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We were off by 8:10 - so it took about 40 minutes once the line started moving at 7:30. We joined the line at 7:15.

That really wasn't an issue that I noticed - we got to the point where we watched people who seemed to be finishing up and then pounced on their table. The times we did that a crew member was there right away to clear. Can't say enough good things about all the crew we encountered on Ascent - they were exceptional. I suspect the issue with Ascent will be that it is the Buffet seating area is the same size as the other Edge class ships with no allowances for the increase in the number of passengers.

Point taken! Maybe Celebrity adding bidets is a better solution! 🙂

I hope you have more luck than I did as that area of the ship is very lovely. Will certainly mention the volume of the music in my Celebrity survey! Maybe it was just me - I was shocked at how packed the pool area was as I found the volume particularly bothersome in that area (not saying music isn't appropriate in that space as it should have a party atmosphere but for me the volume was uncomfortable). Apparently though hundreds of people disagreed!

That is a really good point - was not entirely serious about bring our own! I've been on other cruise ships with better quality TP though - so not willing to let Celebrity off the hook on this point!

We were told to come for 7:30 - we got down to deck 5 around 7:15. It was the latecomers that were jumping the line as it wasn't moving until after 7:30.

Just left a review on the Celebrity Ascent but forgot to include this point. We had trouble finding a location in the theatre in which the sound mix was balanced - typically the issue we encountered was the vocals were too low (instrumental was too high) - we wondered if this might be due to the location of the sound booth (placed off to the side I presume to maximize the prime viewing areas). We finally found a sweet spot on the last evening: Middle section, 3 row back of the blue seats from the stage - ideal for balanced sound and a great view of the stage. Would suggest not sitting under the balcony on the first level in particular - the sound bounces of the balcony and the mix and off. My husband is a broadcast engineer and balanced sound is particularly important to him! 🙂

Just off the Celebrity Ascent yesterday and thought I would share my thoughts. The good: -Embarkation - extremely smooth and efficient - we arrived at the port at 11:20 and were on the ship by 11:40! -GORGEOUS ship! Just stunning - loved all the art pieces -Eden - same as Beyond (except for the art pieces) and just as wonderful as a peaceful place to hang out and enjoy the ambience. -Extremely friendly and helpful crew that are doing a fabulous job -Entertainment - the best cruise I've ever been on in terms of entertainment. Not counting the Eden shows (too late for me) there were 4 production shows (3 in the theatre, 1 in the Club) plus FOUR! guest entertainers: a comedian, a magician, a soul singer and and a Linda Ronstadt tribute singer - we loved all the performances! The production shows in particular were spectacular - the current cast of singers and dancers plus the Celebrity Orchestra are phenomenally talented! -Activities - I'm not really one for the classic activities like trivia/shopping related events but on this cruise they were offering a learn to draw class that was extremely well done. -Thermal Suite - I bought a pass and thoroughly enjoyed visiting this area every day either first thing in the morning or later in the evening - the hours are great - 8 am - 10 pm. Word of caution though - during the day it may be tough to get one of the heated loungers as some people are camping out in this area for extended periods of time - and this is the only part of the thermal suite they are using (not wearing robes, wearing their normal clothing and using the loungers for reading/long naps). Thought this might partially be because we didn't have the best weather for the first few days of the cruise - very windy and overcast - but also saw people settling in for an extended stays on the beautiful weather days. -The quality of the food - we were really pleased the the buffet in particular (and we aren't usually buffet people in general due to infection control concerns) - they did such a beautiful job with variety, presentation, quality and taste. The not so good Warning - I'm going to nit pick here so if you are a Celebrity loyalist you may want to stop reading as you will likely be offended! 🙂 -Cabin - my fault - given the huge price difference when I booked (over 1K Canadian) we decided to try out the deluxe inside cabin - I was on Beyond in Jan 2022 and never had a problem finding a nice place outside to sit so thought it would be ok. We REALLY missed the light and fresh air that comes with a balcony (even the Edge class ships "balcony"). We also couldn't find anywhere outside on the Ascent where they weren't blasting music - might be good for creating a party atmosphere but not really conducive to relaxing with a good book and listening to the ocean IMO. -Cabin amenities: if you like a VERY firm bed you are in for a treat! If you don't you may be uncomfortable (as a side sleeper I certainly was). -Sheets - this might be because I was in a Deluxe inside - but the sheets were very scratchy and felt like they were low quality. -Toilet Paper - terrible quality - if we sail with Celebrity again we might go as far as bringing our own. -The MDR menus: was disappointed at the lack of variety/creativity. For example, only 2 of the starters changed everyday for dinner - the standard starters (not the exclusive ones) were shrimp cocktail, escargots, Caesar salad and French Onion Soup. The entrees were also uninspired - things like a chicken breast with veg and potatoes - I make that all the time at home! -At times the ship felt very crowded. On the last day we went to the Buffet for lunch and had to circle 3x to find a table (to be fair this was the first time this happened). Once we finally found a table for 4 (only table that was free) we got immediately pressured by the crew to share the table - which sorry, isn't something we wanted - we just ate as quickly as possible. There were also long lines at the Cafe. -In Cozumel our snorkeling excursion was cancelled due to it being a red flag day in the morning. That of course is out of Celebrity's control - but it was a 1 pm excursion and they made no effort to contact us to let us know - despite the morning excursions being cancelled. When we saw how windy it was in the morning we stopped by the excursion desk to ask if our excursion was still on - they told us the morning excursions were cancelled and they would leave a message on our phone if our 1 pm excursion was also canceled. Since the wind had really calmed down by 12 pm and we didn't get a message we got ready, packed everything up and headed to the end of the pier to join our excursion - only to find out it was cancelled. If we had been notified we would have attempted to make alternative last minute plans and it would have saved us the hassle of getting ready for a water-based activity and walking to the end of the pier. -Disembarkation - we always do express walk off - but on this ship it was far from "express". We were forced into joining a long line with hundreds of other people that snaked though Eden and then along the outside of the ship along deck 5 - only to see tons of people cutting the line in various spots - particularly the magic carpet doors on deck 5. I think if they are going to force people into this miserable parade they need to station people at the points in which people can cut in for the sake of the people who actually followed the rules. Better yet, find a way to avoid the long line up and parade! Would we sail on this ship again? Probably - if we found an itinerary we really liked as the good most definitely outweighed the bad!

I saw that sign as well so I chatted with Guest Services to ask if I needed to sign up or prepay - but they told me they weren't offering afternoon tea for this cruise.

I haven't read through all the responses so forgive me if this is repetitive, but wanted to say I'm a former die-hard Princess cruiser who is switching to Celebrity (except for Alaska). My husband and I cruised on the Celebrity Beyond in January and had a fabulous time - the food was much higher quality, we loved the infinite balcony (so private and great to have the extra space in the cabin) and the shows were so much better - my husband works in broadcasting and he was blown away by the tech in their theatre - which is is not an easy feat. I used to think the service was better on Princess - until my last cruise (just debarked on Sunday). I posted a review if you would like more details. We also LOVED hanging out in Eden and admiring the 2000+ pieces of art around the ship - quite a bit different from the Princess "match the decor" type of art! Another huge plus is the washrooms in the cabins - way bigger with a lovely glass shower - no fighting with a mildewed shower curtain and you don't feel like you are in a closet.

Just off a 5 day "comedy cruise" on the Royal - the ports were San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada. 2 port days, 2 sea days. The entertainment was fabulous - 3 excellent comedians, 2 production shows and there were Improv classes + shows (which I didn't attend but heard from others that they were great fun). There was also the normal offerings (e.g., game shows, trivia). We had the plus package and were looking forward to the juice bar. The juice bar however was rather elusive - it was located in the buffet and we could never figure out the hours (not posted anywhere) plus it appeared to be only offered on the sea days. When they closed it down they took away all the signage - I overheard other passengers wondering where it was located and I can understand their confusion. When I was able to get juice it was mostly ice - before pouring the juice they filled the glasses up to the brim with ice - and they are narrow glasses so the ice takes up a great deal of space. There are 2 menu options that have the ice blended - so with those at least you feel like you are getting more "juice" (those options included things like almond milk - so more of a smoothie). If I didn't have the plus package I definitely would be disappointed if I had paid for one of these drinks. Even with the plus package it was frustrating due to limited availability. At times there was about a 10 minute wait as they only had 1 crew member staffing this area. The drinks were pre-blended (they poured them out of pitchers) but they took a lot of orders and then batched prepared them. The premium desserts caused huge lines for gelato (at times almost back to the mid-ship elevators). I got Gelato 2x and waited a minimum of 20 minutes in line each time. There were other times I wanted Gelato but the line was too long to bother waiting for it. This might have been partially due to the demographics of this particular cruise - lots of families with children aboard (Spring break for California). I was pretty surprised though at the number of adults I saw eating one of these enormous desserts. I felt sorry for the crew staffing this area - one day there was only 1 crew member and she was completely overwhelmed and people were being rude to her. Even when they had 3 crew members working the lines were still long since the premium desserts are so time consuming to prepare. Was very disappointed that afternoon tea was not offered on either of the sea days. I even chatted with Guest Services to make sure it wasn't happening. I imagine the folks in the Sanctuary and the Elites still got their tea though as the scones, jam and tea did appear on the buffet around 3:20 pm (I was stalking the buffet looking for them) - but the quantities were extremely limited - maybe 2 dozen scones and only 1 serving vessel (think the size of a large gravy boat) each of the cream and jam. I was able to get a couple of scones but all the cream and jam was gone (just the empty serving dishes sitting out). Another disappointment (maybe only for me) was that there was no watermelon available on the buffet (watermelon happens to be one of my favourite foods). They did have the watermelon-feta appetizer on the dinner menu on our last night - but they have added greens to it and it only has 2-3 pieces of watermelon. There were 2 meals we decided not to finish in the MDR (we are not ones for sending things back- the coq au vin and a curry dish )- both had very tough and rubbery chicken. Other than these 2 misses the food in the MDR was very good. The service was exceptional. The buffet wasn't great - we aren't really buffet people but the few times we did want to eat there we found the food to be unappealing and surprisingly sparce. The service was pretty nonexistent - there were crew up there but they seemed to be standing around and not working (to be fair though we only ate up there about 3 times). I watched one person resort to going into their station to pour drinks for her family - they watched her do this without comment. I wanted a latte and went to order it and was in line behind 4 crew who appeared to be getting coffee for themselves. To be fair our expectations might have been too high - we had just cruised on the Celebrity Beyond in January and their buffet is exceptional - much, much higher quality food, live stations (e.g., omelets, Caesar salad) and artful presentation. I will likely cruise again with Princess for Alaska due to their access, but I would be leery about cruising with them again otherwise based on this experience (this was my 10th Princess cruise) which makes me a bit sad as until now I've been very satisfied and taking a Princess cruise has always felt like "coming home".

You are much better off performing hand hygiene both before and after getting your food. Plastic gloves give a false sense of security - I see people wearing gloves touch their faces all the time without realizing what they are doing. I wash my hands before getting my food, use sanitizer before eating and then wash my hands after the meal. Personally I'm much more worried about Norovirus than covid when touching shared utensils in the buffet.

Based on my experience today Wishing on a star that doesn't surprise me! I did provide Guest Services with the names of the agents that gave me such a hard time so that they could receive training in how to process a re-fare - not sure on whether or not the person I spoke to will pass this along though.

Update - finally got my re-fare! Spoke to someone named Stacey who did the re-fare in about 2 minutes. She told me that all the agents should know how to do a re-fare but to ask to speak to someone in Guest Services if the agent isn't understanding what a re-fare is. I actually did nicely ask one of the agents if there was anyone else I could speak to and she hung up on me!

I checked the price of my upcoming cruise under the current promotion and it is less than what I paid. I did a mock booking with the same fare type (Princess Plus) and category of cabin (BA), same deck, same location (mid-ship) and the price is now about $250 less. I've gone through 3 agents now and none of them understand the concept of a re-fare. One of them won't listen at all - she just keeps explaining the difference between the fares types (which I already understand). I'm at a loss as to what to do - I don't work with a travel agent. Any suggestions? I've already wasted about 2 hours on this today. Are re-fares no longer a thing?