BuckeyeMark

42 minutes ago, snohorules said:

 

I'm planning on asking for a kettle as well, but past CC searches give mixed signals on whether kettles are available on North America cruises. I found some people having success, and others being told there aren't any.

I love hearing "there are no kettles." You KNOW there are coffee makers/kettles/Keurigs in the suites. These beasts do exist. And I know a guy who once liberally tipped his cabin steward to find and capture such a beast out in the wilds and guess what? A KETTLE APPEARED IN HIS ROOM!🤣

2 minutes ago, StopTheWorld said:

I’m sure you can ask for a kettle for your cabin. They have them onboard for the UK departures where kettles and tea/coffee are automatically placed in every cabin. 

You are correct.  However, if you say anything about kettles here on CC you end up in a roaring debate about them because many are sure that they are a conflagration just waiting to happen. They're dangerous. They burn ships down (apparently every day). Asking for one shows you don't know anything about ship's wiring and the danger you are inflicting upon everyone.

They also have them on every UK departure and a lot of Far East trips ... (rolls eyes).

I can get hot water and my handy travel grinder will make short work of what I need for my AeroPress. There will be good coffee on this cruise! 🙂

4 hours ago, bundtkate said:

I haven't tried Celebrity yet, but the only cruise line I've found to make acceptable coffee outside the suite areas is MSC and even then it depends on who makes it. Haven coffee on NCL was acceptable, but their cappuccinos were far too hot and had more milk that I'd choose. Even Viking River's coffee was mid at best. I've also never seen a proper tamp on a cruise ship. They have those tampers attached to the machine which is just wrong. You can't possibly tamp with adequate pressure if you're pushing up onto a fixed place tamper. You gotta put it on the counter and put your shoulder into it a bit. But, hey, Celebrity may well be the one that breaks the mold. As a fellow snob going on Apex next year, I'll be keenly interested in your thoughts if you try it out.
 

At home, I have a Breville Barista Express which is actually doing me dirty right now and hasn't pulled a decent shot in a few weeks, but we're working on getting our groove back. I also worked as a barista at an indie coffee shop in the midwest throughout college and law school so after 7 years of free espressos made from beans roasted on site that day, there's simply no hope for me on a cruise. I've found I do best either bringing along an Aeropress with some pre-ground (desperate times ...) vacuum sealed beans or embracing my inner basic millennial and drinking lattes that taste less like coffee and more like dessert.

Absolutely tremendous post ... and you are so right about tamping!
Try a Timemore Chestnut C3 the next time you travel. It fits IN the AeroPress and does a fine job. Fresh ground coffee beans and an AP is the ticket!

Really helpful information. Thanks everyone.  I will report back with the results of my "research" after our cruise in May.

29 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I was think of getting an Aeropress for travel , but I decided to give coffee for tea 🤣

way easier for traveling 

Oh no - now you'll have the tea nerds on here talking about how they travel only with fresh tea leaves, what the best immersion brewer is, how to purify the water and more! LOL

This information is tremendously helpful. Thank you so much. If I didn't know this I might choose to sleep in and get up around 7:45 and "go into town" instead of being on deck early to SEE WHAT WE CAME TO SEE: NORWAY!

The information here is exactly what I'm looking for. Props for "travel french press" and "La Marzocco" (envy!). 

We haven't sailed Celebrity in years but this is exactly what I feared. So many cruise ships have fabulous equipment and absolutely untrained baristas. I've seen steam wands with so much dried and crusty milk on them I wonder if they'd ever been cleaned. I've seen espresso shots "pulled" that ran in under five seconds.
Sigh. Guess we'll be packing the trusty AeroPress...

12 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

We did 9 days post cruise on our own and it was very easy and much less expensive.  We had several favorite things we did/visited.  One of my faves was white water rafting around Denali.

Please post details on how you managed the DIY - did you use a guide, book your own hotels (which one), who you used to go rafting, etc. This sounds very hopeful and we'd like to try do the same thing. Any and all info on that would be much appreciated!

We don't want to miss these fabulous fjords but the cruise line doesn't necessarily tell you when they are entering the fjord. So I'm looking for information here. If we are in Flam at 8 AM when will the ship start the fjord? If we are in Geiranger at 8 AM when will the ship enter the fjord? Are there notable sights not to miss - like the Seven Sisters waterfall and how about how far are these into the fjord?

Kinda worried this thread could get sideways ... not meaning to offend anyone who loves drinking day-old diner coffee that is reheated in a rusty microwave with a dash of stagnant pond water added for flavor (hey, if you like it, enjoy it! no judgment!) but I'm looking for folks who enjoy a pour-over, a V60, an Americano, an AeroPress and especially people who grind beans fresh before they make a coffee (Coffee Nerds Unite!) ... how's the coffee on the Apex? 
If they can make good coffee then I don't have to schlep a lot of gear on my cruise. Who's had good coffee on the Apex and how do you normally make coffee at home? Please: no comments or judgment on us coffee geeks. Let's keep it centered, folks: coffee nerds, how's the coffee on the Apex?

How important is it to get the time exactly right? Our group is stopping by Stonehenge on the way down and is scheduled to be at the port at 1:30. So we put 1:30 for wellness check, right? What if we're late? I figure that it won't be a big deal but need a more definitive answer.  What should we put as our wellness check in time if we are sked to be at the port at 1:30?

The thread below covers this question but am interested in anyone who has gone out of Southampton recently to see if we can still do the wellness check on the app before we arrive at the port or if there is a "real" appointment?
 

Looking for May-June 2026 Mediterranean. So ... May June 2024?

53 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

On boarding day?  Wouldn't a sea day be easier.

Everyone is trying to get settled in and luggage is filling the hallways.

Just a thought.

We have sea day activities for our group too... really important to spend a few minutes (it's a short hunt) getting everyone up and around the ship, finding the key venues, etc. We make sure it doesn't interfere w/anything.

I want to put together a photo scavenger hunt for my group for the first day onboard. That gets everyone out and about and learning the ship. What have you seen on the Apex that would make a good "go find and take a pic of __________" without it being impossibly difficult? Looking for iconic images as well as important places to find on the ship. Your suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Do it!  It's amazing, even if you don't hike out onto the rocks.

Who's got the best waffle in Bruge?

You'd better book as soon as you possibly can - the train sells out and sells out quick. Buying tix on the day you arrive probably will not be a possibility.  The cruise lines vacuum up huge amounts of tickets and then others jump in and buy too.  I doubt there will be tickets available when you walk off the ship.

5 hours ago, lynncarol said:

Here is what my husband and I did in Kristiansand in 2016.  Not sure where the ship docks anymore, but back then it was only a short walk to the Odderoya Peninsula. This former military area  has been converted into a large park. There are still defensive armaments there that overlook the sea, some dating to the 1800s.  Guns, ramparts, abandoned buildings etc. and when we were there in September, wild blackberry and blueberries lined the trails.  At the top of the park are the ruins of an old fort with a spectacular view,  a perfect spot for a picnic. I'd definitely check when the park closes: that was not an issue as we docked there in early morning.

Alternatively, you could walk to Ravnedalen Park, which is supposed to be lovely.  We had intended to do that after the Peninsula, but it was a long walk to get there and though we eventually saw the entrance in the distance, our energy was spent and we headed back to the ship.   

Wonderful.  Thank you so very much!

Here you go ...

Kristiansand is not a port with a ton of great options. The Sedestal railway is the best thing there ... and today Celebrity canceled it (don't know why).  Now everything else is sold out, although none of that looked really amazing (Mineral Park, historic walk downtown, etc).

What have you done in Kristiansand that was good, or maybe something outside of Ksand that is worth going to see? Got a tour guide to recommend?  I need some help for my day in Ksand.  We'll be there from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Thanks.

Wanting to see what we see in the TV shows and movies. Thames House, etc.  Who has done one with a quality guide?

When you dock at Zeebrugge you cannot walk off the ship and grab a cab, shuttle, etc. They shuttle you out of the port to a kind of terminal where taxis etc are waiting, correct?
So if I am on an official Celebrity tour will I be picked up at the bottom of the gangway or do I shuttle to the "terminal" like everyone else and the tour forms up there?

I found that article too, and here it is for those who don't want to have hunt it up:

https://www.cruisehive.com/celebrity-cruises-changing-multiple-itineraries-for-one-ship/124295

Interestingly I can't find anything that says Norway passed/ratified/changed a law in the past week or so that affects cruise ship speeds, AND Celebrity has modified ports in the Caribbean that the Apex will visit. Hmmm.... why does a change in Norwegian law mean the Apex has to make changes in the Caribbean too?  Hmm....

Was told that it was Norwegian law that caused it ... anybody got any news/info?

Celebrity announced today they are skipping Nordfjordeid on May 17 (Constitution Day) and instead will stop at Brugges instead.  The itinerary was Southampton, Sea Day, Nordfjordeid.  Now it's S-hampton, Bruges, Sea Day.  

Not real happy about it.  It happens (I know) but they waited till a couple of days after final payment to jerk one of Norway's ports out from under us.  GRRRR