Diamond Status - 3 Drinks Question: When?

[Clarea]

Do children who are Diamond level get this perk as well? It would be nice to be able to get my son a free soda or virgin frozen drink before dinner.

No drink coupons for children.

[BND]

On my November Allure sailing, I could not use the loaded drink coupons in the dining room, nor could I use it at the bar just outside of the dining room.

 

I had to go down to the Champagne bar, then back upstairs. I don't know if they would have given me 2 glasses at one time. But, even if they would have, it would have been impossible for me to carry 2 glasses back upstairs.

 

You can't use them in the dining room or speciality restaurants and the bar outside the dining room is the one they must use for the MDR. They can be used in any lounge. We usually go to the Schooner bar or Champagne or R bar (depending on the ship) to use our coupons. They probably would have given you two at a time and just subtracted two off your card. DH and I usually just put it on one card rather than running two and a bartender on GR is the one who told us to do it that way. There are less restrictions with the 3 coupons than there are for plans when it comes to getting the drinks. You can use all three at one time from what I've seen. Cause, when they're gone, they're gone.:rolleyes:

Edited July 20, 2015 by BND

[Big_G]

Some inconsistencies that vary from ship to ship:

 

3. And lastly, for ships that don't allow Diamond drinks to be redeemed at the MDR, can you just go to any of the bars on your way to the MDR and take out a glass of wine and bring it to the MDR? I guess the question is will the bars allow you to take out a wine glass??? Coz I always bring a glass of wine from my stateroom to the MDR (from the 2 allowed bottles I brought in during embarkation) with no problems on all ships.

 

When we were on Independence in January, the Champagne bar did not accept the vouchers. I'm guessing it's proximity to the dining room may have been the issue.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Big_G

[plank]

Sounds like Diamond members have no need of purchasing a beverage package

as long as they take good care of the lounge staff? Just wondering.

 

We enjoyed a beverage package during our last cruise before turning Diamond.

 

Hi Philly Steve, We are still enjoying our gift exchange gifts from you guys!!! Hope you guys are continuing to enjoy cruising! We are excited to be going on a Snowbird Migration Cruise in Oct. from Quebec City! Take care! Peggy

and Steve from VA

[Doug S]

Lobby bar on deck 4 on Jewel had no problem honoring diamond drinks a few weeks back. I got 2 on mine, or 2 on my wife's card, or one on each. They did not care as long as there were drinks left on the card. Short walk from table to bar.

[Philly Steve]

Hi Philly Steve, We are still enjoying our gift exchange gifts from you guys!!! Hope you guys are continuing to enjoy cruising! We are excited to be going on a Snowbird Migration Cruise in Oct. from Quebec City! Take care! Peggy

and Steve from VA

 

Hi Peggy, glad to hear it. We'll meet you in the Diamond Lounge where the first round will be on me! :D

[chrystine]

No drink coupons for children.

 

Thanks for the answer! I thought not but figured I was ask anyhow :)

[da84898]

I've never heard of any ship allowing this.

 

we did this almost every night on the Quantum sailing in January. Just ask your waiter.

[Clarea]

we did this almost every night on the Quantum sailing in January. Just ask your waiter.

So far, I've only heard of this being allowed on Quantum class. On other ships, they are pretty clear about drink vouchers not being included in dining rooms. I guess they are trying to improve the approval rating of Quantum class.;)

[slk230red]

When we were on Independence in January, the Champagne bar did not accept the vouchers. I'm guessing it's proximity to the dining room may have been the issue.

 

We were on the Oasis and Allure in December. The letter on the Oasis stated that the vouchers would not be honored at the Champagne bar. But the next week on the Allure the Champagne bar was included, and our bar server Lu took great care of us.

It appears that a lot of these rules vary ship to ship.:rolleyes:

Edited July 21, 2015 by slk230red

[John&LaLa]

Lobby bar on deck 4 on Jewel had no problem honoring diamond drinks a few weeks back. I got 2 on mine, or 2 on my wife's card, or one on each. They did not care as long as there were drinks left on the card. Short walk from table to bar.

I've gotten 6 beers with two cards. [emoji6]

 

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[BillOh]

No drink coupons for children.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, as I have never traveled with children and just became diamond, I think those kids can still get the coke or other drink in the diamond lounge.

[Clarea]

Correct me if I'm wrong, as I have never traveled with children and just became diamond, I think those kids can still get the coke or other drink in the diamond lounge.

Yes, if they are allowed in the DL, they can get soda.

[John&LaLa]

Yes, if they are allowed in the DL, they can get soda.

That is a big if though [emoji6]

 

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[tserface]

The drink menu is a bit restrictive. If you're happy with regular mixed drinks (like scotch and soda or gin and tonic, etc.) and if you OK with 3 drinks only during the time allowed in the evening then it can be a very good thing. It worked for us because we don't drink a lot anyway and seldom even used our 3 drink coupons for an evening.

 

The beverage package allows you a lot more freedom and works all the time (day and night). It also works with lots of fruity cruise drinks and allows you to try drinks you might not otherwise want to pay for.

 

I guess it depends on how much or what you want to drink. It is a great benefit though.

 

One thing we noticed is that you can go to the Diamond Club and have some drinks and appetizers and then still use your 3 drink coupons later on if you want. We often had one drink in the DC then got a glass of wine on the way to dinner.

 

Tom

 

Sounds like Diamond members have no need of purchasing a beverage package

as long as they take good care of the lounge staff? Just wondering.

 

We enjoyed a beverage package during our last cruise before turning Diamond.

[Big_G]

Sounds like Diamond members have no need of purchasing a beverage package

 

as long as they take good care of the lounge staff? Just wondering.

 

 

 

We enjoyed a beverage package during our last cruise before turning Diamond.

 

 

I haven't found the need to by it on Royal yet. We've also seen bartenders that will serve you your drink of choice even if it's not on the voucher menu. Another benefit of taking care of your servers.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

The drink menu is a bit restrictive. If you're happy with regular mixed drinks (like scotch and soda or gin and tonic, etc.) and if you OK with 3 drinks only during the time allowed in the evening then it can be a very good thing. It worked for us because we don't drink a lot anyway and seldom even used our 3 drink coupons for an evening.

 

The beverage package allows you a lot more freedom and works all the time (day and night). It also works with lots of fruity cruise drinks and allows you to try drinks you might not otherwise want to pay for.

 

I guess it depends on how much or what you want to drink. It is a great benefit though.

 

One thing we noticed is that you can go to the Diamond Club and have some drinks and appetizers and then still use your 3 drink coupons later on if you want. We often had one drink in the DC then got a glass of wine on the way to dinner.

 

Tom

My feeling is that D and higher could just order by the drink during day and probably come out ahead. In addition to the DL and 3 coupons, we get wine in DR, beer in the cabin up in boarding, bring 2 bottles of wine from home. Hard pressed to drink 4-5 more drinks per day beyond all that. A couple of daiquiris or beers during the day is less than $55 a day every day.

 

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[MichaelCMTX]

Sounds like Diamond members have no need of purchasing a beverage package

as long as they take good care of the lounge staff? Just wondering.

 

We enjoyed a beverage package during our last cruise before turning Diamond.

 

That's where we're a little on the fence for the next one. We're newly Diamond, in a GS, but as mentioned elsewhere you're not going to get the entire menu with your vouchers or in the CL or DL. I normally go for sparking wine, not a problem in any of those venues. For our January trip DW got a package as a Christmas Gift from me, and as far as taking care of the staff goes by Day #2 there were a couple bartenders who quickly learned her preferences and were ready. They showed us that if you have the package your photo comes up when they run your card (assuming they run the card, which was a 50-50 proposition) so they know if it's not yours - crucial lesson for any of you folks thinking you'll sneak around the system. By Day 5 they were OK with me being occasional drink runner for her and would occasionally ask if I needed something as well - so let's not say we set out intending to abuse having a package for one person but simply got some love back for showing love to the bartenders.

 

So for the trip upcoming in November, if DW's going to stick to her strategy of "please make sure this glass always has Moscato in it" in any dining venue and Amaretto and Coke elsewhere (her thing, not mine) I don't think CL, DL and vouchers will cover that, so might just do a package for her like last time.

 

On the Freedom, earlier this year, we were already seated in MDR and I got up to go to one of the bars for a gin & tonic. The waiter asked if everything was alright, I explained what I was about to do and he said "no problem, sit and enjoy your meal, I'll go get your drink". And I did, and he did, and it was charged to the voucher. He asked every night hence if I wanted a cocktail.

 

It wouldn't hurt to ask your waiter on any ship you are on, but as stated, the RCI rule is no, it is not usable in the MDR. The waiters are experienced big boys and girls (young men and women, if you prefer) and they know what they are allowed to do.

 

I like your attitude, and your waiter's. And that waiter would get a little something extra from us on the last night of the trip, if not sooner to make sure our appreciation was known.

[tserface]

I fully agree. We typically have like 1 other drink during the day, sometimes so the package was not a deal for us. We don't even bring wine from home anymore. It's too much trouble to pack it around on embarkation and we seldom ended up drinking it anyway.

 

If someone wanted to try a bunch of drinks or drinks more than normal then the package may still be a good deal to them.

 

It also kind of depends on the cruise. For example, our recent Adventure of the Seas cruise was super port intensive and we were off the ship almost every day. A drink package for the cruise would have been a total waste. Conversely, if we were 5 days at sea (like a Hawaii cruise) then it might make more sense.

 

But... I agree with what you say here.

 

The single drinks are getting a lot more expensive so if they keep jacking the price and don't increase the price of the package then the package becomes more interesting. One fancy drink is now around $12-$14 so with 3 of those a day plus water and coffee you could almost justify the package.

 

Tom

 

My feeling is that D and higher could just order by the drink during day and probably come out ahead. In addition to the DL and 3 coupons, we get wine in DR, beer in the cabin up in boarding, bring 2 bottles of wine from home. Hard pressed to drink 4-5 more drinks per day beyond all that. A couple of daiquiris or beers during the day is less than $55 a day every day.

 

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[Harley-Davidson_Family]

Do children who are Diamond level get this perk as well? It would be nice to be able to get my son a free soda or virgin frozen drink before dinner.

 

This is my biggest complaint about this. My kids are 18/20 and they get nothing. I've asked at the bar which is always busy and they usually just shrug. Which infuriates me.

[cruzinlady1947]

You can get soda. I don't drink much and usually get soda. No problem.

 

 

Gwen