“LIVE” from Apex, December 2nd-First Celeb to the Carib Sailing!

[countess5]

Embarkation day! 

 

Watched Apex sail in this morning. 

 

Glad we didn’t select Riverside ( it was under consideration) ended up with Hyatt Centric for pre cruise and then a night in between cruises. 

 

Have a great Boarding! 

 

Cheers! 🍸

[DaKahuna]

 With one exception, when we stayed at the Westin, we stay at the Renaissance Hotel on 17th street.  Have been staying there for years and with the exception of not being able to get early access to our room, it has been excellent. 

 

[niksmom630]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 With one exception, when we stayed at the Westin, we stay at the Renaissance Hotel on 17th street.  Have been staying there for years and with the exception of not being able to get early access to our room, it has been excellent. 

 

good to know. I’ll put that on my list of options! 

[billc23]

20 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

Our go to hotel in FFL has primarily been the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, but my SIL has stayed at the Riverside Hotel on Los Olas and recommended it. 
 

Their room is apparently quite nice and has a balcony and view of the water. Ours has a window and view of the parking lot. 😜 

 

the bathroom is….. well akin to a service station, but with a shower. Room aside, not sure I’d recommend this place for a few reasons. 

Totally different than the rooms we have stayed in at the Riverside. The tower section is new but I prefer the original hotel. If you are in the tower when you come down the elevators you are at the back of the hotel from my perspective. If you had to cross the street to the restaurant you exited from the back.  The front is on Los Olas as is the restaurant and bar. I did not realize that the rooms varied so much but the location can't be beat.

[niksmom630]

Boarding was a breeze. We got to the terminal a bit early10:25 ish. And there were a few lines outside, but we were quickly ushered into the terminal , thru security and on board by 10:55. 
 

completed our muster check in right after we dropped off the carry on on the room. Celebrity wins over Royal in this category. What a convenience to not have to lug those carry ons around. 
 

also Kudos to Celebrity for making it clear in the terminal that you should proceed to your muster station to complete the drill. Royal tries this but on Oasis class it’s spotty, most of the time the crew tries to shag you when you board and then the afternoon is filled with announcements about the numbers of people who have not completed the drill 🙄 

 

we checked on some pre dining reservations to make sure we’d be seated together, (La Petite Chef and the Edge) then off the explore and have a few beverages. Bags had arrived, but had to get them from a location down the hall. 
 

AirTags fir the win….. photos coming up 

[abbydancer2003]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 With one exception, when we stayed at the Westin, we stay at the Renaissance Hotel on 17th street.  Have been staying there for years and with the exception of not being able to get early access to our room, it has been excellent. 

 

That's my go to hotel too, in fact we'll be there next Saturday night, as we board the Symphony of the Seas on Sunday, and then Apex the following Saturday.

[niksmom630]

6 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Totally different than the rooms we have stayed in at the Riverside. The tower section is new but I prefer the original hotel. If you are in the tower when you come down the elevators you are at the back of the hotel from my perspective. If you had to cross the street to the restaurant you exited from the back.  The front is on Los Olas as is the restaurant and bar. I did not realize that the rooms varied so much but the location can't be beat.

yes, my SIL had a tower room with a balcony and it was like night and day. There is signage around promoting the upcoming renovations in the main building. You are spot on about the location being great, but the layout itself is just a bit disjointed. Like having to exit the back of the building in street traffic to get to the pool…

[niksmom630]

@abbydancer

 

Here you go….. 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

Great views all

around….

 

 

 

 

 

[lola2013]

I’m watching Apex pull out now…and so excited for you.  Have a great trip!

Susan 😎

[niksmom630]

My bid fell flat 🙃 

max bid for sunset suite and sunset sky suite. 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

So here we are for the week….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[countess5]

Bon voyage!

 

Great Sail away! Watched as you went out! 👀

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers! 

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by countess5

[niksmom630]

Great pics @countess5! Thanks for sharing! 😊

[niksmom630]

 

 

 

 

[helen haywood]

We just disembarked Apex this morning!!  So I’m eager to revisit her through your review!

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, abbydancer said:

That's my go to hotel too, in fact we'll be there next Saturday night, as we board the Symphony of the Seas on Sunday, and then Apex the following Saturday.

 

Our next cruise is not until February and we will be sailing out of Miami but are spending the night before in the Marriott at the FLL airport.  We use United and flying in/out of Miami on United is a nightmare so we stay in FLL and use Lyft/Uber for transportation. 

 

Have a wonderful cruise and I look forward to reading about it on CC. 

 

 

[maggieq]

3 hours ago, abbydancer said:

That's my go to hotel too, in fact we'll be there next Saturday night, as we board the Symphony of the Seas on Sunday, and then Apex the following Saturday.

Please let me know how it is doing. That is our pre cruise when sailing out of fll.   Have a great time on your cruises.  😊 

[abbydancer2003]

9 minutes ago, maggieq said:

Please let me know how it is doing. That is our pre cruise when sailing out of fll.   Have a great time on your cruises.  😊 

We were last there in October of 2021.  Lounge wasn't open, but it was fine.  When I start my Lives, I'll put a link to the Royal one here, and comment on the hotel there before I start.  I'll move back here, for the Apex, but remind me and I'll let you know.  

[niksmom630]

Day 2 is shaping up nicely…found a nice spot in the Solarium, despite the hour time change around 8:30 am, and there was a total on 4 towels on chairs. Compared to the sea of towels I’d normally see on Royal, this is a welcome change. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

We have select dining in Tuscan nightly at 5:15. Service was excellent. Afterwards we wandered around a bit and spent a bit of time in the casino. We were dragging by 9:30, and called it an early night …still have not even begun to really explore the ship…. A few random photos from last night….

 

sunset view from the dining room

 

 

The Christmas decor is lovely

 

 

 

the sculptures and art on this ship are so unique. I’ll definately be exploring more this week! 
 

 

 

[theopup]

Will be on her in February, so enjoying your review.

 

Have fun !

[cyntil8ing]

Excited to follow along. I will also be on this itinerary on Apex in two weeks.

[Ciaranaman]

Looking forward to following along with your adventures!  

~Bernadette

[niksmom630]

Perfect relaxation day in the Solarium followed by lunch in the Oceanview Cafe and a nap = PERFECT DAY at sea 💕 tonight was first “formal” night. Really disappointing menu, but started my ship tour- photo dump highlights of Eden  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]