All Spinnakers in jeopardy?

[valleyvillage]

Many others are also talking with their wallets and booking the new suites that are where the Spinnaker was. I assume since the Star is sailing with all cabins filled, it was a good decision to put suites in that area.

 

I booked next year's Coastal in one of those suites, quite a bargain. Once I figure out the countdown clocks, she's goin' in!

[bob brown]

The Spinnaker Lounge is my favorite spot on the ship! It's where I go to relax, read and watch the magnificent ocean in front of me! Absolutely awesome views.....I am looking forward to the Spinnaker in January on my Jewel cruise. I will have to savor it as it might be the last time I am able to enjoy it... :(

The Spinnaker is also my favorite spot on the ship. And I also enjoy the similar Crow's Nest on HAL ships, and similar on others.

It seems to be a trend all over to encroach on this space. HAL has moved their Explorations Internet Cafe/Library into the space on some of their ships. Celebrity ruined the beautiful one on their Constellation when they installed the "Bar at the Edge of the World" into her observation lounge.

I will go out of my way to avoid any ship that does not have a similar observation lounge.

[Jerseyboy1]

Many others are also talking with their wallets and booking the new suites that are where the Spinnaker was. I assume since the Star is sailing with all cabins filled, it was a good decision to put suites in that area.

 

Good for who....the few people who spend more money to monopolize an entire area of a ship? I'll pass on the Star and look forward to the Viking Crown Lounge on RCI ships.

 

Still waiting for the first person to come on this thread and justify this move as innovative. LOL

[tjaker11]

We have sailed the Dawn numerous times and rarely ever ventured into the Spinaker except late night so moving aft with no windows did not effect us and we love the location of the new Blue Lagoon,

We recently sailed the Star in one of the new AJ suites and what a fatastic suite, we will always book these rooms if available so I am sure they will become a prized addition to any ship.

[fightpiter]

While "talking with your wallet" is all well and good think about how many inside, ov, and balcony cabins need to be rented to equal just one of these suites. Also, I don't know for a fact but fully expect that the people who are in these suites probably spend substantially more on the ship than what is the average. Just a thought....

[10107]

Travelling with two young toddlers, we jumped at the chance to return to the Star and booked one of the family suites for the MR. We have previously sailed in an inside cabin and are looking forward to enjoying the suite life! We went to the Spinnaker once or twice when we sailed before, it was breathtaking but did not get a whole lot of use.

 

For this trip we had been looking at balcony and mini-suites, but I was quite concerned about the kid's being able to scale the balcony. (they are still very young and no matter how well you watch them, they have speed and agility on their side...LOL)

 

I almost wrote off cruising with them at this point until we discovered the family suites on the Star. Exactly what we were looking for!!!! Safety, a beautiful view, lots of room for the kids, a full bathroom, all the suite benefits were just icing on the cake. I was already sold once I saw those windows. (thanks to the posts from previous guests!!!)

I am very excited that the Star is moving to the Caribbean so we can follow those suites and see something different! We're already looking at 2012...Five months to go, but so far the family suite is the perfect option for us!

Just my two cents on why we booked a family suite and are very excited about the new changes on the Star!!!:)

[Nyc2tropics]

So let me get this straight there going to add more cabins which means more people and less public area? Yea that makes alot of sense most cruise ships feel crowded enough as it is. I don't think taking away any public area is a good idea. Especially the Spinnaker that everyone loves.

[swedish weave]

Good for who....the few people who spend more money to monopolize an entire area of a ship? I'll pass on the Star and look forward to the Viking Crown Lounge on RCI ships.

 

Still waiting for the first person to come on this thread and justify this move as innovative. LOL

 

Good for NCL and for those who book the suites. Sheehan has made some changes that are not well received by some, but NCL now has the potential of making money instead of losing it.

 

It is good for me because I like cruising NCL and hopefully they will make enough money to avoid becoming part of the Carnival family.

 

The Star has been sailing with full cabins since the change, so from a business perspective, the change was a very good move.

[bob brown]

If they had to add suites, I'd rather have seen them add them to where they moved the Spinnaker to, aft on deck seven. Due to the wind, aft balcony cabins are probably better than forward, anyway.

And then left the Spinnaker where it belonged.

[Jerseyboy1]

Good for NCL and for those who book the suites. Sheehan has made some changes that are not well received by some, but NCL now has the potential of making money instead of losing it.

 

It is good for me because I like cruising NCL and hopefully they will make enough money to avoid becoming part of the Carnival family.

 

The Star has been sailing with full cabins since the change, so from a business perspective, the change was a very good move.

 

I also like cruising NCL sometimes and can agree with what you say above, but also have to say that I'm not too pleased with the possibility of losing a forward lounge on the Dawn. Furthermore, as a non-suite customer, I'm growing a little concerned with how NCL seems hellbent on carving up the public spaces on their ships for the benefit of a few and to the detriment of the masses. Just my opinion....

[KevinsCruising]

This really bites :mad:. The spinaker lounge is a great hang out place. We just came off a cruise on the SKY and I really missed the Spinaker lounge. We really had a great time in the Spinaker on the Gem, Jewel and Dawn. BOOOoooooooooooo. Don't like this idea at all !! :mad:

[sunshine 229]

I also like cruising NCL sometimes and can agree with what you say above, but also have to say that I'm not too pleased with the possibility of losing a forward lounge on the Dawn. Furthermore, as a non-suite customer, I'm growing a little concerned with how NCL seems hellbent on carving up the public spaces on their ships for the benefit of a few and to the detriment of the masses. Just my opinion....

It looks like NCL wants to really reward those who are willing to pay more for a higher category cabin and down grade the experience for those who look for bargain accommodation. By turning the old Spinnaker location into suites, they are not only depriving the passengers of a forward lounge but presumably increasing the passenger load on the ship and forcing passengers, who used that space previously, into another public area which will then become more crowded.

As always, it is NCL's decision how to run it's business and it will be interesting to see if the changes will result in them selling more suites but having a more difficult time selling insides on those ships or if people will continue to book inside cabins and be satisfied with spending their time in the fewer, more crowded, public areas.

Maybe this is just the next step in the process of extra charging...eventually, a view of the ocean will no longer be included in the basic cruise price and those who want an ocean view anywhere will have to book a higher grade accomodation.

[crusingalong]

We sailed our first cruise on the Star after the change of the Spinnaker so we had no experience of the original floor plan. That being said there were plenty of windows to watch the scenery on the 6th and 7th decks. We did peek into the Spinnaker several times and had no urge to go in there. It was not inviting. The evening shows were popular, but we are not late night people. I will still sail on a ship that does not have a forward lounge. There is more to do on a cruise than sit in a lounge.

 

Totally agree about many other places. In April, we go to the Mexican Riviera and we have a balcony. Have you given any thought to cruising again in the near future? We so enjoyed your company! Did you see my Alaskan photos? There is a link to them at the bottom of my signature page. I know you both are pictured there. No cruises planned except the Star in April but that could change in an instant!!

How's the weather there? We are burrrr....might get below 0 on Wednesday! I'm thinking , we should have planned a winter vacation. But, we did leave for a trip back East a week after we got back from Alaska so

guess we've had more than our share of vacation time.

Ruth & Bill

[RNPJN]

This really bites :mad:. The spinaker lounge is a great hang out place. We just came off a cruise on the SKY and I really missed the Spinaker lounge. We really had a great time in the Spinaker on the Gem, Jewel and Dawn. BOOOoooooooooooo. Don't like this idea at all !! :mad:

Why would you miss it on the Sky It's called the Outrigger Lounge and it's still there?:confused:

[Jerseyboy1]

Some on this board would figure out a way to justify that as a wonderful ideal.:eek:

 

It seems like the old class system is alive and well on NCL ships. Maybe on their new ships they can provide a space (deck or lounge) solely for the commoners. You know, truly segregate it. That way non-suite guests would have their own area where they don't have to rub shoulders with the upper crust.

 

What's good for one group should be good for the other.:rolleyes:

[swedish weave]

It seems like the old class system is alive and well on NCL ships. Maybe on their new ships they can provide a space (deck or lounge) solely for the commoners. You know, truly segregate it. That way non-suite guests would have their own area where they don't have to rub shoulders with the upper crust.

 

What's good for one group should be good for the other.:rolleyes:

 

I don't see a class system on NCL at all. I pay for the type of cabin I choose, and eat the same food as those in higher and lower priced cabins. I enjoy the perks that come with Lattitudes status and with the type of cabin booked. The open areas of the ship are shared by all guests regardless of the cabin type they book.

[RichNY]

Does anyone know how many cabins and their category's will be added to the Dawn and the Jewel..???

[KandJCruising]

Absolutely brilliant idea. Suites without windows would be right at the top of people list as wonderful accommodations for a cruise. :rolleyes:

 

PE

The new Inside Suite category- above balcony but above or below mini-suite? Perks? :)

[Planer's Edge]

Does anyone know how many cabins and their category's will be added to the Dawn and the Jewel..???

The Dawn will get the same treatment as the Star. There are no plans to modify the Jewel as of yet.

 

PE

[Georgia Buckeye]

We were on the Star in March out of LA and it was horrible not having the Spinnaker. The weather was cold the first day out and the last two days in and people were huddled in the buffet, window sills and anywhere else they could find somewhere to sit and see the sea. With the art and jewelry people taking up so much common space it made it all the more cramped for places to sit and relax.

 

We enjoyed the lounge on the Spirit being able to get somewhere warm and dry to enjoy the view, read, work on the computer and have a drink or two. A different experience from our balcony.

 

I hope the new deluxe suites bring in a lot more money for NCL but we will not sail again when that type of venue is not available.

[martinchem]

I love the lounges as they were, I'll miss them. Hopefully NCL will find another way to offer the comfort and view we are losing.

[Jerseyboy1]

I don't see a class system on NCL at all. I pay for the type of cabin I choose, and eat the same food as those in higher and lower priced cabins. I enjoy the perks that come with Lattitudes status and with the type of cabin booked. The open areas of the ship are shared by all guests regardless of the cabin type they book.

 

With all due respect, I just think we are looking at this differently and some if not most will say I'm looking at it wrong. Fine, I can live with that.

 

Yes, we all can pay for a certain cabin and enjoy the perks, but carving up what used to be enjoyable public space up front (Star, Dawn) and sending 'said public' to the back of the bus may be an acceptable situation to some but probably not a desirable one.

 

On the Epic, they have cut off a whole section of the upper deck to be used by either a select group of passengers or passengers willing to pay an extra charge. Let's hope this really is a one-off and we don't have to start paying for access to what was formerly a public deck on all ships in the future. That to me would be unacceptable.

 

In other words, we may be forced to accept these changes, but we don't have to like it. Just voicing one man's opinion.

[camz]

The Spinnakers are awesome! Booo to NCL's decision to off them! :mad::mad::mad:

[Dajbman22]

Am I the only one who thinks NCL's official spokesperson should comment on these accusations that every single Spinnaker will be removed? Something tells me this is just a rumor based on just two ships changing. I would like some confirmation that this is truly a fleet-wide change before getting all upset about it.

[shepherdqueen]

As someone who did sail on the Dawn last year, I too will miss the Spinnaker. It was such a nice area to relax in during the day. I am glad that the Jewel does have that area for our cruise next year.