ArcaMax

“We thought the ship had such strict protocols we would be OK,” said Alina Domchik, cruising with her husband and her unvaccinated son, Noam, 4, from Israel. Save for one older teen, he was the only child on board the week we sailed.

There are sanitizing stations everywhere, even a huge sink where guests can wash hands before entering the buffet, which isn’t a buffet anymore as crew serve everyone. Seats are blocked at the bars, the lounges, the pools for social distancing. Shore excursions have fewer people and there are also options for private tours. Everyone wears masks.

The Apex, the brand-new Edge-class ship in the Celebrity fleet that debuted this summer in Greece, can hold nearly 3,000 passengers. But there were just 1,100 on board and 936 crew from some 60 countries when we sailed. Everyone over 12 was vaccinated and a COVID was test administered prior to boarding. Apex will sail roundtrip from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this winter, starting the end of October. A plus: Drinks, Wi-Fi and tips are always included.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now recommended that people who are not fully vaccinated wait to cruise and that those who do cruise now should get tested before and after their trip. Hopefully, kids 5 to 11 will begin to get their shots around Halloween, since the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the company announced, has been shown to be safe and highly effective in young children aged 5 to 11 years. Pfizer plans to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization, potentially setting the stage for school-aged kids to start getting the vaccine.

Ships continue to sail at reduced capacity and there are pluses – no problem getting dinner reservations at one of the many specialty restaurants and there are no crowds on shore excursions or at the spa, though sea days were typically busy and reservations were required to limit numbers for the large Sea Thermal Suite.

The passengers were a mixed group — retirees, honeymooners, young couples, mother-daughter duos, families with grown kids, and solo travelers who, uniformly, were thrilled to be on vacation and on the new ship. (Read my daily travel diaries.)

“The ship is amazing,” said Koby Dunkling, noting that the couple, who had to postpone their wedding a year, were thrilled to be aboard when they couldn’t honeymoon in Bali because of pandemic restrictions. “This has blown our minds.”

Most passengers are American, though there are some from Britain and elsewhere too. Many have cruised Celebrity before but there are first-timers, including young Noam Domchik.

Neither Noam nor the teen on board found their way to the Camp at Sea, though Seon McDonald, the program director, has offered activities with COVID-19 protocols — programs limited to half the regular numbers, more individual crafts and activities limited to the club spaces.

And because Apex isn’t full, there is plenty of space to spread out, including the “Magic Carpet” bar that goes up and down alongside the ship, hot tubs to yourself, plenty of pool chairs and staterooms with an “infinite” veranda (you can open the windows), which makes the cabins significantly more spacious. Technology helps. The ship’s app makes planning seamless. Even the mandatory lifeboat drill was streamlined. We watched a safety video in our cabin, and then simply had to swipe our room cards at the muster station.

...continued

(c) 2021 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.