Happycruiser17

John and others, currently on Anthem. The Pinnacle (lounge) is not a lounge but a space in the music hall, along with the pool tables. I am glad you stopped by when the band was setting up and mentioned the scheduled loud band performance at 7pm.

We have the same most evenings andhave to leave as you cannot have a conversation. Our 5pm to 8pm has been reduced to 5pm to 7pm, thus most pinnacles do not go there.

Way to go RCCL, treat your top tier like ???

wj

Does Royal Caribbean have any ships with onboard dialysis centers?

5 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

With the electronic submission, they email an updated invoice which notes the OBC. 

 

When I emailed my OBC request, they would reply to my email stating the OBC was applied.

 

I don't recall what they did when requesting via fax.

 

You can also look at Cruise Planner and it should show the OBC for your sailing.

Thank you.

2 hours ago, alexgtp said:

I have to say how impressed I am with the online system to request your Share Holder OBC.

 

It only took 4 business days to see the OBC for my sailing.

 

KUDOS to RCI for having an electronic option, and it being very efficient (when providing the correct info they require, of course)

 

For those who may want to use the electronic version it can be found here. Sort of weird how they used a "SURVEY" type portal.

 

https://rclshareholderbenefit.questionpro.com/

 

Here is main portal for investors, incase you have more questions.

 

https://www.rclinvestor.com/contact-us/faqs/shareholder-benefit/

 

 

Where did you find  your confirmation of receiving the shareholder credit.  We faxed ours in several weeks ago but never got a response back from the Shareholder Dept like we usually do confirming it?

8 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

They need to stop account linking / status matching (for kids, SO, etc).  Status match per cruise,  not for life.

 

Lifetime status matching plus cutting benefits (due to too many members) is he not going to create loyalty.

I agree.  When our son was young and cruised with us he got his own points and when he became of age he now only has the points he actually cruised.  There should be no grandfathering of children permanently into the C&A unless they have actually cruised enough to achieve that level on their own.  Royal created the mess we are all in now with not addressing the C&A problems a long time ago and allowing them to have gotten way out of hand which now affects our lounges, our perks, etc.  

34 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

This kind of dilutes your case a little bit. 

 

Why continue on towards Pinnacle if you plan to immediately start cruising elsewhere? 

 

The truth is once you hit Pinnacle they kind of own you.  Sure that doesn't stop a pinnacle from sailing another line but once you get there are you really going to stop sailing Royal?  If so, switch now and start enjoying the greener grass over there and vesting into that loyalty program.

 

BTW - you'd better avoid Empress.  No nightly Diamond event at all, just 3 drinks on the card.  Somehow still great cruises though.  

We are cruising and have been cruising other cruise lines and are in their programs.  But as close as we are to Pinnacle, there is no point not reaching the top and being grandfathered in with any changes coming.

3 hours ago, LadyShiva said:

Why would write such a hyperbolic email, if what you treasure are the friendships made in the RCI Lounge?  You fired a salvo that is excessively easy to dodge by sorting your message into the round file. It wasn't constructive criticism as much as a declaration of war by someone who always intended to take their money vaguely "elsewhere."

What??????   The intent was if you read it carefully, to let everyone know that they are no longer going to have the lounge hours on Majesty after announcing yesterday onboard.  It made everyone on board rather mad ... thus the notice to the Board for those who may care to know and if they care, to let Miami know they don't appreciate it.  That's it.   From there others added their own take on whatever.  But I have certainly learned by all this NOT to ever let people know what's happening onboard ship from now on!  Find out when you get onboard!!!!!

45 minutes ago, Coralc said:

So...the Happy Hour event was reinstated, but now it has been removed again? 

Yes.  They have it for the Jan 11 cruise but it was announced at the Upper Tier Event yesterday that going forward Miami has told them they cannot do it anymore.  The Hotel Manager and staff are not happy about it and nor were the people at the Upper Tier last night!

7 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

This thread just screams elitism.

I guess you are right if you think being elite is Diamond or above on Royal Caribbean.  The point of this thread is the loss of a benefit.

13 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

We also enjoy socializing in the Lounge but you sound like you want everyone out but you with higher tier credits.    That really is not a fair assessment of the LoyaltyProgram, 

it was meant for everyone to enjoy.  Working Up the ladder is part of the fun but who wants to if you can’t enjoy the benefits that were in place.  Maybe Pinnacles should have their own ship and then won’t have to associate with lowly Diamonds. By the way we are D+ and  the Diamond benefits were what kept us sailing Royal.

I am advocating that not providing a space for Diamond Lounge evenings on the Majesty is wrong.  I believe that we are all entitled to the perks Royal gives each loyalty tier.  But when the C&A changes come, how will you feel if they decide, because if you look around on all their ships, including the large ones, the Diamond and above overwhelm the space and staff on most sailings, that Royal possibly decides to remove the Diamonds from the lounge and only get drinks on their cards and the Diamond Plus no longer can use the Concierge Lounges on ships and are moved to the Diamond Lounge and Pinnacles are in the Concierge Lounge and Suites are in Coastal Kitchen?   If anyone has been on the Oasis since the recent refurb in November, you will see that the size (on such a large ship) of the new Diamond Lounge has only 50 seats (while C&A is expanding exponentially).  The 2-story lounge they had on Deck 12 has been turned into cabins.  What does that foretell of the future?

5 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

We also enjoy socializing in the Lounge but you sound like you want everyone out but you with higher tier credits.    That really is not a fair assessment of the LoyaltyProgram, 

it was meant for everyone to enjoy.  Working Up the ladder is part of the fun but who wants to if you can’t enjoy the benefits that were in place.  Maybe Pinnacles should have their own ship and then won’t have to associate with lowly Diamonds. By the way we are D+ and  the Diamond benefits were what kept us sailing Royal.

The point made is that as Diamond Plus you should be realizing that you have been losing benefits, as I mentioned in another response, and I listed a few of the benefits that have been eliminated.  Just because there is no dedicated lounge on Majesty does not mean that space cannot be provided for the 3-1/2 hour social hour and that's the whole point of this thread, i.e., another "benefit" is lost by cruising Majesty.    

17 minutes ago, BeachChik said:

How about be thankful that you can do three cruises in a row. Or be happy that you have been able to sail as much as you clearly have.

 

People today are so ungrateful.

I think you missed the point.  Yes we are very grateful we have been able to cruise ... however, the point is that we could have done the cruising on any cruise line,  but we chose Royal to continue to build the benefits they "promised" if we continued with their line versus another.  That is the point.  It has nothing to do with being grateful or not.  Remember ... they call Crown & Anchor a LOYALTY PROGRAM!

What you also lose in not having the lounge is the friendships you make and they become cruising friends, many for life.  We have friends all over the world and we share our itineraries each year to meet up.  It is more than "drinking".  

You may think it is irrelevant now, but there are changes coming to the C&A program.  There is no excuse for not affording the passengers on Majesty the same privileges ... there were originally no lounges on the fleet and we always had our evening social hour in the VCL or similar.  Because Royal now only has a few of their old ships left in the fleet does not warrant not using the VCL (or portion thereof) for those few hours. 

Honestly, it is not that you pay equal per cruise that says you should have the same benefits ... since it is called a "loyalty program" it is that after cruising for years to get to the level to achieve the perks that enhance your cruise, to then have them taken away, one after the other, makes many of us at this point start looking around at other options.  

When we became Diamond, Diamonds only got beer and wine (there were no drinks on a card).  You did not get water, you did not get soft drinks (even if you didn't drink alcohol) ... just beer and wine.  In order to get mixed drinks you needed to be Diamond Plus.  (You also had to put your Seapass card on the table and leave it there while you were in the lounge or you did not get a drink, thus there was no "sneaking in" and bringing in unentitled friends/family.)  So we worked our way up to Diamond Plus and bam ... then they opened the door to the Diamonds to have the mixed drinks, etc. Then over the years they took away on some ships the reserved seating in the theater, the Concierge Lounge (which we enjoy because we sit in there during the day and read, etc. where it is quiet instead of trying to find seats around the ship), the priority tender tickets, free cabin upgrades, and other things and Diamond Plus felt, as may of us call ourselves "the orphan children of RCCL" .  To achieve Diamond it's 80 points, to achieve Diamond Plus it's 175, but to climb the ladder and keep going when it seems an immense and impossible road to Pinnacle takes 700 points.  Instead of incentivizing Diamond Plus by adding additional perks to keep climbing, gradually we lost perks.  

We have several cruising friends who are achieving Pinnacle level in the next few months as we are who feel the same way, as well as many we meet and talk with in the lounge (when there is one for us) who are pushing to reach the top before changes are instituted to C&A to get grandfathered in, and will broaden our options on which cruise line we choose for our future travel.

Apparently from the reaction last night at the Upper Tier Event - there are a lot of folks who do!

What apparently you don't realize is that there are going to be some major changes to the C&A program and pilot ships are testing how things will "fly".  However, there is a big difference between a Pinnacle or Diamond Plus over 525 losing a benefit  (our lounge) compared to someone just making Diamond at 80!  There are other cruise lines that give equal status to Crown & Anchor (MSC for one).  So why would we want to cruise again especially on the Majesty if that perk is now gone?  

Hi, my husband is currently on the Majesty (b2b2b) and if you check out the post I just made for him a few minutes ago, you will see the announcement that was made at the Upper Tier Event yesterday!  That should answer your questions.

Attached is an email I just sent to Mr. Bayley's office:

Mr. Bayley,

I am currently on the Majesty, B/B/B.  Last night at the upper tier event we were informed that there will not be an evening event for Diamond/DIAMOND PLUS/Pinnacle guests but only 3 drinks on our Seapass card.  I feel this is short-sighted on whomever is responsible fo this decision and this treatment of your loyal guests is DESPICABLE!  Pinnacle, with over 700 points, and we, who have over 600 points get the same benefit as those with 80 points?  WOW!!!  We are close to Pinnacle and when we reach this plateau we will NOT be loyal to Royal any longer, but will look at MSC etc.  Another perk bites the dust...don't bother to book the Majesty!    Wallace Stiving

Attached is a letter I just sent to Mr. Bayley's office:

Mr. Bayley,

I am currently on the Majesty, B/B/B.  Last night at the upper tier event we were informed that there will not be an evening event for Diamond/DIAMOND PLUS/Pinnacle guests but only 3 drinks on our Seapass card. I feel this is short-sighted on whomever is responsible for this decision and this treatment of your loyal guests is DESPICABLE!   Pinnacle, with over 700 points, and  we, who have over 600 points get the same benefit as those with 80 points?   WOW!!!!   We are close to Pinnacle and when we reach this plateau we will NOT be loyal to Royal any longer, but will look at MSC etc. Another perk bites the dust...don't bother to book the Majesty!      Wallace Stiving

Hi, we are on the Oasis next week. Can you tell us how many formal nights and which nights were formal nights? Thanks.

Our first cruise on Royal Caribbean was a Christmas/New Year's cruise in 1995 (15 or 16 nights). We cruised the China Sea (Singapore r/t) on the Sun Viking. I took 4 suitcases for myself (one of shoes) and every night we dressed. My husband and high school aged son wore tuxes or suits - I wore long dresses/skirts and heavy beaded tops (no casual nights as we have today). Wonderful meals, excellent service . . . midnight buffets, you could have anything prepared specially for you (our head waiter made lobster thermador twice for me (my favorite)) and wonderful entertainment. Since it was a Christmas cruise, we had Christmas trees everywhere with fake snow, carolers strolling the ship every night singing dressed in old fashion winter grab with muffs and long skirts, etc., handing out treats. Santa Claus was onboard for the smaller children and gave them all gifts. Christmas Eve dinner was extra special and when we returned to our cabin we had a large box and card on the bed . . . it was a very large (about 2 feet) Lladro with a note that all duty had been paid when we returned home. We found out the next day that it was the cruise line's tradition for Christmas to give each stateroom a Lladro. For New Year's Eve, they stacked champagne glasses in the centrum area to the top floor and then began pouring champagne down from the top until it filled all the glasses and then they dismantled the "tree of glasses" and handed them out to toast the "new year"! It was truly an amazing cruise and one which has never been topped! Cruising today just does not compare! Oh, and if you were not properly attired at dinner, you could not enter the dining room AND if you were more than 15 minutes late, the doors closed and you could not enter and would have to have either room service or the cafe!!! Also, live background music played in the dining room every night.

Diamond+