Class is back

[ShakyBeef]

When I posted earlier about my childhood experience with cruise classes I think the thing that most made an impression on me and my friends was that if we followed the rules, we children would not have met each other.

 

Regardless of the financial status of each family we enjoyed each other and thought it was stupid we weren't supposed to play together. Play was play and fun was fun. That was important to us.

 

I offer this to the discussion. If as a suite passenger you have your own restaurant, sun lounge and drinks bar, when do you meet the community of passengers?

 

Disclaimer: I'm in no way supporting the old class system you experienced as a child, but just answering the question at the end of your post.:o

 

I meet the community of the passengers when I choose to take part in activities about the ship, 'hang out' in a public lounge or bar or nightclub or other area, etc.

 

As a few real examples of where I met and mingled with fellow passengers other than in CL lounge or Suites breakfast (the only exclusive venues available to me) on my RCI cruise in 2014: at the Rock-Climbing Wall, on the Pool Deck while sipping a drink and listening to the Calypso band, in the MDR (shared table with some really fun people), the VCL, various bars, our roll call's M&G, cabin crawl, and slot pull, and on excursions.

 

And other than for those that participated in the cabin crawl, I have no idea what category cabin any of the people I spoke with had. Nor would it affect my opinion or treatment of them in anyway. Nor did I share my cabin category, other than with my roll call mates, for the cabin crawl.:)

Edited February 20, 2016 by ShakyBeef
typo

[John&LaLa]

On Legend, the lounges where put on the pool deck in the area where you could stay outside and pass from the main pool area to the Solarium. May have been some tables there, or the ping pong. Of all the Vision class lounges that were added, I liked these the best because they were one deck from the suites, so we didn't use the elevator.

 

How about the Oasis Suite Lounge. :D

[bob brown]

I am curious if anyone reading this thread has actually been fortunate enough to have experienced sailing on an "all-inclusive", high end luxury ship, such as Seabourne, Silversea, or Regent-Seven Seas, (or other's); and also in a top level suite on a new megaship with ship-within-a-ship private areas....

 

I would like to hear what they say their preferences of one over the other are...

Please only answer this if you have actually done it...not how you imagine you would feet about it, thankyou....:)

 

I imagine it would depend on if they were taking a family along or not....

[ShakyBeef]

There are many interesting and puzzling aspects of this issue for me, and I am appreciating hearing all the various points of view.

 

I've got another question: For those of you who resent the areas taken away from public use for Suites only use, do you have the same feelings about the Loyalty Lounges? If not, why not? I pay a huge chunk of money on one cruise to have access to those exclusive services and areas for the duration of that one cruise. The upper echelons of the C&A paid a huge chunk of money over a long period of time to get their access. Is one more resentment-inducing than the other?

 

Sorry, I guess that's more than one question.:o

[MNfamilycruiser]

Suite perks now: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/enhanced-program-for-suites-guests-v7.pdf

 

 

Suite perks after May 2016: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/RoyalSuiteClass

 

If you are not on an Oasis or Harmony class ship - will the suite benefits be unchanged after May? They must be....otherwise :eek::eek:

[MNfamilycruiser]

When I posted earlier about my childhood experience with cruise classes I think the thing that most made an impression on me and my friends was that if we followed the rules, we children would not have met each other.

 

Regardless of the financial status of each family we enjoyed each other and thought it was stupid we weren't supposed to play together. Play was play and fun was fun. That was important to us.

 

I offer this to the discussion. If as a suite passenger you have your own restaurant, sun lounge and drinks bar, when do you meet the community of passengers?

 

Maybe we are introverts and not really interested in meeting the community of passengers ;) Actually - I have never been on one of the bigger ships with all the private areas, so I am kidding.

 

But the point about being introverted is true - we cruise for the ports and tend to spend more time in our cabin than many people.

[A&L_Ont]

If you are not on an Oasis or Harmony class ship - will the suite benefits be unchanged after May? They must be....otherwise :eek::eek:

 

Oasis and Quantum class ship have the new suite benefits starting in May. No news if other classes of ships will get any of these new perks.

[tlatrice]

There are many interesting and puzzling aspects of this issue for me, and I am appreciating hearing all the various points of view.

 

I've got another question: For those of you who resent the areas taken away from public use for Suites only use, do you have the same feelings about the Loyalty Lounges? If not, why not? I pay a huge chunk of money on one cruise to have access to those exclusive services and areas for the duration of that one cruise. The upper echelons of the C&A paid a huge chunk of money over a long period of time to get their access. Is one more resentment-inducing than the other?

 

Sorry, I guess that's more than one question.:o

 

I asked that same question. C&A lounges are not available to everyone either. And the OP said they resented being booted out in favor of suite guests. So it seems the problem it's not being included in the exclusive area anymore.

[kmorg1234]

I am curious if anyone reading this thread has actually been fortunate enough to have experienced sailing on an "all-inclusive", high end luxury ship, such as Seabourne, Silversea, or Regent-Seven Seas, (or other's); and also in a top level suite on a new megaship with ship-within-a-ship private areas....

 

I would like to hear what they say their preferences of one over the other are...

Please only answer this if you have actually done it...not how you imagine you would feet about it, thankyou....:)

 

I imagine it would depend on if they were taking a family along or not....

 

Finally, someone asks this million dollar question. Yes, I am in that (apparently small) category. I travel first class as much as possible, have sailed Seabourn, Seadream, and with Lindblad and Tauck. I am also D+ C & A (yes, usually sailing in the bigger suites): I chose the different cruises for different reasons. If with adults, I choose the smaller ships as they simply do not cater to children- they downright discourage them! Plus, the kids have a MUCH better time on RCCL, and it's their vacation as much as mine. The clientele in the suites on RCCL is akin to the people sailing on the smaller, more intimate and expensive ships. Judge me, call me whatever you would like, but there is a huge difference. We have made lifelong friends on many cruises in the suite categories, but have much less in common with other fun, friendly, considerate, wonderful people that don't hang out in the lounges on a nightly basis. It also has to do with seeing the same faces in the same places on a nightly basis- we look forward to seeing these people, as they do us. The best cruises are the ones where the "table" gets larger and larger as the cruise goes on- more people getting involved every night- it becomes quite a blast. So that, in my opinion, is what separates the suites from the rest of the masses- the night-to-night comraderie of seeing familiar faces, forming bonds, having similar interests in doing so on a big ship where it is otherwise difficult to do so.

 

BTW, if anyone is interested, I can tell the story of how we compared RCCL (in a very positive light) to the Seabourn CD when he asked my honest opinion.

[jagsfan]

I am curious if anyone reading this thread has actually been fortunate enough to have experienced sailing on an "all-inclusive", high end luxury ship, such as Seabourne, Silversea, or Regent-Seven Seas, (or other's); and also in a top level suite on a new megaship with ship-within-a-ship private areas....

 

I would like to hear what they say their preferences of one over the other are...

Please only answer this if you have actually done it...not how you imagine you would feet about it, thankyou....:)

 

I imagine it would depend on if they were taking a family along or not....

 

When I replied earlier about the QM2 suite experience, I left out the Queens Room, an exclusive area for drinks etc. before meals, and a lovely party in there with Commodore Warwick, which was a huge bonus for our cruise.

The rest of the ship was there for everyone to enjoy, and enjoy we all did.

[critterchick]

The change on Oasis-Class to restricting entry to the Viking Crown Lounge was a big step in the direction OP is talking about. I really dislike the idea, though I understand and agree that suites should have their own lounge. Poor implementation of the idea, IMO.

 

When we visited the VCL on Allure before it was converted, we were usually the only people there at the cocktail hour. With most of the entertainment on lower decks that are really far away (even compared to a Freedom class ship), I think that RCI decided to convert the space to something that would be a draw for at least some portion of the passengers. The sad part is that it was the only indoor bar with an ocean view, so that's now gone for anybody who doesn't have access as a suite guest or Pinnacle Club member. But since hardly anybody was using the space, it seems less consequential to me than, say, turning Vintages or another CP location into a private lounge.

[Chelsea1]

We have travelled in the following classes on different lines:

Cunard several times on each ship - QM2 Britannia (standard) class and Princess Grill class, QE2 Queens Grill and Elizabeth / Victoria Britannia and Princess Grill.

 

Celebrity - Sky Suite - once

 

Disney - standard balcony cabin - once

 

Princess - Mini-suite - once

 

Royal Caribbean - Legend Junior suite (once), Voyager Grand Suite (twice), Oasis Grand Suite (once)

 

Regarding the "class" of offerings in the suite categories, in my experience Cunard win hands down, and is particularly focused on quality food and service. The service and food on the QE2 Queens Grill and QM2 Princess Grill was amazing -beautiful quiet lounges, perfect restaurant service, meals partially silver served, tableside flambé, off menu ordering, formal afternoon tea, large elegant staterooms. However, no inclusive drinks and minimal non-dining private areas. Grill restaurants on QM2 I think lack ambience of main Britannia Restaurant. Material price difference between standard and suite class. Standard class very high quality.

 

Princess - no particular benefits in mini-suite, other than larger room, reasonable upgrade cost for a nice room.

 

Celebrity - only cruised once some years ago, very expensive limited benefits in sky suite, my least favourite cruise overall.

 

Royal Caribbean - I really like the Grand Suites - great room space with added benefit of Concierge lounge, often at a reasonable price if flexible on dates / itinerary. We enjoyed our Voyager Grand Suite with the pokey internal concierge lounge - which was a quiet and cool haven on a very hot and busy Asia cruise! The concierge was very attentive. However, there was no upgraded dining. On the 2014 Oasis transatlantic we found the 17th floor suite lounge extremely busy, noisy and very hot, with not enough seating and overworked staff. The Coastal Kitchen was not operational, so cannot comment on that. We gave up on happy hour in the suite lounge and found refuge in the sports bar, for a cool quiet drink. There was nothing "classy" about the suite service on that cruise! However, the Grand suite was great and we did appreciate the reserved theatre seating and pool deck area.

 

So I guess it depends how we define "class" versus "amenities" and the price. In my experience, Cunard excels in "class" and Royal Caribbean provides good "amenities".

 

I actually said some years ago after our first Cunard voyage that I would love a bigger room with standard dining and lounge benefits at a reasonable price.

 

I guess that would be a Royal Caribbean Grand Suite, with RCI pricing and standard Britannia dining on the QM2!

[minn0315]

Maybe we are introverts and not really interested in meeting the community of passengers ;) Actually - I have never been on one of the bigger ships with all the private areas, so I am kidding.

 

But the point about being introverted is true - we cruise for the ports and tend to spend more time in our cabin than many people.

 

I agree with my fellow Minnesotan. We also don't meet much of the "community" on a cruise. We ask for a table for 2 when we dine. We also spend a lot of time in our cabin and together in ports.

 

As a physician I see patients every 15 minutes every day. I see the "community" all day long. I need some quiet time with my wife.

[Clarea]

If you are not on an Oasis or Harmony class ship - will the suite benefits be unchanged after May? They must be....otherwise :eek::eek:

You never know for sure with Royal, they are full of surprises. It's possible that some of the perks would extend to other ships, but I suspect that the new perks will at least initially be limited to Oasis and Quantum class.

[seguincruiser]

Also from Minnesota and due to work and airfare we don't get to cruise very often. My DH is also a small town doctor and can't take many days off in a row. We will never move up the C&A charts until after he retires. So when we do get to cruise we love to treat ourselves with suites. Its nice after working hard for 2-3years to go big (at least for us). We always go coach, eat at small local restaurants, shop Walmart, and go to the afternoon movies (when we go).

 

One of the reason we're going on RC for the first time was the lack of perks on Carnival for suites. I don't like big crowds and RC suite lounge/costal kitchen seems ideal for me when I need to get away from over stimulation. At the same time I get to see the largest ship at sea.

[JimAOk1945]

BTW, if anyone is interested, I can tell the story of how we compared RCCL (in a very positive light) to the Seabourn CD when he asked my honest opinion.

 

Please tell. I'm VERY interested since DW and I are considering Seabourn for a future cruise.

 

Thanks

[JimAOk1945]

I am curious if anyone reading this thread has actually been fortunate enough to have experienced sailing on an "all-inclusive", high end luxury ship, such as Seabourne, Silversea, or Regent-Seven Seas, (or other's); and also in a top level suite on a new megaship with ship-within-a-ship private areas....

 

I would like to hear what they say their preferences of one over the other are...

Please only answer this if you have actually done it...not how you imagine you would feet about it, thankyou....:)

 

I imagine it would depend on if they were taking a family along or not....

I would love to see a comparison as well. This would be a good topic of conversation in a separate thread if not very many readers respond here.

[LMaxwell]

When we visited the VCL on Allure before it was converted, we were usually the only people there at the cocktail hour. With most of the entertainment on lower decks that are really far away (even compared to a Freedom class ship), I think that RCI decided to convert the space to something that would be a draw for at least some portion of the passengers. The sad part is that it was the only indoor bar with an ocean view, so that's now gone for anybody who doesn't have access as a suite guest or Pinnacle Club member. But since hardly anybody was using the space, it seems less consequential to me than, say, turning Vintages or another CP location into a private lounge.

 

The VCL's underutilization I place squarely at the feet of Royal Caribbean and the Cruise Director / Activity staff. For instance, the On Air club on Allure/Oasis is woefully undersized for the activities they hold there. It might be THE smallest karaoke bar of any ship I've ever been on. VCL would have made far more sense, but they don't schedule activities there. So of course people don't go. I never saw a happy hour/cocktail specials run there either. Host activities and bar events and the crowds will come.

 

Again, I have nothing against, and in fact support special areas for suites. But they could be carved out of areas that otherwise would be cabins; not areas such as the iconic VCL.

 

It seems the more ships get refurbished (many lines, not just RCI) they remove public spaces and cram in more cabins. More people, less space. Not a great formula.

[John&LaLa]

The VCL's underutilization I place squarely at the feet of Royal Caribbean and the Cruise Director / Activity staff. For instance, the On Air club on Allure/Oasis is woefully undersized for the activities they hold there. It might be THE smallest karaoke bar of any ship I've ever been on. VCL would have made far more sense, but they don't schedule activities there. So of course people don't go. I never saw a happy hour/cocktail specials run there either. Host activities and bar events and the crowds will come.

 

Again, I have nothing against, and in fact support special areas for suites. But they could be carved out of areas that otherwise would be cabins; not areas such as the iconic VCL.

 

It seems the more ships get refurbished (many lines, not just RCI) they remove public spaces and cram in more cabins. More people, less space. Not a great formula.

 

Maybe they should convert all the Aft balconies to suites. That would cut down on people. And couples could book them again. ;)

[ccotting]

Maybe we are introverts and not really interested in meeting the community of passengers ;) Actually - I have never been on one of the bigger ships with all the private areas, so I am kidding.

 

But the point about being introverted is true - we cruise for the ports and tend to spend more time in our cabin than many people.

 

DH and I are both introverts and I do understand your point. This I suppose is at the heart of the matter, whether you cruise to meet other people from different backgrounds or not. We do. We describe ourselves as destination cruisers. But the people are part of the destination. Our last cruise was a back to back from Southampton and one of the more interesting discussion points at dinner concerned the Royal family. As Canadians we have the Queen but it would be fair to say she's not as big a part of our world view as if we were British. Cruising out of Southampton first dinner table was all for deposing the rights of the Prince of Wales. First thing we were asked as we sat down was whether we were 'right thinking' on this matter! Second cruise were all from Cornwall, adored the Duchess of Cornwall and were serious Prince Charles supporters. So interesting to hear the difference.

 

As introverts, we also need that cabin time to recover from extensive bouts of chit chat but I have been dining out on those discussions ever since. Both tables had very mixed economic classes. One fellow who described himself as a 'carpet fitter' next to a lady from Beverly Hills with diamonds so big they could only be described as "rocks" (and pretty sparkly ones too). We found that really really interesting. If the ships move more and more to association spaces by socioeconomic lines, I would miss that opportunity. But it does add conversational challenges, stress and, sometimes difficult social moments as someone firmly puts foot in mouth through lack of social understanding.

 

So you make a good point about what folks hope to get from the cruise. Not having to engage is as important as engagement. Having the choice as to which you want is important too. I suppose there is some sense by many that the opportunity to meet a broad spectrum of people is being limited as the ships reconfigure.

[davy jones]

I don't understand the disdain for Suite passengers from non-Suite passengers on these boards. We all chose the cabin we want, and pay the price for it. Don't the Suite-haters realize that Suite passengers are helping to subsidize the haters' lower cost cruise fares?

 

Please reread what I wrote. There was no "hate" for suite passengers in my statement.

 

You seem to have taken a statement about a few passengers personally.

 

I believe that most suite passengers are purchasing a cabin and level of extra service that they want and don't even think about whether they are "subsidizing" the fares of other passengers.

[ShakyBeef]

Please reread what I wrote. There was no "hate" for suite passengers in my statement.

 

You seem to have taken a statement about a few passengers personally.

 

I believe that most suite passengers are purchasing a cabin and level of extra service that they want and don't even think about whether they are "subsidizing" the fares of other passengers.

 

OK, I just reread your post, to refresh my memory as to why I was responding to it. I'll address that below. As far as your last part here, about the "subsidizing", yes, I agree that most (myself included), possibly all, Suite guests don't think about the fact that we are subsidizing the cruises of lower fare passengers when we book and enjoy our cruises.

 

It is only when reading or hearing comments from others that are laced with subtle derision or, sometimes, blatant contempt for those in Suites that I think about it at all. I've seen many examples of this (to group it all into one term) "hate" all over CC, including in this thread. Although, admittedly, the worst I've seen was not in this thread.

 

And your post did strike me as one containing at least mild derision. I didn't mean to imply that all the "hate", or even some of the worst was coming from you. It was just that yours was the most recent post to strike me in that category. The parts highlighted in green, below, in addition to the red part, are the elements that all added up to give your post that "feel" to me. I am sorry if I was too sensitive.:o

 

There are indications that the industry is heading in the direction that the OP fears. Newer Royal ships have restaurants, lounges, reserved seating areas and other perks. NCL has the Haven. Celebrity has aqua class, etc. Carnival gets slammed on CC for their "lack" of suite perks and they even now have spa cabins and the like.

 

While there are lines that cater to folks that want true exclusivity, there are some people who do want to flaunt their onboard status, as evidenced by some of the discussions here.

 

I just hope that the we never have to find out if the status systems extend to the lifeboats. :)

 

I assume the statement you are referring to me taking personally is the one that I've highlighted in red. I may have mistaken your meaning and taken this a little personally because it seemed you were saying there were only two types of people that would pay $$$$ for a cruise: those that go to the luxury cruiselines, and those that don't, and cruise on the mainstream lines because they enjoy flaunting their Gold Card, etc. It seemed as if you were throwing all of us RCI Suite pax into the latter group. I am sorry if I misinterpreted this.:o

[davy jones]

Depending on the sailing, we will sail insides, OVs, or balconies. We have never sailed in a suite because we do not spend enough waking time our cabin (even if we have a balcony) to justify the extra expense in our mind. Therefore, we prefer to save the cash to take another vacation or some other purpose. Others do not feel the same way, and respond according to their preference.

 

In general, the cabin level rarely comes up in discussions with the fine people we meet onboard. It is reasonable to assume that the people we meet come from all types of cabins.

 

I'm sure that the previously mentioned Titantic movie created some stereotypes about multi class cruising and the words or actions of a few cads can unduly reinforce those stereotypes in some.

[RocketMan275]

OP didn't seem to have any problem with areas of the ship being exclusively allocated to various loyalty levels. In fact, OP is upset because he perceives that C&A benefits are being eroded in favor of enhanced suites benefits. Just my opinion but being "Diamond" is just as much a statement of a class oriented environment on a cruise ship as Suites Perks.

 

For all the posters who think Suites Perks are a form of class distinction, I ask the question: how do you justify a C&A perk like Welcome Back Parties, Priority Embarkation/Disembarkation, Special Lounges, Exclusive Cocktail Parties, etc?

 

No, OP was not condemning a society based upon class. If he was, then he would have condemned all class distinctions on a cruise ship including the C&A perks.

[RocketMan275]

I am curious if anyone reading this thread has actually been fortunate enough to have experienced sailing on an "all-inclusive", high end luxury ship, such as Seabourne, Silversea, or Regent-Seven Seas, (or other's); and also in a top level suite on a new megaship with ship-within-a-ship private areas....

 

I would like to hear what they say their preferences of one over the other are...

Please only answer this if you have actually done it...not how you imagine you would feet about it, thankyou....:)

 

 

There are some aspects of those high end lines that one does not have to experience to know that one would not prefer them. I've looked at those high end luxury ships and I've found that they offer too few opportunities to sail. We do not wish to fly and too many of their cruises require flying. That leaves the mid range lines.