Just off a three night Ascent preview cruise, some thoughts...

[Bead Pirate]

Wife and I are both highly rated casino types, so we do get the opportunity to enjoy preview cruises on most lines (MSC, Royal, NCL and X).

 

I read the wonderful live review by Georgia Peaches (thank you) so no need to rehash those observations.

 

Thought I would offer some observations for those who are gearing up for a future trip as we just arrived home this morning (doing wash and getting ready to board APEX on Saturday)

 

We stayed in a Sunset Suite on deck 9 (long haul to the elevators but a lovely view each morning/evening).

 

The ship is beautiful in the usual muted tones that seems to be favored by this class of ship. Although it was not decorated for Christmas I can envision the usual white, silver and blue themes that we see on the Edge.

 

 

The staffing theme is interesting (and seems to be working for the most part). There has been a focus on bringing some of the best mid-level staff (lead bartenders, lead servers, lead chefs, and venue managers) and those of you who cruise frequently will know many that you meet on board. They have also hired quite a few "newbies" at the entry level positions (point of service folks). This can cause some confusion when I assume that the interaction I have with a staff member is from shared expectations. 🙂 Case in point, I went directly to the Cafe on boarding day and asked the very pleasant young lady staffing the podium which version of the show was being featured with Le Petit Chef. She went to great pains to explain that the show was an animation as I kept asking which version was being offered on board. After about 5 minutes she starts getting tears in her eyes and goes to fetch the manager. He comes to her rescue and

"Magic Menu" version is featured on this sailing. My wife and I both like to watch the show (but once is generally enough) so we try and see the new versions as they are rolled out. The hostess was amazed that there are actually 5 versions of the show and lamented that no one had ever said a word to her about it (for the curious X is under contract for a total of 12 episodes).

 

The staffing is similar in the bars as there is a healthy mix of experienced folks and newbies. The exception to this is Lumine and Le Voyage where, as you might expect the service, food, presentation is exceptional. I think X has raised their game in these two venues and would now place them second only to the yacht club on MSC.

 

Yes, Martini Bar and Eden were often crowded so plan ahead to get a seat early if there is something that is a must do (i.e. arrive at least 30 minutes before show time).

 

On this ship there has been a most welcome emphasis on entertainment. The show "Smoke and Ivorys" was one of the very best shows I have ever witnessed at Sea. I had to look at the drink menu to be sure I was on an X ship! Across the board I would say the entertainers were a cut above what one generally encounters on X. Theatre is absolutely state of the art.

 

Of course, there are a few things that could have been designed better. There are a lot of 90-degree angles in the hallway that did not seem very well thought out. I also get the sense that a lot of space has been "wasted" for the open floor plans on deck 3,4,5. The Craft bar is a nice touch as it showed two NFL games on boarding day. Screen placement could not have been worse, however. So many folks wanted to sit down and watch but had to stand to see the games.

 

I will also say that I was more than a little peeved about the lack of menu items across the board (drinks and food). For example, in the Craft bar they proudly advertise about 10 small bite items and a very nice menu of about 2 dozen bourbons. After trying to order a snack was told that the first three choices I asked for were "not available" I simply asked "what do you have available?". I finally just gave up as I tried to order from the Bourbon Menu (less than 50% of the items listed were actually available. Nice plan but poor execution.

 

As a mobility challenged person, I use a travel electric wheelchair that is much narrower than a standard wheelchair for my sailings. This allows me to not take up the space that a scooter tends to do in the elevator, casino, etc. I wonder if X even considered customers such as I when they designed the Ascent. This ship is awash in industrial heavy grade carpet that sucks the very life out of scooters and electric wheelchairs. The handicapped restrooms are like a maze with one door opening to the left and the next to the right. Prepare to come back bruised and beaten by the doors as you wave your hand over the monitor 🙂 if you are not quick on the reverse mechanism of your device.

 

As mentioned above we were in a beautiful Sunset Suite but a word of caution to folks who use mobility devices. These suites are not a good idea for you. You will have to be able to push your device from behind for some 30 feet with some lifting/jockying required due to 90 degree turns upon entry and exit.

 

Will most assuredly visit this lovely ship again after the kinks get worked out.

 

 

 

 

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[JDPCruisers]

1 hour ago, Bead Pirate said:

Wife and I are both highly rated casino types, so we do get the opportunity to enjoy preview cruises on most lines (MSC, Royal, NCL and X).

 

I read the wonderful live review by Georgia Peaches (thank you) so no need to rehash those observations.

 

Thought I would offer some observations for those who are gearing up for a future trip as we just arrived home this morning (doing wash and getting ready to board APEX on Saturday)

 

We stayed in a Sunset Suite on deck 9 (long haul to the elevators but a lovely view each morning/evening).

 

The ship is beautiful in the usual muted tones that seems to be favored by this class of ship. Although it was not decorated for Christmas I can envision the usual white, silver and blue themes that we see on the Edge.

 

 

The staffing theme is interesting (and seems to be working for the most part). There has been a focus on bringing some of the best mid-level staff (lead bartenders, lead servers, lead chefs, and venue managers) and those of you who cruise frequently will know many that you meet on board. They have also hired quite a few "newbies" at the entry level positions (point of service folks). This can cause some confusion when I assume that the interaction I have with a staff member is from shared expectations. 🙂 Case in point, I went directly to the Cafe on boarding day and asked the very pleasant young lady staffing the podium which version of the show was being featured with Le Petit Chef. She went to great pains to explain that the show was an animation as I kept asking which version was being offered on board. After about 5 minutes she starts getting tears in her eyes and goes to fetch the manager. He comes to her rescue and

"Magic Menu" version is featured on this sailing. My wife and I both like to watch the show (but once is generally enough) so we try and see the new versions as they are rolled out. The hostess was amazed that there are actually 5 versions of the show and lamented that no one had ever said a word to her about it (for the curious X is under contract for a total of 12 episodes).

 

The staffing is similar in the bars as there is a healthy mix of experienced folks and newbies. The exception to this is Lumine and Le Voyage where, as you might expect the service, food, presentation is exceptional. I think X has raised their game in these two venues and would now place them second only to the yacht club on MSC.

 

Yes, Martini Bar and Eden were often crowded so plan ahead to get a seat early if there is something that is a must do (i.e. arrive at least 30 minutes before show time).

 

On this ship there has been a most welcome emphasis on entertainment. The show "Smoke and Ivorys" was one of the very best shows I have ever witnessed at Sea. I had to look at the drink menu to be sure I was on an X ship! Across the board I would say the entertainers were a cut above what one generally encounters on X. Theatre is absolutely state of the art.

 

Of course, there are a few things that could have been designed better. There are a lot of 90-degree angles in the hallway that did not seem very well thought out. I also get the sense that a lot of space has been "wasted" for the open floor plans on deck 3,4,5. The Craft bar is a nice touch as it showed two NFL games on boarding day. Screen placement could not have been worse, however. So many folks wanted to sit down and watch but had to stand to see the games.

 

I will also say that I was more than a little peeved about the lack of menu items across the board (drinks and food). For example, in the Craft bar they proudly advertise about 10 small bite items and a very nice menu of about 2 dozen bourbons. After trying to order a snack was told that the first three choices I asked for were "not available" I simply asked "what do you have available?". I finally just gave up as I tried to order from the Bourbon Menu (less than 50% of the items listed were actually available. Nice plan but poor execution.

 

As a mobility challenged person, I use a travel electric wheelchair that is much narrower than a standard wheelchair for my sailings. This allows me to not take up the space that a scooter tends to do in the elevator, casino, etc. I wonder if X even considered customers such as I when they designed the Ascent. This ship is awash in industrial heavy grade carpet that sucks the very life out of scooters and electric wheelchairs. The handicapped restrooms are like a maze with one door opening to the left and the next to the right. Prepare to come back bruised and beaten by the doors as you wave your hand over the monitor 🙂 if you are not quick on the reverse mechanism of your device.

 

As mentioned above we were in a beautiful Sunset Suite but a word of caution to folks who use mobility devices. These suites are not a good idea for you. You will have to be able to push your device from behind for some 30 feet with some lifting/jockying required due to 90 degree turns upon entry and exit.

 

Will most assuredly visit this lovely ship again after the kinks get worked out.

 

 

 

 

Any interaction with the Retreat staff and head Butler? If so, how was your experience?

[Bead Pirate]

20 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Any interaction with the Retreat staff and head Butler? If so, how was your experience?

 

Did not see any sign of Butler (of course we had a lot crammed into 3 days). The retreat staff was indeed very helpful as my wife had an aunt pass away on Tuesday and we needed to make air travel, hotel and such for very quick services (wife on flight right now) and will be back Friday evening for us to jump on the APEX on Saturday.

 

They assisted us with all the communication needs, etc.

[ETHTrader]

1 hour ago, Bead Pirate said:

 

I will also say that I was more than a little peeved about the lack of menu items across the board (drinks and food). For example, in the Craft bar they proudly advertise about 10 small bite items and a very nice menu of about 2 dozen bourbons. After trying to order a snack was told that the first three choices I asked for were "not available" I simply asked "what do you have available?". I finally just gave up as I tried to order from the Bourbon Menu (less than 50% of the items listed were actually available. Nice plan but poor execution.

 

I think this is common on new X ships. When Apex was launched in 2021, we sailed twice the first year and experienced same situation at the Craft Social Bar. When we revisited Apex in 2022, they finally had some snacks that you can order at the bar. I don't remember what the situation was at Beyond last year since I spent most of the time in the Retreat