Bimmer 09 sails APEX to Iceland June 2023

[vickykay]

Thank you so much for the link!

[Bimmer09]

You know how I feel about wind farms 

 

 

The Woolpack Inn is a 16th Century pub with cute rooms for overnight stays

 

https://www.woolpackwarehorne.co.uk/rooms/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

 

Just 3 miles to Bodiam, Sussex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 90 minutes we have arrived at the Bodiam station....

[Bimmer09]

It's a quaint little station-like something from a Merchant Ivory type movie.

 

 

There's an old museum train parked here

 

 

Our guide, the excellent Robert, tells us the train will be here in15 minutes so we all have time to use the restrooms and poke around.

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell

 

 

 

Hark! I hear the sound of a steam train coming!

[Bimmer09]

I used the camcorder on the train as it was easier and would capture the sound of the train huffing and puffing along.

The people sitting opposite us are two Apex passengers on a back to back. They were going on to Norway after we got off in Rotterdam.

 

 

 

Norris

Edited July 7, 2023 by Bimmer09
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[bunnyette]

More excellent writing!

[Bimmer09]

The bus was waiting for us in Tenterden , a short uphill walk from the train station. Some pics of everyday summer life in pretty English towns and villages follow as we drive back to Dover. Here's the  Afternoon Tea on the train. It hit the spot. The staff walked around offering tea or coffee.

 

Bus pics deserve their own page so will follow in the next post.

[Bimmer09]

English villages en route to Dover

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

                               Dover and the Apex

We're back in Dover 

 

 

 

 

 

Our stateroom is 2nd from the right, 2nd deck above Eden

 

 

 

 

Carol joins me at the Sunset Bar and afterwards I show her the Magic Carpet. Then she napped before packing her suitcase. IN the photo above you can see the outdoor tables for the Eden Cafe. Deck 5.

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Before Dover I had sent an email to Roy the manager of the Radisson Blu hotel in Amsterdam as he had asked me to. Soon after we had left it over 10 days ago Carol had received a "how was your stay?" email from the Radisson Group and she gave them a low score because of our "welcome" at the hotel on June 4. This was obviously relayed to the Amsterdam location and the manager.

The response I got from  Roy's secretary was that (1) we can check in as I requested at 11 a.m when we arrive from Rotterdam at no extra charge (2) that we can enjoy the breakfast buffet complimentary (saving us 114 Euro over 2 days (3) we will get a higher floor as originally requested. Not mentioned was that there would be a complimentary bottle of Prosecco on ice awaiting us.

Now that's service and satisfying the customer!

Norris

[Jasperdo]

You outdid yourself with the bus photos from Kent! They were amazing. The last time we were in London, in 2007, we took a bus tour to Kent that went to Canterbury, Leeds Castle and Dover. You photos reminded me of that day.

[Bimmer09]

18 minutes ago, Jasperdo said:

You outdid yourself with the bus photos from Kent! 

Thanks indeed. The bus windows were tinted so it was like shooting through a pair of amber sunglasses so each photo needed  some fixing. I love seeing the non-touristy everyday stuff- gas stations, houses ,shops, sheep in the fields etc.

Glad you enjoyed, John.

Norris

[Walt fan]

I would love to explore the towns you passed; your pics are so well done even through moving windows

[Bimmer09]

We are back on board for the last time. Ship sailed for Rotterdam at 7 p.m. which was later than planned (5 p.m) due to a tour to London getting stuck in traffic which is a common occurrence on London to Dover route.

Dover castle never fails to impress with its scale

 

iPhone photos

 

 

A Queen passes

 

 

Dinner on our last night is in Normandie and our waiter is Budi again

 

 

Carol's beet salad

 

My inevitable baked Brie ( I miss it)

 

and for good measure another shrimp cocktail

 

Carol's ravioli

 

and my Boeuf en Croute (Wellington)

 

Yet another good meal on the Apex.

[Bimmer09]

Before I went to dinner I took care of a couple of pieces of business;

I changed our luggage tags to the latest disembarkation @ 9.15 as we had a car picking us up at the Port of Rotterdam.

I also put down a deposit ($100 each) for a future cruise which would get us $300 OBC.

I have until December 19 to book so am hoping to see the 2025 schedules before then.

Norris

[MisterMet]

4 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Before I went to dinner I took care of a couple of pieces of business;

I changed our luggage tags to the latest disembarkation @ 9.15 as we had a car picking us up at the Port of Rotterdam.

I also put down a deposit ($100 each) for a future cruise which would get us $300 OBC.

I have until December 19 to book so am hoping to see the 2025 schedules before then.

Norris

How did you hold out so long putting down a deposit?  Lol!  I’m usually in the Future Cruise office before dinner the first night!   Great stuff Norris!  Been lurking in the shadows.  Easy to do as I’m only 5’3””😆

[Bimmer09]

I packed my garment bag and carry on in 90 minutes as I had the room all to myself. Carol was in the theater watching a singer called Cece Teneal sing "Divas of Soul". The clocks had to be set foward one hour to sync with the Netherlands.

When we woke on Sunday morning at 6 a.m we were already in Rotterdam. We had to vacate the cabin by 7.30 as it was turnaround day so we hit breakfast in Cosmopolitan where they stowed our bags while we ate.

Something I hadn't noticed until now-this pendulum by the staircase outside Cosmopolitan 

 

Dishes that need no introduction

 

 

bye bye Cosmo and your art

 

We waited on comfy chairs in the quiet of the Eden Cafe area until it was time to leave the Apex.

This ends the cruise part but we have two days in Amsterdam still to come. If you are leaving now please keep your setting to following and get notified on January 1 when my next GSJ pops up-Ruby Princess Panama Canal Christmas cruise. Thanks for following this far!

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

The gentleman who checked us in was welcoming. Alexander appeared to be reading notes on our booking. Check in with a smile at 11 a.m. The previous receptionist that we had the issue with came to help another traveler but avoided eye contact with us. Presumably lesson learned. Alexander insisted on bringing our bags to our new room across the street on the third floor. Off to a great start which continued when upon entering the room we saw the bottle of Prosecco on ice.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Bimmer09
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[yoshi]

so sorry the cruise has ended...looking forward to Panama Canal cruise which I'm sure will be outstanding! 

[Bimmer09]

54 minutes ago, MisterMet said:

How did you hold out so long putting down a deposit?  Lol!  I’m usually in the Future Cruise office before dinner the first night!   Great stuff Norris!  Been lurking in the shadows.  Easy to do as I’m only 5’3””😆

Thanks for following again!

I'm not yet  believing X is my "go to" line but am happy to have them in my choices. Now that I've been on an E Class where I saw much that I liked I'd consider sailing an S second best and an M unlikely so my choices are limited.

Their jacking up the price on the Premium Bev Pkg on the extension of the Memorial Day sale left a bitter distrustful taste in my mouth. No one reading this reacted with surprise.

 

Similarly when we got home and started looking for that next X cruise we picked Beyond for a Turkey/Greece cruise in October 2024. Maybe 2 days later they had yanked the Beyond out of the med schedules to put her in the Caribbean and there are many on the X Board who are affected as they had already booked air and hotels and made arrangements with friends joining them. They are not happy at the way they have been treated as customers. That's a bad taste.

I foresee us waiting for the 2025 schedules before our deposit expires in early December.

 

Today I was looking at Viking, Cunard, Oceania and Azamara all sailing from Istanbul which is our only bucket list item in the Med area. Ascent is doing Greece and Turkey in Oct 2024 and there are some non IV cabins (shudder) aft that suit and the price is what we paid for Iceland 12 days BUT she doesn't visit Istanbul. Cunard Princess Grill had some appeal. A suite @ $550 pp per day. Istanbul to Barcelona. Only a 7 day cruise but we'd get to Istanbul 3 days early and stay 2 more in Barcelona. It's a maybe.

 

If we make a decision I'll post the info here so stay "following" please.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

6 minutes ago, yoshi said:

so sorry the cruise has ended...looking forward to Panama Canal cruise which I'm sure will be outstanding! 

Thank you Yoshi. We have 2 days in Amsterdam before flying home so stay tuned.

Norris

[perfect match]

Thanks, Norris, for yet another great cruise review.  I will most definitely be sticking around to see what you and Carol are up to during your final two days in Amsterdam. 😎

[Bimmer09]

We have never disembarked a ship and gone straight to an airport -and never will. To go from that Happy Place that is a cruise ship to the crowds and waiting in line at an airport would be too much for the soul to bear. So we always book at least one day ashore to decompress and prepare ourselves.

Amsterdam was a great place to do that and we are so glad we had two days there before flying.

We were back in the hotel, in the familiar...

 

 

iPhone pics. 

 

The Apex can sail from Rotterdam this afternoon without us and we're ok with that.