Two-class System on Ships?

[bepsf]

[quote name='revneal']bepsf and Slinkiecat,

Something like that actually happened. Table mates once mentioned that one of them wandered out onto their verandah one morning without a stitch of clothing on just as they were passing a great big RCCL ship. She didn't, at first, think that anyone would notice her ... but then someone on the other ship began hooting and hollering and clapping. Seems they were spying the Volendam with a pair of binoculars, and were getting an "eyeful!"

:D[/QUOTE]

Fess up S7S - it was you, wasn't it?

[sail7seas]

Ah Geeeez......Caught in the Act!!



Can't you guys keep a secret?

[RevNeal]

Hey, I didn't say it was you ... did I???? :D ;) You had plausible deniability!

[dexter]

IMHO after having enjoyed a category S suite on the Zuiderdam, if I can afford it that is the only way I'll ever cruise. I am totally spoiled now and there is no return...I'll just work harder and save more money to afford it. As far as flying first class I really don't think free coffee and a donut and a leather seat is worth the extra money.

[jhannah]

[quote name='dexter']As far as flying first class I really don't think free coffee and a donut and a leather seat is worth the extra money.[/QUOTE]But if you are over 6 feet tall, the extra room can make a lot of difference in your overall comfort ... especially on longer flights. And the food is a notch above what's offered in coach.

[Orcrone]

[quote name='jhannah']But if you are over 6 feet tall, the extra room can make a lot of difference in your overall comfort ... especially on longer flights. And the food is a notch above what's offered in coach.[/QUOTE]You mean better than a bag of pretzels? How can that be?;) :rolleyes:

[bepsf]

I hear that they still serve peanuts in First Class
(I hate pretzels)

[dakrewser]

[quote name='Orcrone']You mean better than a bag of pretzels? How can that be?;) :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
I buy AA 1st class [b]just[/b] for the hot fudge sundaes! (well, the extra room helps also :rolleyes: )

[Orcrone]

Figures. Peanuts and hot fudge sundaes in first class. And the tickets I just purchased are for a flight without a first class section. Guess I'll have to hold out until the cruise.:D

[dakrewser]

[quote name='Orcrone']Figures. Peanuts and hot fudge sundaes in first class. And the tickets I just purchased are for a flight without a first class section. Guess I'll have to hold out until the cruise.:D[/QUOTE]
Well, it is one of the most expensive hot fudge sundaes you can buy! Even more than the one I had in London at Harrod's which set me back $20 (but tasted really good!)

-dave

[sail7seas]

Ahhhh....Harrod's Food Halls. DH does more sightseeing there than on the streets of London. :D

[dakrewser]

[quote name='sail7seas']Ahhhh....Harrod's Food Halls. DH does more sightseeing there than on the streets of London. :D[/QUOTE]
[i]Sightseeing[/i]? On our last trip to the UK we spent more inthe food halls than the rest of the store's departments combined! :)

-dave

[sail7seas]

What treats they have. And the way it is all displayed....... Just fabulous!!

But...lunch at Fortnum's is the WINNER!!!! Don't 'cha think?

[Cruiseoften]

[quote name='Krazy Kruizers'][b][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=red]ALL RIGHT CRUISERS!!![/color][/size][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=#ff0000][/color][/size][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#ff0000]I'm asking you right now - what did you all pay for your cruises?[/color][/font][/b]

Your question is 'old' - sorry, I don't check in every day - my answer would be -

"It's none of your damned business" - I'd phrase it politely of course! :)

I think anyone who asks lacks any kind of 'class'! :eek:

[grannynurse]

I never paid much attention to where our tablemates were bunking but on both the last two cruises people who had been moved to our table commented that
"we shouldn't really be here at this table because we're not in a suite"

Is this true? Does HAL seat people in the dining room according to their cabin accomodations? I thought that changed when they stopped using the Kings and queens rooms.

and BTW, we were invited to dinner in the penthouse on a stormy sea night, and the motion was much more pronounced than in our midship postage stamp (compared to PH). We were really rockin and rollin', but everyone was dressed...suite people are not exhibitionists, well some "sweet" people are, but

Those robes do come in handy, especially when you have a steward who just walks in when you are getting ready for dinner. I usually had a robe draped in the chair under me when i was make-upping just in case, or closed both sets of curtains between the doorway and the cabin proper in our A cabins.

Oh my goodness, people with binocs, I'll have to watch it even when we're at sea....reminds me of that episode of "Roseanne" and her elderly neighbors.

enough rambling,
GN

[CHRIS3169]

It has been awhile since my first and only cruise on the Norway some 13 years ago or so. Next Spring my dh and I are booked to go on his first cruise, my second. I didn't realize how much my first cruise affected this cruise. That cruise on the Norway was in an inside cabin though at least big enough for a double size bed. I remember feeling very low on the the hierarchy of decks! So for this cruise when I started looking I wanted a balcony and then we went for a suite for the amenities. I think that the cruise on the Norway really defined for me the class system, which isn't good in my opinion. However, now at least we will be in a suite so hopefully it will be fun. With three kids and a husband to take care of I am looking forward to being taken care of!!! I don't mind paying more for the amenties that come with the suite but I want to meet and mingle with everyone regardless of what cabin they are in.
Just my 2 cents worth,

[TMM9]

After reading all six pages of discussion on this subject I have decided that in future cruises I will go for the SS cabins on the Vista ships. I will be going shortly for my second cruise on HAL and in both cases I have booked a room with a verandah. Being an accountant I have always counted my pennies but I think my wife would appreciate a larger cabin.
On my first cruise I met an individual who worked with the Mexican Port Authority. He volunteered that while the salary is not great one perk of his position is the abilty to travel on various cruise lines at very low cost. At the time he highly recommended the Celebrity line as well as the Windstar boats. We still stay in touch but I have concluded he must have been promoted because his taste and recommendations are decidely upmarket; all the six star lines.
The gentleman is very nice and I do respect his point of view which begs the next question. For those electing the suites isn't there a point where they might prefer to take a lesser cabin in a more expensive line? For example I have read that sometimes it's better to go for an A cabin on Crystal then say a Sky Suite on Celebrity for a comparable price.
One other question if I may. Reading all the post I believe we have some very seasoned travellers amongst us so in comparison I am a real neophyte. While I intend to go on more cruises I doubt I ever will go on the 30 or 40 cruises some have been on. For myself I find cruises are no substitute for land travel and makes sense when one wishes to get an overview of an area pending a more detailed stay on land and of course I recognise there are many that just enjoy cruising per se. Am I to assume that those that have been on many, many cruises have also travelled extensively on land? Well I am certainly envious and I have a lot of catching up to do for my wife.

[Sailure]

[b][i][font=Arial][color=darkgreen]I've been on too many cruises to count, but I also travel by land about as much. I do agree that cruising does give me a good idea of places where I would like to spend more time by land.[/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400][/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400]I like cruising when I don't want the hassle of driving or flying to a destination, but just want the ship to be my destination and use the cruise for total relaxation. Sometimes I like the idea of just taking the suitcase to the port, have it unpacked and all my STUFF hung up and not having to have to haul the suitcase around until I take it from the port and back to the house. I like not having to make my bed, clean my bathroom, do my laundry, and to fix my meals. I like just going outside my room and find whatever I want to do not far from my room![/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400][/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400]Not having to fly or drive a great distance to get to a ship beats going through airports, making my flights and going through all the hassles we have to go through travelling by air.[/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400][/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400]I do like to take driving trips..at my own pace and visiting different parts of the country at different times of the year.[/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400][/color][/font][/i][/b]
[b][i][font=Arial][color=#006400]I guess I like it all, but cruising more and more seems more convenient when I just feel like being LAZY;) [/color][/font][/i][/b]

[Sailure]

Something like that actually happened. Table mates once mentioned that one of them wandered out onto their verandah one morning without a stitch of clothing on just as they were passing a great big RCCL ship. She didn't, at first, think that anyone would notice her ... but then someone on the other ship began hooting and hollering and clapping. Seems they were spying the Volendam with a pair of binoculars, and were getting an "eyeful!"...Rev Neal

[b][i][font=Arial][color=darkgreen]I would have just covered my head!:D [/color][/font][/i][/b]

[TMM9]

My first cruise was to the Baltic, apart from Copenhagen, this is a region I have never been too. Enjoyed it thoroughly but with the many ports of call I found the trip very tiring. Had I not gone on this cruise I may never have discovered Stockholm, a city with a truly beautiful port. Perhaps I will visit it again but if I do I will certainly stay longer.
I should correct myself when I said land travel. What I really meant was spending a couple of weeks in one location. Paris or London could easily occupy my wife and I for that length of time. Similarly a one month stay in Florence with day trips to the surrounding countryside would be on the agenda. So we like to visit a location at a more leisurely pace and try to see as much of what interests us as we can. By doing countries region by region we avoid the packing and unpacking from one hotel to the next. We will be off on our South American cruise shortly and this trip will be a great introduction to that area of the world and if we find it very fascinating we might make a dedicated journey there.
As I said we are very much beginners and in time we may just go cruising only but at this point in time we want to travel widely by whatever means and once we have sated ourselves then we want to just vacation in Italy an area we love like no other.

[kryos]

[quote name='grannynurse']Is this true? Does HAL seat people in the dining room according to their cabin accomodations? I thought that changed when they stopped using the Kings and queens rooms.
[/QUOTE]
I could be wrong, but I honestly don't think so.

I was seated for the second week of my b2b last September with a rather interesting group of solo travelers. Only problem is that they were all old enough to be my grandparents! :) But without exception, they were all in deluxe penthouse suites and several of them were high numbers Mariners. In fact, one lady told me that she had just sold her home in Fort Lauderdale and moved in with her daughter. She said it didn't pay her to keep a home anymore since she cruises HAL all but about five weeks of the year anyway!

Another lady seated at the table was blind ... and, as far as I could see, traveling alone. Apparently she was a "regular" onboard and without exception, everyone went out of their way to make sure she was having a good time. The dining room stewards all knew her by name, and even the hotel manager (who sat at our table one night) knew her well.

I was certainly surrounded by people of far greater means than I ... because I merely had a run-of-the-mill inside cabin.

So, while I think HAL may try to seat people of similar backgrounds (couples, solos, etc.) at the same table, I don't think cabin selection factors into the equation at all.

At least that's my take on it anyway ...

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Cruishappy@aol.com]

I am strongly against the two clas system --- that is the reason that we have always ruled out the QM -- however I do feel that those that choose to have a suite should have all the amenities that are offered in the privacy of their suite -- I do not think that there should be an segregation of the passengers -- we are all on the same ship and should have available all the amenities ie- dining-food-private parties should be elininated -- we have been on many cruise (44) and enjoy being in the suites --- however we also enjoy the company of other passengers the prefer not to be in suites == and would in no way go on a cruise where there is segregation--- it would be like wearing a sign around your neck saying HI WE ARE IN A SUITE too bad that you cannot enjoy the ENTIRE ship as we do --- this is WRONG WRONG WRONG once you are on the ship you should be able to enjoy yourself without wondering if you are in the allocated space that you are supposed to be in --- can you imagine how embarrassing it would be ???? so in essence what I am trying to say --- if you are paying more -- than you should get more --- but you should not have to stand out from the rest of the passengers --- we will be once again sailing on the Oosterdam in a S suite - which is our choice -- but we are no more special than anyone that could be in an inside cabin in the bowels of the ship - we enjoy the amenities that we pay dearly for --- but do no want any more special treatment than any other passenger - just the extra services and comforts of the suite IN THE SUITE

[peaches from georgia]

Do you use the Neptune Lounge/Concierge Service when you are booked in an S suite?

The NL is a separate room that non-suite pax are not allowed to enter, therefore it is not an 'IN THE SUITE' amenity.

[sail7seas]

[b]Do you use tender passes issued to Suite Pax or do you go collect a number in the lounge?[/b]


[b]Do you use priority disembarkation? Or do you wait until last to leave? That, of course, takes place in the 'public area' of the ship.[/b]

[Lisa63]

Are suite pax on HAL permitted to invite non-suite pax into the Neptune Lounge with them -- not on a habitual basis, but perhaps just a one-time thing? On one occasion on QE2, another passenger invited me for quiet conversation in the Queen's Lounge and it was fine although I was not a Grill passenger.

Also, do most suite pax use the Neptune Lounge and other amenities? I guess that it comes down to personal choice.