Lawn Club Expansion In The Works For New Celebrity Ships

The Celebrity Reflection will be bigger than the other Solstice-class ships, allowing for more cabins and more restaurant space.

By: Johanna Jainchill

Celebrity Cruises will remove the Corning Museum of Glass from its fourth and fifth Solstice-class ships, the Celebrity Silhouette and Reflection, as part of a major re-creation of the Lawn Club space.

The ships’ Lawn Club, a half-acre of real grass, will have a new specialty restaurant, a casual breakfast/lunch eatery, an art studio and private cabanas.

Celebrity CEO Dan Hanrahan said that in examining ways to differentiate the last two Solstice-class ships, the cruise line chose three main areas: the Lawn Club, the Team Earth area, and Michael’s Club.

“We think the Lawn Club is underutilized,” he said. “We wanted to get more out of it and felt there was more we could do up there.”

The Lawn Club will have hammocks and Adirondack chairs as well as a complimentary restaurant called Porch, which will serve “quick, simple, fresh food” or breakfast and lunch, Hanrahan said.

The new specialty restaurant, the Lawn Club Grill, will by day offer interactive classes and cooking demonstrations, such as how to make a pizza and secrets to grilling.

By night, it will be what Hanrahan called “a celebration of grilling” that will feel like “grilling in your backyard, but your backyard is a beautiful cruise ship.”

For a $30 charge, diners can choose cuts of meat they want grilled. There will be indoor/outdoor seating for 56 people and an open kitchen.

The Lawn Club Grill will replace the Corning Museum of Glass, which hosts glass-blowing demonstrations on the first three Solstice-class ships.

“The [museum] has been an absolutely terrific hit for us and we’ll continue to have it on the Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse,” Hanrahan said. “It took some thinking to get it off because it has been so successful, but we felt this special restaurant would really appeal to our guests.”

The area’s art studio will have art classes such as beading and painting as well as showcase “culinary artists” who will host drink mixology classes.

The Lawn will also have eight cabana-style private retreats called the Alcoves that will have ocean and lawn views, Hanrahan said. The cabanas will be available for rent night or day, for between two and four people. The price has not yet been determined.

Hanrahan said that in wanting to make Michael’s Club more popular and better utilized, it will capitalize on the “keen and strong interest in craft beers and malts.”

On the Silhouette and the Reflection, the venue will have more than 50 beers and will demonstrate food and beer pairings, how to pour the perfect draft and how to select the proper beer glass. Michael's will also have a new selection of snacks, including homemade potato chips and breadsticks.

The space that is called Team Earth on the first three Solstice ships will be renamed the Hideaway, a space Hanrahan described as “a treehouse-like atmosphere for people to get away and relax.”