Chairs removed to make more room?

[beg3yrs]

26 minutes ago, maggie777 said:

Has anyone ever experienced Princess reversing a decision? Is anyone in head office listening ( or caring )?

 

Yes! It was a few years ago but there was a kerfuffle about new balcony furniture being so bad (or something like that). I remember Princess actually replied here on Cruise Critic (they have a verified account) and stated the furniture issue would be corrected with new stuff as soon as possible.

Here's the link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1525194-new-balcony-furniture-on-caribe-deck-on-grand/?do=findComment&comment=31867004

Here's another link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1525194-new-balcony-furniture-on-caribe-deck-on-grand/?do=findComment&comment=31746846

Edited February 20, 2019 by beg3yrs

[Cinerama]

48 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Deluxe balcony is a separate cabin category and only available on Royal class ships. It is slightly larger, has a small two  person loveseat sofa, which can also be the third berth for three or  four person cabins , small coffee table. And a little less storage in the desk area - doesn't have those extra small shelves , etc like the standard balcony. 

It's different from Premium balcony, which refers to location... You can have a Deluxe balcony or a Premium Deluxe balcony (or obstructed view Deluxe balcony, etc) . Same as having a balcony or premium balcony. 

Deluxe Balcony category starts with a D versus standard balcony starting with B..

 

Forward balconies are very large on the Royal class ships. Just one chair and a sofa. This will be our cabin for next cruise.

 

Some one said $5,000 for one of these cabins? That must be a long cruise, Our seven day Caribbean cruise is about $1,000 each for us with the free booze package.  

 

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Cinerama

[ExDean]

How about this as a possible (short term) solution.  Easily could fit in a suite case and if one so desired it could be left with your stateroom steward possible for the next guest if you didn't want to schlep it home.   Available for about 25 bucks.  Just a thought...😂

 

[meh56]

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. She also asked if I wanted to upgrade to a cabin with seating. She said Princess is taking all complaints seriously. I explained we do not want to sit on the bed to have room service, read or relax and we should not have to pay more money for a chair.We have booked with another line that offers mini sofa in every balcony.  Ruby did not offer any balcony cabins with sofa. It seemed like she really didn’t care , we are only one booking.  She said it was not really about safety but about giving us more room in the cabin. Loved the picture...I understand this may not be an issue for a lot of other people but when we vacation we want to be comfortable in our room - even holiday inn express (and similar chains) have a desk chair and arm chair in the room.

[hpeabody]

1 hour ago, maggie777 said:

Has anyone ever experienced Princess reversing a decision? Is anyone in head office listening ( or caring )?

 

 

The charge they wanted for Alfredo’s was rescinded in no time

 

IMO, head office cares about what will make them money, that is bottom line

Edited February 20, 2019 by hpeabody

[Obsi]

I find it really strange that given the majority of the passengers on Princess ships are of the older age bracket - that the lack of chairs wasn't considered an issue.  Clearly the decision was made by younger people.

 

Many of their passengers will have back problems that mean they just cannot sit on a bed.  I assume that people who have been writing in their complaints have mentioned the need of chairs for age/medical issues rather than just convenience?

 

Maybe in addition to people dragging chairs in from other places in protest, people should also start "accidentally" spilling food on the bed when they are forced to sit and eat on the bed as their only option (except that would make more work for the stewards who aren't to blame for the lack of chairs)

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, meh56 said:

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. She also asked if I wanted to upgrade to a cabin with seating. She said Princess is taking all complaints seriously. I explained we do not want to sit on the bed to have room service, read or relax and we should not have to pay more money for a chair.We have booked with another line that offers mini sofa in every balcony.  Ruby did not offer any balcony cabins with sofa. It seemed like she really didn’t care , we are only one booking.  She said it was not really about safety but about giving us more room in the cabin. Loved the picture...I understand this may not be an issue for a lot of other people but when we vacation we want to be comfortable in our room - even holiday inn express (and similar chains) have a desk chair and arm chair in the room.

 

In other words and being polite about it, her answer was - TOUGH.

 

DON

[Ep010835]

Just now, donaldsc said:

 

In other words and being polite about it, her answer was - TOUGH.

 

DON

 

It’s a shame when these things fall on deaf ears. 

 

You might consider contacting: jswartz@princesscruises.com

[stoneharborlady]

1 hour ago, meh56 said:

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. 

 

 

Obviously it is important to you, or you would not have inquired about it to begin with.  Why does she feel the need to understand that.  Not to be rude, but it is none of her business if you want to spend ALL of your time in your cabin.  Customer relations really dropped the ball here.

[maggie777]

On 2/18/2019 at 9:21 PM, TriumphGuy said:

Never even considered room service because no place to sit other than the balcony. We did still have the table though, just no chair. Crown February 5-15, 2019.

When I emailed J. Swartz several days ago I received a phone call from corporate. This was the second call received and offered conflicting info. No insight or concern was shown. It was suggested that meals delivered to cabin could be enjoyed on the balcony. I pointed out that this might be unpleasant in the north Atlantic in December. The conversation ended with her wishing us a happy voyage.

[stoneharborlady]

11 minutes ago, maggie777 said:

When I emailed J. Swartz several days ago I received a phone call from corporate. This was the second call received and offered conflicting info. No insight or concern was shown. It was suggested that meals delivered to cabin could be enjoyed on the balcony. I pointed out that this might be unpleasant in the north Atlantic in December. The conversation ended with her wishing us a happy voyage.

WOW, thats the way to keep customers happy, NOT

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by stoneharborlady

[Stonewolf Cruiser]

2 hours ago, meh56 said:

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. She also asked if I wanted to upgrade to a cabin with seating. She said Princess is taking all complaints seriously. I explained we do not want to sit on the bed to have room service, read or relax and we should not have to pay more money for a chair.We have booked with another line that offers mini sofa in every balcony.  Ruby did not offer any balcony cabins with sofa. It seemed like she really didn’t care , we are only one booking.  She said it was not really about safety but about giving us more room in the cabin. Loved the picture...I understand this may not be an issue for a lot of other people but when we vacation we want to be comfortable in our room - even holiday inn express (and similar chains) have a desk chair and arm chair in the room.

 

Wow, what a terrible response from customer relations.  Doesn’t sound like she is the correct career field.

Although I’m elite level on Princess, I leave Friday on my first Celebrity cruise.

[TriumphGuy]

We have a 10 night Queensland, Australia cruise booked on Sun Princess for April 2020. It's a big deal trip for us. Does anyone know if the Australia ships are dumping their chairs too? Because if that's the case, we might cancel and look at other lines.
As I said before, this is likely bean-counter driven. It costs money to maintain and recover these chairs. I'm thinking some pointy head looked at this and said "we can cut x dollars by just getting rid of the chairs. No one will notice or care".

Well, guess what, I NOTICED.

[Ep010835]

Just now, TriumphGuy said:

We have a 10 night Queensland, Australia cruise booked on Sun Princess for April 2020. It's a big deal trip for us. Does anyone know if the Australia ships are dumping their chairs too? Because if that's the case, we might cancel and look at other lines.
As I said before, this is likely bean-counter driven. It costs money to maintain and recover these chairs. I'm thinking some pointy head looked at this and said "we can cut x dollars by just getting rid of the chairs. No one will notice or care".

Well, guess what, I NOTICED.

 

Were I in your position, I would contact Ms. Swartz and let her know of your decision. 

Money talks. 

[victravellers]

3 hours ago, meh56 said:

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. She also asked if I wanted to upgrade to a cabin with seating. She said Princess is taking all complaints seriously. I explained we do not want to sit on the bed to have room service, read or relax and we should not have to pay more money for a chair.We have booked with another line that offers mini sofa in every balcony.  Ruby did not offer any balcony cabins with sofa. It seemed like she really didn’t care , we are only one booking.  She said it was not really about safety but about giving us more room in the cabin. Loved the picture...I understand this may not be an issue for a lot of other people but when we vacation we want to be comfortable in our room - even holiday inn express (and similar chains) have a desk chair and arm chair in the room.

Haha, so they think you will spend more time in your room after they remove the chair.

[getting older slowly]

You wonder... if this "removed the chairs "'

is trying to push people into a higher ( more $$$ ) cabin.... to get seating in your cabin

 

Well they have Club Class..... why not add "' Chair Class and Sofa Class"'  

 

Where will this all end.....   hopefully not in tears..    and people sitting on the floor.

 

So the new cabin levels are :-

 

Sleeping

Sleeping and sitting

Sleeping and sitting and eating

Sleeping and sitting and eating and lounging

Sleeping and sitting and eating and lounging with room to invite people

 

Cheers Don

 

 

 

[Lil2Angelic]

On 2/6/2019 at 4:19 PM, XBGuy said:

I assume that the chair in question is the blue one in front of the sliding door in the picture, below, and the table is the little one with the glass top between the TV and the wall hanging on the right.

 

 

Hmmm.  I think we will miss the little table more than the chair.  We usually leave plates/utensils/glasses/napkins from snacks and room service meals on that little table for the steward to remove when he provides service.  We are going to be cruising on the Ruby Princess in April in a balcony cabin such as the one in this picture.  I guess we'll find out in April.

 

I did just think of another thing.  We enjoy the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, and, typically, have it while we are at sea.  Since the balcony is, usually, quite windy while the ship is moving at sea, we set up in the room.  The room service staff does bring a table for the UBD, and we use the two chairs that are in the cabin.  I, personally, would not like to have one person sit at the edge of the bed for that, otherwise, elegant dinner.  I assume that the room service staff would, then, also have to bring a second chair.

 

 

 

We were just on the Ruby..Balcony Cabin Baja Deck..We had the table but no barrel chair.

[Colo Cruiser]

6 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Has anyone ever experienced Princess reversing a decision? Is anyone in head office listening ( or caring )?

 

In this case they would have to make a run to the dump to recover all the chairs.

[Rocking Waves]

Two people in each room have to pay full fare or a full single supplement (thousands of $) but only one gets to sit down.  Really!  Upgrading to a bigger room can be thousands of $ for two - not possible for all.  There are many moments in a 24 hr period that one might want to sit down - not stand in the middle of the room nor stretch out on the bed.  Reading, eating, drinking, dressing, make up, hair drying, meditating, socializing, simply being awake, etc.....  In rough weather, I would certainly want a solid place to sit so that I wouldn't fall over or have to lurch around the room with little to hold on to.  Some people will spend time in their cabins for their own personal reasons and at the cost of cruises, it shouldn't be such a stretch to have a chair or better.  Plus it can be difficult to find comfortable seating around the ship - many spots are 'saved' or simply full.  It will be worse if we all have to sit in public areas.  We often do breakfast in our room when we have early excursions.  It is really sad to have to 'beg' for a chair in what should be a relatively luxurious holiday.  Even cheap hotel rooms have two chairs, and often 3 (1 desk and 2 armchairs).

 

Princess, all of your passengers deserve to be made to feel welcome, valued, and comfortable.  This is an unnecessary problem - please put the chairs and tables back!

[Astro Flyer]

17 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

In this case they would have to make a run to the dump to recover all the chairs.

When passengers complained about the new balcony furniture their reply was that would be addressed...it’s still the same balcony furniture.  

 

I understand why passengers are upset but unlike a simple change in policy (like when the Regal’s unannounced charge for Alfredo’s was rescinded within a couple of days) replacing the chair & table might not happen.  Whatever way they disposed of these items it’s unlikely they’ll return.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[Colo Cruiser]

24 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

replacing the chair & table might not happen.  Whatever way they disposed of these items it’s unlikely they’ll return.

Alfredos was easily changed..........

I agree and they probably won't go out and buy new ones that's for sure.

[JAT0303]

9 hours ago, Obsi said:

I find it really strange that given the majority of the passengers on Princess ships are of the older age bracket - that the lack of chairs wasn't considered an issue.  Clearly the decision was made by younger people.

 

Many of their passengers will have back problems that mean they just cannot sit on a bed.  I assume that people who have been writing in their complaints have mentioned the need of chairs for age/medical issues rather than just convenience?

 

Maybe in addition to people dragging chairs in from other places in protest, people should also start "accidentally" spilling food on the bed when they are forced to sit and eat on the bed as their only option (except that would make more work for the stewards who aren't to blame for the lack of chairs)

I've been following this thread and I'm another person who is not happy with the removal of the second chair. 

 

I sent an e-mail last week to Jan Swartz as recommended by others and I did include information regarding a person's ability/in-ability to get out of a chair that has no arms.  I read that others had been getting responses but I hadn't received any response so I resent the e-mail.  Still waiting...

 

I will be asking for a chair on the Crown on our April cruise and hope that they have some available upon request.  Yet another thing to do when we first board the ship 🙂

[caribill]

11 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Has anyone ever experienced Princess reversing a decision? Is anyone in head office listening ( or caring )?

 

Yes. When the Regal (I think) first sailed, Princess tried to institute a $10 cover charge for eating in Alfredo's. (It did include a glass of wine whether you wanted it or not.)

 

That was reversed relatively quickly.

[deliver42]

Already booked a regular balcony. I wasn't going to pay $200.00PP for a sofa. What a ripoff.

[mustgo]

I have been reading this thread and agree that the young people working at Princess made a very poor and unsensitive decision.  We have passed our 80th birthdays  and some days just need a chair WITH arms.  We have always missed the small sofas found on other lines but booked Princess anyway at times relying on the 2 chairs.  We have a cruise coming up soon on Regal and are hoping to find the chairS.  The ship has no deluxe balconies left so will stay in our regular and hope for the best.  I hesitate to write Princess now since I do not know what we will find, but I definitely will write a letter of complaint after the cruise if we do not find 2 chairs.