Travel Bulletin features editor Natalie Chalk got a sneak peek at The Apex, Celebrity Cruises first vessel to be launched in the UK in ten years.
The billion-dollar liner was on show in a shipyard in Saint Nazaire. Measuring 1,004ft long with a cruising speed of 21.8 knots, it follows in the wake of Celebrity Edge, marking the second ship in the Edge Series. The brand has a history of pushing the envelope with technology and luxury and they?ve done it yet again.
Inside, there?s a dazzling three-deck chandelier hanging in the Grand Plaza which took more than 15,000 hours to design and build. The Theatre has state-of-the-art technology and seating for 940 guests, offering three new shows Rockumentary, Tree of Life and Crystalize created just for the Apex, including performances from the a Capella band Straight No Chaser. It also offers a first-at-sea with F45 Training, a fitness workout built around 45-minute, station-based, training.
There are new and first spa offerings, including more than 120 treatments and a collection of the latest treatment tables, highlighted by the unique Iyashi D?me, the original Japanese infrared sauna that deeply cleanses and detoxifies the body.
Also new is the Craft Social Bar with a selection of beers, wines and cocktails on tap, served by a certified beer sommelier.
Eden is a brand new dining experience which changes its atmosphere each night with pop up entertain. Menu offerings come from Celebrity?s Michelin-starred Chef Cornelius Gallagher, who puts flavour ahead of fancy presentation.
Similar to its sister ship there?s the floating Magic Carpet which is cantilevered off the ship's side and moves between the decks inviting guests to eat, drink and soar over the sea up to deck 16. It?s also used as the platform to take passengers to the tenders and take them ashore.
After our first-look tour, Celebrity Cruises cut the steel in a ceremony marking the building of its third Edge ship, Beyond. Celebrity Apex will be christened on March 30 and debuts in Southampton on April 1.
It will embark on a mini-season of five sailings to European destinations, including the Norwegian Fjords, the northern coasts of Spain and Portugal and a new 10-night Capital Cities Cruise with visits to iconic cities including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Paris. It will then spend the rest of its inaugural summer sailing seven- to-12-night itineraries in the Mediterranean, before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale in November for a winter season of week-long Caribbean sailings.
Book before March 3 to make the most of Celebrity Cruises January Sale, which includes sailings on Celebrity Apex.
