Nice, balanced review. We got off the Apex March 30th. We were in a Sky Suite, so not quite comparing "apples to apples", but we found the staff throughout the ship to be friendly, accommodating, and helpful. Food we found to be better on Celebrity than RCCL, where we previously cruised the most. We also had the premium drink package, and probably didn't quite get our "money's worth" from it, but like you we like not thinking about account balances while we're on a cruise.
I would highly encourage you to not miss the last two shows of the cruise. They were SPECTACULAR (this from a guy who never wanted to go to the shows).
Enjoy your last days on board!!