The Celebrity Cruises tour encompassed 12 nights: Amsterdam (Holland/Netherlands); Ronne (Denmark); Helsinki (Finland); Tallinn (Estonia); Riga (Latvia); Stockholm (Sweden); Copenhagen (Denmark); and back to Amsterdam.
The Celebrity Apex is a large ship. Much bigger than the Titanic (46,330 GT) that would comfortably fit within its outline, funnels, and all, with ample space for another boat or two.
At 130,818 GT she is about 40% larger than the Queen Elizabeth (90,000 GT), on which we have previously sailed.
This is mainly evident in the bathrooms, that are considerably bigger. Otherwise, our 'stateroom' was much the same, except for the enclosable balcony. Very comfortable.
Like the Queen Elizabeth she is diesel-electric, driven by fully rotatable electric azipods at the stern (no rudder) and equipped with four tunnel thrusters near the bow. The bow shape is also unusual. Instead of the usual torpedo-like forward projection, under the water, the hull slopes forward to encapsulate it, improving water flow, fuel efficiency and lowering turbulence and noise.
She has a published top speed of 22.7 knots and achieved this at least once during the cruise, as did the Queen Elizabeth on our earlier cruise - all without a huge team of navies furiously shovelling coal into her belly (as in the Titanic).
I was amused that the models one can buy on board, presumably to add to a collection, do not incorporate this distinctive feature. When I pointed this out the sales person, he had no idea what I was talking about and told me that: "The bow is the front of the ship sir."
OK then! That must mean that it is forward of the stern!
There's also room for a bigger casino. But this one boasts more staff that players. At least, when on the Baltic and with about half the cabins unoccupied.
As on the Queen Elizabeth, there is a large theatre in the bow. This one has very large LED screens forming the entire backdrop to the theatre (6m x 33.5m or 20' x 110' in old mensuration).
Initially gobsmacked, I imagined that this was a single curved screen with just one integrated door, that opened to let performers enter, and then, magically, disappeared, back into the prevailing image. But later in the cruise, sections opened to reveal a back-stage, as the huge panels separated and slid behind one another.
I learned on-line (yes, we had Wi-Fi) that it has 4K resolution and is comprised of 17 million LED pixels. Amazing computer power.
Needless to say: the theatre has all the usual lighting and stage machinery, most of it hydraulic or motorised.
In addition to different guest performers each day, there's a resident troop of stage performers, highflying gymnasts and musicians. During the day there are talks (lectures) on interesting topics - like the ports to be visited.
There are two more-or-less identical performances each night and we generally went to the later one, when, as the ship was half empty, there was never any difficulty finding a seat.
Having seen 'Jersey Boys' on stage in London and in Sydney, I was moved to record part of this performance (songs only) that was also excellent.
Click on the image above to see video clips from a couple of performances - at the end
Much of the lower Baltic Sea is in Danish waters and at the southern tip of Sweden is the small island of Bornholm and the town and port of Rønne, our first port of call - around 800 nautical miles - quite a long way - from Amsterdam:
