Are platinum members always allowed in elite lounge?

[JJean]

We have always been welcomed in the lounge before dinner.  We are going on a cruise with a lot of sea days and hopefully this hasn’t changed.  I read a comment recently that a ship was only allowing elites.

 

 

[Chianti Cowboy]

8 minutes ago, JJean said:

We have always been welcomed in the lounge before dinner.  We are going on a cruise with a lot of sea days and hopefully this hasn’t changed.  I read a comment recently that a ship was only allowing elites.

 

 

YES!!!

[neverbeenhere]

PES Lounge

Platinum, Elite and Suite.

 

The secret handshake is for Elites only.

[beg3yrs]

3 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

PES Lounge

Platinum, Elite and Suite.

 

The secret handshake is for Elites only.

neverbeenhere is correct. Calling it the Elite Lounge is wrong as it conveys the wrong message.

[satxdiver]

We just disembarked from the Star.  The lounge was an elite lounge and only elite received the invitation/program.  Suite had their own lounge so I was told.  Can you crash the door - most likely.  There were 383 elite aboard according to the Captain Circle lady.  Most nights there was someone watching the door.  

 

Yes they told us the secret Elite handshake. 😎

[geoherb]

Wow. On the Crown's transatlantic, with over 900 Elites on board, the evening event was still open to Platinum passengers as well. 

[MJSailors]

       On cruises since becoming Platinum, we have always been able to go to the lounge for pre-dinner drinks and select appetizers. We knew it as PES with ,supposedly , Blue card suite passengers welcomed as well as Elite passengers.

     Is this something new for Elites only ?

After awhile,we did not attend the lounge  because we felt we didn’t need the extra calories before dinner and we no longer drank alcoholic drinks. The lounge no longer appeals to us, but we realize it is an appreciated perk for others.

  

[kywildcatfanone]

It's really just a loyalty level lounge

[Daniel A]

17 hours ago, satxdiver said:

We just disembarked from the Star.  The lounge was an elite lounge and only elite received the invitation/program.  Suite had their own lounge so I was told.  Can you crash the door - most likely.  There were 383 elite aboard according to the Captain Circle lady.  Most nights there was someone watching the door.  

 

Yes they told us the secret Elite handshake. 😎

I'm not questioning your statement but how do you know for sure that it was for elite only?  (Are you platinum and were you refused entry?)

[junglejane]

My October cruise on the Royal was my first time as Elite. I've always been able to go to the "Elite" lounge because in my experience it's been for Platinum, Elite and Suites. That was true on my Royal cruise even though they told us there were 900 Elites and 1000 Platinum. I never saw anyone checking cards or Medallions. I suppose that when they charge your drink they could notice but I've never seen anyone denied service.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

I have a question.  We will be on the Regal.  Is the Elite Lounge the same thing as the Platinum/Elite happy hour thing.  The Captain's Circle reception.  This is something set up in one of the bars?  

If this is true, I have heard that Platinum have gotten the invite cards in their cabins.

 

[satxdiver]

59 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I'm not questioning your statement but how do you know for sure that it was for elite only?  (Are you platinum and were you refused entry?)

 

We are elite.  I read the invitation and noted the sign when we walked into Skywalkers.

[satxdiver]

2 minutes ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

I have a question.  We will be on the Regal.  Is the Elite Lounge the same thing as the Platinum/Elite happy hour thing.  The Captain's Circle reception.  This is something set up in one of the bars?  

If this is true, I have heard that Platinum have gotten the invite cards in their cabins.

 

 

In all our Princess cruises before the lounge was for PES but on this cruise on the Star it was for elite only.  I have no idea whether this is a new fleet wide decision or limited to only that sailing of the Star.  I was hoping that someone on another ship who recently sailed could share that they found the same thing.  It certainly cut down on the number of pax present.  The times were changed to 4:30 to 6:30 perhaps due to the change in TD and ATD times.  Unfortunately I did not keep the invitation we had in our stateroom. 

[nukesubsailor]

2 minutes ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

I have a question.  We will be on the Regal.  Is the Elite Lounge the same thing as the Platinum/Elite happy hour thing.  The Captain's Circle reception.  This is something set up in one of the bars?  

If this is true, I have heard that Platinum have gotten the invite cards in their cabins.

 

The Captains' Circle reception is for all members of the Captains' Circle loyalty club.  If there are a large number of members on a cruise, the ship may hold separate receptions such as one for Elite members and another for the other members.  In my experience every member will receive an invitation in their cabin which you present at the entrance to the reception and it goes into the pot for a door prize drawing.

The evening cocktail party in my experience has always been for Platinum and Elite members of the Captains' Circle loyalty club as well as any passengers booked into full suites---not mini-suites.  We have always received a card in our cabin showing the details about each nights event for the entire cruise.  It is not held on evenings when the Captains' Circle reception is held.

[Daniel A]

I have a 28 day cruise booked on the Star.  We are Platinum Level.  If Star is denying entry to platinum members in the PES lounge, then I will likely cancel the booking and look for a similar itinerary on another line.  I would encourage other platinum members to stop sailing on the Star or any other ship that is taking our lounge away.  After all, it is a loyalty program and loyalty is a two way street.  What satxdiver is reporting is clearly disloyalty to platinum members.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Daniel A

[railman]

We are platinum for one more cruise scheduled in three weeks.  We will be very unhappy if we are not allowed in.  Since we will become elite at the end of that cruise in the long run it will have very little long term impact on us.

[beg3yrs]

10 minutes ago, railman said:

We are platinum for one more cruise scheduled in three weeks.  We will be very unhappy if we are not allowed in.  Since we will become elite at the end of that cruise in the long run it will have very little long term impact on us.

 

I just reviewed the Captain's Circle benefits and there's no mention of the evening lounge events at all for any level. IIRC in the past this was listed as a benefit. Does anyone else recall it being listed?

 

If it was and now isn't, there goes another benefit...

[SharkieRools]

LOL at everyone getting their panties in a bunch.  This thread has turned into whether platinums were allowed into the lounge, into the lounge may be gone for everyone.  😄

 

By the way, a simple look at archive.org at Captain's Circle benefits from 2018 makes no mention of an evening lounge:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180831175726/https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/membershipBenefits.page

 

One person on here mentioned that platinums weren't allowed in, and it's not clear whether this was actually the case, they had a separate venue, or what.

[Doug R.]

22 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

 

I just reviewed the Captain's Circle benefits and there's no mention of the evening lounge events at all for any level. IIRC in the past this was listed as a benefit. Does anyone else recall it being listed?

 

If it was and now isn't, there goes another benefit...

Let's wait until we have confirmation before we jump on the another cutback wagon. All I can say is the lounge was alive and well on my January Regal cruise. Can anyone confirm that fact in more recent cruises than mine? I have heard a lot of kvetching about the revised cocktail menu and food for the lounge which leads me to believe the lounge still exists.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Doug R.

[finishedover30cruises]

PES was alive and well on the Star in March of this year.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Currently on the Sky and it is at has always been......... it is a PSE lounge.

IMO if they attempted to block any one of the 3 from attending there would be a revolt.

 

 

[nukesubsailor]

It is my speculation that the event that was for Elite level members only was a Captains' Circle reception and not the Platinum, Elite, & Suite cocktail party.  I know that the receptions have been split up due to the large number of Captains' Circle members onboard being too many to accommodate in the available venue.

 

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, satxdiver said:

 

We are elite.  I read the invitation and noted the sign when we walked into Skywalkers.

 

The sign often says "Elite Lounge" but it's open to Platinum, Elite, and Suite passengers.

[junglejane]

Last month on the Royal it was open to all three categories.  Actually, what struck me was the total absence of any effort to check who was entering.   Anyone could walk in and sit down.  If an "ineligible passenger" tried to order drinks, perhaps they would have been refused service and ejected, but I doubt it.  

[dreaminofcruisin]

On the Sapphire in October.

We are platinum, were invited and did attend.