Live: Back to Back Big Ones: Oasis and Ascent, Jan 14-21 & Jan 21-28

[Ampurp85]

I love the room and the ship and casino look amazing

[She Sails Away]

Icon is on the horizon. It's been drifting around reasonably close by all day. I'm watching it right now from my infinite veranda. 

[asquared17]

i love your cabin!!! 

so excited for this ship!!!

glad you made it aboard safely

[GregD]

Glad you made it. I really want to try an Edge class ship!

 

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

Menu from Blu

[Lovetocruise2002]

48 minutes ago, GregD said:

Glad you made it. I really want to try an Edge class ship!

 

July 2025? Beyond. Ditch the freeloaders

[She Sails Away]

OK so this is what happened with the shuttle. First of all there was a couple thousand people all waiting and wanting that shuttle to the airport. So I had to wait in a super super long line just to get near the front. That took almost an hour.
 

When I got to the front The line manager told me to just wait off to the side since I was going to the port. I waited a long time but he forgot about me so I had to go find him and ask again. He directed me to a different holding area with hundreds of other people. We stood there a long time.  The shuttle arrived.
 

The bus driver was an elderly man, he looked malnourished and exhausted. He started sorting out the luggage and talking to people. I told him that I was going to port he nodded wearily and told me to just stay by the side of the crowd and keep my bags with me.  After 20 minutes he still had not start loading the bags. And at that point it occurred to me that no one was going to help him, this older exhausted man was going to load all of those bags by himself one at a time.
 

there were also two elderly people in wheelchairs with their bags who needed help and he hadn't even approached them yet, he had just waved to them to hang on and he'd be over there eventually.
 

I just want to stress that during this entire time the crowds were enormous and everybody was crushing and creeping and shifting around and being very territorial and pushy at the same time.

 

The port was jampacked and a total mess. I think even if I called an Uber they would've had a hard time navigating to the pick up zone.

 

I was well over an hour and a half into the process at this point and I gave up.  I followed the directional signs to where the taxis were. There's an arrow painted on the wall that says taxis to the left. Well guess what. That's no longer applicable. Eventually I figured out the taxis are actually to the right, in the opposite direction of the arrow.  So I went and found an extremely long line for taxis. 

it took 20 minutes to work my way to the front of the line and during the 20 minutes couple after a couple tried to circumnavigate the line and cut in front. The two females running the line weren't having any of it and didn't allow any cutters.

 

by the time I got into my taxi I had been working at trying to get out of there for two hours. It was 10 o'clock. As we pulled away I looked back at the shuttle that I had originally been waiting for. It was still sitting there.

 

The cab ride over was a treat. My cab driver had a super wet phlegmy cough and you could hear the wheezing in his chest when he breathed. So the cab was basically a germ tank. I feel bad for him but I was also concerned I was going to come down with the bubonic plague. He also drove far too fast, it was kind of scary.
 

33 minutes later we were at Port and I got dropped off. I walked straight into terminal no problem and straight to a restroom where I washed my hands in boiling hot water for like an hour.

 

Within about 10 minutes we were all allowed to board. 
 

so it worked out fine but what a mess this morning! Yikes.

 

My advice to those using the shuttles for the airport… Be prepared to stand for a very long time. If standing is physically uncomfortable for you, get the Uber or get the taxi and forget the shuttle. two buses left while we were waiting in line and it took absolutely forever to load each one and as I mentioned, my shuttle hadn't even left by the time I made my way through the taxi line. My driver was still working on loading bags at that point--and that was about 30 minutes after he had arrived. There is no staff to help out with that.  It's just not worth it, get yourself an Uber or taxi to port. If you really want to do the shuttle thing, if you can wait till after 10 o'clock that would be best. Same with Uber. 

 

and here's the other thing to take to consideration, if I had waited for that shuttle that would've been one thing, but after we arrived at the airport I would've had to wait while that older exhausted bus-driver gentleman unloaded every single one of those bags by himself all over again. That would've taken probably forever. And only after we had done all of that what I have finally been taken to the port. so that could've been easily another hour onto the whole process.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

So glad you ditched the shuttle!  Sounds so absurd!  This ship is AMAZING looking!  

[She Sails Away]

8 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

So glad you ditched the shuttle!  Sounds so absurd!  This ship is AMAZING looking!  

Well one thing that I kept thinking about is, what if I had a flight to catch? And believe me the people in line all around me were frantic and anxious and could not sit still. This was not a mob that waited quietly and everybody stood in line and nobody tried to cut.  
 

There is no reason it should take well over an hour to shovel people and their bags onto a bus and get on out of there.

[asquared17]

27 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

He also drove far too fast, it was kind of scary.

this seems to be a reoccurring theme to/from the port of miami

[asquared17]

10 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

Well one thing that I kept thinking about is, what if I had a flight to catch?

this is literally why we are the first group off for self assist. it’s just too chaotic in the port otherwise. 

 

blu looks STUNNING. 

living for your pics!!!

[She Sails Away]

This is most of the menu for their steakhouse. More menus to come.

 

The first two screenshots with cocktail mixes are from their sports bar, not the steakhouse.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

So many choices!  . Definitely love that menu…

[She Sails Away]

Prettiness abounds

I have explored all afternoon and I feel like I've only seen about a third of the ship.

 

unfortunately my evening has come to a screeching halt. The ship is rocking a lot. I mean like a LOT. People in the Facebook group are questioning if this is normal because it's their first cruise. Got hit with a wave of seasickness kind of suddenly.

 

I took my meds and I have been on the top deck in the freezing cold billowing wind watching the football game for the last two hours. The medicine has kicked in and the cold air is really helping. I'm going to stay here until bedtime. I have to say as much as I adore my room it is really really swaying and very noticeable strong motion in there. (Deck 6). I may have to sleep on the pool deck. no food for me this evening

[She Sails Away]

The public restrooms here are touchless. You just wave your hand over the door and it opens. Why has no one else incorporated this yet?

[Ampurp85]

Wonder is rocking as well, so is that cold wind. I walked through Central Park and nearly blew away.

[jbrinkm]

4 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

it took 20 minutes to work my way to the front of the line and during the 20 minutes couple after a couple tried to circumnavigate the line and cut in front. The two females running the line weren't having any of it and didn't allow any cutters.

I love this. I think what gets most frustrating about lines and waiting is about how fair it is. I always appreciate when the people "in charge" keep the system in place. Once I got in line early for rock climbing with my daughter on one of the Freedom ships, when she was younger. We got there well before anyone else, before they opened for the day, because we had other plans immediately after so we wanted to try to get the activity in as quickly as possible. The computer was down and we had to redo the waivers on paper at the kiosk, then they gave us the (shoes, I think, does that sound right?) and the harness. The mom with her kids right behind us, that waited about 10 minutes less then we did, kept trying to rush her kid through everything so she could go line up to start climbing before us. We did end up getting to go first, after I also started hurrying my kid, but it was stressful and stupid. I feel like they should have done like deli numbers or something rather than a free for all (like it sounds your bus situation was like). 

The top deck of the ship is gorgeous. It reminds me of a rooftop bar at a swanky restaurant/club.

Also, are the Royal and Celebrity app very, very similar? The menu looks the same (except the choices offered are different, but the font and layout look identical). 

[GregD]

13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

July 2025? Beyond. Ditch the freeloaders

I wish!! We are going to Scotland for 2ish weeks that summer, so I'm not sure if we will have enough vacation time etc. I do owe the boss a freeloader free cruise at some point though. We will have to put our heads together on Allure.

[GregD]

13 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

 

I just want to stress that during this entire time the crowds were enormous and everybody was crushing and creeping and shifting around and being very territorial and pushy at the same time.

 

The port was jampacked and a total mess. I think even if I called an Uber they would've had a hard time navigating to the pick up zone.

 

 

This is one thing that I wish they could do better,  but I understand how it ends up this way. Our last time out of Miami, we pre-booked an Uber, and it worked perfectly. We didn't have to rush off the ship, we managed to time it so that as we were walking out of terminal, our driver was calling me to say where he was, we hopped in the car, and were on our way. Way less hunger games like.

[She Sails Away]

 I disappeared last night because I got seasick. I got free medicine from the Medical Center, took it, and then sat in the frigid freezing blowing air on the rooftop garden area (their version of Central Park, sort of) for four hours last night watching the Bills game on the big screen TV. There were about 20 of us die hards out there. They were showing it in the sports bar inside but that was completely full. The fresh air and wind really helped. A staff member came around with shrink-wrapped fuzzy blankets and passed them out to all of us which was just wonderful. I felt much better by the time I went to bed and my room wasn't rocking and swinging quite as dramatically. 
 

I have been a sleepy fog all day though from the after effects of the medicine.

[GregD]

14 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

 I disappeared last night because I got seasick. I got free medicine from the Medical Center, took it, and then sat in the frigid freezing blowing air on the rooftop garden area (their version of Central Park, sort of) for four hours last night watching the Bills game on the big screen TV. There were about 20 of us die hards out there. They were showing it in the sports bar inside but that was completely full. The fresh air and wind really helped. A staff member came around with shrink-wrapped fuzzy blankets and passed them out to all of us which was just wonderful. I felt much better by the time I went to bed and my room wasn't rocking and swinging quite as dramatically. 
 

I have been a sleepy fog all day though from the after effects of the medicine.

Glad you are feeling better. I find some hydration, caffeination and some laps on the track helps with the brain fog. I'm sure the caffeine isn't really needed, and the hydration and exercise will suffice, but I am never one to turn down a good cup of coffee.

[She Sails Away]

A couple of thoughts so far. They don't require you to check towels in and out, they're just everywhere. They're in chairs already, and they are also in stacks on different shelves throughout the pool deck. They're very nice towels, very thick and absorbent.
 

Restrooms are touch free which I think is fabulous.

 

They have elevators aft and forward, nothing in the middle, and elevators are very slow even if there's no one else seemingly in the area waiting on one.

 

They have four main dining rooms, each with a different menu. If you have my-time dining you just choose the menu that sounds the best to you and go over when you're ready and see if or when they can accommodate you. They have one dining room open each day for breakfast and lunch out of the four.

 

their buffet is very nice. It's divided into lots of little sections like a food court, so it just looks like everything under the planet is available. Lots of made to order things. What makes it extra nice is the seating area. They have seating on both sides of the buffet and it's really spread out and spacious, no tables crammed right next to each other, no weaving sideways in between tables to get to a chair. They have handwashing stations.

 

of course they have a huge selection of desserts available all the time, and attached to the buffets is a little area called scoops. This is a small ice cream bar, hand dipped ice cream with a few toppings available. This is complementary. They have one nondairy option (sorbet) that changes each day.

 

The shops here are mostly super upscale, like Bulgari watches and Tom Hardy and designer handbags and a really huge Effy jewelry section. You're not going to find a T-shirt shop on here.

 

unless I'm missing it, there are no common area trash cans anywhere except the pooldeck. I mean anywhere. You can walk around with an empty paper cup or a balled up tissue as long as you want, you're not gonna find anywhere to throw it. Your best bet is just going to a restroom and throw it away there in one of their trash cans but there are no common area trash cans laying around. Up on the pool deck they do have some of those metal trash cans for aluminum and plastic recycling and they do have a small slot for basic trash, but down on the main decks, there are no trash cans and I find that just baffling. And the same goes for their lounge areas.
 

I met my room steward last night. He was in a huge hurry, going from room to room passing out stacks of different papers, so we didn't chat much. He handed me my papers and I quickly asked him if he could empty the refrigerator at his convenience. So we never did chat about whether or not he comes once a day or twice a day or what time.

 

I was away from my room all morning and came back at 12:30 and he had not been there and his cart was not in the hallway, so I assumed that meant he does evening service. I got in the shower and since I travel alone I almost never close the bathroom door. I mean why would I. So I'm showering with the bathroom door open and I hear pounding on the door and I'm shouting, "don't come in please I'm in the shower", and I hear the door open anyway and I hear a "what?" And then a "oh I'm sorry," and I was just like....seriously? Agh.

 

when I came out he was cleaning the room next-door and he nodded and smiled and I said hello, hoping he hadn't seen anything, I did have the closet door wide open blocking the shower view, so I don't think he did, but it was awkward. I came back an hour later and he still hadn't been into the room and the minute I walked into the room he was suddenly knocking, ready to come in and clean. I left my room a couple of hours ago and I probably won't go back until dinner.

 

I adore my cozy little elegant room and it's little infinite veranda. It was definitely a problem last night though with the room rocking. It was just very dramatically noticeable in that room.

 

The view is obstructed but that's OK, it's still a perfectly tremendous view, no problem having it obstructed by the lifeboats and things.

 

I am on deck six and the deck six hallway reeks of sewer. This has not gone away since we sailed.

 

There was drama down the hallway today. I came back to my room and there were three uniformed security guards standing in front of somebody's door down the hall. The door was open and they were addressing someone inside the room. I heard a woman's voice say very loudly, "that's not mine." They said something else and she said, " I don't know how that got there. I've never seen it before."

 

Last night starting around 10 o'clock, there were two disco parties at two opposite ends of the ship but basically the same. Each one had a small dance floor and a live band singing 70s disco hits. The crowds went wild, this is exactly their wheelhouse. One of those places was in their lounge area called The Club, which is really a wonderful wonderful space. More on that later. The other was at the bar and dance-floor area under the big chandelier. They called it a chandelier party and the chandelier was strobing and flashing. The people on the dance floor were going crazy for the songs and couples were really grabby with each other.

 

They have two plunge pools here and I spent most of the morning today in one of them. It's a tank just a little bit larger than a big hot tub, 3 feet deep, nice and warm, no jets, and it's called a plunge pool because it's built up against the glass of the side of the deck so it looks like you're going to plunge right over the side. I alternated between the plunge pool and the hot tub all morning and it was really wonderful. 
 

we are in Nassau today next to MSC Seashore and it's huge. It's a couple of decks taller than our ship. Hardly anybody from our ship got off today. I looked over the side many times today and there was almost nobody walking off our ship, but the seashore has a steady stream of people leaving.
 

there are a handful of kids aboard but not very many. They do have kids clubs though.

 

There is a film crew here this whole cruise, filming different parts of the ship for advertising purposes. I was annoyed because I bought a seven day pass to the thermal suite and wanted to use it from 4 o'clock to 7 o'clock last night. (It was only available from 4 to 10 PM yesterday.) However when I arrived at four I was told it would not be available until after seven because the film crew was in there. As it turned out after seven I was completely seasick, so it wasn't an option to go use it then. The same film crew occupied a big part of the pool this morning for a while. 
 

there is an area here called Eden. It is so interesting. It has a strong earthy theme to it and there's lots of moss and plants and grass everywhere, including growing out of the ceiling. They have a little bistro type area in there with a very limited supply of sandwiches and snacks and carved meat, I mean it's very small but it's nice, and then they have some desserts.

 

One of the options to get to Eden is to walk through this enclosed hallway that's filled with mirrors and huge blocky silvery shapes and wispy statues. Pretty cool.

 

[She Sails Away]

2 minutes ago, GregD said:

Glad you are feeling better. I find some hydration, caffeination and some laps on the track helps with the brain fog. I'm sure the caffeine isn't really needed, and the hydration and exercise will suffice, but I am never one to turn down a good cup of coffee.

Yes! It was a two-Red Bull day. I could feel the life returning to me with each sip.

[She Sails Away]

And look at the smokers area outside! They got a very very nice prime spot. No forgotten corner on the ship for them.

[She Sails Away]

Also, a paper compass is delivered each night even though I did not request it. I kind of like having that paper compass to take home and look back on.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

That ship is so colorful!  It truly looks amazing.  Is there a promenade type area on Celebrity?  You mentioned the shops are high end so I was wondering if they are laid out similar to Royal’s ships with promenades.

Hope the waters have calmed down for you and will stay that way!

[She Sails Away]

15 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

I love this. I think what gets most frustrating about lines and waiting is about how fair it is. I always appreciate when the people "in charge" keep the system in place. Once I got in line early for rock climbing with my daughter on one of the Freedom ships, when she was younger. We got there well before anyone else, before they opened for the day, because we had other plans immediately after so we wanted to try to get the activity in as quickly as possible. The computer was down and we had to redo the waivers on paper at the kiosk, then they gave us the (shoes, I think, does that sound right?) and the harness. The mom with her kids right behind us, that waited about 10 minutes less then we did, kept trying to rush her kid through everything so she could go line up to start climbing before us. We did end up getting to go first, after I also started hurrying my kid, but it was stressful and stupid. I feel like they should have done like deli numbers or something rather than a free for all (like it sounds your bus situation was like). 

The top deck of the ship is gorgeous. It reminds me of a rooftop bar at a swanky restaurant/club.

Also, are the Royal and Celebrity app very, very similar? The menu looks the same (except the choices offered are different, but the font and layout look identical). 

I can just picture that and I know exactly what you mean. I've been in similar situations with my kids.
 

yes, the apps are almost identical!

[She Sails Away]

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

That ship is so colorful!  It truly looks amazing.  Is there a promenade type area on Celebrity?  You mentioned the shops are high end so I was wondering if they are laid out similar to Royal’s ships with promenades.

Hope the waters have calmed down for you and will stay that way!

Sort of. That's their deck 5. There is Eden at one end, the back end of the ship. That's the earthy large common area I mentioned. And then if you walked from Eden to the front of the ship you would walk what is the equivalent of their promenade. But it meanders. It's not so obviously a shopping area with everything condensed in one long stretch. but that's where the majority of the shops are, and then they have a three-story small round atrium reminiscent of princess ships. At the bottom of the atrium is that chandelier and a bar and then three levels of seating surrounding it. Lots of live music happens here.

 

deck four has casino and specialty dining and main dining all kind of lumped in one area.

[She Sails Away]

Interesting situation. I have a cut on my finger and at this point it appears to be infected. It has really blown up and become painful in the last 24 hours.
 

I went down to medical at 11 o'clock this morning and they had just closed for five hours. They were open from 4 to 7 tonight. There was a sign saying to call for an appointment. I called twice and no one answered and there was no voicemail. So I went back down there at 4 o'clock to just ask for an appointment. Staff was blocking the doorway with their back to me and made it very clear I was not welcome to walk in and talk to the receptionist. I came back upstairs and it is 410 and I called to make an appointment at some point this evening before they close at seven. I was told there are no more available appointments for the day. 

 

They have three hours worth of appointments booked up? On day TWO? What on earth is happening on this ship? Also she didn't even ask me what was wrong with me before telling me I couldn't get in until tomorrow. I find that unsettling. I mean not alarming or anything but just not exactly reassuring.

 

I've only had to use ship doctors three times on other cruises and I've always been able to get in when I go to them with a problem. Not so on this ship for some reason. Is this normal and it's just my first time running into this? Three hours worth of people already booked?

 

Anyway, the soonest they can take me is 1030 tomorrow. 

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

 

This sculpture reminds me of the bean in Chicago. I wonder if it is the same artist.

[Ampurp85]

There's a guy in my casino who's brother is on the Ascent. He said it is 90% vintages. That he saw a line of them heading to medical around 6ish last night. This guy is in his 40s so I know he means vintage, vintages.

[Neesa]

I would go right to guest services and show them your finger, kindly say this occurred to me on the pool deck ( or where ever on ship) and say you really feel it needs some type of attention. Explain they were busy, you understand but if someone could check it out before it gets much worse you would appreciate it. Have a piece of paper with you with every time you tried contact, kindly refer to it.... This should get you at least entry, I would be shocked if it didn't work. Good luck, feel better.

* take a photo of it also, just in case you do have to wait until tomorrow, especially if it gets worse.

[She Sails Away]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

There's a guy in my casino who's brother is on the Ascent. He said it is 90% vintages. That he saw a line of them heading to medical around 6ish last night. This guy is in his 40s so I know he means vintage, vintages.

yes, a high number of walkers and over 80's.  

 

6 o'clock is right when the rocking started and that's when I got seasick myself! I wonder if everybody that went down there was hit with the same thing.

[She Sails Away]

More photos from around the ship.

 

I went to a complementary stretch class that turned into a sales pitch for some shoe inserts for $200. I did not buy them.

 

I'm making it to the first show of the cruise tonight. I mean there was a show last night but I was up on deck watching the bills game and trying not to throw up. It's called Bridges, I will let you know what I think. The theater here is really nice.

 

I went to the juice bar today and it was not nearly as good as the one on Oasis. Plus they were only open a couple of hours.

 

buffet food is so so. The poolside grill is so so. They have pizza here available for long periods of the day. It is comparable to Sorrentos. 
 

they have tons of desserts and they look so pretty. I heard someone say "the desserts look so much better than they actually taste." That sums it up perfectly. All of the desserts are super bland.

 

we are sailing and the ship is doing that big up-and-down thing again. Not as dramatically as last night but pretty noticeable. Since I was slack-jawed and doped up most of the day I took a nondrowsy Dramamine this evening. Let's hope that does the trick and doesn't leave me in a fog all day tomorrow.

 

The wind was a presence all day today, nothing that ruined anything but most definitely an all day presenceand chilly. Tonight the wind is so fierce I honestly don't think it's safe to be out on deck. 

 

 

[She Sails Away]

PS, the casino is non-smoking! The whole thing. There is no rancid cloud of smoke anywhere in the ship.

[Sweety]

21 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Wonder is rocking as well, so is that cold wind. I walked through Central Park and nearly blew away.

Thought you were back in Chicago.

[asquared17]

i really am loving your cabin and all the light the IV lets in. 

however. 

i'm deeply concerned about this infected cut. 

@Neesa gave some excellent advice about invoking guest services; it sounds like you may probably need some kind of antibiotic to stop the infection.

keep an eye on it, maybe draw a line around it to see if you can keep an eye on how fast/far it is spreading.*

in all seriousness, you don’t want it to spread past a certain point and it’s better to keep it contained. i have this salve that draws out infection (and whatever else tbh) but that’s of no help to you right now, i realize. 

if they do give you an antibiotic, try to supplement with yogurt to keep the good bacteria swimming inside

okay that’s enough out of me!
 

*i only know this from firsthand experience. i had a cut on my wrist that was exposed to god knows what on the airplane armrest (pre shut down; and incidentally the only time i’ve ever flown in short sleeves) and it got hella infected. my doctor had me trace a line and if it past a certain point, it would have been beyond the urgent care scenario. we thankfully got antibiotics, which took it down, but it was a touch harrowing. 

[Yesiamthere]

On 1/14/2024 at 10:29 PM, She Sails Away said:

Well, exactly! I mean... if it was just a little too pink and I was a little uncomfortable eating it, that would be one thing. But a raw piece of chicken with a pool of blood in the middle is just horrifying. That's never happened to me in any restaurant anywhere. there's not a chance I'm going back to the solarium. I would have to assume somebody in charge of the food back there isn't on top of their game.

It sounds like your chicken had a blood clot.  Stays a horrible red even after cooking. It happened to me once, and was told what it was. Chefs have no idea which chicken will have it. I feeling sick just remembering that chicken. 

[Ampurp85]

I scrolled a bit too fast and thought the people sitting on the ottoman style chairs were cupcakes. .

But it seems like the pastry Chef's on Royal and celebrity follow the same recipe.

But yes, get that cut looked at asap. A coworkers girlfriend got an infection in her nail in Costa Rica, she lost the tip of her finger. Little things can become big problems.