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Lack of Promenade Deck


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Hi All--Plan to sail on a S class ship this fall--On a sea day if you want to take a brisk walk outdoors--which deck would you suggest?--Thanks

 

Greetings

 

There is a "jogging path" on deck 14. This is a busy place during the day, so it's best if you get your walks in early. There will be many walkers/joggers there every morning.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

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Greetings. There is a "jogging path" on deck 14. This is a busy place during the day, so it's best if you get your walks in early. There will be many walkers/joggers there every morning. Good Sailing

Tom

 

Agree with Tom's summary. Here's one of my pictures to give you a better idea for how things look and operate on that 14th level. You can see many more details on the food, facilities, entertainment, etc., on these wonderful Solstice-class ships from my live/blog connected below.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 91,146 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

This is a view of the upper floor, 14th level above the main pool area on the Solstice-type ships. This illustrates how the space for walking can be a little narrow and congested during the middle of the afternoon as this area fills up with people enjoying the sun, etc., during sea days. BUT, things are much easier and more open for your walking/laps earlier in the am, plus in the evenings. The area has a nice rubberized surface. Lots of interesting visuals to see on the ship and at sea as you walk around here, hang out, etc.:

 

SolsticeWalkingTrackArea.jpg

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I do not really like the top of the ship jogging area - often too sunny or windy. I really miss the old fashioned promenade decks that went all the way around the ship on a mid-level deck. What we have done on several cruises was walk all the inside passage ways (quietly of course!). We glance at the artwork as we walk by and on the S class ships just one "tour" of the ship is a pretty good walk! But I really do miss the real deal of a promenade deck - I guess HAL still builds them (what, sacrifice those verandah cabins!) but I'll stick with X and walk the hallways.

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I do not really like the top of the ship jogging area - often too sunny or windy. I really miss the old fashioned promenade decks that went all the way around the ship on a mid-level deck... ...

 

Both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have promenade decks that went all the way around the ship on a mid-level deck.

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Unfortunately, Celebrity Promenade decks are not wrap-around, as they are on Princess, Cunard and Holland America. However, the outdoor Promenades on the S-Class ships are fairly long, interesting and attractive. Note that the lifeboats block the view in some areas. I refused to take Celebrity for many years because of the lack of the wrap-around, but other features of the ships and the cruise experience make up for the loss.

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I much prefer the wrap-around Promenade found on many ships too, though we have walked back and forth on the Promenade before. You can also kind of make a round trip by going through the ship to the other side and back again, but it's awkward.

 

The walking/jogging path on these ships is very stupidly designed as it goes right through, and is part of, the only way to get from the front of the ship to the back areas, including the buffet. The hamburger place is there too.

 

So, besides lots of other walkers, there are also all kinds of people just meandering along, often the wrong way, heading to the lawn, the aft, the buffet, the pool, etc. Or stopped in groups, talking, oblivious to those who have to go around them.

 

To make it worse, the track goes right through deck chairs on both sides of it for much of the way. Chairs are often sticking right out into the path, which makes for traffic foul-ups and barked shins. I've even seen people fall over them. And it goes through the smoking area.

 

The only good thing is that it is fairly long, about 8 laps to a mile; I've been on ships where you had to go 15 laps for a mile!

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Hi All--Plan to sail on a S class ship this fall--On a sea day if you want to take a brisk walk outdoors--which deck would you suggest?--Thanks

 

The lack of promenade deck is the major flaw of S-clsss ships design.

That's why I rank Celebrity below the Big Trio and also below RCI.

RCI product is not that refined but ships are designed way better than Celebrity.

 

I did my morning run/walk on the deck 5 behind the lifeboats.

This is awkward but there is nothing else.

So-called jogging track is a joke as explained in previous posts.

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Well said, that is really a major desing flaw on board S- Class ships. Their stunning , elegant and great ships- but that is a real desing flaw! As the S- Class ships are huge sucess it probably does not bother a lot of passengers. Otherwise X would have changed that in the following 4 ships since Solstice!

Michael

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Both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have promenade decks that went all the way around the ship on a mid-level deck.

 

They also have promenade decks that go around the ship on Holland America and NCL. Love taking long walks around a mid ship promenade deck :)

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Both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have promenade decks that went all the way around the ship on a mid-level deck.

 

Yes, and the cruises are 10x what they cost on Celebrity!:D For that much money I can handle Deck 14 or use the treadmills with the ocean view.

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I also miss having a true promenade deck on the S-class ships. The problem isn't only that you can't walk around the entire deck outside, it's also that the lifeboats really block your view of the ocean, so the deck feels claustrophobic. It's truly a shame, as the jogging/walking track on Deck 14 is so high up that you are disconnected from the sea in a way that you're not on a true promenade deck. For me, one of the joys of cruising is being on the water and seeing the water, preferably not from the equivalent of a high rise building.

 

I think the S-class ships are, for the most part, very well designed, but not having a real promenade deck is a big loss, imho. It would not keep me from sailing on an S-class ship again, but it is something I miss.

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The lack of promenade deck is the major flaw of S-clsss ships design.

That's why I rank Celebrity below the Big Trio and also below RCI.

RCI product is not that refined but ships are designed way better than Celebrity.

 

I did my morning run/walk on the deck 5 behind the lifeboats.

This is awkward but there is nothing else.

So-called jogging track is a joke as explained in previous posts.

 

cruisetrail - what are the "big trio"?

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Yes, and the cruises are 10x what they cost on Celebrity!:D For that much money I can handle Deck 14 or use the treadmills with the ocean view.

 

Hi Cathy:) I was thinking the same thing:eek:....Crystal is in the

"Luxury Line" category.

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Well said, that is really a major desing flaw on board S- Class ships. Their stunning , elegant and great ships- but that is a real desing flaw! As the S- Class ships are huge sucess it probably does not bother a lot of passengers. Otherwise X would have changed that in the following 4 ships since Solstice!

Michael

I don't see the wonder in having the promenade deck. We have occasionally walked around the ship on various cruises and don't see the wonder.

 

I use the fitness center frequently on all cruises, especially on sea days. I get a lot better workout there than strolling along the deck. Each to their own.

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Well said, that is really a major desing flaw on board S- Class ships. Their stunning , elegant and great ships- but that is a real desing flaw! As the S- Class ships are huge sucess it probably does not bother a lot of passengers. Otherwise X would have changed that in the following 4 ships since Solstice!

Michael

 

I agree. I really like that on HAL's vista class-would love it on HAL-except it is full of smokers on HAL. This was a major big disappointment on the Solstice. I could enjoy not it on HAL for the smokers and I could not enjoy it on the Solstice as thee was none.

 

BTW-I cannot handle a lot of time in the sun-so the running deck does not work for me. we did try it a couple of times in the evening-but as others said-we were in the way of runners.

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M-class ships also lack a wrap-around promenade. Since the S-class ships are lengthier, one can walk substantially longer on the S-class ships before turning around.

 

I don't think Celebrity ever had a ship built for them that featured a wrap around promenade. Century and her sisters lacked one, and neither Hori-Zen ships had them.

 

However, I think Celebrity's first ship, good ol' Meridian, did have a true wraparound promenade deck.

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I don't see the wonder in having the promenade deck.

 

Same here. Too closed in. Might as well stay inside. Disney ships have one and we did use it for our morning walks, but that was only for convenience since there really isn't anywhere else on those ships to easily walk a couple of miles. Maybe it would be nice on a rainy day, but how often do those happen? Give me open areas anytime.

 

The lack of a promenade deck would be near the bottom of my "won't cruise with so-and-so line" list of reasons.

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It appears that my love for a wraparound promenade deck is in the minority of people who sail on Celebrity. So, it is understandable why Celebrity chose not to have that feature. After all they can't get additional rent from public areas of a ship :)

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