Georgia_Peaches

Jim, your photos are amazing! Enjoying them very much!

Well we are finding that it depends on where you are on the ship. For example, a certain Cabernet in CS was $17, so included in The premium package. Same wine in Eden restaurant was $25…so an up charge of the difference. Same wine, different price. But I agree, those with the classic package are going to run into limitations or up charges.

Sorry, lost track of who asked but here are the current beer offerings at Craft Social. Also, a look at the sandwiches at Cafe AB

Max capacity of the room is 15 people. Not sure about pricing but will try to find out.

The sunset terrace area would definitely be ideal for a sail away gathering for your roll call. Sounds like you e got a good one going on!

Thank you! Yes, we toured the thermal suite. No whirlpool. It’s lovely but at $89 for a one time pass we decided to skip it.

Sadly, and much to DH’s disappointment, there is no rowing machine on Ascent.

A few critiques… Solarium in beautiful! Plenty of open loungers when we walked through…even at peak times. Could it be due to the lack of climate control? My experience on S and M class ships is that the solarium temperature was cooler than the outside pool deck. Not the case currently on Ascent. The solarium is quite warm with no airflow. I did see a few open windows, though. Therefore, we found some loungers on one of the upper decks in a nice shady location. Breeze was wonderful. My other critique is of the gym. The equipment is first class and easy to operate. Since we went around 3 pm to avoid the morning rush, we were met with blazing sun through the windows. Most of the machines face the windows for the ocean view but the sun was so intense it was hard to keep my eyes open..not to mention it was hot. I seem to recall on the other classes there were/are semitransparent shades that can be lowered to help block out the sun. There are none on Ascent.

We have enjoyed a very leisurely day bumming around to various places on the ship. Stopped in the OVC to have a look around. We were impressed with the food variety. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and a colossal shrimp bar…maybe in honor of Thanksgiving? We had a slice of pizza, really good, but haven’t eaten much today in anticipation of or dinner in Eden this evening. There are several things I love about the design of the E class outdoor spaces on deck 14. For one thing, the sunset bar is lovely. There are several terraced areas for sitting. The space is so inviting with comfortable seating and plenty of shade. Perhaps best of all is that it is just steps away from the pizza oven in the OVC below. A few pics…

I don’t. But I will try to find out and report back.

It’s not open as a single experience. The room must be rented. No minimum number of guests, though. So I guess a couple (or even a solo) who wanted to simulate a round of golf while at sea could do so but they’d have to rent the space for the minimum amount of time offered, which is 2 hours.

We have been so impressed with all the common areas on Ascent. It definitely feels like an elevated experience across all stateroom categories making us question the value of a suite as well. We will compare the two experiences later this week but so far, I am not feeling the need to spend the extra money.

Can confirm! Premade sandwiches are available in Al Baccio.

Yes!

Couldn’t agree more. As we walk around today we notice an abundance and variety of activities. Pickle ball in full swing on the Rooftop Garden, sketching classes, game challenges…much more varied than our last two cruises on S class.

This category is called PV1. Porthole View… we booked it for the traditional balcony feel.

Balcony is roughly 9 feet by 4 feet. Compact but comfortable. I would book this room again in a heartbeat. Also @PTC DAWG you will be happy to know the a/c is great. However, it’s nice to have my fan on the wall for added airflow.

No, we had Arnold. He was great!

Here’s our view forward, left, right, and below. The platform to our left is only in the way if one is really stretching to see around the other side. I would not call our view obstructed at all.

Last night we dined in Normandy. Our reservation was for 8:30 but we arrived around 8:10 and were seated immediately. The dining room is beautiful! DH remarked that he likes the way the E class ships have broken up the MDR’s into smaller spaces giving the feel of dining in a specialty restaurant. Service was great with only one misstep regarding the omission of our soup course. Once realized, our soup was immediately served. However, this backed up our mains, which were ready to be served as well. Not a big deal and the food was very good. For those who are more familiar with eclass, the menu likely looks the same as it has in the past. But for us, and our new experience with this whole themed concept, the food offerings were refreshing. We shared the baked Brie, which was served piping hot and another app, which I can’t recall at the moment…and that’s because the continuous flow of wine with dinner has blurred my recollection just a tad. Here’s what we ate..,

I want to talk about the entertainment for a minute. This is one area that DH and I have found to be lacking on our two previous Celebrity cruises this year (Solstice in March and Equinox in July). Live music was especially lacking along with variety. This is not the case on Ascent! Whether a 3 or 4 piece band with vocals or a dj spinning tunes, music of all varieties was literally everywhere. I had read that some people find the music in the martini bar to be intrusive to the surrounding areas. And I will say that it was definitely more than background noise, but we liked it! The situation of the World Class bar is such that you can hear the music from below but still have a conversation. That may be a little more difficult in the martini bar area. That’s not a complaint, I point it out for those who seek a more quiet cocktail location. Then there’s Eden. We spent quite a bit of time here yesterday! Tom, a whiz of a Piano Man played for a couple of hours. He was excellent! He asked for requests from the audience (which was a smallish crowd) and banged out tunes and sang all the popular sing along songs. From Elvis to Journey, his range of music was very impressive. We will definitely be going back! After closing Eden down last night, we wandered outside on deck 5 to take a look at the moon. The moon, not a moon! To the naked man on deck 6, you might want to close your infinite veranda! 🤦‍♀️

Some random pics… The Annex, pictured first, is a room we stumbled upon after getting our cards scanned in the theater. The concept is apparently new and only available on Ascent ATM. It’s basically a private room that can be reserved for small, private functions. The concept includes a golf simulation with I believe 30 different courses to play. It also simulates football and other sports. There is state of the art karaoke machine, seating, and all kinds of equipment. The room can be reserved via Guest Relations. Our little tour of the space didn’t get into the cost to reserve.

After lunch we ventured to deck 14 where the pool was hopping and the drinks were flowing! Carts of iced beer and soft drinks were being ushered around the pool area making lines at the actual bars move more efficiently than I have seen in the past. We spent some time at the sunset bar which is very well done with seating along the aft of the ship in various places making great conversation areas. My phone was on the charger during this time so darn, we will have to go back for pics!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Yesterday’s embarkation was truly one for the record books. I came into this cruise not really knowing what to expect but we have been thrilled with our experience on the brand new Ascent! After getting somewhat acquainted with the layout of the ship we headed to Raw on 5 for embarkation lunch. We were seated by a window which allowed us to people watch as they embarked. Service was on the slow side with almost 30 minutes passing before we placed a food order. However, we enjoyed the food very much.

Thanks Jim! The fire boats were spectacular! They did 360 turns and sprayed water into the air in the shape of an X. All boat traffic was stopped while we made our grand exit. Lots of fun!