Food, etc. in 'Diamond'Lounge or whatever it is has been renamed

[island lady]

4 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

But … this conversation tells me some people really like cruising. 

 

Oh gosh no...it's just awful to do that.  😉 😄 

[Tatka]

43 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Oh gosh no...it's just awful to do that.  😉 😄 

I missed “don’t really like cruising”. They don’t cruise to have fun, but to be allowed into one of lounges for some snacks for several hours. If this is not happening they wasted lifetime of cruising 

[Oceansaway17]

well, I am a diamond plus and if on a given day, I can't go in I would just say loudly to anyone near the door, please go and get me a couple of those nice chocolate dipped strawberries and I will quietly leave ya'all alone.  Thank you. 

[cruisingjandb]

Would the Crown Lounge have some snacks on embarkation day? We would like to avoid the WJ for a light lunch.

[OldCaver]

What caused this is that back many years ago, during the Crimean wars, your status depended on the number of cruises, not the number of nights you were on the ship. This means that somebody (looking at you, Florida residents) could take short little weekend cruises and shoot up in the ranks in short time. I resented that because I was taking Trans-Atlantics, and my 14 nights on the ship was worth the same as a 3 night cruise, as far as status. Didn't seem fair.
So they made the adjustments, but grandfathered in your status, which is fair as far as I'm concerned, even though there could (theoretically) be Pinnacles on board who had spent less time than me on the ships. Relax, Pinnacles, I don't think it likely.
But that means that now, theoretically, you could have half the ship filled with Diamond Pluses.
So they wisely renamed the lounge so they wouldn't have to argue with angry Diamonds when they had to be turned away due to a full lounge.
Even though I earned my D+ status the hard way, I'm OK with the drinks being loaded on my sea-pass card any time of day. I wouldn't be interested in squeezing into a crowded room just to get a snack or a coffee, but I do love stopping by in the wee hours to score a latte.
I think given the situation, they did the best they could.

I do kind of wish they'd establish something between D+ and pinnacle. But I don't cruise for the status, I just enjoy whatever perks they'd like to issue.

[OldCaver]

18 minutes ago, cruisingjandb said:

Would the Crown Lounge have some snacks on embarkation day? We would like to avoid the WJ for a light lunch.

Oooooh. Good question.

[neverbeenhere]

21 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Depends on why you go there. “Best” is subjective (like most things). It’s best for me in the early AM to get my morning cappuccino & pastries & during the evening happy hour to get some snacks before or after dinner.

 

You may find other times to be the “best” for you.

I was trying to mitigate the concerns for Diamond level newbies and the “need” to attend the Crown lounge during the happy hours. 

[Tatka]

6 hours ago, OldCaver said:

What caused this is that back many years ago, during the Crimean wars, your status depended on the number of cruises, not the number of nights you were on the ship. This means that somebody (looking at you, Florida residents) could take short little weekend cruises and shoot up in the ranks in short time. I resented that because I was taking Trans-Atlantics, and my 14 nights on the ship was worth the same as a 3 night cruise, as far as status. Didn't seem fair.
So they made the adjustments, but grandfathered in your status, which is fair as far as I'm concerned, even though there could (theoretically) be Pinnacles on board who had spent less time than me on the ships. Relax, Pinnacles, I don't think it likely.
But that means that now, theoretically, you could have half the ship filled with Diamond Pluses.
So they wisely renamed the lounge so they wouldn't have to argue with angry Diamonds when they had to be turned away due to a full lounge.
Even though I earned my D+ status the hard way, I'm OK with the drinks being loaded on my sea-pass card any time of day. I wouldn't be interested in squeezing into a crowded room just to get a snack or a coffee, but I do love stopping by in the wee hours to score a latte.
I think given the situation, they did the best they could.

I do kind of wish they'd establish something between D+ and pinnacle. But I don't cruise for the status, I just enjoy whatever perks they'd like to issue.

 

I think 1 credit (7 points) was for cruises up to 12 nights and then it was 2 points. Still it’s crazy to equate 3 nighters and 10 nighters to 7 points. We lost 7 points (a cruise) on this conversion. Oh well, we moved on. 

[cruisegirl1]

13 hours ago, cruisingjandb said:

Would the Crown Lounge have some snacks on embarkation day? We would like to avoid the WJ for a light lunch.

Not usually in the crown lounge. 
m

[cruisegirl1]

17 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

Is every level a lifetime? Hardly. Maybe between D+ and P.
 

But … this conversation tells me some people really like cruising. 

I understood  the poster to mean  that once you reach a level, that level is never removed, even if you don’t cruise. You maintain that level for life, unless you reach the next level

 

 

m

 

 

Edited March 28 by cruisegirl1

[island lady]

17 hours ago, OldCaver said:

What caused this is that back many years ago, during the Crimean wars, your status depended on the number of cruises, not the number of nights you were on the ship. This means that somebody (looking at you, Florida residents) could take short little weekend cruises and shoot up in the ranks in short time. I resented that because I was taking Trans-Atlantics, and my 14 nights on the ship was worth the same as a 3 night cruise, as far as status. Didn't seem fair.
So they made the adjustments, but grandfathered in your status, which is fair as far as I'm concerned, even though there could (theoretically) be Pinnacles on board who had spent less time than me on the ships. Relax, Pinnacles, I don't think it likely.
But that means that now, theoretically, you could have half the ship filled with Diamond Pluses.
So they wisely renamed the lounge so they wouldn't have to argue with angry Diamonds when they had to be turned away due to a full lounge.
Even though I earned my D+ status the hard way, I'm OK with the drinks being loaded on my sea-pass card any time of day. I wouldn't be interested in squeezing into a crowded room just to get a snack or a coffee, but I do love stopping by in the wee hours to score a latte.
I think given the situation, they did the best they could.

I do kind of wish they'd establish something between D+ and pinnacle. But I don't cruise for the status, I just enjoy whatever perks they'd like to issue.

 

As they say..."the only thing that stays the same...is change".    Very specifically spelled out in the C&A language that the program can be changed at any time.  

 

When we started sailing with Royal, there were no Pinnacles...no Emeralds.   There were no Diamond Lounges, no Suite's lounges....just the concierge lounge that allowed GS pax and above in ....and Diamonds and above in.   

 

Then the Diamonds were kicked out of the CL...now the D+ are kicked out of the CL on ships that still have them.  D+ never allowed into the newly created SL.    Now Pinnacles not in a GS and above can find themselves kicked out of the CL or SL.  

 

So yeah, angry Diamonds were kicked out suddenly with no notice some years ago.  But they are not the only ones affected.  

 

And so it goes.  

[vjmatty]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:04 AM, OCSC Mike said:

 

Some of us like the happy hour snacks.

Free food on a cruise ship isn’t really all that special, especially since the quality of the appetizers has dropped. That being said, I do think a better solution would be to have a longer happy hour such as 4-8pm with the first two hours for Diamond and the second for Plus and Pinnacle. Or, just divide the current happy hour in half and assign accordingly. 

[OCSC Mike]

18 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Free food on a cruise ship isn’t really all that special, especially since the quality of the appetizers has dropped.

 

That's subjective. It's special to me. I enjoyed some of the CL snacks on Wonder 2 weeks ago.

[island lady]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

That's subjective. It's special to me. I enjoyed some of the CL snacks on Wonder 2 weeks ago.

 

Mmm...good cheese when we were on 3 weeks ago.  Bucky especially likes the "stinky cheese"...AKA blue cheese chunks.  😉 

[temple1]

Thanks to an error in accounting, I had an extra cruise added to my C&A account. When the dreaded change came, I had just enough points to be Diamond. Because I split cruises between my husband and sister, it took her a couple of years to reach diamond, she was not happy, With DH or after my sister reached Diamond, we rarely went into the Diamond lounge. On our last cruise, a b2b on Independence we had the notice about not being allowed to use the lounge during happy hour. One evening we were bored and stopped in anyway, it was empty. So we had some  snacks and a drink before heading out.

 

I really prefer the 4 drink vouchers to access to the lounge. 

[island lady]

1 minute ago, temple1 said:

 With DH or after my sister reached Diamond, we rarely went into the Diamond lounge. 

I really prefer the 4 drink vouchers to access to the lounge. 

 

We as well, especially if it is in "the bilge" on deck 4 as a windowless large closet on most of the Oasis class ships.  😕

 

IMHO...There are just too many interesting lounges around the ship not to enjoy a "bar crawl".  😉 

[vjmatty]

1 minute ago, island lady said:

 

Mmm...good cheese when we were on 3 weeks ago.  Bucky especially likes the "stinky cheese"...AKA blue cheese chunks.  😉 

We did have the stinky cheese as well, but also lots of overcooked appetizers, raw veggies in a cup with watery ranch, and unripe dipped strawberries. Plus those nasty canapés that every single cruise line seems to send to your room on formal nights. I wonder if there is a cruise food warehouse that makes them lol 

[temple1]

1 minute ago, island lady said:

 

We as well, especially if it is in "the bilge" on deck 4 as a windowless large closet on most of the Oasis class ships.  😕

 

IMHO...There are just too many interesting lounges around the ship not to enjoy a "bar crawl".  😉 

We prefer a window seat in the Schooner bar on most ships. 

[vjmatty]

5 minutes ago, temple1 said:

 

I really prefer the 4 drink vouchers to access to the lounge. 

Same here….the versatility of time and location is a big plus. 

[island lady]

Just now, vjmatty said:

We did have the stinky cheese as well, but also lots of overcooked appetizers, raw veggies in a cup with watery ranch, and unripe dipped strawberries. Plus those nasty canapés that every single cruise line seems to send to your room on formal nights. I wonder if there is a cruise food warehouse that makes them lol 

 

Agree indeed.  The fried overcooked apps...just not our thing.  I bring a simple little plate over to Bucky at the bar for us to share of various cheeses to pleases.  😉 

 

Sometimes they have some nuts, and some dried fruit...which are a good combo.  

 

 

 

 

[island lady]

2 minutes ago, temple1 said:

We prefer a window seat in the Schooner bar on most ships. 

 

Very popular place on Serenade World Cruise.  🙂   We like the bar seats along the wall facing out.  

[vjmatty]

5 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

We as well, especially if it is in "the bilge" on deck 4 as a windowless large closet on most of the Oasis class ships.  😕

 

IMHO...There are just too many interesting lounges around the ship not to enjoy a "bar crawl".  😉 

Thanks for the warning. We’re sailing Symphony in September and while I’m happy with tap water and regular coffee, hubby likes his bottled water and double espressos. I might just get him a coffee card and case of water instead of sending him to the lounge.  Otherwise he’ll use up his 5 vouchers before booze time lol. 

 

 

[vjmatty]

9 minutes ago, temple1 said:

We prefer a window seat in the Schooner bar on most ships. 

Same here. It’s a shame that both Quantum and Oasis are without windows, and kind of small. My favorite Schooner bar so far has actually been on the Enchantment of all places. 

[OCSC Mike]

25 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

I might just get him a coffee card and case of water instead of sending him to the lounge.  Otherwise he’ll use up his 5 vouchers before booze time lol. 

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but the espresso in the CL is from a self-serve machine, no vouchers needed. That machine is my 2nd favorite perk after the vouchers.

[island lady]

31 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Thanks for the warning. We’re sailing Symphony in September and while I’m happy with tap water and regular coffee, hubby likes his bottled water and double espressos. I might just get him a coffee card and case of water instead of sending him to the lounge.  Otherwise he’ll use up his 5 vouchers before booze time lol. 

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with popping into the Crown Lounge early in the morning for coffee though.  🙂  

 

I think it was on Wonder (or maybe Harmony) they had two coffee machines in there, versus just the one in the SL.