Your Favorite Public Place, Is It Losing Its Appeal?

[Denny01]

50 minutes ago, laslomas said:

 

I get what you are saying, and agree. I do not actually go round checking what everyone is doing. But I do not walk around the ship with my eyes closed.

 

My actual peeve is with Celebrity for having such a popular area and not making the most of it by finding a way to expand the area. You even quoted this from my post.

 

No need for an attack on me. 😕

I’m sorry I came across as judgmental as it reads. I should have made my comment more general. You wrote a legit concern and I misused it to make my point. 

 

I agree we need more areas for socializing, but I don’t know if that would clear out the readers and game players from El Bacio. It’s a lovely place to relax and enjoy a special coffee/tea and snack, and do what we enjoy while cruising which goes beyond just consuming special drinks and snacking. 

 

Again, I apologize. Ive made the same point in too many posts and am repeating my personal views and need to stop and just relax. Obviously I’m showing I’m a bit defensive on this subject! 

 

Den

Edited October 12, 2019 by Denny01

[yoshi]

Hint to Celebrity-

If Bacio is this popular and gets this many comments, why not make a second specialty coffee/tea area on the ship? 

Sounds like an idea that would make many customers happy 🙂

[Hlitner]

19 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I never did buy into the less is more concept.  

 

I thought that they (Edge) did a good job of breaking the MDRs into smaller more diverse dining areas.  

 

However with entertainment spaces they did the exact opposite by consolidating them into fewer larger spaces.  I suspect that it is a money saving idea.

 

And geez almost every cruise ship that I have ever been on (except for Edge) has a quiet bar/entertainment area at the top in the front.

I suspect you have not cruised on Princess.  Their Grand and Royal Class ships (a large majority of their entire fleet) have no bar or public lounge that offers a front view.   And HAL, which traditionally had a popular forward-facing bar/lounge called the Crows Nest has been in the process of destroying this venue.  Another big plus (there are many) of MSC's Yacht Club is that its housed in the upper bow area of the ship with a fantastic forward facing lounge, forward facing sun deck (on the Divina) etc.  Or course those that do not want to pay for the Yacht Club will not have any place with a forward view.

 

Hank

[wwwfla]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:48 PM, Denny01 said:

Let’s clarify a few points. Sitting at El Bacio having a coffee, playing cards or reading isn’t the same as the pool chair hogs. The pool hogs put their items on lounges and go off to eat or shop or whatever, taking the lounge chairs out of service when not being used. Sitting and actively using a table in El Bacio and not ordering what someone else thinks is how much they should spend/order/drink isn’t chair hogs, it’s using a common space available to all. And they are considered ‘chair hogs’ by some because they got there first. Life at a popular spot. we play cards there and order drinks and snacks and so on.

 

I’d hope upon hope there isn’t someone watching us intently, walking by to see if there is anything in my coffee cup and so on, but apparently there are. I understand the issue and kind of get bugged by the guy sitting in the chair next to the window sleeping. I’d like to wake him up and ask him to nap in his SR, but that’s life. And I don’t complain because it’s None Of My Business.....well I’ll complain to my wife and she tells me: Get A Life.

 

And why just complain about readers and card players? What about the Very Inconsiderate People (VIP’s) who enjoy the music being played in that venue and they order one drink and sit and listen for an extended time, or the two couples sitting and talking for extended time? By the way ‘extended time’ is defined as time that cuts into when you want that table. 

 

Personally, none of these goings-on are any of our business......we just got there later. You have no idea how much those card players or readers have ordered and used. Life is tough when you don’t immediately get what you want and someone else is getting it.

 

Den

Lots of good points Don, especially about the immediacy of the moment. I believe it is more importantly about consideration. 

We often think those commandeering public spaces are those that don’t like their cabins.

 

Wall

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, wwwfla said:

Lots of good points Don, especially about the immediacy of the moment. I believe it is more importantly about consideration. 

We often think those commandeering public spaces are those that don’t like their cabins.

 

Wall

We resemble your last remark.  DW and I spend relatively little waking time in our cabin.  We do not take cruises so we can quietly sit in our cabin, watch the TV, or whatever.  The reason we have spent more then 3 years of our life as passengers on cruise ships is because we love the sea, the ships, the atmosphere, etc.  So yeah, we plead guilty to sitting in public spaces, enjoying the ship, the people, etc.   And if some prima donna, who hides in their cabin and watches movies on their TV, suddenly decides they want to come to a public area and they "entitled" to our seat they are sadly mistaken.

 

Hank

[hcat]

4 hours ago, yoshi said:

Hint to Celebrity-

If Bacio is this popular and gets this many comments, why not make a second specialty coffee/tea area on the ship? 

Sounds like an idea that would make many customers happy 🙂

Great idea

Hideaway area on S Class would be great if it is still there and not turned into cabins... have seen it used  by some as an indoor children's playground with the cubbies and  fun chairs!  They could do a small  kiosk with  mini snacks..already have coffee there.

[Denny01]

58 minutes ago, wwwfla said:

Lots of good points Don, especially about the immediacy of the moment. I believe it is more importantly about consideration. 

We often think those commandeering public spaces are those that don’t like their cabins.

 

Wall

I appreciate you acknowledging my post, but not sure what ‘commandeering public spaces’ is all about. Yes, I fully understand stepping into common areas (around pools, lounges, sitting areas, etc) and putting your stuff on the table/chairs, then going away for whatever is inconsiderate. Not sure how long we should be ‘allowed’ to sit in a space such as El Bacio socializing and so on, but it’s not really commandeering when being fully utilized. I love my cabin.....but I don’t really sit in it for extended times unless we invite friends in. I’m in common areas to meet new people and watch the world go by and enjoy a beautiful ship. I’m in my cabin relaxing in the quiet, watching the sea go by, very different experiences. 

 

I sometimes wonder what people are thinking when they are judging others........cruisers sitting in a common area being interpreted as hating their cabins is a new one. 

 

den

[villauk]

15 hours ago, yoshi said:

Hint to Celebrity-

If Bacio is this popular and gets this many comments, why not make a second specialty coffee/tea area on the ship? 

Sounds like an idea that would make many customers happy 🙂

 

 

I suggested that previously, but I also stated that perhaps X don’t want to do that for the simple reason that currently it is actually saving them money: most have the ‘free’ beverage package included, are in suites or may be at a status in the CC where they get free coffee drinks anyway. When there is no room for pax to sit and ‘purchase’ a coffee, this results in less costs to X by not having to provide so many drinks for pax that have already paid for them through packages etc. More areas serving coffees would also result in needing more staff to serve those areas - more expense to X - not good for the bottom line.

 

I’ll be honest, the only thing that is puzzling me is why the HH was changed to unlimited drinks rather than just the 3, with this new $14pp coming into play. I would have thought continuing with only the 3 drinks would have been more profitable now to X as I envisage considerably more pax will not take the beverage package as a ‘perk’ than  used to? Or perhaps they think pax will just pay the new amount without giving it another thought as many will just see the end total pp and not worry about how it’s broken down? 

 

 

11 hours ago, wwwfla said:

 

We often think those commandeering public spaces are those that don’t like their cabins.

 

Wall

 

 

I thought that that was the case now the ‘Revolution’ was in full swing: X didn’t want pax to stay in cabins, they wanted them out spending on the ship?

Edited October 13, 2019 by villauk

[TeeRick]

22 hours ago, yoshi said:

Hint to Celebrity-

If Bacio is this popular and gets this many comments, why not make a second specialty coffee/tea area on the ship? 

Sounds like an idea that would make many customers happy 🙂

I'm pretty sure they did this on Edge from what I recall.   Secondo Bacio located in the Oceanview Cafe.

[Toftwood]

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I'm pretty sure they did this on Edge from what I recall.   Secondo Bacio located in the Oceanview Cafe.

Secondo Bacio is on most of the ships but it is adjacent to the buffet.........a somewhat different atmosphere and vibe to the main location.

[bebe08]

Reflection has a second al baccio but it is not the same atmosphere.  It is also not the same to get it as take out, at either location.  

[Shadow9612]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:35 AM, Toftwood said:

No “we” do not know what is being consumed and at what rate but the staff do and having engaged two or three of them in conversation on our last Celebrity cruise, they were all anxious about what one of them called overstayers.   When people are going to Cafe al Bacio for a particular “service” that is not available in the same way elsewhere on the ship,  it is disappointing if tables remain occupied for long periods of time by people not availing themselves of the “service”, who could enjoy their hobby/past time elsewhere.

As a regular visitor to Cafe Al Bacio, sometimes for take-away, sometimes for a quick coffee, and other times for a relaxing afternoon reading and sipping coffee,  I would be very upset if a crew member indicated to me that I overstayed my welcome. 

 

This is a public space, and the lack of available tables does not (for the most part) decrease Celebrity sales, as all items can be purchased to take away. 

 

There have been many times that I look for a seat, and cannot find one, so I get my drink to go...

[Shadow9612]

On 10/12/2019 at 10:06 AM, Denny01 said:

It’s a lovely place to relax and enjoy a special coffee/tea and snack, and do what we enjoy while cruising which goes beyond just consuming special drinks and snacking. 

Exactly.....

[Shadow9612]

On 10/12/2019 at 6:31 PM, hcat said:

Great idea

Hideaway area on S Class would be great if it is still there and not turned into cabins... have seen it used  by some as an indoor children's playground with the cubbies and  fun chairs!  They could do a small  kiosk with  mini snacks..already have coffee there.

I used to go to the Hideaway when al Bacio was busy, but recently, I notice the space is frequently taken over by (noisy) teenagers - not relaxing.