Got off Apex today

[swjumbo]

Just off Apex a few hours ago and happy to answer any questions.

 

Silhouette has been replaced in Southampton by Apex and we were on her for 7 nights to Spain and Portugal.

 

We really enjoyed it and, having recently done Sky Princess, we noticed how more upbeat the Celebrity crew were. This is because they are allowed to get off in every port unlike Princess who have to earn the privilege. 
 

There were a lot of first time cruisers on board and quite a few P&O stalwarts who have had enough of their previous cruise line.

 

The food was amazing. So good that we cancelled a speciality restaurant!

 

Entertainment was ok apart from the first night in the main theatre where a runner up in X Factor was on stage with his huge ego. We walked out along with many others.

 

Entertainment in Eden was great and well worth a visit. 
 

Infinite veranda. I was sceptical but weirdly happy and great visibility from the bed.

 

The Club was a tad seedy. We miss the Sky Lounge but they obviously make more money with the Retreat and suites which I totally understand.

 

Passenger demographic was great with a mix of all ages but there did seem to be a rougher crowd on board than we’re used to but that’s not Celebrity’s fault. 
 

Overall quite happy with this and looking forward to the Beyond in two weeks where we can compare the two ships.

This ship was full. I do wonder why Celebrity don’t base two ships here.

 

[NBliving]

How did you like the itinerary? Which ports did you go to?

[swjumbo]

18 minutes ago, NBliving said:

How did you like the itinerary? Which ports did you go to?

Vigo. Very hilly (not wheelchair friendly for mother) but otherwise nice.

 

Lisbon. Great! Cruised under the suspension bridge and the dock location is amazing as always for cruise ships.

 

Porto. Not great and took the kids to McDonald’s as they wanted to try authentic Portuguese food.

 

La Corona. Lovely.

 

For those of you who want to try a European cruise our advice is to get off, head for the Cathedral and meander back through markets, cafes, etc. 

 

No need for an expensive tour. Find a nice bar, sit and watch the hoards trying to understand the guide, get back on board and enjoy the quiet ship and bag a prime seat for the departure!

[horseymike]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise 🚢.

Thanks for being available for questions.

[Moe59]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

Vigo. Very hilly (not wheelchair friendly for mother) but otherwise nice.

 

Lisbon. Great! Cruised under the suspension bridge and the dock location is amazing as always for cruise ships.

 

Porto. Not great and took the kids to McDonald’s as they wanted to try authentic Portuguese food.

 

La Corona. Lovely.

 

For those of you who want to try a European cruise our advice is to get off, head for the Cathedral and meander back through markets, cafes, etc. 

 

No need for an expensive tour. Find a nice bar, sit and watch the hoards trying to understand the guide, get back on board and enjoy the quiet ship and bag a prime seat for the departure!

What did you do in Lisbon and La Corona?

 

[swjumbo]

1 hour ago, Moe59 said:

What did you do in Lisbon and La Corona?

 

There’s an amazing food court called Time Out Market which is great and we went there on a previous cruise.

 

This time we just went to a central church, stared in awe then meandered back to the ship via a few beers and custard tarts.

 

Search online for Rick Stein (British chef) in Lisbon. It’s a great 40mins of what to expect.

 

La Corona was a stroll through the shops, coffee and a few drinks then back on board. The locals were lovely, one even stopping to give me wipes after a bird got a bullseye on me much to my family’s amusement!

Edited August 3 by swjumbo

[Georgia_Peaches]

Thank you for the review. You described the Club as seedy. Would you mind expounding on this?  Ty. 

[swjumbo]

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you for the review. You described the Club as seedy. Would you mind expounding on this?  Ty. 

Yes. As I said in my initial post there appeared to be a rougher element on board who frequented The Club.

 

We love karaoke but on this cruise we went into The Club, did a 180 turn and left. Too hot and too loud. Same for the ABBA night.

 

The Sky Lounge was always our ‘naughty’ place after hours as it seemed as if half the ship didn’t know about it. Great views, spacious and normally easy to get served.

 

The Club is no Sky Lounge. Even on a quiet night we sat at the bar but felt like we were in the bowels of the ship and reminded us both of a couple of seedy bars we went to in Hong Kong years ago.

 

Maybe that’s the effect Celebrity want!

[Scottishclover]

Nice review, thanks. Were there many children on board? I am looking at a cruise from Southampton next year at the end of July and am well aware the English schools will be on holiday by then. We are just off the 12 night Arctic circle and children were few and far between. Not sure if that was due to itinerary or timing at the start of July.
To be clear I love well behaved children but as a teacher unruly children would completely spoil my holiday. It would be a fight to keep my “cross voice” hidden during the cruise. 

 

I’m interested in why you didn’t enjoy Porto. We’ve been for a long weekend and preferred it to Lisbon. I’ll let you off with McDonald’s😂 It’s  meant to be the nicest one in Europe with all the tiled decor!

 

I’m pretty sure we had the same headline act as you and also thought he was awful. His show  was cringeworthy and embarrassing but lots of people seemed to love it🤷‍♀️ Just shows you how subjective entertainment is. Totally agree about the Eden shows though - we thought they were outstanding. 

[swjumbo]

Access to and from Porto was awful for anyone, like my mum, with restricted mobility. Maybe we’ll give it another try when we’re on our own.

 

There were around 400 children on board, four of them were ours but 99% were very well behaved. Ours were warned. If we catch you making a noise or running you’re grounded!

 

My partner is a teacher and she scolded a group of teen girls who were being mean to the younger ones. They were part of the rougher element on board and were shocked that they’d been told off!

 

I loved it.

 

The leader of the kid’s club has been there for years and really knows her stuff.

 

I only twice had to tell a group of 8 kids to be quiet and respectful towards the other guests and they apologised.

One little devil with a water pistol was reprimanded but that was all.

 

The pools and hot tubs were busy but at 5pm everyone went to get ready and then it was our turn to have a few hours of bliss in the hot tub.

 

We’ve found that by adjusting our timing with these sort of things actually works well.

 

Edited August 4 by swjumbo

[lydnsyd]

We were also on this cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. We don't normally opt for a mid summer (JULY/AUG) cruise but it was to celebrate a land mark birthday. On this cruise there were LOTS of teenagers & children, far more than we have ever seen with Celebrity.

We have cruised many times with Celebrity but this was our first experience on the new class of ship and we loved it.

The food on the APEX was excellent in fact the best we have ever had on a ship so much so that we didn't feel the urge to visit any of the Speciality restaurants but perhaps if it was a longer cruise we may have tried them. The Apex staff were also great and always happy to help.

PORTS -

VIGO we did a 2hr coach tour. The tour reps wearing red tops were selling tickets just as you get off the ship. The tour was average but then again it only cost 20 euros pp next time we will walk to the Old Town

LISBON -  we pre booked a private 3hr Tuk Tuk tour which was excellent. The Tuk Tuks can accommodate 6 people and the tour covered most of Lisbon. 

PORTO - we pre booked a Port tasting session at Cockburns which was fascinating &  well worth a visit. To get into Porto we went by taxi.

La Coruna - we originally intended to walk 45 mins to see the Tower of Hercules but instead had a pleasant walk around the town.

The Infinite Veranda - I wasn't sure if we would like it as we have always gone for traditional balcony cabins. I know there are many that hate them but I was pleasantly surprised. For us we thought the plus was that we got a great outside view from the comfort of our cabin without having to open a balcony door and from now on will be happy to opt for an Infinite veranda.

[geordielass2]

Hi we haven’t cruised since Covid and are thinking of booking Apex for next September. Hope this doesn’t sound a silly question but my husband is now a full time wheelchair user and needs my help. Can you tell me if there are any separate accessible toilets or are they only inside the Ladies or Gents. It’s not clear from the deck plans. Thank you 

[swjumbo]

Yes there are. There’s also a male and female attendant at each.

We got my mum a motorised chair from Mobility at Sea which she loved.

It was delivered at the terminal and we simply dropped it off there when we returned.

Cost around £130 for a week.

[geordielass2]

Thank you for your reply. My husband has his own motorised wheelchair but I wouldn’t want to have to go into a male toilet or take him into a female toilet. He can’t use the toilet by himself so I have to go in with him so we need a dedicated accessible toilet. 

[swjumbo]

Also, Ben and David (YouTube) have just  been on the Celebrity Ascent with their nephews who are both in wheelchairs.

Might be worth a look!

[catgirl411]

Please tell me the times for the shows in the main theatre and Eden?  Thanks!

[jwlane]

1 hour ago, catgirl411 said:

 times for the shows in the main theatre and Eden?  

Check the app for the current sailings.

[catgirl411]

1 minute ago, jwlane said:

Check the app for the current sailings.

Sailing  Oct 1st and it’s not on the app yet. I was just trying to get a sense to sort out dinner reservations.

[canderson]

3 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Sailing  Oct 1st and it’s not on the app yet. I was just trying to get a sense to sort out dinner reservations.

You can look at the current sailing for your ship (or any other ship, for that matter) on the app.  If you need instructions, let us know and I'm sure someone will explain again.

 

[lydnsyd]

11 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Please tell me the times for the shows in the main theatre and Eden?  Thanks!

We were on the July sailing -= I have just looked up the daily programme and the shows in the theatre are 7.30pm & 9.30pm

[catgirl411]

55 minutes ago, lydnsyd said:

We were on the July sailing -= I have just looked up the daily programme and the shows in the theatre are 7.30pm & 9.30pm

Thanks so much…that is all I wanted to know!

[swjumbo]

We can thoroughly recommend the late Eden show.

Get there early and get a seat with a view!

14 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Please tell me the times for the shows in the main theatre and Eden?  Thanks!

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for your comments. 
 

We’re on the Apex out of Southampton next May but to the Norwegian Fjords. Eight nights. Had it booked and then found out that this will be the Presidents cruise. That should lead to an interesting group of passengers. 

[dreamer321]

18 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Please tell me the times for the shows in the main theatre and Eden?  Thanks!

The headliner shows in The Theatre are either 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm or 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm.  I've seen either set of times.  Caravan will usually be done once a cruise in The Club at 8:45 pm and 10:30 pm.  The Eden cast will do "Night of" shows nights in Eden at 10:45 pm.  The Comedian will usually do a late night 18+ show in the Theatre at 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm.  The final schedule won't post until a few days before your cruise.

[Moe59]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:07 PM, Cruising89143 said:

Thanks for your comments. 
 

We’re on the Apex out of Southampton next May but to the Norwegian Fjords. Eight nights. Had it booked and then found out that this will be the Presidents cruise. That should lead to an interesting group of passengers. 

What date and what is the Presidents cruise?