New "class" system on Celebrity

[ISABELLA]

I think it just depends on what someone wants. I would be more apt to use a more private sunning area, as long as there was a bar/staff there. Kind of like the Haven areas on NCL. They have a courtyard with private pool, hot tub and bar (not that Celebrity is going to this extreme). In the Haven they have a number of staff members who can get them drinks, food, etc. It is also great for families. I like choices and this would give passengers another choice in what kind of service/amenities they want; if they want to be out in the public areas they can, but if they want to be in a more private setting, they have that choice as well.

Princess cruises have designated -for fee - area,called Sanctuary - similar to what you had described.

[richstowe]

I am the person that posted the news of the sun deck. Ms Ritzenthaler clearly states that there will be reserved sun deck seating for Suite Class.

This is the perfect example of Celebrity instituting a class system for the benefit of a very small % of guests.

(I realize it hasn't happened yet). Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Last time in an RS the sun was on the wrong side of the ship for us but the butler got the captain to turn the ship around so that our balcony was good to catch some rays. ;)

 

.

That explains why I was in the shade. Now I have rickets.

[RhondaPerr]

I am trying to decide if I am amused or annoyed by this thread! I have cruised inside cabin all the way up to the Owners Suite, and I have never felt deprived or privileged! I just feel blessed to be able to take vacations!

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

I am trying to decide if I am amused or annoyed by this thread! ...

 

I would answer concerned. As a booked but not yet sailed 2015 suite customer, the reception we can expect from fellow cruisers when using some of the more "visible" Suite Class amenities is a little troubling. Reserved seating on deck is not cutting edge rather IMO and experience, a standard suite amenity in the cruise industry and if implemented by Celebrity brings it inline with other companies such as its sister company Royal Caribbean, NCL, Cunard to name a few.

 

That said, of deeper concern is the anti-Suite Class rhetoric, eg its a class system, they are taking space away. This combined with the vitriol in recent months on other threads aimed at those of travelling with children leaves a very negative impression on what I as a new Celebrity cruisers can expect. If I have a message for Celebrity who appear to dip in and out of reading threads which "interest" them it is that over the coming months to think about how these changes will be implemented not just on the ships but within your very vocal customer base (as the recent fall out over the Classic drinks package has shown).

[Project_gal]

I would answer concerned. As a booked but not yet sailed 2015 suite customer, the reception we can expect from fellow cruisers when using some of the more "visible" Suite Class amenities is a little troubling. Reserved seating on deck is not cutting edge rather IMO and experience, a standard suite amenity in the cruise industry and if implemented by Celebrity brings it inline with other companies such as its sister company Royal Caribbean, NCL, Cunard to name a few.

 

That said, of deeper concern is the anti-Suite Class rhetoric, eg its a class system, they are taking space away. This combined with the vitriol in recent months on other threads aimed at those of travelling with children leaves a very negative impression on what I as a new Celebrity cruisers can expect. If I have a message for Celebrity who appear to dip in and out of reading threads which "interest" them it is that over the coming months to think about how these changes will be implemented not just on the ships but within your very vocal customer base (as the recent fall out over the Classic drinks package has shown).

 

I really think that it is only a small minority who are complaining about the new suite class on these boards and, therefore, an even smaller minority of who will be on board. You will probably find that, of those complaining on these boards, very few of them would make any sort of fuss or comment in person. The new suite experiences will be mostly invisible to anyone else - Michael's Club and the new suite restaurant. I have met people on board who have no idea where the Select Dining room is if they are booked in traditional dining. I doubt that you experience on board will in anyway uncomfortable.

[OBX-Cruisers]

ScarletMLB (Post 192): Nice post and very nice analysis.

 

Also, I agree with Project_gal on this issue. If someone spends the money on a suite, they deserve special treatment particularly when compared to those who book an inside or even OV cabin. In addition, those complaining about "loss of space" are most likely the same people who rarely if ever went into Michaels Club ("MC"). I walked in several times on Silhouette and Eclipe and found it deserted. On Eclipse Celebrity wisely put Perry Grant in MC and that at least put bodies in an otherwise empty room with worshippers of this "entertainer" that encompasses many, many people that love his "melodic voice" and strange personality (not a Perry fan as you might guess and God help us non-believers when he is moved out of MC).

 

So suck it up complainers. If you want that space and those amenities given to suite customers................book a suite! After you do YOU will expect something special for all of those dollars that are 2-3X the cost of that standard OV or Verandah.

 

I really think that it is only a small minority who are complaining about the new suite class on these boards and, therefore, an even smaller minority of who will be on board. You will probably find that, of those complaining on these boards, very few of them would make any sort of fuss or comment in person. The new suite experiences will be mostly invisible to anyone else - Michael's Club and the new suite restaurant. I have met people on board who have no idea where the Select Dining room is if they are booked in traditional dining. I doubt that you experience on board will in anyway uncomfortable.

Edited May 23, 2014 by OBX-Cruisers

[Iamcruzin]

Personally I like the segregation of suite passengers in entertainment venues and dining rooms. As someone who will never be able to afford a suite It frees up more space for me in the MDR and the remaining lounges. With Aqua having Blu and the suite guests having their own MDR it should open up space in select dining during peak hours. As far as Michael's it was deserted on the Summit last year. Hopefully suite guests will go there instead of the crowded Martini bar. I have a feeling the suite guests will spend more time in their room than the average passenger or will be more social and the special venue will still be empty.

[H2OH!]

ScarletMLB (Post 192): Nice post and very nice analysis.

 

Also, I agree with Project_gal on this issue. If someone spends the money on a suite, they deserve special treatment particularly when compared to those who book an inside or even OV cabin. In addition, those complaining about "loss of space" are most likely the same people who rarely if ever went into Michaels Club ("MC"). I walked in several times on Silhouette and Eclipe and found it deserted. On Eclipse Celebrity wisely put Perry Grant in MC and that at least put bodies in an otherwise empty room with worshippers of this "entertainer" that encompasses many, many people that love his "melodic voice" and strange personality (not a Perry fan as you might guess and God help us non-believers when he is moved out of MC)..

 

I agree 100%. We book cabins based on itinerary (and budget). for the caribbean (been there done that but love to cruise to warm locations in the dead of chicago winters), we will book suites as we spend more time in the cabin relaxing. If I pay more its nice to get more. We all have choices and am glad celebrity is stepping up the suite game as we have begun looking at THe HAven experience given the suite perks. We love celebrity so am glad some changes for suite guests will change. :)

[Cruising89143]

I would answer concerned. As a booked but not yet sailed 2015 suite customer, the reception we can expect from fellow cruisers when using some of the more "visible" Suite Class amenities is a little troubling. Reserved seating on deck is not cutting edge rather IMO and experience, a standard suite amenity in the cruise industry and if implemented by Celebrity brings it inline with other companies such as its sister company Royal Caribbean, NCL, Cunard to name a few.

 

That said, of deeper concern is the anti-Suite Class rhetoric, eg its a class system, they are taking space away. This combined with the vitriol in recent months on other threads aimed at those of travelling with children leaves a very negative impression on what I as a new Celebrity cruisers can expect. If I have a message for Celebrity who appear to dip in and out of reading threads which "interest" them it is that over the coming months to think about how these changes will be implemented not just on the ships but within your very vocal customer base (as the recent fall out over the Classic drinks package has shown).

 

Don't worry. Go and enjoy yourself. There are all kinds of people in the world. Doubt you will have any issues with the above. The people that I have had conversations with aboard Celebrity were very nice. Ignore the ones who aren't.:)

[TeaBag]

Personally I like the segregation of suite passengers in entertainment venues and dining rooms. As someone who will never be able to afford a suite It frees up more space for me in the MDR and the remaining lounges. With Aqua having Blu and the suite guests having their own MDR it should open up space in select dining during peak hours. As far as Michael's it was deserted on the Summit last year. Hopefully suite guests will go there instead of the crowded Martini bar. I have a feeling the suite guests will spend more time in their room than the average passenger or will be more social and the special venue will still be empty.

Well said. I don't understand the complaints about the dedicated dining area for suite passengers. If they are there, then they are not elsewhere in the MDR, so there's room for all the other passengers. I looked down one night from the Select dining area on the upper level and I was very surprised at how empty the dining room was on the lower level.

[C 2 C]

I don't understand the complaints about the dedicated dining area for suite passengers. If they are there, then they are not elsewhere in the MDR, so there's room for all the other passengers.

 

The dedicated suite dining area will be carved out of the MDR. (according to various sources) The MDR for the masses ;) will therefore become smaller.

 

On a recent sailing, the Maitre'd had not even been notified/become aware that a new dining room would be carved out of the ship somewhere for the suite passengers.

 

I am surprised that the Equinox dry dock did not include this makeover.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

Thanks to Project_Gal, NHL Arizona and Crusingator2 for your voices of reason.

 

My family group of 5 spans four generations, includes my 85 year old MIL on what she says will be her last foreign trip to the Baltics. My DH wants his mother to be treated like a Queen and we have booked two adjoining RS. She is getting very excited even though it is more than a year away (she doesn't know about the RS) and already shopping for new formals. I don't want to disappoint her. Do hope the hairdressers are good on board!!

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks to Project_Gal, NHL Arizona and Crusingator2 for your voices of reason.

 

My family group of 5 spans four generations, includes my 85 year old MIL on what she says will be her last foreign trip to the Baltics. My DH wants his mother to be treated like a Queen and we have booked two adjoining RS. She is getting very excited even though it is more than a year away (she doesn't know about the RS) and already shopping for new formals. I don't want to disappoint her. Do hope the hairdressers are good on board!!

My Pleasure. What a great vacation, 5 generations...WOW! Your MIL will be treated like a queen and I bet she will look beautiful in her new gowns. Enjoy the excitement of the anticipation for the next year or so; it will fly by.

[hcat]

I'm with the op to a certain extent. We are booked on the Eclipse, having been on her twice before. We were looking forward to supping several drinks in our favourite bar only to find that Michael's Club has been changed and therefore denied to us.

 

Knowing this before we booked would not have stopped us booking but it still rankles.

 

We shall just have to find a different bar….

 

Having said all that we have just booked a cruise on Cunard!!!

no accounting for folk.

 

Michaels was originally a top of line cigar bar.......then an upscale lounge.....then a craft beer pub....each group who enjoyed it has had to adjust to change.. hope you find a new spot to love...!

[parallax]

The other day we were weeding through my daughter's toys. At age 6, she has outgrown many. They were geared towards 3 & 4 year olds and she hasn't played with them for at least a year or two. So we decided to give them to charity. She became very upset and said she would play with them again. We knew she would play with them for a day to make a point but never touch them again. So we gave them to charity.

 

The complaints about re-purposing space on Celebrity is analogous to my daughters position on pre-k toys. We love the idea of Michael's Club but the reality is that it is a ghost town. There are many places onboard that are under used or there are ample alternatives. Yet, the thought of losing them create some sort of travesty.

[grandpaiscruising]

Those who are complaining about Suite perks should sail on Cunard and see 4 different classes and every other day is a formal day with 2 or 3 balls each 7 days. I've been is suites on 4 different lines and feel Celebrity is doing it right. Most people will not even notice any difference.

 

Celebrity Constellation, 2/21/15-3/7/15, Royal Princess, 10/18/14 Canada/NE, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess 214 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity 570 points

[Christine Frances]

Well said. I don't understand the complaints about the dedicated dining area for suite passengers. If they are there, then they are not elsewhere in the MDR, so there's room for all the other passengers. I looked down one night from the Select dining area on the upper level and I was very surprised at how empty the dining room was on the lower level.

 

On a 14 night cruise our 6 top is empty maybe 4 nights out of 14 because DH likes to change it up with the grill in the buffet Also tables will be empty if people are at the Specialty Restaurants. It isn't noticeable in Select Dining when people eat elsewhere. I like that it is sitting there waiting for us - don't get any ideas:D

Edited May 23, 2014 by Christine Frances

[Rogueperson]

This class system is interesting to look at. I personally do not care about the dedicated lounge or perks that suite passengers get. People are right, they pay as much as 5 times as much as someone else, they should get perks.

 

However, here is where I have a problem and it scares me a little. With the extra money being spent on a ship that tries to cater to everyone, you have finite space, and more importantly, finite staff. With a hotel, resort, amusement parks, etc., you need more people to cater to the higher end of service that the price level demands. You need more butlers, where do you get them from? You get them from your room steward pool, i believe. So what happens when more room stewards become butlers to the suite guests? You have less room stewards to cater to the same number of steerage passengers (to use someone else's term). On land, you just go "oh, we hire more people". You can't do that on a ship. That number is fixed for the most part (unless we have crew members sleeping in the hallways)

 

For suite restaurants (or even for fee restaurants), you have to draw from your pool of wait staff to staff these venues, when you do that, the main venue, the MDR, has less staff to upkeep the same quality of service.

 

To me, its a see-saw. One of two things can happen. One, Suite passengers, who pay in many cases, a serious premium, are not getting the service they demand for their price. This could be because the company does not want to sacrifice the service to the core group of passengers. The result, less premium passengers, and less money in that quarter.

 

#2, they shift service to create a premium experience, at the sacrifice of the core service. Core service suffers as staff must work harder to upkeep the expectations of the general population, and start to fail, because they were already overworked before, and now cannot keep up.

 

This is why i think you can't compare airline, hotel resorts, restaurants, and amusement parks with cruises. Cruises have a unique barrier that can't be overcome.

 

I think we're seeing this already. How many posts have we seen where someone says "its not as good as it used to be". We all know they've cut back on services and the staff is already being overworked as it is.

 

I saw this first hand on my last Independence of the Seas cruise in December. Apparently, this cruise was supposed to be a Diamonds in December cruise, where frequent members got additional perks or additional points, i dunno. Somewhere along the line, they discontinued this program, but many of the cruisers were already booked and did not change because of this. This was the most entitled cruise experience i have ever endured. There was not a day that went by, where someone complained loudly about how they were diamond+ and that this and that wasn't done for them.

 

When i checked in, i got the most dirty looks, because there was a shorter line, in my gold check in line, than the diamond+ line.

 

Also, I have found that Carnival remains my favorite cruise line, because of all the cruises i've gone on, Carnival's passengers seem to be the most level headed and least entitled that any of the other one's i've been on. Carnival apparently has the worst loyalty rewards.

 

And with my experience, I have found Royal Caribbean to have the most entitled passengers I've seen. Is it possible that all these great loyalty perks from Royal Caribbean causes this kind of attitude?

[wv4891]

Rogueperson, have you seen the Haven concept on the NCL ships. Looks like they cater quite nicely to their suite passengers also. In fact I'm thinking of doing it. Imagine a ship within a ship concept.

Edited May 23, 2014 by wv4891

[BayAreaBC]

I am also extremely concerned about the decline in standard amenities due to the push to upsell paid amenities.

 

This is poor customer service and if I had known about this before I booked I wouldn't have.

 

Unfortunately my flights are booked and I'm stuck.

 

Buyer beware.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks to Project_Gal, NHL Arizona and Crusingator2 for your voices of reason.

 

My family group of 5 spans four generations, includes my 85 year old MIL on what she says will be her last foreign trip to the Baltics. My DH wants his mother to be treated like a Queen and we have booked two adjoining RS. She is getting very excited even though it is more than a year away (she doesn't know about the RS) and already shopping for new formals. I don't want to disappoint her. Do hope the hairdressers are good on board!!

 

You're welcome.

[jagoffee]

I am also extremely concerned about the decline in standard amenities due to the push to upsell paid amenities.

 

This is poor customer service and if I had known about this before I booked I wouldn't have.

 

Unfortunately my flights are booked and I'm stuck.

 

Buyer beware.

 

If in the future if you do not wish to cruise on a cruise line that offers suites with extra amenities then you might not be cruising. Also perhaps not staying in most hotels or flying on most or any airlines.

 

I find it doesn't adversely affect my experience. I like the fact that cruise lines continue not to raise prices significantly in order to be everything to everybody.

[C 2 C]

With the extra money being spent on a ship that tries to cater to everyone, you have finite space, and more importantly, finite staff. ... You need more butlers, where do you get them from? You get them from your room steward pool, i believe. So what happens when more room stewards become butlers to the suite guests? You have less room stewards to cater to the same number of steerage passengers (to use someone else's term).

 

You have pointed out a major cause of recent changes.

 

The 4 guys in A cappella, the String Quartets/Trios, the Activities Staff, the Drink servers in the dining room and probably coming soon... oops, disappearing soon, the Sommeliers. All of these people are taking up a limited number of crew/staff cabins that are being re-allocated to other crew members.

Their roles are being re-assigned; the on board experience of those who did not enjoy any of these wonderful staff members will say.. doesn't affect my cruise.. but the whole "ambience" will have changed in the name of "Modern Luxury" which has no room for staff providing traditional luxury experienced by long time X cruisers.

[NLH Arizona]

I am also extremely concerned about the decline in standard amenities due to the push to upsell paid amenities.

 

This is poor customer service and if I had known about this before I booked I wouldn't have.

 

Unfortunately my flights are booked and I'm stuck.

 

Buyer beware.

Hopefully, since most of the perks are not available yet to the suite passengers, except for Michael's club, you will still have a great cruise.

[NLH Arizona]

You have pointed out a major cause of recent changes.

 

The 4 guys in A cappella, the String Quartets/Trios, the Activities Staff, the Drink servers in the dining room and probably coming soon... oops, disappearing soon, the Sommeliers. All of these people are taking up a limited number of crew/staff cabins that are being re-allocated to other crew members.

Their roles are being re-assigned; the on board experience of those who did not enjoy any of these wonderful staff members will say.. doesn't affect my cruise.. but the whole "ambience" will have changed in the name of "Modern Luxury" which has no room for staff providing traditional luxury experienced by long time X cruisers.

There won't be Sommeliers any more? Where did you find out this information? This is a disappointment, I guess I can deal with it, but really think the Sommeliers are worth while.