Diamond + but no diamond lounge?

[treasurer]

Hi Cruisers,

 

We are interested in taking the Empress which is small with no separate diamond lounge.  Does anyone know how d+ perks are recognized on that ship?   Is the happy hour the same as larger ships?   Is there a designated Crown and Anchor bar?  We enjoy this perk and wonder how it is managed.

[John&LaLa]

No lounge or Happy hour 

Just the 3 voucher drinks

 

There may be an open bar sail away party

Edited January 25, 2020 by John&LaLa

[twangster]

Second paragraph below.

 

Note that D+ does get Chops breakfast daily.

 

Sail away party on day 1 leaving port outside behind Boleros is like a CAS happy hour with drinks for an hour.

 

 

 

[twangster]

In my experience the Schooner Bar became the nightly hangout for Diamond types.  I found that building a relationship with the bar staff led to a positive outcome during happy hour.  

 

I've met some great friends on my 2019 Empress cruises, one is on Adventure right now and just turned Pinnacle.  We've been texting about that.  Another new friend and I compared notes and discovered we would be doing Panama Canal together so we met on Vision for happy hour drinks.

 

While it's true that Empress doesn't have a nightly Diamond event I really didn't miss it and very much enjoyed this small ship.  

[treasurer]

Wow!  Seems a bit less than unlimited drinks in designated bar area during happy hour + 3 drinks loaded on your card for anywhere.  

[John&LaLa]

21 minutes ago, twangster said:

In my experience the Schooner Bar became the nightly hangout for Diamond types.  I found that building a relationship with the bar staff led to a positive outcome during happy hour.  

 

I've met some great friends on my 2019 Empress cruises, one is on Adventure right now and just turned Pinnacle.  We've been texting about that.  Another new friend and I compared notes and discovered we would be doing Panama Canal together so we met on Vision for happy hour drinks.

 

While it's true that Empress doesn't have a nightly Diamond event I really didn't miss it and very much enjoyed this small ship.  

 

I enjoyed it as well, but we hung out in Boleros.

 

With no dedicated lounge, we found ourselves less tied to lounge hours and it was refreshing 

[Clarea]

6 hours ago, treasurer said:

Hi Cruisers,

 

We are interested in taking the Empress which is small with no separate diamond lounge.  Does anyone know how d+ perks are recognized on that ship?   Is the happy hour the same as larger ships?   Is there a designated Crown and Anchor bar?  We enjoy this perk and wonder how it is managed.

 

Happy hour times are the same, but you are limited to using your 3 drink vouchers which are honored at any bar or restaurant, plus the main theater.

[John&LaLa]

40 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Happy hour times are the same, but you are limited to using your 3 drink vouchers which are honored at any bar or restaurant, plus the main theater.

 

Our biggest disappointment on Empress for C&A perks was the lack of a free espresso machine.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by John&LaLa

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Our biggest disappointment on Empress for C&A perks was the lack of a free espresso machine.

 

 

 

Pinnacles get 6 free specialty coffees throughout the cruise, or so I'm told.     That doesn't help other levels though, only P.

[John&LaLa]

27 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Pinnacles get 6 free specialty coffees throughout the cruise, or so I'm told.     That doesn't help other levels though, only P.

 

🤣 We got that on our sailing, but not until day 3 when we missed San Juan due to unrest. 

It was a card they created for the cancelled Cuba cruises. the number 6 signified one coffee for each C&A level we had reached.

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by John&LaLa

[harry0]

I enjoyed the Chops breakfast much more than the Diamond lounge. Omelets cooked to perfection and the specialty coffees were much much better than the machines.I would trade breakfast in Chops instead of the diamond lounge any day of the week.

The servers were top notch too-helped make our cruise exceptional. Little ship with a big heart!

Edited January 26, 2020 by harry0