Interesting article here.

Very interesting article Cruise Fanatic. I really enjoy cruising, so it won't matter to me if there is a certain class I will be put into. As long as I have a bed to sleep in and food to eat I will be fine!
It appears that this industry is changing, and for me, not necessarily for the better. But, such is life, change is everywhere!

Very interesting. There are already lines that do this, lines that I cannot afford. If it does go across the board, as blotter states, give me a bed, shower, and food-I'm a happy camper.

WOW that is a very intersting article, although i feel they shouldnt do that it wouldnt affect me from cruising.

didn't someone already indicated on RCCL there are premium reserved seats in the theatre and at poolside for suite guests? I don't mind a class system that excludes me from certain private areas--if you pay more you should get more, but when I am struggling to find a deck chair or arriving at a venue early to get a preferred seat having others gain access without effort is just annoying.

Maybe is O.K. Sometimes it is annoying when people go for dinner on formal night with casual pants and sun dresses....

When you pay the big bucks for a suite you get a great room to stay in—that's it. You get to enjoy a large room with a large bathroom, big TV, huge balcony, and a door bell. Besides the concierge service, why should you get any other perks like special seating? When I have a suite, I don't expect to be treated any different than any other passenger on the ship.

Sonny

I don't know I agree with Sonny. I mean some special perks for those that have cruises many many times and have achieved that status is fair but to say because I spend money on an Oceanview room as oppossed to a Balcony suite that I should be treated with less options....why?

And you know another thing...so if Iam cruising with my family and some of them can't afford anything more than a inside cabin and I have a balcony would this mean we can't dine together because of the type of cabins we're in?

quote:

so if Iam cruising with my family and some of them can't afford anything more than a inside cabin and I have a balcony would this mean we can't dine together because of the type of cabins we're in?

No, but it would probably mean you'd have to move to their dining option as opposed to their being able to move up to yours.

I don't see anything wrong with having extra perks if you pay the higher suite prices. That only seems fair to me. If that would bother you then I say don't go. It doesn't bother me that people who fly first class are getting drinks offered to them every five minutes. I didn't pay for it, they did.

Kind of like in the movie Titanic where they have 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class. Sorry to use the Titanic as an example but that is the only time I have seen it done, forgive me.
So something like for example:
Jr suites and above 1st class
Oceanview and Balconys 2nd class
inside cabins 3rd class
Wow what a concept.

I respectfully disagree about the Titanic reference, although I see the logic behind it. Back when there were class distinctions on ships, pax were separated from each other in most, if not all, aspects. For instance, they not only had separate dining rooms, but separate deck areas (indoor and outdoor), separate lounges, separate bars, separate pools, etc. This means that First Class pax were limited to their own areas and could not use Second Class areas, for example -- not just the other way around.

Back to the present...

As far as dining together, if it is a ship that does not have separate dining for the highest categories, there is no problem in sharing a table with friends or relatives in different cabin categories. We just did this on HAL. We had seven people in three cabins (one suite, two insides), and we had our TAs cross-reference our booking numbers to ensure we'd be at the same table.