Removal Of Veranda Loungers?

[sasset]

Over on the Celebrity site there's an active thread that Celebrity is removing all loungers from all verandas due to safety concerns. As a sister line to Celebrity, has anyone heard that Royal is or will be doing the same?

[ReneeFLL]

Safety concerns? What excuse will they think of next? Then the loungers on deck and the chairs on the balcony must be a safety concern also. 🙄

 

Edited June 6 by ReneeFLL

[leaveitallbehind]

While they may be two cruise lines that are part of the same RCI family, they are independent and managed separately.  As a result they won't necessarily have the same policies as each other relative to this topic.  That doesn't mean that they won't, just not a certainty that they will.

Edited June 6 by leaveitallbehind

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, sasset said:

due to safety concerns

Do they mention what those concerns are.  Any examples?  Are they including chairs and tables in the removal.

[sasset]

No further explanation of the ‘safety’ issue. Taking all loungers and foot stools.

[cruisegirl1]

12 hours ago, sasset said:

No further explanation of the ‘safety’ issue. Taking all loungers and foot stools.

I am disappointed to learn that foot stools are also being removed.  I prefer a chair to a lounger (often a problem for me at the pools) but like a foot stool. 

 

Somethings up?  

M

[BecciBoo]

I fail to see how a chair or table is less dangerous than a lounger...duh.  What is the rationale there?

[leaveitallbehind]

More importantly, what is the point of paying for a balcony if you can't sit on it to enjoy the sea view?  The whole thing with either cruise line makes no sense to me whatsoever.  We have an upcoming trans-Atlantic on Odyssey next year with an aft facing balcony.  What else are you supposed to do with a balcony for 14 days if not not able to sit on it?

 

Guess I will also find out in a few weeks how serious Celebrity is with this concern on my upcoming Eclipse sailing.

Edited June 7 by leaveitallbehind

[nelblu]

13 hours ago, sasset said:

No further explanation of the ‘safety’ issue. Taking all loungers and foot stools.

I’ve sailed on Oasis and Quantum classes and my balcony cabins only had 2 chairs and table.  The only time that I saw loungers were on designated large OV balconies. 

 

[cruisegirl1]

Two chairs and a table are standard. although some ships have foot stools for the chairs.  

We've had many larger balconies (aft, suites,) that have a few loungers.

 

I wonder if the lounger rules is only for standard balcony cabins or for suites as well.  

M

 

 

Edited June 7 by cruisegirl1

[time4u2go]

3 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

More importantly, what is the point of paying for a balcony if you can't sit on it to enjoy the sea view?  The whole thing with either cruise line makes no sense to me whatsoever.  We have an upcoming trans-Atlantic on Odyssey next year with an aft facing balcony.  What else are you supposed to do with a balcony for 14 days if not not able to sit on it?

It was stated that they are removing loungers, not chairs.

[leaveitallbehind]

26 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

It was stated that they are removing loungers, not chairs.

Understand the clarification,and thanks. But to me it's the same question and comments.  If they once had them (for many years) why now remove them - assuming they do.  I guess I fall into the camp that doesn't get it.

Edited June 7 by leaveitallbehind

[BecciBoo]

But I've read countless times here that a request will get you a lounger....

[cruiselvr04]

We requested a lounger on our extended Brilliance balcony and got it. I’m sure it varies by ship on what’s allowed.

 

What’s the reason stated for them being removed? Safety?  You can climb on a chair just as easy as a lounger or a stool.  Makes no sense.

[goldfish65]

21 hours ago, sasset said:

Over on the Celebrity site there's an active thread that Celebrity is removing all loungers from all verandas due to safety concerns. As a sister line to Celebrity, has anyone heard that Royal is or will be doing the same?

Sounds fishy. Is this coming from a credible source?

 

[leaveitallbehind]

51 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

Sounds fishy. Is this coming from a credible source?

 

It's a pretty long thread with a lot of responses from recent cruisers.  Probably have to wade through it all to answer that question.

[Mum2Mercury]

Are you saying they're removing loungers ... but not plain chairs?  I can see that a chair of any type could potentially be a danger (especially for a child) since a passenger could use it to "heft themselves up" to the railing /fall over.  But I see zero safety difference between a lounger and a chair.  

 

Could this be about loungers taking up more space on a small balcony?  

[Billy Baltic]

Is Liberty in charge of both business? Perhaps it’s to “encourage” people to spend less time on their balconies and more on the pool deck where they are more likely to spend money. 

[leaveitallbehind]

15 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Is Liberty in charge of both business? Perhaps it’s to “encourage” people to spend less time on their balconies and more on the pool deck where they are more likely to spend money. 

No he is not. He is the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, which is the parent company of RCCL, Celebrity, and Silversea.  In that respect, yes, in theory he is in charge of everyone. But his focus is with the strategic operational leadership of the corporation. To your question, Michael Bayley is CEO of RCCL and Laura Hodges Bethge is President of Celebrity.  Each cruise line is a separate company and operated independently by them.  I would think it very unlikely that Jason Liberty would be too involved in that level of operational concern with either cruise line.  He has much bigger fish to fry.

Edited June 8 by leaveitallbehind

[sasset]

20 hours ago, goldfish65 said:

Sounds fishy. Is this coming from a credible source?

 

We’re booked on Constellatio in a new Sunset Suite in October. I read this on Cruise Critic and emailed a contact in Celebrity’s Executive office. She confirmed it.

Thank you for your email. 

With regards to the lounge chairs all the verandas are now set up with regular balcony chairs . Due to safety reasons, the lounge chairs have been removed from the balconies. I hope this answers your questions. Enjoy your day.
 

Edited June 8 by sasset
Spelling

[wdwkings]

3 hours ago, sasset said:

We’re booked on Constellatio in a new Sunset Suite in October. I read this on Cruise Critic and emailed a contact in Celebrity’s Executive office. She confirmed it.

Thank you for your email. 

With regards to the lounge chairs all the verandas are now set up with regular balcony chairs . Due to safety reasons, the lounge chairs have been removed from the balconies. I hope this answers your questions. Enjoy your day.
 

Thanks for sharing this verbiage.  As mentioned, the most risky situation is someone standing on anything and going over the rail.  I'm guessing that they might have a different perspective.  Surely they realized that someone can stand on a chair and go over the rail also. 

 

Guessing that there are more instances of people tripping and falling or injuring themselves trying to maneuver around in limited space on a balcony when a lounger is in place.  Odds are there are more reports of falls on the balcony compared to falls overboard.  

 

Not sure how much space is on a Sunset Suite balcony but if it is closer to a normal veranda, i could see they still might not allow loungers.  Large suites with large balconies, this would be very disappointing.  Our last sailing was in a 2 bedroom Aquatheater (i know Royal not Celebrity) and I would be surprised if they use the same logic there.

[sasset]

4 hours ago, wdwkings said:

Thanks for sharing this verbiage.  As mentioned, the most risky situation is someone standing on anything and going over the rail.  I'm guessing that they might have a different perspective.  Surely they realized that someone can stand on a chair and go over the rail also. 

 

Guessing that there are more instances of people tripping and falling or injuring themselves trying to maneuver around in limited space on a balcony when a lounger is in place.  Odds are there are more reports of falls on the balcony compared to falls overboard.  

 

Not sure how much space is on a Sunset Suite balcony but if it is closer to a normal veranda, i could see they still might not allow loungers.  Large suites with large balconies, this would be very disappointing.  Our last sailing was in a 2 bedroom Aquatheater (i know Royal not Celebrity) and I would be surprised if they use the same logic there.

240 sq.ft.

[AC Stew]

I would strongly suggest that if you are interested in this topic, please read the entire Celebrity thread: 

 

"Celebrity removes loungers from balcony?"

 

Bottom line: It appears that Celebrity is concerned about "inappropriate behavior" on the loungers. Nothing to do with tripping over deck furniture.

 

Probably, it's a really good idea to get the full picture as it currently stands. Arm yourselves with information. Who knows if or when this idiotic idea will carry over to Royal?

Edited June 9 by AC Stew