Apex Live — December 4, 2021

[What A Market]

First drink. Retreat bar. Campari and soda. 

[What A Market]

Kwokpot 

May be a new Kimpton (and that’s what I thought), but the hotel is an older property. Probably 50s/60s. Two story garden style. Pretty cool, but the late night party people were really loud. I would have picked something else if I had known the style of building. 

[mac_tlc]

5 hours ago, Guindalf said:

We'll be on this same ship and itinerary on January 15th, so following along. We'll be in a Sky Suite, so the Retreat is of interest!

 

 

We are in a Sky Suite on 1/29, with the same itinerary. 
 

mac_tlc

[danceswithphones]

28 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Goodland

We stay at Lago Mar. Older building but very nice and right on the beach. We've made a couple of trips from Dallas just to spend a few days there during the time the ships weren't sailing. 

[kwokpot]

48 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

We stay at Lago Mar. Older building but very nice and right on the beach. We've made a couple of trips from Dallas just to spend a few days there during the time the ships weren't sailing. 

We're awaiting confirmation from a third party Casino Hosting company on a last minute comped Sky Suite on the 12/11 Apex sailing. I made fully refundable and/or future flight credit air reservations and already changed flights 4 times (that's what happens when there's no penalties to change flights). Currently getting into Florida middle of the afternoon so I'm using other points and staying by the airport/cruiseport.  Never been in Retreat Class so I'm hoping we're approved. 

[danceswithphones]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Never been in Retreat Class so I'm hoping we're approved. 

Good luck! I hope you get onboard. Keep us advised. 

 

[What A Market]

Some stunning features and awesome amenities on the Apex. There’s a full 25 meter pool!  Got in some laps. Amazing for a ship. Also floating jacuzzis over the pool. Wow!

[What A Market]

Christmas decorations up around the ship. Mostly (or entirely lit decorative trees — large and small).  At least I’m assuming they are Christmas decorations and not up year round???

[Ken the cruiser]

If you’re looking for a place to sit in the main theater where you won’t be sitting in a crowd but have a great view, just think of where Statler and Waldorf would sit. 😎

[What A Market]

Ok, I have to admit to needing to look up that reference to Statler and Waldorf. Take me to those seats please!

 

Sunset from balcony looking back at Fort Lauderdale.  Magic Carpet in the foreground.  And yes, the dreaded balcony overhang and struts making themselves known.

[micruiser2002]

If you have a chance could you please see what is included in the Cabana rentals by the pool?  I found a post from a couple of years ago about the Edge cabanas and it said they provided a full bottle of wine, etc.  TY

[TeaBag]

Just watched you sail.  Beautiful ship.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, What A Market said:

Ok, I have to admit to needing to look up that reference to Statler and Waldorf. Take me to those seats please!

 

Sunset from balcony looking back at Fort Lauderdale.  Magic Carpet in the foreground.  And yes, the dreaded balcony overhang and struts making themselves known.

Do you remember those two old farts from the muppets up in the balcony? Picture yourself on the stage, then look up to either your far left or right. 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[mahdnc]

Have a nice cruise @What A Market

[Mr. Boston]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If you’re looking for a place to sit in the main theater where you won’t be sitting in a crowd but have a great view, just think of where Statler and Waldorf would sit. 😎

Statler and Waldorf are my friend Stephen and I’s retirement role models. We’ve been practicing cranky old men for a while now.

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for the post.   I'm really looking forward to following.  I need a daily fix of life at sea.

 

[What A Market]

Jim_Iain

Happy to oblige. You are one of the people I know that makes a real effort to post live. You, along with the others that make the effort to post live, have been a Godsend these last many Covid months. I aspire, I aspire….

[What A Market]

First onboard dinner this evening at Luminae. DW has Coeliac so eating gluten free is an absolute must. The staff from top to bottom did an amazing job taking care and of her. Truly impressed. 
 

Here’s some photos of a couple of my choices: the escargot (a must for me wherever I can get it) and the duck breast. Both excellent. The escargot in particular. Accompanied with some crusty baguette. I also had the tomato bisque. (No photo.) Probably the top dish of the evening. 

[Guindalf]

I can see the camera on my iPhone 13 Pro Max will be getting a workout!

[TPCRUISER2]

WHATAMARKET: Thanks for the live review!

[countess5]

Pic of a cabana on Edge, we felt they were not in a good position. You couldn’t see the pool and if it is a hot day no air circulation. They face out towards the walkway not the pool. 

 

[What A Market]

Ok, you and about. First stop, of course, Cafe al Bacio.

 

[What A Market]

Morning again from Cafe al Bacio

 

I’ll try to post some thoughts from last night, but first off, if you’ve ever followed my postings before, particularly when I’m sailing on Oceania, you know I’m a big fan of drinking espresso, cappuccinos, and macchiatos. I’ll generally consume one or more of each on every morning while scribbling away with these random thoughts. Also, the DW is not an early riser, so I enjoy the time to drink some coffee and stare at the passing sea. As you can see from the photo in previous post, the views of the sea from Cafe al Bacio (Deck 4) are glorious.

 

Oops, here we go with a detour on a topic that can trigger debates. As I noted in my first post — all thoughts are welcome.  Well, not all — keep it civil. LOL. 

 

Here’s a photo of Celebrity’s delivery of a water bottles. Yes, aluminum cans instead of plastic water bottles. I appreciate Celebrity’s effort here to reduce the use of plastic. Swapping one form of single use packaging for another isn’t a perfect solution, but there is no debate that aluminum is recycled at far higher rates than plastic. Change happens in baby steps. For me, this is a good one. Anyway, kudos to Celebrity.

 

Back to your regular programming shortly. 🙂

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by What A Market

[What A Market]

Ok, back again.

 

Here’s a random note on a great feature found on the Celebrity App. There’s a chat/messaging feature you can use with other “connected” guests on the cruise. Like your spouse.  DW and I tested when we first boarded. Messages are instantaneous, but (as been noted by others) your phone doesn’t “ping” with an alert that you have a message. Regardless, nice feature. Saves you from attaching notes to your door alerting your significant other as to your whereabouts. (Assuming you care.... LOL.) Used this morning. The DW messaged me she when she was up this morning and was having tea in the room. I responded that I was in Cafe al Bacio getting amped up on espressos and to come find me there. Molto Bene!

[What A Market]

First “fail” of the cruise — the baguette bread in the Oceanview Cafe. Oh the horror.......

 

DW and I generally choose to eat breakfast in Oceanview instead of Luminae.  Both of us prefer to graze for breakfast, picking and choosing whatever appeals to us in the moment. Luminae, while very nice at breakfast, feels too formal for first thing in the morning.

 

I say I graze as well, but really I don’t.  I always start with yogurt and some melon. This is followed by eating a stupid amount of baguette and butter. I relish this opportunity while cruising because I don’t eat “real” bread because I live in a totally gluten free household. (Both DW and DD having Coeliac.)

 

The bread display in Oceanview looked marvelous, and I zeroed in on the baguette. It looked a little pale and didn’t seem overly crusty. I get back to the table and grab to tear apart. And that’s when my heart sank. Not to get too Paul Hollywood on you, but it was like grabbing a loaf of Wonder Bread. Not crusty, no structure, totally bland, soft and tasteless. Argh!  This was so surprising because the baguette at Luminae that I devoured last night with my escargot was perfect.

 

As I said, the Horror. Went back to bread display and tried a sour dough roll. A little better. But not good enough to finish, let alone eat more than one.

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by What A Market