Diamond Plus - No More Concierge/Suite Lounge Access

[Big_G]

On 12/12/2022 at 2:05 PM, Colibri51 said:

Not happy that Diamond Plus can no longer access the Concierge Lounge because of too many top tier members. If that is true and Diamond Plus can no longer access the Concierge lounge due to high volume, then why not prohibit Pinnacle to access the Diamond lounge as that also is impacted by large numbers of top tier members.  

Pinnacles in the SL is its own separate controversy. 

[davekathy]

The CAS should change the name of the DL to the Top Three Tier Level Lounge (TTTLL). 

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, midwife1021 said:

Agreed.  What is so hard about that?  It's not like shelling out big bucks for a full suite gave us access to the Diamond Lounge and it always seemed like the CL would get jam-packed from the D and D+ members flashing their status pins. 

 

24 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

If you are not at least Diamond or above...you would have no access to the Diamond Lounge...full suite or not.  

I think that likely was the point…looking at the lounges from a suite guests point of view.  If the CL feels crowded, a suite guest (unless D or above) could not wander over the DL as an alternative.  
 

On that specific sailing, any guest who books a full suite has chosen paid for extra creature comforts for those few days; they are disappointed if they feel crowded out.  Several years ago, as suite guests, we were crowded out and made to feel unwelcome by pushy, snobby D+’s who took over the CL; we were D at the time.  I can only imagine that it would have been worse if we’d been newbies.  The concierge saw it happen and apologized but could not really stop it (the capacity footnote came later).  Though as a D+ I’d like to have access, as a shareholder I believe the SL/CL should basically be for suite guests to keep the suite experience special.

 

24 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

 

 

D and D+ do not have access to the Concierge Lounge.  Only full suites, and occasionally Pinnacles, but only if numbers are low.   Before this announcement, this suite guest might have sailed with D+ and Pinnacles in the CL with the suite guests; we do not know what ship/sailing.  Of course, not all suite guests understand the loyalty levels or who’s who in the lounge.  They may not instantly recognize the badges or know many loyalty members don’t wear a badge.  They also don’t know how many loyalty members sail in full suites.  
 

 

[Starry Eyes]

9 minutes ago, davekathy said:

The CAS should change the name of the DL to the Top Three Tier Level Lounge (TTTLL). 

That’s a mouthful.  Plus, some of us hope they name that 340-350 level someday.  They could call it “over 80 club”  That might reduce the crowd, too🤣🤣🤣🤣

[island lady]

17 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

There are actually 5 Voyager class sisters. VY, EX, AD, NV, and MA. 

 

Maybe you are referring to them as [ship] and her four sisters? 

 

Yes, I was...but thanks!  

 

Will be our first time on VY, and still have yet to meet NV and AD.   Just not convenient to ports we use...so far anyway.  😉 

[molly361]

31 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Yes, I was...but thanks!  

 

Will be our first time on VY, and still have yet to meet NV and AD.   Just not convenient to ports we use...so far anyway.  😉 

The Adventure is coming to Pc at the end of next year

[davekathy]

18 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

That’s a mouthful.  Plus, some of us hope they name that 340-350 level someday.  They could call it “over 80 club”  That might reduce the crowd, too🤣🤣🤣🤣

A 3 inch wide piece of masking tape and a sharpie can fix that problem. 🤣 

Edited December 15, 2022 by davekathy

[sjb317]

22 hours ago, BND said:

We were on Jewel Nov 6 and 13 (b2b) and the letter said no CL for us D+.    DL was pretty busy until about 6-615 and then it got a bit quieter.  On Jewel, Pinns share the same space as DL overflow with a few seats and tables reserved for Pinns only.  

We are currently on Jewel in the second week of a B2B and did not have CL access either week.  The few times we have tried the DL, there were very few people there. 
 

Coffee machine stopped working the last two days of first cruise.  A tech from the company came on board during turn around day but was unable to fix it as he did not have the needed part with him.  He is supposed to come back on Saturday when we disembark so, hopefully, will have the correct part and can fix it!😂😂

 

We asked if we could use the machine in the CL and were told no.  You can get regular coffee in the DL as that part of the machine is working but none of the specialty coffees, the milk pump needs replacing.

 

Sherri🙂

[nelblu]

19 hours ago, davekathy said:

The CAS should change the name of the DL to the Top Three Tier Level Lounge (TTTLL). 

Why reinvent the wheel.  If the DLs are so crowded, why do they allow kids.  On  my recent Allure and Oasis sail there were no crowds till 5:30 PM.  Went for my decaf cappuccino almost every night around 7:30 and it was pretty empty.

[Daghis]

On 12/12/2022 at 1:14 PM, TBurr said:

I suggest you consider leaving RCCL since they have left us, and going to Celebrity. I am done with RCCL since they are done with me.

 

Now that it's just the two of us, we acknowledge that all of the amenities onboard (and looking at the fancy infographic they have of Icon of the Seas onboard, that's being taken to 11) are just not what we're looking forward to at this point in our life. We do have a couple more RCI cruises booked, but we have decided to start venturing over to Celebrity (thanks, reciprocal status!) sometime next year.

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Why reinvent the wheel.  If the DLs are so crowded, why do they allow kids.  On  my recent Allure and Oasis sail there were no crowds till 5:30 PM.  Went for my decaf cappuccino almost every night around 7:30 and it was pretty empty.

Never said the DLs were crowed. Just adding useless banter. We did a B2B on the Explorer and the DL was never crowded in the evening (at least when we were in there having pre diner drinks, 5 to 5:45) on either legs. Maybe there weren't a lot of D, D+ and P's (?). Also the Connoisseur Club was reserved for P's. 

[BND]

34 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

We are currently on Jewel in the second week of a B2B and did not have CL access either week.  The few times we have tried the DL, there were very few people there. 
 

Coffee machine stopped working the last two days of first cruise.  A tech from the company came on board during turn around day but was unable to fix it as he did not have the needed part with him.  He is supposed to come back on Saturday when we disembark so, hopefully, will have the correct part and can fix it!😂😂

 

We asked if we could use the machine in the CL and were told no.  You can get regular coffee in the DL as that part of the machine is working but none of the specialty coffees, the milk pump needs replacing.

 

Sherri🙂

I don't use the coffee machine and DH rarely does.  I don't like just milk and sugar in coffee.  When I do specialty it needs to be mocha or another flavor.  I hate the taste of milk and don't like the strong coffee lol.  But, when we were onboard, we were in the DL several mornings after we had breakfast in the MDR (we like to sit in the DL in the VCL and read some days) and there was always a line for the machine.  We get coffee from Cafe Lattetudes  and use one of our 5 free drinks.   At least one trip (I think on GR) the DL coffee machine wasn't working so they gave everyone a free specialty coffee from Cafe Lattetudes each day.  That was several years ago.

[Cigar King]

20 hours ago, Big_G said:

We're embarking on experimenting with junior suites for nonOasis class ships. It seems like it may be more cost effective to book and then buy the drink, WIFI, and dining package. We'll see.

I may be misunderstanding you, but Junior Suites do not get full suite perks.  You would not have access to the suite lounge by booking a Junior Suite.

[cruisegirl1]

On 12/12/2022 at 2:05 PM, Colibri51 said:

Not happy that Diamond Plus can no longer access the Concierge Lounge because of too many top tier members. If that is true and Diamond Plus can no longer access the Concierge lounge due to high volume, then why not prohibit Pinnacle to access the Diamond lounge as that also is impacted by large numbers of top tier members.  

This falls in the category of be careful what you wish for. If any group is restricted from the D lounge, it will likely NOT be pinnacles. 
 

m

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, molly361 said:

The Adventure is coming to Pc at the end of next year

 

Wow, temporary home for everybody lately. 😱

[molly361]

4 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Wow, temporary home for everybody lately. 😱

I just booked for Christmas 2024. Very good prices 

[sjb317]

3 hours ago, BND said:

I don't use the coffee machine and DH rarely does.  I don't like just milk and sugar in coffee.  When I do specialty it needs to be mocha or another flavor.  I hate the taste of milk and don't like the strong coffee lol.  But, when we were onboard, we were in the DL several mornings after we had breakfast in the MDR (we like to sit in the DL in the VCL and read some days) and there was always a line for the machine.  We get coffee from Cafe Lattetudes  and use one of our 5 free drinks.   At least one trip (I think on GR) the DL coffee machine wasn't working so they gave everyone a free specialty coffee from Cafe Lattetudes each day.  That was several years ago.

We were told by the LA that we could get a free latte at Latitudes or the bar in WJ each day, however; when we asked at each, we were told no, we would have to use our vouchers which we did not want to do.  We gave up and just went with the regular coffee. 
 

Sherri🙂

[island lady]

5 hours ago, molly361 said:

The Adventure is coming to Pc at the end of next year

 

Nice!  Thanks.  Who is leaving?  

[island lady]

5 hours ago, davekathy said:

A 3 inch wide piece of masking tape and a sharpie can fix that problem. 🤣 

 

Duck Tape....Dave's best friend (other than Kathy 😄 ).    

 

Of course you know mine is pink.  😉 

[DaKahuna]

58 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

We were told by the LA that we could get a free latte at Latitudes or the bar in WJ each day, however; when we asked at each, we were told no, we would have to use our vouchers which we did not want to do.  We gave up and just went with the regular coffee. 
 

Sherri🙂

 

 I would have gone back to the LA and informed them that they were incorrect and see if they fixed it.  Also would have questioned the Diamond Concierge.  

[island lady]

4 hours ago, sjb317 said:

We are currently on Jewel in the second week of a B2B and did not have CL access either week.  The few times we have tried the DL, there were very few people there. 
 

Coffee machine stopped working the last two days of first cruise.  A tech from the company came on board during turn around day but was unable to fix it as he did not have the needed part with him.  He is supposed to come back on Saturday when we disembark so, hopefully, will have the correct part and can fix it!😂😂

 

We asked if we could use the machine in the CL and were told no.  You can get regular coffee in the DL as that part of the machine is working but none of the specialty coffees, the milk pump needs replacing.

 

Sherri🙂

 

Same thing on Serenade.   Ours has been broken since yesterday, and won't be repaired until we get back to Tampa on Saturday...errr...or so they think.  😮 

[Big_G]

4 hours ago, Cigar King said:

I may be misunderstanding you, but Junior Suites do not get full suite perks.  You would not have access to the suite lounge by booking a Junior Suite.

 

We’re D+ so we could always got to the D Lounge. It’s just that our last cruise was on Serenade in a GS and we still had to buy internet and a drink package. We’ve been full suite cruisers for years but some times we end up in the D Lounge anyway depending on the ship. We’d still sail full suite on the Oasis Class.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Big_G

[island lady]

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Wow, temporary home for everybody lately. 😱

 

LOL....yeah, it's like they put ships in PC that they don't know what to do with.   Happy to have brand new Wonder, but as you know.....she was supposed to go to Asia until that plan fell through.  

 

I am actually shocked (and very happy) to have four ships in our local port now.  Wow.  😮 

[DaKahuna]

2 minutes ago, Big_G said:

 

We’re D+ so we could always got to the D Lounge. It’s just that our last cruise was on Serenade in a GS and we still had to buy internet and a drink package. We’ve been full suite cruisers for years but some times we end up in the D Lounge anyway depending on the ship.

 

 Correct.  Free Internet only comes with full suites on Oasis and Quantum class.  

 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

I just booked for Christmas 2024. Very good prices 

 

I am waiting for the release of Australia, NZ, SP, Hawaii  24/25 season.   Going to try again (for the 3rd time 😖)  to book that route.