TrueCruiseaholic

I know guests on Beyond. Luminae was open on Beyond in Coco Cay for it's first call. Maybe a one time situation, we'll have to see on future cruises.

On a recent cruise, a Sapphire cruiser was refused access to the lounge because they were not in a suite. Is this a continuation of the COVID policy? The benefits chart on the Celebrity website indicates Sapphire and above receive lounge access. Do any Blue Chip Club members receive access to the lounge if not in a suite?

That was my first reaction as well.

It all depends upon the ship and the officers. Anyone with access to a budget (CC Concierge up through HD and Captain) can send items to a stateroom. I would like to maintain some anonymity, but I have received many "gifts" over the years. The bottom line is if you are top cruiser or know people well, you are more likely to get extra things both inside and outside of the stateroom. I don't want to be too cryptic, but I don't want to write how "this person sent me this." This gets to one of the issues with going from ship to ship. Different ships and different people treat guests differently. If one were to use the best experiences as the basis for comparison, most cruises would fall short. To respond to the start of the thread, it could be almost anything. When getting "extra benefits" one does not want to upset the apple cart or spread too much word about the benefits. Some ships/officers send things to all the Zeniths. Some send to only the top cruiser. Some send nothing and don't interact with/acknowledge Zeniths or Suite Guests (it isn't their job to be honest). Being on more B2B cruises, more cruises in general, ingratiating yourself with officers, all can get you extras. I have not personally received it, but I have seen photos on another website of Zenith/Top Cruiser guests with 8-10 bottles of wine in their stateroom or being given Veuve Clicqout as a gift. Even an Elite Plus member has shown off the many gifts they have received. It's not the norm, but it has happened. The grass is greener on the other side, unfortunately.

The only downside from a guest perspective of status matching is a dilution of your benefits if people from another line come on and get your benefits (eg Diamond lounge on Royal being more crowded with Elite and above from Celebrity). Anyone would be more likely to sail on another line if they even get one more perk than they normally would. I would be more likely to sail on Royal if I got more benefits on there than I do now. I would be less likely to sail on Celebrity if my benefits are diluted (whether from status matching or Celebrity cost cutting). I can't get into the mind of Royal Caribbean Group corporate, but aside from the greater per guest profit on Silversea, does it really matter which line guests sail on as long as they sail? I really don't think that RCG needs to hook Celebrity guests on Royal. The purpose of the loyalty program is to encourage someone to book that next cruise. If you sail with us X more times or spend Y more money you get these additional benefits. Again, time will tell. I still don't get the purpose of the survey but I get the feeling that I'm not the target audience for the survey anyway.

So what's the point of the survey? I'm not trying to be dumb. There is status matching between Royal and Celebrity up to Elite/Diamond. Silversea is a different structure. Why even ask about interest in cruising on another line with status matching if nothing is going to change? It isn't all about the credit card since some guests are not asked about the credit card. Is the survey gauging whether guests know there is status matching up to Diamond/Elite? What, if any, changes are being proposed? I'm really confused now...

So we think these questions are ONLY about Silversea or include Diamond Plus to Elite Plus and Pinnacle Club to Zenith? That is what I was wondering this whole time.

Why send out a survey if you are not proposing changing the current policy? Or as was discussed earlier, the purpose of the survey is solely for creating status match with Silversea? My interpretation of the survey is that they are proposing status match for all levels including bilateral Pinnacle Club and Zenith. Why else would the questions have an answer both about 1) my status does have a match or 2) my current status doesn't have a match (ie Diamond plus and Pinnacle Club)?

I understand what you are saying. So, the idea being put forward in the survey is essentially the addition of status matching with Silversea (since Royal Caribbean and Celebrity already have the capped status matching as you wrote)? It would be great to get a 10% discount for Silversea having never sailed before. It is also completely unfair, as you wrote, for the guests who have paid their way to the benefit. Time will tell.

I was hyperbolizing. In the survey they ask if you have the credit card and if you don't, why not.

It would be only one small part of the status matching, but Celebrity would definitely have to create a Pinnacle/Zenith lounge for all the Pinnacles coming on Celebrity.

From the new Power Up Points survey, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and SilverSea may have status matching. What do we think that would entail? With the point structure difference between Royal and Celebrity would suite guests from Royal cruise on Celebrity to get to the next status faster? Would an inside stateroom cruiser sail on Royal in order to become Pinnacle Club faster? Would Celebrity be inundated with Royal cruisers of all tier levels? Does SilverSea have multiple tiers to match Royal and Celebrity? Also, Royal Caribbean Group really wants everyone to have their credit card. ;)

sparkling wine by the glass prosecco, torresella, italy 10 brut, cava, villarnau, spain 12 brut, domaine chandon, california 15 champagne by the glass champagne m. haslinger & fils champagne 17 champagne, mumm, cordon rouge, france 24 champagne, veuve clicquot, yellow label 25 rosé by the glass rosé de provence, le bel olivier, france 10 jean luc, colombo, france 17 bertani bertarose, veneto, italy 17 whispering angel, chateau d'esclans, france 19 white by the glass sauvignon blanc gran araucaria, chile 10 chardonnay, seeker, california 10 pinot grigio, canti, 10 riesling, chateau ste. michelle, washington 12 sauvignon blanc villa maria, marlborough 15 chardonnay, Jouis jadot, 'macon-villages france 17 chardonnay, elegance, california 17 White blend, conundrum, california 19 red by the glass pinot noir, morpho helena, chile 10 merlot, columbia crest, washington 10 cabernet sauvignon, excelsior, south africa 15 shiraz, grant burge, australia 15 tempranillo, torres, ibericos, spain 17 malbec, alta vista, argentina 17 sangiovese, avivo, california 17 cabernet sauvignon, elegance, california 19 red blend, conundrum, california 19 pinot noir, cherry tart, california 19

It is probably a ship piloting the idea. I don't think they're going to implement card readers. In Retreat Lounge, the bar servers and the concierges know who you are and can add or subtract charges from your seapass account in the computer system. I have had specialty restaurant visits that were supposed to be one price (discounted) and I have been charged a different price (full price) by the restaurant without receiving a receipt to approve the charged price. The main question is for guests on other ships, whether a $19 glass is still complimentary. I think it would be no extra charge for a top suite guest but perhaps an extra charge for a sky suite guest or a Zenith guest. "Rules" affecting guests differently.

Saw a report about surcharges for drinks in Retreat Lounge above Premium package limit. In the past, I have seen countless guests get more expensive drinks in Retreat Lounge for no surcharge. Certainly different ships will apply policies differently, but the official Celebrity policy is to surcharge in Retreat Lounge now. Anyone else experiencing this?