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

[gisnered]

Thats the only bummer with these S- Class ships- the almost total lack of a nice prommenade deck- <snip> where one really felels and SEE´s the Sea- nice wordmix though. LOL

Michael

 

Well, for me, it's only one item on a laundry list of reasons not to cruise "S" class ships. And I'm waiting to see how much damage they do to the "M" class with the "Solsticization". Meanwhile I've booked with a competitor to see if they will fill my needs.

[Michigan honey]

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.

 

Can anyone tell me if this deck is covered? Can two people walk side by side? Thanks.

[cruisestitch]

There is a covered area that runs the length of the ship on both sides, but does not wraparound. It is quite large-- that is where you would gather to have muster drill in the days when we all lined up outside in our lifejackets. There are lounge chairs and it is often a quiet out-of-the-way place to read and relax and it is plenty big enough for five or six people to walk side by side and not impact the loungers. It's a pleasant place for an outside stroll but do be aware that on high wind days they may restrict access to it, as to other outdoor deck areas.

[Wordzz]

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.

 

This was exactly our experience last week on the Eclipse. We found the jogging track to be next to useless, what with Mast Grill tables and sunbeds being pushed out to block the way, even a baby stroller or two, and people milling about aimlessly or making their way to sunbeds from the Oceanview Cafe with plates full of food. Also, the jogging track is largely uncovered, so not good if the weather is poor. For us, the lack of a wrap-around promenade deck is a serious design flaw on this ship; we happened to dock opposite a HAL ship in Tallin (Eurodam?) and saw that it appeared to have a proper, covered promenade deck. We were very jealous. Apart from that, and the stench of smoke in the Sky Lounge, we thought the Eclipse was a great ship.

[Estelle]

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.

 

My husband is a big fan of doing the full promenade circle and that turn around at the aft and front can almost blow me off the ship sometimes! And absolutely wrecks my hair - not long enough for a pony tail but not short enough to just fluff back into place. I actually prefer just walking up and down on some windy days.

 

I also find that not enough walking is never a problem onboard. We do more walking while on a cruise ship then we ever do in a weekday at work/home. We try to take the stairs as much as possible and always seem to need to get from one end of the ship to the other at least 10 times a day. That said, I am not a "serious" walker or jogger, so I don't miss that daily fix.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

 

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:

 

 

Or you could entertain yourself by gathering up all the stuff the chair hogs deposit and taking it to the pool butler's station. :D

[Michigan honey]

Or you could entertain yourself by gathering up all the stuff the chair hogs deposit and taking it to the pool butler's station. :D

 

What a great idea!!

[Host Anne]

I have to say that the lack of a true promenade on the S-class ships is the only thing I don't care for. We do the same thing We're the Groupnors do. We walk the promenade, enter the sliding doors at the Celebrity theater, cross over and walk down the other side of the promenade to the back sliding doors and across again. I can't recall how many laps make a mile but Guest Services can tell you. We're fine with this. With the sliding doors we barely slow down.

 

What I don't care for is the placement of the life boats that others have mentioned. Completely destroys the view of the ocean. It is sad.

 

gisnered ~ I've sailed Constellation recently and she's been Solsticized already. The didn't touch the promenade deck. :)