Johnbob7

Thanks for sharing this info. Looking forward to the days we can get “live” reports from the first few sailings of Apex. We chose to lift and shift our January 2020 sailing to 2021, but I will hopefully sneak onto a ship before that if at all possible. bobj

Line? For me, I’m going to be selfish and suggest Celebrity. Selfish because I have been primarily Royal but am planning to check out X anyways. And a big part of me selecting X is the coverage by Bill and Cruise Habit. Where? I vote Caribbean. Done it enough that I know how to enjoy but feel free to spend more time with the group activities. Activities? Maybe group takeovers of ship specific venues, like the Lawn Club or Sunset Bar. Opportunities to mingle and meet and talk ship. That’s what Cruise Habiteers do, right? How different? I think skip some of the more traditional group activities like pub/cabin crawl, maybe arrange a session with performers or other staff/crew. Just my random thoughts as I flatten the curve. BobJ

So this discussion reminds me of the comments on my thread about Edge/Apex. The polarization over innovation that those ships generate can only be more extreme with the Branson product. I feel that both Edge class and Scarlet Lady are targeting new demographics as cruisers with the clear knowledge it will not be accepted by the “core” demographic of seasoned cruisers. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! Change is good and I look forward to it! BobJ

Jlmoran, I agree the complaints on the IV are prevalent, and also agree that it does not look that bad to me. (But haven’t sailed Edge yet, so no first hand knowledge) the other big complaint I read is the reallocation of their sky view space to the suites retreat spaces. Coming from Royal I am familiar with such concerns, as royal on oasis class has converted the former Viking crown public space to suite only spaces. I understand they are unhappy, and they still have many other ships that offer public front viewing spaces. Just not Edge class. i think the cruise lines are finding it lucrative to provide some special perks to suites, it does draw a lot of interest. We are a case in point...love these perks and enjoy them very much. bobj

Well, if you somehow don’t get on her before me I’ll do a write up for you. BobJ

Bill, thanks for the thoughtful and detailed response to my post. I do blame you and Ric for being major contributors to our “let’s try Celebrity” decision based on your many reviews, podcasts and live blogs. Very much enjoy your approach in talking cruise. Do y’all have any plans to sail (and review) Apex anytime before January 2021? Would look forward to your perceptions. Hope to cross paths someday. BobJ

We are long time loyal to royal cruisers that have been lured into booking our first Celebrity cruise sailing on a Apex next year. A big part of the lure has been reading/listening/viewing the many reviews of the Edge by Billy and others. The innovations in design and offerings spoke to us as something new and fresh. Shortly after booking, the Apex reveal was issued by Celebrity. I was struck by some of the commentary by the various X leadership members as being almost apologetic for the Edge and promising that Apex would be more traditional, if not in actual ship build but in offerings. For example, Eden menu will be made “more accessible”. And theater productions will be “more about the performers and less about the technology”. One of the things I noticed in my research was the polarization of response to the Edge, ie people either loved it or didn’t. It seemed there was a segment of experienced X customers that did not like most of the changes, preferred the “old way”. My concern is that the Celebrity team is trying to modify offerings on the Apex to mollify that demographic at the expense of those of us that might enjoy the “new and different”. Wondering what others take on this might be? BobJ