LIVE – Ascent B2B 1/27/2024 - 2/11/2024 - Live Blog, Cat Blog, Vlog!

[David Kane]

Day 5 - Night 5 more things!

 

We dressed for dinner a tad late and headed up on Luminae. Tonight was Snoke and Ivories in the Club (a 1920s themed tribute to the latest Star Wars franchise antagonist) so we went for a 1930s aesthetic:

 

 

 

 

At least on this ship/this week the restaurant scene is dead between 5:30 and 6:30 - starts to build around this time, and is fully locked and loaded right around 8pm.

 

Service in Luminae continues to impress:

 

 

 

This Crab Cake, in particular, was quite excellent.

 

After dinner, we attempted to make the first iteration of the show - but man, the Club, as it is generally accessible all day, fills up FAST. Maybe even faster than Eden. 30 minutes head of time and there wasn't even standing room available. So, instead, off to the Casino it is!

 

We have found a few interesting slots, but real star here is still the $10 roulette. At this point, XZ decided to retire, but I was all in on seeing the show. I found a rather congenial $15 3 Card Poker game to kill the time at and, believe it or not, it pretty much worked out.

 

 

 

Also, as you may observe above on the Credit Lines, while XZ and I may be more than frequent players, we are not exactly big time spenders when it comes to the Casino.

 

After surviving Casino time I got to the show 25 minutes early which got me a spot...standing at the edge of the bar, right next to the servers. Now, if you enjoy drinking and spending some time exchanging glances with the bar staff (which I most certainly do) this is the place for you - as to viewing the show, it's a little restrictive.

 

As to 'Bloke and Mirrors' (the tale of a middle-class Englishman and his journey to create the perfect leaded glass for the Prince of Albany's viewing) the hand balancers/strong men have a fantastic faux fight scene that breaks out right in the middle - oddly enough, I preferred the song selection of 'the Jazz Joint' (a tale of a marijuana dispensary in the 1920s) to that of this show, but the vocals were as strong as ever.

 

After the show broke up there was very late night dancing (this ship has a MUCH more active nightlife than the M or S class) and I collapsed sometime around 2am in a pile of Casino Chips, Gloves, and wasitcoats, which is to say, not a lot will get done tomorrow! 

 

 

[Lastdance]

Thanks so much for providing much needed humor through photos, not to mention details of the cruise.  Love the review with a cat, twist and big laughs.  With Ascent being the brand new ship, on the block, your experience should be close to perfection!  Next year Celebrity should Xcel again!

 

My second cousin would love to be joining you, as she is quite the dress-up and make-up queen.

Edited February 3 by Lastdance

[David Kane]

Day 6 - Very Little of Note

 

My...goodness did I stay up WAY too late. This ship, as previously mentioned, has made a turn to cater to a little bit of a later crowd - whereas the Summit, let us say, our home ship, goes to bed at, like, 11pm.

 

Today was a very slow day - it is a sea day, and someone was WAY more awake this day than I was - let's see how this works out:

 

 

Morning at Craft Social - this is a prime venue and seating here is very limited, especially if there is any event on and, given the international clientele, that could mean the Australian Koala Punchers are playing the Irish Bar Fighters at 3am (note: neither of these are the names of actual team - they are names of 5 points brawlers from the quite excellent book and movie 'Gangs of New York' also, one of those is a lie) in an incomprehensible sport (Cricket). SO! We found, for photography purposes, the best time to visit Craft Social is when it is closed.

 

From there, we took a quick spin up to the Retreat Deck (What Day is it? shirt proudly displayed - if 'Posh Cruise' weren't our channel - 'What Day Is It?' would be). 

 

 

And on to Luminae for Breakfast. Not to drive this point into the ground, but in the last 6 cruises we never really did Luminae for any meals excepting dinner and, even then, we did at least 50% speciality dining - on the Ascent, it has been Luminae whenever we can!

 

 

 

 

 

And then back to the room...before it was time for a bridge tour!

 

If you have seen the Edge, Apex or the Beyond bridge you NEED to see the Ascent bridge (if this thing interests you). If you have been on an M or S class bridge tour you ABSOLUTELY need to be on this tour.

 

So, some notes: A) This is a very formal tour. On the Summit, two officers of the watch and some Engineer drunk on grappa welcome you up helm and for $9 more you get to steer the ship for 20 minutes - in the straight of Oman they let you raise the fore-gun and fire off a half dozen 20mm shells at local pirates (none of this is true - Celebrity runs a very tight and professional operation and, as far as we know, even the Edge Class does not have a bow howitzer - although the Quantum of the Seas does come equipped with an attack submarine).

 

BACK on track - you are escorted onto the bridge after a brief security check - this tour IS accessible (look, useful information!) and the officers explain how modern technology interacts with age-old maritime traditions - it is IMPRESSIVE to see, and only this ship and the newest RCI one (the Moonraker of the Seas - remember, all RCI ships are named after James Bond movies) have this bridge layout and technology.

 

I...should probably have dressed up a little more...

 

 

You should see the football coverage these screens get on 3rd watch!

 

And now, paperwork:

 

Edited February 3 by David Kane

[countess5]

Back to Ft Lauderdale, second leg to begin. Can’t wait for you to return and we board!  

 

Enjoying the read and your comments, thanks!

 

 

Have a great turnaround day.

 

Cheers! 

[David Kane]

Day 6 - Very Little of Note Continues

Despite doing more than I thought, I feel we continued to do very little for the remainder of this day, beyond watching far too many hours of Red Bull TV - a program that we have never seen played anywhere else and whose content still seems stuck in 2019 - adorably so.

 

After which, we dressed for dinner in our best Turkish inspired attire:

 

 

Dinner was the 2nd of Chic Night, which means...Lobster mania:

 

 

As a Retreat diner, you do get two tails and as someone who vacations in Bar Harbor, Maine they were excellently prepared for the product they are working with - I would go so far as to say the Scallops may be a better choice if you are a connoisseur of Lobster. If not, the twin tales are quite pleasing.

 

And with that, and a brief nightcap, we elected to turn in for the evening - missing the final theater show "Bridges." I am uncertain who thought a timeless retrospective on the famed 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot' actor Jeff Bridges would make a mainline production attractive to cruisers - but I heard the Big Lebowski dance number is not to be missed. We will check in next week and see if that's 'Just your opinion, Maaannn.'

 

[David Kane]

Pardon the Interruption

 

And speaking of things that are just someone's opinion - let's check in the furry menace and see how many times she has clawed our cat sitter (five) and what she has found on CC: 

 

Ahhhhh! You are talking about the Annex! That is a good point - the initial rollout seemed less than ideal - it was originally a blank space on the floor plans, and then everyone thought it was something akin to 'the Meeting Place.' Hints of it finally came around when the first "you're the first passengers on the ship making its first official sailing but nany-nany-poo-poo it's not actually the inaugural cruise" mini-cruises occurred.*

 

Since that time, things have been firmed up and pre-cruise promotions have started rolling out. We are about to go for a promotional tour of it during today's embarkation (as it is *pouring* out right now and we will let you know what you discover. But as we're still a day behind, this Cat Compliant will have to wait a few hours to be answered.

 

*Ok, the Cat didn't actually complain about that, yet, but let's zig a little when you think we're going to zag. Some diabolical genius at Celebrity took one look at Captain Kate's insta-instagram famous Ascent (lulz) and was like - 'Dude, hold my Heffewizen' - and started grinding our little promotional materials featuring the brothers and the Ascent. Featured below are what we have found/bought so far - these commemorative coins (sold in the iLounge? $19.99/each or 2 for $35):

 

 

And these commemorative Casino Chips; rumor has it there are three different varieties, each "1 of 500" - we are on the lookout! Also, what a great way to not ever have to cash back in Casino chips...

  

 

[David Kane]

Day 7 - You aren't getting ride of us that easily

 

Day 7, aka the last day, the day of tears, packing day, tipping day, dear-lord-do-not-drink-too-much day, is usually one of fond farewells, remembering how you packed your suitcase (pro tip: take a picture - can't tell you how long it took me to figure that one out) and doing things 'one last time.'

 

Good news, back to back means we have another full week of this! So, let's do some paperwork:

 

 

 

 

[David Kane]

Day 7 - You aren't getting ride of us that easily - the Daytime

I swear to you, eventually, there will a vlog posted. In the meantime, we spent the better part of a wonderful morning walking around and recording a LOT of video. During our travels we came across the never-awkward morning meditation class that was being closely watched by 8 pickleball players with their own paddles and a calibrated timepiece. Seriously; this guy almost got a net installed right on top of him:

 

 

After which we ambled up to the Oceanview Buffet and, wait, why are there some many staff manning barricades and hastily saran-wrapping off food sections? Oh. They're still doing the final day Seafood Buffet. 😳 To the trenches, sound the alarm, it's 11:27am - prepare to be boarded!

 

 

From what I can see, the Lobster tails are no longer, but a metric ton of peeled shrimp cocktail is - although the Lobster might have been some distance back? The prawn? Crawfish? Crayfish? Are in abundance as well. I know we should have stuck around for a more comprehensive report, but for every septuagenarian in an elegant morning blouse there was another one whose grandchild had gotten them a "Hulkamania" t-shirt for Christmas and there was no way I was getting between them and cocktail sauce. Seriously, children of the world, your elders love you, can you please start buying better travel t-shirts for them? Half of these folks are dressed like they went shopping at a 6 Flags Over Texas gift shop, all out of love for you.

 

 

There also was this elegant display of cakes:

 

 

Edited February 4 by David Kane

[David Kane]

Day 7 - You aren't getting ride of us that easily - the Nighttime

 

We spent the afternoon in the Retreat sundeck pool and hot tubs - we slipped out of the Retreat briefly to watch the Guests vs. Officers pool volleyball contest which the officers *clearly* weren't messing around with - seriously Luigi, is there something you are not good at? If you have the opportunity to grab a seat down by the pool, there is an audience participation element here as the viewers can intercede if the ball is heading out of bounds near them - it is seriously a good time.

 

After these shenanigans we dressed for dinner. We were going to Eden, so we thought we would invoke a certain spirit of whimsy, in my case:

 

Or a literal spirit of whimsy in XZs:

 

A lot of people ask what a Butler can do for you, and asked to be escorted to dinner is a perfectly valid request. Rocheson led the way down to Eden and stopped to take pictures for us along the way. We ordered a quick drink at the bar and then went downstairs.

 

 

There are two potential seating options for Eden - along the back of the ship which is light, airy, allows a view of the singers upstairs and, if the sun is out and you happen to favor heavy suits, is either 110 degrees or, if you have the body temperature of a wife/lizard, is perfectly fine. The other, in my opinion, far better option is in front of the live kitchen. It is literally dinner and a show - a more polite and cooperative version of Heckin' Kitchen where you get to watch burly chefs plate your food with tweezers! Here are the menus, including a copy of the Plant Based one:

 

 

 

So this is where it gets tough...we have been *raving* about the service and culinary re-awakening that has been Luminae. We usually prefer the selection of the Buffet (sometimes you just want a slice of watermelon and a slice of pizza for lunch) over Luminae for Breakfast and Lunch, but we have found ourselves being drawn back time and again to Luminae for almost all meals. I haven't eaten *once* at Raw on 5 yet, and we usually got there 5 times a cruise.

 

That said...Eden is close, man. So, so close. Granted, I get it, it's an up-charge - so it's a difficult compare but it is darn good. If Luminae on the Ascent is #1, Eden is #1.0001 and Le Voyage is #4 and dropping, fast. We ate at Eden twice on the Beyond (it was...a touch less pricey then) and didn't think we would go back this time - but figured, hey, why not? And now we're seriously considering going back again this week. Add in the atmosphere, the connection to live music being played from above, and THIS; which I daresay is the best dinner roll on the ship:

 

 

And this open kitchen concept:

 

And THIS wine paring:

 

 

And it is so, so, so close to being the hands down best restaurant on the ship. I think if it were included (for instance, if you had OBC to set fire to, had bought a Dining Package, or were in a top tier suite and Specialty dining is included in your fare) I would seriously consider taking a good portion of dinners here.

 

After Eden, XZ retired to begin 'packing' up (we are moving...1 room over to our left) and I went to the show at 9:30 - once called Magical Bones, which, for magic shows, I guess, has some good hooks? The theater was...less than crowded.

 

After this I broke rule #2 of the 'last' night - do not go to the Casino. In my observation, it is Casino operator revenge night and while I'm sure the sounds of the slot machines hitting jackpots is diminished simply because there are less players the usual, it feels...quiet. I survived a good number of rounds of $10 roulette and $15 3 Card Poker before being politely reminded I was breaking rule #2 and returned to the room to assist is packing.

 

If you've made it this far here's are some fun and useful back-to-back notes if you have to change rooms:

 

1) Celebrity will arrive with a luggage trolley and magically transfer anything on a hanger from closet-to-closet, like a sea-born Harry Potter flue powder translocation spell. And yes, this means that you should just put anything and everything you responsibly can up on hangers. Not undergarments, per se, but anything else is fair game.

 

2) Since you have just cleared up a lot of space in your luggage, you can just toss everything else from drawer or counter top into said luggage and be done with it.

 

3) Annnnd I just discovered I packed the TV remote. Whoops.

 

4) Triple check to make sure you have your Seapass Card and Passport on hand at all times.

 

5) OH! Drat, I missed a post about the Back to Back meeting! OK, the B2B meeting happens in the Club at 9am on your final day - you get a bunch of paperwork beforehand and you don't technically have to attend but, get this, to encourage people to attend they have *raffle prizes* (must be present to win - the first 8 names drawn weren't and the poor documentation officer thought he had printed out last week's names in the raffle bucket). They include, a bottle of win, a bottle of champagne, a bag of laundry and 2 passes to a lunch at Le Grand Bistro - pretty nice gifts for just showing up and watching an 11 minute powerpoint.**

 

**There is also a bunch of paperwork if you want to get off of the ship and re-board. I mean, I guess? They sell airboat tours of the local swamps which I am certain are in no way run by disreputable wild-eyed hillbilly’s with high caliber handguns and at least 2 different shirts. There is a billboard on the way to the port that advertises something something alligators something something and the oddest part is the word "Real" in quotation marks which never insinuates anything sketchy at all. Like...are all the other ones fake? I think I would rather encounter a fake alligator up close than a real one? But my risk profile has substantially decreased in recent years. So yeah. Fort Lauderdale. Still better than Miami where absolutely every cab has a placard for 'adult entertainment' permanently affixed to the top if it.

[lori-annk]

Thank you for this. A most enjoyable read! We’re in next month and this is ramping up the anticipation!

[Sandy1975]

It looks like you had a MC suite. How did you like it? I have one of the corner ones in my March sailing

[Lastdance]

3 hours ago, David Kane said:

So, Both Captains or the Ascent for $5.00?

And these commemorative Casino Chips; rumor has it there are three different varieties, each "1 of 500" - we are on the lookout! Also, what a great way to not ever have to cash back in Casino chips...

  

 

Is that $5.00 for both captains, so $10.00 for Ascent and two captains?😍

Edited February 4 by Lastdance

[LisaLeone]

David, between you and @GenerationX, I am delighted to be living vicariously! Looking forward to the next 7 days, the fashions and, of course, the cat-o-wisdom.

[countess5]

Morning as you arrive Nassau! 

 

 

 

Cheers! 

[David Kane]

A few random semi-helpful answers, perhaps:

 

1) Generation_X is sailing? Whelp, there go my views 🤗 Seriously, if you have not followed along on her Live reports they are awesome.

 

2) Ok, here is something that took some time to figure out - there are two different types of Magic Carpet Sky Suites on all decks EXCEPT 12. Figure the Magic Carpet Sky's a are a four across block - the front one has a cut out window on the balcony facing forwards, the middle two have dividers, and the rear one has an aft facing cutout. On floor 12, the forward and aft facing cabins have a heavy support column, so no cutout for you! Also, the Magic Carpet itself is parked directly above you most of the time, which is kind of cool, as you have a very secluded balcony. Now, I know, I know, "show, don't tell" - a walkthrough post will be forthcoming...eventually.

 

2a) To somewhat complicate the above, the Magic Carpet...Skies? Sky's? I know one is possessive and the other is dismissive and neither are likely correct; moving along...the MCS (this abbreviation, likewise, causes trouble, as it looks like I've either failed to correctly identify a competitor's cruise line or, for some reason, am staying in Michael's Club) have been installed in mirror imaged pairs, so, if one, for instance, doesn't get the same room for their back to back and instead has to move exactly one room over everything is backwards for the first 24 hours and you end up trying to hang your clothes up in the shower.

 

2b) In conclusion, we are really liking the MCS right now - they feel kind of neat and special and, while directly near stairs, are located closer to both aft and fore elevator banks than one might suspect. Being on 12 also puts you closer to the top decks, so the Retreat on one end and the Oceanview on the other are just a few stairs away. Considering these are the lowest cost of all the Sky Suites we would definitely book again.

 

3) In re: to the Captains Casino Chips, it is $5 a chip with a 20% gratuity...kidding, of course, although I am surprised someone at corporate hasn't thought of that yet...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChutChut]

What an utterly enjoyable and entertaining review. I wish I'd had both of you on my cruises! It would have made them much livelier! Love your eclectic attire, etc.  

[David Kane]

Day 8/Day 0 - Back to back we go

Here is the one we have been waiting for - eviction day, for us, becomes just another port day! However, there are some similarity's - at Fort Lauderdale everyone still has to get off the ship, and, because we are moving 1 room over, we still have to kinda pack by throwing everything not on hangers into suitcases. We have received paperwork, as follows:

 

 

 

 

Of these, the first two will not be important if you do not plan on leaving the ship to tour the great Fort Lauderdale port authority headquarters and museum (motto: CO-CAINE!). The middle one invites you to the aforementioned seminar which is useful to attend if you have any questions or want to participate in some complimentary raffles. The final document has all the important times when things happen - you will refer to this often. Our experience was as follows:

 

--We arose later than normal for eviction day (usually we are at Luminae at 6:31am) and prepared for the day; packing two light bags of magazines to read, passport, sea pass cards and a tablets. We went through the room 9 times (you think I'm kidding here) with each person checking the other person's spaces twice to make sure nothing was left behind. We left all our luggage in the state room, hanging items in the closet, and went to the Retreat Lounge to stash our transit bags. We then went to Luminae for 7:30 where we encountered a line of people out the door, through the hallway and backing up down the stairs. So. That would be a no. Instead, we trundled over the buffet, which was open until 8:30am. As the ship had been quickly cleared and people were already departing the elevators were a no go, but the upper decks were deserted (except for, like, every 40 feet you'd encounter someone inexplicably doing something very not much related to getting off of the ship, like day trading stocks or beginning a 730 page novel...each of these were also people who were alone, which is odd enough to encounter on the ship when it is full, let alone emptying. Oh, and none of them had any luggage so...performers moms maybe? So weird) and the buffet was busy, but not overwhlemed.

 

As instructed by the Retreat concierge team we returned to the Retreat Lounge at 8:30am and took a seat. The team checked us in, gave us a sticker, and then spent the next 20 minutes stressing, "no really, if you are not going back to back it is now time to leave - no, you see, when I told you at 8:45am the lounge needed to be cleared I meant it then too and now that its 8:50 I really, really mean it and IF you DON'T mind me asking how many TIMES have you or a loved one been struck by a slow moving train because you needed to move then just like you need to move NOW. It was bizarre. Finally, it was just down to the back-to-back Retreat Guests and Zeniths and we were led down and off thew ship.

 

It has been noted, the previous day, that it was a long walk off and back onto the ship and if anyone needed mobility assistance, at all, it could easily be provided because it was like a 2 mile walk. I only slightly dissemble here. You take an elevator down to deck 5 (I think) walk down the 4 level zig-zag jetway, then along the entirety of the terminal going one direction, then into the terminal in the baggage hallway and walk the entirety of that area to the end. You then queue up with the non-retreat/non-zenith passengers, walk past an 'almost' automated customs station where a dis-interested dude in the most official looking beer sweater gazes forlornly out a large set of windows while a facial recognition device does his job and back into to main terminal (which we had never seen before) to be given your new sea pass cards and asked to take a seat. You wait about 8 minutes here with the Retreat concierge team and the port authority workers/Wal-Mart greeters (everyone not a sky cap in the Fort Lauderdale terminal looks like they are working part time jobs to earn enough scratch for their next inside stateroom - they are unfailingly polite and cheerful and at least 80; they make little jokes, sing you show tunes, press elevator buttons, and always have a candy to give to a child - and absolutely none of these things am I over-stating) and then you reverse the entire walk you just did, more or less, and arrive back onboard via the 4 story jetway.

 

 

Here's the impressive part - we were back, in our room, by 9:43am. A little bird may or may not have told us that a large part of how this process is handled was streamlined by the Retreat Manager. We try not to use names here, to respect privacy, but you may have met this person a year ago as a member of the Retreat Team on the Beyond (we did!) and she has moved up since then.

 

 

Also, there were 102 back to back cruisers, but only 2 suites.

 

[chemmo]

Looking forward to the next instalment….

[David Kane]

Day 1 - Again

After briefly re-setting the room we took the morning to walk around an almost perfectly empty cruise ship and record a ton of video. There was the usual cleaning going on and everything being reset for the next sold out wave of cruisers to arrive. The majority of the B2B guests seemed to generally decamp to around Cafe al Bacio with a few scattered around the pool deck and a lone entrant in the hot tub. Sometime around 10:30am all the electronic signs switched over from "You don't have to day Goodbye..." type messages to "Welcome Home," various staff assumed their positions at the muster stations and the first of this week's cruise guests begin to filter in.

 

On tip we had picked up from the Beyond is that Le Grand Bistro makes an amazing boarding day lunch as there is generally no one there. So, despite an increased up charge, we stopped in and were treated to a staff to guest ratio bordering on 2 to 1 until a few more diners showed up.

 

And, oh, because XZ is ridiculous and, at times, I have to agree to go along, we did so in faux french outfits (just keep repeating the phrase - 'I love my wife, I love my wife, I love my wife...'):

 

 

 

 

 One final note; I have been trying to order items off of the menus I normally do not get. I decided to try the Ham and Cheese sandwich. LOOK at the size of this thing! It's bigger than the plate. How is anyone supposed to eat one of these?

 

 

[David Kane]

Day 1 - Paperwork

Let's do some paperwork, shall we?

 

 

[David Kane]

Day 1/Night 1

After lunch we changed back into normal clothes and spent the rest of the onboarding time unpacking back into a eerily similar room and then hopping into the Retreat Pool for sail away - reminder, that ship's horn is RIGHT above the Retreat Sundeck and the staff almost had to defib a cruiser that got their wits scared out of them when it went off.

 

From there, we changed back for Luminae whereby we discovered gesturing at the ship's art dressed like a mime is actually pretty funny:

 

 

 

After dinner, we headed to the theatre for the early comedy showing. Whilst the comedian was a) PG rated and b) rather funny, the c) funniest part about the show was the reserved XPass seating.

 

Remember the XPass? It's that weird $32.99/day per person thingy that gives the purchaser what are essentially suite-level benefits around the ship - things like priority tender tickets and the like. Well, one of the suite perks included is priority theatre seats - suite level guests get a reserved section on chic nights, whereby, with ropes and stanchions, a legion of butlers and bar tenders attempt to hold back the hordes from sitting in what is essentially the middle of the balcony. Given the well attended nature of the shows, this can be a life saver on those nights - one can arrived 3 minutes before the show starts and still get a seat, whereas one usually has to arrive 30+ minutes before.

 

Whelp - when they designed the XPass, they included this perk...for *every* night. So, each evening, a staff member trudges to the front row of the balcony and sets up a little pillar with a glowing advert that says "X Pass" and then blocks off that single aisle with a velvet rope. And then they stand there for 39 minutes, waiting for what appear to be the 6 guests who actually bought this thing to never arrive. Then, 1 minute before the show, they strike the ropes and signs take them away. It is hilarious to watch this ritual getting repeated each night. Now, clever viewers may have noticed that 1 minute before the show, a row of prime seating in the balcony magically opens up to whomever gets there first/stands making small talk with the usher right before the show begins. It's like moving from the upper decks to behind home plate during the 7th inning because there is no way whatever season ticket holders there still are for the Marlins are going to come to the game that late.

 

So, here is your ultimate latecomers prime seating tip. Alternatively, you could buy an XPass...🤩

 

 

After the rather entertaining show we turned in to prepare for a full day on Monday.

[David Kane]

Day 2 - Never Bored/Always on Board

For the first time in a long time the allure of reasonable Casino Games and exciting Bars did not sway us and we went to bed at a reasonable hour and then arose at one as well

 

It is interesting how the cruise demographic has greatly shifted for this trip versus the last. On the previous trip I was considering reporting a noticeably younger crowd. The bar scene shifted heavily towards the Martini Bar, World Class Bar and the Club while the levels of inebriation and accompanied dancing were much more enthusiastic. We pretty much decamped to Eden. Interestingly enough Craft Social was packed at all times.

 

On this go around the tried and true celebrity demographic is back en force. Eden is almost deserted at times and even the World Class Bar has seats available through the night. The Martini Bar continues to be popular, as does Craft Social, and al Bacio. The casino is also noticeably more occupied.

 

Owing to this shift, the running track has substantially opened back up at all hours of the morning. So now we find ourselves resuming our routine of walking 2 miles/visiting the gym before going to breakfast. As this is a port day, and the port of choice is one that I am surprised Celebrity still visits, we elected to stay on board and do all the things. 

 

We began with our 'boring deck reviews.' We have noticed on YouTube that all the content creators cover "every floor of the ship" - but not really - no one ever covers the ultra-long, ultra-boring room floors (3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). Not the actual rooms, mind you, just the hallways. So, we decided to spend a few hours shooting some *prime footage* of the lower floors to (eventually) upload to our vlog site (amount of content uploaded so far this trip - zippo). Turns out, this was kinda fun! Firstly, there is a LOT of fun Celebrity artwork on these floors. And secondly, we got to savagely review door decorations. Someone out there has made a LOT of money on Amazon selling packs of "Caution: We bought the drinks package" signs. Like...A LOT. But between the kitschy mass market items there are these wonderful little hand made magnets and door hangers. 

 

After that, we had saved up some calories from a light breakfast and headed to Raw on 5. I usually force XZ to eat here at least 4 times a cruise, but Luminae has been so good this would be our first visit. Below are the menus with some actual informative notes:

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, gone is the early offering os fresh ground wasabi - I believe it got supply chain killed coming out of COVID. There are some new Ascent based offerings as noted by the little icon.

 

XZ ordered two things of note: firstly, the Bok Choi, which is lightly fried and excellent - we will be returning to order several plates of this again:

 

And, secondly, a $56 bottle of sparkling rose sake which is notable for two things: A) we failed to notice the size of it:

 

Here it is being chilled table side in a hilariously regular sized wine chiller:

 

And B, a Sake is not a Wine. No, really. One may colloquially refer to it as "Japanese Rice Wine" but it is neither a wine, nor a beer, nor a spirit. It is, point of fact, it's own thing. You will learn this when your 20% discount for purchasing a full bottle of wine does not apply to sakes 🧐 Well played, Celebrity, well played (it's ok, we have a stack of OBC still to work through) - it's always nice to pickup some knowledge mid-vacation.

[David Kane]

Day 2 - Paperwork

 

Before we Game On(!) let's do some paperwork. Note page 3 and the travel advisory.

 

 

[LisaLeone]

I speak for many (OK, really just for me but I have NO DOUBT the masses agree) that your blog ranks as one of the most entertaining on CC. Thank.you for keeping it going! 

[lynncarol]

Hi David....Your dad sent us the link to this, your latest adventure.  Lynn and I have been following your blogs for several years now. You write really well.  Despite many cruises, Lynn and I have never done a back-to-back one, so before ending this blog, can you sum up the advantages/disadvantages of such a cruise? Carol