I got invited to Miami and Bahamas for a few days. The whole purpose was to show me and some journalists the new cruise ship called Celebrity Cruise Ascent. Here is report.
Cruise company Celebrity Cruises have a handful of ships and four of them are what they call in the Edge class. The one I went on is the newest and most associated with design. Here you have restaurants designed by people like Patricia Urquiola and accommodation by tv star designer Kelly Hoppen. Two other designer or architects involved are Tom Wright and Nate Berkus, best known for designing the super hotel Burj al Arab in Dubai. This was the second trip for this cruise so everything was brand new.
The first impression of the ship is that it is big, or maybe normal size for ships in this region. Taking off from Fort Lauderdale you see competing cruises for the region. I assume it should hold about 2500 guests.
Cruises varies from three days to longer. Routes are almost always different. The one we went on were for three days to Bahamas.
Rooms or cabins are spacey and nice. Everything is built and arranged so that you should spend as little time in your room as possible. Of course there are balconies in the rooms, tv and storage. But entertainment and fun happens in the other sections. That means for instance that there isn’t a coffee machine in the room, but there is free coffee in the cafes on board.
There are plenty of opportunities to eat and snack. Most people have a food and beverage package so you don’t have to pay anything. There are different kinds of levels so might get better wines or certain drinks included – or not. But expect that most things are included, one way or another.
The whole ship is like a Disneyland for grown-ups. You walk around and explore various themes and areas. Food and drinks included. Here I am trying a signature cocktail. It was placed in a box and when you opened it, the box was filled with smoke. Kind of like a witch brew.
But lets look at the design and the settings. And we start outdoors. Center on the ship is the roof top garden. It is filled with greenery and odd furniture. If I am not misstaken this is designed by Kelly Hoppen and Tom Wright. I did like the wood features, especially since so much around us is made of steel. Also the flower settings contained proper herbs so you could touch and feel and get an extra sensory sensation.
Next to the garden is the bar.
Supposed to be inspirered by Maroccan architecture. Designed by Nate Berkus.
There is a general pool area, and of course a more secluded VIP pool area. And that’s where I went…
The whole cruise ship is full of passages and walkways with interesting details. This arch changed every time you passed it.
Here with a neon ceiling and new travel buddy Åse (blog 56kilo).
We’re heading inside now. And I just wanted to emphasize that I like the details. Here a walkway where you have these architectural details.
Patricia Urqiola designed this section of the ship. Here is Eden. And I like details like the lit lines in the sofa.
Greenery and mixed materials and colours. A restaurant on three (!) levels.
Cool ceiling.
Eyecatchers
The center bar on the ship is designed by Nigerian French design studio Jouin Manku.
Nice settings at the spa area.
All the restaurants looked worked and had exclusive flair.
Small cafe settings.
I mentioned I went to the VIP pool area. There is also a VIP lounge with coffee, wine and snacks. Nice too.
The ship is full of art and art installations. There are even art walks you can book to see it all.
And I just really enjoyed that there was A LOT of art. One of the best things of this ship. Here an installation you could walk in.
Of course there is shopping on the cruise.
And I was surprised to see that there was a vintage section on the boat. Funny!!
Bahamas
The cruise took three days and almost one whole day was spent on Bahamas. The cruise line organises tours for this who want. We were invited to do a trip to one of the smaller islands from where were sent to swim with pigs.
Miami
And besides three days on a cruise we spend a day in Miami. And that is a completely different story.
Summary
Cruising with the new ship Ascent was good. Really good. I must give the experience 10 out of 10 points. Someone commented on my Instagram that the different design aesthetics made everything look stressed and noisy. Opposite of calm. And maybe it is… But I liked that you got a new aesthetic every time you turned a corner. It made me want to go and explore. And we did. We had meals at different restaurants and got different experiences.
There was so much to explore that after three days we felt we had only touched the surface. We haven’t talked about the workshops and activities you could book. You could for instance book a mixology session with one of the bartenders. And of course entertainment.
It was super fun and relaxed. And luxurious.
Ten out of ten points.
The only thing that was slightly less interesting. First the rooms. They were totally acceptable and you are supposed to be in the common areas. But I could have wished for a more luxarious bathroom, a coffee machine and such.
The food was ok but not amazing.
The exursion in Bahamas. The swimming pigs look amazing – don’t they? But I lacked a bit of authenticity. It felt a bit rushed and time driven. Also very strange feeding the pigs for 15 minutes, and then 30 minutes later a new group comes. It was ok, but a bit “commercial”.
But again – I give this trip a ten out of ten. Can highly recommend.