Celebrity Apex: The Lost Photographs
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Tag Archives: celebrity cruises
Apex Day 1: Fort Lauderdale
Saturday, January 21st, was an early start. We’d spent the previous week in Long Island at the “almost in-laws” place. They were in Africa whilst we stayed there but came home the same day we were leaving. This provided the perfect handover between them and us for ‘custody of the Coops’, aka looking after Cooper, our dog, whilst we were away.
The alarm went off at 3:45am. We’d packed the night before, so we just needed to put our final toiletries in the bags, let Cooper out for a very early morning commune with nature, and then get in the car. We drove to Flushing, Queens, where we left the car at the family’s parking lot and took an Uber for the final leg to JFK. As we dropped off our bags at Delta, we prayed that we wouldn’t have the same sort of pre-cruise experience that we’d had last time.
Continue readingCelebrity Apex: Cruising at its best?
After spending 14 days mooching around parts of Europe on the Celebrity Constellation last year, it was inevitable that we’d want to book another trip. Our new cruise friends had told us how amazing the Celebrity Edge was – the new Edge-class ship from the company that had launched a few years prior.
So, when we visited the ‘Future Cruises’ area onboard, we knew we wanted to be on the latest and greatest ship on offer.
We booked ourselves an 11-night cruise that included an overnight stop in Aruba and immediately tried to convince our new friends to come with us. They declined as 11 nights was too long for them (American statutory vacation allowances being what they are), but we were looking forward to it. The cruise was on the Celebrity Beyond, another of the new Edge-class ships.
A few months after booking, our friends reached out to us. They had booked a 7-night Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Apex, sister ship to Edge and Beyond. To sweeten the deal, the cruise would take place over January 25th, the shared birthday of the two ladies of our foursome. We immediately switched plans, securing ourselves a massive discount in the process.
Fast forward to January 2023, and we’re onboard the Celebrity Apex, Celebrity’s newest-of-the-new vessels, “designed to leave the future behind”.
So, how good is it really?
Cruising Day 13: Slovenia. Wow.
After the jaw-dropping beauty of Croatia, we were convinced that we’d seen the best that the continent of Europe had to offer. Then came Slovenia.
I’ll be honest; I was ready to scrap this excursion, or at least try to. It was yet another pre-7am start, and I was getting tired. We were now burning the candle at both ends to make up for the first few days where we’d felt like crap, and my stick of wax was starting to run thin (not a dick joke).
However, I’m glad I got on that bus and drove to Lake Bled because it was even more gorgeous than the scenery we’d been chewing on in Croatia.
Continue readingCruising Day 9: Taranto, Italy
I’d never heard of Taranto. Sorry, Taranto. It was a little town on the southern tip of Italy that I think is a new port for cruise ships and is trying to rapidly modernize. It was a bit of a strange experience.
Continue readingCruising Day 7: Imperial Rome
Rome. Lots, and lots, and lots of pictures.
I’ve been fortunate to visit Italy on a couple of prior occasions and was excited to take AJ there; it was also on her ‘must-visit’ list. We’d just spent a wonderful, sunny, lazy afternoon in the Tuscan countryside eating and drinking delicious things, but today was all about taking in as much as we could.
My parents have been to Rome, and my dad absolutely loved it. The upshot, he said, was to see as much as possible because there’s nowhere else like it. So, that’s what we tried to do.
Continue readingCruising Day 5: Discovering Éze and Old Monaco
Any concerns I’d had about the weather were burned away on Day 5 as we rocked up in Villefranche, anchoring in the middle of the bay as we were too large to dock. It was another early morning, but after the fabulous night before, we felt much more energized and ready to seize the day!
Continue readingCruising Day 4: Toulon, France & New Friends
If you’re thinking to yourself “Wow, there’s been a long pause in between these posts”, then I would congratulate you on your observation, obvious though it is.
Since returning from our cruise we’ve also been to Madrid (a sorry travel tale in itself) as well as moved house, not to mention dealing with some significant work stressors. This series definitely hasn’t gone as quickly as I’d hoped!
But, we’re back, and ready to write! I think …
Continue readingCruising Day 12: Krka National Park, Croatia
A post in which Croatia continues to be absolutely stunning.
Continue readingCruising Day 1: The Prologue and Barcelona
You find me on Deck 10 of the Celebrity Constellation, a small plate of fries (for snacking) to my right, along with a Hendricks & Tonic. Behind me, the light grey rock and verdant foliage of Croatian cliffs glide past us as we depart Split, headed for Koper in Slovenia.
It’s Day 12 of 14 of our Western Mediterranean cruise, and I am relaxed. This is the first time I’ve turned this iPad on since we departed Boston – the first time I’ve really used any technology other than to check up on some news and take pictures. It is bliss.
I wanted to start writing about the trip whilst everything was still fresh in my mind, and to create some structure for the epic Photo Sorting that will occur once we get back home. Today we visited the Krka National Park in Croatia – a place so beautiful that my brain still hasn’t fully processed it yet. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First we must go back to the start, and to some bitter complaining.
Iberia Airlines fucking sucks.
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An Englishman in Boston 