LIVE: Salt Lifer hitting the high seas! Ascent, April 7-14, 2024

[Salt Lifer]

2 hours ago, peanut head said:

What a wonderful review.  I will definitely have to give those chocolate tarts a try the next time I am on board.  

 

Just out of curiosity, was it difficult getting a seat for any/all of the shows?  

Thanks!  I enjoyed a chocolate tart this afternoon from my "stash" that I smuggled off the ship. 😉

 

As for the shows, we always were able to get a seat but we tried to arrive about 15 minutes early.  But the shows were full.

 

And this leads me to a little rant... there seems to be a new version of "chair hogs" on the ships these days.  I can not count the number of times I witnessed people trying to save large blocks of prime location seats in the theatre for people who didn't always even show up.  And even worse, I encountered a lot of couples who would find four empty seats and then sit right in the middle (leaving one empty on each side).  I presume this was done intentionally to keep anyone from sitting next to them.  What was even worse is that in most cases these people would not offer to move down if they saw any other two-some looking for a seat, and in a few cases even refused to if asked!  The entitlement of some people on our sailing was unreal!  Thankfully, these folks were still the minority and most people were considerate and fun to be around.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thanks for a great review!

 

Did Captain Tasos and/or Alejandro mention how long they're onboard for? We're on the 4/27/24 sailing.

Edited April 16 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[cruisetonowhere10]

1 hour ago, Salt Lifer said:

Thanks!  I enjoyed a chocolate tart this afternoon from my "stash" that I smuggled off the ship. 😉

 

As for the shows, we always were able to get a seat but we tried to arrive about 15 minutes early.  But the shows were full.

 

And this leads me to a little rant... there seems to be a new version of "chair hogs" on the ships these days.  I can not count the number of times I witnessed people trying to save large blocks of prime location seats in the theatre for people who didn't always even show up.  And even worse, I encountered a lot of couples who would find four empty seats and then sit right in the middle (leaving one empty on each side).  I presume this was done intentionally to keep anyone from sitting next to them.  What was even worse is that in most cases these people would not offer to move down if they saw any other two-some looking for a seat, and in a few cases even refused to if asked!  The entitlement of some people on our sailing was unreal!  Thankfully, these folks were still the minority and most people were considerate and fun to be around.

I just don’t understand people much of the time…a show would in no way entice me to be rude to others, nor would a pool, and definitely not a buffet….

[Salt Lifer]

2 hours ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

Thanks for a great review!

 

Did Captain Tasos and/or Alejandro mention how long they're onboard for? We're on the 4/27/24 sailing.

They do three months contracts and started in March (forget the exact date, but think it was around mid-month) so you will definitely have them on your 4/27 sailing.  

[eeden1]

12 hours ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

Thanks for a great review!

 

Did Captain Tasos and/or Alejandro mention how long they're onboard for? We're on the 4/27/24 sailing.

We're on that sailing as well.

 

@Salt Lifer thank you for your review.  This is our first cruise coming up and your info has been wonderful and very helpful!

[Salt Lifer]

One thing to note, the seas were a little rough on this sailing.  Several days we had 10 foot waves and one night swells got up to 26 feet! Personally, I loved it and felt the stabilizers did a great job of keeping the boat stable. 

 

But a lot of people in our Facebook sailing page complained that their rooms made the "loud creaking" noises that E-Class is becoming famous for.  I suspect the bigger waves were to blame.  Our cabin (11286) was very quiet, but I did notice a lot of vibration which was worse the faster the ship went.  We were very far aft, which might have contributed.  

 

I will be curious what the Transatlantic cruisers experience in this regard. 

[cruisinsusin]

11 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

One thing to note, the seas were a little rough on this sailing.  Several days we had 10 foot waves and one night swells got up to 26 feet! Personally, I loved it and felt the stabilizers did a great job of keeping the boat stable. 

 

But a lot of people in our Facebook sailing page complained that their rooms made the "loud creaking" noises that E-Class is becoming famous for.  I suspect the bigger waves were to blame.  Our cabin (11286) was very quiet, but I did notice a lot of vibration which was worse the faster the ship went.  We were very far aft, which might have contributed.  

 

I will be curious what the Transatlantic cruisers experience in this regard. 

We were in 11209 and did have a lot of cracking and popping the first night but, after reporting it, maintenance came and placed a number of shims in the veranda door frame area and it completely resolved( even in the higher seas).

[RK-NC]

On 4/15/2024 at 6:27 PM, Salt Lifer said:

there seems to be a new version of "chair hogs" on the ships these days.  I can not count the number of times I witnessed people trying to save large blocks of prime location seats in the theatre for people who didn't always even show up.  And even worse, I encountered a lot of couples who would find four empty seats and then sit right in the middle (leaving one empty on each side).

 

Catching up on your live report - we were on Beyond 4/12-22 and saw this same thing. We would always count seats if we went into a row to make sure we left an even number. We also saw some seat saving. The majority of people we met were kind and considerate. I don't think we met a single crew member that was unkind or unfriendly which made a huge impression on us.

[RK-NC]

On 4/10/2024 at 7:48 AM, Salt Lifer said:

Last's night's Theatre show was "Rebel", a classic rock experience.  These guys put on an amazing show. 

Rebel moved over to Beyond after your sailing I guess! LOVED them - they did 2 shows and we were blown away!

[kabmab]

On 4/18/2024 at 9:57 AM, Salt Lifer said:

One thing to note, the seas were a little rough on this sailing.  Several days we had 10 foot waves and one night swells got up to 26 feet! Personally, I loved it and felt the stabilizers did a great job of keeping the boat stable. 

 

But a lot of people in our Facebook sailing page complained that their rooms made the "loud creaking" noises that E-Class is becoming famous for.  I suspect the bigger waves were to blame.  Our cabin (11286) was very quiet, but I did notice a lot of vibration which was worse the faster the ship went.  We were very far aft, which might have contributed.  

 

I will be curious what the Transatlantic cruisers experience in this regard. 

We got off the Ascent TA today.  Our transit had very calm seas -- most was swells of a bit over six feet.  We were in 8186 and had no noise but noticed three shims in closet.  No noise complaints from fellow cruisers.  What a great cruise!  Hope to do a post trip review thread this week.

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, kabmab said:

We got off the Ascent TA today.  Our transit had very calm seas -- most was swells of a bit over six feet.  We were in 8186 and had no noise but noticed three shims in closet.  No noise complaints from fellow cruisers.  What a great cruise!  Hope to do a post trip review thread this week.

I do hope you share your TA; I just put a cabin on hold for the fall TA on Ascent, so now checking on flights for biz class and hotels too.  I used to always say that a nickel more and you go first class, but not anymore.  There is no way I am paying $16,000 for a suite either, but will on airfare for an 11 hour flight!  

[kabmab]

On 4/14/2024 at 5:46 AM, swigso said:

We are sailing on the Apex on a B2B, the 2nd leg is a TA. Be great if you can let me know what the weather was like. Thanks in anticipation.

So we are off our TA on Ascent today, spending one night in Barcelona before heading back to FL.  Our weather was very nice, mostly 70-73 with fairly light wind.  Cooler as we headed north the second week.  Temps mid to high 60s with more breeze.  If the sun was out, people were out on the pool/resort deck.  We hung out in the solarium since our blood is thin, living in FL.  Hope your cruise is great!