Spurschick

No, not at all.

 

D+ were given admission to the Concierge Lounge long before anyone dreamed of adding Diamond Lounges to any ship.

 

DIAMONDS used to be allowed in the Concierge Lounge, too. Then they kicked THEM out because of overcrowding. After a lot of pushback, screaming and yelling, RC started having the "Diamond Event."

 

Eventually, they built Diamond Lounges.

Thank you for explaining and correcting me and clarifying what happened in which order. I apologize for any confusion:)

Glad you liked it! It's amazing what people take away and remember from conversations. Willie Wonka Pie was a solid recommendation. :D :D

 

 

 

I'm not sure where you got that impression. D+ tier level was created in 2004 (?) -- before that the top C&A tier was Diamond. D+ always had access to the CL. DL's were not even created until after 2009, when D's were disinvited from the CL. And the DL's were not created overnight. The Diamond Event came first, and then slowly DL's were created as the ships went through dry dock. There are several misconceptions in your post.

Thank you for the clarification. 2004 was far too long ago for me to remember:D I apologize for the confusion.

This may be lost in all the excitement of the 1000th post, but...Is there a serious possibility that we will board Freedom on Sunday (5/1) and be told we are no longer welcome in the Diamond Lounge on our second cruise as Diamond?

Unfortunately nothing is impossible

Where do you get the idea that they "tried to solve a problem by allowing D+ in the CL in the first place"?

 

What problem were they "trying to solve"? :confused:

I was of the impression that D+ into the CL was allowed to reduce crowding in DL. I understand on ships that at the time did not have a DL it gave D+'s a lounge rather than the nightly Diamond event, but again was of the impression this was to reduce crowding at that event.

There is little logic of D+ having access to two lounges for any other reason than crowd control:confused:

I do not see that description for a Grand Suite at all. Where do you see it?

Carol, we ran into the same description issue at the weekend. If you do a mock booking (March 2017 works) when you select grand suite it states it has 2 beds 2 baths.

It is logical to me that they would move D+ out of CL to make SL. What is not logical is why they would send the D+ back to an already overcrowded lounge that would exasperate the issue they tried to solve by allowing D+ in the CL in the first place.

Perhaps it will turn into another inconsistency. D+ at all times and D if there are not enough D+ on a given sailing and there are not too many D's on board.

I can see there being some restrictions on D access.

How about this...

 

The new level (at 350 points for argument sake) will get half of the extra balcony discount that Pinnacles get over D+...oh wait a second, Pinnacles get the same discount as D+. Looks like the new level will get half of nothing.:D

So all I wil get at 350 is an extra bottle of wine:confused: like I need that :eek::D perhaps I'll have to give the extra bottle to the other half ;)

John,

I was pretty sure that your point was that there does not seem to be a large number of young "coat-tailers" in the lounges. I am in agreement, there does not seem to be many folks that we have met that would even appear to be in the category.

 

Actually, on a cruise last year, at the "Meal With An Officer" there was a young lady, and her grand-mother at our table. The young woman was in a Masters Program in college (probably early/mid twenties), but mentioned that she had been on over twenty cruises. We never did see her in the Lounge any evening, but did see her around the ship quite often.

 

I had just not ever given that type situation much thought, until this thread. :D

 

N Ray H

It depends on the ship and when you sail. On a recent sailing there was a 13 year old on her 60th cruise. Trust me you will find plenty of young D's and D+'s under 20 if you pick the right ship/sail date:D

It generally runs between 13 and 20%. Depends on cabin and availability for that sailing. However it can be less than that if you are a lower rating.

You would be better off asking this on the casino thread link that was posted on your original thread, as this is discussed there.

Congrats on the certificate

I thought you still had a couple of days left. Are you back? They normally don't give out certificates until last night in case you qualify for something better. The 2400 pt certificate is applicable to inside cabin.

I'm getting used to their glitches:rolleyes:

Try looking at enchantment for next March. It says there is an itinerary change and even if you select a specific date for March it reverts you back to November this year:confused: they can price up if you call in but I have no way to check for price changes.

I gave up and booked something else as I had the cruise bug itch:D shame as trying to complete the fleet ;)

The point is the OP asked if they COULD. The answer is, despite people's opinions on the matter, yes it can happen with the concierges consent, which is normally off peak times and not regular occurrences.

Do people really sit there and check that the people next to them have gold cards? Just like when the DL is full do people check the status of everyone in there! the number of times I walk into a DL and someone grabs the door behind me and follows me in. Am I really going to ask them to show me their card to prove they should be entering?

I am sick and tired of being told that just b/c I sail in full suites only that I am not entitled to voice my opinion of suite lounge access by those who have not earned the privilege or paid for it.

 

I am not even diamond yet but by choosing to spend extra money every cruise on a suite I expect to get what I pay for.. and that means not having to scramble for a chair or worry about whether or not the ones already sitting are actually entitled to be there and were not snuck in, bribed in or otherwise felt the rules didn't apply to them.

 

It's bad enough my expectation when I booked my first cruise was shattered because the Company changed the rules on allowing kids in the lounge during cocktail hour. ( and we have had several instances where kids did ruin the ambience) I have sucked it up and accepted that policy changed, although I still voice my dislike of the change every time.

No one said allow access when it's busy, we said allow access when it's quiet so it doesn't impede on your enjoyment.

no gold colored sea pass NO ACCESS and NO SUITE PERKS. and you have no right to ask them to break the rules for you.

 

at best they MIGHT be allowed to invite you as a guest for dinner( * at a cost ) in the CK if it is not booked solid.

HUGE difference between children/grandchildren and friends.

So your first statement says no gold card no access but then you imply okay for family but not for friends becaus that's different:confused:. Do you really think people ask people that are cruising if their companions are friends or family?

The friends plan to travel together the same as family make their plans to travel together. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have family that can accompany them on cruises.

Respectfully disagree. The salary of the concierge is largely based on tips. Will they do something that is motivated solely on the ability to receive a larger tip? Of course they will. It's human nature. This will even trump the fact that their decision may create overcrowding and diminish the experience of others.

Which was exactly my point. The concierge will say yes if the lounge is not busy and is likely to receive extra tips for the accommodation. However they will likely say no if the lounge is reaching capacity and would not want to risk losing tips from the guests that would be inconvenienced by them making acomodations for friends/relatives.

Hence why I said they may say yes but there may be times that they say no or have restrictions on the accomodations.

That being said they were more worried about tips for their servers than tips for themselves and we have been asked to give any extra tips to the servers as opposed to being accepted by the concierges on several occasions.

As per website this is the address shown for embarkation.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Directions+to+the+Pier&faqId=2863&faqSubjectId=331&faqType=faq

I guess I'm confused. Any time I wanted to do something with my reservation I would call. I do this with cruises, hotels, cars, etc even if an email is provided. Call and get immediate resolution instead of an email and waiting.

Agree it is much more efficient to call. Only time I email is if I need a paper trail to prove something was discussed. (Eg issue I had one cruise with excursions pre purchased). Even then, if you call you can request an email whilst still on the call.

the cruise consultant could be on vacation for all we know!

Forgot to say, but their call centers are probably overwhelmed at the moment with all the people calling in about the cancelled cruises and trying to rebook alternatives. It is likely, and rightly so, that these guests are probably being given priority, especially when a lot have had their cruises cancelled twice now.

We are booked on a cruise on the anthem in August of this year. This is the first time we have booked directly with Royal. I sent an email to our cruise consultant last week and she never answered. Upon calling the inbound call centre, I was just told that since they are getting so many inbound calls for reservations, they have pulled their consultants away from answering emails and fulfilling requests to help with call volume?!?! I am so mad!!!

I thought by booking direct I would get better customer service!!! I feel completely deceived....

What was the point of booking direct??? Is there any advantage? And to follow this up, is there a point of now switching the reservation to a TA? Would we get the TA credit if we do so?

 

Nevermind that there was a price drop on our cruise and the only way to get the lower price (according to rccl) is to cancel and rebook. And since we've booked a guarantee (and already have the room number), we don't want to take the chance for the $100 we'd save.

 

Frustrated....

Did you resolve your issue whilst you were on the phone with them?

If you transfer to a TA you will lose "control" of your booking. Any changes, dining option, cabin location etc would need to be done brought your TA. Likewise if there is a price drop you would not be able to call in and get it honored, you would need to go through TA. It is down to personal choice.

Both Celebrity cruises were in non-suite cabins.

Then you will be gold after your first trip:)

Enjoy.

Both cruises were pre change to points, but you're right, each cruise could have got them 3 credits, and they could be Select.

Interesting. All my points (pre change) were converted on exact cabins I had sailed. I guess because they had been quite recent before the change.

The OP would have to be Select on Celebrity to get reciprocity, and I only saw two Celebrity cruises.

I didn't pay much attention to their signature:D that being said with the new points based on cabin it is theoretically possible if they sailed in high enough suites to get the 150 points after 2 cruises. Not impossible :D

By my calculations 14 nights in Celebrity Suite or higher is 168 points:)

You will turn gold DURING your first cruise by nights. However, Royals does not award your points until two weeks AFTER your cruise. I will turn platinum 3 or so days into my next cruise, but won't exercise the benefits.

Unless they have cruised enough on X to qualify for a tier level. Then they could get their tier level before sailing.

No. RCI does not honour any other cruise line loyalty programmes. C&a gold status isn't achieved until after you have 3 cruise points (nights at sea). Points are awarded upon completion of your first cruise.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Not correct if you sailed Celebrity. There are certain levels they do give you compatible levels on RC up to Diamond

I think this is root of a lot of the misunderstandings in the Great Suite versus Diamond+ debate.

These are completely incomparable concepts.

One is loyalty/rewards scheme which has grown to a stage where it has taken on a life of its own. Where cruisers brag about spending Zero on their onboard account whilst squirrelled away in a inside cabin. Looking down their noses at others whilst simultaneously denying those who have paid for it access to their facilities (I know the vast majority are probably not like this but there's too much written here for it to be a figment of the imagination).

 

The others is an elevated service level which guest pay for contemporaneously, rather than some notional idea of accumulated loyalty equating to a stake in the company.

 

Mind you, it doesn't sound fair to let folk into to lounge if it deprives those who've paid for it access. Nothing to do with any perceived slight on the expectations of those in a loyalty program.

Like I said, no harm asking if it doesn't impede on anyone else receiving what they should. If there was an issue the concierge would say no, not allowed. If no issue then the concierge will say yes, even though it might be restricted to a one off.

Oh and I don't misunderstand the suite vs d+ issue.;)

Exactly!!

 

So my parents were in an Owner Suite and my sister's family of 6 were in a Royal Family Suite, does that mean that the rest of our party of 20 should have been allowed in the Suite Lounge?

 

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If they had asked they probably would have allowed a few at a time.