Celebrity Ascent 1/14/24 sailing. Thoughts and Observations

[kwokpot]

I'm currently on the Ascent’s 1/14/24 sailing and wanted to note some observations and comments about the ship and this particular cruise. To place my comments in context this is my 26th sailing on Celebrity, 109th cruise overall. I've sailed on all previous E-Class ships and was on the Apex this past July. Lastly I'm on the ship with my husband who received this cruise as a fully complementary Concierge Class cabin from Celebrity’s Blue Chip Club Casino department.

 

Let's note similarities and differences with Beyond

 

The Ascent is an E-Class plus ship similar to the Beyond and larger than the Edge and Apex. Having said that the basic interior aesthetics is consistent throughout the E-Class ships. The monochromatic gray, beige, and taupe color schemes are the same on all four ships. 

 

Cabins

The cabins are basically identical on all four E-Class ships. The only notable difference on the Ascent is the desk and mirror in non-Retreat cabins. The desks are no longer retractable into the refrigerator/dresser cabinet but are fixed. Consequently the mirror is no longer full length but stops right at the top of the desk (there's a full length mirror inside one of the closet doors). Otherwise the cabins remain unchanged. I would have liked to see a couple of changes/additions which are minor but would add more comfort and usability. 1) Additional USB ports on the other nightstand (currently only USB and power outlets adjacent to one nightstand)

2) A foldaway lower hanging rack in the closet (The current lower hanging rod is fixed which gets in the way of longer hanging garments if you have an abundance of those and don't need the lower hanging rod). 3) Soft close toilet seats

 

Resort Deck

The Resort Deck has seen the most updates as compared to the Beyond. The decorative white ‘cactus garden’ seating area that was just below the Pool bar port side has been removed and now it's just regular movable chairs. The other visible change is the abundance of large gray umbrellas all over the pool deck. This is obviously in response to the numerous comments on previous E-Class ships about the lack of shady seating immediately around the main pool. As with the Beyond there are fixed canopy shades over the champagne hot tubs as well as the sunken circular seating areas just aft of the main pool. I think the Ascent Resort Deck is the best of the E-Class ships.

 

Rooftop Garden and adjacent venues 

The Ascent and Beyond have the best versions of  the Rooftop Garden of all current E-Class ships. This is due to the larger space devoted to seating and activities area and also to the addition of glass windscreens and giant sun umbrellas. On both ships the adjacent Rooftop Garden Grill is shielded from the elements with overhead canopies and glass windscreens. I didn't notice anything different with the Ascent from the Beyond with regards to these venues. Same goes for the two plunge pools on the Port side which saw its debut on the Beyond.

Lastly the enlarged Sunset Bar with its Moroccan design theme seems the same as on the Beyond.

 

More to follow.

 

Edited January 19 by kwokpot

[PTC DAWG]

Thanks for the thoughts

[Georgia_Peaches]

@kwokpot I was wondering if the roof top garden grill is covered on the Edge?  I agree, the outdoor spaces in this area are superb.

[theopup]

Thanks for your report, enjoy your cruise

[hcat]

Thank you.

All this info and photos are helpful.

 

We sail Jan 28th..  and look forward to the Sunset Bar & dinner at  Rooftop Grill. Hope you'll post some food and dining reviews!

 

our roll call is planning a get together for the 1st sea day..Can you post the day and time   of the Cap Club welcone party.? Thanks.

[Texed]

We are currently on Ascent also.  We are really enjoying this cruise. Thanks for posting. 😊

[CardowMD]

We enjoyed using the lounge chairs on theory side of the Rooftop garden. Bathrooms available near the grill restaurant . Lots of lounge seating to watch the pickleball and other activities in that area. Typically quiet😎no loud blaring music.

[jamin jul]

Thank you for your post.  I see the stretching class at the roof top garden- are mats provided or are people using towels?

[kwokpot]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Thank you.

All this info and photos are helpful.

 

We sail Jan 28th..  and look forward to the Sunset Bar & dinner at  Rooftop Grill. Hope you'll post some food and dining reviews!

 

our roll call is planning a get together for the 1st sea day..Can you post the day and time   of the Cap Club welcone party.? Thanks.

 

[kwokpot]

Main Dining Rooms

We had all our dinners in the main dining rooms so we never had a chance to sample the specialty restaurants. We had dinner in all four restaurants. Cosmopolitan has a nice atmosphere but is extremely noisy. Cyprus is quieter with a darker and more subdued environment. Tuscan is a brighter atmosphere and quite popular.

 

With regard to the reservations the Ascent seems to have a system that other E-Class ships haven't implemented. Reservations for any of the four main dining rooms can only be made for early dining times of 5:30 or 5:45 and late dining times of 8:30 and 8:45. Any other dining times is solely first come, first served and no reservations, either pre-cruise or onboard can be made. We had no issues with this new system. Yes, there were evenings in the first few days we were given a buzzer but the wait times were no more than 10-15 minutes and by the middle of the cruise we were always seated right away without given a buzzer 

 

Food quality was very good. In particular the steaks and fish were both well prepared, hot and flavorful. We only had one bad entree, the specialty pasta from Tuscan. The Strozzapreti Carbonara was watery and not up to par. Desserts were good with the carrot cake worth a special mention. Service was always friendly and efficient. Breakfast is served every morning at Cosmopolitan and we enjoyed being served every morning. The regular brewed coffee was consistently hot and strong. I have one minor quip and that's with the preparation of the classic French omelet served at breakfast. It wasn't prepared the classic French way as it always has been on other Celebrity ships. 

 

Eden Cafe

Although I didn't get to eat here on this cruise I must mention a new policy for this eatery that will please everyone. Eden Cafe is now open for breakfast and lunch on Port days as well as seadays. It isn't open on embarkation day and the opening times are still limited, but the expanded days open are very welcome change. And most importantly I can report that the exclusive brownies and cookies are still available at Eden Cafe during lunchtimes and they are as good as they were on the original Edge ship! 

 

Seaview Cafe/buffet

The buffet retains the updated layout from the Beyond. It is a popular venue and admittedly during our lunchtimes around 1:30 we would have to walk around a bit before finding available seats. The food choices for lunch varies every day with themes of different cuisines highlighted. Today, the last day of the cruise, we had a seafood extravaganza with seafood of every kind available. If you like shrimp cocktail there were multiple stations filled to the brim with peeled shrimp. Although there always a cheese station today there were extra special selections with French soft cheeses being the highlights. There was also a chocolate fountain which always has a queue line for it. All in all I was quite satisfied with the buffet for lunchtime. We didn't have breakfast or dinner there so I don't have any comments about those mealtimes. 

 

Cafe Al Bacio

This is our favorite area to have sit and enjoy an espresso-based coffee and have some yummy sweets treats. Yes complementary cookies are available but the are now in the refrigerated case on trays rather than in glass jars atop of the showcase. Macaroons are available but they aren't in the traditional half circle shape and they're available less frequently. Service is always available and friendly. Every night around 8:00 various ship officers would be available to mingle and greet passengers at the walkway in front of Cafe Al Bacio. We enjoyed spending time there after dinner as wait for the late show in the theater. It is admittedly a noisy place so it's not a place in the evening for a quiet coffee or

nightcap. 

 

 

Edited January 21 by kwokpot

[Cap_D]

The steaks and fish look good.  Expanded days for Eden Cafe should be big news.  The food is fresh, whole grains, proteins, etc.   

Edited January 21 by Cap_D

[hcat]

Very nice presentation. Thank you!

[Mimiya11]

Happy to hear that the Eden Cafe is open on both sea and port days. 

On the Apex it was packed and people were getting creative in finding seats.   

Any issues with finding seats?   

[kwokpot]

Entertainment

 

Production shows

Until recently Celebrity wasn't particularly known to have spectacular or innovative entertainment. That has certainly changed with the shows that were created for the Beyond and Celebrity has continued this trend with all new shows for the Ascent. On our seven day cruise we had three production shows presented in the main theater that are exclusive to Ascent. The show titled Awaken was the best of the three, with Bridges and Residency being the other two shows. All three shows have multiple acts and as such some are better than others. All three shows utilize the high definition videos screens to create amazing backdrops. Be warned though, the volume is loud for all the shows. 

Something a bit unusual on our cruise was the third production show was shown on the last day (day 7) of the cruise, despite have two seadays back to back for days 6 & 7. Whatsmore the final show was decoupled from the last Chic Night on Day 6. Along the same lines we had a time change on the last night of the cruise, which is highly unusual and unheard of. 

 

There are also shows presented in Eden as well as The Club. These are more cabaret-style shows and because of the smaller non-theater venues it's more difficult to get proper seats to see the entire show. 

 

Headliners

We had several headliner entertainers. A Beetles tribute band named Here Comes the Sun was excellent and their performances received great feedback that was well deserved. Another headliner was singer Jesse Hamilton Jr. I thought his show was good but he can benefit from a little bit of humility. 

 

The rest of the ship's entertainment was plenty of enjoyable live music everywhere.

 

Alert:

It seems that the Grand Plaza Martini Bar Chandelier Light Show is no more. I didn't notice it on the schedule nor did we ever see it performed. I didn't ask about it so I'm not sure why it was eliminated. Too noisy? 

 

Edited January 21 by kwokpot

[theopup]

Thanks for the write ups, and all the details and photos 

[Flatsman]

We just came off this same cruise.  Excellent in all aspects and have to agree with kwokpot, Jesse could use a little humility.  We enjoyed his show on the Beyond during our transatlantic this past May.  Here Comes the Sun was excellent and significantly better than any Beatles tribute band that we have seen.  Fine Cut Steakhouse was excellent. We ate there the first night and the service and food was perfect; prime rib and lamb chops cooked to perfection and tender.  All the sides were perfect.  We had no issues or wait times in the main dining rooms and rotated through all of them. Walked up and seated right away. Food and service were excellent. Eden's chocolate chip cookie and banana bread were excellent.

Thanks kwokpot for the review and pictures

[dlh015]

An excellent review!! Very enjoyable...thanks!

[kwokpot]

Dance Parties

I didn't get to attend the Silent Disco so I have no comment other than it seemed well attended when I walked by after a show. 

 

Shine the Night Deck Parry 

I had high hopes for the Shine the Night Deck Party, which is the formal name for the new Ascent Resort Deck party, but for me, it wasn't  anything new or special. There are ways to change up a cruise deck party to make it something unique and special for a fun night but this wasn't it. I'll give them props for having a live singer do a rendition of this past summer's LGBT dance hit Padam, Padam

by Kylie Minogue. Otherwise I thought it was disappointing because it I wasn't particularly different than any other deck party Celebrity has put on. Getting people to dance wasn't the main goal. They want you to wave the light sticks they hand out back and forth in time to the music. They even stop playing music several times to talk. That's the party. I enjoy the deck parties that Virgin and Carnival put on. On both cruiselines their deck parties are very, very well attended and are known in the cruise industry as cruiselines that put on successful deck parties. 

 

 

 

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Happy to hear that the Eden Cafe is open on both sea and port days. 

On the Apex it was packed and people were getting creative in finding seats.   

Any issues with finding seats?   

We didn't have the opportunity to eat there since we enjoy having lunch later at 1:30. I just went to grab the brownies and cookies before they closed up. It did seem there were lots of people having lunch there. 

[kelib]

On the NYE cruise the Martini Bar had the show at 6:30 and 10:30. 

[blueslily]

What is the Martini Bar Light Show? 

 

Thanks!

[kwokpot]

22 minutes ago, kelib said:

On the NYE cruise the Martini Bar had the show at 6:30 and 10:30. 

Interesting. I rechecked the app for our cruise and it doesn't show a light show for those times on any of the nights of our cruise. I distinctly remember on other ships it's definitely listed as an event in the app. 

.

9 minutes ago, blueslily said:

What is the Martini Bar Light Show? 

 

Thanks!

It's a combination of the Martini bartenders doing their tricks along with a light show using the chandelier synchronized to music. It's less than 10 minutes on other E-Class ships. 

Edited January 21 by kwokpot

[blueslily]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

 

It's a combination of the Martini bartenders doing their tricks along with a light show using the chandelier synchronized to music. It's less than 10 minutes on other E-Class ships. 

 

Thank you. I was looking forward to seeing what that's all about during our first Celebrity cruise in 2 weeks. I hope they do it sometime during our cruise.

 

[kwokpot]

37 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

Thank you. I was looking forward to seeing what that's all about during our first Celebrity cruise in 2 weeks. I hope they do it sometime during our cruise.

 

I must have missed this but it looks like the event has morphed in a once per cruise on Day One event at 10:30pm. Judging from the description it's the basis for a larger event than in the past. Don't miss it! 

Edited January 21 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Dance Parties

I didn't get to attend the Silent Disco so I have no comment other than it seemed well attended when I walked by after a show. 

 

Shine the Night Deck Parry 

I had high hopes for the Shine the Night Deck Party, which is the formal name for the new Ascent Resort Deck party, but for me, it wasn't  anything new or special. There are ways to change up a cruise deck party to make it something unique and special for a fun night but this wasn't it. I'll give them props for having a live singer do a rendition of this past summer's LGBT dance hit Padam, Padam

by Kylie Minogue. Otherwise I thought it was disappointing because it I wasn't particularly different than any other deck party Celebrity has put on. Getting people to dance wasn't the main goal. They want you to wave the light sticks they hand out back and forth in time to the music. They even stop playing music several times to talk. That's the party. I enjoy the deck parties that Virgin and Carnival put on. On both cruiselines their deck parties are very, very well attended and are known in the cruise industry as cruiselines that put on successful deck parties. 

 

 

 

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The video upload while I was using the airplane Wi-Fi work properly so let me try this again. A short clip from the Shine the Night Deck party.