LIVE with Georgia Peaches on the Brand NEW Ascent...B2B November 22-29 Pre-Pre-Maiden Voyage!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Now that I’ve whittled this cruise countdown into the single digits, I thought I’d begin my post a little early in the hopes that you will indulge my excitement to finally get started!  But first, I’d like to invite any fellow Cruise Critic friends who are on this journey to join in this review as I know excitement levels are high and should be shared with anyone who wants to contribute!

 

So why this cruise?  Well, it might be a little risky embarking on a brand-new ship…with a brand-new crew…breaking in brand-new quirks but DH and I will celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary of 19 years on November 23^rd and we were looking for something different, new and maybe even a little bit quirky.  Now, I know what you’re thinking… 19 years isn’t a traditional milestone number.  I agree. But since we are both in round two marriages, any year over 5 (for me) and 9 (for him) is a milestone we are darn proud to celebrate 😉.

 

We initially booked this cruise back in August as a way to try out E class before embarking on Edge for our Alaska cruise next June.  Not having been overly intrigued by the E class concept, we have been sticking to S class for the last couple of years.  Something @Spif Barwunkel said not so long ago made me take a second look at what E class has to offer.

 

For the first leg of our cruise, entitled, Four Night Taste of Luxury DH and I will be sailing in a Porthole Veranda.  We will round out the second leg, entitled Three Night Bahamas Getaway in an S1 Sky Suite.  Although we were invited to place an upgrade bid on both legs, I only submitted one for the Sky Suite leg of the cruise.  I’m really excited to compare the two experiences (non-Retreat/Retreat) and like the idea of dining in many different venues, so kept the PV1 as is.  Our upgrade bid for the Sky Suite leg is for either a Royal Suite or an Edge Villa Suite.  Both are showing as sold out but I’ve also read that these pre-maiden cruises are likely sailing at reduced capacity.  Our bid is in the “Strong” range but I am happy with our accommodations either way.  In fact, the Sky Suite surprised me…I booked it as a Guarantee at a Military rate and was immediately assigned a mid-ship S1 category at a pretty good rate.  Additionally, since we booked before the changes to AI, we are still getting the OBC and the paid gratuities...not bad at all.

 

I imagine this cruise will be filled with firsts…here’s what I’ve got so far:

• First time on a brand-new ship
• First b2b…albeit a short one
• First E class ship
• First Porthole Veranda
• First to sleep in the stateroom bed…(well maybe a first)
• First time with Amethyst perks in the casino

 

For anyone who has ever sailed on a preview or maiden cruise, feel free to share any advice, tips, and tricks!

 

And finally (for now)... a look at Ascent's current location.  I feel like she still has a ways to go to get to Freeport by the 18^th…but what do I know?!

 

 

 

[mac_tlc]

Looking forward to following along and in the Retreat/non-Retreat comparison!!  Happy Anniversary!

 

 

mac_tlc

[bjahil47]

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise on her maiden voyage!  
 

Happy Anniversary!  We celebrate our 19th anniversary April 1st and will let my husband know it’s a milestone one and we need to celebrate!  Actually been looking at cruises but Easter is 3/31 which means lots of kids! 
 

Enjoy and please no mad dashes to the port like your California sailing!  

[CardowMD]

I will be joining you on the second leg with my sister in a concierge cabin! First time on Edge class in IV ,but was on Inaugural Golden Princess and Diamond Princess many years ago! We wanted to check out IV before we commit to longer trip in Med sometime next summer.

[Lena11033]

Congrats on the anniversary - looking forward to following your trip

[Georgia_Peaches]

17 minutes ago, bjahil47 said:

Enjoy and please no mad dashes to the port like your California sailing!  

LOL...too funny!  With that nightmare in mind, we booked a morning flight to FLL with at least 9 flights after us...just in case!

 

So glad to have you along 😊!

[dlh015]

You can bet I'm tagging along!!  You and the DH rock!!

[JackE]

My partner Andrew and I will also be joining you on the second sailing for the three night Bahamas getaway. We will be in a Sunset Suite, first time for us. I will be bringing plenty of Bonine as I do suffer from seasickness, and I have no idea how I will do being in the aft of the ship! But I thought the short sailings would be a good way to try it out. We'll see!

 

We sailed on the Apex last year in the Baltic, and this summer we were on the Edge from Barcelona to Rome. We took Andrew's mom on an Alaska cruise on the Solstice before the pandemic, so we very much enjoy Celebrity. On the Apex trip we did the move up bid, and got a Sky Suite, and were spoiled (. It will be interesting on this cruise with the Retreat butler team, but we didn't ever ask that much of the butler, so we may no feel a difference. 

 

This is also the first time we have sailed on a New Ship, and we're very excited!  But we have to get through Thanksgiving with family first. 🙂 

[hcat]

I will be following with great excitement..we are booked on ASCENT for Jan  in AQ Class

 

  We have done a few E Class cruises ...EDGE in an SV  ( 4 mdrs) and AQ class ( BLU )  and  BEYOND Sky Suite  (Luminae).with Butler!

 

Hoping you will love it!

 

All anniv and b days are Special..enjoy!

Edited November 16, 2023 by hcat

[peterde]

Wow. This sounds so exciting!!! I will definitely be following along with you and sharing your excitement. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

32 minutes ago, hcat said:

I will be following with great excitement..we are booked on ASCENT for Jan  in AQ Class

 

  We have done a few E Class cruises ...EDGE in an SV  ( 4 mdrs) and AQ class ( BLU )  and  BEYOND Sky Suite  (Luminae).with Butler!

 

Hoping you will love it!

 

All anniv and b days are Special..enjoy!

Thank you, hcat.  Very well said!  So happy to have you along!

Edited November 16, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Georgia_Peaches]

35 minutes ago, JackE said:

This is also the first time we have sailed on a New Ship, and we're very excited!  But we have to get through Thanksgiving with family first. 🙂 

Always a good time to make great memories!

[Georgia_Peaches]

57 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

You can bet I'm tagging along!!  You and the DH rock!!

YAY!!  Thank you for joining!  😊

[helen haywood]

@Georgia_Peaches just wanted to say I and Minnie will be following your adventures!  This is Minnie who resembles your avatar.

 

 

[PSU]

My husband and I will be on the three night Bahama getaway in a Celebrity Suite. We had lots of on board credit so we are eating in speciality restaurants every night.

Hope that our paths cross.

[Stem to Stern]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

First to sleep in the stateroom bed…(well maybe a first)

Happy Anniversary!  🥂

This sounds like it will be another one of your intriguing threads.  We are Edge-class virgins, but we recently booked Sunset Verandahs (no IVs for us) on Beyond and XL. 😂

The XL sailing will be one of the first ones.  We only have a little over two years to wait. ⏰

Where do y’all usually sleep on board?!?

Bon 🚢 voyage !!!

Edited November 16, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[PTCruizer]

We’ll be joining you on the Thanksgiving cruise.  Darling wife prefers to cruise this particular holiday instead of stressing out the large family gathering. We were on the second sailing of the Apex in Greece during COVID and with only 400 passengers it was amazing. 

[crazyforcruises]

Hi GA Peaches - another Georgian here.  We will be on the 3 day with you.  Our move up bid was accepted today, received notice this afternoon for Edge Villa so do not give up hope because I too was seeing that they were sold out and didn't think we would be upgraded.  

[Ciaranaman]

Happy Anniversary!  I'll be following along, too!

~Bernadette

[Barwick Cruiser]

Following as well, couldn’t afford to sail in a suite even before they raised all the prices so I’m quite interested in hearing how your porthole veranda pans out! Will you be eating in the MDRs for that portion? Hope the new menus are a step up! 
Happy Anniversay! 

[Georgia_Peaches]

21 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Following as well, couldn’t afford to sail in a suite even before they raised all the prices so I’m quite interested in hearing how your porthole veranda pans out! Will you be eating in the MDRs for that portion? Hope the new menus are a step up! 
Happy Anniversay! 

Thank you!  Yes, we plan on trying the various MDR’s except for the 23rd…we have Eden reserved for that night. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

44 minutes ago, crazyforcruises said:

Hi GA Peaches - another Georgian here.  We will be on the 3 day with you.  Our move up bid was accepted today, received notice this afternoon for Edge Villa so do not give up hope because I too was seeing that they were sold out and didn't think we would be upgraded.  

Omg I am so happy for you guys!!!  I didn’t think they would be notifying this soon out. That’s great news. Our bids still show as pending. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

Where do y’all usually sleep on board?!?

Lol. I can see how that might have “sounded”. We are definitely keen and partial to sleeping in our assigned stateroom, though I may or may not have slept a bit in the solarium after a looong night of cruising. 😜😂. What I meant was, I think we are the first to sleep in our room…unless the ship is currently carrying media types who got a head start on us…I really don’t know how these pre-launch festivities work. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

@Georgia_Peaches just wanted to say I and Minnie will be following your adventures!  This is Minnie who resembles your avatar.

 

 

Minnie, meet Piper. I have grown children, grandchildren, a brother and wonderful parents…all of whom I love dearly. But when I go away, it’s this cat I miss the most. Don’t tell them I said so. 🤭

[Stem to Stern]

The look on Ziggy’s face when the suitcases are pulled out of storage prior to packing for a cruise….