Chairs removed to make more room?

[Drews_Cruise]

On 2/4/2019 at 7:50 PM, Kingofcool1947 said:

Eventually you will have no choice on Princess.

Might have to  move up to a mini-suite or above ,  or might need to find a cruise line that has that elusive chair in their cabins.

I also sail on Celebrity.  Standard balcony stateroom.  Has a sofa.  About the same cost of a standard  balcony stateroom on Princess.

Good luck.  Enjoy your cruise.

 

King

 

 

I agree with this.  One more Princess cruise next year and then were off to Celebrity and then Oceana.  A small couch in every cabin beats sitting on my bed to drink my morning coffee.  There are lots of choices out there so don't let so called loyalty status benefits force you to book cruises with the same lines that don't listen.  I fell for that for too many years.  If Princess at least had options like keeping a few chairs and tables or patio foot stools for those who wanted them, at least that would be an attempt at customer service. Don't get me wrong,  I love a princess ship and their entire experience, but they don't listen to the voice of the customer very well.  

[ExDean]

Remember the "Good Old Days" when there were two stateroom chairs but ALSO FOUR chairs on the Caribe balconies with TWO tables - large and small.  This was an ideal setup for the Deluxe Balcony Breakfast and the UBD.  Or just snacking and lounging on sea days. This photo is from the Crown in 2004.  Ahhh memories.

 

[Cindy]

28 minutes ago, ExDean said:

Remember the "Good Old Days" when there were two stateroom chairs but ALSO FOUR chairs on the Caribe balconies with TWO tables - large and small.  This was an ideal setup for the Deluxe Balcony Breakfast and the UBD.  Or just snacking and lounging on sea days. This photo is from the Crown in 2004.  Ahhh memories.

 

 

I don’t miss those bedspreads, though!😂

[Cindy]

On 2/4/2019 at 4:05 AM, Belle said:

AS far as I know, since mini suite is bigger.  I think they  will still have

sofa, coffee table and a chair. As I remember the chair in mini

suite wasn't the barrel one but a chair with arms.

 

We had a Deluxe Balcony on the Regal in October ‘17, and a Mini-Suite on the Royal last summer. The Deluxe Balcony had a small sofa and coffee table, but only a desk chair. The desk was directly across from the sofa and went all the way to the wall. The Mini-Suite had a sofa, a chair, a desk chair, and a coffee table. We thought the Mini-Suite was comfortable for lounging in the cabin, but noticeably smaller than on the Grand class ships. 

 

Here are pictures of both cabins...

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, TriumphGuy said:

In the letter I wrote to Customer Relations, I mentioned the elimination of the BOGO+1 Happy Hour and how much we missed it on our cruise last month.  I received a call this morning from a CR rep who told me Princess is still planning something to replace it but gave no indication of what or a timeline.

With regards to the chair issue, he made mention of Princess replacing stateroom furniture, but had no information as to whether the chairs were going to be replaced with something else. I don't think the CR reps have any more knowledge of the situation than we do. 

I did mention we had cancelled our Australia cruise for next year because I had no intention of flying halfway around the world to take a cruise with no comfortable place to sit. I said there were plenty of other lines with comfortable seating in their staterooms. He said he would definitely pass that on. 

 

He was very polite and professional (as are all Princess employees we've dealt with) but I think his hands are tied. It has to be a frustrating job.

 

Some may say removing the chair is not a big deal and they don't understand the fuss, but it's a big deal to us. It just seems like a very poor, short-sighted decision by management.

 

Appreciate sharing your conversation with them but their promise a year or two ago to replace BOGO$ was another unfulfilled promise to placate passengers.  The only way it’ll be replaced is if alcohol profits drop despite their rhetoric about replacing BOGO$.

 

The people who call or email passengers can only read from the script provided from management & marketing.  It appears that in an effort to placate more passengers they’ve added they’re replacing furniture.

 

Princess is merely attempting to control the fires of discontent with such statements hoping this will go away.  As I previously posted, on the Crown about 80%-85% of cabins for up to 4 passengers will now have only 1 desk chair.

 

Changing a written policy change doesn’t require any physical changes like the removal of the second chair.  And nothing is likely to change unless there’s a sufficient drop in bookings because it’s apparent that Princess cares much less about passenger comfort & much more about saving money.

Edited March 5, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[oskidunker]

If this thread stays alive, there is more chance of the chair returning. The grand is in a 20 dry dock.  If perceived discontent is enough, they may do something to add a chair while refurbishing, although procuring chairs at this late date may be very difficult unless the just refurbish the existing barrel chairs still onboard. 

 

The comment that the chairs airs will be replaced with something-is interesting. Collapsable  chair? Smaller chair?bench? 

[louden]

3 hours ago, Pstcrik said:

 

Somehow I do not believe Customer Service suggestion that Princess is replacing the furniture and this is why chairs have been removed.  If this was a fact they would have waited till new furniture arrived much like they did with new mattresses.  

When you think about all these disappointing decisions that Princess is making, that they would speak up and give their customers feedback even in forums like CC and Facebook so these topics don't go crazy with possible misinformation and making customers feel that Princess just doesn't care.  This is what is happening  with this subject.  Having their customer service reps followup with meaningless phone calls repeating what we already know seems like they feel the problem is being solved and addressed.  They have every right to run their company in the way they see fit but it is not good business practice to leave many customers with a bad taste and upset.  They may be happy with loosing some customers over this now but with the number of new and larger ships coming out faster than believable they are going to need better policies and a strong customer base to stay ahead of competition.

Well said.  Lots of choices out there!

[Astro Flyer]

5 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

If this thread stays alive, there is more chance of the chair returning. The grand is in a 20 dry dock.  If perceived discontent is enough, they may do something to add a chair while refurbishing, although procuring chairs at this late date may be very difficult unless the just refurbish the existing barrel chairs still onboard. 

 

The comment that the chairs airs will be replaced with something-is interesting. Collapsable  chair? Smaller chair?bench? 

I feel that passenger discontent isn’t as important as profits & unless that drops significantly Princess will not spend the money to replace the chairs.

 

It’s been posted that the Majestic never had the 2nd chair & the removal from other ships began in the Fall without any pushback although I’ve been deceived by them enough to be skeptical about such statements.  Like their rationale that the majority of passengers wanted the chair removed for more room...marketing gibberish.

[cruzluvr2]

I've read this thread every day in hopes of seeing someone post positive news. Today I added my email to those sent to Jan Swartz. 

[oskidunker]

Since the new mega ships have smaller rooms as well as balconies, it is quite possible they came without chairs. Maybe Princess wants all ships to have the Same configuration. Smaller rooms= more rooms= more revenue. Just a thought. 

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

 more revenue.

 

Above all else!!

[swomom]

This decision to just remove the chair is such a mystery to me. I find it incredible that a few comments suggesting the chair is in the way would precipitate such a huge knee jerk reaction from Princess. I don’t care for raw onions....from what I observe, I am in the minority. If I complain, then no one gets onions?😢 This decision affects many, many people. Is this really going to create a huge financial boost for them?  And why in the name of all that makes sense won’t they just tell passengers the truth? This is not rocket science....they could have put a modest increase into fares and we would still have bogos, eucalyptus toiletries, sommeliers, beef medallions, etc., and CHAIRS.  Costs go up....I think we all get that.  I would rather have half gallon of good ice cream that costs a bit more than change the package to 1.5 quarts. Like nobody would even notice? We are all pretty savvy consumers and know what is happening.  But right now I just feel disappointed in them. 

 

What should speak volumes and volumes to them are all the photos and affirmations of the comfortable seating available on almost every other cruise line.

[Kingofcool1947]

43 minutes ago, swomom said:

This decision to just remove the chair is such a mystery to me. I find it incredible that a few comments suggesting the chair is in the way would precipitate such a huge knee jerk reaction from Princess. I don’t care for raw onions....from what I observe, I am in the minority. If I complain, then no one gets onions?😢 This decision affects many, many people. Is this really going to create a huge financial boost for them?  And why in the name of all that makes sense won’t they just tell passengers the truth? This is not rocket science....they could have put a modest increase into fares and we would still have bogos, eucalyptus toiletries, sommeliers, beef medallions, etc., and CHAIRS.  Costs go up....I think we all get that.  I would rather have half gallon of good ice cream that costs a bit more than change the package to 1.5 quarts. Like nobody would even notice? We are all pretty savvy consumers and know what is happening.  But right now I just feel disappointed in them. 

 

What should speak volumes and volumes to them are all the photos and affirmations of the comfortable seating available on almost every other cruise line.

 

Are you people who complain and have a beef about the chair being removed from cabins in the majority or minority? 

Hope you people prevail.   But don’t hold your breath.

If that chair is so important to you, and Princess will not budge in their decision, maybe go to Plan B... another cruise line?  Vote with your wallet.

Good luck.

Edited March 6, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Jessejo]

I wrote a letter (snail mail) to Jan Swartz last week about the lack of a comfortable chair,  I'll let you know if I receive a reply.  In the meantime I think I'll put in a chair request on my cruise personalizer for my upcoming Regal cruise.

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, Jessejo said:

I wrote a letter (snail mail) to Jan Swartz last week about the lack of a comfortable chair,  I'll let you know if I receive a reply.  In the meantime I think I'll put in a chair request on my cruise personalizer for my upcoming Regal cruise.

Good luck - you will be lucky to get a bathrobe via the cruise personalizer request!

[caribill]

17 hours ago, billco said:

At least when Princess eliminated the BOGO and BOGO+$1, they said they were going to replace it with something else. (Don't know what that was) Not the case with eliminating the chairs.

 

They replaced it with buy one at full price and get the second at full price also.

[billco]

10 hours ago, swomom said:

This decision to just remove the chair is such a mystery to me. I find it incredible that a few comments suggesting the chair is in the way would precipitate such a huge knee jerk reaction from Princess. I don’t care for raw onions....from what I observe, I am in the minority. If I complain, then no one gets onions?😢 This decision affects many, many people. Is this really going to create a huge financial boost for them?  And why in the name of all that makes sense won’t they just tell passengers the truth? This is not rocket science....they could have put a modest increase into fares and we would still have bogos, eucalyptus toiletries, sommeliers, beef medallions, etc., and CHAIRS.  Costs go up....I think we all get that.  I would rather have half gallon of good ice cream that costs a bit more than change the package to 1.5 quarts. Like nobody would even notice? We are all pretty savvy consumers and know what is happening.  But right now I just feel disappointed in them. 

 

What should speak volumes and volumes to them are all the photos and affirmations of the comfortable seating available on almost every other cruise line.

Perhaps there was meeting at Princess headquarters where someone suggested that removing the chair might result in people being out of their cabins more, which might result in more revenue. The unethical part of this is no announcement beforehand and no change to the cabin pictures and diagrams of comfortable seating available on Princess.

[Pstcrik]

1 hour ago, billco said:

Perhaps there was meeting at Princess headquarters where someone suggested that removing the chair might result in people being out of their cabins more, which might result in more revenue. The unethical part of this is no announcement beforehand and no change to the cabin pictures and diagrams of comfortable seating available on Princess.

This may be part of PCL plan when they removed the chairs.  Some year and half ago I made a comment to a shop attendant that there placement of tables outside of the shops were creating such a crowd of look-y-loo's that you could barely make it through the crowd and was told people love the sales so PCL definitely likes to create the crowds around their shops as its good for sales.  If they start moving our beds into the public area's I will really become a believer that this part of their plan.

[cruisingram1]

20 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

I feel that passenger discontent isn’t as important as profits & unless that drops significantly Princess will not spend the money to replace the chairs.

 

It’s been posted that the Majestic never had the 2nd chair & the removal from other ships began in the Fall without any pushback although I’ve been deceived by them enough to be skeptical about such statements.  Like their rationale that the majority of passengers wanted the chair removed for more room...marketing gibberish.

Looking for the “confused” emoji. I disagree with Princess’ assessment that passengers are happy to give up the chair for more room.  What exactly would one do with “extra” room in one’s cabin? Yoga? Ball room dancing? Entertain everyone on your floor? Granted, the cabin is small. And more room would be a plus. But giving up a comfy (semi comfy?) seat for more room does not seeem like a fair trade off. I can only assume that those who don’t want a chair spend little time in their cabin beside sleeping. I don’t stand at home when I come in unless I am doing something. I sit down. After touring all day on vacation I’d do the same in my cabin. Sit down. Relax. Now hubby and I will have to take up “rock, paper, scissors” to see who gets the chair. 

Princess is not a philanthropic organization. I don’t fool myself.  They are in business to make money. So it would not surprise me that this decision is related to their bottom line. Get people out of their cabin where they can spend more money. Buy a drink. Meander through the shops. Pick up a t-shirt. All adds to their bottom line. If you’re tucked comfortably in your cabin you’re not spending money. If Princess sees a drop in profit they might consider replacing the chair. Maybe even with a cozy loveseat. 

[richsea]

3 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

The extra chair was important for me also.  

On a recent Mexico Riviera cruise, I took my my friend (first cruise) who is disabled,  and needs to rest and sit down often.   Thankfully, there was the barrel chair in our  cabin for him.   Also, the desk was necessary, to keep his medications handy, and plug in a medical device.

So, Princess is my cruise line of choice, but I also cruise on Celebrity, and Oceania.   Both have a desk, and a sitting chair in the cabin.   So yes, having a chair, other than the desk chair, is important to me.

Enjoy your cruise.

King

We also enjoy Celebrity a lot, but our recent sailings have been on Princess. It’s ironic, but we’ve always thought the barrel chair ws just stuck in the room, but realized that without it would be very inconvenient, because there is just no place to sit. I actually like the idea someone had to mount the TV, put the fridge in the closet, & add an armchair or small loveseat. That would work for me.

[ExDean]

The many observations that the missing chair would/could result in increased revenue per Princess cruise, reminded me of that old marketing proverb definition of a customer, "He is someone, out there who, with proper cunning, can be relieved of his loose change."  

 

We don't sail again until October and maybe a chair will then reappear because PCL realized the error of their ways.  That being said, our 15 day spring 2020 cruise is now in serious jeopardy with out a Princess  mea clupa.  I think I hear the Celebrity web site calling us.

[#1Nanna]

Have the chairs been removed from the Royal?

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, ExDean said:

 I think I hear the Celebrity web site calling us.

 

4 of the top ten ships in the new release are Celebrity. 

The Regal is the only Princess ship to make the list.  

[Pstcrik]

1 hour ago, #1Nanna said:

Have the chairs been removed from the Royal?

•  
• January 18, 2008
•  
• 2,441 posts

• Report post
•  
•  #627

Posted Saturday at 07:05 AM (edited)

On 3/1/2019 at 2:12 AM, floridalover5623 said:

I have not read all of this thread but has anyone requested a chair & been turned down?

 

YES! ....I am on the Royal Princess currently.  I asked asked the room steward and was told I could NOT have a barrel chair, because they are gone and will not be available any longer.

[Colo Cruiser]

1 minute ago, Pstcrik said:

•  
• January 18, 2008
•  
• 2,441 posts

• Report post
•  
•  #627

Posted Saturday at 07:05 AM (edited)

 

YES! ....I am on the Royal Princess currently.  I asked asked the room steward and was told I could NOT have a barrel chair, because they are gone and will not be available any longer.

This is confusing.