Is Princess trying to train us not to use room service?

[Loreni]

It seems like Princess is trying to use negative reinforcement to change passenger behavior.  In 2012, they removed dining height tables from the mini suites.  They also removed half the chairs and replaced them with much less comfortable chairs.  If you insisted on ordering room service, you would not dine in comfort (overall comfort when using the balcony was also diminished).

 

Not long ago, Princess tried to charge for room service.  This would certainly decrease demand.  There was a passenger revolt, and Princess removed the fee.

 

Now both tables and chairs are being removed from cabins.  It is just about impossible to dine in comfort in your room.  Those with arthritis or back pain may find dining (or just staying) in their room physically uncomfortable.  That should modify their behavior. (I believe foot rests have also been removed).

 

If Princess can reduce demand for room service, they can reduce the number of crew.  Then more space can ultimately be devoted to passenger rather than crew cabins and this means...more profit and bigger bonuses.

 

An added benefit of using the the negative reinforcement of physical discomfort is that it drives people from their cabins into the public spaces where they can spend money.

 

The thing is, you don’t use negative reinforcement (especially physical) on people you respect.  

[LACruiser88]

I understand everyone has different opinions on the removal of the table and chairs from the cabins, we personally like it as it gives us more space.  But, we rarely order room service.  There are so many food venues to enjoy!

 

Happy Sailing!

[stoneharborlady]

We never had a normal height table in our mini suite.  Possibly on the balcony, but not in the cabin itself.  Only a coffee table if I recall.

[reedprincess]

We have never had a regular dining room high table in our mini-suites. Where would that even go?? Balcony table has been a bistro style table for a long while ...

Barrel chair was gone from our balcony cabin in Emerald as far back as October 2018. Small oval table still there.  Personally, glad the barrel chair is fine as it's uncomfortable and bulky in the cabin.   More floor space works for me.  

We've never seen room service as a fine dining affair, so sitting in the bed to eat a sandwich or cookies or a salad is not a problem for either of us. 

[Loreni]

The full height table was on the mini suite balcony.  

 

I agree that there are so many wonderful venues outside the room; that is called using positive reinforcement to get people out of their rooms.

 

However, different passengers have different needs at different ages and different times in their life Ives.    There are many reasons why one would decide to use room service.  This feature is advertised by Princess and those using it should expect some degree of comfort.

 

We travel with a multigenerational group and if all members of our group cannot be comfortable we cannot travel together.

[mnocket]

To me that's the most obvious rationale for removing the chair from the rooms.  Unless you like using the bed as a dining area, room service is now impractical.

[Kartgv]

We're in the 'awful decision' camp - use the barrel chair a lot.    We do order room service, primarily for an early breakfast on port days when we have an early excursion.   Who wants to sit on an still-unmade bed to eat their breakfast?   DH also uses the barrel chair to read/watch TV/do a Sudoku puzzle while I'm dressing and doing makeup for dinner - he's already showered and dressed, so doesn't want to lie on the bed.   Where else could he go?    Oh yes - he could leave the cabin and go sit in a bar and spend more on an extra drink!!!   For those who say they appreciate the extra space - what do you use that space for?    On other cruise line boards, we're now seeing this topic discussed and Princess being referred to as the "Standing Room Only" cruise line.    We did voice our unhappiness on our survey for the cruise we just completed.    
 

[voljeep]

37 minutes ago, Kartgv said:

Where else could he go?    Oh yes - he could leave the cabin and go sit in a bar and spend more on an extra drink!!!

that's EXACTLY what I do when we have booked an inside cabin with me having the drink package ...

 

she knows I'm harmless and will be waiting for her in Vines at our almost reserved table ... where everyone knows our names ... and drinks

 

 

[Kartgv]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

that's EXACTLY what I do when we have booked an inside cabin with me having the drink package ...

 

she knows I'm harmless and will be waiting for her in Vines at our almost reserved table ... where everyone knows our names ... and drinks

 

 

 

Of course that's an option, but he prefers not to.    We usually don't have a drink package unless it's a free perk, but the extra drink/cost isn't the point.    The point is he shouldn't be forced out of the room in order to have a comfortable place to wait.   

[happy cruzer]

If you want to dine in your cabin, there are other options i.e. other cruise lines.  HAL and Celebrity both offer dinner service from the MDR menu as well as hot breakfast room service, at least last time I looked.  Seabourn had wonderful room service.  Just a few options out there.

 

So Princess can only train you if you are willing to be trained.

[voljeep]

5 minutes ago, Kartgv said:

 

Of course that's an option, but he prefers not to.    We usually don't have a drink package unless it's a free perk, but the extra drink/cost isn't the point.    The point is he shouldn't be forced out of the room in order to have a comfortable place to wait.   

I'd do it if we had a laz-e-boy with a cup holder

 

she says I make her nervous by just sitting there waiting on her...

 

after all, we've only been married 43 years ...

[ceilidh1]

I guess this also makes another Elite perk useless - the option for afternoon tea to be delivered to your room (unless you are in one of the rooms that have a sofa, I guess). How on earth could you enjoy afternoon tea sitting on the bed?

[NavyVeteran]

2 hours ago, Loreni said:

If Princess can reduce demand for room service, they can reduce the number of crew.  Then more space can ultimately be devoted to passenger rather than crew cabins and this means...more profit and bigger bonuses.

 

I doubt this is true. Compare room service to eating in the MDR. The food preparation in the kitchen requires the same amount of effort for either. How much time does it take one room service person to deliver dinner for two to your cabin? Remember that the entire dinner is delivered at the same time. Compare that to the amount of time spent by the waiter and junior waiter to deliver and serve five separate courses in the MDR. I suspect that room service is actually less expensive for Princess than the MDR.

[Taer al Saefer]

Not only just the chair, but I really wish that the balcony rooms had a sofa.  I prefer Princess to other lines, but some inside cabins on others even have a small sofa or couch.  Not only is it a great place to sit, relax, and maybe eat a little, but it also can store things on top. 

[Obsi]

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

 

I doubt this is true. Compare room service to eating in the MDR. The food preparation in the kitchen requires the same amount of effort for either. How much time does it take one room service person to deliver dinner for two to your cabin? 

 

I think you'll find that food prepared for service in the MDR will be done efficiently on a sort of production line sort of thing.  They don't make one meal at a time, they will be making several of the same dish at the same time - which is more efficient.  There will be a steady stream of orders during the service times, and people are prepared to wait a bit for their food.

Whereas people can order room service at various times during the day, which is an inefficient way to manage food production.  The expectation also will be that it is delivered quickly.  So it's not just about the amount of time it takes someone to walk to your cabin with your food.

[jlp20]

3 hours ago, Loreni said:

3 hours ago, Loreni said:

 

If Princess can reduce demand for room service, they can reduce the number of crew.  Then more space can ultimately be devoted to passenger rather than crew cabins and this means...more profit and bigger bonuses.

 

ct.  

Actual cabin size will not change on existing ships. Per a recent post showing room service menu, there is a surcharge for about a 1/3 of the listed items. 

[Colo Cruiser]

2 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Actual cabin size will not change on existing ships. Per a recent post showing room service menu, there is a surcharge for about a 1/3 of the listed items. 

Besides pizza/guac and chips/shrimp etc what is a charge now?

 

[pjcruiser1]

We used room service every day on our recent Regal adventure. The balcony table and chairs worked fantastic for us.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, pjcruiser1 said:

We used room service every day on our recent Regal adventure. 

 

What did you get charged for?

[pris993]

We do room service for breakfast always, sometimes do room service for lunch.  In a mini suite we have the sofa and one chair... coffee table works fine as a table for us.    We will be on the Grand and Coral this year... will see if there are any changes.  

 

New HAL ships no longer have bath tubs   in all cabins... we book a mini on Princess for the tub.  Will not be booking HAL new ships since no longer have tubs.  So changes do have impacts.  

 

 

[satxdiver]

We had a mini on the CB in November and all the furniture was still in the cabin.  We almost always have breakfast in the cabin pre-ordering it the night before.  With only one chair now at least before they remove the desk chair as well means we will have to bring in one of the balcony chairs to eat breakfast in our laps.  We almost never use the foot stools on the balcony.  So is Princess encouraging us to go to another cruise line?

[floridalover5623]

We've never used room service & glad to see that chair gone.

It was always in the way even if we put it in the closet. 

[voljeep]

10 hours ago, pris993 said:

We do room service for breakfast always, sometimes do room service for lunch.  In a mini suite we have the sofa and one chair... coffee table works fine as a table for us.    We will be on the Grand and Coral this year... will see if there are any changes.  

 

New HAL ships no longer have bath tubs   in all cabins... we book a mini on Princess for the tub.  Will not be booking HAL new ships since no longer have tubs.  So changes do have impacts.  

 

 

and we DON'T book mini's because of the tub ...

[pris993]

4 minutes ago, voljeep said:

and we DON'T book mini's because of the tub ...

different strokes for different folks...

 

[compozer]

15 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Actual cabin size will not change on existing ships. Per a recent post showing room service menu, there is a surcharge for about a 1/3 of the listed items. 

What post are you talking about????