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

[Flatsman]

Eden Cafe serves a good breakfast and lunch.  I was disappointed in the Reuben as they used gerkins instead of sauerkraut.  Carve of the day is consistently good and salad fare is good as were the many add-ons and dressing selection. The chicken salad with pesto  paninni is  consistent and tasty.   The mushroom soup was a tad bid salty the one day it was featured. Finding a seat in the table area can be tough but we managed to find some folks leaving while we waiting. We were a party of 4. If you are a party of 2 and willing to meet new people and share a table, it was easier. Other choice is to move more in the open seating in the other areas of Eden, which is nice because it is quite and sometimes you can meet some of the entertainers; has happened more then once for us.  Was a real treat talking to them.

 

[Texed]

I ran into you on the elevator. Y’all were talking about the casino. I recognized you from your avatar. 😊

[CoachTimmyD]

20 hours ago, kwokpot said:

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. 

 

 

 Thanks for the detailed followup....Question about dining room.  Were you signed up as "anytime"  when you made your cruise reservation?  Are early/late assignments still honored?  My reservation was for 6pm early sitting and was told by Celebrity online support last week that we would have a dedicated table in one MDR at 6 every night.  Note: I cannot make any MDR reservations it states "Dining time already set".  Just wondered if you had early or late assignment when you booked the cruise (or know of passengers that did) and whether you/they still had an assigned table, with the same staff in the same dining room. I understand we, or anyone, can opt go to other MDR rooms and get seated based on availability, just wanted clarification if the early/late seating assigned at booking, were honored. 

Thanks again for you great comments, especially the photos. 

Looking forward to our Feb 4th sailing!

[lori-annk]

Thank you for sharing!

[DingoMom]

@kwokpotThanks, Kwok! I want to cruise with you; I like the way you think! 
We were on the Ascent last month, and the Martini Bar does indeed have a flair show (with chandelier, but no acrobats!) every night. It was weird times…something like 6:15 p.m. and 10, if I recall correctly. 

[Arzeena]

Wonderful pictures and great feedback! Thank you!

[kwokpot]

Additional thoughts on entertainment and activities

Some of the criticisms leveled at a Celebrity cruise is they can be boring and there's a lack of activities as compared to other mainstream cruiselines.The charge is not without merit. In the years past at 10:30pm on a M or S Class ship there would be only two areas with anything going on; the upper deck forward lounge and the casino. Even the popular Martini Bar would be quiet by 11pm. Celebrity has taken these criticisms to heart on the Ascent and I was quite impressed with the amount of activities going on not only during the day but later at night. Many nights after 10 there was music and entertainment going on in multiple venues simultaneously; Grand Plaza, Eden, Rooftop Garden  As I hopped from venue to venue it was nice to see people enjoying themselves later into the night at all the venues. 

 

The same can be said about daytime activities. For better or worse the Resort Deck/main pool area is much more animated with activities and events than in years past. At times the music by the pool can be a bit too loud, as when the Cruise Director was leading the dance lessons on the pool deck. There seems to be more programming at the Rooftop Garden than when the first E-Class ship debuted back in 2018. I suspect the addition of multiple large shade umbrellas has allowed more people to enjoy the Rooftop Garden. The morning yoga classes were very popular, as was pickleball throughout the day. And it was nice to see people attending the music performances throughout the evening at the Garden. It seemed everyone appreciated the plentiful activities and entertainment since scheduled events seemed well attended. 

Edited January 23 by kwokpot

[hcat]

16 hours ago, DingoMom said:

@kwokpotThanks, Kwok! I want to cruise with you; I like the way you think! 
We were on the Ascent last month, and the Martini Bar does indeed have a flair show (with chandelier, but no acrobats!) every night. It was weird times…something like 6:15 p.m. and 10, if I recall correctly. 

oh my.. We have res at Fine Cut for 6 p.m on Sailaway Day for my b day...We booked an early time to avoid noise from below. Hope we can sit way back...hopefully they won't have the show.

 

if they do have it approx  how long will it last? If its  too loud we will have to leave.

 

 

 

[Texed]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

oh my.. We have res at Fine Cut for 6 p.m on Sailaway Day for my b day...We booked an early time to avoid noise from below. Hope we can sit way back...hopefully they won't have the show.

Fine Cut is a lot more sealed off on Ascent. from the Martini Bar and dance area below. Don’t worry. 😊

Edited January 23 by Texed

[hcat]

As we pack for Sunday sailaway,  not happy to hear about  more activity on the Rooftop. We will likely write off the serene Garden area in the afternoon,  if they have it set up for Pickle ball..PLINK, PLINK PLINK ! (sound carries far and wide). 

 

Hope our 6 pm  dinner there will be quiet.. with a nice sunset.

 

We prefer the quieter side of X. All of a suddenly they  seem to have taken over quiet spaces for putting contests, loud music  etc   They need a dedicated sports deck like X ships used to have.

 

We are inventive and will find quiet spots to read  & relax..despite X changes otherwise.

[DingoMom]

@hcat, it won’t last more than 5 minutes! But yes, you will want a table close to the windows so you won’t hear all the other  conversations and dance music from the Martini Bar.

Edited January 23 by DingoMom

[hcat]

6 minutes ago, Texed said:

Fine Cut is a lot more sealed off on Ascent. from the Martini Bar and dance area below. Don’t worry. 😊

thank you.. it was quite bad on EDGE and we were not near the rail.  But we can def survive for 5  minutes!

 

We hung out at the World Class Bar on BEYOND,  ..great spot to see the action but quieter..like  private box seats!

 

Hope you  all are having fun!

 

Edited January 23 by hcat

[Texed]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

 

Hope you are having fun!

 Thank you. We are having a great time on a great ship. 👍

[hcat]

16 minutes ago, Texed said:

 Thank you. We are having a great time on a great ship. 👍

any waffles yet?