Cruising could not come back soon enough for me…. As soon as there was word that Greece was allowing travelers from the States and a cruise was available on the magnificent Celebrity Apex, we used our funds from a previously cancelled cruise (Future Cruise Credit) to book the Greek Island Cruise. What a wonderful experience from start to finish! There is a Personal Locator Form (PLF) Greece requires ahead of time, however the form is simple to complete and well worth the small effort. Arriving at Piraeus Cruise Terminal was an easy taxi ride from the Athens airport. There is a bus you can take from the airport to the terminal for 6 euro, however, the bus is a long journey and the drop off location at the pier is still far enough away from the Celebrity gate that you need to get a taxi to finish your journey. This was only the second sailing for The Apex and the staff at the cruise terminal were well prepared for guests. It must be noted that due to Covid, Celebrity was only allowing 40% occupancy on the ship, however there were only 470 guests booked on this particular sailing. You are required by Celebrity ahead of time to select an arrival time to the terminal and upon arrival to the pier, your luggage is taken as usual and you are then led to a Covid testing area. You are then taken into a private booth for the Covid test then asked to sit in a waiting area for results which can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. TV screens are set up to display your testing number as the results come in and once your number shows up on the screen, you are then allowed to proceed to the check in area where staff is there to review your boarding pass and passport and proceed with a hands free check in. You are then able to board the ship and are instructed that your key cards will be available at your cabin. The check-in process was flawless and easy, once aboard the crew greeted us like old friends and just like that, I was back on a ship feeling excitement ready to start the journey. The entire crew is vaccinated and on this particular cruise, eligible guests were also required to be vaccinated and those not eligible for the vaccine had to have a negative test result. The first day aboard the ship was the safest I had felt since the pandemic started. On the last full day of the cruise, another Covid test was taken by the cruise line in order meet the requirements to fly home and this process was by appointment and very organized. The entire trip was incredible, the ship is nothing short of stunning with a perfect ship design. Cruising is back and I could not be happier!