Everything you need to know about Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Ascent

Celebrity Ascent is the newest ship in Celebrity Cruises’ fleet and its fourth Edge Series vessel, with a fifth – Celebrity Xcel – due in autumn 2025. Ascent and predecessor Celebrity Beyond take 3,260 passengers while Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex takes just over 2,900.

Surprisingly, these are not Celebrity’s biggest ships. The previous five Solstice series, launched from 2008 over four years, also take more than 3,000 guests with 2012’s Celebrity Reflection hosting 3,480 passengers.

Solstice Series ships are particularly popular because of their Lawn Club, which has real grass for sunbathing, picnics and drinks, while its four earlier Millennium Series ships suit those who prefer fewer passengers. These each take 2,593 guests.

Celebrity also has three boutique expedition ships sailing around the Galapagos islands with its most recent, 2019’s Celebrity Flora, taking 100 guests, Celebrity Xpedition has room for 48 and catamaran Celebrity Xploration just 16.

Happy. That’s the overriding look and feel of Celebrity Ascent and it’s easy to understand why. It’s a shiny new ship with all the amenities of a top holiday resort including only the second restaurant at sea from two-Michelin star chef Daniel Boulud, now Celebrity’s Global Culinary Brand Ambassador and a very big deal in the US.

It has interiors by British designer Kelly Hoppen CBE and Nate Berkus – catapulted to American TV fame by Oprah Winfrey. Plus there’s outdoor public spaces by British architect Tom Wright, who designed the giant sail-like Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Wright was responsible for much of Edge-class ships’ Resort Deck innovations, such as Hollywood glamour cabanas around one side of the pool and the movable Magic Carpet platform on the side of the ship that becomes a bar during the day, a restaurant at night down on Deck 5 and part of the luxurious Destination Gateway for tender transfers when the ship anchors at sea.

He also created the Rooftop Garden concept, first expanded on sister ship Celebrity Beyond and now big enough for two plunge pools, a pickleball court and a large outdoor screen as well as seats among the shrubbery.

Inside the ship there are plenty of places to find peace and quiet during sea days, such as the adults-only Solarium – a glass-roofed area with a pool and two hot tubs – and plant-filled Eden Bar with its two deck-high windows over the back of the ship and a café with a quiet outdoor terrace.

There are so many outstanding features but if you’ve got the cash it’s worth splurging on an all-inclusive suite to enjoy all the extras that come with it. These include The Retreat Sundeck, The Retreat Lounge and Luminae At The Retreat as well as unlimited speciality restaurant dining and customised mini-bars. Suite guests even get complimentary sleepwear.

On Celebrity Ascent the private sundeck has been extended to two decks at the back of the ship with plenty of ultra-luxurious loungers, armchairs, sofas and cabanas on the first floor and more on the second floor where you’ll also find a glamorous good-sized pool, hot tub, bar and lunch or brunch area – plus an air of amiable calm.

Luminae at the Retreat, next to the lower sundeck, is only available for suite guests and has a clubby, intimate, atmosphere, while The Retreat Lounge is below the sundeck, offering a coffee-cream Kelly Hoppen interior and complimentary drinks, from wine and spirits to speciality coffee and very good tea.

Suites range from the massive 1,892sqft Iconic Suites above the bridge, with 689sqft verandas, to the 319sqft Sky Suites, with 79sqft verandas. There are several categories in between, with 739sqft Edge Villas attached to The Retreat itself.

Most of the cabins are Ocean View or Veranda staterooms with a good range of suites (see the WOW factor) but not that many Inside cabins. These tend to be Deluxe Inside cabins so they’re almost as big as outside staterooms, although a few are smaller solo cabins.

With multi-generation holidays becoming more popular it’s good to know there are 157 staterooms and 22 suites that have interconnecting doors. There are also 25 accessible staterooms for wheelchair users and 24 solo staterooms.

All cabins have queen or king-sized beds that can easily be dismantled to twin beds, an interactive TV with free news and sports channels – although you have to pay for films – and enough wardrobe space and drawers as long as you don’t bring more than one large suitcase each.

Many Veranda staterooms have what Celebrity calls Infinite Verandas, which is a balcony-sized space with a couple of armchairs and an electric window that slides down half-way to let in sea breezes. You can’t stand outside but you have more room inside and fresh air in your cabin, so they’re popular with many passengers.

For those who prefer traditional balconies, these are mostly available for suites and higher grade cabins such as Sunset Veranda Staterooms at the back of the ship.

Celebrity Ascent has 32 distinct food and beverage experiences, including 14 cafes, bars and lounges, eight speciality restaurants, four complimentary main dining restaurants, four complimentary casual dining restaurants and two private restaurants that can only be used if you are in a suite.

Most of the speciality restaurants are around the Grand Plaza on decks 3 and 4, which is nice and central but can get quite buzzy because of the live music and DJs at the popular World Class Bar. Only Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud is fully enclosed with its own front door to shut out the noise.

It may be worth the $125 a head just to eat in peace but the five-course tasting menu is considerably cheaper than eating at Boulud’s revered restaurants in New York, Dubai, Singapore and the Bahamas.

At $129, dinner on the Edge is also madly expensive when you consider the complimentary options, but how many times do you get to eat hanging off the side of a cruise ship in a Magic Carpet?

Fine Cut Steakhouse ($65) does what it says on the tin but if you like a quiet location the Rooftop Garden Grill ($45) also does steak – and sunsets if you time it right – and Eden Restaurant ($85) has an interestingly varied menu with plant-based options including dishes inspired by New York Michelin star chef Cornelius Gallagher.

Raw On Five is the à la carte seafood and sushi restaurant, Le Petit Chef ($60) is a fun for families thanks to the animated film screened on your plates, but if you fancy Middle Eastern food head for the Moroccan-vibe Sunset Bar at the back of the ship near the Rooftop Garden. It’s $8 a small plate and a lovely treat on a fine summer’s evening.

Guests can book a speciality dining package to cut costs but most people will simply eat at the complimentary restaurants and they’re all really good.

There are four distinct main dining rooms – Cosmopolitan, Normandie, Cyprus and Tuscan – and each have menus that are largely the same but feature regional specialities from American, France, Greece and Italy, depending which restaurant you’re in.

The clever thing is that they all look completely different so you feel like you’re going somewhere new each night even through the menu is similar.

There’s also the Oceanview Café buffet restaurant that has such a huge variety of food at breakfast, lunch and dinner time that you can’t help wishing there was another mealtime so you could do it justice – and that’s not including afternoon tea.

Other complimentary food options include the Mast Grill for lunchtime burgers or sandwiches, Eden Café for a light breakfast and lunch, or the Spa Café and Juice Bar in the Solarium, which also serves light breakfasts and lunch.

That just leaves Café al Bacio on deck 4 where you can get free cakes and pastries with paid-for speciality tea and coffee, and room service which provides free continental breakfast but most of the menu comes with a fee.

Celebrity Ascent has been built for outdoor living around the pool, Rooftop Garden, jogging track and alfresco bars but indoors is pretty special too.

There’s a massive Fitness Centre with a state-of-the-art gym and rooms for yoga, meditation, breathing classes and more, so there’s no excuse for being bored on sea days.

In fact if you can bear the constant organised activities, even the pool area is more about interacting than just lounging around, with fun games and competitions, exercise classes and live bands.

The SEA Thermal Suite offers an escape from all this, although there’s a fee involved for relaxing in the Hammam, Crystalarium, Salt Room, Steam Room and Infrared Sauna or for a treatment such as a facial or massage.

After dark, there’s a party atmosphere, particularly around the Grand Plaza, which has live bands and DJ sets at the Martini Bar dance floor.

Other evening venues include The Club, also on Deck 5, where there are game shows, cabaret, live music and DJs, and then there’s The Theatre with LED screens that can take you to places few West End theatres can hope to go.

The Theatre’s shows change every season or so but when I was onboard Bridges was a joyful celebration of the music and dance around London, New York, San Francisco, Venice and Sydney – so something for everybody.

There’s also entertainment in The Eden Bar, although there are never enough seats, and live music at the Rooftop Garden – which also has open-air movies – and more early evening live music at the Sunset Bar.

Finally, Celebrity Ascent has a new venue – The Annex – which you can hire for private parties including movie nights and karaoke.

Celebrity Ascent is sailing Caribbean itineraries from Florida over winter 2024/2025 but will return to Europe in May 2025 for itineraries around the Eastern Mediterranean. Its 11-night Greece, Turkey and Italy cruise is a roundtrip from Civitavecchia in Italy, available on several dates from May to October, and costs from £1,344pp, two sharing, calling at Souda in Crete, Kusadasi in Turkey with an overnight stay in Istanbul, then Mykonos and Santorini in Greece and Naples in Italy (celebritycruises.com).