Are D+ still admitted to Concierge Lounge?

[CVU]

The Suite concierge provides many services that are not provided by the Diamond concierge. I think that RCCL may have an unwritten policy of reducing D+ benefits because there are so many more D+ members than there used to be.

It won't do the Quote button?

 

Or Reducing the Ds--- as they are much lower in Points than those earned by D+.

So, I think picking on Diamonds would be first in any changes........

[cruisenfever]

However, I was on the Oasis last week and they were limiting the Priority Seating benefit to Pinnacle members and people in suites and, as many other posters have noted, they have a Suite Lounge instead of a Concierge Lounge. That name seems to be nothing more than an excuse to deny the benefit to D+ members. I had access to both lounges because I was in a suite and they are definitely not "equal". The Suite concierge provides many services that are not provided by the Diamond concierge. I think that RCCL may have an unwritten policy of reducing D+ benefits because there are so many more D+ members than there used to be.

That has never been our experience on any RCI ship. Each Concierge in each lounge has always provided the same excellent service and has filled any request that we might have had. This must be something unique to Oasis and Oasis alone.

Could be....Not that it wasn't earned, but I'm sure these sorts of programs can only work well for X amount of people...Sorta sucks for the D+ guests though.

Why is that? They still have a lounge to go to every evening that offers the same services as the Concierge Lounge does. The only thing that has changed is the name.............and what's in a name anyway??

 

Back in September of 2009, Diamond Members had no lounge at all. This is definitely not the same thing.

Edited March 8, 2015 by cruisenfever

[dappledumpling]

Why is that? They still have a lounge to go to every evening that offers the same services as the Concierge Lounge does. The only thing that has changed is the name.............and what's in a name anyway??

 

Back in September of 2009, Diamond Members had no lounge at all. This is definitely not the same thing.

 

Nothing to do with 2009.... anytime you have a benefit that is reduced it sucks.. My opinion not shared by you... I bounce back and forth meeting different friends in both lounges...

esp nice when our friends are in a GS and we are in a JS we can still hang out

 

As a pinnacle you will not be affected either way.

 

Rick (Diamond Plus)

[Dave85]

There is no CL by name on Oasis but its still in the same place and open to d,d+, don't have a clue about some new policy

 

 

They have been combining the evening HH for a few years now. Took this around 2 to 3 years ago and have seen it sense.

 

, nobody was bothered then. Its all about the #'s onboard. Of course now there are the coupons

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=256630&d=1357596746

 

 

Your post may be a little confusing to someone who has not kept up on the changes on Oasis. To clarify for anyone in that boat:

 

Oasis currently has the following two lounges.

 

1) a "suite lounge", open to only to gold card holders -- suite guests in a GS or up and Pinnacle members. Basically, this is THE EXACT SAME cast of characters allowed in the CL on the current Enchantment sailing, as relayed by OP.

 

2) a Diamond lounge, open to all C&A members who are Diamond and up.

 

Suite guests who are not Diamond can only use the suite lounge. Diamond and Diamond + guests who are not sailing in a full suite can only use the Diamond lounge on Oasis.

 

On Oasis, the suite lounge was carved out of what was previously public space in the Viking Crown Lounge. The Diamond lounge is the space that was previously used as the concierge lounge.

 

In short, this is the exact same scenario described by OP's family member on the current Enchantment sailing. The only difference is the lounge for suite and pinnacle guests is called the suite lounge on Oasis and is still called the concierge lounge on Enchantment.

 

I hope this clarifies.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Dave85

[SherriZ366]

I hope we get more information on this and that it is specific to EN maybe fore a sailing with lots of D+s and does not go fleetwide.

[Merion_Mom]

Please tell Alan that Lynn & Bill say hello. I wish I had known you were onboard. I would have loved to have met you! Where did you usually sit in the CL?

 

I didn't "hang out" endlessly in the CL, but when I was there, I sat at the bar with Melody. :D

[parrotfeathers]

If they changed it to also allow suite & pinnacle in the Diamond lounge that would fix all the problems.

 

 

Nothing to do with 2009.... anytime you have a benefit that is reduced it sucks.. My opinion not shared by you... I bounce back and forth meeting different friends in both lounges...

esp nice when our friends are in a GS and we are in a JS we can still hang out

 

As a pinnacle you will not be affected either way.

 

Rick (Diamond Plus)

[Spurschick]

That has never been our experience on any RCI ship. Each Concierge in each lounge has always provided the same excellent service and has filled any request that we might have had. This must be something unique to Oasis and Oasis alone.

 

Why is that? They still have a lounge to go to every evening that offers the same services as the Concierge Lounge does. The only thing that has changed is the name.............and what's in a name anyway??

 

Back in September of 2009, Diamond Members had no lounge at all. This is definitely not the same thing.

 

Disagree. The vast majority of concierges in CL have been far superior to those in DL. DL concierges have been noted to not have anywhere near the same hours or availability as CL concierges.

 

DL concierges also have far more people to cater for due to the vast number of Diamonds on board. As D+ we certainly notice the difference,

[Sam.Seattle]

The fact remains that there are too many Diamond+ over-crowding a lounge designed to accomidate the "suites".

 

What other solution does RCCL have?

Edited March 9, 2015 by Sam.Seattle

[bob brown]

As time goes by, and more and more passenger's move up a level in the Crown and Anchor program, the result will be overcrowding of some of the exclusive perks to the upper tiers. Hence, RCI will create a new top level, and change the access rules. Sooner or later, they will create a "Pinnacle Plus", and then something beyond that.....

[peteukmcr]

Disagree. The vast majority of concierges in CL have been far superior to those in DL. DL concierges have been noted to not have anywhere near the same hours or availability as CL concierges.

 

DL concierges also have far more people to cater for due to the vast number of Diamonds on board. As D+ we certainly notice the difference,

Well it obviously differs by ship as my experience is that the DL concierges have been far more personable and kept exactly the same hours as the CL concierge. We sailed twice on Adventure in 2014 and on each occasion the DL concierge was far superior to the CL concierge IMHO. On one sailing we were in a suite, but the CL was rubbish as far as I'm concerned and on the 2nd calling the CL concierge didn't even give us the time of day when in the CL.

[alfaeric]

If this is new policy- so far, the only ship that it would really matter to us is the Enchantment- as we like the Cl better than the DL- and yes, I know they are next to each other. The difference is the view- in the CL, you see out the back, where as the DL you see the VCL.

 

Other than that, we generally like to spend our time in the DL's. Especially the ones that used to be the 19th Hole- what a great space.

 

As for the consierges- we've seen enough that generally can't tell the difference in quality. Then again, we barely use them except for conversation. Being in a GS didn't change how we were treated.

 

We'll see. Have 6 more years (projected) until we reach the Pinnacle....

[PSCruiser]

I understand that the number of D+s puts pressure on RC to exclude them from the CL.

That said, shouldn't this be a policy change that comes from corporate, and not at the whim of an individual CL (as might be the case with EN)? Additionally, policy changes of this type should have a start date, and that date should be outside of the final payment deadline, to allow for any cancellations that the change might precipitate.

[Dave85]

That said, shouldn't this be a policy change that comes from corporate, and not at the whim of an individual CL (as might be the case with EN)? .

 

 

Yes, it should. One possibility though is that they're still testing it and aren't ready to pull the trigger yet fleet wide. In that case, it could have actually come from corporate, albeit without any warning for guests.

[cruisenfever]

Nothing to do with 2009.... anytime you have a benefit that is reduced it sucks.. My opinion not shared by you... I bounce back and forth meeting different friends in both lounges...

esp nice when our friends are in a GS and we are in a JS we can still hang out

 

Rick (Diamond Plus)

Let's look at it this way. The Diamond Plus Members have had no benefit reduced when it comes to access to a lounge. The correct word would be "inconvenienced" because they can't go into both lounges now. Of course, this is definitely in place on Oasis. Have no idea what is going on with Enchantment.

Disagree. The vast majority of concierges in CL have been far superior to those in DL. DL concierges have been noted to not have anywhere near the same hours or availability as CL concierges.

 

DL concierges also have far more people to cater for due to the vast number of Diamonds on board. As D+ we certainly notice the difference,

As we have all said before.........Royal being consistently inconsistent. What you have experienced is definitely not what we have experienced.:)

Edited March 9, 2015 by cruisenfever

[peteukmcr]

I understand that the number of D+s puts pressure on RC to exclude them from the CL.

 

That said, shouldn't this be a policy change that comes from corporate, and not at the whim of an individual CL (as might be the case with EN)? Additionally, policy changes of this type should have a start date, and that date should be outside of the final payment deadline, to allow for any cancellations that the change might precipitate.

 

 

Any policy change with a start date outside of final payment date wouldn't make any difference to us outside of the US because if we decided to cancel because of said change, we lose our deposits as these are non refundable at all times.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sam.Seattle]

Wondering if... the Enchantment sailing the OP's sister is on is so full of D+ that the TWO concierges got together and made a decession that would be best accomidate the majority of passengers by requesting the D+ use the just the Daimond Lounge?

Edited March 9, 2015 by Sam.Seattle

[cruisenfever]

Wondering if... the Enchantment sailing the OP's sister is on is so full of D+ that the TWO concierges got together and made a decession that would be best accomidate the majority of passengers by requesting the D+ use the just the Daimond Lounge?

The decision would have to come from the Hotel Director.

[DarthGrady]

The fact remains that there are too many Diamond+ over-crowding a lounge designed to accomidate the "suites".

 

What other solution does RCCL have?

Granted I've only been D+ for a little over a year now, but I have not seen this being the case. The first hour is busy until the early dining folks leave, but then the lounge tends to clear out nicely. Having the overflow area is also a big help on the ships with smaller CLs (Freedom and Voyager especially). I've yet to be denied a table or drink due to crowding. I was pleasantly surprised, as all I ever heard prior to making D+ was how packed the CLs got.

[Mac303]

I understand that the number of D+s puts pressure on RC to exclude them from the CL.

That said, shouldn't this be a policy change that comes from corporate, and not at the whim of an individual CL (as might be the case with EN)? Additionally, policy changes of this type should have a start date, and that date should be outside of the final payment deadline, to allow for any cancellations that the change might precipitate.

 

I would seriously doubt that there would be many cancellations due to not

being granted access to the CL.

 

I remember when we as diamond members were no longer allowed in the CL, it didn't make any difference in our cruising plans.

[spookwife]

The fact remains that there are too many Diamond+ over-crowding a lounge designed to accomidate the "suites".

 

What other solution does RCCL have?

 

Bingo. on my last NAV cruise, it was ridiculous how over crowded it was and it was 95% D+ who wasted no time telling you they were D+( as in everyone was wearing their D+pins all day and all night)

 

Cocktail hour started at 430. if you were not in the Lounge by 415, you didn't get a seat. and unlike most other cruises, these people did not sit and have a drink, maybe two, then off to dinner or a show. they hung out for the entire evening. and more standoffish bunch I never saw in my life. we were obviously not D+( hell we made just Emerald at the end of it) and unlike any other Royal cruise we have taken, no one ever invited us to sit with them even if they had room at their table. Funny how those same people had NO problem inviting themselves to sit at OURS though....

 

a few of them even stated they come up to the CL b/c the D lounge was even more crowded. I thought the whole voucher thing was supposed to ELIMINATE the crowding issues?!

 

I have said it before and I will continue to say it, even as I inch my way closer to D in my own right:

 

kick Ds out of the lounge altogether. leave it for D+. the Ds can keep their vouchers( and I would not be opposed to either a dedicated line at Guest services or a expediter of their very own at a desk somewhere..the Loyalty desk always seemed to be empty when we passed by) D+ get the D lounge to themselves and the CL gets renamed the Suite lounge across the Fleet and limited to suites and Pinnacles.

 

 

as for hours, they were always listed as being in the DL the same amount as the Concierge 830-11 am; 430-8 pm.

[Royal2464]

I think it is just John Denton, the Hotel Director, making changes. He had a similar setup on the Explorer. He prefers that the "top" lounge be reserved for suite and pinnacle guests only.

[Fat Paul]

I believe that this is an indication of what's to come. Suite lounge for suite guest and pinnacle, Diamond lounge for diamond and above. Also we will soon be seeing an upgraded suite experience. I for one am looking forward to these changes.

[LMaxwell]

I would not be surprised at all if D and D+ will lose access to a dedicated Concierge person, with those efforts being focused on suites (and Pinnacles).

[alfaeric]

Granted I've only been D+ for a little over a year now, but I have not seen this being the case. The first hour is busy until the early dining folks leave, but then the lounge tends to clear out nicely. Having the overflow area is also a big help on the ships with smaller CLs (Freedom and Voyager especially). I've yet to be denied a table or drink due to crowding. I was pleasantly surprised, as all I ever heard prior to making D+ was how packed the CLs got.

 

Us, too- we've been D+ for a few years now, and never have had all of the horror stories that people talk about.

 

The lounge is croweded until 5 min before first seating, then it's empty.

 

Thankfully, we are also not so needy to meet other guests, so we would never know if anyone seems standoffish, since we are, too. My wife and I like to be to ourselves, and try to find two seats just for us.

 

The idea that people brag about their status in the lounges is amusing to me, too- I never notice it. The only time I have my pin is on formal night, as I think it's a neat addition to my suit. (and it's not MY problem that you don't like it, or take it the wrong way)

 

Not sure where all of this animosity to D and D+ guests comes from. Yes, we see the occaisional ones who are very needy of the consierge, but that's super rare. Suite guests do the same thing, too.

 

Perhaps people take a single experience, and extrapolate that to all of the time. To that, I would suggest that you cruise more- you'll find a lot more of the D and D+ population, and note that they are just normal people, just like you are. Well, maybe not as negative.