Liveish from the Apex Nov 19-Nov 26

[BeeMinor]

8 hours ago, westcoasttech said:

Thanks for the review and the details of the Mixology class.  I'm on Apex later in December and just hopped onto the website to book the class - making a mental note to turn up early to ensure I get a seat!  Honestly I prefer the more "fru-fru" drinks (the sweeter and creamier the better), but I do like these type of cocktail class type things, even if I end up just taking one sip of the creations.

 

Just curious, did they provide a list of Captain's Club benefits up front to you?  I took a "50% capacity" Alaska cruise earlier this year and there was little to no communication of the benefits (I happened to stumble on the Elite breakfast area, and the Welcome Back party, never saw if there was a "happy hour" location, as I didn't need any "free" drinks!), and as I booked as an "all-inclusive" deal in Aqua, many of the benefits/priorities were pretty much "void", but as it was a few years since my last Celebrity sailing I would have appreciated a clear list of what benefits should have been included.  

 

We got a flyer in the cabin at boarding with Elite benefits. (see below) Kind of forgot about it and never heard another peep from the Captain's Club reps. We received invitations for anything that wasn't shopping or "art." I'll circle back to this when I wrap up tomorrow but we considered this an overall miss by Celebrity.

 

 

[BeeMinor]

10 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

10 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

We received invitations for anything that wasn't shopping or "art

 

Whoops, left out a key word there. We never received invitations for anything. BeeMajor didn't even get a reminder for his haircut appointment.

[miched]

Sign up for the Create and Pour

 

I think  it is where the Artist shows you how to make a easy simple sketch.   You could call and ask.  
 

He demonstrated to to make a seahorse.    It was very easy to do and fun.  Plus the wines that was served helped a little 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[cluso]

2 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

 

Whoops, left out a key word there. We never received invitations for anything. BeeMajor didn't even get a reminder for his haircut appointment.

 

I think they are getting rid of paper invites/notifications (except the shops 🤪 ).

[BeeMinor]

Day 7 and departure: Hello from back home! I have a last recap and some concluding thoughts, so thanks for following along with my liveish thread!

 

Our last day was another sea day--we had three altogether. That time change finally happened and I was up quite early to find that the good chairs were being claimed by the Retreat pool even before 7 am. Luminae didn't open for breakfast until 8, and by the time we finished only the back area had loungers. Everything was fully occupied by lunch. The main pool area seemed like a madhouse. The captain said in the morning announcement that we were "a full house" and it certainly felt that way! Getting a slice of pizza requires both patience and ruthlessness on a full ship.

 

We spent the day lounging, snacking, and bar hopping. I decided to walk off some lunch by taking a wander up and down the cabin halls to check out the photographs, which have varying regional or "vintage/retro" themes. Normally BeeMajor and I are trivia goers, but practically every trivia and in general most of the daytime activities all throughout the cruise were held in the Club. We don't see the appeal of sitting in a windowless and heavily air conditioned room on a beautiful Caribbean day, so that was kind of a bummer. We did go to the Musical Murder Mystery on Thursday afternoon and that was fun and pretty silly. 

 

We got all packed up and put out our suitcases before a last dinner in Luminae. We ate a little less in Luminae than usual, I think, and ultimately decided that we like the smaller versions of the restaurant we've experienced on M-class especially even though the food was generally better on Edge/Apex and the service was excellent. The tables just seemed so close together and the vibe is a little louder and more frenetic versus the relaxed dining experience on the older ships.

 

Overall we found the suite experience less special even--or perhaps because--it's so hyped. The concierges (Paolo and Liz) didn't have much a personal touch and I highly doubt they ever knew our names; I only ever saw Liz on boarding day and this morning when departing. On other ships we've been invited to, say, musical performances or officers' meet and greets in the suite lounge but nothing this time whatsoever. Our butler (Dean) was extremely efficient and absolutely made sure everything we asked for was taken care of, but he was clearly super busy and was, I believe, covering twice as many rooms as usual. We often get to know a couple of staffers over the course of the week but that didn't really happen. Ultimately I think we may just prefer ships with fewer suites even if they lack some of the E-class amenities.

 

Departure went smoothly this morning and I am pleased to report we had a very uneventful trip home where we were happily reunited with the dog! 

 

All in all we were happy with the cruise and I have no real complaints (my finger has recovered from being bitten by the water bottles) but this was the first Celebrity cruise we've taken that we didn't make another booking while on board. I priced a couple options out before we boarded and was prepared to be persuaded but IMO the experience just isn't there for $10k+ a week or $6k for a 4-nighter. We travel often and for that money there are just so many other options. We did book another cruise with another line, however, so we haven't given it up for good! And kudos to Celebrity for not firewalling their competitors' websites on the ship WiFi.

 

If anyone has questions let me know! 

 

[ETHTrader]

15 minutes ago, BeeMinor said:

 

 

Overall we found the suite experience less special even--or perhaps because--it's so hyped. The concierges (Paolo and Liz) didn't have much a personal touch and I highly doubt they ever knew our names; I only ever saw Liz on boarding day and this morning when departing. On other ships we've been invited to, say, musical performances or officers' meet and greets in the suite lounge but nothing this time whatsoever. Our butler (Dean) was extremely efficient and absolutely made sure everything we asked for was taken care of, but he was clearly super busy and was, I believe, covering twice as many rooms as usual. We often get to know a couple of staffers over the course of the week but that didn't really happen. Ultimately I think we may just prefer ships with fewer suites even if they lack some of the E-class amenities.

 

 

 

I don't know if it was the Thanksgiving week cruise, but I found the Retreat experience to be disappointing than the experience I had last year. I was on Apex twice last year when it was sailing with 1400-1800 passengers and service was amazing throughout the ship (not just The Retreat).

 

This past week, I thought the overall The Retreat experience on Apex was disappointing. There were few outstanding individuals (Prashant and Dinesh at the Retreat Pool Bar were amazing throughout the week; Luminae staff were outstanding as usual). But at the Retreat Lounge, experience was YMMV depending on who was working. Often times, they didn't even walk around and take drink orders. Outside The Retreat areas, staff seemed understaffed and tired. Less smiles. Few rude exchanges.

 

I am going to be on Beyond in couple of weeks so I get another chance at this assessment but if the experience is similar to this sailing, I really don't see booking another suite on Celebrity (especially with the Retreat price now comparable to smaller luxury cruise lines) in the near future. Might go back to Azamara 

[Rika1]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! DH and I will be on Apex for Christmas and your posts gave me a lot of ideas.

[Gracie115]

20 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

 Overall we found the suite experience less special even--or perhaps because--it's so hyped. The concierges (Paolo and Liz) didn't have much a personal touch and I highly doubt they ever knew our names; I only ever saw Liz on boarding day and this morning when departing. On other ships we've been invited to, say, musical performances or officers' meet and greets in the suite lounge but nothing this time whatsoever. Our butler (Dean) was extremely efficient and absolutely made sure everything we asked for was taken care of, but he was clearly super busy and was, I believe, covering twice as many rooms as usual. We often get to know a couple of staffers over the course of the week but that didn't really happen. Ultimately I think we may just prefer ships with fewer suites even if they lack some of the E-class amenities.

 

 

 

Have to agree with you about the Retreat lounge.  It is a beautiful area but we had no personal contact with her at all until night 12 of the TA that ended Nov 12.  Never had any with Paolo, actually didn't even realize there was a 2nd concierge.  Johnson, the bartender, on the other hand was great and always happy to help us.  We visited nearly every evening.  The area has a completely different vibe than on the "S" class ships. I hope those ships have retained that vibe as although we do have Apex booked for next spring's TA we will be looking at "S" class for any other X bookings. 

[carolina_yankee]

On 11/24/2022 at 9:05 PM, Gracie115 said:

 

Oh...they were definitely downplaying it.  We told the servers with EACH item that they were too large.... so much food.  Probably a loser financially for them would be a more likely reason. 

 

Interesting! They told us the portions were tiny so not really worth it if you wanted a particular dish. Seems like the directions might be “tell them whatever you want so they don’t order it!”

 

Both nights we were in Eden there were empty tables. I know Disney limits reservations for Palo to one meal of each type (brunch, dinner) per cruise. I wonder if Celebrity has ever had to do that for popular places?

 

 

[Gracie115]

54 minutes ago, carolina_yankee said:

 Both nights we were in Eden there were empty tables. I know Disney limits reservations for Palo to one meal of each type (brunch, dinner) per cruise. I wonder if Celebrity has ever had to do that for popular places?

 

 

 

Well, here's an interesting little story that happened to us on the Apex.  We had reservations for 6:30PM one night and so did friends of ours, 2 people, same time.  We asked to have the 2 reservations combined to make one table for 4 and it took 2 days and the Luminae Maitre'D getting involved for them to do this.  We were told the first day it was impossible that there were no tables for 4 available that evening, but we could come at 9PM and they would do it.  That didn't work for us so the butler got the Luminae MD involved who spoke with someone at Eden and then it was okay for 6:30.  We thought it was funny really because we all had reservations for same day, same time at least 2 months in advance.  It became funnier when we actually went and discovered more than half the table empty in Eden the entire time we were there.  Weird.  Still a lovely evening.  

[CruiseloverfromGA]

BeeMinor and WTH, 

 

We were on the same sailing.  This was our first time in the Retreat and had a fantastic experience.  I agree with you about Eden and Rooftop.  We had fantastic dinners there.  We were less impressed with Le Grand Bistro.  We also both enjoyed Ralph Harris and went to his adult show as well.  

 

Liz in the Retreat was super helpful to us.  We may have just been in there at separate times.  

 

I agree that the Retreat pool was very busy and I was often frustrated by the chair hogs.  Especially those that put stuff on the Gazebo chairs and left it there for HOURS without ever going back to it.

 

Not sure if we ran into either one of you.  We were the newlyweds with the funny t-shirts

[BeeMinor]

On 11/27/2022 at 3:02 PM, carolina_yankee said:

Both nights we were in Eden there were empty tables. I know Disney limits reservations for Palo to one meal of each type (brunch, dinner) per cruise. I wonder if Celebrity has ever had to do that for popular places?

 

I noticed some empty tables when we were there too. I was speculating to myself about whether it was a timing/table turn issue or whether the restaurants were required to hold a table or two for the upper level suites just in case. Regardless I'm sure the line of people being turned away weren't thrilled about it!

[BeeMinor]

3 hours ago, CruiseloverfromGA said:

We were on the same sailing.  This was our first time in the Retreat and had a fantastic experience.  I agree with you about Eden and Rooftop.  We had fantastic dinners there.  We were less impressed with Le Grand Bistro.  We also both enjoyed Ralph Harris and went to his adult show as well. 

 

Congratulations to you both!!! I don't think we ever talked but I'm sure we must have crossed paths at some point. There were just so many people in the Retreat I feel like some people I encountered once or twice and then never saw again! 

 

How was the Ralph Harris adult show? I am 100% sure we would have been asleep by the time it was on anyway so we skipped for a couple reasons but I am really curious how his material changed for a different crowd.

[CruisinKikster]

I was on the same sailing, and also in a suite, and I agree about the Retreat Deck being way busy (we opted to hang out in the small alcove just outside the lounge as it was quiet there). The Retreat Lounge was also quite impersonal, which was a bummer after our experience in Retreat (aka Michael's Club) on the Reflection. I left this week thinking that I didn't want to return to the E-Class ships because it just wasn't the vibe I like. 

 

I also don't enjoy standing in line, and that's never really been a problem on the M or S Class ships, even in lower category rooms when the ships are full. However, I felt like I had to stand in line or jockey for position so often on the Apex. 

 

My SO and I really missed having a quiet lounge to hang out in and pre-game before dinner. The Apex seems designed so everyone is in one of three places (Eden, Martini Bar, Club) and none of them are quiet. We couldn't even get into Craft Social, even when there weren't games on. 

 

We enjoyed the food at Eden. Fine Cut was fine, but I prefer Murano's (and really missed having a souffle for dessert). Rooftop was a big miss for us. My ribs were not tender. The cookie was undercooked. But that mac and cheese - amazing. 

 

For Captain's Club things - we got the form at the beginning of the cruise and that was it. We attended the "sneak peak" in Eden, which was literally 5 minutes including the announcement from Shawna, so that was disappointing. We skipped the wine tasting. 11am was just too early and we were still full from breakfast. 

 

I asked our butler for coffee each morning delivered to our room. We like a hot meal in the dining room (Luminae for this cruise), so I start the day with some coffee on the balcony while my SO hits the gym. That was pretty much my only ask each day. He also walked us off the ship at debarkation, which we didn't expect but greatly appreciated. 

[geneandjoe14]

On 11/24/2022 at 3:12 PM, BeeMinor said:

 We definitely preferred the St Kitts catamaran, but the beach itself is nicer at Jost Van Dyke. Are you going up Mt Liamuiga? We're hikers and I would love to do that although it seems a bit intimidating.

Thanks for a great review. We were on Apex in March & did Mt Liamuiga as a private journey since it wasn’t offered as a regular excursion. It was a fantastic experience. We had a local as our guide & he gave us a lot of history of the island. 2-1/2 hours hiking up, 2 hours down…the hardest hike we’ve ever done, & we love to hike. But it was an amazing experience to reach the summit & enjoy the beautiful views! Highly recommend!

[lola2013]

“Lower category rooms”?……ouch😕

[CruiseloverfromGA]

21 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

 

Congratulations to you both!!! I don't think we ever talked but I'm sure we must have crossed paths at some point. There were just so many people in the Retreat I feel like some people I encountered once or twice and then never saw again! 

 

How was the Ralph Harris adult show? I am 100% sure we would have been asleep by the time it was on anyway so we skipped for a couple reasons but I am really curious how his material changed for a different crowd.

 

His adult show was very good.  We laughed throughout.

 

Sometimes the adult shows are nothing but expletives.  This was not the case for Ralph's show.  He told adult jokes but it was not filled with vulgarity.  It was really good.

[PSU]

We had the same issue two weeks ago on Beyond in the Retreat Lounge. It was our first time on an E class ship. We love the experience of the M and S class ships in a suite.

There was no music in the lounge, and no Sailaway. I asked the concierge why not and they said the helipad was too small. The last few years on the Summit, they had the sailaway on the Retreat Sundeck.

There was not much interaction with the concierges. The bartenders were wonderful though. 

[calicakes]

On 11/22/2022 at 6:15 AM, terrydtx said:

Our cost for our 12 nights New Zealand cruise is about $1400pp less than the 12-night 2023 Apex cruise.

Edited November 22 by terrydtx

I wonder if X takes into consideration the airfare to Aus/NZ from the US?  We're paying less than 7k in AQ for our Great Barrier Reef cruise in Feb 2024.  We wanted a SS, all sold out. 

[calicakes]

@BeeMinor did you and your hubby managed to return( and stay) covid free? 

 

 

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I wonder if X takes into consideration the airfare to Aus/NZ from the US?  We're paying less than 7k in AQ for our Great Barrier Reef cruise in Feb 2024.  We wanted a SS, all sold out. 

I think they must, we have been looking at both Premium Economy and BC air and they are outrageous. We are on the Jan 13th NZ cruise and the Jan 25th GBR cruise both in the same SS cabin, we booked back in January before the SS were all sold out. We're surprised how much less the cost per day for a SS was compared to our other SS cruises. Our 12 night SS cost is only about $800pp more than the current AQ class pricing.

Edited November 30, 2022 by terrydtx

[calicakes]

Just now, terrydtx said:

I think they must, we have been looking at both Premium Economy and BC air and they are outrageous. We are on the Jan 13th NZ cruise and the Jan 25th GBR cruise both in the same SS cabin, we booked back in January before the SS were all sold out. We're surprised how much less the cost per day for a SS was compared to our other SS cruises.

Refresh my memory, are you going in 2023 or 2024? 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, calicakes said:

Refresh my memory, are you going in 2023 or 2024? 

2024, we have been looking at what airfare would cost for January 2023. Can't see air for 2024 until next March.

Edited November 30, 2022 by terrydtx

[moire]

On 11/24/2022 at 10:06 AM, gizmodog said:

Was it Pinney beach in Nevis where you stopped for lunch, was it near the Sunshine Bar at all? Looking at that excursion myself, says no bathroom facilities and no beach chairs provided.

I was on the Catamaran Fan-ta-sea to Nevis with Snorkel excursion which visited Pinney's Beach. They had chairs for us for about an hour and fifteen minutes (umbrellas available to rent for $5), but my husband and I opted to stop by Sunshine's for a couple of Killer Bee cocktails (maybe a 5 minute walk on that fluffy sand). I would 100% recommend, but no more than 2! I got a bit happy from the killer bees and gave away my favorite hat to a catamaran crew member. 

[BeeMinor]

On 11/30/2022 at 12:42 PM, calicakes said:

@BeeMinor did you and your hubby managed to return( and stay) covid free? 

 

 

 

It's been a week since we've been back and we're both fine! We both had Covid in the spring and got the latest booster in late October but otherwise we didn't take any special precautions. Hope everyone else on the sailing had an equally healthy return.