OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK JUNE 2024

[mnocket]

39 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Let's not get sanctimonious with "entitled".

Perhaps some people see a difference between paying for better service, and paying for better service at the expense of others?

[morpheusofthesea]

This is interesting and I thought nothing about it until @MonsterJoe brought it up. We have a family with baby in stroller that paid for the same butt in front of other families with babies in stroller here in the Yacht Club. So not every family with baby in stroller opts for steerage.

P.S. That is what is nice at Disney as well. The family with baby in stroller get their own personal escort for $450-$900/ hour that we do and butt in front of every line. I cannot imagine anyone paying this price to say to their escort "Please put us at the end of every line, my husband doesn't feel right about the practice."

Edited June 17 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[morpheusofthesea]

We already have enough nonconformists that get into the Yacht Club, by hook or crook, upgrading bidding, or outright paying the full amount, that refuse to abide by the posted requests, like no shorts, flip flops in restaurant or putting bare feet on furniture, smoking/vaping all over the ship and in cabins/balcony. Now we have the those with platitudes. 

Edited June 17 by morpheusofthesea

[Corriegr]

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

We already have enough nonconformists that get into the Yacht Club, by hook or crook, upgrading bidding, or outright paying the full amount, that refuse to abide by the posted requests, like no shorts, flip flops in restaurant or putting bare feet on furniture, smoking/vaping all over the ship and in cabins/balcony. Now we have the those with platitudes. 'It is not right to have a butler/escort butt in front of others'. Must be an existentialist. If it not right for me it is not right for the rest of mankind.

I must admit I’m pretty easy going on most things  unlike my DW who gets pretty miffed on the whole upgrade vs full fare in YC .
 

However , lax dress code in YC restaurant does bug me. Last night was Gala night and some people looked as though they had come straight off the beach and was the same last week. 

[Two Wheels Only]

21 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Perhaps some people see a difference between paying for better service, and paying for better service at the expense of others?

 

It's not really at the expense of others. It's similar to family A walking into a restaurant and being told that there is a 30 minute wait. Five seconds later, family B who has a reservation, walks in and is taken to a table immediately.

 

Guests who have priority (boarding, tenders, seating, etc.) have that "reservation" whether they use it or not.

 

It might seem like family A is being slighted but they aren't. It's just family B using what family B is given.

[morpheusofthesea]

41 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Perhaps some people see a difference between paying for better service, and paying for better service at the expense of others?

That is exactly it. We pay more at the expense of those that pay less. They that pay less have the same choices, pay more or do not pay more, just do not expect the same courtesies if one pays less as one who pays more. Those that do not accept this have a problem.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, morpheusofthesea said:

That is exactly it. We pay more at the expense of those that pay less. They that pay less have the same choices, pay more or do not pay more, just do not expect the same courtesies if one pays less as one who pays more. Those that do not accept this have a problem.

There's likely also an element of those who pay less being able to do so (to an extent) because of those that they pay more subsidizing that, which keeps the prices down for others.

[morpheusofthesea]

19 minutes ago, Corriegr said:

It is not right to have a butler/escort butt in front of others'. Must be an existentialist. If it not right for me it is not right for the rest of mankind

I guess I didn't EDIT this out fast enough.

[morpheusofthesea]

It is 10:00 am and the breakfast buffet on the One Pool Deck is closed. BUT I saw this sign.

We are in Falmouth. The ship emptied out. Only about a dozen of us stayed on board. Weather is nice, hazy and breezy. 

[Two Wheels Only]

4 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

There's likely also an element of those who pay less being able to do so (to an extent) because of those that they pay more subsidizing that, which keeps the prices down for others.

 

I bring up the exact same point when people complain that the Yacht Club (MSC), Haven (NCL), Retreat (Celebrity), Suite Neighborhood (RCCL), or Sanctuary (Princess) take up too much space on the ship and should be eliminated so that everyone can enjoy the entire ship.

 

Those "ship within a ship" guests add to the total money that the cruise line brings in for each cruise. If those areas were eliminated, everyone else's cruise fare would increase to make up for that lost income.

[morpheusofthesea]

30 minutes ago, Corriegr said:

However , lax dress code in YC restaurant does bug me. Last night was Gala night and some people looked as though they had come straight off the beach and was the same last week. 

Saw this posted in the daily program for Yacht Club. What do you think they meant by "Pants for gentlemen are mandatory..."

[morpheusofthesea]

3 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Those "ship within a ship" guests add to the total money that the cruise line brings in for each cruise. If those areas were eliminated, everyone else's cruise fare would increase to make up for that lost income.

We forget, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that would allow King Soloman to cut the other's baby in half just because she might not have it."

[morpheusofthesea]

During our early morning walk about at 7 am found staff just standing around waiting for the hordes that do not get up early. 2nd photo, on every table of the Market Place Buffet.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

5 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

During our early morning walk about at 7 am found staff just standing around waiting for the hordes that do not get up early. 2nd photo, on every table of the Market Place Buffet.

Very curious to see what changes are coming to the buffet!

[no1talks]

20 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Saw this posted in the daily program for Yacht Club. What do you think they meant by 'Pants for gentlemen are mandatory...'"

 

This may require clarification.

 

I'm in the process of getting a black-tie-equivalent Highland ensemble in my Scottish ancestors' darkest clan tartan.

 

There will be no pants.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 minute ago, no1talks said:

 

This may require clarification.

 

I'm in the process of getting a black-tie-equivalent Highland ensemble in my Scottish ancestors' darkest clan tartan.

 

There will be no pants.

In your case they will make an exception. What I think they are referring to are men showing up in bathing trunks. This is how low the YC has sunk.

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

It's not really at the expense of others. It's similar to family A walking into a restaurant and being told that there is a 30 minute wait. Five seconds later, family B who has a reservation, walks in and is taken to a table immediately.

 

Guests who have priority (boarding, tenders, seating, etc.) have that "reservation" whether they use it or not.

 

It might seem like family A is being slighted but they aren't. It's just family B using what family B is given.

Perhaps a more appropriate analogy is family A,B & C are told there will be a 30-minute wait for a table.  Five seconds later, family D comes in an offers the hostess $100 to be seated ahead of all those who are waiting. I understand that many people are comfortable doing this, it just makes me uncomfortable.

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

That is exactly it. We pay more at the expense of those that pay less. They that pay less have the same choices, pay more or do not pay more, just do not expect the same courtesies if one pays less as one who pays more. Those that do not accept this have a problem.

I have no discomfort with people who pay more getting more. The difference is whether your benefit comes at the expense of others.  I guess for many people, that doesn't enter into the equation. For me it does.  People are different. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, mnocket said:

Perhaps a more appropriate analogy is family A,B & C are told there will be a 30-minute wait for a table.  Five seconds later, family D comes in an offers the hostess $100 to be seated ahead of all those who are waiting. I understand that many people are comfortable doing this, it just makes me uncomfortable.

 

If we're seeking the perfect analogy - I think worth adding to that is that Family D purchases the lobster and wagyu steak dinners that allows Families A, B, and C to enjoy a lower cost meal with smaller crowds because without Family D, the restaurant would need to serve another 3 families in the same timeframe to make the same amount of money, so instead of waiting 30 minutes for a table, they'd instead have to wait 60 minutes.

 

The reality is that cruising, like many other things, isn't a perfectly equitable experience in the way you may wish for it to be.

 

Cruise lines are not non-profits and they need to be able to offer different experiences to different guests to maximize shareholder return while providing an experience everybody sees value in (regardless of class).

 

We don't always sail in suites, but there's never been a time we've been in a non-suite that I've thought, "that isn't fair."

 

Instead I see something and think to myself, "that's a great perk, perhaps I should pay for a suite next time so I can have that experience as well."

 

Or on the flipside, I think, "I can't imagine 3x for the price for a suite just to get that."

 

[mnocket]

2 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

If we're seeking the perfect analogy - I think worth adding to that is that Family D purchases the lobster and wagyu steak dinners that allows Families A, B, and C to enjoy a lower cost meal with smaller crowds because without Family D, the restaurant would need to serve another 3 families in the same timeframe to make the same amount of money, so instead of waiting 30 minutes for a table, they'd instead have to wait 60 minutes.

 

The reality is that cruising, like many other things, isn't a perfectly equitable experience in the way you may wish for it to be.

 

Cruise lines are not non-profits and they need to be able to offer different experiences to different guests to maximize shareholder return while providing an experience everybody sees value in (regardless of class).

 

We don't always sail in suites, but there's never been a time we've been in a non-suite that I've thought, "that isn't fair."

 

Instead I see something and think to myself, "that's a great perk, perhaps I should pay for a suite next time so I can have that experience as well."

 

Or on the flipside, I think, "I can't imagine 3x for the price for a suite just to get that."

 

I can't tell you how appreciative I would be if you ordered steak and Lobster, and thereby subsidized my meal.  The generosity of some people is overwhelming.  However, if you slipped the hostess $100 to be seated ahead of those of us who were waiting, I'd have some different feelings. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I can't tell you how appreciative I would be if you ordered steak and Lobster, and thereby subsidized my meal.  The generosity of some people is overwhelming.  However, if you slipped the hostess $100 to be seated ahead of those of us who were waiting, I'd have some different feelings. 

 

In that analogy - shouldn't you be grateful that you only had a 30 minute wait because of the other family paying more for their dinner?

 

Regardless of your personal feelings - my analogy is at least accurate...without Family D, everybody would have to wait longer since they'd have serve more customers to make the same exact amount of money.

 

I'm an entrepreneur and we offer rush service to our clients that's essentially the same exact thing...if you pay us an additional $x, we'll bump your project ahead of everybody else in the queue.

 

I've never had a customer complain about that, but perhaps that's because we're Business-to-Business, so our clients understand the economics of things vs their personal feelings.

 

 

[mnocket]

Just now, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

In that analogy - shouldn't you be grateful that you only had a 30 minute wait because of the other family paying more for their dinner?

 

Regardless of your personal feelings - my analogy is at least accurate...without Family D, everybody would have to wait longer since they'd have serve more customers to make the same exact amount of money.

 

I'm an entrepreneur and we offer rush service to our clients that's essentially the same exact thing...if you pay us an additional $x, we'll bump your project ahead of everybody else in the queue.

 

I've never had a customer complain about that, but perhaps that's because we're Business-to-Business, so our clients understand the economics of things vs their personal feelings.

 

 

Like I said... people are different.

[mica178]

21 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Perhaps a more appropriate analogy is family A,B & C are told there will be a 30-minute wait for a table.  Five seconds later, family D comes in an offers the hostess $100 to be seated ahead of all those who are waiting. I understand that many people are comfortable doing this, it just makes me uncomfortable.

YC represents about 5% of the passengers on any of the MSC megaships. If you removed the YC perk, those monster disembarkation lines would hardly change for everyone else. I really don't see the YC perks as coming at the expense of others.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, mnocket said:

Like I said... people are different.

 

And I'm grateful for that, it would be a very boring world if we were all the same.

 

Happy sails! 🛳️🚢

[MonsterJoe]

I literally mean I was physically pushed out of the way by a butler while holding my baby. I was next in line and the rest of my family who I was travelling with had just disembarked before me.

Edited June 17 by MonsterJoe