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

[BennyBrun]

Day 6

 

Eden Night of Enchantment 

[SNJCruisers]

10 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

The Mardi Gras is going to be very different.  Think self serve and take the stairs!  They pack the elevators on the Mardi Gras and social distance was not really practiced.  That was what happened on our cruise 80.16% to capacity.  We still had a great time!  Different but great!  I hope you will too!

The stairs are out of the question.  My DW is in a scooter. And I am hoping they cancel in waves and capacity will be at 60%, but who knows.  Have 20 cruises with Carnival and have been on 4 with NCL's Breakaway Plus Class (Escape & Bliss).  So I know what to expect with the Carnival cruiser and a ship about 11 K smaller than the MG.

[BennyBrun]

Day 6

 

Late Night Grand Plaza

[BennyBrun]

1 minute ago, SNJCruisers said:

The stairs are out of the question.  My DW is in a scooter. And I am hoping they cancel in waves and capacity will be at 60%, but who knows.  Have 20 cruises with Carnival and have been on 4 with NCL's Breakaway Plus Class (Escape & Bliss).  So I know what to expect with the Carnival cruiser and a ship about 11 K smaller than the MG.

Well if you have a scooter than that will be your social distance tool.  People tend to not want to squeeze in with scooters.  I am sure you seasoned cruisers will be just fine!  I will look for the scooter tomorrow night at Eden to find you guys?

[BennyBrun]

Day 6

 

The Club … we are night owls tonight!!!

[SNJCruisers]

Great pics from Eden tonight Benny, the DW and I even made it into a couple of them, lol.

[BennyBrun]

Day 7

 

Nassau ?

[BennyBrun]

Day 6

 

We found a duck!

[SNJCruisers]

3 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Well if you have a scooter than that will be your social distance tool.  People tend to not want to squeeze in with scooters.  I am sure you seasoned cruisers will be just fine!  I will look for the scooter tomorrow night at Eden to find you guys?

When we were there the other night we were the only table occupied at one of the six tables adjacent to the open air kitchen.  We won't be too difficult to find.  And the typical me first Carnival cruiser would possibly cut off my wife for an elevator.  This is our first cruise with her and the scooter and she has handled it fairly well.  I know it's going to be a different animal on Carnival and I am well prepared for it.

[little britain]

Surely face masks don’t have to be worn when on the open decks? 

[Guest]

I can’t get over how amazing the food looks!

 

My last X cruise was on the Reflection in 2017 and I thought it was amazing back then.

 

Is the food elevated on the Edge class, or has it improved across S/M as well? I’m on the Silhouette next month and I’m so excited. After coming off a P&O ship that had about 4 main options in the buffet at lunch, and Eggs Benedict were a “special of the day”, I’m craving a Celebrity buffet!!! 
 

We are booked on the Beyond for 2023 and this thread is getting me so excited as I’ve not done an Edge class yet!!!

[tunaman2011]

9 hours ago, dgoz said:

How would you compare the taste next to traditional vanilla?

Greetings

 

It is traditional vanilla.  It is made from "beans" from vanilla orchids.  They only grow in certain areas of the world.  It has a fairly strong flavor especially compared the the imitation vanilla extracts you find in the USA.  The Los Cinco vanilla is a good one, there are probably other brands that are also real vanilla but Los Cinco is the one we have been buying for years.  Be wary of the cheap bottles you see sold by street vendors or in the "junk" shops.  They are probably not pure vanilla.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[tunaman2011]

8 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

You are welcome.  You will love the ship.  Remember, keep your self safe and keep your distance to avoid being close contact traced.

Benny

 

What happens if you are contract traced just near someone at a bar or in a dining room?  Do they just test you or do are you given a "time out" and then tested after a few days.

 

Thanks

Tom

[vickykay]

Benny,

I think you mentioned the Sav Blanc that you 

purchased at one of the ports that was from Chile.  If there was one on the ship you enjoyed would love that a e as well.  Thanks.

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

Surely face masks don’t have to be worn when on the open decks? 

No, not needed outside at all besides any port of calls that require it.

[SNJCruisers]

3 hours ago, Glitterati said:

Eggs Benedict were a “special of the day”, I’m craving a Celebrity buffet!!! 

 

We are booked on the Beyond for 2023 and this thread is getting me so excited as I’ve not done an Edge class yet!!!

Eggs Benedict were available at the buffet every day and were made to order in front of you, so the hollandaise wasn't sitting under a heat lamp.  You could also get them Florentine with spinach and I think with salmon as well.

We will be booking the Beyond for early 2024 since our cruise card is filled through 2023 at this point. 

[SNJCruisers]

55 minutes ago, vickykay said:

Benny,

I think you mentioned the Sav Blanc that you 

purchased at one of the ports that was from Chile.  If there was one on the ship you enjoyed would love that a e as well.  Thanks.

If you're a wine drinker, you need to upgrade to the premium package which tops out at 15 per drink.  The classic tops out at 9. If you want something above those limits you pay the price difference plus 20% gratuity.  So if you had the premium and a wine was 20, you would pay a 6.00 upcharge. We're not wine drinkers so I cant give you any personal examples.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, tunaman2011 said:

Benny

 

What happens if you are contract traced just near someone at a bar or in a dining room?  Do they just test you or do are you given a "time out" and then tested after a few days.

 

Thanks

Tom

No way to trace at a bar.  Dining room was social distanced so it was never a problem.

Tom, just go with the flow.  If you're that scared, stay home.  What will happen will happen.  

Something must be  OK, we are docked in Nassau, which is something we did not do last Friday.

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, tunaman2011 said:

Benny

 

What happens if you are contract traced just near someone at a bar or in a dining room?  Do they just test you or do are you given a "time out" and then tested after a few days.

 

Thanks

Tom

I think one of the other threads that Parkerson started on quarantine in the Equinox said that his wife had to be tested and stay in the room for 24 hours and then test again.  If alls well you are released.  If you go on excursion, they write down where you are sitting on the bus and they trace back that way, plus they ask the person who tested positive.

 

Right now it’s so empty on the APEX that it’s really easy to socially distance on your own with a few exceptions.  I felt safe.  I was hesitant before coming on the ship due to people’s posts on CC and I felt the sky was going to fall down.  However I decided to go with the flow and accept the consequences and it was nothing like I imagined as you can probably see.

[BennyBrun]

8 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Great pics from Eden tonight Benny, the DW and I even made it into a couple of them, lol.

Ooooh now I can play where’s Waldo!

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, vickykay said:

Benny,

I think you mentioned the Sav Blanc that you 

purchased at one of the ports that was from Chile.  If there was one on the ship you enjoyed would love that a e as well.  Thanks.

I already packed the wine away but I will update when I get back home with a picture.  We buy wine by region so at the Mega in Cozumel they separate the wine by region so we grabbed the ones from Chile and it never failed us yet.  On the ship the Sauvignon Blanc that we did not care for is the elegance which I think is the $9.00 a glass one.  I will get a wine list tonight and take some pictures!

[BennyBrun]

Day 7

 

Room Service 

 

Nice and hot and I like the hash brown thing they have !

[BennyBrun]

Day 7

 

We made it to Nassau!!!!  So far a whopping 20 or so people got off the ship!  We are here today with Virgin, Disney and 2 Carnival ships.  It is a busy port day today.  Highs in the low 70s a little chilly compared to the last few days long pants day!

[Islandhop9]

7 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

I already packed the wine away but I will update when I get back home with a picture.  We buy wine by region so at the Mega in Cozumel they separate the wine by region so we grabbed the ones from Chile and it never failed us yet.  On the ship the Sauvignon Blanc that we did not care for is the elegance which I think is the $9.00 a glass one.  I will get a wine list tonight and take some pictures!

So no confiscation to the naughty room? 

 

Thanks for the great photos. Excited to be on the Apex next month despite the current situation. 

[BennyBrun]

Day 7

 

Almond croissant on the Summit and Apex is amazing!  Nice and fresh!