Diamond vouchers with the new drink prices

[island lady]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:02 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

The voucher covers any drink up to $14    If you wish to tip the bartender you may do so as cash or add a tip to the receipt they will give you to sign.    Personally, I tip cash per drink.    

 

The vouchers also work on the last morning of a cruise.   I use them to get my morning latte while having breakfast then grab another one to go for our drive home.   Or if you are out late the night before new vouchers reset to your sea pass after midnight every night. 

 

Indeed...we always tip a buck a drink...even when just asking for a bottle of water.  🙂 

[nelblu]

14 hours ago, JamesEM said:

The 24 hour period is midnight to midnight.

Xcpt the first day.😜

[tserface]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Indeed...we always tip a buck a drink...even when just asking for a bottle of water.  🙂 

We do this as well.  We figure since we're not paying anything for the drinks (or water) it's super easy to add on an extra $1.  Also, we've heard that the waiters get to keep this extra $1 cash.  I'm not sure how they get paid from the loyalty program.

 

When we used to go to the Diamond Club we would also pay $1 per drink and that usually bought us a regular waiter so we often tipped more at the end of the cruise.  They always made it a fun experience.  Unfortunately, the Diamond Club got very crowded and there were tons of people that would have one person from the group come early and save seats.  So, we often just go in, grab some appetizers and go to another nearby bar.  It's not as fun of an experience as talking with other regular cruisers, but it's still fun and they don't seem to mind if we get appetizers to go 🙂

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, tserface said:

  Unfortunately, the Diamond Club got very crowded and there were tons of people that would have one person from the group come early and save seats.  So, we often just go in, grab some appetizers and go to another nearby bar.  It's not as fun of an experience as talking with other regular cruisers, but it's still fun and they don't seem to mind if we get appetizers to go 🙂

 

I think your attitude of making the best of it and enjoying what you enjoy is the essence of why so many people like to cruise. No cruise is perfect. Every cruise is fun to my wife and I because we are not cleaning or cooking aboard. The food is more than adequate for our needs. We adapt to the situation just like you. Life is good as you breathe every day.

 

There are just people in general who think they should have special access to seats in the Diamond lounge, seats in the Solarium, or seats near the pool decks. I wish I could correct all of the wrongs in the world but my father would repeat a mantra that he lived by all of his life: "Genius is limited but stupidity is not thus handicapped." We cannot correct on a one week cruise the ignorance of a lifetime. Look beyond the ignorance and enjoy yourself. 😁

[tserface]

4 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I think your attitude of making the best of it and enjoying what you enjoy is the essence of why so many people like to cruise. No cruise is perfect. Every cruise is fun to my wife and I because we are not cleaning or cooking aboard. The food is more than adequate for our needs. We adapt to the situation just like you. Life is good as you breathe every day.

 

There are just people in general who think they should have special access to seats in the Diamond lounge, seats in the Solarium, or seats near the pool decks. I wish I could correct all of the wrongs in the world but my father would repeat a mantra that he lived by all of his life: "Genius is limited but stupidity is not thus handicapped." We cannot correct on a one week cruise the ignorance of a lifetime. Look beyond the ignorance and enjoy yourself. 😁

We’ve been on cruises where things have gone wrong, but never one we didn’t enjoy 🙂

 

i fully agree.  Life is as good as you breathe.  I plan to remember that one.

[island lady]

15 hours ago, tserface said:

We do this as well.  We figure since we're not paying anything for the drinks (or water) it's super easy to add on an extra $1.  Also, we've heard that the waiters get to keep this extra $1 cash.  I'm not sure how they get paid from the loyalty program.

 

When we used to go to the Diamond Club we would also pay $1 per drink and that usually bought us a regular waiter so we often tipped more at the end of the cruise.  They always made it a fun experience.  Unfortunately, the Diamond Club got very crowded and there were tons of people that would have one person from the group come early and save seats.  So, we often just go in, grab some appetizers and go to another nearby bar.  It's not as fun of an experience as talking with other regular cruisers, but it's still fun and they don't seem to mind if we get appetizers to go 🙂

 

 

Indeed used to love the DL.  But just too crowded now.  Heck...look how easy it is to make Diamond!  😮 

 

I love...love the new voucher program.  We simply "bar hop" around using our vouchers.  Happy tisers in the DL?  Eh...one thing that is easy to do on a cruise ship...find something to eat.  😉  Plus we have now opted for early traditional dining, since MTD has also become a real zoo, and don't need the snacks before early dinner.  

 

My how things change.  But we do like this change.  Got so tired of the politics and crowding in the DL...just not what it used to be.  😞 

[island lady]

13 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I think your attitude of making the best of it and enjoying what you enjoy is the essence of why so many people like to cruise. No cruise is perfect. Every cruise is fun to my wife and I because we are not cleaning or cooking aboard. The food is more than adequate for our needs. We adapt to the situation just like you. Life is good as you breathe every day.

 

There are just people in general who think they should have special access to seats in the Diamond lounge, seats in the Solarium, or seats near the pool decks. I wish I could correct all of the wrongs in the world but my father would repeat a mantra that he lived by all of his life: "Genius is limited but stupidity is not thus handicapped." We cannot correct on a one week cruise the ignorance of a lifetime. Look beyond the ignorance and enjoy yourself. 😁

 

Two extra seats available in the DL, the Solarium, and the pool deck.  We don't use any of them.  😉 

[island lady]

9 hours ago, tserface said:

We’ve been on cruises where things have gone wrong, but never one we didn’t enjoy 🙂

 

i fully agree.  Life is as good as you breathe.  I plan to remember that one.

 

Perfect attitude!  🥰

 

We always say..."as long as we wake up above sea level...we are doing fine". 

 

On a seven night cruise out of Tampa on Brilliance about 4 years ago, I broke my foot on the very first night.  Bucky told me we could rent a car and go home when we reached first port Key West.  I told him "Heck no!  Where else can I rest, with no shopping/cooking/cleaning for the rest of the week?"    Still enjoyed the rest of the cruise, just curtailed a bit enjoying the sea views from the eye level of a wheel chair. 😉 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by island lady

[yogimax]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Indeed used to love the DL.  But just too crowded now.  Heck...look how easy it is to make Diamond!  😮 

 

 

Precisely.  On recent cruises, weve been unable to get a seat in the Diamond Lounge because it was filled with new Diamonds.  That was the major negative impact of the Double Point program.

 

Please don't say you can get drinks at any bar.  The drinks are not the point.  It's the ability to meet new people in a quiet context on a regular basis.  In the past, we made many lifetime friends in the CL and DL.  Not so much now.

[davekathy]

We like the DL. We are in there no more than 45 minutes for a couple of pre diner drinks from 5 to 5:45. No issues with crowds (at least on the ships we've cruised on. Only the Voyager class, Radiance class and Freedom class) at that time of evening. On our March cruise on the Explorer we noticed less people in the DL at that time and believe it has to do with the CAS drinks loaded on our Seapass cards. Win win for everyone. We would like to see Celebrity put in a dedicated lounge on their ships for elite, elite+ and Zenith. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by davekathy

[SHIP TRAVELER]

We have not cruised RCL since the vouchers were started but I asked a friend just off the Wonder TA how they worked out.  He said they were great but his tip was that you need to keep track of what drinks are used for each card.  This guy is a real Gentleman and often picks up his and his wife's drinks at the bar while she is seated at a table.  She is also Diamond and sometimes goes to the cabin after the show when he goes to Casino.  I can see how disappointing it would be for the left over drinks to be on her card in the cabin when he wants a night cap in the casino. I am reading that a slip is now printed out for the "free" drinks which might help us keep track.  We are looking forward to our 5 (D+)drinks in February on the Allure after string of cruises on Celebrity.

Edited November 19, 2022 by SHIP TRAVELER

[Russ Lomas]

On 11/17/2022 at 10:35 AM, maxsales said:

I admit too being pretty much a Royal rookie, as my Diamond status comes by way of celebrity.  So that being said I am not in the know about how the current voucher system works.  What I do know is that we receive four vouchers per day (24 hours).  Now for the questions

1. Do we receive vouchers on the fist day?
2. With the current drink prices being $14.00 and the voucher being for $13.00 do we pay the deference ($1.00) or pay the entire price?
3. Can be vouchers be used in main dining or specialty restaurants for a drink or glass of wine?

Appreciate the responses and clarification.

Something else that I have learned is that you not only do you get 4 drinks per day including the embarkation day, you also get 4 more loaded on for your disembarkation day.  We used them for specialty coffees and fresh squeezed OJ in the Windjammer (I was driving home, so I did not want alcohol in the morning) before disembarking, but I guess if I had been up at midnight the day before disembarking and 4 were loaded on at midnight, I could have had 4 more alcoholic drinks that evening.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, yogimax said:

Precisely.  On recent cruises, weve been unable to get a seat in the Diamond Lounge because it was filled with new Diamonds.  That was the major negative impact of the Double Point program.

 

Please don't say you can get drinks at any bar.  The drinks are not the point.  It's the ability to meet new people in a quiet context on a regular basis.  In the past, we made many lifetime friends in the CL and DL.  Not so much now.

 

Same thing here.  Met a lot of like minded pax in a quiet, uncrowded atmosphere some years ago.  Now....too many chair saving, "me first" types and very noisy.  Uh...uh...nope not for us any longer.  If we can't find a quiet lounge/bar...we just have our drinks on the balcony.  

 

Do like the lounges for my early morning coffee though!  🙂 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

We like the DL. We are in there no more than 45 minutes for a couple of pre diner drinks from 5 to 5:45. No issues with crowds (at least on the ships we've cruised on. Only the Voyager class, Radiance class and Freedom class) at that time of evening. On our March cruise on the Explorer we noticed less people in the DL at that time and believe it has to do with the CAS drinks loaded on our Seapass cards. Win win for everyone. We would like to see Celebrity put in a dedicated lounge on their ships for elite, elite+ and Zenith. 

 

Now that was the one time we really enjoyed the DL this last year....two very like minded peeps who invited us in there to have drinks with them.  😉 

 

Actually I think it was due to the very low C&A numbers on that cruise.  Sheezz....we were cruiser #3 and then cruiser #2 on first and second leg...and being newbie Pinnies, that tells you a lot.  😉 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

We have not cruised RCL since the vouchers were started but I asked a friend just off the Wonder TA how they worked out.  He said they were great but his tip was that you need to keep track of what drinks are used for each card.  This guy is a real Gentleman and often picks up his and his wife's drinks at the bar while she is seated at a table.  She is also Diamond and sometimes goes to the cabin after the show when he goes to Casino.  I can see how disappointing it would be for the left over drinks to be on her card in the cabin when he wants a night cap in the casino. I am reading that a slip is now printed out for the "free" drinks which might help us keep track.  We are looking forward to our 5 (D+)drinks in February on the Allure after string of cruises on Celebrity.

 

We were on that TA, and the two legs prior.  No slips used yet on that one yet.    

 

As far as total number, it was a combined total.  Did not actually have separate for each.  As long as we did not go over 12 total per day for the two of us...we were in the freebie zone.  😉 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Now that was the one time we really enjoyed the DL this last year....two very like minded peeps who invited us in there to have drinks with them.  😉 

 

Actually I think it was due to the very low C&A numbers on that cruise.  Sheezz....we were cruiser #3 and then cruiser #2 on first and second leg...and being newbie Pinnies, that tells you a lot.  😉 

I agree and there's an exception to every rule, so to speak. Wish we could have spent more chit chat time with you both. 

[taglovestocruise]

On 11/17/2022 at 2:06 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Yes, a tiki specialty in Bamboo Rm is $1.18

You got a super deal at $1.18. I think we were excessively gouged and a letter to M Bayley is in the works. 

     1/10     BEVERAGES     14016598     BAMBOO ROOM   1.28

[island lady]

15 hours ago, davekathy said:

I agree and there's an exception to every rule, so to speak. Wish we could have spent more chit chat time with you both. 

 

Me too....but will make up for it on our next cruise together!  🙂 

[OCSC Mike]

On 11/19/2022 at 8:08 AM, island lady said:

Indeed used to love the DL.  But just too crowded now.  Heck...look how easy it is to make Diamond!  😮 

 

This is ship/itinerary dependent of course. The DL has been a ghost town on the short Indy cruises (less D and up I'm sure).

 

As an aside, the coffee machine was actually prepped and ready much earlier last month. One morning I passed a gentleman leaving with a warning that it was "broken." He should have stayed the extra 2 minutes it took me to empty the grounds. 🤣 His loss.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

This is ship/itinerary dependent of course. The DL has been a ghost town on the short Indy cruises (less D and up I'm sure).

 

As an aside, the coffee machine was actually prepped and ready much earlier last month. One morning I passed a gentleman leaving with a warning that it was "broken." He should have stayed the extra 2 minutes it took me to empty the grounds. 🤣 His loss.

 

LOL...hey...that's my job!!  😉  Indeed have had to do that several times, not to mention other various fixes.  The worst one is the "no milk" in the machine for my Latte.  Finally just picked up a couple of pints of milk from Park Cafe on Wonder to keep in the little fridge on hand for "just in case".  

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

LOL...hey...that's my job!!  😉  Indeed have had to do that several times, not to mention other various fixes.  The worst one is the "no milk" in the machine for my Latte.  Finally just picked up a couple of pints of milk from Park Cafe on Wonder to keep in the little fridge on hand for "just in case".  

 

Got some sort of low water pressure message in July, crew member said to just ignore it. Same message was there 3 months later. They just don't value the machines like we do.

[ldubs]

On 11/17/2022 at 7:35 AM, maxsales said:

I admit too being pretty much a Royal rookie, as my Diamond status comes by way of celebrity.  So that being said I am not in the know about how the current voucher system works.  What I do know is that we receive four vouchers per day (24 hours).  Now for the questions

1. Do we receive vouchers on the fist day?

 

I'm being repetitive but yep! 

 

On 11/17/2022 at 7:35 AM, maxsales said:

1. With the current drink prices being $14.00 and the voucher being for $13.00 do we pay the deference ($1.00) or pay the entire price?

 

Already answered.  I'll add when ordering we always let them know we wanted to use the diamond voucher. Always got a nod.   

 

On 11/17/2022 at 7:35 AM, maxsales said:

1. Can be vouchers be used in main dining or specialty restaurants for a drink or glass of wine?

Appreciate the responses and clarification.

 

Sure can.  The only place we couldn't use ours was Starbucks and the bionic bar.  

[island lady]

42 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Got some sort of low water pressure message in July, crew member said to just ignore it. Same message was there 3 months later. They just don't value the machines like we do.

 

I went from the SL to the DL on Wonder a couple of times, when the machine in the SL (which is just around the corner from our cabin) was on the fritz, or out of milk.   There are two of them in the DL on Wonder.  One seemed to be down all the time, the other never seemed to have milk in it, and always a line to get the coffee.  Ughh...was just easier to go to Promenade Cafe than use the DL.  Though the coffee in those big urns always taste burnt.  

 

And these are new machines on a new ship!  😮 

[RCCLNYMETS41]

Just off Odyssey yesterday. They did not give us a bar slip (as mentioned in the update to the C & A program) to sign for our included Diamond drinks, so no auto gratuity is added. We did tip in cash & they seemed to love that. I believe they keep the cash themselves as opposed to tipping on the bar slip, which I think gets pooled for all servers/bartenders. Someone please correct me if I am wrong about that.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, RCCLNYMETS41 said:

Just off Odyssey yesterday. They did not give us a bar slip (as mentioned in the update to the C & A program) to sign for our included Diamond drinks, so no auto gratuity is added. We did tip in cash & they seemed to love that. I believe they keep the cash themselves as opposed to tipping on the bar slip, which I think gets pooled for all servers/bartenders. Someone please correct me if I am wrong about that.

 

Varies by bar team I guess. Many teams pool