[NOT SURE WHY I WAITED SO LONG TO POST THIS ONE - FIRST OF 2024 AND LOTS OF FUN!]
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| Martini Bar - Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
I HAVE read about holiday cruises. I never really pictured us doing one. We always think of holidays as family time, and for logistical reasons, there will probably never be a time we could get the whole family (even as small as it is) on a cruise ship. It just never really occurred to me. This year, both couples had firm plans for the New Year. And our friends had a pretty tight window during that time of the year. Surprisingly to me, it worked. Our cruise left the week following Christmas, which probably wouldn't have been doable.
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| Celebrity Apex - New Year 2024 - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
THE NEW Year's holiday actually worked for us. We rarely go out anywhere other than possibly in the neighborhood to celebrate. We liked the idea of being captive on the ship. No worries about driving - or other drivers. And knowing how they do things on a cruise ship we thought it could be a good party. And it was. Lots of live music, happy people, and decorations.
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| Celebrity Apex - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 |
THIS WAS a 7-day short cruise, with only 3 ports of call: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and St. Kitts, West Indies. The remaining 4 days were sea days. True to expectation, we had sunny, warm weather for all 7 days. We made no excursion plans. The "plan" was to relax, have a few drinks, smoke a cigar, and soak up some sun.
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| San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
WE ARRIVED at Old San Juan in the late afternoon and by the time we were on shore and walking around the sun was setting. But there was a lot going on. Two cruise ships in port, and it was still the holiday week. The old city was still dressed up for the holidays, and I made some nice twilight images of one of the central plazas in Old San Juan.
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| Old San Juan decorated for the holidays - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
WE STOPPED in at a couple "watering holes," to try some local beer. It happened to be the day after the New Year, and the BCS championship final 4. We are from Michigan (and even though they are not my first "Michigan" - based team - I am Green and White, through and through), how could we not root for the undefeated University of Michigan Wolverines. We wanted to see that game but could not find any of the local spots on shore that were broadcasting it. We decided to go back on board, where the food and drink was "paid for" but more importantly, to tune into the game. Puerto Rico doesn't seem to be much of a football location. 😞
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| Old San Juan decorated for the holidays - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
DISAPPOINTINGLY, THERE was only one place on the entire ship where we could sit together and watch the game - the Craft Social Bar. Nice place - for about 25 people! There were a couple thousand passengers. What's up with that Celebrity? Ultimately, we went back to our respective rooms after a trip to the buffet to carry out some food. Both the games were good though!
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| Celebrity Apex in Tortola, BVI - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
THE NEXT day, our stop would be Tortola, BVI. A place neither of us had been to. Paul and Linda have spent a week on nearby St. Johns a couple of times. During a tour around Tortola, we learned (and saw) that St. Johns was across the bay, less than a mile.
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| Nevis (from the Celebrity Apex berth in St. Kitts) - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
OUR LAST PORT for the trip was St. Kitts. This marked at least the 4th time I have been to St. Kitts. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I think this is one of the most "developed" cruise port shopping areas of anywhere I have stopped. There is a small "downtown" of stores - all squarely aimed at cruiser/tourists, with many clothing stores, liquor stores, cigar shops, trinket shops, and a few bars and restaurants. We didn't leave this area on this cruise (though we have in the past). This was a "shop for gifts for kids and grandkids day." Paul and I mostly sat at the bar in the middle of the area. It was just nice to be in the sun, hear the music, and have a beer or two with my buddy! We headed back for the ship relatively early, to enjoy some of the nice weather on the ship deck. We still had another couple full day at sea days ahead of us, and the weather was very cooperative.
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| Celebrity Apex departing St. Kitt's at Sunset - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
THREE OF the 4 of us have either late December or early January birthdays. While none of them were during the week on the ship they fell either immediately before, or immediately after. Mine may have been the closest, as it was the morning we disembarked back in Ft. Lauderdale. On our last night on board, we also ate at the specialty restaurant: Eden. Eden is really a whole area on the back of the ship on deck 5, which includes a small buffet, a very elegant bar, a small staging area for music and occasionally other performances, a very nice seating areas (part of the bar) view the ocean aft, and a two-story, gourmet restaurant. In addition to the inside area, there is also a very nice seating area just outside on the port side of the ship (divided into smoking and non-smoking areas).
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| Happy Birthday! - Eden Restaurant - Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
THE RESTAURANT, being a so-called "specialty" restaurant requires a ("healthy") extra charge, and reservations. They can be hard to get. The remainder of the area is open to all passengers (except when being used - which happens a few times during the week - for a private event). This was my third time in the Eden restaurant. The food is pretty good and the atmosphere quite nice.
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| Caribbean Sunset astern of Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
NEARLY EVERY evening we had spectacular sunsets. While I am usually toting a camera around on these trips, I probably used my less this cruise than I ever have. We were usually sitting in one of the bar/cigar smoking areas when the sun set, and I didn't have my camera with me. But I always had my phone. And I am always drawn to make an image or two, even "just" with my phone. As a serious camera enthusiast, I like to think I a pretty discerning about image quality. Back in 2021, I began to really notice the quality being produced by the most recent phones - particularly from Apple, Samsung and Google. I posted a blog on my LightCentricPhotography Blog a couple weeks back showcasing the brilliant sunsets on this cruise. It is probably a first for me, but every single shot on that blog was made with my Samsung S21 "smartphone." The only sunset images I made on this cruise were with the phone. At least for display on the internet, they are pretty impressive.
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| Caribbean Sunset - Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
IT WAS a fun and "just-right" time and place cruise for the 4 of us. We haven't gotten together as much as we have in the past. Part of that is a function of us moving to Florida. Part of is that Paul runs a very successful business and is constantly on the go for that business, a large, great family of children and grandchildren, and his many other hobbies. We are retired and perhaps have more freedom for leisure travel. In spite of this, we have traveled with them to Europe twice, and the Caribbean now. We will look forward to the next adventure with them - maybe a bit more extended. Maybe somewhere else in the world again! Until then . . .
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| Caribbean Sunset - Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
IN THE meantime, we look forward to our next cruise, in Japan. 14 days on a new ship for us: Holland America's Westerdam. We will be circling the whole island of Japan. With another couple we have cruised with - as well as friends of theirs who are (semi) new to us. That seems far away now (April), but we know it is coming up fast. I will most certainly be blogging about that cruise!
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| Sunset - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 |
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