Celebrity Cruises’ newest ship, Celebrity Ascent, is now sailing from Port Everglades. After a few short cruises, the ship is now sailing a couple trade cruises for media and travel agents so they can get a first hand look at this 4th Edge class ship from Celebrity. I am currently sailing on the first of these two night sailings as a guest of Celebrity and here are my first impressions of the cruise ship.
Cruise Ship
Walking around Celebrity Ascent reminds me how much I love this class of ship. I have previously sailed on Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Beyond and I really enjoy the premium experience that these ships offer.
The Sunset Bar in the back of the ship is one of my favorite areas so far. There’s plenty of covered seating so you can enjoy the ocean views and breeze but yet be out of the sun.
Just by the Sunset Bar is the Rooftop Garden. There are two pools in this area with glass walls that overlook the side of the ship. They even added a pickleball court in front of the big screen TV that is used to show sports.
The Solarium is probably the spot I will spend a lot of time in on a sea day. You can see a photo of it below.
One new addition to this class is the Annex. Celebrity Ascent is the first Celebrity cruise ship to receive this new room. You can rent out the Annex for 2.5 hours at a time and it’s a private experience just for family and friends.
The annex can hold up to 15 people although they did tell me that if you have a few more than that, they won’t say no. The annex has a main screen where you can play everything from virtual golf on real courses to various other virtual reality games that include a homerun derby and even cornhole.
On another wall is a large screen for karaoke that has just about every song. Also included is food and soft drinks. I spent a few minutes playing in the Annex on the first day of the cruise and had a blast.
Celebrity has really added a lot of activities on the ship. I walked into The Club and they had various virtual reality games being played in it on the first day of the cruise. During a Q&A with media, the cruise line said that they listened to guests who wanted more to do on their ships. There’s more things going on on this ship than any other Celebrity ship I have sailed on.
Cabin
I am staying in cabin 10187, a Sky Suite. This is my first time staying in a suite on a Celebrity cruise ship and I love it so far. The bathroom is just huge and has the largest tub and shower that I’ve ever had on a cruise.
One unique feature of this cabin is that the bed faces the balcony instead of a wall. I love how you can lay in bed and watch the ocean go by.
This cabin also gives access to the Retreat, a private area at the top front of the ship. I walked through it earlier and it looks like a great place to relax and get away from all the action on the main pool deck. There is also a small pool in the front.
Food
In my opinion, the buffet on Edge class ships is the best at sea. The port side has 2 story glass windows that really opens the area up and makes it not feel crowded like the buffet is on most cruise ships.
There’s a wide variety of specialty restaurants on the ship and I’ll be dining at a few of them during the cruise. I will have more on that later.
Crew
I have only been on the ship for a few hours and the crew have been absolutely fantastic.
I am going to get off of here check out everything that this new cruise ship offers. I am only onboard for two days so I have a lot to see.
Cruise Fever will have more on this brand new ship from Celebrity after our cruise is over so stay tuned for that.
Learn the cruise secrets most people don't know and cruise like a boss. Check out Intelligent Cruiser here for a better cruise vacation. (Sponsored)
