Trip Report for Apex Iceland Cruise 7/723

[Texed]

Mr. Kwokpot,

Thanks for your posts. 😊

[hcat]

On 7/10/2023 at 6:38 PM, kwokpot said:

Day 4 - Akureyri port day, Afternoon

I would like to preface this section by saying that my husband and I are less is more kind of people, so we don't have to be out touring the minute the gangway goes down and be the last ones back on. The same goes for onboard activities. As we all know part of the allure of a cruise vacation is the ability to do as much OR as little as you want, and you can switch that up at a moments notice. Try doing that on a fully escorted land tour!

 

With that said we left the ship about 11:30 to walk around the town on our own. Having never done this itinerary before but having done a Norwegian Fjords cruise last summer we came prepared with rain jackets, puffy coats, knit caps, gloves, etc. The great thing was today's forecast was sunny with highs in the mid 60s! It was in the high 50's when we left the ship and immediately in the shadow of the ship it was a little breezy so we put on our coats. Five minutes later in the bright sunshine we took them off. We did have long sleeve pullovers and they were just five walking around. Parked perpendicular to the Apex was the MSC Preziosa, about the same size as the Apex. The buildings in town had a simple and clean designs and reminded me of Norwegian or Finnish architecture. We walked to the town square and through the main street which was lined with shops, restaurants, and bars.

 

Our destination was the church and botanical garden. The main staircase to the church was under reconstruction so you had to walk around it via one of the main streets. We took pictures of the exterior but didn't go in because of an entrance fee (yes, sometimes were cheap like that). We then made our way to the botanical garden. On Google maps it doesn't seem much of anything but it was a major surprise and I give it a big thumbs up as a do not miss attraction(and it's FREE). What's nice about it is the various shaded pathways through large trees and varied elevations which made for interesting walks among beautiful plantings, flowers, shrubbery, fountains, and ponds. Some unique flowers of beautiful colors. Loved it!

 

Along the way to and from the botanical gardens are beautiful historic homes built in the 1910's, church's and other public buildings. It was enjoyable just to meander around enjoying the sights. We spent about 2 hours out and then made it back to the ship for lunch at the buffet. Today there was roast chicken and it was excellent! Juicy and full of flavor! A takeaway coffee from Segundo Bacio and back to our cabin to enjoy coffee while looking out our IV window and take in the scenery. Then a nap before dinner. 

 

 

Amazing photos!

[kwokpot]

Day 8 Sea Day, Late afternoon, evening

Went for my daily workout at 4:45 and it was quite busy. Thinned out around 5:30. A shower and then it was dinner at the Cyprus dining room at 7:30. I think I like the decor in Cyprus and Tuscan the best of the four MDRs. I started with the lobster bisque and husband requested an off menu green salad which wasn't a problem. Our entrees were the Cyprus special lamb shank and my husband ordered the pork schnitzel and just some mashed potatoes. We both enjoyed our food.  We decided to have dessert and coffee at Cyprus rather than up in Cafe Al Bacio so I had the creme brulee and he had the apple pie. And then enjoyed my new favorite after dinner coffee, decaf Americano. Dinner took a leisurely 90 minutes for all three courses, the longest so far this cruise in a MDR but we were just fine with the measured pacing of the courses. 

 

Since it was 9:00 I decided to go straight to The Theater to find a seat for a headliner show, called Broadway in Love. It stars a husband and wife team who both performed on Broadway separately and met and got married. I didn't care for them so I left after the second song, called it a night. 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by kwokpot

[Poconolady]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

9th gen on the larger ipad 10.2", 6th gen on the iPad mini. 

Thank you so much for checking for me! 
on another front! Have you tried the cinnamon rolls in Eden Cafe? They are the best I’ve ever had!!

[MissyDot]

On 7/5/2023 at 3:04 AM, kwokpot said:

9:00am report (like the cruiseships!) Today is a severe weather alert. We received mobile phone warnings about high winds and rain, and are advised to stay indoors. Anyone flying in today will be affected. Train and tram service will also be affected. Quite nasty outside. Temps in the 50's.

Yeah I was on the ship just before your trip. It was crappy weather for most of the 12 days 😞 

[kwokpot]

Day 9 Greenock/Glasgow, A quick recap 

 

Today was a good day and a bad day. Bad because my husband Robert isn't feeling well and has a slight fever (Tested negative for COVID so far). Obviously he stayed in the cabin all day and I brought him meals.

 

It was a good day because we had wonderful weather and l had a very quick walkabout on my own in Glasgow. I'll post a more comprehensive review but he's a snippet of our port day in Greenock/Glasgow. 

[bjahil47]

I hope Robert feels better soon and it’s not COVID!  Love you posts so far!

[Shadergirl]

I live 10 miles from Greenock, so took a drive to see the Apex before you sailed this evening. Wanted a closer look as we’re going to be onboard in a couple of weeks. Thoroughly enjoying your trip report. If you have time while in Belfast, I recommend The Crown public house, it’s a lovely pub. Even if you don’t have a drink, it’s well worth a visit, very ornate. 

[kwokpot]

Day 9 Greenock/Glasgow, Afternoon

With having to get my husband sorted with food, medicine, and tests, I had a late start to get to Glasgow on my own. The Greenock Central rail station was a easy 15 minutes walk, even quicker if you walk fast to catch the train, which I did. I even had time to buy my return ticket at the ticket office which for off-peak travel was under 9 pounds. The trip was about 40 minutes and it was quite full up with families and children all going into town on a nice summer Saturday.

 

Glasgow Central Station was crazy busy and once I got onto the city streets I realized one reason why Glasgow was so busy, it was Pride Day! I don't mean to be presumptuous but I didn't expect the thousands of people in the Glasgow city centre celebrating Gay Pride. It made me feel very proud as an out gay married man and I had to spend a little time supporting my community and enjoyed watching everyone having a great time. 

 

The Glasgow Cathedral was beautiful and the organ was playing which added to atmosphere and grandeur of it. Equally interesting was the adjacent Glasgow Necropolis, or cemetery. I wish I had some more time to checkout some of the headstones and monuments.

 

I enjoyed walking the many pedestrian only shopping streets and also checked out some of the beautiful high end shopping arcades. 

 

I spent less than three hours in Glasgow and felt I barely scratched the surface of this city. The architecture is historic and I'm glad I got to a few different areas around the main city centre. 

[kwokpot]

Day 9, The street art and murals of Glasgow city centre

 

 

[Silkroad]

I hope Robert feels better very soon. Lovely photos!

[kwokpot]

Day 9 Greenock/Glasgow, Evening

I went up to the Oceanview Cafe to get my husband Robert some food for dinner. I felt like eating dinner in the dining room rather than the buffet in my own, so I went to our 7:30 reservation at Tuscan dining room.  I had the arugula salad as a starter. A classic Italian salad and it was fresh and tasty with the lemon vinaigrette. For my entree I ordered the 4 oz. filet mignon that's on the kids menu. I honestly never ordered this before but it's always recommended here on Cruise Critic so I decided to try it. When the steak was served the server said he ordered a double portion of steak for me. The filet was tender but flavorful and cooked to medium rare which is what I ordered. I was surprised how tasty it was. The steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes were just fine as side dishes.

I declined dessert at Tuscan and went up to the Oceanview Cafe instead. During lunchtime they had served mochi for dessert. For those who don't know what that is it's a cold Asian dessert that's made with sweet, sticky rice flour on the outside and ice cream on the inside. It's a sorta like if a profiltrole and an Asian dumpling had a baby. The rice flour is flavored and has a chewy texture and there are various ice cream flavors inside. They are yummy! The lunchtime flavors were mango and strawberry and during dinner it was chocolate and green tea. I don't remember seeing mochi before at the buffet and it was a real treat. 

After dinner I didn't sample any evening entertainment and went back to the room to relax and get to bed early to rest up for the next day. I'll post the daily planner to the day so you can all see what entertainment was available on a port day. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by kwokpot

[Bo1953]

@kwokpot is Robert feeling better???

 

In health and bon voyage

[scrapcreator]

I hope Robert is feeling better.

 

They had mochi?!?!? I will keep my eyes open for that.

[kwokpot]

20 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

@kwokpot is Robert feeling better???

 

In health and bon voyage

Yes, He tested negative for COVID and no fever. Although he stayed in the cabin the whole day he feels well enough to go to dinner tonight in the MDR. 

[kwokpot]

7 minutes ago, scrapcreator said:

I hope Robert is feeling better.

 

They had mochi?!?!? I will keep my eyes open for that.

Yes he is, no fever, no COVID. Going to dinner in the MDR tonight.Thank you for asking. 

[Kmangel]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Yes he is, no fever, no COVID. Going to dinner in the MDR tonight.Thank you for asking. 

Thank goodness!  It is always in the back of my mind that Covid is still out there.  Glad Robert is feeling better and can resume enjoying his cruise!

[thatthatisis]

I’m really upset. We’re booked on a cruise that includes Iceland, but the boat’s excursions are so expensive, they almost double the cost of the cruise. I know Iceland and Norway are expensive, but adding $10,000 to our tour cost is not something we bargained on (that’s adding one excursion for both of us for 10 days). 

 

But when I looked for non-boat options (eg some of you mentioned Gateway) none of them would work. How did you do excursions that take 9-11 hours! We’d miss the boat! What options am I not seeing? Help!
 

[kwokpot]

Day 10 Belfast, Morning and Afternoon

First off Robert woke up this morning feeling much better. He had no fever and took another COVID test and it was negative (2 consecutive days negative for COVID). He decided to play it safe and stay in the cabin for the day and be rested up for dinner in the MDR for the first time in two days. After breakfast in the buffet and getting Robert some food to eat in the room I leisurely got ready for an afternoon in Belfast. 

 

The City provides a shuttle service that cost 10 dollars/pounds/euro return which is a great deal. It picks and drops off right in front of Belfast city hall by the Visit Belfast tourist office. Starts at 9:00 and last shuttle back from Belfast was 5:30. It was about a 15-20 ride. 

 

Having never been to Belfast I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised how o much new construction has obviously occurred among the traditional Irish architecture. 

 

The weather was all over the place. It was around 62 but when the rain clouds moved in a cold wind comes with the rain showers. Then after awhile the rain stops and the sun is out and it becomes warm.

 

The St. George's market was crowded with people and it was a fun place to explore. In Philly we have one of the country's top market, The Reading Terminal Market, and this has a somewhat similar vibe, albeit a lot less grocery stalls and more individual prepared foods stalls. It was interesting to see some food stalls were wildly more popular than others with long queues of people. Lots of photos to follow.

 

I enjoyed just walking all around enjoying all the architecture and especially the street art (Another attraction that Philly is famous for the world over, street art/murals).

 

I was out about four hours and had an enjoyable afternoon. Took the shuttle bus back and after a brief rest had enough energy to do a short workout at the gym before dinner with Robert.

Edited July 16, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

Day 10 Belfast, Afternoon

The vast amount of street art and murals in Belfast deserves it's own photo section. 

[jelayne]

27 minutes ago, thatthatisis said:

I’m really upset. We’re booked on a cruise that includes Iceland, but the boat’s excursions are so expensive, they almost double the cost of the cruise. I know Iceland and Norway are expensive, but adding $10,000 to our tour cost is not something we bargained on (that’s adding one excursion for both of us for 10 days). 

 

But when I looked for non-boat options (eg some of you mentioned Gateway) none of them would work. How did you do excursions that take 9-11 hours! We’d miss the boat! What options am I not seeing? Help!
 

When we went we booked private tours and were able to customize them to our priorities and timeframe.  Have you joined the Roll Call for your sailing.  Every tour we arranged/took was through the Roll Call.  Prices were significantly less than through the Cruise line.

[kwokpot]

Day 10 Belfast, Evening

Dinner tonight with Robert was in the Cosmopolitan dining room. I was hungry so I decided to have two starters. I asked for an appetizer portion of the Spaghetti a la mallorquin. It was a delicious red sauce with a little bit of heat, and rich tasting. Robert requested a basic lettuce and tomato salad. My second starter was the Boston lettuce and Gorgonzola salad. For entrees I had the pan seared Black Cod and Robert had the salmon. I really enjoyed the Cod with the Asian inspired flavors. It was cooked properly and neither dry nor mushy. For dessert I had the Apple Tarte Tatin and Robert had the apple pie. The Tarte Tatin was as far away from an authentic French recipe as can be. As you can see the apple slices are too large and we're never caramelized thus never achieving the golden brown color that is emblematic of a true French Tarte Tatin. Accompanying the desserts were decaf Americanos, which have been consistently brewed and served nice and strong.  Dinner was a good pace at 75 minutes.

 

We didn't partake in any evening shows and returned to the cabin to relax and watch some TV for the evening. I'll include the Daily planner in the photos so you can see what kinds of evening entertainment and activities are available. 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by kwokpot

[hcat]

glad Robert is feeling better... & can enjoy being out of the stateroom.

 

Enjoying the review and excellent photos..This was a favorite 

[scrapcreator]

@kwokpot Who is the current captain? Cruise director? Inquiring for our 7/31 Roll Call. Thanks!

[Lastdance]

The street art is amazing, but did you feel it took away from areas that you visited?  It is difficult for me to tell, but hopefully there was a good balance.  So many of the drawings were very well done, especially the one of the chef...these artists are very talented!  To say that Belfast has had a turbulent past, IMHO, is an understatement...

Thanks for including these in your photos.  I enjoy trying to understand the reasons behind this type of street art.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Lastdance