What suppliments are next for cruisers?

What supplements are next for cruisers and can they ever be a good thing? On the modern cruise of today, If you want to eat in a speciality restaurant, pick your flight seats or even pick your cabin number, with certain cruise lines there is a supplement to pay. But could this ever be a good thing? In my view, why not?

Over the past few years I have spoke with a large percentage of cruisers who want to guarantee a table of 2 for dining but, are told this can only be put on request. This is a prime example where introducing a supplement could help. If cruise lines introduced a charge, at the time of booking which guaranteed a table of 2, people who were willing to pay a fee, would be happy knowing that their request had been confirmed. The likely argument here is that the demand will far out weigh the supply. I'm sure this will be the case but, if this was done on a first come first serve basis and if the priced reflected the demand, then I'm sure this would work. The same thing can be said for picking a table with an ocean view or on a higher level in the restaurant. Or even Guaranteeing a double bed in your cabin (for guaranteed bookings only).

Again it can be said that cruise lines are already charging enough as it is, which would be a fair argument. I'm just suggesting that this would be for people who justify paying the extra, to get the cruise exactly how they want it. Most, I'm sure would not opt for this option anyway, as this would be seen as an additional unnecessary expense, but for some it could still prove very useful.

Although these changes are unlikely to happen, I'm sure the introduction of the above would put a few noses out of joint? Would this be the start of cruise lines introducing more and more supplements? Picking seats in the theatre maybe? Priority shore excursions? A toilet tax? Well probably one two far but, you see what I'm getting at. In this current climate people are very wary what they are spending their money on, so as long as these supplements were not made compulsory, then it should work. But this all of course, is all in theory, in practice it will probably be a completely different story!