You are right that the passengers who pay more for their stateroom have the option to book 1 or 2 more specialty restaurant reservations. Yes, there are some cancellations once those passengers board. IMO, one of the ways this could be mitigated is to post the menus of the Chefs Table in advance as they have done in the past. We enjoy dining in Manfredis and our reservations there probably won’t change.
I don’t agree with your use of the term “lower class passengers”. It doesn’t apply to Viking cruises. We have found that once you’re on board a Viking ship, your cabin class is never an issue unlike most cruise lines. That’s the main reason we cruise with Viking.