CELEBRITY APEX
7-NIGHT WESTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE
03/18/2023: Port Everglades, Florida
03/19/2023: Key West, Florida
03/20/2023: Sea Day
03/21/2023: Belize City, Belize
03/22/2023: Cozumel, Mexico
03/23/2023: George Town, Grand Cayman
03/24/2023: Sea Day
03/25/2023: Port Everglades, Florida
You can check out all of our Celebrity Apex video's here!
Celebrity Apex - Video Playlist
THE REDEMPTION CRUISE
You must be asking why are we calling this the redemption cruise? Well let's go back to 2020, right before the world shut down and life as we know it would change forever. We were set to sail Celebrity Edge in March of 202. We were looking forward to that cruise so much, had a great deal, excursions booked, new outfits, you name it we were doing it. The week of the cruise, more and more lines had starting to cancel cruises due to COVID. Celebrity so far was not. We were starting to think about the cruise being cancelled. Well Friday afternoon rolls around and as I'm getting ready to leave work we see information coming out on some Facebook groups that Celebrity was next to cancel. So we decided to call Celebrity. They asked us how we knew. It was a hard pill to swallow, we felt like someone stabbed us in the heart. Very upset and very pissed off. We felt completely safe going. So fast forward a few years, still having the itch to get on Celebrity again. So a great deal came along for Apex and we booked! I just couldn't shake that feeling and needed to get on Celebrity.
Overall this was a floating museum at sea. We had so much inspiration on new videos that we never though of before. I mean we took countless photos and videos of just the wide-variety of chairs and artwork throughout the entire ship.
Before we head into the tour of Celebrity Apex, we're taking you along to the hotel we stayed at, the night before the cruise. A great option near the port.
Le Meridien Dania Beach
We booked at the Le Meridien Dania Beach hotel, minutes from the port and right across the street from the airport. We wanted to head down from Orlando a day earlier vs driving down the morning of the cruise. It took us about four and a half hours to get down to our hotel. A bit of traffic but not too terrible. It was a really good decision to head down a day before, peace of mind and less aggravation the day of the cruise.
The ambiance of the hotel was very modern, lots of open spaces and a great overall design, a tribute to the beauty of South Florida. The weird thing we noticed that inside the hotel wasn't convenience store. Also nothing in a short walking distance. So we suggest stopping prior if you want snacks and drinks.
The other restaurant is Toro which is their sit-down option, opened for dinner. We felt this was a great start to our vacation. The restaurant was on the loud side, so if that is a problem you might want to skip it,. Service, however was great, they do charge a 18% service charge when dining, even small groups of 2 like us. Food was very good.
The Toro Burger was a solid 7.1 out of 10. It was a thick patty, making the burger a bit hard to eat, but overall flavors were good making this burger enjoyable. Not the best burger we've ever had, but still a solid burger.
The Lomo Saltado was an amazing dish. Giving it a 8.5 out of 10. The creamy Bomba rice was the star for me, loved it. Beef was cooked perfectly. Flavors were incredible in this dish.
For dessert we went with the homemade Churros. Great ending to our dinner, 8.9 out of 10.
Onto our room. We felt it was very nice and spacious. Since there was not a lot of people at the hotel we were able to get the very top floor (12) and our view was awesome. The view of Ft Lauderdale Airport and the surrounding area. The room we felt could have been colder, don't get me wrong it wasn't hot, but it felt around 76 degrees. Bed was comfy for the most part, could have used better pillows. Loved having the coffee machine in the room, just wish they gave us more than 2 creamers for such a strong coffee.
Overall we enjoyed our stay here. Felt very safe, grounds were beautiful and well maintained. Pool area was also great. Also location was perfect. Highly recommend this hotel.
Now who's ready for a cruise!
DECK 2
Destination Gateway & Magic Carpet
Starting our tour on deck 2 at the gangway. This is where you will be getting on and off the ship at each of the ports of call. During our excursion in Grand Cayman when we were heading off we noticed that the Magic Carpet wasn't there at all. Wasn't that the whole point of the Magic Carpet? Found that to be very weird.
DECK 3
Camp at Sea
This section is dedicated to young travelers of all ages. In this area is interactive experiences and amazing learning opportunities. They also offer 500 activities, so there is no shortage of fun in this area.
The sections are divided up into age groups.
Shipmates - Ages 3 to 5
Cadets - Ages 6 to 9
Captains - Ages 10 to 12
Teens - Ages 13 to 17
Grand Plaza & Martini Bar (Decks 3, 4 & 5)
Inspired by the piazzas of Italy the Grand Plaza is the central hub of the ship. We headed here for one of the many Chandelier shows. The show itself lasts maybe 3 minutes and consists of the bartenders doing some bottle tricks and pouring martinis in small glasses for whoever sits at the bar, which we were. It was actually a fun show to watch, wish it was longer. We suggest getting here earlier to get a seat at the actual bar.
Guest Relations & Celebrity iLounge
This was one of the most laidback Guest Relations area we've seen on a ship. It's behind the main atrium area, which is good for the noise factor. Never saw it too busy, it was another beautiful section of the ship.
Normandie Restaurant (Complimentary)
We finally are at the Normandie Restaurant on our Belize day for dinner. This was another beautiful dining room on the ship. Overall dinner service was decent, waitress forgot coffee and entrees but what cruise hasn't. They were overall really nice and came over often so we didn't make anything out of it. 7 out of 10.
NIGHT 4 - DINNER
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Dinner on our first night was here, this is their Italian inspired restaurant. We started off with some bread and butter, which included sun-dried tomato, regular and horseradish, all great flavors. While we dined here we couldn't help by notice the beauty of this restaurant. The prominent black and white color scheme with pops of color as subtle as being an Italian field on the back of a chair.
NIGHT 1 - DINNER
Service on night 1 was a bit on the slow side. Attention to refills were not there much at all. Have had far worse service before. Tonight's service we'd give a 6 out of 10.
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The Oven Roasted Jerk Spiced Chicken. The chicken was a hair better but still not worth anything more than a 4.5 out of 10.
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NIGHT 3 - DINNER
Tonight was our first elegant night. We did not notice a lot of people dressed up at all. For Celebrity that was very odd. I don't even recall seeing anyone in a tux. My how times have changed. Lots of polos and dress shirts. Biggest letdown for us was the overall elegant experience. We had high hopes going into this, especially for Celebrity. They seemed to let it slip by and fell below Carnival and Royal.
NIGHT 5 - DINNER
We're back!!! No not for the mediocre service, but for the Eggplant!
The Theatre (Decks 3, 4 & 5)
The Theatre is home to some incredible shows. There is truly a perfect view from any seat. With 20 foot tall 4K LED screens that curves 110 feet around the stage that completely immerses you. The Theatre also includes a 360-degree circular scrim that features 21K laser projections for breathtaking wrap-around imagery and effects. Did we mention the 18 foot tall Tree of Life that has over 2800 LED leaves? This is surely a theater like no other.
IT'S SHOWTIME!!!
ROCKUMENTARY
Rock history takes center stage at The Theatre. Relive the epic performances that defined decade after decade, and rock along with your favorites. Well let's say this show, was really not for our age group at all, which is 30s/40s. The show was more of a trip down memory lane for most in the Theatre. A lot of the songs came out well before either of us were born. When you say rock, we expect Queen or Kiss or Guns and Roses. Well we got Queen's "We are the Champions". Yay! The rest of the show was enjoyable as the buffet at elegant night was. Most of the songs consisted of Janis Joplin, Elton John, Creedence Clearwater and Jimi Hendrix. Legends for sure, not that away from any of them, but you need to update these songs. More of a general music rant at this point. So much music on these lines are so outdated and always the same songs. The singers here didn't make it any better either when the singing is more screaming than anything. Just felt wrong on some of these songs. We wouldn't run back to see this show. 3 out of 10.
TREE OF LIFE
Our first production show was Tree of Life. We got there 30 minutes prior which is when the theater doors will open up. Upon entering the theater you see a large tree with string lights in the middle of the stage. Sounds of crickets and frogs in the background makes you soak in the ambiance before the start of the show. The show was good, not in our top 10 of best shows, felt it was entertaining and the cast did a good job bringing the story to life. The visual screens and costumes along with the music had us staying entertained thought-out the show. 6.5 of out 10.
CRYSTALLIZE
Get ready for a multi-sensory spectacle like you've never experienced before. High-energy pop violin music, aerial acrobatics, and a dance set the rhythm for a light show that will take your breath away. As always get here early, we got here about 50 minutes before showtime and the line was already formed outside the theater for the 9pm showing. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the start of the show. One thing we didn't care for was that there was a lot going on at night and having early dinner (5:45pm) and trying to do a 7pm show is near impossible. Doing a 9pm show you need to waste an hour for good seats. So just keep that in mind while trying to plan your evenings out. The show was packed! The show itself was really, really good. Best show we saw during the cruise. Well-deserved 8.5 out of 10.
Other than these production shows we were also treated to one of the funniest comedian's we've had on a cruise, Jason Blanchard. We had him on a recent cruise as well, so having him again was an unexcepted treat. Just as funny and entertaining. Having his show in the theater was a great place to have it. Since they can accommodate such a large amount of people vs a smaller intimate lounge. We saw him again the following night, new material and even funnier. Also adults only!
We ended our cruise here with an unforgettable performance by Anne Martinez, who is a headlining vocalist in Las Vegas. She was absolutely amazing. Best show of the cruise. Her voice alone was by far superior to any other voice on that ship. More modern songs which is maybe why the older crowd was leaving. But she was amazing, would see her again for sure. That was a great ending to our cruise! 9.5 out of 10!
DECK 4
This area was where we came for some of the art classes. It's tucked away next to The Club.
We stopped here on our sea day for the Iced Popcorn Frappe. The drink we did enjoy, the barista did a blended version which was flavorful. 7 our of 10. Enjoyed that they always had some sort of snacks in the showcase, which would often change throughout the day.
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Cosmopolitan Restaurant (Complimentary)
During our 2nd day on board we headed to the Cosmopolitan for breakfast. Went pretty basic this morning with an omelet and waffles. Both standard and pretty good options. Service was almost too good, waiters came over way too many times to count. Once we were leaving the hostess in the front saw us taking pictures and walked us to the front of the restaurant. She then turned us around to look at the restaurant from a certain angle, it was the wine bottles on one wall being all red, then took us to the other side with the angle showing all the white wines. Really cool.
DAY 7 - BREAKFAST
We came back again for breakfast on our last sea day. Omelet and Benedict were our choices. Still cold eggs, but the Benedict was cooked to perfection. Service still good here as well.
Cyprus Restaurant (Complimentary)
Key West night we had dinner in the Cyprus Restaurant. Service was a bit better than Tuscan last night. We have to give compliment's to the staff, so far on day 2 of the cruise we noticed so many friendly, smiling faces.
NIGHT 2 - DINNER
You will come across this walkway to Eden on Deck 5. It's very shiny with music in the background.
Eden (Decks 4, 5 & 6)
Eden was one place we were really looking forward to on Edge, since that didn't go to plan, let's check out Apex. This space is where nature is very present, called "a room that lives". A place, no an experience so multi-faceted and innovative, you won't find anything else like it at sea or anywhere for that matter. First impressions were great. From the unique ambiance and sitting in the plentiful selection of chairs in this space alone was great. Truly an area that we've never experienced before.
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During our first day at sea we headed to Eden, I did a full tour of the area. From the amazing décor pieces to the unique chairs, very inspiring venue on the ship. Later on that day we came here to watch Night of Adrenaline. We had to get here an hour early to get a good seat. The show was the very talented violinist playing some amazing songs. Very enjoyable show. 7 out of 10.
During our Cozumel night we came back to watch Night of Enchantment. The show was all about love songs. Overall a very good performance by the singers, dancers, live band and specialty acts. Show we'd give a 7 out of 10. Our one complaint, which is and isn't an actual complaint was that the show was great, we just noticed that Eden wasn't living up to the hype we've heard about and seen prior on other videos. We heard what a unique venue this was and there would be characters just walking around randomly dressed as plants and having more risqué style shows. Don't get me wrong we really enjoyed the shows here. Just expected more from Eden as a whole.
On our last night we saw Night of the Arts. The show was another great show. 7.5 out of 10.
It's time for dinner on our last night of the cruise. Now the reason we did it on the last night was because when we went on Harmony of the Seas we did Wonderland on the last night of the cruise and it was the best dining experience we've ever had. I say experience since it was part ambiance and part food and part everything. Amazing. So we had high hopes for Eden since we felt it was very similar. We got to sit right in front by the kitchen (BAD MOVE), and it's an open kitchen so you see EVERYTHING. We also noticed rightaway that the menu wasn't the same as we saw right before we sailed. In pictures and videos and why we wanted to come in the first place. That was a bit disappointing to start with. They now offer two menus, one is the a la carte option (included) and the other original menu with a wine pairing. So originally you had multi-courses and got to choose one option for each course, which we had planned to do. But we stuck around and picked options we wanted, they really didn't care how many, so it really didn't impact much for us.
Now we've been to countless restaurants on countless ships, this is at the very bottom of our list. Overall score, 4.5 out of 10. Now we did speak with people who did enjoy this restaurant. So this is just our opinion.
A few things on service. Very slow, not attentive at all. The Matire D came out very sloppy, unbuttoned jacked and shirt was a mess. Then one of the chef's came out from the back, no undershirt so you saw nothing but stomach hanging over his pants. Are you f***ing kidding me here. I thought we were on Celebrity and this is how your present yourselves? Seriously they were lucky this was the end of our meal. No point to complain, since the staff didn't seem to care and more importantly took no pride in themselves at all.
To compare this to Wonderland would be a shame to even do. There is no comparison at all. Wonderland was above and beyond our expectations, while Eden was below and beyond our expectations. What a way to celebrate our anniversary. We had a better celebration at a coffee shop once we got back home then at any point during this cruise.
The Pan Roasted Caraninero Shrimp was the best of the apps, cooked good, flavors decent. 6 out of 10.
Eden Cafe (Complimentary)
Our first sea day we came here for breakfast. The menu we felt wasn't the largest menu around with a lot of basic options being offered. We went with yogurt and a fruit bowl, cheese plate and a steak sandwich. Yogurt bowl was pretty basic, nothing crazy. Steak sandwich was iced cold in the middle, ended up just eating the roast beef. Cheese plate was probably the best thing we had, all the items on here worked great together. Overall did not enjoy our experience much at all and did not return the entire rest of our trip. 4.5 out of 10.
Future Cruise Vacations
Here is the Future Cruise Vacations desk, if you're interested in booking another cruise with Celebrity.
Le Grande Bistro ($$$)
This is the French Bistro on Apex. We did not dine here during our cruise.
Here is the Photo Gallery which is where all of the photos you take throughout the cruise. They are found here and available for purchase. The Studio is professional photo studio time.
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Shore Excursions Desk
You can purchase shore excursions prior to your cruise. You can also book here once you board.
Craft Social Bar ($$$)
We headed here once for the wine flight. However due to "supply issues" they were not offering wine at the moment. Yet this location is right next to the casino, in which is where they get drinks from. Which is also where we had wine at several other points. So who knows.
The Casino ($$$$$$$$$$$$$)
The casino offered free drinks to anyone playing in the casino at different points during the cruise, only problem was that we rarely saw staff coming around to take drink orders. Actually weird the entire trip we noticed the casino was almost an afterthought to most people, never once crowded at all. Also we noticed the app for the casino hours were not accurate. On Belize night we saw it opened at a certain time, never opened until an hour and a half later. Seemed limited on hours in the casino during the trip. Not sure what is going on there.
The Club (Decks 4 & 5)
The Club during the day is a gathering space, but at night this place really comes alive with games and shows. We spent a lot of time here enjoying the games and shows.
One night 1 we headed here to play Pitfall, which is a really fun game. They start with 6 contestants and a category, for example the question was, Which pieces were or are a standard Monopoly set? Then they give you a list of choices along with 6 incorrect answers. The goal is to get all of your answers correct. They did three games in total and the winner would win a t-shirt. I played the second game and got out quick, but still a lot of fun.
Another game we got to play was This or That, which was a really fun game. Everyone who wants to play goes to the main floor, and our cruise director Brittany will have a question on the screen with two answers, you then have to pick which you think is the correct answer by going to the left or right of the floor. Whoever picks correct get's to stay, and game continues the same way until there is only 1 winner. They did 3 games. A lot of fun to play and watch.
During our last sea day we went to the Escape Room, Lost in Time. When you walk in you have the games setup all around the venue, so you go to one and try to make teams of 6 or more, ended up with 10 of us. We had 45 minutes to solve the puzzle. We didn't win, but it was so much fun. They got the winner at the very last minute. Loved doing this for sure.
Other games included the Golf Challenge and Majority Rules.
CARAVAN AT THE CLUB
You must get here at least 45 minutes to an hour early to get a good seat. The venue is two levels but not a lot of seats. Plenty of standing room. The actual show was a lot of high energy fun. We really enjoyed this circus-style show. 7.5 out of 10. Would have went higher, but the short was only 40 minutes or so. Still worth checking out. These were the same performers that are in the Eden shows. They played this show numerous times during the cruise.
The Celebrity Shops & Boutique Shops
The ship has shopping in several locations throughout the ship. Here are some of them.
DECK 5
Art Gallery
Here is the art gallery.
Blu (Complimentary for AquaClass)
One of the more visually stunning restaurants Celebrity offers.
Fine Cut Steakhouse ($$$)
Here is the steakhouse. We did not dine here during our cruise.
Magic Carpet
The Magic Carpet on deck 5 is an extension of Raw on 5. We came out here after dinner a few nights, the bar is setup so we'd just come and watch the sunset and enjoy some views in between things to do.
Raw on 5 ($$$)
Here is Raw on 5. Did not dine here, but we came for the sushi demo, which showcased some of their options. Felt it was just basic sushi rolls. Nothing we'd go out of our way for.
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DECK 9
Stateroom 9270
After we boarded the ship we were allowed to head right to our stateroom and drop off luggage. So no sooner we were doing that, our room attendant Carlo came in with a vacuum and started to vacuum. Which I understand that they have ta job to do, but he just came in and brought the vacuum over the entire room to the vanity area and started cleaning. A bit annoying when you see us trying to drop off luggage. Also the entire cruise he seemed to be sick or just bad allergies, sniffing every day. Overall we weren't much of a fan of him, wasn't too attentive at all, had to constantly ask for towels and toilet paper. Brought it up several times, but never clicked to him. Another complaint came on our Belize day, after the pool, which we went to early and stayed for several hours. We went back to our room around 11:30 am and the room still wasn't touched.
Around 1pm on the first day the staterooms are open to go into. We did our normal unpack. The stateroom was an interior, which felt pretty spacious for an inside cabin. Bathroom had to be one of the largest and most beautiful we've ever had. The ultra modern fell and technology in the cabin was great. From the lights with a dimming feature to the charging ports all over the room. Closest were also a good size. Also had a few drawers near the vanity as well as some hidden drawers near the closet.
We did find out that we could control the tv and lights in the room from the app on our phones, pretty cool.
DECK 12
Luminae at the Retreat (Suite Guests Only)
We came here to check the venue out during our first sea day. Have to say it was one of the more visually stunning dining rooms on the ship. Loved the colors and décor pieces, really beautiful. The restaurant is only open for suite guests.
MENU'S
DECK 14
il Secondo Bacio ($$$)
Right inside the Oceanview Cafe you will have the second coffee shop on board. A bit of a tip. If you're getting ice cream at Scoops, come here for whipped cream. They have most of the same coffee options as they do downstairs.
Magic Carpet ($$$) (Decks 14, 15 & 16)
We headed up here on day one during sail away, great views of us leaving port.
Mast Grill (Complimentary)
Here is the grill for your poolside burgers and hot dogs. We did not come to this area much at all and never did eat here at all.
Oceanview Cafe (Complimentary)
This is the buffet on the Apex. Day one we noticed at the buffet can be very overwhelming with the amount of available options. We suggest take a walk around and see what strikes your eye.
Our sea day we ended up here. Have to say it was as you'd expect, very packed. The buffet area is in one main section which isn't a huge area to begin with. They kept about 90% of the buffet in this packed area, while the pizza was in the back and ice cream was tucked in a corner up front. Not a good layout at all. Food was decent at best, standard. A place you want to avoid on sea days for sure.
On our day in Belize we decided not to get off the ship and headed to the Oceanview Cafe for lunch. Wasn't too crazy here at all. It gave us some amazing views of the turquoise waters all around us. As we sat down and eating out lunch we couldn't help but notice the crew never going to many of the tables to pickup plates.
On our Grand Cayman day we had a few hours before we got to port, so we came up here for breakfast. Again more standard breakfast options, nothing crazy. Later on once we got back from being on land, we headed up for our second formal night. Yea, we skipped it. After the other night and the menu as bad as it was we just skipped it and came to the buffet. Way to go Celebrity! But wait, it get's even better. We come up here for dinner and have to say what a sorry excuse this was for a dinner buffet. Over half of the stations were closed and main entrees included hamburgers and hot dogs. Seriously Celebrity? Only saving grace was the pasta station. We understand that most people go the dining room on elegant night, but this was terrible. I'm at a loss of words. We saw so many people before this cruise say how great the food on Celebrity was and how it was above and beyond all the other lines. We can honestly say it was beyond the other lines, but not above in any way, shape or form. Wow, just wow.
Scoops (Complementary)
Also right inside the Oceanview Cafe is Scoops. It is free, except for the gelato offerings. Pretty decent ice cream options and toppings. Again if you want whipped cream, head to il Secondo Bacio right next door.
Pizza
In the back of the Oceanview Cafe is the Pizza section. Pizza overall was good, not the best, but good. So weird options at times, which we stayed away from. One option was corn topped with other things, made a pineapple pizza seem normal. Large section back in this area with seating inside and out. Nice.
Resort Pool Deck & Bar
The center on this stunning pool deck is a 25-yard lap pool, the largest in the fleet. We actually did something we usually never do, swim at night. It was a bit rocky that night with some light rain coming in here and there. The pool deck was a ghost town and we had the pool to ourselves. The pool was heated here and there in parts, still some chilly parts to it. Temps outside was in the low 70s, making it chilly with the wind. We made the most of that night and had a lot of much needed fun. Great change of pace. Also the entire area is lit up from the champagne hot tubs to the large art above the bar area. Afterwards we grabbed a few slices of pizza and headed back to the cabin to watch a movie.
On our Belize day we ended up staying on the ship and enjoying the pool again. Until the rain came and then headed into the Solarium. We made the most of the pool. Later on at night we headed up to check out the Apex After Dark deck party. This was a let down. It was on the top deck in the corner near the Mast Grill. Everyone was grouped in that area dancing. We stopped by before heading to our cabin for bed.
This area also offers outward-facing cabanas for an additional charge. They are about 165 square feet and 18 feet high.
Apex Cabanas
Next to the main pool you will have the Apex Cabanas, for an upcharge you can have your own dedicated space near the pool. Only thing we didn't like about these was that it really wasn't next to the pool. You still had to walk around in order to get to the actual pool area. So you're really just getting a spot with shade, to us not worth the money.
Solarium
After the pool we headed here during our Belize day. Not too crazy in here, had a nice relaxing day. Water we felt was a bit on the colder side, didn't stay here too long. Overall a nice area.
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The Spa (Decks 14 & 15)
Here are some images from The Spa.
The Spa is broken up into various sections.
SEA Thermal Suite ($$$) (AquaClass Complimentary)
This section is made up of 8 distinct spaces.
Complimentary for all AquaClass guests.
Hamam - Combines elements of water and earth, a modern take on the traditional Turkish bath.
Crystalarium - The element of Earth emanates a luminous vibrancy while the healing Amethyst crystal serves as the conduit for natural healing energy.
Salt Room - Elements of water, earth and air are all present in this simulated salt cave environment, which is believed to treat a variety of respiratory and skin conditions.
Steam Room - Elements of water and air mingle, let the moist heat open up your airways and feel refreshed as toxins melt away from your body as you sweat.
Infrared Sauna Room - State of the art technology heats the air to calm the body and relieve stress, releasing feel-good endorphins. The infrared lighting system offers many of the benefits of the natural sunlight without the ultraviolet light.
Float Room - Feel lighter than air as you swing into a meditative sleeve in these cocooned floating basket chairs, while you look at the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer stunning views of the sea.
Heated Tile Loungers - Offers you a chance to take in the panoramic views of the ocean from the comfort of the heated tile loungers. Just like back and relax.
Rainfall Water Therapy Room - What's more renewing than a spring shower? The element of water takes center stage as simulated rain showers drop to a waterfall, massaging your body and soul.
The Persian Garden ($$$) (AquaClass Complimentary)
The Celebrity Apex offers the Persian Garden which is a pass that includes the aquatherapy environments from aromatic steam to the tropical rain showers. AquaClass guests enjoy unlimited access to the Persian Garden.
The Fitness Center (Complimentary - Minus Certain Classes)
Much like all cruises you will find the gym onboard being a complimentary option offered to guests. That is still the case here, having a state-of-the-art gym on the Apex. Everything from weight machines to cardio equipment. Classes are also offered for an extra fee starting around $49 per guest. Some classes include cardio boxing and Peloton classes.
Other offerings in The Spa include a salon, barber shop and Ideal Image, which can take care of Botox, Filler Treatments and Cosmetics.
As you can see The Spa offer's a lot of options to choose from. You can see full lists of options listed on Celebrity's website.
DECK 15
Rooftop Garden & Rooftop Garden Grill ($$$)
We spent a lot of time hanging out at the Rooftop Garden. Easily one of our favorite spots on the ship. Sitting back in the comfy seats, listening to the lite music in the background and watching birds fly around from time to time, it was perfect. At some points we have to say the music was a bit too loud, should be lower and soothing.
Jogging Track (Decks 15 & 16)
On our first port day we headed up to the top deck to check out our arrival in Key West. We ended up on the jogging track, which got me to start looking around at the amazing unique architecture of the design of the jogging track, looping from deck to deck and back around, unlike any ship we've been on before. I did a full loop around, it was a bit of a challenge with the incline.
The Retreat Deck & Lounge ($$$) (Decks 15 & 16)
The Retreat Sundeck is a luxurious outdoor area that will give a high-end resort a run for it's money. This stylish design is a perfect setting to help you sit back and relax in style. We found ourselves on the last sea day on a bit of a self-guided tour. Can't tell you how we got in, but for you guys we did!
Sunset Bar ($$$)
We headed up here on day one with a bottle of bubbles to soak in the sun with the relaxing ambiance. A great start to the cruise.
DECK 16
Martini Hot Tubs
Bet you haven't seen this before. Two two-story martini hot tubs. Can you say WOW?!?
PORTS OF CALL
Le Meridien Dania Beach (Ft Lauderdale, Florida)
This was a first for us in any cruise, actually coming down a day prior to get a hotel near the port. Well not unless you count Alaska. We decide to drive after work down to Ft Lauderdale just to get that headache out of the way. We're right next to FLL airport, and just a short drive to Port Everglades.
Port Everglades (Homeport)
As me mentioned above we headed down to Ft Lauderdale a day earlier just to get down in the area. So all we had to do the morning of the cruise was just to take a short drive over. We checked out of our hotel and headed to the port, which was only a couple of miles away. Apex was docked in Terminal 25. Our garage was the Palm Garage, which shared parking with a few other ships. It was about a 5 minute walk from the garage to the terminal. A bit much with a lot of luggage since you do not come across any porters until you're at the actual terminal.
Once we checked in you head inside and up an escalator to security. There you go through and immediately they will have you go in line to show your boarding bass. Not much room to put back on that belt you just had taken off. No areas really to stand in between.
After that you're shuffled around in an organized chaos to sit down until boarding starts. As they said "first come, first serve". Just loops and loops of these wooden benches seats down the entire terminal. After a bit they just started boarding, but never announced it. They started going as they said they would, first come, first on. Took no time at all, very quick process.
Key West, Florida
Our first port was Key West. We headed off the ship with no plans set in stone. One thing I kept saying I wanted to my wife was a fish sandwich at the marina. Just something I usually always do whenever I'm at a coastal city visiting. So we got ready and headed down to the Destination Gangway, which by the way was a very spacious area for loading and unloading.
We started to walk away from the ship and headed into the town to see what we can find to do. We knew lunch at the marina was an option. We walked for a bit and came up to the Conch Train Tours, was tempted to do that, but pricing was a bit high for what they were offering. So we kept on walking and came to the Fury Golf Cart stand which was right down the block from the marina. They offered several pricing options, the one we went with was the 4 seater for 3 hours, with tax coming out to around $130. Totally worth it. We drove all around the island, Southern Most Point, up and down Duval Street, and may other areas on the island. It was a lot of fun driving around the island. Highly recommended!
Once our time was up we headed back and were now hungry and ready for lunch. After 10 minutes of playing the game, What do you want? We came across Alonzo's. Overall a standard Key West restaurant offering fresh fish, oysters and may other local favorites. We went with a couple of fish sandwiches and just sat and enjoyed the Key West cold air. Yes it was on the chilly side for lunch. Afterwards we headed back to the ship, about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the marina. Great day here!
Belize City, Belize
Our second port was Belize. We've been here twice and did some research prior, doesn't look like port has changed since we first came in 2011. So we stayed on the ship. We took advantage of the pool and Solarium for most of the morning. Led to lunch in the Oceanview Cafe, followed by some photo and video time of the ship. Finally onto the room for a nap until it was time to get ready for dinner. This is a port that we don't mind staying on the ship for. We'd much rather have Nassau than Belize, by far.
Cozumel, Mexico
Today our adventure brings us to a familiar port, Cozumel. We have an excursion booked that's fitting for a day here in Mexico. It's the "Mexologist" for the day - Margaritas and Traditional Bites shore excursion. Truly an excursion that you'll likely to forget! We met in the area on shore, then a short 10 minute bus ride to the resort. This was where the drinking started with a welcome drink, then upstairs to the class. They had bars setup for everyone, 2 people per bar. This is where we will learn to make different drinks. Started off with a couple margaritas followed by a light tapas lunch with guacamole which me learned how to make ourselves. Also another drink that our teacher Carlos made for anyone who wanted it. Then off to make more drinks. Luckily I wrote this down as I was doing it and took video, cause by this point I was already having the time of my life. We had complete control on how much we put in our drinks and between my wife and I, mainly me, we took down over half of a bottle of tequila, which was sealed prior to opening. Also the other bottles we could use. Honestly surprised I made it back to the ship. But after we made a few more drinks we got to sit back down for lunch. Basic options, but so good since you're in Mexico and you're very intoxicated at this point in time. After lunch we had only 30 minutes before our bus came to get us. You can always take a cab back. The resort has a small rooftop pool which we did not get a chance to check out. Even after the cruise and putting the video together it was a blast. Seriously so much fun. 10 out of 10. Only minor issue was our bus ran out of gas on the way back. But we were in a new bus about 2 minutes later, so no issue at all.
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
We started our morning up in the Oceanview Café for a late breakfast, followed by the Rooftop Garden for some relax time before we had to meet for our excursion. Our meeting spot was the main Theatre. What a complete cluster. Very unorganized, it's like you do this all the time and you make it like it's the first time ever you're doing this. I don't work here and I can tell you what a terrible process this is. The shore excursion team was not helpful at all, took forever calling for excursions and didn't give much info at all to anyone coming into the Theatre. They were more worried about when they actually did get on the microphone which staff member's were single and how the person from south Africa was white. I kid you not, they were useless. It would have been a lot more smarter to break the tons of groups in the Theatre to other smaller lounges throughout the ship. Would have made more sense.
40 minutes go by waiting and we're still not called. Finally almost an hour later we get called to go to our tender. After we got to shore we took a short 15 minute bus ride over to the docks and then a 30 minute ride out to the snorkel area. Biggest issue we had was that the snorkel area was very, very rocky, borderline should have been cancelled. We were only there for 30 minutes, but when you consider an entire boat of people having to put gear on and then in the water one-by-one, you really have no time out there. My wife went ahead of me and then I went close to the end of the line, since I knew I wouldn't be in long. I was in, maybe a couple minutes and I just couldn't handle the waves anymore, so I went back on. I'm not a snorkel person at all. She took some video, saw really nothing at all. You always see the commercial's on TV for the Cayman Islands and how it's one of the best places in the world to snorkel, then you take us here to see what? 10 minutes at best of snorkel time to see a fish? Total waste of time. Then we all headed back on and off to Stingray City, there we had another 30 to 40 minutes to get off and swim. First we all headed into a large circle to touch the stingrays. Then we got to hold one, took pictures and feed it. Still very wavy in our opinion. We ended up breaking out of that circle and was just having fun looking around at all the stingrays swimming by us constantly. That made up for the lack luster snorkel and waves. Overall that was the true highlight of our trip. We'd say this isn't for everyone. You must be in decent condition to do this. Also don't waste time on the snorkel, just book the Stingray City on it's own. We'd give this a 7 out of 10.
ART OF APEX
The ship was so inspiring that we decided on doing some different types of video's. To showcase the beauty that is sometimes overlooked. Our first inspiration comes from the vast collection of artwork on the ship. It truly was a museum at sea. We say maybe half of the art offered. Make sure to check out our video. Here are some of our favorite pieces.
ODE TO A CHAIR
Our next video came in the form of chairs. Yes, as crazy as it sounds we dedicated an entire video just to the insane amount of seating options on this ship. Some as you can see from the pictures we picked out that they were very unique options. Never thought we'd do a video on just the chairs, but here we are!
Thank you for checking our our review of Celebrity Apex. Stay tuned for our next cruise!
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You can check out all of our Celebrity Apex video's here!
Celebrity Apex - Video Playlist
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