New Design Changes Planned for Solstice-Class #4 and #5 Ships!

[Rick-cruiser]

Celebrity recently announced that they were planning to introduce new design changes to the fourth and fifth units of the Solstice-class ships.

 

They did not elaborate on any of the details regarding these design changes, but if I had it my way :) here are some of the changes I hope they make to the Solstice-Class #4 and #5 ships:

 

THE POOL DECK:

 

1. Completely restructure it so that the lounge chairs are not all touching each other. They're literally butt-up against each other... jammed in so tightly that you can't separate them from your neighbor, adjust them slightly towards the sun, etc. You can actually feel your neighbors moving around in their chairs... :(

 

2. Keep the pool deck more "open" and less partitioned, as on all the other Celebrity ships... so that you can "people watch", acknowledge/say hi to some of those you've met on the ship so far..., meet/mingle/socialize with more people. etc. That has always been a great aspect of the shipboard experience. Plus, freeing up the deck into non-partitions would once again allow some of the more traditional pool activities which we enjoy.. such as Name That Tune, etc.

 

3. Keep the Oceanview Cafe on the same deck as the pool, as before... not one deck above. This way you can very easily and conveniently grab something to eat without having to negotiate steps and stairwells.

 

 

LAWN AREA:

 

The lawn area was hardly used. At all. Except for maybe a scheduled bocce ball game. I don't want to say it was "wasted space", but there could have been SO many other uses for all that prime top-deck space. I envisioned it with people really USING it... maybe lying out there on blankets.. relaxing, having a picnic, playing lawn games... having a few park benches would have be nice...

 

It was a great gimmick, and provided the expected "buzz"... and that is fine. This feature, or theme, was appropriate for one, maybe two, ships. But for the others I believe they could devise better and more interesting uses for that space. Something different for each ship - so as to better define them....making each ship more distinctive in nature.

 

 

DINING ROOM:

 

Configure the tables of two so that they are not right up against another table of two. In our case, the initial table they gave us was virtually NEXT TO another table of two - with nothing but a "sheet" between us. We literally heard every single thing the couple next to us was saying to each other - not because we WANTED TO :) ... but just because we were, basically, AT THEIR TABLE - with only that sheet partitioning us. We moved the very next night to a "standard" table for two, which was much better.

 

 

AQUA SPA CAFE:

 

Put the Aqua Spa Cafe back to it's own, separate, private location... its own interior room adjacent to the Spa. It was always such a nice reprieve to walk in there and get treated royally by the Murano's staff. The level of service / food has dropped a notch since being situated where heavy traffic flows through.

 

 

MINOR THINGS:

1. Put a couple of flat-screen TVs in the gym workout area - playing CNN / FOX NEWS / ESPN / etc...

2. Allow passengers use of the Table Tennis equipment - not just during the time of a scheduled tournament, but at all times.

3. Library: Please remove those huge, bulky chairs that are situated right in front of (and blocking) the bookshelves.

4. Show more movies in the cinema during sea days.

 

 

These are just my ideas.... IMHO :)

 

- Rick

[Rick-cruiser]

forgot to mention one other thing..

 

THEATER:

 

Add more seating. Because of the alternative restaurants / more flexible dining arrangements, more people may show up to a particular show than there are seats. Twice, during our sailing, we arrived 20 minutes early a show, only to find that every seat was taken, and there were already many people having to stand in the back.

 

Perhaps they can expand the mezzanine section, or even make it tri-level... You can never have too many seats in a theater when there are 2600 people on board..

[Moeve]

The accessable cabins!!! Rethink the bathroom big time because the current one is almost useless

[Rick-cruiser]

Oh yes, the cabins...

 

PROS:

1. Great, large 42" flat-screen TV with incredible functionality and superb selection of recent movies.

2. You can view your account, order room service, even view/purchase photographs from your TV.

3. Shower is MUCH bigger, with curved, sliding glass door - no more slimy, sticky curtain.. :)

4. Under-the-bed storage is much larger (higher).

5. Beds are extremely comfortable.

 

CONS:

1. If beds are separated, they are too close together (about 8 inches).

2. Beds are not very long, with rounded corners.

3. Balconys are not very private. Neighbors kept peeking their heads around the partition, talking to other balcony passengers (friends/family).

 

Rick

[C 2 C]

You did not like your last thread?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1032884&highlight=changes+class