M class vs s class ships

[JP1947]

Would you go back to m class ships after sailing on s class ships>

[Fblack]

For me, only for a great deal or special itinerary. As an Elite member I have been on M Class ships numerous times and the Equinox once. We really liked the cabin layout and features of the Equinox.

 

I am not sure what I would do after the M class ships get retrofitted with some S Class features. But the Equinox is hard to beat.

[jojun24]

Would you go back to m class ships after sailing on s class ships>

Yes. Just sailed the Solstice after 5 cruises on 'M' ships (Infinity, Summit, Constellation). We enjoyed the Solstice immensely. However, I also enjoyed the 'M' ships and would not hesitate to cruise again on an 'M' ship. I particularly enjoy the 'T-pool' on the 'M' ships. No equivilent on the Solstice.

[hcat]

Yes, altho' we love S class & are booked on Equinox, S class ships do not go to some of the ports that M class ships do--we are booked now on Summit for a cruise to Bermuda & will look for a Panama Canal cruise on Infinity or Connie in the future..

 

Best ship is still Mercury with the real T pool (despite having a bad noro outbreak right now!!)

[Denny01]

Agree with John and June, and in fact, we have already 'gone back'. We've cruised on every M-Class ship and it was our favorite Class. We completed a E Med/TA B2B in Nov/Dec 09 on the Solistce and Loved her! Beautiful..loved the specialty restaurants...the library and the card room overlooking the atrium is fantastic. Also loved the larger Bathroom with the glass shower enclosure.

 

But our next cruise is on the Millinnium, Vancouver to San Diego Wine Cruise. We've done this similar itinerary on the Mercury so we jumped on this one. Main reason? The T-Spa and the general layout of M-Class ships. I'd love to go S-Class but I don't really feel I'm compromising, just enjoying a different venue. We go forward cabins on M-Class so we can zip up to the T-spa and Aqua Cafe (liked the Cafe setup better on the M-Class) in the morning.

 

We cruise for the ship...love itineraries and booked this one because of the San Francisco overnight...but we are cruising for the ship, and we feel very lucky to have both M-Class and S-Class that meet our needs.

 

Denny

[Phxazzcruisers]

We absolutely love the S Class ships and have done the Solstice and Equinox and will do Eclipse. That being said, we absolutely love Celebrity and have gone back to Century and will do the others when the itinerary matches what we are looking for.

[cruisnuts]

We sailed Solstice last year and although she is a beautiful ship, we just love the M-Class ships much better. We felt that the service that we have been spoiled with by Celebrity on M-Class was not the same on the S-Class. Meals were never served hot and we just felt like we were on Princess again. We are sailing Summit in 10 days and can't wait! :D

[C 2 C]

We cruised on Solstice for three weeks after the inaugural and cruised on Equinox in January and again B2B on Solstice. We have booked 5 more M-class ships and no S class for this year. We will probably go on Eclipse just to say we have been there.

 

The beauty of the M-class does not compensate for the practicality and ease of movement on the S-Class.

 

It's not that we did not like the S-class but for us M-class is home.

 

Having said all that, when we left Solstice and boarded Constellation the same day, we had an OMG moment. The colors used on Constellation are truly ugly in comparison to the new builds. Not waiting for an elevator forever during the voyage is worth more than the visual display while waiting on Solstice and Equinox.

[AJD]

We sailed Mercury a very short time after Equinox and thought Mercury to be a far better experience. Far more personal attention is provided on the smaller ships.

 

Not to say the new ships aren't nice, we are booked on Eclipse, but absolutely no problem going back to either M or C class, with M class as our first choice.

[cruise kitty]

Yes, for the T Pool, I really missed it on the Solstice, but the Solstice was fabulous.

[texkan]

Will be sailing on Solstice in April (first time) and I am looking forward to seeing the new ship.

 

I have sailed Constellation (M Class) twice and will explore booking her for 2011. We prefer the smaller class ships. Great that Constellation is be updated - love that ship.

[Lois R]

Yes, I went on Equinox for 4 nights in November and then on Summit

in January and have another cruise booked on Summit in May.

Not that Equinox isn't lovely but I also prefer the M and C class.

I remember when I thought M class would be too big for me...now I really

like them.:)

The S class? Maybe I need to sail one for a week and give them

another chance:eek:

[jd1966]

Can't go wrong with either class of ship!!! They both have their own personalities.

[BellKat]

We much prefer the M class. Solstice was beautiful, full of glitz & glamour, but way too big for our taste. Just sailed on Azamara Quest and discovered we really like the smaller ships. Would not preclude us from sailing on an M class again though but probably not S class again. All of our friends would have to be going for us to think about it again.

[Seapoint]

Have done 3 weeks on Solstice and numerous cruises on M class. All have been great, but S class is clearly a step up. In particular, Aquaclass and Blu are a whole new level. Blu, which is as good as any of the other speciality restaurants, gives one an intimate "ship within a ship" experience.

 

While I miss the T pool, and Perry on the Connie, all things considered I would opt for the S class. However, if I liked a particular M class itinery, I would be just as happy to be on the Millie, Connie, Infinity or Summit.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Haven't tried the S class ships yet, we may do that next year on a Baltic cruise. Then again, we may stick with the M class itinerary. If they ever get around to publishing them!!!

 

I really love the M class ships!

[floridatravelersforlife]

WE did the Equinox Holyland cruise last October and the Infinity Antarctica cruise this February.

 

Similarities both are big ships. Frankly on either ship, pax tend to disappear. On departure from both cruises my DW and I remarked there were pax we never saw during the cruise. They must have snuck on at the last port!!

 

S Class positives more variation of food in upstairs buffet, newer, more stunning decoration. After three cruise days the newness becomes a familiarity.

 

S Class negatives no aft elevators so if you stay aft its a long walk midshps to go up or down. Good for burning calories

 

M Class positives. Better Persian Garden layout for us. Aquaspa crowd on S class overruns it sometimes. More variation in steam baths. Staff are friendlier and more attentative on M Class.

 

M Class Negatives obviously they are older ships. But they are spruced up despite the aging. On the Infiinity we felt there was a comfortable "patina" to the ship. Our expectations on cruises is not the same as Vegas. And after the severe weather and heavy seas (27 ft waves) we experienced on our Antarctic cruise on the Infinity, we are totally confident in the seaworthiness of the M Class. Can't comment yet on the S Class

 

All said we plan to do an Eclipse Cruise this next winter, just because

[travelingmom37]

We also prefer the M-Class ships, leaving on Millennium next week. Solstice is beautiful, better designed ( i.e. cabin door openings) but was just too large. All of the extra restaurants took away from the MDR experience. It further created what I felt was a class-tiered environment (aqua class, etc.) .We are Elite X cruisers so we were hardly envious.

 

I hope the "solsticizing" planned for the M class ships does not take away their charms. We especially missed the Cova Cafe, and T- Pool area.

 

IMHO, no Celebrity ship can be bad, just different.:)

[C 2 C]

And after the severe weather and heavy seas (27 ft waves) we experienced on our Antarctic cruise on the Infinity, we are totally confident in the seaworthiness of the M Class. Can't comment yet on the S Class.

 

We definitely would prefer to sail on M-class rather than S-class in rough seas. The Inaugural sailing of Solstice, when rough seas deposited a thick layer of salt on our 8th deck balcony, produced about the worst "ride" that I can remember on any large ship. We did not get sick but many passengers and crew members did. Up & down, side to side, corkscrew flex...

In the seaside cafe, when the seas began to subside, one passenger was commenting that she had just returned from guest relations. Her complaint: the captain was too young to handle this type of vessel and it was his fault that the seas affected the Solstice this badly and that her children were so seasick. :eek:

[ellbon]

We definitely would prefer to sail on M-class rather than S-class in rough seas. The Inaugural sailing of Solstice, when rough seas deposited a thick layer of salt on our 8th deck balcony, produced about the worst "ride" that I can remember on any large ship. We did not get sick but many passengers and crew members did. Up & down, side to side, corkscrew flex...

In the seaside cafe, when the seas began to subside, one passenger was commenting that she had just returned from guest relations. Her complaint: the captain was too young to handle this type of vessel and it was his fault that the seas affected the Solstice this badly and that her children were so seasick. :eek:

 

ok now we can blame the captain not the ship.

i read you are going back on the Connie but you mention 5 cruises- which ship besides the Connie??

[LeftcoastBC]

We much prefer the M class. Solstice was beautiful, full of glitz & glamour, but way too big for our taste. Just sailed on Azamara Quest and discovered we really like the smaller ships. Would not preclude us from sailing on an M class again though but probably not S class again. All of our friends would have to be going for us to think about it again.

 

What she said..lol

but they couldn't get me in a plane for days and days to try out the Quest.

[DrKoob]

What she said..lol

but they couldn't get me in a plane for days and days to try out the Quest.

 

As my buddy said and before him my lovely bride...one Solstice class was enough for me. Too darn big. Plus it feeds into the idea that the ship is the destination. We we are just off the Quest in Hong Kong and it was by far our best cruise ever. The ports were the destination, not the ship. The ship was where we came back to at night.

 

Have done a big old bunch of X cruises and probably still will (especially on M and C class ships) but my new favorite cruise line is Azamara. What a difference.

 

Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

 

Jim

[neilrr]

As my buddy said and before him my lovely bride...one Solstice class was enough for me. Too darn big. Plus it feeds into the idea that the ship is the destination. We we are just off the Quest in Hong Kong and it was by far our best cruise ever. The ports were the destination, not the ship. The ship was where we came back to at night.

 

Have done a big old bunch of X cruises and probably still will (especially on M and C class ships) but my new favorite cruise line is Azamara. What a difference.

 

Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

 

Jim

 

DrKoob - Jim - We are on the Millennium next week (with TravelingMom37) for the 4th time over the years and just love that ship. Good size, not too crowded etc... We also have a cruise scheduled for June on the Solstice (1st on S Calss), as they were having such great deals and we live a stone's throw from Port Everglades.

 

We also had some reservations and are willing to give it a shot. We waited a year for Celebrity to get the bugs out. Some issuies we still see are the elevators (only two banks instead of three); we made sure our cabin is on the hump (deck 9) - bigger balcony and near the elevator, the dining issue of Blu vs. MDR (IMO bad precedent to set - a tiered system) as mentioned earlier; some wasted space (i.e. lawn - as pool area is sacrificed); disco (Quasar) now on Promenade Deck rather than in Observation Lounge - like who is looking out on a black ocean at night?:confused: Would like to hear some comments on Disco.

 

We also feel that people are "overwhelmed" by the beauty of the ship-- but I look not only at the beauty of the ship -- but the food, service, etc.. Celebrity is trying to appeal to the younger set -- but it is their "well heeled" mid-life client base that keep the line going strong.

 

As for Azamara --their prices are high as they are giving you a higher quality of service (and separate itself from Celebrity proper) giving wine, beer and possibly better food (though subjective) they are trying to compete with Crystal, etc..-- but personally, I would rather be able to take 2-3 cruises a year on Celebrity, than 1 every year or so on Azmara.

 

Anyway, I am sure it will be nice on Solstice, but right now I am still partial to M Class.

 

P.S. We even went on the Century to Russia and Scandanavia two summers ago - but I missed my indoor pool for the cooler weather; would take it again but only in a warm weather itinerary (love C Class too).

 

Enjoy your next cruise...

Neil

[DrKoob]

Don't believe all that you read about Azamara's pricing. Our 14 day Asian cruise in a 1A verandah stateroom cost us less than any of our 10+ cruises on X ever did. There were so many discounts and so much OBC it was almost less than us going to Alaska. Seriously.

 

And if you would like my complete view on Solstice vs M-class check ou my Solstice review at http://web.mac.com/jimbellomo/Solstice-Florida/Solstice.html

 

Jim

[C 2 C]

 

And if you would like my complete view on Solstice vs M-class check ou my Solstice review at http://web.mac.com/jimbellomo/Solstice-Florida/Solstice.html

 

Jim

 

Thanks Jim, you said it so well.. great buffet choices but no place to sit and enjoy it; it always seemed crowded.