6 minute read
Luxury on a grand scale
Celebrity Apex is the second Edge-class liner in the Celebrity fleet, following the award-winning, Sydney-bound Celebrity Edge. Tony Slinn tried her out.
Really, it’s as if you have your own private yacht,” Billy, a Celebrity Apex barman, tells me, noting there are only about 400 passengers aboard as COVID continues to take its toll on travel and bookings.
We’ve sailed with Celebrity since 2008, mostly aboard Solstice-class ships that can carry 2,850 passengers served by 1,271 crew. Celebrity Solstice has been a staple in the Australian market and, with her neatly manicured lawn offering a picnic area on the upper deck, has become something of a legend.
Edge and Apex are game-changers. With Celebrity claiming to offer allincluded luxury – a big call for a big-ship line – and with Edge heading for Sydney in 2023, we were excited to try her out.
Our immediate impression was that Apex felt more spacious. Maybe that was because 2,500 passengers were missing. She’s also more fuel-efficient, according to chief engineer Argyrios Poulakis, and more eco-friendly.
Celebrity describes Apex as “pushing modern travel to bold new heights”. And while echoes of the Solstice-class ships remain, a whole lot is brand-new.
This includes The Retreat, which is said to offer unparalleled luxury for the exclusive use of Suite Class passengers. It has its own pool, sundeck, lounge and restaurant, the Luminae, so you don’t have to mix with the hoi polloi.
Celebrity’s Solstice-class ships have a private lounge called Michael’s Club, and other lines, such as Princess and Holland America, have something similar. But Edge-class ships join MSC (the Yacht Club) and Norwegian (the Haven) in having a true ‘ship-withina-ship’ offering.
It comes, of course, at a price. To give Celebrity credit, even if you’re in the cheapest Sky Suite, which is not that much more spacious than a standard balcony cabin, you still have access to The Retreat. The other five suites go all the way up to the Iconic. You’ll need deep pockets for that.
We were given a tour of The Retreat and the Sky and Celebrity suites. The latter is a ‘proper’ suite with a separate bedroom, ensuite bathroom and a lounge.
The Retreat certainly is luxurious. The first thing we noticed was padded, fulllength cushions on the sun loungers, not something you get elsewhere aboard Apex.
We were booked in AquaClass, one under Suite Class. AquaClass gives you free run of most things in the ship’s well-appointed spa; a rather nice three-position shower array in the cabin bathroom; the new Infinity balcony that completely opens from the room; and an exclusive breakfast and dinner restaurant, Blu, which encourages healthy eating.
Celebrity cruises now include tips (normally 20 per cent), basic WiFi and a basic drinks package (the Classic). We always upgrade the drinks package (AUD$225 for two for seven days) to Premium, which allows for better wines, among other advantages. Celebrity hangs its hat on its food and wine offerings – for good reason.
The Edge-class vessels have one design feature that certainly marks them out.
It’s called the Magic Carpet, a brightorange al fresco hydraulic balcony on the ship’s starboard side.
Here’s how Celebrity puts it: “As the Magic Carpet makes its way up the side of the ship, it reaches the very top level, where it becomes an extraordinary sky-high spot where we host an exhilarating and mouth-watering experience we call ‘Dinner on the Edge’, an airy, casual seafood restaurant.”
We thought from that description that the Magic Carpet would go up and down while we munched on that special dinner.
Top: The striking Celebrity Apex, with its bright-orange Magic Carpet amidships. Left: Family fun on the pool deck.
After all, it comes in at AUD$350 for two for a tasting menu.
Sadly, we didn’t move up and down. Also, sadly, it was very windy on our night under the stars, so our beautifully prepared hot dishes became cold faster than we could gobble them up.
But we didn’t have to worry too much about food getting cold elsewhere on the ship. Edge and Apex have four main complimentary restaurants – the Tuscan, Cosmopolitan, Cyprus and Normandie – that not only serve the very good standard menu but have their own signature dishes.
And there are also several casual bars and grills, plus the Ocean View buffet, which, with its open-air seating as well as inside tables, was our lunchtime favourite.
They’re complemented by surcharge restaurants: Eden, Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grande Bistro, Raw on 5, Le Petit Chef and the Rooftop Garden Grill. Prices vary from venue to venue.
Apex is a grand ship, from the spacious swimming pool with hot tubs to the indoor solarium with pool for adults only. There’s a massive array of hour-by-hour things to do aboard, which is outlined in the daily ‘Today’ newsletter.
The entertainment offering ranges from the theatre’s once-nightly shows – Tree of Life, Rockumentary and Crystallize on our cruise – to short-ish shows, each with a different theme, in the spectacular Eden bar/restaurant complex. And there’s late night jazz in The Club and more.
A really fun place, though, is the big Martini Bar in the Grand Plaza, which not only has dancing to live music until late, but amazing acrobatic bartenders. It was great to see people having fun after the dark days of the pandemic. And yes, we woke up with hangovers.
Edge and Apex are fine additions to Celebrity’s fleet. And the cruise line has
Left: The Magic Carpet platform set up as a lounge space on the open water. Clockwise from top right: Celebrity’s Edge-class ships are known for their fine-dining options; one of the many dishes you can enjoy on board; in-room service in a penthouse suite; putting on a show in the theatre; sunset drinks on the Magic Carpet.
upped its game with The Retreat for Suite Class passengers.
And if you can wait until April 2022, Celebrity’s third Edge-class vessel, Celebrity Beyond, will, according to the cruise line, “redefine the art of luxury travel again”.
FACT FILE
CRUISE LINE: Celebrity Cruises SHIP: Celebrity Apex LAUNCHED: 2020 STAR RATING: Not yet rated TONNAGE: 129,500 PASSENGER DECKS: 15 PASSENGER CAPACITY: 2,910 CREW: 1,377 FACILITIES: The Magic Carpet, an orange protruding platform, is suspended along the starboard side of the ship, and does just about everything from tender embarkation to transforming into a dining and lounge space. Celebrity Edge also has balcony staterooms with ‘infinite verandahs’.
THE VERDICT
HIGHS: Five-star staff; food choices and quality; welldesigned AquaClass cabin with its Infinity balcony; excellent COVID precautions plus free tests for arriving and departing passengers; well-organised embarkation and disembarkation. LOWS: High-priced excursions – the cheapest was a bus to a beach for AUD$65 per head, although you got a sunbed and a cool drink. BEST FOR: Couples and solo travellers looking for a taste of the good life coupled with big-ship shows and facilities.
www.celebritycruises.com
