farmermd

You have the ability to use both the vouchers and the Diamond Lounge. The vouchers would be for use outside the DL. Inside the DL, drinks are unlimited.

Thanks - we learned that about day 4!

This experience on the Grandeur shows us the importance of loyalty to a specific brand - you 'grow up' in the culture and learn as you advance through the different stages of loyalty. We were thrown into the RCCL culture with no prior experience since most of our loyalty has been with Celebrity, though the way the industry is changing, we may not know the Celebrity procedures from one year to the next….

We still had a pleasant experience on Grandeur. We don't sweat the small stuff or let it get to us. If you say I owe you $7.03 for a drink, that's what I will pay you!

Just back from Grandeur and I must say, being new to the Diamond society, (only achieved Diamond from sailing Celebrity) this was all very confusing. We received no drink vouchers but a letter in our stateroom stating that 3 drinks per day were automatically loaded on our seapass card. No mention of what drinks were included. And it was also mentioned that we could go to the Diamond lounge between 4:30 - 8pm. Did this mean it was one or the other or could we use our 3 pre-loaded drink vouchers and then go to the lounge for more drinks? (not that I would drink that much)

After 3 days of getting some free drinks and paying for others at various bars around the ship, we finally asked if there was a list. This is what we got - (pic attached)

So when you start looking at the previous postings of the drink menus for Diamond members, you can see there is no consistency from ship to ship. How are we as guests supposed to figure this out? We were told by one server that if they made a mistake in giving us the wrong drink for free, they, the server, had to pay for it, hence the reason a previous poster did not get their requested drink.

And as a side note - not a single drink menu in general at any bar through out the ship on this cruise. Very frustrating as I am one that likes to try new things based on the descriptions on the fufu drink menus.

And no - I don't recall getting any Mojitos for free….

There was a piano player on the Summit in January that played in the coffe bar area.

Never done a December cruise but we do love our January cruises - been in January each year for last 5 years. Though weather leaving the northeast can affect plane schedules and cold snaps can get into the Caribbean. Key West and CoCo Cay in 2010 were cold!

Disappointed to hear the MDR brunch has been axed. My family and I always enjoyed and never saw the fighting and shoving that others have mentioned here. I guess our last MDR brunch was on the Summit in January. If I had known then what I know now, I would have eaten more shrimp and chocolate covered pineapple!

THe cutbacks affect the overall cruise experience. We notice and enjoy the small things - ice & water in the room, a single rose or carnation in the bathroom or on the dining room table, the different flavors of chocolate on the pillow, the welcome aboard champagne. We also love the big things - the sea day brunch, the live band on the pool deck, the orchestra and the dozen singers and dancers for the production shows, the pianist or acapella group in the lounges before dinner, the excellent service overall. Take all of this away and it feels like a Carnival or NCL cruise. I've always wondered why the pricing for Celebrity was so affordable for the product we were receiving. Now, not so much as these things are reduced or taken away. I don't buy a Cadillac expecting the features of a Ford.

And for those that say there will be passengers to replace those of us that chose to leave, don't count on that. I have read numerous articles stating the cruise execs are concerned with the number of new berths that have/will come on line in the coming years and how they are going to fill them.

Having said all of that, and after more than 15 cruises with Celebrity, we have been considering alternatives lately - luxury lines or all inclusive resorts or 'build your own' vacations to other parts of the world.