My Experience in CL with Kids

[island lady]

That's interesting- his blog mentions 5 ...but in a different context:

"Some factual context: although parents with children under the age of 21 who are CL eligible have been consistently requesting the right to have their family members with them in the CL before dinner, there are relatively few of these families. On average there are five guests under the age of 21 per cruise who are from CL-eligible suites. Some percentage of those would not want to be in the CL so the actual effect on the CL will be minimal"

 

Funny he does not mention the D+ guests and their kids/grandkids. ;)

[Raptor2010]

While I can't see us sitting in the CL for 3 hours "boozing it up", if we so desire, then we will :p. Don't see the problem ;)

[brmoqueen]

Funny he does not mention the D+ guests and their kids/grandkids. ;)

 

That's the point.....he must have been in politics...he's giving the glossy version....Or what you want to hear version....NOT the truth!!!

[Cruising89143]

Can you imagine if the concierge has to tell that family with the 6th child,they can't go in??:eek::eek::eek:

 

Since the concierges pay mostly depends on gratuities now, I don't think that will happen. RCI has certainly placed them in a sticky position. They have to keep two sets of people happy now. I think this will be interesting.:eek:

[Host Star]

Funny he does not mention the D+ guests and their kids/grandkids. ;)

D plus kids will not be allowed in.. only kids staying in suites...

[bigboffs]

D plus kids will not be allowed in.. only kids staying in suites...

By training and profession, I ask where in the RCCL policy statements I can read this.

 

Also, if in fact this is the policy, unless there is a security person at the CL door, this will be another that is rountinely unenforced. To expect the concierge to be a security person too, is a bit much; and reflects a lack of reality exposure by management

[megr1125]

I was told thru Adam Goldstien's office that there could never be more than 5 kids in the CL lounge at one time.. now of course if that's 5 screaming babies that could affect my 'adult' happy hour ...

 

VERYyyyyyyy Interrrrresting.......

 

And the poor Concierge is going to have to also play "kid cop" as well???

 

Seriously some of the 'suits' must have been, shall we say, "nipping the sauce" when they dreamed this up...:rolleyes::D

[megr1125]

D plus kids will not be allowed in.. only kids staying in suites...

 

Go figure..that is different that what the peep from the exec offices told me...the one CONSISTENT thing about RCCL is that they are...INCONSISTENT!:D

[bajathree]

go figure..that is different that what the peep from the exec offices told me...the one consistent thing about rccl is that they are...inconsistent!

 

Bingo!

[mommabean]

Funny he does not mention the D+ guests and their kids/grandkids. ;)

 

Probably because none of us have ever asked since we are aware of the rules already - former rules.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[island lady]

D plus kids will not be allowed in.. only kids staying in suites...

 

Huh?? Oh wow....looks like the writing is indeed on the wall for D+ in the CL! :eek:

Sheeez...now the DL will be just that more crowded. Better break out the overflow! ;)

[crisndeefromde]

VERYyyyyyyy Interrrrresting.......

 

And the poor Concierge is going to have to also play "kid cop" as well???

 

Seriously some of the 'suits' must have been, shall we say, "nipping the sauce" when they dreamed this up...:rolleyes::D

 

Can you see Carlos doing this? lol that is a good one

[bajathree]

Huh?? Oh wow....looks like the writing is indeed on the wall for D+ in the CL! :eek:

Sheeez...now the DL will be just that more crowded. Better break out the overflow! ;)

 

The dominoes will fall right down the line...the DL's wouldn't be crowded as they will become the new D+L's....why do you think they are adding DL's (soon to be D+L's) to existing ships;)....think they are adding them as small lounges expecting to be able to grow with the #'s....there is a plan at hand.

[island lady]

The dominoes will fall right down the line...the DL's wouldn't be crowded as they will become the new D+L's....why do you think they are adding DL's (soon to be D+L's) to existing ships;)....think they are adding them as small lounges expecting to be able to grow with the #'s....there is a plan at hand.

 

Ahhh.. had not thought of that. Makes sense. Dominoes are falling for sure! :eek:

Soo..... we lowly D's are back to "rowing with the slaves?" ;)

Pretty soon it will be the "Pinnacle lounge".... :D

[GEORGET]

If the Writting is on the wall

Do you think that Diamond plus will be removed from the CL and made to use the Diamond lounge?

This is OK on the larger ships where they have a choice of drinks.

But on the smaller ships the D+ will have now only a choice of Beer or Wine. This is a Demotion just as the Diamonds had.

 

As i said before the CL was overcrowded so Diamonds were removed now there is room for Children, will the Diamond plus be removed because of the new overcrowding?.

 

If diamonds are removed will JS be allowed in?

 

One thing though the Concierge will not like it

A/ loss of tips

B/ having to be a child minder

 

Keep emailing Rcl you may get this idea reversed

j

[cruisegirl1]

Ahhh.. had not thought of that. Makes sense. Dominoes are falling for sure! :eek:

Soo..... we lowly D's are back to "rowing with the slaves?" ;)

Pretty soon it will be the "Pinnacle lounge".... :D

 

There actually is a beautiful lounge on the Allure called the Pinnacle Lounge. It is located between the Vinking Crown lounge and the crown suites.

M

[LBcruzman]

If the Writting is on the wall

Do you think that Diamond plus will be removed from the CL and made to use the Diamond lounge?

This is OK on the larger ships where they have a choice of drinks.

But on the smaller ships the D+ will have now only a choice of Beer or Wine. This is a Demotion just as the Diamonds had.

 

As i said before the CL was overcrowded so Diamonds were removed now there is room for Children, will the Diamond plus be removed because of the new overcrowding?.

 

If diamonds are removed will JS be allowed in?

 

One thing though the Concierge will not like it

A/ loss of tips

B/ having to be a child minder

 

Keep emailing Rcl you may get this idea reversed

j

 

 

Yes I do believe this is exactly what is going to happen and soon is my guess.

 

I also think they will expand Emerald and make it much harder to reach Diamond and in turn Diamond Plus. Unless of course, and the possibility exists, they greatly expand Emerald and combine D and D+ into one group (Diamonds) but not grandfather. I mean if you are Diamond plus by the time they change it you become the new Diamond and if you are still Diamond at the time of change you become the relatively new Emerald.

 

I just don't know how they can continue to grandfather if they really want to thin the crowds. But the Suite Guests (adults and children) will be the only

ones in the CL with the relatively few Pinnacles. IF the Pinnacles even make it in.

 

Let's face it, Royal Caribbean aims to become THE Premier FAMILY Cruise Line and they need to up the Suite perks to get and retain the upper income Families from Disney

 

It may seem like a strange way to make these changes, but by doing it in waves, major changes every 6 months or so, they are making it happen. Just think of ALL the major changes in Loyalty perks in just the last several years.

 

While Royal Caribbean has always had nice perks for their Loyal customers they are really going after a new customer base, people (especially families) who have never cruised before. It's all in the numbers......there are far more "New" customers to be found than there are returning customers.

 

And after all, in the end, Goldstein is a numbers guy. They didn't pick him to head up the Company and they don't continue to keep him as head of the Company because he is a great guy, they keep him because he does what they want him to do.

 

Look at the history, they divided and conquered the Loyalty program. When they needed to kick out the Diamonds from the CL they set out a plan to make sure the D+ ( for the most part, not all) supported the Company on this and did not support the Diamond members. Now when they most predictably are going to do the same to the D+ there is really no one to stand up for them.

 

Then of course there are customers like me who were Diamond when they kicked us out of the CL and are D+ now and will probably be kicked out again. But they know we already stayed with them so they are not worried about us.

 

Let's face it, these guys are smarter than the average bear when it comes to doing the dirty stuff that needs to be done to make the numbers work. It really is as simple as that.

[pinkrosesdeb]

And then there are those "loyal to Royals" like my family who are Diamond Plus and already starting to book other cruise lines. We didn't try other lines because we were happy with the perks we got from RCI. Now, since we cruise mostly suites and hate this new policy, we are definitely looking to move on. AND WE ALWAYS LOVED RCI...but don't feel like our opinion matters any more. JMO

[bajathree]

And I think you can expect to see changes starting early 2012....soon after the Diamonds in December Celebration.....

I am starting to think that this may be just the beginning of a much bigger loyalty change not far down the pike. The timing of this new policy is kind of interesting…….just leading up to the Diamonds in December event. Many are speculating that allowing children into an already overcrowded CL set’s things up for D+ to be kicked out of the CL like they did with D members during the last big loyalty change. Well let’s think about it….loyalty #’s are still going to grow in leaps and bounds…even with the new changes that took place to the point system to try to slow things down. Royal again is throwing the Diamonds in December Celebration…again giving double and triple points to entice C&A members to sail and use this event for C&A guests to grow themselves to the next C&A loyalty tiers….so they themselves are pushing people into higher tiers. Both DL’s and CL’s are already overcrowded at present and often need the use of overflow lounges. Let’s face facts….the C&A program has got to be growing faster than those that are reaching high levels and then for whatever reason not sailing. Young children are D and D+ members well before they can even legally sail on their

own…..when they turn 21 and sailing for the very first time on their own they will already be coming in as D and D+ members. It is inevitable that changes will again have to be made….the question is just when. They are adding DL’s to older ships as they go into dry-dock….but these aren’t big lounges and aren’t going to be able to handle the #’s….heck the DL on Oasis/Allure can’t handle the volume…and they are the largest ships in the world and were just designed and built and the C&A loyalty #’s have already exceeded the size of their DL’s.

While many are fearful of D+ getting kicked out of the CL, reality would

probably be a much bigger change….something that may be closer to Pinnacle and suite guests only allowed entry into the CL…..the DL becoming the D+L…and D having either some event of their own or probably closer to just adding some additional perks to the C&A Diamond book like free drink coupons. I know that no one wants to hear any of this but change is here and if it’s here to stay like AG has stated in his blog than I think it’s just the beginning of a much bigger plan that may be inevitable.

[bajathree]

Yes I do believe this is exactly what is going to happen and soon is my guess.

 

I also think they will expand Emerald and make it much harder to reach Diamond and in turn Diamond Plus. Unless of course, and the possibility exists, they greatly expand Emerald and combine D and D+ into one group (Diamonds) but not grandfather. I mean if you are Diamond plus by the time they change it you become the new Diamond and if you are still Diamond at the time of change you become the relatively new Emerald.

I just don't know how they can continue to grandfather if they really want to thin the crowds. But the Suite Guests (adults and children) will be the only

ones in the CL with the relatively few Pinnacles. IF the Pinnacles even make it in.

 

Let's face it, Royal Caribbean aims to become THE Premier FAMILY Cruise Line and they need to up the Suite perks to get and retain the upper income Families from Disney

 

It may seem like a strange way to make these changes, but by doing it in waves, major changes every 6 months or so, they are making it happen. Just think of ALL the major changes in Loyalty perks in just the last several years.

 

While Royal Caribbean has always had nice perks for their Loyal customers they are really going after a new customer base, people (especially families) who have never cruised before. It's all in the numbers......there are far more "New" customers to be found than there are returning customers.

 

And after all, in the end, Goldstein is a numbers guy. They didn't pick him to head up the Company and they don't continue to keep him as head of the Company because he is a great guy, they keep him because he does what they want him to do.

 

Look at the history, they divided and conquered the Loyalty program. When they needed to kick out the Diamonds from the CL they set out a plan to make sure the D+ ( for the most part, not all) supported the Company on this and did not support the Diamond members. Now when they most predictably are going to do the same to the D+ there is really no one to stand up for them.

 

Then of course there are customers like me who were Diamond when they kicked us out of the CL and are D+ now and will probably be kicked out again. But they know we already stayed with them so they are not worried about us.

 

Let's face it, these guys are smarter than the average bear when it comes to doing the dirty stuff that needs to be done to make the numbers work. It really is as simple as that.

 

I don't see them going back and starting to make changes again to the point system again and starting to combine and grandfather folks.....I think they made their changes to tiers and point systems last year and that stage is done and over.....the next stage is changes to the perks within the tiers.

[bajathree]

And then there are those "loyal to Royals" like my family who are Diamond Plus and already starting to book other cruise lines. We didn't try other lines because we were happy with the perks we got from RCI. Now, since we cruise mostly suites and hate this new policy, we are definitely looking to move on. AND WE ALWAYS LOVED RCI...but don't feel like our opinion matters any more. JMO

 

As long as Royal has to continue to make changes to the loyalty program because of it's growth I honestly don't think they have much concern.....the continued growth of the C&A program are the prof they see to continue making changes....if growth was greatly slowing then it may be a different story but right now that doesn't appear to be happening.

[grand isle joe]

And then there are those "loyal to Royals" like my family who are Diamond Plus and already starting to book other cruise lines. We didn't try other lines because we were happy with the perks we got from RCI. Now, since we cruise mostly suites and hate this new policy, we are definitely looking to move on. AND WE ALWAYS LOVED RCI...but don't feel like our opinion matters any more. JMO

 

 

 

..and THAT is what makes America great...free to choose...much like RCCL...;)

[pinkrosesdeb]

Bajathree, I get that. I understand what drives them but I also know it is usually much more cost effective to keep a loyal client than to try to create new ones. It is a shame that RCL doesn't value loyalty any more. We still love the product, love the ships but we do cruise for relaxation as well and kids in the CL...not our idea of relaxation. So, as much as we tried to avoid other lines, we just booked with princess for the first time. Not saying it will be exactly what we want either, just want to know the difference.

[pinkrosesdeb]

grandislejoe...not sure exactly how to take your post but we did choose. Thanks for the input

[grand isle joe]

grandislejoe...not sure exactly how to take your post but we did choose. Thanks for the input

 

 

..much like you have the right to spend your hard earned money on any line you wish, RCCL also has the same right to run it's business in a fashion they presume will make it alot of money. Everyone takes this change so personally but as they say in The Godfather "it's only business". I hope you enjoy your future cruises.:)