Bob_KY

AWESOME live blog - we cruise on the Celebrity Ascent in 33 days.  Your insights and reviews made us more excited for our upcoming vacation. Thank you for sharing.

You are 100% correct. My eyes read Port Everglades, but my brain translated that to Port Canaveral for some reason. Getting old sucks! 

I would say a week. They could be on a vacation. How quick did they respond the past times? Just be polite and say, hey just wanted to follow up because I haven’t heard back in a bit. 

Ahhhh….you guys are the best cruise blog buddies EVER.  My blogs are so boring b/c I don’t normally do pix. If Dan hadn’t taken those shots of OY we wouldn’t even have those !  😅
As expected, lots of kids on this one but that doesn’t normally bother me.  For some reason we seem to have several squallers (sp ?) on this cruise.

I hadn’t planned on doing a live blog on this cruise but I guess I kinda started one with the OY disinformation post.  😁
All Pinns are welcome in the SL/CK on this sailing although dinner rezzies must be made daily and will most likely be granted during non-prime (very early or after 7:30) times.  This is the first time in a while that we have been on an O class ship where Pinns have been invited to eat breakfast in the CK.  On all of the other O class ships we’ve been on recently, breakfast was in Chops for ALL Pinns.  Nice to have a slightly upgraded breakfast menu for a change.
Aside from the loud music (and I’m really hesitant to use that word to describe the racket we experienced earlier today) this ship is beautiful.  I love the expanded Izumi in Central Park.  I love Giovanni's new location up on deck 12. I love, love, LOVE the suites area on decks 17 and 18.  I love the suites sun deck.
Dan and I spent some time this evening enjoying the live entertainment in Central Park…a guitarist and violinist.  Really good. We popped in to the Music Hall after the CP concert was over but the band was taking a break so we didn’t get a chance to hear them.  We’ll try again another night.
While we did not go, we had intel on a very expansive seafood spread in the WJ this afternoon and tonite.  It looked (photographs) pretty impressive.  Instead, we enjoyed filet night in the CK and it was really good.  We had a very bad filet experience recently on OA so I was glad to have a good experience this time. A number of the staff in the CK were still here (or had returned after their vacations) from our Sept UT cruises.
I probably relayed this information back in Sept but I will repeat my dismay at the fact that there are no public computers available to guests ANYwhere on this ship.  This is (again) GITCC.

…..they are playing SWEET CAROLINE 

you gUYS. 
THEY JUST CAME AROUND WITH COLD TOWELS. 
IM NEVER LEAVING THIS SHIP. 

just balcony,  but it’s a proper balcony and not an infinite since it’s aft. the SVs are flanked in the ends by sunset (aft) sky suites and there are a very limited number of cabins. 
concierge is technically above an SV in the sense that it’s a concierge class category which sits higher than a balcony; but i would argue it really depends on your preference. the SV are also larger than your typical balcony as well due to the bigger balcony and way the space is laid out.
 
from what i glean, this is how it works from standard up to more posh/amenity laden categories:
- interior
- balcony (can be porthole balc (small but traditional balcony, infinite or sunset balcony cabins)
- concierge 
- aqua class
- retreat (with its various subcategories)

to me, concierge class is kind of like if an oceanview balcony and the key got married. there is a priority lunch when you get on, and a few scattered perks throughout. i can’t remember if there’s a separate departure breakfast for concierge but i feel like there is…
you also get daily snacks delivered and maybe iced tea? i may be forgetting this.
 
aqua class is a standard balcony size cabin  but has more focus geared to wellness as well as exclusive access to blu. i would say AC is our preferred because we LOVE blu, and we can eat there breakfast and dinner without reservations — very similar to walking access with sky suite status on royal. you will have to pay for internet and drinks, as these are not included as standard within aqua. 
you also have thermal suite access included (which i feel like @Jax would enjoy) but we did not take advantage.  the shower in the cabin is upgraded for AC as well.
 
our back two ascent sailings (december 2026 and feb 2027 — more on that later) are both sunset veranda sailings — aft balcony cabins.
we liked aqua but it was pricey as hell for these 10 night sailings AND i was reassured by the smaller, more intimate vibes of the 4 MDRs broken out by category. you are free to dine at any or all of them; we will likely stay in tuscan for our duration because their special parpadelle  pasta is just THAT good and i would eat it every night without complaint. the smaller dining venues and food elsewhere on the ship are so good, i know we will be just fine without aqua class if we cannot swing a cheapish move up bid. 
we LOVE an aft balcony. 

I do not loathe peas…but WHY do chefs feel compelled to throw peas into dishes, Willy nilly ?  Do NOT put peas in my fried rice or my soup.

yes!!! goes great with a corona + cup clip 

I have a confession to make...Hubby also loves that song. Back in the late 90s, that was his bar song lol...he still loves it

CACTUS. N O !!!!

All the photos of the food has me drooling!! Looks amazing!
What's the situation with children on-board the Ascent?
Completely off topic and speaking of hotdogs.... does anyone else here like the Costco hotdogs? Or is it just me. The $2 hotdog with soda is an absolute deal!!!

I just died a little inside. 

we made it through the first half hour of the cher show. 


she was excellent, and i honestly would have stayed longer, but it was standing room only — we got there 15 mins before the show started and the place was PACKED — and i was fading fast. 
her pants were AMAZING. the sparkle on the lights cannot be accurately captured in pics and she sounded GREAT. you can also youtube her to hear her, but she came highly recommended by multiple passengers 🤩

 


if you’re on ascent, you HAVE to see her!!!!
also i loved her louboutins 😍😍
she also went into the audience and had a gentleman in the front row help her down the steps and another one help her back up the steps — really nice crowd participation. 

she was like a cross between cher, a kardashian and a trump impersonation. honestly had to be seen to be believed but she was funny!!!
 
i really appreciated what production i saw — the lighting and live band on stage were on point! really well done production and the audience LOVED IT!!
 
heads up: the bathrooms are right outside on the starboard side on deck four if you need them. 

I loved Reflection...even though it wasn't edge class. I have a feeling once I get on Edge class, I am not going to want to go back to Royal. The food and vibe on X is so the "me" I have evolved into. 

@Ampurp85 is correct!! that is ketchup and mustard on my hotdogs @ScottD 🌭🌭🌭
it comes and goes in waves, but i would not consider myself to be especially wasteful so if i order something it is because i intend to consume it. being put in “culinary time out” did not sit well with me. 
 
i am excited for you to try it out and can’t wait to hear what you think. so far every thing we have had has been really delicious and refreshingly new and exciting to eat!!

yeah i think our server was new and i didn’t want to get them in trouble — but that was kind of the final straw for the royal MDR at that point.
i was already prepared to move on from the MDR for sensory overload more than anything, but that pushed me over the edge. 🤣
 
the roving pastries were awesome!

they were the perfect thickness — not full crepe but not too thick either. i like pancakes a bit thinner anyway, but the vanilla flavor was EPIC. 

I think you should all just come over & let me cook for you!!

I'm so glad you have had friendly conversations. I feel like in suites and specialty restaurants everyone is much more relaxed. You know we both feel like the MDR is chaos, so I know it's much easier to be friendly when there is less hubbub.
I hope you get your deck seats every day. Maybe you can tag team the food since it's grab and go. Obviously the internet is pretty good, since you can post.

Yeah, nice try!!! 🥰

Ok, are you people nuts with this burnt hot dog stuff?  Why would ANYONE want to eat a burnt ANYTHING.  Hot dogs just need to be boiled in water and then eaten dipped in applesauce, or cut up and put into Mac and cheese. 
 
ok, maybe I am the weird one 🤷‍♂️

80+