Exclusive lounges = elitism?

[Toofarfromthesea]

I don't see this much on Cruise Critic, but it is common on many boards. It creates a false impression of credibility, and if the board (many collector's boards of various types) has a sales forum, it produces a false sense of reliability. It's "thanks", "nice pic", "nice watch", etc., with no content, largely to run up a post count. I don't see it much here, but maybe I'm just not watching for it.

 

Following.

[mafig]

Following.

 

 

me, too.:evilsmile:

[grandgeezer]

I'm confused by some of the posts on this thread. Can someone define "elitism"? Appears that some are talking about different things.

 

Elitism is expecting something extra because of statis, percived or otherwise. People in suites expect to get what they paid a premium for, not anything else, at least that’s us.

[Mr. Click]

I am not a suite person, I can't afford it but I do have Elite on my sea pass because of the growing number of nights I have spent on Celebrity ships. I also have Elite on my airline boarding passes, most of the time, for the same reason. The companies offer me some extra perks upfront because of my loyalty. It is their way to reward me for my past business and to encourage my future business with them. Does that make me eliteist? Beats me but I do enjoy the extras I get and those extras do play into my purchase decisions.

[RDC1]

I'm confused by some of the posts on this thread. Can someone define "elitism"? Appears that some are talking about different things.

 

 

they are talking about 2 different things. On one hand you have people talking about elitism and a class system, but those are a big red herring. Those terms take the conversation down an infinite rat hole because such a conversation just comes down to a wide range of opinions. Basically like the word elitism the result is an emotional discussion not a logical discussion.

 

Taking those terms out of it, a more logical question is has Celebrities decision to shift space and resources to higher end cabins and suites, resulted in less value, or a worse cruise experience, for the money spent for inside, ocean view, and standard balcony cabins. compared to prior to those changes.

 

Clearly the changes have resulted in Celebrity having substantial pricing power for the upper end cabins and suites, which they have also clearly used to their advantage. Since the change have been made we have also seen prices rise on the lower end cabins, but not nearly to the same degree. Clearly since Celebrity has been successful is creating a higher premium pricing level for the upper end cabins those that sail in them believe that the value is worth the price using whatever criteria they feel is important.

 

I use the term shift because a ship is a zero sum area, the cruise line has limited crew and public space, if they assign more personnel to activities associated with the benefits of the higher end cabins, it removes crew slots available to the people in the lower end cabins, same with physical space.

 

We have also seen a drop in quality or other changes during this period in some items that are not shifts in resources. The major one there is the quality of the food offerings in the main dining room.

Edited March 4, 2018 by RDC1

[bigbeergut]

they are talking about 2 different things. On one hand you have people talking about elitism and a class system, but those are a big red herring. Those terms take the conversation down an infinite rat hole because such a conversation just comes down to a wide range of opinions. Basically like the word elitism the result is an emotional discussion not a logical discussion.

 

Taking those terms out of it, a more logical question is has Celebrities decision to shift space and resources to higher end cabins and suites, resulted in less value, or a worse cruise experience, for the money spent for inside, ocean view, and standard balcony cabins. compared to prior to those changes.

 

Clearly the changes have resulted in Celebrity having substantial pricing power for the upper end cabins and suites, which they have also clearly used to their advantage. Since the change have been made we have also seen prices rise on the lower end cabins, but not nearly to the same degree. Clearly since Celebrity has been successful is creating a higher premium pricing level for the upper end cabins those that sail in them believe that the value is worth the price using whatever criteria they feel is important.

 

I use the term shift because a ship is a zero sum area, the cruise line has limited crew and public space, if they assign more personnel to activities associated with the benefits of the higher end cabins, it removes crew slots available to the people in the lower end cabins, same with physical space.

 

We have also seen a drop in quality or other changes during this period in some items that are not shifts in resources. The major one there is the quality of the food offerings in the main dining room.

 

 

An excellent summary, Thank you

[wombatjoey]

they are talking about 2 different things. On one hand you have people talking about elitism and a class system, but those are a big red herring. Those terms take the conversation down an infinite rat hole because such a conversation just comes down to a wide range of opinions. Basically like the word elitism the result is an emotional discussion not a logical discussion.

 

Taking those terms out of it, a more logical question is has Celebrities decision to shift space and resources to higher end cabins and suites, resulted in less value, or a worse cruise experience, for the money spent for inside, ocean view, and standard balcony cabins. compared to prior to those changes.

 

Clearly the changes have resulted in Celebrity having substantial pricing power for the upper end cabins and suites, which they have also clearly used to their advantage. Since the change have been made we have also seen prices rise on the lower end cabins, but not nearly to the same degree. Clearly since Celebrity has been successful is creating a higher premium pricing level for the upper end cabins those that sail in them believe that the value is worth the price using whatever criteria they feel is important.

 

I use the term shift because a ship is a zero sum area, the cruise line has limited crew and public space, if they assign more personnel to activities associated with the benefits of the higher end cabins, it removes crew slots available to the people in the lower end cabins, same with physical space.

 

We have also seen a drop in quality or other changes during this period in some items that are not shifts in resources. The major one there is the quality of the food offerings in the main dining room.

 

your last two sentences are exactly my point

[bigbeergut]

your last two sentences are exactly my point

 

 

I agree with your thought that the segregation of the Suite class from the general population will hasten the decline of many areas but the fact of the matter is that cruise industry is a business and all cruise lines will continue to cut back as much as they can. This would have happened with or without the new Suite Life. The only thing that will change this will be a decline in bookings that drops prices or causes ship to sail empty. If passengers no longer believe it is a good value, we need to explore other cruise lines or other ways to spend our vacations.

[wombatjoey]

I agree with your thought that the segregation of the Suite class from the general population will hasten the decline of many areas but the fact of the matter is that cruise industry is a business and all cruise lines will continue to cut back as much as they can. This would have happened with or without the new Suite Life. The only thing that will change this will be a decline in bookings that drops prices or causes ship to sail empty. If passengers no longer believe it is a good value, we need to explore other cruise lines or other ways to spend our vacations.

 

Yes I agree with that as well.

[ldubs]

I don't think I've ever been to a "Star" restaurant. I have never even tried to seek them out. When I want to splurge(which isn't often) Grill 29 or Commerce Kitchen suffices! I'd really much rather have the Po Boy Factory or Taqueria El Cazador. Those are the type places I seek out when I travel.

 

I go to Bill's Beer & Bait shop. It doesn't have any stars, but you can buy a hat there that says "I got worms". :D:D:D

 

(Not exactly sure why I posted this. Haha.)