Card being swiped for every round of drinks in Diamond lounge

[grapau27]

14 hours ago, island lady said:

I would not have a problem with that at all either.  I am actually happy to hear they are doing it.  Stating "inventory" reasons is probably just an excuse to ward off the interlopers indeed.  Seems a pretty PC way to do it. 🙂  

I agree and also think it is a good idea to stop gatecrashers to the DL.

In May we only popped into the DL on the first night on Independence and showed our cards but they were not swiped for drinks.

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Because some people share a card like they share drink packages, some even bring a old Diamond card that is borrowed from someone at home. As you walk in the host only looks to see if Diamond is printed on the card, not who the card belongs to. 

Good point.

 

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I think situations similar to this are one of the reasons they have recently changed the design of the SeaPass card, and the sailing date is more prominently displayed now.

I would think an old card would be deactivated so it wouldn't open the DL door but I wonder if an old card would still open the DL door.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

I guess that if you borrow a card from a D, you could know their cabin nr too...

Swipe the card like when get on/off the ship and problem is solved.

 

But I have never been in the DL since we are at 74 points right now and won't get to 80 nts until September (& then we still won't get our status change until the next cruise in December). 

The DL concierge can see your photos on their computer by scanning your card just like security when you get on and off the ship. 

[Clarea]

32 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I would think an old card would be deactivated so it wouldn't open the DL door but I wonder if an old card would still open the DL door.

 

The old card might work for a day or two after the end of the cruise, but I suspect more ineligible people get in by just following others when the door is open.

[Extra Kim]

31 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

The DL concierge can see your photos on their computer by scanning your card just like security when you get on and off the ship. 

That was my point.

[lovesthebeach2]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The old card might work for a day or two after the end of the cruise, but I suspect more ineligible people get in by just following others when the door is open.

 

Thats what I think too Bob. If I see people lurking outside I wonder if they aren’t diamond  and just waiting to get someone to open the door.

[cruisegirl1]

 I am surprised to hear that people are lurking outside the door.    We meet so many cruisers that don’t have a clue about the crown and anchor program the benefits or even that there is a lounge (or two) on the ship.   We overheard a “know it all” on the elevator telling his friends that the diamond lounge was a card room.  

 

 I wonder why they are not swiping or recording drinks in the concierge or suite  lounges. At least they have not been in our experience.  They were recording drinks in the mariner diamond lounge but not the suite lounge the last time we sailed mariner in June 

 

M

[Oxo]

23 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

This has zero effect on me directly as I have zero status on any cruise line. However, as someone who has operated/managed several small businesses I think it should be done every time. The waste/abuse I've witnessed just on my most recent two trips has been astounding.

 

I realize that most passengers come from a place of I paid XYZ for this trip and I should be entitled to ABC. With that in mind, it still amazes me how often folks attempt to circumvent rules and policies due to this mindset. It would never occur to me to try to get free drink(s) in the Diamond Lounge if I wasn't Diamond. Why other non Diamonds think that's acceptable is beyond my comprehension.

They normally check cards and only allow authorized guests in DL.

Why would inventory be based on number of drinks instead of bottles? 

[island lady]

25 minutes ago, Oxo said:

They normally check cards and only allow authorized guests in DL.

Why would inventory be based on number of drinks instead of bottles? 

 

See  my post #12.  

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

That was my point.

If the waiter swipes your card he will not know if it is your card only the DL concierge has access to the photos of members who are allowed access.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The old card might work for a day or two after the end of the cruise, but I suspect more ineligible people get in by just following others when the door is open.

We are on Explorer in 5 weeks so out of curiosity I will take my card from Independence on May 28th and try it.

If it works I will let the concierge know.

[Oxo]

27 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

See  my post #12.  

I believe we are both in agreement.

Check cards upon entry! 

[123funcruiser]

57 minutes ago, Oxo said:

 

Why would inventory be based on number of drinks instead of bottles? 

 

1. They can make a cross check between inventory By bottles against inventory By Card swiping.

2. They get an additional idea About Timing and as to what the Peak times are within the happy hour.

3. They get an idea About how much a single Person consumes in what time Frame. 

[Oxo]

1 minute ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

1. They can make a cross check between inventory By bottles against inventory By Card swiping.

2. They get an additional idea About Timing and as to what the Peak times are within the happy hour.

3. They get an idea About how much a single Person consumes in what time Frame. 

Sounds logical. However,  what do they do about that one individual who sits there from opening to closure, had to many drinks, etc.

A lot of effort.  What is ROI?

Many times we see 3 or more waiters when first open,  then they cut back to slow service down. 

 

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, Oxo said:

 ...

A lot of effort.  What is ROI? ...

 

 

Return on Investment.

[123funcruiser]

12 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Sounds logical. However,  what do they do about that one individual who sits there from opening to closure, had to many drinks, etc.

A lot of effort.  What is ROI?

Many times we see 3 or more waiters when first open,  then they cut back to slow service down. 

 

 

It´s not About identifying individuals and doing something About them. It´s to find out About the bigger Picture and if it´s only single individuals, or if there´s a General Problem. It´s not too much of an effort as it seems now it´s only done for Shorter periods of time on certain ships, so it´s just a limited added effort, but they probably get some good data Points from it.

[Oxo]

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Return on Investment.

Thanks for the spell out. I know the term and use it frequently. However , others my not know. 

My point is, does RCI benefit from this exercise? It sure slows down the drink process as people line up as soon as the door opens. MUST be first to get the drink. LOL

[pcur]

On 8/30/2019 at 7:40 AM, normannna said:

Apologies if I've missed this topic being discussed before.  Just back from Oasis Med cruise and each time we ordered drinks in the Diamond Lounge our card was swiped.  So if my husband ordered 2 drinks for us his card was swiped for each round of drinks.  We, and others asked about the reason for this and we were told that it was for inventory reasons.  I wondered if this was to clamp down on interlopers maybe or some other reason as well - as they've not needed to swipe cards for inventory reasons before now.  The waiter said this has been going on for around 4 months now.  

We were on the Jewel in March/April, and the were not doing this.  However, we got on the Adventure on 4/24 and they were.  It was hard for the staff in the Diamond Lounge, because people thought they were being limited to 3 drinks, but as time went by, everyone calmed down on it.  It is just for inventory tracking purposes.

[123funcruiser]

4 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Thanks for the spell out. I know the term and use it frequently. However , others my not know. 

My point is, does RCI benefit from this exercise? It sure slows down the drink process as people line up as soon as the door opens. MUST be first to get the drink. LOL

 

They wouldn´t do it if they didn´t Benefit from it.

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Oxo said:

 ...

My point is, does RCI benefit from this exercise? It sure slows down the drink process as people line up as soon as the door opens. MUST be first to get the drink. LOL

 

Hard to say.  They may be doing it to accumulate data on lounge drink habits.  They could be doing it to get us used to being swiped, as a prelude to imposing a limit on lounge drinks.  Or something totally different.

 

[pcur]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The old card might work for a day or two after the end of the cruise, but I suspect more ineligible people get in by just following others when the door is open.

That's what I like about them requesting the card when you order a drink:  someone can walk in and get food, but they cannot get a drink unless their card shows they are D, D+, or Pinnacle.

 

This was especially true on the Adventure, which was very crowded during happy hour, and many of us sat in the Viking Crown area.  They left the door to the DL open the whole time, checked cards coming in for the first 45 minutes, or so, and then left it up to the bar staff to check the cards for inventory.

 

We had our favorite waiter out in the VCL, and since 3 is pretty much my max on drinks, anyway, and Mr. Pcur drinks Diet Coke and brings his own up from the cabin, we just gave the waiter the nightly tips and only went into the DL for appetizers.

[sharonlacey]

Does anyone know if they have a diamond lounge on the Explorer?  

[irishgal432]

35 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Hard to say.  They may be doing it to accumulate data on lounge drink habits.  They could be doing it to get us used to being swiped, as a prelude to imposing a limit on lounge drinks.  Or something totally different.

 

I would not mind a limit on lounge drinks if the quality of the drinks go up!  Quality over Quantity!  

[island lady]

11 minutes ago, sharonlacey said:

Does anyone know if they have a diamond lounge on the Explorer?  

 

Deck 14 (AKA VCL), starboard side

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/explorer-of-the-seas/deck-plans/2001/14

Edited August 31, 2019 by island lady