Z – Industry Comment: Is on board class division on the rise?

A Touch of Class

I had an interesting debate recently about the possible resurgence of ‘class divisions’ on board modern cruise ships. The discussion was initiated by an article from Robin Searle, reporting on the Miami SeaTrade exhibition in March:

“Mainstream cruise lines will increasingly offer a two-tier experience with high-paying customers enjoying separate privileges to standard passengers, according to the chief executive of Royal Caribbean…Adam Goldstein said the days of all passengers mingling in open communal areas once they left their cabins were a thing of the past”.

Norwegian Gem Garden Villa (5,750 sq ft!)

Most people are familiar with the historical perspective of class division onboard passenger ships from the Titanic story. It is a well known fact that the poor in ‘Steerage’ class (so called because their accommodation was traditionally on the lower decks near the rudder mechanism) generally drowned and the rich passengers travelling in First Class mainly survived.

This was not limited to the Titanic, as most of the great ocean liners of the past had a three class structure with separate accommodation, separate dining rooms and even separate deck space for each class. This tradition even persisted on cruise ships to an extent, until the mid 1970’s.

Most modern cruise can be regarded as ‘one class’ in a sense that all public rooms and dining rooms are available to all guests. However a range of cabins from modest to palatial are available at varying fares. Additionally, alternative restaurants which charge extra fees have become commonplace on board most modern ships.

The premium cruise line ‘Cunard’ has been an exception to the rule. They have continued to maintain a class system, albeit a ‘quasi’ one. In fact this class system is viewed by many as one of their unique selling points. Cunard offers 3-4 grades of dining, in separate restaurants linked to cabin grade/fare.

The upper tiers of Cunard dining, the ‘Queens Grill’ and ‘Princess Grill’ offer passengers traveling in the most expensive suites two intimate dining rooms, with an exclusive patio (Queen Victoria) and private lounge with bar and some private deck space (Queen Mary 2). Access to these areas can be by private elevator (Queen Victoria) and these particular facilities are off-limits to the non-Grill Passengers.

Interestingly, there has been a trend in recent years where even mass market ships have begun to offer high grade accommodation and facilities. For example, most of NCL’s ships offer private ‘Courtyard Villas’ which are large suites which share an exclusive private courtyard with their own pool. Of course there is a premium cost for such accommodation and facilities. NCL boss Colin Veitch said: “There clearly is a market for that product onboard a large ship, with people wishing to enjoy the facilities of a bigger ship but still wanting exclusivity.”

In response to this growing trend MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) will build two big new ships before the end of the decade, ‘Fantasia’ and ‘Splendida’ that will feature enhanced premium accommodation. On the MSC ships, The “Yacht Club” will consist of 99 spacious suites. Other designated VIP areas will include a bar, a solarium, 2 jacuzzis, swimming pool with a sky dome, an observation lounge. The ships will also feature a 24/7 “Butler Service”, with one butler for every 5 suites. Such talk of on board segregation has caused some heated discussion emotions within net forum.  One commentator proclaimed “THE CLASS SYSTEM BELONGS IN THE GARBAGE HEAP OF HISTORY” while another said: “What really bothers me is the will of some to have specific public areas for the richest passengers on mass market ships. If you’re rich and don’t want to intermingle with the “mass”, go with Silversea or Crystal….”

To understand these strong opinions better it might help to examine them from an academic perspective?

I wonder what the historic figure, Karl Marx would think of all this? On the one hand, Marx might simply divide society into those that can afford to go cruising and those that cannot.

However a ship board vacation is now cheaper than ever, it is becoming a mass market product. If we persuaded Marx’s ghost to board a modern cruise ship I suspect he might be of the opinion that there is still a clear class division today which has not changed very much from the days of the great ocean liner. He would probably divide the guests bourgeoisie ‘ (the haves) in the Suites and the ‘Proletariat’ (the have-nots) in the cheap cabins.

On the other hand, sociologist Max Weber’s saw class division as being much more ’stratified’ than Marx. The wide range of cabin grades (up to 14 on some big new ships) and a wide range of fares and dining options available could be seen as evidence supporting his ideas. In other words, there is not just ‘us and them’, modern life is much more complex than that. Today’s wide range of cruise ships, cruise lines and in turn cruise experiences that are available, from ‘Crystal’ to ‘EasyCruise’ also can be viewed as supporting Weber’ stratification approach.

So then, is there a resurgence of class-division on board modern ships? Did it ever go away?

Personally I do not see big suites, private lounges and alternative dining as a symptom of class division. I simply see them as the cruise lines offering a range of ‘experiences’ at a range of prices – that’s the nature of capitalism.

We all have the option to buy a range of accommodation including the big suite with private balconies and dine in alternative restaurants. In fact we have more choices than ever before. No one is excluded because of where they were born, where they were educated or who there parents were. The division is not one of ’social class’ it is one of ‘consumption’. There are probably blue-collar workers dining in Cunard’s ‘Queens Grill’ because they feel it is work trying and at the same time plenty of wealthy people who would not dream of paying Cunard’s high Grill Class fares.

As one commentator succinctly put it, “It’s not a matter of the “haves and have-nots”, it’s a matter of the “haves and have-mores”.

Malcolm Oliver

Q: Well is on board class divison on the rise?  Comments welcome, no need to join.