"Segregated" dining

[sjde]

I know Cunard has a separate dining room for people who pay a higher cost for their staterooms.

And NCL now does it for their suite passengers.

Does anyone else do this?

Kind of seems like it's back to the Titanic days. :-)

[easyboy]

Princess has Club Class Dining for its full Suite and Club Class Mini-suite passengers

 

 

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[sjde]

Do people generally like this? I suppose they like the "perk". Is the food any different or just your fellow diners?

[GUT2407]

Celebrity have Suite dining room blu etc.

[GUT2407]

Do people generally like this? I suppose they like the "perk". Is the food any different or just your fellow diners?

Princess Club Class has an extra dish each meal.

 

Many rave about blu on Celebrity.

 

People seem to like it, or they wouldn’t book it.

[sjde]

People seem to like it, or they wouldn’t book it.

 

 

They may be booking suites for other reasons.

[NotATaylor]

Do people generally like this? I suppose they like the "perk". Is the food any different or just your fellow diners?

 

I've cruised in a suite on NCL on a ship without the Haven. We did have separate dining for breakfast (and maybe lunch? I can't recall.) I enjoyed it mainly because I tend to get overwhelmed in large groups of people for extended amounts of time and there is a lot of time spent with large groups on a cruise. I also had a toddler at the time of sailing. The breakfast dining experience was much calmer, with less noise and distraction which made it more enjoyable for me, and also easier to manage my son. The food was not the same as the breakfast provided in the MDR.

 

I'll be sailing in the MSC Yacht Club on my next cruise and I selected it for the same reason -- quieter, smaller dining experience. MSC has separate dining for all meals, but I'll likely take lunch and some dinners outside the Yacht Club area.

[leaveitallbehind]

Most mass market cruise lines offer a separate dining venue dedicated to suite passengers. Consider it the same as an additional specialty restaurant that is included in the premium price paid for a suite. Not unlike a private lounge with complimentary drinks, or separate seating areas around the pool or the theater, or a private beach area at a cruise line's private island. It all comes as perks for the increased price paid for the suite. You get what you pay for and if you are willing to pay a premium you enjoy the related benefits.

[cb at sea]

So, in answer to your question....yes...the folks who pay to sail in suites generally get better accommodations throughout the ship. Carnival is the only notable exception. They have horrible "suite perks".

[mom says]

While I think that calling it segregated dining is somewhat offensive, it is far from uncommon on the mass market lines. No different than having a separate lounge for first class fliers or reserved cabanas for those in Concierge areas of a resort. It is part of the increased price for a suite. The menus can be different from those in the MDR, although I know that on Celebrity one can order from the MDR menu even if you are dining in Luminae. I'm fairly sure most suite guests like it. I know I would much prefer a smaller, quieter, less hectic dining room with more attentive and responsive service.

[MicCanberra]

Celebrity has BLU for it's Aqua class guests and Luminae for it's suite guests, they are both very nice.

[CruiserBruce]

Kind of seems like it's back to the Titanic days. :-)

 

While I think that calling it segregated dining is somewhat offensive, .

 

I agree "segregated" is a very poor choice of words. It also doesn't necessarily harken back to the Titanic, with it's negative connotation, rather it goes back to just about all cruising prior to about 1960, when mass market cruising started.

[MicCanberra]

People often confuse class and wealth.

 

On cruise ships if you pay more for a certain category, you get more, whether it is worth it is up to the individual though.

This is the same with airlines, hotels and many other aspects in life.

[cruisemom42]

Not a big fan of separate areas for separate 'classes' of guests.

 

I avoid it primarily by sailing on smaller ships. No need to 'get away' from the crowds there.

[fishywood]

If you really think that the dining perks allotted to patrons of the Cunard Grills, NCL Haven, MSC Yacht Club, Celebrity Aqua Class et al deserved to be mentioned in the same post as the RMS Titanic, I urge you to use your favorite search engine and find the Titanic deck plans. And note how much of the ship--more than you can imagine based on some silly cinema--was totally off limits to third class passengers. And how far away their cabins, and second class for that matter, were from the nearest toilets.

 

One of the main functions of the upgraded dining for suite passengers on mainstream lines today is to attract some of the more-traveled and somewhat wealthier passengers who still remember "the good old days" (actually just one generation ago) when the better mainstream lines offered a truly premium dining experience for all passengers at all meals. Now having evolved into a "you get what you pay for" perk. But hardly the "XX seat to front, YY seat to rear" that the OP seems to take it as.

[GUT2407]

People often confuse class and wealth.

 

 

 

Not with me.

 

I’ve got neither.

[GUT2407]

Not a big fan of separate areas for separate 'classes' of guests.

 

I avoid it primarily by sailing on smaller ships. No need to 'get away' from the crowds there.

I prefer smaller ships for different reasons.

 

Though some of them seem more crowded than larger ships.

[Hlitner]

More and more lines are doing this including both NCL and MSC who have actually created "ship within a ship" environments. I guess you could compare what is happening to the ole days of liners where they had various classes. Consider that Celebrity has their MDR (for most passengers), Blu for those in Aqua Class, and Luminaire for those in Suites.

 

So, as one who has been cruising for forty years (nearly always in regular cabins) I do support the idea of more for those who pay a lot more. We have seldom booked suites because we really don't need the extra space. But now MSC offers their Yacht Club experience to even those who book normal cabins within the Yacht Class part of the ship.

 

The OP might think, why do this? And we say, why not? After all, we are in a new age when some men (who were raised by wolves) think its fine to wear a baseball cap indoors (and even in the MDRs). Times have changed and it just makes sense that those who are willing to pay a lot more money should be able to get more benefits.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

"Segregated" is an inappropriate term for different levels of service. Airlines have long had different classes : Coach, Business, and First Class - and many have added "more room in coach". Hotels have regular rooms, ocean (or other) view, and suites.

 

Even when you buy a car, you opt for cheap or luxury.

 

For a few years cruise lines were virtually alone in offering (almost) one class service - everyone ate in the same dining room - though there were obviously different "classes" of cabins. But, when lines wanted to broaden their market - by lowering, or at least holding down, regular fares - they realized they had to do something to keep the interest of passengers who were not going to be happy with cheaper/lower quality food, reduced service and increased crowding --- so now that they are selling to completely different groups: people who want cheap deals above all else (who seem to make up a growing majority) and those who want quality and are willing to pay for it.

 

It's kind of sad: the one area of travel which approached being egalitarian was destroyed by the success of the efforts to sell the service being provided.

[geoherb]

We sailed in a suite for the first time last month on a Princess ship. The best perk was the breakfast in the specialty restaurant. We dined in the Club Class section of the dining room for dinner and sea day lunches, but to be honest it was not that much better than our previous dining room experiences. The two waiters who handled that section were very very good.

[MicCanberra]

Not with me.

 

I’ve got neither.

I disagree. You have Mrs Gut.:D

[MicCanberra]

I prefer smaller ships for different reasons.

 

Though some of them seem more crowded than larger ships.

Agreed, NCL Epic felt less crowded than the Pacific Pearl , which was less than half the capacity.

[GUT2407]

We sailed in a suite for the first time last month on a Princess ship. The best perk was the breakfast in the specialty restaurant. We dined in the Club Class section of the dining room for dinner and sea day lunches, but to be honest it was not that much better than our previous dining room experiences. The two waiters who handled that section were very very good.

 

 

Can you tell us what YOU thought was so good about the Suite breakfast.

[GUT2407]

I disagree. You have Mrs Gut.:D

And she is ALL class.

[cruisemom42]

Agreed, NCL Epic felt less crowded than the Pacific Pearl , which was less than half the capacity.

 

I'm talking about truly small ships -- 350 passengers. NCL Epic is more than 10 times the tonnage of Aegean Odyssey. ;)

 

One MDR, one seating. No specialty restaurants. No room service. Lovely buffet area with indoor and outdoor seating, open to all.