Diamond lounges are over capacity and guests are being turned away

[Bloodgem]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Unlimited specialty coffee.

 

Unlimited drinks at any bar during the 3.5 hour evening cocktail period.

Keep the drinks limit the same, during the evening HH,  but add a lunch HH.

2-3 drinks between 12 pm and 2 pm.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Sorry to hear of your loss. I feel I knew Pauline's mam as you loving mentioned her in a lot of your posts.  

Thank you.

I knew Ruth for 40 years and saw her every day when we were not on holiday.

She is a big miss.

Graham 

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Sorry about Pauline's mom, I knew she was up there in age.  

 

I'll put a pic of Bella in the Diamond thread for her.

Thank you,

The pictures of Bella always cheer up Pauline and i.

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

You're welcome. At least it gives you an excursion option you didn't know about  if you're a movie buff.

IIRC it was not offered by RCL, you had to book online privately

https://www.robertshawaii.com/kauai/tours/hawaii-movie-tours/

Thank you for this very helpful information,we really appreciate your help.

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, mugtech said:

Or you could make an appointment as real estate investors, ask to see the property.

Great idea.

[grapau27]

On 12/4/2018 at 6:17 PM, auntiedodo said:

Our D+ friends can’t get into the lounge or the overflow lounge because there are hundreds and hundreds of Diamond and Diamond plus on board, so many there are officers stationed outside to turn people away.  It seems to me it’s time to have Diamonds get their drinks on their cards and have the lounge for D+.  Royal doesn’t seem to have a clue how to resolve the problem!

In Europe sailings the lounges are rarely full.

On a 5 night cruise on Independence in May from Southampton they opened up Olive and Twist lounge as a private overflow which was lovely and was a perfect solution.

[heatherb1958]

I’ll put in my two cents.

 

What did all you guys do when you first started cruising before you attained any perks? Sit in your cabin all day  moaning that you weren’t getting anything for ‘ free’ and stamped your feet ?  No, I bet you were enjoying that exciting experience of being on a cruise and exploring all the facilities and yes that would have been the bars all around the ship.

 

We just did the Westbound Panama Canal Cruise , 16 nights,  we went to the SL twice and the SEAL( Some Enchanted Evening lounge)  5 times , all times were after dinner and to be honest we only went to say hi to others and see the Concierge. 

Before dinner we would go to the Rbar , listen to the great bands and dance ! We were not limited to 3 drinks and we had fun with others making new friends . We had a blast and did not hear any moaning because everyone there was there to have fun , free drinks or not.

 

I am sure CC’rs from the other boards regard RCI cruisers as a bunch of raging alcoholics as that is what most of you are obsessed about. One of the reasons we now love MSC is because for us it feels like cruising used to do when we first started.No one is obsessing about when and where they can get their free drinks , constantly moaning .

We enjoy the ships, find a bar with a great band and have a drink , chat with others and if I am lucky have a dance.

 

 

 

[little britain]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

In Europe sailings the lounges are rarely full.

On a 5 night cruise on Independence in May from Southampton they opened up Olive and Twist lounge as a private overflow which was lovely and was a perfect solution.

On Rhapsody now ( repo Venice to Barcelona).. so many members that the CL is Suites and Pinnacles only, and the whole of the Shall We Dance lounge is for D and D+ in the evenings , therefore excluding all other guests from that sizeable area for 3 1/2 hrs every evening. As I’m travelling with 3 first timers therefore have not been in SWD once.

[Biker19]

^ a preview for the TA.

[Biker19]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

  Reminds me of turpentine.  

What does turpentine taste like?

[grapau27]

18 minutes ago, little britain said:

On Rhapsody now ( repo Venice to Barcelona).. so many members that the CL is Suites and Pinnacles only, and the whole of the Shall We Dance lounge is for D and D+ in the evenings , therefore excluding all other guests from that sizeable area for 3 1/2 hrs every evening. As I’m travelling with 3 first timers therefore have not been in SWD once.

When we got back on Independence in October we used our 3 free drinks each.in boleros and the champagne Lounge.

The downside of these lounges is you are expected to go to the bar yourself to get your drinks.

After the first drink we got waiter service as I was tipping them per drink.

In the Diamond Lounge you are served to your table which is what we prefer

 

[Clarea]

22 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

What does turpentine taste like?

 

Tequila

[cruisegirl1]

2 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

I’ll put in my two cents.

 

What did all you guys do when you first started cruising before you attained any perks? Sit in your cabin all day  moaning that you weren’t getting anything for ‘ free’ and stamped your feet ?  No, I bet you were enjoying that exciting experience of being on a cruise and exploring all the facilities and yes that would have been the bars all around the ship.

 

We just did the Westbound Panama Canal Cruise , 16 nights,  we went to the SL twice and the SEAL( Some Enchanted Evening lounge)  5 times , all times were after dinner and to be honest we only went to say hi to others and see the Concierge. 

Before dinner we would go to the Rbar , listen to the great bands and dance ! We were not limited to 3 drinks and we had fun with others making new friends . We had a blast and did not hear any moaning because everyone there was there to have fun , free drinks or not.

 

I am sure CC’rs from the other boards regard RCI cruisers as a bunch of raging alcoholics as that is what most of you are obsessed about. One of the reasons we now love MSC is because for us it feels like cruising used to do when we first started.No one is obsessing about when and where they can get their free drinks , constantly moaning .

We enjoy the ships, find a bar with a great band and have a drink , chat with others and if I am lucky have a dance.

You are my hero -

That is generally how we spend our pre  dinner time on RCCL.  

 

I've never used all three vouchers at ship bars, so the 3  limit is never an issue. In the unlikely event that I use all three, I  can simply use my sea pass card and BUY a drink. 

 

M

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by cruisegirl1

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

I’ll put in my two cents.

 

What did all you guys do when you first started cruising before you attained any perks? Sit in your cabin all day  moaning that you weren’t getting anything for ‘ free’ and stamped your feet ?  No, I bet you were enjoying that exciting experience of being on a cruise and exploring all the facilities and yes that would have been the bars all around the ship.

 

We just did the Westbound Panama Canal Cruise , 16 nights,  we went to the SL twice and the SEAL( Some Enchanted Evening lounge)  5 times , all times were after dinner and to be honest we only went to say hi to others and see the Concierge. 

Before dinner we would go to the Rbar , listen to the great bands and dance ! We were not limited to 3 drinks and we had fun with others making new friends . We had a blast and did not hear any moaning because everyone there was there to have fun , free drinks or not.

 

I am sure CC’rs from the other boards regard RCI cruisers as a bunch of raging alcoholics as that is what most of you are obsessed about. One of the reasons we now love MSC is because for us it feels like cruising used to do when we first started.No one is obsessing about when and where they can get their free drinks , constantly moaning .

We enjoy the ships, find a bar with a great band and have a drink , chat with others and if I am lucky have a dance.

 

 

 

I believe you are a Pinnacle member so there are plenty of benefits for you so I am a little surprised you prefer MSC.

for most of us who like a drink the diamond Lounge suits our purposes perfectly.

[cruisegirl1]

21 hours ago, davekathy said:

...or extend the required points out further in order to make diamond starting January 2019. 😛

 

 

I hope if point changes come, that  there is some advance notice.  Many are just a few points shy of the next  level.    After  our upcoming cruise this month,  we are just  3 points from Pinnacle.     We have a cruise booked in early January to reach  that level.  I would  hate to learn in late December that on  that on  Jan 1, I'll need more points for Pinnacle.  I don't live in Florida or near a port, and can't hop on a 3 night cruise that easily.

 

M

 

 

[cruisegirl1]

21 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

I feel your pain. We get this reaction every time we enter the DL. It's either the jeans and trainers I always wear or it's my sons wheelchair. 

That is weird, as jeans are a  perfectly  acceptable clothing option and seeing  someone ( or several passengers) in a wheelchair is a common occurrence on just about every cruise. 

 

M

[molly361]

On 12/4/2018 at 2:20 PM, bouhunter said:

 

Yep.  How many posts will this one hit - 200, 300, 500.................?

First goal met!!👼🍺  And well on the way to goal #2

Edited December 6, 2018 by molly361

[heatherb1958]

17 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I believe you are a Pinnacle member so there are plenty of benefits for you so I am a little surprised you prefer MSC.

for most of us who like a drink the diamond Lounge suits our purposes perfectly.

 

You are correct, we are Pinnacle , sometimes I wish we weren’t, the only perk I miss when sailing MSC is some free WiFi , we just look for some when in port which means finding a nice cafe or bar and spending in the local community. We currently have 3 MSC cruises booked and zero RCI . I think that says a lot. 

 

[Biker19]

25 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

That is weird, as jeans are a  perfectly  acceptable clothing option 

[grapau27]

11 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

 

You are correct, we are Pinnacle , sometimes I wish we weren’t, the only perk I miss when sailing MSC is some free WiFi , we just look for some when in port which means finding a nice cafe or bar and spending in the local community. We currently have 3 MSC cruises booked and zero RCI . I think that says a lot. 

 

We are D+ but have 1 Princess 15 night,1 P&O 7 night and 1 RC 3 night cruises booked for next year so I do empathise to a degree with you 

[The Fun Researcher]

22 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 

 

I hope if point changes come, that  there is some advance notice.  Many are just a few points shy of the next  level.    After  our upcoming cruise this month,  we are just  3 points from Pinnacle.     We have a cruise booked in early January to reach  that level.  I would  hate to learn in late December that on  that on  Jan 1, I'll need more points for Pinnacle.  I don't live in Florida or near a port, and can't hop on a 3 night cruise that easily.

 

M

 

 

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the points required to reach the current levels, RCI just needs to adjust the lounges to resolve issues caused by having so many Diamond (and above) passengers on each sailing.  If they raise points required to reach Diamond I think this will  be a disincentive to new cruisers.  "I have to sail how many nights before I reach XYZ level!  Forget it!" 

 

Are there other issues on the ship due to the large numbers of D and above?  The 3 evening drink coupons certainly don't cause issues as there are so many bars and lounges available throughout the ship.  The topic of this thread seems to be the biggest issue with the current situation...  too many passengers trying to access the same limited lounge(s).  Either eliminate them completely or make the points higher to access.  My suggestion is to change the lounge to a point level, not a C&A level.

Dan

[cruisegirl1]

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Ha Ha  - they probably cost  hundreds

 

I imagine if the poster walked in with those jeans that there would be some stares.   

M

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the points required to reach the current levels, RCI just needs to adjust the lounges to resolve issues caused by having so many Diamond (and above) passengers on each sailing.  If they raise points required to reach Diamond I think this will  be a disincentive to new cruisers.  "I have to sail how many nights before I reach XYZ level!  Forget it!" 

 

Are there other issues on the ship due to the large numbers of D and above?  The 3 evening drink coupons certainly don't cause issues as there are so many bars and lounges available throughout the ship.  The topic of this thread seems to be the biggest issue with the current situation...  too many passengers trying to access the same limited lounge(s).  Either eliminate them completely or make the points higher to access.  My suggestion is to change the lounge to a point level, not a C&A level.

Dan

I met opposition on another thread when I suggested making DL a loyalty lounge for D+ and P  during cocktail hours only and giving D members extra drinks vouchers but still allow them access to the lounge after cocktail hours for coffee.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

What does turpentine taste like?

 

Please, we dont need another Zef.🙄

 

Plus, I didn't say it tasted like turpentine. 😉

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by John&LaLa

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

I am sure CC’rs from the other boards regard RCI cruisers as a bunch of raging alcoholics as that is what most of you are obsessed about. One of the reasons we now love MSC is because for us it feels like cruising used to do when we first started.No one is obsessing about when and where they can get their free drinks , constantly moaning .

 

I think you may have missed the point.  It's not about getting drunk. As you know, you have 3 drinks loaded to your card and can drink just about anywhere on the ship.

 

The point is not being able to access a lounge that you are entitled to. It's not a party lounge, but a quiet space (I think) where frequent cruisers can meet other frequent cruises while noshing on appetizers and sipping a pre-dinner cocktail.

 

I'm not even a Diamond and I understand that.

 

As for moaning, I'm  sure that if you have ever earned a reward / perk / bonus / benefit and were unable to use it, you'd might want to voice your disappointment.