What's the Deal with the Lawn?

[tispwisp]

We LOVED the lawn club on the Solstice! The Solstice was by far our favorite ship and we have been on several. We spent more time on the top deck than we ever have on a cruise (we are not pool people). We taught ourselves bocce, played croquet, and did some putting. We went to many hot glass shows as well over the course of our B2B cruises. We both came away saying that this was our favorite cruise ever. We thought the shows and entertainment were great. We were in AQ class and Blu was absolutely divine. We were never ever bored. In fact, not once did we open a stack of magazines we brought to chill on our balcony. We were just too busy!

 

We are very much looking forward to our 14 day Eclipse cruise in March 2013 and either the 14 day Eclipse or a B2B on the Silhouette in March 2014. Haven't officially decided which one yet!

 

And yes, we are VERY old. DH is 54 and I turned 44 on the Solstice cruise. :rolleyes::)

 

Thank goodness there are several cruise lines that cater to different people's taste. There's a line for everybody! :) And I can honestly say we've had a great time on all of our cruises there's just some that we prefer over others.

[loubetti]

Here's some interesting information about how the lawn was made and is maintained:

 

http://cruises.about.com/od/celebritysolstice/ig/Celebrity-Solstice-Exteriors/Celebrity-Solstice-Lawn-Club.htm

[TLCOhio]

Here's some interesting information about how the lawn was made and is maintained:

http://cruises.about.com/od/celebritysolstice/ig/Celebrity-Solstice-Exteriors/Celebrity-Solstice-Lawn-Club.htm

 

THANKS, Lou, for this helpful and interesting link! Didn't realize that the weight for this grass and "soil" would be that large under the unique set-up that they have it growing. Plus, taking care of how to water, drain, mow things, etc. Good, fascinating info and stuff on this link. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 75,176 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[2morecruises]

5 Solstice Class ships later, I'm guessing Celebrity's thinking is that The Lawn Club was a great idea, otherwise they would have canned it.

[loubetti]

THANKS, Lou, for this helpful and interesting link! Didn't realize that the weight for this grass and "soil" would be that large under the unique set-up that they have it growing. Plus, taking care of how to water, drain, mow things, etc. Good, fascinating info and stuff on this link. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

My pleasure, Terry. Now, think about what it must have taken to do "Central Park" on the RCI Oasis and Allure ships, with all those trees and plantings. Little doubt this was all being tested out for both classes of ships around the same time. "A lawn on this one, a park on that one".

 

I've never been on RCI, but get Diamond status there due to my Celebrity CC status. I really want to try one of those behemoths one day!

[miched]

Why do ships have rock climbing walls, ice rinks, casinos, movie theaters, TV's, video games. Why would I want to go on a ship to do that? Same reason it is called entertainment and features to attract customers.

[Fixit2010]

The lawn is a unique and wonderful idea. I love sitting on the grass and watching the waves in the distance. You just don't get grass at sea and it is so refreshing. Much nicer than a boring deck.

[TallFellow]

As a designated speaker for our mid-30s to mid-40s aged traveling crowd, we love the lawn for the sheer simplicity of laying back during the day in the sun/shade and relaxing without bugs/worms/insects to worry about. Those two open grass strips along the back of the ship are the prime places for us to just relax, sleep and enjoy the trip.

[Gracie115]

. Long-term, I don't know how it will work out. We are now schedule for the Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Solstice cruise from Sydney to Auckland, NZ. We'll see if both the lawn and glass show make it until that time. The grilling out area also seems to be an interesting option that Celebrity is now testing.

 

 

 

 

What do you mean by "seeing if the lawn will make it"? Solstice has been operating with the grass for 3 plus years now, as has Equinox....they apparently have found a way to make it work....I'd say 3 years is beyond a testing period....just saying....

[gentlemancruiser]

There are so many reasons to love Celebrity: the ships are gorgeous, the food is great and the service is top notch.

 

I have been on the Summit, Millennium and Century - all beautiful!

 

Now I am looking into cruising on one of the Solstice class ships. Here is what I don't get:

 

- What is the deal with the lawn? I don't get the appeal of a lawn on a cruise ship. Can someone explain this to me? Why would I want to pay oodles of money to sit in a cabana on a lawn on a cruise ship? Why would I pay extra money to assist in grilling meats overlooking the lawn? I don't want to lift a finger on vacation.

 

Thanks for the enlightening :)

 

-aj

 

AJ,

 

Like you, we had been only on the M class and we'd really enjoyed them. I've also thought the exact same thing about the Lawn Club. Just don't get it????

 

However I was just on the Solstice, and I very surprised at how nice this space really is and how claming and relaxing it can to be up there. As we were sailing away from St. Maarten, I sat up there with my family in the club chairs toward the back and it was just a great relaxing expereince. There is something about seeing and feeling grass while at sea, being a different type of surface from the steel and rubber flooring it has an affect on you. Kind of like the different between lawns and concert patios, just a different feel.

 

The Solstice has some really amazing spaces and the decor is very nice. If you like more modern surrounds, you will like to Solstice.

 

Bruce

p.s. I found the Solstice class was just too crowded for me and we're going to stick to the M class, there were about 800 too many people for me.

[Christine Frances]

Funny - I feel less crowded on the S Class (more open and airy) than on the M Class ships. I didn't even notice the extra people. Love them both, tho:D

[TLCOhio]

What do you mean by "seeing if the lawn will make it"? Solstice has been operating with the grass for 3 plus years now, as has Equinox....they apparently have found a way to make it work....I'd say 3 years is beyond a testing period....just saying....

 

They have made it "work" from a technical sense to keep the grass green, living, etc. What I was reflecting is that the cruise business is somewhat a type of "retailing" business venture. You need to attract new customers and keep existing ones. If you run a department store, Target, a dining place, a furniture store, fast food places, etc., you are always monitoring what customers like and don't, what operating costs are versus the "benefits", new things your competitors are doing, market-place trends, shifting styles, improved designs, etc., etc.

 

The only thing "constant" is change!!! Celebrity is a smart company. They look at how this space "works" versus other options for being here that could be better, higher yielding, more interesting or different. Just as coming up with many of aspects of the Solstice design were very innovative, they want to keep that same "edge" or vibe for what happens in these lawn areas here and/or for what happens with other parts of these ships.

 

Hope this helps clarify!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 75,176 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[bigmohes]

The lawn is an attempt to make S-class different, to advertise something "unlike any other" or "the first at see".

Just marketing.

In fact this is an unprecedented waste of upper deck space "unlike anywhere else".

The lawn takes about 1/3 of the ship.

Result: crammed pool deck.

Another major design flaw of the S-cless - lack of promenade deck.

This is unacceptable.

 

The whole design caters for 70+ folks.

This is a modern floating IKEA-style hotel, not a ship.

 

We are not near 70 and we love it! Not sure what the two have to do with each other. Great place to relax if the pool is not your thing. Fav place on the ship is the sunset bar/lawn area. Have spent several days up there and am so looking forward to it again in January!!

[boogs]

Funny on the ref to grilling the poster! But I really don't see a 'lynch mob' response to negative posts on this thread. I see posts responding to a poster who has gone over the top on their criticisms, A poster who has added 40+ negative posts about Celebrity of their 50+ posts overall, including starting a thread badmouthing a ship of another Line because they considered it being 'solsticized'.

 

I spend a good deal of time on this forum - I tell my wife I could be 'lurking' on some other more unsavory website! - and enjoy constructive criticisms but when one poster keeps saying the same thing over and over on numerous threads and has stated they won't be cruising the Line they are putting down but adds nothing but negative posts for 2 months, other posters react.

 

I find it perplexing that someone who won't cruise on a certain line because he can't stand how they have built their ships still spends so much time on it's forum. I don't consider myself an Albert Einstein, but even I am smart enough to know that if I don't like something, it's pretty dumb to spend my time on a forum obsessing about it.

 

He must have a real bone to pick with Celebrity and is doing his level best to get some revenge. But like static on a radio, he comments are all noise with zero value to me.

[Leo Jay]

I love how people can assess that a space is "wasted" simply because it's being used for things that they personally don't want/like to use. Here's an idea: design your own yacht and have it built to your specifications. What do you want for $150-$200/pp/day.

[TravlGrl]

With all the people loving the lawn I think I'm probably in a minority. We just did our first sailing with X (on Equinox) and whilst the lawn was a novelty feature and I could see some people would enjoy it, I thought it was such a waste of a big space. I couldn't believe how crammed in the beds on the sundecks were, literally not an inch of space between them - and all that space taken up by the lawn on top. Since we were on Equinox there were no cabanas and no Lawn Club Grill.

 

A huge fan of Celebrity but not a fan of the lawn, I'm afraid.

 

Great example of how you've shared an opinion without intending to be insulting. Thank you. ;)

[Gracie115]

They have made it "work" from a technical sense to keep the grass green, living, etc. What I was reflecting is that the cruise business is somewhat a type of "retailing" business venture. You need to attract new customers and keep existing ones. If you run a department store, Target, a dining place, a furniture store, fast food places, etc., you are always monitoring what customers like and don't, what operating costs are versus the "benefits", new things your competitors are doing, market-place trends, shifting styles, improved designs, etc., etc.

 

The only thing "constant" is change!!! Celebrity is a smart company. They look at how this space "works" versus other options for being here that could be better, higher yielding, more interesting or different. Just as coming up with many of aspects of the Solstice design were very innovative, they want to keep that same "edge" or vibe for what happens in these lawn areas here and/or for what happens with other parts of these ships.

 

Hope this helps clarify!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 75,176 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

Well it does and I thinkyou're right....I think the additon of the Lawn Club GRILL on Silhouette and Reflection are a product of just what you describe...thanks for clarifying.

[cruisetrail]

Looked to me like the grass simply occupied the same location that a bungee jumping/ rock-climbing/putt-putting area might normally be.

 

Classy ships normally have aft pools there.

 

[Christine Frances]

I don't use pools and don't like sitting in the sun anymore. To me a lovely aft bar/seating area to watch the wake (and don't want my aft cabin overlooking pools:confused:) are a better use of that space than pools:D So I wouldn't choose to sail on those ships. And I am not 70+:eek:

[uktog]

Classy ships normally have aft pools there.

 

 

Help me here - where is the evidence that the presence of an aft pool has a direct correlation with the star awarding of a ship - I am assuming in your world of definitions classy ships are higher star rated.

 

If an aft pool is critical for your cruising, you should spend no longer looking at Celebrity, they have no aft pools and as they have just built their fleet of new ships you will be at least another 10 years older before one exisits on a Celebrity ship

[sloopsailor]

Classy ships normally have aft pools there.

 

You are entitled to you opinions, of course. Opinions are like a certain part of the human anatomy that is almost always covered by the rear portion of your underwear - everyone has one. But yours is more full of it than others!! :D

 

BTW: why do you stay here on the Celebrity forum posting your inflammatory posts about something you don't care for? Are you that miserable that this is how you need to spend your time to feel important? :rolleyes:

[boogs]

Classy ships normally have aft pools there.

 

Classy people normally have enjoyable times there.

 

 

 

 

[LeftcoastBC]

We'll see if both the lawn and glass show make it until that time. The grilling out area also seems to be an interesting option that Celebrity is now testing.

 

What do you mean by "seeing if the lawn will make it"? Solstice has been operating with the grass for 3 plus years now, as has Equinox....they apparently have found a way to make it work....I'd say 3 years is beyond a testing period....just saying....

 

Lets wait until September of 2013 to see if after the heat of the Mideast and Australia followed by Alaska what the grass does.;)

 

I enjoyed it while aboard the Solstice likely cause it was the middle of winter when I left here (or it felt like it) when we sailed her. It's just plain cool on a cruise ship.

 

I think that the S class was purpose built for those RCL types that needed a change, a bit upward so to speak and not for those 70+ folks mentioned. Just RCL's way of filling in the blanks between RCCL and Azamura.

 

Personally I like the M class better. 3 elevator banks and no lunch needed when you forget something in your fore or aft cabin. A bit quieter than the S and yes better pool space.

 

BUT.. I like the Century even better. But it would be better with a warm indoor T pool.. no ship is perfect....or I haven't found it yet.

 

Ain't we hard done by with all these choices.

[constantcruiser]

We were just discussing the Lawn Club on our Eclipse roll call. Out of the 34 ships DH & I have sailed on, S-class is my all-time favorite. And the main reason for that is the Lawn Club and Hot Glass Show. As a matter of fact, we chose the 2-week So. Caribbean itinerary on Eclipse over a TA we were considering just because I was afraid it would be too chilly & windy to enjoy the Lawn Club in the middle of the Atlantic. You know you're addicted to a ship when you don't want to miss watching the grass grow!

[2morecruises]

Fav place on the ship is the sunset bar/lawn area. Have spent several days up there and am so looking forward to it again in January!!

 

Did you happen to notice the plaque nailed to the wall right outside that bar. It's dedicated to me since you'll find me there during all operating hours. :rolleyes: Currently working on one for Eclipse. :D Got some work to do on Equinox too.

 

2MC