Are D+ still admitted to Concierge Lounge?

[Thetrail]

Please don't flame me for this question. I keep reading that the folks that travel in a Suite are "low Level" cruisers. How do you know?

 

Most people here say they don't discuss their status in the CL yet they know the status of those that travel in Suites?

 

What is the big difference in lounges? Do they treat you differently in the DL? Are the drinks free watered down or something? :confused:

Where did you hear this from??? What exactly do you mean, and show me where someone has actually said this?......:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

The main thing that we would lament is the loss of access to the lounges and the marvelous coffee machines. We never go to 'happy' hour because we don't drink alcoholic beverages. We haunt the lounges during the day for breakfast, reading, and chatting with friends.

 

It would be ironic that 'diamond' lounges would be off limits to diamond members.

 

Don't take my Kodachrome away.

[Thetrail]

Thetrail – I was very certain to say IN MY EXPERIENCE. We too have frequented the CL for many years. You misquoted me – I did not say seniors in the CL. I said DL. And guess what – we are also in our 50s so we are a little too mature to feel guilty about our behavior. It was not meant to be defamatory to all seniors (heck to many people WE'RE already seniors! ;)). The fact remains that in OUR experience, the least welcoming people in the DL have been people "of a certain age". We have socialized happily with all ages, cabin categories, C&A levels blah blah blah. You are more than welcome to call “BS on my post” but it has indeed been our experience.

 

Back to the plaque, sounds like someone jumped the gun. Royal has said new suite perks are coming. I would hazard a guess like many here that the CL's will become Suite Lounges and D+ will have the DL as well as the 3 drinks loaded on their Seapass. And then we can all participate in the dozens of ranting threads that will pop up here. :eek:

OK had to laugh about that, because just a few years ago anyone my age now was oh sooo old!:) I personally always have a great time in the CL or DL. Maybe I am oblivious to " unhappy " folks in the lounges....K.O.

[Thetrail]

Thank you so very much for your posting. I attempted to comment last night, but your posting with facts is what I was thinking but really could not find the words. Obviously there is an over crowding problem or this thread would not be so watched and commented on.

One cruise does not mean overcrowding on every cruise, how is that for a fact....:rolleyes:

[Thetrail]

The fair thing to do, if changes are coming, is to "grandfather" in all existing members. For example, if you are now D+, you will continue to have access to the CL. Anyone attaining D+ in the future would abide by the new rules.

It could be done this way with no heartache or pain to anyone. Will it happen this way is anyones "guess"....K.O.:)

[Don Pedro]

One cruise does not mean overcrowding on every cruise, how is that for a fact....:rolleyes:

 

Guess it the overcrowding situation depends on who you are. Certainly those of us who are D or D+ would take it in stride as we know it is not a problem on every sailing. On the other hand if we had paid the big bucks for the royal suite and couldn't find a seat that complaint might draw a different response for corporate.

[cruisegirl1]

Hey, it's not my plan - I'm just speculating ;)

 

 

 

I agree, perhaps I should have said that. I think the vouchers have proved popular all-round and I don't see them taking them away from any level. And even if they make the D lounge for D+ only there will still be cruises (eg Transatlantics) where the lounges are very crowded and the vouchers help with that.

 

Bobal - Didn't mean any personal attack - Sorry. I guess at this point we are all speculating. . I wonder if RCI reads all these hot button threads, to see what would might the lesser of the evils.

 

M

Edited March 11, 2015 by cruisegirl1

[yogimax]

It could be done this way with no heartache or pain to anyone. Will it happen this way is anyones "guess"....K.O.:)

 

Yes, grandfathering would be the least painful way to go.

 

Would RCCL do it? Maybe. Remember that when they took the CL from Diamonds, they offered something in return - namely, a nightly cocktail hour with wine, beer, etc., for ALL ships in the fleet. This was a big move ahead.

 

In addition to Grandfathering, the other change I can envision is creation of a new level at 340 or 350 points.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

I would love to see an RCI corporate meeting agenda -- item#4, Cruise Critic Postings. ;-)

[dasi11]

As a D+ member for the last 4 years or so, I will be very upset if the CL lounge access is lost. I usually book a JS or sometimes a GS and enjoy the double points. I also frequently cruise with friends who book suites so we can enjoy the CL lounge together. This is very common. They get to Diamond faster and we can lounge together for drinks in a private location. Many suite and JS guests know exactly what they are doing, booking to get the double points. RCCL will make many angry if they close off the lounges to those that have already enjoyed these perks.

I also saw someone post that Diamond + are mostly older people. My kids have diamond plus too and they have it with there OWN points, not from our points. We were D+ in our 40's and they were D+ in their teens. Their own point level reached 175. 20 years of cruising with RCCL once or twice a year will add those points up.....

[CruiseNAngie]

Catalina was the CL concierge ... she left Monday for vacation

 

Carlington was the DL concierge ... he has moved to the CL for a few weeks before he moves to the Freedom

 

Felix came on board Monday and is the new DL concierge

 

Thanks -- I updated Google Doc.

 

Sherri,

 

Not sure if you are keeping track of the Loyalty Ambassador or not ...

I was told Catalina will be coming back as the Loyalty Ambassador

[yogimax]

Sherri,

 

Not sure if you are keeping track of the Loyalty Ambassador or not ...

I was told Catalina will be coming back as the Loyalty Ambassador

 

Hmm... we were on Enchantment in December and Catalina said she would be back as concierge after her time off. Things may certainly change, though.

[Aboat1]

Where did you hear this from??? What exactly do you mean, and show me where someone has actually said this?......:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Please see post #130 in this thread. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:back at ya!

[julesbeara]

We lost our Concierge Lounge rights with the elimination of Diamond's having access in 2009. We have always booked a Junior Suite or above to get double points and ended up one point shy of Diamond Plus with the last round of changes. We now have 275 hard earned and paid for points as Diamond Plus. I do appreciate & use the Concierge on board and appreciate their assistance. We do drink in the evenings and like having the Concierge Lounge as the place to do that. I love stopping by and grabbing a cookie or two during the day. I like meeting other frequent cruisers in the Concierge Lounge and hearing there stories and learning from them. It is nice having one centralized place where I can have all that happen consistently during a cruise. The drink vouchers don't offer the same perks that are available with Concierge Lounge access and assistance.

 

I think there will be more overcrowding issues if the Diamond & Diamond Plus members are all expected to share one lounge. It will create a bigger problem.

Edited March 11, 2015 by julesbeara

[yogimax]

We lost our Concierge Lounge rights with the elimination of Diamond's having access in 2009. We have always booked a Junior Suite or above to get double points and ended up one point shy of Diamond Plus with the last round of changes. We now have 275 hard earned and paid for points as Diamond Plus. I do appreciate & use the Concierge on board and appreciate their assistance. We do drink in the evenings and like having the Concierge Lounge as the place to do that. I love stopping by and grabbing a cookie or two during the day. I like meeting other frequent cruisers in the Concierge Lounge and hearing there stories and learning from them. It is nice having one centralized place where I can have all that happen consistently during a cruise. The drink vouchers don't offer the same perks that are available with Concierge Lounge access and assistance.

 

I think there will be more overcrowding issues if the Diamond & Diamond Plus members are all expected to share one lounge. It will create a bigger problem.

 

I agree with every point you have made...

1. We enjoy using the lounge for drinks and meeting and making new friends

2. The drink vouchers (for us) are a poor alternative.

3. Mixing D and D+ will INDEED lead to overcrowding.

[pcur]

We lost our Concierge Lounge rights with the elimination of Diamond's having access in 2009. We have always booked a Junior Suite or above to get double points and ended up one point shy of Diamond Plus with the last round of changes. We now have 275 hard earned and paid for points as Diamond Plus. I do appreciate & use the Concierge on board and appreciate their assistance. We do drink in the evenings and like having the Concierge Lounge as the place to do that. I love stopping by and grabbing a cookie or two during the day. I like meeting other frequent cruisers in the Concierge Lounge and hearing there stories and learning from them. It is nice having one centralized place where I can have all that happen consistently during a cruise. The drink vouchers don't offer the same perks that are available with Concierge Lounge access and assistance.

 

I think there will be more overcrowding issues if the Diamond & Diamond Plus members are all expected to share one lounge. It will create a bigger problem.

 

I don't think it will cause as much overcrowding as many on this thread think. There are many of us who will not go to the DL if it's our only choice and crowded, and use the drink vouchers around the ship instead.

 

My husband and I go mostly to the DL's instead of CL's now for the better views and a drink with snacks. We can get our snacks in the Windjammer and go anywhere on the ship for a great view with a vouchered drink of the DL becomes too crowded.

Edited March 11, 2015 by pcur

[3dog]

Where did you hear this from??? What exactly do you mean, and show me where someone has actually said this?......:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Though I don't recall any post specifically about suite guests being "lowly", the inference occurs every time there is a discussion about C&A perks that are (or might be) shared or lost. There are always posts about the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent over a guests lifetime that is somehow more important than anything that might be spent by any other guest on a particular sailing.

 

This is just my opinion, but...

 

This pompousness is almost naive as, like all hospitality companies, it really isn't about what you spent over the last couple of decades, but what you are spending today as this is what keeps or makes a company profitable.

 

It is good business to reward repeat customers as it helps give a reason to come back (and spend money on a new day), but to believe that this is "earned" or that there is some sort of contract for future benefits (or even that they must "grandfather" current benefits as they change or evolve) is pretentious.

 

 

 

Look, I have received my C&A points because I like the product that RCI provides, not because I wanted to earn a "status". I sail in particular cabin categories because it meets my budget and desires, not to earn extra points. If RCI provides a lounge, beverages, and/or other amenities on a sailing because I am a repeat customer, great! But I have no illusion that the same or even anything will be available on a future cruise (I actually expect that over time it will change, as the only constant is change).

 

I have also mingled among the guests in a lounge and had enjoyable conversations with other cruisers, but should this lounge go away, there are plenty of places on the ship to still have conversations with other cruisers. I haven't taken this cruise because there is or may be a "special" lounge for my "status".

 

If they offer me free drinks, I will probably partake (questionable, though, as - IMO - the free drinks aren't that great and I often would much rather buy a decent drink than get the free cheap drinks offered in the lounge). But when you think about it, the amount of money saved on a couple of free drinks in the evening is a very small percentage of the cost of a cruise. If this is a big cost to a repeat guest, then they really are not spending the kind of money that the cruise line would prefer, making them a little less important than that suite guest who is spending more for their single cruise than might be spent by the repeat guest over 10 (or more) cruises.

[steveru621]

Though I don't recall any post specifically about suite guests being "lowly", the inference occurs every time there is a discussion about C&A perks that are (or might be) shared or lost. There are always posts about the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent over a guests lifetime that is somehow more important than anything that might be spent by any other guest on a particular sailing.

 

This is just my opinion, but...

 

This pompousness is almost naive as, like all hospitality companies, it really isn't about what you spent over the last couple of decades, but what you are spending today as this is what keeps or makes a company profitable.

 

It is good business to reward repeat customers as it helps give a reason to come back (and spend money on a new day), but to believe that this is "earned" or that there is some sort of contract for future benefits (or even that they must "grandfather" current benefits as they change or evolve) is pretentious.

 

 

 

Look, I have received my C&A points because I like the product that RCI provides, not because I wanted to earn a "status". I sail in particular cabin categories because it meets my budget and desires, not to earn extra points. If RCI provides a lounge, beverages, and/or other amenities on a sailing because I am a repeat customer, great! But I have no illusion that the same or even anything will be available on a future cruise (I actually expect that over time it will change, as the only constant is change).

 

I have also mingled among the guests in a lounge and had enjoyable conversations with other cruisers, but should this lounge go away, there are plenty of places on the ship to still have conversations with other cruisers. I haven't taken this cruise because there is or may be a "special" lounge for my "status".

 

If they offer me free drinks, I will probably partake (questionable, though, as - IMO - the free drinks aren't that great and I often would much rather buy a decent drink than get the free cheap drinks offered in the lounge). But when you think about it, the amount of money saved on a couple of free drinks in the evening is a very small percentage of the cost of a cruise. If this is a big cost to a repeat guest, then they really are not spending the kind of money that the cruise line would prefer, making them a little less important than that suite guest who is spending more for their single cruise than might be spent by the repeat guest over 10 (or more) cruises.

 

You will probably change your mind in one big hurry when you find out the cheapest drink is now $11.80. :eek:

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but RCI has always thought loyalty was to be rewarded and is indeed important. Gold card Suite guests do get other perks over and above the CL that D+ do not get.

[CptSticky]

You will probably change your mind in one big hurry when you find out the cheapest drink is now $11.80. :eek:

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but RCI has always thought loyalty was to be rewarded and is indeed important. Gold card Suite guests do get other perks over and above the CL that D+ do not get.

They even get benefits above those offered to pinnacles who also have a gold card.

[Thetrail]

I don't think it will cause as much overcrowding as many on this thread think. There are many of us who will not go to the DL if it's our only choice and crowded, and use the drink vouchers around the ship instead.

 

My husband and I go mostly to the DL's instead of CL's now for the better views and a drink with snacks. We can get our snacks in the Windjammer and go anywhere on the ship for a great view with a vouchered drink of the DL becomes too crowded.

The numbers will tell you otherwise. Common sense here, please....D along with D+ in one lounge, just think about this for one split second. Thank You....:eek::rolleyes: Suite guests (of which you can count me as one) and Pinnacle not so many. Again noone knows what will happen until it happens, its speculation at this point. We have all heard the thoughts (raising the number to 350 was mentioned, another tier between D+ and Pinnacle) we shall see. So again think of the sheer number of diamond, throw in D+ and there is very simply OVERCROWDING.

[Aboat1]

Please don't flame me for this question. I keep reading that the folks that travel in a Suite are "low Level" cruisers. How do you know?

 

Most people here say they don't discuss their status in the CL yet they know the status of those that travel in Suites?

 

What is the big difference in lounges? Do they treat you differently in the DL? Are the drinks free watered down or something? :confused:

 

I am sorry for my wording. But I think if you read the entire post you can clearly see that I was talking about lower level in C&A. NOT that people that travel in Suites are "Lowly".

 

I have seen it here on CC where it is assumed that people traveling in Suites do so just one time and never return to RCCL.

 

I just was wanting to know how people knew the C&A status of others on the cruise.

[PerferWarmWeather]

The numbers will tell you otherwise. Common sense here, please....D along with D+ in one lounge, just think about this for one split second. Thank You....:eek::rolleyes: Suite guests (of which you can count me as one) and Pinnacle not so many. Again noone knows what will happen until it happens, its speculation at this point. We have all heard the thoughts (raising the number to 350 was mentioned, another tier between D+ and Pinnacle) we shall see. So again think of the sheer number of diamond, throw in D+ and there is very simply OVERCROWDING.

 

This is just my opinion, but I believe the reason for the 3 drinks was to slowly introduce the idea of having drinks outside of the DL or CL in preparations for Diamonds being no longer allowed access to the DL lounge. I think there will be another level between D+ and Pinnacle and the D+ and new level will have access to the DL and Pinnacle and Suite to the CL. Again, JMHO.

[SECdawg]

Catalina was the CL concierge ... she left Monday for vacation

 

Carlington was the DL concierge ... he has moved to the CL for a few weeks before he moves to the Freedom

 

Felix came on board Monday and is the new DL concierge

 

 

Glad to hear Felix will be in the DL on our 3/27 cruise! We prefer him to Carlington. Does anyone know if Desmond is on the ship or on vacation?

[3dog]

You will probably change your mind in one big hurry when you find out the cheapest drink is now $11.80. :eek:

 

I get the humor, but seriously, should that happen, no I won't change my mind. The "free" drinks currently offered don't cost that much. Some may, depending on a number of factors, but the typical drink cost to the pax is within the basic drink package, and won't exceed $10 (at least today).

 

Assuming $10 as a base (plus it is easy to do the math), if a guest drank 2 a night, that a $140 saving on a week-long cruise. This guest is likely paying $1400 or more for their cabin, meaning that they are saving 10% (or less, should their other expenditures be higher).

 

Unfortunately, some of the drinks served I wouldn't pay $5 in my local venues, so for me, I would prefer to go and buy a $12-$15 glass of wine at vintages and bring it to the lounge (did this a fair amount on my last Oasis cruise), than to be served a free glass from a bottle I can buy locally for less than $10. So I have already set my bar above that "cheapest drink" level (though, YMMV).

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but RCI has always thought loyalty was to be rewarded and is indeed important. Gold card Suite guests do get other perks over and above the CL that D+ do not get.

 

Yes, re-read my post, and you will see that I agree it is good business to reward repeat guests (note both of our use of "reward", not "entitled"). I also expect RCI and every other cruise line to continue to reward that loyalty (some better than others). Similarly I expect that these programs will change over time, such that a reward given today may or may not match a reward given in the future (as it has been mentioned by others, the RCI program suffers from the popularity of the product - folks like it enough that there is an abundance of mid to top tier C&A members).

 

The point of my post was not towards the line, but to the cruiser that has an entitlement or importance complex. The line really does appreciate every guest's business and will offer some "reward" for their return, but in reality they are only one in the millions of cruisers, so that reward will be commensurate to what the line is offering when they take that repeat cruise, and not necessarily what was offered when they first started cruising nor what may be offered when they take a cruise in the future.

[julesbeara]

The numbers will tell you otherwise. Common sense here, please....D along with D+ in one lounge, just think about this for one split second. Thank You....:eek::rolleyes: Suite guests (of which you can count me as one) and Pinnacle not so many. Again no one knows what will happen until it happens, its speculation at this point. We have all heard the thoughts (raising the number to 350 was mentioned, another tier between D+ and Pinnacle) we shall see. So again think of the sheer number of diamond, throw in D+ and there is very simply OVERCROWDING.

 

Absolutely agree with you. Moving the Diamond Plus to the Diamond lounge would just amplify and create overcrowding.

 

Also, how can they kick the Diamond Level Members out of a lounge named for them so only the Diamond Plus could use it? Additional levels to Crown & Anchor, a new name for the Diamond Lounge and modified access???