Drinks in Diamond Lounge vs. on seapass

[Treacher1]

On our recent Liberty of the Seas cruise - instead of having to go to the Diamond Lounge for the 3 free drinks - they were loaded on our seapass card and we could get them at any bar or lounge. Is this the case on all ships?? or just the larger ones. We have a cruise booked on the Grandeur of the Seas - a much smaller ship - will they be loaded on the seapass card on Grandeur as well? It was nice - hope the same - if anyone sailed Grandeur - please advise. Thanks!

[39august]

This is fleet-wide.

[Ashland]

On our recent Liberty of the Seas cruise - instead of having to go to the Diamond Lounge for the 3 free drinks - they were loaded on our seapass card and we could get them at any bar or lounge. Is this the case on all ships?? or just the larger ones. We have a cruise booked on the Grandeur of the Seas - a much smaller ship - will they be loaded on the seapass card on Grandeur as well? It was nice - hope the same - if anyone sailed Grandeur - please advise. Thanks!

 

Yes....but then you miss out on the DL snacks :(

[Treacher1]

Thanks for the speedy response - I like this - since we were not allowed to take drinks out of lounge. This way we can take our wine to dinner:)

[Alohaaloha]

It's on all ships now which is great being able to use other bars too, however, we've never had a problem taking drinks out of the CL or DL and into dinner? I guess it depends which ship you're on and how strict the staff and concierge are!

 

 

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[Ashland]

Thanks for the speedy response - I like this - since we were not allowed to take drinks out of lounge. This way we can take our wine to dinner:)

 

As far as taking drinks out of the lounge...that is starting to vary as well ;)

[dirkpitt11]

We were on Grandeur in October (yes when it caught fire). We are diamond members and the lounge was usually crowded and the service was really poor anyway, and so we used our drinks loaded on our sea passes. However it seemed to really piss off most of the bartenders when you did that. I am not really sure why. They would pretty much throw a check down in front of you and force you to zero it out or give them a tip! I only had one bartender who was cool with it. In the solarium no less. Guess who got my comment card and extra tip money.

[Clarea]

We were on Grandeur in October (yes when it caught fire). We are diamond members and the lounge was usually crowded and the service was really poor anyway, and so we used our drinks loaded on our sea passes. However it seemed to really piss off most of the bartenders when you did that. I am not really sure why. They would pretty much throw a check down in front of you and force you to zero it out or give them a tip! I only had one bartender who was cool with it. In the solarium no less. Guess who got my comment card and extra tip money.

Wow, we've never had that issue with the drink vouchers. That's too bad.

[sellwingri]

Thanks for the speedy response - I like this - since we were not allowed to take drinks out of lounge. This way we can take our wine to dinner:)

 

This is exactly what we do. DH takes his cocktail and I take my wine to dinner each evening. Although we've been diamond for 3 cruises, we've never seen the inside of the Diamond Lounge. All I've ever heard is how crowded it is.

[SelectSys]

Thanks for the speedy response - I like this - since we were not allowed to take drinks out of lounge. This way we can take our wine to dinner:)

 

While this wasn't an issue on our last cruise, I did stop buy and pick up a glass of wine to take to dinner as well if we were coming from somewhere other than the lounge.

[molly361]

We were on Grandeur in October (yes when it caught fire). We are diamond members and the lounge was usually crowded and the service was really poor anyway, and so we used our drinks loaded on our sea passes. However it seemed to really piss off most of the bartenders when you did that. I am not really sure why. They would pretty much throw a check down in front of you and force you to zero it out or give them a tip! I only had one bartender who was cool with it. In the solarium no less. Guess who got my comment card and extra tip money.

 

Wow, we've never had that issue with the drink vouchers. That's too bad.

 

We have never encountered that either. Also we have never been given a slip to sign but we always have a cash tip out when we order.

[orville99]

The only time we ever had a problem was when they first rolled the voucher system out. IMO, it caught the shipboard staff a bit by surprise, and they weren't sure how it worked. Haven't had any issues in our last five cruises - in fact it's just the opposite. We never even see a receipt unless we ask for one so we can add a tip.

[Langley Cruisers]

We have never encountered that either. Also we have never been given a slip to sign but we always have a cash tip out when we order.

 

Same with us, Molly. Have never encountered a bartender who was anything less than professional and courteous. $1 cash tip per drink keeps them coming back to us time and time again. ;):)

[Grandma Dazzles]

Not to be greedy, but purely for convenience, you can go to the diamond lounge, sit and enjoy a drink for an hour or so, and then use your vouchers in addition. Vouchers are good at the bars during lounge free cocktail hours, which, depending on the ship is approximately 5:30 to 8:30. You have a choice and can do both.

[138east]

We have never encountered that either. Also we have never been given a slip to sign but we always have a cash tip out when we order.

 

Discussion threads on this forum encourage D and D+ folks to tip the servers for free drinks. If I get one-off drinks using the vouchers, I tip $1. For the lounge I group tip the Bar Service team at the end of the cruise. Some of my friends tip as they go. In the end it's a personal decision.

[RFerrington]

This situation probably only applies to those, like the DH, who drink scotch or sipping liquors, but our experience has been that the amount that they pour is significantly LESS in the bars than in the DL or CL. It's been a consistent and very noticeable difference. He will get at least double the amount in the lounges vs the bars. Does that really affect which place we go ? Not really...it's just a difference that we have noted.

[orville99]

Not to be greedy, but purely for convenience, you can go to the diamond lounge, sit and enjoy a drink for an hour or so, and then use your vouchers in addition. Vouchers are good at the bars during lounge free cocktail hours, which, depending on the ship is approximately 5:30 to 8:30. You have a choice and can do both.

 

Yes, you can do both. The lounge is generally open from an hour (or is it a half hour) before the first seating opens until a half hour after the second seating opens.

[orville99]

Discussion threads on this forum encourage D and D+ folks to tip the servers for free drinks. If I get one-off drinks using the vouchers, I tip $1. For the lounge I group tip the Bar Service team at the end of the cruise. Some of my friends tip as they go. In the end it's a personal decision.

 

I used to be a bartender - I always tip the bartenders - free drinks or not:D

[John&LaLa]

We have never encountered that either. Also we have never been given a slip to sign but we always have a cash tip out when we order.

 

I've gotten a lot of slips. That's how I know Bailey's is supposed to be $7

[Amagamma]

I like the new system. We sometimes will go into the Diamond or Concierge Lounge and have a drink or two, then occasionally I will stop by a bar and have a drink in the theater or casino and use one of the voucher drinks, depending when we are dining that night. Have had a few issues with the vouchers. A couple times it was a "time" issue. I waited in line at the Casino bar, and it was crazy busy so I decided to go to the bar in the theater and waited for a couple minutes there, and when I got up to order my drink, the bartender said "you're too late, I can't serve you now". I know I was in line in time, but I just left without my drink. Lesson learned, don't try to get a drink if the bar is busy and it's close to 8:30. Another time, there was one bartender in the Plaza Bar in Windjammers, and the first three nights, she kept telling me that there were no drinks loaded on my card, so I went to another bar and got my glass of wine. No problem. Then a couple nights later I went to another bar and waited, and started to order my drink and another bartender stepped over to take my order, and it was the same one from the Plaza Bar, again she claimed I didn't have any drinks loaded. After that cruise, we decided we would just go to the Lounge and only order from the other bars occasionally. It definitely is a nice perk, and I try not to let things like this ruin my cruise. Look forward to this special perk on our B2B2B next month on the Brilliance.

[goodycruising]

I like the new system. We sometimes will go into the Diamond or Concierge Lounge and have a drink or two, then occasionally I will stop by a bar and have a drink in the theater or casino and use one of the voucher drinks, depending when we are dining that night. Have had a few issues with the vouchers. A couple times it was a "time" issue. I waited in line at the Casino bar, and it was crazy busy so I decided to go to the bar in the theater and waited for a couple minutes there, and when I got up to order my drink, the bartender said "you're too late, I can't serve you now". I know I was in line in time, but I just left without my drink. Lesson learned, don't try to get a drink if the bar is busy and it's close to 8:30. Another time, there was one bartender in the Plaza Bar in Windjammers, and the first three nights, she kept telling me that there were no drinks loaded on my card, so I went to another bar and got my glass of wine. No problem. Then a couple nights later I went to another bar and waited, and started to order my drink and another bartender stepped over to take my order, and it was the same one from the Plaza Bar, again she claimed I didn't have any drinks loaded. After that cruise, we decided we would just go to the Lounge and only order from the other bars occasionally. It definitely is a nice perk, and I try not to let things like this ruin my cruise. Look forward to this special perk on our B2B2B next month on the Brilliance.

 

Some interesting points, but that "Not on the card" would should just fire me up to get that sorted out. Surely you would have your C&A level on your card? If I was at the theatre and it was close to 8.30 pm, I would just pay then. If I feel like a drink and it is free, nice, if not, so be it.

 

We have had some various attitudes around the ship, but on the last night on our recent Voyager trip we gave "the bar staff at high notes" a tip envelope with that written on it. They seemed a bit surprised, but the various people there were pleasant, we got mixed nuts there a couple of evenings, and we just don't carry cash around to do tips each time. We had used their area when the DL was full of way too many people that propped and were not moving for anyone for their full 3 1/2 hours.

[Cruising-Snowbird]

This is exactly what we do. DH takes his cocktail and I take my wine to dinner each evening. Although we've been diamond for 3 cruises, we've never seen the inside of the Diamond Lounge. All I've ever heard is how crowded it is.

 

We occasionally go into the DL for evening drinks. But several times a day we will go in for GREAT coffee. We rarely drink what they call coffee that they serve in the DR or WJ anymore.

 

BTW, if you go to the DL about 5-10 minutes before or during the early or late Dining Room times, it is much less crowded. Another big advantage of MTD..... :)

[Cruising-Snowbird]

Discussion threads on this forum encourage D and D+ folks to tip the servers for free drinks. If I get one-off drinks using the vouchers, I tip $1. For the lounge I group tip the Bar Service team at the end of the cruise. Some of my friends tip as they go. In the end it's a personal decision.

 

I usually decide what bartender I want to deal with the first day of the cruise. Then tip him/her $10 or so the first or second day. They are very gracious and do remember you to give you extra large drinks for the rest of the cruise... :D

[Merion_Mom]

We were on Grandeur in October (yes when it caught fire). We are diamond members and the lounge was usually crowded and the service was really poor anyway, and so we used our drinks loaded on our sea passes. However it seemed to really piss off most of the bartenders when you did that. I am not really sure why. They would pretty much throw a check down in front of you and force you to zero it out or give them a tip! I only had one bartender who was cool with it. In the solarium no less. Guess who got my comment card and extra tip money.

 

Wow, we've never had that issue with the drink vouchers. That's too bad.

 

I have never encountered such behavior on any ship, at any bar.

 

Perhaps because when I offer my card, there is a dollar bill with it.............

[impatientlywaiting]

On Jewel's DL in September we always took one last drink with us every night when we left for dinner and nothing was ever said except our waiter would always pour the wine into a different glass in the MDR. He said the DL served wine in a water glass not a wine glass and he wouldn't have wine in a water glass at his table. He was pretty funny and we got quite a kick out of it!