April 16 - Apex - Back Again

[What A Market]

Photos of our amuse-bouche at Eden the other evening. DW is Coeliac and must eat gluten free. Celebrity does a great job with this. The second photo is the gf amuse-bouche. Great start to meal. 

[What A Market]

Photo of the open kitchen at Eden. It has been a trendy thing for land based restaurants for a while now, but fun to see on a ship. We sat right in front of kitchen and interacted with staff all evening. 

[What A Market]

Starter courses. A not boring salad for DW and ceviche for me. 

[What A Market]

Good morning.

Still on our way to Grand Cayman. Stiff winds, white caps, and some actual seas. Started when we left Cozumel yesterday afternoon and persisted thru the night. Not a lot of movement by the ship, but definitely some shuddering.  My bad photo doesn’t really do the sea conditions justice.

 

[Scottishclover]

Thank you for posting photos of gluten free meals at Eden. My husband has coeliac disease and I had wondered what the situation was at Eden as the menu isn’t marked. I’d really like to go on our upcoming cruise on the Apex so it’s nice to know that coeliacs are catered for. I also have 2 vegan daughters to throw into the mix 😩. Was your wife happy with the gluten free offerings on board in general?

[Straughn]

I want that salad and I don’t have gluten issues. I doubt I will get to Eden next week as there are no reservations available on line. I will check when I board, but I am not optimistic. 

[parrothead33]

On 4/18/2022 at 8:35 AM, SparklyPinkCruiser said:

I guess that means the chances of seeing the Toronto Raptors or Blue Jays is just about nil 😆

We watched the Jays on the April 2nd sailing!

[SparklyPinkCruiser]

3 minutes ago, parrothead33 said:

We watched the Jays on the April 2nd sailing!

Yay! There's hope! It's so hard to be a die hard fan and not able to watch the games.

[What A Market]

19 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Thank you for posting photos of gluten free meals at Eden. My husband has coeliac disease and I had wondered what the situation was at Eden as the menu isn’t marked. I’d really like to go on our upcoming cruise on the Apex so it’s nice to know that coeliacs are catered for. I also have 2 vegan daughters to throw into the mix 😩. Was your wife happy with the gluten free offerings on board in general?

Heidi feels Celebrity does a great job with gluten free. The Ocean View Cafe marks everything that is GF and there is usually a decent selection of GF desserts.
 

The wait staff in the restaurants almost all seem well informed on which dishes are GF as is or can be slightly altered. She loves not having to pre-arrange the day before what she wants the next evening. 

[What A Market]

15 hours ago, Straughn said:

I want that salad and I don’t have gluten issues. I doubt I will get to Eden next week as there are no reservations available on line. I will check when I board, but I am not optimistic. 

Definitely check when you board. They are not filling the restaurant to capacity, which as jelayne noted in early post is supposedly due to distancing requirements per Eden staff. (This seems weird to me as NO WHERE ELSE do you see distancing being enforced.)

[What A Market]

Specialty cocktail at Eden. Called the Shaman. Rum based. Tasty!

[What A Market]

Captain just gave COVID details in his morning announcement..

62 crew

19 passengers

 

Everyone in quarantine. No other protocols being implemented..

 

[Scottishclover]

Great news about gluten free. We have only ever cruised Disney before and while they were great with the rotational dining, my husband couldn’t understand why they didn’t mark items at the buffet. This will put his mind at ease. Thank you so much.

[TFree]

38 minutes ago, What A Market said:

Captain just gave COVID details in his morning announcement..

62 crew

19 passengers

 

Everyone in quarantine. No other protocols being implemented..

 

That seems like a lot of crew.  We board on April 30, have you heard whether they are having a large number of new crew coming on board and quarantining on the transatlantic?  That is what apparently happened on the Silhouette transatlantic.

 

Tom & Judy

[What A Market]

1 hour ago, TFree said:

That seems like a lot of crew.  We board on April 30, have you heard whether they are having a large number of new crew coming on board and quarantining on the transatlantic?  That is what apparently happened on the Silhouette transatlantic.

 

Tom & Judy

Based on only a small sample of crew where this topic was discussed, a large percentage have their contracts end before the TA. My sample though is too small to be statistically valid.

 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

1 hour ago, What A Market said:

Captain just gave COVID details in his morning announcement..

62 crew

19 passengers

 

Everyone in quarantine. No other protocols being implemented..

 

 

We're also boarding April 30 for the TA. If you have an opportunity to ask, I'm curious how many passengers are going to on the cruise.

[Tyler414]

9 hours ago, What A Market said:

Specialty cocktail at Eden. Called the Shaman. Rum based. Tasty!

Was my favorite drink on Apex. If you get a chance I’d appreciate to know how it’s made.  Never dawned on me to ask the 6 times I ordered it.  

[What A Market]

34 minutes ago, Tyler414 said:

Was my favorite drink on Apex. If you get a chance I’d appreciate to know how it’s made.  Never dawned on me to ask the 6 times I ordered it.  

Here you go. Shaken, not stirred. 😜

[What A Market]

At Eden again tonight. Churning our way home. 

[biguntx]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:21 AM, micmacmissy said:

We’re just off Apex.  Wonderful trip.  Wondering what covid numbers are like- by yesterday there were a LOT of Retreat employees either sick or in quarantine.  Made for interesting Luminae experience last night and this morning!

Positive tests

crew. 62

passengers. 19

 

 

[Alabaster Cruiser]

We also were on this sailing.  Just wandering if anyone else noticed during the Captains Club party that the band played The Love Boat?  Very funny to be playing Princess Cruises theme song😁.  

We also had a night at Eden.  We had enjoyed the beauty and uniqueness of the menu on the Edge, only to find out that it is now a totally different menu.  If the lotus flower and red apple desserts are no longer available they should not continue using them in the advertising promotions.  We were disappointed although the food was good.

We had a wonderful cruise even if the casino was vicious!  Also they could use a new microphone system there.  Could not understand a word the casino host said.

Our next E class is on Edge next March.   We booked a sunset balcony.  After 2 attempts of liking an infinite veranda have decided we actually hate them.  But do love the ships.  Hope all the quarantined staff does well and everyone enjoyed their sailing!

[Silkroad]

19 minutes ago, Alabaster Cruiser said:

We also had a night at Eden.  We had enjoyed the beauty and uniqueness of the menu on the Edge, only to find out that it is now a totally different menu.  If the lotus flower and red apple desserts are no longer available they should not continue using them in the advertising promotions.  We were disappointed although the food was good.

Based on my experience last October, you will still find these desserts on Edge, along with the original Eden Restaurant menu. Celebrity created a completely different menu for Eden on Apex. I am looking forward to trying the Apex menu, so I’m glad to see that you liked it.

[cinderellen]

On 4/21/2022 at 4:45 PM, Straughn said:

I want that salad and I don’t have gluten issues. I doubt I will get to Eden next week as there are no reservations available on line. I will check when I board, but I am not optimistic. 

My husband and I sailed in March. We were stopped by one of the reps outside the buffet regarding specialty dining. We asked about Eden and they said they didn't have any openings available but to go there and ask. We did and they basically asked what night we wanted to come and the time. The lady we spoke to said she didn't know why we were told there was nothing free. It was a wonderful meal.

[mac_tlc]

17 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Based on my experience last October, you will still find these desserts on Edge, along with the original Eden Restaurant menu. Celebrity created a completely different menu for Eden on Apex. I am looking forward to trying the Apex menu, so I’m glad to see that you liked it.

We were on the Edge on the 3/27 sailing and the Edge Eden menu is now the same as Apex. 
 

mac_tlc

[VitaminSea53]

Can someone tell me what deck and cabin configuration the E Class ships use for quarantine?