Celebrity Ship With the Best Penthouse Suite Is....

[MaggieAtSea]

Interested what seasoned and new X travelers have to say about this.  We've had the exceedingly good fortune to sail Solstice-class and Millennium-class PH's, and, for those oldies and goldies out there, even the C-class and Z-class ones.  What is/was your favorite?

 

Interesting question to ponder, as it can be more than the room itself... it is the amenities, the restaurants, the particular butlers or other employees, etc.  But, can the aft wrap-around deck of the M-class ships be beat?  I don't know!  We particular like meeting with folks on the journey and having a great party on that M-class PH deck before we all head our separate ways celebrating X, and the distinct experience it is to do a cruise vacation.

 

What about you?  Favorite PH retreat - and why?

 

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, MaggieAtSea said:

Interested what seasoned and new X travelers have to say about this.  We've had the exceedingly good fortune to sail Solstice-class and Millennium-class PH's, and, for those oldies and goldies out there, even the C-class and Z-class ones.  What is/was your favorite?

 

Interesting question to ponder, as it can be more than the room itself... it is the amenities, the restaurants, the particular butlers or other employees, etc.  But, can the aft wrap-around deck of the M-class ships be beat?  I don't know!  We particular like meeting with folks on the journey and having a great party on that M-class PH deck before we all head our separate ways celebrating X, and the distinct experience it is to do a cruise vacation.

 

What about you?  Favorite PH retreat - and why?

 

 

I think type of cruise would determine our preference....

 

The deck of the M class PH is wonderful! If we want a PH on a good weather crash out cruise this is the one we would choose. In addition to the deck the butler’s pantry is nice to have and the butler always seems just outside the door ready to meet all your needs. It is a wonderful suite to enjoy private dining in both on deck and inside. Negatives are it is quite a walk to Michael’s and if you are dining in Luminae you do feel like you are constantly going back and forward. We also find the view from sitting in the lounge is not wonderful simply because the deck is big. We haven’t booked one of these rooms for a couple of years now mainly because they did become a bit dated (we cruised pre Revolution) and we enjoy the speciality dining and the M class got rid of their Murano equivalents. 

 

On the S class the main negative of the PH is the long thin deck but the lounge and bedrooms are simply a decadence of light and space! For a cooler (possibly poor weather cruise) you can be inside and still really enjoy the views. Near the lift and straight up or down and just a short stroll to Luminae, Michael’s and the speciality restaurants. There is so much under-utilised space in this room we were hoping that during the Revolution they may do some redesigning. For example, add a full sized fridge to the wet bar area,  a small sauna would fit in the voluminous main bathroom and the area where the piano is (only used for putting my box of chocolates on) could become additional outside space...

 

We tend to cruise mainly S class as we prefer the ship as a whole more. The dollar benefit to us is we do like the RS on S class too, we don’t need to book a PH when we cruise whereas we don’t particularly like the RS on M class. 

 

We were hoping that Edge would add some variety to room choices and they have but both RS and PH seem less spacious than their S equivalents and the higher suites are very expensive! I am sure we will give them a go one day!

 

Interesting post, looking forward to the views of others!

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by chemmo

[Suite Susie]

Very interesting to read your thoughts on the PH suites.  We are sailing in our first PH next year on the Solstice to NZ.  Unlikely to be able to run to one again - this is a special trip for us.  We were lucky enough to have a look round one on the Eclipse last year - we were in an RS a couple of doors down and on departure our Butler allowed us to look round after the current occupants had disembarked.  Obviously very excited about the trip!  BTW we loved the RS last year (our first) and it will be hard to go back to an S2!

[Julie Jean]

M Class - purely for the balcony

[MaggieAtSea]

I agree with Chemmo..on S-class ships we find the RS more comparable to PS, so will pocket the cost difference more often than not.  Also, if port-intensive sailing, we don’t typically book the PH, as we are not on board enough to warrant it..the RS does nicely.  Disagree with Chemmo, though, on the piano!  Between us playing it and the player-piano functionality, our piano gets a good workout!

The M-class PH is another matter entirely.  That butler’s pantry is awesome. And the post-Revolution Summit is fantastic.  If we make the decision to go on an M-class ship (and, as has been mentioned, that decision comes making decisions about what the ship has and doesn’t have), that wrap-around huge balcony, with the loungers and big table are too wonderful to pass up...sometimes it makes it hard to leave!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I prefer the PH on the M class ships because of the balcony and the butler's pantry.

[WonderMan3]

On 6/15/2019 at 1:17 AM, chemmo said:

 

 

We were hoping that Edge would add some variety to room choices and they have but both RS and PH seem less spacious than their S equivalents and the higher suites are very expensive! I am sure we will give them a go one day!

 

 

 

 

I happened to get a tour of the Penthouse on Edge from another CC member. I think space-wise it's just fine. The living area was comfortably spaced. The master bedroom had massive shower and closet space and good sized bed area. The major plus over M and S class is that there is an entire second bedroom with private bathroom. Obviously not as big as the master but perfectly sized. (Of course you pay for it in the outrageous pricing). The big negative is on the outdoor space. The balcony seemed even smaller than S class (which was already much smaller than M class) and was cluttered with furniture. And the cabins are located right under the overhang which means they are in shade all day. There was another "balcony" space with chairs that was all closed in though which was odd. There were a number of other furniture/design issues with the cabin which I won't go into detail on (some are correctable and may have already been updated) but overall I was not impressed with the cabin vs. M or S class Penthouses having stayed in both of those. I think I would only recommend it if you're two couples or a family with kids looking for a big suite.

[MaggieAtSea]

I took a tour of Edge PH and quickly cancelled reservation and booked EQ PH this year and Summit PH this year - for LESS THAN the price of the Edge PH originally booked.  But how will they be?  I'll let these boards know!!  :)

[chemmo]

8 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

I happened to get a tour of the Penthouse on Edge from another CC member. I think space-wise it's just fine. The living area was comfortably spaced. The master bedroom had massive shower and closet space and good sized bed area. The major plus over M and S class is that there is an entire second bedroom with private bathroom. Obviously not as big as the master but perfectly sized. (Of course you pay for it in the outrageous pricing). The big negative is on the outdoor space. The balcony seemed even smaller than S class (which was already much smaller than M class) and was cluttered with furniture. And the cabins are located right under the overhang which means they are in shade all day. There was another "balcony" space with chairs that was all closed in though which was odd. There were a number of other furniture/design issues with the cabin which I won't go into detail on (some are correctable and may have already been updated) but overall I was not impressed with the cabin vs. M or S class Penthouses having stayed in both of those. I think I would only recommend it if you're two couples or a family with kids looking for a big suite.

 

 

From the YouTube views we have seen I would agree with your observations....That overhang is a real issue as is the balcony size.

 

Whilst I think there is a place on X for a variety of suite types to accommodate families with children, two couples....I think for many the PH was a ‘Celebration’ suite for special birthdays, a honeymoon. On Edge I think now you would need to look to a villa for that.

 

Just mentioned on another post we were considering booking an Edge Villa for a Spring cruise but the price was just outrageous. It was the cost of a new family car! So we bought the car and are presently touring Wales! Price as well as features need to be right for people to book the high end suites. From the number of top suites still available on many Mediterranean cruises this Summer if I was booked in a RS or a CS I would be expecting opportunities to bid on an upgrade...