micmacmissy

Since we’re taking a peek at the bathroom, I’ll give you my impression of the bath products they supply…shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion. Yuck! I thought they were crappy and brought my own from home. They smelled good enough but the shampoo/conditioner were gross and the lotion felt yucky. My two cents, but you’re here for my two cents, right? 😉 The shower was really good but dang if it wasn’t confusing to operate. It had a rain head, body sprays, and a handheld - but I never figured out how to use more than one mode at a time. At home I do car wash showers - body sprays and overhead all at once, but that didn’t seem possible here. First world problem as the shower was really nice overall. The toilet was in it’s own little area which was cozy. In the Retreat they give you big long towels, which were great. We also got robes and slippers which we didn’t touch. Bathroom was a 10 out of 10! (Okay, a 9.5 out of 10 because of those crummy bath products.)

We made an immediate path to our stateroom to drop our stuff. We were deck 10 forward, which was a great location (near the gym, Luminae, and the retreat - our three main hangs!) Our butler/personal Retreat host, Godfrey, met us, as did our stateroom attendant. Godfrey gave us a rundown of all the things (so many things!) we needed to know/remember. I retained maybe 10% of it. I did immediately let him know that we booked a 3-night specialty dining package, but were only able to book one dinner online (Fine Cut). I asked him to book us Eden and Rooftop Grill. He said there was a waitlist for Eden, but he’d do his best. Sky Suites are delightful, comfortable, and well designed. So much storage - really perfect for 2 people for a week.

Day One: Embarkation So after our morning jaunt and a quick trip to the gym, we packed up and took an Uber to the port around 10:45am. On the Celebrity app, it gave us an arrival window of 11:30-12:00, but I figured being in the Retreat we’d probably be able to roll in whenever we wanted, providing we weren’t too early. As usual, Port Everglades was a zoo, but an organized one. Our Uber dropped us off and we gave our bags to the curbside porter (Pro tip: don’t forget your $5s and $10s for tipping, or else you’ll have the give the guy a $20 for two suitcases…no worries, it’s vacation…) There is a separate entrance for Retreat passengers and we were escorted all the way through. It was SO nice! Someone walked us in, put us on an elevator, handed us off to a check in person. We had already checked in on the app so there wasn’t much to do - show our negative covid tests and we were good to go. We were deposited in the Retreat guest waiting area, which had nice sofas and chairs set up, along with really nice refreshments and drinks. Hubby went off to the bathroom, and a grabbed a croissant and some tea and sat down to wait. Immediately a Celebrity person came over and was like, what are you waiting for? You can get on the ship. I mean, we were there all of 2 minutes. I told her I was going to finish my croissant and not rush this delightful boarding process, LOL. Seriously great service here - we were impressed! I will say that the last time we cruised, there were no apps or automated check in. The streamlined process was really nice! (But later on in the cruise, it does prevent you from totally unplugging because you do need your phone to access some things.) Still, on a scale of 1 to 10, this embarkation was a 20!

I don’t believe I am allowed to drop a link…but if you google “cruise travel agent compete” it should pop up.

After some ridiculously delicious guacamole, a few cocktails, and dinner, we hit the lobby bar. Cocktails were definitely not as good there, but it was a good way to end the evening. Off to bed we went! The next morning we decided to take a walk and we walked across the street to the Fort Lauderdale airport greenway - it’s about a 2 mile loop that’s really pretty, and we were able to stretch our legs. Lots of greenery along the way…after that, we hit up the gym at Le Meridien. It was small, but serviceable.

We got checked in and we were starving! We headed to Toro, which is attached to the hotel. It’s a Latin restaurant with a Tequila library (whatever that is). Toro was really nice and the food was outstanding, as were the cocktails. Check them out at www.torodaniabeach.com.

Le Meridien is not in a walkable area, but it’s close to the airport and to Port Everglades ($25, ten minute cab ride). It’s a pretty new hotel with a nice lobby bar and comfortable rooms.

Day Zero We departed Baltimore on a direct flight to FLL. Husband forgot to check us in so we were in middle seats in the back of a Southwest plane…which was then delayed. Joy. (This is why you fly in a day early, friends!) Since we are dealing with spring break week, all of our usual favorite hotels were booked. (Embassy Suites, Hyatt Place). We also avoided the oceanfront resorts, as the Tortuga music festival was going on, and we knew the traffic up and down that drag would be a nightmare. The Ritz also was booking at $850/night so we tried a new option…Le Meridien in Dania Beach.

Hi everyone, We are just off Apex, our first cruise since 2017. Previous cruises include Celebrity (Mercury, Millenium, Silhouette) and Royal Caribbean (Independence and Allure). This was the first time cruising as a couple without anyone else…and after a couple of rough years, we felt we were entitled to some pampering so we booked a Sky Suite in the Retreat. We booked pretty last minute (2 months out) and got a great deal by using a website where you can input the cruise you want, and travel agents compete with one another and offer you bids on your cruise. This has worked really well for us in the past and we once again scored a good price and $1,600 OBC. I’ll break down the cruise day by day with as much detail as I can remember. Here we go!

Waiting at the airport with time to kill. Just finished up an incredible week on Apex. Full photo review will follow…but until then, amy questions? Highlights: Luminae Retreat Service Spa Lowlights (i’m being picky here, there really is little to find fault with): Some seriously entitled/rude fellow passengers Weird ship layout Casino didn’t like me Can’t get a dinner reservation at Eden