carolina_yankee

Thank you for the review! We are on the Egyptian part of this itinerary in January with 2 nights pre-tout in addition to the tour's 2 nights at Mena House so 4 in total. We really liked Avalon in France and the quality of their guides there, so were hoping for similar quality in Egypt. We have thought about getting a guide (tours by locals, probably) for the Giza pyramids the one of those pre-days since we really want to savor the pyramids and don't mind going twice. Do you have any thoughts on what in Cairo could have used more time if you had it, apart from the Egyptian Museum? It seems like most tours allow about 90 minutes there in their descriptions, so a fairly common duration. Did you get to the new Grand Egyptian Museum at all? Any other tips, learnings? It will be cooler in January so we will avoid the heat issue for the most part.

Interesting! They told us the portions were tiny so not really worth it if you wanted a particular dish. Seems like the directions might be “tell them whatever you want so they don’t order it!” Both nights we were in Eden there were empty tables. I know Disney limits reservations for Palo to one meal of each type (brunch, dinner) per cruise. I wonder if Celebrity has ever had to do that for popular places?

We had the the option of the tasting menu on our Apex ailing last week - ship at 70% capacity. The servers steered us away from it, though, saying if you liked anything in particular, you only got a couple of bites. I wonder if they are downplaying it with the idea of ditching it?

We are just off the Apex. They put beach towels in our stateroom the night before our first stop (Costa Maya). There was also a blurb stating that if we liked them we could buy new ones from the desk. I’m not sure I saw them as a special-purchase, but they certainly would have worked for a beach excursion had we taken one. We were not given water at either Costa Maya (docked) or George Town (tender).

Aww, man. I wish I had known that!!

Celebrity Thoughts The Cruise Line I’m very pleased Celebrity was our first post-Disney ocean cruise. We could easily sail them again. The service was every bit what I expected and the fellow passengers were great. We use a travel agent, but mostly handle the details ourselves. It was all very easy. The Ship - Apex We liked the ship and its modern feel. There are indeed trade-offs. I like the traditional ship layout with a grand atrium, a promenade deck, and access to bow views. I definitely want to try Solstice Class. However, we did enjoy the ship very much and basically let itinerary and entertainment be our deciding factors. The room tech mostly worked well for us, except I could never get the phone-lock to work. My Apple Pay kept popping up every time I held my phone next to the lock reader. So, I just used my keycard, which I could keep in the little card wallet they give you. The room was extremely comfortable and well let. It is ridiculous to have electricity on one side of the bed and not the other, but we adapted. The bathroom was well laid out and worked excellently for us. Honestly, while the split baths on DCL have their plusses, they feel confining compared to the X full baths. The shower was totally comfortable. I’m surprised that I didn’t really lounge around anywhere on the ship to read our surf outside of our stateroom except for Cafe Al Baccio. On DCL, we often took the loungers in the Promenade Deck for the whole afternoon. I would not pay for a cabana on the Apex. Too exposed for what you get and the money, and probably not that comfortable. Infinite Verandas I would definitely grade them as a stop up from Ocean View and agree they aren’t balconies or verandas. However, none of that mattered as long as we could open the window. It was locked twice as far as we could tell - once in port for cleaning and once for rough seas. We enjoyed the extra space the IV gave us. While the room did warm up, we could sit with the window open for a good 60-90 minutes before deciding we’re done. Basically, they are Panaroma View rooms with a window that opens. I can make that work for me, so IV’s will never be a deterrent from booking - again, we would look at itinerary, entertainment, and price rather than IV vs. traditional balcony. I don’t think I would book OV since we did stay inside a lot and I want access to sea air and wake sounds. We have booked OV on Disney and would easily do it again for the right price and itinerary. Dining & Food We dined in Eden twice, Rooftop Grill, Le Petit Chef, Normandie, and Tuscan. Of all of those Rooftop Grill disappointed the most followed by Normandie. Personally, I think the Grill should have more to offer and I think there food could have richer flavor. Two people in our party were happy, but probably not enough to pay to go back. Normandie’s issues were mostly new staff still learning and a crab cake that was worthy of the frozen food aisle. Everything else was good to very enjoyable. I think we would easily do Le Petit Chef again - we all felt it was much better than Disney’s Animator’s Palate, either version (Magic or Fantasy). We enjoyed the show and the food was really good. They could offer a bit more on the menu since the courses aren’t locked in to the presentation on the Apex, but if they mix it up every now and then, it would be very repeatable for us. Eden was fantastic and a must-do in our book. We really want to try to Cyprus. I’m up for the Fine Cut Steakhouse, but I do need to be convinced it’s worth the $60. Every morning in the buffet, the FC manager came through asking people to book so something is off there. We ate all breakfasts and most lunches in Ocean View. We felt the food was very good for a buffet. Once we found the poached eggs, we stayed with them - always runny so plenty of Eggs Benedict on this cruise! Seating can be a challenge but we had our tricks for our preferences and ended up by a window nearly every time. It would be nice if the bar server came through a little more frequently - I essentially grabbed my beverage on wintering, claimed a table to set it down and went back for food. Entertainment We all enjoyed everything we saw at some level. Antonio Salci is an act I never want to see again, though. Just a little too full of himself for a performance that just wasn’t that great. The Celebrity Orchestra was great. We loved Charity Lockhart’s two concerts and never got around to her partner’s comedy show, though we wanted to. Just not enough time! We regret missing Caravan. Shawna, the CD, mentioned, several time that X had taken their production shows in house and have the largest rehearsal space in the country in Miami. If this quality spreads to the other ships and isn’t just for the new ships, I’m not worried. As always, a bad actor or musician can spoil it, and a couple could have been replaced with better, but nothing to say “Nope, mistake, can’t do it.” I was impressed that the Captain attended every performance. The guest performers noted it, too, and thanked him for his support. This never happened on a Disney ship - the Captain was the Captain and a mysterious, distant presence. I like X’s captains - they are professionals, but also help to create the vibe. Conclusion I appreciate the wisdom I learned from everyone here. We may or may not book concierge again, depending on price. I don’t think the perks were worth it - though we enjoyed the canapés. We just didn’t have room for them sometimes! It’s clearly for the extra points for us if the stateroom is otherwise identical. We didn’t even order room service once, not even the expanded breakfast. I like to get up and get out to enjoy the ship before the masses do. There are some bumps from staffing - but I’m chalking that up to pandemic rather than cuts. As newcomers, we can otherwise roll with pretty much everything we encountered. And finally, to be honest, except for the Disney theming, I don’t think Disney has anything special to offer anymore that other premium lines don’t. They may not have been the case when DCL first started, but everything was as professional, elegant, and guest-friendly as I would expect Disney to be - and for half the price. That’s why I laugh when people complain about the prices! Sorry, Mickey. Again, photos are being edited - I promise to add them!

Day 8 - Disembarkation First, why do they dare to cal it Day 8?!! Having breakfast and getting off the ship does not a day make! Anyway - We virtually ignored disembarkation planning. They sent a reminder through the app to take care of our preferences, but we didn’t. We were assigned Group 10 at 8:10 am. We were to wait in Eden on Deck 5 once we cleared our room, but since rooms had to be empty by 8, that wasn’t really an issue. We decided to keep our bags in case we were leaving early. Our friends had too many bags for that because they could drive. Their assigned time was 8:40. Our flight was at Noon, so we figured there wouldn’t be a problem. Well, there could have been, but we were lucky. I was pleased that the buffet was open for full service from 6 am to 8:30 am. We got up there for our last breakfast at 6:30. We hugged our friends goodby and headed dow to our room at 7:15 to grab our things. Mail was in our door, but it was for the next couple, instead of us! Sigh - not gone but totally forgotten. We decided to just walk off since we have lounge privileges at the airport, and I’m glad we did. At 7:40 - it was a total breeze with no lines for immigration - just a face scan and done. We had our bags, so no need to wait for luggage. Interestingly, luggage was already listed as available for our group. We went to the taxis and, again, no line, so were at the airport and through security by 8:30 for 11:20 boarding. We settled ourselves in the United Club only to find a few minutes later that our incoming flight had a delayed departure. All in all, we were pushed back 1 1/2 hours and the lounge over-filled. Again, glad we were there early and in our chairs. Our friends weren’t as lucky. By the time they disembarked, there were lines for everything. Once they went for a taxi (they left their car at home), there was an argument between the sheriffs and port guides as to whether taxis could pick up on the sidewalk or you had to cross over to the median. It didn’t matter becuase there were no taxis. Not only was there a jam-up letting taxis and ride share into the port without passengers, when they did get in, the went to closer terminals than Terminal 25. It took our friends 90 minutes to get a taxi. I’m soooo glad that wasn’t us. My advice - if you are at Terminal 25 and plan on using a taxi or ride share, disembark on your own as early as possible. Six ships were unloading - so there was high demand. In fact, Uber’s surge-pricing was $75 to central FLL at one point. Otherwise, use your own transportation, con a friend, or take Celebrity’s arranged service. We were back home in Freehold, NJ on our sofa to binge The Crown over Chinese dinner with by 6:30 pm.

Oh, no! I’m so sorry about COVID. I think today is Day 5, so technically I’m probably OK, but one never knows. We actually have a small Thanksgiving planned. I hate that your plans have been upended. I was fairly pleased with Premium overall - we streamed several YouTube videos (our typical “bedtime wind-down”) without any problems and I started a Netflix movie, which streamed well. However, when it was bad - it was bad! That last sea day was indeed a challenge. We also had a challenge our first and second nights, but we think those were times everybody was also trying to get on and test their service. I hope you don’t have severe symptoms and quickly get back to normal!

Day 7 - Sea Day We were used to last day of cruise being Disney's Castaway Cay which was always a bummer - I wanted to enjoy the ship some more and it is also packing day. I like having sea days as our last days - something we enjoyed very much on our Disney Bermuda cruise! TL;DR - We liked Shawna's "Life with Celebrity" talk, I finished up my slots credit and broke even (but spent it anyway), packed easily, and final acupuncture, wasn't aware DH gave arm and leg for spa purchase, and had a fantastic final dinner at Eden. -------- So - this was sort of a "run around the ship and catch the last few things to do" day. After an OceanView breakfast, two of us went to the Theater for Shawna's presentation on what it's like to work for Celebrity. She covered various areas - nothing particularly salacious other than hints of salaciousness! Anyway - she showed pictures of different crew cabins. You could go from a bunkbed situation to a private room with a shared (tiny) bath with another private room. Managers and officers got better accommodations, of course. Even crew members have missed the ship, and they really don't want to do that! On one ship, one passenger was late - a single woman who was taking her first cruise. The Captain decided to wait and gave updates every 30 minutes. The whole ship was concerned for the "woman lost on her own." They had tracked down which private excursion she was on and they said they had dropped her off at the port but then the rail disappeared. At 8:30 pm, the Captain came on and gave a terse, "We're leaving." As the ship left port, Shawna called down to friends to find out what had happened - apparently the cruiser had racked up quite the Casino debit and room charges and simply left the ship. We were assured she was later found by Celebrity. 🙂 I suspect she won't be sailing again. We also learned about pirate training for cruises off of Somalia - the ships go in a convey (all lights off, etc.) and are instructed to zig-zag if approached. While the risk of pirates boarding is small given the size of the ships, crew are instructed to throw deck furniture at them if they manage to get ropes onto the ship. She said it was always an interesting experience! It was a rough day and the ship was definitely rolling, particularly forward. During Q&A, Captain Nickolas was asked if the stabilizers were working. He gave a terse, "Yes." Then someone asked if they were the right stabilizers for the ship. He gave another terse, "Yes." Then a third question - finally he explained the whole stabilizer thing and promised us it would be worse without them! Celebrity uses larger than recommended for the size of the ship. He also promised us that captains do everything they can to avoid rough seas when possible. Other than that exchange - he was very present and friendly throughout the whole cruise. I then went to the Casino and used up the rest of my credit on the slots - I learned to not wait until the last day as the line to cash out was incredibly long so I played the remaining vouchers. Overall, if I had kept all the vouchers, I would have broken even. Next cruise I'll venture into table games. I'll save the accupuncture/spa story for its own post. Our final dinner at Eden was really nice - we had an 8 pm reservation which gave us time to see Rockumentary at 7 pm, which was perfect for us. It was a really well done. Even DH loved it, and his concept of of '70s music is "1670s" (Well, actually Bach, but anyway.) We had the same table and servers as before. Dining twice gave us the chance to try different items on the menu this time, which we all appreciated. Pro Tip: The Eden dinner chairs are not the most comfortable - they can cut right behind the knees. Our preferred table had booth seating on one side and chair seating on the other. The chairs do have cushions which can solve the problem, but if your legs are a certain length, you might prefer the booth. And, I realize I didn't give a full Eden review since I never covered Monday - Day 3 - so I will add that (with pictures) in another post. I can vouch for both their Meyer Lemon Tart and Azteca Chocolate Cake for desserts - both are truly outstanding. Their shrimp appetizer is some of the best shrimp I have ever had. I love my lamb tenderloin and DH loved both fish dishes. Our server did a good job of steering us to what he thought was freshest and best. After a walk around, it was time for bed and disembarkation the next morning.

The restrooms weren't the cleanest (but serviceable) when we were there (pre-pandemic), but everything else was fairly well run and kept. I don't think they were at capacity. The pool could have been larger, but met our needs for the day - it was a good relaxation day. I know I went back and forth over whether to go with Nachi or Mr. Sanchos and can't remember why I chose Nachi over Mr. Sanchos.

There are two or three different areas to the gardens - the first is a cluster of different themes along a circular walk - an orchid trail, a colour garden, a children's garden, and they also have a typical early colonial Caymanian home and grounds. I think there are a few more areas on the loop, but we didn't get there because we felt pressured for time. This was not the best time to see the orchid trail (a boardwalk circle through some forest), but it was interesting and would be gorgeous when they are in full bloom. The second is a circular nature walk through woods/forest, and the third is a spur off that walk to an Iguana area. We were lucky that Jonny, their chief Iguana, was hanging out near the entrance to the welcome center! (Pictures later.) So, a nature or plant lover could easily spend an hour to two hours there without a problem. There is no food for sale (that I noticed), but if you bring some food there are tables on a patio to sit and enjoy it. They may sell food on occasion. The gift shop is small, but has some decent stuff. The Gardens pairs well with Pedro St. James - they have a really good set-up. It's basically their birthplace of Caymanian identity so it is well preserved and has a good interpretive center. Guides can take you through the house (small, but with interesting history) or you can wander on your own. The grounds are on the sea so there is plenty of opportunity to walk around and explore the area. With private transportation, it could easily be a full port day for a nature/history buff. Grand Cayman would do well to beef up tourist transport to the East End (this area) - it would be ideal of a hop-on/hop-off kind of tour as there are a couple of other stops that could be interesting for 15-20 minutes for views.

We stayed at Nachi Cocum or last trip in Cozumel and just weren't feeling it this trip - we wanted a ship's day so took it. Mr. Sancho's is one we have looked at many times, too. I love those small clubs - they are so relaxing and beautiful! With 9 ships in port, Cozumel just screamed "stay on board!" to us! Rooftop Grill is covered - you are definitely outside but I don't think you would get direct sun anywhere you would sit - and particularly not in the fall/winter season since the sun sets so early. It's a lovely setting. I think most of the food is probably good to great - just don't get the burgers - they could have been more interesting than they were. I think we would stay at Riverside again - the breakfast restaurant was great and the area really is cute. I used to live in Fort Lauderdale in the late '80s, so much has changed for the better and I like seeing that. In the future, we would probably plan on a 2-3 night stay before a cruise. We have friends there whom we often cruise with so we don't think about seeing FLL itself, but there really is a lot to do!

I can't get to my photos easily right now, and bad internet plus the pursuit of the perfect being the enemy of the good kept me from posting most of the remainder of the cruise. Anyway, let me pick up the story and I'll drop in photos later. Day 6 - George Town, Grand Cayman Those who have seen my posts know my gripes about the upper age limit of 70 for X's QE II Botanic Garden and Pedro St. James tour. I'm 57 - my husband is 71. We traipsed all over France in Spring, all over the Grand Canyon the previous year, up Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and on this cruise, all over Chacchoben Mayan ruins. But nope, excursion provider was unyielding on age limit due to insurance issues. So, we booked the same excursion through shoreexcursiongroup.com. I think they use the same provider as Viator - CayTours. Price was the same as X, which surprised me. For the TL;DR: the booking process was straightforward and reliable, the provider good with communication, and the sites worth the visit. The tour itself fell short of expectations. For the details: We had no trouble getting on the first tender calls - we were #2 and they called 1-5. (We showed up at ticket distribution about 30 minutes early and thy started handing out tickets about 15 minutes early, so I was please at how quickly everything went.) We were to anchor at 10 and tendering was to begin at 10:30. Well, we were on our tender at 10:15!! Plenty of time for the 11:00 am excursion. As soon as we got on the tender, CayTours was calling us to see where we were. Uhm, 11 was the meet-up time! So, as soon as we got to George Town, I called them - they told us where they were and to meet them a few minutes before 11, which we did. I somehow threw away all my confirmation print-outs, which they required, but they let me email them my ticket pdf. So far, so good. Then they gave instructions to the driver. He was quite peeved - he was told to take a group of five to 7 mile beach - the opposite direction we were headed. So he did, which chopped 30 minutes off of our time. And, oy, were they annoying! So, I chalked it up to the bonus of "getting to see more of the island." Then, on the way to QE II and Pedro St. James, the driver asked when we needed to be back - turns out some had to be back for last tender at 3 pm (another ship), so our excursion was cut short. It was time for 11 am to 3 pm. Hmm. Not happy. Drive tried to make the best of it. We toured QE II on our own for 45 minutes. Would have had a good 1:15 if the original schedule had been kept and could have used it, but OK - we still saw some neat things and gardens weren't at their best due to time of year (though still interesting and lovely). Then we got to Pedro St. James - bonus was our tour guide was a descendent of an owner. Sad was that we did not have enough time for the full tour and he complained mightily about it. We did get to see most of the place, though - just very rushed and no time to walk around a little on our own, which we were supposed to have. Then, we got back to the pier at 2:15, instead of our original 3 pm time and with 30 minutes lopped off due to the beach drop-off detour. In the end, the tour, for which we paid $100 each, was basically transportation to the two locations and entrance fees, with timing lopped off due to competing schedules and the company throwing in a beach detour at the last minute. Oh, and our Pedro St. James Tour guide was 78. Guess he wasn't too old for his job!! Honestly, next time, I would look into hiring a drive to take us to those locations on our schedule, even if it cost more. It would be worth it compared to the limitations we've faced through X and CayTours. In Better News - - Our friends took X's Stingray City and lunch tour and LOVED it. They thought it was one of the highlights of their lives - lunch not so much, but the stingrays. After we got back, we cleaned up and grabbed a quick burger, though Ocean View was actually still open with a fair amount of food left available. We then had our next acupuncture session and got ready for dinner. Tonight's dining was in Tuscan. Service was excellent - way better than it was in Normandie, and food was great. We had differing opinions on the Carbonara, but I saw what they did and it wasn't a problem for me - I just wouldn't have chosen the particular pasta they used. The non-carbonara people thought their meals were very, very good - lived up to X's reputation. At the end of dinner, though, we decided to try for Eden again for our final night. The app had nothing available but the maitre'd got us in at 8 - perfect since we wanted to Rockumentary on our last night, too. We split for tonight's entertainment - our friends went to Caravan in the Club, and we went to Charity Lockhart's second concert in the Theater, singing hits from other divas. Again, she was fantastic, and I love how she made each song her own instead of copying their styles. Our fiends loved Caravan. We really wanted to see it, but missed the first night's opportunity (should have gone) and just couldn't make it work with dinner and Charity tonight. It's a good thing when X offers more quality entertainment than you can do - a far cry from their previous reputation of mediocre entertainment! We were bushed and went to back to the room and to bed. Friday would be our last day and we really wanted to enjoy it while minimizing the trauma of packing. In fact, I had already folded and prepped most of my clothing so I just had to throw the packing cubes into the suitcase. Nothing is more mournful than packing up one's stateroom after a fantastic cruise so we tried to minimize the task as much as possible. Next up: Cruise stories "below decks," how to beat pirates, Rockumentary, and Eden II!

I am so glad! I did keep an eye out for them but didn't see them again. The internet was really bad on one day, and we were really busy on another day so I haven't been keeping up as I wanted to. I hope your parents have wonderful memories to treasure! Thank you for your kindness, too. We didn't show up at any of the gatherings that we heard about but did keep our eyes out. I hope you had a great cruise. Just test this morning, and five days out - still negative and no symptoms so I think we survived!

Ooops - I need to go back and check what I wrote! We booked concierge class. I'll have some thoughts on whether we would do that again. Blu looks truly beautiful on the Apex!!