Just another Thanksgiving cruise live blog...on Celebrity APEX

[Jax]

On 11/20/2023 at 6:46 AM, AshleyDillo said:

And just like Royal they interpreted how many items we intended our checkmark to mean..hence 3 bananas. We also checked off milk and a couple juices and only got one of each of those.

Can you order room service through the butler? We always use our genie and it definitely takes the guess work out of Royals interpretation and improves the accuracy of our order.  Just wondering if you can use the butler is the same way.  How do you communicate with the butler throughout the day? 

 

On 11/20/2023 at 8:39 AM, AshleyDillo said:

The lineup to enter the theater started 30 minutes before the show.

Did you have to stand in line or were you able to bypass it and be escorted to your seats?  If you were escorted, who escorted you? 

[CGTLH]

1 hour ago, Jax said:

Can you order room service through the butler? We always use our genie and it definitely takes the guess work out of Royals interpretation and improves the accuracy of our order.  Just wondering if you can use the butler is the same way.  How do you communicate with the butler throughout the day? 

 

Did you have to stand in line or were you able to bypass it and be escorted to your seats?  If you were escorted, who escorted you? 

This is where Genie vs Butler really stood out.

Yes, room service can be ordered via the butler. The butler is also the one that delivers it. Communication, breakfast was via a hang tag. For requests and such it was either in person or via phone, no electronic/text based methods. Pen and paper were in the suite making writing things down easy.

Did have to stand in line with the other Retreat guests and a few non. A section is roped off for Retreat guests. On the first Chic it is advertised as a butler escorting you to a seat. No seats were held directly as with Star class, only exception was our butler and another trying to maintain a block of 11 seats. Other nights still had the reserved section. Only the first Chic night did it really seem crowded, @AshleyDillo will have to fill in details for the last night.

[SMOKEY0202]

[bellemiche]

On 11/19/2023 at 2:46 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I am already sold!!!! 
forget trying to climb the C&A ladder. 
I’m going to see what comes up for Edge class summer 2025! 

You won't regret it! 

[SMOKEY0202]

If only could take bits and pieces from all cruise lines to make the "perfect" sailing.

As i sit at the Sunset bar late tonight, where are majority mainly in their cabins.  Sometimes i like the tranquility just being able to relax whether at the bar or even on my balcony.  Would everyone like that vibe, No.  Some need that vibrant action, water slides, etc while others just want to relax.  Would i say Celebrity is for kids, absolutely not.  On this Europe sailing i have barely saw 12 kids this entire week.

As times have changed, corners have been cut and prices have increased.  Sadly the crew is still bringing those warm greetings and smiles day after day even though you can see their tiredness and how things start slipping in quality in certain areas.

Have i had some terrible sailings, yes that i couldn't wait to get off ship and then there have been those really great ones that didn't want to leave.  It really comes down to each one putting what's important to their sailing as " priority" whether itinerary, ship features, sea days, etc. and be knowledgeable ahead.  

What one person's opinion in needs and wants can be totally different than the next.  Just like what cruise line and ship is their favorite a big Oasis class or down to the Lady G.  Some like the party vibe of the Big Whale or even Virgin while others might prefer tranquility of Silversea or even a Viking River cruise.

At the end of the day it's cruising each of us enjoy and can't wait til the next sailing happens. Luckily for all us, this community of great people take the time to blog their sailings for us to enjoy and gives us insights on their experiences the good bad and ugly.  It's as if we are never in dry dock....

 

[asquared17]

7 minutes ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

It's as if we are never in dry dock....

truer words never spoken

[SMOKEY0202]

[Sweety]

On 11/22/2023 at 11:01 AM, AshleyDillo said:

Holy tuna sandwiches @asquared17 !

Paging @Sweety.

Love it!!! was it good?

[AshleyDillo]

9 hours ago, Sweety said:

Love it!!! was it good?

The cake part was good..super moist! The frosting is very weird..always like a slightly sweetened butter. I wasn't a fan.

[AshleyDillo]

The last night was the last show called Rockumentary.

@Jax They didnt have the seating roped off this last night. I think they may only do the reserved area for the first formal night.  Despite this, I walked in 5 mins before the show and had rows and rows available to me.

They did an interactive bit with this where they announced the show earlier in the week and told everyone to go vote for the finale on the app.

The winning song was "We Are the Champions".

The theater and sets were great but the shows were the usual medley of cover songs with a loose theme with dancing and all that jazz.

[AshleyDillo]

We didn't have dinner plans. Tried to get a last minute reservation for Raw on 5 but no dice..even the butler wasn't able to get us in. However he was able to do a delivery for us.

Can't imagine paying the ala carte prices for thus place, though. Izumi is definitely the better ala carte value.

[AshleyDillo]

There wasn't much else going on that evening. They did Silent Disco again, but there was also packing to do. Bags were supposed to be out in the hallway by 10pm, but our Retreat host said that if we needed more time to get them out by midnight and call her and she would make sure they got picked up.  We had luggage tags of number 1.

[AshleyDillo]

On disembarkation day we were asked to be out of the rooms by 7:30.  We talked to the Retreat concierge the afternoon before about the priority debarkation and they told us that they would escort anyone off from the Retreat Lounge as soon as the luggage tags started being called. We didn't end up leaving the ship until about 9:30 or so, with an escort. There wasn't any line to bypass and we just got a priority service elevator down and then off the ship with our sad, sad faces.

We drove, so parked in the parking garage. It was a couple blocks up from the Celebrity terminal and that whole cluster of terminals was a mess with three ships unloading at once and all the traffic to pick people up. We decided to just haul our luggage ourselves to the parking garage rather than make me fetch the car and drive back to pick everyone else up.  I much prefer Terminal 18 that Royal uses as you're only dealing with one ship in that area.

Our 7 hour drive home turned into a 10-hour drive thanks to holiday traffic.  If only Brightline went further north...

[AshleyDillo]

For those who didn't see, @Matt posted his review blog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/11/27/i-took-my-first-celebrity-cruise

[Jax]

14 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Bags were supposed to be out in the hallway by 10pm, but our Retreat host said that if we needed more time to get them out by midnight and call her and she would make sure they got picked up.

This surprised me; not a fan of putting luggage out the night before. Not having to do this is one star class perk I really like.  

[AshleyDillo]

13 minutes ago, Jax said:

This surprised me; not a fan of putting luggage out the night before. Not having to do this is one star class perk I really like.  

In reality if you're in a Retreat room and can get all your luggage to the Retreat Lounge on debarkation morning you can just take it with you off the ship when you go since you'll have the priority service elevator...but that's still potentially quite a haul depending on what suite you book.

The location of the Royal Suite on Apex was nice since it was right at the forward elevators, which were always less crowded than the aft elevators. We would have had no issues taking our bags up the elevators to the lounge if we had wanted to be the ones to drag them off the ship. I do agree the cart taking them from the room off the ship with Star Class is definitely a perk.

Booking the room category we did is definitely comparable to doing Star Class with Royal. What you are missing in lack of personal service is made up for in the more upscale touches. We had a lot of discussion onboard within our parties (and with Matt too) about the differences between the butler and the Genie. The biggest difference is that the Genie tends to be proactive, or at least they used to be. Our butler didn't do anything extra that we didn't ask for and did not go above and beyond, but he was willing and ready to do anything we asked for. You have to be comfortable with asking and communicating exactly what you want to get the most out of the butler.  Like I mentioned, we weren't able to get last minute reservations in a restaurant even through the Retreat concierge and the butler. A Genie would have probably been able to make it happen.

If you had to chose between this and Star Class and there are children involved, Star Class hands down just because the ships themselves have a lot more kid friendly activities. Otherwise I think for adults who enjoy relaxing and know exactly what they want/need to make the most of their vacation, the Royal Suite is a great fit.  

There are a couple of other rooms that have the same "all inclusive" benefits, but I don't want to mislead anyone on which rooms those specifically are..I think it's the Royal Suite, Penthouses, Iconic and Villa Suites but I'm not 100%.  Join some Facebook groups like @Lovetocruise2002 and do your research

[Lovetocruise2002]

7 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

reality if you're in a Retreat room and can get all your luggage to the Retreat Lounge on debarkation morning you can just take it with you off the ship when you go since you'll have the priority service elevator.

@Jax will not be able to self carry all her luggage

[Lovetocruise2002]

12 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

If you had to chose between this and Star Class and there are children involved, Star Class hands down just because the ships themselves have a lot more kid friendly activities.

Totally agree! I would never even think of taking my kids on X, maybe when they are grown adults, but not any time soon.

12 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

There are a couple of other rooms that have the same "all inclusive" benefits, but I don't want to mislead anyone on which rooms those specifically are..I think it's the Royal Suite, Penthouses, Iconic and Villa Suites

+ the Signature Suites and Reflection suite (only on the Reflection). That's what my research is telling me so far lol

[Jax]

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@Jax will not be able to self carry all her luggage

Truer words have never been spoken.  

[asquared17]

6 minutes ago, Jax said:

Truer words have never been spoken.  

this is live footage of me at the end of every cruise 

[Jax]

39 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Totally agree! I would never even think of taking my kids on X, maybe when they are grown adults, but not any time soon.

My situation is just the opposite; I could easily take Reyd on X but I am not so sure about Lindsay. Vacation Lindsay is high energy.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Jax said:

Truer words have never been spoken.  

However…if you ever decide to try, we are going to photo or video evidence of that

[SMOKEY0202]

With every cruise line, there is always different corks and perks to "try" to adapt on the sailing.  Things roll different from ship to ship even if it's under 1 brand which is annoying.

In the end a cruise is what each of us make the experience to be whether a relaxing one or on the go driven all the time.  I think with Celebrity you just need to get mindset it's more elegant and relaxing vibe compared to Royal.  There are pros and cons with every sailing and what one thinks is different then next person.  Is it for everyone NO just like with Carnival, MSC, etc.  I wouldn't recommend for kids, barely saw a dozen on this holiday sailing.

Even on this sailing, Celebrity was lack luster in certain areas like with food sometimes not being hot and slow service but excelled in the amount of options.  Classic options and chocolate option are back on menu daily with a chef selection nightly.  No issue requesting a special menu item.

Unless you knew bartender, it was snail service and almost MIA in the solarium.  Same drink sometimes made different and few times had to send back because totally wrong.

I will say chair hogs didn't happen, i can't say how many times attendant emptied a vacant chair and here came person basically having meltdown their belongings were at Guest Services.

Entertainment wasn't best seen and guess it was desperate measures because 1 night, entertainment was Cruise Director doing the show in theater.  Lounge music at times dull.  Can only handle violin playing so much.

No lifeguards either.  Towels and blankets laid out daily on pool deck.  Pools were heated and enforced no kids in Solarium except 5-8pm.

Room service is same as Royal, it makes absolutely no sense how they send 3 of something when block has 1.

One flaw is if you are in port, don't expect Ocean Cafe to open earlier for breakfast or stay open little later in afternoon.  Many times all aboard was at closing time for lunch and would go only to see it was cleared out so just basic pizza pasta station and sandwiches.

Casino smoke free and it was hit or miss with drinks served.  It's on smaller scale and slot machines limited.  There was 3 days Cruise Director loaded $5 to everyone sea pass card but casino was never packed.

Girls didn't come around to upsell things like spa, dining packages etc. except on day 1.  Photography wasn't constantly around like i have seen where at times it would become annoying.

You still get paper copies of Daily Compass eventhough there is APP.

Activity staff and Cruise Director weren't seen around ship compared to Royal.  They don't seem to chime in to push people to attend (few)activities provided.

You don't receive invoice paper copy last night.  They want you outta rooms by 7:30am and clearly state Internet ends at 8 am.  Disembark was smooth and with status had designated wait area with breakfast provided and Concierge took us off gangway separate from the crowds.

You won't see tips flowing or barely a mention on importance of survey.  Crew always smiling and greeted but as usual seem overwhelmed and overworked at times. 

That's a wrap for Europe sailing on Celebrity.

 

 

 

 

[AshleyDillo]

10 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

I wouldn't recommend for kids, barely saw a dozen on this holiday sailing.

We had 600 on our sailing. I was surprised to see so many kids. I do realize this was a holiday sailing in the US, so different from your experience in Europe. I can imagine once Celebrity starts selling from Port Canaveral there will be more kids whose parents are taking a cruise into an Orlando vacation. 

10 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

flaw is if you are in port, don't expect Ocean Cafe to open earlier for breakfast or stay open little later in afternoon

We actually experienced the opposite where the buffet was open longer than stated in the app on our pretty days. They still only opened for lunch at noon on Sea Days which is a bit late, imo.

10 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

You won't see tips flowing or barely a mention on importance of survey.

This. I really only observed tipping at the end of the cruise with folks awkwardly giving money handshakes. Survey was never mentioned once.

[OCSC Mike]

On 11/19/2023 at 3:21 PM, OCSC Mike said:

Traitors... all of ya!

I'm not going anywhere until someone live blogs a Celebrity interior and eats in the buffet... I won't hold my breath.

Since a 12th person laughed at the above post, I felt it was worthy of a follow-up.

Oh the irony... the buffet actually looked great (Matt even mentioned how good it was in his review) and we already know I don't actually care about what an interior looks like... but nothing else seemed very appealing to me as far as basic, included, non-suite food/drink/activities go.

I'm still willing to be a bathtub-sleeping freeloader but I don't foresee joining the traitor ranks anytime soon.

Thanks for taking us along @AshleyDillo.

[Ampurp85]

Thanks for the review Ashley, I am doing a concierge Veranda for my Ascent sailing, so I appreciates all the observations and information. I have decided to not get any specialty dining package because the food looks way too frou frou from the restaurants, Michelin stars are wasted on someone with my palette. 

But can you answer a couple of questions......

Does everyone who buys Deal or No Deal play??

I read you can carry on as many non-alcoholic drinks as you can carry on embarkation day.

[AshleyDillo]

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I'm still willing to be a bathtub-sleeping freeloader but I don't foresee joining the traitor ranks anytime soon.

I definitely wouldn't pay dollars out of my own pocket to go again, but I wouldn't turn down another offer to freeload..like perhaps in January 2025 on Equinox when it comes to PC 

41 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Does everyone who buys Deal or No Deal play??

No idea how that went.  If I would have paid more attention I might have swung by just to watch. I just know there was a crazy line in the casino to purchase the scratchers!

[SMOKEY0202]

I have never done Deal or No Deal but told everyone who buys cards are playing.  Lines in casino are crazy to buy.   Random peeps picked from audience to go on stage and then remaining explained like a bingo format where everyone has chance to win certain prizes.  Person who explained it to me actually was picked to be on stage and won.

I was told there are videos online of actual episodes from ships for further reference.