Chairs removed to make more room?

[geocruiser]

1 hour ago, floridalover5623 said:

There are other options. 

I have a lot of hot air me.  But not that much to inflate that chair!!

[Astro Flyer]

6 minutes ago, Cindy said:

 

Just about every other cruise line has better cabin seating options than Princess.😢

Princess opted for larger closets over more comfortable seating.  While I appreciate the extra storage space I could accept their minimal seating space.  However like many of us as we age health problems become more common & we require 2 comfortable seats.

 

The insensitivity by Princess is awful & already many retirees struggle to afford to take a cruise.  And having the time we can more often cruise in an affordable comfortable cabin.  Now that they’ve finally added a comfortable luxury bed they made a bad decision by removing the comfortable chair.  

 

I fully understand the need for any company to be profitable but there comes the point where such cutbacks will drive customers to other cruise lines.  Losing a 2nd chair may be trivial to some but for anyone with health issues it’s essential...sadly after many years of loyalty to Princess we’re now a step closer to jumping ship! 

[Pstcrik]

Not an entirely true way to determine who runs the most profitable cruise lines but does indicate the most profitable company and what Carnival/Princess may be trying to do to improve their bottom line.  There is a huge difference between the two major cruise lines.  As of March 1, 2019

Royal Caribbean stock value was $119.03

Carnival stock value was $57.84

[camper49]

On 2/6/2019 at 8:51 PM, Maui Girl said:

When I booked it in October, all the mini’s were sold out!   I’m definitely going to miss the couch, but figured I could tough it out for 4 days 😂.   Have a Caribe deck balcony, so that’s good but who knows what the weather will be at this point.  Worst case scenario, I’ll put my balcony table inside for breakfast! 

Is a caribe balcony better?

[AZJerry]

54 minutes ago, DRS/NC said:

This is a move by PCL to make the less expensive cabins uncomfortable enough to encourage customers to buy deluxe balconies & up.  There may be other motives too.

 

An interesting thought but the fact remains that moving people up to more expensive cabins doesn't help Princess. They still have to fill these now even less desirable cabins. In the long run, they may well have to drop prices to keep them filled.

[Shmoo here]

54 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

because as Princess states passengers wanted the chair removed...who are those passengers?

The same passengers that Princess is touting who want the early dining times.

[geocruiser]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Why can't you just move the balcony table / chair in when needed once or twice? What am I missing?

This answer is from my point of view.

1. I can not be moving chairs and or tables.

2. PAX should not have to do this.  They paid for a cruise that say "come back new".  Not to be a furniture mover.

3. Princess should want to have all their PAX comfortable in their cabin.

4. A chair to sit on is basic.  It should be supplied.

[oskidunker]

Not possible if you have an ocean view cabin booked. 

[Scottygirl1]

26 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

This answer is from my point of view.

1. I can not be moving chairs and or tables.

2. PAX should not have to do this.  They paid for a cruise that say "come back new".  Not to be a furniture mover.

3. Princess should want to have all their PAX comfortable in their cabin.

4. A chair to sit on is basic.  It should be supplied.

 

Well said - that's it in a nutshell.  I've never cruised Princess because the cabins have never appealed to me but have a mini-suite booked.  On every other cruise line I've been on there has been a couch and chair.  I find this almost unbelievable except that it's not.  You was said - a chair to sit on is basic.

[floridalover5623]

58 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

I have a lot of hot air me.  But not that much to inflate that chair!!

They probably come with a battery powered pump but it's still not for me. I'll just drag one down from the pool deck in a midnight run. 😉

[Pstcrik]

6 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

They probably come with a battery powered pump but it's still not for me. I'll just drag one down from the pool deck in a midnight run. 😉

The Princess Narc's will catch you 😂

My plan is to find a brand new hire and give him $20 to find me a chair.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, johnatsis said:

New tag line "Princess the Standing Room Only Cruise line"

Or Come Back Old...and less healthy.

 

Thanks for starting this thread which if Princess is being truthful (less likely recently) began last Fall on some ships.  The lack of 2 seats for lower priced cabins is resulting in most cabins with only one chair.  

 

Now that we’re aware of the change they’re learning the reasons why passengers are upset about the change.  The number of passengers on CC is a small percentage of total passengers so don’t think they care enough about passenger satisfaction to replace them like Crystal did when replacing some couches with chairs.

[oskidunker]

Losing 5% of their customers would not be something they would embrace.. just causes them to have to lower prices more

[DRS/NC]

1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

This answer is from my point of view.

1. I can not be moving chairs and or tables.

2. PAX should not have to do this.  They paid for a cruise that say "come back new".  Not to be a furniture mover.

3. Princess should want to have all their PAX comfortable in their cabin.

4. A chair to sit on is basic.  It should be supplied.

 

AMEN!

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

The same passengers that Princess is touting who want the early dining times.

Absolutely...and also who are the passengers who wanted to be able to pay for tours in advance? 🙄

 

I disagree with their marketing rhetoric about them making changes due to passengers requests...it’s all about the money.

 

Do you remember when a year or two ago Princess eliminated the BOGO happy hours saying it would be replaced with something better for passengers..  Has anyone seen a better option for passengers...NOT!  Another hollow unfulfilled promise from Princess designed to placate unhappy passengers & to hope it’s not a factor for choosing a different cruise line.  A lack of being trustworthy is a factor to me & they’re becoming even less believable to me.

 

They spend millions to create MedallionClass which has some passenger benefits but it’s primarily a way to make onboard spending easier to increase profits.  Maybe they’ll use any savings from eliminating the chair to pay for some of the MC’s high cost.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[hubofhockey]

Princess keeps giving me reasons not to come back to them. To me, this all started when they began cutbacks on the new Royal Princess.  I'm holding out hope that the next class of ship they build will be a step forward and that means having a sofa and chair in the rooms (and even go back to decent sized balconies).  

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, Cindy said:

Just about every other cruise line has better cabin seating options than Princess.😢

 

True.  I very much enjoyed my Princess cruises but I still don't look at them first (or second or third) when booking because of this very thing.  Every other line I've sailed has better standard accommodations.  Having a sofa or loveseat in the room makes a huge difference.  

[mthomp5]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

Princess opted for larger closets over more comfortable seating.  While I appreciate the extra storage space I could accept their minimal seating space.  However like many of us as we age health problems become more common & we require 2 comfortable seats.

 

The insensitivity by Princess is awful & already many retirees struggle to afford to take a cruise.  And having the time we can more often cruise in an affordable comfortable cabin.  Now that they’ve finally added a comfortable luxury bed they made a bad decision by removing the comfortable chair.  

 

I fully understand the need for any company to be profitable but there comes the point where such cutbacks will drive customers to other cruise lines.  Losing a 2nd chair may be trivial to some but for anyone with health issues it’s essential...sadly after many years of loyalty to Princess we’re now a step closer to jumping ship! 

This is what bothers me the most...that Princess would be so insensitive to elderly or those with back issues or any other issues that might require a person to need a chair. 

[Beave8920]

I've been following this thread for several days as I have a cruise booked for March 20th.  I know many are upset about this change as are we.

 

I'm actually surprised a local news station hasn't run a story on this....they seem to love to trash the cruise industry!  I would love to see a Princess Rep try and justify this on TV!

[Shmoo here]

2 minutes ago, Beave8920 said:

I'm actually surprised a local news station hasn't run a story on this....they seem to love to trash the cruise industry!  I would love to see a Princess Rep try and justify this on TV!

Maybe the local news needs an anonymous tip?

[Astro Flyer]

31 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

Every other line I've sailed has better standard accommodations.  Having a sofa or loveseat in the room makes a huge difference.  

 

Agree...a larger Princess closet in exchange for less seating was tolerable by having at least two chairs but not after the elimination of a chair.  Maybe by eliminating the chair to provide more passenger space they’re responding to passengers who want to dance 💃 in their cabins? 😉

Edited March 2, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[geocruiser]

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Agree...a larger Princess closet in exchange for less seating was tolerable by having at least two chairs but not after the elimination of a chair.  Maybe by eliminating the chair to provide more passenger space they’re responding to passengers who want to dance 💃 in their cabins? 😉

Maybe a Conga line!

[KatieMac67]

I have been reading the chair mistake on and off for 3 days now. You would think that the chair was actually comfortable. I spent a lot of my time the first day of my first cruise trying to find a place for the chair that would be out of the way. I did not think about the closet, but that would have worked. I have a bad back and that chair would have killed me. The one at the desk has a straighter back and was a lot better for me to sit in. I for one will not miss it, but if one happens to be in my cabin I will surely let you have it.

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, Pstcrik said:

As of March 1, 2019

Royal Caribbean stock value was $119.03

Carnival stock value was $57.84

This is not the place to disseminate investment advice as that would need to take P/E ratio, dividend payout, 200 day vs 50 day moving average, numerous other factors into account while acknowledging that price is not always an indicator of value

 

Back to topic: have you considered Celebrity or Virgin as an alternative?

[Astro Flyer]

30 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

This is what bothers me the most...that Princess would be so insensitive to elderly or those with back issues or any other issues that might require a person to need a chair. 

Their blatant disregard for having sufficient basic comfortable seating is awful & their rationale that it’s in response to the majority of their passengers desires is ridiculous.  Even those without any health issues would prefer comfortable seating than the small amount of space that’s saved.

 

Career cruise & travel marketers have told me that most passengers are uninformed & that too often those companies don’t care about the minority of informed experienced passengers like many on CC.  They depend upon less informed passengers for the majority of their clients & lacking any significant drop in bookings nothing will change.

 

While it’s only been my recent experiences, more often now are my booked cruises having significant drops in the cruise fare with more paid upsell offers.  Obviously that rarely happens with highly desired cruises but my other cruises are not selling well.  Maybe it’s a result of the initial higher prices & like some have expressed in this discussion the sum of the changes are leading passengers...including very loyal Princess passengers...to more often seek other cruise options.