My First Cruise: Norway's Fjords on Celebrity Apex

I spend so much time planning my trips that sometimes I forget to actually enjoy them. This was the first trip in a long time where I did not have to plan every part of the day.

A night in London

We flew into London straight from Portugal and had one free day before boarding. We spent it at Phantom of the Opera, and I highly recommend it. It is probably one of the most spectacular shows I have ever seen in person. After the show we went back to the hotel and rested up for the travel day to the ship.

Boarding Celebrity Apex

Check in at Southampton was super smooth, and we got on early to explore the ship. I had never been on a cruise before, so walking around a ship this big honestly felt a little weird. It is hard to believe it floats, let alone that we were about to live on Celebrity Apex for a week. We checked out the pool, grabbed lunch, took in the views and hung out with some of the other creators on the trip.

Our first day at sea

The next day was a full sea day, and it is a feeling I had never had before. You look around and there is no land anywhere. I expected the ship to rock a lot, but it felt really solid and I never got seasick. I woke up early just to watch the sun come up over the ocean, and it was awesome. The rest of the day was mostly a work day for us.

Stavanger: Flor og Fjære

In Stavanger we visited Flor og Fjære, a garden that a local family built and still owns. They gave us a tour and it was beautiful. It was so cool to see how a place as far north as Norway can have such lush gardens and flowers. They even dig some of the flowers up and move them into a greenhouse for the winter to keep them alive.

Ziplining above Loen

The next day we rented a car and drove to the zipline at the top of the Loen Skylift, with incredible views over the fjords. We spent the rest of the day driving through different fjords and the small towns around them, trying Norwegian food and a lot of Norwegian candy. Some of it was not great. We ended the day back on the ship under the pinkest sky of the whole trip.

Geiranger: waterfalls and Skageflå

In Geiranger we took a boat tour to the base of the waterfalls along the fjord. From the water we hiked up to Skageflå, an old abandoned farm, about 700 feet of gain in roughly a mile. It is not too hard, and the view down the fjord is spectacular. Back in town we tried fresh waffles on a stick, and they were delicious.

A rainy day in Bruges

Our last stop was Zeebrugge, Belgium, and we headed into Bruges. It started pouring, so we ran from shop to shop. It was honestly super fun, and the architecture was beautiful. We took a boat tour through the canals, but it rained so hard I could not even get my camera out.

Life on board

All in all, being on board was such a cool experience. The dining was amazing, especially Fine Cut Steakhouse, Eden and the Magic Carpet, and the staff was incredible. This might be the only cruise I have been on, but I cannot imagine a better one.