Do you miss outdoor Promenade Decks on the big ships?

[Susie51]

This may sound dumb to many of you, but it just "sunk in" that there is no outdoor Promenade deck on Explorer of the Seas. I enjoy doing walking laps around the promenade deck, sitting in the lounge chairs reading, and watching the docking process from the rail which is much closer to the action than up on the jogging track level.

 

Do you miss these activities on Explorer and other RCI big ships? What do you do instead?

[Clarea]

This may sound dumb to many of you, but it just "sunk in" that there is no outdoor Promenade deck on Explorer of the Seas. I enjoy doing walking laps around the promenade deck, sitting in the lounge chairs reading, and watching the docking process from the rail which is much closer to the action than up on the jogging track level.

 

Do you miss these activities on Explorer and other RCI big ships? What do you do instead?

Explorer has an outdoor Promenade deck on deck 4. Maybe you are thinking of Oasis and Allure, which do have an outdoor deck on deck 5, but the view is mostly blocked by the lifeboats.

Edited April 23, 2012 by clarea

[mjldvlks]

This may sound dumb to many of you, but it just "sunk in" that there is no outdoor Promenade deck on Explorer of the Seas. I enjoy doing walking laps around the promenade deck, sitting in the lounge chairs reading, and watching the docking process from the rail which is much closer to the action than up on the jogging track level.

 

Do you miss these activities on Explorer and other RCI big ships? What do you do instead?

Haven't been on Oasis or Voayger class but have been on Sovereign, Vision, Radiance, and Freedom classes and all have outdoor promenade decks on 4 or 5. In fact, the Freedom class has an area that bows out from the side of the ship [i think it is where it goes around the MDR]. That is one of my favorite places for "ocean gazing" on any RCI ship.

Edited April 23, 2012 by mjldvlks

[Susie51]

Thank you so much for your replies! This news makes me very happy.

[RoyalDiamond]

The only ships that have obstructed views from the outdoor promenade are Oasis/Allure. Explorer and all others have a normal promenade deck. Yes, I do miss it on Oasis and Allure, but there are still a few places between the lifeboats where you can get a non-obstructed view, and the view in the rear is fantastic, and even has lounge chairs.

[reallyitsmema]

Thank you so much for your replies! This news makes me very happy.

Great place to sit and relax. Just stop by Cafe Promenade and grab a coffee and a snack first.:p One thing to note, one side is smoking and the other side of the deck is non-smoking so be sure to pick the side that suits your needs. There are many signs showing which side is which.:)

[johneeo]

Explorer and all others have a normal promenade deck.

 

Well, yes and no.

 

Explorere has an outside deck on deck 4, but, it does not continue to aft and around the whole ship.

 

Was on the Westerdam many years ago, and their promenade deck was really great, you could walk around the entire ship on the outside deck.

[littlesteelo]

Well, yes and no.

 

Explorere has an outside deck on deck 4, but, it does not continue to aft and around the whole ship.

 

Was on the Westerdam many years ago, and their promenade deck was really great, you could walk around the entire ship on the outside deck.

 

Yes it does, it goes all the way round the aft of the ship. It is very noisy since there is a lot of ventilation there, plus the wake of the ship. It continues on Deck 5 at the front of the ship where the helipad is, so you have to walk up the stairs, but technically the promenade does go all the way around the ship.

Edited April 23, 2012 by littlesteelo

[Johnd6rose]

Yes it does, it goes all the way round the aft of the ship. It is very noisy since there is a lot of ventilation there, plus the wake of the ship. It continues on Deck 5 at the front of the ship where the helipad is, so you have to walk up the stairs, but technically the promenade does go all the way around the ship.

 

Definitely missed the promenade deck on the Silhouette. :(

[RoyalDiamond]

Yes it does, it goes all the way round the aft of the ship. It is very noisy since there is a lot of ventilation there, plus the wake of the ship. It continues on Deck 5 at the front of the ship where the helipad is, so you have to walk up the stairs, but technically the promenade does go all the way around the ship.

Exactly! It DOES go all the way around. We would go out to the helipad frequently, and continue our walk arond the entire promenade (with a few stairs, as stated).

[johneeo]

Yes it does, it goes all the way round the aft of the ship. It is very noisy since there is a lot of ventilation there, plus the wake of the ship. It continues on Deck 5 at the front of the ship where the helipad is, so you have to walk up the stairs, but technically the promenade does go all the way around the ship.

 

Sorry, but the Explorer of the Seas that I was on twice, the 4th deck outside promenade did not go all the way around.

 

If you walked aft, it ended, and you needed to go inside.

[Aquahound]

Sorry, but the Explorer of the Seas that I was on twice, the 4th deck outside promenade did not go all the way around.

 

If you walked aft, it ended, and you needed to go inside.

 

You have to be thinking of something else. The promenade absolutely does go all the way around on Explorer, as it does on all Voyager Class. Is it possible it was just roped off for some reason on your cruise?

[johneeo]

You have to be thinking of something else. The promenade absolutely does go all the way around on Explorer, as it does on all Voyager Class. Is it possible it was just roped off for some reason on your cruise?

 

I am not mistaken.

 

Here is a picture of deck 4 looking aft. Might be hard to see, but, it clearly does not continue all the way aft.

 

[Aquahound]

I am not mistaken.

 

Here is a picture of deck 4 looking aft. Might be hard to see, but, it clearly does not continue all the way aft.

 

 

Yea, what you see back there is the dining room windows that stick out. the walkway goes out around those windows, then continues aft and around the back of the ship.

[littlesteelo]

This is a picture right at the back of the ship on deck 4:

 

Edited April 23, 2012 by littlesteelo

[smoosh21]

I agree. I have been on both the Voyager and the Explorer and you can walk around the whole promenade deck. I did this many times on my Transatlantic. I enjoy doing the laps on the ship. And I did spend a lot of time watching the wake from that deck

 

I definitely did not like the fact that the Oasis, while it had the full lap, was obstructed by the lifeboats.

[ollienbertsmum]

This is a picture right at the back of the ship on deck 4:

 

 

Not quite the place for my morning constitutional.

[will773]

Not quite the place for my morning constitutional.

 

No, but it's the closest you can get to the wake of the ship. Very peaceful.

 

[P&C4/16/67]

The Nordic Empress had a beautiful Prom Deck.

[Janice M]

Our last 9 cruises have been on Voyager class ships and on all of them deck 4 goes all around the ship. On the forward end you have to walk up some steps, then continue around. Many times there is maintainance work being done and then you can't walk around. This is one of my favorite areans of the ship. I like to take my walk around a few times then sit in one of the deck chairs.

 

Jan

[Ocean Boy]

Sorry, but the Explorer of the Seas that I was on twice, the 4th deck outside promenade did not go all the way around.

 

If you walked aft, it ended, and you needed to go inside.

 

It really is ok to say that you were wrong.;)

Edited April 23, 2012 by Ocean Boy

[Cruzaholic41]

It really is ok to say that you were wrong.;)

 

+1. I was thinking the same thing. ;)

[johneeo]

+1. I was thinking the same thing. ;)

 

Guess I was wrong.

 

But, I can tell you, on my cruise on the EOS, you could not do deck 4 aft.

 

Must have been closed off for work or something, as I spent much time on deck 4 and was disappointed that you could not walk around it.

 

And for the record, again, I was wrong.

[johneeo]

It really is ok to say that you were wrong.;)

 

I was wrong.

[sail2sea]

I absolutely miss them on Oasis class. I think lack of a promenade is the only thing I do not like about that class. And that's why as awesome as Oasis class is, Freedom class remains my go to ships.

 

I hope Royal brings them back to Sunshine ships.