Celebrity Apex Norwegian Fjord Cruise Blog – Day 3 – Sea Day

July 25, 2025 Randy Young

Day 3 on the Celebrity Apex was our first sea day as the ship headed northbound toward the great Norwegian fjords. Follow along as we explore all the ship has to offer.

Day 3 Overview

Day 3 Schedule
Small Bites and Juices at Spa Cafe
Breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe
Eden for Daytime Relaxing
Behind the Podium Talk
Looking for Lunch on the Apex
Second Lunch at the Buffet
Upper Decks on the Celebrity Apex
Lack of Activity Space
Magic Carpet Bar
Celebrity Apex Fitness Center
Pre-Dinner Drinks at Craft Social
First Chic Night
Dinner in the Normandie Dining Room
Gambling at the Casino on the Apex
Martini Bar in Grand Plaza
Caravan by Eden Cast at The Club
Silent Disco

Celebrity Apex Day 3 Schedule

Small Bites and Juices at Spa Cafe

I got a late start to the morning, having no real reason to get up and out of bed. I eventually clicked the button in the app to open the blinds in the cabin. The thick blackout shade slowly raised, letting the bright sun pour into the room through the large window. It was a beautiful day, motivating me to get up and grab some breakfast.

We started by stopping at the Spa Cafe. It’s a small space tucked into the corner of the adult-only Solarium that could easily be overlooked. It was an odd space. In the center of it was a table where you could order a variety of juices or smoothies for an extra cost. It didn’t have a proper counter like at a Jamba Juice, just a table. Along the wall was a small table with some pre-made dishes on it. Overall, it felt like a makeshift space.

Because these drinks are included in the Premium Drink Package we purchased, we figured we’d try some smoothies. We placed an order and waited. Because they only had one blender, the wait was so long, close to ten minutes for a simple smoothie.

While waiting, I looked at the available breakfast options. None of them appealed to me. They seemed to be very trendy and “fresh” dishes, and didn’t seem to be that popular with guests. I didn’t see many people taking any.

spa cafe breakfast options — The Spa Cafe had small grab-and-go bites for breakfast and lunch. None seemed all that appealing to me.

The smoothie itself was just OK. I got the “Refuel” with peanut butter, banana, cocoa, almond milk, and flaxseed. It was a bit thick and grainy. I always think I’ll enjoy these “healthy” smoothies more than I do.

Overall, I didn’t understand this space. It took up valuable room in the adult-only area that could have been used for more loungers. Celebrity must have realized that as well, because for the upcoming sister ship, the Celebrity Xcel, they’ve gotten rid of it.

Breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe

With the underwhelming options at the Spa Cafe, we headed to the buffet for breakfast. It was 9:45 at this point, with the buffet scheduled to close at 10:30. It was incredibly busy, the busiest I’ve seen yet. The breakfast options were similar, if not identical, to the day before, but I didn’t mind that because the selection was so huge.

Finding a seat was more of a challenge, though. The staff was bussing tables as soon as people left, but there still weren’t enough seats. Eventually, after walking around for a bit with our plates of food, we were able to find seats.

Tip: If you need seating in the buffet, either head to the very back or the very front on the starboard side. Most people are too lazy to walk to the back, and the small room in the front feels like you’re leaving the buffet, so many people don’t know about it.

Eden for Daytime Relaxing

The temperature was 65 degrees out, so a bit cool for pool deck reading, so I headed to the beautiful Eden. The space was nearly deserted at that point. Tons of tables and chairs were available, all looking at the amazing ocean views.

As I read, Captain Nikolaos Christodoulakis came on the speaker for his daily 10:30 AM announcement. With it being my first time on Celebrity, I was very surprised by how involved the Captain was in guest interactions. On other cruise lines, you rarely hear from the Captain unless something is wrong with the itinerary. Usually, the cruise director makes announcements (or no one in Virgin Voyages’ case). On this sailing, though, the Captain briefed us regularly on both the trip and what was happening. He would talk for almost five minutes before handing it over to the cruise director, who’d follow up with a few other points.

The Captain and senior staff introduced the show the previous night, and throughout the cruise, I saw them welcoming guests at almost every event and debarkation. It was refreshing and showed that the whole crew cared about the guest experience, not just the entertainment staff. While some of this may have to do with Captain Christodoulakis himself, I’ve heard from others onboard that this is standard for most Celebrity ships.

Behind the Podium Talk

At 11:15, we headed to a Behind the Podium talk held in the main theater. For these series, Celebrity brings in an expert for the sailing who covers topics that apply to the itinerary. In this case, it was about Norway, its history, its politics, and the country in general.

To my surprise, the event was very well attended. The theater was about ¾ full. The expert was a former businessman and avid traveler who visits different Celebrity ships to educate guests on the locales. Throughout the talk, he brought up images and pictures on the massive high-definition LED screen. He went over the geography of Scandinavia, Norwegian politics, and major cities.

It was quite interesting but also a little humorous to me. The PowerPoint he used felt like it was from 1996, complete with yellow-backed text, cheesy animations, and low-resolution visuals. Being in my early 40s, it’s everything our professors taught us not to do in PowerPoint. It didn’t take away from the information, but it was funny how dated the presentation felt.

Looking for Lunch on the Apex

After the presentation, it was time to grab lunch. We decided to try Mast Grill, the hot dog and hamburger venue onboard. Located off the main pool area, I imagine it’s a great place to grab a quick bite while relaxing by the pool during Caribbean sailings.

It was 1:30 and pretty busy at this point. We got in line and placed our orders. The burgers were all made to order, which was nice for freshness but not great during peak times. It took 7 minutes to get a simple cheeseburger and fries. If you see a line of 15+ people, throw more burgers on the grill; someone will eat them.

You could top your burger at the fixings bar before trying to find seating. The space didn’t have a ton of seating, and most of it was long shared tables, which were awkward when trying to find somewhere to sit.

The burger was high quality; you could tell they used premium ingredients. It was better than Royal Caribbean and Norwegian’s burgers that just sit in a warming pan, but nowhere near as good as Virgin Voyages’ Burger Bar or the best at sea, in my opinion, Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival.

Second Lunch at the Buffet

Because the burger on its own didn’t feel like enough, we headed to the buffet for some more bites. The buffet was busy, but not overly full.

Today was an Italian Day, with a pasta station, chicken parm, ziti, and a variety of high-quality Italian desserts. On top of that, the standards like roast meats, Indian, and Mexican were also available. I definitely had a problem with their tortilla chips and taco meat section, making way too many custom nachos over this cruise.

To finish, we went to the Scoops ice cream counter at the entrance to the buffet. Even though this was a cooler-weather cruise, the counter almost always had a small line. Each day, they had a variety of different ice cream and gelato flavors. This counter is complimentary on the Edge Class ships, like Apex (older ships charge for scooped ice cream). It reminded me of Lick Me Till Ice Cream on Virgin Voyages, but even better because this stand had toppings like sprinkles and sauces like strawberry, chocolate, or caramel.

Upper Decks on the Celebrity Apex

After lunch, we explored the upper decks a bit more. It was around 2 PM, and the pool area was bustling. It was 65 degrees out, but it was pleasantly warm when the sun was out. The 72-degree pool was warm enough for some people to swim in, but it was just on the border of being too cool for that. The two champagne glass hot tubs were completely full.

The adult-only enclosed Solarium was also very full, but not uncomfortable full. On warm days, it wasn’t as crowded here, but it really struggles on cool days.

Tip: If you are sailing with kids on cold-weather sailings, the indoor pool in the Solarium is open to families from 5 PM to 7 PM. That way, they have a chance to swim as well.

We walked to check out the additional seating near the Rooftop Garden. The upper decks are a bit confusing to navigate, as the front and back don’t have a direct connection except for a 1/4 mile jogging track that winds between the spaces and up and down two decks. It’s a nice concept, but it was 2 PM and people were actively using the jogging track, so you felt like you were getting in their way trying to reach the Rooftop Garden. I much prefer Virgin Voyages’ version of a dedicated running track that’s elevated but not used as a pathway.

rooftop grill seating — Rooftop Garden Grill for lunch was a bit chilly.

We passed the Rooftop Garden Grill, the extra-fee specialty restaurant next to the Rooftop Garden. The space was wasted on a cool weather cruise. It has some covering over the top of the seating and a few wind screens, but it’s pretty much open to the elements. During lunch and dinner, I’d see guests wearing winter coats, covered in blankets (that they provide), and huddled around the few stand heaters they have. (They don’t have IR heaters built into the ceiling like Norwegian does on their ships.)

See the Rooftop Garden Grill Menu

Lack of Activity Space

One thing I noticed throughout the afternoon was the lack of activity space on the Apex. Because of how Celebrity positions themselves, you’re not going to find climbing walls, ropes courses, or water slides on any of their ships. But it feels like they leaned into that too much. The ship had two ping pong tables tucked away in a corner of a pool deck that were busy most of the time on sea days. The Rooftop Garden is turned into a singular pickleball court that usually had a wait for it.

The entertainment staff would bring games out into the main pool area, like ladder golf or a putting green, but that was just for 30 minutes as an organized activity. Inside, they didn’t have a game room or entertainment space. They turned one dining room, Normandie, into a place with tables to play games, but they didn’t have signs advertising that. In addition, the dining room felt too stuffy for games. A venue like Virgin Voyages’ Social Club would have worked great here.

It seems to be a struggle as Celebrity refines their customer base. Originally, Celebrity skewed older, but their newer Edge Class ships were designed to appeal to younger audiences and Millennials. But it seemed too light on activity areas, and on a Caribbean cruise with a lot of sea days, I could see it being a problem. Even Virgin Voyages, an adult-only cruise line, has a dedicated basketball court and pickleball court.

Magic Carpet Bar

After spending some time relaxing and watching the ocean go by, we wanted to check out the Magic Carpet Bar. The Magic Carpet is a cantilevered platform that repositions itself on different levels around the ship. Guests aren’t permitted to be onboard as it moves, but it’s usually found on the pool deck, on Deck 5 next to Raw on 5 for additional seating, or on Deck 2 for when ships are tendering to be used as a platform.

It was bigger than I thought when I got on, filled with similar seating to the Sunset Bar. You didn’t feel like you were hanging off the ship, but it offered panoramic ocean views.

I ordered the Vanilla Mojito there, which was undrinkable. I’m not sure if it was that I didn’t like it or that it was made wrong, but I usually enjoy a mojito. One of the tell-tale signs that it was made wrong was that it had nearly a whole lemon in it (mojitos use lime).

See the Magic Carpet Bar Menu

I had the same problem with specialty cocktails several times on the ship. I like that the Apex has different menus with signature drinks for almost every bar. But I noticed that some bartenders would often work multiple bars in a day, being retasked to busy spots around the ship. It made sense, and I rarely had to wait long for a drink anywhere, but it’s a lot of specialty cocktails for bartenders to keep track of.

Since the selection at the bar was pretty limited, we walked over to the Pool Bar and tried a Honey Trap drink. It was technically non-alcoholic, made with a zero-proof liquor, but they can make it with tequila or mezcal. It was quite tasty with liquor, so much so that it was odd they don’t have an alcoholic version on the menu normally.

See the Pool Bar Menu

Celebrity Apex Fitness Center

I always enjoy getting an afternoon workout on a sea day to hopefully counteract the overeating I’d be doing.

On the Apex, the gym is placed front and center, offering fantastic ocean views. I love being able to look at the horizon as I run on a treadmill or elliptical. The light-colored ceiling made it feel very spacious — a stark contrast to the Norwegian Prima and Viva, which have the gym in the same location but use dark ceilings and flooring that make it feel cramped.

The gym was quite a good size with a balance of cardio and weight equipment. It was 4 PM, and the gym was about 60% full at this point. It was busy, but you could still find a machine. It got pretty warm in there with the bright sun pouring in through the windows, but it felt good to get the blood pumping. Celebrity provides chilled towels and refreshing, iced cucumber water which was a nice touch.

For pre-dinner drinks tonight, we opted to try Craft Social, an odd mishmash of a beer bar, whiskey bar, and sports bar in one. Located on Deck 4, off of the Grand Plaza and next to the Casino, it had the feel of an old-school lounge with rich wood tones, overstuffed comfy chairs, and a sophisticated high-end feeling. At the same time, though, they’ve added TVs into the space to have it double as a sports bar. It kind of takes away from the ambiance a bit.

The bar was usually pretty busy all day, especially in the evening hours pre-dinner. Like many of the other venues on Apex, the bar itself doesn’t have a lot of seating. The space, however, has tables and couches with table service, which helps. Still, even with that, it was too full. To fix that, the tables along the walkway in the Grand Plaza and the area in front of the restaurant next door, Le Grand Bistro, also offered the same cocktail menu with servers rotating throughout regularly. While it was nice to have the option of additional seating, it didn’t have the same feel and ambiance as the bar. Also, most tables were meant for two, meaning socializing with friends could be more difficult.

While Craft Social has a full bar, the menu here focuses on beers and bourbons. One page of the menu features build-your-own Old Fashioneds; you select your bourbon, bitters, syrup, and garnish. Since we had the Premium Drinks Package, I tried a bunch of different combinations throughout the cruise, but my favorite still leaned closer to a classic. I also came to learn the differences in the flavors of the bourbons, something I haven’t experimented with much at home.

Tip: Even though it’s not on the menu, you can get any cocktail smoked.

Craft Social also had a small food menu for an extra cost. It’s mostly elevated bar bites, but I only saw one person order food throughout the cruise. Most of the options here should be included in the cruise fare, in my opinion.

See Craft Social Bar Menu

First Chic Night

Tonight was Chic Night, Celebrity’s new name for “Formal Night.” On old-school cruises, Formal Night was a big deal, with men wearing tuxes and women wearing gowns. Over the years, that practice has declined greatly. Now, they’ve gotten rid of the name “Formal” and use “Chic Night,” encouraging people to “dress up.” For Celebrity, most 7-day sailings have two Chic Nights.

Since it was my first cruise with Celebrity, I was a little concerned about how dressed-up people would be. Because it was a cold-weather cruise and my suitcase was already struggling to fit 7 days of stuff, I didn’t want to have to bring a full suit. I ended up choosing dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. People were in all states of dress, but it was mostly dressy. I didn’t see any tuxes or formal gowns, but quite a few suits and nice dresses. That being said, it ran the gamut — some men were even just wearing polos.

Dinner in the Normandie Dining Room

For dinner this evening, we decided to try the French-inspired Normandie dining room. The size and layout were similar to the other two we tried so far, but this venue features a sophisticated and modern Art Deco design, with soft pink and cream tones that create a warm, upscale ambiance. Statement high-back chairs and shimmering crystal accents give the space a different feel than the other dining rooms.

We checked in at 7:00 PM and had a short 4-minute wait until we were seated at a table. It was a bit busier than we’d seen before, so we didn’t get a table next to a window, but the tables further in were still nice. The service was prompt, although not overly personable. Unlike the previous night, we weren’t greeted by name, and there was no attempt at conversation. Still, the service was efficient. He took our appetizer order within 5 minutes, and we had our first appetizers 3 minutes later.

For dinner, I started with the French onion soup, which again was really delicious. For my entrée, I struggled. I love duck, and tonight’s menu had two different versions: the standard specialty entrée available every night, Pan-Seared Duck Breast, and the entrée of the day, Seared Duck with Fried Wild Rice and Orange Duck Jus. I went with the daily entrée, which was quite good; the duck was cooked perfectly, and the rice complemented it very well. We were almost halfway through the cruise, and so far, the dinners had really blown me away with the quality.

This is one thing I love about a cruise; I can try food I never would order at home. Usually, I stick to my staples/usuals when going out to eat, but on a cruise ship I’ll try different things. It’s not extra money, and I know I’ll never really be hungry because there are so many other options. It lets me be more adventurous.

For dessert, I chose a Normandie exclusive, the warm apple crumble à la mode. I’d already had the apple pie à la mode two other nights and appreciated it, but this was even better — rich, buttery, and not too sweet.

Overall, the meal took 1 hour and 3 minutes, which felt about right.

Gambling at the Casino on the Apex

After dinner, we decided to spend some time in the Casino. We’d passed through it many times so far on the sailing, but hadn’t actually played anything.

The Casino is modern and sleek, with lots of the latest slot machines and a bunch of table games available. It’s a modest size compared to casinos seen on ships from Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The Casino was just expanded during a dry dock earlier this year, where they converted retail shops across from it into additional slot machines. It felt like an odd choice, though, because the Casino was never more than 50% full throughout the sailing. Perhaps during the ship’s Caribbean sailings, it’s busier.

One thing I really liked about the Casino is that it was completely smoke-free (all Celebrity casinos are smoke-free). It made it so much easier to spend time in the area without feeling inundated by cigarette smoke.

celebrity apex casino bar service — The Casino doesn’t have a dedicated bar, but has a bar cart that’s manned sometimes. It wasn’t the best setup and it was the only time on the ship I struggled to get a drink.

The Casino doesn’t have a dedicated bar, but they do have a bar cart set up on one side that’s manned sometimes. In addition, servers circulate the area taking drink orders, but they’re not as fast as the rest of the ship. In one case, it was 20 minutes before I even saw someone, but they had a tray completely full of drinks.

Martini Bar in Grand Plaza

After losing $40 in the slots, I cut my losses and spent some time in the Martini Bar since I had time to kill before the show I wanted to see.

The bar and Grand Plaza were busy while a mediocre band played background music. As I waited for a server to stop by, I took in the space.

The Martini Bar itself has an odd layout. It’s a half-circle that seats twelve people, but half of the seats are bar-height and half are low-to-the-ground chairs that are hard to get out of. Throughout the space, though, there is very comfortable seating arranged to allow for socializing.

The Grand Plaza has a lot of steps and levels, creating depth in the space, but making it a nightmare for anyone with mobility issues (or for the servers trying to carry full martini glasses). The stairs, though, were beautiful, avoiding the crystal and shiny materials other cruise lines are using and instead going with authentic hardwood with a high polish, giving a real feel of elegance and old-school beauty.

Because it was so busy, it took a while for a server to stop by. It took 15 minutes for someone to take my order and another 5 minutes for them to bring it. I’m a sucker for a drink with cucumber, so I tried the Cucumber Martini. It was refreshing, but a little strong on the mint, and couldn’t compare to my favorite cucumber-based drink, Carnival’s Cucumber Sunrise.

Caravan by Eden Cast at The Club

This evening, we decided we wanted to see the show Caravan. Edge Class ships have two different entertainment casts: the production cast that performs in The Theater, and the Eden Cast that performs in the Eden space and also The Club. The Eden Cast focuses more on acrobatics, with just two lead singers (compared to four in the production cast) and more aerialists and acrobats. We got a brief glimpse of them on a previous night while they were in Eden, and thought it’d be interesting to see more.

This evening’s performance was in The Club, the two-story, all-purpose entertainment space on the ship. I’d heard it’s tough to find seats, so I arrived 30 minutes early when the doors opened. In reality, most seats didn’t start filling up until 10 minutes before.

The show was circus-themed with a small stage in the middle of the dance floor. As soon as we arrived, we started looking for seats and realized that this space was horrible for performances. Very few seats had good sightlines of the stage. Unless you were directly off the dance floor, you had compromised views. On the first level, the walls are lined with couches and chairs, but the low overhang of the mezzanine means you can’t see the aerialists. We tried the second floor, and structural beams or light fixtures blocked quite a few seats. The second floor had more seating in the back, but you could literally see none of the stage; you’d have to watch on TV monitors (which there were plenty of). On top of the bad sightlines, the lighting was off, with performers in the dark at times, and the sound wasn’t optimized.

It’s really frustrating to see cruise lines develop shows and hire talented staff, only to put them in subpar spaces not designed for performances. There’s a reason that since the ancient Greeks standardized the setup of a proscenium stage with tiered seating, it’s the best way to present a performance. But theaters take up a lot of space and don’t generate additional revenue, so most cruise lines have tried and failed to make mixed-use spaces. Whether it’s Carnival’s awful Grand Central on their Excel Class ships or Royal Caribbean’s Two70 on the Quantum Class ships, these spaces don’t provide the experience guests want.

The 30-minute show itself was good and worth seeing as long as you can get a good seat. The acrobats were impressive. At one point, two men balanced on each other’s heads. Later, a woman working with silks suspended herself 20 feet over the floor and did a star drop, unwrapping the silks from her legs as she dropped 10 feet. The musical talent and overall concept were a bit lacking, though, and felt behind sister cruise line Royal Caribbean’s productions.

Silent Disco

This evening was the Silent Disco, which took place in the Grand Plaza at 10:30 PM. For a Silent Disco, guests put on headphones and can choose from one of three music tracks. The headphones light up, showing which station they’re listening to. It’s fun to participate in or just watch, as you see people dancing to songs with different beats and singing different words at the same time.

The turnout was really good for the Silent Disco. The Grand Plaza ground level and second level were completely full. In an odd choice, the DJ was actually playing one of the channels on the speakers. It takes away from the fun because spectators usually hear nothing but people dancing and singing, and they have to guess what song it is.

Sadly, this was the only time they offered the Silent Disco on this sailing. Later on, I talked to several people who were disappointed; they loved the Silent Disco but couldn’t make it the first time. I don’t know why they didn’t do it again on a ship that doesn’t have a ton of nightlife.