New "crown lounge" rule

[Tlbecker1]

4 hours ago, rolloman said:

Going back a few years ago (pre-drink vouchers) it was not uncommon at peak times for the Concierge to ask everyone to take out their seapass card as he/she walked through the lounge. I am sure this will turn into another cat and mouse game until D are completely eliminated from the lounge as it will no longer be a perk for them. I find it amusing to read some comments about how they would never do that, it would cause an uproar. Well, they already did it once by kicking D+ out of the concierge lounge. It was swift and without warning lol...at least this time it looks like they are doing a semi-slow ramp up to elimination...

2 days ago making our way to the Crown Lounge on the Anthem, we were asked to show our seapass cards before entering.  There were only 10 folks on the lounge.

[RFerrington]

46 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Enjoy the P cruise - Well done guys 

Now to be top dogs in the casino

 🥂

Thanks !  We will NEVER be top dogs in the casino.  We can’t even qualify for a decent certificate !  😠😫

[sgmn]

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'm inclined to agree.  Though I myself would rather have the drinks.  

Okay, but I personally am curious about the cost of free drinks vs. free internet.  

I don't think the cost to provide is much for either.

What the management may factor in is the money they are losing because D/D+/pins are not buying the DP and WiFi because of the perks provided at these levels 

[Starry Eyes]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

The other issue to consider is would the customer have bought those drinks if they did not have the perk? If not then the true cost to RCI is the, maybe, couple of bucks worth of ingredients. So a Pin with their six drinks would be a cost of around $12 a day not $84 using $14 per drink retail.

That’s true. 
Plus, even though some people are given more vouchers per day (4, 5 than 6) as they move up in the the loyalty system, the passenger may not choose to consume more drinks.  Some of the drinks may be lower cost items (water, soda, juice).

As a D+ couple, DH and I receive a total of 10 vouchers per day.  On the rare day we use them all, the tally usually includes 2-4 cheap soft drinks or waters.  Thus when we make Pinnacle, we will notice the bump internet more than the bump in drink vouchers.

[cruisegirl1]

3 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Thanks !!!

 

Are you going to be on Mariner next week ?  I would love to finally meet you.

No-getting off. Won’t be back till late November. 
Enjoy 

m

[Rackham]

Can't imagine the drink vouchers costing Royal that much since they actually increased the amount given out at each loyalty level, by one, after they were introduced. Based on message board postings and Royal's actions, this perk sounds great on paper,  but very few actual make full use of it. Thus Royal gets bookings because "free drinks" without having to cover X number of premium beverages. 

[SUgwoz]

22 minutes ago, Rackham said:

Can't imagine the drink vouchers costing Royal that much since they actually increased the amount given out at each loyalty level, by one, after they were introduced. Based on message board postings and Royal's actions, this perk sounds great on paper,  but very few actual make full use of it. Thus Royal gets bookings because "free drinks" without having to cover X number of premium beverages. 

I would say its a huge perk, for anyone that previously purchased a drink package.  Drink package can cost around $750 for one person on a 7 night cruise, and if there have a cabin mate that is an adult they must get at least a refreshment package that cost $280.  So now a cabin that would have previously got a drink package spending between $750-1500. 

 

Most people who get drink package don't make it worth it either, but Royal get's their money and up front.

 

Now if its a perk that just sounds great on paper, let's see how people would feel if Royal decided to replace it with something else like only having a happy hour.

[cruisegirl1]

3 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

2 days ago making our way to the Crown Lounge on the Anthem, we were asked to show our seapass cards before entering.  There were only 10 folks on the lounge.

I’m always happy when I see that. We have been asked to show our card when entering various loyalty/suite lounges. Royal simply doing their job. 

hmmm-perhaps they were only 10 people in the lounge BECAUSE  they were checking cards 😄😄
m

[nelblu]

8 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

if Royal decided to replace it with something else like only having a happy hour.

Then you really will see the crowds return to the DL/CL and get unlimited drinks.

[cruisegirl1]

42 minutes ago, Rackham said:

Can't imagine the drink vouchers costing Royal that much since they actually increased the amount given out at each loyalty level, by one, after they were introduced. Based on message board postings and Royal's actions, this perk sounds great on paper,  but very few actual make full use of it. Thus Royal gets bookings because "free drinks" without having to cover X number of premium beverages. 

I suspect the cost is a consideration and likely talked about in Miami.  
 

Many of the ships we’ve been sailing  have well over 1000 diamond and up passengers. That would be tens of thousands of passengers per day on ships, getting 4/5/6 drinks per day for no cost to the passenger. Plus, I’ve heard many passengers say that, since they’ve reached diamond status and four drinks per day, they no longer buy the  beverage package. (Lost revenue). 
 

however, I believe that Royal Caribbean has built this “drinks for everyone“ into some of their current pricing. we are all paying for it in the cruise fare. 

m

 

 

[BND]

Boarded Jewel this am. D+ and pinn only in lounge during HH. 

[yogimax]

5 minutes ago, BND said:

Boarded Jewel this am. D+ and pinn only in lounge during HH. 

So how will Royal control access without involving a check of cards, which involves use of staff time and could be embarrassing to cheaters?

 

Only solution... take away all lounge access to Diamonds. so the cards will not open the door.  Once again, changing the name to "Crown" was done for a specific reason.

[OCSC Mike]

16 minutes ago, BND said:

Boarded Jewel this am. D+ and pinn only in lounge during HH. 

 

Older ship, 10 night cruise during quiet time of year... would be interested to hear how many top tier members are onboard.

[BND]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Older ship, 10 night cruise during quiet time of year... would be interested to hear how many top tier members are onboard.

We've seen a lot of pins on chests. Apparently last cruise it was crazy with the number of pins. We know a pinn that is still on from it and will be on this b2b with us.

[BND]

12 minutes ago, yogimax said:

So how will Royal control access without involving a check of cards, which involves use of staff time and could be embarrassing to cheaters?

 

Only solution... take away all lounge access to Diamonds. so the cards will not open the door.  Once again, changing the name to "Crown" was done for a specific reason.

Not unusual to check the first night in particular.

[nelblu]

23 minutes ago, BND said:

Boarded Jewel this am. D+ and pinn only in lounge during HH. 

What about kids.  Any notifications on their exclusions.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, BND said:

We've seen a lot of pins on chests. Apparently last cruise it was crazy with the number of pins. We know a pinn that is still on from it and will be on this b2b with us.

 

Thanks, that was kinda my guess.

[BND]

17 minutes ago, nelblu said:

What about kids.  Any notifications on their exclusions.

We've only seen maybe 5 kids . It just says under 21 need to be accompanied by parent or guardian. Dragon posted the letter on her live thread.

Edited October 20, 2023 by BND

[Starry Eyes]

33 minutes ago, yogimax said:

So how will Royal control access without involving a check of cards, which involves use of staff time and could be embarrassing to cheaters?

 

Only solution... take away all lounge access to Diamonds. so the cards will not open the door.  Once again, changing the name to "Crown" was done for a specific reason.

Everyone who orders a drink hands over their card.  Those with D+ or PC cards are served.  Those without are asked to leave.  Those who do not order drinks (and are not recognized as D+ or PC from prior interactions) could be carded.  Hanging around a lounge for long if you could not order a drink wouldn’t seem like much fun to me, so they might leave without being carded.  If “cheaters” are embarrassed by being asked to leave, they are not likely to repeat.  
 

Even if one’s card does not open the door, it does not seem difficult to follow someone else into the lounge after they swipe to open the door. So, if someone wants to sneak in, they probably can.  

Edited October 20, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[Tlbecker1]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I’m always happy when I see that. We have been asked to show our card when entering various loyalty/suite lounges. Royal simply doing their job. 

hmmm-perhaps they were only 10 people in the lounge BECAUSE  they were checking cards 😄😄
m

We have never been asked to show our cards before entering the lounge, but everyone’s experience is different.  We have been asked what room we are in once inside, but not before entering.  

[Jimbo]

55 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Older ship, 10 night cruise during quiet time of year... would be interested to hear how many top tier members are onboard.

This was the total Mid September , Jewel of the Seas 14 Night cruise to Greenland. Thought the numbers were quite high.

 

Half the ship Diamond and above. 😲

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Jimbo

[meadowlander]

54 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Older ship, 10 night cruise during quiet time of year... would be interested to hear how many top tier members are onboard.

More than 200 pins on the Jewel cruise that ended today with a much higher d+ number. There was no restriction on lounge usage the past 2 cruises.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I’m always happy when I see that. We have been asked to show our card when entering various loyalty/suite lounges. Royal simply doing their job. 

hmmm-perhaps they were only 10 people in the lounge BECAUSE  they were checking cards 😄😄
m

 

Exactly 🙂  ^

[island lady]

1 hour ago, BND said:

Boarded Jewel this am. D+ and pinn only in lounge during HH. 

 

Pinnies in non-suites allowed in CL...err...Concierge Lounge that is?   Jewel always had a threshold total for Pinnies, if over that number...they were excluded.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by island lady

[BND]

6 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Pinnies in non-suites allowed in CL...err...Concierge Lounge that is?   Jewel always had a threshold total for Pinnies, if over that number...they were excluded.  

 

 

 

 

 

No idea. We only got the letter about the Crown. This b2b puts us at 607 points. We'll ask our friends who are pinns

Edited October 20, 2023 by BND