JillLovesTravel

We are frequent Celebrity cruisers and will probably be Elite + when the dust settles. I don't believe that D+ will have access to Michael's Club. The info that I've seen on the Celebrity chatroom seems to imply that Michael's Club would be for the Zenith level, unlike the Concierge Lounge which gives access to D+ and up.

 

 

For now. Many think D+ will lose access to the Concierge Lounge but retain access to the mostly newer Diamond Lounges.

I'm releasing the hold on this reservation in about half an hour. RCI is not making the military and 55+ discounts available to residents of Puerto Rico and are not allowing us to maintain control of our reservations by forcing us to book through an "exclusive" local agent. Confusingly enough, RCI is not allowing English language access to their website if connecting from Puerto Rico, either.

 

I've sent several messages to RCI and C&A complaining about this practice or oversight and have received no response. Royal is supposed to be superior to Carnival but at least in the online booking respect, Carnival is far better. It allows the same online content, experience and language preference as mainland residents, they offer the military and 55+ discounts, and allow you to pay for and retain control over your own reservation.

 

I hope RCI corrects this soon. Have fun, whoever gets this great stateroom.

Looks like the cabin is already gone. Boy those are some low prices for balcony cabins! Wish I could travel last minute.

The problem with the drink package is both in the cabin have to buy it.

So for a lot of cruisers that wont work.

 

Haven't you heard? They changed the rules. Others in the cabin don't have to buy it. There is a thread around here somewhere with the news.

what i would like to see in the upcoming changes:

 

keep the CL only for suite guests. (grand and above)

do away with drinks in the dia lounge (not the lounge, only the free drinks) and go to drinks as follows;

 

dia members 25% off drink package

 

dia+ members 50% off drink package

 

pinnacle members free drink package.

 

no more freebees until you reach pinnacle.

 

Love your idea! The drink package is awesome.

LOL!! :p :p

 

Good one Jill! ;)

 

Thanks, I couldn't help myself. I'm still laughing.

This is starting to get "BORING".....:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Thanks for the chuckle. Interesting that you have been a Member here only a few months and I have been around over 2 1/2 years. Lets see who has more posts….oh hey…it's YOU!!! By far you have more posts than me. Who is it that has so much time on their hands again?

 

Oh and sorry if my posts bore you. Your posts are so RIVETING!!!!

Please, don't get my hopes up!!! :D

 

Would be a masterful move to get people to pony up for a suite. People LOVE free stuff, especially alcohol!!!

Wouldn't this be great!!

what a great perk to offer as you move up the loyalty ladder to give discounts to the new beverage packages.

Personally I think the lounges will be something they fade out down the road and start using vouchers and beverage package discounts!!:D

 

I would agree with that as space is king on the ships and those large Diamond lounges can be rented out for special events and meeting spaces. I think it would also be easy to throw in a free beverage package for Suite Guests as well and then even do away with the CL.

 

For me the lounge was never much of an attraction anyway. We would go in for the occasional happy hour of course but have become a Premium Beverage package convert now, so bring on the discount!!!

And, Harry's response to Ashley only talked about no changes being made in "the very near future," hardly a comfort, I would say. What does he mean - before year-end?

 

I take anything said by anyone as a possibility. Could be true, might not be true and could just be a version of the truth. So which Royal Caribbean employee is correct, the one who says changes are coming in January or the one who says no changes in the near future?

 

Anybody's guess.

I found this over at Celebrity:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40742284&postcount=265

 

and this;

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40740941&postcount=9

 

Thanks Debde. So from the first link it looks like the following:

 

Elite (Diamond) gets the Captains Club Happy Hour

 

Elite Plus (Diamond Plus) gets "Additional Beverage Discount"

 

Zenith (Pinnacle) gets Access to Michael's Club and a Complimentary Beverage Package.

 

So I am hoping that the Additional Beverage discount for Elite Plus may be money off one of the beverage packages because RCI seems to try things out on Celebrity and then implements them on Royal Caribbean. I am definitely hoping for a D+ discount on the beverage packages.

[quote name='Merion_Mom']<sigh> I accused no one of anything. The only accusatory tone on this thread is yours. You have been posting so nicely lately. I was hoping that you had lost this "attack mode" that you so often seem to use.

You quoted beachnative before. Therefore you know that, even with vouchers, no one on the Independence is being excluded from the Diamond Lounge just because there are vouchers being issued.

Please don't make things worse than they already are.[/QUOTE]

Right you accused no one of anything. I forgot it was the entire thread you accused of being fake, making things up, on and on. And I'm in the attack mode?

I find your recent posts somehow trying to make your blatant post about everything and everyone on this thread being fake and made up sound so wonderful almost heroic (soothing and allaying fears) quite amusing.

I am so glad you follow my posts as infrequent as they are. But I must say given your much more frequent posting habits and your holier than thou, I know everything attitude I most certainly will not be taking posting tips from you.

Now I for one, am giving this conversation a rest. It has gotten quite tedious. You are free of course to do whatever you wish.

[quote name='Merion_Mom']Your question is interesting.

It's all about context.

I didn't write that post out of the blue.

I was responding to a poster who was panicking that he was losing all of his Diamond benefits - his panic being a result of reading (probably not thoroughly) this thread.

I was trying to soothe him and allay his fears.

Sort of a different spin, eh?

:)[/QUOTE]
Actually, since that particular poster is sailing on the Indy, they MAY have reason to question what may happen on future cruises on that ship since that is the ship with the Trial going on at this time.

The spin is you called a poster fake, accused them of making things up, etc. Not particularly soothing in my book.

[quote name='Mark_K']if only the OP had decided to do that.




Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app[/QUOTE]

Oh so now we can't repeat something we are told by a ship's employee? Ha…there are quite a few old time, know everything posters on here who better hang up their keyboards then.

[quote name='Big_G']Isn't that basically what MM already said? :confused:[/QUOTE]

No, she came to an absolute conclusion and said everything was made up and fake.

[quote name='Merion_Mom']Please see my responses below in [COLOR="SeaGreen"]green.[/COLOR]

Originally Posted by Merion_Mom


If you have read the entire thread, you should have learned that EVERYTHING on this thread is made up, fabricated, guessed at, surmised, supposed, whispered, repeated, and generally FAKED.[COLOR="Red"]Not true. A poster was given the information by an LA. While we do not know yet whether it will turn out to be true or false the poster did not make up, fabricate, guess, surmise, suppose, whisper or fake. The poster did repeat.[/color] [COLOR="SeaGreen"]That falls in the category of supposition and whispering. ONE LA on ONE ship telling a cruiser something MEANS pretty much NOTHING. JMO, but one shared by many people.[/COLOR]

No one knows anything. [COLOR="Red"]Maybe you don't know anything. But I am sure some people do.[/color] [COLOR="SeaGreen"]Not on this thread.[/COLOR]


So far, the only use of vouchers on a Royal Caribbean ship has been on transatlantics with huge numbers of eligible cruisers. [COLOR="Red"]Not true. The vouchers are being used on the Indy as we post, as reported by beach native in post # 351 on the Diamond Drinks Trial Thread.[/color]
[COLOR="SeaGreen"]I stand corrected. According to beachnative, there were huge numbers of D/D+/P on this first post-TA cruise. I know that many like to make a TA a B2B. In this example, the Independence was already set up for the vouchers, and extending the trial period seems like a "test" no-brainer.[/COLOR]

Your cruises are unlikely to be swamped with D, D+ & P. [COLOR="Red"]Again, not necessarily true. I have been on non-TA, non-Holiday sailings where there were tons of D and D+ Overflow is often used because of this.[/color]

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]I, too, have been on many cruises where overflow lounges were used. These lounges, however, were easily able to keep up with the demand. No further "safety valve" was necessary.

[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Thank you. Your new responses are a little less accusatory that EVERYTHING on this thread is made up and faked. Why don't we let things play out before we state absolutes when none of us knows anything definitive yet?

[quote name='xpcdoojk']What part. Almost everything MM said was 100% spot on. O, you are married to a loyalty ambassador, and last night after he finished a bottle of scotch he told you exactly what is going to happen...:D

You could be Adam G, but as far as I can tell from where i am sitting reading this thread everything I have read is completely and totally made up, fake and fraudulent.

That said some posters on here have personal credibility with me, but nobody with inside knowledge has ticked that box for me.:cool:

:D

jc

just sayin....[/QUOTE]

Please see my post # 256 on this thread. If you still believe that everything she said is true, fine believe it. But it still doesn't make it true.

I was not the poster who stated they heard from an LA that some of the aspects of the Loyalty program would be changing again soon. That was another poster.

YOU do not know whether what that poster was told will be shown to be true or false. Neither do I. Neither does Merion Mom. But for you and Merion Mom to state unequivocally that the poster is lying and made it up, well…..both of your credibility is in question then.

[quote name='Merion_Mom']If you have read the entire thread, you should have learned that [COLOR="Red"][COLOR="Black"]EVERYTHING on this thread is made up, fabricated, guessed at, surmised, supposed, whispered, repeated, and generally FAKED.[/COLOR][COLOR="Green"][COLOR="Red"[/COLOR]]Not true. A poster was given the information by an LA. While we do not know yet whether it will turn out to be true or false the poster did not make up, fabricate, guess, surmise, suppose, whisper or fake. The poster did repeat.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR="Red"][COLOR="Black"]No one knows anything.[/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"][COLOR="Red"]Maybe you don't know anything. But I am sure some people do.[/COLOR]
[/COLOR]

So far, the only use of vouchers on a Royal Caribbean ship has been on transatlantics with huge numbers of eligible cruisers. [COLOR="Red"]Not true. The vouchers are being used on the Indy as we post, as reported by beach native in post # 351 on the Diamond Drinks Trial Thread.[/COLOR]

Your cruises are unlikely to be swamped with D, D+ & P. [COLOR="Red"] Again, not necessarily true. I have been on non-TA, non-Holiday sailings where there were tons of D and D+ Overflow is often used because of this.[/COLOR]

:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
Please see my comments in red above

[quote name='phish tales']i did not say you or anyone else MUST go. but don't use the "been there done that" as your reason. i do many more cruises than some folks and i and friends that cruise a lot always take time to attend.. there is always a reason not to go. but "been there done that" is not one of them....[/QUOTE]

People are allowed to attend or not to attend. Sometimes I go, sometimes I don't. It is an invitation, it is not mandatory. Many times I frankly have better things to do. You are not the Judge of what is an acceptable excuse.

[quote name='Merion_Mom']If you have read the entire thread, you should have learned that EVERYTHING on this thread is made up, fabricated, guessed at, surmised, supposed, whispered, repeated, and generally FAKED.

No one knows anything.

So far, the only use of vouchers on a Royal Caribbean ship has been on transatlantics with huge numbers of eligible cruisers.

Your cruises are unlikely to be swamped with D, D+ & P.

:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

A lot of what you just said is simply not true.

Hilton Rose Hall is very nice. It cost us $94 this past spring, but I see on the website that they have increased that to $114.

 

http://www.resortforaday.com/product-p/mbfmjahr.htm

 

Did I have a good time? yes.

 

Would I spend that much money again? no.

 

You beat me to it. Yes the Hilton Rose Hall is nice. We have enjoyed it several times.

I'm narrowing down an itinerary on Navigator of the Seas hopefully for May 2014, and looking eagerly forward to the sailing. I'm vascillating a bit on whether or not to do the sailing that includes Falmouth Jamaica. Heard that Falmouth is not quite as developed as one would hope and I'm not certain that I want to waste a port stop if there's nothing interesting there. The other ports (Cozumel & Grand Cayman) are fine with me but I'd like to enjoy ALL of the stops, if possible.

 

Has anybody been to Falmouth recently on an RCCL cruise recently? If so, was it worth your time?

 

Yes, we book day passes for an all-inclusive resort while in Jamaica. They usually include transportation to and from the ship, also all food and drinks, beautiful beach, pools, etc. Wonderful way to spend the day.

 

Also, if you have never been to Dunn's River Falls and climbed the Falls that is a fun day if you like to be a little more active.

 

Check out the Ports of Call Boards on here and hit the Jamaica threads. Lots of valuable information.

We have been on well over 40 RC cruises in the past ten years. Although never on a TA. Been D+ for 4 yrs and have stayd in many suites. I have seen the Cl crowded just twice. When it does get busy its only for maybe an hour and then slows down. The whole ship gets crowded throughout the day in various venues.

With your logic RC should close down the Schooner bar, The MDR and even the buffet venues.....They all get crowed at some point. Heck closed down Muster that gets crowed too......... ALL THESE CHICKEN LITTLES ARE GETTING TIRESOME.

 

ummm…I wasn't using "my logic", I was stating the facts of what has transpired. You can believe it or not but come January don't be hit by the sky falling…..

We also can't forget that a significant number of Royal ships have tiny hole-in-the-wall CLs that make those on Oasis/Allure look palatial! I think that's a major reason (IMHO) they'll ultimately kick the D+s out of the CL... couldn't agree more that they don't want to make their top dollar paying suite guests uncomfortable.

 

On the other hand, if I were RCI, I'd be less concerned about creating the extra crowding in the DL since they can just use an overflow lounge that'll work just fine most sailings out of the year.

 

I think the overflow thing is key. On several recent cruises on Freedom Class ships they were using the Olive and Twist for private events from 7-8:30pm More and more large groups are traveling on the bigger ships and these private events are becoming more common. There is money to be made for these private events. The drink coupons will satisfy the D's eventually. Will people scream and holler…yes. Do I feel bad about that? Yes, actually I do. I got kicked out of the CL first round of cuts almost 5 years ago. But they put in the D events and then the D Lounges. Made me happy. I have been D+ for awhile now. I keep coming back.

Not to burst your bubble but I wish I had a penny for every person that sent the same e-mail when the D's were removed from the CL. We all know what happened!!

 

I have no idea what and when will happen in January but it is simple mathematics that something will change and very soon.

 

Royal-save yourself from the rapid fire e-mails you are about to get and just tear the darn band aid off fast and be done with it!! Man up already!!!

 

Totally agree with this one! It's all about the numbers.

Is it just me or does anyone else think the folks at RCI start some of these rumours and then sit back and watch the fallout, a rumour starts off the anger, then the denial and finally the acceptance when members accept what they think might be the best deal on here, RCI then makes it a reality with one of their 'you asked, we listened' emails.

 

Actually, I think this has been in the works for some time. First the announcement to put Diamond Lounges on all ships, then the announcement to allow children of people staying in Suites into the Concierge Lounge during the happy hour time, then the announcement to allow two bottles of wine per cabin to be brought aboard, then the announcement of the drink packages and most recently the trial run of drink coupons. It all leads to the inevitable to those who have experienced the crowds in the CL's. The writing on the wall is pretty clear.