Concierge lounge Jewel of the Sea

[renebfl]

In May, I was on jewel of the Sea. We were in a suite so it allowed us to experience the concierge lounge. My overall experience was not what I had expected. I most definitely enjoyed the bartender who was in charge of making all the drinks and picking up the tables after people had  left. The other staff member, the concierge was also very attentive to the patrons. The selection of liquor was very limited. one day I asked for my normal gin and club soda, and I had to accept the house gin.  I would’ve thought for the money we paid for a suite,The selection would’ve been top shelf. The appetizers were plentiful, but nobody ever ate them. There were many fried items, but they were all room temperature. The cheese selection was also very limited and look like they had been out for several hours because the edges were dry. The staff could not have been better. I did make my feelings known to an officer that was walking around interviewing all of us. I had hoped to write a note on my survey, but it had already expired by the time I get home and I did make my feelings known to an officer that was walking around interviewing all of us. I had hoped to write a note on my survey, but it had already expired by the time I got home and I couldn’t share my experience.

[smokeybandit]

Remember, suite lounge alcohol selection, pre-covid, was always very limited.

Now on ships with a bar in the lounge, it's hit or miss what kind of liquor they bring in. I've had it with bare bones liquor. I've had it with about anything I could want.

I've never seen an appetizer array that wasn't fresh and hot though.

Edited July 12 by smokeybandit

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, renebfl said:

My overall experience was not what I had expected.

Any reasonable reading of previous suite guest experiences on Radiance class ships would have set proper expectations. 

[BubbyI]

Were Diamond Plus members allowed in the club? I have not seen a Diamond Lounge on the deck plans for this ship.

[alfaeric]

12 minutes ago, BubbyI said:

Were Diamond Plus members allowed in the club? I have not seen a Diamond Lounge on the deck plans for this ship.

There isn’t a diamond lounge, just the Crown Lounge. Which is next to the concierge lounge on deck 13. Allowance is always based on the number of P, D+, and D’s on the ship. 

[smokeybandit]

31 minutes ago, BubbyI said:

Were Diamond Plus members allowed in the club? I have not seen a Diamond Lounge on the deck plans for this ship.

They renamed the diamond lounges to crown lounges. 

[leaveitallbehind]

39 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Allowance is always based on the number of P, D+, and D’s on the ship. 

That's a little misleading and unclear.  The Diamond Club has been renamed as the Crown Lounge on all ships and is open to all D, D+ and P members during the day to utilize its' full services.  The only time it may be restricted is during the published cocktail hours, typically 5:00 - 8:30 PM (these hours may vary by ship) where, based on the total numbers of those three upper tier C & A members, it may be closed to D's during that time to avoid overcrowding, and open only to D+ and P. 

 

But if and when this occurs, D's will have access to the lounge and the Concierge during all other lounge hours during the day.  Whether or not this policy will be in place is ship and itinerary based and determined, as said, by the total number of upper tier C& A members on any given sailing.

 

Diamonds (along with D+ and P) will have full access to any other bar on the ship at anytime to utilized their drink vouchers loaded on their SeaPass card, except for the Crown Lounge during the cocktail hours if they are restricted from it during that time.  

Edited August 31 by leaveitallbehind

[alfaeric]

34 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

That's a little misleading and unclear.  The Diamond Club has been renamed as the Crown Lounge on all ships and is open to all D, D+ and P members during the day to utilize its' full services.  The only time it may be restricted is during the published cocktail hours, typically 5:00 - 8:30 PM (these hours may vary by ship) where, based on the total numbers of those three upper tier C & A members, it may be closed to D's during that time to avoid overcrowding, and open only to D+ and P. 

 

But if and when this occurs, D's will have access to the lounge and the Concierge during all other lounge hours during the day.  Whether or not this policy will be in place is ship and itinerary based and determined, as said, by the total number of upper tier C& A members on any given sailing.

 

Diamonds (along with D+ and P) will have full access to any other bar on the ship at anytime to utilized their drink vouchers loaded on their SeaPass card, except for the Crown Lounge during the cocktail hours if they are restricted from it during that time.  

Not sure how it’s misleading when you go and explain that access is dependent on number of P, D+, and Ds as I point out. It’s accurate.  If it’s an issue, there will be a note emailed to you and a note in your stateroom about how it will work. 

[smokeybandit]

I'm sure it happens, but it's been a while since anyone reported that Diamonds were held out of the happy hour window.

Edited August 31 by smokeybandit

[Biker19]

37 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'm sure it happens, but it's been a while since anyone reported that Diamonds were held out of the happy hour window.

Or, it’s so routine/normal no one bothers to report it anymore. 

[alfaeric]

37 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'm sure it happens, but it's been a while since anyone reported that Diamonds were held out of the happy hour window.

Right now on the Jewel D’s are being held out of the lounge during HH. But that’s because there are 90+ P, and 400+ D+ on board. And only Ps with 1300+ points are allowed in the concierge lounge. 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, alfaeric said:

And only Ps with 1300+ points are allowed in the concierge lounge. 

And, that point threshold can vary wildly based on the physical number of high point Pins on board. Typically, the cut of is only the top 25-30 highest point Pins make the cut.

[captainannoyed!]

Glad you enjoyed the Suite lounge so much!  I love the lounge more on the Radiance class than others I’ve experienced so far.  I think having a bar in the lounge is significantly better than waiter service, and the layout is sumptuous and comfortable.

[smokeybandit]

Just now, captainannoyed! said:

 I think having a bar in the lounge is significantly better than waiter service, and the layout is sumptuous and comfortable.

The only issue is how well stocked the bartender wants to be. I've seen the old school "suite bar menu" with like 3 things on it, and I've seen 20+ bottles of liquor brought in each night.

[captainannoyed!]

Just now, smokeybandit said:

The only issue is how well stocked the bartender wants to be. I've seen the old school "suite bar menu" with like 3 things on it, and I've seen 20+ bottles of liquor brought in each night.

They’ve always had what I ordered.  I think if you asked on night one the bartender would stock whatever you prefer.

[smokeybandit]

3 minutes ago, captainannoyed! said:

They’ve always had what I ordered.  I think if you asked on night one the bartender would stock whatever you prefer.

I tried that. Didn't work. I assume it was just that bartender (or a new food/beverage lead). Usually there are plenty of options.

[captainannoyed!]

10 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I tried that. Didn't work. I assume it was just that bartender (or a new food/beverage lead). Usually there are plenty of options.

I am surprised.  Yeah, sounds like a bartender issue.  I would have then gone to the Suite Concierge.  You should have had your desired drink in the lounge.  My experience is that, especially with Suite guests, Royal wants to keep guests satisfied.  I definitely would have mentioned this in the cruise survey, and given the name of the bartender.  This is definitely unacceptable, and Royal needs to know if suite guests are not being treated properly.  That’s why we pay the premium.

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Not sure how it’s misleading when you go and explain that access is dependent on number of P, D+, and Ds as I point out. It’s accurate.  If it’s an issue, there will be a note emailed to you and a note in your stateroom about how it will work. 

To me the statement never clarified what was dependent on those numbers. What seemed unclear to me was that in the statement what wasn't mentioned is that it is only access by D's that are restricted from using the lounge and only during the cocktail hours.  At least that was confusing to me. Sorry, I wasn't criticizing, only clarifying what seemed unclear. 

[alfaeric]

35 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

To me the statement never clarified what was dependent on those numbers. What seemed unclear to me was that in the statement what wasn't mentioned is that it is only access by D's that are restricted from using the lounge and only during the cocktail hours.  At least that was confusing to me. Sorry, I wasn't criticizing, only clarifying what seemed unclear. 

I did say “access was dependent”. Meaning access is dependent on the number of P, D+, and Ds on board. 
 

Which is happening right now on the current jewel of the seas cruise with the amounts of P (+90) and D+(+400) sailing. We don’t have access to the concierge lounge on this cruise. And HH access to the concierge lounge is irrelevant, we don’t ever have access as P members. 
 

Sorry if that’s confusing. 

Edited August 31 by alfaeric

[leaveitallbehind]

21 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

I did say “access was dependent”. Meaning access is dependent on the number of P, D+, and Ds on board. 
 

Which is happening right now on the current jewel of the seas cruise with the amounts of P (+90) and D+(+400) sailing. We don’t have access to the concierge lounge on this cruise. And HH access to the concierge lounge is irrelevant, we don’t ever have access as P members. 
 

Sorry if that’s confusing. 

Its not confusing at all and I completely understand it. The initial question asked when this thread was updated was whether or not Diamond Plus was allowed in what was previously known as the Concierge Lounge.   What was not said in the comments to which I originally responded was that access to what is now the Crown Lounge when total C & A higher tier numbers are large was only restricted to Diamonds and only during cocktail hours. That is all I was trying to clarify.

 

Sorry for any confusion.

[MichaelCMTX]

1 hour ago, captainannoyed! said:

Glad you enjoyed the Suite lounge so much!  I love the lounge more on the Radiance class than others I’ve experienced so far.  I think having a bar in the lounge is significantly better than waiter service, and the layout is sumptuous and comfortable.

It was a different experience being on the Radiance class ships with an actual "bar" bar in the lounge (likely from when it was repurposed from it's prior format - I think it was a comedy club but sure someone with more tenure can correct me).  Now post-pandemic we'd been on Voyager-class ships (se ya next week, Mariner) with the Suite Lounge relocated from the Deck 9 "bat cave" and each time the servers have had full access to the Viking Crown bar and could bring pretty much whatever one's taste desired.

[captainannoyed!]

31 minutes ago, MichaelCMTX said:

It was a different experience being on the Radiance class ships with an actual "bar" bar in the lounge (likely from when it was repurposed from it's prior format - I think it was a comedy club but sure someone with more tenure can correct me).  Now post-pandemic we'd been on Voyager-class ships (se ya next week, Mariner) with the Suite Lounge relocated from the Deck 9 "bat cave" and each time the servers have had full access to the Viking Crown bar and could bring pretty much whatever one's taste desired.

Yes, I think it was a comedy club originally.  There is a cabin right by the elevators on deck ten that used to be the Suite Lounge.  I feel like that was better in terms of closeness to the suites.  I have noticed on ships that don’t have a bar in the lounge that service seemed rather slow.  I think the waiters were also servicing the Viking Crown bar.

[JColquhoun]

Question? Does the suite Concierge still make dining reservations before you board? We are purchasing the Ultimate Dining Package, which cannot be reserved on the app or the cruise planner. The reason for my question is that the JOS concierge sent me an email stating, "We also recommend that you plan ahead and make reservations for your dining, onboard activities, shore excursions, and Vitality Spa services. You may do so using your Cruise Planner or Royal App." In the past, the suite concierge made our dining reservations before we boarded. 

 

Any advice? Thank you

[MichaelCMTX]

3 hours ago, captainannoyed! said:

Yes, I think it was a comedy club originally.  There is a cabin right by the elevators on deck ten that used to be the Suite Lounge.  I feel like that was better in terms of closeness to the suites.  I have noticed on ships that don’t have a bar in the lounge that service seemed rather slow.  I think the waiters were also servicing the Viking Crown bar.

I think it was 9 on Voyager-class and 10 Freedom-class. True, there was many an evening in that suite lounge it was good the trip home was a short one.

Edited August 31 by MichaelCMTX

[goldfish65]

They had Botanist gin, which I like just fine; however I would have spoken up it they only offered cheap gin.