Live Review Apex 1/8/2022 - 1/15/2022 Virtual Cruise Plenty of Pictures.

[BennyBrun]

4 minutes ago, Jdf62 said:

Thanks for posting all these updates!  My wife and I were supposed to be there with you, but decided to cancel earlier this week 😞  Solid information is hard to come by and we were not comfortable with the possibility of one/both of us being quarantined on vacation.  We booked this in August of 2020 after taking a walk in the neighborhood and deciding that January of 2022 would be clear of Covid issues...oh well!  Rebooked on the Beyond 1/8/2023.

 

Don't feel too sorry for us...we took a last minute cruise on the Edge in September and hit a "sweet  spot" where the covid outbreaks were really down and we felt very safe in traveling.  That was the most enjoyable cruise we have ever been on....about 800 passengers and felt like a private yacht!  

 

Enjoy and will be "cruising" with you this week!

Thank you so much.  Sorry you guys are not here to enjoy the ship but I totally understand.  We thought about canceling but figured the capacity probably won’t be as high as the Christmas cruise and we bought extra insurance for trip interruption just in case.

[mafig]

6 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 1

 

It feels very empty on this ship.  When we were making our dinner reservations we were told the preliminary count is 1600 but she believes it will be less.  I will ask tomorrow.  Also no shows in Eden due to guest feedbacks from the Edge.

 

What does this mean?  The shows weren't enjoyable?

[BennyBrun]

Just now, mafig said:

 

What does this mean?  The shows weren't enjoyable?

The guests didn’t like to be interrupted by the performers while dinning or have “action” near them while eating so they stopped the shows.  They prefer a quiet dinning experience.

[BennyBrun]

Day 1

[Jmorgan55]

Loving this thread! Thank you so much for taking the time to give us all an insight in to your cruise.  Hope it goes without a hitch!

[msteries]

I am enjoying your posts.  Have a glorious time.  Wishing you plenty of sunshine and smooth seas!

Supposed to be on the Apex 1/29 but still hesitating.  Would you let us know about location for covid isolation if someone happens to mention it- still deck three with no balcony?  Not sure I could take that!

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 1

 

I decided not to upgrade to the premium internet on this trip since I don’t stream movies or TV.  I am hoping the basic internet will be sufficient to post on CC.  If am MIA for a day or so then you know that the basic internet is not working properly and it’s a sea day 😆 

That will be interesting to see, as we had to upgrade to streaming when we were on the Apex in a SV in Nov. You’ll know if it’s not working if you start seeing an outline of links to the various parts of the CC website rather than actually going to the boards.cruisecritic.com link, to include the login screen. For example, you won’t be able to see this posting.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[BennyBrun]

8 minutes ago, msteries said:

I am enjoying your posts.  Have a glorious time.  Wishing you plenty of sunshine and smooth seas!

Supposed to be on the Apex 1/29 but still hesitating.  Would you let us know about location for covid isolation if someone happens to mention it- still deck three with no balcony?  Not sure I could take that!

Deck 3 and deck 6.  I don’t know how they decide which deck you go to.  We are practicing 9 minute conversation with strangers 😝 and we try to stay 6 feet apart to avoid being contact traced.  Also we are not doing any excursions with the ship because we don’t want to be on the shuttle with a large group and get traced back.

[BennyBrun]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That will be interesting to see, as we had to upgrade to streaming when we were on the Apex in a SV in Nov. You’ll know if it’s not working if you starting seeing an outline of links to the various parts of the CC website rather than actually going to the boards.cruisecritic.com link, to include the login screen. For example, you won’t be able to see this posting.

Yeah I had that happen on the Summit in November when I didn’t upgrade.  I just moved to the public areas and wait until the usage dies down a bit mainly after 9PM.  I don’t even bother trying before 10AM.  Peak internet time.  So we will see how this goes and will report back !!!

[mlanders]

Have a great cruise. We are booked Jan 29th hope we get to sail

[cve]

We just got off the Apex this morning. We had a wonderful time. 1,600 passengers on our sailing as well.

[BennyBrun]

Day 1

 

the theater… also our muster station 

[BennyBrun]

Day 1

 

Martini Bar… it is beautiful and elegant but it does not have that warm and fuzzy gathering feeling that you get on the Summit.  This feels like an elegant bar at the Ritz, where on the Summit it feels like Cheers!

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Deck 3 and deck 6.  I don’t know how they decide which deck you go to.  We are practicing 9 minute conversation with strangers 😝 and we try to stay 6 feet apart to avoid being contact traced.  Also we are not doing any excursions with the ship because we don’t want to be on the shuttle with a large group and get traced back.

What we found on the Constellation excursions we went on a few weeks ago is they are now required to log which tour bus seats you are actually sitting in, using your cabin number, so it’s not a tracing “catch all” situation any more. For us we increased our odds of not getting traced by sitting in the back of the bus where few want to sit.

[BennyBrun]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

What we found on the Constellation excursions we went on a few weeks ago is they are now required to log which tour bus seats you are actually sitting in, using your cabin number, so it’s not a tracing “catch all” situation any more. For us we increased our odds of not getting traced by sitting in the back of the bus where few want to sit.

That’s a good move!  We are just going to avoid it all together since we are only going to Nassau, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize.  We will grab a taxi in Belize and do our own thing.  The other ports we been to so we will just walk off and we always manage to find something interesting.

[Lastdance]

Looks nice, but we have to wait until October, with a b2b/TA with an SV and then Sunset Suite back to FLL.  Thanks so much for sharing and have a wonderful time!

Edited January 8, 2022 by Lastdance

[Birdnutty]

I'm avidly following this thread.  We are booked for the Apex in a few weeks for a B2B,(our first) praying we can actually go if we see numbers coming down.  Terrified of the PCR test pre-cruise, since we'll be in Myrtle beach and not home, not knowing the territory, not knowing if we can get results fast enough, etc.  More terrified of being stuck in isolation for most of the first leg of a B2B and then having to go home! But then my rational mind takes over and talks me into calming down and take the wait and see approach, which is what we're doing.  

In the meantime, I'm loving the pictures and anxiously awaiting more.  Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[rwest898]

I've never cruised on Celebrity but it looks interesting.  I'm trying to figure out your cabin because is that a balcony because it looks different.  Thanks for doing this review. 

[brontosphere]

Thanks for all the pictures! 

 

Was on Edge a few weeks ago and it's interesting to see the subtle differences - covering on Sunset Bar and a few others.

 

Do you like your IV room? I didn't like the window was blocked closed more than I expected (window washing, weather, etc.). Have a great trip!

[Valentin53]

Thank you again so much for the time spent and the wonderful photos shared. I think that with this positivism that comes from the photos, many people will think whether to cancel their cruises and suppress their fears and start thinking more positively. I will ask you, if I do not bother you, to upload information about the offered excursions and about the crew.

[BennyBrun]

17 minutes ago, Birdnutty said:

I'm avidly following this thread.  We are booked for the Apex in a few weeks for a B2B,(our first) praying we can actually go if we see numbers coming down.  Terrified of the PCR test pre-cruise, since we'll be in Myrtle beach and not home, not knowing the territory, not knowing if we can get results fast enough, etc.  More terrified of being stuck in isolation for most of the first leg of a B2B and then having to go home! But then my rational mind takes over and talks me into calming down and take the wait and see approach, which is what we're doing.  

In the meantime, I'm loving the pictures and anxiously awaiting more.  Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Don’t stress… start booking Rapid Test at CVS or Walgreens two weeks in advance ( not all areas have the rapid and CVS books out 1 week in advance) we started testing two weeks prior.  Once a week the traditional PCR and then rapid before departure to meet the requirement.  Stay away from people in a nice way and don’t chat with strangers for too long on the ship.  I would also avoid shuttle excursions for the next few weeks to avoid being contact traced back.  As far as feeling crowded on the ship… not this week.  It was busy at Ocean View at the central area but lots lots of space to spread out if you want to.  She is a beauty!

[BennyBrun]

7 minutes ago, Valentin53 said:

Thank you again so much for the time spent and the wonderful photos shared. I think that with this positivism that comes from the photos, many people will think whether to cancel their cruises and suppress their fears and start thinking more positively. I will ask you, if I do not bother you, to upload information about the offered excursions and about the crew.

Of course.  I chat with different crew members all the time so I will report back.  A fellow cruise told me to avoid excursions from the ship because of the shuttle situation so we are taking taxis to places we want to go.  KN95 mask while riding in the taxi and we always ask for the windows to be opened to reduce the risk.

[BennyBrun]

Day 1

 

Pulling away… right on time … no delay!

[kwokpot]

22 minutes ago, rwest898 said:

I've never cruised on Celebrity but it looks interesting.  I'm trying to figure out your cabin because is that a balcony because it looks different.  Thanks for doing this review. 

That's called an Infinite Veranda and it's not a real balcony. You can look up the multiple and I mean multiple threads on the Celebrity board that talk about this type of cabin. In a nutshell it's really an Oceanview room with a large picture window that can open from topdown and create a large opening to the outside. There are bifold doors that can close off the small area right in front of the window to create a faux balcony, or you can leave the bifold doors open and create a larger room. Bottom line the 'Balcony' area is actually the inside part of your cabin

Edited January 8, 2022 by kwokpot

[BennyBrun]

Day 1 

 

Vision of the Sea passes by us as she was pulling out.  We held our breath ! LOL!