Lack of Promenade on Eclipse; where do you walk on deck?

[Michigan honey]

One of our greatest pleasures on cruises is walking the Promenade deck. The Eclipse does not have one. Where does one go to walk outside? Where does one go to take pictures off the ship? Even if you have a balcony, this does not give you a 360 degree view.

[cruisestitch]

The Lido deck above the pool deck has great views and you can walk all the way around.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/plancruise/ships/ship.do?shipCode=EC

[Fblack]

We have been on several S class ships and the Eclipse a few months ago. Many new ships don't have a Promenade deck that lets you walk all the way around. And I am not sure what you mean by a 360 degree view.

 

But there is a nice walking area above the pool on the Lido Deck and we love walking the Lawn Club area. You can also walk around outside the Entertainment Deck, just not in a full circle.

[Michigan honey]

We have been on several S class ships and the Eclipse a few months ago. Many new ships don't have a Promenade deck that lets you walk all the way around. And I am not sure what you mean by a 360 degree view.

 

But there is a nice walking area above the pool on the Lido Deck and we love walking the Lawn Club area. You can also walk around outside the Entertainment Deck, just not in a full circle.

 

Is there an area outside where you can walk and so many times around equal one mile? When you walk the lawn club area is the area covered or open? Is there a covered walking area like the promenade deck on other ships?

 

By a 360 degree view, I mean the ability to see outside from all four sides of the ship for picture taking.

[cruisestitch]

There is a walking/jogging track marked with how many laps equal a mile and a kilometer. It is not covered. As you noted, Eclipse does not have a covered promenade walk.

[psyfi]

The walking/ jogging track is the only thing that was not fantastic about the S-Class ships IMHO. The track goes around the upper level of the pool, it is in a high traffic area and has lounge chairs on both sides, which people often moved to block parts of the track so you had to walk around them. It is not covered. That said, the Lawn Club was our favourite place to hang out and anywhere on the top deck would give you great views.

[miched]

You can always walk the hallways on the state room decks. They are covered and the length of the ship. You can also walk the interior aisles where the shops, bars, and casino are. If you want to walk there are a lot of ways to do it if you get creative. You can walk the perimeter of all the top decks and go up and down some stairs and etc

 

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[Bundles917]

You can always walk the hallways on the state room decks. They are covered and the length of the ship. You can also walk the interior aisles where the shops, bars, and casino are. If you want to walk there are a lot of ways to do it if you get creative. You can walk the perimeter of all the top decks and go up and down some stairs and etc

 

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I once did the above; walked the entire inside of the Summit from the lowest deck to the highest from bow to stern. It was a good workout (included the stairs). But, as I passed each security camera, I wondered if someone was watching me on a monitor and pondering what I was up to.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I like walking inside in the hallways because it is air conditioned. Also it is good when the weather is inclement or is too hot. Some times of the day there are steward's carts in the halls that can slow you down a bit.

 

For my taste, the very best exterior walking prominade on a ship can be found on both Oasis and Allure. That is very well marked for distance and there are funny sayings along the way. Sunbathers do not stick lounge chairs out into your path because they do not sunbathe on the Prominade deck on these ships. Because of the length of these ships, you can really stretch out for a good walk or run. The prominade is covered too. You will not get a 360 degree view however.

[bob brown]

Most ships that do have true promenades that circle the entire ship request passengers not to run or jog, but only walk. The reason is there are usually cabins below the promenade, and the 'pounding' may disturb the occupants. These ships have a jogging track above the pools intended for that purpose.

I like the full promenades as their is usually a lot more space to walk, it is shaded and rain-protected, it affords closer views of the sea, than up high. It is also fun to watch the pilots embark/disembark from that vantage, as well as casting off, tying up activities when entering or leaving ports.

[Turtles06]

You can always walk the hallways on the state room decks. They are covered and the length of the ship. You can also walk the interior aisles where the shops, bars, and casino are. If you want to walk there are a lot of ways to do it if you get creative. You can walk the perimeter of all the top decks and go up and down some stairs and etc

 

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For me at least, in terms of walking on a cruise ship, there's nothing like walking around an outdoor deck, particularly in the early morning, and being able to see the water and smell the sea air. Walking the passageways just isn't a substitute (for me), and I hate that the trend in new ships is to do away with promenade decks.

[DCT61]

More and more disconnect with the sea. A disturbing trend.

[cruisestitch]

Not sure I'm getting this remark -- with Lawn Club and other outdoor venues, I'm not seeing any "disconnect from the sea" but it's all in perception, I guess.

[Lsimon]

I love walking the outside deck. My favorite in the past has been the M class which has a track on deck 11 that runs a loop from the far aft to midship and around the area one level above the pool and overlooking it. The loop is 1/5 mile (1/3 KM). The area by the pool is congested during mid day so it is a little slow but the other part of the track is usually wide open and great.

 

Unfortunately they are doing away with this great feature to add a handful of new cabins on the upcoming refurbishments of the M class, it will remain to be seen if there will be decent place to walk/jog on the M class ships post refurbishment.

 

On the S class:

There is a shorter version of this which runs in the open space on the Lido deck (deck 14?) also overlooking the pool. I don't recall for sure but I think it is 8 laps to the mile - it is posted a couple places on the deck. About 2/3 of the path is overlooking the pool and that is usually congested at mid day but is a bit wider than the section of the M-class path which overlooks the pool. Still there will be people who will pull chairs into that area and other non-walkers/joggers enjoying the area to slow you down a little so be patient.

 

Despite the congestion in these areas I do enjoy walking there early to mid afternoon as it is fun to listen to the band playing by the pool, see the pool activities and just people watch while walking. I just hope that that area remains usable and long enough on the M class after the upcoming refurbishment of those ships.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We were on the Eclipse in April and this was one of the major disappointments for us. You can walk on the 'promenade' deck (deck 5?) but it doesn't go all the way around so you just have to go back and forth.

 

The jogging/walking path, as others have said, is in a conjested area where many people have to go back and forth to the buffet or other Lido area places, and it has lounge chairs right on its edge, often on both sides.

 

Some people are either totally clueless or selfish and would pull their chairs partly out into the walking track so that people had to go around them, or, in a couple of cases, actually tripped on them and fell down!

 

Also, because there isn't another convenient way to get from the front to the back of the ship on this level, passengers not walking tended to wander aimlessly, sometimes in the wrong direction, in the path of the walkers.

 

Although we did walk the halls a couple of days when the weather wasn't the best (this was a TA), we much prefer to walk outside.

[We're The Groupnors]

We were on the Eclipse in June and regularly used the Promenade Deck. While it does not go all the way around, just before it ends there are sliding glass doors to the interior, so we just crossed over, out the sliding glass doors on the other side, and continued. It was a nice place to be away from the sun and wind, and the odd blast of air conditioning was pleasant when transitioning from one side of the ship to the other. They also have very comfy padded rockers on this deck to take a break and contemplate the view.

[Crazy Cruzer]

....Also, because there isn't another convenient way to get from the front to the back of the ship on this level, passengers not walking tended to wander aimlessly, sometimes in the wrong direction, in the path of the walkers....

 

Is the path one-way? Which is the right direction? I've never seen direction signs for either walkers nor those in the area for purposes other than walking.

 

We were on the Eclipse in June and regularly used the Promenade Deck. While it does not go all the way around' date=' just before it ends there are sliding glass doors to the interior, so we just crossed over, out the sliding glass doors on the other side, and continued. It was a nice place to be away from the sun and wind, and the odd blast of air conditioning was pleasant when transitioning from one side of the ship to the other. They also have very comfy padded rockers on this deck to take a break and contemplate the view.[/quote']

 

Was there an issue with smokers? On the top deck at least when you walk the small smoking area isn't very smoky due to the open deck and ocean breeze. How does the smoking side of the promenade compare?

[miched]

We were on the Eclipse in April and this was one of the major disappointments for us. You can walk on the 'promenade' deck (deck 5?) but it doesn't go all the way around so you just have to go back and forth.

 

The jogging/walking path, as others have said, is in a conjested area where many people have to go back and forth to the buffet or other Lido area places, and it has lounge chairs right on its edge, often on both sides.

 

Some people are either totally clueless or selfish and would pull their chairs partly out into the walking track so that people had to go around them, or, in a couple of cases, actually tripped on them and fell down!

 

 

I would use them as hurdles

 

Also, because there isn't another convenient way to get from the front to the back of the ship on this level, passengers not walking tended to wander aimlessly, sometimes in the wrong direction, in the path of the walkers.

 

Although we did walk the halls a couple of days when the weather wasn't the best (this was a TA), we much prefer to walk outside.

 

I guess that the ship designers and owners really don't want to accommodate or promote passengers walking or jogging around the ship. They must feel that the gym is enough plus they can't charge for people who want to walk or jog, so they offer those so called fitness classes that they can charge for and then try to sell you some snake oil diet supplement.

 

When we cruise we just use it as our rest period or break and don't bother with exercising. We will walk to town instead of taking the cabs but the walk is more for sight seeing than exercise. Right now we are on the 3rd week of Insanity that will end Aug 21. Will take a few weeks break before starting another program, that will then end before our next cruise. The body needs an occasional break or rest.

 

 

 

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[Nebr.cruiser]

Is the path one-way? Which is the right direction? I've never seen direction signs for either walkers nor those in the area for purposes other than walking.

 

 

 

Was there an issue with smokers? On the top deck at least when you walk the small smoking area isn't very smoky due to the open deck and ocean breeze. How does the smoking side of the promenade compare?

 

On most walking/jogging tracks there is signage that indicatates which direction people are supposed to walk--I don't remember whether this was indicated on this track (maybe not, since it is also the way to the buffet), but the track really isn't wide enough to accomodate people walking both ways--usually the left hand lane is for faster people, such as joggers, or for passing.

 

However, there were a lot of Europeans on this cruise, especially British, and I did wonder if perhaps walking directions on a track are the opposite of what we're used to? There seemed to be a lot of people going the 'wrong' way, though they didn't usually seem to be walkers.

 

I know it would be slightly inconvenient to walk a little farther in order to go the 'right' direction, but, at least, don't block the whole track or stop and talk in the middle of it.

 

I agree, it's a design flaw (maybe on purpose?) of these ships by Celebrity, making the walking track also one of the main routes to get to the back of the ship. There should be a dedicated walking area.

 

I wasn't bothered a lot by having to walk through the smoking area, but my husband is much more sensitive to smoke than I am and he did notice it. Smoking wasn't bad at all on the promenade. We did try the 'going through the doors to the other side' walking on the promenade, but found it a hassle.

 

I know many people don't like to exercise on vacations, but we really enjoy walking outside (rather than on the boring gym equipment, which we are stuck with at home during the winter, mostly) and much prefer the outside areas. Love walking in the fresh sea air and with the ocean views!

[Lsimon]

Is the path one-way? Which is the right direction? I've never seen direction signs for either walkers nor those in the area for purposes other than walking....

 

On most walking/jogging tracks there is signage that indicatates which direction people are supposed to walk--I don't remember whether this was indicated on this track (maybe not, since it is also the way to the buffet), but the track really isn't wide enough to accomodate people walking both ways--usually the left hand lane is for faster people, such as joggers, or for passing.

 

However, there were a lot of Europeans on this cruise, especially British, and I did wonder if perhaps walking directions on a track are the opposite of what we're used to? There seemed to be a lot of people going the 'wrong' way, though they didn't usually seem to be walkers.

 

I know it would be slightly inconvenient to walk a little farther in order to go the 'right' direction, but, at least, don't block the whole track or stop and talk in the middle of it....

 

I don't ever remember seeing signs of any sort whatsoever directing traffic on the track on any Celebrity ship nor even any sign indicating it is a walking/jogging track other than the small sign or two that indicate how many laps are a mile and the markings on printed deck plans (which I don't think are distributed on the ship).

 

I don't know if there is a right way or a wrong way. It's always seemed to me that most people walk counter clockwise but that there are usually some going the other way as well.

 

For better or worse the track path is a shared area and there are lots of others mid-day using the path for general going to and fro, standing around having conversations, sunning and carrying trays of food/drinks. While it's easy to be a little impatient when you're trying to exercise and the area is congested one has to remember that most people are clueless that it is a track (and understandably so) and have the same right to be there as others. So I try to be polite and understanding. The ones that truly irritate me are the sunbathers that pull their chairs into the middle of the path. Exercise path or not it is very impolite to block an aisle - but I hold my tongue and walk around.

 

Anyone who is a truly serious walker, or pretty much any jogger, would be much better off using the track early in the morning or very late afternoon. Beside if you walk real early in the morning you can entertain yourself by watching all the chair hogs coming out early to put markers on pool chairs before they head back inside for breakfast and other morning activities.:rolleyes:

 

Personally, I like to sleep in and have a slow morning and do my walking around noon, before a late lunch. Enjoying that time of day and the sights on deck is worth putting up with a little bit of traffic while I try to work off enough calories to justify the martinis and desserts that evening.

[TMLAalum]

If you take the forward and aft steps to/from Deck 15 from the jogging track on Deck 14 you can circle the entire S-class ship outdoors.

[Gracie115]

If you take the forward and aft steps to/from Deck 15 from the jogging track on Deck 14 you can circle the entire S-class ship outdoors.

 

 

Yes...I was thinking this same thing....maybe no one wants to walk the steps...I did it over and over...day and night....better exercise than just a walk on flat surface...

[Germancruiser]

Thats the only bummer with these S- Class ships- the almost total lack of a nice prommenade deck- with those lifeboats hanging there and blocking the views. I wonder whos idea this was. Well there are a lot of nice areas to walk by- but nothing compared with the prommenade deck where one really felels and SEE´s the Sea- nice wordmix though. LOL

Michael

[We're The Groupnors]

Was there an issue with smokers? On the top deck at least when you walk the small smoking area isn't very smoky due to the open deck and ocean breeze. How does the smoking side of the promenade compare?

 

We only ever saw one or two smokers at a time on the Promenade Deck smoking area, so it wasn't too bad. However, it was almost impossible to get to the Aqua Spa Cafe from the starboard side of the outdoor pool area due to the number of smokers crammed into that area.

[Fixit2010]

I don't see what the problem is.

The promenade runs from front to back on both sides.

OK so you can't walk continuously around. However you get to the end and you can either walk inside and out again on the opposite side, or turn around and walk back.

Now I may be overstating the obvious, but when you are in the middle of the ocean, at night, the view from one side of the ship is very much the same as the other side. So walking up and down is almost the same as walking around the ship.

 

On a lot of ships with the full 360 deck, there is often a wind tunnel at one end or the other that people don't like crossing in to anyway and they normally moan about that.