Celebrity Apex Cruise: Day 1 to 3, Fort Lauderdale, Key West and a day at sea /

The Celebrity Apex will make its maiden voyage in 2021 and still look shiny new with state-of-the-art high tech. This is a ship that takes full advantage of technology to provide a luxurious cruising experience for its 2,910 guests, served by more than 1,300 crew members.

In the winter, Celebrity Apex sails several Caribbean itineraries before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to offer Mediterranean itineraries in the summer.

Departing Port Everglades mid-afternoon, our cruise is a seven-night cruise that sails south to Key West, then Belize, the Mexican island of Cozumel, and finally Grand Cayman.

Check in

Downloading the Celebrity app and checking in online is key to getting on board quickly.

After a 50 minute transfer takes us from Miami Airport to Celebrity’s Port Everglades terminal, we’re on our way to our cabin in minutes.

Using the app, we study and book our excursions before boarding. It takes time to study the extensive range of excursions available at each destination. In addition, discounts are applied to early booked excursions.

The cabin

Our Edge Infinite Veranda Stateroom, a collage of grays and soothing colors designed by Kelly Hoppen CBE, is one of 500 such staterooms on board. Other categories range from inside cabins through villas to the ultimate Penthouse and Iconic suites.

A large window gives a glittering view over the Caribbean seas. Switches and the app provide the option to open the top part of the window to let in a cool sea breeze.

A double sofa bed leads to two beds that can be joined together to form a king size double bed. Then there are two porch chairs by the window to enjoy the view.

Evening wear alternates between smart casual and chic. So there is enough hanging space in the wardrobe for dresses, jackets and trousers. Clever, a corner cabinet with shelves serves perfectly as a shoe rack. There is essential space under the beds to keep suitcases out of the way. With a shower there is more storage space in the bathroom.

Twice-daily room service, with a chocolate turndown service, keeps both the stateroom and bathroom looking pristine.

The app

It is essential to use the app to plan events. Daily events from art seminars through F45 workouts and Martini tastings to outdoor movie theaters are listed on Daily Events. It is recommended to select events for My Planner. Otherwise, you could miss an acupuncture consultation, acoustic guitar recital, DJ session, Hold’em Texas casino game, quarterback challenge, or a seminar on arthritis and back pain.

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to dine

Again, the app is key to calculating the opening hours of the 29 available bars, cafes and restaurants. Menus are updated and published online every day.

Four main restaurants are included in the cruise package. A walk through the wine cellar leads to the American-influenced restaurant, Cosmopolitan, while Normandie has an aura of Parisian elegance. Cyprus continues the European theme, while Tuscan, perhaps because of Stanley Tucci’s television homage to Italian food, is very popular. Ocean View Cafe also offers an all-day buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Then there are the specialty restaurants. Stop by the sushi demonstration to watch the chefs create perfection at Raw on Five. As the name suggests, Prime Cuts serves upscale meats and fish. Most innovative of all is Le Petit Chef with its table animations of its menu. In addition, the Eden Restaurant and the Mast Grill add to the dining options available.

Even more innovative is The Magic Carpet. A platform lowered during the day to facilitate boarding. When raised to level 14 it gives spectacular views at lunch and dinner.

Entertainment

As a large ship, with nearly 3,000 guests to entertain, Celebrity Apex offers high quality entertainment in three locations.

Behind the stage is a 35-meter wraparound screen in a theater that seats about 500 people. At the back of the nave, Eden lives up to its name, with hanging gardens and sculptures that provide a serene setting for acoustic guitar and jazz duo recitals.

Woody and dark at night, The Club features early evening performances, DJs and dance nights.

First port of call: Key West

The southernmost point in the US, the driest and only frost-free city in the country, is Celebrity Apex’s first port of call.

Book the Conch Train tour for a local look at eccentric Key West. You will learn that in 1982 the Conch Republic, dissatisfied with heavy-handed police action disrupting tourism, simultaneously declared independence and war on the US. Officials were attacked with sandwiches and the US backed down. Although the document of secession has never been revoked…

We study the route of the Conch Train so that we can stop at Ernest Hemingway’s house and rejoin the train later.

When Hemingway arrived in Key West, the delayed delivery of the writer’s new Ford car gave Hemingway time to fall in love with the laid-back island. Hemingway bought a house with his second wife Pauline and embarked on the most prolific writing spell of his life: writing 700 words before lunch, fishing for marlin in the afternoon, drinking at Sloppy Joe’s in the evening, and finding his way home guided by the neighboring lighthouse.

At the end of the train journey, take a short walk to The Little White House. When Harry Truman became president in 1944, ill health forced him to follow doctor’s advice to spend as much time as possible outside of Washington in warmer climates, and to start the day with a shot of Bourbon “to get his heart pumping.” . Truman’s wardrobe of vibrant Hawaiian shirts shows that his Floribian base had a more relaxed dress code than Washington.

Other excursion options for Key West include a catamaran tour and snorkeling, dolphin and snorkeling, rum tasting and tour of the Hemingway Distillery, biking and a Key West foodie tour.

A day at sea

Since there is no rush to leave on an excursion, you will start day 3 with an invigorating stretching session in the morning.

This is also a day for a leisurely breakfast at the Cosmopolitan restaurant, where breakfast is cooked to order and coffee cups are quickly refilled.

After the excitement of Key West, there are options to relax with Tai Chi in the ultra-soothing rooftop garden, relaxing thoughts or less healthy free drinks in the casino.

Many passengers spend the day around the large swimming pool of the Resort Deck. There, the animation team keeps sun worshipers entertained with games, music and quizzes. For those who just want to enjoy the Caribbean sun, the roof garden and upper deck are much more peaceful.

Or book a spa treatment, a session with a personal trainer or follow the seminar on increasing your metabolism.

Costs

Celebrity Apex departs Fort Lauderdale on November 25 on a 7-night sail calling at Key West, Belize and Grand Cayman. With Celebrity’s biggest offer of the year giving a 75% discount to the second guest, prices start at £1,309 for guest one and £396 for guest two, based on two people sharing a sea view cabin, and including $100 per person pocket money on board.

For those seeking Celebrity luxury in European waters, Celebrity Edge, sister ship to Celebrity Apex, will depart Rome (Civitavecchia) on May 13 and call at Corsica, Portofino, La Spezia, Cannes and Palma de Mallorca. With Celebrity’s biggest discount of the year offering 75% off the second guest, prices start at £1,594 for guest one and £404 for guest two, based on two people sharing an inside cabin. This offer includes spending money of $100 per person on board. In addition, for an additional £99 per person, flights from London Gatwick can be added (transfers are an additional cost).

The cruise

This is half way through a cruise that has yet to visit Belize, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. However, the charms aboard the Celebrity Apex are such that some guests never leave the ship.

Disclosure: Our cruise was sponsored by Celebrity Cruises.