Crown & Anchor Diamond Plus cutbacks continue!

[Balsam12]

Really, as a newbie to both these boards, and to cruising, I'm actually sick of the Diamond people here posting about their entitlements. Maybe when I get to such lofty levels, I will also feel entitled, but at this point, all I see is "I am D+, so I deserve X"

 

People say they don't need the beverage package because they get "free Diamond drinks". Yep, but that's only in a two hour window. I like to have a drink at various times during the day, one of which is at dinner, where I would like a glass of wine or two.

 

On a sea day, I may like to have a beer or even a cocktail during the day... not covered by Diamond drinks.

 

Yes. I realise everyone's needs are different, but so much discussion here is about Diamond, and I work on the idea that if you have cruised enough to be Diamond, you really should know how things work.... 

[nelblu]

7 hours ago, MichaelinME said:

Got off the Freedom of the Seas a couple of weeks ago and the Diamond Plus cutbacks are so evident. Even including Pinnacles!!

Reserved seating for theater shows no longer exist, on Freedom of the Seas anyways. Studio B Ice skating shows are reserved seating for Suites only. 

No Diamond Plus or Pinnacle reserved seating like in the past, just last year we had this.  Royal seems to be catering to the Suite crowd and not there loyal repeat guests who frequent the ships. 

On another note, priority debarkation wasn't offered either, even though its still listed as a perk , along with reserved seating at shows was listed but gone. Priority tendering is gone also. In room Diamond Gift is now 3 cookies, LOL! 2 small bottles of water and 2 cans of soda or juice whichever is in your preferences.

Diamond/Diamond plus used to have a small section in the lido buffet, like chops or Giovanni's to sit in to bring your breakfast. Now that is only for Suite guests!

 

Its unbelievable how much Royal dilutes the membership in Crown and Anchor. No excuse for this.

More troubling is that I spoke to the Concierge lounge ambassador and he mentioned that there is talk to restrict Diamond members from the Diamond Lounges!! (overcrowding) 

As the ships go into drydock, the Concierge Lounges eventually will be Suite only lounges (renamed).  The Diamond Lounges will convert to Diamond Plus/Pinnacles only Lounge. Diamond members would no longer be admitted to the Diamond Lounge and will be able to only use there 3 Vouchers at any bar in the evening as there perk. This is ridiculous and unacceptable if its really going to happen.

 

What's with the drooling over Suite guests, that may only cruise once a year or two. All this catering to them, when Diamond/Diamond Plus and Pinnacles cruise much more often and keep there ships pretty full with repeaters.

 

Royal needs to stop this nonsense!! They are going to start alienating and losing the "bread and butter" cruisers on there ships in my opinion. 

What is the incentive to stay and generally pay more to cruise Royal? Just to get a few free drinks?!

 

Don't get me started about the other evident cutbacks in food quality and staffing, along with the barrage of nickel and diming. 

The selling of popcorn at the main theater shows is tacky also. $2.50 for a small bag and people chomping on this and spilling everywhere. No place to put your drinks, let alone eat popcorn! LMAOF

 

My 2 cents. 

 

 

I'm not sure about the reserves at shows as I did not make any on my Feb. 2 Symphony sail.  However, my cabin amenities, in addition to the robes, were 8 bottles of water, 2 diet cokes and a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio.  Also, along the way got a tray of cookies and chocolate covered strawberries.  There were close to 400 D & D+ on this sail and the DL was crowded when it opened.  However, the congestions subsided when they opened Jazz on 4 room for the overflow.  In all of my last 10 sails, never had a separate section either for breakfast or lunch, although I prefer the MDR venue on sea days.

 

Do you actually take seriously what staff members actually say.  There's been discussion on this board over the last many years about having the Ds kicked out of the DL.   

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

Really, as a newbie to both these boards, and to cruising, I'm actually sick of the Diamond people here posting about their entitlements. Maybe when I get to such lofty levels, I will also feel entitled, but at this point, all I see is "I am D+, so I deserve X"

 

People say they don't need the beverage package because they get "free Diamond drinks". Yep, but that's only in a two hour window. I like to have a drink at various times during the day, one of which is at dinner, where I would like a glass of wine or two.

 

On a sea day, I may like to have a beer or even a cocktail during the day... not covered by Diamond drinks.

 

Yes. I realise everyone's needs are different, but so much discussion here is about Diamond, and I work on the idea that if you have cruised enough to be Diamond, you really should know how things work.... 

The cocktail hour is 3.5 hours and people often take full drinks out of the DL.

Most companies will try and offer some sort of reward scheme for loyalty so why shouldn't people then take advantage of the reward scheme if they have been loyal?

[mugtech]

6 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

Really, as a newbie to both these boards, and to cruising, I'm actually sick of the Diamond people here posting about their entitlements. Maybe when I get to such lofty levels, I will also feel entitled, but at this point, all I see is "I am D+, so I deserve X"

 

 

After a while you will read the titles to the threads and know which ones you want to check out and which ones to avoid.  I find it amusing to read on here how cruising is going to hell, Royal is ripping me off by not giving me extra percs, etc.  I don't drink alcohol, could not care less when I will make Diamond.

[Balsam12]

1 minute ago, grapau27 said:

The cocktail hour is 3.5 hours and people often take full drinks out of the DL.

Most companies will try and offer some sort of reward scheme for loyalty so why shouldn't people then take advantage of the reward scheme if they have been loyal?

Please don't get me wrong... if there is a loyalty scheme, and I can get something out of it, I will be be the first to do so. I would also give others advice on how to gain the same advantages.

I have two points here...

 

1. People who are D or D+ always comment " I'm Diamond, so I get free drinks and I don't need a beverage package". Great for you, but only if you only want a drink in the allocated times. 

 

2. People who post with what seen to be "normal" questions, but then add in "I'm Diamond". If you are Diamond, you should know the answer to basic questions... or are you just trying to tell everyone you are diamond?

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Benefits on Royal have been disappearing for years. When I first made Diamond 20+ yrs ago we had the Concierge Lounge, First on/off ship and would have a Formal get together with Captain and all Dept Heads. On the most popular sailings at most 6-10 Diamonds(Top Tier at the time). As C&A has become more popular some of Benefits are done away with, same has been done with all Travel(Air/Hotel) Sad, but fact of life... I'm fortunate as get more out of C&A Discounts then most. Been doing 60+ nites a year, am a Diamond Plus above 340 points and as always sailing Solo get my moneys worth with the lower Single Supplement and Balcony Disc. 20yrs ago there wasn't a Diamond Lounge, Free Drinks or Balcony Discounts. At least Cruising is cheaper dollar for dollar then was 20-30yrs ago, not even counting inflation in it

 

 

I'm not sure which ship you are referring as the CL.  I do remember some 20 years ago the DL on the Radiance being in the VCL and only serving water, soda & wine.  Beer and anything else was for pay.  Also, instead of the nice hor's douvres, only peanuts and pretzels were available.

 

IMHO, I'll take the present amenities any day over what was offered in the past.  Granted the quality & quantity of food was much better in those days.

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, mugtech said:

After a while you will read the titles to the threads and know which ones you want to check out and which ones to avoid.  I find it amusing to read on here how cruising is going to hell, Royal is ripping me off by not giving me extra percs, etc.  I don't drink alcohol, could not care less when I will make Diamond.

The free drinks are a big lure but there are many other D and D+ benefits you might like.

Most people on here love cruising and it is a wonderful way to holiday and see the world at reasonable cost.

[Biker19]

Are we already there?

 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

Please don't get me wrong... if there is a loyalty scheme, and I can get something out of it, I will be be the first to do so. I would also give others advice on how to gain the same advantages.

I have two points here...

 

1. People who are D or D+ always comment " I'm Diamond, so I get free drinks and I don't need a beverage package". Great for you, but only if you only want a drink in the allocated times. 

 

2. People who post with what seen to be "normal" questions, but then add in "I'm Diamond". If you are Diamond, you should know the answer to basic questions... or are you just trying to tell everyone you are diamond?

Irrespective that we are D+ but this thread is about D+ losing benefits and the reason I am posting.

[mugtech]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Are we already there?

 

Since the title was posted.

[parrotfeathers]

8 hours ago, MichaelinME said:

What's with the drooling over Suite guests, that may only cruise once a year or two.

 

RCL is making more money than ever.  If Ds quit them because of this cabins will still be filled.  I really don't believe having the D Lounge unavailable for Ds are going to make people cruise elsewhere if they still get their 3 drinks.  I read the possibility of it happening when they started the 3 drink card in several venues.  If we could read planning notes, it probably was one of the steps in the master plan (along with the drink package).  Suites bring in much more money and cause less supplies and perhaps staffing in the lounge.   

 

I for one will not be cruising on an RCL ship without a SL.  I wish they were putting a suite restaurant on every ship like Celebrity does.

 

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I for one will not be cruising on an RCL ship without a SL.  I wish they were putting a suite restaurant on every ship like Celebrity does.

Probably something Icon class will have.

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

 

RCL is making more money than ever.  If Ds quit them because of this cabins will still be filled.  I really don't believe having the D Lounge unavailable for Ds are going to make people cruise elsewhere if they still get their 3 drinks.  I read the possibility of it happening when they started the 3 drink card in several venues.  If we could read planning notes, it probably was one of the steps in the master plan (along with the drink package).  Suites bring in much more money and cause less supplies and perhaps staffing in the lounge.   

 

I for one will not be cruising on an RCL ship without a SL.  I wish they were putting a suite restaurant on every ship like Celebrity does.

 

At the moment there is CK.

[LorraineP]

8 hours ago, MichaelinME said:

Got off the Freedom of the Seas a couple of weeks ago and the Diamond Plus cutbacks are so evident. Even including Pinnacles!!

Reserved seating for theater shows no longer exist, on Freedom of the Seas anyways. Studio B Ice skating shows are reserved seating for Suites only. 

No Diamond Plus or Pinnacle reserved seating like in the past, just last year we had this.  Royal seems to be catering to the Suite crowd and not there loyal repeat guests who frequent the ships. 

On another note, priority debarkation wasn't offered either, even though its still listed as a perk , along with reserved seating at shows was listed but gone. Priority tendering is gone also. In room Diamond Gift is now 3 cookies, LOL! 2 small bottles of water and 2 cans of soda or juice whichever is in your preferences.

Diamond/Diamond plus used to have a small section in the lido buffet, like chops or Giovanni's to sit in to bring your breakfast. Now that is only for Suite guests!

 

Its unbelievable how much Royal dilutes the membership in Crown and Anchor. No excuse for this.

More troubling is that I spoke to the Concierge lounge ambassador and he mentioned that there is talk to restrict Diamond members from the Diamond Lounges!! (overcrowding) 

As the ships go into drydock, the Concierge Lounges eventually will be Suite only lounges (renamed).  The Diamond Lounges will convert to Diamond Plus/Pinnacles only Lounge. Diamond members would no longer be admitted to the Diamond Lounge and will be able to only use there 3 Vouchers at any bar in the evening as there perk. This is ridiculous and unacceptable if its really going to happen.

 

What's with the drooling over Suite guests, that may only cruise once a year or two. All this catering to them, when Diamond/Diamond Plus and Pinnacles cruise much more often and keep there ships pretty full with repeaters.

 

Royal needs to stop this nonsense!! They are going to start alienating and losing the "bread and butter" cruisers on there ships in my opinion. 

What is the incentive to stay and generally pay more to cruise Royal? Just to get a few free drinks?!

 

Don't get me started about the other evident cutbacks in food quality and staffing, along with the barrage of nickel and diming. 

The selling of popcorn at the main theater shows is tacky also. $2.50 for a small bag and people chomping on this and spilling everywhere. No place to put your drinks, let alone eat popcorn! LMAOF

 

My 2 cents. 

For myself no longer loyal to Royal. They can cater all they want to suites. They should definitely update their C&A benefits listing. Most recent benefit taken away, free upgrades they now have the “Key”. 

[nelblu]

17 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

 

RCL is making more money than ever.  If Ds quit them because of this cabins will still be filled.  I really don't believe having the D Lounge unavailable for Ds are going to make people cruise elsewhere if they still get their 3 drinks.  I read the possibility of it happening when they started the 3 drink card in several venues.  If we could read planning notes, it probably was one of the steps in the master plan (along with the drink package).  Suites bring in much more money and cause less supplies and perhaps staffing in the lounge.   

 

I for one will not be cruising on an RCL ship without a SL.  I wish they were putting a suite restaurant on every ship like Celebrity does.

 

 

Unfortunately, everybody gets hung up on the DL/CL and the drinks that come along with the tier level.  However, as a balcony occupant, the biggest benefit is the balcony discount.  I do wish that it was combinable with the WOW sales.  For instance, booked an 11 niter on Anthem while on board  Got an e-mail from my TA that RCL was offering $175 obc during the WOW sale.  Go down to the next cruise office, and I'm told that the balcony discount ($350) it is not combinable with this sale.  Totally bummed out as the $175 would have been fantastic on top of the $200 obc for booking on board.

[LorraineP]

3 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

Unfortunately, everybody gets hung up on the DL/CL and the drinks that come along with the tier level.  However, as a balcony occupant, the biggest benefit is the balcony discount.  I do wish that it was combinable with the WOW sales.  For instance, booked an 11 niter on Anthem while on board  Got an e-mail from my TA that RCL was offering $175 obc during the WOW sale.  Go down to the next cruise office, and I'm told that the balcony discount ($350) it is not combinable with this sale.  Totally bummed out as the $175 would have been fantastic on top of the $200 obc for booking on board.

Just another benefit that is not what it’s listed at under C&A benefits. There should be an asterisk saying “not combinable with ——-“  I have seen my balcony discount of $250 come down to actually $82 when I mock book with & without my C&A number & that is only one example. 

[spookwife]

my two yen:   we just made diamond at the end of our last cruise.   next one isn't until next year and it (or so we plan) will be Alaska.

 

here's the deal:   I have been saying the DL is going to   have to do something about overcrowding long before I made D.   when they instituted the 3 drink coupons, I think many of us saw the writing on the wall with D's losing access to the Lounge altogether within 5 years.  I tend to only drink alcohol in the evenings..  and I think I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I had more than 3 in the Suite Lounge.  .  to be frank, I am going to miss the hot and cold nibbles more than the free flowing booze if I ever get booted out of a Lounge.  and the actual services of the Concierge .

 

as for special seating..no dog in the fight since I  pretty much never attend the shows.. but at the same time the most often comment heard is that the reserved seating  kinda sucks.  I do remember being on LIB  once and checking out a featured performer base don advice form others.  the seating was definitely not where I would have chosen to sit but it was far less crowded and there weren't entitled  snots hoarding the best seats in the house 45 minutes before show time.  same goes for the seating for the Ice skating shows.. they truly sucked as far as I was concerned.  

 

special seating for dining:  well, that I kinda sorta agree with.   there is little signage that we have seen regarding this( I do remember on past cruises a small section of the   windjammer dining was  blocked off  for this.   but rarely was there any signage stating so.   )  we prefer breakfast in Chops or wherever for suites .  but as far as lunch is concerned, we've never really  had anyone telling us  that we could bring our plates someplace else.  then again I think I eat in the WJ maybe twice in a cruise.  it would be a minor inconvenience to me , but certainly not worth a  rant over.

 

the crux seems to be the website and the  paperwork says one thing.. but the reality is  different./  we all know the website sucks and  doesn't get updated, or only parts get updated .  and  the  paperwork is probably mass printed out and rarely gets  edited to reflect any current changes on board, especially since, let's face it, every Concierge runs things just slightly differently.  

[nivek82]

I have to agree with some of the posts before me.  They are still a company and need to make $.  Yes it's a shame that some of the "benefits" are going away but they do make sense.  For example... limit lounges (or drinks) makes sense for cost, limit or remove reserved seating makes sense because I've often seen this area not used as I think many more D,D+,P don't go to shows anymore (according this thread they are too busy drinking to attend shows 🙂 ) If they can make more money by selling things like "the key" or suites then go for it.  If it keeps the basic fare down then I'm all for it.  I agree if they limited or removed the free drinks but increased the package discounts they would get more people buying packages (and to be honest I think they would be real happy if the whole ship bought a package) and less lounge crowding.  To the OP (or anyone that is mad about the lack of reserved seating) have you ever talked to a concierge about this?  Seams that if it was something real important to a few people that a good concierge could take care of that.  Then again if shows are important then getting to the theater early should be standard.  Except for major production shows I've never seen theaters close to full and there are not that many "bad" seats.

[Big_G]

1 hour ago, Balsam12 said:

Please don't get me wrong... if there is a loyalty scheme, and I can get something out of it, I will be be the first to do so. I would also give others advice on how to gain the same advantages.

I have two points here...

 

1. People who are D or D+ always comment " I'm Diamond, so I get free drinks and I don't need a beverage package". Great for you, but only if you only want a drink in the allocated times. 

 

2. People who post with what seen to be "normal" questions, but then add in "I'm Diamond". If you are Diamond, you should know the answer to basic questions... or are you just trying to tell everyone you are diamond?

 

1. Sure, there are a few but there are many here like me that avoid posting our C&A status and who buy the package because the DL, CL, and SL menus are weak.

 

2. Like I said, those are a probably a minority but I'm not sure why it bothers you so much.

[Paulxyz2004]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

 

 

I'm not sure which ship you are referring as the CL.  I do remember some 20 years ago the DL on the Radiance being in the VCL and only serving water, soda & wine.  Beer and anything else was for pay.  Also, instead of the nice hor's douvres, only peanuts and pretzels were available.

 

IMHO, I'll take the present amenities any day over what was offered in the past.  Granted the quality & quantity of food was much better in those days.

 

Your Memory isn´t very good then.

 

There was no DL on Radiance class ships when they came out between 2000 - 2004. Actually there were no DL´s on any ships, as they were not invented at the time.

 

Radiance class ships had CL´s back then. It was located on deck 10 in the Centrum. If needed the Overflow was the Yacht club. 

They definitely served more than just water, Soda & wine and they had the same nibbles they have today, certainly not only Peanuts and pretzels.

 

What you might have in mind is the Diamond Event, but that´s not been around some 20 years ago. The Radiance of the Seas as oldest of the Sisters is hardly 20 years around and the Diamond Events were much later.

[SRF]

As a non-Diamond, what I see is WAY too many at the top.  Many of which got there by a lot of inexpensive cruises.

 

The airlines have cut back perks also.   And also have tied status to dollars spent, so both miles flown and fares paid.  And no lifetime status, until you fly a LOT of miles.

 

Comments about how they treat suites guests, why not?  They are spending more money.  A suite geust can be paying 3 or 4 or even more times the fare of the person in an interior.

 

Another thing is, the idea that if I were to be linked to a D+, I would be D+ for life.  Then I could link someone to my account, and they get the status, for life again.    On one airline, I have lifetime status, plus I can link one companion at the same level.  BUT, they only have that status while linked.  If I unlink them, they lose the status.  So only one person at a time can share my status.

[twangster]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We have 36 nights booked on other lines in the next 12 months and 1 of the factors was loss of CL to D+ members.

 

That's a win for RCI at the moment.  They have a near endless line of people booking cruises right now.  New to cruise guests buy everything.  They make mistakes that experienced do not.  Experienced cruisers don't buy as much and cost the company money because of C&A perks.  Every time they shed a D+ and replace them with a rookie they make more money.   

[BSocial]

40 minutes ago, SRF said:

As a non-Diamond, what I see is WAY too many at the top.  Many of which got there by a lot of inexpensive cruises.

 

 

Not sure why would even bring cost of cruise into the discussion.   That is irrelevant to this topic. 

 

This board benefits from the knowledge of the D’s, D+ and above.   They are usually the first to answer questions on the board.   And I enjoy following all the Live cruise reports from their frequent travel.  

 

Edited February 17, 2019 by BSocial
Edited

[grapau27]

21 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

That's a win for RCI at the moment.  They have a near endless line of people booking cruises right now.  New to cruise guests buy everything.  They make mistakes that experienced do not.  Experienced cruisers don't buy as much and cost the company money because of C&A perks.  Every time they shed a D+ and replace them with a rookie they make more money.   

We do speciality restaurant's every night,some tours as well as spending in the shops prepay tips plus $200 cash tips extra per week and book at least a balcony cabin every cruise.

[twangster]

36 minutes ago, SRF said:

As a non-Diamond, what I see is WAY too many at the top.  

 

The airlines have cut back perks also.   And also have tied status to dollars spent, so both miles flown and fares paid.  And no lifetime status, until you fly a LOT of miles.

 

Comments about how they treat suites guests, why not?  They are spending more money.  A suite geust can be paying 3 or 4 or even more times the fare of the person in an interior.

 

 

Exactly.  The airline industry has much thinner margins and they were forced to deal with issue a long time ago.  Top elites must prove their loyalty each and every year.  Those who spend more keep top elite status.  For an airline, loyalty isn't what you did 20 years ago, it's what you are doing now.   I am a million miler on a US airline.  i have permanent status, but only that of the lowest level of the program.   No one gets permanent top elite status.  

 

13 minutes ago, BSocial said:

 

Not sure why would even bring cost of cruise into the discussion.   That is irrelevant to this topic. 

 

This board benefits from the knowledge of the D’s, D+ and above.   They are usually the first to answer questions on the board.   And I enjoy following all the Live cruise reports from their frequent travel.  

 

Like you, I am a non-Diamond - but I truly appreciate the contributions here from all those “at the top” as you put it. 

 

 

 

Cost is irrelevant now, but will it always be?  C&A can change.  C&A must change.  Besides what does that have to do with contributions to this forum?  

 

Most loyalty programs are like a pyramid.  Few top elite, growing numbers of members as you go down.   C&A doesn't follow this trend because elites never lose their status.  Project 20 years into the future... C&A is growing into an inverted pyramid.  Too many top elite.  C&A is a victim of it's own success.  There is a reason why no other cruise line offers a loyalty program like Royal does.  

 

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We do speciality restaurant's every night,some tours as well as spending in the shops prepay tips plus $200 cash tips extra per week and book at least a balcony cabin every cruise.

 

On another cruise line.  If you booked a balcony on Royal they lose hundreds of dollars on the D+  C&A balcony discount.  Plus on Royal you drink free drinks every night.  Plus they have to you free bottles of C&A wine.  Since you left Royal now your cabin is filled with a new cruiser who didn't get a balcony discount, doesn't get free booze or discounted specialty dining.  Your departure increased their profit margins.