Pinnacles back to Suite lounges Mar. 15 and other questions

[topnole]

10 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I remember when they added Glenfiddich to the menu.  The whiskey options immediately went from terrible to mediocre

Was this the same menu they used on the SL happy hour?  Feeling like they were the same back them.  

[smokeybandit]

Just now, topnole said:

Was this the same menu they used on the SL happy hour?  Feeling like they were the same back them.  

Yes, suite lounge was the same.

[Cigar King]

13 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Wow, that's going way back. You sure you don't mean D+

I could be senile, but the way I remember it is Diamonds were allowed in the CL.  I'm thinking 10 years or so ago.  The D+ restriction is current, relatively speaking.

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I could be senile, but the way I remember it is Diamonds were allowed in the CL.  I'm thinking 10 years or so ago.  The D+ restriction is current, relatively speaking.

 

It's been more than 10. We made Diamond in 2010 and never had access except when we were in a GS on Brilliance and 2013 with the B&J Sweet

[twangster]

25 minutes ago, topnole said:

Well.  On a TA with 300 pins it sure gets crowded fast.  The poor staff was crushed for 13 days straight.  And it made for a horrible service experience for every suite guest who used the SL.  The long line for the concierge was filled with pins making all kinds of requests I’ve never imagined the one time I really needed his help.  Too many pins and it easily destroys the SL.  

 

They learned that lesson.  Recent TAs have banned Pins from the CL/SL.  You won't see that again, or 600+ D+ trying to use the CL.  

[twangster]

11 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I could be senile, but the way I remember it is Diamonds were allowed in the CL.  I'm thinking 10 years or so ago.  The D+ restriction is current, relatively speaking.

 

Maybe before there was D+ or Pin levels.  

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Why?

 

As long as there has been a Suite Lounge Pinnacles have had access.  A name is just a name.  The name doesn't convey anything other than a name.  

 

If anything this inevitable outcome is a sign of things returning to normal but done in a manner that clearly creates some operational boundaries should a particular sailing have high numbers of Pinnacles.  Clearly a necessary step for those cruises with high numbers of Pinnacle to protect Suite guests access when it is needed.

 

More interesting to me is Diamond Plus access to Concierge Lounges, where they still exist.  Given there are typically 5 to 15 times the number of D+ compared to P, the D+ ban from the CL that was never put into words before the shutdown hasn't (yet) been addressed as it has now been for Pinnacle.

True, though even pre-CV was norm Cruise to Cruise. With most my Repo/Longer Cruises usually have so many Upper Tier passengers Diamonds had 3 Lounges, Diamond+ get the Diamond Lounge and PINS/Suites get the Concierge Lounge. Couple my Cruises was so many PINS they got the Diamond Lounge, Diamond+  got the Crown Lounge, and Suites got CL. When I was a lowly Diamond in 90's, Top Tier then, we had Lounges, First on/off Ships, Meet Capt and Senior Staff, down hill since but C&A been very successful. Not that I worry much using the 340+ SOLO, along with other Discounts enough $$$$ saved where every 3rd or 4th Cruise is Free to me

[ONECRUISER]

19 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I could be senile, but the way I remember it is Diamonds were allowed in the CL.  I'm thinking 10 years or so ago.  The D+ restriction is current, relatively speaking.

Nope, you are right. First time I used CL was as Diamond. This before there even was a Diamond Lounge

Edited March 1, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[SteelCityCruiser10]

1 hour ago, ScubaCat3 said:

@John&LaLa  Is this what you are looking for?

 

New Amsterdam as the only Vodka option is ridiculous IMO just sayin

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Does anyone have a copy of the old DL/SL drink list?

SL...

 

DL...

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by davekathy

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

New Amsterdam as the only Vodka option is ridiculous IMO just sayin

 

The official vodka of the NHL.  🤮

[suzyluvs2cruise]

44 minutes ago, davekathy said:

SL...

 

 

That was the menu on Oasis class ships. On our recent Navigator cruise you could get whatever drink you wanted in the SL.....including a bit better wine than I remember being offered in the Oasis Class SL with no voucher required. In the P lounge on Navigator we had the same choice of adult beverages but vouchers were used. What amazed me was that you never had to give your card. I think they had Ps pictures w/names posted and that's how they knew who to charge. 

If Ps have access to a SL and get "free" drinks....w/o having to use a voucher....I can see many will go there who might have gone elsewhere and used a voucher.  I hope vouchers stay as it's nice to have a choice of time and place for an adult beverage. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by suzyluvs2cruise

[topnole]

52 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

New Amsterdam as the only Vodka option is ridiculous IMO just sayin

Yeah.  They definitely should provide Skol as well.  😄

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

New Amsterdam as the only Vodka option is ridiculous IMO just sayin

 

That was the pre covid selection.

 

I also remembered seeing a limited SL list on Allure back in October. Don't recall the details

[John&LaLa]

52 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

That was the menu on Oasis class ships. On our recent Navigator cruise you could get whatever drink you wanted in the SL.....including a bit better wine than I remember being offered in the Oasis Class SL with no voucher required. In the P lounge on Navigator we had the same choice of adult beverages but vouchers were used. What amazed me was that you never had to give your card. I think they had Ps pictures w/names posted and that's how they knew who to charge. 

If Ps have access to a SL and get "free" drinks....w/o having to use a voucher....I can see many will go there who might have gone elsewhere and used a voucher.  I hope vouchers stay as it's nice to have a choice of time and place for an adult beverage. 

 

I really can't see them doing unlimited in SL and still keep the new voucher expansion. Maybe if they reverted to the old list😉

 

It would move Pins out of DL, though

Edited March 1, 2022 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

40 minutes ago, topnole said:

Yeah.  They definitely should provide Skol as well.  😄

 

Big fan of Popov back in the day

[Kbonner]

@ Cigar King 

how do you feel now after your unsuccessful and tireless fight against Pinnacles in the Suite and Pinnacle lounge?

[Teeara]

16 hours ago, island lady said:

 

And even those pesky Pinnacles that happen to sail in full suites.  😄   

You are the peskiest Pinnacle I know (not that I know many) 😄

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Kbonner said:

@ Cigar King 

how do you feel now after your unsuccessful and tireless fight against Pinnacles in the Suite and Pinnacle lounge?

 

Hard to go at it solo, to bad M8 isn't around to protect his flank.

 

But he is following along😉

Edited March 1, 2022 by John&LaLa

[topnole]

11 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Hard to go at it solo, to bad M8 isn't around to protect his flank.

 

But he is following along😉

I’ll bite.  The SL is one thing and easy to deal with by opening another lounge.  But an over crowded CK ruins it.  And this is what happens when there are high numbers of pinnacles on board if they don’t adjust to it somehow.  It isn’t the fault of pinnacles.  It is Royals fault.  
 

If Royal is trying to compete with other lines in the area of suites, they can’t advertise a suites restaurant and then deliver less than MDR service.  I’ve had that happen before and after many days  I politely asked to meet with someone in GS about it.  The GS manager met with me and took my concerns to corporate.  I didn’t ask for anything or ask them to do to escalate it to corporate.   I’m sure they did that because many suite guests complained.  
 

To my surprise I received a letter late in the cruise with a significant future credit.  And I do mean significant.  Again, I didn’t ask for one thing.  I simply ask to express my concerns and frustrations with the over crowded situation so they fix it in the future.  

 

I can’t imagine they want this to happen in the future.  Even once in a while is a big problem.  Consistency is key in service delivery.  Particular when folks shell out the really big bucks.  You can’t  have folks having a great experience one week and then a bad one the next time.  It is a recipe for long term failure.   People can probably live with bad service her and there for $70-100 a day.  But when paying near $1000 per day, people expect a great service experience every time or they will go elsewhere.  

[molly361]

Since the Pinns are going to be allowed in the SL will they also have access to unlimited beer and wine all day on the Oasis class ships?

[twangster]

6 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Since the Pinns are going to be allowed in the SL will they also have access to unlimited beer and wine all day on the Oasis class ships?

 

That's the $13 question.

[Husky1987]

18 minutes ago, topnole said:

I’ll bite.  The SL is one thing and easy to deal with by opening another lounge.  But an over crowded CK ruins it.  And this is what happens when there are high numbers of pinnacles on board if they don’t adjust to it somehow.  It isn’t the fault of pinnacles.  It is Royals fault.  
 

If Royal is trying to compete with other lines in the area of suites, they can’t advertise a suites restaurant and then deliver less than MDR service.  I’ve had that happen before and after many days  I politely asked to meet with someone in GS about it.  The GS manager met with me and took my concerns to corporate.  I didn’t ask for anything or ask them to do to escalate it to corporate.   I’m sure they did that because many suite guests complained.  
 

To my surprise I received a letter late in the cruise with a significant future credit.  And I do mean significant.  Again, I didn’t ask for one thing.  I simply ask to express my concerns and frustrations with the over crowded situation so they fix it in the future.  

 

I can’t imagine they want this to happen in the future.  Even once in a while is a big problem.  Consistency is key in service delivery.  Particular when folks shell out the really big bucks.  You can’t  have folks having a great experience one week and then a bad one the next time.  It is a recipe for long term failure.   People can probably live with bad service her and there for $70-100 a day.  But when paying near $1000 per day, people expect a great service experience every time or they will go elsewhere.  

As a Diamond Plus who rarely books a suite, I really have no dog in this fight.

 

But I will say this is the best summary of the issue (on either side) that I've read on CC.

[island lady]

14 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

In that case you have to pick a side. 

 

I will plead the 5th....vodka, gin, rum?  😄 

[island lady]

duplicate

Edited March 1, 2022 by island lady