Boatharbour

There are a few other recent threads about this that I read before our July cruise on the Apex. I’m not celiac but have a wheat allergy. The buffet worked well for me as everything was labelled so I knew what was GF. There was plenty of variety. There is a GF corner for desserts at lunch and dinner and bread/ pastries in the morning with separate toaster. The first day I had the maître d walk me around and explain the labelling. Dining room options were limited unless you preordered which I didn’t, I did have a superb meal at Eden though. Prior to going on the cruise I submitted a special needs form. Every time we went to dinner it was clear that the wait staff knew about my allergy without me mentioning it,

We have sailed Celebrity four times usually September-November in the northern hemisphere and once in March in the southern hemisphere. Very few children. In mid July we boarded the Apex in Rotterdam and found there were a lot of children on board which was to be expected at this time of the year. However at no stage did we find them disruptive except for one sea day when the kids club decided to have a scavenger hunt around the ship. We didn’t use the pool deck however. We did note that overall the demographic was much younger and more diverse than all of our previous cruises- more representative of the general population. What did annoy us was the constant piped music everywhere, often inappropriate for the time of day. There was nowhere to sit quietly to read, chat or just watch the world go by unless we sat on our verandah.

We got off the Apex last week with an all included classic package. The only time we had to pay extra was at the martini bar. I had a cocktail each day and my husband had various spirits, wines and martini’s. The only anomaly was that when I ordered a sparkling water I was charged an extra $4.50 which doesn’t make sense when I could have had a cocktail for “free”. I realise that sparkling water is part of the premium package, but don’t understand why.

It depends on where you’re sitting though. We had a table for two last week next to the exterior windows and couldn’t hear any noise thing from the central atrium.

Pretty much all of the above is what we experienced on the Apex two weeks ago from the boarding school potato scoops to the limited menus. Our first night in Cosmopolitan was such a let down we cancelled all of our bookings there. The menu was uninspiring and extremely limited in choices for someone who is GF. The tables seemed even closer together than I remembered. I don’t know why Celebrity can’t remove some tables as the restaurant was never full anyway. I like meeting people but I don’t want to feel like I have to make conversation with strangers at every meal. Tuscan was the worst with no GF options available on the specialty menu so it was back to the classic menu which was the same as the Cosmopolitan - chicken or steak. The vegetables at Tuscan were so undercooked they were difficult to cut. I quietly mentioned this to the waiter when he noticed I hadn’t eaten them. Remember he asked, I didn’t make a fuss. This led to an over the top response where the waiter brought the maitre d over to investigate. Ten minutes later the maître d and waiter reappeared with an anxious looking chef sandwiched between them wanting to discuss my meal again. It was very uncomfortable for us seeing this man being publicly humiliated. The atmosphere in that restaurant was “off” and I don’t mean the decor. We’re not regular buffet diners of an evening but after canceling most of our MDR bookings we found the buffet had plenty of variety and we could actually find something we wanted to eat. This mixed in with a couple of specialty restaurant bookings became our new routine during this cruise. So different to our pre covid cruises.

There was definitely salmon on the menu. Tilapia was spotted at the buffet at least once but they often had barramundi too at the grill. Battered fish was featured several times. Shrimp cocktail wasfour small prawns in a heavy handed tomato sauce. The seafood broth entree in Normandie had had perhaps 6-8 very small pieces of seafood in it floating in a brown watery soup with two mussels.

We were on the Apex prior to this cruise and were not impressed with any of the MDR menus. Choices were reduced and the quality was definitely poorer than our previous cruise just prior to the pandemic. You won’t go hungry, but the meals are repetitive and uninspiring. Surprisingly after all I’d read on CC, the buffet at the Oceanview was good. It was busy most nights with a wide range of options. We ended up cancelling some of our pre-booked MDR dinners and either ate at the buffet or paid for specialty dining. Eden was superb and we enjoyed a nice evening at Fine Cut.

We left Apex this morning. When we boarded 12 days ago (at 11.30) I did see a worker using a trolley to help some passengers. Can’t say for sure if he worked for the port or had accompanied a transfer. Bag drop off was outside the terminal, a few steps from the curb. There were two lines - those whose bags were tagged and those that weren’t. Passenger vehicles were directed to an adjacent car park to unload.

I must admit I was initially confused. At first I thought just about everything in the OV was GF until I saw the pasta was also “marked” as GF. My mistake. When I asked the food and beverage manager for clarification he explained that four categories of allergies / intolerances appear on every food label. A second symbol then appears above the relevant word. If you look at the photo from my previous posts, you can see a grain symbol above the word gluten free. That means it’s gluten free, but not lactose free, sugar free etc.

That doesn’t apply to the gelato though. Only the GF option on the sign has a symbol above it.

I haven’t tried the gelato but the ice cream is good. Overall I’ve been happy with my GF experience on board. Having said that it was a bit disappointing to come back on board this afternoon and find a large range of cakes and sweets available in the OV for afternoon snacking, but only cups of orange jelly in the GF corner.

Gelato selection on the Apex at the Oceanview is labelled gluten free.

i checked my order confirmation emails for the MDR’s and the bookings were made on 27 December 2022 for 19 July 2023 sailing.

We made all our dinner reservations online several months ago. Each night on board we have been taken to our table as soon as we checked in with the maitre d. We dine around 7-7.30. I think the problem the other night may have been with the drop ins. We saw two incidents where guests behaved badly because they were told to come back later (an hour later). The maître d was polite but held firm to her credit.

Everything that was in the ice cream / gelato cabinet in OV yesterday was GF. The ice cream is good btw. The desserts have been pretty good too. The first few days there was more variety, yesterday only two mousse type options. I don’t like the “danish “ options though for breakfast. This might only apply to those with Gluten intolerances ( not celiacs), but European wheat is different to that in the US and Australia. It’s soft wheat which contains less gluten. I have been able to eat some wheat products without any symptoms ( we’re on a Baltic cruise). Not suggesting anyone tries it though as it was an accidental ingestion to begin with. We spent four weeks travelling in Europe before boarding and it was often a struggle to find or work out GF options. The fall back was a salad which happened to often unless you’re a rabbit! It has been a relief to board Apex and have so many options available.

Currently on the Apex and very happy with the GF options after four weeks of land travel where it was often difficult to find. The OV has been great for breakfast and some dinners. Everything is clearly labelled and there is also a gluten free area as well. I was assured that separate implements were being used to serve the food. Plenty of options for mains and desserts. The ice cream and gelato is also labelled GF. They don’t have GF cereal though, anticipating this I brought my own. The MDR’s have fewer options. I haven’t specifically asked ahead of time for any GF modifications. I filled out a special needs form before the cruise and found waitstaff were aware when we arrived for our bookings. Our nicest meal was at Eden. Superb food, all GF.

On Apex now and the step up is about 3-4 inches. It could be a problem if you are using a walking aid with wheels.

We’re in a sunset verandah on Apex at the moment ( deck 9). One sun lounge, two chairs and a table. You could fit a second lounge in easily. The roof above us covers maybe 40% of the verandah. Today we’ve had a lot of sun on it most of the day, other days not as much. It really depends on which direction you’re sailing. Love the big balcony and how quiet the room is. The room next to us is adjacent to a suite. Their verandah looks the same size as ours.

We’re on Apex at the moment and your wait for a seat could be a long one. Tonight we witnessed long lines at Cyprus (with some poor behaviour directed at the maître’d) and Cosmopolitan from 7.45 onwards. We had pre-booked all our dining times before the cruise so our table was waiting for us. As an aside, we walked though the buffet later and found plenty of options and a much calmer atmosphere than we saw in the restaurants below.

The precruise packages are overpriced. We booked our own hotel in Tokyo and used Tours by Locals and Viator for excursions, Check your roll call too. Ours was a very active one and we were able to arrange transfers to the ship with other passengers. Fabulous cruise.

I tried to do this for our upcoming Baltic cruise and was told that it wasn’t possible unless I cancelled the booking altogether and then rebooked losing the non refundable deposit. Booking was made in Australia.

We made final payment this month for our July cruise. We haven’t had any price drops but I tried to upgrade this week from a SV to a sunset sky suite. The cost of the upgrade was going to be over A$11000! The Celebrity rep explained that the high cost was due to penalties imposed for changing our booking after final payment. We’ll try our luck with a move up bid instead which starts at A$1200 pp but will be more than happy in the SV if that doesn’t work out.

In Australia it can be difficult to obtain a new credit card once you have retired. No matter your level of income or how much you intend to use it.

Ken, you should have stayed in Australia for a few more days! Parts of the of the country witnessed a spectacular Aurora Australis this morning. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-24/strong-naked-eye-aurora-lights-up-tasmanian-skies/102258806?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web Thank you for sharing your journey with us all.

The “park on the hill” is the entrance to The Royal Botanic Gardens - which has a pathway that meanders around the harbour foreshore. If anyone plans to visit in the summer months try to get tickets for the open air cinema or the opera which are both held on a floating pontoon in the gardens with the bridge and Opera House as a back drop. Spectacular. Looks like you came across some of our magpies and a bin chicken (Ibis).