TrueCruiseaholic Posted November 20, 2020 #1 Share Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) Please, anyone, correct me if any of this objective factual information is wrong. According to the Crown and Anchor Society website, Royal has not made any changes to the Pinnacle Club (equivalent of Zenith) member benefits. They still have access to the Diamond Lounge (equivalent of Celebrity Elite Cocktail Hour) and the Concierge Lounge (equivalent of Retreat / Michael's Club Lounge). https://www.royalcaribbean.com/crown-anchor-society/benefits/pinnacle-club-members Additionally, Sapphire, Sapphire Plus, and Ruby members in Blue Chip Club still have VIP Lounge access as well. https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/casino/blue-chip-club The Celebrity Captain's Club website (https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes) says: "2020 has required us to make some difficult decisions in order to comply with new protocols. When we return to service, we’ll be tightly managing capacity in each venue. To adhere to elevated safety standards, Zenith access to the lounge at The Retreat® and Michael’s Club will be limited to members staying in The Retreat until further notice." Perhaps the written policies will change for Pinnacle Club and Blue Chip Club, but for the time being it does not seem that their presence in lounges is a safety concern. An additional note: Edge Class has: 30 Non-Sky Suites 146 Sky Suites Which is 83% Sky Suites (Sky suites gained Michael's / Retreat Lounge access some number of years after Non-Sky Suites and Zeniths were given access when Michael's started in 2014) Removing Zenith staterooms from the total staterooms allowed in Retreat Lounge (not including Blue Chip or other VIPs) 1 stateroom = 0.6% decrease in Staterooms 5 staterooms = 2.8% decrease in Staterooms 10 staterooms = 5.4% decrease in Staterooms Very few cruises have 10 staterooms of Zeniths. Are any of these facts incorrect (and therefore not facts)? Edited November 20, 2020 by TrueCruiseaholic Link to post Share on other sites
Orator Posted November 20, 2020 #2 Share Posted November 20, 2020 There was a report on another social media outlet that a Zenith asked CC Representative that exact question and the answer was as you report. The source is highly reliable and might report here if he sees this thread. The dry cleaning and press service has also been discontinued as a Zenith benefit. You can draw your own conclusions I don't take this personally as I understand that business is about future, not past profits. Link to post Share on other sites
jagoffee Posted November 21, 2020 #3 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Concierge Lounge Is not equivalent to the Celebrity’s Retreat/ Michael Club. I have no knowledge of the other facts, just that one. Link to post Share on other sites
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted November 21, 2020 #4 Share Posted November 21, 2020 12 hours ago, Orator said: There was a report on another social media outlet that a Zenith asked CC Representative that exact question and the answer was as you report. The source is highly reliable and might report here if he sees this thread. The dry cleaning and press service has also been discontinued as a Zenith benefit. You can draw your own conclusions I don't take this personally as I understand that business is about future, not past profits. If I had taken all the cruises I had planned for this year, I would have made Zenith. Now there is absolutely no incentive to reach that level. Link to post Share on other sites
WonderMan3 Posted November 21, 2020 #5 Share Posted November 21, 2020 They likely just have not gotten around to updating the Blue Chip benefit. The current chart shown appears to have been last updated in July. Link to post Share on other sites
TrueCruiseaholic Posted November 21, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted November 21, 2020 The grapevine has had mixed answers on continued access of Blue Chip members to Retreat Lounge; if Blue Chip members lose Retreat access, Celebrity should eventually update the information on the website (which they have already done for Captain's Club members). I rarely sail Royal (it has been years and never on anything bigger than Freedom class), so the equivalence of lounges is something of which I was not aware. The equivalent of the Retreat Lounge seems to be a Suite Lounge on select ships which Pinnacle Club members have ?never? been given access to. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-dining/suite-lounge The tiers of suites and benefits look similar to Celebrity: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-rooms/royal-suite-class The Concierge Club is closer to what Michael's Club used to be before Zeniths were removed (the equivalent of an airline lounge). https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/concierge-club-amenities There is mixed information on the internet, but it seems Diamond Plus lost access to Concierge Club at the beginning of this year similar to Zenith on Celebrity. https://www.*****.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17568-diamond-plus-out-of-concierge-lounges/ Though that information has not made it to the Royal link about Concierge Club or a third party website (hence the mixed information). https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cruise-ship-concierge-lounges/ In the end, each cruise line will have their own respective policies. I had thought that Pinnacle Club members and Zenith members both received VIP lounge access, it turns out that I was completely wrong. No loyalty members receives VIP lounge access just for loyalty; and if Pinnacle Club members do not have access to the Suite Lounge, I doubt Zeniths will get Retreat Lounge access back. Link to post Share on other sites
TeeRick Posted November 21, 2020 #7 Share Posted November 21, 2020 There is one good and guaranteed way for Pinnacle's or Zenith's to access the Suite Lounges and suite benefits on RGG ships going forward once operations resume. Just like the rest of us, actually sign up and pay for a suite. 6 Link to post Share on other sites
WeMissSeaView Posted November 21, 2020 #8 Share Posted November 21, 2020 2 hours ago, TrueCruiseaholic said: The grapevine has had mixed answers on continued access of Blue Chip members to Retreat Lounge; if Blue Chip members lose Retreat access, Celebrity should eventually update the information on the website (which they have already done for Captain's Club members). I rarely sail Royal (it has been years and never on anything bigger than Freedom class), so the equivalence of lounges is something of which I was not aware. The equivalent of the Retreat Lounge seems to be a Suite Lounge on select ships which Pinnacle Club members have ?never? been given access to. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-dining/suite-lounge The tiers of suites and benefits look similar to Celebrity: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-rooms/royal-suite-class The Concierge Club is closer to what Michael's Club used to be before Zeniths were removed (the equivalent of an airline lounge). https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/concierge-club-amenities There is mixed information on the internet, but it seems Diamond Plus lost access to Concierge Club at the beginning of this year similar to Zenith on Celebrity. https://www.*****.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17568-diamond-plus-out-of-concierge-lounges/ Though that information has not made it to the Royal link about Concierge Club or a third party website (hence the mixed information). https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cruise-ship-concierge-lounges/ In the end, each cruise line will have their own respective policies. I had thought that Pinnacle Club members and Zenith members both received VIP lounge access, it turns out that I was completely wrong. No loyalty members receives VIP lounge access just for loyalty; and if Pinnacle Club members do not have access to the Suite Lounge, I doubt Zeniths will get Retreat Lounge access back. When cruising stopped in March, Pinnacles did have access to the Suite Lounge. No telling what it will be when Royal starts to sail again. Royal considers information to be valuable and they like to hoard it. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
NutsAboutGolf Posted November 21, 2020 #9 Share Posted November 21, 2020 6 hours ago, TrueCruiseaholic said: Though that information has not made it to the Royal link about Concierge Club or a third party website (hence the mixed information). https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cruise-ship-concierge-lounges/ When looking at 3rd party sites, always have to look at the date (if there is even one) and in the case of the TPG, they report dates and this article is March 2020. I'm a huge traveler and am very familiar with the TPG, they allow contributors to post their articles so in this case one would need to reach to their author/contributor Gene Sloan. Link to post Share on other sites
Arizona Wildcat Posted November 21, 2020 #10 Share Posted November 21, 2020 On 11/20/2020 at 8:00 AM, TrueCruiseaholic said: Please, anyone, correct me if any of this objective factual information is wrong. According to the Crown and Anchor Society website, Royal has not made any changes to the Pinnacle Club (equivalent of Zenith) member benefits. They still have access to the Diamond Lounge (equivalent of Celebrity Elite Cocktail Hour) and the Concierge Lounge (equivalent of Retreat / Michael's Club Lounge). https://www.royalcaribbean.com/crown-anchor-society/benefits/pinnacle-club-members Additionally, Sapphire, Sapphire Plus, and Ruby members in Blue Chip Club still have VIP Lounge access as well. https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/casino/blue-chip-club The Celebrity Captain's Club website (https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes) says: "2020 has required us to make some difficult decisions in order to comply with new protocols. When we return to service, we’ll be tightly managing capacity in each venue. To adhere to elevated safety standards, Zenith access to the lounge at The Retreat® and Michael’s Club will be limited to members staying in The Retreat until further notice." Perhaps the written policies will change for Pinnacle Club and Blue Chip Club, but for the time being it does not seem that their presence in lounges is a safety concern. An additional note: Edge Class has: 30 Non-Sky Suites 146 Sky Suites Which is 83% Sky Suites (Sky suites gained Michael's / Retreat Lounge access some number of years after Non-Sky Suites and Zeniths were given access when Michael's started in 2014) Removing Zenith staterooms from the total staterooms allowed in Retreat Lounge (not including Blue Chip or other VIPs) 1 stateroom = 0.6% decrease in Staterooms 5 staterooms = 2.8% decrease in Staterooms 10 staterooms = 5.4% decrease in Staterooms Very few cruises have 10 staterooms of Zeniths. Are any of these facts incorrect (and therefore not facts)? That Royal has not changed its loyalty program is not very telling since they will not be cruising for the coming 4 1/2 months. Presume they are dealing with tens of thousands of cancelled cruises. Link to post Share on other sites
39august Posted November 21, 2020 #11 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Pinnacles definitely did have access to the suite lounges on RCI. We were P's. Since finding X about 3 years ago, will probably never go RC again. We think the clientele and whole experience is much higher quality on Celebrity. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
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