For those who prefer S Class to E or M, tell me why.

[Jim_Iain]

On 6/20/2024 at 4:14 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Where are the quiet spaces on Beyond?

I don’t do well with crowded, loud, and shouty.😩

You can find some really nice quiet out of the way spaces in the Eden area on the ramp that traverses two floor.   There are lots of quiet little nooks and seating area -  quiet and secluded.

[Jim_Iain]

I've sailed all classes of ships over the past 24 years and I think that the S-Class is our go to class.    I've spend about 60 days on E-Class ships over the past 8 months and can only say we will probably never set foot on another e-Class. 

 

The main drivers of this decision is:

1.   None of the Specialty Restaurants and bars  are isolated from excessively loud music.  

2.   Food preparation in Luminae is hit and miss and is prepared banquet style (cooked in advance) as oppose to Cook to Order on the M and S class ships.

3.  Retreat Lounge is like a huge Airport Business Class lounge and lack the personalized feeling of the M- and S- Class ships

4.   Even while isolate in the Retreat the passenger count is really apparent when in Tender Ports or when all the tour busses arrive back at the ship at the same time.

 

We have instead after all these years traveling exclusively in Suites on Celebrity will be no longer a dedicated cruiser.   For the next 3 yeas we only have 2 cruises booked on Celebrity and both are on S-Class.   So far we have booked 2 Oceania, 2 Cunard, 1 Silver Sea and working on a Regent Sevenseas.

 

I can't say we are abandoning Celebrity but will base future bookings on Itinerary and Price.  

[shipshape sam]

Not sure why Celebrity does not look to revert to some traditional balcony cabins on their E class of ships.  They know how to convert public space to cabins.  Our favorite Speciality restaurant  on the M class ship Infinity and it was called (I think) USS United States.  Now it is about 1/2 the size with about 5 additional cabins and there is a different entrance. Same with adding cabins deck (10 I think) aft and taking about 1/2 of the jogging track and an area I never used was adding cabins in the conference room area on deck 3 I think. I know of at least one other area taken over, but not sure of the specifics right now.

 

If you want to be an elegant cruise line, you have to design it that way and keep it that way.  

 

I too do not get the Eden area of the ship.  We did go there a number of times, DW wanted to watch acrobatic show, but never ate there either for lunch or dinner.   We did like the 4 other restaurants with their themes, Liked the Greek the best with the lamb Shank.

[zitsky]

57 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

Not sure why Celebrity does not look to revert to some traditional balcony cabins on their E class of ships.  They know how to convert public space to cabins.  Our favorite Speciality restaurant  on the M class ship Infinity and it was called (I think) USS United States.  Now it is about 1/2 the size with about 5 additional cabins and there is a different entrance. Same with adding cabins deck (10 I think) aft and taking about 1/2 of the jogging track and an area I never used was adding cabins in the conference room area on deck 3 I think. I know of at least one other area taken over, but not sure of the specifics right now.

 

If you want to be an elegant cruise line, you have to design it that way and keep it that way.  

 

I too do not get the Eden area of the ship.  We did go there a number of times, DW wanted to watch acrobatic show, but never ate there either for lunch or dinner.   We did like the 4 other restaurants with their themes, Liked the Greek the best with the lamb Shank.

About what year would this be?  The USS restaurant?  And where is the Greek restaurant on the Infinity?

 

[shipshape sam]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

About what year would this be?  The USS restaurant?  And where is the Greek restaurant on the Infinity?

 

I checked  and it was the Summit in 2021 we were on, my mistake. The USS United States was on Infinity.  The Infinity now has Tuscan Grill and another small room.  Not sure if the wine room is still there. 

 

Do not recall the name for the Summit speciality restaurant, but it now also is the Tuscan grill.  I asked our waiter and they told me they added the additional cabins on Summit.  Going to the deck plans for Summit, there are 6 cabins where it used to be part of the Speciality Restaurant.  I quickly have looked at the M class deck plans and it looks like only Infinity has not added cabins and reduced the Specialy Dining area, but is is no longer USS United States and is Tuscan Grill

 

.  The other M class ships have along with the additional cabins on deck 3 starboard aft been added.

 

 As for the added cabins up on deck 10, it is actually deck 11 aft per the deck plans I just looked at.

 

 

I was interchanging talking about E class ships and M class ships and Edon on E class.  We were on Beyond in 2023

 

[NMTraveller]

On 6/21/2024 at 9:14 AM, C4HCG said:

We sailed the Edge in April and saw very few teenagers and if there was anything loud and shouty it was fellow passengers, not the ship. And have seen a number of those kinds of passengers on the Equinox when we’ve sailed on her.

I am just one of many that find E class loud and shouty.  Many reviews on here agree with me.

 

This is what happens when you reduce the number of indoor venues and make them much larger...  More people = more noise.

 

It also has to do with the design of the ship.  (As noted above).  When you compare a Muranos to a Fine Cuts, you will note that Muranos is composed of multiple rooms.  If perhaps one table is getting a bit noisy then only several tables will hear the noise.  Compare to Fine Cuts where it is just one big big room where you can hear all of the noise from all of the diners,  plus the noise and music coming from the FOYER.

 

I think that this was by design.  As the younger generation seem to like loud and shouty.

 

LOUD AND SHOUTY ...

 

I wonder what your thoughts are on STK Steakhouse in Las Vegas.  It is also another loud and shouty venue.

Edited Monday at 03:03 AM by NMTraveller

[NMTraveller]

On 6/21/2024 at 9:16 AM, PTC DAWG said:

My Wife and I are 59 and 60..we sail regularly with another couple 12 years or so older than us on Celebrity..we always book E Class when we can..so your generalizations are just that.  I find nothing loud and shouty about the Sunset Bar, or the plunge pools for that matter..the Coffee Bar is usually pretty chill too..the Retreat on E Class is on another dimension, albeit pricy. I wouldn’t spring for it on S Class..I like Aqua on that class just fine, if not a regularly balcony. 
 

I did get a chuckle out of the “spooky” area comment leading to Eden..not made by you..elsewhere in this thread. 

Are they going for a younger demo on E Class? They would  be wise to, IMHO

 

Hmmm.  Most like to spend their evenings indoors.  I guess you could go outside to avoid the loud and shouty in the evenings.  We did find Al Bacio to be noisy in the evenings from the Martini Bar.

 

 

Edited Monday at 03:04 AM by NMTraveller

[C4HCG]

3 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I am just one of many that find E class loud and shouty.  Many reviews on here agree with me.

 

This is what happens when you reduce the number of indoor venues and make them much larger...  More people = more noise.

 

It also has to do with the design of the ship.  (As noted above).  When you compare a Muranos to a Fine Cuts, you will note that Muranos is composed of multiple rooms.  If perhaps one table is getting a bit noisy then only several tables will hear the noise.  Compare to Fine Cuts where it is just one big big room where you can hear all of the noise from all of the diners,  plus the noise and music coming from the FOYER.

 

I think that this was by design.  As the younger generation seem to like loud and shouty.

 

LOUD AND SHOUTY ...

 

I wonder what your thoughts are on STK Steakhouse in Las Vegas.  It is also another loud and shouty venue.

Thanks for the explanation but doesn’t change our experience of 10 nights on the Edge not being loud and shouty. Others find it so I know, not sure why that’s relevant.

 

Never been to Las Vegas so have no opinion whatsoever on that steakhouse, again not sure why it’s relevant.

[villauk]

We’ve been on every S and M class ship at least one time, except for Summit. Our last and next 4 sailings are all on M class ships as we cruise for itineraries, not particular ships. Not been on an E class as their itineraries haven’t grabbed us as of yet, and I’m not sure I’d want to pay balcony prices for a glorified OV.
 

We are in an SV in Japan next on Millie - love those aft views. Agree with @Happy Cruiser 6143 regarding the penthouse suites on M class: best cabins at sea (followed by the ‘old’ FVs - our personal favourites) and they are on M class @zitsky 😉. Oh, and we have been to LV but I don’t remember the steakhouses, just the heat 🥵 (opening an oven door comes to mind 😂). In all fairness, we’re quite plain eaters and the specialty restaurants aren’t vitally important to us. None of them are like the old ‘Ocean Liners’, which was outstanding. 

[Gracie115]

9 hours ago, shipshape sam said:

I checked  and it was the Summit in 2021 we were on, my mistake. The USS United States was on Infinity.  The Infinity now has Tuscan Grill and another small room.  Not sure if the wine room is still there. 

 

Do not recall the name for the Summit speciality restaurant, but it now also is the Tuscan grill.  I asked our waiter and they told me they added the additional cabins on Summit.  Going to the deck plans for Summit, there are 6 cabins where it used to be part of the Speciality Restaurant.  I quickly have looked at the M class deck plans and it looks like only Infinity has not added cabins and reduced the Specialy Dining area, but is is no longer USS United States and is Tuscan Grill

 

 

 

All the M class ships had that wonderful specialty restaurant. On Summit it was the Normandie, on Millie it was the Olympia. The menus and service were wonderful. It was a very novel concept at the time but was wildly successful. Such a shame that they eliminated them. Murano on S class comes close but still falls short of the elegance of those original M class specialties.

[chemmo]

15 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

All the M class ships had that wonderful specialty restaurant. On Summit it was the Normandie, on Millie it was the Olympia. The menus and service were wonderful. It was a very novel concept at the time but was wildly successful. Such a shame that they eliminated them. Murano on S class comes close but still falls short of the elegance of those original M class specialties.

Agree…Do you remember the champagne afternoon tea the Ocean Liner restaurants used to do once per cruise? String trio performed as well…a little bit of real luxury…

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Never been to Las Vegas so have no opinion whatsoever on that steakhouse, again not sure why it’s relevant.

Just pointing out that loud and shouty is a thing with the younger crowd.  My experience is that it is a nightclub masquerading as a restaurant.  It is on the upper end of loud and shouty.  

[Gracie115]

29 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Agree…Do you remember the champagne afternoon tea the Ocean Liner restaurants used to do once per cruise? String trio performed as well…a little bit of real luxury…

Yes I do. Ocean Liner was on Connie, all the M class did the champagne tea… wonderful memories.

 

[TeeRick]

14 hours ago, shipshape sam said:

Not sure why Celebrity does not look to revert to some traditional balcony cabins on their E class of ships.  They know how to convert public space to cabins.  

Sam I'm not sure they can convert IV's into balconies from an engineering perspective.  If they could and were willing, it would be a very high cost.

[PTC DAWG]

Lots of good pros and cons of all the ship classes here..

 

Choices are good..

[chemmo]

27 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Lots of good pros and cons of all the ship classes here..

 

Choices are good..

Totally agree…

[Lois R]

16 hours ago, shipshape sam said:

I checked  and it was the Summit in 2021 we were on, my mistake. The USS United States was on Infinity.  The Infinity now has Tuscan Grill and another small room.  Not sure if the wine room is still there. 

 

Do not recall the name for the Summit speciality restaurant, but it now also is the Tuscan grill.  I asked our waiter and they told me they added the additional cabins on Summit.  Going to the deck plans for Summit, there are 6 cabins where it used to be part of the Speciality Restaurant.  I quickly have looked at the M class deck plans and it looks like only Infinity has not added cabins and reduced the Specialy Dining area, but is is no longer USS United States and is Tuscan Grill

 

.  The other M class ships have along with the additional cabins on deck 3 starboard aft been added.

 

 As for the added cabins up on deck 10, it is actually deck 11 aft per the deck plans I just looked at.

 

 

I was interchanging talking about E class ships and M class ships and Edon on E class.  We were on Beyond in 2023

 

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the original specialty restaurant on Summit was called "Normandie". 

[billc23]

6 hours ago, chemmo said:

Agree…Do you remember the champagne afternoon tea the Ocean Liner restaurants used to do once per cruise? String trio performed as well…a little bit of real luxury…

I do! Remember the Harp playing in the original Murano on the Century? Those were the days...

 

To me, the current Murano is an illusion of what Murano used to be.

[billc23]

Loud and shouty... I may be a nerd because I have a calibrated dB meter on my phone and it is easy to document actual noise levels. On the Solstice, last month with just me and my wife at the world class bar, we needed to shout to the bartender in order to communicate. I understand that level of noise at a crowded bar - but why pump in music at greater than 85dB??? There is an excitement when a lively environment ensues as a space fills up with conversing patrons, but to pump in loud music constantly makes no sense to me.

 

The S class sailings I was on were certainly more loud and shouty than in the past. A band would play in the Atrium on deck 3 beginning around 7pm. It made it difficult to converse in Cafe Bacio or the Sushi restaurant. Even made it difficult to relax in the multiple chairs placed at different levels around the open atrium - game room too. Why? Usually no one was on the dance floor except the last night of each cruise so who was enjoying the band? The ensemble lounge was fine as were the other spaces aft.

 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

14 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Loud and shouty... I may be a nerd because I have a calibrated dB meter on my phone and it is easy to document actual noise levels. On the Solstice, last month with just me and my wife at the world class bar, we needed to shout to the bartender in order to communicate. I understand that level of noise at a crowded bar - but why pump in music at greater than 85dB??? There is an excitement when a lively environment ensues as a space fills up with conversing patrons, but to pump in loud music constantly makes no sense to me.

 

The S class sailings I was on were certainly more loud and shouty than in the past. A band would play in the Atrium on deck 3 beginning around 7pm. It made it difficult to converse in Cafe Bacio or the Sushi restaurant. Even made it difficult to relax in the multiple chairs placed at different levels around the open atrium - game room too. Why? Usually no one was on the dance floor except the last night of each cruise so who was enjoying the band? The ensemble lounge was fine as were the other spaces aft.

 

 

Never noticed that on S class ships , but noticed you cannot hear anything on EClass because of the canned music coming out of the Martini bar 

since we never take Caribbean cruise do just the music loud on those cruises 

[billc23]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Never noticed that on S class ships , but noticed you cannot hear anything on EClass because of the canned music coming out of the Martini bar 

since we never take Caribbean cruise do just the music loud on those cruises 

My Solstice sailing was March to May 2024 from HK to Vancouver. No problem with loud canned music on prior years sailings on the Reflection - Med...TA...Caribbean 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

44 minutes ago, billc23 said:

My Solstice sailing was March to May 2024 from HK to Vancouver. No problem with loud canned music on prior years sailings on the Reflection - Med...TA...Caribbean 

I knew a number of people on that sailing , I never any complaints from them about the loud music 🤔

Edited Monday at 10:15 PM by Ex-Airbalancer

[Gracie115]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the original specialty restaurant on Summit was called "Normandie". 

Yes, I mentioned that a few posts back. We loved Normandie.

[George C]

4 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Never noticed that on S class ships , but noticed you cannot hear anything on EClass because of the canned music coming out of the Martini bar 

since we never take Caribbean cruise do just the music loud on those cruises 

There was lots of live music right next to martini bar on edge and beyond.

[billc23]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I knew a number of people on that sailing , I never any complaints from them about the loud music 🤔

The aft of the ship was fine. I think a lot depends on one's schedule. If one has an early dinner, proceeds to the 7pm show, walks by the busy World Class Bar and proceeds to the Ensemble lounge - no issue at all. Maybe hang out to see the band in the Atrium for a few as one heads to the casino. No problem because expectations are met. At 8pm in a crowded area the liveliness/noise is expected. Our schedule was different with going to the empty WCB at 6pm and being blasted with loud piped in music. 

 

Thankfully, the loudness is much easier to avoid on an S class ship compared to an E class ship. I'll be on the Apex in December and will have a great time... just need to decide where to go at what time. Some frequent posters say the breakfast in the OVC is not crowded with their strategy of going at 10:30am. That simply does not work well for many.