Diamond Lounge Perks

[mom1965]

We are cruising on 2/28 on the Anthem and this is our first cruise as Diamond members.  We were just wondering if it is worth getting a drink package?

I think I read that you get 3 drinks per day as diamond,  does that include if you go in the Diamond Lounge for Happy Hour?

[killsport]

I can only respond for Jewel, but I believe it is fleet-wide... As a Diamond you get 4 drinks per day, up to $13. So, it could be a beer, wine, a gin & tonic, bourbon on the rocks, etc. If you go over the $13, you are charged the difference plus gratuity on the difference. There are no more unlimited happy hour drinks in the Diamond lounge... you can order a drink there and it counts as one of your four.

Coffee from the specialty coffee machine in the Diamond lounge (in our case, prepared by Ali who was wonderful) does NOT count against your four. If you do NOT want to use one of your "voucher" drinks, and would rather be charged, just let the bartender know (you might want to do that if you are getting a water or other inexpensive drink and want to save your "voucher" for wine with dinner). And the "voucher" is automatically on your Sea Pass card.

[xxHadleyxx]

The above description is pretty much perfect.  I will add, because people often ask, your drink allowance is per day and any unused vouchers will be gone the next day...you cannot carry over.   Exactly when a new day begins was unclear on our last sailing...with some nights our allowances from before midnight still paying for a 1:00 a.m. drink in the club and sometimes having to use one from the new day's allowance.  It would actually be nice if they chose a turnover time and publicized that...I guess most people have burned through their 4 or 5 (D plus) vouchers long before midnight anyway?

[2nsmom]

25 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

The above description is pretty much perfect.  I will add, because people often ask, your drink allowance is per day and any unused vouchers will be gone the next day...you cannot carry over.   Exactly when a new day begins was unclear on our last sailing...with some nights our allowances from before midnight still paying for a 1:00 a.m. drink in the club and sometimes having to use one from the new day's allowance.  It would actually be nice if they chose a turnover time and publicized that...I guess most people have burned through their 4 or 5 (D plus) vouchers long before midnight anyway?

If you still had a drink or 2 left before midnight, could you use it to get a bottle of water?

[xxHadleyxx]

5 minutes ago, 2nsmom said:

If you still had a drink or 2 left before midnight, could you use it to get a bottle of water?

of course...if we noticed it was about to turn midnight while in the club dancing.  Most nights until the club closed was counted as the day prior (similar to how a cruise compass will show activites into the wee hours ) but on about day 5 (or 6 I guess) we were told it became a new day at midnight and we had to use from the next day's coupons (extra frustrating as it was about 12:10 and my son had intentionally saved his vouchers for a couple of nicer drinks at the club so half went unused while he had paid for cheaper drinks during that day).  Personally, I feel like if the late night  activity is still listed on the "Day x compass" then the drink coupons from Day x should be allowed.....but it is a minor detail to an otherwise excellent perk, so I am not that bothered, just giving people a heads up

Edited January 12, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[HicksRA]

4 minutes ago, 2nsmom said:

If you still had a drink or 2 left before midnight, could you use it to get a bottle of water?

Yes. We’ve done that. 

[Coochuck]

48 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Yes. We’ve done that. 

 

53 minutes ago, 2nsmom said:

If you still had a drink or 2 left before midnight, could you use it to get a bottle of water?

Or ask for a bottle of beer, and keep the cap on.

[Another_Critic]

7 minutes ago, Coochuck said:

 

Or ask for a bottle of beer, and keep the cap on.

I have 2 Foster's oil cans that I got just before midnight one night.  Never got a chance to drink them during the cruise, so they are now in my fridge at home.  😄

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Another_Critic

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, mom1965 said:

We were just wondering if it is worth getting a drink package?

If you will drink at least 5 alcoholic drinks above your D perks limit every day, maybe.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Biker19

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If you will drink at least 5 alcoholic drinks above your D perks limit every day, maybe.

In that case, I think they need something other than a drink package.  😉

[mom1965]

thanks for the help.  My husband gets free drinks in the casino - so I think we are good with 4 drinks each per day in addition to those.

[Rogueperson]

On 1/12/2022 at 11:30 AM, xxHadleyxx said:

The above description is pretty much perfect.  I will add, because people often ask, your drink allowance is per day and any unused vouchers will be gone the next day...you cannot carry over.   Exactly when a new day begins was unclear on our last sailing...with some nights our allowances from before midnight still paying for a 1:00 a.m. drink in the club and sometimes having to use one from the new day's allowance.  It would actually be nice if they chose a turnover time and publicized that...I guess most people have burned through their 4 or 5 (D plus) vouchers long before midnight anyway?

 

When I was on Brilliance, I actually asked the C&A representative about when the line was and she said it was midnight.  I have not tested whether it is actually accurate to the minute, or if there's give and if the bartenders have the option to charge to the night before's vouchers.

[foxgoodrich]

A couple of other DL perks...there are hors d'oeuvres (both hot and cold) in the DL during the traditional happy hour time span.  You'll be charged a voucher for each drink in the lounge, but the munchies are provided each day during happy hour.  On Adventure, we had chicken wings, stuffed mushrooms, samosas, shrimp, chicken skewers, little fancy canapés, veggies and dip, fruit, and lots of other things that changed on a daily basis.

 

There is also a fancy coffee machine, equipped with good quality coffee beans, which is available all day/night long.  On Adventure last week, it was back to serve-yourself from the machine.  It makes espresso, Americanos, lattes, cappuccinos, etc.  In the morning, there is a little buffet of pastries, bread,  yogurt, and fruit...basically a continental breakfast...available in the DL as well.

 

You also have access to the Diamond Concierge to assist you with any problems or issues.  On our last cruise, the concierge was very proactive in the lounge - he made a point to meet each guest, and he asked if there were problems he could help with.   The concierge and his/her interaction with passengers will vary from ship to ship and DL to DL, but don't forget about this resource.  I always ask the concierge before going to Guest Services, and I've saved a lot of time not standing in line.

 

As for getting a drink package, you might try NOT getting one this cruise.  Then at the end, total your bar charges for any drinks you bought beyond your vouchers, and compare your total bar bill to the what the cost of a drink package would have been.

 

Enjoy the DL and enjoy your vouchers! 

[xxHadleyxx]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

 

When I was on Brilliance, I actually asked the C&A representative about when the line was and she said it was midnight.  I have not tested whether it is actually accurate to the minute, or if there's give and if the bartenders have the option to charge to the night before's vouchers.

it just wasn't consistent on our Harmony cruise....the night after my son wasn't allowed to use a drink from the previous day after midnight, he tried to use a drink from the "next day/same day" after midnight, having planned accordingly and was told it wouldn't change in the system until 3 or 4 a.m.  Not a huge big deal, but a little frustrating...there should be consistency at least on the same ship, same sailing.

 

If it actually IS midnight, then hey, you get four "bonus drinks in the club in the very wee hours of the departure day 😉

Edited January 13, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[Rogueperson]

7 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

 

 

If it actually IS midnight, then hey, you get four "bonus drinks in the club in the very wee hours of the departure day 😉

 

I KNOW you can use it on debarkation breakfast for mimosas as I successfully ordered one.  Also, if you're on a b2b, you get a new account, which means 4 more free drinks!!!

Edited January 13, 2022 by Rogueperson

[George C]

Free 8 by 10 photo

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, foxgoodrich said:

munchies are provided each day during happy hour.  On Adventure, we had chicken wings, stuffed mushrooms, samosas, shrimp, chicken skewers, little fancy canapés, veggies and dip, fruit, and lots of other things that changed on a daily basis.

Is the DL munchies now being served instead of self serve? 

[George C]

18 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Is the DL munchies now being served instead of self serve? 

suite munchies which was always help your self now has someone giving them to you 

Edited January 14, 2022 by George C

[firefly333]

24 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Is the DL munchies now being served instead of self serve? 

The 5 pm is served however the breakfast stuff is self serve which surprises me a bit. Fruit, berries and cheese and pastries. Someone else said bread but I dont remember seeing bread. I had brie cheese and strawberries. They had tongs. You take your dirty plate over to a area and stack it. 

 

Kinda like buffet breakfast, they serve it and quite picky but then coffee is self serve out of carafes there too. You touch the creamers too. Both places. Our coffee in diamond was in carafes maybe because our coffee machine was broke. 

 

Guy above said the dl concierge was quite chatty. I only saw ours talk to someone one time and she was reading or something otherwise.

[rvlandandsea]

Do they keep hand sanitizer by the coffee area. 
 

[foxgoodrich]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Is the DL munchies now being served instead of self serve? 

On Adventure last week, it was self serve.  

[foxgoodrich]

12 minutes ago, rvlandandsea said:

Do they keep hand sanitizer by the coffee area. 
 

Yes...there is hand sanitizer everywhere, including a complimentary bottle in your cabin.

[AustinCruise]

12 hours ago, mom1965 said:

thanks for the help.  My husband gets free drinks in the casino - so I think we are good with 4 drinks each per day in addition to those.

And don’t be afraid to purchase an extra drink or 3 if you feel like it. Still cheaper than the package. 

[davekathy]

12 hours ago, foxgoodrich said:

On Adventure last week, it was self serve.  

I wasn't excepting that answer. 

[foxgoodrich]

In terms of self serve/not self serve, it may be a decision made by individual ships, and the passenger load might be the deciding factor.  On Adventure, the DL was never crowded.  There were always seats available, even at happy hour, and there were no people standing around in line for the munchies.  Possibly that's why it had changed to self serve for the food and the coffee machine.  

 

The Windjammer was also not crowded, although we sometimes had to wait for a person or two to be served before we were.  Crew served all the food in there.  I think you could pick up your own drinks at the drink station - there were trays with glasses of water, lemonade, and iced tea set out.  We never did get our own because each time we ate in the WJ, there were several crew standing around in the dining area and someone would see us heading toward the drinks and offer to bring them to the table.   There were a few desserts that were pre-plated and set on trays, so people could probably pick those up.

 

Oh the whole, it seems like the ship was well managed.  We never saw any obnoxious passengers complaining about protocols, everyone was masked, and people were actually voluntarily complying with the limit of 4 per elevator!   (Even with that in place, we really never had to wait for an elevator.)  There wasn't much night life, though!

 

We came home a week ago, and neither of us has had any symptoms, so I believe we've successfully cruised and visited a port without Covid.  (Now I want to do it again.)