Liberty diamond and suite lounge

[George C]

So agree with you, nothing matters anymore except Suite Guests - not those of us that have spent THOUSANDS of dollars on Royal to get to D+. We are kicked to the curb and they could care less about us anymore. Really a shame. So now we look at other lines for who gives us the best bang for the buck - Royal/Celebrity/Princess/MSC and decide who to do our business with. Back in the day we did nothing but Royal, not anymore.

 

I always switch around have done all the ones you mentioned and more, but RCCL in general gives me more for may dollar with diamond discount, now normally book while on board for extra credit, but if I find a bargain on one of the lines mentioned I will book it. Might like RCCL more after trying some lines or not. After I became diamond I took about 8 cruises on other lines now I am back to RCCL.

[Tagsalong]

So agree with you, nothing matters anymore except Suite Guests - not those of us that have spent THOUSANDS of dollars on Royal to get to D+. We are kicked to the curb and they could care less about us anymore. Really a shame. So now we look at other lines for who gives us the best bang for the buck - Royal/Celebrity/Princess/MSC and decide who to do our business with. Back in the day we did nothing but Royal, not anymore.

 

There are two employees of RCI, with titles of Concierge, that think it is beneath them to give any courtesy to Ds, D+s or PCMs. One is Carlos and the other is Rahul on the Freedom. They do not represent the vast majority of Suite Lounge / Concierge Lounge hosts, who are the nicest people you would want to meet. Do not let these two bad apples sour your opinion of RCI and the Lounges.

 

Our letter and evaluation of Rahul has apparently made a slight modification of his outward appearance towards D+s and PCMs. We'll see if it lasts.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Tagsalong

[karena1]

I always switch around have done all the ones you mentioned and more, but RCCL in general gives me more for may dollar with diamond discount, now normally book while on board for extra credit, but if I find a bargain on one of the lines mentioned I will book it. Might like RCCL more after trying some lines or not. After I became diamond I took about 8 cruises on other lines now I am back to RCCL.

 

We really like Celebrity and Princess. We did one 3 night on NCL, never again. We pretty much have decided our short cruises will be on Royal (for lack of choices since I won't do Carnival) and our 7 night will be on whichever of the 3 lines gives us the best deal. We have been to the islands so many times it really is not about the itin, it is about getting the best deal.

 

We are doing Regal in Dec b/c they had a promo for a free bev pkg, cruise was no more than if we did Royal or Celebrity and we got $350 in OBC that I can use to pay for tips and pictures. So cannot beat the deal we got. There is no way when you factor in a Premium Bev pkg (which does not include Specialty coffee and Princess does) plus $350 in OBC that Royal could beat that deal. So Princess it is. We wanted to do Regal and they made it more affordable than Royal could even come close to.

[foxgoodrich]

I am confused. You are NOT in a suite. You ARE D+. For two weeks you only had access to the Diamond Lounge.

 

How do you know what was going on in the Suite Lounge?

 

Not all concierges "mingle". That has always been my observation. Some do, some don't. Has nothing to do with "which lounge".

 

You got your free drinks. You had your "special lounge".

 

D+ do not get priority tendering, IME.

 

The sense of entitlement here (not on all threads about the changes, but here) stinks.

You got that right, Carol! I'm aboard Liberty right now...getting cleaned up and ready to go to the DL a little later. We've had no problem getting a seat any night so far. Carlos has been friendly and interacted with us all week. He also has helped us with a couple of things, and he's been very nice.

 

We are not in a suite this cruise, so I haven't been in the suite lounge. Friends in an OS who are using it have told us it's pretty dead in there though. Unfortunately the DL patio area is blocked off as the workers who are working (?) on the Tidal Wave slide have all their stuff out there, so the patio area isn't available. The DL has been pretty full most nights, but there are always a few seats when we go in. We don't hang in there for hours, though! We usually go at about 7 or 7:15 and have a drink before dinner. The bartender is a sweetheart and has perfected my vodka gimlet with extra lime.:D

 

(Well...except for night 1, which was quite weird.) We were told that it is "illegal to serve limes" while in Texas waters. Hmmm....weird, huh? Same story earlier in the day at the Sky Bar, Bolero's, and the Pool Bar when we tried to buy Mojitos. The Texans aboard are mystified! (Our bar bill will be a bit less this time since we always get 4-5 mojitos between the two of us on day 1 - our fave sailaway drink! This time we had iced tea from the WJ since we couldn't get what we wanted.:() Also baffling is the fact that we were told it's illegal to use a waste receptacle on open decks in Texas waters - all of them on decks 11 and 12 were sealed up with plastic. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of refuse blowing around on those open decks, and I saw several items picked up by gusts of wind and blown overboard. Galveston bay is sporting a few plastic cups, several aluminum cans, and a whole lot of napkins from last Sunday due that that so called "law."

 

When I expressed my distress about the litter situation to Carlos in the DL, he had the Environmental Officer contact me so I could voice my concerns to him. He seemed to be surprised by what people were told at bars and said he would speak to the Bar Manager. He said he would also find out about the trash can situation. I haven't heard back from him but hopefully I can follow up before Sunday and find out what that was all about.

 

Bottom line is...the world has not ended. The DL is fine. The drinks have been great, the munchies are good, everyone has been friendly and fun, and we've found seats every night.:) We are D+ but we don't consider ourselves royalty.;)

Judy

[Krazy4Kruisin']

We're sailing with 6 other people who are not Diamond. So my DH and I probably won't even go to the Diamond Lounge. I don't want to seem snobby or anything since they can't go in. It's fine when just the two of us sail, otherwise, it doesn't make or break our cruise.

[ARCruisinNana]

We're sailing with 6 other people who are not Diamond. So my DH and I probably won't even go to the Diamond Lounge. I don't want to seem snobby or anything since they can't go in. It's fine when just the two of us sail' date=' otherwise, it doesn't make or break our cruise.[/quote']

 

 

That's when it's nice to have your vouchers!

[George C]

We really like Celebrity and Princess. We did one 3 night on NCL, never again. We pretty much have decided our short cruises will be on Royal (for lack of choices since I won't do Carnival) and our 7 night will be on whichever of the 3 lines gives us the best deal. We have been to the islands so many times it really is not about the itin, it is about getting the best deal.

 

We are doing Regal in Dec b/c they had a promo for a free bev pkg, cruise was no more than if we did Royal or Celebrity and we got $350 in OBC that I can use to pay for tips and pictures. So cannot beat the deal we got. There is no way when you factor in a Premium Bev pkg (which does not include Specialty coffee and Princess does) plus $350 in OBC that Royal could beat that deal. So Princess it is. We wanted to do Regal and they made it more affordable than Royal could even come close to.

 

You sound like us we will consider almost any cruise line except NCL and Carnival

[Trekker954]

As a D+, in the past, we have received escorted priority to the tenders and/or disembarkation. Big difference than when Diamond concierge hands out tender tickets. I do know this perk was slowly being taken away for D+ even if we still had a CL, much dependent on who the concierge is.

 

I'm one very unhappy getting the boot back to the Diamond lounge. They are too many in there and too few bartenders.

[Coaster1117]

First world problems...;)

[setsail]

Cc is always here for those that didn't get their ego massaged by rci

 

 

By the way, There were probably several d+ in the suite lounge on this cruise as there are on all the ships with the new sl

[RFerrington]

This is not true! Have access to theater and ice rink reserved seating - the sign says Gold Card Only, but Concierge told us it is also for D+. Also, starting last week there is an area in the MDR at breakfast and lunch for D & D+ and you can bypass the long lines by entering the left door. However, have noticed the reserved area (to left & front) is usually full of anyone, so not really a designated area. Today they told us it was to full and seated us in the middle of the dining room where the view was great, according to the Head Waiter! LOL!!

 

Carla

 

Thank you. Glad to know the information I heard was wrong. Go figure...

[Merion_Mom]

You got that right, Carol! I'm aboard Liberty right now...getting cleaned up and ready to go to the DL a little later. We've had no problem getting a seat any night so far. Carlos has been friendly and interacted with us all week. He also has helped us with a couple of things, and he's been very nice.

 

We are not in a suite this cruise, so I haven't been in the suite lounge. Friends in an OS who are using it have told us it's pretty dead in there though. Unfortunately the DL patio area is blocked off as the workers who are working (?) on the Tidal Wave slide have all their stuff out there, so the patio area isn't available. The DL has been pretty full most nights, but there are always a few seats when we go in. We don't hang in there for hours, though! We usually go at about 7 or 7:15 and have a drink before dinner. The bartender is a sweetheart and has perfected my vodka gimlet with extra lime.:D

 

(Well...except for night 1, which was quite weird.) We were told that it is "illegal to serve limes" while in Texas waters. Hmmm....weird, huh? Same story earlier in the day at the Sky Bar, Bolero's, and the Pool Bar when we tried to buy Mojitos. The Texans aboard are mystified! (Our bar bill will be a bit less this time since we always get 4-5 mojitos between the two of us on day 1 - our fave sailaway drink! This time we had iced tea from the WJ since we couldn't get what we wanted.:() Also baffling is the fact that we were told it's illegal to use a waste receptacle on open decks in Texas waters - all of them on decks 11 and 12 were sealed up with plastic. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of refuse blowing around on those open decks, and I saw several items picked up by gusts of wind and blown overboard. Galveston bay is sporting a few plastic cups, several aluminum cans, and a whole lot of napkins from last Sunday due that that so called "law."

 

When I expressed my distress about the litter situation to Carlos in the DL, he had the Environmental Officer contact me so I could voice my concerns to him. He seemed to be surprised by what people were told at bars and said he would speak to the Bar Manager. He said he would also find out about the trash can situation. I haven't heard back from him but hopefully I can follow up before Sunday and find out what that was all about.

 

Bottom line is...the world has not ended. The DL is fine. The drinks have been great, the munchies are good, everyone has been friendly and fun, and we've found seats every night.:) We are D+ but we don't consider ourselves royalty.;)

Judy

 

Hey, Judy, would you mind dropping me an email? Someone asked me a question that only you can answer. ;)

 

(link in signature)

[foxgoodrich]

Carol - I just sent you an email. And I just had a DUH! moment...realizing that I've been talking to Carla in the DL off and on all week, also saw her in the theater tonight in the reserved seating area, which is definitely available to D+ as we were just there tonight. D+ also have reserved seating at the ice show - we saw that on Tuesday.

 

Other news...there is a big improvement in the way you can use the D+ internet perk since my last cruise! We had to each use 48 continuous hours on our last cruise (or take one discount on a package.) This time on Liberty we can use it 24 hours at a time and we can space out the 24 hour periods. So far we're successfully stretching it out for the whole week.:)

Judy

[Firefighterhoop]

The new suite lounge is beautiful and has a lovely outdoor balcony. What a disappointment sailing these last two weeks and only have the diamond lounge available. The 1st week we have Jorge and he did make an announcement the 1st night and last night. This week Carlos only talks with suite guest. You can see the trend. RCCL is only interested in suite guest. We have been diamond plus for 5 years and now the option to use the suite lounge was taken away. What next. The bar staff comes in sets up and does their own thing. Same thing with breakfast. Have not seen either concierge do a thing and neither Has gone out of their way to mingle except to suite guests. We have sailed on the Freedom many times and at least an acknowledgement was given when you cane in the door. What happened to loyal and making you feel welcome.

Waiting 3 hours for tender just to go ashore. No concierge around. :

 

I will say that Carlos has a history of putting all of his attention towards Suite guests, not PC or D+. This happened before the ship moved to Galveston as well - and was frustrating at times. I have had the same thing happen to me with a certain Concierge on the Freedom as well, but really no other ships.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

The new suite lounge is beautiful and has a lovely outdoor balcony. What a disappointment sailing these last two weeks and only have the diamond lounge available. The 1st week we have Jorge and he did make an announcement the 1st night and last night. This week Carlos only talks with suite guest. You can see the trend. RCCL is only interested in suite guest. We have been diamond plus for 5 years and now the option to use the suite lounge was taken away. What next. The bar staff comes in sets up and does their own thing. Same thing with breakfast. Have not seen either concierge do a thing and neither Has gone out of their way to mingle except to suite guests. We have sailed on the Freedom many times and at least an acknowledgement was given when you cane in the door. What happened to loyal and making you feel welcome.

Waiting 3 hours for tender just to go ashore. No concierge around. :

 

Want the Suite life? Buy the Suite life.

[golfpccc]

Carol - I just sent you an email. And I just had a DUH! moment...realizing that I've been talking to Carla in the DL off and on all week, also saw her in the theater tonight in the reserved seating area, which is definitely available to D+ as we were just there tonight. D+ also have reserved seating at the ice show - we saw that on Tuesday.

 

Other news...there is a big improvement in the way you can use the D+ internet perk since my last cruise! We had to each use 48 continuous hours on our last cruise (or take one discount on a package.) This time on Liberty we can use it 24 hours at a time and we can space out the 24 hour periods. So far we're successfully stretching it out for the whole week.:)

Judy

 

Judy, please let's meet tonight!! Were you the one sitting next to me in DL last night and we were chatting??? We haven't been sitting in the lounge much, usually sit outside, normally we are with several others and it is hard to find enough seats together in the lounge. Besides, much quieter outside and let's just say we have never had a problem finding a seat somewhere on deck 14.

 

I pop into the SL every night to check it out and look for our Pinnacle friends and to say Hi to Anis and generally there are just a handful of people, especially after 5:30.

 

Carlos is normally in the SL and Anis in the DL, for some reason the 2 are now splitting the lounges 50/50. Carlos will return to the SL on 5/29. I will say Carlos has warmed up to the D+ and P's, but he does prefer the Suites. I learned several cruises ago that if I approached him he was very friendly, actually think he is shy. Last night in the DL he was so busy mingling with others that I had a hard time being able to just say Hi.

 

By the way, we were also told several cruises ago on the Liberty that on embarkation day no food was allowed on the open decks while the ship was docked in Galveston!! So, please ask the Enviromental Officer about that too!! We have cruised out of Galveston a lot and have never run into the issues you mentioned until on the Liberty!!

 

Hope to meet you tonight!!

 

Carla

Edited May 13, 2016 by golfpccc

[cruizinmimi]

My understanding is that the construction materials from the new slides are out on that porch. :eek: ;)

 

That is correct. The outside area of the Diamond Lounge on the Liberty is totally shut off due to the construction materials. It could be temporary, but who knows. I don't see RCL getting that whole tidal wave thing fixed anytime soon.

[foxgoodrich]

Judy, please let's meet tonight!! Were you the one sitting next to me in DL last night and we were chatting??? We haven't been sitting in the lounge much, usually sit outside, normally we are with several others and it is hard to find enough seats together in the lounge. Besides, much quieter outside and let's just say we have never had a problem finding a seat somewhere on deck 14.

 

I pop into the SL every night to check it out and look for our Pinnacle friends and to say Hi to Anis and generally there are just a handful of people, especially after 5:30.

 

Carlos is normally in the SL and Anis in the DL, for some reason the 2 are now splitting the lounges 50/50. Carlos will return to the SL on 5/29. I will say Carlos has warmed up to the D+ and P's, but he does prefer the Suites. I learned several cruises ago that if I approached him he was very friendly, actually think he is shy. Last night in the DL he was so busy mingling with others that I had a hard time being able to just say Hi.

 

By the way, we were also told several cruises ago on the Liberty that on embarkation day no food was allowed on the open decks while the ship was docked in Galveston!! So, please ask the Enviromental Officer about that too!! We have cruised out of Galveston a lot and have never run into the issues you mentioned until on the Liberty!!

 

Hope to meet you tonight!!

 

Carla

 

Yes, that was me on your right last night, kind of 'cross-chatting' with you! Also saw you in the theater at the early show in the reserved area - we were sitting in front of Wanda and Dick. Okay - I'll be sure to find you tonight....see ya' later!

 

Judy

[foxgoodrich]

That is correct. The outside area of the Diamond Lounge on the Liberty is totally shut off due to the construction materials. It could be temporary, but who knows. I don't see RCL getting that whole tidal wave thing fixed anytime soon.

 

Yes, they have the glass doors to the DL patio completely covered so you can't really even see out there from inside, but you can sort of see the construction stuff if you look up from outside on Deck 12. We asked about the Tidal Wave a couple of days ago, and one of the Activity staff told us the contractor has promised to have the Tidal Wave done by June. He said the first attempts to modify it were not successful, so the workers aboard now working on it are actually from the manufacturer. He said he tried it himself, it's very fast, and it was a bit scary getting slammed against the side of it. I thought he sounded a little bit skeptical that it can really be 'fixed' to make it safer. Time will tell...

Judy

[ATC cruiser]

The contractors are on a cruise trying to fix the slide. The longer they take to fix the slide, the longer they're on a cruise. Did he mention which June they would get it fixed?

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for the onboard updates. Bummer about the DL patio.

 

I do recall no food allowed outside in Galveston as well as the lime thing. Go figure. BUT I definitely recall trash cans being available - that's a new one. We've got some weirdo outdated laws still on the books that's for sure.

 

Those of you in suites - did you get an email from Carlos/Anis before the cruise? I've got 2 appointments to make - love having them do it so I don't have to stand in any lines that first day!

[George C]

Thanks for the onboard updates. Bummer about the DL patio.

 

I do recall no food allowed outside in Galveston as well as the lime thing. Go figure. BUT I definitely recall trash cans being available - that's a new one. We've got some weirdo outdated laws still on the books that's for sure.

 

Those of you in suites - did you get an email from Carlos/Anis before the cruise? I've got 2 appointments to make - love having them do it so I don't have to stand in any lines that first day!

 

We got our e-mail from Anis about 4 or 5 days before sailing, suite lounge was nice and large but not large enough to let all the diamond plus and suite quests, maybe if they would just buy drink pakage it would not be that crowded ( we do buy packake even though we have access to both lounges)

[Cindy]

The new suite lounge is beautiful and has a lovely outdoor balcony. What a disappointment sailing these last two weeks and only have the diamond lounge available. The 1st week we have Jorge and he did make an announcement the 1st night and last night. This week Carlos only talks with suite guest. You can see the trend. RCCL is only interested in suite guest. We have been diamond plus for 5 years and now the option to use the suite lounge was taken away. What next. The bar staff comes in sets up and does their own thing. Same thing with breakfast. Have not seen either concierge do a thing and neither Has gone out of their way to mingle except to suite guests. We have sailed on the Freedom many times and at least an acknowledgement was given when you cane in the door. What happened to loyal and making you feel welcome.

Waiting 3 hours for tender just to go ashore. No concierge around. :

 

This will be unpopular, but your post really rubs me the wrong way. I understand that you feel slighted because you formerly had access to the CL and now are restricted to the DL, but the lounge is a perk, it's GIVEN to reward loyalty, and it's a whole lot more than most lines give frequent cruisers. Perks change all the time, and not just with cruise lines, but frequent flyer programs, shopping reward points, etc.

 

Let's not forget the lounge(s) are just one facet of the loyalty rewards. You get three drinks loaded onto your card to use at any bar, and you also get some BOGO coupons. Let's not forget one of the biggest (IMO) perks of being at least Platinum -- the balcony discounts. I'm in the loyalty program for Princess, HAL, and Carnival, and none of them offer a comparable discount to the one enjoyed by Diamond, D+, and Pinnacle cruisers.

 

I'm Diamond, not D+, so I'm a long way from being included in the top lounge because of my points. I do, however, usually cruise in a suite, and frankly think RCI has some catching up to do when it comes to suite perks in today's market.

 

I don't think of myself as high maintenance. I usually purchase a beverage package so I can drink what I want even though I have access to two lounges, and I don't make a lot of demands of the staff. I do, however, expect to receive what I've been promised as a benefit for my fare, and if that includes a lounge I expect it to be capacity controlled in a way that allows those who have paid for it as part of sailing in a suite to enjoy it.

 

I get that the move to a Suite Lounge and a Diamond Lounge is a huge disappointment, especially for those who formerly had access to the Concierge Lounge, but In my opinion Royal Caribbean had to do something to cut down on crowding in the lounge used by suite passengers. It's a lot easier for them to say "sorry" to someone who's struggling to find a seat in a complimentary/loyalty lounge than it is to have to apologize to someone who paid for that as part of their fare.

 

 

This misperception is rampant on this site. Almost every single person we have ever met in a concierge lounge has been (a) in a suite and (b) an experienced cruiser, most are platinum or above.

 

It's the reverse of the "all D+ and pinnacles" are in inside cabins. :D There are a LOT of D's, D+ and P's that are in suites.

 

I have to agree with that. We're far from first-time cruisers...we almost always get a GS, and sometimes if I catch a good sale I even get an OS!:) That's not to say that some first time cruisers don't get suites, but in my experience most of the "suite people" I've met have been on more than one or two cruises.

[wolfganghowell]

Cindy, your post is not unpopular with me. I agree with everything you've said. Quite frankly, the incessant complaining from many upper tier cruisers is what keeps us out of the DL in the evening. I don't see any evidence that Royal only cares about suite guests and ignores loyalty.

[Let'sGo!]

I read this thread with some amusement. We took our first cruise as Diamond on Jewel a couple of years ago. We went into the Diamond lounge each night for a drink or two... there was only one RCCL employee in there and it was the bartender!

 

So honestly, I've never met a concierge and probably wouldn't know what they were or were not supposed to do.

 

We purchased drink packages for our upcoming cruise on Liberty - so I'm not going to be sad either way about what's going on any of the lounges.

 

And just for what it's worth -- we actually did book a suite for our very first cruise. We had been saving our $$$ to go to Europe and then 911 happened. Obviously Europe was out for quite awhile, but we still wanted to do something for vacation. Our brick and mortar TA recommended a cruise. Of course she booked us in a suite! It was only later we realized we didn't need a TA to book a cruise, and we could choose other accommodations depending on budget and wants.

 

Ann