The lack of promenade decks is something that has been bemoaned in a number of quarters. A lot of the more modern ships only have communal open deck space on the very top deck and much of this is hemmed in by 6 ft+ tinted screens so the opportunities for communing with nature are strictly limited. As Bunkerbarge says, where there is a "promenade" deck it is often only confined to beneath the lifeboats and is not a "wraparound" deck. A notable exception is P&O's latest Oriana which has an external promenade on the top deck (roof?!) outboard of the ubiquitous tinted glass screens. She was designed for the British market and apparently Brits still like to feel the salt air on their faces. This was one of the reasons we chose to cruise on Thomson Celebration, ex Noordam, lots of traditional teak external decks including a "proper" wraparound promenade deck.
