Celebrity Ascent Review

[Ensign Pulver]

First of all, thanks to all on the forums who provide such helpful information and advice, I found it to be invaluable in preparing for my cruise. My wife and I love the process, it extends the anticipation and excitement of our vacation. 
I’m just off the Ascent this past Sunday and it was all we hoped for, particularly the quality of the food in all restaurants. Admittedly, I’m very critical of my meals when I eat out, and even after reading positive reviews here and watching YouTube videos, I was still skeptical. But I can honestly say I was very impressed and happy with the quality, taste and presentation of my meals. We were a family of four adults and at each meal, the main topic of conversation was how much we enjoyed our food!  We ate our breakfast in Blu and enjoyed two dinners there. We wanted to experience some other places so we also had great meals in Fine Cut, Tuscan, Cypress, Normandie, ending the cruise on our last night in Eden, a real highlight for us. Don’t miss Eden, the food, service and overall experience was very memorable. 
And I can’t forget the wonderful staff in each location, in my experience, you just don’t get that kind of friendly, professional service, even in high end restaurants at home. A huge round of applause to Celebrity, each venue made us feel special. And the personal attention, particularly in Blu, makes you feel like a hundred bucks. It’s 2024, make that a million!

By cruise end, you feel like they’re your friends, seriously. 
As far as the ship itself, it is beautiful in all aspects. Love the design, the decor, the colors and the artwork. But of course as with food, it’s subjective to personal taste. 
Entertainment in the theater was very good overall, as were the musicians that played in the Grand Plaza and elsewhere around the ship. If you’re looking to go to the martini bar when there’s live music, plan ahead, it gets crowded to where you can’t get a seat. 
Cafe il Baccio was a daily ritual for us, great coffee drinks and pastries, great service too, just get a table and they’ll take your order. If you’re a strong coffee drinker like me, I recommend a double shot latte. My wife loved the pistachio latte. 
Also loved the Sunset Bar, great location, our weather was damn near perfect every day and weeks and months from now I’ll look back to looking off the back of the ship, recognizing how fortunate I am. 
There’s very little negative I can report, our overall experience was terrific. If anyone is on the fence about booking a cruise on the Ascent, my two cents is, go for it. But do your own research, again, this is my opinion, I recognize there are plenty of options when it comes to cruising. 
Best to all. 

[cruise47]

Thank you for sharing your review.

[mafig]

Did you experience any noise (especially at night) in the walls, ceiling of the ship?

[lv2cruisgrl]

1 hour ago, Ensign Pulver said:

First of all, thanks to all on the forums who provide such helpful information and advice, I found it to be invaluable in preparing for my cruise. My wife and I love the process, it extends the anticipation and excitement of our vacation. 
I’m just off the Ascent this past Sunday and it was all we hoped for, particularly the quality of the food in all restaurants. Admittedly, I’m very critical of my meals when I eat out, and even after reading positive reviews here and watching YouTube videos, I was still skeptical. But I can honestly say I was very impressed and happy with the quality, taste and presentation of my meals. We were a family of four adults and at each meal, the main topic of conversation was how much we enjoyed our food!  We ate our breakfast in Blu and enjoyed two dinners there. We wanted to experience some other places so we also had great meals in Fine Cut, Tuscan, Cypress, Normandie, ending the cruise on our last night in Eden, a real highlight for us. Don’t miss Eden, the food, service and overall experience was very memorable. 
And I can’t forget the wonderful staff in each location, in my experience, you just don’t get that kind of friendly, professional service, even in high end restaurants at home. A huge round of applause to Celebrity, each venue made us feel special. And the personal attention, particularly in Blu, makes you feel like a hundred bucks. It’s 2024, make that a million!

By cruise end, you feel like they’re your friends, seriously. 
As far as the ship itself, it is beautiful in all aspects. Love the design, the decor, the colors and the artwork. But of course as with food, it’s subjective to personal taste. 
Entertainment in the theater was very good overall, as were the musicians that played in the Grand Plaza and elsewhere around the ship. If you’re looking to go to the martini bar when there’s live music, plan ahead, it gets crowded to where you can’t get a seat. 
Cafe il Baccio was a daily ritual for us, great coffee drinks and pastries, great service too, just get a table and they’ll take your order. If you’re a strong coffee drinker like me, I recommend a double shot latte. My wife loved the pistachio latte. 
Also loved the Sunset Bar, great location, our weather was damn near perfect every day and weeks and months from now I’ll look back to looking off the back of the ship, recognizing how fortunate I am. 
There’s very little negative I can report, our overall experience was terrific. If anyone is on the fence about booking a cruise on the Ascent, my two cents is, go for it. But do your own research, again, this is my opinion, I recognize there are plenty of options when it comes to cruising. 
Best to all. 

Loved your review we sail her in April.  We have enjoyed all the Edge class ships so excited to go!

[jelayne]

24 minutes ago, mafig said:

Did you experience any noise (especially at night) in the walls, ceiling of the ship?

We were on our in April in SV and no noise.

[georgiaguy]

Thanks for sharing. We our on Ascent in a few weeks on the same itinerary. Any thoughts on the ports?

[Texed]

E P,

Although we did not eat in all the restaurants you did, your experience mirrored our B2B on Ascent.  Thanks for posting. 😊

[hcat]

Excellent review....covered the outstanding highlights!  Looks like ASCENT will be the new favorite! So happy you and your family  left with the same happy feeling we had!

 

(Only one mixed/ neg review so far..)

[Ensign Pulver]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

Did you experience any noise (especially at night) in the walls, ceiling of the ship?

Yes, a few nights, we were on deck 10, it seemed like it came from the veranda. We notified our room attendant who had maintenance come and check. Later that day I noticed what looked like a small piece of insulation on the veranda floor. Whatever they did cured it, I never heard anything after that. 

[Ensign Pulver]

34 minutes ago, georgiaguy said:

Thanks for sharing. We our on Ascent in a few weeks on the same itinerary. Any thoughts on the ports?

Best excursion we did was Tortola by Land and Sea, excellent boat ride where you can see the surrounding islands. Fun crew. 
Carambola beach on St. Kitts was nice and relaxing. Both excursions got you back on the ship for lunch. The ship is so good I couldn’t wait to get back on and enjoy a nice cocktail and lunch!!

[Ensign Pulver]

34 minutes ago, Texed said:

E P,

Although we did not eat in all the restaurants you did, your experience mirrored our B2B on Ascent.  Thanks for posting. 😊

It was great, now I’m back to cooking my own meals!

[hcat]

29 minutes ago, Ensign Pulver said:

Best excursion we did was Tortola by Land and Sea, excellent boat ride where you can see the surrounding islands. Fun crew. 
Carambola beach on St. Kitts was nice and relaxing. Both excursions got you back on the ship for lunch. The ship is so good I couldn’t wait to get back on and enjoy a nice cocktail and lunch!!

Great to hear this..we just booked Tortola by Land and Sea for next year on APEX

.( will we need beach shoes?)

 

Contrast to our recent Day Trip to NEVIS with lunch..awesome!

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, Ensign Pulver said:

First of all, thanks to all on the forums who provide such helpful information and advice, I found it to be invaluable in preparing for my cruise. My wife and I love the process, it extends the anticipation and excitement of our vacation. 
I’m just off the Ascent this past Sunday and it was all we hoped for, particularly the quality of the food in all restaurants. Admittedly, I’m very critical of my meals when I eat out, and even after reading positive reviews here and watching YouTube videos, I was still skeptical. But I can honestly say I was very impressed and happy with the quality, taste and presentation of my meals. We were a family of four adults and at each meal, the main topic of conversation was how much we enjoyed our food!  We ate our breakfast in Blu and enjoyed two dinners there. We wanted to experience some other places so we also had great meals in Fine Cut, Tuscan, Cypress, Normandie, ending the cruise on our last night in Eden, a real highlight for us. Don’t miss Eden, the food, service and overall experience was very memorable. 
And I can’t forget the wonderful staff in each location, in my experience, you just don’t get that kind of friendly, professional service, even in high end restaurants at home. A huge round of applause to Celebrity, each venue made us feel special. And the personal attention, particularly in Blu, makes you feel like a hundred bucks. It’s 2024, make that a million!

By cruise end, you feel like they’re your friends, seriously. 
As far as the ship itself, it is beautiful in all aspects. Love the design, the decor, the colors and the artwork. But of course as with food, it’s subjective to personal taste. 
Entertainment in the theater was very good overall, as were the musicians that played in the Grand Plaza and elsewhere around the ship. If you’re looking to go to the martini bar when there’s live music, plan ahead, it gets crowded to where you can’t get a seat. 
Cafe il Baccio was a daily ritual for us, great coffee drinks and pastries, great service too, just get a table and they’ll take your order. If you’re a strong coffee drinker like me, I recommend a double shot latte. My wife loved the pistachio latte. 
Also loved the Sunset Bar, great location, our weather was damn near perfect every day and weeks and months from now I’ll look back to looking off the back of the ship, recognizing how fortunate I am. 
There’s very little negative I can report, our overall experience was terrific. If anyone is on the fence about booking a cruise on the Ascent, my two cents is, go for it. But do your own research, again, this is my opinion, I recognize there are plenty of options when it comes to cruising. 
Best to all. 

Your experience mirrored by Jan 21 recent sailing..

[Ensign Pulver]

25 minutes ago, hcat said:

Great to hear this..we just booked Tortola by Land and Sea for next year on APEX

.( will we need beach shoes?)

 

Contrast to our recent Day Trip to NEVIS with lunch..awesome!

Hi hcat I enjoyed reading your posts on Ascent a few weeks back. 
You will not need beach shoes, you board a catamaran type boat close to the port, a short walk. After a nice water tour you’re dropped off  at a marina with a bar/restaurant and a few souvenir type shops. Then you board a tram for an island tour with some great views. 
Hope you enjoy it!

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, Ensign Pulver said:

First of all, thanks to all on the forums who provide such helpful information and advice, I found it to be invaluable in preparing for my cruise. My wife and I love the process, it extends the anticipation and excitement of our vacation. 
I’m just off the Ascent this past Sunday and it was all we hoped for, particularly the quality of the food in all restaurants. Admittedly, I’m very critical of my meals when I eat out, and even after reading positive reviews here and watching YouTube videos, I was still skeptical. But I can honestly say I was very impressed and happy with the quality, taste and presentation of my meals. We were a family of four adults and at each meal, the main topic of conversation was how much we enjoyed our food!  We ate our breakfast in Blu and enjoyed two dinners there. We wanted to experience some other places so we also had great meals in Fine Cut, Tuscan, Cypress, Normandie, ending the cruise on our last night in Eden, a real highlight for us. Don’t miss Eden, the food, service and overall experience was very memorable. 
And I can’t forget the wonderful staff in each location, in my experience, you just don’t get that kind of friendly, professional service, even in high end restaurants at home. A huge round of applause to Celebrity, each venue made us feel special. And the personal attention, particularly in Blu, makes you feel like a hundred bucks. It’s 2024, make that a million!

By cruise end, you feel like they’re your friends, seriously. 
As far as the ship itself, it is beautiful in all aspects. Love the design, the decor, the colors and the artwork. But of course as with food, it’s subjective to personal taste. 
Entertainment in the theater was very good overall, as were the musicians that played in the Grand Plaza and elsewhere around the ship. If you’re looking to go to the martini bar when there’s live music, plan ahead, it gets crowded to where you can’t get a seat. 
Cafe il Baccio was a daily ritual for us, great coffee drinks and pastries, great service too, just get a table and they’ll take your order. If you’re a strong coffee drinker like me, I recommend a double shot latte. My wife loved the pistachio latte. 
Also loved the Sunset Bar, great location, our weather was damn near perfect every day and weeks and months from now I’ll look back to looking off the back of the ship, recognizing how fortunate I am. 
There’s very little negative I can report, our overall experience was terrific. If anyone is on the fence about booking a cruise on the Ascent, my two cents is, go for it. But do your own research, again, this is my opinion, I recognize there are plenty of options when it comes to cruising. 
Best to all. 

I was on this sailing also and my opinion pretty much mirrors yours. I will just add the following:

 

1) I found Eden to be the best specialty dining I've had on Celebrity (note, this was my first time eating there, so maybe better on other Edge classes, lol)

 

2) I found the service in the MDRs top notch in general, but every once in a while we would get a server that seemed to not want to be there. This is pretty minor and didn't affect our cruise overall it was noticeable. Mainly because it was the exception.

 

3) Loved the Ascent and loved the cruise, but overall I rank the ship below Apex (my favorite) and Beyond. But if the Apex was a 10 to me, Beyond would be 9.8 and Ascent 9.7...you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

 

[hcat]

11 minutes ago, Ensign Pulver said:

Hi hcat I enjoyed reading your posts on Ascent a few weeks back. 
You will not need beach shoes, you board a catamaran type boat close to the port, a short walk. After a nice water tour you’re dropped off  at a marina with a bar/restaurant and a few souvenir type shops. Then you board a tram for an island tour with some great views. 
Hope you enjoy 

 Thanks for the info..sounds good!

I think it goes to Sopers Hole.   A nice area that  we have not been to in yrs..pre storms.

 

On Ascent we stayed in Port not great shopping,   and Road Town.... lunch at Pussers.. so something diff. next time.

 

We liked EDGE 2x  and BEYOND,  but thought the experiences on ASCENT were the best  so far  (of course the most recent) 

[vickykay]

Can’t wait for our Ascent cruise in Sept!

[Overlandandsea]

Thanks EP!

 

Sounds fantastic! My wife and I are taking our first ever cruise on the Ascent in May in the Med.

 

As there are lots of port stops we went for an interior stateroom on deck 9, but chose the deluxe to have a bit more space.

 

We're really  looking forward to it.

[MagPie60]

We were on Ascent 28/1- 4/2 and our impressions were very similar. We had moved up to a SS which we LOVED, but apart from the Retreat pool deck we didn't really utilize many suite services (least of all the infamous butler) 

Such a beautiful ship, with so many places to sit, relax and enjoy. The food was very good. In the open Atlantic seas there was a bit of creaking from our balcony doors and walls but not enough to be disturbing. 

I need to write a full review. 

[JDPCruisers]

Dedicated SS butlers back on Ascent? 

[Ensign Pulver]

4 hours ago, Overlandandsea said:

Thanks EP!

 

Sounds fantastic! My wife and I are taking our first ever cruise on the Ascent in May in the Med.

 

As there are lots of port stops we went for an interior stateroom on deck 9, but chose the deluxe to have a bit more space.

 

We're really  looking forward to it.

I think you will love the ship. My wife and I prefer port intensive cruises, ours had only three but we were all looking for a relaxing vacation and we enjoyed the sea days. 
Have a great trip!

[sharpie13]

On 2/20/2024 at 1:29 PM, alyssamma said:

I was on this sailing also and my opinion pretty much mirrors yours. I will just add the following:

 

1) I found Eden to be the best specialty dining I've had on Celebrity (note, this was my first time eating there, so maybe better on other Edge classes, lol)

 

2) I found the service in the MDRs top notch in general, but every once in a while we would get a server that seemed to not want to be there. This is pretty minor and didn't affect our cruise overall it was noticeable. Mainly because it was the exception.

 

3) Loved the Ascent and loved the cruise, but overall I rank the ship below Apex (my favorite) and Beyond. But if the Apex was a 10 to me, Beyond would be 9.8 and Ascent 9.7...you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

 

Thank you all.  We are boarding the Ascent on Sunday and the anticipation has been killing me. Glad to be trying Celebrity again after all these years.  It is like trying an entirely new cruise line!

 

Thank you all again,

S

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, MagPie60 said:

We were on Ascent 28/1- 4/2 and our impressions were very similar. We had moved up to a SS which we LOVED, but apart from the Retreat pool deck we didn't really utilize many suite services (least of all the infamous butler) 

 

Same here on a recent Ascent cruise..the SS was great with the bed facing the ocean...the larger room is very nice.  I think they should have gone all in on the shower, and done away with the foot deep so called tub/shower combo..useless as a tub (I think I last took a bath at about age 8)  and an unnecessary step in to use the shower. 

 

The Retreat Pool Area is about perfect, IMHO..I did head down to the main pool a few afternoons to people watch and listen to the DJ...

 

The Retreat Lounge reminded my Wife and I of a Dr's waiting room.  Boring doesn't begin to describe it.  Obviously, some like that vibe.  

 

Sunset Bar was a big upgrade over the one on the Apex..very nice..

 

Already booked on a 10 day Southern Caribbean on Ascent in Jan 26 in a Sunset Veranda.  

Edited February 22 by PTC DAWG

[momneedsrest]

Thank you so much for your review.Sailing in May with Mom and Sis and am getting quite excited.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Same here on a recent Ascent cruise..the SS was great with the bed facing the ocean...the larger room is very nice.  I think they should have gone all in on the shower, and done away with the foot deep so called tub/shower combo..useless as a tub (I think I last took a bath at about age 8)  and an unnecessary step in to use the shower. 

 

The Retreat Pool Area is about perfect, IMHO..I did head down to the main pool a few afternoons to people watch and listen to the DJ...

 

The Retreat Lounge reminded my Wife and I of a Dr's waiting room.  Boring doesn't begin to describe it.  Obviously, some like that vibe.  

 

Sunset Bar was a big upgrade over the one on the Apex..very nice..

 

Already booked on a 10 day Southern Caribbean on Ascent in Jan 26 in a Sunset Veranda.  

agree about the tubs..can be dangerous!

 

the indoor Retreat  area could be so much more..than a  long sterile space.

 

How about a real bar..small but with a few stools?  

 

Maybe one or two computer stations?

Dart board?  Pool table?  Reading area with comfy seats?   Puzzles? 

 

Needs a more modern "rethink"!