Solstice vs M class elevators?

[LB_NJ]

I just noticed that M class have 3 banks (front, mid, aft) of elevators and Solstice class ships (eg Eclipse) only have 2, front and mid.

 

I haven’t yet travelled on a Solstice class ship.  Do the lack of aft elevators lead to very long walks for those in the back of the ship?

[Northern Aurora]

I don't find the walk to be particularly long, but I don't have any mobility issues either.  

[Tom and Ingrid]

The Solstice-class are longer and you definitely have more (longer) cabins to pass if headed from the elevators to the rear cabins. Just counting, it is like 30 cabins to the back vs a dozen on the Millennium-class.  Probably a distance that is covered in under a minute, and definitely noticeable.  

I sort of enjoy walking down the cabin corridors, but that's no everyone's cup of tea. In any case, I don't think it qualifies as "very long" walks, just "more" walking.

[PTC DAWG]

• I haven't sailed M class, but with 3 elevator banks and a smaller ship, yes, I would say less walking on that class for sure.  

[hcat]

less choice and  def more cruisers for each set of elevs when they eliminated the third set of elevs....esp at peak times!

 

It was a big topic years ago...

Edited May 15 by hcat

[ScottC4746]

9 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

I just noticed that M class have 3 banks (front, mid, aft) of elevators and Solstice class ships (eg Eclipse) only have 2, front and mid.

 

I haven’t yet travelled on a Solstice class ship.  Do the lack of aft elevators lead to very long walks for those in the back of the ship?

I was on Solstice in 2022 and the lifts are in two banks mid ship plus one towards the front.  Only the mid ship ones go to floors up to 14.  The front ones go 3 - 15 and then you have to ascend stairs to 16 which is just the solstice deck with deck chairs.  It should be noted that while there are retreat suites, the Solstice is not revolutionized so there is not a retreat deck.

Back to your question, we found the center elevators packed at times because they overlook the atrium and suspended tree.  We only took them to go up and walked down.

[RTShaker]

17 minutes ago, hcat said:

less choice and  def more cruisers for each set of elevs when they eliminated the third set of elevs....esp at peak times!

 

It was a big topic years ago...

But the total number of elevators is still 12 with the midship being 8 cars rather than 4 as in the M class.

[RTShaker]

32 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

I haven’t yet travelled on a Solstice class ship.  Do the lack of aft elevators lead to very long walks for those in the back of the ship?

The only time the walk is longer for the aft cabins is going to the Sunset Bar. The trip to Oceanview is just marginally further.

[ScottC4746]

4 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

The only time the walk is longer for the aft cabins is going to the Sunset Bar. The trip to Oceanview is just marginally further.

I didn't find it a long walk.  But what I don't find a long walk, an older person or one with limited mobility may feel like they are walking end to end.

Here is the link to the deck plans for the Solstice.  Celebrity Solstice Deck Plans | Celebrity Cruises

[hcat]

8 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

But the total number of elevators is still 12 with the midship being 8 cars rather than 4 as in the M class.

our  cruises on these ships were pre E class,  so I defer to those with more recent experience ...altho I  clearly recall it was an " issue" that was much discussed  .

 

we will be back on Silhouette in Dec.  looking forward to it!

[lovecruzin]

Its not a long walk unless you have mobility issues or if you are at Tuscan or Blu and realize you need a sweater 😆 

[leaveitallbehind]

Actually I think the M class third set of elevators (far aft) is somewhat unusual as every other ship class we sail with Celebrity and RCCL has only the two.  Not that I mind the third set, but it is unique to us in that manner.

[PTC DAWG]

The far aft elevators would be really nice to have accessing the Sunset bar from your SV. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

E class ships also only have bow and mis ship elevators 

Really what difference does it make , 

if you want the cruise on the ship , you have make do with it 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Actually I think the M class third set of elevators (far aft) is somewhat unusual as every other ship class we sail with Celebrity and RCCL has only the two.  Not that I mind the third set, but it is unique to us in that manner.

 

The layout for the 3 sets of elevators on Millennium class ships (aft-mid-bow locations) is an older ship design I would say.  Horizon and Century class ships had the same layout for their 3 sets of elevators.  It's the newer Celebrity ships that have gone away from that.  

[George C]

Love the elevator on M class we book suites so we are normally very close to aft . Hate the walk from aft on E class

[DaKahuna]

We just did 13-days on Millennium in the Aqua Sky Suite adjacent to the Penthouse Suite on deck 6 — As far aft as you can go.  We found the aft elevator’s very convenient and seldom has to wait for one to appear.  Most people used the mid-ship’s elevators but the only time we used them was going to/from the gangway.  

 

The walk from the mid-ship elevators to the aft cabins is comparable to the walk on the S-class rear elevators to the Aft Corner Suites we enjoy on that class.  

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Having just been on Solstice I think I can definitively say --- Yes--  This is also true of the Edge Class ships.   If you are full aft or full forward you will definitely put on more steps.   That can also be a good thing.    Also if you are full forward you have a long walk to the OVC. 

[abbydancer2003]

We just got off of the Solstice, and for 28 of our 41 days were in an aft corner sky suite.  We were on deck 7, and that may have been longer then higher decks.  We were constantly joking about needing provisions for our walk to our room.   It was a hike.  

 

DH just pointed out that there are crew elevators in the back, he said he saw them.  If not, our poor wonderful butler had a lot of hiking to do, as he had the aft skys.

 

 

[LB_NJ]

19 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

E class ships also only have bow and mis ship elevators 

Really what difference does it make , 

if you want the cruise on the ship , you have make do with it 

It might influence your decision as to what room to book or whether or not to book a guarantee class or make an upgrade bid.

[rcrabb1513]

21 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

I just noticed that M class have 3 banks (front, mid, aft) of elevators and Solstice class ships (eg Eclipse) only have 2, front and mid.

 

I haven’t yet travelled on a Solstice class ship.  Do the lack of aft elevators lead to very long walks for those in the back of the ship?

We had an aft facing cabin on Silhouette (Solstice Class) and as the 10 night cruise progressed the walk did become a bit of a drag, but certainly not a show stopper.  We do not have mobility issues.  I would think it would be a bigger issue if you forgot something, like excursion tickets, in your stateroom and had to return.  Thankfully, we didn't experience this. 

 

OFF TOPIC: The biggest issue we had was the wrong stateroom sea pass cards were left at our door.  I ripped open the envelope without checking the name on it and our dang door wouldn't open. 🙂  After trying both cards I finally glanced at them and realized they were not ours!  A stateroom attendant was in the hall and he found the correct ones within in minutes.  I can't imagine what the other people must of thought when they found their cards in an envelope ripped open!

[Milhouse]

Overall, I kind of like the configuration of the elevators on S-class as the midship elevators kind of take you to the entrance/start of the Oceanview Cafe and MDR. I don't really notice the walk through those areas.  Whereas, strangely, it does feel like a bit of a hike on deck 5 to get to the restaurants at the back of the ship (ie Tuscan Grill).  Also we're sailing on AQ for the first time during our next cruise so I'm curious how we'll enjoy walking to Blu regularly.  

On M-class, we found ourselves exiting our forward cabin and walking down the hallway to the aft elevators to shoot us into the middle of the Oceanview Cafe which was ok too.  I generally don't love walking the narrow hallways for the length of the ship but that was our routine.  

[phoenix_dream]

Whether it is a long walk is relative.  If you are mobility challenged, then yes it is a long walk.  If you're sitting at the pool or in a lounge and remembered that you forgot something in your cabin, the walk seems very long indeed.  Overall I prefer mid-ship cabins for their convenience to everything.  But I definitely love S class ships and would not hesitate to sail in a far aft cabin if it was a desirable one - worth the compromise.

[bEwAbG]

I'm on team "it's a long walk."  I'm not mobility challenged but being in those corner aft suites, you get a lot of steps in.  I did forget something on one of those walks, and we were already running late.  Having to go back to the room added more time to the lateness.  I prefer the M-class aft elevators for convenience.

[Tom and Ingrid]

Conceptually, going from the front of the ship on one deck to the back of the ship on another deck (or vice versa) takes the identical amount of steps & time regardless of the elevator locations.  

 

Where it comes into play seems to be the "got to the elevator and realized I forgot my xyz" situation or the "suite in the rear, and headed to Oceanview" sort of thing where you go out to the elevators (or stairs), up/down accordingly, and backtrack to the destination.

 

We're generally mid-ship, so for us, it's more remembering to turn left or right when leaving the room for the most efficient staircase to use. Too many times I've reached the deck I want and realized I had headed forward when I wanted to head back 😄. That's where my extra steps come in.