CELEBRITY APEX

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CELEBRITY APEX

Quick APEX review

Tom

November 10, 2024

Guest contributors: Acescruising

In January, I sailed a 7 night cruise on the Celebrity APEX.

Full Pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/raffles/albums/72177720320151217/

This review will be a quick overview of what cruiselife is like on board. I will also briefly discuss the ports we visited; San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Puerto Plata, and some activities you may want to try in each port.

The Celebrity APEX is part of the EDGE class series Celebrity started in 2018. The APEX started sailing in 2019.

APEX still feels brand new, is well maintained and is easy to navigate.

One of the big differences for the Apex are the infinite balcony cabins. These cabins do make your room larger, however, the trade off is you do not have the traditional balcony experience. You can see an example of an infinite balcony here: INFINITE BALCONY

This cruise I had to stay in an ocean view. It was a nice room, really convenient to get around the ship. You can view that here: MIDSHIP WINDOW

Some of my favorite venues on the ship are Raw on five and the Martini bar. The Martini bar has a wide open feel and is great for socializing.

Generally speaking the APEX has a lot of nice spaces to relax, such as the magic carpet and the rooftop terrace, however, some spaces leave you wondering why more space was not allocated. Craft Social is way too small, as is the casino and the sunset bar is so crowded, it's hard to enjoy. I often found myself wondering why so many of the most popular places are too small.

The food and dining areas are excellent, lots of selection at the buffet and plenty of places to sit. The smaller dining venues add to the dinner experience, which was nice.

We visited four ports on this cruise, which was nice.

San Juan - I did a city bike ride with Shore excursions group. The guides were amazing, the tour was fun and informative, the bikes were kind old but they worked. I would do this tour again if it was a different route so I could see more.

St, Maarten - I did a bike ride here as well. It went around the city and some of the popular viewing spots. After that, I went to BIG BASTARDS and rented a chair. Its right on the beach and I would love to go back. I also saw about 15 turtles while I was swimming right off the beach.

St. Thomas - We docked at Crown bay, which is kinda away from where I liked to be, so I stayed on board. There are tons of things to do in St. Thomas. From beaching to snorkeling, there is something for everyone in ST. Thomas.

Puerto Plata DR - I rented a private van here and went up the coast about 30 minutes to Cabarete, where I used to live. I just walked around and enjoyed my surroundings. DR is another place that has a lot of different things to do and try, a very active port. Lots of people go hiking and waterfall diving.

See all of my cruise info and reviews here https://cruisetalk.locals.com/

Check out sailings on the APEX here: SAIL THE APEX

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On May 19, I will start to make my way to Greece from Florida. Many have been asking me about my day to day, so, Here is a nice layout.

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Flying from Orlando saved me about $1000 on the flight, so, I will take Amtrak from Jacksonville (about $40) to the train station near MCO. Ill stay at an airport hotel and just relax before my flight on the 20th.

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May 25 - mykonos. In the Day I will do a Catamaran with Project Expedition excursion providers. That evening, I will visit a Greek farm.

May 26 - Patmos. Im doing an excursion with Explora called "The Spirit of Patmos" (Cave of St. John, Monastery and a Greek show.

May 27 - Volos. Hiking and photography with Explora.

May 28 - Thessaloniki - Tombs and Relic tour with Explora

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Tom@Acescruising

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The Norwegian Fjords trip came to an end and I disembarked the ship in Rotterdam. I decided to take a taxi to my hotel in Amsterdam. The Grand, which is a luxury historical property near the "red light" district. Let me take you through the next few days as I make my way to Prague.

Day one in Amsterdam

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In Brussels, I stayed at HOTEL DES GALERIES

A nice, but quaint hotel in the city center. I dropped my bags and then went and found my tour. This was an all day walking tour that included; chocolate, whisky and waffles. The Belgium trifecta! I wasn't really a believer until the tour where I tasted some of the best chocolate I have ever had. It was very smooth and flavorful. The beer and whisky really have an interesting history, brewed and distilled by monks, the story is really interesting. The tour was kinda long, but it covered a lot of the area and culture of Brussels.

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As I left Berlin, I kinda felt like I had missed out on some of the sights, and sounds, but it was nice to see Berlin. My ride picked me up from the hotel and we had about a 4 hour ride to Prague. We stopped in Dresden, which was leveled during world war two. A lot of the grounds had been rebuilt, and it was interesting to see some of the world war two history. I also stopped at Moritzburg Castle, lots of horses and locals bustling about.

Early that evening, I reached Prague, which I will discuss in the final part of this series as it connects to my river cruise and bike riding tour through the Danube river valley. Stay tuned!

Pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/raffles/albums/72177720324454980

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Tom@Acescruising

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After I got back to town, I went up the cable car to view the fjords from high above. A beautiful clear day and you get to see both fjords converge for a wonderful sight. Stop in at the pub afterward for a local beer, an elk burger and take a look at the tables! The owner of the pub carved them by hand.

Alesund, Norway - Home of the famous Trollstigen! This is the famous switchback road you see in travel magazines and on internet pictures and videos from Norway. I took a VIATOR excursion that took us about 90 minutes from the port to see the famous road. There is a guest area, gift shop, food and a viewing area. Such a beautiful walk and view from high up the mountain. You'll probably see a few goats as well! Dont forget to look up, the mountain tops are majestic to behold.

Stavenger - I really wish the cruise line would have given us about 3-5 more hours in port. I felt like they could have. I went out to the Geysers, which was about an hour ride. It was OK. I would try and do something else if I had a second chance at it.

My favorite things to do on this itinerary were;

1. Hike to Pulpit rock - Tough, but rewarding. Please dont attempt if you have foot, leg or back issues! The views were stunning.

2. Olden. Really great views, sights, the cable car and Olden pub (Molla Guesthouse) really cool across the board. My favorite port on this itinerary.

3. the Trollcars - Briksdall glaciers and the trollcars were really fun and a sight to see.

I loved this cruise. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Id love to do it with a smaller ship, but the Celebrity experience was great. I did see a Ponant vessel in Olden, that must have been a great cruise as well. I only saw them once along our cruise. Probably had a longer itinerary and could get even deeper into the fjords because of it being a much smaller vessel. I highly recommend a Norwegian Fjords cruise!

To see pictures: Norway Pictures

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