Back to the Class System

[lcguy]

I love it! It's the whole mentality of, "Well I'll do it (ie sit in a chair I'm not supposed to) until I get caught," but it's still considered "legal." After a few beers in my lovely deck chair, I wouldn't care if someone sat ON me.

Ahhh... I guess I misunderstood your quote above. My apologies. :rolleyes:

[amybeth4]

Ahhh... I guess I misunderstood your quote above. My apologies. :rolleyes:

 

Well, yes, you certainly did. I was saying if someone told me, "You can sit there but if a suite guest wants the chair, you have to move," I would do it. Since that's NOT the case, I DON'T sit there.

[amybeth4]

I live in Northrhine Westphalia, it´s a small town about an hour north of Cologne and Düsseldorf.

 

Wow, in all the many, many cities I went to, those weren't three. I guess i need to go back! (Unless Koln is the German way of spelling Cologne...but I THINK they're different cities, right?)

[Rich&Natalia]

Wow, in all the many, many cities I went to, those weren't three. I guess i need to go back! (Unless Koln is the German way of spelling Cologne...but I THINK they're different cities, right?)

 

Same city. Cologne is the English version of Koeln. I miss the Xmas market there.

 

-Rich

[amybeth4]

Same city. Cologne is the English version of Koeln. I miss the Xmas market there.

 

-Rich

 

There was some small town a few of us roamed around in and got lost one night and walked and walked and walked, and many houses had Xmas lights up and it was just stunning. It MIGHT have been K...oh damn now I don't remember. Kiel? And everywhere we went there were little shops selling kabobs or something...hard to remember even though it was exactly six years ago. You'd think it was 30 years ago the way I'm remembering things. ACK.

[xpcdoojk]

Closest airports would me DUS, DTM or FMO. ;)

Though from the US DUS would be the best bet.

 

G, I have probably told the story before, so forgive me, but a long time ago, my now DW and I got engaged, and I gave her the ring the day before she was to fly off to Munich to visit Europe for 3 weeks with her sister who was living in Garmisch Partkinkirchen with her husband. So, she flies off by herself for the big plane ride over. Plane stops in Dusseldorf and she gets off the plane and goes to claim her luggage, which never arrives. Frantically, she tries to find someone who speaks English, when they asked for her ticket they discover she was suppossed to stay on the plane til Munich... Much panic and many hours later she arrived safely in Munich. Of course, this was before the ubiquitous cell phone and her sister was in panic at the Munich airport....

 

She has nothing but horrid memories of Dusseldorf, all I have to do is mention it and she has nightmares. :D Good to have an ace in the hole. We were close to Cologne last summer when we were visiting Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

jc

[bluegirlum]

Okay but only if I'm allowed to smoke in said corner!

 

You can smoke, but don't brag about it. We might get jealous!!! :D

[madforcruising]

G, I have probably told the story before, so forgive me, but a long time ago, my now DW and I got engaged, and I gave her the ring the day before she was to fly off to Munich to visit Europe for 3 weeks with her sister who was living in Garmisch Partkinkirchen with her husband. So, she flies off by herself for the big plane ride over. Plane stops in Dusseldorf and she gets off the plane and goes to claim her luggage, which never arrives. Frantically, she tries to find someone who speaks English, when they asked for her ticket they discover she was suppossed to stay on the plane til Munich... Much panic and many hours later she arrived safely in Munich. Of course, this was before the ubiquitous cell phone and her sister was in panic at the Munich airport....

 

She has nothing but horrid memories of Dusseldorf, all I have to do is mention it and she has nightmares. :D Good to have an ace in the hole. We were close to Cologne last summer when we were visiting Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

jc

 

I´m sorry she had such a bad experience in Düsseldorf. I like the airport because it´s not too big and you don´t have to walk for miles. Maybe when you visit with her next time we can break those bad memories and get her to enjoy the city.;)

[Ramjet1997]

Empty chairs at the pool really bug me - recently spent a week on the Freedom - 90% of the chairs reserved for the "upper class" were empty ALL week while many common people roamed the deck looking for chairs......

[MrsPete]

No public areas are denied to anyone. Those roped off suite only areas are no longer public;)

Ah, but there's the rub . . . they've always been public areas, and they're very visible. When people can't get chairs and those are sitting there empty, that's a problem. You cannot expect people to be happy in that situation.

You are telling me that on a Freedom class ship 2700 people (3/4) are unable to get a deck chair or a decent spot on the beach at Labadee because of a small amount of reserved chairs for suite passengers? I´m sorry but that sounds ridiculous to me.

Not what I said. I'm estimating 3/4 of the cruise customers are "ordinary" passengers -- that's probably a low estimate -- and I said that those people aren't able to access the reserved seats. I guess I didn't word it well.

 

Again, give the big spenders nicer rooms, wonderful rooms, and a few perks that aren't so "in your face" are great too. But NOT something so visible, so insulting as pool chairs and Labadee beaches.

Not a bit jealous? Really?

 

Here's the bottom line... either put up or shut up.

Yep, really. I'm irritated, not jealous. I understand that if you're willing to pay for a suite, you may not grasp that I'm perfectly happy with my room and am not hankering for more in the way of accomodations. What I'm not happy with is the new philosophy that all aren't equal throughout the ship.

 

Since when should people be required to put up with unfair policies? If we Americans accepted that drivel, we'd all be humming "God Save the Queen" and drinking tea.

 

Seriously, though, we have considered leaving Royal. We decided that we'll keep our summer reservation because we have perfect rooms reserved, and we have a whopping amount of OBC built up. But after this one, I think I'm done with Royal. I'll vote with my dollar and make different vacation choices.

The suite IS the benefit.

Bingo!

God how I wish people stopped using the "you're just jealous" crutch. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you're jealous! It's one thing if you see prime roped off chairs being used. But when they're barely used and sit empty, forcing you to have to sit a deck above the pool area and way up front in the gale-force winds, it's annoying and a waste of a "perk." MOST, if not ALL of us have NO PROBLEM with getting what you pay for!!!! God!!

Well said. People who themselves would be jealous assume that we feel the same way.

Isn't that called.... stealing??:eek:

What's it called when the cruise line takes away whole sections of the ship from the majority of paying customers? Oh, yeah . . . suite benefits!

 

I've been reading up on other cruise lines' benefits, and I think Princess might have the right idea on the deck chair idea: For a fee you can have a reserved chair in their "Sanctuary" -- their adult pool area -- either for a day, or for the whole week. That makes more sense to me than lumping reserved chairs in with suites. It's obvious that not all suite passengers CARE to have those chairs, and many non-suite passengers DO want them. A la carte benefits make sense to me. Let each person purchase what benefits he wants. Kind of like the Coke cards; my family drinks 2-3 Cokes each per week, so we don't buy them. Someone else may think they're a great deal.

[Wilda]

And what was the roped off area BEFORE it was roped off? A much-coveted public area that an extra 42 people could use but was then taken away from them.

 

42 people- that's putting it mildly:D Why, come to think of it I have seen some creative juggling of at least 9 people on each level;)

[Mark_K]

Ah, but there's the rub . . . they've always been public areas, and they're very visible. When people can't get chairs and those are sitting there empty, that's a problem. You cannot expect people to be happy in that situation. Not what I said. I'm estimating 3/4 of the cruise customers are "ordinary" passengers -- that's probably a low estimate -- and I said that those people aren't able to access the reserved seats. I guess I didn't word it well.

 

Again, give the big spenders nicer rooms, wonderful rooms, and a few perks that aren't so "in your face" are great too. But NOT something so visible, so insulting as pool chairs and Labadee beaches.

Yep, really. I'm irritated, not jealous. I understand that if you're willing to pay for a suite, you may not grasp that I'm perfectly happy with my room and am not hankering for more in the way of accomodations. What I'm not happy with is the new philosophy that all aren't equal throughout the ship.

 

Since when should people be required to put up with unfair policies? If we Americans accepted that drivel, we'd all be humming "God Save the Queen" and drinking tea.

 

Seriously, though, we have considered leaving Royal. We decided that we'll keep our summer reservation because we have perfect rooms reserved, and we have a whopping amount of OBC built up. But after this one, I think I'm done with Royal. I'll vote with my dollar and make different vacation choices. Bingo! Well said. People who themselves would be jealous assume that we feel the same way.What's it called when the cruise line takes away whole sections of the ship from the majority of paying customers? Oh, yeah . . . suite benefits!

 

I've been reading up on other cruise lines' benefits, and I think Princess might have the right idea on the deck chair idea: For a fee you can have a reserved chair in their "Sanctuary" -- their adult pool area -- either for a day, or for the whole week. That makes more sense to me than lumping reserved chairs in with suites. It's obvious that not all suite passengers CARE to have those chairs, and many non-suite passengers DO want them. A la carte benefits make sense to me. Let each person purchase what benefits he wants. Kind of like the Coke cards; my family drinks 2-3 Cokes each per week, so we don't buy them. Someone else may think they're a great deal.

So, what I take from your post is that it's mostly sour grapes (as opposed to jealosy) that suite passengers get benefits that are "visable" instead of the ones they used to get that you didn't notice.

[Cruising89143]

This thread is hilarious. The Gold are ticked at what the Platinum and above receive. The Platinum don't like what the Diamond and above receive. Diamond and D+ can't handle a suite guest receiving something they don't. Now come on suite guests, what ticks you off? Keep the list growing.;)

[amybeth4]

This thread is hilarious. The Gold are ticked at what the Platinum and above receive. The Platinum don't like what the Diamond and above receive. Diamond and D+ can't handle a suite guest receiving something they don't. Now come on suite guests, what ticks you off? Keep the list growing.;)

 

Perhaps the suite guests who cruise on Seabourn? :)

[amybeth4]

You can smoke, but don't brag about it. We might get jealous!!! :D

 

Yeah riiiight. :)

[MrsPete]

So, what I take from your post is that it's mostly sour grapes (as opposed to jealosy) that suite passengers get benefits that are "visable" instead of the ones they used to get that you didn't notice.

Well, if that's what you took from it and that's your mind-set, then fine.

 

In the past suite passengers have had some nice benefits, and they weren't a problem because they weren't made so visible to the rest of the passengers. The suite passengers don't seem to even care about most of these things, and it detracts from non-suite passengers' cruise. In the past if a passenger couldn't get a deck chair, he could say, "Well, all these people are here already. I don't like it, but I should've been here an hour ago." Now they're going to say, "If it weren't for those @#$@# suite passengers, that empty chair up there could've been mine."

 

But if you think it's sour grapes, fine. I say it's unfair, and no one likes to be treated that way.

[MrsPete]

This thread is hilarious. The Gold are ticked at what the Platinum and above receive. The Platinum don't like what the Diamond and above receive. Diamond and D+ can't handle a suite guest receiving something they don't. Now come on suite guests, what ticks you off? Keep the list growing.;)

See what Royal's class system does?

[amybeth4]

I love this thread. It's filled with people (group A) who say something, people who respond (group B) completely misinterpreting what group A said, and then group A banging their heads against the wall.

 

It reminds me of an old Shari Lewis (and Lambchop!) song...

 

This is the thread that doesn't end

Yes it goes on and on my friend

Some people (clap!) started ans'ring it not knowing what it was

But they'll continue ans'ring it forever just because

This is the thread that doesn't end

Yes it goes on and on my friend

Some people (clap!) started ans'ring it not knowing what it was

But they'll continue ans'ring it forever just because

This is the thread that doesn't end...

 

(PS...guilty!)

[bluegirlum]

I love this thread. It's filled with people (group A) who say something, people who respond (group B) completely misinterpreting what group A said, and then group A banging their heads against the wall.

 

It reminds me of an old Shari Lewis (and Lambchop!) song...

 

This is the thread that doesn't end

Yes it goes on and on my friend.

Some people (clap!) started ans'ring it not knowing what it was

But they'll continue ans'ring it forever just because

This is the thread that doesn't end.....

 

(PS...guilty!)

 

I love it! Perfect. :)

[bajathree]

Well, if that's what you took from it and that's your mind-set, then fine.

 

In the past suite passengers have had some nice benefits, and they weren't a problem because they weren't made so visible to the rest of the passengers. The suite passengers don't seem to even care about most of these things, and it detracts from non-suite passengers' cruise. In the past if a passenger couldn't get a deck chair, he could say, "Well, all these people are here already. I don't like it, but I should've been here an hour ago." Now they're going to say, "If it weren't for those @#$@# suite passengers, that empty chair up there could've been mine."

 

But if you think it's sour grapes, fine. I say it's unfair, and no one likes to be treated that way.

 

Wrong!....I and MANY others book a suite exactly for these things.....when I want a seat I know it's there....when I want to go to the ice show I know I can....when I don't want to have to look for a seat in Windjammer, I can use one of the specialties....it makes my cruise experience that much more enjoyable and I am willing to pay a price for that....has nothing to do with anything more than that. What most don't seem to understand is that when you book a top level suite you are paying a giant premium....with so few available you can pretty much guaranty that almost all the time your rate will never go less....now, yes...for those that want to argue the point there are always some exceptions during non-peak travel times....but in general when I book a $4000/pp OS for Easter break I do so knowing that is what I am going to pay from day one....meanwhile when the time comes to book that ship and fill every empty cabin I will watch balconies drop to $800-900/pp.......you don't think that the cruise line has to show me something(whether anyone thinks it's really worth it or not) to keep me spending that 4K/pp instead of saying the heck with it and dropping the cabin and going to a $699 or less for a guaranty. So with all your complaining just keep in mind that a suite guest is paying a HUGE premium and if the perks stop so will those premiums....and that my friends will just mean that somewhere the cruise line will have to make up for it;)

[MrsPete]

Wrong!....I and MANY others book a suite exactly for these things.....when I want a seat I know it's there

Okay, fair enough -- YOU care about the perks. Let's qualify that by saying that SOME suite passengers don't care about these things. How many have said that they either don't care to sit by the pool, or they sit in the "low class chairs" because their traveling companions aren't in suites and can't join them?

So with all your complaining just keep in mind that a suite guest is paying a HUGE premium and if the perks stop so will those premiums....and that my friends will just mean that somewhere the cruise line will have to make up for it;)

History disproves this idea. Suites have always cost much more than regular rooms, and they've always been full. In the past -- before the new perks -- I've noticed that the suites tended to fill FAST, perhaps within a month or two of the dates opening (and remember that the dates open usually 18 months before sailing).

 

The suites were full in the past without perks. Why should I think that today's suite passengers would drop down to less expensive rooms if the new perks were to disappear?

[bajathree]

Okay, fair enough -- YOU care about the perks. Let's qualify that by saying that SOME suite passengers don't care about these things. How many have said that they either don't care to sit by the pool, or they sit in the "low class chairs" because their traveling companions aren't in suites and can't join them?

History disproves this idea. Suites have always cost much more than regular rooms, and they've always been full. In the past -- before the new perks -- I've noticed that the suites tended to fill FAST, perhaps within a month or two of the dates opening (and remember that the dates open usually 18 months before sailing).

 

The suites were full in the past without perks. Why should I think that today's suite passengers would drop down to less expensive rooms if the new perks were to disappear?

 

 

You are free to think what ever you want:)...just giving you perspective from a guest that books suites.

[MrsPete]

You are free to think what ever you want:)...just giving you perspective from a guest that books suites.

And I appreciate that, though I still can't buy into the idea that suite benefits should extend beyond the cabin door.

[Cruising89143]

See what Royal's class system does?

 

Actually not. I see a bunch of people worrying about what someone else is receiving in place of worrying about themselves. This is no different that the clothes police worrying about someone wearing jeans to the dining room. :rolleyes:

[PH8]

Actually not. I see a bunch of people worrying about what someone else is receiving in place of worrying about themselves. This is no different that the clothes police worrying about someone wearing jeans to the dining room. :rolleyes:

agree with you 100%!:p