Some questions regarding Grand Suite and the Concierge Lounge on the Indy

[Milwaukee Eight]

Is the DL located up near the Viking Crown Lounge?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been on this particular charter three times (4th coming up) and everyone seems to get the appropriate points, assuming they've established a C&A account. Hoping we get the double points for the suite; goodness knows we paid enough for it. :)

 

 

 

We got all our points on our full ship Charter in December Brilliance . It took a little longer than usual but they showed up. I had to call C&A to add SO as the cruise was booked in my name with the Charter. Don’t ask me why? Charter also didn’t spell my name properly but Royal had it right??

 

We got our double points for staying in a GS but lost some of our customary perks.

 

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[Pellaz]

Is the DL located near the Viking Crown Lounge?

Yes

 

Aha, good. I don't intend on attempting to enter it (after all, it's not my place) but I'm hoping to at least set foot in the Viking Crown Lounge...for the first time since on MJ back in 2010. :D

 

 

We got all our points on our full ship Charter in December Brilliance . It took a little longer than usual but they showed up. ....

We got our double points for staying in a GS but lost some of our customary perks.

 

We have all received C&A points for this charter, in fact those who have been on all 8 previous sailings will cross over into Platinum this time around. I'm hoping they double up on the suite points, too.

 

As for the perks.......ehhh. We'll see. Some, like "priority seating for shows," are an obvious no-go. Curious about the CL, though.

[Milwaukee Eight]

Aha, good. I don't intend on attempting to enter it (after all, it's not my place) but I'm hoping to at least set foot in the Viking Crown Lounge...for the first time since on MJ back in 2010. :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have all received C&A points for this charter, in fact those who have been on all 8 previous sailings will cross over into Platinum this time around. I'm hoping they double up on the suite points, too.

 

 

 

As for the perks.......ehhh. We'll see. Some, like "priority seating for shows," are an obvious no-go. Curious about the CL, though.

 

 

 

I don’t know if this is fact so you may treat as FAKENEWS. After we found out about losing some perk, I made some inquiries. You would think since the Lounges are for C&A, a Royal perk, they would be supplied regardless. However, I was told that the Charter has a minimum about of alcohol sales $$ required and the free drinks are like a penalty to the Charter. We were able to get drinks in both the DL/CL But for regular price. Drink Packages were honored.

 

 

 

 

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[lovetotravel06]

I'd "guess" all bets are off on perks for GS (and other perks for that matter) for this charter. 70,000 tons of Metal "Worlds biggest heavy metal cruise"! If I were to guess (and that's all it would be) I wouldn't be surprised if some venues like CL, etc might be closed. Who knows!? Keep us posted.

[Milwaukee Eight]

I'd "guess" all bets are off on perks for GS (and other perks for that matter) for this charter. 70,000 tons of Metal "Worlds biggest heavy metal cruise"! If I were to guess (and that's all it would be) I wouldn't be surprised if some venues like CL, etc might be closed. Who knows!? Keep us posted.

 

 

 

We did have a Concierge for Suites and the CL. He was very good and made up for some perks we missed. It took us two hours to board. Charter had no Status Lines. Everyone was equal and entered together.

 

 

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[Pellaz]

I'd "guess" all bets are off on perks for GS (and other perks for that matter) for this charter. 70,000 tons of Metal "Worlds biggest heavy metal cruise"! If I were to guess (and that's all it would be) I wouldn't be surprised if some venues like CL, etc might be closed. Who knows!? Keep us posted.

 

I will. Really curious about it.

 

I don’t know if this is fact so you may treat as FAKENEWS.

A lot of that going around, yep.

 

After we found out about losing some perk, I made some inquiries. You would think since the Lounges are for C&A, a Royal perk, they would be supplied regardless. However, I was told that the Charter has a minimum about of alcohol sales $$ required and the free drinks are like a penalty to the Charter. We were able to get drinks in both the DL/CL But for regular price. Drink Packages were honored.

Heh, they don't offer ANY alcohol packages for this charter. They will have to store additional reserves (mostly beer) in any unused staterooms, like they did last year. On this charter's first year, despite Royal stocking 20% more alcohol than on a normal 4-night cruise, they ran out of beer by the time they got to Cozumel, 36 hours after departing Miami. :D

So no, we're not expecting any free drinks in the CL, either. (I'm not a drinker, so I'm not really put-out about it, but it would have been nice.)

 

We did have a Concierge for Suites and the CL. He was very good and made up for some perks we missed. It took us two hours to board. Charter had no Status Lines. Everyone was equal and entered together.

For this charter, band members and festival personnel/crew (and presumably accredited media) have their own priority entrance and check-in. Everyone else goes in the regular queue.

No-one has priority for debark, but some festival crew remain onboard late for stage and equipment offloading.

[Milwaukee Eight]

I will. Really curious about it.

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of that going around, yep.

 

 

 

Heh, they don't offer ANY alcohol packages for this charter. They will have to store additional reserves (mostly beer) in any unused staterooms, like they did last year. On this charter's first year, despite Royal stocking 20% more alcohol than on a normal 4-night cruise, they ran out of beer by the time they got to Cozumel, 36 hours after departing Miami. :D

 

So no, we're not expecting any free drinks in the CL, either. (I'm not a drinker, so I'm not really put-out about it, but it would have been nice.)

 

 

 

For this charter, band members and festival personnel/crew (and presumably accredited media) have their own priority entrance and check-in. Everyone else goes in the regular queue.

 

No-one has priority for debark, but some festival crew remain onboard late for stage and equipment offloading.

 

 

 

Our Charter was full ship for High Seas Rally. A biker cruise, mostly Harley Riders. It is actually a Charity for Dialysis, a great cause and pays for 10 Dialysis patients and spouse/partner/caregiver all expenses paid. They are not typically allowed to cruise. The Charter supplies the Doctors/nurse/staff to accommodate this. Royal Works with them very well.

 

This was the 18th cruise But first full ship Charter. Royal knew from past history how much bikers can drink so they were prepared for us.

 

 

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[Pellaz]

Our Charter was full ship for High Seas Rally. A biker cruise, mostly Harley Riders. It is actually a Charity for Dialysis, a great cause and pays for 10 Dialysis patients and spouse/partner/caregiver all expenses paid. They are not typically allowed to cruise. The Charter supplies the Doctors/nurse/staff to accommodate this. Royal Works with them very well.

 

Oh, that's awesome.

 

This was the 18th cruise But first full ship Charter. Royal knew from past history how much bikers can drink so they were prepared for us.

 

Did they let any of you bring your bikes along on the cruise? I recall hearing that at least one bikers' cruise made that arrangement with the cruise line, and they were able to stow some bikes onboard for use at their port stop(s). I've seen how crowded it can be along the gangway deck ("I-95") on ships, so that would have been a major deal.

[Pellaz]

I'd "guess" all bets are off on perks for GS (and other perks for that matter) for this charter. 70,000 tons of Metal "Worlds biggest heavy metal cruise"! If I were to guess (and that's all it would be) I wouldn't be surprised if some venues like CL, etc might be closed. Who knows!? Keep us posted.

 

Okay, I'm back from the cruise. I can confirm that, while our SeaPasses opened the door to the CL, no concierge services were provided and no food or beverages were served. We were also charged the room-service delivery charge that I thought was waived "for guests in Grand Suites and above." Whatever.

 

Otherwise, we were happy with the Grand Suite and will probably book the same room for the charter next year. We were puzzled by the fact that, despite oodles of lighting controls in the stateroom, the switch for the bathroom light is STILL outside the door. :D

 

The ship itself.....is okay. We're still wondering why the Windjammer was closed every evening from 5 pm til 7 pm.....y'know, during prime dinner hours...when the fare changed only a little bit between lunch and dinner. (Simple fare for the most part....mashed potatoes, gravy, a chicken option, a pork option, those dreadful "beef" burgers...) We also found the fact that there was frequently only 3 free/included dining options available to be pretty poor. (Pizza, little sandwiches at Cafe Promenade, and the WJ if you were lucky to find it open.)

They DID serve late-night snacks -- same menu as dinner -- in the WJ from midnight to 5 am, after inexplicably closing from 10pm til midnight.

The stateroom corridor carpeting was pretty filthy, too. It looked like it had been installed 30 years ago and never been steam-cleaned.

[Clarea]

... We were also charged the room-service delivery charge that I thought was waived "for guests in Grand Suites and above." ...

This should not have happened, I would have had Guest Services remove that charge.

[Milwaukee Eight]

Okay, I'm back from the cruise. I can confirm that, while our SeaPasses opened the door to the CL, no concierge services were provided and no food or beverages were served. We were also charged the room-service delivery charge that I thought was waived "for guests in Grand Suites and above." Whatever.

 

 

 

Otherwise, we were happy with the Grand Suite and will probably book the same room for the charter next year. We were puzzled by the fact that, despite oodles of lighting controls in the stateroom, the switch for the bathroom light is STILL outside the door. :D

 

 

 

The ship itself.....is okay. We're still wondering why the Windjammer was closed every evening from 5 pm til 7 pm.....y'know, during prime dinner hours...when the fare changed only a little bit between lunch and dinner. (Simple fare for the most part....mashed potatoes, gravy, a chicken option, a pork option, those dreadful "beef" burgers...) We also found the fact that there was frequently only 3 free/included dining options available to be pretty poor. (Pizza, little sandwiches at Cafe Promenade, and the WJ if you were lucky to find it open.)

 

They DID serve late-night snacks -- same menu as dinner -- in the WJ from midnight to 5 am, after inexplicably closing from 10pm til midnight.

 

The stateroom corridor carpeting was pretty filthy, too. It looked like it had been installed 30 years ago and never been steam-cleaned.

 

 

 

Not completely unexpected. We were told that the Charter pays Royal a Fee for the entire ship and also is responsible for insuring a set of revenue numbers from alcohol and other sales.

 

When we were on Freedom Presidents Cruise, we met some of the staff that handles Charters. It was a good opportunity to discuss our concerns about being Diamond and in a GS without perks. It was explained to us that these perks are left up to the Charter.

 

 

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[Pellaz]

This should not have happened, I would have had Guest Services remove that charge.

 

By that point in the cruise I think my friends who ordered just didn't care that much about $8.

Another two cheers for Royal Caribbean. :eek::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Pellaz]

I was surprised at several things that Carnival simply does better than Royal, at least comparing my two most recent cruises. Check-in for Carnival Vista was nearly painless, whereas for the Indy we had to complete the medical forms at the kiosk, they had to spend time taking our photos and fetching our SeaPasses, etc. Back in October Carnival simply used my passport photo and our room-keys were delivered to our room's "mailbox." (Immediately, for us, since we had gotten Faster to the Fun.) Carnival also includes the medical questionnaire in your pre-cruise documents so you can complete it before arrival.

 

And let's not start about the dearth of free/included food options on the Indy, a ship even larger than Carnival's biggest, or the longer walks to the nearest elevator bank (Indy has two, Carnival's ships have three), or the fact that the elevator displays don't indicate their direction of travel like they do on Carnival's ships...... Sometimes it's the little things.