South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Celebrity Apex makes its Florida debut
Florida’s winter sailing season floodgates have opened with the first of several new ships slated to debut arriving to Port Everglades.
Celebrity Apex, the sister ship to the groundbreaking Celebrity Edge, arrived to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday for its christening.
“Celebrating Celebrity Apex is certainly long overdue and it’s a day I have been waiting to celebrate for quite a long time - 581 days, to be exact,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
The ship was originally set to debut in March 2020, but was one of several new vessels delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the ship has already had sailings in the Mediterranean, but now begins alternating sevennight Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
Sailing from Port Everglades’ Terminal 25, which debuted its new look in 2018, Apex brings the design concepts that first came to Florida when Celebrity Edge arrived that year.
That includes the Magic Carpet, the exterior elevator platform that performs multiple roles, acting as an innovative way for passengers to disembark and reboard the ship when it tenders at ports of call, but also doubling as an entertainment and dining venue.
Also just like Edge, Apex includes the three-story venue called Eden at the aft of the ship that acts as lounge and avant-garde aerialist performance stage. The ship also features the Infinite Verandah staterooms in which the balcony is part of the cabin.
Lutoff-Perlo was joined for the naming ceremony by the ship’s Godmother, Reshma Saujani, the founder of nonprofit organization Girls Who Code and author of “Brave, Not Perfect.”
“It’s both thrilling and humbling to serve as the godmother of Celebrity Apex,” said Saujani. “Similar to the mission of Girls Who Code, which is centered around closing the gender gap in tech, Celebrity is leading the way to create a more diverse future in the cruise industry.”
Part of that includes the ship’s plans for on-board STEM programing using interactive, fun coding activities from Saujani’s group’s curriculum within the ship’s Camp at Sea program for children.
Lutoff-Perlo said the cruise line has grown its percentage of women who serve as bridge officers to 30%, citing the industry average at just 2%, and having Saujani follow on the heels of Celebrity Edge’s godmother, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, helps inspire the line’s commitment to closing the gender gap at sea.
“Reshma is a visionary, leading the charge to challenge stereotypes and inspire a whole new generation of girls and women to bravely pursue tech jobs,” Lutoff-Perlo said. “It is Reshma’s game-changing spirit that makes her the perfect godmother for a game-changing ship like Celebrity Apex.”
Celebrity Apex is the first of three new vessels to call Port Everglades home in November. Also arriving are Princess Cruises’ Enchanted Princess and Holland America’s ms Rotterdam.
While both Princess and Holland America have yet to restart sailing from Florida, Celebrity was the first cruise line to do so in the U.S. after nearly a year and a half of pandemic shutdown when Edge departed Port Everglades on June 26.
The 2,918-passenger Apex now adds to Celebrity’s restart expansion, and brings some unique options as well.
One new culinary offering from among 29 restaurant bars and lounges is the Craft Social Bar with more than 50 microbrews on board served by a beer sommelier alongside comfort food like mac and brie and Kobe beef sliders.
Le Grand Bistro features a new 3-D digital dining experience, in which animated projections that make each course come alive before you eat it. Called Le Petit Chef, it debuted on Celebrity Edge but will have a new story with new menu on board Apex. The updated menu will feature spring pea soup, king crab farfalle pasta and filet mignon with a story that see the little animated chef meet the girl of his dreams at age 12.
For the three-story Eden, the lower level dining will feature a la carte items from local farms and fisheries with menu items like roasted Spanish prawns with melted peppers, cured chorizo, slowcooked shellfish broth and mashed potatoes cooked in duck fat. Apex will also have new menu items for venues Raw on 5, Magic Carpet, Fine Cut Steakhouse, Rooftop Garden Grill and the four main restaurants: Cosmopolitan, Cyprus, Normandie and Tuscan.
The Theatre main stage on Apex will have unique entertainment with three new stage shows while The Club will have a new cabaret show.
New productions include “Rockumentary,” that pays homage to classic rock while letting cruisers vote for their favorite final; “Tree of Life,” which will feature a 20-foottall prop with 3,000 LED leaves with pop rock music; and “Crystalize,” that highlights dance and aerial acrobatics with a light and laser show with a featured violinist.
The retail options that feature high-end offerings such as Bvlgari and Cartier will be joined by the line’s first-ever standalone boutique from Montblanc.
The exercise regimen will feature F45 classes for the first time at sea, and “Women in Wellness” programs.
“This stunning ship truly represents a new standard in new-luxury travel, and we can’t wait for our guests to finally experience it for themselves,” said LutoffPerlo.