tacos were decent. Fish was clearly fresh.

 

Nice to know about the walk around the airport greenway. I wanted to walk and just stayed  on the sidewalk. Kinda boring…

 

Looking forward to all your posts about Apex. I have been on Edge twice; this is the first Apex cruise.

[Coarsegold_Mom]

28 minutes ago, micmacmissy said:

 

 

We booked pretty last minute (2 months out) and got a great deal by using a website where you can input the cruise you want, and travel agents compete with one another and offer you bids on your cruise.  This has worked really well for us in the past and we once again scored a good price and $1,600 OBC.

 

 

 

Curious what this site is....I would love to check it out!  Looking forward to your review of the Apex - we are sailing in August.

[micmacmissy]

1 minute ago, Coarsegold_Mom said:

 

Curious what this site is....I would love to check it out!  Looking forward to your review of the Apex - we are sailing in August.

I don’t believe I am allowed to drop a link…but if you google “cruise travel agent compete” it should pop up.

[micmacmissy]

Day One:  Embarkation

 

So after our morning jaunt and a quick trip to the gym, we packed up and took an Uber to the port around 10:45am.  On the Celebrity app, it gave us an arrival window of 11:30-12:00, but I figured being in the Retreat we’d probably be able to roll in whenever we wanted, providing we weren’t too early.

 

As usual, Port Everglades was a zoo, but an organized one.  Our Uber dropped us off and we gave our bags to the curbside porter (Pro tip:  don’t forget your $5s and $10s for tipping, or else you’ll have the give the guy a $20 for two suitcases…no worries, it’s vacation…)

 

There is a separate entrance for Retreat passengers and we were escorted all the way through.  It was SO nice!  Someone walked us in, put us on an elevator, handed us off to a check in person.  We had already checked in on the app so there wasn’t much to do - show our negative covid tests and we were good to go.  We were deposited in the Retreat guest waiting area, which had nice sofas and chairs set up, along with really nice refreshments and drinks.  Hubby went off to the bathroom, and a grabbed a croissant and some tea and sat down to wait.  Immediately a Celebrity person came over and was like, what are you waiting for?  You can get on the ship.  I mean, we were there all of 2 minutes.  I told her I was going to finish my croissant and not rush this delightful boarding process, LOL.  Seriously great service here - we were impressed!

 

I will say that the last time we cruised, there were no apps or automated check in.  The streamlined process was really nice!  (But later on in the cruise, it does prevent you from totally unplugging because you do need your phone to access some things.)

 

Still, on a scale of 1 to 10, this embarkation was a 20!

 

[micmacmissy]

We made an immediate path to our stateroom to drop our stuff.  We were deck 10 forward, which was a great location (near the gym, Luminae, and the retreat - our three main hangs!)

 

Our butler/personal Retreat host, Godfrey, met us, as did our stateroom attendant.  Godfrey gave us a rundown of all the things (so many things!) we needed to know/remember.  I retained maybe 10% of it.  I did immediately let him know that we booked a 3-night specialty dining package, but were only able to book one dinner online (Fine Cut).  I asked him to book us Eden and Rooftop Grill.  He said there was a waitlist for Eden, but he’d do his best.

 

Sky Suites are delightful, comfortable, and well designed.  So much storage - really perfect for 2 people for a week.

[micmacmissy]

Since we’re taking a peek at the bathroom, I’ll give you my impression of the bath products they supply…shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion.  Yuck!  I thought they were crappy and brought my own from home.  They smelled good enough but the shampoo/conditioner were gross and the lotion felt yucky.  My two cents, but you’re here for my two cents, right? 😉

 

The shower was really good but dang if it wasn’t confusing to operate.  It had a rain head, body sprays, and a handheld - but I never figured out how to use more than one mode at a time.  At home I do car wash showers - body sprays and overhead all at once, but that didn’t seem possible here.  First world problem as the shower was really nice overall.  The toilet was in it’s own little area which was cozy.

 

In the Retreat they give you big long towels, which were great.  We also got robes and slippers which we didn’t touch.  Bathroom was a 10 out of 10!  (Okay, a 9.5 out of 10 because of those crummy bath products.)

[micmacmissy]

Our next stop was the Retreat just to check it out.  The Retreat lounge was pretty quiet - they had a spa rep in there so I checked on our pre-booked spa appointments (we did a total of 5 treatments) and we just poked around.  There is a nice attached outdoor area to the lounge, with a set of steps that leads to the Retreat pool area.  This is where we spent most of our sea days…it was so nice up there!  Hopefully my video will load…

[micmacmissy]

See those hanging chairs?  Don’t they look so comfy?  Spoiler:  they’re NOT!  They are anchored on the bottom, so when you try to swing you get jerked back to center...so while they look like swings, they really aren’t.  Finally on day 5 I figured out that the one on the far right had a broken tether, so you could swing freely in it.  It was delightful!

 

The service up in the Retreat was great.  Plenty of servers around, all of whom were very friendly and responsive.

[Loucat]

1 hour ago, micmacmissy said:

I don’t believe I am allowed to drop a link…but if you google “cruise travel agent compete” it should pop up.

Thanks for the information. I have used this site several times and they did a nice job. Did not always book with them as I have a TA that is very competitive too!

[Janthere]

$1600 OBC is amazing!! I might have to look into this booking method for our next cruise!

[micruiser2002]

3 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

 Hi everyone,

 

We are just off Apex, our first cruise since 2017.  Previous cruises include Celebrity (Mercury, Millenium, Silhouette) and Royal Caribbean (Independence and Allure).  This was the first time cruising as a couple without anyone else…and after a couple of rough years, we felt we were entitled to some pampering so we booked a Sky Suite in the Retreat.

 

We booked pretty last minute (2 months out) and got a great deal by using a website where you can input the cruise you want, and travel agents compete with one another and offer you bids on your cruise.  This has worked really well for us in the past and we once again scored a good price and $1,600 OBC.

 

I’ll break down the cruise day by day with as much detail as I can remember.  

 

Here we go!

 

Was the $1600 obc all from your TA or was $800 of it from booking a suite?

[schittenden]

Thanks for taking me back with these pictures.  We were not in the suite, but I'm enjoying seeing what it offers.

[micmacmissy]

At some point we decided to head to the Oceanview for lunch…mainly to check it out.  Wow, Celebrity has really stepped up its game in the buffet area.  This area was huge, with tall ceilings and really lovely displays.  We couldn’t get over the variety and quality of what was offered!  We got a mishmash of everything and head all the way to the back of the Oceanview where they have an outdoor seating area (conveniently located next to the pizza area).  Everything was delicious.

 

We wandered around for a bit before sail away - for those of you who have never cruised, one of the most interesting parts of leaving any port is watching the prep!  We usually head down to deck 5 to watch what’s going on.  In the case of embarkation day, it’s mainly watching them load pallets of food and drink onto the ship…we’re geeks that way.

 

Up to the Retreat for sail away - it’s always fun leaving Ft. Lauderdale.  As we were hanging out at the rail, my husband spotted a sea turtle in the water - that is a first!  Then back to the room to unpack (bags arrived right around 5pm) and shower for our first dinner in Luminae.

[micmacmissy]

Sail away…

[micmacmissy]

Off to dinner…this turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.  So much so that we didn’t even use 1 night of specialty dining!

 

I didn’t take photos of Luminae…you can find them anywhere…but wow, the room was beautiful and the service was fantastic.  It reminded me of how the main dining rooms used to be…so many people waiting on you, calling you by name, remembering your favorites.

 

Everything we ate all week in Luminae was fantastic.  Our servers were great.  Off to a really good start!

[micmacmissy]

Day Two:  at sea

 

Woke up and immediately called our retreat host for coffee to be sent to the room.  Room service was slow (30-40 minutes for just coffee), and the retreat host was so busy we only did this once…we actually felt guilty for calling/bothering him.

 

After coffee, a trip to the gym.  The gym on Apex is really nice - plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, pelotons, and very good free weights and other weight machines.  It is laid out beautifully…I do wish they had more fitness classes than the one or two a day.

[micmacmissy]

Hours for breakfast in the Retreat are pretty tight - 8 to 930am on sea days, 730 to 900am on port days.  Service was wonderful, and they sat us by a window every day.  (Once our waiter saw us seated in the middle of the room and said, “Oh no, there is a better table” and escorted us over to the window!).

 

We loved how they came table to table with fresh squeezed OJ (it was fantastic) and a tray of pastries (yes, I ate a chocolate croissant every.  Single.  Day.)

 

Breakfast menu in Luminae does not change but there is plenty of variety to have something different each day.

 

Our waiter Chester and asst waiter Cindy were the BEST!

[micmacmissy]

After breakfast it was off to the Retreat.  Sigh.  Chair hogs.  Really, people?  Folks covering chairs with towels at 6am and not returning til after 12pm.  All the chairs with access to shade taken (and maybe 10% of them actually occupied with bodies).  

 

I plopped down and read, and after about 90 minutes another passenger came up and asked an attendant about the “saved” beds.  I told the attendant (of the beds next to me), “I’ve been here over an hour and a half, and no one is sitting there,” but the attendant said to the other passenger “Maybe they went to grab a quick bite to eat,” and failed to do anything.  Come on, Celebrity!  Do better.  So the passenger who actually wanted to USE the chairs was out of luck.  He finally took matters into his own hands and moved the random paperback and can of sunscreen, and plopped down.  (Yay!  You should do this too.)

 

After another hour, the chair hogs returned and said to the guy, “Our stuff was here.”  Dude - go pound sand.

 

Very simple solution:  have a Retreat host keeping tabs and removing stuff left on chairs.  Assure passengers there will be space for them when they’re ready to actually use the chairs.  Serve the guests who SHOW UP.  One and only downside of the Retreat area.

[micmacmissy]

Retreat beds are quite comfortable, and someone comes around with fruit kabobs in the morning.  Bar service also comes by your chairs.  Thankfully, the music is at a reasonable setting and is much more like spa music than the main pool area.

 

[micmacmissy]

We found the sweet spot to use the Retreat pool deck to be morning, maybe 10am-12 noon, then again after 3:30pm.  Between noon and 3 or 4, the pool is PACKED.  The water turns cloudy.  Pretty gross.

 

We enjoyed talking to fellow passengers, who were very friendly.  Very few kids in the Retreat area (thank goodness, I love kids but work with them all day every day so happy to have none on vacation!) and those who were there were well behaved.

 

During the more prime sun hours, we moved down to the shady deck area one floor below, adjacent to the Retreat lounge.  Great place to watch the sea go by or play cards.  Good access to the lounge for bathrooms and cold drinks, too!  We were surprised that pretty much there was no food in the Retreat lounge during the day.

 

View from the shady lower Retreat deck: