Celebrity Apex Transatlantic Cruise: A Solo Traveler’s Trip Report
Trading Fast-Paced Travel for a Transatlantic Cruise
Have you ever felt like you needed a vacation after your vacation? I had just returned from two weeks in Japan where I took planes, trains, and automobiles to see different parts of the country and stayed at six different hotels. As much as I loved exploring Japan, it made me miss the convenience and efficiency of a cruise where I don’t have to pack up my suitcase every couple of days or spend daylight hours traveling between cities.
After the go-go-go of the Japan trip, I decided that my next big vacation needed to be something a lot more chill, where I could truly relax. After some research online, I decided that a transatlantic cruise that included nine sea days and three port stops was just what the doctor ordered. The cruise I selected was on the Celebrity Apex out of Port Canaveral that ended in Southampton, UK with stops in Bermuda, Ponta Delgada Azores and Lisbon, Portugal.
Arriving in Port Canaveral & Embarkation Day
As I usually like to do, I arrived in Cape Canaveral the night before my cruise, this time taking a rental car, since I would not be returning to the port at the end of the cruise. This time I stayed at the Hyatt Place, which is a fairly new hotel. On the morning of my cruise, I ran a quick errand to a nearby store to pick up something I had forgotten and then dropped off my rental car at the Hertz right next to the Hyatt Place.
After packing up my belongings, I got a ride share to the port and began the process of boarding. It was a bit chaotic during check in as this cruise required US citizens to have a UK Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), which has only started fairly recently. The cruise line had to confirm that everyone who needed one had one, so people were scrambling on their phones to show theirs on the website. Despite the long lines to check in, I was soon on board and exploring the ship.
One of the nice things about Celebrity is that you are allowed to go to your cabin as soon as you are on board to drop off your carry on bags. The rooms generally aren’t fully ready until 1:30 or 2:00pm, so you can’t stick around or unpack, but since I only travel with carry ons, this is a great benefit. The next few hours were spent exploring the ship, getting connected to the wi-fi, and eventually unpacking in my cabin once it was ready.
Life Onboard the Celebrity Apex During Sea Days
For the third time in about six months, I enjoyed the sail away from Port Canaveral on my balcony. Actually, this time it wasn’t quite the same as my other balconies, this time I had what Celebrity calls an Infinite Veranda. The outer wall of the cabin is a floor to ceiling window and the top can be lowered to let in fresh air. With the cooler weather of a Transatlantic cruise, I figured this set up would be nice and allow me to sit and stare at the water with my book in the quiet of my room without being too cold. I know some people aren’t huge fans of the Infinite Veranda, and I can probably see why in the warmth of the Caribbean, but for this cruise, it was really nice.
The Celebrity Apex has open dining, so you can go to any of the four main dining rooms at any time you’d like, except on the first night, they recommend a dining room and time for you to go. I’m not sure how strict they are on that, but on the first night I did what I ended up doing most nights of the cruise and just ate dinner in the buffet. I really enjoyed all of the options they had and I mostly just enjoyed sitting in the outside seating at the back of the ship. Because we were heading east, there was a sunset view every night. I probably took more than one hundred photos of the sunset and the wake over the course of the cruise. Just as you thought it couldn’t get any prettier, it did.
Another favorite part of the cruise was taking advantage of the blowout package at the spa. I love to treat myself on any cruise, but especially longer cruises. Not only do you end up with clean hair, but the shampoo usually comes with a super relaxing head massage. The salon on the Apex also has great views of the water while you have your service done.
One thing I really enjoy on cruises is walking up on the top decks. It’s a great time to get fresh air and walk off some of those extra desserts. The Celebrity Apex has a designated track that spans two deck levels and has a figure eight pattern. Due to the wind as you sail across the Atlantic Ocean, the walking track wasn’t always the easiest to use, but it beats a treadmill any day.
If you’re worried about being bored with all the sea days, the ship’s staff does an amazing job of keeping the shows and activities coming and fresh, with matinees, dance classes, games, and music, you can always be doing something, if that’s what you like.
If you want to see the exact schedules and activities offered hour-by-hour, check out my complete collection of Celebrity Apex Transatlantic Dailies!
One of my main complaints about the Celebrity Apex was the constant music in almost every public area. Sometimes I just want to listen to the waves in silence. I did find one hideaway on the starboard side back towards Eden, but everywhere else there was music – and not even songs I knew and liked, but music that was unfamiliar and just not my style. I found myself spending a lot of time in my room just for the silence.
Sailing Transatlantic as a Solo Traveler
I didn’t attend any of the solo meet ups on this cruise, even though they had them most evenings, and I didn’t ever ask to dine at a shared table on the couple times I ate dinner in the dining room. I still managed to make some cruise friends up at the Magic Carpet bar, but in general, I just felt like keeping to myself on this cruise.
Curious about taking a cruise alone? Read my honest thoughts on what it’s really like to travel solo.
Port Highlights: Bermuda, the Azores, and Lisbon
I only booked one port excursion on this cruise. Our first stop was at the Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda. I had researched the ferries available right at the dockyard and decided to see the island that way. The ferries had just switched to their summer schedule, and I decided to start my day by taking the ferry to St. Georges. Honestly, just riding the ferry and seeing the island from that view was as good as any ship excursion, in my opinion. Once in St. Georges, I walked around a bit, stopping to see the Unfinished Church before wandering back towards town. I then hopped on a bus with the destination of Hamilton.
I didn’t have any big plans in Hamilton, but walked around a bit and picked up an SD card for my camera, which I had forgotten. I ended up taking an early ferry back from Hamilton to the Royal Navy Dockyard, once again, enjoying views of the island from the ferry. Bermuda is a beautiful place, and I found the people living there to be incredibly kind and welcoming. I look forward to returning another time.
Our second port stop was in Ponta Delgada, Azores. This was the only port where I had scheduled an excursion for a bike ride. It was just ok and reminded me why I didn’t love ship excursions. They packed us all into two vans and drove us up the mountain, stopping briefly at a lookout point to take in the views. Once we got to the biking location, they got us set up on bikes and we rode round a lake and a small town. The town was really nice to see, but the biking was a bit more than I bargained for. At one point, I had a bit of a fall, giving myself a nice bruise for the rest of the trip. We were scheduled to be back to the ship by Noon, and I was hoping to explore the city near the port a bit, but our tour guide insisted on stopping at other lookout points and we were over an hour late getting back. We still had some time before the ship left, but not as much as I would have liked.
The last port stop of this cruise was Lisbon, Portugal. I had been to Lisbon before and did the Hop On Hop Off Bus, which I generally enjoy as a way to get a feel for a new city. I remembered when I was there before a park that had an amazing view of the city, all the way down to the water. I set out on foot and walked all the way up to the top of the park and the viewpoint. I did not walk all the way back though, choosing instead to take the subway.
Navigating Time Changes & Final Takeaways
One of the big challenges of a Transatlantic Cruise, especially one heading east, are the time changes. You lose six hours over the course of the cruise, and at one point, I think we did three nights in a row. There were definitely some confusing mornings when I wasn’t sure which clock to trust. Someone on the cruise Facebook group had suggested manually setting your phones clock based on cities in those time zones. At one point, I managed to set my phone to a location that was only 30 minutes ahead of the previous location instead of an hour and I was almost late for my hair appointment. Thankfully, the 9:55am Captain’s announcement clued me in.
Once we arrived in Southampton, I was able to be one of the first to walk off the ship, as I had kept all of my luggage with me, and I made the 7am train to London. I had some friends to visit there before flying home a couple days later.
Overall, I really enjoyed my Transatlantic cruise, and I absolutely would do it again. There’s nothing like a relaxing vacation where you truly can just sit and do nothing at all. Even if you like to stay busy and social, there are plenty of options on a cruise like this.
