Diamond members..are you aware of this policy?

Hello all,

I just returned from a 5 night cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. This was a girl's trip...to celebrate my friend's birthday. I am a diamond member, she is a platinum member. On every cruise since I've been diamond, if I was traveling with a friend or family member IN MY STATEROOM, they have ALWAYS been allowed to go with me into the diamond lounge and enjoy a few cocktails. We were shocked (and embarassed) to be told (in front of the 4 other people in the diamond lounge the first night) that I was welcome to stay, but my friend would have to leave. So, for the remainder of the cruise, if I wanted to go into the diamond lounge and have a drink, I had to go BY MYSELF while my friend waited outside. AND not only that, but they would not allow us to BUY her drinks so that she could sit with me, or allow me to take my drink out to the bar where she was. And, mind you, I only went in there 3 of the 5 nights, because I didn't want to ditch my friend, but there were only around 10 people max 2 of the nights, and the last night, there were several tables and seats availalbe. AMAZING.

So, I am just wondering what your experiences have been with this. We were told by the hotel manager and the captain of the ship that this has ALWAYS been their policy, that ONLY diamond members and their spouses are allowed in the lounge. I knew and have never tried to get someone other that the person I am traveling with in my stateroom in, and I could have sworn it was their written policy to allow only those traveling in your stateroom with the diamond member in.

I know for a fact that Celebrity DOES allow this, and not only allows it, but even prints a special card for your stateroom companion to avoid any embarassment or hassle.

Opinions/ experiences welcome. I will write a long review of the LOS in the coming days....

Thanks.

Technically they are not allowed in, but concierges do vary.

That has always been the policy - diamond members only - no friends or cabin mates. I think spouses, by default, are also diamond members, so they are allowed.

On some ships they do allow a friend or cabin mate to attend, but the official policy is NO.

Kind of like their soda policy. Officially, all carry-on drinks are prohibited, but they usually won't bother you for a six pack of soda or bottled water.

Nothing new about the policy but the enforcement of it varies greatly from ship to ship.

For clarification I emailed Royal Caribbean before our last cruise and was told, in writing, exactly that. Technically, non-Diamond members are not permitted but we were to check with the staff member when we got on board. Any exceptions would be at their discretion.

As clearly answered already, yes, it has always been the policy.

Although I'm curious.....how did they find out? Did they card both of you? I only ask because neither my wife nor I have ever been carded in either the CL or DL. Just wondering how the D Concierge knew. :confused:

As clearly answered already, yes, it has always been the policy.

 

Although I'm curious.....how did they find out? Did they card both of you? I only ask because neither my wife nor I have ever been carded in either the CL or DL. Just wondering how the D Concierge knew. :confused:

When we were on the Oasis, when we swiped our Seapass, our information must have come up on the computer screen that was being monitored. I am assuming our faces as well. Of course, I don't know this for sure but we were greeted by name so that's my best guess.

On Celebrity, they did check our cards, but I don't remember them checking them on Navigator or Majesty last year. I will be traveling with a non-diamond girlfriend this coming November on Monarch. Has anybody had any experience with Monarch in this situation?

As clearly answered already, yes, it has always been the policy.

 

Although I'm curious.....how did they find out? Did they card both of you? I only ask because neither my wife nor I have ever been carded in either the CL or DL. Just wondering how the D Concierge knew. :confused:

Yes, they carded both of us...which was fine with me, because in the past I have always thought that it was their policy to allow it with stateroom companions so that we don't have to be split up. They had 7 other people they turned away. My friend will probably not cruise with them again, she was so embarrassed. They said NO exceptions to the rule. Too bad...they will lose business from me over this....I will always go with Celebrity when I cruise with anyone other than my husband.

Yes, I was aware of this policy distinction... I agree though that it's awkward and unfortunate that it played out like that.

On the Oasis last November, my then girlfirend / now fiancee was allowed in to the DL with me (she's not diamond)... but we were not treated well AT ALL by the Diamond Concierge... she was downright chilly towards us. Thankfully the servers were warm and wonderful towards us so the experience was still nice. I guess she didn't want her in but also badly wanted to avoid the hassel / awkwardness of telling someone that their significant other cannot accompany them.

Thankfully this won't be an issue for us in the future.

We were on Liberty over New Years and that policy was stressed. You had to be Diamond to be in the Diamond lounge. I think perhaps too many people took advantage and that's way it is a hard and fast rule.

Sometimes those rooms get so crowded that there is not enough room for those that are entitled to be there. It was like that on our last Oasis cruise. We had to get there right before they opened to be assured of a seat.

Imagine if 5 people each brought someone else. Suppose there were 3 to a cabin & you brought the other 2. These are very small rooms & on most ships have couches for comfort. So seating is very limited.

I understand your embarassment & I would hate to not use the diamond room on a cruise. My husband & I really enjoy not only the cocktails but the conversation with others there.

If we showed up a bit later, should we not be entitled to a seat because too many diamond members were there or because too many NON DIAMOND members were there ?

That's why we have never been in the Diamond Lounge, we always travel with non diamonds,no big deal, we just buy our booze instead

I will be traveling with a non-diamond girlfriend this coming November on Monarch. Has anybody had any experience with Monarch in this situation?

we are recently off the Monarch - our first time as Diamond members.

We took our single friend, traveling with us - not in our room - with us and asked. They did card both of us and said my friend could stay but had to purchase her drink. There were not very many people there - it was held in the Viking Crown Lounge.

Yes, they carded both of us...which was fine with me, because in the past I have always thought that it was their policy to allow it with stateroom companions so that we don't have to be split up. They had 7 other people they turned away. My friend will probably not cruise with them again, she was so embarrassed. They said NO exceptions to the rule. Too bad...they will lose business from me over this....I will always go with Celebrity when I cruise with anyone other than my husband.

Sorry to hear you feel this way, but, yes, that has always been their policy. Like others have said, sometimes the concierge will "look the other way", but I, too, have had guests I was traveling with in my cabin turned away. As for your friend being embarrased, I am sorry this happened, but I have to wonder why she was so upset. Had you already promised her that she would be able to go with you? If that's the case, maybe you were the one who was actually embarrased. Personally, I don't feel that you are justified in being mad at the cruise line simply because one of its employees was following the rules. JMHO, of course.

Yes, I was aware of this policy distinction... I agree though that it's awkward and unfortunate that it played out like that.

 

I agree. Maybe they should put something in cabins that clarifies the policy. In my opinion, putting a guest in an uncomfortable and embarrassing position should be avoided at all cost. Maybe they could have allowed them to stay for the evening but explained the policy for the remainder of the cruise. Seems odd that they would risk alienating a Diamond member.

We had the same experience a couple of years ago on Liberty OTS when traveling with a non-diamond cruiser.

We decided to institute our policy: If she's not good enough for them - they're not good enough for us!

There wasn't a benefit free enough that we'd not spend time with our friend. As far as we were concerned, it was a big ship and there were plenty of other places that we could be.

(Had a great time, BTW....)

I agree. Maybe they should put something in cabins that clarifies the policy. In my opinion, putting a guest in an uncomfortable and embarrassing position should be avoided at all cost. Maybe they could have allowed them to stay for the evening but explained the policy for the remainder of the cruise. Seems odd that they would risk alienating a Diamond member.

They DO place something in the cabins. In the Diamond/Diamond Plus welcome letter, it clearly states that the lounge is for Diamond guests only, and to please refrain from bringing others to the event, due to space constraints. Why get mad at the cruise line when the passenger hasn't earned the perk that the rest of us in there have earned?

we are recently off the Monarch - our first time as Diamond members.

We took our single friend, traveling with us - not in our room - with us and asked. They did card both of us and said my friend could stay but had to purchase her drink. There were not very many people there - it was held in the Viking Crown Lounge.

This sounds more like a diamond event which is held on ships not having a dedicated lounge for diamond members, the Diamond Club on the Oasis class or the Diamond Lounge on the Freedom class. At these house wine and soft drinks are free, but other alcoholic beverages have a cost with a 25% discount technically. Last I knew the Monarch did not have a DL, but perhaps one has been added.

They DO place something in the cabins. In the Diamond/Diamond Plus welcome letter, it clearly states that the lounge is for Diamond guests only, and to please refrain from bringing others to the event, due to space constraints. Why get mad at the cruise line when the passenger hasn't earned the perk that the rest of us in there have earned?

My mistake, sorry. I don't recall seeing any such letter so it must have gotten lost in the paperwork. However, I am not even a little bit mad, just a bit empathetic toward the OP. Based on what was reported, it sounds as if it might have been handled a bit more discreetly. I've personally, had no issue with the policy.

I agree. Maybe they should put something in cabins that clarifies the policy. In my opinion, putting a guest in an uncomfortable and embarrassing position should be avoided at all cost. Maybe they could have allowed them to stay for the evening but explained the policy for the remainder of the cruise. Seems odd that they would risk alienating a Diamond member.

I'm sorry this happened to you but this has been their policy for a long time. If your friend was put in an uncomfortable and embarrassing position it is really you to blame if you did not check the rules.

Same thing has happened to me as a Diamond member traveling with a non-diamond cabin mate on Liberty of the Seas who was turned away from the lounge. There were only 4 other people in the lounge and plenty of empty seats but we just went somewhere else to have a drink. I just accept it as the way it is. It does not alienate me as a Diamond member and in fact I have a RC cruise coming up in June.

As clearly answered already, yes, it has always been the policy.

 

Although I'm curious.....how did they find out? Did they card both of you? I only ask because neither my wife nor I have ever been carded in either the CL or DL. Just wondering how the D Concierge knew. :confused:

They didn't check because your photos are probably posted behind very concierge desk in the fleet.:D:D:D

I'm sorry this happened to you but this has been their policy for a long time. If your friend was put in an uncomfortable and embarrassing position it is really you to blame if you did not check the rules.

Same thing has happened to me as a Diamond member traveling with a non-diamond cabin mate who was turned away from the lounge. There were only 4 other people in the lounge and plenty of empty seats but we just went somewhere else to have a drink. I just accept it as the way it is. It does not alienate me as a Diamond member and in fact I have a RC cruise coming up in June.

Just to clarify, we've had no issue with the policy. I don't think it occurred to the OP that the policy would be different than Celebrity so I can understand why it didn't occur to her to question the policy. She was under the impression that she already knew it. My point was only that perhaps it could have been handled differently so that the guests weren't embarrassed. I understand why the non Diamond member wasn't admitted.

If you look on the website, they answer the question so no extra paperwork really needs to be left in the cabin to explain who is and who is not allowed in.

We now offer either the Diamond Lounge or a Diamond Event on every ship in our fleet. On ships with a Concierge Lounge, it will be limited to Diamond Plus and Suite guests (excluding Junior Suites). Due to the size of the Lounge, we regret that we cannot honor requests for entrance to friends or relatives of eligible guests. The Lounge is open twenty-four hours a day. Guests utilize their Gold SeaPass Card to enter the Lounge. Eligible guests receive a letter on boarding day describing the services and amenities available within the Lounge. A Concierge is available in the Lounge daily from 8:30 am – 11:30 am and from 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

edited to say-so it seems to me both lounges should have the same restrictions-no??

we are recently off the Monarch - our first time as Diamond members.

We took our single friend, traveling with us - not in our room - with us and asked. They did card both of us and said my friend could stay but had to purchase her drink. There were not very many people there - it was held in the Viking Crown Lounge.

Thank you for the information! Hope you had a nice cruise!:)