Since Celebrity Ascent's launch in November 2023, I've had the privilege of sailing onboard this beautiful vessel twice.
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The first was a 7-night cruise to the Caribbean in February, and most recently, I returned from a weeklong voyage to Greece, Italy, and Turkey.
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Sailing to the Greek Isles was a bucket list cruise for my finacée and me, especially since my finacée's maternal grandmother was born in Mykonos.
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We couldn't have picked a better ship to experience this region. After spending long days ashore in the heat, we loved returning to the upscale ship and enjoying high-quality entertainment in the main theater and delicious food.
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Having sailed in a standard ocean-view room on my previous Ascent cruise, I knew I wanted to experience an infinite veranda, as Celebrity's Edge Class ships were the first to feature this innovative stateroom design.
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For $4,990.32, my finacée and I reserved cabin 7224, a Prime Edge Stateroom with an Infinite Veranda.
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Moreover, the price included gratuities, a Classic Drink Package, and Basic Wi-Fi; however, we ended up paying an additional $195.72 to upgrade to the premium packages for both.
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Whereas traditional balcony cabins have a door leading to a personal outdoor veranda, infinite verandas were designed to bring passengers closer to the ocean by turning the entire stateroom into a balcony.
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Instead of walking outside, infinite verandas have a floor-to-ceiling window that opens with the push of a button.
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For the first few days, the window made a rather unpleasant noise as it lowered. Thankfully, this issue resolved itself in no time!
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An automatic shade can be lowered to keep the sunlight from beaming into your cabin in the morning by pressing a button near the window or using the touchscreen pad beside the bathroom door.
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Christoper, our cabin steward, ensured the shade was down each evening when he serviced our stateroom. It was a small touch that made returning to our cabin more relaxing.
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Having sailed on Celebrity Ascent before, I wasn't surprised by the storage situation. Though we had plenty of hangers in the closet, it was one of the smaller ones I have had on a cruise ship.
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Even so, there was enough space for our belongings, and we certainly overpacked with three suitcases for a 10-night trip. The closet also featured three small drawers, with four more near the vanity.
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The bathroom was plenty spacious and modern. My partner and I had three shelves each for our toiletries and cosmetics, though we didn't need all of them. There were also two hooks on the bathroom door.
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Moreover, a drawer underneath the sink housed the cabin's hairdryer. While I found it rather tricky to pull out, it was a convenient spot to keep a necessary tool (as well as some of my makeup!).
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I was exceptionally pleased by the shower's water pressure. Since Celebrity Cruises is an upscale line, you'll find separate bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower, too.
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However, I recommend bringing your own if you're particular about what products you use. I couldn't fathom using anything other than Biolage's Color Last Shampoo for one week!
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As a new ship, you can expect plenty of outlets, including two standard American outlets, one European outlet, and two USB ports near the vanity. Additionally, guests will find two more USB ports and another American outlet beside the bed.
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While all charging options are condensed to one side, you may use a USB cord to charge your phone with the stateroom's telephone. This isn't something I realized on my first cruise onboard Celebrity Ascent!
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Of course, the star of the cabin was the infinite veranda. Compared to standard balconies, the chairs are of higher quality since they are not subject to constant exposure to the elements.
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We also felt we had more privacy since we weren't sharing the outdoor space with neighboring cabins.
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Measuring 243 square feet, the cabin itself was more spacious, too. Typically, traditional balconies tend to be around 180 square feet, with balconies measuring anywhere from 40 square feet and up.
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At night, we found having the window lowered was noisy, as we were located two decks above an outdoor promenade leading to the Grand Plaza, where music was played into the late hours of the evening.
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That, however, was a minor issue. We didn't keep the window lowered at night, as the air conditioning stopped working when it was down. Since we were sailing through the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas during a heat wave, we wanted as much AC blasting as possible!
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While I liked the infinite veranda and would certainly choose it over an ocean-view room, nothing compares to stepping outside onto a traditional balcony and feeling the ocean's breeze.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
