NEW Cabin Category Classifications for 2015

[travelgoddess1]

I missed reading about the new policy until I saw the other thread about the letter to Adam Goldstein. In looking at the deck plans, I can see where this policy would be a problem for a couple looking for a D balcony in a prime location (hump or aft) on a Voyager or Freedom class ship. (I didn't look at Radiance or Vision). I'm not at all familiar with Oasis class, but in looking at those deck plans, it appears that there is a small hump on the forward part of the ship with bigger balconies...those are all D-1 on the plans I looked at, and so would be restricted from booking by a couple.:( This policy could also be a problem for someone who wanted to book a JS or full suite, and have family in a nearby balcony, unless Royal Caribbean is willing to override the system to do the booking.

 

Is this truly a new policy, or is it just better labeling and enforcement of what's always been in place at peak times?

 

I assume (and hope!) this new policy doesn't apply to Junior Suites or suites since those all sleep more than 2 people.

 

I agree with blocking connecting cabins for those specifically looking to book them, but if that's the only choice left in a category I think the room should be released. When I booked my April cruise on the Navigator almost a year in advance, I took the last non-connecting GS on the ship. A couple have opened up here and there since final payment, but for the most part, full suites have been sold out since last April.

 

Cindy, those are my concerns, as well. There is certain to be an uproar from couples/2 people if this policy is enforced. And since we all know that consistency is not RCI's strong suit, I foresee being turned down for a particular cabin, only to have the next request for it by a couple accepted. THAT should go over well. :confused:

[marci22]

I am guessing that if you call, a rep will be able to override this at their discretion. It seems like they are making it harder to book what you want online. They may want people to call instead.

 

I am trying to book 2 cabins for 5 people for an upcoming summer cruise. There are not a ton of cabins left. I used to be able to pick which exact cabin I wanted. Now they are 'choosing the best cabin' for me. It is so aggravating.

 

For example, I am trying to book an interior for 2 people. It keeps assigning me the same Q cabin in the far aft, although a lot of other doubles are available. When I put in a known available cabin (I looked at C scanner) it comes up as 'not available or not in your category'. Even though it is an interior double.

Edited February 15, 2014 by marci22

[Debde]

I know some are upset by this but I see this new policy no different than booking family categories. They are not open to anyone with under 5 guests but will open up closer to sailing to all if not sold.

If followed to the letter-this new policy will not have them loosing money. It's about getting as many paying customers on the ship. This will do that.

[marci22]

I know some are upset by this but I see this new policy no different than booking family categories. They are not open to anyone with under 5 guests but will open up closer to sailing to all if not sold.

If followed to the letter-this new policy will not have them loosing money. It's about getting as many paying customers on the ship. This will do that.

 

Well it's a little different because family categories have always been booked this way and there are not a lot of them. On the other hand, D1s have been booked by couples FOREVER and there are a ton of them. So it's like they are taking something away that we are used to.

[Debde]

Well it's a little different because family categories have always been booked this way and there are not a lot of them. On the other hand, D1s have been booked by couples FOREVER and there are a ton of them. So it's like they are taking something away that we are used to.

 

One would think the reason for putting this forward is because they have found not being able to accommodate many 3 and 4 person, one room travelers. this is what may be evolving as the new cruisers so what we are used to can often go away. Royal has done that once or twice!!;)

 

Don't get me wrong-I see both sides but this is a business decision to enable the company to put forth its best options of making more money. I know people have favorite cabins but Royal probably wants people that keep coming back for an overall experience, not just because of one certain cabin.

[samlomax]

This will make booking our cruise a pain!, normally 2 of us book when the cruise is first released, we like a JS, then over the next few months the rest of our family book, we like the JS's that have the sofa beds because more often than not my niece ends up changing rooms and moving in with us. The only difference between a 2 occupancy or 3/4 is the sofa, either a normal sofa or a pullout sofa bed, how hard would it be to put sofa beds in all the suites? that would give Rccl the extra chance of more guests, quite often the suites with sofa beds are sold out, Rccl will then lose out on people who want those rooms.

[TwoTravelin]

I am surprised the amount of posts about a subject that only person seems to know about. I tried a few bookings to test and all seemed to allow what one person who posted said was now a new "policy". When I see the new deck plans I see no change in actual cabins or amount of people who can sleep in those cabins, just a different category. As stated before in particular on Oasis, the prime hump cabins for 2 people are actually cheaper. I have not found any press release stating this new policy that seems to be conjured up out of thin air - so I will resist passing judgment.

[Elizanessie]

I am surprised the amount of posts about a subject that only person seems to know about. I tried a few bookings to test and all seemed to allow what one person who posted said was now a new "policy". When I see the new deck plans I see no change in actual cabins or amount of people who can sleep in those cabins, just a different category. As stated before in particular on Oasis, the prime hump cabins for 2 people are actually cheaper. I have not found any press release stating this new policy that seems to be conjured up out of thin air - so I will resist passing judgment.

 

On Wednesday when booking opened for Allure 2015 that is when many found out that the categories were changing.

 

When they gave their TAs/RCCL their details of preferred/chosen cabins say for example D7 - xxxxx they were told...that is no longer a D7 it is now a D6...RCCL had not at that stage updated their deck plans.

 

I know of some couples who wanted to book D1s but they were told sorry but those cabins are not available as they are waitlisted. Upon further questioning RCCL then told guests that the D1s were now D2s and D1s were being held for bookings of 3 or 4 guests.

[Toddcan]

I am surprised the amount of posts about a subject that only person seems to know about. I tried a few bookings to test and all seemed to allow what one person who posted said was now a new "policy". When I see the new deck plans I see no change in actual cabins or amount of people who can sleep in those cabins, just a different category. As stated before in particular on Oasis, the prime hump cabins for 2 people are actually cheaper. I have not found any press release stating this new policy that seems to be conjured up out of thin air - so I will resist passing judgment.

 

 

I'm not sure the policy is totally "new". I think the renaming cabin categories is what is now new. Mind you, this new policy is still relatively new - not just new this week.

 

Last summer, I booked a GTY balcony, and was assigned a cabin. (cannot rememeber which one, but it was a D category - only sleeping 2 people. So, I looked online, and saw an aft cabin in the same category, so I called to switch. I was put on hold, and then told that I could not switch because that aft cabin held 3, or 4 (Can't remember which). I pleaded - telling them that I really wanted, and enjoyed aft cabins. They put me on hold again, contacted the revenue dept, and came back with .. sorry. The best they could do was put me on a wait list for that aft cabin in case no one took it. They told me on the phone that during peak times (this was spring break), they want to hold cabins for more people.

 

So, the policy was put in place some time in the past 12 months or so. On our March 2013 (Indy) cruise, we booked in Aug 2012, and were able to snag the coveted 7708, corner aft - even though that has a bunk bed in the ceiling. Was just my wife and I - again, at Spring Break season.

 

I can only cruise during peak season due to my DW's job in the schools, so this policy stinks for me - Yes, I would pick a cruise specifically to sail in cabin 7708 or 7704. But, no longer - they won't sell it to us.

[Donut23]

Oh why did I peek in here as a way to escape more snow falling from the sky! Now I'm completely crestfallen.

 

You see, DH and I are aft-cabin rats. I travel with an EVC/scooter and have far less energy than in the past. We enjoy Radiance Class aft cabins. The scooter fits alongside the sofa with plenty of room to walk around. The best thing is the large balcony for me to enjoy on days I'm too tired for much more adventure.

 

We will be celebrating our anniversary on the Radiance this summer in Alaska. We were married on the Radiance in Junear 7 years ago. Jim booked cabin 1100 (corner JS) the day before my heart surgery to cheer me up.

 

We were looking at B2B on the Jewell. Oh my. I think I need to go hug my dog for a minute.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

There are still cabins Designated as D1 under the new coding that are only double occupancy (all aft balconies on Radiance class convert from D2 to D1). The issue is restricting booking triple/quad cabins to a lower occupancy. It just so happens that they are reclassifying triples/quads into the top price grouping for each cabin type (D1, E1, F, K, etc) to offset lost revenue on 3/4 passengers by charging a higher fare for 1/2 passengers, also double occupancy cabins with a desirable element (aft/hump) will now carry the highest tarriff for their cabin type.

 

Revenue management controls when/if triples and quads are available to all for booking or restricted to max occupancy. This has been going on quietly for several years. They have enough historical data to generally gauge which sailings are likely to have high demand for such cabins and when to restrict their availability. Sailings during off seasons, repositioning voyages, etc will see little to no capacity restrictions. This is simple economics of supply/demand/revenue control. It won't make some folks happy as they may not be able to book a coveted cabin as double occupancy in peak season, but that's the new reality of the cruise industry.

[mommabean]

Oh why did I peek in here as a way to escape more snow falling from the sky! Now I'm completely crestfallen.

 

You see, DH and I are aft-cabin rats. I travel with an EVC/scooter and have far less energy than in the past. We enjoy Radiance Class aft cabins. The scooter fits alongside the sofa with plenty of room to walk around. The best thing is the large balcony for me to enjoy on days I'm too tired for much more adventure.

 

We will be celebrating our anniversary on the Radiance this summer in Alaska. We were married on the Radiance in Junear 7 years ago. Jim booked cabin 1100 (corner JS) the day before my heart surgery to cheer me up.

 

We were looking at B2B on the Jewell. Oh my. I think I need to go hug my dog for a minute.

 

Awww. Your whole story is just so nice. I understand.

 

Gina

[critterchick]

Oh why did I peek in here as a way to escape more snow falling from the sky! Now I'm completely crestfallen.

 

You see, DH and I are aft-cabin rats. I travel with an EVC/scooter and have far less energy than in the past. We enjoy Radiance Class aft cabins. The scooter fits alongside the sofa with plenty of room to walk around. The best thing is the large balcony for me to enjoy on days I'm too tired for much more adventure.

 

We will be celebrating our anniversary on the Radiance this summer in Alaska. We were married on the Radiance in Junear 7 years ago. Jim booked cabin 1100 (corner JS) the day before my heart surgery to cheer me up.

 

We were looking at B2B on the Jewell. Oh my. I think I need to go hug my dog for a minute.

 

Don't worry, be happy. The aft cabins on Radiance class only hold two people. My guess is that they've made an exception to their new classification because the lightbulb finally went off is somebody's head that those are popular cabins and they can make more money off of them.

 

But I'm sure your dog was happy for the hug.:)

[Pickels]

There are still cabins Designated as D1 under the new coding that are only double occupancy (all aft balconies on Radiance class convert from D2 to D1). The issue is restricting booking triple/quad cabins to a lower occupancy. It just so happens that they are reclassifying triples/quads into the top price grouping for each cabin type (D1, E1, F, K, etc) to offset lost revenue on 3/4 passengers by charging a higher fare for 1/2 passengers, also double occupancy cabins with a desirable element (aft/hump) will now carry the highest tarriff for their cabin type.

 

Revenue management controls when/if triples and quads are available to all for booking or restricted to max occupancy. This has been going on quietly for several years. They have enough historical data to generally gauge which sailings are likely to have high demand for such cabins and when to restrict their availability. Sailings during off seasons, repositioning voyages, etc will see little to no capacity restrictions. This is simple economics of supply/demand/revenue control. It won't make some folks happy as they may not be able to book a coveted cabin as double occupancy in peak season, but that's the new reality of the cruise industry.

 

OK, I'm confused, read all the posts on this issue. I went on RCI's web site and was able to select an Owner's Suite for two people. I did this on two different cruises. Is the problem that after we book, RCI is going to change our cabin because of the new policy? Thanks for your input.

[Cigar King]

I thought I read the new policy was not going to be applied to suites.

[Sparks62]

I really hope they rethink this. We love the corner aft deck 7 on Freedom and Voyager class ships.

[frisbeewife]

Well, now I understand why all of the E1's on Brilliance disappeared when I was looking to book for 2 people for July 2015. I couldn't imagine they were already sold out, but apparently they all hold more than 2 people.

 

So I wonder if all of the 2-person cabins are sold out on a particular cruise and the sailing date is getting close, will they open the higher-capacity cabins to 2 people? You know how they hate to have empty cabins.....

 

This should be interesting. :)

[Buccaneergirl]

I really hope they rethink this. We love the corner aft deck 7 on Freedom and Voyager class ships.

 

They are also our favorite cabins.

 

Last November, we sailed on Liberty and a couple weeks before the sailing the deck 7 corner aft became available. We had booked the cabin next to it and I was hoping we could switch, so I called RCCL. The lady told me no, I could not switch because it was a triple/quad. I explained it was my favorite cabin and we had it booked for February on Liberty. She put me on hold, talked to resolutions, came back and still said no.

Then I explained that the cabin I had next door was a triple/quad, so there should be no problem in switching........she put me on hold again for 10 minutes.

She finally came back and said she had gotten the o.k. to change it.

It was very frustrating and it was then that I realized our days of having the beloved corner aft may be coming to an end.:(

I sure hope I am wrong!

[Sparks62]

I just looked up FOS for September 2015 sailing and found 7408 available to select even though I indicated 2 adults. Corner aft E1 balcony with pullman bed for third person. Maybe not all is as it seems?

[yj_eugene]

I just looked up FOS for September 2015 sailing and found 7408 available to select even though I indicated 2 adults. Corner aft E1 balcony with pullman bed for third person. Maybe not all is as it seems?

 

Peak hurricane season after school has started, so likely no restrictions on that particular cruise. You probably wouldn't see the same thing if you tried to book that cabin for only two adults a month earlier.

[Mach1]

They will not change current reservations would they? We have a JS aft booked for April 2015...:confused: :(

[critterchick]

They will not change current reservations would they? We have a JS aft booked for April 2015...:confused: :(

 

It is unlikely. All of the JS on Radiance class sleep 3/4 people, so they would have to prohibit couples from booking them, and I don't see that happening. Besides, I'm pretty sure that this announcement is only cast in stone for cruises beginning after April 2015, which is sort of their calendar year for releasing itineraries.

 

What I was told by a business development rep is that, if you are able to book a particular cabin, then it has no restriction on it and you can book it without fear of being booted out. If you can't, then it's already been blocked off.

 

I will, however, note that people are sometimes "upgraded" out of cabins that hold 3/4 into double occupancy in order to accommodate a 3/4 passenger after those cabins have been sold out. One CCer posted that she was upgraded from an aft E-1 to a side D-2 against her wishes. But RCI (and all of the lines) reserves the right to do that.