charge for room service

[SantaFeFan]

17 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

 

M class ships are not taking away the sky lounge based on Millennium's deck plans after refit. Can’t speak to S class ships because they haven’t done one yet. Only appear to be taking away the top story sun deck which is a small area.

 

Don't be jealous of what other people have, try and strive to achieve it yourself.

 

Thanks for that information. I had read that the forward facing lounge was being re-purposed into a suite exclusive area. Pleased to see that it apparently won't. I have spent time there on several cruises watching the view forward. Unfortunately, the forward facing open deck will no longer be available to non suite guests. Another favorite area, depending on weather. 

 

It isn't jealousy. It's losing something that we used to have. Makes no difference if they used those areas for storage or for suites - it is an enjoyable area lost to the majority of us. 

[dkjretired]

56 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Thanks for that information. I had read that the forward facing lounge was being re-purposed into a suite exclusive area. Pleased to see that it apparently won't. I have spent time there on several cruises watching the view forward. Unfortunately, the forward facing open deck will no longer be available to non suite guests. Another favorite area, depending on weather. 

 

It isn't jealousy. It's losing something that we used to have. Makes no difference if they used those areas for storage or for suites - it is an enjoyable area lost to the majority of us. 

 Fortunately they did minimize the loss, will be interesting to see what they do to S class.

[Joebucks]

One of the easiest ways to transform in a frequent cruise complainer, is to overly concern yourself with fees. Nothing is free. You pay for everything at some point. All of the savvy cruisers would lose their mind if they had to pay $30 in room charges, but wouldn't think twice about a $100 higher fare. Most changes, but not all, are made to cater to the masses. The masses don't care about free room service. It's mostly the "way it has always been" crowd. Then there's the gluttony of the few that rack up the most food waste and labor expenses. 

 

Find a cruise that works for you by offering what is important. Compare your bottom-line costs. Just do yourself a favor and stay away from the "nickel and dime" discussions.

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

I think she is an ugly ship, with that hideous platform hanging off one side, and the asymmetrical looking aft end, making her look as if she is perpetually listing. The public areas are more kitsch than classy, especially that space called Eden, which is mostly filled with extra fare areas and restaurants, and strange surrealistic decorations and roaming, avant garde performers. And the incomprehensible decision to position the hot tubs on top of slender pillars one deck above the pool is just strange. Moving from the pool to the hot tubs requires walking up a long, gradual ramp between the decks, or up a flight of stairs, all the while wet and dripping. It's an example of misguided form over function. 

 

I am used to ships where I could roam through ALL public areas, not just the areas that the cheaper cabins are allowed to use. That is what I experienced for years until the recent emphasis on "ship within a ship" mentality took over, with their exclusive areas only for people willing and able to pay much more for the use of those areas.

 

You suggest that they are not "lessening the offerings to non suites". To provide the privileged "ship within a ship" designs, they must section off a percentage of the square footage, which on a ship of inflexible dimensions, means some of that footage is denied to the rest of the paying guests. Yes, on the Celebrity Edge, those areas were never available to the less affluent passengers. But, on their current ships, the M and S classes, they were. They will be carving areas that used to be for everyone and giving it exclusively to suite passengers. With only a finite amount of space available, allocating more of that space to certain classes of passengers means the other classes will lose access to that space. This is a simple case of physics. 

 

For example, based on the photos I have seen of Edge, as well as the deck plans, the only way non-suite passengers can see forward is to use the fitness center or pay to use the thermal suites and spa. There are no general public forward viewing areas otherwise. And the M and S classes will also be refitted to take away those areas. Removing certain amenities that non-suite passengers used to have access to, such as forward facing viewing lounges and outside decks which I especially enjoy when entering and leaving ports, will negatively affect my experience.

 

THAT is lessening the offerings to non-suite guests. 

Personally we have no issues with providing additional services to those that paid more, but agree it has implications to those booking non-suites. The ship within a ship concept is basically a return to the days of multiple class cruising with a different name.

 

In addition to reducing the offerings to non-suite pax, it also makes those areas on an already crowded ship even more crowded.  

[MicCanberra]

Agreed, but it happens everywhere, airports, planes, hotels, etc and  it is a division made by wealth rather than class/society status.

[sloopsailor]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

....... it is a division made by wealth rather than class/society status.

 

I agree. But since the cruise lines, hotels and airlines call those different divisions "classes", it perpetuates the stereotypical appearance of elevated status rather than of wealth. Their efforts are a deliberate attempt towards giving the high spenders the illusion of being better than the rest of the passengers. With priority boarding, disembarking and reservation services, and dedicated waiting rooms, customer service desks, lounges, dining rooms, recreation areas, and in some cases even entertainment, it can be called nothing other than a class system. It is fast becoming an environment where the suite passengers will no longer have to mingle with the non-suite passengers. There seems to be more and more of a concerted effort to completely separate the passengers by how much they are able to spend on accommodations. Even the phrase "ship within a ship", which is used by several cruise lines in their promotional materials, is designed to infer that separation and exclusivity. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by sloopsailor

[MicCanberra]

They can call it whatever they like but having been on both sides of the velvet rope, I can tell you it has nothing to do with real class.

[OCruisers]

6 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

Find a cruise that works for you by offering what is important. Compare your bottom-line costs. Just do yourself a favor and stay away from the "nickel and dime" discussions.

 

So agree with you!  Those "nickel & dime" discussions are best avoided.  

Finding a cruise offering what you want at what you feel is a fair price  is the most important thing ... so just book it and be happy!  

[navybankerteacher]

It usually does not imply a “we’re better than them” attitude.  If someone wants more space, and is willing to pay for it, a line would be stupid to not facilitate. So let’s not get into a class discussion.

 

Part of free choice involves deciding how you want to spend your discretionary funds.  And, as long as that choice is given, we are all better off.

 

The only really annoying approach is in things like “Faster to the Fun” - the only practical way to expedite the big spenders involves making the others wait longer.

[MicCanberra]

I agree, I have no objection that those who pay more get extra benefits but it shouldn't be to the detriment of others.

[SRF]

On 2/23/2019 at 7:39 PM, MicCanberra said:

They can call it whatever they like but having been on both sides of the velvet rope, I can tell you it has nothing to do with real class.

 

This is SO true. 😄