Solstice '3rd' Bed

One year ago, Host Karen posted this:

According to the presentation on the cabin design last night in New York City, some of the berths will still have pullmans, but others will have trundle beds. The bed is stowed under the sofa (if you look at the deluxe veranda cabin photo that appears on www.cruiseCelebritySolstice.com, you'll see what looks like a drawer under the sofa). It pulls out and up.

 

It was not clear to me if triples would have the pullman and quads the trundle bed, but that makes the most sense to me. I suppose it will be come clear once the design is finalized and the reps and TAs have more information.

Does anyone have more updated information now? Our TA asked Celebrity rep and they didn't know, especially by cabin number. Deck plan has disclaimer as to furniture configuration for 3rd/4th guest. There are many triples available but are they all upper berths? And where is the upper berth located? above the bed or above the sofa? Can't the top of the sofa in every cabin be used as a twin bed (as on Disney)? By searching this forum found good photo of trundle bed, but if have a third passenger and do not want a pullman, especially if it is above the bed, do I have to book a quad room to get the trundle? Now that ship is being fitted out, would very much appreciate any help with these questions, including when Celebrity may be given a precise furniture description by cabin.

This seems variable according to cabin. We've just booked solstice for Aug 2009 for 3 passengers. Our first choice of cabin apparently had an upper birth which we didnot want. Celebrity have suggested an alternative cabin and have assured us that the sofa will convert to the third bed. Hope this proves to be accurate!!

Hi All

We are booked aboard Solstice for next summer in the Med, me, DH & DS (age 12). Never cruised before but ever increasingly excited and eagerly watching every snippet of info and detail that comes from these boards. We've chosen to have a regular balcony room on Sunrise and rather than having a trundle bed, we've selected to have a 3rd bed as pulman (out of ceiling/wall). My question is, how exactly does this work, anybody with any idea where this will be positioned. I've looked at recent pictures of staterooms, but cant imagine where these 3rd beds would be. Also wondering about the dreaded position of the lifeboats. I know we wont look out exactly onto them fortunately being one deck higher, but do you suppose they will cause any real obstruction to view.

I know Solstice is still an unknown entity, but asking all you out there who are obviously Sooo experienced in cruising... I, however know nothing:o . Any views greatfully received.

thx

I will know in 55 days or so.

I have a cabin set the way you just stated.

Pullman beds are usually located on the side walls of the cabin, so when open, they are directly over the heads of those in the bed/beds below. If you think this might be an issues, you might want to reconsider the trundle.

I have had both the pullman and the trundle type configuration in the past and would pick the trundle any day! The other is like a bunk bed and narrow. We have picked a quad cabin, where the trundle pulls up to the sofa and creates a double bed. It should be much nicer. Of course, your 12 year old may like the bunk bed idea??

Hi FiggyWig,

I asked the same questions on Sept 27th and have yet to receive an exact/precise answer. Asked CC editor to check while she was on board, wrote to X asking for answer from furniture designers, looked at every video, etc and nothing yet. There is a good photo of the Trundle on the Solstice thread, so as suggested, we have gone with a quad for now where know our 16 year old can be on the top of sofa, rather than over our heads. Still don't understand why sofa top cannot be a 3rd in every cabin. Do the sofas vary that much in size between double rooms and quads? Other lines place the pullman more logically over the sofa…maybe X learned from them. Will answer both our threads if the mystery is solved before we are on board.

Hi FiggyWig,

I asked the same questions on Sept 27th and have yet to receive an exact/precise answer. Asked CC editor to check while she was on board, wrote to X asking for answer from furniture designers, looked at every video, etc and nothing yet. There is a good photo of the Trundle on the Solstice thread, so as suggested, we have gone with a quad for now where know our 16 year old can be on the top of sofa, rather than over our heads. Still don't understand why sofa top cannot be a 3rd in every cabin. Do the sofas vary that much in size between double rooms and quads? Other lines place the pullman more logically over the sofa…maybe X learned from them. Will answer both our threads if the mystery is solved before we are on board.

I wondered this too... about the sofa. It seems in some staterooms it is not a bed at all. In others the sofa sleeps one, and in others it sleeps 2. This is a very strange concept to me?? Also... we are sailing in a cabin that states that the sofa bed sleeps 2 and also there is a pullman. SO...does that mean this cabin really sleeps 5??? I would love to know these things? Seems very strange as I was not able to get two cabins together that slept more than 2. I am traveling with my family and we can't get two cabins together. VERY strange as it looks like the couch is the same in every cabin.

Any insight on this anyone???

I have no idea what the answer is on Solstice (we're sailing on it in Dec.) but you should be able to call your travel agent or Celebrity and inquire. There's no set place the pullman has to be. I know, because we're doing a No. Europe cruise with our kids next summer, and the location of the pullman was dispositive in deciding which cruise line to use. On one line, the pullman was over what would have been our bed; on another, it was over the sofa. So definitely ask. And have a blast cruising! Our kids love it!

Merge with Solstice 3rd bed. Thanks

TA tried and rep didn't know, I emailed Captain's Club asking them to ask designers, emailed CC editor, etc. No answers yet but we'll keep trying!

I have found out that the Cruise Critic knows more than any of the TA's I have talked with. I have spoke to 4 different ones about our cruise, and no one knew about the cabins... hell, I am the one that had to tell them that there were no cabins next to each other that slept more than 2. If the sofa sleeps at least one, then that wouldn't be the case. Jeeze, I can't wait till someone knows this. NO website will list cabins that sleep 3 that don't list a sofa bed or pullman...indicating that the other sofas do not sleep one. Very strange! Aqua Class only sleeps 2, so that would mean their sofa does not sleep a person, so maybe these are the same type of sofas.

Isn't this fun trying to guess how the cabins are designed for 3rd/4th? But hylasgirl, you gave us a big hint to one of my questions. Hadn't noticed before no quads are together, which points to my deduction about the sofa sizes being different depending if cabin has its sofa near balcony or door. Since the walls between a cabin pair are curved, that must change the size and type of sofa that fits. So only one layout of the pair can hold a sofa bed long enough to be a twin, which still doesn't answer where they hid the pullman. :confused:

We're booked in 9270 that shows a 2 person sofabed plus the pullman. sleeps 5? :eek:

Hi LKN,

I don't believe X allows it to sleep five because that is one note which is clearly stated on the Solstice Deckplan (from the Introducing Celebrity's Solstice Class brochure). "Staterooms with an upper berth and sofa bed that sleeps two accommodate a maximum of four guests". The upper berth symbols also are on alternating cabins and grouped together on the decks that have them, indicating pullmans too were added to the design by cabin pairs. I can only guess that when the sofa is closer to the door and bathroom, there is less space, the sofa smaller, and it is then only a double.

Not really clear, but the best photo of the curving walls and alternating furniture arrangements by pair was here on CC: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=694

Just spoke with a Celebrity rep and she stated in all veranda rooms the pullman is located above the sofa, not the bed. On the deckplan the "one upper berth cabins" alternate in pairs in the same pattern as the quads, i.e. location of the sofa nearer the door or balcony, so it makes sense. She did not know if rooms for 3/4 guests occur when the sofa is closer to the balcony, so if anyone learns more about the layout, still interested in the details.

Today received answers from Celebrity to my 10/2 email regarding the accommodations for third/fourth passengers. Although it is not completely clear, a "double sofa bed" in regular veranda cabins appears to be one on trundle on floor and one on top of sofa. If anyone actually had 3/4 guests in a veranda cabin, I would appreciate learning more how it actually worked. Bedding, space around trundle when open, comfort of top of sofa, etc.?

Answer from Celebrity Customer Service Rep:

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay.

1. As a general rule, only the accessible staterooms have trundles that sleep one person. The trundle does pull out however, the width (not the length) has been shortened to ensure a 3ft clearance required for ADA purposes.

The sofas and trundles are the identical dimensions when presented as a sofa (ie, not pulled out). A trundle is sold as a third guest accommodation and not third and fourth; however, the guest could choose to sleep on the top of the sofa and not in the trundle. The trundle is on the floor and does not "pop-up" even with the sofa.

If a stateroom is booked with both an upper berth and a sofa bed. The third guest may sleep on the sofa or the upper berth.

A double sofa bed would be a sofa that pulls out info a double bed.

We hope this information is of assistance. For your convenience, we have enclosed a picture of the trundle bed in the attachment.

*********

end of quote

trundle photo was same as on CC

Today received answers from Celebrity to my 10/2 email regarding the accommodations for third/fourth passengers. Although it is not completely clear, a "double sofa bed" in regular veranda cabins appears to be one on trundle on floor and one on top of sofa. If anyone actually had 3/4 guests in a veranda cabin, I would appreciate learning more how it actually worked. Bedding, space around trundle when open, comfort of top of sofa, etc.?

 

Answer from Celebrity Customer Service Rep:

 

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay.

 

1. As a general rule, only the accessible staterooms have trundles that sleep one person. The trundle does pull out however, the width (not the length) has been shortened to ensure a 3ft clearance required for ADA purposes.

 

The sofas and trundles are the identical dimensions when presented as a sofa (ie, not pulled out). A trundle is sold as a third guest accommodation and not third and fourth; however, the guest could choose to sleep on the top of the sofa and not in the trundle. The trundle is on the floor and does not "pop-up" even with the sofa.

 

If a stateroom is booked with both an upper berth and a sofa bed. The third guest may sleep on the sofa or the upper berth.

 

A double sofa bed would be a sofa that pulls out info a double bed.

 

We hope this information is of assistance. For your convenience, we have enclosed a picture of the trundle bed in the attachment.

*********

end of quote

trundle photo was same as on CC

SO... the question still remains... are the cabins that are listed as sofas that sleep two... will it be a pull out sofa?? Or will it be a trundle and a person sleeping on top??

I wish someone had some real answers for me. My FV cabin states that it is a sofa that sleeps two... but I don't see a handle on the sofa indicating there is a trundle there??

Anyone know for sure?

See post #33/34 on this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=879405

Interesting. The above statement "A double sofa bed would be a sofa that pulls out info a double bed" combined with the deck plans that shows a square indicating that some cabins have a sofa bed that sleeps two would certainly seem to indicate that it pulls out into a double bed. If not, the above statement is certainly confused if not out right wrong.

I just cannot believe that no one at Celebrity knows the answer to this. I booked this cruise thinking that the sofa was going to be a decent bed... not a tiny little bed on the floor. I hope someone comes back soon with some answers??? It would be just lovely if the bed pulled out.

Interesting. The above statement "A double sofa bed would be a sofa that pulls out info a double bed" combined with the deck plans that shows a square indicating that some cabins have a sofa bed that sleeps two would certainly seem to indicate that it pulls out into a double bed. If not, the above statement is certainly confused if not out right wrong.

I'd go with X "confused". Host Anne said this in post #213 of her week: "ALL of the cabins I’ve seen have the same couch. It’s just a question of whether or not it’s a trundle (those with the main bed at the closet have a couch/trundle next to the veranda door). The only way I can see the couch/trundle sleeping two is if one person sleeps on the trundle (on the floor level) while the other actually sleeps on the couch."

We have seen so many veranda cabin photos now, and X states one can sleep on the sofa top, so Host Anne appears to be correct.

Back from Xmas cruise (#7241) with answers. A “sofa bed sleeps two” is the sofa with a trundle in all cabins up to Sky Suite, where a flip out convertible sofa is used.

For all verandas and CCs, one person is on the trundle bed (pulled out and remains on floor) and the other on the top of the sofa. Trundle mattress is comfortable; top of sofa, quite firm. The trundle mattress is on a platform that has storage for extra pillows and blankets under it. The trundle fits tightly into sofa base, and housekeeping must take off bedding to fit in back in. How bedding stays onto the top of sofa is a mystery because one cannot lift it like a mattress in front (must tie a flat sheet on and tuck it into back). With little space around the trundle, making the beds is a nightmare.

With the trundle fully out, there is 6 inches of space between it and the drawers; including handles, only 2 inches between! Forget going past bed to balcony, opening fridge, or bottom drawer. Since there was confusion about bedding before the cruise, I changed cabins to one with both a “sofa that sleeps two” and a pullman, even though only have one teen. Happily for us and cabin attendants, she chose to sleep on the pullman. We could continue to use sofa as such, reach the balcony, etc. even after bed was made up for night. Pullman was comfy and folded up neatly into ceiling (like a billfold, could just fold it against wall or fold it again all the way back into ceiling.).

With two extra guests, can’t use pullman and trundle because ladder only fits on front, somebody has to be on top of sofa. Four people will be very tight in a veranda cabin; and one, not very comfortable at night. Since Solstice pricing has been so much discounted, and there is only one bath and limited closet space, I would suggest considering connecting cabins or an inside across the hall for four people. With three people and a pullman we were fine, but beyond that seems cramped. Maybe someone who had four in a room could add to my comments. See photos. Ask any questions not answered.

I will know in 55 days or so.

I have a cabin set the way you just stated.

The pictures in the thread show it best.

We had a cabin and the attendent pulled the bed out of the ceiling.

I the AM it was made up and pushed back to give a lot of extra room.

My brother's family of five will be sailing with us on Solstice 2/22. They're in connecting OV cabins with one of them (as indicated on the =X= diagram) having a '3rd bed' that's the sofa.

I'm presuming that this will be a trundle, but don't know as yet. Will be certain to report back as soon as I know for sure.

NOTE TO HYLASGIRL: Good to have you back! Your cheery posts have been missed. My sis-in-law, "FactorXA," will be with us on the 2/22 sailing. I'm sure you'll see her posts here before long!!