Sky Lounge Hijacked

[the penguins]

17 hours ago, notscb said:

I agree. Cruise lines make every decision in their best interest and in the interest of their profit and loss sheets. Park West isn't unique in their ability to book a private space onboard and many other entities do so at different times of the year. It's just reality. I know the sky lounge is a nice area to relax, but it's not like there's not the entire rest of the public areas of the ship that you can choose to go to as well.

The Sky Lounge is the only public lounge with views out of the front of the ship.

What are the "rest of the public areas " you are suggesting that even comes close?

[NMTraveller]

19 hours ago, RickT said:

Just off the Edge and while I expected to not like it I was pleasantly surprised.  Eden was fantastic and quickly became our go to location on inclement days and most evenings.  Very cosy with a nice layout and comfortable seats. 

I expected to like the Edge, and I did not like it as much as my S class cruises...  YMMV.

 

I like M class the best, then S, and then E.

 

I do not like the IVs, so I book an SV on E class.  I miss the forward-looking views on E class.  But if they are going to sell those views to the highest bidder then E class is a contender.  In my case E class was the only one that had a cruise where I wanted to go.  My next cruise is on Apex 🙈

 

Edited Saturday at 10:48 PM by NMTraveller

[craig01020]

21 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

We were on the Iceland to Boston cruise this year in August. Park West Had the exclusive use on several days. We sat at the entrance to the Sky Lounge and listened to the auction taking place. The opening bids on every piece of artwork was a minimum of $15,000. I’m not sure if many of the items were actually bid on, but I didn’t hear the auctioneer rattling off higher bids.  It’s amazing to me that there are people with that kind of money ready to spend it with a company that has a dubious reputation in the art world. I guess P.T. Barnum was correct (look it up and you’ll understand my comment). 
 

I hope the champagne PW was serving was higher quality than the stuff poured for the auctions they run for the common folks in the art gallery. 

If people would stop buying that crap, then Park West would go away. Maybe someday I'll sail on Viking where there is no "art" for sale.

[Boatharbour]

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

The choices of other cruise lines has gotten smaller.  Celebrity appears to be one of a few mass market lines left that does not allow vaping in the staterooms.  I just cancelled a Princess cruise for that reason...

Latest update on the Princess board is that vaping isn’t allowed in staterooms. The passenger contract is being updated to reflect current policy. 

[NMTraveller]

27 minutes ago, Boatharbour said:

Latest update on the Princess board is that vaping isn’t allowed in staterooms. The passenger contract is being updated to reflect current policy. 

We will have to see.  One cruiser said that they heard this from Princess 😁  Why is it in the cruise contract?   I may consider them in the future if they really do remove this vaping in the staterooms.  Others had the same policy on their TV.  I have no desire to wait and see while cruise pricing goes up ...

 

The best response that I got out of Princess was that we will pass your concerns on to managment...  🤣  

 

What about HAL?  Apparently they are in the same brand and have the same language in the cruise contracts?

 

Show me the updated cruise contract and perhaps I will believe...

Edited yesterday at 12:55 AM by NMTraveller

[Boatharbour]

4 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

We will have to see.  One cruiser said that they heard this from Princess 😁  Why is it in the cruise contract?   I may consider them in the future if they really do remove this vaping in the staterooms.  Others had the same policy on their TV.  I have no desire to wait and see while cruise pricing goes up ...

 

What about HAL?  Apparently they are in the same brand and have the same language in the cruise contracts?

Maybe best to take a look at the latest posts on the Princess but someone has posted an email response from Princess. 

[NMTraveller]

1 minute ago, Boatharbour said:

Maybe best to take a look at the latest posts on the Princess but someone has posted an email response from Princess. 

There were a myriad of responses from Princess.  I had my own...  None of them were consistent.  😁  Perhaps the reason for my skepticism.

[NMTraveller]

16 minutes ago, Boatharbour said:

Maybe best to take a look at the latest posts on the Princess but someone has posted an email response from Princess. 

And many more posters are claiming that this policy has existed in the contract for many years...

[Liao]

21 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

These spaces are just not fungible. Plus, i think that passengers have a right to expect that the ship’s public areas will be open to all guests. It’s one thing to have an occasional “private function” for an hour or so in the Sky Lounge, quite another to restrict access to that space to the extent that Celebrity is doing it now. 

Passenger rights end as soon as we board the ship.

[notscb]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

What are the "rest of the public areas " you are suggesting that even comes close?

I didn't say that they were the same or "came close." I simply pointed out that the rest of the ship was available for use.

[Mr. Click]

We were on the Eclipse August 16 sailing from Reykjavik with 6 cold weather sea days and were looking forward to spending those days in the Sky Lounge.  Surprise!! Park West had it booked almos every day.  With 6 days at sea, 6 cold days the pool desk was empty, the solumium was packed, the other indoor venures were packed. We ended up spending way too much time in our cabin or in the buffet in between mail times.  I did write to Celebrity and I basically got the "bedbug letter".  What is that?  Pretty much a form letter because so many are complaining.  My one request was how can I tell when I am booking if Park West or another group are taking over a prime venue day after day.  No answer to that.  We are booked on Reflection in Feb and hoping it won't be the same. If it is it means it is time thnk about us and not our status anymore.  Oh, the Edge class ships? tried one and did not like Eden at all.  Hard to get to, seats that were not comfortable at all and we did try a lot of them.  Bottom line is we will see what Ferruary brings. At least it will be warm weather so lots of folks will be out on the pool deck.

[Mr. Click]

2 hours ago, notscb said:

I didn't say that they were the same or "came close." I simply pointed out that the rest of the ship was available for use.

and on a cold weather cruise like Iceland or New England/Canada when the pool deck is useless that other venurs, Al Baccio, Enssemble Lounge, solarium etc are just parcked.

[Quo Vadis?]

We just returned from a 14 day cruise on HAL's Volendam.  What a wonderful experience:  no Park West, comfortable chairs, music that was actually recognizable, and an up to date real library.  The food was better than on Eclipse as well (confirmed by our weigh scale).  That Park West fiasco on the Icelandic cruise has really lowered my expectations for future Celebrity cruises.

[thepoint]

I have not read this entire thread, so if this has been addressed somewhere, I am sorry for the repeat.  We have a cruise booked in January and a Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles in April.  How do you find out in advanced if there will be private functions closing the sky lounge?  I can’t image doing that going through the canal, but who knows what they will do.  Thanks for your help.  

[Stem to Stern]

This thread made me even more excited for my next cruise on Azamara.  It has also given me great pause as I make final preparations to place deposits on two staterooms on a very expensive 2026 Summit Alaska Cruisetour.  Have there been any reports of this Park West nonsense taking place on Millennium-class vessels?

 

Edited yesterday at 01:35 PM by Stem to Stern

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, thepoint said:

We have a cruise booked in January and a Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles in April.  How do you find out in advanced if there will be private functions closing the sky lounge? 

As I said before, perhaps in another thread, you can ask Celebrity through any number of contacts, but the likelihood of telling you something like this is very low.  Celebrity, like all cruise lines that I know about, are sensitive to mentioning groups that will be on their ships - even if they have a significant effect on onboard rooms and lounges.

[fstuff1]

On 10/5/2024 at 10:23 AM, RichYak said:

I've not sailed on S-class. Is there another venue (probably requiring a bar) that can comfortably hold 100+ guests and all the art on display for multiple hours per day?

 

 

Yes, on deck 4 between the theater and casino. There's a bar inside as well. It's a big area with circular shiny DJ booth. forgot whats it's called? Quasars?

Edited yesterday at 02:25 PM by fstuff1

[fstuff1]

15 hours ago, craig01020 said:

If people would stop buying that crap, then Park West would go away. Maybe someday I'll sail on Viking where there is no "art" for sale.

never going away because PT Barnum and his famous quote

[Charles4515]

50 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

never going away because PT Barnum and his famous quote

I used to think those who got duped by the art auctions didn't really effect me. I would have an internal laugh about it that I would keep to myself. Now that they are taking up prime space that I use on cold weather cruises, I was considering one of the Iceland sailings, that would affect me. Glad I got a heads up on Cruise Critic. I will book Oceania or one of the other cruise lines for those type itineraries.   

[Tom and Ingrid]

I'd break the discussion into two pieces:

 

1) Forget it is the awful Park West group taking over the Lounge all cruise.  What if it was a large financial or real estate group rewarding its top employees? Or maybe a US veterans group with an organize 80th anniversary of D-Day TA from the US to France?  Or the American Cancer Society or Susan G Komen doing a "survivors of cancer" celebratory event cruise?  All are "equal" but darned if PW for sure gets all our hackles up!  I've been on cruises where a MUCH smaller "take-over" of public areas was done by a big business group. Annoying for sure, but at least only for an hour or two at various places over the trip.

 

2) The "not warning" passengers well ahead of time with an option to reschedule to a different cruise.  To some degree, if they were open about it, they'd likely take a financial hit on THAT SPECIFIC cruise.  But by not being open about it, they potentially create a long-term impact by alienating 2,000 folks in a single cruise.  Probably, the odds are slim that all 2,000 end up never sailing on X again, but what's the calculus for X deciding angering xx% of passengers is a lower cost than not taking the PW $$$ and/or offering folks the option to change or greatly lowering the fare for that cruise?

[Honolulu Blue]

23 minutes ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

Forget it is the awful Park West group taking over the Lounge all cruise.  What if it was a large financial or real estate group rewarding its top employees? Or maybe a US veterans group with an organize 80th anniversary of D-Day TA from the US to France?  Or the American Cancer Society or Susan G Komen doing a "survivors of cancer" celebratory event cruise?  All are "equal" but darned if PW for sure gets all our hackles up!  I've been on cruises where a MUCH smaller "take-over" of public areas was done by a big business group. Annoying for sure, but at least only for an hour or two at various places over the trip.

I think most of us are able to compartmentalize this.  Few people would care if PW took over any key piece of ship real estate for an hour or two any time during the cruise.  

 

What has people up in arms is that:

 

1) PW took over the Sky Lounge, an extremely important rest and observation area,

2) They took it over for 6+ hours per day, on multiple days, 

3) They did this with limited or no notice or compensation to the passengers on their cruises, and

4) They're doing this on multiple cruises on different ships

 

I think if any of the fine organizations above did what PW has done and is doing, I think people would be up in arms about them too.  And justifiably so.

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I think if any of the fine organizations above did what PW has done and is doing, I think people would be up in arms about them too.  And justifiably so.

Perhaps people wouldn't be quite as annoyed.  Most of those groups mentioned wouldn't be making a profit at expense of the enjoyment of the other passengers.  I'm sure some would at least prefer the inconvenience to be for 'a good cause'.  Lining the pockets of the Scaglione family hardly qualifies as a 'good cause'.

 

[WatchHill]

What about quasar or the room adjacent to the sky lounge?  PW must understand the need to limit UV exposure to their priceless art and both venues would meet that criteria while the rest of us enjoy scenic viewing of glaciers and Prince Christian Sound

 

I always enjoyed meeting veteran Elite cruisers nightly in the Sky Lounge back when that was the only place that particular group could gather for the complimentary drinks and assorted appetizers.

 

Whatever presents for our Iceland Greenland to Canada and Boston cruise, I’ll let guest relations know my displeasure (and they can patronize me),and I’ll pre, during and post cruise email express  my feelings to corporate. Celebrity need to look at repeat loyalty v outside contract revenue. This cruise line needs  us but I don’t need them. Love Azamara and more boutique lines, plus river cruises. 
 

Darcy 

[fstuff1]

24 minutes ago, WatchHill said:

What about quasar or the room adjacent to the sky lounge?

 

I suggested Quasar. It's perfect. It's not used often by anyone in the morning/afternoon except for rare ship activities like axe throwing.

 

Is the room adjacent from sky lounge big enough to hold 100 people + art?

 

[WatchHill]

4 hours ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

I'd break the discussion into two pieces:

 

1) Forget it is the awful Park West group taking over the Lounge all cruise.  What if it was a large financial or real estate group rewarding its top employees? Or maybe a US veterans group with an organize 80th anniversary of D-Day TA from the US to France?  Or the American Cancer Society or Susan G Komen doing a "survivors of cancer" celebratory event cruise?  All are "equal" but darned if PW for sure gets all our hackles up!  I've been on cruises where a MUCH smaller "take-over" of public areas was done by a big business group. Annoying for sure, but at least only for an hour or two at various places over the trip.

 

2) The "not warning" passengers well ahead of time with an option to reschedule to a different cruise.  To some degree, if they were open about it, they'd likely take a financial hit on THAT SPECIFIC cruise.  But by not being open about it, they potentially create a long-term impact by alienating 2,000 folks in a single cruise.  Probably, the odds are slim that all 2,000 end up never sailing on X again, but what's the calculus for X deciding angering xx% of passengers is a lower cost than not taking the PW $$$ and/or offering folks the option to change or greatly lowering the fare for that cruise?

Big difference between PW and the various groups you mention. PW has a permanent presence on the ships with dedicated  display areas and in many instances their auctions and meetings are open to all. 
We once cruised NCL in their “exclusive” enclave but  once onboard found ourselves sharing the experience with some 1,000 TA’s on their  annual convention. They did use the theater for presentations but were allowed entry to the normally reserved suite and villa areas. Our butler was so upset with the group taking over the venue, demanding his attention even though these TA booked lower cat cabins. I’m sure NCL wanted to impress  this TA group but when I approached the suite concierge upon boarding to confirm our specialty dining reservation with 2 other couples, her stress level resulted in her shouting at me and DH that she had more important things to do.  I did not appreciate being approached on deck or in a lounge or shop by a TA handing me their business card. Luckily I entered an elevator and spotted two of the corporate owners. I pressed every floor button while I asked them to help explain CLIA code of professional ethics. Now before I book a cruise I ask our TA to confirm it’s not a TA annual trip. 
Annoying while unpleasant and unanticipated things happen but it’s a learning experience and makes great stories to share with fellow cruisers over a few drinks in whatever lounge is open

 

Darcy