Jim_Iain Apex Key West, TansAtlantic and British Isle with a Week in Amsterdam

[Essiesmom]

Well, I think I have pics inside Westminster Abbey, know I have them from the Sistine Chapel, Taj Mahal and Neuschwanstein.  Taj and Neuschwanstein were not forbidden when I was there many, many years ago…. EM

[Purplsmurf]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

Julie and I are currently at a resort in Aruba, haven't read this entire thread.  Do you know what you have planned for Key West?  We're heading there in June.  

 

I came to the boards to see if anyone on Equinox was vlogging.  She is expected here on Thursday.  Weather is gorgeous. 

Enjoy! Aruba is our favorite…..other than cruising! 

[miguelmia]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

OK clue me in... What is Tortugas.    When we were in Fort Lauderdale they were having a Tortugas festival and I never go around to google.

 

"Tortuga" means "turtle" in Spanish. The Dry Tortugas is an offshore national park centered around some remote islands west of Key West.

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, miched said:

Sorry.  😱.   Here it is    Also had time to edit the post and add it.   Thanks.  
 

My wife asked me a question and I got distracted.  

 

https://www.rd.com/list/places-forbid-taking-pictures/

 

Happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Also the interior of poet Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaiso.  You can take pictures out the windows, which, given Valparaiso is pretty cool as well.

 

[DisneyJen]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I'm told that it is ship specific and at the Discretion of the Restaurant Manager.    He said they often shift it around especially so the last Chic night falls on a Sea Night.

 

I was doing a posting on my unpublished blog of the Menus and a picture of each dish and desert.   The menu from last week is different that this week with the same itinerary.   Why?   Unknown.

 

For Apex the Menus were not loaded until the day we set sail and the App is same as the Menu -

Well almost.      We went to Eden last night and the App did not show the Lobster dish.   I wasn't going to go if it was pulled so asked.    They said it was on but they don't list it on the App because they only offer fresh ingredients and if there is a supply chain issue with getting the Live Nova Scotia Lobsters they don't offer it.  

Thanks Jim!

 

Makes planning which nights we want to dine in specialty restaurants a bit harder to pre-plan🤣

 

First world problems😄

[Ex-Airbalancer]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We are indeed -  unless of course we win an Upgrade.    The TA is pretty much sold out bu maybe UK

Reflection TA is at about 55% book , still over 33 empty suits left and it leaves on Sunday 

[terrydtx]

Jim, I am a little late with joining another great live CC blog by you but as always look forward to going forward. We will be on the Apex in September going from Rotterdam to Athens and then spending a week in Santorini after the cruise.

[pandaTO]

Jim - We are on the Apex transatlantic with you. Any chance you can find out when the chic nights will be? We have a dinner package & cannot schedule our specialty dinners until after we board. We are hoping to get a reservation for our 46th anniversary dinner 🥘 
Thank you for sharing your Live Travel 🧳 reports. So much wonderful wise information.  All the best!

[swigso]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

YOu forgot the link....

 

I got my hand slapped once at at British Heritage house in Ayershire where we had Iain's Aunts 90 Birthday party.    Prince Charles had saved all the furnishings and they don't allow any photos.

Hi Jim

really looking forward to the tale of your travels but it is now King Charles, but wish his Mum was still with us. She was such an icon

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, pandaTO said:

Jim - We are on the Apex transatlantic with you. Any chance you can find out when the chic nights will be? We have a dinner package & cannot schedule our specialty dinners until after we board. We are hoping to get a reservation for our 46th anniversary dinner 🥘 
 

 

Have you tried using the App to see. 

 

If you open the Celebrity App, click on the Calendar icon (top center), select a day, and then open the Daily Planner at the at the bottom of the screen, there will be a banner across the top showing the dress code for the evening.  You have to do it day by day but it's proven to be accurate for me so far. 

 

[cangelmd]

Love to follow along. Don’t know when we will get back to Key West, but will have to do theLittke White House - it looks like Harry packed up and left yesterday!

 

Quick question, I know I’m beating a dead horse, but we are on a B3B this summer and planning clothes now. Does it say anything on any of your paperwork about what is the absolute last day to send laundry on this ?7? Day leg of your trip?

[cangelmd]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Reflection TA is at about 55% book , still over 33 empty suits left and it leaves on Sunday 

 

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Reflection TA is at about 55% book , still over 33 empty suits left and it leaves on Sunday 

Just checked, wow, there are a lot of suites. A suite guarantee, with Premium drinks and Wi-Fi is a bit over $8000 all in for a couple. Wonder how much the flight home would be?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

18 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

 

Just checked, wow, there are a lot of suites. A suite guarantee, with Premium drinks and Wi-Fi is a bit over $8000 all in for a couple. Wonder how much the flight home would be?

Probably $800 USD 

[Scottishclover]

Hello Jim and Iain,

So happy to read about your new travels and pleased you both made it to the ship. I will enjoy reading the next instalments with my morning coffee. I will be interested to read about your British Isles cruise in particular. We were on the Apex last year out of Amsterdam and loved it! 

 

I don’t think you should be too critical of your airline meal. My husband is gluten free and once on a BA flight back from Miami he actually got a glass of orange juice and an orange for breakfast. We were dumbfounded - someone was seriously lacking in imagination!

 

While you’re in Amsterdam take a wee trip out to Haarlem ( easy on the train). It’s a very charming town and you will escape the big city crowds. Really worth a visit to the church in the main square and the restaurant scene there is very good - especially Indonesian. We really enjoyed Der laachende Javaan there for our first taste of Indonesian Food. 

 

As always your photos are unique. Happy cruising 😀

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Time to do some catching up.  

 

The highlight of last night was we went to Eden.   We had been to Eden on Edge when they first opened u and they had a really weird menu that really didn't work.   After our first "experience" we thought one and done.

 

 

With all the recent positive feed back, I booked it a couple months ago.

 

I mentioned earlier that the main reason I booked was to try the Nova Scotia Lobster.

 

First up here's the menu.   You now have a choice of the Pairing Menu which is a 7 course meal but requires wine pairing at an additional cost.   We knew we could never eat 7 courses plus I don't drink so would be a waste of money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I chose the Crab Cake to start with and Iain decided he was going to try something different so went for the Ruben Raclette

 

 

 

For mains,   I of course chose the Lobster and Iain decided to try the Branzino.

 

 

Surprise - Surprise the waiter brought out two Lobsters -  Each is a Full Fresh Lobster.   In addition he brought two Branzino's

 

 

 

 

The Crabcakes were very delicate Lump Crab with no filler at all - It just falls apart when you stick you fork into it.      The Ruben was a huge appetizer but Iain said was really good.

 

The Lobster is tender, sweet and sitting on a bed of cream corn custard with little chunks of smoked ham that give a wonderful burst of flavor.  

 

The Branzino was delicious -  It is totally fresh and skin removed.   They create a wonderful crispy bread crust on top and sits on a bed of Bok Choy and a delicious flavorful foam.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

Iain had a 1/2 bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse and I had Fre Red.  Very knowable Sommelier. 
 

 

[wendyam76]

On 4/16/2023 at 8:32 PM, Jim_Iain said:

BTW.  The guide said we aren’t supposed to allow photos inside but the Secret Service wasn’t there so shoot away.   Not sure if he was kidding or not.  I obviously took a few. 

Oh I’m loving your trip - we arrived back on Summit on Thursday and was so worried for you arriving with the rain. I haven’t got to the last page yet but Elena is a dear - we’ve sailed with her several times when she was an assistant waiter in Luminae and was so delighted at her well deserved promotion. Joanne had been Retreat manager but I think she is now in Guest relations - she’s from Scotland.

I did the same tour last Sunday and our docent, Buddy, said the exact same thing! 
Wendy

[Jim_Iain]

Next up desert

 

 

 

I ordered the Meyer Lemon Tart.   It was like one of the best Key Lime pies I missed earlier. 
 

 

 

Iain had the Strawberry desert. Very light.  Sorry for blurry picture.  The light level was very low

 

When desert was delivered our waiter Ram “accidentally” the butterscotch but then realized and also had the Tart. 
 

 

 

The cream brûlée was interesting and somehow the carrot compliments it well. 
 

Iain finished off with a lemonchello (sp)

Edited April 17, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

We had an unexpected stage show with a spectacular lighting storm.     We were rocking and rolling a bit last night but the storm passed and was a beautiful day today.

[DaKahuna]

I am glad to see that you found some Fre onboard.  I hope you had them deliver a couple of bottles to where you said earlier told you they did not have any 🙂

 

[Jim_Iain]

Last night we turned clocks back an hour and enjoyed a longer sleep in.    Our normal routine is to go to Retreat for a Continental Breakfast -   I usually have the Blueberry Parfait (Greek Yogurt, Berries and Granola.   They have my favorite Almond Croissant -  The ones one this ship in Luminae are HUGE while the ones in al Bacio are about the size of my thumb.   

 

The have a cold table and a waiter to serve your selection along with Cappuccino and Tea.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

Spreading his wings after dinner. 
 

[kwokpot]

5 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Last night we turned clocks back an hour and enjoyed a longer sleep in.    Our normal routine is to go to Retreat for a Continental Breakfast -   I usually have the Blueberry Parfait (Greek Yogurt, Berries and Granola.   They have my favorite Almond Croissant -  The ones one this ship in Luminae are HUGE while the ones in al Bacio are about the size of my thumb.   

 

The have a cold table and a waiter to serve your selection along with Cappuccino and Tea.

 

 

 

 

Is you're preference still the older Michael's Club layout vs the E-Class Retreat Lounge now that you're been on a 2nd E-Class ship? 

[Jim_Iain]

Today is a sunny day and on the hot side.  Temps running 80-90. 
 

I hardly saw an empty chair both in Retreat and on the decks.   Anything in shade was staked out by Chair Hogs. 
 

I couldn’t figure where the had the court setup for Pckleball but finally after a couple laps found them.   The use a cleared out area in the patio for both jazzer size and Pickleball. 

 

Maybe it’s just me but seems like a weird area. 
 

 

 

 

[hcat]

great EDEN review.. thanks for posting the pics and info.  We are looking forward to trying it on Ascent..now that the menu is more our taste.

 

Love the shirts...very tropical!