Apex Eastern Caribbean April 9-16 Photo Review

[micmacmissy]

We were not bothered on the beach at all…totally private, no people wandering trying to sell you stuff.  If you are looking for a quiet spot to read and unwind, this is the spot for you.  (Unfortunately for me I threw the wrong book in my beach bag - the one I had just finished the day before - but it was all good.)

[cinderellen]

I’m really enjoying your review. We were on the Apex last month and had a blast. 

[micmacmissy]

St. Kitts is now officially our favorite port.  Discovery Beach bar is a must for those of you who want a peaceful day!  Also - if you see the ship sponsored “Carambola Beach Break” or “Shipwreck Beach” excursions…Discovery Beach bar is located between them on the same stretch.  So not only will you save serious coin by going it on your own, you’ll have a much better experience with no crowds!  You will not have amazing facilities here…a bathroom and a bar held together with plywood and good intentions (and a Roll Tide banner!)…but the rum punch was excellent and the food is all made from scratch.  (We didn’t eat, but our shipmates did and they said the chicken wings are to die for.)

’

We only stayed at the beach for a couple hours, our wonderful taxi driver didn’t want us to pay him - he said he’d come back and get us and we could pay him at the end.  We arranged a time and he came back to get us.

 

Fun fact:  mongoose are all over St. Kitts!  Our taxi driver told us all about them and we even saw one on our ride back to the port.  Our driver also took us to an overlook where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet so we could get some pictures.

[micmacmissy]

St. Kitts also has a historical area, so when we arrived back in port we thought we’d try that out.  But it was SO hot and after walking a few blocks, we felt like a drink in the shade of the Retreat would be exactly perfect, so we headed back to the ship.

 

Is there any better feeling in the world then heading back to the ship?  You’re hot, tired, thirsty, and greeted with fresh water, cold towels, and friendly people?  Celebrity does this so well.  (One suggestion:  have a drop area for towels so that guests don’t have to haul their heavy wet sandy towels back up to the room…but now I’m getting picky!)

[hcat]

Enjoying this great review. 

Excellent photos,  some new ideas to try and a nice happy point of view!

Thanks for sharing...

[micmacmissy]

Day 6:  At Sea

 

Big goals for today:  trying to figure out how to use the next 2 specialty dining meals we paid for but hadn’t booked, relaxation, and spa appointments.

 

A lot of people asking lately what your Retreat Host can do for you…honestly, ours didn’t do much.  We requested two things:  ice in our ice bucket at turndown.  And on two separate mornings, coffee delivered to our room.  It took until day 4 (and two reminders) before the ice showed up.  Coffee took 30-45 minutes to be delivered.  Meh.  The other request - can you help check on our reservation requests for Eden and Rooftop Grill?  He ghosted us on those things.

 

After another great breakfast in Luminae, we headed to the Retreat and found a couple loungers.  (Chair hogging still seriously out of control).  After reading and relaxing, we decided to hit up Le Grand Bistro for lunch.  They were entirely booked but the hostess there was wonderful!  We explained we had 2 specialty dining meals unused.  She immediately got to work and had no problem booking the Rooftop Grill for us that evening.  (Made us wonder what the heck our Retreat Host was doing…). She couldn’t help with Eden (no surprise) but did offer to book us lunch in the Le Grand Bistro to use up our 3rd meal credit.  Now - lunch is not the same as dinner there (which is Le Petite Chef) but that’s ok.  I will say I was a little disappointed that specialty dining was so ridiculously hard to secure (and yes, I did try to book weeks before we boarded!)

 

Video of the view from the Retreat hanging chairs.  What a great place to sit and read (and chair hogs haven’t figured out a way to “save” these yet!). With the added waves it was so relaxing!

[micmacmissy]

Spa appointment this day was a sea salt scrub/massage.  It was fantastic!  After days of sweat and sunscreen, it felt great to have all that scrubbed off.  After the scrub, you hit the in-room shower to rinse and there is a 20 min quick massage after that - lovely!

 

The spa lady in charge of my appointment noticed how dry my face was and did a few things to my face, too (that were not part of what I booked!). She put some under eye stuff on, moisturized, and did a skin buff…THEN hit me with the hard sell (she kept handing me products).  I did wind up busing the skin buff.  The bottle was huge (probably 12 oz.) and she said is was $37 - not terrible!  She said she would have it sent to my room.  Great!

 

Back at the room, a quick google search yielded the Elemis Skin Buff available at Nordstrom Rack for $14.99.  LOL.  No biggie - I didn’t expect a bargain and I hope the spa lady got some credit for that sale.  My only disappointment was when the product arrived - it was NOT the bottle she handed me…it was maybe 3 oz, and the attached receipt said $48, not $37.  But it’s vacation, and I will not stress on my vacation.  A cautionary tale for the rest of you…. 🙂

 

The treatment rooms are lovely - but they lower the shades almost all the way to the floor - so this lovely ocean view is not something you will see.  Then again, your eyes should be closed.  But those shades should be open as you are coming and going!  Small gripe!  Stock photos for your viewing pleasure…

[micmacmissy]

That evening we hit up Eden for some drinks, and I saw Jared and Jordan from J&J Cruises (follow them on You Tube for cruise content, if you don’t already)!  I went up to introduce myself and thank them for their content; we had a lovely conversation.

 

Eden was our choice over Martini Bar before dinner - Martini Bar was always packed, didn’t have the greatest service (due to sheer numbers) and was definitely overrun with cruisers with the most life experience. 😉 

 

Then on to the Rooftop Grill.  Our last al fresco dining experience was the Lawn Club Grill on Silhouette…and that was like eating in a dang wind tunnel.  I was a little worried and didn’t spend too much time on my hair for this dinner.  We were so pleasantly surprised by how well designed the Rooftop Grill was on Apex!  A lovely breeze but no wind - you could sit and enjoy and not be blown away (except by the food and drinks!)

 

We started with the wings and pork sliders (yum!) watermelon salad (excellent), husband ordered the filet and I got a delicious burger.  Of course we finished off with the warm cookie (which is insanely good).  Service was great, food was great, ambiance was EXCELLENT (are you listening, Fine Cut??).  Best specialty dining experience for us!

[micmacmissy]

After dinner, we lost money in the casino (I mean man, we were unlucky!) and then we headed back to the watch store to “visit” the watches we tried on earlier in the week.

 

Service in the store was great and low pressure, and we got a really good deal on two Tag Heuer watches (about 20% less than the best we could find online), plus tax-free.  Sold!  And happy anniversary to us.  They sized them and told us to pick them up the next day.

 

As for the other stores (Bulgari, Cartier) … there didn’t seem to be a ton in stock.  I was ready to shop and the stores felt on the emptier side.  (My husband did not think this was a problem.)

[bunnyette]

Fabulous review!  Keep it going 

[wendyam76]

Thank you for your review! We sailed on Apex last July when it was like a private yacht with only 800 guests! In regards to cookie gate, we too were on Equinox early April and none in Cafe Al Bacio but there were some next to the ice cream station in the Oceanview Cafe. Have to see if any on Beyond in July - but I’ll make sure not to ask in the Retreat Lounge and end up with them every day.

Wendy

[micmacmissy]

1 hour ago, wendyam76 said:

Thank you for your review! We sailed on Apex last July when it was like a private yacht with only 800 guests! In regards to cookie gate, we too were on Equinox early April and none in Cafe Al Bacio but there were some next to the ice cream station in the Oceanview Cafe. Have to see if any on Beyond in July - but I’ll make sure not to ask in the Retreat Lounge and end up with them every day.

Wendy

 

800 guests?  That sounds like a dream.  We had about 2200 on our sailing - and it felt pretty darn full to me!

 

We did find chocolate chip cookies in Eden (lunchtime) but that was it!  We were also surprised that the indoor Retreat lounge didn’t have food options out all day.  (But the one day we caught the food there, they had warm spicy nuts and lawwdddd…they were good!)

[wendyam76]

4 minutes ago, micmacmissy said:

 

800 guests?  That sounds like a dream.  We had about 2200 on our sailing - and it felt pretty darn full to me!

 

We did find chocolate chip cookies in Eden (lunchtime) but that was it!  We were also surprised that the indoor Retreat lounge didn’t have food options out all day.  (But the one day we caught the food there, they had warm spicy nuts and lawwdddd…they were good!)

Those early cruises were out of this world! Actually The Retreat areas were the busiest. I often had the main pool to myself! 

[txtechmk]

Hate to hear that there were NO cookies!!  We picked up four cookies daily at Cafe Al Bacio and took back to the cabin on our last cruise in January.  We will be on the Apex in two weeks so I will be looking for those cookies!!!

 

Love the photos!

[micmacmissy]

1 hour ago, wendyam76 said:

Those early cruises were out of this world! Actually The Retreat areas were the busiest. I often had the main pool to myself! 

Wow…i’m jealous!  We didn’t spend one minute on the pool deck- so loud and crowded!

[micmacmissy]

1 hour ago, txtechmk said:

Hate to hear that there were NO cookies!!  We picked up four cookies daily at Cafe Al Bacio and took back to the cabin on our last cruise in January.  We will be on the Apex in two weeks so I will be looking for those cookies!!!

 

Love the photos!

Cafe al Bacio had no cookies when we were there- though the cakes were phenomenal!

[wendyam76]

Just now, micmacmissy said:

Wow…i’m jealous!  We didn’t spend one minute on the pool deck- so loud and crowded!

I was able to swim lengths as had the pool to myself!! 

[JoeMammy]

This is a great review and really enjoyed consuming. We also try to find local spots for self guided excursions. And we also really like cocktails.

 

We just booked an Apex with similar stops. We also have previously visited all except San Juan and look forward to the walk of kitties (I'll bring treats).

 

Did you guys play any blackjack? Not a big fan of the slots and want to use OBC for blackjack. In the X faq for OBC use it just mentions slots for the casino. We've sailed X only once before and it was the Reflection about 3 years ago.

 

[micruiser2002]

8 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

After dinner, we lost money in the casino (I mean man, we were unlucky!) and then we headed back to the watch store to “visit” the watches we tried on earlier in the week.

 

Service in the store was great and low pressure, and we got a really good deal on two Tag Heuer watches (about 20% less than the best we could find online), plus tax-free.  Sold!  And happy anniversary to us.  They sized them and told us to pick them up the next day.

 

As for the other stores (Bulgari, Cartier) … there didn’t seem to be a ton in stock.  I was ready to shop and the stores felt on the emptier side.  (My husband did not think this was a problem.)

I am surprised you were not stopped when leaving the ship.  Did you declare the watches?  The ship reports all large sales to customs.  Nothing is completely duty/tax free.  I believe the allowance is $800 per person anything above is supposed to be reported and then taxes paid.  My  son bought a watch a few years ago on a ship and they stopped him on the way out and then charged him plus a fine.  Tough lesson learned.

[dreamer321]

Did you save any of the daily planners? I would love to see them if you still have them.

[micmacmissy]

13 hours ago, JoeMammy said:

This is a great review and really enjoyed consuming. We also try to find local spots for self guided excursions. And we also really like cocktails.

 

We just booked an Apex with similar stops. We also have previously visited all except San Juan and look forward to the walk of kitties (I'll bring treats).

 

Did you guys play any blackjack? Not a big fan of the slots and want to use OBC for blackjack. In the X faq for OBC use it just mentions slots for the casino. We've sailed X only once before and it was the Reflection about 3 years ago.

 

 

We didn’t play any blackjack, but yes, they definitely have it (and a bunch of table games).  In our experience on previous X ships, the dealers are very friendly and will add up your cards for you - very different than Vegas!  :)

[micmacmissy]

13 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

I am surprised you were not stopped when leaving the ship.  Did you declare the watches?  The ship reports all large sales to customs.  Nothing is completely duty/tax free.  I believe the allowance is $800 per person anything above is supposed to be reported and then taxes paid.  My  son bought a watch a few years ago on a ship and they stopped him on the way out and then charged him plus a fine.  Tough lesson learned.

 

Stopped when leaving the ship?  Goodness we’re on day six…we haven’t left the ship yet…don’t rush the end of my vacation!  No worries, husband is a former tax attorney so we are well aware of the laws, and everyone who makes a large purchase onboard will definitely be directed by the sales team on exactly how customs and taxes will play out.

[micruiser2002]

5 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

 

Stopped when leaving the ship?  Goodness we’re on day six…we haven’t left the ship yet…don’t rush the end of my vacation!  No worries, husband is a former tax attorney so we are well aware of the laws, and everyone who makes a large purchase onboard will definitely be directed by the sales team on exactly how customs and taxes will play out.

I am very confused, I thought at the beginning of this thread you said you were had just finished the cruise? Isn't this the April 9-16 review?  Regarding sales team informing customers not sure that is always done properly, when I was leaving a Celebrity ship in March I heard a couple complaining very loudly about this, I believe they thought Duty free was everything and they were stopped by customs.

[micmacmissy]

On 5/9/2022 at 11:35 AM, micruiser2002 said:

I am very confused, I thought at the beginning of this thread you said you were had just finished the cruise? Isn't this the April 9-16 review?  Regarding sales team informing customers not sure that is always done properly, when I was leaving a Celebrity ship in March I heard a couple complaining very loudly about this, I believe they thought Duty free was everything and they were stopped by customs.

Yes, the cruise is over, but I’m doing the review day by day.  I’m on day 6.  ;)

[TheHawk1]

On 4/24/2022 at 6:56 PM, micmacmissy said:

 It was still self serve, which was really nice and kept things moving.

Oh dear.  I thought this was still a health issue?  After touching all those utensils, I'd have to run and wash my hands before I could eat anything. 

 

But otherwise, loving your review!