Fewer bars on Apex? Are they crowded? Noisy?

[IUSteve]

From what I can tell, Apex has fewer bars than the Solstice-class ships or something comparable like Sun Princess (which I just sailed).  I count five (not including coffee or suite-only places):  Martini, Craft, Eden, Pool, and Sunset.  This is compared to 8 or 9 on Equinox.  This surprised me.  I loved the Ensemble Lounge in Equinox for a quiet before- or after-dinner drink. 

 

I assume what bars there are on Apex are larger to accommodate the ship capacity.  For those who have been on it, do the bars tend to be noisy and crowded at most times?  What's the best bet for a quiet before- or after-dinner drink?  Thanks!

 

Steve   

[April Jewel]

We recently completed a 4 night cruise on Apex. I thought excatly the same - fewer bars and they do get very busy especially on a cruise in cooler weather as the sunset and pool bars don't get used in the evenings.

Martini bar was always busy and difficult to get a seat in the evenings. Eden was generally better and we managed to find seating at nearly any time.

I think the ship would benefit from another couple of bars during the evening hours.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Don't forget The Magic Carpet. 

Edited June 10 by CHEZMARYLOU

[jelayne]

There is also the Club and the Magic Carpet

[PTC DAWG]

The mast grill has beer too..

[jwlane]

Many drinks are available at Il Secondo Bacio & Cafe al Bacio.

[Ergates The Ant]

The Magic Carpet bar was open all the time, but it was really cold and blowy out there! Not a lot of use on a cold weather cruise.

The seating in Eden was really badly designed, so less available than it looked at first glance. For instance, three single seats, all facing away from each other? Maybe good for solo cruisers or couples having had a row! Benches so wide that people had to sit with their legs up on the seats? Style over utility.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just off Edge from Alaska and never had a problem getting a drink in any of the bars...or a place to sit, for that matter.  Lots of people indoors due to the chill outside and still, no issues.  And Edge doesn't have World Class Bar...a big miss in my book.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Just off Edge from Alaska and never had a problem getting a drink in any of the bars...or a place to sit, for that matter.  Lots of people indoors due to the chill outside and still, no issues.  And Edge doesn't have World Class Bar...a big miss in my book.

Agree 100%. There are plenty of places to get a drink and sit besides right at the bar. If you MUST ALWAYS sit at a bar to drink then yes,it can be a bit of a challenge to find empty BAR seats. 

We NEVER have a problem drinking at the Martini Bar on any E-Class ship,but that's because we don't NEED to sit right at the bar. There are plenty of seats that surround the Martini Bar on E-Class ships.

The Club is a place people forget that it's not just a dance club but a place you can go get a drink and relax.

Edited June 10 by kwokpot

[39august]

I feel the same way about Beyond. World Class bar was added but it is small and DARK and not open until 5 PM. The club bar is seldom open and on our cruise, never before 5 PM. I don't like to drink outside except if the ship is not moving. So, very limited at 3-5 PM. Why there is no bar in the casino is a real mystery to me. The waiters have to go outside to the Craft Social bar, which is also very small. Nothing like the Craft Social on Equinox or Cellar Masters on Reflection and Eclipse. 

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, 39august said:

Why there is no bar in the casino is a real mystery to me. The waiters have to go outside to the Craft Social bar, which is also very small. Nothing like the Craft Social on Equinox or Cellar Masters on Reflection and Eclipse. 

Craft social WAS the casino bar when the E-Class first debuted. There wasn't a solid wall dividing the bar from the casino, it was more open. 

 

[TGfromTX]

Do the drink packages work at the craft social bar?  In the app it looks like food and drinks are both extra in it.

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 minutes ago, TGfromTX said:

Do the drink packages work at the craft social bar?  In the app it looks like food and drinks are both extra in it.

Food (bar bites) is extra but drinks are included unless you order something outside your package limit or don't have a package at all.

[NMTraveller]

7 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Don't forget The Magic Carpet. 

Which can be very windy ...

[CruisinKikster]

8 hours ago, IUSteve said:

From what I can tell, Apex has fewer bars than the Solstice-class ships or something comparable like Sun Princess (which I just sailed).  I count five (not including coffee or suite-only places):  Martini, Craft, Eden, Pool, and Sunset.  This is compared to 8 or 9 on Equinox.  This surprised me.  I loved the Ensemble Lounge in Equinox for a quiet before- or after-dinner drink. 

 

I assume what bars there are on Apex are larger to accommodate the ship capacity.  For those who have been on it, do the bars tend to be noisy and crowded at most times?  What's the best bet for a quiet before- or after-dinner drink?  Thanks!

 

Steve   

This is why I was not a fan of the Apex. I like having smaller, more intimate lounges spread throughout the ship. Apex pushed everyone to Eden or Martini in the evenings, which means they were crowded and loud. And we had a hard time getting drinks - servers were running ragged. 

 

I'm sticking to M and S Class for now. I prefer the more intimate vibe on them. 

[KKB]

17 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Craft social WAS the casino bar when the E-Class first debuted. There wasn't a solid wall dividing the bar from the casino, it was more open. 

 

Now we didn't sail until 2021.

Craft Social was open to casino on Edge.

Sailed Apex March 2022 & Craft Social wasn't open to the casino.

Are you saying it WAS open on originally on the Apex? (not open on Beyond either).

Or that they have closed it on the Edge?

It is still the "casino bar" based on proximity--it is the bar the casino servers go to.

[PTC DAWG]

I enjoy sailing along on the ocean with a drink in my hand..the Magic Carpet works for me, Sunset Bar too…not worried about a little messed up hair.  🙂
 

I do enjoy the dedicated Casino Bar on S Class in the evenings..makes more sense than the way E Class handles it.  

Edited June 11 by PTC DAWG

[kwokpot]

24 minutes ago, KKB said:

Now we didn't sail until 2021.

Craft Social was open to casino on Edge.

Sailed Apex March 2022 & Craft Social wasn't open to the casino.

Are you saying it WAS open on originally on the Apex? (not open on Beyond either).

Or that they have closed it on the Edge?

It is still the "casino bar" based on proximity--it is the bar the casino servers go to.

The point I was trying to make is as you had experienced on the Edge is that the original design of the E-Class ships was to have the bar that is now known as Craft Social be the 'Casino Bar. Once Celebrity decided it wanted to turn it into a cozy and modern Sports Bar the wall was necessary to allow for video screens and more seating. I haven't been on the Edge it a long time so I don't know what kinds of alterations were made, if any. My response was to answer your question why there isn't a casino bar;there is and it's Craft Social. There's isn't room to put it within the actual casino and honestly it wouldn't bring in the revenue for the amount of space it generates.  

As an aside Carnival has slowly taken away bars that were actually within the casino on their older ships. For Carnival the issue was controlling the smoking that occured at the casino bar.   

[KKB]

22 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

The point I was trying to make is as you had experienced on the Edge is that the original design of the E-Class ships was to have the bar that is now known as Craft Social be the 'Casino Bar. Once Celebrity decided it wanted to turn it into a cozy and modern Sports Bar the wall was necessary to allow for video screens and more seating. I haven't been on the Edge it a long time so I don't know what kinds of alterations were made, if any. My response was to answer your question why there isn't a casino bar;there is and it's Craft Social. There's isn't room to put it within the actual casino and honestly it wouldn't bring in the revenue for the amount of space it generates.  

As an aside Carnival has slowly taken away bars that were actually within the casino on their older ships. For Carnival the issue was controlling the smoking that occured at the casino bar.   

Gotcha...thought I might have missed something!

I do like the openness it had on the Edge, but honestly it's pointless, IMO.

It's a short walk around the wall to Craft & it is nice to have viewing for sports.

[Kelownadon]

When we were on the Apex we spent most of our time in the open area opposite from the Martini Bar closer to where you would get live music in the evenings. Was totally enjoyable and we were served drinks on a timely basis by the wait staff. Loved it. 

[kwokpot]

5 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

When we were on the Apex we spent most of our time in the open area opposite from the Martini Bar closer to where you would get live music in the evenings. Was totally enjoyable and we were served drinks on a timely basis by the wait staff. Loved it. 

EXACTLY. That's what I meant when I said we NEVER have a problem on any E-class ship sitting in the Martini Bar AREA. People seem to think you can only chat up people sitting at a bar; that's never been our experience, ESPECIALLY on a cruiseship where people chat up each other any and everywhere (For better or worse,lol). 

I've had this discussion when talking about the Retreat Lounge on E-Class ships and not having a proper sitdown bar, which seem to be a nonstarter for many.I for one find it much more comfortable sitting in a club chair or loveseat and chatting and enjoying music and drinks than sitting at a bar where you have people cutting in to order drinks and having to turn sideways or every which way to chat with people. Is everyone on a cruiseship barflies that have to spend hours on end sitting at a bar to enjoy a drinking experience? I just don't get it. 

[steveso]

We are just off from the Apex. If the cruise is a "cold weather" cruise then you are limited to the indoor areas and there is definitely a bar seating problem at peak evening times whether in the Martini Bar or the Eden. Bear in mind they also run some shows in the Eden (which are excellent) but then make it impossible to find any seating at all and also a couple in the Grand Plaza which effectively is also the Martini Bar

 

I would say that they are definitely one large bar short and that space has been taken by the speciality restaurants.

 

 

[miched]

Look at the deck plan for the Apex and compare.   How many bars do you need?   There may be  the same or more.  If there is less the bars may have more BT’s and servers.   It all works out 
 

There are more than enough.  
 

Naturally there are certain bars that are busier that others.   It depends on the time of the day. 
I never had a problem getting a drink or dying of thirst.   We would sit down and within a reasonable time we were served a drink.   Not any worse than a land based bar.

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[NMTraveller]

Yes

[April Jewel]

8 hours ago, miched said:

Look at the deck plan for the Apex and compare.   How many bars do you need?   There may be  the same or more.  If there is less the bars may have more BT’s and servers.   It all works out 
 

There are more than enough.  
 

Naturally there are certain bars that are busier that others.   It depends on the time of the day. 
I never had a problem getting a drink or dying of thirst.   We would sit down and within a reasonable time we were served a drink.   Not any worse than a land based bar.

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

That wasn't really the question that was asked.

The question was 'do the bars tend to be noisy and crowded at most times?  What's the best bet for a quiet before- or after-dinner drink?'

 

I suppose it depends on your definition of 'most times' but I would contend that the main bars are busy for most of the evening. That's not to say that you can't get a drink within a few minutes, but we sometimes had to go to the bar and queue up ourselves as the waiter service was somewhat sparse.

Is there really a quiet bar for an after dinner drink? The martini bar is the main focus in the middle of the ship and tends to be pretty 'buzzy' all evening (or it was on our sailing). We recently did a cruise with Princess and they had a number of quiet bars away from the atrium that were lovely to sit and relax in after dinner.

 

This sounds like I disliked the Apex and I really didn't. In fact we have booked another cruise on her next year. I just wanted to give an honest answer to the question asked.

Whatever our opinions I hope we all enjoy our future cruises.