Pool Areas On RCI and Other Lines

[KKeeganS]

I was hoping some of your who have cruised extensively on other lines can help me out. One of the things I like the best about the Voyager class ships is the fact there are ample places around the pool to lounge around in both the sun and the shade. We found on our cruise on NCL that the pool area seating was limited – once we started to burn or overheat, we had to go inside, which sort of defeats the purpose of being in a tropical location with a pool. Obviously, on days we are at an island, this isn’t a big factor, but some of the cruises we are looking at have two or three sea days, which I don’t want to spend reading a book in my cabin. Can you think of any great, shady outdoor places on other cruise lines where you can relax with a drink in a lounge chair? Any input would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Sarah

[waterrats]

Try Caribbean Princess. They have two large fresh water pools in two different areas. Both have plenty of seating in the sun and the shade. There is also an adults only fresh water pool at the stern of the ship. This pool is underneath the nightclub and there will be plenty of shade throughout the day.

[39august]

All the Grand class Princess ships have these same pools. These pools are larger than those on Voyager class, I believe. The aft adult only pools are really nice.

[Leafpeeper]

We sailed NCL Dawn last year and loved the ship because it had so many private areas around the upper pool deck in the shade. I especially enjoyed the stadium style setup of layers overlooking the pool. My favorite spot was the Bimini Bar on top overlooking the pool. There were tables and chairs under cover at the top--great view when departing ports. This was my favorite pool design of any ship I've ever been on.

 

We recently sailed on RCCL Jewel of the Seas and loved that ship too. It is a Radiance class ship.We would sit below the Viking Crown Lounge in the shade. There were lots of shady areas on Jewel, but you must get a lounge chair early to sit poolside. Otherwise, there is a fantastic solarium with an indoor pool--great on really hot days because it has airconditioning. We are sailing Explorer of the Seas in 2006 and look forward to experiencing a Voyager class ship.

 

In Feb, we will be sailing the Carnival Triumph and understand that ship has the stadium style I enjoyed on NCL Dawn. I am looking forward to checking this ship out. Can't wait to get going.

 

Mary

Plymouth, MA

[KKeeganS]

Fabulous, this is just the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you all so much for the input!

[smoothdancer]

What do you mean by Stadium seating? I cant picture it. Our next cruise is on NCL.

[Learning Conformity]

The RC Serenade of the Seas has an AMAZING solarium (the pool and spas are MUCH better than the outside deck ones), and it is restricted to those 16 and older ;) Not to mention that it has a spectacular 7 day itenerary in the southern Caribbean, for an affordable price! There are some pics on my vacation site @ cruisingtheseas.info (click on "a few pictures")

[angeljt]

What do you mean by Stadium seating? I cant picture it. Our next cruise is on NCL.

Here is a picture with the stadium seating in the foreground. It is the NCL Dawn.

Jackie:cool:

[Baxters_DH]

Having only travelled Princess to this point, the Grand class does offer the rear of the ship to mainly adult passengers...We've never had issue with getting seating back there. Note: It does tend to be a tad more windy

 

And when you overheat, you can always get frozen in one of the pools at the aft. After just finishing a sailing on the Caribbean Princess, they have a feature of a 4' deep pool (not adults only) on Deck 16 Aft much like the typical adult pool lower down on Deck 12 (?), but a lot deeper to get in/out of. It typically did not get a lot of use from what we observed by kids or adults, but sure helped to cool one off after too much time in the sun or the hot tub.

[KKeeganS]

It's more an issue of frying like an egg than overheating. My husband is English, and we live near Boston, so we're practically vampires during the winter months: "It burns! It burns!"

 

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully on our next vacation I won't spend all my time indoors or burnt to a crisp!