HAL, Princess and most recent Celebrity Cruise

[Cruzaholic41]

It is a recent development for Celebrity to offer additional perks to Suite passengers that are more apparent in the general public areas. Here is a bit of information from the Celebrity web page:

 

"Exclusive access to Michael's Club includes complimentary cocktails, canapés, and dedicated Concierge services. Savor mouthwatering meals in Luminae—a restaurant reserved only for Suite Class guests."

 

Suite guests also now receive priority restaurant seating & reserved theatre seating. This would really bother me throughout the cruise.

 

I would also add that my previous comments were directed toward Celebrity rather than the original poster of this thread (who wrote a very informative review).

 

igraf

 

So, can a new cruiser staying in an interior room on HAL visit the Neptune Lounge nightly?

 

Can a new cruiser staying in an interior room on HAL eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill?

 

Can that new cruiser attend the suites party or go into the blocked off Crows Nest during the Mariners reception?

 

What about when that suite guest cuts in front of the interior guest on HAL in order to get on the tender first?

 

Doesn't HAL have priority dining and seating for suites?

 

If a class system exists on Celebrity, then it also exists on HAL.

[3rdGenCunarder]

So, can a new cruiser staying in an interior room on HAL visit the Neptune Lounge nightly?

 

Can a new cruiser staying in an interior room on HAL eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill?

 

New or long-time doesn't matter. A five-star mariner not staying in a Neptune suite doesn't get these perks, either.

 

What about when that suite guest cuts in front of the interior guest on HAL in order to get on the tender first?

My understanding is that Neptune and Pinnacle suite guests can join the line at the end of the line at any time during tendering. They don't cut at the front of the line. I believe that on RCCL, suite pax do go to the head of the line.

 

Doesn't HAL have priority dining and seating for suites?

Do you mean getting your choice when you sign up for early/late/open? They don't list this as a perk. And many posters here will say no. However, I think you're more likely to get your fixed dining choice if you're in a Neptune suite. We booked our cruise to Bermuda (in OV, not on sale) more than a year out and got wait-listed for early. We booked our Alaska cruise (in NS, on a sale) about 3 months out and got early confirmed right away.

 

If a class system exists on Celebrity, then it also exists on HAL.

The "class system" is all over the travel industry. Pay more, get more.

 

You seem to be identifying two sets of upper class in your examples--suite guests and high-star Mariners. There are amenities for each group (and yes, some overlap). The things you listed don't all apply to both groups. But either way, these people have paid for their perks. People in suites pay a high price for their cruise. High-star mariners may not have stayed in expensive suites, but over time they've put a lot of money into HAL's coffers.

 

The big difference between this class system and the one on Downton Abbey is that in the travel world, the "class" you belong to depends on what you pay, not who your parents were. "Any idiot with 2 million dollars and time to travel" can buy/earn his way into the President's Club. That comment was on another thread, and when I read it, I wondered how much I'd spent on cruises over the years. I never kept track of the costs, but I started to figure an average per diem and then I thought, no. It doesn't matter what I've spent in the past. I've enjoyed my cruises, whether I was in a suite or a pokey inside U/L. And when I was in the "rower's cabin," I didn't resent the people in suites.

[igraf]

Sounds like the old "separate but equal" social doctrine... Sorry, no sale.

 

I give credit to HAL for having the good manners of tucking the Neptune Lounge away among the Neptune suites, rather than locating it on a more public deck like Celebrity does with their Michael's Club.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzaholic41]

The "class system" is all over the travel industry. Pay more, get more.

 

I deleted the rest of your quote because this one statement was exactly the point I was making - although I don't agree it's a class system. I've cruised HAL, Princess and Celebrity, all extensively, and I have never felt like a member of a class. I just know there are perks that come with loyalty or booking suites. To me, that is not a class system.

 

But my point was, if the OP and a couple others think Celebrity has a class system, then it would be unreasonable to think that HAL or any other line doesn't.

[Cruzaholic41]

Sounds like the old "separate but equal" social doctrine... Sorry, no sale.

 

I give credit to HAL for having the good manners of tucking the Neptune Lounge away among the Neptune suites, rather than locating it on a more public deck like Celebrity does with their Michael's Club.

 

A little history lesson might benefit you. Until recently, Celebrity did not have a suite lounge. They created it in order to keep up with the Jones', including HAL. Since a lounge did not exist, they had to convert an existing lounge so of course, it is not tucked in among the suites. Future builds will place the suite lounge in a more "tucked" location.

[saatuk]

The new pizza on ships with the Marketplace is reportedly vastly superior. It's made-to-order.

 

I agree. The New York pizza on my last Rotterdam cruise was the best I've had on a ship.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I deleted the rest of your quote because this one statement was exactly the point I was making - although I don't agree it's a class system. I've cruised HAL, Princess and Celebrity, all extensively, and I have never felt like a member of a class. I just know there are perks that come with loyalty or booking suites. To me, that is not a class system.

 

But my point was, if the OP and a couple others think Celebrity has a class system, then it would be unreasonable to think that HAL or any other line doesn't.

 

(bold is mine) I agree that the perks do not constitute a class system. (That's why I used quotes) From what I've heard from a friend who sails RCCL in a suite, they do rope off areas, like a section of loungers or the showroom, for suite pax. I think maybe RCCL's perks, and maybe Celebrity's too, are more obvious because they're in places where nonsuite pax can see them.

 

Somewhere in a HAL brochure or on the website they say the "industry leading" Neptune Lounge. How are they leading the industry?

[iancal]

All of the cruise lines that we travel on certainly have different perks for different cabin levels. HAL certainly does.

 

And there will be more as cruise companies try to capture revenue. A big challenge in the past is that basically the lowest cat inside gets the majority of benefits that the owner's suite gets, or can get the majority of them for a lower cost.

 

When we compare ships we only take into consideration those perks that have value to us and we establish a value to us that may be different than the cruise ship price list.. We completely ignore the perks that are designed to appeal to our egos. The outcome is often surprising. Lots of profit margin and loyalty in appealing to egos and aspirations. The business hotels have been very successful at this.