All in all, I loved the ship. Key West and Cozumel were great, Belize was fine and I think I would have possibly enjoyed Grand Cayman a bit more with an excursion or if we would have snorkeled with our friends. I do think that I prefer a 7 day cruise with 1 additional sea day and one less port. Oh well, live and learn. The Apex is great and plenty to do, staterooms are great and the service is second to none. Book it with confidence.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very smooth embarkation. We showed up about 20 minutes earlier than our scheduled time due to our transfer and still had ZERO issues.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Part of the reason to sail Celebrity is the food. We were Aqua Class and could utilize Blu for dinner, but still ate at some of the "main dining" offerings as they were great as well. I honestly don't know that it's necessary for us to do Aqua Class going forward as I love the 4 main dining options now. We had ZERO problems walking in (as long as you're flexible as to which of the 4 you will utilize that evening) without a scheduled seating time - even with 6 people.
Oceanview Cafe
3 out of 5
It always feels like a good idea to go up here for a quick bite, but getting a drink is typically a fools errand and if it's just my wife and I, I don't care for it. The reason is I don't like trying to find a seat, one of us go up, wait for the other, then rotate. When I'm eating with my spouse, I want to actually spend time with her rather than tracking down a drink and a table and my food and .......
Blu
4 out of 5
Granted, I'm only a 2 time cruiser with Celebrity. We were blown away with Blu on our first cruise (Equinox) but just meh on the second (Apex). Blu was one of the main reasons we booked Aqua Class again, and next time I will likely do a balcony or Concierge class. Also, the "view" from Blu is of the life boats - terrible.
Eden Bar
4 out of 5
Expect to wait a bit for a drink, but if you want something special it's worth it. In my opinion, go somewhere else for a gin and tonic or beer. But if you want one of their specialty drinks, give it a whirl.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The pool gets crowded at times, as do most. The loungers IN the pool are usually taken, but they do have good turnover meaning if you just wait a little bit, people typically rotate out of them to go eat, get out of the sun, etc.
The casino is nice and typically not crowded until the last night or two when people are trying to use the rest of their credit (I assume).
Deal or No Deal, trivia, all nice changes of pace.
Casino
4 out of 5
This is like a 4.5 rating for me. The staff is great for the most part. The dealers are engaging, but just beware that later in the evening it almost seems as though they are rushing to get you out of there to close up shop. I don't blame them and it didn't bother me, just more of a heads up.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I felt like the people that weren't the headliners were the stars of the ship's entertainment. On our last cruise, I remember loving the shows at night. This time, they were ok at best. The Divas3 act was good, but the comedian and the magician, not so much for me.
The other shows were put on by the on-board cast. Admittedly, I'm not an overly artsy person, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I didn't think that the rock show or the Tree of Life show were all that interesting. Crystallize to me was the best, but it also incorporated the most acrobatics and less what I'll call, interpretive dance.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff for me is always a highlight with Celebrity. Rarely, if ever, do I remember a staff member because I had poor service. However, there are many times I remember a staff member because they did something to make my trip more memorable.
I don't have much experience with other cruise lines - only word of mouth from friends/family. However, everything I hear is that Celebrity is top notch. Based on my experiences, I have to agree.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very modern design. On the Apex, if you are used to the Solstice class of ship, I think you will see similarities in the layouts.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Surprised by the size of the room. I believe this is in part due to the newer "infinite veranda" design. It does open the room up a bit. I'm not sold whether or not I like it more than a "regular" balcony, however I definitely don't dislike it - if that makes sense.
As usual, the linens and toiletries are much more than adequate. I don't even feel like an over the door toiletry organizer is necessary any longer due to the storage options in the bathroom.
On top of that, the small cubbies used for shoes was a welcome addition.
If you use your suitcases for lesser used items (dry bag for excursions, souvenirs, etc.) and store them under the bed, you will have plenty of storage. We had 2 large suitcases and one carry on all stored under the bed comfortably.
Ship tip
I love Blu for breakfast, but the dinners this go around were just ok in my opinion. I might shy away from Aqua Class next booking and stick with veranda or concierge class. Also, the location of Blu is TERRIBLE as your "view" out the windows is of the life boats/tenders.
Plenty to see and do without an excursion if desired. You can walk Duval St., hit some bars, grab some food, all within walking distance. The southernmost point buoy gets crowded if you want a pic with just you/your party, so expect a bit of a line (~20 minutes for us). Also, it is a bit of a walk... about 20-25 minutes.
There are people riding around in golf carts to provide a ride if you wish.
Looooong bus ride to get to our excursion. We did the Crystal Cave tubing excursion. It was fun and beautiful, but honestly about half of our excursion time was tendering and busing to the location. If you have an excursion that seems kind of long, ensure that the majority of the time isn't spent traveling - unless that's what you are looking for.
Honestly, most surprised by Cozumel on our trip. Granted, we didn't wonder around on our own, but I didn't expect much. We did a beach excursion to Isla de la Pasion. It was fantastic.
I think the excursion, booked through Celebrity, was about $100pp. It included: boat ride to the island, buffet lunch of tacos and fixings, all of our drinks (rum punch, beer, soda, margaritas, tequila sunrises), beach loungers available to relax, boat ride back to port.
I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good for families (there are inflatables in the water) or a romantic getaway. The boat ride was probably 45 minutes one-way.
In the port, just as any port, there are options for souvenirs, drinks, food, etc. without needing to venture too far.
The tender process and wait for a tender in Grand Cayman was TERRIBLE. I've never experienced getting a tender ticket at 10:50 and waiting until 12:30 to board a boat.
That said, we simply walked around, hitting little shops, grabbing a beverage and taking in the scenery of the water and the coast.
There aren't really any beaches that we noticed right at the tender port, so you might need to grab a ride/excursion if that is your plan. However, if you would like to snorkel, we had friends that paid $10/ea to rent snorkel gear very close to the tender port. Plenty of fish and marine life to view at a great price. I believe the name was Eden Rock Dive Shop.
Smooth. We were some of the last off the ship due to the fact that we had a later flight. As we had a party of 8, we paid $17pp to get the Celebrity sponsored transfer to Fort Lauderdale airport. A touch of a wait outside in the transfer line for a bus, but not bad at all - probably 20 minutes or so.
I really appreciate the details! We're on this same cruise in April. Thanks for the tip about cave tubing and the long ride. Glad you enjoyed your cruise 🤩
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