Help! Concierge/Suite/Sweet - ???????

Okay, please indulge me on this question. I've asked Royal via email and gone back and forth several times with several people and it just keeps going in circles.

What I'm looking for is to see if anyone knows, or maybe has a contact at RCI they can ask (and I would be ever so grateful) the following question:

We will soon be on Liberty of the Seas in the "Ben and Jerry's Suite (Sweet)". Looking at previous things posted online it appears one amenity is the Cowcierge (Concierge) Lounge access. However the Concierge Lounge which was located deck 10 aft went away in the recent dry dock and was replaced by the Suite Lounge top deck midship. Will I get access to the Suite Lounge as a result? Or is this an amenity that is just lost now?

If it helps, here is a summary of my chat with Royal via email to date:

Me - I basically asked the above question and even mentioned that I knew the Concierge Lounge was removed as a result of the dry dock. I assumed they knew that too)

 

Royal - We apologize for confusion about the concierge lounge. The ship still has this lounge on deck 10 aft (and they proceed to rattle on about the rest of the benefits of the ben and jerry's room)

 

Me - Umm... the Concierge Lounge was removed earlier this year like I said... So how is it still there?... I don't understand your response

 

Royal - Yes. It was removed. We apologize for incorrect information. We have reached out to the ship and the ship confirmed that they no longer have that lounge and it was replaced with the Suite Lounge on deck 14. You should ask once onboard if they will give you access to that lounge or not.

 

Me - You can ask the ship if a lounge is gone when your deck plans show it gone but can't ask the ship about amenities for a particular room...? Really?

 

I have no real knowledge to help you but if the "suite lounge" was the concierge lounge you should have access. However, we were less than thrilled with the access to the concierge lounge. They didn't give us keys to the concierge lounge and had to go down to ask for them. We knocked on the door whereby we were met by suite guests telling us that it was a private lounge and that we couldn't have access. I explained that I knew about the rules and needed to get a key for access. The folks in the lounge when we were there were very uppity and after the first day never went back.

You should have access it's the Ben and Jerry Suite therefore you are a Suite guest...

Another way to approach the question is does the Ben and Jerry Suite get you a gold card? Or is it blue? Maybe someone who has stayed in it before could tell us.

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This very topic has perplexed me to no end! We will be on the Liberty in December in the "Sweet" so I have been researching. It seems that people have different experiences depending on the ship and the concierge person.

I am very interested in your experience and hope you can shed some light on this. Happy sailing!!

Following as well - booked for this room on Indy December 3rd!

They didn't give us keys to the concierge lounge

You don't need a special key, you just use your room key to get in. At least that was our experience on Jewel.

You don't need a special key, you just use your room key to get in. At least that was our experience on Jewel.

Correct. If you're allowed to use the CL/SL your Seapass will be programmed to open the door.

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This very topic has perplexed me to no end! We will be on the Liberty in December in the "Sweet" so I have been researching. It seems that people have different experiences depending on the ship and the concierge person.

 

I am very interested in your experience and hope you can shed some light on this. Happy sailing!!

Freedom, access was controlled by a separate gold card. In my case in January I was denied having my normal card converted to gold.

My cousins had the Ben and Jerry room in May on Liberty. Their blue cards were exchanged for gold cards by the concierge and they had access to the new Suite Lounge.

We've had the room on Liberty and Independence last year; separate gold card to access the lounge on Liberty and blue cards exchanged for gold cards on Independence.

As stated above, it depends on the concierge.

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There is no working key access right now for the SL on Liberty (unless it has changed). We were on 5/29/16 and I've read plenty of reviews after ours that said the same thing. the concierge desk is by the door and he does a pretty good job of figuring out if people belong or not. Your best bet would be to email the concierge before your cruise and ask him directly. There is a thread here that is devoted to the concierge and has the email address. Otherwise, pop up there the first night and ask the concierge.

Freedom, access was controlled by a separate gold card. In my case in January I was denied having my normal card converted to gold.

The gold card is for GS and above which works for the CL. If your D+ or Pinnacle any color room key works on Freedom.....K.O.:)

Understand

This was in reference to the Ben and Jerry's Sweet.

When we were on Freedom in January we were hard pressed to find anybody who knew about the perks of the Ben and Jerry's sweet. Even the manager at guest relations looked at us like we had three heads.

Once we got into our room, there were separate gold cards solely to access the CL. Not sure what the arrangement is now with the Suite Lounge.

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In March on the Liberty our DIL was in the Ben and Jerry Sweet. No gold card and was reluctantly allowed in to the Suite Lounge.

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On Indy we were given plain white cards. The concierge wouldn't program our room key to open the CL. I think a lot of it is different rules on different ships along with who the concierge is.

When we first boarded Indy in the B&J Sweet, we had the letter in our stateroom that said we should have access to the CL, but our cards didn't work. We had to go to Guest Services and have our Blue cards reprogrammed. Then once we got into the CL, the concierge said that guest services programmed our cards wrong and he reprogrammed them at his desk correctly.

So we used our standard blue cards to access the CL the rest of the week.

Interesting… and thanks for everyone’s feedback.

This will be my first time on Royal though CLEARLY not my first time on a ship. I didn’t know all the ins and outs of different color cards and that doesn’t matter to me in the slightest. But if I’m reading this right it sounds like the Concierge in the lounge (still their title even in the renamed SUITE lounge, correct?) may or may not allow us access depending on who is in there during our cruise? Or are the posts just referring to how the card situation will work?

Oh, and I got a new reply from Royal… “Sorry for all the confusion and the number of times you’ve had to contact us. Yes. You will have access to the Concierge Lounge”

Really? We're back to this again? :rolleyes:

At least they give us free ice cream if we need to stress eat as a result LOL

If your cards don't work, just knock on the door and explain your situation to the Concierge - they will get you a solution one way or another so you can access the lounge.

You definitely will have access to the concierge lounge/suite lounge as part of your "Sweet" package. There will be a letter in your room explaining the "Sweet" benefits, including coupons for Ben & Jerry's ice cream for each day. The confusion is only about how you get your key to get into the lounge. I have seen posts from people that they had the cards already in the room. We didn't so had to go to the lounge to get cards. The difference between card colors is that people actually in a grand suite and larger get gold colored cards which have a lot more benefits such as getting to use the space in Chops for breakfast, reserved seating at shows, etc. It sounds like some concierges give out a gold card while others give a different color so that the only benefit you get for having the "Sweet" is access to the lounge. It is a cute room. Have fun!! :D

Does anyone know if the concierge is still in it's 'usual' spot on Independence? OP, how frustrating with those answers - they're not reading what you're asking them! Fingers crossed it's no problem once you're onboard.

Interesting how different the experiences have been for every passenger in that room!!

Does anyone know if the concierge is still in it's 'usual' spot on Independence? ...

Same location, deck 10 off the aft centrum.

Can it be?! Do I have an answer?!?!

********************

Thank you for your email.

In response to your inquiry, Yes, you have access to the suite lounge.

Mr. XXXXXXXX, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. We look forward to welcoming you aboard the Liberty of the Seas next month.

********************

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