On the Apex now and I honestly don’t know what

[CruisinShips]

So many people are talking about. Everything has been just fantastic.  In all fairness, we are in a CS so my perceptions are based mainly from a Retreat perspective. But the ship is a 10, the staff is incredible…absolutely incredible…the entertainment is of a very high level, the food is very good. Yes selections are a bit limited but still always good options to choose from.
 

Retreat staff could not be a better collection of humans. I swear I don’t know where they find these people with such incredible demeanors. 

 

Even the internet is great and we have been able to stream YouTube Tv when we feel like it. 
 

We would really have to be trying hard to come up with any complaints and we are 4 days in. 
 

I guess the pricing is the main issue, but for our two cruises a year, we can suck it up and feel grateful we can afford it. 

[Crazy planning mom]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the Apex.  Getting excited to sail on her later this month.

[Lastdance]

Comparing different cruises, on a variety of ships, especially with various itineraries, IMHO, are almost always going to be different, not to mention some on the exact same category, of the exact ship and dates.  Food is always subjective, along with the needs of cruisers.  My DH and I loved Beyond for two cruises in Europe, but there are many variables involved.  Everything changed totally while cruising the same ship in the Caribbean.  There are so many variables involved...food/venues/price/room steward/crew/cabin or suite/itinerary/ports/expectations etc.

 

 

Edited February 6 by Lastdance

[highway180]

8 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Comparing different cruises, on a variety of ships, especially with various itineraries, IMHO, are always going to be different, not to mention some on the exact same category, of the exact ship and dates.  Food is always subjective, along with the needs of cruisers.  My DH and I loved Beyond for two cruises in Europe, but our attitudes changed totally while cruising the same ship in the Caribbean.  There are so many variables involved...cabin/suite/room steward/food/venues/...

 

 

I couldn't agree more....very happy OP is having an awesome trip! I had the same experience in Alaska on the Solstice...everything was amazing, but there were others on previous sailings who did not have such luck.

We just got off the Ascent.....Beautiful ship, amazing staff, service all around amazing. The room....not so much. Aside form a noisy room, as many others have already complained about, the "infinite veranda was a huge disappointment. Food was for the most part bland , with limited menu rotations.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

In all fairness, we are in a CS

In all fairness, I can't recall reading any complaints from people in a CS and higher. I honestly don't know what "people" you're referring to in the first sentence of your OP.

[doghog]

3 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

So many people are talking about. Everything has been just fantastic.

Agree. Thanks for posting your thoughts and experiences. We were on the Apex March 2023 in a regular balcony stateroom (DPV). No complaints at all for the entire cruise. We always make our own decisions about a ship based on our experiences, not others. Looking forward to our Edge cruise. Cheers. 🍻

[deliver42]

Glad to see a positive review. The people here just love to complain, more than the other lines. To them celebrity can do no right.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

37 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

To them celebrity can do no right.

well, if Celebrity couldn't do Retreat CS right, then people wouldn't pay thousands of dollars for it and then rave about it. Right?

[JeffT237]

2 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Glad to see a positive review. The people here just love to complain, more than the other lines. To them celebrity can do no right.

 

I will be a new Celebrity cruiser, our upcoming August cruise will be our first.  We've sailed primarily Royal Caribbean, a couple of recent Princess and Carnival in the past.  The complaining goes on on those boards too, but I'd say Royal leads the pack as far as complainers go (I'm sure this comment will make it back over there!), it has really gotten toxic over there. Celebrity seems pretty mild IMO so far.  I'm really looking forward to our upcoming Celebrity cruise!  

 

I have no issues with negative reviews, I've posted one before. But some posters routinely have nothing but complaints about everything. I wonder why some of these cruisers still cruise.

 

 

[NMTraveller]

12 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

So many people are talking about. Everything has been just fantastic.  In all fairness, we are in a CS so my perceptions are based mainly from a Retreat perspective. But the ship is a 10, the staff is incredible…absolutely incredible…the entertainment is of a very high level, the food is very good. Yes selections are a bit limited but still always good options to choose from.
 

Retreat staff could not be a better collection of humans. I swear I don’t know where they find these people with such incredible demeanors. 

 

Even the internet is great and we have been able to stream YouTube Tv when we feel like it. 
 

We would really have to be trying hard to come up with any complaints and we are 4 days in. 
 

I guess the pricing is the main issue, but for our two cruises a year, we can suck it up and feel grateful we can afford it. 

Peace to all 🤣

[JDPCruisers]

On 2/6/2024 at 9:36 AM, CruisinShips said:

So many people are talking about. Everything has been just fantastic.  In all fairness, we are in a CS so my perceptions are based mainly from a Retreat perspective. But the ship is a 10, the staff is incredible…absolutely incredible…the entertainment is of a very high level, the food is very good. Yes selections are a bit limited but still always good options to choose from.
 

Retreat staff could not be a better collection of humans. I swear I don’t know where they find these people with such incredible demeanors. 

 

Even the internet is great and we have been able to stream YouTube Tv when we feel like it. 
 

We would really have to be trying hard to come up with any complaints and we are 4 days in. 
 

I guess the pricing is the main issue, but for our two cruises a year, we can suck it up and feel grateful we can afford it. 

Nice to hear your experience, so far. Apex is one of our favorites, have cruised her twice and booked for Scandinavia and Norwegian Fjords May/June 2025. A couple of cruises before but still can't wait to be back on her. 

[Dolebludger]

I think that cruising in a CS (or above) is what one must do to avoid the impact of most of the cuts. CS still has a butler AND a room steward. Anything below that lacks the butler, and on X the steward’s duties are limited. It seems that in a CS, included access to the mini fridge isn’t provided now — and it was on our 2018 cruise in a CS. But in a CS, the butler will bring in soda, water, and beer after he clears the “extra cost” contents out. Not so in any level below CS. We would gladly cruise again in a CS IF the cost were not more than one of the lux lines. Even lux cruisers watch their budgets!

[mayleeman]

A bit of perspective that might help the OP understand how this thread went off the rails:

 

I remember January 2023 when the food cutbacks were being reported. Some pax kept posting about the complainers being too picky because they hadn't experienced those things on their cruises. It turned out after lots of discussion and many threads that most cutbacks were in the MDR and OVC, but were not being experienced in Luminae.  The same thing happened over the next few months as cruisers sought info about whether MDR cutbacks were getting better.  We again had people saying things were never bad, and many turned out again to be Retreat pax. Another issue, same thing: room service fee only in Aqua and below. Not in Retreat,  but some Suite pax said anyone who could afford a cruise shouldn't be complaining because all the other lines were starting to do that.

 

Then the Sky Suite butler cutback occurred and the Retreat-eratie went, oh, call it ballistic, and non-Suite pax (unaffected by that cutback) basically said "Welcome to the real world of us hoi polloi!" 

 

Not everyone took sides or shots at the other, but I think the atmosphere was charged from literally dozens of criticisms from BOTH sides regarding complaints written by people whose experiences were unsatisfactory in some respect.

 

I thought nothing was wrong with the title even though I also thought it was going to be read as a swipe at complainers. And I thought immediately,  "Ah, another suite cruiser not seeing any cutbacks is making fun of complainers who do see them." Then I reread the OP, and realized that it wasn't a direct attack, and could have just been talking about his own experience being good not bad.

 

When his second post was made, though, I just wish the OP had said, "Oh, I didn't realize it could be read as devaluing other people's problems. I only meant that the things people complain about didn't happen to me. I realize that is most likely the result of being in a suite. I hope things get back to normal for all levels of cruising soon!"

 

 That isn't what he said, but what the heck, I'll pretend.

[CruisinShips]

@mayleeman fair enough, and I appreciate the way you made your point. Thing is though, I was speaking from an overall place…meaning I don’t spend every waking moment in a retreat area. Crew all over the ship is amazing. Entertainment has been fantastic. Other non Retreat venues  have been good. 
 

Sure there are things that aren’t perfect. Our Tv stopped working, and one phone call and it was fixed. Today we had our day at Grand Cayman canceled because of wind and choppy waters. Stuff happens.  I could name some more imperfect things, but my point was more along the lines of I don’t see much to be that critical of. 
 

Again, I think some don’t care for positivity but to each their own