Celebrity Cruises’ newest and most modern cruise ship, Celebrity Ascent, is making waves in the cruise industry.
For many, cruising is about the destinations, yet Celebrity Ascent is a destination all on her own. With remarkable design details and cutting-edge innovation, Celebrity Ascent made her highly-awaited debut earlier this month.
As the fourth ship in the Edge-class of cruise ships, Celebrity Ascent is full of premium experiences with an approachable sense of luxury for her guests. Spanning over 17 decks high, Celebrity Ascent is home to 32 distinct food and beverage spaces, from complimentary dining to specialty restaurants and high-end bars.
Even Celebrity Ascent’s staterooms are thoughtfully designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and very functional. In fact, one of the best features of Celebrity Ascent is the vast array of staterooms available for guests to reserve.
Read more: Take a look inside this $60,000 suite on the new Celebrity Ascent cruise ship
With nearly 180 suites onboard, Celebrity Ascent is the perfect choice for guests looking to have an upscale, inclusive, and luxurious cruise experience. Suite guests will have exclusive access to The Retreat on Celebrity Ascent, which is one of the biggest suite-only spaces that Celebrity Cruises has ever built.
Those who might not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a suite will appreciate more affordable stateroom options onboard. The cheapest cabin onboard Celebrity Ascent is an Inside Stateroom with prices starting at $649 per person for a 7-night sailing.
During a quick 2-night sailing, we were invited onboard Celebrity Ascent to preview everything this revolutionary cruise ship has to offer. I was blown away by Celebrity Ascent and immediately felt a warm, welcoming ambiance when I boarded the ship.
The new ship from Celebrity Cruises is strikingly beautiful around every corner with more attention to detail than any other cruise ship I’ve sailed on. Celebrity Ascent revels a boutique hotel more than a mainstream cruise ship.
Some might scoff at the idea of cruising in the cheapest cabin on a luxury cruise ship; however, even Celebrity Ascent’s cheapest cabin has many elements of luxury in a comfortable, cozy space
The smallest cabin on Celebrity Ascent is an inside cabin with only 181 square feet. Inside staterooms do not have any windows or balconies, meaning you won’t have any natural light in this cabin. Personally, I love inside cabins because it’s always pitch black when you want to go to bed or take a mid-day nap during your cruise.
Located on Deck 9, cabin 9278 can sleep only two people. Celebrity Ascent does have inside staterooms that can sleep up to four guests. For those traveling with more than two people, an inside cabin would have a king bed and pull-out couch for sleeping. In my opinion, an inside cabin would feel pretty cramped with more than two people.
Even though this small cabin is the cheapest onboard, guests will appreciate having a true king-sized bed to sleep in each night. Contrary to industry standards, Celebrity Cruises has provided guests with an actual king bed (by U.S. bed sizing) instead of shoving two twin-sized beds together in a king-like configuration. Having a true king bed is one of the reasons I love to cruise with Celebrity Cruises!
When entering the stateroom, your eyes are drawn to the pops of color throughout the cabin. Most of Celebrity Ascent’s staterooms have bold red accents incorporated throughout the cabin, from the bedding to the decorative pillows on the couch. You can even see some red accents in the decor hanging on the wall, which ties the design elements together in the tiny stateroom.
With only 181 square feet of space, Celebrity has created a very functional cabin that utilizes all of the space in the small stateroom. It’s uncommon to have a couch or loveseat in an inside cabin, especially on newer cruise ships, but even the smallest cabin on Celebrity Ascent has a small loveseat for seating.
Opposite of the couch is a vanity area with a desk with a chair, device charging station, and full-length mirror that can be revealed thanks to an adjustable countertop. Most of the cabins on Celebrity Ascent - including my own stateroom - featured this marble-accented lamp, which is an element I absolutely love. I would take this lamp home to my own bedroom if I could!
(Pictured above is the marble lamp found in an Aqua Sky Suite. The same lamp is found for guests staying in an inside cabin on Celebrity Ascent.)
A unique feature in Celebrity Ascent’s cabins is the adjustable countertop that allows guests to either extend the vanity for more space or unveil the full-length mirror by retracting it. The mirror is illuminated by bright LED lighting which adds brightness to the cabin.
As guests have many devices that need charging these days, Celebrity Ascent has added these charging boxes for guests to use in their staterooms. In this interior cabin, the charging box has a European plug, two US plugs, and two USB ports.
Having ample amount of charging ports is appreciated, especially as older ships might only have one or two outlets in the entire stateroom. This small cabin on Celebrity Ascent also featured bedside outlets for guests to plug in their devices without needing to leave their bed. The bedside outlets include a US plug and two USB ports.
I was surprised to see the vanity area in this small inside cabin was nearly identical to the one in our Aqua Sky Suite. The two-toned dresser was the exact same with multiple drawers for storage. Our suite also featured the same full-length mirror with a retractable countertop, along with the same charging station and marble lamp.
(Pictured above is the vanity area in an Aqua Sky Suite. The same vanity can be found in the smallest cabin on Celebrity Ascent.)
This small stateroom on Celebrity Ascent also has a large closet for guests to use with hangers and drawers. This allows guests to unpack their suitcases and store their luggage under the bed, which helps keep the small cabin less cluttered.
Next to the closet, guests will find the cabin’s bathroom with a massive walk-in shower and more marble accents
When entering the bathroom, I was immediately surprised by the size of the shower. Newer cruise ships have started to build bathrooms with larger showers, which is an improvement from older bathroom designs.
Instead of having a clingy shower curtain and feeling cramped, Celebrity Ascent has built a large walk-in shower for guests to comfortably use. As a woman who is nearly 6’0" tall, this shower looked like it had plenty of space.
The glass-enclosed shower is designed with marble tile as well, which is another element that I really liked. Marble is a design feature that is consistent around Celebrity Ascent, from the public spaces to each stateroom. Here, the marble tile makes the bathroom feel more luxurious and brightens up the stateroom as well.
The shower also featured complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and body wash for guests to use. Even in the cheapest and smallest cabin onboard, guests will have access to these higher-end amenities.
Some cruise lines, like sister-brand Royal Caribbean, only offer a 2-in-1 product for guests. Similarly, guests will be provided with body lotion and hand soap on the sink vanity.
This inside cabin's bathroom has multiple places for guests to store cosmetics with exposed shelving available on both sides of the sink. There was no shortage of places to store your belongings in this bathroom, which is sure to be appreciated by guests.
Read more: Top 25 cruise cabin hacks to improve your stateroom's functionality
Overall, the smallest cabin on Celebrity Ascent would be a comfortable space for any guest looking for an entry-level cabin on Celebrity Cruises
As Celebrity Cruises is considered a more premium cruise line, even the smallest and cheapest cabin onboard still feels luxurious and modern.
Like everything on Celebrity Ascent, the smallest cabin onboard is thoughtfully designed to be both beautiful and functional. There is plenty of storage between the closet, drawers, and additional cabinets that you’ll find in the stateroom. This inside cabin would have everything you need for a comfortable cruise, including a true king-sized bed.
In fact, I was surprised to see how many design elements and cabin features were identical to our Aqua Sky Suite. The vanity space was nearly identical in the inside cabin as we had in our suite. Even the marble lamp was the exact same!
Considering how much money you could save sailing in an inside cabin, I would not hesitate to book this stateroom for a future cruise. I would be especially motivated to book this cabin on a port-intensive cruise where I would not be spending much time onboard anyway.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on nearly 30 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
