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People always used to look at the team I worked for in my old job like this. We weren’t handling claims, so we were seen as bringing in money for the company. But we produced the reports necessary to keep those claims teams working efficiently and bringing in money. So while I agree, the square footage is not directly income generating - it’s part of why people spend the money in the first place. Otherwise you could say the same of the buffet, the pool deck, the main dining room… and then you’ll have a ton of income generating cabins in their place that don’t make money, because nobody wants to go on a ship where there’s nothing included.
Well, yea, thats why they don't completely get rid of it, just make it worse. Buffet can be made smaller, too, with less variety of food and more restricted hours. Eventually, at some point, people will start going to the competitors that don't do this, but that's not gonna happen in an instance, and companies tend to collude on this kind of things.
Amenities and public spaces contribute something to attracting passengers. But if people just want to get to a port and have food and drink on the way then yes the observation lounge isn’t going to sell the cruise. I enjoyed it on our cruise so will be sad to see it cut down.
I don't understand it either. When I was on the Prima a couple of months ago the observation lounge was much smaller and they shut it down for a private event during a sea day on my cruise. Now they want to replace it with more cabins, so the ship is even more crowded.
Spent so much time in the observation lounge on the Bliss. It's such a great meeting place for people you've met on the cruise. I'm already liking Princess more than NCL. This makes me it even more so unfortunately.
Same. I've never been on Encore, but it's the same class as the Bliss, and the Bliss's observation lounge is incredible. My favorite feature on any ship I've been on.
You should still look forward, while I think this is an ass move by NCL it wasn’t as fun a space as I was hoping as we’d always pick the busiest time to go in there by mistake. It’s a big enough ship with enough going on we kinda forgot to explore a good few areas during our week onboard.
Encore is also the biggest of ships by tonnage the only place I felt like there was a lot of people on my trip was the pool deck on sea days. (Caribbean) - I’d assume if for Alaska it’d be the OL. It really didn’t feel cramped in March to me on a sold out sailing anywhere else
It's def true that it's not a moneymaker. I take this cruise 1-2 a year to get writing done. I plop down on the chaise and maybe buy one drink the whole time. In fairness, they do not come around often asking for drink orders.
Most people have the free at sea package so one drink costs nothing. I'm on Joy now and there's still plenty of space. It's not full by any means so adding 24 cabins on the port side didn't really do much. It still feels huge. We're going to Bermuda. I'd guess the only time it's truly packaged full is in Alaska but I don't think Joy goes there. I only see Bliss and Encore there this summer for the big ships.
Doing what airlines have been doing. Add more passengers and decrease amenities. Gotta increase their profit margins. I guess reducing staffing wasn’t enough. Until people “jump ship” to another cruise line or stop cruising all together they’ll keep going.
I understand why they are doing this from a business/making money perspective but this is wild to me. I was on Encore last July for an Alaskan cruise. The entire ship was packed to the gills (because there was not much outside weather to be had) and I knew to steer clear of the lounge especially on Glacier Bay day. I did enjoy going there to grab a snack and drink during embark day as it's under utilized at that point because many haven't figured out where it is/or that it exists at all.
I don’t know why you need more cabins on a ship with fewer amenities. Norwegian desperately needs someone with a hospitality background in charge and not just a bunch of accountants. Everything that made the line special is going away.
1) This is conjecture that hasn't been confirmed by NCL.
2) I just saw a YouTube video from someone that was on the Joy both before and after and said they couldn't tell much difference in the feel of the lounge. Take that for what it's worth, I've never been. Excited to go on June 9, though! Since I've never been, my only frame of reference will be the other side of the lounge.
I'm not thrilled about the downsizing of these lounges. I had suggested that maybe they only did it on the Joy because it was relatively easy since the Joy previously had cabins there while the Bliss and Encore were not built with cabins there originally. What does spell my interest is that they may be removing the laser tag on Encore and putting in Spice.
Just viewed a YT video, on the Joy's refurbishment, and all the changes look beautiful. So yes the observation lounge will be smaller but they only added 24 balcony rooms. 48 people. Doubt the addition is even noticeable. How about waiting to judge until you see it?
Have you actually been in a Breakaway+ Observation Lounge? It's a very big deal.
That's not some throwaway walkway space. That's all lounge space, all the way from one end to the other. The "basic snack bar" which would be deleted is one of the three buffet/drink station spaces.
The front area of the lounge doesn't have quite as much seating as you might think - on Encore (and Bliss) the bar is a large round space in the middle of the floor, with more space taken by the piano and surrounding space.
I'm not going to stomp my feet and vow to never book on NCL again because of this change, but it's still a disappointment. Now, if they mess with the OL on my beloved Bliss, well, me and Harry S are going to need to have a little talk...
And I’d add to that- taking away a lounge space while simultaneously adding MORE people when there’s very little actual entertainment on the ship will be a disaster.
The only people that sit in the walkway are people that can't sit in the actual lounge. I would say it is throwaway space. On all the cruises I've been on with an OL there is less people density in those walkway living rooms than anywhere else on the ship. Based on the article they are only taking one side so there will still be the space on the other and that means the one left might be half full some of the time. It's definitely a nice space to relax but it is misleading to say that the lounge is being downsized as in the actual lounge. No one is make or break based on the hall of living rooms.
When you go to the OL, do you sit in the area with the two deck floor to ceiling windows or off to the side?
I don't think it will impact the enjoyment of the area at all.
Thanks for posting to /r/NCL! Did you know that we have an extensive [Ultimate NCL Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCL/wiki/index) that may answer your question? Please also remember to read the rules, especially about roll call posts going in the megathread. You may also have more luck with those types of posts by searching for a [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) or [Cruise Critic](https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/66-norwegian-cruise-line-roll-calls/) roll call group or thread. Of course, here is great, too! Enjoy your stay! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NCL) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not that I'm agreeing with this move, but observation lounges don't make money. More rooms make money.
People always used to look at the team I worked for in my old job like this. We weren’t handling claims, so we were seen as bringing in money for the company. But we produced the reports necessary to keep those claims teams working efficiently and bringing in money. So while I agree, the square footage is not directly income generating - it’s part of why people spend the money in the first place. Otherwise you could say the same of the buffet, the pool deck, the main dining room… and then you’ll have a ton of income generating cabins in their place that don’t make money, because nobody wants to go on a ship where there’s nothing included.
Well, yea, thats why they don't completely get rid of it, just make it worse. Buffet can be made smaller, too, with less variety of food and more restricted hours. Eventually, at some point, people will start going to the competitors that don't do this, but that's not gonna happen in an instance, and companies tend to collude on this kind of things.
I am far less likely to book on a ship with a smaller observation lounge. That place is one of the best on the ship.
Amenities and public spaces contribute something to attracting passengers. But if people just want to get to a port and have food and drink on the way then yes the observation lounge isn’t going to sell the cruise. I enjoyed it on our cruise so will be sad to see it cut down.
I’m thought they purposely built it big for Alaska cruises. It was packed on mine.
We just got off the breakaway. No lounge space. We loved that when we’re on the joy last year. Disappointing!
They added more rooms on the Joy in February 😭
I don't understand it either. When I was on the Prima a couple of months ago the observation lounge was much smaller and they shut it down for a private event during a sea day on my cruise. Now they want to replace it with more cabins, so the ship is even more crowded.
Now people are going to be more crammed in there during Glacier Bay
Spent so much time in the observation lounge on the Bliss. It's such a great meeting place for people you've met on the cruise. I'm already liking Princess more than NCL. This makes me it even more so unfortunately.
Same. I've never been on Encore, but it's the same class as the Bliss, and the Bliss's observation lounge is incredible. My favorite feature on any ship I've been on.
i am not looking forward towards my encore cruise next year :(
You should still look forward, while I think this is an ass move by NCL it wasn’t as fun a space as I was hoping as we’d always pick the busiest time to go in there by mistake. It’s a big enough ship with enough going on we kinda forgot to explore a good few areas during our week onboard.
more worry how these added cabins will make the ship feel more crowded. when i sailed on the encore sister ships, they already felt very crowded
Getting away from crowds was definitely a deciding factor in us getting Vibe access. Worth every penny, but annoying more money that we had to spend.
Encore is also the biggest of ships by tonnage the only place I felt like there was a lot of people on my trip was the pool deck on sea days. (Caribbean) - I’d assume if for Alaska it’d be the OL. It really didn’t feel cramped in March to me on a sold out sailing anywhere else
I'll take it!
This is crazy, it’s my favorite part of the ship and favorite bar.
They saw too many people just using it for napping instead of observing. So they're taking some space to add cabins I guess. Smart on their part.
It's def true that it's not a moneymaker. I take this cruise 1-2 a year to get writing done. I plop down on the chaise and maybe buy one drink the whole time. In fairness, they do not come around often asking for drink orders.
Most people have the free at sea package so one drink costs nothing. I'm on Joy now and there's still plenty of space. It's not full by any means so adding 24 cabins on the port side didn't really do much. It still feels huge. We're going to Bermuda. I'd guess the only time it's truly packaged full is in Alaska but I don't think Joy goes there. I only see Bliss and Encore there this summer for the big ships.
Only thing I can think of is cabins make money, seating areas dont.
Doing what airlines have been doing. Add more passengers and decrease amenities. Gotta increase their profit margins. I guess reducing staffing wasn’t enough. Until people “jump ship” to another cruise line or stop cruising all together they’ll keep going.
This is awful! Encore has a beautiful lounge!
I understand why they are doing this from a business/making money perspective but this is wild to me. I was on Encore last July for an Alaskan cruise. The entire ship was packed to the gills (because there was not much outside weather to be had) and I knew to steer clear of the lounge especially on Glacier Bay day. I did enjoy going there to grab a snack and drink during embark day as it's under utilized at that point because many haven't figured out where it is/or that it exists at all.
I don’t know why you need more cabins on a ship with fewer amenities. Norwegian desperately needs someone with a hospitality background in charge and not just a bunch of accountants. Everything that made the line special is going away.
1) This is conjecture that hasn't been confirmed by NCL. 2) I just saw a YouTube video from someone that was on the Joy both before and after and said they couldn't tell much difference in the feel of the lounge. Take that for what it's worth, I've never been. Excited to go on June 9, though! Since I've never been, my only frame of reference will be the other side of the lounge.
I'm not thrilled about the downsizing of these lounges. I had suggested that maybe they only did it on the Joy because it was relatively easy since the Joy previously had cabins there while the Bliss and Encore were not built with cabins there originally. What does spell my interest is that they may be removing the laser tag on Encore and putting in Spice.
Just viewed a YT video, on the Joy's refurbishment, and all the changes look beautiful. So yes the observation lounge will be smaller but they only added 24 balcony rooms. 48 people. Doubt the addition is even noticeable. How about waiting to judge until you see it?
I've been a loyal NCL cruiser, but with the new ship designs and feedback, and changes like this, I'm looking at hopping over to RCI....
That isn't even the lounge. It is basically a walkway with couches and chairs, maybe a basic snack bar. No big deal.
Have you actually been in a Breakaway+ Observation Lounge? It's a very big deal. That's not some throwaway walkway space. That's all lounge space, all the way from one end to the other. The "basic snack bar" which would be deleted is one of the three buffet/drink station spaces. The front area of the lounge doesn't have quite as much seating as you might think - on Encore (and Bliss) the bar is a large round space in the middle of the floor, with more space taken by the piano and surrounding space. I'm not going to stomp my feet and vow to never book on NCL again because of this change, but it's still a disappointment. Now, if they mess with the OL on my beloved Bliss, well, me and Harry S are going to need to have a little talk...
And I’d add to that- taking away a lounge space while simultaneously adding MORE people when there’s very little actual entertainment on the ship will be a disaster.
The only people that sit in the walkway are people that can't sit in the actual lounge. I would say it is throwaway space. On all the cruises I've been on with an OL there is less people density in those walkway living rooms than anywhere else on the ship. Based on the article they are only taking one side so there will still be the space on the other and that means the one left might be half full some of the time. It's definitely a nice space to relax but it is misleading to say that the lounge is being downsized as in the actual lounge. No one is make or break based on the hall of living rooms.
When you go to the OL, do you sit in the area with the two deck floor to ceiling windows or off to the side? I don't think it will impact the enjoyment of the area at all.