Apex - Live June 27-July 8- Ireland, Iceland, and Scotland –

[dsa181920]

 

I always enjoy reading the live reviews and trip reports that people post on Cruise Critic.  I am going to try to do a live review of our trip to Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland on the Celebrity Apex.  I will be traveling with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law for this trip. We booked this trip on a 2022 Thanksgiving cruise from the Future Cruises office.  I work in a public school, so I am limited to when I am able to take a vacation.  This particular itinerary had just opened up when we were on the Thanksgiving cruise.  The dates were perfect for us, and we have not been to any of these ports.  We have cruised many times but not more than a week at a time.  We are looking forward to having some relaxing sea days.  We live in Florida where temperatures are currently in the high 90’s, so the cooler weather will be a welcome treat for us.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Very excited for you 

[wrk2cruise]

We will be onboard with you B2B with the following 12 Night Norway sailing.  2 itineraries we have been looking forward to since before Covid.  I really need to start thinking about packing.  With all the layers needed I expect I'll over pack.  I'm not a fan of E class ships but have been hearing great things about Apex lately.

[Ciaranaman]

Looks like a great itinerary - I'll be following along 😊

~Bernadette

[Lena11033]

looking forward to following along - I'll be on Apex in a few weeks

[Jim_Iain]

Looking forward to following along.   You will really enjoy the cruise.   Great ports and as you said the temperatures will be refreshing but could also be wet.    Good luck with the Shetland Islands.   It was to be the high point of our British Isle Cruise but the weather didn't cooperate and the stop was cancelled.

[Barwick Cruiser]

I’m also looking forward to following along. Those would all be new ports for me as well so I’m interested in what you’ve planned for each of them! What type of cabin will you be in? 
Cathy

[dsa181920]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

We will be onboard with you B2B with the following 12 Night Norway sailing.  2 itineraries we have been looking forward to since before Covid.  I really need to start thinking about packing.  With all the layers needed I expect I'll over pack.  

We were supposed to do a Norway cruise in 2020 but that was when all cruising stopped for a while.  Hoping to book one in the future.   

 

Packing for this cruise has been challenging.  Going to go with layers instead of heavy items  They still take up more room than packing for a warm climate.

[dsa181920]

46 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 You will really enjoy the cruise.   Great ports and as you said the temperatures will be refreshing but could also be wet.    Good luck with the Shetland Islands.   It was to be the high point of our British Isle Cruise but the weather didn't cooperate and the stop was cancelled.

I remember following your cruise report.  Love the pictures and information you always share.

[dsa181920]

37 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

 What type of cabin will you be in? 
Cathy

We usually have a balcony room, but we haven’t used the balconies much on the last few cruises.  We tend to get together with my sister and her husband in one of the bars or common areas.  We decided to try a Deluxe Interior Room this time, saving money which could be used for excursions and other things on board.

[dsa181920]

For a little background on us, we are in our 50’s-60’s.  My husband and I live in Florida, and my sister and her husband live in Illinois.   Cruises have been a great way for us to spend some quality time together.  This will be our sixth cruise on Celebrity.  Four of our cruises have been during the week of Thanksgiving.  We have sailed on the Connie, Infinity, and Reflection.  Last year we were on the Celebrity Edge for a week from Rome to Barcelona.  It was a great cruise but very port intensive and very warm.  

 

Reflection has been our favorite ship.  The Sunset Bar on the Reflection was a favorite spot for us to meet up each day for drinks.  We were disappointed by the Sunset Bar on the Edge as there was no sun covering, and it was not comfortable to sit out there.  Based on pictures I have seen of the Apex, it looks like they have added a canvas covering to the Sunset Bar.  Eden was one of our favorite areas to sit and relax before or after dinner on the Edge.  We look forward to checking out this area on the Apex.

[JackE]

Following along as we will be on the Apex in August going to Norway. Would love to cruise this itinerary! Have a wonderful time.

[HeiPus]

Enjoy your cruise! We'll be on the Silhouette with a similar itinerary in July, so following for the excitement 😁

[Lastdance]

I love European itineraries, so many thanks for inviting us to join you for this trip.  My two previous Apex cruises were in the Eastern Med and a TA; both were very enjoyable.  In fact, another b2b is planned for the fall of 2025.  I hope you have a wonderful and exciting trip!

Edited Sunday at 04:21 PM by Lastdance

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We did a Arctic TA in September 2022 , one thing I didn’t  pack were shorts

 I wished I had packed them as there were a couple of very nice days 😁

 

[dsa181920]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We did a Arctic TA in September 2022 , one thing I didn’t  pack were shorts

 I wished I had packed them as there were a couple of very nice days 😁

 

Forecast is showing mid 70’s for the day we sail. We are bringing a couple of shorts. Hopefully we will be able to wear them.

[Mark.Jules]

I am excited to follow along. Happy sailing.

[Shadergirl]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Looking forward to following along.   You will really enjoy the cruise.   Great ports and as you said the temperatures will be refreshing but could also be wet.    Good luck with the Shetland Islands.   It was to be the high point of our British Isle Cruise but the weather didn't cooperate and the stop was cancelled

It doesn’t look like it’s going to Shetland. Kirkwall is on the Orkney Islands. Having said that, the weather there can be equally unpredictable.

[Swordfish1949]

Going to Iceland in 2025...can't wait to see your experience.

[dsa181920]

We are spending two nights in Southampton so our flight leaves this evening.  So excited!  It’s been a long year, and we are really looking forward to this trip.  We are flying out of Orlando to LHR on Virgin Atlantic Airlines which we have not flown before.  Airfare prices were very expensive, and we do not have frequent flyer points built up.  We decided to book through Flights by Celebrity in the Economy section.  This gave us Economy Classic which allows one checked bag, one carry-on bag, and a personal bag per person.  I chose aisle seats next to each other so we would not have to climb over anyone to get out of our seats and would have a little more room.  I did bid on an upgrade to Economy Delight which gives more leg room, seats recline slightly more, and priority boarding.  A couple of weeks ago the flight looked full so I assumed we would not get an upgrade.  Last night, I received an email that we won our bid and would be moved to Economy Delight.  Hopefully this will be a more comfortable flight than last year when I was stuck in the middle seat of a flight from Chicago to Rome.

[swigso]

VS136 is a modern A350 aircraft the other flight is an older A330

virgin have a great product 

[hcat]

Looks like a very unique itin.. hope you share as many pics as possible.

 

We are also interested in APEX.. we are book  on her for Jan 2025  

[parrothead33]

Looking forward to following along, enjoy your cruise!

[dsa181920]

Everything went well with our flight on Monday evening.  We had TSA Pre-check which made it easy to get checked in at the Orlando airport.  We found a wine bar where we could relax until the flight.  My husband and I each ordered a wine flight.  The server brought me the wrong flight and told us to keep it.  That gave us 9 wines to taste instead of two.  Great way to begin our trip!

Our flight was on time and soon we were on our way to London.  It was very warm on the plane so blankets, jackets, etc. were not needed.

 

[dsa181920]

We arrived in London about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  We used Blackberry Cars to transport us to Southampton.  We were very pleased with the service and would definitely use them again.  Y husband and I are staying the Pig-in-the Wall, and my sister and her husband are staying at the White Star Tavern.  We were dropped off first.  We were not able to check-in until later in the day, but the hotel let us store our luggage.  The Pig-in-the-Wall is a small hotel with 12 rooms close to the port.  This hotel is built into the old city walls. 

 

 

 

 

View from the hotel patio - Carnival cruise ship leaving the port Tuesday afternoon.