Diamond Happy Hour - Is sharing OK?

[terrierjohn]

8 minutes ago, Paulxyz2004 said:

 

Nope, you are wrong on this one. It doesn´t matter if you empty them into the nearest plant, pour them down the sink or drink them yourself - that´s the same cost to RCI. However when you pass them on to a friend it´s lost revenue for RCI, as if you didn´t do this, the said friend would most likely have bought a drink which RCI would have made big bucks on. So handing a drink to someone else is costing RCI.

 

While I have an opinion on the sharing of drinks I´m certainly not getting worked up about it, as nothing anybody says on here will change peoples behaviour. Same with other hot topics like tipping or dress codes.

 

However I do think if you share your drinks - be discreet about it. There´s no need to blast about it on a message board how you got away with it. People get away with stuff all the time, but the more people blast about how they game the system it will result in closed loopholes and changes in the system which most of the time will have a negative effect on everybody else.

 

That´s why I say, I can´t change what you do, but at least be discreet about it.

Yes you might have a bit of a point there, however when my friend buys the next round, and includes me, then RCI get their money back, and out of 6 drinks they get payment for 3, which is just the same as if we order separately.  Oh and I am always discreet. 

[Virtopia]

Benefits of cruising solo - no one to share your Diamond drinks with 🙂 and I'm a drinker so I'd be hesitant to share even if I had company LOL

[papaflamingo]

11 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

How about the white bath robes those are exclusive for platinum and above right? 

I guess I can’t share it with my friend either .....

Seriously?  Well, let's examine your "comment."  If the robes were at a cost to non-Diamonds, and free for Diamonds use only, then no, you probably can't share them. But generally they are available to anyone who asks for one.  So your analogy is...... not the best.  Listen, this isn't rocket science here.  The cruise line makes a rule.  Follow it, don't follow it, I don't care.  I only care when MY perk is put in jeopardy.  Just like the old rule that allowed only one person in a cabin to purchase a Drink Package.  Then all those threads about how everyone is sharing.  And what happened?  Well, now  BOTH people in a cabin have to purchase the Package.   So good job... keep bragging...keep using stupid analogies, and the next thing you know, MY 3 free drinks will disappear along with everyone else's.  Regardless of how many drinks a non-Diamond will or will not buy, every drink given away is loss of revenue to the cruise line.  That's why they cancel these benefits. It's costing them money.  Say there's 100 Diamond members and each of them uses 2 of their drink coupons to buy for 2 friends each night.  Average of $10 per drink so the cruise line loses $2000 in revenue each night.  That's $14,000 on a seven night cruise.  

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

  Just like the old rule that allowed only one person in a cabin to purchase a Drink Package.  Then all those threads about how everyone is sharing.  And what happened?  Well, now  BOTH people in a cabin have to purchase the Package.   So good job... keep bragging...keep using stupid analogies, and the next thing you know, MY 3 free drinks will disappear along with everyone else's.  

RCI didn't need folks bragging about sharing on CC to know it was going on. And, we don't know that sharing caused the new rule, it could simply be a money grab by RCI - there's been a lot of that going on recently.

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

RCI didn't need folks bragging about sharing on CC to know it was going on. And, we don't know that sharing caused the new rule, it could simply be a money grab by RCI - there's been a lot of that going on recently.

Well, they haven't started charging for luggage yet. 😇

[LMaxwell]

On 10/18/2018 at 7:38 AM, papaflamingo said:

You are exactly right.  It's one thing to ask for clarification.  It's another to say "yeah you can't do it but everyone does anyway so go ahead."  So... the rule certainly isn't clear.  BUT, it specifically says that the Diamond Lounge is for Diamond only.  No guests and no sharing drinks.  The 3 drink coupon was instituted to "un-crowd" the Diamond lounges.  So it's really just an "extension" of the lounge, even has it's own menu that mirrors the drinks available in the lounge.  So one can expect that the same rules apply.  But here's my point...if we want to keep this perk, and I certainly do, then do what your conscience tells you to do but PLEASE stop telling the world that you just don't care about the rules and not only are YOU going to violate them but encourage EVERYONE ELSE to violate them too!  Y'all saw what happened to the Drink Packages!  I want to keep my Diamond benefits.  So come on folks... the OP asked if it was allowed.  The answer is no one really knows exactly, but many think no.  So the OP can ask on board, or not.  Share at his or her discretion, or not.  But please don't get my 3 free drinks per night taken away!  

The stars have aligned and we are in 100% agreement 

[twangster]

There is no internet forum in the world that is going to impact what Royal does with respect to happy hour drinks.  Seriously?  Have you seen the bottles they go through nightly?  Ship after ship, every, single, night.  The diamond lounge happy hour costs a small fortune. 

 

If changes are coming, it isn't because of a CC post or a few people sharing a happy hour drink coupon drink.  That pales in comparison to the consumption of the DL times 25 ships every single day, 365 days a year.

[papaflamingo]

9 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

The stars have aligned and we are in 100% agreement 

Mark this day and heck.... need to buy a lottery ticket!  Then if I win the $2 Billion I won't care about the 3 free drinks anymore!  LOL 😜

[Mythbuster]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

There is no internet forum in the world that is going to impact what Royal does with respect to happy hour drinks.  Seriously?  Have you seen the bottles they go through nightly?  Ship after ship, every, single, night.  The diamond lounge happy hour costs a small fortune. 

 

If changes are coming, it isn't because of a CC post or a few people sharing a happy hour drink coupon drink.  That pales in comparison to the consumption of the DL times 25 ships every single day, 365 days a year.

You are partially right, if changes are coming it is because the program is being abused not because of posts on CC.  However, RCCL does monitor this site and if abuse is openly discussed it could cause them to investigate the extent of the abuse.

The real question is not how much they spend on drinks in the DL.  It is how much more is the 3 coupon program is costing.  How many people do you know have 3 drinks (each) in the DL before dinner?  If the average is 2 (which I think is high) then giving the 2nd  and/or 3rd drink coupon drink to a friend would actually increase their cost 50% over limiting to only Diamond member in the lounge.

[SPacificbound]

They aren't going to give you the three drinks all at once I don't believe.

 

 

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

They aren't going to give you the three drinks all at once I don't believe.

 

 

 

We've had no problem using our vouchers for 2 and 3 drinks at a time.

[Redrobo]

Why stick to just giving friends drinks using you vouchers, go the whole hog, get them into the lounge and they can fill themselves with the food to go with the free drinks.😋

[mcatmcat]

On 10/20/2018 at 2:28 PM, papaflamingo said:

Seriously?  Well, let's examine your "comment."  If the robes were at a cost to non-Diamonds, and free for Diamonds use only, then no, you probably can't share them. But generally they are available to anyone who asks for one.  

According to their website Robes are for platinum and above only, you can ask for them but unless you are platinum or above no one can give it to you once on board, that might be considered " breaking the rules"

 

 

[mcatmcat]

3 hours ago, SPacificbound said:

They aren't going to give you the three drinks all at once I don't believe.

 

 

you can order 3 drinks at once, in fact my gf and I had asked for our 6 drinks at once

[mcatmcat]

On 10/20/2018 at 5:09 AM, Paulxyz2004 said:

 

Nope, you are wrong on this one. It doesn´t matter if you empty them into the nearest plant, pour them down the sink or drink them yourself - that´s the same cost to RCI. However when you pass them on to a friend it´s lost revenue for RCI, as if you didn´t do this, the said friend would most likely have bought a drink which RCI would have made big bucks on. So handing a drink to someone else is costing RCI.

How about when you know 100% that the friend is not going to buy the drink, how is that costing to RCI?

[twangster]

9 minutes ago, mcatmcat said:

How about when you know 100% that the friend is not going to buy the drink, how is that costing to RCI?

 

Exactly. Plus it exposes your friends to the great benefits of being loyal2royal.   How do you put a price on that?

[Mythbuster]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Exactly. Plus it exposes your friends to the great benefits of being loyal2royal.   How do you put a price on that?

So why stop with sharing your coupons.  Why don't they just change the rules to allow anyone in the DL as long as you are with a Diamond member so that they can share in the drinks, food and comfortable lounge.  Then your friends will really see the benefits of loyal2royal. 

 

Oh wait,  then there is no incentive in being loyal if you get Diamond benefits without reaching Diamond.  You may find this to be a little facetious but remember that the purpose of the coupons is to relieve the overcrowding of the DL, not to extend Diamond benefits to non-Diamond members.

[twangster]

27 minutes ago, Mythbuster said:

31 minutes ago, Mythbuster said:

So why stop with sharing your coupons.

 

 

Simple.  Because there are rules that we must follow.

 

32 minutes ago, Mythbuster said:

Why don't they just change the rules to allow anyone in the DL as long as you are with a Diamond member so that they can share in the drinks, food and comfortable lounge. 

 

That's at Royal's discretion.  It's their rules.  I suspect they won't do this because the Diamond Lounge tends to be over-crowded now and it costs them significant money now.  I doubt they would change the rules to make that issue worse.  

 

36 minutes ago, Mythbuster said:

...remember that the purpose of the coupons is to relieve the overcrowding of the DL

 

The rules do not state that drink coupons can't be shared.  They do explicitly state that ineligible guests cannot access the DL.  Since they have added specific verbiage to address lounge access, they could have added verbiage to explicitly prohibit sharing drink coupons, but they did not.

 

When asked, a Diamond Concierge stated it is acceptable to share the drink coupons.  Not just some cabin attendant or bartender, a Diamond Concierge who knows the rules very well and spends a lot of his day enforcing the Diamond Lounge access rules, stated it is okay to share drink coupons.  Who are we to question that?

 

If you ask a DL Concierge or Loyalty Ambassador and they state otherwise, great, post that.  Until then don't interpret policy that isn't stated.

[Aquahound]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

The rules do not state that drink coupons can't be shared.  They do explicitly state that ineligible guests cannot access the DL.  Since they have added specific verbiage to address lounge access, they could have added verbiage to explicitly prohibit sharing drink coupons, but they did not.

 

It states the following on their website.  If this statement is explicit in saying they can't access the DL, then it is also explicit in saying vouchers cannot be shared.  I read this to mean "Exclusive Nightly Diamond Event" includes all the benefits therein.  

1. The Exclusive Nightly Diamond Event is a benefit for only Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club member and cannot be extended to include friends and family. The event will take place approximately between the hours of 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Three nightly drink vouchers will be loaded on the member’s SeaPass card to be used in venues throughout the ship.

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Simple.  Because there are rules that we must follow.

 

 

That's at Royal's discretion.  It's their rules.  I suspect they won't do this because the Diamond Lounge tends to be over-crowded now and it costs them significant money now.  I doubt they would change the rules to make that issue worse.  

 

 

The rules do not state that drink coupons can't be shared.  They do explicitly state that ineligible guests cannot access the DL.  Since they have added specific verbiage to address lounge access, they could have added verbiage to explicitly prohibit sharing drink coupons, but they did not.

 

When asked, a Diamond Concierge stated it is acceptable to share the drink coupons.  Not just some cabin attendant or bartender, a Diamond Concierge who knows the rules very well and spends a lot of his day enforcing the Diamond Lounge access rules, stated it is okay to share drink coupons.  Who are we to question that?

 

If you ask a DL Concierge or Loyalty Ambassador and they state otherwise, great, post that.  Until then don't interpret policy that isn't stated.

 

The letters from the Diamond concierge on a couple of ships have recently stated that the drinks are for personal consumption only.  As with most things Royal....no consistency 

[twangster]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 

The letters from the Diamond concierge on a couple of ships have recently stated that the drinks are for personal consumption only.  As with most things Royal....no consistency 

 

Which ships?    

 

If so, then on those ships, follow the rules as offered.  I just got of Adventure this morning and asked about Adventure's policy.  The concierge was very clear and immediate in his response.  Sharing coupons is allowed.  He even added if a bartender refuses, he will address it and correct that bartender.  He then handed me his card with his phone number in case it happens.

 

In 2018 I've sailed Anthem, Liberty, Serenade, Adventure, Explorer, Empress, Mariner, Enchantment and Radiance with three more ships booked before 2018 ends.  If you add the past 12 months to that bracket add Freedom, Independence and Harmony to that list.  That's 13 of 25 ships in the fleet sailed that don't state this restriction and once I've done the other 3, that's 16 ships by the end of 2018 I suspect will also use the standard verbiage. 

 

Perhaps it's regional and in non-US markets they have to restrict it to suit local regulations.   

 

 

[twangster]

33 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 

The letters from the Diamond concierge on a couple of ships have recently stated that the drinks are for personal consumption only.  As with most things Royal....no consistency 

 

No disrespect intended, but I don't trust someone's recollection of a past cruise concierge letter.  Seriously, people remember this singular stand out detail?   I suspect not. My guess is they recall seeing the verbiage about DL access.  I could be wrong and welcome such a letter offered as proof.

 

I'm one of those people who keep a lot of paper work from the cabin.  I've reviewed several on my desk having completed 4 cruises over the past 60 days.  They all use the standard verbiage albeit sometimes in a different font.  

[Ourusualbeach]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

No disrespect intended, but I don't trust someone's recollection of a past cruise concierge letter.  Seriously, people remember this singular stand out detail?   I suspect not. My guess is they recall seeing the verbiage about DL access.  I could be wrong and welcome such a letter offered as proof.

 

I'm one of those people who keep a lot of paper work from the cabin.  I've reviewed several on my desk having completed 4 cruises over the past 60 days.  They all use the standard verbiage albeit sometimes in a different font.  

 

I’m not posting second hand information.  This was from the Enchantment this past January.  I too keep a lot of paperwork.  As for other ships, I can’t recall I just remember seeing other posts and since I had experienced this I had no reason to doubt what others had posted.

 

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Ourusualbeach

[twangster]

17 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I’m not posting second hand information.  This was from the Enchantment this past January.  I too keep a lot of paperwork.

 

Great historical information.  This explains the confusion regarding the issue.  While Enchantment did appear to restrict drink coupon access in January, it no longer does in September.

 

This is the current D+ concierge letter from September 17, 2018:

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by twangster

[Mythbuster]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

If you ask a DL Concierge or Loyalty Ambassador and they state otherwise, great, post that.  Until then don't interpret policy that isn't stated.

I think I will continue interpreting policy.  Fortunately I was blessed with a brain that can use logic to figure out what is right or wrong without having to ask a 3rd party.  I have a request from you, when you find written policy that says you CAN share then please post, until then don't post hearsay and rumors.