LIVE from Celebrity Apex: Best of Scandinavia May 25, 2023

[Hummingbird Lover]

3 hours ago, love2crews. said:

June 2: Warnemünde (Berlin), Germany

 

***HONEST review about the Celebrity shore excursion...  Small Group: Berlin- A 20th Century Experience (By Train)***

 

Our day started around 5am. 😳

 

We ordered room service for the first available time, 6-6:30am.  Breakfast was delicious per usual. We had to be in the Theater by 7am for our 8am shore excursion.  

 

 

IMPORTANT:  Room Service starts as early 6am

Cafe al Bacio opens at 6:30

Oceanview opens at 6:30

Luminae opens at 7:30

The restaurant hours make zero sense, especially when all the shore excursions going to Berlin for the day needed to be in the Theater by 7am.  Pay close attention and plan ahead if you have an early morning (or just pay close attention in general because we're finding the hours to be rather odd).

 

At 7am, we were in the Theater and given a sticker with a group number.  Around 7:10, our group was called and it was a bit chaotic.  We just started following other people and were hoping they were going in the right place.  We ended up on the train in the bottom level (there were 2 levels) and there was a paper with our group number in the train window.  We sat down and made ourselves as comfortable as possible for the 2.5 hour train ride ahead.  

 

About the train... most of the seats were facing backwards because of the direction we were going.  There were a couple seats that were facing each other for a group of 4, so some of those were forward facing.  No shades or blinds to hide the blinding sun, but the seats were pretty comfortable.  There was a bathroom onboard that was a bit bigger than an airplane bathroom.

 

 

 

We were all sitting on the train pretty clueless as no one had said anything to us and we were all hoping for a little communication.  Maybe the expected arrival time, what kind of snacks they were serving, or just what to expect.  About an hour in, a girl came through the car with boxed waters and came back a few minutes later handing out a brown paper bag to each person.  The bag had a boxed coffee drink (think chocolate milk) and a pre-packaged cookie.

 

 

We made a stop for a good 20-30 minutes, but no one got on/off the train (Celebrity chartered the train...).  The girl told us this was a scheduled stop and we would not be delayed.

 

The ride was scenic for us city girls who are used to ugly cement freeways, lol.  If you are used to green and hills, it might not be too scenic for you.  Not a lot to look at, but it's definitely more exciting than what we're used to at home.

 

We arrived at the train station around 10:50 and were even more lost than when we boarded the train.  Our guide had a "lollipop" sign with our group number on it, but there were several other groups and our guide was not holding up her sign.  She walked very briskly through the terminal not even checking to make sure we were following.  Others in our group shared the same concern.  She counted us once we were outside the terminal and we all boarded our bus for the day.  

 

The bus was nice inside and also had a bathroom.  No one used it during the day, but nice to know it's there.  There were vents, but our driver didn't really understand English and didn't have the vents turned on.  We translated on our phones but still pretty stuffy.  It took several people asking a few times before the AC was turned on for us.

 

 

I could write a novel and detail everything, but this is already a long post and I want to summarize as much as possible.  So throughout the day, we made several stops to the Berlin icons.  We stopped at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and a few other places.  Most of these places we had 15 mins MAX to take pics and listen to the guide talk about the history.  Not much time at all...

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my BIGGEST concern...  We did not stop at the Holocaust Memorial.  We simply drove by it and our guide pointed it out to us.  We chose this tour partly because the memorial was something we really wanted to experience.  We asked the guide about it and if we were going to go back later and actually see it, but she said we were not; it was not one of our stops.  However, when I booked the excursion in the cruise planner, the "Overview" highlighted 3 stops: The Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and the HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL.  We did discuss this with the Shore Excursions department once we got back on board.  They understood our confusion and said they were putting in a request to update the wording.

 

 

Another concern that isn't as much of a big deal...  The cruise planner said a three course meal, but it was actually a buffet.  It was a traditional German meal as advertised (sausage, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, etc), but the sausage was breakfast sausage, lol.  In our minds we were thinking bratwurst or something similar, but oh well.

 

 

Our guide was very clear with the timeline for the day and told us we'd have time to do XYZ as long as we followed her schedule.  We had an AWESOME group and everyone was super friendly and timely.  So that meant we earned our 50 minutes of shopping time.  You'll never guess where we were dropped off...in the middle of the designer stores and some US chain stores we have at home!!!!  There was a Lululemon, Apple Store, Scotch and Soda, etc.  Mind you, there were some independent stores and a souvenir shop or two, but I want the real German stores.  And I want to buy stuff I don't have at home.  I didn't come all the way to Berlin to upgrade my phone at the Apple store!!!  And 50 minutes was waaaayyy too long, especially when we only had like 15 minutes at the historical sites.

 

Rant over, but you get the gist.

 

The good thing is we found a German pretzel during our shopping time.  It was from a clothing store (of all things) named "Arket" and it was delicious.

 

 

After shopping, we hit one more stop for photos, and then back to the train station.  We said bye to our guide and driver who did not ride on the train with us.  We boarded around 5:20 and were served a snack bag and boxed water around 20 minutes later.  The snack bag was pretty good and I munched on the prepackaged butter filled pretzel and was pleasantly surprised with how good it was.  We made a few stops on the way back, but never opening the train doors.

 

 

Around 8:15, we were back in Warnemünde along with what seemed like the rest of the cruise ship.  Gangway was supposed to be up at 8:30, but I don't think that happened.  The entire train tried to board the ship at once-talk about herding cattle!  It was not a pleasant way to end the 13 hour day.

 

We do not feel like we saw any of Berlin.  We DO NOT regret doing this excursion, I am glad we tried it.  However, I don't remember the majority of the history the guide talked about. 

 

Final verdict is I do not recommend this.  I might consider a train ONLY option into Berlin through Celebrity just to guarantee our arrival back to the ship.  But I definitely wouldn't book the city tour with them.

 

Like I mentioned, I could go on and on about this.  Please don't hesitate to ask any questions.  Happy to answer or clarify.  ☺️

 

Thanks for the review. We are booked for this exact excursion on June 27. Hoping we get a better guide! We would change it to another but got a super good deal of only $107 CA per person.
I've got low expectations now so I'm sure I won't be disappointed...LOL

[Hezu]

21 hours ago, sixpackeddie said:

May I ask how the weather has been in Northern Europe? We are on the same sailing on June 25th.

I can tell that at least in Finland this June has started with cool (or maybe even cold) weather, although the weather forecasts are predicting bit warmer weather in the near future. Obviously no reliable forecast extends into the dates when your cruise is going to take place.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Looking forward to my tour of Warnemude and Rostock and a nearly empty ship while I wait for all the tired folks that went to Berlin to return. Thanks for this thread. Leave in 2.5 weeks for the same!

[vickykay]

We did the Warnemunde and Restock tour thru Celebrity several years ago and really enjoyed it.  Restock is a university town ( as I remember)  and my husband, a college prof, really enjoyed it.  Very charming little town.  We had lunch (included) when we returned to Warnemunde and our guide, a very personable young man, actually stayed with us when lunch was over and walked some of us around town, on his own time.  He took us to a grocery store as requested to buy some local foods.  We all also bought some German wines, which at the time, we were allowed to take to our cabins. Enjoy.

[catgirl411]

2 hours ago, vickykay said:

We did the Warnemunde and Restock tour thru Celebrity several years ago and really enjoyed it.  Restock is a university town ( as I remember)  and my husband, a college prof, really enjoyed it.  Very charming little town.  We had lunch (included) when we returned to Warnemunde and our guide, a very personable young man, actually stayed with us when lunch was over and walked some of us around town, on his own time.  He took us to a grocery store as requested to buy some local foods.  We all also bought some German wines, which at the time, we were allowed to take to our cabins. Enjoy.

Agree. I did this one a few years ago too. Rostock is a lovely town. The guide was a university student who told interesting stories about his grandparent’s and parent’s experiences growing up in Rostock when it was East German.  

[yogini06]

13 hours ago, Hummingbird Lover said:

Thanks for the review. We are booked for this exact excursion on June 27. Hoping we get a better guide! We would change it to another but got a super good deal of only $107 CA per person.
I've got low expectations now so I'm sure I won't be disappointed...LOL

We did the Berlin 20th century experience. NOT the small group tour.  Rode the same chartered train direct to Berlin. Rode the bus around Berlin and stopped to see Brandenburg gate, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, etc. We had a local guide who explained WWII and Cold War history.  She was very knowledgeable and shared personal experiences. We then had three hours of free time for lunch on our own, sightseeing and shopping.  I booked it on sale for about $150 USD per person. I really enjoyed this excursion and would recommend it.  

Edited June 4, 2023 by yogini06

[love2crews.]

16 hours ago, rwf1 said:

Thanks for the information about the Berlin tour. When we take this cruise later this summer, my husband wanted to do the Berlin trip, and I was against it due to the lack of time we would have there. Your review confirms that we should stay closer to port on that day. However, if we do, I like your idea of taking the Celebrity train and touring on our own.

 

When returning to the ship, it seems like they would have an expedited way for Retreat guests to board. Do any of the ports have separate lines for Retreat guests?

 

You would think they would, but we haven't seen one.  

 

To be honest, Berlin is the only port it would have made a difference and I think it's just because there were so many tours ending at the exact same time.  

 

I don't think it'd be necessary in every port, but it'd surely be a nice touch.

[love2crews.]

16 hours ago, Ciaranaman said:

Thank you for such a great review!  We are picking up on so many pros/cons for when we go next year.   I think this pretty much solidifies our decision not to do the train excursion.  I, too, would have been very disappointed not to have been able to stop at the memorial.  

 

Whatever you decide on, I hope you have a wonderful time!!!

[love2crews.]

13 hours ago, Hummingbird Lover said:

Thanks for the review. We are booked for this exact excursion on June 27. Hoping we get a better guide! We would change it to another but got a super good deal of only $107 CA per person.
I've got low expectations now so I'm sure I won't be disappointed...LOL

 

That is a great price!  Yes, now you know what to expect, lol.

 

Have an awesome time!

[love2crews.]

4 hours ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

Looking forward to my tour of Warnemude and Rostock and a nearly empty ship while I wait for all the tired folks that went to Berlin to return. Thanks for this thread. Leave in 2.5 weeks for the same!

 

Enjoy your sailing and empty ship!!! You are very wise!! 🙂 

[love2crews.]

14 minutes ago, yogini06 said:

We did the Berlin 20th century experience. NOT the small group tour.  Rode the same chartered train direct to Berlin. Rode the bus around Berlin and stopped to see Brandenburg gate, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, etc. We had a local guide who explained WWII and Cold War history.  She was very knowledgeable and shared personal experiences. We then had three hours of free time for lunch on our own, sightseeing and shopping.  I booked it on sale for about $150 USD per person. I really enjoyed this excursion and would recommend it.  

This sounds more up our alley.  3 hours of free time would have been nice.  We wanted to try currywurst, but no time.

 

Glad you had a good experience.

[love2crews.]

If you've been following along, you know our little debacle with Rooftop Garden Grill.

 

Well, we received a voicemail from Elena a few days ago and she told us Rooftop would be open on June 2nd and 3rd for dinner.  We didn't think we'd make it by 9pm which is when they close...

 

We thought we'd give it a chance after we got off the train since it was a little before 9pm.  We made it to the restaurant around 8:40 and asked if they could seat us.  We said we were starving and just wanted to eat and leave-we wouldn't be long.  (This is true for most of our meals, we "eat" instead of "dine.")  The maître d' was very nice and said no need to rush, we had plenty of time.  

 

 

 

Once we were sat, we realized most of the tables around us were just starting their meals as well, so it wasn't a big deal.  It wasn't too cold when we were first seated, but it got a little chilly after a while.  They have blankets for when you get cold.

 

 

The food was delicious and we would definitely go back again if it was open.  I'm happy we were able to experience it and I recommend dining here at least once.  It was a wonderful and relaxing way to end the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by love2crews.

[librarylady19]

4 hours ago, vickykay said:

We did the Warnemunde and Restock tour thru Celebrity several years ago and really enjoyed it.  Restock is a university town ( as I remember)  and my husband, a college prof, really enjoyed it.  Very charming little town.  We had lunch (included) when we returned to Warnemunde and our guide, a very personable young man, actually stayed with us when lunch was over and walked some of us around town, on his own time.  He took us to a grocery store as requested to buy some local foods.  We all also bought some German wines, which at the time, we were allowed to take to our cabins. Enjoy.

Sounds great! DH loves German beers so will be more than happy to explore that aspect of German culture further😀

Edited June 4, 2023 by librarylady19

[love2crews.]

June 3: Copenhagen, Denmark

 

We ordered room service per usual.  We had our over easy eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns.  

 

 

Our day started around 11:15 when we met with our guide, Uffe (pronounced ooh-feh) of Great Dane Tours.  We booked the "Royals and Castles" tour, though they have many exciting tour options, as well as bike and segway tours.

 

Our main priority of the day was to see Kronborg Castle (or Hamlet's castle), so we headed there and took the scenic coast route on the way.  Uffe gave us a brief history of Kronborg on the drive over and also talked about everything we were passing.  His English was amazing and he was very easy to understand.  He also explained everything in a way that made total sense, was easy to follow, and was interesting.

 

Admission to the castle was in included in the tour (as was admission to Frederiksborg castle).  Uffe showed us around the castle and detailed all the history.  It has a wonderful and (in my opinion) unexpected history.  We passed a castle on our way to the port and when we learned it was actually Kronborg, the castle's history was brought full circle.  He also showed us the casemates under the castle.

 

 

 

 

 

We told Uffe all the snacks we wanted to try and how much we love trying food, so he took us to a food hall across the way where we enjoyed a delicious lunch.  We got a bagel sandwich he said is very popular.  We all enjoyed it and my sister enjoyed a banana nutella crepe from another vendor in the food hall.  

 

 

 

 

From there, we headed to Fredensborg, where Uffe told us the Royals frequent on the weekends.  Uffe confirmed there were Royals there when we visited because he could tell by the guards.  How exciting!

 

 

After that, we went to Frederiksborg Castle (again, admission included in the tour) and it was a lovely experience.  There were barely any people there, so we got great photos.  We've really been lucky this entire trip, both with weather and crowds.

 

 

 

 

Instead of having Uffe drop us off back at the ship, we had him drop us off at Tivoli.  I had already pre-purchased tickets, so all we had to do was get our wristbands and we were good to go.  We went on their classic ride, The Flying Trunk, and walked around for a bit.  My sister got her tunacado from Joe & The Juice, we hit the souvenir shop for some Tivoli branded Danish butter cookies, and we were off.  There was a taxi waiting right at the entrance/exit to Tivoli, so we took it back to the cruise port.  It was about $40 US dollars to get from Tivoli to the port.  Just a note, there are 2 cruise terminals-one is a short walk into the city center and one is about a 15-20 min drive.  Make sure you know which one you're at.  We were at the far one...

 

 

 

For dinner, we ordered room service from Tuscan since we haven't tried anything from there yet.  The pasta and polenta were delicious.  We like the room service caesar better than this one.

 

 

Tour Provider Info:

Great Dane Tours

Uffe

 

Uffe is AMAZING!!!  Highly recommend him.  Very easy going, friendly and incredibly knowledgable.  Our day was absolutely seamless and very enjoyable.

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by love2crews.

[librarylady19]

Great pics! We visited copenhagen on a land trip in 2018 and took train out to Fredericksborg Castle - you could spend all day there, it;s an impressive palace with lovely gardens. 

[Buddysmom10]

15 hours ago, Drewfan said:

Thanks for the great posts we are doing this cruise on Apex departing Rotterdam Aug 21st and arrive Amsterdam June 2! Anyone else here on same cruise? 

We are on that one! as long as it's the one that arrives in Amsterdam on September 2. 

[love2crews.]

June 4: Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Copenhagen was an overnight port, so we were already here, lol.

 

We started with breakfast via room service per usual.  Delicious as always.

 

Our plan for the day was to tour the city center and try Danish food, so we met Uffe (Great Dane Tours) at 11am right outside the ship.

 

We wanted to make sure we saw the Little Mermaid statue, so we headed that direction.  We passed a grocery store, so we make a quick detour to "Lidl" to pick up some Danish candy.  We love comparing the stores from country to country and to what we're used to at home.  All the produce is so perfect here.  There was a "Meny" store nearby, so we stopped by there too and grabbed a few more candies, lol.  You can never have too much chocolate and licorice, right??

 

 

After that, we went to the Little Mermaid statue.  Fortunately, there was only one tour bus there.  Uffe said there are usually several.  There were still a bunch of people, but it could have been worse.  It's pretty tricky to walk down to the statue.  The rocks are uneven and it's a huge slope.  You have to be really careful.

 

 

Uffe knew from the day before that we wanted to try a traditional Danish hot dog, so he brought us to a hot dog stand.  The traditional toppings include 2 types of mustard, raw onion, fried onion, and pickles.  He also told us the locals enjoy their hot dog with chocolate milk, either hot or cold.  So we had to get some chocolate milk to go with our hot dogs, lol.  We chose cold.  Highly recommend a hot dog like this!!!! It was sooo good!

 

 

 

 

 

Then to Amalienborg, the Danish residence.  Again, there were only a few people there so we got awesome pics.

 

 

Then a quick drive through the highly photographed Nyhavn canal on our way to "Torvehallerne" food hall where we tried smørrebrød and danish pastries.  We could have stopped at the canal to take pics, but we were anxious to get to the food hall.  We also sampled some blue cheese and special prosciutto (don't remember the name), but both were very yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, I realized I forgot to buy some Danish butter cookies, so we stopped by an "Irma" store on the way back to port.  The butter cookies we got from Tivoli are apple ginger, but I also wanted the classic butter cookies.

 

We ended the tour around 3pm and said bye to Uffe.  We completely rearranged the tour, but he had no issues with it.  We were supposed to tour the Old Town and see a few other sites, but we wanted to make the day all about food, lol.  

 

Again, I highly, HIGHLY recommend Uffe and Great Dane Tours.  From my initial email asking tour questions to the actual touring around Copenhagen, the entire experience was very easy and enjoyable.  Copenhagen was one of our favorite ports thanks to Uffe. 🙂 

 

Tour Provider Info:

Great Dane Tours

Uffe

Edited June 4, 2023 by love2crews.

[CruiserByHeart]

Thank you for your great and detailed review 😎

We loved seeing the Celebrity Apex in Wonderful Copenhagen today as the Oslo-bound Pearl Seaways passed on her overnight ferry run

 

 

[love2crews.]

9 minutes ago, CruiserByHeart said:

Thank you for your great and detailed review 😎

We loved seeing the Celebrity Apex in Wonderful Copenhagen today as the Oslo-bound Pearl Seaways passed on her overnight ferry run

 

 

 

Great video!  🙂 

[vickykay]

There’s never too much chocolate!

[kabmab]

Thanks for your great review!  Do you know if the ship offered any kind of shuttle?  We're on June 25.

 

Sorry you missed the currywurst!  We were stationed in Stuttgart for four years and loved the currywurst and the curry ketchup.  Good reminder for me to look for curry ketchup and pommes sauce when we are at Warnemunde.    I love checking out grocery stores when we do foreign travel.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Drewfan]

2 hours ago, Buddysmom10 said:

We are on that one! as long as it's the one that arrives in Amsterdam on September 2. 

Yes it does. Have you seen any roll calls or FB groups for our cruise? 

[irvington]

This is so helpful especially since we are doing almost the same thing in August. Thanks for all the detailed posts.

 

[love2crews.]

1 hour ago, kabmab said:

Thanks for your great review!  Do you know if the ship offered any kind of shuttle?  We're on June 25.

 

Sorry you missed the currywurst!  We were stationed in Stuttgart for four years and loved the currywurst and the curry ketchup.  Good reminder for me to look for curry ketchup and pommes sauce when we are at Warnemunde.    I love checking out grocery stores when we do foreign travel.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Yes, there was a complimentary shuttle. 😃

 

 

[love2crews.]

35 minutes ago, irvington said:

This is so helpful especially since we are doing almost the same thing in August. Thanks for all the detailed posts.

 

 

Happy to help!

 

Enjoy your cruise! 🙂