Poolside

I realize that this topic is about the Game Show but I just can not resist saying:
"When did Love & Marriage become so unpopular?"
For some it was right after they said "I do" 🙂 

I used the Facebook group's slot pull as an excuse to take a break from my work and leave my room. But I got there too late and they had already started so I played a little video poker instead and I'm up $25 for the cruise and have 28 casino points despite not wearing red undergarments 😂
Since it was 2:30 and I have 5:30 early seating in MDR, of course I went to the WJ before it closes at 3:00. 
They had shrimp pad thai...burger bun for reference.

I order the Artisan Cheese Plate with extra fig chutney as an appetizer.  It's a fan favorite for our family to start the meal and keeps us from filling up on bread. 

Threads live forever!🤣
My issue is I have sleeping difficulties at home. But onboard I sleep much better. Even in very heavy seas when I’m getting pushed around, I still seem to sleep a lot better while on a ship.
I asked my doctor, solely in the interest of my health and wellbeing, to write a prescription for me to cruise as much as possible…but my cheapskate insurance company still won’t pay for my cruises. Ba$t@rds!😡

Ehh, some of those port personel are so darn slow with logging in, taking the photo, switching to the next person, etc.
I'd rather waste my time at home taking the photo than in the terminal

It'll be a ship cat.... you'll find him walking on the counters at Sorrentos and knocking glasses off the bars. 

Just saying a quick hello here, first time in about four years. I just booked the 12-night Odyssey sailing in Jan 2025, which is an itinerary I've been wanting to do kind of since I first started sailing with Royal in 2018 and learned about it. Seemed like a nice way to celebrate turning 55. 🙂
To everyone I haven't spoken with in all these years, hope you've been well!

The mechanical equivalent of rotator cuff surgery

Be married for 2 hours or 70 years....

Update…GOOD NEWS!
On the Anthem now. I checked in this afternoon with Next Cruise about the missing solo cruiser discount on the cruises I booked two weeks ago. Danning said she had not received a response from the email she sent at that time. She told me she would contact shoreside and get me an answer.
At 8pm I saw that Royal had emailed me fifteen new cruise confirmation receipts.
All fifteen cruises had the discount applied…to the original lower price! Very happy!😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

My gut tells me we will meet in the WJ 😂

I actually had to work when I got home so this is the 1st chance I had to write my Recap.  
Disembarkation on Sunday was a breeze.  Put my suitcase out the night before.  Needed to be out of the cabins by 7:30. Had breakfast at the Oceanview, walked around and took some last minute pictures. I think my group was called by 8:30 to get off.  I was at the airport a little after 9.  My flight was at 12. 
The Ascent is a gorgeous new ship.  It is more of a sit back and relax type of ship.   This cruise definitely had an older crowd then I’m use to.  I would say the average age was 75+.   I have noticed that the Celebrity older guests expect more, want more & complain about everything.   There were still plenty of us 50 & 60 year olds that were having fun.  I would definitely book another cruise on this ship. 
The Ascent doesn’t have a lot of “active” stuff to do.  No mini golf, no rock climbing wall, no basketball court & no flowrider.  They do have a pickleball court setup on the Rooftop Garden and these Celebrity cruisers take their pickleball very seriously.  I saw the same group of about 25 people up there every day and they are playing from 10 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon.  I think they would have camped up there if they could.    
The ship is also very clean.  It’s a new ship so it should be.  They have staff standing outside or sometimes inside the public restrooms cleaning them as soon as the guest leaves.  Handrails on the stairways were always being wiped down.  In the Oceanview Café they had really nice hand washing stations, but unfortunately most guests didn’t use them🤢.  Also in the Oceanview Café they were quick to clear & clean the tables.  Never saw a tray of dirty dishes in the hallway. 
The staff was wonderful.  Always smiling, happy and welcoming.  My room steward was Reynaldo.  He introduced himself the 1st day and he was so sweet.  He cleaned the room in the morning (like I asked) and did turndown service in the evening which included the paper version of “Celebrity Today” and 2 chocolates.  
I loved my Panoramic Ocean View cabin on deck 6 forward .  Plenty of room and storage for me (even if there were 2 of us there was still plenty of room & storage).  The only problem I had was the night we left St Kitts back to Ft Lauderdale we were rocking & rolling.  The cabin was creaking loudly and loud banging in the ceiling woke me up at 3 in the morning.  Thank God I brought my earplugs.  A lot of people had the same complaint on our FB group and I read about it on CC so I was prepared. 
Food was pretty good.  Went to Oceanview for breakfast & lunch most days and was never disappointed except for the desserts.  They were gorgeous but lacked any taste.  Scoops ice cream🍦 was a must for me at least once a day (sometimes 2x).  They had soft serve, gelato, frozen yogurt, some toppings (sprinkles & some candy) sauces and cookies.   Went to all 4 MDR all were good.  Normadie was my favorite (French food) I went 4 times.  Never made it to any of the specialty restaurants for lunch (they close to early) or dinner.  I’ll just have to book another trip so I can try them.  Café Al Bacio was my favorite place to get my latte and cookies.  They also had other little pastries and bite size sandwiches.  Tons of comfy chairs to sit back and enjoy your coffee or tea.  They also serve the tea in real tea pots and mugs and snacks on a real plate.  You could also get it to go. 
The entertainment was great.  No reservations for any of the shows.  The main theater shows were 7:30 & 9:30. All the seats were great, no columns blocking your view. Eden shows were at 10:45. If you wanted a seat your needed to get there an hour before.  
Resort Pool was huge for a cruise ship pool.  Just like all the other cruise ships the chair hogs are out early.   I never had a problem finding a chair in the shade or sun.  They had a lot of activities at the pool.  Live music, dance classes, volleyball officers vs guests and other pool games. 
Rooftop Garden is a nice area away from the noise of the main pool.  Lots of natural plants.  Sectional seating with huge umbrellas (the seating needed pillows to really make it comfortable).  The only downside is that the pickleball court is right in the middle of the venue. 
I could write so much more about the ship but you all don't need me to write a novel😊. 
Thanks for following along on my 1st live blog.

Bring your own food coloring and you can!

On Board Day 1
The muster station check-in process was a bit disappointing.  On all of the other ships we have boarded since the restart, they had the muster bubbas ready and waiting to do the check-in from the time they started boarding.  On LIB they didn't start the muster station check-in until noon.  UGH. This really messed with our Day 1 process.
Dan and I are both Engineers so our mantra is to strongly adhere to the "3 P's".  Process, Process, Process.  🤪
Our process is:
1.  Arrive early.  We like to be at the port between 9-9:30 
2.  Complete the safety info at the terminal, prior to boarding
3.  Get on the ship as soon as possible
4.  Complete the muster check-in
5.  Confirm/finalize whatever dining reservations are still pending
6.  Get a drink 🤩
7.  Sneak into our hallway and grab the room keys off the wall
8.  Go to the Suites Lounge (or Crown Lounge, if we are barred from the SL....(which hasn't happened yet, BTW)) and relax until time for lunch
9.  Go to lunch at whichever specialty restaurant we have pre-arranged
10.  Go to our room and begin to settle in
Random chaos begins at this point.
 
Having been thrown a fast ball with the muster check-in,  we had to modify the process...not an easy thing for us.  We skipped #4 and randomly wove that one in somewhere around 8 and 9.

Wow, a lot of mean spirited replies. The OP obviously had a bad experience. 
There is no reason to attack them or call them fat and a liar.
 

I believe it was a detailed review of the WJ.

You and me both! Otherwise this blog would be toast, among other things lol

A voicemail in the phone system?  
Ironically I couldn't delete the message and everyday the message waiting light on my phone was illuminated.  Every day I  listened to the top tier reminder voicemail, again.

Do you mean how tall you have to be? Because those are two different things 🙂
I'm tall enough to do the zip line on Oasis, but I don't know if I could get high enough to try.

Personal question request, is J real? I saw the luggage, I see the champagne glasses.
Would you give me proof? Maybe a picture with sunglasses? A picture from the rear? Hiding behind a crew member?
Something? Inquiring minds want to know! Hey J it's me Neesa. Come on girl, show yourself! 

It's bad, on that we can agree.  We don't agree that this one off was a calculated business decision instead of an unforseen issue forcing a very difficult decision. 
I get that you can't trust RCI to put the guest ahead of the dollar.  Actually you can always trust them to put the dollar first.  This one though is a stretch example.
They could simply not offer GTY if they wanted you to not book them.  That would be way easier than a PR disaster seemingly intended, in your mind, to drive distrust in the GTY offering. 

Good thought.  Do you think they'll confiscate my tin foil hat on boarding?
It really could just be that an emergency situation arose on Quantum recently and there is nothing more to it.  

That's what I keep telling myself 😅

He sleeps on the sofa bed and acts as Genie! Winner! lol

I'll be the dissenting opinion on this as usual. If you are boarding early, I have no problem with the WJ getting there right when it opens. It takes a little while to get crowded as it takes time for people to board, wander, etc.
I also don't mind if it's a little crowded but many do.