Boatharbour

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).

No worries,I didn’t think you were saying that. I guess until they “update the update to the update” it is the current version for us though. I’ve just looked at the FAQ’s on the Australian website and some of the answers are at odds with the new Australian contract conditions. The FAQ’s state two bottles of wine per person and there is an all day charge for room service. The contract states differently, so which document rules?

It is the current version for Australian passengers so I doubt it’s out of date. However parts of the email look like a bad cut and paste job with whole paragraphs repeated twice. Plus the update to the update. I’m not sure how things will work once we’re on board with the rules for passengers from one country being different to passengers from other countries. It also feels like some of the new rules have been introduced in response to issues raised on CC in recent months. For example pricing glitches not being honoured.

We received two emails from Celebrity this week with the new terms and conditions of their contract. It states that you can only take two bottles per stateroom, not per passenger. The extract above is the same one we received. This is effective for all cruises departing from 21 April. The departure date, not the booking date determines the state of play although I find it interesting they can change a contract retrospectively. Must be a clause buried in the paperwork giving them the right to do so. We’re in Australia but I assume the new rules are the same for everyone. Having written that, there are other anomalies. I was under the impression (from threads on this board) that there was an all day charge for room service. Our contract states no charge for room service unless it’s after 11.00pm and before 6.00am. The second email was an update to the updated terms and conditions that stated Celebrity is not liable for IT pricing glitches backdated to December 2020!

Different story in Australia as I understand it. These Booking Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia and any claims or disputes must be resolved by alternative dispute resolution or under the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Australia. No room service charges except between 11.00pm and 6.00am. The “normal cancellation policy applies” if you cancel your select dining booking if your selected time isn’t available even if this time was confirmed at the time of booking. Huh?

Thank you Jim for your advice. The zero balance was right down at the bottom of my iPad screen. The system still wanted my credit card details even for a zero charge - all the uncompleted fields were in red and I couldn’t finalise. Good news is that I have the dining bookings secured now.

Thank you for your reply. I applied the credit to the “total amount due”. There isn’t any mention of gratuities. Fair enough if it’s for the gratuities but if so, they haven’t spelt it out. I’m reluctant to go ahead until I know why they want my credit card details almost a year out. Surely it’s not a hold on the card until we make final payment for the cruise? Hoping someone knows on this board, but if not I’ll contact Celebrity.