Has Celebrity Cruises evolved to the point where the ship can be the destination? We’re about to find out on a cruise aboard the Celebrity Ascent, which offers a range of daily activities for every age and interest. But is it right for you? Here’s a look at the ups (and some downs) on the recent addition to Celebrity’s Edge Class of ships:
Easy on, but a frustrating end of cruise
I’ve seldom moved from bag drop to boarding to bar order as effortlessly as our arrival for this cruise out of Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. There was just a brief lineup tor security screening at the cruise terminal at noon, which is often the most chaotic time to arrive at a pier. Having advance checked-in and uploaded selfies to the Celebrity App, it was only a matter of slipping carry-ons through a scanner and getting the all clear from the bar code on our app and we were heading up the gangway to our room, where the key was waiting in the mail slot near the door.
After watching a safety briefing on the television in the room, you only need to visit your assigned muster station before sailing and have your key card scanned. We did that on our way to lunch and a glass of Champagne.
So far, so good. But we were about to discover that it was far from smooth getting off the ship and to the airport at the end of the cruise. More on that below.
Pickleball is a new option on the Rooftop–Photo by Wallace Immen
The ship has become the destination
Feet together, step to the side and tap. Now add a hip lift.
Hip lift? Until today, I was only vaguely aware that bachata was a Latin club dance, and now here I was in the middle of agroup class led by Asecnt’s cruise director learning the latest funky moves. Why not? With a couple of sea days this 10-day cruise, there’s no agenda, but any number of options if you want fill every moment.
Celebrity calls this edition of the Edge Class fleet a resort at sea and there is a full roster of events on board even on days when we’re in port. First stop is Messina on Sicily and then the Greek islands of Katakolon and Corfu and then up the Adriatic coast to crowd-pleasers like Bar, Split and Dubrovnik.
If you’d rather lounge, there seem to be more places to settle in around the pool than on Ascent’s previous Edge-Class sisters. The showpiece deck artwork—a towering stainless steel sculpture of a leggy octopus– is relatively compact and there are fewer built-in spaces on deck. The ship was at capacity, with 3,200 guests on board, and a sunny sea day saw most of the lounge chairs around the main pool claimed by mid-morning, but there were plenty of loungers on other deck areas and even hideaways where I could have a deck to myself with a choice of seating.
The upper deck Rooftop Terrace has added a Pickleball court for friendly matches, as well as a tournament that becomes one of the most biggest daily events as the cruise goes on. The Rooftop is also a leisure spot with comfy sofas and couches to settle into in the sun or the shade. In between the paddle games there are still first run movies on a big screen and in the morning yoga classes. In the afternoon, it’s a great spot for a drink from the Sunset Bar.
Don’t miss becoming an Eden-ist
There’s a fascinating realm on Ascent you might completely miss finding unless you walk through a Stargate-like hall of mirrors and spacey sculptures that leads to Eden. The shops, restaurants and bars in this unique multi-deck zone at the rear of the ship are designed to appear to be part of a different dimension, including decorative chairs that resemble flowers and a garden of plants lining the walls. Because it’s less known by day, you can turn n a suspended inside walkway with a view or a lounge on Eden’s outside deck into your own personal hideaway.
It wasn’t until near the end of the cruise that I realized there’s also a deli tucked away alongside the bar that’s open for breakfast and on sea days makes for a tasty and quiet lunchtime alternative to the busy Oceanview Cafe buffet or the burgers and bites at the poolside Mast Grill.
And it’s well worth making a reservation well in advance for a dinner at Le Voyage, inspired by Chef Daniel Boulud. Another not to be missed experience is Eden Restaurant. It’s got one of the freshest menus at sea prepared in an open kitchen so you can watch the team of chefs seemingly dancing an intricate choreography as they prepare every dish to order to be rushed by waiters to tables. I can vouch for every delicious bite of my jumbo crab cake appetizer and fresh grouper with vegetable and Thai curry sauce as a main and Azecta chocolate pie for dessert. Consider the seven-course tasting menu that has a sampler of everything only if you come very, very hungry. There’s more to come on the food in a future story.
Night Owls face a dilemma
Decisions, decisions. Every evening there’s a choice of multiple late night parties—or do you really just want a night cap and turn in for a good night’s sleep? Look at it this way, you’re already home and there’s no reason to set an alarm for tomorrow, so you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to party into the early hours.
But there are still choices to be made. One evening, the late night comedy show features a stand-up who’s been featured on TV networks around the world. There’s a night of jazz at the Club. And a set of game shows that start at the seme time. in The Theatre, there are nightly Celebrity Showtimes including a new spectacular called Bridges, featuring singing and dancing inspired by bridges from Lonfon to Venice to San Francisco via the wonder of stagecraft. You can’t fit it all into one night.
Fortunately there are more many more late nights ahead. Another evening offers another daunting set of options. There are deck parties and a silent disco evening and slot and poker tournaments in the casino.
A simple way around standing in the restaurant corridor–that doesn’t have bars– while you wait, is to have someone in your party go to the restaurant of your choice and get a pager while you enjoy drinks at the Martini Bar or World Class Bar located midships. Restaurants are always less crowded and rushed after 8, so another strategy is to catch an early show and dine later.
It’s not really All Included
A welcome feature on Celebrity Cruises has been promotional All Included fares, that include basic wi-fi, the classic beverage package and –until recently–gratuities. But there’s been a change you need to know about. The package no longer includes crew gratuities, which range between $18 and $23 per guest per day depending on stateroom category and will appear on your bill at the end of the cruise. In our Aqua Classe-level suite, that meant and extra $19 a day each for me and my wife for the 10 days of our cruise.
And whether you want to pay extra for a premium drinks package and upgraded Starlink streaming wi-fi plan is a matter of your thirst, budget. Basic internet is fine for checking e-mail and browsing web sites, but doesn’t include streaming. Upgrading to premium for the ability to post Instagrams and view You Tubes will cost over $30 extra a day.
Meanwhile, if you have the classic drinks package, it only covers drinks priced $12 or less. You can still get most beeers on tap or in bottles for less than the limit on the classic package, but there are a few like Sapporo that will cost you a dollar or more extra. Some wines make the $12 cut, but many tasty wines and many cocktails come in around $19 a glass, which means the seven dollar difference goes on to your account. Every drink also comes with an automatic 20 per cent gratuity added.
The premum drink package gives you unlimited cocktails and wines and Champagnes that are priced at up to $19 a glass. Even with the premium package, you can end up paying an upcharge for top-shelf pours and there are specialty drinks on the Eden bar menu which are priced at $20 or more. Whether premium is right for you depends on your preferences. Every guest in a stateroom has to buy the same package.
You can of course opt for a cruise-only fare if you don’t drink and can live without internet, but you’ll still have to pay extra for things like bottled water and coffees at the Café al Bacio.
Another new addition is a service charge of $9.95 if you order room service, except for continental breakfast in the morning, On top of that charge, they also add an additional service fee of 20 per cent.
Now, how do we get home again?
An ominous letter arrived in our cabin from Celebrity:Taxis, buses and rail transportation might be unavailable when the cruise ended in the port for Rome. A series of labor strikes across Italy meant ongoing disruptions and traffic delays around ports and airports.
That’s where I thought the team at Celebrity Cruises would step up and help guests avoid disruptions getting from the ship back to Rome’s airport for flights home. Surely considering the risks of missed flights, they’d make efforts to ensure there were adequate bus transfer options for the long drive to Rome’
The answer from both the shore excursion desk and a manager at guest services was no, the buses Celebrity had arranged were already fully booked.
Can’t you arrange more capacity considering the strikes? No, it’s impossible, they said. They weren’t adding any capacity and there was no wait list available.
So what were our options? Well, we could try to find space on a port shuttle and roll our big suitcases into the town in hopes that a taxi was available there when we arrived that was willing to make the drive to the airport. (Regular Uber isn’t available in Civitavecchia).
We could also try to make our way to the train station, but that would still require a taxi and the trains could very well be on strike when we got there
Again, there’s nothing we can do to help, the Celebrity desk said. You should look into making your own arrangements.
After a long search online, we finally booked a private limousine. It came to 295 Euros– about $350 U.S.-. which is about $200 more than it would have cost for the two us us if a Celebrity bus transfer was available.
I know, I know; this is Italy in strike season. And lesson learned; make arrangements for departure even before your board a cruise. But I did expect more effort from Celebrity in this situation to support guests they hope will want to cruise with them again.
Plannning ahead:
Ascent is sailing in Europe through October 2026, and again in the spring and summer or 2027, with cruises from Rome to ports in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia as well as two days at sea each week. From October through April, Ascent sails from Fort Lauderdale on Caribbean itineraries. tThere are promotional fares on all Celebrity cruises that include 75 per cent off the second guest in a stateroom and the all-included drink and wi-fi packages. The further ahead you book, the better the shipboard credit and more choice of available suite types on the ship.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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