Late last summer my husband and I took our first international trip since Covid. The hassles of testing and itinerary/flight changes were proven worth it from the moment we laid our eyes on the brand new Celebrity Apex!
Cruising with less than 400 passengers (it typically holds around 3000) – it was a week like no other. We were treated to 8 days of Mediterranean sunshine in (Greece and Croatia) and a truly memorable on board experience! Celebrity Cruises is considered a premium cruise line and they have so many touches of luxury aboard their ships! These are my 5 favorite things about the Apex.
Staff & Crew
I sailed on board my first Celebrity cruise in 1997 and I’ve been a big fan ever since! One of the biggest reasons is due to their staff and crew – some of the best in the industry. From numerous conversations with crew members, they were extra thankful to be back to work after such a long pause of cruises not sailing.
We were treated with such kindness and hospitality from so many of the people who work on the Celebrity Apex. From our room steward showing me other types of cabins, Guiseppe our charismatic cruise director (we also met him on the Celebrity Reflection in 2019), the sweet woman who got my husband’s espresso each morning, the friendly man remembering how I liked my eggs everyday, and to our favorite Ivan – our bartender on the Magic Carpet. We learned so much about him and his life in Ukraine (he was also fun – matching the cocktails to my outfits! 🙂
Magic Carpet
The Magic Carpet was our favorite area on the Apex! This platform hanging over the side of the ship has some of the best views. It’s an open air venue with a bar, comfy seating, live music and also hosts dinner some evenings. After a day in port this was our go to spot for sail away, cocktails and sunsets! When the Apex can’t dock – the Magic Carpet is also used as a place to board the tender boats (such an improvement!).
Restaurants
The Celebrity Apex has reimagined its traditional dining (it doesn’t have a main dining room with early and late dinner times). It has 4 restaurants included in the cruise price – Normandie (French), Cyprus (Greek), Tuscan (Italian), and the Cosmopolitan (most like their main dining rooms on their other ships). With it’s Greek inspired dishes – our favorite was Cyprus.
The Apex also has 7 specialty restaurants to choose from (for an extra charge). We needed longer than a week to try out all the meal options on board; but I highly recommend dinner in Eden! Each course of the meal is like a work of art and the sunset views from the back of the ship location only add to a top notch experience.
Entertainment
No other cruise line does entertainment like Celebrity (Royal Caribbean may argue that point 😉 )! If you’re a music lover – the Apex has live music throughout numerous venues and unique interactive shows in Eden. In the evening don’t miss Celebrity’s nightly entertainment in their newly designed theater; including a 20 foot LED screen and circular stage design. After the evening production shows – the Grand Plaza is the place to be. With fun music and pulsating chandeliers the bartenders put on quite a show at the Martini bar!
Extras
I have cruised on quite a few other cruise lines and most don’t do the little extra things as well as Celebrity. For instance, on the Apex we were treated to frozen fruit delivered to us as we hung out poolside. Each time we returned from port they welcomed us back with cool towels, cold drinks and big smiles!
I recommend this ship for couples, multi-generational family trips and Celebrity Cruises is also LGBTQ friendly.
Until the next adventure – bon voyage!
Kris
