Concierge - Diamond Lounge Differences

[Queensland Girl]

I will be Diamond + for the first time on Xmas Cruise.    What are the differences between Concierge & Diamond Lounges.   Are the drinks which you receive any different.   ??   Thanks for your help.  Cheers Judy  

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Queensland Girl said:

I will be Diamond + for the first time on Xmas Cruise.    What are the differences between Concierge & Diamond Lounges.   Are the drinks which you receive any different.   ??   Thanks for your help.  Cheers Judy  

Same exact perks for D+.

[debshomespun]

They offer the same perks, but while on Anthem (8/23/18), we went to the Diamond + lounge the first few nights, then we switched, and went to the Concierge lounge the next few nights.   The snacks were better in the Concierge lounge.  We went to Diamond + lounge a couple nights first, then went up to the Concierge lounge, and the snacks were different.  Not sure if this would be of any significance to you.

The drink menu is the same in both lounges, as Bob mentioned above.

[John&LaLa]

I can't recall ever seeing a difference in snacks between the lounges on other ships. Especially the hot apps.

[polymedia]

There's no difference between the lounges except that the CL is usually smaller and less crowded.

[twangster]

Enjoy the Concierge Lounges while you can.  They are becoming extinct and slowly disappearing as each ship goes through refreshment. 

[John&LaLa]

44 minutes ago, twangster said:

Enjoy the Concierge Lounges while you can.  They are becoming extinct and slowly disappearing as each ship goes through refreshment. 

 

Do you think that will happen with Radiance Class?

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, debshomespun said:

They offer the same perks, but while on Anthem (8/23/18), we went to the Diamond + lounge the first few nights, then we switched, and went to the Concierge lounge the next few nights.   The snacks were better in the Concierge lounge.  We went to Diamond + lounge a couple nights first, then went up to the Concierge lounge, and the snacks were different.  Not sure if this would be of any significance to you.

The drink menu is the same in both lounges, as Bob mentioned above.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIAMOND PLUS LOUNGE.  🤬

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Do you think that will happen with Radiance Class?

 

Great question.  If they announce plans to mini-AMP or otherwise refresh them, then yes I do.   Until they do, I don't think they will just change the name during an otherwise technical dry dock.   However that is pure speculation on my part using an old and  dirty crystal ball that has let me down before.

[little britain]

My first attempt at posting a photo....

Bubbles also available but not listed. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by little britain

[PerferWarmWeather]

7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIAMOND PLUS LOUNGE.  🤬

 

And here I was looking for something new to try.  🙂

[twangster]

Shhhh.... They are a secret and I'm keeping it that way.  

[Clarea]

7 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Do you think that will happen with Radiance Class?

 

So far,  I'm thinking they leave the CL on Radiance and Vision class ships. 

[debshomespun]

8 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIAMOND PLUS LOUNGE.  🤬

Excuse me, I meant Diamond lounge. 

[island lady]

3 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

So far,  I'm thinking they leave the CL on Radiance and Vision class ships. 

 

I am thinking the reason they will need to do that (and I sure hope they indeed leave it as is) would be the limited number of full suites on Radiance and Vision class ships?  Not anything like the huge numbers available on Oasis class.  

[steveru621]

10 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Do you think that will happen with Radiance Class?

 

Almost all of the Radiance class ships have gone thru dry dock, with the latest being Brilliance this year.  None of them have been converted to a suite lounge.

 

My guess there aren't enough suites to make the change.

 

It may be wishful thinking, but a doubt they will be converted.  There may be a handful of cruises where D+ may be banned because of over crowding, but after 6:00PM the CL is usually not full.

[blackshirt]

14 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

Almost all of the Radiance class ships have gone thru dry dock, with the latest being Brilliance this year.  None of them have been converted to a suite lounge.

 

My guess there aren't enough suites to make the change.

 

It may be wishful thinking, but a doubt they will be converted.  There may be a handful of cruises where D+ may be banned because of over crowding, but after 6:00PM the CL is usually not full.

You know, they don’t have to make any physical changes. They could at any time just rename the existing lounge as the Suite Lounge. Since crowding is generally not an issue, no real reason to do that just to exclude D+ and hopefully they won’t...but they sure could.

[island lady]

8 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

You know, they don’t have to make any physical changes. They could at any time just rename the existing lounge as the Suite Lounge. Since crowding is generally not an issue, no real reason to do that just to exclude D+ and hopefully they won’t...but they sure could.

 

They haven't done that with any of the Suites Lounges...yet anyway....probably so RCI could claim they did not replace the CL with the SL...just invented a new lounge in a new location.  But the end result is still the same, since we don't have access to the SL unless full suite now, and "Sir...could you direct me to the CL please?  Oh...they ripped it out..where did it go?".  

[Clarea]

40 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I am thinking the reason they will need to do that (and I sure hope they indeed leave it as is) would be the limited number of full suites on Radiance and Vision class ships?  Not anything like the huge numbers available on Oasis class.  

I agree, I don't think the numbers justify the change.  Plus, it's not as if they have a large underused space available on those ships (like the card & game rooms on Voyager/Freedom)  to use as a new lounge.  I think they would actually have to change the name of the CL, which they seem reluctant to do.

[pcur]

The difference between being Diamond and D+ for happy hour is you now have TWO choices of where to go.  If one is too crowded, then try the other.  If both are, then use your 3 drinks loaded to your card.

[island lady]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

I agree, I don't think the numbers justify the change.  Plus, it's not as if they have a large underused space available on those ships (like the card & game rooms on Voyager/Freedom)  to use as a new lounge.  I think they would actually have to change the name of the CL, which they seem reluctant to do.

 

Agree...and boy would that SL be empty most of the time on a Radiance/Vision class.  Not to mention the deafening noise of howling D+ members!  

[island lady]

1 minute ago, pcur said:

The difference between being Diamond and D+ for happy hour is you now have TWO choices of where to go.  If one is too crowded, then try the other.  If both are, then use your 3 drinks loaded to your card.

 

Totally agree...one is too busy...then go to the other.  And is most often in my case...if the coffee machine is out of service...then go to the other one.  

[twangster]

At the moment Royal is putting their money into AMPING Voyager and Freedom class ships.

 

Once that is done in 2022 and beyond it will be interesting to see what Royal does with Radiance class.  As island lady pointed out, Radiance class have the fewest number of suites in the fleet, around 60 and that includes JS.  There is hardly a need for a SL with only a 3 or 4 dozen GS or above.  Vision class has more suites.  Grandeur has 94 suites.  Maybe that's why they don't want to put Radiance into Baltimore, loss of 34 suites.

 

On Radiance for her final Southbound Alaska run of the season and she is in need of TLC.  Chairs literally falling apart in the Champagne Bar.  I suspect they may address that sort of thing during a future dry dock but it's a challenging design to do much with and not violate the Panamax specs. 

 

Adventure gained 3 1/2 gross tons in her AMPING and lost 2 knots of top speed due to her new aerodynamics.  I don't think they can do much to Radiance class without exceeding Panamax specs and they may want to retain that certification for resale purposes down the road.

 

I just don't see them investing much into Radiance class other than fresh lipstick and makeup.  If they are going to sink $70M to $100M into a ship it will be towards a new ship as opposed to a substantial makeover of each Radiance class ship.  

 

They might just refresh the CL using the latest SL decor and change the name but with so few suites is that investment worth the return? Only benefit would be to standardize the fleet so all ships have an SL (and no CL).

[island lady]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

At the moment Royal is putting their money into AMPING Voyager and Freedom class ships.

 

Once that is done in 2022 and beyond it will be interesting to see what Royal does with Radiance class.  As island lady pointed out, Radiance class have the fewest number of suites in the fleet, around 60 and that includes JS.  There is hardly a need for a SL with only a 3 or 4 dozen GS or above.  Vision class has more suites.  Grandeur has 94 suites.  Maybe that's why they don't want to put Radiance into Baltimore, loss of 34 suites.

 

On Radiance for her final Southbound Alaska run of the season and she is in need of TLC.  Chairs literally falling apart in the Champagne Bar.  I suspect they may address that sort of thing during a future dry dock but it's a challenging design to do much with and not violate the Panamax specs. 

 

Adventure gained 3 1/2 gross tons in her AMPING and lost 2 knots of top speed due to her new aerodynamics.  I don't think they can do much to Radiance class without exceeding Panamax specs and they may want to retain that certification for resale purposes down the road.

 

I just don't see them investing much into Radiance class other than fresh lipstick and makeup.  If they are going to sink $70M to $100M into a ship it will be towards a new ship as opposed to a substantial makeover of each Radiance class ship.  

 

They might just refresh the CL using the latest SL decor and change the name but with so few suites is that investment worth the return? Only benefit would be to standardize the fleet so all ships have an SL (and no CL).

 

Not so sure about that.  Remember RCI bought back the old Empress, and canceled the sale of MJ....both had extensive refurbish money spent on them (Empress went way..way over budget).  

Small ship cruising will always have it's place in many hearts...including mine.  Those two older ships have NO DL/CL or SL.  

[twangster]

7 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Not so sure about that.  Remember RCI bought back the old Empress, and canceled the sale of MJ....both had extensive refurbish money spent on them (Empress went way..way over budget).  

Small ship cruising will always have it's place in many hearts...including mine.  Those two older ships have NO DL/CL or SL.  

 

Cuba.  Empress and Majesty were brought back for Cuba.  

 

20 minutes ago, island lady said:

They haven't done that with any of the Suites Lounges...yet anyway....probably so RCI could claim they did not replace the CL with the SL...just invented a new lounge in a new location.

 

Probably because passing off a dungeon like SL with no views is a hard sell.  The CL on Radiance is prime SL real estate.  They could have retained the CL and added SL on Freedom/Voyager but chose to get rid of the CL to make room for a few extra cabins.  That says they really don't care about the impact to D+.  Let them howl.  We are PITs anyways.  Vested into the program and they know it.

Edited October 23, 2018 by twangster