vjmatty

Hopefully none of the convenience factor of self serve is lost if you have to find a bar. It just seems counterintuitive to make both the beverages and food be service-required on a new class of ship with increased passenger capacity. A smaller ship, this would make more sense.

I wish I shared your optimism 😕

Are they the old traditional veggie burgers? I don’t even eat those anymore.

Well at least there’s a Beyond Burger for vegetarians. Celebrity has them in Blu but I never had to fall back on that option since the Blu menu always had good entrees.

Yeah my OCD need for some predictability in life isn’t a big fan of “sometimes.”

It also makes me think that the old method of going to the buffet in order to avoid the wait if you aren’t in a private dining category is no longer going to be an option, unless you want dinner at 5. But then you can eat anywhere at 5 and not wait. The loss of self serve beverages in the buffet that many are reporting seems to be an epic fail in design. I suppose you could pay for specialty dining every meal but the reservation system for those seems to be problematic, and so called “traditional dining” has lost the hassle free method of simply choosing at booking. Also, mid-level private dining such as Club Class has disappeared in favor of the overpriced Sanctuary class, so if you don’t want to worry about the reservation mess you have to pay an exorbitant fare. Yes there’s Deck 8 but I would think the menu would get old. I’m not suggesting anyone is going to starve…it’s still a cruise ship….but nobody likes meals to be a chore. I do have one Star booking for next year, so I’m willing to keep an open mind. I just hope I’m wrong with these concerns.

Or just shouldn’t cruise on Icon. Doesn’t mean they aren’t fun people.

I have been able to book refundable suites but only when onboard. ETA: Correction, that was on Celebrity.

Some people don’t need to spend a lot of money to be fun 🤷🏻‍♀️

While my comment in response to your question did mention narrow balconies, that was not original subject of the thread as posted by the OP. She does not even mention balconies.

And that’s why you don’t get it. It’s just your opinion. Obviously it’s not for everyone and certainly not for you. But when you ask a “why would anyone” question and people give you answers, it’s not their fault that you don’t like or understand those answers 🤷🏻‍♀️

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t a problem then, since they were always called suites from the onset of YC. Here you had two months of sailings taking place before the DO and reserve minis were announced as included in the SWS (ship within a ship) designation. However, if passengers knew all along these categories would be be included, there wouldn’t be this blowback as people would know what they were getting into when they booked. I suppose some could argue there was a suggestion when DO descriptions started showing the word “signature” but that only caused a lot of speculative discussions, far short of clear notice.

You bring up a good point… I’m guessing that when Yacht Club and Haven first came out, with their non-suite alternative cabins, people had the same concerns. It would appear that Princess is following their models, rather than those of Celebrity or Cunard, which have no option for a lesser category cabin in their Retreat or Grill class.

That is troubling news. Did the comments say that the retreat pool and deck were as also appropriated for suite guests, or just the sanctuary?

On Royal class, even many of the suite balconies are too narrow to face the ocean.