For those of you who love the interior Promenade on RCI ships...

[The Fun Researcher]

One thing we absolutely LOVE about RCI's Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships are the interior promenades that basically stretch for to aft 4 decks high. This is a fantastic open area inside the ship, and also makes for ease of getting around. We love the feel and look of them.

 

We're considering a cruise on an S class ship next year (Silhouette) but wonder how the feel of the ship's interior compares to the RCI class ships mentioned above. (particularly Freedom and Voyager class) All of the other areas that I see on the Celebrity S class ships look great, but wondering how much we might miss the interior Promenade.

 

Kindly,

Dan

[kenevenpar]

I think only you can answer that. The S class ships are completely different, without that promenade look. They are also smaller than Freedom or Oasis class; something we enjoy. The S Class ships are "classier", with good food, wonderful staterooms, and a great Martini bar!

[hcat]

S class ships do not have a large food court/mall- like promenade..instead. there is a smaller more intimate central staircase area.. where they have music... similar to Radiance class.

 

This area has a bar off to the side and has drink service in the evening..,Overlooking this area are other bars, tables, coffee cafe etc..where you can often hear and see what is happening on the other levels.

 

No parades on " X" and no folks walking up and down the "mall"..feels more like a nice resort

 

Shopping areas are on two levels on X...usual shops and some upscale ones. And frequent table sales..

 

While we have enjoyed Radiance class ships & Navigator ...we did not like the layout of Oasis...only you can predict how you will react to a different experience and whether or not it's worth a try

Silhouette is a great ship!

Edited February 11, 2016 by hcat

[digital_curator]

Our first 2 cruises were on the Navigator and Explorer, in PR rooms. We loved the promenade. But then we sailed the Serenade and loved being able to see the sea from everywhere on the ship- lots of natural light. I haven't been on an S-class ship but the M-class reminds me a lot of the Radiance class.

 

My favorite ship is the Independence but my husband prefers the Serenade and the Summit, and these are my second favorites.

 

Perhaps the change might be nice. X ships are beautiful, the food is very good, great live music. I say try it and see what you think!

 

Cheers,

[pinkrosesdeb]

We love the promenade also but will be on our first Celebrity cruise next month. I will let you know our opinion. I say don't let one feature color your decision because I think we will find many other things to love.

[Mango Mike]

As others have mentioned, only you can decide if it's something you'll miss.

 

I can tell you that it is/was something my wife and I were very concerned about as well. We love the Royal Promenade and all it has to offer.

 

We finally opted to give Celebrity a try and actually just returned from a 10 day cruise on the Equinox (S class ship). We've already booked another (11 day) on the same ship if that tells you anything. Did we miss the Promenade, I don't think so. We may have made a comparison between the Promenade and what the Equinox offers a couple times, but that's about it.

 

The Promenade is, as you described, a large, wide open interior space while the Celebrity ships are more intimate. As far as shopping (stores) go, typical souvenir, liquor, sundries (cheaper stuff) are on deck 4 as is the casino. Deck 5 is the home of your higher end stores --> Michael Kors, jewelry, small photo area and the ever so popular art gallery.

 

Deck 3 is the main (lowest) deck and is where you'll find Guest Relations and the Shore Excursion areas. This is also the deck you board on (where you're greeted with a glass of champagne or mimosa on your first day).

 

As for decks 3, 4 and 5, all 3 have various lounges and bars with plenty of areas to sit and people watch or observe the festivities going on down in the Grand Foyer.

 

As you can see from my signature, we've been on a couple RCCL cruises in the past, but we do believe we're changing lines. I'm sure we'll do at least one more with them since we're only 7 points from Diamond Plus. As we've gotten a little older, it's pretty much a "been there done that" with Royal.

 

Don't get me wrong, Royal still offers a great cruise for certain types. We found Celebrity to be a bit more refined/laid back/mature.

 

I'm no expert , but as a RCCL veteran/Celebrity newbie, if you have any questions, I'll try to answer.

[villauk]

One thing we absolutely LOVE about RCI's Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships are the interior promenades that basically stretch for to aft 4 decks high. This is a fantastic open area inside the ship, and also makes for ease of getting around. We love the feel and look of them.

 

We're considering a cruise on an S class ship next year (Silhouette) but wonder how the feel of the ship's interior compares to the RCI class ships mentioned above. (particularly Freedom and Voyager class) All of the other areas that I see on the Celebrity S class ships look great, but wondering how much we might miss the interior Promenade.

 

Kindly,

Dan

 

I don't think you'll miss it greatly if you sail on X with an open mind and don't compare everything to Royal. Enjoy the experience for it being something different and then make comparisons once you've cruised. You may prefer certain areas on X to Royal and vice versa :). We have sailed both lines and enjoy different aspects of each ;).

[cruzeluver]

We have stayed in promenade rooms on both Mariner and Freedom. Great rooms for the money. And we do like the promenade itself, but we do not spend a great deal of time hanging out there except for the parades and the occasional bite form Café Promenade.

 

We love Celebrity, both the M class and S class ships. They are not much like the Royal ships, but they are wonderful! The vibe between the lines is quite different. Things are much, much more sedate on Celebrity.

[Blondie008]

I absolutely loathed the promenade / mall thing on Explorer of the Seas - would not cruise Royal again - I don't think anyone who really loves that mall thing is going to like a Celebrity ship - so yes, you will miss it, JMHO.

[pinkrosesdeb]

OP, as you have seen, there are several of us who DO love that promenade thing and the others who have already sailed after RCL DID enjoy their Celebrity cruises. I am looking forward to my first time on Celebrity with great anticipation and will not go on in a negative state of mind just because there is no promenade!

[zteamtwo]

I was looking at a Sky Suite on Reflection and was very impressed with all the amenities, etc. We have been in a Junior Suite on Oasis and a Grand Suite on Allure. We really liked the treatment and experience of a Grand Suite. We also have been in a Mini Suite on Norwegian Getaway. I wonder if anyone can compare the Grand Suite experience on Royal to the Sky Suite experience on Celebrity.

[twin123185]

One thing we absolutely LOVE about RCI's Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships are the interior promenades that basically stretch for to aft 4 decks high. This is a fantastic open area inside the ship, and also makes for ease of getting around. We love the feel and look of them.

 

 

 

We're considering a cruise on an S class ship next year (Silhouette) but wonder how the feel of the ship's interior compares to the RCI class ships mentioned above. (particularly Freedom and Voyager class) All of the other areas that I see on the Celebrity S class ships look great, but wondering how much we might miss the interior Promenade.

 

 

 

Kindly,

 

Dan

 

 

Have done three cruises on RCCL on ships with promenades. I personally hate the promenades. I was on the Silhouette for two weeks in November and preferred that layout big time.

The food was awful thoughzzzzz

[The Fun Researcher]

Thank you all for your input. Obviously some here don't like the promenade on RCI ships. :) However, to call the promenade a mall or food court is like calling a Cadillac a Chevy in my opinion.

 

I did not like the Promenade on the Oasis much, mainly because it was too big and far too busy... all the time, even into the late hours at night. However, on the Freedom class ships they have been wonderful.

 

Honestly, the more I look into the Atrium(s) in the Silhouette, the more that I'm concerned that it's just not for us. It's absolutely beautiful, but such a small footprint! The entire ship looks beautiful. Stunning really. The class and elegance stand out.

 

However, there some things that concern me. 1) Lack of open space in the ship's interior. 2) No offense, but the average age and liveliness of the passengers 3) Relative lack of daytime and nighttime activities.

 

Celebrity looks like a wonderful cruise for those that want to slow down, relax, and eat... all things that we love too, but I need more. Can you all help me with understanding the nightlife? Day life? Activities for active early 40 year olds? We are considering the S class ships for a cruise with our friends. Three couples in their early 40's that are active, appreciate the luxuries a cruise can offer, and still like to party it up a little bit. RCI has been excellent for us, but I'm looking to try something new.

 

Dan

[Aldri_CA]

We were lifelong Royal cruisers, but also decided to pull the trigger and try X. Was very concerned about the same things: lack of activities, lack of promenade, stuffy ship, etc.

 

However, we ended up doing X twice. Its hard to compare the two companies, as they really feel like different cruise lines. While there were things that Royal has that I wish X had, I am now also wishing that my upcoming Royal cruise had some of the things X has (booked on the Oasis for July).

 

Lots of great wine tasting on X, better art auctions, lots of great little bars that you can try (martini bar is my favourite), etc.

 

Try seeing if someone on here has a cruise compass on an X cruise similar to yours that you can look through? That may give you a good idea if X offers activities that you like to do.

 

Either way, I think you'll enjoy it. And if not, at least you'll never wonder what you were missing!

[digital_curator]

We have never been at a loss for things to do in an X ship. We are in our mid-40s.

 

I really enjoy some of the activities on RCI ships- the Flowrider, mini golf, etc. But I don't really miss them on an X ship. We tend to do fairly port intensive cruises on X, and find that we really enjoy the live music, which is available in several venues each night. X also has some fun games (pool volleyball vs. the officers, some game shows). They have started DJ nights but I haven't seen one yet.

 

I think you have to figure out if you really want to try something new or if you really just want to stay with RCI. We started cruising in our early 30's and started on the Navigator because we didn't want to be bored. But in our early 40's we tried X because we wanted to branch out. We haven't been back, though I do want to try out the new ships, both on RCI and on X.

 

Now I can say that if I went back to RCI, I would miss things like the Sunset Bar and Martini Bar. Will it stop me from cruising other ships? Of course not- there will be things that we like and dislike on each.

 

Will the demographic be older? Yes. Does that really matter if you are traveling with friends? We have always met people our age and found that X's demographic is getting younger but without a lot of children, which we prefer on vacation.

 

In the end, we can give you examples and tell you about our experiences but it doesn't really sound like you want to be convinced.

[chemmo]

I wonder if you are looking at the ships in the correct light...We have frequently cruised RC across their range and Celebrity the same....Different doesn't always mean you are missing something...

 

We would compare our RC voyages to visits to London and New York, a focus on entertainment and good (although not always great food). A busy life, a lively ambience....

 

Celebrity reminds us of Florence and Paris...beautiful to just sit and watch, lots of places to just sit and enjoy....no rush, much more romantic. Food is about service and relaxation.....

 

Nice to experience and enjoy both....

 

Suggest you try and report back....

[hcat]

OP

after reading your follow up post, I think Celeb may not be for you. You sound a bit bored with Royal but resistant to X...which is a diff experience. You should not need to be convinced!

 

We got restless with X and tried Oasis and counted the days to the end of the cruise,...

maybe try a newer Royal ship ..like Quantum or a more exciting itinerary,,,

Edited February 13, 2016 by hcat

[Mango Mike]

OP

after reading your follow up post, I think Celeb may not be for you. You sound a bit bored with Royal but resistant to X...which is a diff experience. You should not need to be convinced!

 

We got restless with X and tried Oasis and counted the days to the end of the cruise,...

maybe try a newer Royal ship ..like Quantum or a more exciting itinerary,,,

 

Bingo. Best answer yet.

[The Fun Researcher]

Thanks all. I'm not looking to be convinced, never was. Just looking for information to base our decision on. I'm one of those people that research things to death, so I appreciate all of your comments! A lot of your analogies are great, and you are giving me a much better picture of what to expect on a X cruise.

 

Like one post mentioned, if we are with two other couples we make our own fun/party really. That's been our experience with our three "couples" cruises that we've done with RCI. However, there have also been a lot of other passengers our age, and even younger.

 

I also really like the idea of finding a cruise compass from a comparable itinerary on an S class ship. Thanks!

 

There are things that I see on the X S-class ships that have me drooling like the beautiful outdoor areas, bars, the class... and the food looks excellent too. I'm surprised to hear (not in this thread) negative comments about the food quality. We typically eat in the MDR on RCI ships for both lunch and dinner. How does the MDR on X class ships (like Silhouette) compare in your experience?

 

Thanks all.

Dan

[schlimazel_traveler]

However, there some things that concern me. 1) Lack of open space in the ship's interior. 2) No offense, but the average age and liveliness of the passengers 3) Relative lack of daytime and nighttime activities.

 

Celebrity looks like a wonderful cruise for those that want to slow down, relax, and eat... all things that we love too, but I need more. Can you all help me with understanding the nightlife? Day life? Activities for active early 40 year olds? We are considering the S class ships for a cruise with our friends. Three couples in their early 40's that are active, appreciate the luxuries a cruise can offer, and still like to party it up a little bit. RCI has been excellent for us, but I'm looking to try something new.

 

Dan

 

I think I understand your concern.

My family and I aren't very experienced cruisers, with just four cruises under our belts. But they were two Royal (Vision class) and two Celebrity (one S class and one M class), so I can give you our impressions. What we enjoyed on Royal were the interactive activities. This may have changed over time (as it has on Celebrity in just the past year or so), but the cruise director's staff included FOUR activities hosts. There were multiple trivia games throughout the day, sudoku challenges, scavenger hunts, dance lessons in the Centrum, towel folding demonstrations, pool deck silliness shown in endless repeats on the in-room tvs, karaoke in the evening, and passenger-participation game shows almost every evening. Maybe that sounds cheesey but we LOVE THAT STUFF. Sue us. We were on Vision class ships, so no flow rider or skating rink or whatnot.

 

The food was...fine. The performances in the theater were...eh. We did have some "down" time that we filled with card games and "waiting for it to be time to..." do whatever was next, but we didn't really feel a lack of things to do and the spaces to do them seemed pretty suitable. There were two theater spaces--the main theater and a lounge set up with seating surrounding a stage. The lounge used for trivia wasn't ideal (long and narrow with not-great sight lines, but ok).

 

Our first Celebrity cruise we found that the approach to activities was less enthusiastic and that the spaces for them were less suitable. Some activities were held in the atrium at the foot of a staircase, with very little seating allowing for good lines of sight and people walking down the stairs right into the dance lesson or whatever. One area used for some interactive games is nothing more than a wide section of hallway near the art gallery. It's not suitable for spectators at all. There was only one activity host and the DJ responsible for music trivia and karaoke acted like he would rather be anywhere else but there. The whole feeling was that the activities program was an afterthought.

 

Now, what we LIKED on Celebrity was that the whole vibe was cleaner, more upscale, more tasteful, classier. The non-smoking casino, the lack of announcements, the passengers dressed in resort wear, the champagne at boarding, no checking out towels. And the food was better, for sure. The ice cream is great. We kinda missed the Freestyle soda machines, but didn't really miss having to carry around a cup. We also thought there were times on the Royal ships when it was impossible to get anything to eat (I know, it seems weird to say that but sometimes we missed lunch and there was really only one option--Park Cafe with a loooong line, plus not a lot of late-night options.)

 

Our second Celebrity cruise was on the Summit, which is a smaller ship (more like Vision class size but with no Centrum) and I think you wouldn't like the lack of open space inside. It really is lacking. BUT we were lucky that the two-person activities staff included a real dynamo of a host who made a lot of fun for us and gave us an experience a little closer to the Royal experience we'd enjoyed. Plus, we got the benefits of being on Celebrity. Now, we realize that it's going to be dependent on the staff and the particular passengers on a given sailing, but we did have a very good time on that cruise. The food was good, there was pretty much non-stop availability within the hours we keep (we don't stay up super late) and there was karaoke almost every night, which is our thing. (Yeah, we're cheesey like that.)

 

The other thing we didn't like on our first Celebrity cruise was that the ship was TOO BIG. It was just so far from Point A to Point B, and certain venues did get crowded--that is why we haven't tried one of the newer and bigger Royal Caribbean ships that offer all the fun activities we like. We hate crowds and having to plan and strategize when to do what. That doesn't seem necessary on the M-class ships on Celebrity. At least not on Summit.

 

As others have said, Celebrity is more about "relaxing." There is some fun provided and of course you can make your own, but if you like organized interactive experiences, you might be disappointed. I am still trying to find the right cruise line for us!

[Aldri_CA]

MDR on X beats out RCCL, but I'd say the speciality dining on RCCL is better than X but not by much. We found MDR and the Oceanview (X's version of Windjammer) to surpass RCCL's by far. It's one of the biggest things X does better over RCCL

[hurwitz5]

We have sailed on 5 different cruise lines - our favorite is Celebrity. In addition to the positive comments above about Celebrity (food, relaxation, etc.), we really enjoy the S class ships because of the amount of shade. There is plenty of shade by the outdoor pool and on the aft deck outside the cafe. The sun is not your friend. We also avoid the sun by spending a lot of time by the indoor pool. It is a quiet area that has a spa vibe - cool temperature and relaxing music and the Aqua Spa Cafe that serves healthy food. Whether you sit by the indoor or outdoor pool, you can help yourself to as many towels as you want - no signing out of towels. The shade and the towels create a nice experience for us.

[scotslass]

Its funny that I am also from Scotland and hated the promenade thing . It reminded me too much of shopping mall near where I live.

[monicajay]

I would never pick a ship with a promenade but I don't go to shopping malls either. The idea of a parade is not my idea of cruising. I do not participate in any activities organized by the cruise staff either.

 

Obviously we enjoyed X or we wouldn't have booked a 3rd. That being said, I will always book trips based on itinerary and price and I'm open to other cruise lines.

[Aquahound]

I don't think anyone who really loves that mall thing is going to like a Celebrity ship - so yes, you will miss it, JMHO.

 

B.S. It's not an either/or thing. Just because someone loves one thing doesn't mean they can't love something else as well.

 

I think the Royal Promenade is one of the biggest "wow" factors in all of cruising. Like the OP, I also love the design, love the street parties at night, love how it's a great central meeting point, and how much it makes navigating through the ship so easy.

 

That said, I also love Celebrity Solstice Class ships, but for a whole different reason. I think Solstice Class are the most beautiful ships at sea.

 

Ref the MDR that came up in this thread....Personally, I think Celebrity has better MDR food. However, where RCI shines is the MDR itself. Celebrity Solstice Class really crams people in the MDR and the tables are so close together, it's almost pointless to request a table for yourselves. Specialty restaurants are pretty even in my opinion, but Celebrity is considerably more expensive.