APEX w kids Tortola cruise / X first timers / No Perks but FUN!

[Hafa2990]

Sitting at home after a week of fun and sun on Celebrity Apex with our family of four, after swearing for many years we were not "cruise people" -- We had a great time!

 

A long review to follow. Grab a beverage. 

 

About us:

From NY state; early/mid-40s with kids 10 & 8. Spouse and I cruised almost 18 years ago for our honeymoon (Coral??? Princess, Panama Canal) and we liked it, but just focused on other types of trips (Europe, skiing) pre-kids and then post-kids it's mostly been driving trips and more local stuff. Kids had never flown or cruised. 

 

Why and how we picked Apex:

I wasn't planning on cruising at all. Had been scanning our usual drive-to-beach destination for spring break but had trouble finding accommodation this year. Began to think, "what if we flew to Florida" which became "what if we flew to the Caribbean" which became "omg flights to Caribbean are insane what if we flew to Florida and got on a boat to the Caribbean". But we're not cruise people!  We talked to friends who also were not cruise people but had just done a Disney cruise and they told us of this magical thing called the kid's club, wherein parents could be on vacation and other people would engage their children in activities so they could lay by the pool and complete more then two sentences in conversation to one another without being asked for snacks. WE WERE SOLD.

 

I looked at basically any cruise that left during our spring break window. I did not want a Carnival vibe, we're not into Disney (and did not want to pay the Mickey premium), and we didn't want an overwhelming floating amusement park with all the rides/slides/etc of some of the Royal ships. Was hoping for a nice vacation for the adults that the kids happened to be on and really enjoy, versus structuring the entire trip around kids' desires. Wanted slightly more interesting ports than the Bahamas and Mexico. Narrowed down to Apex, a 9-night on RC Grandeur out of Miami, 9-night NCL Sky out of Miami and 7-night Caribbean Princess. 

 

Was nervous about Grandeur being an older ship, NCL didn't return until a Monday when kids would be back at school (and had read a lot about NCL nickel-and-diming once on board), and Caribbean Princess itinerary wasn't as compelling. So, Apex won out! Booked online, then joined these boards and learned travel agents still exist, and many of them give you onboard credit! I emailed a couple and found one willing to give us some $$ so transferred the reservation. Bought travel insurance through the agent.

 

We gave the kids the cruise as a Christmas gift that involved them unwrapping suitcases that had a cryptogram puzzle inside each that they had to work together to solve and it revealed a poem that led them to the TV where I had made a video explaining that we were going on a cruise for spring break and had info about all the destinations and what we would do. Sometimes I can be a little extra. 

 

 

We spent most of the cold and dreary northeastern winter counting down to our big adventure.

 

 

Stateroom & package:

We booked during one of Celebrity's "ending very soon haha just kidding these sales go on forever" periods and ended up doing two Oceanview staterooms with a connecting door. No drinks package (there's no way we'd ever drink enough to come out ahead) and no Wi-Fi (really wanted to unplug and not be doom-scrolling all week), but did include prepaid tips. Ended up with $400 OBC and another $100 from our TA. 

 

I was pretty excited about our whole setup but then, man, reading these boards can be brutal. Everyone is in The Retreat! They have a butler! Or a veranda! Which is Infinite! They are super quadruple Captains Club gamblers and the whole trip is free! But also nobody is happy and everyone complains about everything! At times It felt like we were going to be peons sleeping on the floor of the galley or something. But then I got a grip and stopped reading so many threads. 

 

Away we go!

We flew down two nights before and stayed with a family member in south Florida. They were kind enough to host us and drive us to the port. Our check-in time was 11:30, we got to the terminal at 11 and were hanging outside thinking we couldn't go in until our appointed time. But they were waving people inside and so off we went. By 11:29 we were walking up the ramp to the ship. Totally simple and seamless process.

 

 

We dropped our bags at the room, got lunch at the buffet, and then had a quick swim in the SO NICE AND WARM main pool. Took the kids to Camp at Sea to register them and meet the counselors. Explored a few areas like Eden. My daughter lost her sea pass card before we even embarked (yes it was on a lanyard! she lost that too). We watched sail-away from the Oceanview Cafe outdoor seating area. That turned out to be one of our favorite spots on the ship and it was usually uncrowded. 

 

 

Our staterooms were deck 3, starboard, in between the Magic Carpet tracks. It made for fun people watching at the ports and the harbor pilot boats came right up under our windows. Only real downside was that we were right aside the Grand Plaza and the music was loud until ~11 pm each night or later. Occasional noise from moving the Magic Capet but it only lasted a few minutes. The rooms were great! Well-appointed, comfy beds, and the big window had a nook to sit in, which both kids loved reading in. Being on a lower deck and in the middle seemed to help with motion - barely felt any while in our rooms. The connecting door was a bit of a bear - the two doors were tricky to open and heavy. We tried propping them with the deadbolts turned but that just made them slam and bounce each time we passed through instead of soft-closing. I was glad to have the connecting doors on the interior though for the ages our kids are, versus having them go out into the hall to come into our room. 

 

 

 

Easter at Sea

 

We were happy they had a Catholic Mass for Easter (the priest onboard also did daily Mass on sea days in a smaller venue, but I did not attend...sorry grandma!). Our family tradition is that the Easter bunny brings our kids' baskets while we are at church. The bunny picked up makeshift baskets in Florida and they got a few sweets, a kite, a book, and, for my daughter, a last-minute addition of an Effy locket. 😂 After running back to the stateroom following Mass to check for their baskets ("the bunny found us on a boat?!?") we went up to the Rooftop Garden for the Camp-at-Sea egg hunt.  

 

 

 

 

 

San Juan

 

I found a nice online walking tour of Old San Juan. It was rainy when we docked but gradually let up. We grabbed Wi-Fi from outside the Ralph Lauren store across from the pier (thanks, Ralph!), made sure we had the tour maps downloaded, and were on our way. We stopped at a playground briefly, paused to coo over approximately 327 stray cats in the first quarter mile, all of which our daughter wanted to adopt (I did not tell her about Save-a-Gato; she would save them ALL), and then made our way to El Morro to fly their Easter kites. Despite the overcast skies the wind was perfect and they really enjoyed flying them. We continued on our walking tour, but a lot of the churches and other buildings of note were closed. We wanted to get piraguas for the kids and should have bought them at the first stand we saw. Instead we held it out as a carrot to keep going on the tour, and of course by the time we circled back around to the pier area there were none to be found. We were probably back on the ship by 6:45 and just had a low-key buffet dinner. 

 

 

 

 

Tortola 

 

Thanks to the Tortola port boards and @blue_water I found a recommendation for Aristocat Daysails and booked a snorkeling trip to Norman Island for the day. We were interested in Virgin Gorda and the Baths but not in doing it via the cruise line, and doing it via a private boat operator and approaching the baths from the water required a pretty decent open water swim and we weren't sure if the kids would be up for it. So we went with Aristocat's "Best for Families" snorkeling tour on a catamaran, which included stops at Norman Island caves, Kelly's cove, and an abandoned tobacco plantation/beach on Peter Island. 

 

This was an incredible day! Loved seeing different islands of BVI. Kids got more comfortable with snorkeling as the day went on. Saw lots of fish, sting rays, and a sea turtle. Would certainly love to go back to Tortola and I think you could do many, many stops there and not run out of things to do (VG baths, Jost, and Brewer's Beach are all things we'd love to try). 

 

As we were getting ready to leave another boat pulled into the pier. We weren't exactly sure what it was (no Wi-Fi package!!); it didn't have a cruise company name on it, just the ship name EVRIMA. It looked super fancy. Later found out it's a Ritz Carlton Yacht that only carriers 298 people. 🤑

 

 

 

 

St. Kitts & Nevis

 

This port had me nervous once I realized that there would be four ships docked in Basseterre the day we were there. I wanted to just have a relaxing beach day, but was trying to figure out how that would work with 12,000 people descending upon St. Kitts for the day. I felt like getting off the island and going to Nevis was our best bet, but was nervous about trying to do that on our own since it included boats to and from islands. Plus, any private tour operator seemed to be sold out that day (probably because there were four ships in port!). So in the end, when I was alerted of a great shore-ex sale by this board (it's not all doom and gloom and too-small lobsters!) I booked the ship excursion "A Day Trip to Nevis with Lunch" using our OBC. I watched a YouTube video by ParoDeeJay (who, ironically, were on the Apex with us) of the same/similar excursion they'd done previously with RCI. It was basically water taxi to Nevis, brief sightseeing of the island, lunch and then maybe 2 hours of beach time and transport back.

 

In the end it was...fine. 

 

I would have rather just had the water taxi to Nevis and transport to the beach with lunch. The tour part was maybe 1.5-2 hours and could have been 30-45 minutes. Stopped at Alexander Hamilton's birthplace, hot springs you could dip your feet into, a shopping village, and an old Anglican Church on the hill. Then ended at Lime beach bar with a limited lunch offering and time at Pinney's beach. We had about 90 minutes at the beach in the end. The kids had fun, but maybe I was overthinking St. Kitts and crowds and we would have been fine just taking a taxi from Basseterre to one of the local beaches. It wasn't unenjoyable by any means, but I'm glad that our OBC basically covered the cost and I wouldn't do it again. I think now I'd be less nervous about figuring out a water taxi on our own and getting back in time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Days and Ship Observations

 

The ship itself is gorgeous. It's really hard to imagine taking another cruise on an old ship now (did I just say "another cruise"? hmm...). There's art everywhere, interesting lounge spaces like Eden, and it all just feels new and nice. We liked that the casino was tucked away and easy to just kind of breeze past and ignore. The walking track was great. There were very few things we didn't like about the ship - we would have liked outdoor seating on lower deck (area outside of Eden was all smoking section), and some sort of view off the front of the ship for non-suite guests (that's not the fitness center). "Readin' in Eden" was a favorite daily activity. (Our kids will read anywhere, and apparently in any position):

 

 

Camp at Sea

Our kids were in and out of Camp at Sea. Our daughter was old enough to sign herself in or out but our son was not, and she could not check him out, so it was a little tedious sometimes if we were all settled and reading and they wanted to go to the kids' club that she couldn't just walk him down. It would have been nice if the Camp at Sea staff had a way to message parents (via the app?) when a kid wanted to be picked up. There were a few times we checked in and he said he was fine, but then right after we left they started an activity he wasn't really interested in and he wanted to leave, but couldn't until we came back again. The kids seemed to like some of the activities and be disinterested in others, but overall the staff seemed great and it was nice for them to have a place to be when they were going a bit stir-crazy. 

 

Resort Deck

The pool was nice - we were generally early risers and eating breakfast in the buffet before 8 so it was easy to get deck chairs. By 10 it would really be filled up and the steward was going around placing cards on chairs. I didn't love the house music playing at the pool in the morning -- the live band never came on until 1 or later and we were usually packed up and off to find shade by then. The 10:30 aqua aerobics class EVERY DAY was kinda annoying to listen to for a half hour if you weren't participating. The pool got really full of people and kind of unusable during mid day. We swam early and one night later, after dinner. 

 

 

 

Activities

We honestly didn't end up participating in many of the activities. The handful we were interested in (escape room, drawing class) were full long before their scheduled time. We followed the daily planner and arrived at the time it said something started only to find out there were no seats and it was already in progress. Oh well. There didn't seem to be too many activities on the ship in the morning (other than spa and fitness things or shopping things).

Entertainment

Shows were okay. We went to three of the production shows (Tree of Life, Crystallize, Rockumentary). I have trouble following things with no plot, or that claim to have a plot but actually don't. The one show I did like was Uptown, which was three guys singing classic Motown and R&B, with some dancing. It was more of straight-up performance and wasn't trying to be anything more than that. We didn't really listen to either of the bands or go to the specialty shows in Eden or the Club, largely because we were zonked out by 10 pm most nights. 

 

Shopping

Okay shopping on board just befuddled us. Like, I get that the ship leases out its space to 3rd party vendors or whatever, but we just could not figure out who is buying Cartier or Mont Blanc on a cruise ship, and are enough people doing it that they ever break even? Really curious how ship shopping will evolve as cruise lines begin catering to younger generations as they age. Meanwhile, it was impossible to just buy basic stuff that you forgot to pack. There was a tiny section of sunscreen and toothpaste, but we really could have used a Hudson News type of shop with some books (we read all of ours by day 5 and there was no library or leave-a-book area that we could find!), a lot more travel sundries, that kind of thing. The "clearance sales" on the last sea day at all of the shops were hilarious to us - you are reloading with 3,000 more people tomorrow! There is no need for clearance! So weird. Oh, but the Effy locket thing had our daughter DIALED IN. She was not going to miss a single charm. 

 

Food

We are not foodies - our daughter is basically an adherent of the "beige" diet popular with kids: pasta, bagels, chicken nuggets, bread. Our hope was that both kids would try some new foods and be a little more adventurous, but honestly we were going to be happy with them just being able to sit through a 90-minute dinner in the MDR without getting out of their seats or bickering. We did some "practice dinners" at home over the preceding months, pretending to be fancy and reinforcing table manners. They did okay behavior-wise, and we did get each of them to try the kid's filet one night. But it was slightly agonizing watching our daughter order plain spaghetti with no sauce and our son a grilled cheese sandwich most nights. Adults enjoyed some great starters and entrees - we both liked the short ribs from Cyprus and I thought the pumpkin burrata salad from Tuscan was excellent. My only real disappointment was the Baked Alaska. I had talked it up to the kids and told them they brought it to your table and lit it on fire and they were really expecting a big show, but then it came out pre-sliced AND it was frozen solid (I could barely get my fork through the cake part). Oh well! 

 

If the kids suffered through the MDR for the sake of the grown-ups getting to eat fancy dinners, the buffet was another story - they loved the Oceanview! Probably because they could load up their plates with all manner of stuff that's normally verboten at home. Our daughter's default breakfast became the S'mores waffle: a giant waffle with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and marshmallows. Then she'd have a hard boiled egg "for protein". Spouse and I liked the Indian food options. I tried a few things from the Spa Cafe and enjoyed them all. Pizza was good!

 

We didn't do any specialty restaurants. We couldn't wrap our heads around paying for a cruise where all the food is included and then paying again to go to a different restaurant on the cruise, but I can see now where it would have been a fun experience, especially if using OBC and if sending kids to Camp at Sea during it. 

 

 

 

Wait, you're still reading this?

 

In sum, we loved it! It was a great week. The right ship vibe for our family. Great ports and a fun way to see different places. Are we cruise people now? I don't know. We're certainly not NOT cruise people. I think we'd still be careful to choose an itinerary/ship that fits us, and weigh it against other land-based vacation options. We did not do the future booking on board, as it's unclear if our next cruise would be on Celebrity. X was great, but the loyalty levels seem unattainable for people who would cruise maybe once a year, and probably never in a suite. Suite pricing changes the math on the entire vacation for a family of four and gets to the point where flying to the Caribbean comes out ahead (along with...buying a small car or renovating a bathroom). With young kids everything depends on school break schedules and what's sailing that lines up with whatever week off we have. I still struggle to envision our family on certain cruise lines/ship types. But it's for sure on our radar now as something we enjoyed and could easily do again.

 

I had not read Cruise Critic before booking our trip. I was on an extreme high right after booking the trip and committing to the vacation in December. While CC was really, truly great for planning and figuring out things about the ports and getting clarification on things that can confuse newbies, it also had me kinda bummed for a few solid weeks. They're charging for room service now! The dinner buffet is decimated! They changed the drink packages! Once we boarded, none of that stuff mattered. I don't even think it occurred to us to order room service, even if it had been free - it just didn't fit with how we set up our days. We were never going to go hungry on that ship regardless of what they did to the dinner buffet. The dress code stuff just didn't really matter - we saw people wearing everything and everyone looked great! A few people in tuxes and gowns, some in sport coats with ties, plenty in button downs or polo shirts. My spouse literally knew the name of our ship and that we were going on the cruise and that's about it - no research or reading ahead of time. Might've been the way to go! But I do appreciate the people on this forum who've shared their experiences so that I and others can learn from them.

 

Congratulations! You've made it to the end! I grant you 10 PUP points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Hafa2990

[jelayne]

Thanks for the PUP points😂.  The review was one of the best I have read, honest and relatable.  Glad you and your family enjoyed your vacation.  

 

[Mark.Jules]

Loved reading your review, thank you for sharing. Can I cash in my PUP points for a S' mores waffle please. 

[Cap_D]

Terrific read.  Very similar to our experience a week earlier with one child; and the year previous when we cruised for the first time as adults and parents.  The E-Class ship design helps a great deal to keep things interesting, as does the convenience of having crew that works seamlessly to perform.  It would be hard to imagine an all inclusive land based resort where the staff are all as on top of their roles as on a ship like Apex. 

 

To pick up on a comment made above, a reading a library, some tables formatted for chess/checkers, and other small group activity prompts would help, but are not deal breakers.   We did notice that games like chess, checkers and others are available in "locker" boxes that were near cabanas.  It was not clear if that was part of the rental fee or if one could just borrow a Pressman Chess set for an afternoon.  

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Cap_D

[emmas gran]

What a great review, anyone with kids should read this. Thanks for posting

[hcat]

one of the best Reviews  ever..

 

Refreshing style and the enjoyment you experienced really came through!

Hope moderators recognize this review as a top 10!..Not just for families

 

 

You went to some of our fav Islands and we will be taking that Nevis excursion on ASCENT..

 

agree 100% about the stores...very few basic needs are available ( in the liquor store?) and almost nothing good for kids.  We got our grandsons the ship.model but not much else is offered in E Class.

 

hope you'll book another!

 

[garyl62]

Great review, can really identify with the shopping thoughts. While we may spend a few hundred dollars of OBC on something, I can understand a high end store or two, but give us some every day options (with more inventory in sizes aligned to the demographics onboard) too! 

[weacat]

Great review!  We've been cruising with our DD since she was 2 and we all win - especially with kids camp.  After trying many other cruise lines, we always come back to Celebrity.  She's 9 now and about to be on her 9th cruise this summer with us in Europe.  

 

We sometimes go to the buffet with her for dinner and keep her company while she eats and then drop her off at kids camp while we then have a relaxing dinner alone.  Win-win situation.

[Cruise a holic]

Enjoyed your review.  Have been on Apex three times and love the ship.  Thanks for sharing.

[ecslady]

Really enjoyed your review.  So well written. Hope you decide to cruise again!

 

[Hafa2990]

7 hours ago, Mark.Jules said:

Loved reading your review, thank you for sharing. Can I cash in my PUP points for a S' mores waffle please. 

 

The kids were definitely not happy with their back-to-reality bowl of cereal before school this morning!

[KasioSails]

Great review - thanks for posting 

The egg hunt up on deck looks fun and an actual hunt. The Solstices attempt was not great down in a small club - most kids didn’t even get an egg. 

[Hafa2990]

3 hours ago, weacat said:

We sometimes go to the buffet with her for dinner and keep her company while she eats and then drop her off at kids camp while we then have a relaxing dinner alone.  Win-win situation.

 

Yes - we talked about how we should have planned to do that one night. It took us a few days into the cruise to figure out the best plan for our evenings with fitting in MDR dinner and a show. I think we'd definitely plan an early buffet dinner for kids one night next time and then send them to kids club while we ate a a more leisurely pace.

 

It's definitely hard to hit the 7 pm show without eating very early. The 9 pm show would've meant a late bedtime for the kids (whether they were attending show with us or waiting in the camp to be picked up after). We definitely saw where as you cruise more you figure out different schedule hacks to make it work. Our best night was when we ate early, skipped the show, and went to the pool for a night swim! But we didn't figure that out until day 6. 

[ANNA40]

Loved your review!!

I related to your feelings re people in suites complaining about everything... but we just play in another league

[Hafa2990]

14 hours ago, Cap_D said:

The E-Class ship design helps a great deal to keep things interesting, as does the convenience of having crew that works seamlessly to perform.  It would be hard to imagine an all inclusive land based resort where the staff are all as on top of their roles as on a ship like Apex. 

 

Yes, the Apex staff was incredible! We didn't see our stateroom attendant much, maybe once in the hallways, and we bounced around to different MDRs so we didn't have the same waiter, but pretty much any staff member we came into contact with was friendly, helpful, happy, and did a great job. 

[bdanger]

On 4/17/2023 at 12:32 AM, Hafa2990 said:

The pool was nice - we were generally early risers and eating breakfast in the buffet before 8 so it was easy to get deck chairs

We just got back from the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We 100% saw your daughter sitting at the counter facing the pool eating her breakfast and reading (as you show in one of your pictures).  As an English teacher, I loved the fact that she was so engrossed in her book!  I'm glad you all had a great  trip, as did we.

[jennykelly]

Great review. I was on same sailing (was also at the Easter mass) and had a great time too. Never ate in specialty dining, had original cabin (infinite balcony) on deck 6 (I loved the location) and could always find something to eat in MDR or buffet. Ship was clean, crew was super helpful, lots to do. I traveled solo (I highly recommend as I made life-long friends this trip) which colors the experience different than if I had kids or my spouse with me. Entertainment was highlight for me - Uptown, Jason Ostroski, comedian and special shout out to Leah Canali plus the the production crews in theater and Caravan/Eden were great. Nice mix of port and sea days. Never got to the pool but hit gym instead several times - well-equipped and great views. Did the behind the scenes ship tour which on other ships in the past has been free...enjoyed it. If you don't want to pay for the tour, they also had navigation officer give a free talk on the last sea day that was very interesting. There is something for everyone on this ship - don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy! 

[hcat]

Based on this review and ongoing  one   by Jim Lain, we booked a short cruise on APEX for 2025... sales going on!

[Hafa2990]

4 hours ago, jennykelly said:

they also had navigation officer give a free talk on the last sea day that was very interesting. 

Yes! Spouse and son went to that and I watched the playback on the TV in the stateroom in the evening. Super interesting, especially about the air lubrication system to reduce drag. 

[kag19]

Excellent review! While we are definitely cruise people, this December will be the first time we will be bringing the kids with us. 😂 My youngest is on the beige diet as well so I feel your pain. Thanks for the cruising with the kids perspective!

[kabmab]

Great review, tks!  We love the Apex (first cruise in Sept. 2021 only 387 passengers), were on again March 4, and maybe in June.  Also been on Edge, and Equinox many times.  Overall a line with something for everyone and beautiful ships!

[Gia2cats]

Compliments on a great, honest review. I am a grandmother with teenaged grandchildren and have not cruised with small children but enjoyed reading about your children on the ship. You have a great writing style.