The Apex first caught our attention because it was relatively new and we liked the itinerary. The reviews also affirmed our booking, so we felt good about the decision.

We set sail with 2,700 passengers, which is about 200 less than capacity. It felt like a full ship, but never crowded. Interestingly, there were only 27 children under the age of 18 on board. That speaks to the average age on the ship, which was in the upper 50’s.

We expected the ship, ports and excursions to be the stars of the show. Unfortunately, though, our Celebrity excursion to Goff’s Caye, near Belize, was cancelled a few days before we set sail. Celebrity sent an email stating that it was the provider who needed to cancel, but did offer an email address to help set up a private tour of some kind. I immediately sent off an email requesting help that day but never heard anything back. We decided to stay on the ship instead of rebooking, as Belize City doesn’t have a good track record for safety and interesting sites to visit. The other ports of Key West, Cozumel and Grand Cayman all went very well. Be aware that tickets to the tenders (when there is no dock) are usually handed out in the morning, right before disembarkation begins, first come, first served. We showed up at 9:15 to get in line for our tickets to Grand Cayman for a 10:00 tender, and were able to be on shore at 10:15. Others, who showed up later, not knowing about the tickets, didn’t get on shore until early afternoon. Read more