What if this Diamond Lounge change happened...

[looking4info]

Very similar to the thread you started back in September of 2013 and many others since then so..... yup here we go again

 

???????????????

 

OK reread my post and I can see where it is not clear.

 

Point is these types of threads continue and continue and continue with posters stating how new tiers, lounge changes etc. are about to happen. What will happen still remains to be seen. Speculation for over two years now.

 

Here is a correction.

 

Very similar to the thread you started back in September of 2013 and many threads started many others since then so..... yup here we go again.

[Paulette3028]

You are Diamond. You still get the free 3 drinks on your card, but you no longer have a Diamond club to go to. You are Diamond Plus, you still have a Concierge Lounge and free drink as do Pennacle guests. As Diamond, Diamond Plus is still within reach. But as Diamond Plus, Pennacle really is not within reach. As Diamond Plus, RCL is my favorite cruise line. I really love the Diamond Club and Concierge Lounge.

If a change were to occur, this is most likely.

 

Well you don't even complete your own topic title....so "What if this Diamond Lounge change happened...." What would YOU do or feel? I can't see an answer, just some posturing.

 

For me: If the DL was only limited to D+, I would be disappointed.

 

I enjoy the 24 hour access to the coffee bar and the nice place to enjoy that coffee. DH and I will get to D+, but it will take a few more years to do. We don't sail in suites so suite benefits don't mean much....although for those that do, they deserve something more and the new Suite Lounge, sounds nice.

 

I enjoy the lounge time from 5-8 or so each evening, and the little appetizers (although it surely isn't because I am hungry) and the nice conversation with others that seem to congregate there at the same time DH and I do.

 

Will it stop me from cruising on Royal -- no.

 

Do I hope it happens -- no.

 

But I don't determine what they will do!

[CaribSailor]

We will be D next week and I'm tired of RCI constantly moving the goal-lines. You would think that finally achieving D status would result in us choosing RCI even more but not us. After next week, our next 3 cruises are on NCL and Princess. RCI just seems to me that they have decided to bend over backwards for suite guests at every turn, so let them survive with suite guests. We've decided shop elsewhere.

 

 

As a suite guest we are very happy with the changes RC has and is making... What is important to RC is revenue today as there is no guarantee you will be alive tomorrow.

[WeatherFx]

As Diamond Plus, RCL is my favorite cruise line. I really love the Diamond Club and Concierge Lounge.

 

I keep hoping it will.

 

Let me guess... all D+ are in favor. :rolleyes:

 

As a D member, DW & I look forward to the DL. Coffee in the morning, just sitting and relaxing during the day, early look at the MDR menus, evening social hours etc...

 

Will be D+ in 2017, but would not want to see other loyals loose the DL benefit, as I know many who are trying to make D so they can use the lounge. But it would take them a very long time to make D+ if at all.

 

Taking away the DL from D is not moving the goal post, it's removing the goal post. For many, becoming D is difficult and D+ is no more attainable than Pinnacle.

 

FWIW, I know that all D+ are not really in favor.

.

[serialcruiser48]

We will be D next week and I'm tired of RCI constantly moving the goal-lines. You would think that finally achieving D status would result in us choosing RCI even more but not us. After next week, our next 3 cruises are on NCL and Princess. RCI just seems to me that they have decided to bend over backwards for suite guests at every turn, so let them survive with suite guests. We've decided shop elsewhere.

 

My wife and I are top tier with Princess, Norwegian and Carnival. The grass is not greener... For me, the D club gives RCL a leg up. Norwegian caters to its Haven guests (suites) and if you doubt that, just try to enter their exclusive area.

[Hoopster95]

I am a cruiser who never thought I would ever get into any of the lounges, but it happened that I fell in love with cruising and RCL, I've cruised a lot the last few years and now I'm D+. I have not spent tens of thousands of dollars on each cruise like the suite travelers and feel that if they gain some extra benefits that I don't, this is perfectly fair. There are various threads on this forum with "how easy" it is to reach the status levels these days, and we all know that the amount of D and above members have exponentially increased the last few years. We also all know that cruising is no longer an exclusive vacation, but is geared, and more importantly now priced, to families and those who looked at other lesser priced vacation options in the past..

 

Bottom Line:

• The D and above CAS membership will continue to exponentially increase, and all these new members will want access to the same lounge & same free booze we all enjoy that is now already overflowing.
  
• There is no way to fit 500-1000 D's/D+'s/PNs into any lounge on any ship... I can see this amount of CAS members happening on a per cruise basis very soon as we see many cruisers booked with multiple future cruises gaining double points in suites over and over again on many ships.
  
• CAS benefits, not CAS "entitlements", can be changed or removed at any time by RCL.
  
• In my extremely humble opinion, if someone cruises solely and only for the purpose of sitting in a lounge for 3 1/2 hours while spending those thousands of dollars to experience paradise on earth in the Caribbean or wherever you're cruising, that is just extremely sad. I feel that lounge access should not make or break your cruise experience.
  

 

I'm neutral on this subject... if RCL removes the CL from me I'll shrug my shoulders and continue to get my morning coffee from the DL and still enjoy meeting all the great people all around the ship, not just in the lounges!

 

So how to treat Diamonds going forward if they are removed from DL access? There was another thread recently, and I mentioned RCL should offer CAS members a highly discounted ultimate beverage package, the amount of discount based on your CAS level. Remove free alcohol in the lounges, offer the packages so that CAS members can get highly discounted drinks all day long and anywhere they want at any time not just 3 hours in the lounges. In place of no DL or CL access, give all CAS members reaching D and up an extra obc an every single cruise.... you can use that obc to purchase that discounted drink package (so basically works out to a free drink package like you have right now in the DL/CL for only 3 hours) if you're a drinker, or you can use that obc for excursions, paying gratuities, anything you want according to how you cruise.

 

Just my humble 2 cents.

Happy cruising everyone :D

Edited November 3, 2015 by Hoopster95

[cruisenfever]

I consider you well informed. Can you clarity, since Pinnacle (currently) have a gold card, does that imply that that Pinnacle will also have access to the suite lounge? I hope so.

 

I am not Pinnacle, but we all know the extreme loyalty that Pinnacle members show to RCCL.

 

M

Yes, since PC Members receive a Gold Card, they do have access to the newly formed Suite Lounge. They also have access to the Diamond Lounge as well.

Edited November 3, 2015 by cruisenfever

[little britain]

People were waiting at 4:27 yesterday for the lounge to open at 5...... Give me the vouchers any day so I can drink when and where I want: and with whom I want. I get free coffee at the Cafe Promenade too. Haven't even been into the DL yet

 

Live on the Allure TA where there are 1200 diamonds, 850 D+ and 56 PCs.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s using Tapatalk

[Otterman34]

Have the cruise booked for Jan 2016 which will bring us down to 20 points away from D+.

I really like my cappuccino and espresso from the Diamond Lounge espresso machine.

Plus I like the evening interaction with the other guests and the staff while getting drinks in the lounge.

 

RCI, do not take my well earned perks away.

 

Thank you!

[LMaxwell]

The other major loss would be the removal of access to a Concierge for Diamond members. I have not made much use of their services, but on here many people swear by the services provided by the concierge.

 

I don't know why people are talking about suites or suite lounges here, that's not really the topic and I don't think anyone has said or would say suites do not deserve access to a dedicated concierge as well as a dedicated lounge.

 

I don't think it is positive as a forum to negotiate down as a group and determine what people will accept. I think it is better to look for alternatives and additions which is why I suggested the use of an otherwise unused venue designated for nightly cocktails. For instance, on Legend of the Seas the Diamond Lounge was not adequate in size for the nightly cocktail hour, so every evening it was held in the Anchors Aweigh lounge which is the secondary show lounge and would not have been utilized in the early evening hours otherwise. The D lounge still remained an alternative for those looking for a quiet area and/or coffee. I thought the solution was fine.

[Cigar King]

Personally, I would miss the coffee machine, but not the lounge. They could easily just load free specialty coffee onto our cards, and that would take care of that. I also love the idea of a suite only lounge. I, for one, hope the rumors are true.

[tserface]

We don't cruise for the benefits, but we do consider RCI first because we are Diamond level and get the benefits. We enjoy the party every evening and the use of the lounge for coffee and a quiet place to go to play cards, etc. during the day. We would really miss that.

 

If RCI takes that away, which is probably their right, then we wouldn't have as much reason to consider them in the cruise mix and if you couple that with the consistently higher prices we may have more reason to look more seriously elsewhere.

 

I suspect others feel the same as us. If the prices were still like there were even this time last year, we wouldn't hesitate going with RCI regardless, but prices are skyrocketing on many cruises we are looking at.

 

Tom

[Big_G]

The other major loss would be the removal of access to a Concierge for Diamond members. I have not made much use of their services, but on here many people swear by the services provided by the concierge.

 

They may still provide access to the concierge so who knows what may or may not happen.

 

I don't know why people are talking about suites or suite lounges here, that's not really the topic and I don't think anyone has said or would say suites do not deserve access to a dedicated concierge as well as a dedicated lounge.

 

It's kind of a trickle down. If D+ get booted from the CL, wouldn't that be part of the reason why D gets booted from the DL?

 

I don't think it is positive as a forum to negotiate down as a group and determine what people will accept. I think it is better to look for alternatives and additions which is why I suggested the use of an otherwise unused venue designated for nightly cocktails. For instance, on Legend of the Seas the Diamond Lounge was not adequate in size for the nightly cocktail hour, so every evening it was held in the Anchors Aweigh lounge which is the secondary show lounge and would not have been utilized in the early evening hours otherwise. The D lounge still remained an alternative for those looking for a quiet area and/or coffee. I thought the solution was fine.

 

It's a good solution. I'm sure they could find a lounge on any ship during those hours. After all, they did it for the 'Diamond Events' in the past.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Big_G

[Retired LEO]

Give the vouchers to D and D+ and leave the lounges for suite guests an PC members. The way it was meant to be.

[nbsjcruiser]

My wife and I are top tier with Princess, Norwegian and Carnival. The grass is not greener... For me, the D club gives RCL a leg up. Norwegian caters to its Haven guests (suites) and if you doubt that, just try to enter their exclusive area.

 

The point I tried to make was this - we've cruised mainly RCI and we achieved a level of status that we thought might allow for some benefits. For at least the 3rd time, they moved the goal posts. Now they seem to lean mainly on suite guests - you see it everywhere. You see it on Labadee and in perks they get. Many of the suite guests will not have the cruise history many "loyal" RCI cruisers have and so it becomes a situation where RCI is placating to the suite guests at the expense of the long term cruiser. So if my perks are going to be continually downgraded, I might as well shop around on other lines and cruise where it does my pocketbook the best. Its like the changes to the future cruise program when you book while on the ship. They've made it not worth the bother. The message I got from those changes was "we'd rather you not book a future cruise with us now". So I took them at their desire, I haven't and I never will again. Will I cruise with RCI again? Of course I will but they moved down the pecking order from #1 to a tie with NCL, Princess and other cruise lines. I suspect I'm not the only person who has done this either and with RCI ordering ships like I buy socks, they're going to need the returning customer at some point. Happened with Carnival not too long ago. Their MO was to appeal to the new cruiser. Worked great for a while but things changed and they found themselves in a position where they were actually offering free cruises - just pay the tax and tips - to previous customers.

 

Anyway - I like RCI's product I just don't like the way they've decided to market themselves and their product.

[George C]

Concierge lounge can not always hold diamond plus and suite guests, was not happy when concierge asked if we would use diamond since it was full on our 1st cruise in a suite ( we are diamond and will do plus in about 2 years)

[Cigar King]

Concierge lounge can not always hold diamond plus and suite guests, was not happy when concierge asked if we would use diamond since it was full on our 1st cruise in a suite ( we are diamond and will do plus in about 2 years)

 

This is exactly why I want the suites to have their own lounge. How can you provide excellent service for your suite guests when you do not know how many customers might avail themselves of your service?

 

If you just have the suites you remove the variable numbers of D+ guests per cruise.

[hollykimalan]

The premium that you pay for a suite I think entitles you to the 'perks'. Unlike the benefits which are accrued by a generous loyalty programme Suite guests are paying for these services contemporaneously.

It must be annoying to feel duped by the loyalty programme that one feels has changed the goal posts and appears to be reducing their level of service. Is this because the Suite services are being enhanced rather than the Loyalty Programme services being material reduced?

If you these Suite perks mean so much to you and you appreciate their value why not pay for a suite?

The last time I looked it was over $17,000 more for the suite. I think $17,000 buys you way, way more service than any convoluted Loyalty Programme could hope to fund. It's about the economics.

[CP3o]

If they do this they should add a couple daily specialty coffee drinks per day to use anytime, including dining room.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[spookwife]

 

 

So how to treat Diamonds going forward if they are removed from DL access? There was another thread recently, and I mentioned RCL should offer CAS members a highly discounted ultimate beverage package, the amount of discount based on your CAS level. Remove free alcohol in the lounges, offer the packages so that CAS members can get highly discounted drinks all day long and anywhere they want at any time not just 3 hours in the lounges. In place of no DL or CL access, give all CAS members reaching D and up an extra obc an every single cruise.... you can use that obc to purchase that discounted drink package (so basically works out to a free drink package like you have right now in the DL/CL for only 3 hours) if you're a drinker, or you can use that obc for excursions, paying gratuities, anything you want according to how you cruise.

 

Just my humble 2 cents.

Happy cruising everyone :D

 

 

hmm. what about giving Ds and D+ a select Package free. everybody who wants that free specialty coffee and not have to worry about the machine in the lounge being broke( as seems to happen every other cruise lately)can upgrade

 

Pinnacles can get the Premium free.

 

Suites get their lounge access with the wings. the 'other stuff' ( concierge dude/ette to make reservations and handle issues) can easily be accomplished by filling an empty desk in the Loyalty Ambassador's corner

 

you know we booked our first Royal cruise, in a suite, because the Lounge was a perk we wanted. at the time of our booking kids were NOT allowed in the lounge during cocktail hour which was, quite honestly the tipping point for us to spend the money.

 

a month later, due to pressure by suite guests who pitched fits about not having anywhere to stick the little darlings while they grabbed a martini, they changed the policy

 

so technically before we even got to enjoy benefits that were important to us they were taken away. yes i was torqued about it. I still cruised made the best of it and have continued to book suites anyway

[FLACRUISER99]

I'm leaning to giving the vouchers to D, Lounge for D+, Suite lounge for Suites & P. To be practical they will have to do something.

[Pumbaamd]

. . . and no one has mentioned the Black Diamonds?

R&D

[Retired LEO]

hmm. what about giving Ds and D+ a select Package free. everybody who wants that free specialty coffee and not have to worry about the machine in the lounge being broke( as seems to happen every other cruise lately)can upgrade

 

Pinnacles can get the Premium free.

 

Suites get their lounge access with the wings. the 'other stuff' ( concierge dude/ette to make reservations and handle issues) can easily be accomplished by filling an empty desk in the Loyalty Ambassador's corner

 

you know we booked our first Royal cruise, in a suite, because the Lounge was a perk we wanted. at the time of our booking kids were NOT allowed in the lounge during cocktail hour which was, quite honestly the tipping point for us to spend the money.

 

a month later, due to pressure by suite guests who pitched fits about not having anywhere to stick the little darlings while they grabbed a martini, they changed the policy

so technically before we even got to enjoy benefits that were important to us they were taken away. yes i was torqued about it. I still cruised made the best of it and have continued to book suites anyway

 

And rightly so.

[Cigar King]

The last time I looked it was over $17,000 more for the suite. I think $17,000 buys you way, way more service than any convoluted Loyalty Programme could hope to fund. It's about the economics.

 

You can sail in a suite for a lot less than 17k...

[TOPCATS2]

How about no more cross over between Celebrity and Royal? Everyone can keep their lounges and will have to earn diamond or elite the old fashioned way!