Back to back Sky Suite on Apex and Edge - a comparison/review

[CruiseDoc79]

We are almost a month out now from back to back cruises on Celebrity's Edge class ships, Apex and Edge.  We started on the Apex Feb 12 sailing to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Kitts and had such a fantastic time that while on Apex we booked another cruise on Edge that departed Feb 20, with on day in Fort Lauderdale in between.  Our Edge cruise visited Nassau, Tortola, and St. Maarten.  For both cruises we stayed in midship sky suites on deck 10, and while we enjoyed both cruises, there were some notable and sometimes surprising differences between the two, and we had a definite favourite.  I should also mention we are somewhat experienced cruisers with about 12 cruises under our belts so far, but these were our first true cruises with Celebrity (we did sail Millenium and Constellation years ago on a charter for TCM).  Our favourite cruise lines are Norwegian and Oceania for reference (and we have also sailed on HAL, Princess, Viking, and Disney).  We are both professionals in our 40s.  I should also mention both cruises sailed with just over 1000 passengers, so well below capacity.

1) Apex

First impressions of the ship: Gorgeous.  Easily the most beautiful ship either of us have sailed on, with incredible art and design. Going into this cruise my wife was not super excited with cruising in general, but after one night exploring the ship she was back to loving it.  From the restaurant designs (even main dining rooms like Tuscan and Normandie are exquisitely designed with unique art) to the pool deck to Eden, we loved it all. Plants are everywhere on the ship as are some quite dramatic sculptures. 

Entertainment was another pleasant surprise on Apex.  We are big Broadway fans and have been admittedly deprived of live entertainment during the pandemic so it was amazing to watch talented people perform again.  We didn't have high expectations as we knew there weren't full productions like Norwegian has but we were blown away by the 3 shows in the main theatre and even more so by the intimate and fantastical shows in Eden.  Really excellent singers and dancers and great production quality.  

Food was also generally excellent and definitely as step up from Norwegian, Holland America, Viking and Princess for us.  Only Oceania might best what we experienced, but that would be a close call!  We had good to excellent meals everywhere, with standouts being Eden, Luminae, and Le Petit Chef.  Even the buffet, which we typically avoid, was way better than expected.  The unique dishes in Normandie and Tuscan were also way better than typical main dining room fare.

Service was also top-notch, particularly the Retreat concierges.

 

2) Edge

First impressions of the ship are that she is beautiful, but showing a bit of wear compared to Apex and we found the art to be not quite up to the standard set by Apex, although still very good.  There are some changes that were made for Apex from Edge that I think were quite smart, and we missed them on Edge.  The first is Craft Social, which we enjoyed a fair bit on Apex and missed on Edge.  On Edge the casino bar sits where Craft Social does, and really doesn't look very inviting or classy.  Even if you don't use Craft Social, I think its adds to the atrium ambiance much better than the Casino bar.  We also missed all the shade on the Rooftop garden and on the Retreat sundeck while we were on Edge.  The huge umbrellas they added are a big plus on sunny Caribbean days.  Lastly Eden was looking in need of a bit of a refresh in some areas on Edge.  Particularly on the living wall there were multiple empty spaces on Edge that I believe previously would have had greenery growing from them.  On the plus side, the plants on the Rooftop Garden were fuller and more mature on Edge.  Bizarrely, I found out from my wife that there are free baskets of tampons on most washrooms on Apex but none to be found anywhere outside the gift shop on Edge.  I think access to products like tampons should be universal and free everywhere so a big plus to Apex!

Entertainment on Edge was a disappointment after Apex. There were only 2 shows in the main theatre and they were quite underwhelming when compared to what was offered on Apex.  The use of technology, the screens, and special effects were much more impressive on Apex.  Even more disappointing however was the "entertainment" in Eden on Edge.  Instead of immersive productions involving singing, dancing and acrobatics, Edge had various musicians performing acoustic sets each evening, with absolutely no production or really anything.  So Eden on Apex was this vibrant, immersive and entertaining evening experience  and an absolute must for us, whereas on Edge we were barely there in the evening as it was quite subdued and much less engaging (though very relaxed).  We understand that there were too many complaints about the former Eden entertainment of Edge so they basically removed it all, which I think was a mistake.

What they have achieved on Apex should be reproduceable on Edge.  Also the content of the shows on Apex seemed more progressive socially than Edge, with visible gay couples in some main theatre productions on Apex for example but nothing like that on Edge. 

Food was also excellent on Edge.  No complaints here.  They did seem to be often out of certain liquors however. For example there was no Aperol on the Magic Carpet for the entire cruise, meaning one of the listed drinks wasn't available (the Magic Spritz).

Service was still very good on Edge, but for some reason staff didn't seem as happy. This was particularly true in the buffet were smiles were very hard to come by from staff, and I often felt like I was being a nuisance just asking for say a tuna sandwich for lunch at the sandwich station. 

 

3) Sky suite and retreat comparison

We loved our Sky suites and the entire Retreat experience on both ships, however there are differences to be aware of both in the room itself and in the Retreat. 

Some of the differences are as follows:

- Frette slippers on Apex but generic on Edge

- Table is wider and lower on Edge than Apex (hard to say which is better but probably Apex as the higher position is helpful for room service.

- Different deck chairs, though both were fine, and the table on the deck is bigger on Apex

- The make-up mirror on Edge is installed in a very awkward position making it very difficult to use while seated at the vanity. I don't know who decided to put it there but they at least fixed it on Apex

- The shower hardware was much upgraded on Apex and was the same rainfall variety you get in Aqua class, whereas on Edge it was the standard stateroom shower hardware.

- On the plus side, we did find binoculars in our room on Edge but not on Apex.

- However, a major negative of our room on Edge vs. Apex was some very annoying ship creaking and popping sounds from the balcony on Edge during anything but the very mildest of sea conditions.  We did complain and they couldn't find anything wrong with the room, and apparently many other guests had complained of the same thing.  It seems Edge just moves more than Apex and the noise was so bothersome we had to have our white noise machine blasting all night in order to sleep.

The Retreat areas on both ships were excellent and we especially enjoyed the Retreat lounge and the outdoor "porch" next to the lounge was a favourite quiet and shaded spot for us on both ships.  On Apex the enhancements are a full bar in the Retreat lounge, and much better shaded areas on the Retreat Sundeck.  Otherwise they were quite comparable and the service was excellent on both ships. 

 

So overall we love this category of ship and Celebrity impressed us greatly.  There were however more perks to being on the "newest and best" ship in the fleet than we had anticipated.  It really felt like Apex got the best of everything, including staff and entertainment, and so we may keep that in mind in booking future cruises.  We do have a cruise on Flora coming up next year and are definitely looking forward to that!

 

[jelayne]

We love the Edge and are glad to hear that for the Apex they were able to listen to customer feedback and make some adjustments.  We will be on the Apex in 5 weeks and looking forward to that ship.  I expect that the Beyond will be even better than either the Edge or Apex and are looking forward to our TA on her in the fall.

 

 

[George C]

Is retreat pool same size? Surprised at the entertainment it was excellent in July on edge. Thanks for the comparison, can’t wait for our beyond cruise in November.

[Janthere]

We were on a B2B on Edge in July (not a suite though) and are sailing Apex April 9. I didn't really think there would be a lot of differences other than Craft Social so this is really a helpful heads up thank you! Other than the casino bar being swapped out to Craft Social did you notice any difference in the casino at all? 

[NCHPcruiser]

Thanks for the review/comparison.  Our last Celebrity cruise (2/20) was in a Sky Suite on the Edge.  We loved the ship and after your post are now even more excited about boarding the Apex in two days (in a CS).   Hopefully the entertainment will not have changed!     Very happy about additional shade on the Retreat Sundeck and full bar in the Retreat which we (along with many others) missed from the old Michaels Club on the S class ships.  

[kwokpot]

46 minutes ago, NCHPcruiser said:

and full bar in the Retreat which we (along with many others) missed from the old Michaels Club on the S class ships.

Just to be clear the bar at the Retreat Club on the Apex is nothing like what you would find in Michaels Club. It's not meant to be sat at, there aren't any bar stools, and it's small. It functions more like a service bar. You can certainly stand and lean on the bar and have a drink but I'm not sure why you would. It's only about 6 feet long. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

 

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

 

 

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Just to be clear the bar at the Retreat Club on the Apex is nothing like what you would find in Michaels Club. It's not meant to be sat at, there aren't any bar stools, and it's small. It functions more like a service bar. You can certainly stand and lean on the bar and have a drink but I'm not sure why you would. It's only about 6 feet long. 

Here's a photo of the bar in the Retreat Lounge on the Apex. As you can see there no counter seating ( it's located along the hallway to the restrooms). Hopefully on the Beyond there will be a full bar. I did see some photos of the Retreat Lounge on the Revolutionized Silhouette and that's a real bar. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by kwokpot

[chemmo]

Thank you for your comparative review.
 

Very reassuring that feedback on issues like table size/height, mirror position etc. have been listened to. It can be surprising how little things can enhance your enjoyment and the usability of your room.