Review: Celebrity Ascent

What is the line? Celebrity Cruises

Name of ship? Celebrity Ascent

Passenger occupancy? 3,260 double occupancy, 3,937 with upper berths filled.

Itinerary? Celebrity Ascent rotates between Mediterranean and Caribbean itineraries.

Start out with the big picture—what is this cruise line known for?

Celebrity is a premium big-ship cruise brand, focusing on exquisite dining, cutting-edge amenities, Instagram-worthy public spaces chock full of bespoke art pieces, and avant-garde onboard entertainment. All together, these make for glamorous experiences that'll leave passengers feeling like celebrities.

Tell us about the ship in general.

Celebrity Ascent is the fourth ship in Celebrity’s Edge Class since Celebrity Edge was launched in 2018. The ship is a mostly-identical copy to its immediate sister ship Celebrity Beyond, which has an extra deck of staterooms. Also new on Celebrity Ascent are a redesigned casino, expanded Rooftop Garden, a new outdoor dining option for Blu, the ship’s clean cuisine restaurant, and a new private event suite called The Annex, bookable for groups for sports simulations, private parties, sports event or film screenings, or karaoke. Like all Edge-class ships, the most notable feature is the cantilevered deck called the “Magic Carpet” which can be positioned on Deck 14 as a bar and lounge, on Deck 5 to expand the Raw on 5 sushi and raw bar, or at sea level as a tender dock.

Who is onboard?

Celebrity’s guest profile trends toward mature families with older children, adult friend groups, and a significant LGBTQ+ contingent (there are LGTBQ+ social events on every sailing). With the line's emphasis on high-quality art and entertainment, the ship understandably attracts passengers for whom such amenities would be a draw—so expect well-traveled sophisticates among the ship’s company.

Describe the cabins.

It’s really a choose-your-own adventure with cabins, ranging from inside staterooms to Infinite Verandas, which open directly to the outside of the ship with an electronic window that comes down to form the top of the balcony. Passengers who prefer a traditional-style balcony can close off a portion from the rest of the room, but Celebrity developed the Infinite Veranda in response to feedback from customers who said they wanted more flexible use of space in their cabins.

Cabins are also delightfully modern, in muted tones and an impressive number of outlets in a
variety of forms (USB or universal electrical for plugs from various countries) with spacious
baths with glass-walled showers. Bath amenities are graduated by room category—top-end suites have bath amenities from Le Labo.

Aqua Class is a collection of rooms and suites that includes access to the ship’s Thermal Spa and its own clean-cuisine restaurant Blu. Guests will find enhanced shower amenities, plus yoga mats. The ship's suite guests have their own restaurant, the gastronomic Le Luminae, and access to The Retreat, which offers an indoor lounge with concierge and food and beverage presentations, plus The Retreat Sundeck with a bar and plunge pool with swinging chairs suspended above. For direct access, travelers can book the two-deck Edge Villas, which offer living spaces on the first deck (complete with jetted tub on the veranda) and bedrooms on the second, which offer direct access to The Retreat Sundeck.

Tell us about the crew.

Like other Celebrity ships, the crew onboard is an international troupe, with crew members from around the world. Many of them are transfers from other Edge-Class ships, so they’re already well-familiar with the features onboard Celebrity Ascent. With a crew ratio of 1 for every 2.3 passengers, the service they provide is attentive—particularly in the bars and restaurants, which we found well-staffed for quick service.

What food and drink options are available on board?

There are 18 restaurants available on board. The ship’s four main dining restaurants can be
booked for traditional fixed dining or dine anytime—each with a different theme and cuisine,
although guests can order items from the other restaurants if they prefer.

Other free dining options include the expansive Oceanview Café Buffet, which sets up separate four sided “tables” instead of a long buffet line which helps reduce crowding, Eden Café for light bites (including outdoor seating), a Café (specialty coffees at a charge, but free pastries), a poolside snack bar, and the Spa Café and Juice Bar in the solarium pool. There are two free-but-exclusive restaurants: clean-eating restaurant Blu, for Aqua Class guests, and Luminae at The Retreat, a single-seating fine dining restaurant for guests in The Retreat suite categories.

For specialty dining, gastronomes will geek out at Chef Daniel Boulud’s signature Le Voyage completely redesigned in a new color palette with a private dining room. Guests here find a five-course tasting menu with delicacies like Tamarind and Peanut-crusted prawns, poached Brazilian Moqueca fish, and cardamom-infused coffee ice cream. Fine Cut Steakhouse serves up premium steaks and seafood (think gigantic lobster tails), and Le Grand Bistro is a faithful reproduction of a French bistro serving Gallic favorites like moules frites and escargots at lunch; at dinner it becomes Le Petit Chef, an animation-meets-French dining experience.

Eden Restaurant is in the multi-story glass fantail of the ship, offering inventive cocktails and
global cuisine with playful twists (truffled huitlacoche risotto, anyone?). On Celebrity Ascent,
Eden also introduces a large plant-based menu here—including a seven-course tasting menu.Other specialty dining outlets include the Rooftop Garden Grill (steaks and seafood), sushi and raw bar Raw on 5 (which can be expanded to include al fresco dining when the “Magic Carpet” is positioned on Deck 5).

In-room dining offers free continental breakfast–there’s a cover charge plus gratuity for hot
items. Drinkers will find no shortage of places to imbibe. Eden serves up mixology masterpieces (some of them come complete with smoke, or might be served out of a treasure chest), while the Martini Bar exudes glamor, in the midst of the multi-deck Grand Plaza, capped by a new chandelier.

Is there a spa on board and is it worth visiting?

There is a spa onboard, which also includes a Thermal Suite with infrared sauna, Himalayan
Salt sauna, steam room, and a crystal room. The Thermal Suite is available to Aqua Class
customers or to general passengers for an additional daily or full-voyage fee. There are also regular spa treatments and med-spa treatments ranging from acupuncture to IV therapies. Many of the spa services are tailored to the ship’s destination—think coconut wraps in the Caribbean and body treatments using local botanicals in the Mediterranean and Asia.

What about activities and entertainment?

There’s no shortage of those, and the ship’s almost-circular theatre-in-the-round main
entertainment stage is state of the art, with multilevel panels that reveal performers or musicians at set intervals, a mechanical trap door and high gantry for acrobatic suspension work. It’s all backed by a Ultra HD 4K screen. The program consists of everything from flashy Broadway reviews to the sultry, Adults-only show Elyria.

The entertainment team also does shows in Eden (normally after the dinner hours) and The
Club, a nightclub space adjacent to The Theatre. New to Celebrity Ascent is The Annex, directly adjacent The Club. It’s a private space for up to ten passengers and can be booked in two-hour blocks to watch televised sports events, host a karaoke party, have a group movie night or party, or gather around a sports simulator. The packages include food and soft drinks from the onboard gastropub Craft Social. While elevated, the ship’s entertainments and activities are largely traditional in style—casino, live theatre, nightclubs, bars, deck games—you won’t find whizbang attractions like roller coasters, skating rinks, or bowling alleys here.

How was the experience for families?

Celebrity is primarily an adult-oriented cruise experience, but still offers Camp at Sea programming for kids aged 3-17, with separate facilities for each age group. Dining rooms also have separate kids’ menus and there are changing facilities available in many restrooms. The facilities are open throughout most of the day, and are complimentary except for some periods, where there’s a nominal babysitting fee. Celebrity has also committed to providing a welcoming, autism-friendly environment on its ships, with sensory-friendly films and toys available. That said, Celebrity’s focus remains on adult cruisers, so families won’t find a lot of kid-centric entertainments beyond the kids’ centers.

Where did it sail and how were the excursions? Did anything stand out?

Celebrity Ascent alternates between the Caribbean and Mediterranean. In both, Celebrity’s shore excursions follow set themes. A popular theme is small group excursions rather than large, expansive bus tours—think a Farm-to-Table food tour in Barbados or Wine Tasting in Nice. Celebrity will also customize excursions exclusively for groups large and small upon consultation with travelers.

Are there any stand out sustainability or green initiatives about this cruise?

Outwardly, there aren’t a lot of noticeable sustainability programs onboard—unless guests are really keen on learning about waste disposal and fuel-burn reduction. The most noticeable green efforts are the elimination of plastic straws, and the opt-out for a second full cabin cleaning in the evening (although cabins are still cleaned and sanitized every day for health reasons).

Finally, give a sentence or two on why the cruise is worth booking.

In a word: the ship makes passengers feel glamorous. Celebrity Ascent’s sumptuously designed interiors are flooded with natural light, stuffed with beautiful, interesting art objects, and evoke an air of playful sophistication that make a week on board an escape worth cherishing. Passengers may find themselves longing to return to for just one more succulent crab claw at Raw on 5, one more martini poured by bottle-spinning bartenders in the Martini Bar, or one more dazzling, acrobatic stage show, in the days following their farewells to this beautiful ship.