LIVE with Georgia Peaches on the Brand NEW Ascent...B2B November 22-29 Pre-Pre-Maiden Voyage!

[Pushkin]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 One of my biggest complaints concerning food onboard cruises, not just with Celebrity, has been the inability to get a good bowl of grits.  On our last cruise the first breakfast I ordered grits they came out almost perfect - best I had had on a cruise ship,  I could almost stand my fork up in them.  The next time they were a little thinner but still okay.  The third time they were too watery.  I also ask them to hold the cheese.  I prefer my grits thick and with eggs over easy so I can mix the yoke into them.  

 

As for the corn beef hash, I had similar issues.  Usually it is too greasy so I just skim what i can from the top and add to my main plate. 

 

 

OMG!  You are the only person (outside of a few in my family) who eat grits with over-easy eggs!  We must be related!  BTW - I have had pretty good luck with grits on my cruises.

[Texed]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

Those swinging chairs at the back of the Retreat pool are pointless. I wish they could have come up with a better design for poolside seating after four iterations of this ship.

 

I like them.  😊

[abbydancer2003]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

we do not sail Princess so not getting this...but I believe Princess cruisers will

A picture is good

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

A picture is good1

Dreadful looking ship

[STLCRUISIN]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

These glasses were tucked in the corner outside our stateroom door. I asked DH who put their glasses outside our door but then realized they were our glasses from last night. So I guess the procedure must be for the room attendant to place dishes outside the door upon servicing for another crew member to pick up?  Noticed dishes outside doors along the corridor. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this process before. 

 

We just got off the Constellation after a b2b lasting 23 days in a Sky Suite. From what was explained to us there is a head butler, and his "team" consists of the room steward and room service attendant. It's the head butler's responsibility to coordinate everything with the other two. It's the job of the room service attendant to remove any food trays/wines glasses and if it hasn't been taken care of by the time the room steward cleans the room, he/she will leave the dirty dishes on the hallway floor. Fortunately, for us the room service attendant came back to the room about an hour later to pick up the tray. But I did see trays of dishes sitting in the hallway from other rooms. I've never seen this process before either.

[ETHTrader]

1 hour ago, twins_to_alaska said:

I went ashore for an hour and looked around the shops but didn't purchase anything. For lunch The Grand Bistro (upcharge) had appetizers calling my name. I wasn't hungry enough for an entree. They kindly packed to go. The Retreat Sundeck Bar area was much busier as serving lunch but I was able to get an empty table, thankfully with cutlery as The Grand Bistro hadn't supplied. The mussels in tomato sauce, garlic bread, toasted bread, pate and even the fries were all delicious!

 

 

Woah, I didn't realize you can take food to go from Grand Bistro. When I first saw your picture, I thought those dishes were from the Retreat Sundeck lunch menu and went "Woah, they upgraded that lunch menu. It was always the same and limited" 😆

[JDPCruisers]

12 minutes ago, STLCRUISIN said:

We just got off the Constellation after a b2b lasting 23 days in a Sky Suite. From what was explained to us there is a head butler, and his "team" consists of the room steward and room service attendant. It's the head butler's responsibility to coordinate everything with the other two. It's the job of the room service attendant to remove any food trays/wines glasses and if it hasn't been taken care of by the time the room steward cleans the room, he/she will leave the dirty dishes on the hallway floor. Fortunately, for us the room service attendant came back to the room about an hour later to pick up the tray. But I did see trays of dishes sitting in the hallway from other rooms. I've never seen this process before either.

Not to highjack this review by any means but have been trying to find out who the head butler is on Constellation? And, the concierges? 

[hcat]

13 minutes ago, STLCRUISIN said:

We just got off the Constellation after a b2b lasting 23 days in a Sky Suite. From what was explained to us there is a head butler, and his "team" consists of the room steward and room service attendant. It's the head butler's responsibility to coordinate everything with the other two. It's the job of the room service attendant to remove any food trays/wines glasses and if it hasn't been taken care of by the time the room steward cleans the room, he/she will leave the dirty dishes on the hallway floor. Fortunately, for us the room service attendant came back to the room about an hour later to pick up the tray. But I did see trays of dishes sitting in the hallway from other rooms. I've never seen this process before either.

Hope they devise a better plan..very unsanitary having dirty dishes and glasses along the floor..next thing you know we'll have rats!

[Georgia_Peaches]

14 minutes ago, hcat said:

Hope they devise a better plan..very unsanitary having dirty dishes and glasses along the floor..next thing you know we'll have rats!

Interestingly, the wine glasses in the photo I posted have been removed but the taller cocktail glasses still remain. 

[StopTheWorld]

6 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Interestingly, the wine glasses in the photo I posted have been removed but the taller cocktail glasses still remain. 

My pet hate is seeing dirty glasses and plates in a hotel or cruise ship corridor. It’s so untidy! 

[DaKahuna]

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, I have seen this cart. Didn’t realize it was grab-n-go though. 
 

update…
Just confirmed that the drink cart is not grab/go but zero vitamin water is available at the bar upon request. 

 Thank you. On our last cruise, on Millie, Vitamin Zero Water was in the grab and go coolers in the Retreat Lounge.  Our butler saw me drinking one and asked if I liked them and what was my favorite.  I told him that I liked the Lemonade.  He put two bottles in my stateroom everyday after that when he restocked the large bottles of water and soda’s.  
 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, twins_to_alaska said:

I also went to breakfast about 8:30 and brought upstairs to eat. Tasty omelette and potatoes but the bacon could be crispier. It was still quiet up top. Tried half glass of strawberry smoothie and didn't like at all.

 

I always ask them to make mine with ice. Otherwise the are warm/room temperature and do not taste as good as they should.  Same at the Spa Cafe. 

[STLCRUISIN]

29 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Not to highjack this review by any means but have been trying to find out who the head butler is on Constellation? And, the concierges? 

The head butler's name is Tony and the 2 Concierges in Michaels Club are Tessa and Jairo. I believe Tessa is going home very soon unless her contract is extended.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Pushkin said:

OMG!  You are the only person (outside of a few in my family) who eat grits with over-easy eggs!  We must be related!  BTW - I have had pretty good luck with grits on my cruises.

Well there are relatives I have not been in touch with somewhere around Middleton, OH.  My mother’s youngest sister, her husband, and their children lived there. 
 

 

[Ciaranaman]

2 hours ago, twins_to_alaska said:

 

 

 

That cookie looks scrumptious!

~Bernadette

[mac_tlc]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 Thank you. On our last cruise, on Millie, Vitamin Zero Water was in the grab and go coolers in the Retreat Lounge.  Our butler saw me drinking one and asked if I liked them and what was my favorite.  I told him that I liked the Lemonade.  He put two bottles in my stateroom everyday after that when he restocked the large bottles of water and soda’s.  
 

Another “nice touch “ that has gone by the wayside. Unfortunate.

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited November 27, 2023 by mac_tlc

[brockmom]

3 hours ago, STLCRUISIN said:

We just got off the Constellation after a b2b lasting 23 days in a Sky Suite. From what was explained to us there is a head butler, and his "team" consists of the room steward and room service attendant. It's the head butler's responsibility to coordinate everything with the other two. It's the job of the room service attendant to remove any food trays/wines glasses and if it hasn't been taken care of by the time the room steward cleans the room, he/she will leave the dirty dishes on the hallway floor. Fortunately, for us the room service attendant came back to the room about an hour later to pick up the tray. But I did see trays of dishes sitting in the hallway from other rooms. I've never seen this process before either.

Same for us last month on the Reflections. Just a regular balcony cabin so your experience is not limited to suites.

Back in the day, they always used to say, phone room service for pick up when your done with your tray. Not sure if they still do that.

The one and only time we ordered on our 24 night , breakfast never arrived. So I can’t comment lol.

But our room steward always took our drink glasses, so never saw mine in the hallway, but we sure did on our floor.

That is something they really need to improve on. I wish I had

remembered to comment about that on my survey.

Next one I certainly will !

Ros

[Lastdance]

I find the people on the swings in The Retreat Pool(not you, Texed)to be quite comical.  One dropped her drink into the pool only to dive in and get it, then hold it up high asking for a refill!  When my DH and I were having lunch on deck 17, a lady kept waving me down.  What?  She finally came closer and wanted to move our loungers to her spot so she could have ours...she was one of the ladies on the swing, but not the one who dropped the drink.  She wanted our shade; however, I said please do to move our loungers, as we actually want the shade.  She looked at me, smiled, and said okay then maybe we can share.  Anyway, she was back on the swing in the shade when we returned. 😌

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Lastdance

[jcpc]

Surprised that there are no small bottles of Aqua Panna or Evian in the Retreat fridge.  Just that generic "True" water and another brand I'm not familiar with.  And, @Georgia_Peachesmy "go to" machine in the casino is usually Thor also.   Actually, Wonder Woman on both Beyond and Edge was very kind to me!!!  So maybe you should pay her a visit.;;;LOL

 

 

[blueslily]

7 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

These glasses were tucked in the corner outside our stateroom door. I asked DH who put their glasses outside our door but then realized they were our glasses from last night. So I guess the procedure must be for the room attendant to place dishes outside the door upon servicing for another crew member to pick up?  Noticed dishes outside doors along the corridor. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this process before. 

 

Oh, I'm one of those folks that does not like dishes in the floor down the hallway. I definitely hope that process changes. It's dirty and not appealing at all. Makes the environment look really bad. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by blueslily

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Another “nice touch “ that has gone by the wayside. Unfortunate.

 

 

mac_tlc

I hit “like” on this only because CC doesn’t have a “cry” button. 

[Cap_D]

The service issues on the sundeck may not be growing pains.  We've had delayed, raw burgers, and then more delay for items to be fixed.    A trip to Mast Grill was a snack at one point during that ordeal. 

 

Considering the company wants to save money, the wait time may not be a concern.  Yet, it would be nice if they gave Retreat guests a voucher for the Bistro, a clear way to order room service (a different set of food runners), or decent means to do takeout from the the OVC.  The cost of Retreat is incremental based on sea days and port days with some allowance for lunch, so when there are long waits there is some aspect for paying for something one can't access, in addition to the inconvenience.  The hours of the other venues don't help either. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Considering the company wants to save money, the wait time may not be a concern.  Yet, it would be nice if they gave Retreat guests a voucher for the Bistro, a clear way to order room service (a different set of food runners), or decent means to do takeout from the the OVC.  The cost of Retreat is incremental based on sea days and port days with some allowance for lunch, so when there are long waits there is some aspect for paying for something one can't access, in addition to the inconvenience.  The hours of the other venues don't help either. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Considering the company wants to save money, the wait time may not be a concern.  Yet, it would be nice if they gave Retreat guests a voucher for the Bistro, a clear way to order room service (a different set of food runners), or decent means to do takeout from the the OVC.  The cost of Retreat is incremental based on sea days and port days with some allowance for lunch, so when there are long waits there is some aspect for paying for something one can't access, in addition to the inconvenience.  The hours of the other venues don't help either. 

This is the exact conversation DH and I had this afternoon. Given that Retreat is sold out on this 3 night getaway, the staff working the Retreat deck is definitely not commiserate with the number of guests. In contrast, we left for the sunset bar and were asked by 2 different servers for our drink order, which we received almost immediately. 

[Cap_D]

42 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

This is the exact conversation DH and I had this afternoon. Given that Retreat is sold out on this 3 night getaway, the staff working the Retreat deck is definitely not commiserate with the number of guests. In contrast, we left for the sunset bar and were asked by 2 different servers for our drink order, which we received almost immediately. 

👍 The best scenario for food on the Retreat deck is probably ordering early and extra, which we did on Apex after my wife and child went on a shore excursion and texted me from the shore before boarding their return tender.  I was camped out doing work from the sundeck bar.  The timing worked great and everyone agreed their burgers were as good as the reputation (crust was memorable), but so was the fresh guacamole at the OVC on Mexican lunch day when they ran of corn chips and seemed to on the fly fry up their stock of flour tortillas to compensate.  (So really hoping Celebrity keeps up quality at lunch in the OVC, as  we rarely see reports of fresh non processed food from the other mass market lines - and we cant eat the burger or a composed lunch every day). 

 

Nothing we don't all realize here, but the neat thing is for you and @Norwaylady everything about your respective trips except the fare type and rooms were equal for comparison purposes.  Same ships, crew, just as crowded, etc.  You even had the small porthole balcony (I hope I'm not confusing my trip reports), so the SS balcony isn't entirely different.  

That being said, wow, what great trips you've had and thanks for sharing your time and observations. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Cap_D