niksmom630

Got ourselves a rainbow ☺️

Evening stroll ….. 

4 hours ago, depplep said:

You don't get a deck chair with the cabana do you? I want full sun all day and the hubby doesn't. 🙁 Thank you for posting the cabana menu also.

No deck chair in the cabana. Just sectional sofas…. But there are plenty of them literally right behind the cabanas 

2 hours ago, Ciaranaman said:

They really need to think about adding some kind of retractable awning for the cabana areas.  Anything to block the sun.  That would be a deal breaker for me.

~Bernadette

agreed. They could definately come up with something as I was looking up. 
 

overall a great day minus the lack of shade, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It think it was just dumb luck because of how we were docked…..

Wayfinder….

tip…. Pay attention to the “ best access “ instructions… I wound up in the Medical Center on my first try attempting to debark in St. Maarten 🤦🏼‍♀️

Didn’t get off today….

found the sports deck 😆

JK, I’ll stroll over to the gym at some point and snap a few pics. It’s not a spot I typically frequent on vacation 🤪

lunch was very good….

fruit skewers arrived …

5 hours ago, depplep said:

Are the breakfast items different in the Bistro compared to the MDR's?

Pretty sure the bistro items for Elite and + are “continental” fare. I’ll check tomorrow.
 

Cosmopolitan was dining room serving breakfast. We tried it one day. I was wearing shorts and a tank top and didn’t really think I was dressed appropriately to sit down, but the hostess seating people said I was fine. Men were asked to remove their hats/ caps…. 

🥵😎 ☀️

Current situation…not a lick of shade lol

There are also 2 chairs and a table directly across from the cabana. Shaded, thankfully. 
 

7 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Hey Chris 

Enjoy your cabana day 🍹

Loving the photos

 

How long do you get the Cabana for 

Is it a 8am to 8pm set up, and can you choose the exact one you want 

 

Also I don’t see it in the App, where did you go to book it (planner) ?

 

TIA

Nancy 

 

I found it listed under the dining tab, scroll over to the right “special offers” . we called to reserve on boarding day. 
 

They are randomly assigned we were told , but guessing if you  “know people” , you might be able to make a request. 
 

ours was available starting at 9 am. We were also told the charge was $190 , not $300, because it’s a port day. Hasn’t hit our traveling companions folio yet, so I’ll update later. We have an assigned waiter for the day. Appears they will boot us out at 5 pm if the app is accurate. 
 

The numbering is a bit confusing ….

but that’s because each cabana can be split into 2. So if you have a large cabana, as we do, cabana 7 includes 8.

we expected this to be shaded,  but as you can

tell, it will really depend, since the “ceiling” over them is quite high…

FYI @depplep

Cabana info….

the food will be delivered from Luminae

Returning to St.Maarten

Edge dining area

Leaving St.Maarten….

Followed by chilled lobster, crab, shrimp and oysters, along with a caprese salad of sorts.
 

the main course, Lobster tails, branzino, beef tenderloin. all delicious despite how the photo looks 

and a veggie type side

then dessert! 😜 offta, they could use a new pastry chef……the “chocolate cigar” was good. Dark chocolate filled with a mousse. the powdered sugar puffy things were nothing but air  til you got to the center, then it was a sour jam of sorts!  2/10 only because of the chocolate cigar 

 

Day 5 and dinner recap coming up. DH decided to have some fun with me and closed the privacy shade on the balcony 🤨 needless to say there was nary a sliver of light coming through, so I slept way later than normal. 
 

the 3 Card Poker table was finally kind to me last night, but I had to check to safe this morning to  see “how kind” because I had more than my fair share of wines last evening 😵🥳😵‍💫

dinner on the Edge was very good. Not certain it was worth the price of admission, and if you’re not a shellfish/seafood lover, not sure what other options there might be. There is no menu, it is served family style. 
 

since we all eat seafood and had no allergies I assume we got the “standard”  offerings 

first up was breads. Nothing unique here, or different than the MDR options, other than the shape of the butter 😂 

apologies in advance for the photo quality, it was very dark 

Apex returned to St.Maarten  for a medical emergency 🥹

We have a poolside cabana reserved for tomorrow. 
 

Pool night photos….

2 hours ago, frteach said:

I am enjoying your review very much and the pics are bringing memories of my Apex cruise to Iceland/Ireland. Are you getting on to the "magic carpet" to eat or drink or is the weather not cooperating? It was closed for the whole Iceland cruise in 2022, too windy and cold. What's going on with the assigned dining room? We really enjoyed eating in all four different ones, and thought that the 5:15 opening was great as well. We just walked in, although I remember that the ship was just over 50% full, so that was probably the reason. Looking forward to cruising on the Apex in March/April.

we have a specialty dining experience on the Magic  carpet… dinner on the Edge. does not show in the planner , assume they sell out pre-sailing. It was around $120 per person. I have high hopes 🤞

i can’t say if this is typical in the dining rooms with “anytime” vs “select” . Perhaps some more seasoned cruisers in this class could comment if wait times are typical. My only sailing on this class was on the edge at 30% capacity. Also, I was traveling with a friend , and we also walked into any dining room at any time without issue. We are now a party of 7, at a larger table, so I can’t imagine anytime would work for us without waiting. 
 

I don’t really care for the 5:15 time, a tad too early for me 

1 hour ago, BuckeyeMark said:

May I ask what the big wood-framed square in the center of the picture is? It looks a little like a scoreboard... is it a screen? What is it?

a big square of lights…. Changes color at night 😎 located directly over head the pool bar 

noticed this in the morning today as I was preparing to get off in St. Maarten. There was a line at Bacio, so I thought I’d try and grab a bottle of water. No such luck. Coffee only. But waters could be had on deck 2 Debarkation area 

7 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

That doesn't even look like a fruit tart.  Have you tried the lemon tarts in Cafe Al Bacio?

Excellent review so far.

 Lol, the watermelon cubes were different for sure… and thanks!!!!

 no, I’m not a huge lemon fan, but I’ve had a few things from Oceanview that are good. DH likes lemon, I’ll encourage him to try one! 

40 minutes ago, mikeysed said:

Is it a full sailing do you know?

2900 I think I heard. Around 1400 crew? 
 

nice ratios 😎 .only beaten by my first Edge sailing from Rome during Covid and the restart. 1200 pax on that sailing. 

- sommeliers in the dining rooms are much appreciated. Nice having your wine glass refilled often without waiting for a bar waiter. 
 

- DH  said he hasn’t once felt like the ship was crowded. 👍 I agree wholeheartedly. 
 

- DH misses his D+ cookies on boarding day 😂 

- finally, (BUT PLEASE-no opening up smoking debates here) the non smoking casino is AWESOME! 👍👍👍👍

now, that said, I am not a smoker,  but DH is. Celebrity does a much better job of making their outdoor smoking venues “comfortable”  I have never seen the Celebrity areas overcrowded, they are well ventilated, and completely avoidable (at least on this class of ship). The areas on Oasis class are crawling with people, hard to avoid, and in my opinion make the casino an attractive smoking option… again, these are just my observations 🤷🏼‍♀️

day 3/4 thoughts & observations….

- desserts have been disappointing in the dining room. Maybe the speciality or suite/retreat options are better. Oceanview has had a few decent ones. Last night there was a molten chocolate cake, but it was served cold. Not “molten” 😂 

-this fruit tart was just horrible…. One bite and done…👎

. I am hoping for better options this evening when we have dinner on the Edge/Magic Carpet. Thursday we have La Petite Chef. 
 

- there is a real outlet in the bathroom!!!! 👍

- the loungers in the Solarium are amazingly comfortable. And no signing out towels!!!! 👍

- it took me two days to figure out which toilets in the bathroom were occupied vs. open…. Why not just have the red and green indicators like RCI has???? I eventually figured it out that the round lock is a circle sliced in half….. circle sliced in half horizontally, locked, sliced in half vertically, open….👎 

- love the touchless pads to open the restroom doors. No more wrangling the door with one hand , propping it open with your foot, and testing your basketball skills to dispose of your paper towel (A.k.a most RCI ship bathrooms) The cloth towels are also a nice touch 👍👍

- our stateroom temperature is perfectly regulated. We like it cold and we’ve set it at 68 and it holds. 👍 

- dear SIL and I figured out we could control the lights, TV, and shades remotely from our phone from other spots onboard while our hubbies were in the cabin resting or watching TV. Hysterical giggling ensued when we realized we could really mess with them 😜😂😭

- the app has been accurate and works great onboard, but I still like the paper dailies. Yes, I know you can “request” them on Royal, but it’s nice to not have to. 👍 
 

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