BaLcony rooms with no where to sit.

[mafw]

We have been traveling on Princess for some time and it has been our favorite.  We are Elite members.....However today I spoke with Customer service, after my MANY letters went unanswered... I asked to have a chair in our balcony room.  I was told the rooms have been redesigned and all Barrel chairs removed.....I asked if two or three people in room WHERE WOULD THEY SIT.....i was told no chairs they have been removed.....If you look at the pictures of any balcony room....they ALL SHOW A BARREL CHAIR......However customer service said sorry...they are gone.   I asked how could this be done AFTWR FINAL PAYMENT AND WE WERE NOT INFORMED........My husband has a bad back....where should he sit on the floor????No recourse...I have several upcoming cruisesALREADY BOOKED...With no where to sit I will Be forced to cruise with another line to be able to sit on my transatlantic cruised....If I would have been made aware of this policy when booking I would have chosen another room...however ALL PHOTOS SHOW A CHAIR.....GOODBYE PRINCESS

[wrongwaywatson]

I have seen many people post that they asked their cabin stewart for a chair once on board and it was provided.

[geocruiser]

1 minute ago, mafw said:

We have been traveling on Princess for some time and it has been our favorite.  We are Elite members.....However today I spoke with Customer service, after my MANY letters went unanswered... I asked to have a chair in our balcony room.  I was told the rooms have been redesigned and all Barrel chairs removed.....I asked if two or three people in room WHERE WOULD THEY SIT.....i was told no chairs they have been removed.....If you look at the pictures of any balcony room....they ALL SHOW A BARREL CHAIR......However customer service said sorry...they are gone.   I asked how could this be done AFTWR FINAL PAYMENT AND WE WERE NOT INFORMED........My husband has a bad back....where should he sit on the floor????No recourse...I have several upcoming cruisesALREADY BOOKED...With no where to sit I will Be forced to cruise with another line to be able to sit on my transatlantic cruised....If I would have been made aware of this policy when booking I would have chosen another room...however ALL PHOTOS SHOW A CHAIR.....GOODBYE PRINCESS

I understand back pain.  I agree, about needing a place to sit beside the bed (which my back can't do).

I have a Princess cruise booked in a Deluxe Balcony that has a love seat in it.  The price was good.  I decided not to be forced into paying a lot more to have a chair to sit on with Princess.  We have been sailing only  Princess for the since 2014 and have gone on 27 cruises with them.  

Now I shop price with other lines now and book the best deal with a cabin with two places to sit.  If you look at my signature,  you will I now see a HAL cruise that was book  (paid in full),  This cruise would have been on Princess, but HAL gave me two places to sit in the cabin for a much better price.  I am one of the people who is walking away from Princess because of this chair thing. 

[satxdiver]

Last cruise we took one of the balcony chairs and put it in the cabin.  It was cold so sitting on the balcony was not really feasible.   The room steward left it alone the entire cruise.  Agreed taking the barrel chair out of the room was a brain dead move by Princess.

[crystalspin]

We cancelled a 28-day So.Pacific cruise with Princess for this reason. The fact that it has been discussed on Cruise Critic is immaterial to the person who just found out about it after final payment. 

 

Before we found a similar 28-day So.Pacific with HAL, I was planning to bring my own quad-chair for our Princess obstructed Oceanview. On HAL we will have two or three chairs in an inside (but prime location) cabin! 

[jennybenny]

Nothing sucks more than finding this our after final payment. I'm sorry you are going through this frustration. 

 

Try calling back at another time to talk to someone more receptive. See if you can upgrade your cabin? Mini Suites have a sofa and so does a Deluxe balcony. 

We have booked a Deluxe balcony on our next cruise because we wanted a sofa. 

 

After a lot of hard work we were able to make a change last year after final payment to our cabin.  There were special circumstances and issues and Princess resolved it. It cost us $800 more for the cabin, but we were much happier with the new cabin. 

 

Good luck, and I'm sorry you are dealing with this.  It seems frustrating. 

Edited October 22, 2019 by jennybenny

[brisalta]

When I boarded the Grand Princess on September 23rd, 2019 there was only one chair in the Balcony stateroom. I immediately politely asked the steward for a barrel chair. She said she would find one and put it in the room. When we returned several hours later a barrel chair was there for us to use.

 

[paradiselivin1]

Hoping to have the same luck. 

[skynight]

On boarding day afternoon on the Caribbean Princess this past August we asked the cabin steward for an extra chair. We also left a note for him. A chair was in the cabin by the evening.

I have not read one favorable comment regarding the removal of the chairs. It's such a bad decision, especially when competitive cruise lines have sofas in most cabins.

[bemis12]

This is the first I've heard of this.

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

On boarding day afternoon on the Caribbean Princess this past August we asked the cabin steward for an extra chair. We also left a note for him. A chair was in the cabin by the evening.

I have not read one favorable comment regarding the removal of the chairs. It's such a bad decision, especially when competitive cruise lines have sofas in most cabins.

 

From a simple math point it makes no sense, really.....2 people in a cabin should have 2 chairs, even if it's only the one desk chair and one barrel chair.  Especially if removing the couch/love seat as a standard feature.  Taking it a step further and removing the second chair just adds insult to injury, and I can't believe Princess didn't anticipate blowback from this.

[SargassoPirate]

I'm stuck since we have a cruise booked with friends and family and don't want to cancel and start trying to juggle schedules again. That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway.

 

For our final Princess cruise, I'm bringing a lightweight folding camp chair for the cabin. It comes with a carrying pouch, so I can also use it elsewhere on the ship if I so desire.

 

 

[geocruiser]

3 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

I'm stuck since we have a cruise booked with friends and family and don't want to cancel and start trying to juggle schedules again. That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway.

 

For our final Princess cruise, I'm bringing a lightweight folding camp chair for the cabin. It comes with a carrying pouch, so I can also use it elsewhere on the ship if I so desire.

 

 

 

When I book my HAL cruise because of the Princess chair thing.  I was worried about loosing my Elite free laundry.  Well, I ended up getting a HAL cruise with two places to sit at a price that was way cheaper than Princess.  I was able to get the unlimited laundry package with HAL for $49 per cabin for the whole cruise.  The mini bar set up from Princess did not matter to me.  I drink diet soda, one can a day.  To make up for that I brought a HAL soda card.  I paid $25. for a $50. card.  My DH drinks only one beer a day.  So, in the long run we are doing much better on HAL and the cruise on HAL leaves one day after what Princess offered. And I get to go to Key West..  I just check around now, and add up the total cost, to see  what is better, and go with that.  If I can get a better deal with Princess, and Princess can beat the price with HAL, X or RCCL, then it is Princess.  Of course, we have to have two chairs / or sofa to sit on.

[jennybenny]

21 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

... That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway....

 

 

 

That's the best way to show Princess you are unhappy with them, book elsewhere.  However, I hope you express your displeasure via email now and after your cruise via the ship, and cruise survey. Princess needs to realize that they are losing customers.  If enough complain  maybe they will realize the issue.  Look what happened with Crooners.  They took it away and brought it back on new designs. 

[happy cruzer]

Requested an extra chair on Crown Princess, and was told there were none.  Just an additional report.

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I'm stuck since we have a cruise booked with friends and family and don't want to cancel and start trying to juggle schedules again. That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway.

 

For our final Princess cruise, I'm bringing a lightweight folding camp chair for the cabin. It comes with a carrying pouch, so I can also use it elsewhere on the ship if I so desire.

 

 

 

That chair is probably more comfortable than the old barrel chair anyway......good solution for a stupid problem created by the cruiseline.

[PrincessLuver]

2 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I'm stuck since we have a cruise booked with friends and family and don't want to cancel and start trying to juggle schedules again. That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway.

 

For our final Princess cruise, I'm bringing a lightweight folding camp chair for the cabin. It comes with a carrying pouch, so I can also use it elsewhere on the ship if I so desire.

 

 

 

You may have created a whole other level of cruising....Cruise Camping....brilliant!!!

[rgmacm]

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

I will just take one from some where else on the ship and put it in our cabin....problem solved....and the OP was frustrated too on finding out the news after final payment and that Princess still has pictures showing a standard balcony with 2 chairs in the cabin which is so misleading......

 

Though we will 'miss' that chair, it's not so very important for us.  It is, however, very important for some of our traveling companions who must have a chair with a back anywhere they sit...home, others' homes, hotel and of course, cruise ship cabins.   (this is a question they ask before ever booking  a hotel room.) 

I've wondered about the possibility of doing just as you said - taking one back to the room but don't want to be called to the principles office for it. 🙂 🙂 (that was a joke...)  Has anyone tried this and it's been 'ok'?

[debsjc]

21 minutes ago, rgmacm said:

 

Though we will 'miss' that chair, it's not so very important for us.  It is, however, very important for some of our traveling companions who must have a chair with a back anywhere they sit...home, others' homes, hotel and of course, cruise ship cabins.   (this is a question they ask before ever booking  a hotel room.) 

I've wondered about the possibility of doing just as you said - taking one back to the room but don't want to be called to the principles office for it. 🙂 🙂 (that was a joke...)  Has anyone tried this and it's been 'ok'?

 

A bit off topic, but I moved a sunlounger onto our balcony once, in a full suite on HAL. The suite was meant to have a sunlounger, as per the brochure photos, and they refused to give us one. My mum has a really bad back and needed it, so I went and got one.

 

I got telling off from the hotel manager, but we were allowed to keep it! 

 

 

[brisalta]

18 hours ago, geocruiser said:

I understand back pain.  I agree, about needing a place to sit beside the bed (which my back can't do).

I have a Princess cruise booked in a Deluxe Balcony that has a love seat in it.  The price was good.  I decided not to be forced into paying a lot more to have a chair to sit on with Princess.  We have been sailing only  Princess for the since 2014 and have gone on 27 cruises with them.  

Now I shop price with other lines now and book the best deal with a cabin with two places to sit.  If you look at my signature,  you will I now see a HAL cruise that was book  (paid in full),  This cruise would have been on Princess, but HAL gave me two places to sit in the cabin for a much better price.  I am one of the people who is walking away from Princess because of this chair thing. 

 

How is Princess going to know that they lost your custom?

HAL is another Carnival Corporation line so it is no big deal to the parent company.

[geocruiser]

3 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

How is Princess going to know that they lost your custom?

HAL is another Carnival Corporation line so it is no big deal to the parent company.

Because Princess has been told by me in a letter to Ms Jan and I received a phone call back from them and it was discussed

Plus after I booked with HAL, I sent a letter to Princess.  Also, I have been doing 3 to 5  or more Princess cruises in the winter, Now I am down to only one.  And that is because I had a very large cruise credit with princess that paid that cruise in full, (with money left over).

This time I booked with HAL, next one it could be another cruise line with any Parent company.  Who ever gives me the best deal with two chair/sofa.  

[SargassoPirate]

4 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

You may have created a whole other level of cruising....Cruise Camping....brilliant!!!

Just think about it. I can take my camping chair to the Melanoma Deck and stake out my spot early in the morning - don't touch my chair - without being a chair hog. 

[Buckeye10640]

7 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I'm stuck since we have a cruise booked with friends and family and don't want to cancel and start trying to juggle schedules again. That being said, since we found out about the barrel chair fiasco, we have booked four additional cruises so far - none on Princess. Princess is no longer under consideration when planning cruises.  We are Elite and have no qualms about no longer sailing with Princess.  The Elite benefits are not that great anyway.

 

For our final Princess cruise, I'm bringing a lightweight folding camp chair for the cabin. It comes with a carrying pouch, so I can also use it elsewhere on the ship if I so desire.

 

 

I love it!! Now if only I was driving instead of flying to the port....

[mustgo]

2 hours ago, geocruiser said:

 

This time I booked with HAL, next one it could be another cruise line with any Parent company.  Who ever gives me the best deal with two chair/sofa.  

We also miss the barrel chair but on Holland we miss the recently eliminated production shows more.  We will book a deluxe cabin on Princess when the price is ok and otherwise ask for another chair or bring in one of the balcony chairs.

[geocruiser]

1 minute ago, mustgo said:

We also miss the barrel chair but on Holland we miss the recently eliminated production shows more.  We will book a deluxe cabin on Princess when the price is ok and otherwise ask for another chair or bring in one of the balcony chairs.

That is a good solution for you.  I just can't manage bring in a chair from the balcony.  I feel "to come back new" I should have a place to sit.  We have stopped going to the production shows on Princess because for us the are too loud. We enjoy the lounges with music more now.  Even the atrium for us is becoming too noisy at times.  That is just us, others seem to enjoy it. 

I can't chance not getting a second chair when I ask for one.  There is no gty of getting one.

We mainly cruise in the winter in the Caribbean, so a lot of cruise line can fill that bill for us.

I hope that if works out for you.  With me it is two seats and price now.

 

Happy cruising.🛳️