Breaking News - C&A Changes/Enhancements

[John&LaLa]

Beverage Manager is always a good start.

 

And that's what's wrong with the program. You shouldn't have to hunt down a department head for a program that is supposed to be in place.

[John&LaLa]

Any word on Jewel? will her new lounge be a CL or a SL?

 

Most likely it will just be designated an SL when it gets relocated during refit

[Clarea]

Any word on Jewel? will her new lounge be a CL or a SL?

Nothing official from Royal yet, but my money is on all the CLs going to SLs soon.

[floatel_lvr]

I agree, the best CLs are in the old Hollywood Odyssey.

 

That was a very nice lounge.

[SULROSS]

We've had Ricardo a couple of times, and he is excellent.

 

I have had Ricardo many times on the Navigator. He is real good and really helpful.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Nothing official from Royal yet, but my money is on all the CLs going to SLs soon.

 

I think you may be right. ;)

[Rockfordcruiser]

The concierge may not know, but my good friend LT has been getting it since Feb 19th..

He is sitting with me now ...he has photo proof of his receipts.

 

LT keeps receipts? lol. The SOP was sent to all loyalty ambassadors. This is a C/A program. Why some ignore is the mystery...

[cinnamon]

HAHAHA. I read this post and was going to comment then saw who it was written by. A couple I rate very highly that I had the great pleasure to meet in the lounge.

 

I love the concierge lounge. It is my favourite place. Not for the one or two beverages and soft drinks I have up there, but for the opportunity to meet people, and to catch up with people I met last time, and to spend time with them each night. And for the large "gang" you have by the end of the cruise.

 

The lounge really is the best perk EVER!

 

Raina

 

 

I couldn't agree more Raina. Although we've only been D+ on one cruise so far, the same applied to the DL on quieter cruises.

And for me, the daytime access to a quiet lounge is more important than alcoholic drinks.

[CptSticky]

It's official, the Brilliance will be changing the CL to Suites Lounge on May 14, 2016. This is right after the TA and the Chartered cruise. No one (officers) on the ship is trying to hide or deflect this fact anymore.

If I remember correctly the CL on Brilliance was moved up to the old Hollywood Odyssey like the rest of Radiance Class. That's a large area and includes outdoor seating. If it's suite and P only it will be kind of empty. On one run in Australia a couple of years ago we were the only two people in there all week and eventually went over to the DL just to talk to someone. The DL on Radiance Class ships isn't very big but can expand into the VCL. I suspect that the VCL will be taken every night.

[Ocean Boy]

No, we book GS to get lounge access, once we hit diamond our plan was to book some JS when GSs were overpriced.

 

Ie we hit Diamond next cruise, so the cruise after that we have a JS booked because GS was overpriced but the next two cruises after that we have GS and RFS booked because the price was fair.

 

If they take lounge away for Diamond id have to cancel some JS bookings.

 

Ahh, now I get it. Thanks.

[Ocean Boy]

I couldn't agree more Raina. Although we've only been D+ on one cruise so far, the same applied to the DL on quieter cruises.

And for me, the daytime access to a quiet lounge is more important than alcoholic drinks.

 

And I agree with you. Sometimes a little daytime retreat to a quiet lounge is very appreciated. I especially like it on the Voyager/Freedom class ships with the great views of the ocean and outdoor seating area.

[island lady]

People around here get pretty testy when things are not consistent from ship to ship.

 

And how well we know how inconsistent it can be from ship to ship! ;)

[PH8]

Beverage Manager is always a good start.

 

You are right!!

[island lady]

That's the CL I will miss having access to. We liked sitting at the bar in there;)

 

So did we! On both Brilliance and this last Serenade cruise. Will miss it ....sigh....:(

Edited April 19, 2016 by island lady

[island lady]

The concierge may not know, but my good friend LT has been getting it since Feb 19th..

He is sitting with me now ...he has photo proof of his receipts.

 

Hi Kathy!!

 

Please say "hello" to LT from Bucky and Pat! :)

[PH8]

Hi Kathy!!

 

Please say "hello" to LT from Bucky and Pat! :)

 

Just did...says hi back at ya!

[Bobal]

It's official, the Brilliance will be changing the CL to Suites Lounge on May 14, 2016. This is right after the TA and the Chartered cruise. No one (officers) on the ship is trying to hide or deflect this fact anymore.

 

Very disappointed about this. We sail on Brilliance in June and really love that lounge. On our recent Radiance cruise we always went there rather than the DL, like the bar set-up there and the outside seating area :(

 

At least the DL on that ship is nice too, and has the ability to overflow.

 

Tagsalong, just as a matter of interest where do you get your official info from?

Edited April 19, 2016 by Bobal

[ckfred]

What has bugged me is the fact that I can't sail on Celebrity and earn points on RC. What I figured is that Celebrity points are awarded based on nights sailed and cabin class, while RC only awards extra points for booking junior suite and higher.

 

I'm assuming that some cruise lines have loyalty programs like RC's, and others are like Celebrity. But, with the airlines now going to frequent flyer programs based on mileage and dollars spent, I would assume that some time down the road, RC will modify C&A to include a money spent aspect, such as inside, outside, balcony, junior suite and suite.

 

When airlines have alliances and codeshares, such that a person belongs to one frequent flyer program and can earn miles on various airlines, it makes no sense that a C&A member can't earn points on various Royal Caribbean Cruises lines.

[Tagsalong]

If I remember correctly the CL on Brilliance was moved up to the old Hollywood Odyssey like the rest of Radiance Class. That's a large area and includes outdoor seating. If it's suite and P only it will be kind of empty. On one run in Australia a couple of years ago we were the only two people in there all week and eventually went over to the DL just to talk to someone. The DL on Radiance Class ships isn't very big but can expand into the VCL. I suspect that the VCL will be taken every night.

 

That is correct. Last night, leaving Tampa, the CL was packed from 5 to 6 pm. In the Med it will probably be empty, but at least Suite Guests will be able to find a comfy place to sit. Last week guests from the Royal Suite were not able to find seats in the CL during the cocktail hours, complained to Charmaine and the HD had to call on all of his wits/resources to keep them happy. Did a very good job, by the way. At least this ship is still willing to extend the DL into the VCL when needed, unlike the Freedom.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Tagsalong

[Bobal]

That is correct. Last night, leaving Tampa, the CL was packed from 5 to 6 pm. In the Med it will probably be empty, but at least Suite Guests will be able to find a comfy place to sit. Last week guests from the Royal Suite were not able to find seats in the CL during the cocktail hours, complained to Charmaine and the HD had to call on all of his wits/resources to keep them happy. Did a very good job, by the way. At least this ship is still willing to extend the DL into the VCL when needed, unlike the Freedom.

 

I can vouch for that. We were on Serenade in the Med twice over the last couple of years on the same 12 night itinerary we'll be doing on Brilliance. The CL was empty (maybe 3 or 4 people) most nights. The concierge was (jokingly) begging us to go in there but we went to the DL which had far more atmosphere. However, it would be nice to still have the choice :(

[Tagsalong]

Very disappointed about this. We sail on Brilliance in June and really love that lounge. On our recent Radiance cruise we always went there rather than the DL, like the bar set-up there and the outside seating area :(

 

At least the DL on that ship is nice too, and has the ability to overflow.

 

Tagsalong, just as a matter of interest where do you get your official info from?

 

Any and all officers on the Brilliance will now confirm the start on May 14 for this ship. Other ships will start on May 1 or later depending on their itineraries. Conference calls and emails with shoreside have been occurring for the past five days.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Tagsalong

[Beachin2]

That is correct. Last night, leaving Tampa, the CL was packed from 5 to 6 pm. In the Med it will probably be empty, but at least Suite Guests will be able to find a comfy place to sit. Last week guests from the Royal Suite were not able to find seats in the CL during the cocktail hours, complained to Charmaine and the HD had to call on all of his wits/resources to keep them happy. Did a very good job, by the way. At least this ship is still willing to extend the DL into the VCL when needed, unlike the Freedom.

 

Great example of why CL access needs to change. However - the very popular sailings with tons of P's will have the same problem.

 

If you make it a SL then it should be a SL.

[roquejo]

A big issue with making these decisions fleet wide is that some parts of the world it would make the lounges empty. In Australia where Royal has 5 ships currently in the summer months, there is not an issue. Every now and again there maybe a cruise that the Diamond lounge gets busy but they are rare and usually limited to domestic or relocation cruises. The CL is also rarely busy as not all that many suite guests use the lounge often, plus there are only a few Pinnacle members in Australia (I mean the crew celebrate when there is a pinnacle member who is Australian on board. I have never seen more then 2 pinnacle members on board and they were a couple. Diamond Plus usually only sits around 15-30 on board. Again all dependant on the cruise. So if they started kicking people out of lounges fleet wide, it may solve an issue in some parts of the world, but completely empty out the room in other parts.

 

I agree with this. All the more in Asia. I've taken Voyager in one of its Asia sailings during Australia's winter and we are only 2 Diamonds in the entire ship with around 3,000 passengers!!!

 

With only 2 Diamonds using the lounge, they have invited the suite guests to use the DL lounge instead. As most of us top tier C&A members know, the DL lounge of Voyager class ships are nice while its CL's are not.

Edited April 19, 2016 by roquejo

[kccrzr]

That is correct. Last night, leaving Tampa, the CL was packed from 5 to 6 pm. In the Med it will probably be empty, but at least Suite Guests will be able to find a comfy place to sit. Last week guests from the Royal Suite were not able to find seats in the CL during the cocktail hours, complained to Charmaine and the HD had to call on all of his wits/resources to keep them happy. Did a very good job, by the way. At least this ship is still willing to extend the DL into the VCL when needed, unlike the Freedom.

 

On the other hand, we were on Brilliance in early March and there were seats a-plenty in the CL every single night.

Edited April 19, 2016 by kccrzr

[travelgoddess1]

On the other hand, we were on Brilliance in early March and there were seats a-plenty in the CL every single night.

 

It was very quiet on Freedom for the first two weeks of March, as well. I attribute the lack of crowding to the many spring breakers on board, who typically do not book suites nor are they upper tier levels of C&A. There were not a lot of Diamond and above onboard, either.