LIVE: Salt Lifer hitting the high seas! Ascent, April 7-14, 2024

[Salt Lifer]

Hi! My favorite part of Cruise Critic is reading the live reports.  After being particularly inspired by @jam19872016's recent food-focused adventure, I have decided to tip my toe into the LIVE waters.

 

We set sail on Sunday on the Ascent, but our vacation starts tomorrow when we fly to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I've been cruising for over 30 years, with my first cruise being on Sovereign of the Seas (in my opinion the most perfect ship ever built).  After many years with Royal, we are now Celebrity Cruisers due to the food and entertainment, along with the reasonable ship sizes.  We sail on average of once a year, and we sail in regular cabins as we just don't feel Retreat is worth the extra cost for us, so any experiences I share will be in the regular parts of the ship.  We enjoy eating, so much of the focus on this live will be on food!

 

This will be our third E-Class voyage.  It is controversial, but I am a big fan of the infinite veranda.  This will be our first cruise in a concierge cabin, bought simply because the financials made sense. Our last cruise was last April on Beyond, and while the entertainment was the best I have ever experienced on a cruise the food left a LOT to be desired.  The food situation was so disappointing that we actually started looking into new lines.  But I am hopeful based on more recent reviews that Celebrity has "righted the ship" and the food will be improved.  

 

We have 2 kids, 3 dogs, and 2 cats at home, so my husband and I are looking forward to a calm and fun week away from the chaos. 😉

 

I can't promise I will be quick with updates throughout the week, but I will try my best.  Feel free to ask any questions you have and I'll try to get you answers.

Edited April 5 by Salt Lifer

[Georgia_Peaches]

Ascent is a beautiful ship.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[jam19872016]

Following along!

 

Can't wait to see some Al Bacon goodies to remind me what I'm missing as I am back to fasting trying to take those cruise pounds back off.

[Beachlover1989]

Looking forward to hearing all about the Ascent!

[Salt Lifer]

47 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Following along!

 

Can't wait to see some Al Bacon goodies to remind me what I'm missing as I am back to fasting trying to take those cruise pounds back off.

Al Bacon (lol) for a chocolate torte is going to be among my first stops once on the ship.

[mac_tlc]

Looking forward to following along! We sailed Ascent in January and loved her! 
 

Enjoy some time away from the chaos!

 

mac_tlc

[mimi'sgirl]

Following along! Have a great cruise!

[Salt Lifer]

9:22 at night and I still have a long list of things that need to be done and no energy left to do them.  My 4:30 am alarm tomorrow looms large.  Why is it always so stressful to get ready to leave for vacation?

[kabmab]

We board the day you're off for the TA.   Looking forward to following you and thanks for your Live!   Bon voyage.

[sixpackeddie]

We are on the same cruise as you and will be following your posts! It’s our first cruise on the Ascent, looking forward to it!

[Salt Lifer]

Good morning!  After a short and unsatisfying 3.5 hours of sleep we woke up today and headed to the airport.  They had our plane already ready for us! You can see it below (just kidding).

 

Had a healthy airport breakfast of hard boiled eggs and a fruit and yogurt parfait.  My husband had a breakfast burrito that was really good in my opinion... yes, I helped myself to a bite.  All in all, not bad, especially for airport food!  We have a really nice little airport here (Akron Canton Airport in Ohio) just about 10 minutes from our home.  

 

Next stop, Charlotte.  Then on to Ft. Lauderdale!

 

[Salt Lifer]

2 hours ago, sixpackeddie said:

We are on the same cruise as you and will be following your posts! It’s our first cruise on the Ascent, looking forward to it!

Hope we cross paths at some point!

[Salt Lifer]

3 hours ago, kabmab said:

We board the day you're off for the TA.   Looking forward to following you and thanks for your Live!   Bon voyage.

Doing a TA has been on my bucket list for years.  The last two E-Class cruises I've been on have been the week prior to a TA, just like this one.  This is always a special excitement among the crew leading up to the TA.  One day...!

[kabmab]

12 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

Doing a TA has been on my bucket list for years.  The last two E-Class cruises I've been on have been the week prior to a TA, just like this one.  This is always a special excitement among the crew leading up to the TA.  One day...!

Our first (actually DH has done quite a few, courtesy of 30 year career in USN) and we're excited!  Have done a variety of cruise lines and ships over the years and we love E class; four Apex cruises, 1 Edge.   First time in infinite veranda, previously in SVs and DPV.  The four MDRs are great -- our favorites are Cyprus and Normandie.

[Ciaranaman]

Following 😊.  Looks like you're off to a great start!  Except for the hard-boiled eggs.  Definitely not something I'd be able to eat before boarding a flight 🤣😂

~Bernadette 

[Salt Lifer]

Now we are in Charlotte.  We were supposed to have an hour layover, and then on to Ft. Lauderdale.  Unfortunately our flight is delayed... our flight crew is currently on a delayed flight from San Antonio. Fortunately the Charlotte airport has pretty comfortable seats in the D terminal, so we are just chilling out... and grateful that we always fly in a day before so we don't even have to stress.

 

On a fun note, we have already met some fellow Ascent sailers... Barb, Tim, Connie and Bill - if you read this, say hi!  

[Salt Lifer]

Arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and am going to take a nap before heading out to Las Olas.  The 3.5 hours of sleep last night has caught up to me!

 

We had uneventful flights, which I always appreciate as I don't love flying.  We even got to see the Apex from the air as we approached Ft. Lauderdale!

 

Now to rest up so I can enjoy a meal at my favorite restaurant in Las Olas.

 

[cruisetonowhere10]

34 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

Arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and am going to take a nap before heading out to Las Olas.  The 3.5 hours of sleep last night has caught up to me!

 

We had uneventful flights, which I always appreciate as I don't love flying.  We even got to see the Apex from the air as we approached Ft. Lauderdale!

 

Now to rest up so I can enjoy a meal at my favorite restaurant in Las Olas.

 

 

Where are you staying?  Cruising out of Fort Lauderdale next year and will likely use Hyatt Points…one option is in Las Olas…

[Salt Lifer]

2 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Where are you staying?  Cruising out of Fort Lauderdale next year and will likely use Hyatt Points…one option is in Las Olas…

We stay in a VRBO located several blocks from the river.  Great price and nice owner who lives on-site (the building has four apartments).  Sad to arrive this time and see a for sale sign outside the building so might have to look for a new place to stay in the future.  The owner said real estate is skyrocketing so much in the area that he would be a fool not to try to sell, if he can get the price he wants.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

my favorite restaurant in Las Olas

Recommendations? I'll be staying in that area prior to my Beyond cruise this summer.

[Salt Lifer]

27 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Recommendations? I'll be staying in that area prior to my Beyond cruise this summer.

We always eat at the Historic Downtowner along the water in Las Olas.  In fact, that is where I am writing this post from!

 

After a short nap we walked down to the river for dinner at the Downtowner.  We shared appetizers of deviled eggs and fish dip, and we each ordered shrimp tacos for our main.  We love this place as it is casual but has good food at decent prices, especially for this area.  We always get a table along the water and watch the yachts and boats go by.  The best view!  The weather today is perfect for this!

 

Next we'll ride the free water taxi some (do we know how to have fun or what?) and window shop along Las Olas Blvd.

 

 

Edited April 6 by Salt Lifer

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

18 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

We always eat at the Historic Downtowner along the water in Las Olas.  In fact, that is where I am writing this post from!

 

After a short nap we walked down to the river for dinner at the Downtowner.  We shared appetizers of deviled eggs and fish dip, and we each ordered shrimp tacos for our main.  We love this place as it is casual but has good food at decent prices, especially for this area.  We always get a table along the water and watch the yachts and boats go by.  The best view!  The weather today is perfect for this!

 

Next we'll ride the free water taxi some (do we know how to have fun or what?) and window shop along Las Olas Blvd.

 

 

 

Thanks!

[hcat]

Downtowner is a fav stop on the water taxi,  if still on the route.. had a nice bloody mary there..not too strong!

[Salt Lifer]

There is an Italian bakery on Las Olas Blvd where I like to get cannoli (one of my favorite treats). They also have gelato there, which my husband wanted.  I decided to take a look at the gelato flavors and spotted a cannoli flavor, so that is what I ended up with.  It was an excellent choice!!!  

 

We also visited a very large, old tree that they were just getting ready to move last April when we were here.  It is now in it's new home, next door to where it was before.  We were told last year that the tree was in danger at its old location due to the water, which is partly why it was moved.  I always appreciate when a community cares enough to save significant trees.

 

We walked for four and a half miles around the Riverwalk and Las Olas Blvd and are now back "home" for the night. My feet are tired, as am I.  Tomorrow we set sail!

 

 

[Salt Lifer]

Good morning! Today is the day!  

 

Our check-out is at 10am and our boarding time on Ascent is 11:30am, so we are taking a gamble and heading straight to the pier and hoping we can at least get through security and into the lobby to wait.  With luggage and no car we really don't see any other practical option.  See you on board!

 

I've recently lost some weight and, while I intend to eat ALL THE FOOD this week, I still want to be held accountable for keeping my step count up in an attempt to burn some extra calories.  So I think this trip I'll do as @jam19872016 did in the last live and post my daily step count.  This is from yesterday.