The Return of the Class System (on luxury cruise ships!)

[Starry Messenger]

(I thought this article was kind of funny for a couple of reasons. A) This title in the Wall Street Journal, which is like the newspaper embodiment of the ruling class. B) the class system never went away. Did the WSJ just notice this phenomenon? Anyway, I just found it and thought I would share with anyone who also has an odd sense of humor.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608504576208662079704894.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

* TRAVEL
* MARCH 30, 2011

The Return of the Class System
Cruises Offer Private Areas and Perks to Lure New Passengers; Everyone Else Still Crowds by the Pool

The so-called ship-within-a-ship is an effort by several cruise lines with big, mass-market ships to attract passengers who might normally sail on small luxury lines. As ships have gotten larger, noise and crowds are a turn-off to some guests.

Like first-class airline passengers, guests staying in the private complexes pay premiums for their perks. Depending upon the time of year, a three- or four-night cruise to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream, for example, costs $439 per person double occupancy in a regular stateroom with balcony. A balcony room on the concierge level is $2,159 per person.

<snip>

Royal Caribbean began what it calls its "suite enhancement program" two years ago after it noticed that guests staying in suites were giving their staterooms high marks in guest feedback surveys, but were rating the overall cruise less favorably than other passengers. Focus groups showed that these high-end guests "weren't feeling like they were special when they left their suite," says Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of hotel operations for Royal Caribbean International.

The top amenity the guests wanted was separate spaces reserved for them alone. So the brand added private pool-deck areas, reserved seating at the theaters, private cocktail parties with the ships' captains and priority boarding and disembarking. "The ratings soared," Ms. Bauer says.

Suite guest coffee maker



Pleb coffee maker

[Newsjock]

1. Poor babies

I weep that they are forced to mingle with the infidels. Perhaps they should just spend the money on higher walls and more heavy artillery for their gated communities.

[white_wolf]

2. Oh'm so sorry you have to share a ship with the commoners.

These people make me sick. I can't stand them. My second signature describes my feelings on them perfectly. Go into the dustbin of history.

[Starry Messenger]

3. I weeps for them.

If you have to make your own coffee, have you truly arrived at perfection? lol I'll bet those suite-guests are dreaming of having their own ship with a coffee minion to bring it to them. My partner and I have a friend who made a lot of $$$ working for Paypal back when he was there to help start it up. He gets all insecure around billionaires, feels he needs more to measure up. It is truly a system that creates and rewards the most destructive behavior.

[a simple pattern]

4. OMG this clinches it

we're sims

[Starry Messenger]

6. Ha!

I was thinking that too. The top coffee maker is obviously an Energy 6 Environment 9

[sarcasmo]

I can hear a smart Pirate saying, mental not to self.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. THAT was the first thing Mr dixie said when I told him about this.

Did you see the piece in the news that the pirates had so many hostages they were going to hold a fire sale and let some go at reduced prices?

SERIOUSLY. It was in the news. And we were all talking about how ego crushing it must be to be the fire sale hostage.

:rofl: :rofl:

[sarcasmo]

58. Firs sale on hostage, I fully expect Johnny Depp to pop out and say April Fools.

[white_wolf]

5. I don't see how anyone who isn't a billionare

could have anything but contempt for these people. They are totally out of touch with reality and none care about anything, but making more money. To hell with them all.

[rdking647]

12. sorry but

im a liberal,who enjoys nice things.. If I can afford a suite (and its not that expensive if you know hot to get a deal) why shouldnt I pay for it? Its MY money

[originalpckelly]

21. Exactly.

What if you're on your honeymoon? Or an important anniversary?

Not everyone who uses luxury items is rich you know, and I'm one of the more anti-super rich people on DU. Just check my posting history.

[Cresent City Kid]

47. I have no problem with anyone who can afford nice things buying them

But the nice thing in question here is the isolation from those who either can't afford or choose not to go VIP. I don't know about you, but I would give up the perks to avoid people who seek to avoid me because I'm from a lower class. The people they're avoiding aren't the wretched denziens from steerage like on the Titanic, they're just regular people. It's the notion that economic classes are congruent with better or worse people that is unsettling.

This doesn't bother me to the point where I think there ought to be some regulation against it, I just find it snooty. I'd laugh if a whole mega-cruise ship of passengers all wanted to buy the VIP package and left no one the chance to feel above anyone else.

Would a smaller ship with only a select few VIP's suffice, or is it important to have the masses present but excluded for them to feel like big shots?

None of this is aimed at you personally, by the way, I sincerly hope you enjoy your vacations and life in general.

[white_wolf]

7. A major perk of being a ship-within-a-ship guest is getting to skip the lines.

I don't know if they mean just to board the ship or what, but I would be fucking pissed if someone cut in front of me on a cruise ship I paid for.

[Starry Messenger]

8. I think they mean the lines to get on and off at ports of call.

I do wonder if you swan past the commoners, or if you are wafted away before the herd starts to assemble?

[white_wolf]

9. You know deep down that these people resent the

hell out of even having to share a ship with the common masses.

[rdking647]

13. i dont resent those without suites

Ive done it both ways..

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. What's really sick is the opening line to the article: the aspiration to BE like the rich snobs:

On a recent Saturday afternoon onboard the Norwegian Epic cruise ship, Dennis and Julie Solet peered into a luxurious lounge outfitted with velvet couches and gauzy curtains. But after the Solets told an employee they weren't staying in a suite, the couple was turned away. The lounge, a small sign said, was reserved "for suite guests only."

"Money has its privileges," said Mr. Solet, a 62-year-old retired teacher from Windsor, Ontario. "One day we'll be suite people."

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. ohhh. get THIS: Guess the Nuke industry pays very well indeed:

"a 58-year-old planner at a nuclear power plant from Pennsville, N.J., who was staying in the ship's most expensive suite on a recent Caribbean cruise."

[white_wolf]

16. That is the how they keep us down.

"Work hard, game the system and maybe one day you will be worthy to be one of us."

[Starry Messenger]

17. I know right?

It was hard to select what to quote. It's tragic, but when it is the only reward system you know, its all you aspire to.

[rdking647]

11. ive actually stayed in suites in cruise ships

and am going to be again in a couple of weeks.. The suites cost more but they sure are nice.. and yes it gets me reserved seating at the shows,and early dimembarkation.. but I pay for it.. with money I earned and paid taxes on..

[rdking647]

14. its no different than 1st class on an airplane

if I choose to pay for it,with my money why should anyone else care

[originalpckelly]

18. Not everyone who goes that class is rich.

Normal people who save up and want to see something for their money might do it. After all, not everyone who rides in a limo is rich you know, just because some people who do are rich.

I'd like to remind you little people that really rich individuals do not take a cruise. :P

[Starry Messenger]

23. The rich have their own yachts.

No, the people who travel this way are not the super-wealthy. I wasn't really looking at this through the lens of individual experience, so much as a class phenomenon. The boat owners had to create a different experience for people who paid higher prices for suites in order to serve their stated desire to feel special.

[originalpckelly]

27. Why the fuck shouldn't you get more when you pay for more?

It's like paying for two cartons of milk and only getting one.

If you pay for it, there's nothing wrong with it.

Money alone doesn't convey the method by which it was acquired.

Maybe it's a young couple whose parents paid for it, after saving for their young ones wedding for a number of years? Or maybe it's an older couple on their last cruise who want to really live it up.

There are many situations in which a regular middle class family might want to live it up, and you know that you want it too. Nothing wrong with it.

If you dick someone over to get the money, OK, there's something wrong with it. But if you want to have special treatment for something special, why not?

[white_wolf]

32. I have a problem with it

because most of the people didn't earn their money. Honestly I don't care if they are self-made millionaires, no one deserves that when someone else goes hungry.

[originalpckelly]

35. It doesn't cost a million dollars.

It's quite conceivable that a couple might save up hard earned dough to pay for this.

[handmade34]

41. thank you!!!

[melm00se]

57. the wife and I

sprang for a high end suite for our 15th wedding anniversary..and I am, by no stretch of the imagination, in the "super wealthy" or "wealthy" or "rich" or even "well to do" category.

I busted my ass, scrimped and saved over a 2 year period to be able to afford a suite...and now I have folks here looking down their condescending noses at me (or anyone who does) and "hrrumphing" because I choose to do so?

RCCL's survey is pretty accurate. You are a king/queen in your suite with a kick ass room steward and service but step outside and you are just another one of 3000 passengers. If you spring for the 100-200% premium for a suite, why not ask for (and receive) premium service?

in defense of RCCL: they are doing what ANY good business does: they identify a customer need, want or desire and take steps fill it.

[Starry Messenger]

33. Why so hostile?

More, in this instance was demanded by a clientele who said they wanted to be isolated from the other guests. They felt like nicer, special accommodations were not enough. I thought it was funny, that is all.

[myrna minx]

19. How much can I pay to be locked into steerage, Disney style?

:D

[Starry Messenger]

36. That would definitely be isolated!

:D

[CoffeeCat]

20. Do they peasants get lifeboats?

Or will be see another reenactment of the Titanic?

Everyone knows the best parties happen in steerage! Who wants to sit around smoking
cigars, drinking brandy and talking investments with boring arses when you can be
puking up Irish Whiskey and dancing like a fool in the lower decks???

[Generic Other]

30. The high-end people are upstairs dining on Irish babies

At least that's what Jonathan Swift says.

[CoffeeCat]

34. That's not how...

...James Cameron saw it.

He's 'king of the world' you know!

[Starry Messenger]

44. They are so tasty though.

Especially with a dab of steak sauce! :D

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[originalpckelly]

24. Don't you want to feel special on a honeymoon or some other important trip?

I don't think we should limit the high life, I just want it for more people.

[white_wolf]

25. If being with your husband/wife isn't enough

to make you feel special, than a cruise is the least of your worries.

[originalpckelly]

29. Then I guess we should just have people get married in a pair of jeans...

eat at chillies, and their honeymoon can be a walk in the park.

If you honestly couldn't afford more, that might very well be sweet and romantic, but come on, most normal do not do that.

[Starry Messenger]

28. We could have it for everyone really.

With all of the wealth in the world, there is no reason there couldn't be nice boat trips for everyone. That top coffee-maker scares me though. :)

[originalpckelly]

31. Precisely.

I think everyone needs to be a King or Queen every now and then to make their lives just a little nicer.

[Starry Messenger]

26. People get locked into their individual narrative about these things.

I think its a side effect of seeing life as a series of discrete events, instead of part of a system.

[petronius]

37. The part that strikes me as most interesting is the fine line cruise companies have to walk to

satisfy the desires of the suite passengers while not alienating the standard customers. Personally, I have no problem in general with people paying more for more amenities, but a ship is a finite area - if I'd paid for a not-so-cheap vacation but perceived myself denied access to a substantial part of the vessel/experience, I imagine I'd be a bit ticked...

[Starry Messenger]

39. There's a quote about that at the end.

"The Cunard Line has had at least two different classes on its ships for all of its 171 years. But President Peter Shanks says the industry's newest enclaves may provoke some backlash, particularly if they stick out as so much nicer than other parts of the vessel.

"When you create special luxury areas, it sort of doesn't gel with the rest of the ship," says Mr. Shanks. "If you're not careful, you can feel a bit imprisoned and at odds with the rest of the customers.""


I thought it was interesting he used the word imprisoned.



Ships and airplanes. As first class expands, something has to shrink. Someone in the comments at the link noted that he'd found that the food quality had dropped off a bit for "normal" passengers, as luxury resources were diverted to the more exclusive clientele. There's only so much storage on the ship, so that would follow that quality would drop off for people not paying more. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

[petronius]

42. That word struck me as well - took me a moment to determine if he meant the

suite passengers, or the regular folk...

[Nye Bevan]

40. You can pay more on a cruise and get a better stateroom? That's just not FAIR!

All of the staterooms should be the same so nobody gets jealous. And First Class on airplanes should be abolished too. Screw those billionaires sipping champagne at the front of the plane. It's just not fair.

[anarch]

43. who the hell can afford to take a cruise?

Sometimes I just feel like I've pretty much been ripped off my whole life.

[Cresent City Kid]

49. I had that same thought earlier tonight watching an ad for Disney Land

"What are you waiting for?" was the tag line. I guess I'm waiting to win the lottery, at 46 any long lost rich uncles are going to stay lost.

[Dappleganger]

45. Well it's all fun and games until you come down with a horrid case of the Norwalk virus.

Then you learn to sing the phrase, "Everybody poops!"

[Starry Messenger]

46. Truly, the great equalizer.

Nasty cruise viruses are reason enough to avoid this form of leisure. Concierge service can't do anything about your bowels.

[louslobbs]

48. Maybe they have one of those "bowel spas" so that those who have problems can be flushed out

you might as well get the works if you're paying for it.
Lou

[petronius]

54. I'm just going to tell myself that you invented the phrase "bowel spa", and I'm

certainly not going to google it so I can find out for sure (just in case)... :scared:

[louslobbs]

59. lol, I did make it up so you don't have to look it up lol.......Lou

.

[lonestarnot]

50. Hope they know how to swim.

Swim for long long time. :)

[Cresent City Kid]

51. This reminds me of Monty Python's Holy Grail

Not the movie, but the album. Across the bottom is a banner saying "Executive Version". When you play the second side, Michael Palin barks out, "This is side two! If you want to hear the record from the beginning, please turn over! This is side two!" Then Graham Chapman in smooth tones apologizes to purchasers of the Executive Version for the nature of the first announcement. "The brusque tone was intended for purchasers of the cheaper version."

[Starry Messenger]

53. +1

[MilesColtrane]

52. Take a look at this promotional vid for Singapore Airlines first class.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/exp/new/firstclass/index.jsp

The tagline, "More Exclusive Than You Can Imagine" starts the sale.

It seems like the more money one accrues, the more necessary it is to find something to spend it on so that you can make sure everyone knows your financial status.

[Cresent City Kid]

55. It's one thing to enjoy the things money can buy

It's another to revel in the fact that others can't afford the same perks.

[Raine]

56. I don't see the controversy in this, airlines have 1st class,

hotels do, stores have expensive sections, markets sell expensive stuff along with the cheaper. On just about anything you buy or use there is a choice on how expensive you are going to go.