Turning Diamond soon, just excited

[CruiseMomTX]

Were going on the Symphony Oct 26th, Halloween sailing and will turn Diamond.  We know that we won't actually get any benefits until our (booked today) Dec 1st sailing on Oasis.  So just getting excited and starting to research & see what benefits we get and what the Diamond lounge on Oasis will include, etc..  Maybe we should book a quick short cruse before the Symphony to get Diamond sooner, lol.  We are going with my parents on both cruises and they will not be Diamond so I'm sure we won't worry too much with the lounge but will at least check it out.

[dplusd]

Some of the perks we enjoy most...1. continental breakfast in the Diamond lounge each morning, 2.  The lounge for a quiet place during the day and the complimentary drinks and snacks at night, 3.  Free 24 hours of Internet, 4. Three complimentary drinks on your sea pass each day for use throughout the ship during evening cocktail hours, 5. One free photo.  6. the balcony discount.  7. Access to the Diamond concierge for help with any problem during the cruise.

 

Since turning Diamond it is hard for us to cruise other lines and we really enjoy Princess as much as Royal.  Congratulations!

[PhoenixCruiser]

Congratulations!

[CruiseMomTX]

22 minutes ago, dplusd said:

Some of the perks we enjoy most...1. continental breakfast in the Diamond lounge each morning, 2.  The lounge for a quiet place during the day and the complimentary drinks and snacks at night, 3.  Free 24 hours of Internet, 4. Three complimentary drinks on your sea pass each day for use throughout the ship during evening cocktail hours, 5. One free photo.  6. the balcony discount.  7. Access to the Diamond concierge for help with any problem during the cruise.

 

Since turning Diamond it is hard for us to cruise other lines and we really enjoy Princess as much as Royal.  Congratulations!

 

4 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Congratulations!

Thank you!!  Great info!

[John&LaLa]

Congratulations 

1 step closer to Pinnacle 😁

[frank808]

Congratulations.  Have many more happy cruises.

[ReneeFLL]

Congratulations and happy cruising.

[TomC21]

Congrats!

we've been diamond for about 5 years. We take advantage of the free evening cocktails (there is a list to choose from) in the dedicated Diamond lounges. Usually between 5:00-8:30 on most ships. They also load your seapass daily with 3 additional drinks to be used at most bars on the ship during the same time frame of 5:00-8:30 (same list).This way you don’t have to stay in the Diamond lounge to enjoy a free cocktail. They usually have hors d’Oeuvres in the Diamond Lounge and a decent continental breakfast in the morning with cappuccino/espresso machine. Additional discounts apply for other things like booking a new cruise, free 24 hour basic internet per person, a free photo per person, discount drink coupon, buy on get one drink coupon. Some ships have Diamond and up private events.

Edited October 12, 2019 by TomC21

[grapau27]

7 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Were going on the Symphony Oct 26th, Halloween sailing and will turn Diamond.  We know that we won't actually get any benefits until our (booked today) Dec 1st sailing on Oasis.  So just getting excited and starting to research & see what benefits we get and what the Diamond lounge on Oasis will include, etc..  Maybe we should book a quick short cruse before the Symphony to get Diamond sooner, lol.  We are going with my parents on both cruises and they will not be Diamond so I'm sure we won't worry too much with the lounge but will at least check it out.

I can understand your excitement.

We did a short cruise to make Diamond so we could be Diamond for our 30th Wedding anniversary in August 2011.

Back then it was just a Diamond event in a lounge for Happy Hour before the introduction of Diamond Lounges.

The Diamond perks are excellent and as others have said the DL is  great.

Congratulations you will love your benefits.

We are D+ now and just got off Explorer and advice I would give is

when on board remember to say in the bar you want your benefits like 3 free drinks in other bars during HH,Buy 1 drink get another free and your Diamond discount for RC logo merchandise in the shops because sometimes you have to tell them when you want to use them.

The loyalty ambassador or DL concierge will set your mobile for your 24 hour free wifi internet.

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by grapau27

[mugtech]

 

8 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Congratulations 

1 step closer to Pinnacle 😁

And even closer to Diamond +!!!

[FionaMG]

11 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Were going on the Symphony Oct 26th, Halloween sailing and will turn Diamond.

Congratulations! 

I can totally understand your excitement. We will be newbie Diamonds on our upcoming Thanksgiving cruise on Adventure and are very excited too. Six weeks to go! 

[villager70]

Congratulation on Diamond

[996turbos]

Congrates! I totally get your excitement. I got off HOS last week and turned Diamond on that cruise along with my wife, my son and his wife. He rode our coat tails lol. Like you we thought about doing a short cruise to get to Diamond before our HOS cruise(we were 3 points off). In the end we weighed our work schedule against the benefits and just waited. While the benefits are real nice to have, my wife and I also enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment. We started cruising over a decade ago before the new tier levels and wanted to make Diamond our goal. It feels good to get there after years of fun and exciting cruising. Enjoy your achievement! Many happy cruises going forward to us all!

Edited October 12, 2019 by 996turbos

[CruiseMomTX]

Thanks everyone y'all are so nice and full of great information!!  Yes closer to D+ and Pinnacle. 😃

 

We got lucky and were in a suite on the Allure during Dorian so instead of 14 points got 20.  Even better was we booked through the casino and only paid port fees, taxes, gratuities for a JS then did a Royal Up bid less than a week out, upped it a tiny bit to what was still considered a weak bid for a GS.  Well 3 days out got an email that we won our bid and not only got a GS but a 2br GS!!  It was awesome and we really enjoyed eating all our meals in Coastal Kitchen and using the Suite Lounge and of course our amazing suite.  We will forever be spoiled.  

 

For our Oct 26th Symphony sailing we again booked through the casino and got a JS for port fees, taxes, gratuities so double points again.  Can you tell were trying to get closer to D+ and Pinnacle, lol.  

 

For our Dec 1st Oasis sailing we have a balcony and just booked that yesterday and apparently its pretty booked up so casino didn't work too much with us on the price.  We are excited to check out the amped up ship.  We would have rather waited but my parents booked back in the spring and my dad has had some health problems and they no longer need to travel without help.

[tomservo]

6 hours ago, TomC21 said:

decent continental breakfast in the morning

 

Is it any different/better than what you can order from room service or get from the Windjammer? Or just a nicer place to enjoy it?

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, tomservo said:

 

Is it any different/better than what you can order from room service or get from the Windjammer? Or just a nicer place to enjoy it?

 

Free specialty coffee.

[TomC21]

25 minutes ago, tomservo said:

 

Is it any different/better than what you can order from room service or get from the Windjammer? Or just a nicer place to enjoy it?

 

Its very limited to pastries, salmon, breads, bagels, juice, coffee, specialty coffee and the like. A limited continental type of breakfast. And yes, a nice place to enjoy. I usually just go there for the specialty coffee and head to the windjammer.

Edited October 12, 2019 by TomC21

[cruiselvr04]

We like hot cocoa.  You can get the powdered kind on the ship but for steamed milk we use the Diamond lounge.  

 

Congrats!

 

i remember we took a weekend cruise just to get to Diamond before a long Med cruise.  We thought we were the bomb sitting in the lounges  getting free drinks.  It’s still the best thing about Diamond plus too. 

[VaTech8912]

Just finished our 1st cruise as Diamond.  We really enjoyed the specialty coffee, nighttime happy hour both in the lounge and drinks on our card.  Enjoyed the quiet space to meet new people.  Definitely a perk that will be part of our consideration when booking the next cruise as we tend to bounce around between lines.  Enjoy your cruise.

[linerode]

1 hour ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thanks everyone y'all are so nice and full of great information!!  Yes closer to D+ and Pinnacle. 😃

 

We got lucky and were in a suite on the Allure during Dorian so instead of 14 points got 20.  Even better was we booked through the casino and only paid port fees, taxes, gratuities for a JS then did a Royal Up bid less than a week out, upped it a tiny bit to what was still considered a weak bid for a GS.  Well 3 days out got an email that we won our bid and not only got a GS but a 2br GS!!  It was awesome and we really enjoyed eating all our meals in Coastal Kitchen and using the Suite Lounge and of course our amazing suite.  We will forever be spoiled.  

 

For our Oct 26th Symphony sailing we again booked through the casino and got a JS for port fees, taxes, gratuities so double points again.  Can you tell were trying to get closer to D+ and Pinnacle, lol.  

 

For our Dec 1st Oasis sailing we have a balcony and just booked that yesterday and apparently its pretty booked up so casino didn't work too much with us on the price.  We are excited to check out the amped up ship.  We would have rather waited but my parents booked back in the spring and my dad has had some health problems and they no longer need to travel without help.

 

Question: You said you booked through the casino. We have never done that. How do you book an upgrade through the casino?

 

 

[sgmn]

52 minutes ago, TomC21 said:

 

Its very limited to pastries, salmon, breads, bagels, juice, coffee, specialty coffee and the like. A limited continental type of breakfast. And yes, a nice place to enjoy. I usually just go there for the specialty coffee and head to the windjammer.

I also liked the hams and cheeses along with different breads, toast and preserves etc. Fresh coffee and juice was nice too. Though if on a ship with solarium bistro that would be just as nice and wider choice. Congratulations on reaching diamond! 

[Alaska06]

Congrats on Diamond.
We were in a similar situation. We have a 7 day cruise coming in February. We are one day from Emerald (I know, not much of an upgrade). We booked a three day to Bahamas for $500 out of Port Canaveral to get the extra day - and three days closer to Diamond. This was an inside GTY, our first time in an inside cabin.
We are seven easy hours from Port Canaveral. This will be a nice weekend trip for less money than it would cost to do a weekend in Savannah or Charleston. If you are only a day or so away, you can do a search sorted by price and look for an inexpensive cruise to get the nights. If you are very flexible with days and ports, I think I saw five nights for ~$500 per couple out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale if you can cruise during the week. 

[CruiseMomTX]

56 minutes ago, linerode said:

 

Question: You said you booked through the casino. We have never done that. How do you book an upgrade through the casino?

 

 

We always book thru the casino and are able to combine our offers to usually get a better room and only pay port fees, taxes and gratuities.  For the upgrade to the 2br GS that was a royal up bid, nothing to do with the casino.  We both get regular mail offers and for some reason my husband only gets the same via email.  

[DaniDanielle]

Congratulations on becoming Diamond!  We know how you feel, we will turn Diamond Plus in December and never thought we would get that far😀Anyway enjoy!!!!

[Sunshine3601]

I too will be a diamond member after our january b2b cruise.  Question.  If you go to diamond lounge for free cocktail during happy hour do you still get the 3 free drinks on your sea pass that you can use in mdr or speciality restaurant during the specified time?