Breaking News - C&A Changes/Enhancements

[The_Big_M]

Whatever way they would have to be flexible.

 

If they adopt the restrictions some suggest on only D+ in the lounge, many local sailings would only have 2 admissible! Clearly not a viable approach either.

[tallcva3344]

I gotta laugh, if this is true it will be the second time I have been kicked out of the CL. Once as Diamond and now as Diamond + ....

 

Same here. Good news it cannot happen again. H

Edited April 19, 2016 by tallcva3344

[jonbgd]

I do not know that much about Delta. However, a United Airlines Global Services member almost always gets better treatment than an occasional flyer paying to fly first class. If a flight is cancelled, the occasional flyers will have to wait on line at a counter to be rescheduled while the Global Services members will get first choice of the available options while being served drinks in a private lounge. When Global Services members get upgraded (which is usually whenever First Class is not sold out before the Global Services members make their reservations), the upgraded Global Services members will be offered first choice of entrees if it is a meal flight and the occasional flyers who paid full first class fare will have to choose from what is left.

 

It is all a matter of marketing. United knows that those Global Services members will probably be flying again very soon and the goal is to make sure that their next flights are on United. It would be good business for RCCL to think the same way. The big difference that makes it hard for cruise lines is that United can and will dump any Global Services member who reduces his or her frequency of flying. Cruise lines have promised to make elite status's permanent and that promise is forcing them to cut benefits for everyone.

 

Global services is an INVITED SPECIAL Class for those that fly over 100,000+ miles a year booking full faire first/business class tickets for a couple years prior

I compare that to someone cruising on RCCL, once a month in a CLS for a few years, before being invited to be Pinnacle

D+ is like Comp to being a 1K million miler lifer

 

While we have experienced Global First Service when flying first class internationally and I fly a lot of miles annually,

I dont spend enough to ever to be considered:o

We will probably be D+ late next year but i get upgraded to first almost every other fligjht

I spend way more annually on flights than we do on cruises and will be never invited to join Global

So unless the cruiselines adobt the airlines loyalty perks it will never be the same but i do understand the comparison

Edited April 19, 2016 by jonbgd

[Hoopster95]

Where is it written that you must (or forced) go to the lounges....it's clear you don't value this perk,

 

You got me all wrong, you took this personally.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Hoopster95

[peteukmcr]

By all means, we did, and eventually received the discounts. Bill received his 40% off the premium package automatically, I had to push for 25% off my select package. Forty percent would have made the PP cheaper for me. :rolleyes: But the whole thing was weird and no one was quite clear on the discounts.

 

Peter received a phone call from the Bar Manager. :p

Oh thanks for the reminder :D I'd forgot about the voicemail saying it would be granted this time but don't go around telling everyone :D oops!

[Ashland]

John, we have been on sailings where the welcome letter from the concierges welcomed children into both the CL and the DL.

 

We have too...no reason why well behaved children shouldn't be allowed...we have seen some better behaved than some adults ;)

[lucymorgan]

I like a nice glass or two of wine before dinner. I also agree with others who have posted that they treasure the lounge access because they enjoy getting to know people in the lounge(s).

 

I have not found it easy to strike up conversations in the other bars on the ship. Most of the seating is for smallish groups and there are often plenty of spare tables so it feels strange to join someone else. Traditional dining at a large table and craft classes are another place where friendships/connections can be made. But by far the easiest for me is striking up a conversation in a DL or CL.

 

In my experience as long as there are a few spare seats, the crowd in the lounges is what helps to promote conversation ("Is this seat taken?")

Some people I 'click' with and some not but that is part of the experience.

 

So - why dont they allow suite passengers to go to either lounge and Diamond and above go to either lounge? That would help to even out the crowd.

Edited April 19, 2016 by jenibor

[Mass2Cruise]

Interested in what changes they'll make as we just turned D on Allure last fall and will be on Anthem and Adventure in the near future.

[PattyG12]

I'll be very curious to see how many ships are giving the drink package discount. I have pre-purchased the premium package for the Allure. Guess we just need to wait and see.

[Clarea]

I'll be very curious to see how many ships are giving the drink package discount. I have pre-purchased the premium package for the Allure. Guess we just need to wait and see.

Even on the same ship it varies. We had the discounts on the Vision TA, but not on the Southern Carib cruise this past January.

[Dave4120]

Just curious when first began to cruise if they cruised because they loved being at sea and exploring different locations versus cruising only to get free drinks and a couple of other perks.

You don't get what you get on a ship from $40 to $150 per day per person on a land vacation.

Just a room in a hotel per night is more than the cabin, food, enter and everything else you get on the ship.

Whether anyone agrees or not, it's pretty much being greedy and thinking the world owes us a favor.

If so many are bent out of shape, do a land vacation instead. RCCL doesn't really care. They will do just fine.

[Ocean Boy]

People who say that D's should be happy with the drink vouchers and no lounge just assume all D's are drinkers.

 

My lady and I are chasing Diamond because we like the Lounge to enjoy snacks in and meet people, not drink...we barely drink. We do 830 dinner and like to go at 7ish to get a snack and talk to Suite Guests, D+ and P's.

 

We are trying to reach diamond so we can stop booking all GSs and book some JSs. Thats not to say we wont book GS (we are hitting Diamond next cruise and we have 3 GSs booked after to that) its just we want to have the option to book JS when GS is way too overpriced.

 

I am a bit confused. Are you are booking GS category just to get the extra points to get to Diamond? You get the same number of points for booking a JS so how does getting to Diamond increase your options?

[nelblu]

Global services is an INVITED SPECIAL Class for those that fly over 100,000+ miles a year booking full faire first/business class tickets for a couple years prior

I compare that to someone cruising on RCCL, once a month in a CLS for a few years, before being invited to be Pinnacle

D+ is like Comp to being a 1K million miler lifer

 

While we have experienced Global First Service when flying first class internationally and I fly a lot of miles annually,

I dont spend enough to ever to be considered:o

We will probably be D+ late next year but i get upgraded to first almost every other fligjht

I spend way more annually on flights than we do on cruises and will be never invited to join Global

So unless the cruiselines adobt the airlines loyalty perks it will never be the same but i do understand the comparison

 

Different comparison, one is being paid by the individual(s) (cruise) while the other, most of the times, is being paid by the employer. I doubt if one had to pay out of his/her pocket that they would reach such lofty milestone.

[John&LaLa]

I am a bit confused. Are you are booking GS category just to get the extra points to get to Diamond? You get the same number of points for booking a JS so how does getting to Diamond increase your options?

 

Something to do with brie if memory serves me.

[Cruise ship fan]

A big issue with making these decisions fleet wide is that some parts of the world it would make the lounges empty. In Australia where Royal has 5 ships currently in the summer months, there is not an issue. Every now and again there maybe a cruise that the Diamond lounge gets busy but they are rare and usually limited to domestic or relocation cruises. The CL is also rarely busy as not all that many suite guests use the lounge often, plus there are only a few Pinnacle members in Australia (I mean the crew celebrate when there is a pinnacle member who is Australian on board. I have never seen more then 2 pinnacle members on board and they were a couple. Diamond Plus usually only sits around 15-30 on board. Again all dependant on the cruise. So if they started kicking people out of lounges fleet wide, it may solve an issue in some parts of the world, but completely empty out the room in other parts.

[John&LaLa]

A big issue with making these decisions fleet wide is that some parts of the world it would make the lounges empty. In Australia where Royal has 5 ships currently in the summer months, there is not an issue. Every now and again there maybe a cruise that the Diamond lounge gets busy but they are rare and usually limited to domestic or relocation cruises. The CL is also rarely busy as not all that many suite guests use the lounge often, plus there are only a few Pinnacle members in Australia (I mean the crew celebrate when there is a pinnacle member who is Australian on board. I have never seen more then 2 pinnacle members on board and they were a couple. Diamond Plus usually only sits around 15-30 on board. Again all dependant on the cruise. So if they started kicking people out of lounges fleet wide, it may solve an issue in some parts of the world, but completely empty out the room in other parts.

 

People around here get pretty testy when things are not consistent from ship to ship.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

No, I had not read that article. But I have known about the Transatlantic's getting the vouchers for the last several years because of the large amount of Captains Club top tier members who book them. Those sailings are inexpensive and many do it back to back with a regular sailing since it is an inexpensive add on. Less expensive than flying both ways.

 

If I was on one of those Transatlantic's on which they are practicably giving away the cabins I would not complain about getting only 3 free drink vouchers instead of an event.

 

While Transatlantics are less expensive than many round trip cruises. I disagree that they are giving them away. They are so popular because they are sooooo relaxing. :D

 

I like a nice glass or two of wine before dinner. I also agree with others who have posted that they treasure the lounge access because they enjoy getting to know people in the lounge(s).

 

I have not found it easy to strike up conversations in the other bars on the ship. Most of the seating is for smallish groups and there are often plenty of spare tables so it feels strange to join someone else. Traditional dining at a large table and craft classes are another place where friendships/connections can be made. But by far the easiest for me is striking up a conversation in a DL or CL.

 

I agree with this statement. . . . and I am a pretty outgoing person.

 

In my experience as long as there are a few spare seats, the crowd in the lounges is what helps to promote conversation ("Is this seat taken?")

Some people I 'click' with and some not but that is part of the experience.

 

Yes--this is the ultimate conversation starter. the next question is were are you from and the conversation is off. In the bars the couple will tell you the seats are open and then turn back to their own conversations.

 

So - why dont they allow suite passengers to go to either lounge and Diamond and above go to either lounge? That would help to even out the crowd.

 

Suite guests pay a premium for a premium experience. They should get something unique for their money. We have only had a GS one time. We loved it and we hope to get another one. [insert wistful sigh here :rolleyes:] Luckily there were ample seats in the CL. I only have one experience in the CL to call on--but, I felt it was an enhanced experience. There were families with children [well behaved]; the Conceirge engaged us in conversation every night; there was a lot more cross table/group talking than in the DL--where there were the same cliques each night [they moved chairs into big circles facing inward] , etc. If the CL was filled with loyalty customers and I could not use it I would be unhappy and would not see a reason to pay this premium cruise fare. I can see this is a business decision for RCL.

 

Now-- having said that I am bummed that it has come to this. We are D and will become D+ this year. We have looked forward to access to the CL. It is very unlikely we will ever make it to Pinnacle. . . . But, I will keep trying. ;)

[Cruise ship fan]

People around here get pretty testy when things are not consistent from ship to ship.

Except there already numerous things that are not consistent from ship to ship. Let alone on the same ship from region to region.

[kccrzr]

A big issue with making these decisions fleet wide is that some parts of the world it would make the lounges empty. In Australia where Royal has 5 ships currently in the summer months, there is not an issue. Every now and again there maybe a cruise that the Diamond lounge gets busy but they are rare and usually limited to domestic or relocation cruises. The CL is also rarely busy as not all that many suite guests use the lounge often, plus there are only a few Pinnacle members in Australia (I mean the crew celebrate when there is a pinnacle member who is Australian on board. I have never seen more then 2 pinnacle members on board and they were a couple. Diamond Plus usually only sits around 15-30 on board. Again all dependant on the cruise. So if they started kicking people out of lounges fleet wide, it may solve an issue in some parts of the world, but completely empty out the room in other parts.

 

Absolutely right. We have been on many sailings where it was never a problem to find a seat in either the CL or DL, including a Radiance cruise in AUS where there was only one P and less than 30 D+. We have also been on a few cruises where you couldn't get within 10 feet of the door to the CL or DL because they both were so packed, such as one of the first Quantum cruises out of Bayonne; sometimes another space such as the nightclub or part of the VCL was reserved for use and sometimes not. It seems like the real fix should just be to have a standing back up plan for every ship using bar or lounge facilities which also have drinks as well as appetizers available.

[John&LaLa]

Except there already numerous things that are not consistent from ship to ship. Let alone on the same ship from region to region.

 

Well maybe this is a conspiracy to entice more of you to become D+ and Pinnacle. ;)

[lucymorgan]

Well maybe this is a conspiracy to entice more of you to become D+ and Pinnacle. ;)

 

Maybe it is a good reason for more D, D+ and P to come down under :) We have had fab service on a couple of cruises to NZ from both the concierge and DL concierge.

[jules815]

Even on the same ship it varies. We had the discounts on the Vision TA, but not on the Southern Carib cruise this past January.

 

Currently they're offering 20% online discount for the Harmony transatlantic in October. I'm tempted to buy it, but I haven't quite yet decided if it's something we want to do for this particular cruise. We'll have CL plus the 3 drinks loaded on our card for being D, and I guess the Diamond lounge too.

 

Do you recall what the discount was for Diamond members? I know it varies from ship-to-ship, but just curious.

[Tagsalong]

It's official, the Brilliance will be changing the CL to Suites Lounge on May 14, 2016. This is right after the TA and the Chartered cruise. No one (officers) on the ship is trying to hide or deflect this fact anymore.

[John&LaLa]

Currently they're offering 20% online discount for the Harmony transatlantic in October. I'm tempted to buy it, but I haven't quite yet decided if it's something we want to do for this particular cruise. We'll have CL plus the 3 drinks loaded on our card for being D, and I guess the Diamond lounge too.

 

Do you recall what the discount was for Diamond members? I know it varies from ship-to-ship, but just curious.

 

With 100+ PC onboard, I doubt you will get anywhere near that SL ;)

 

Even worse in the DL

 

Take the package

Edited April 19, 2016 by John&LaLa

[deepcman]

o.k., enough. I've been reading these "rumors" from "sources who can't be named" for about three years now. I remember at one point, multiple folks "guaranteed" the changes by a certain date. They never happened.

 

Anyone remember the "Black Diamond" rumor that was "guaranteed." There was even a supposed picture of a "Black Diamond" sign at check-in. Never happened!

 

What I'm saying is that I discount any source that is not named. Yes, the Hotel Director may have said something but... 1. S/he could be wrong. 2. S/he could be guessing. 3. S/he could be messing with you

Amen Yogimax..... People think everything on the interent is factual. If it happens; it happens and there's nothing you can do to change it so just suck it up and move on with life.

Some people tell you they're Diamond members like its their biggest achievement in life.

Did both Allure transatlantics last year and the CL was not available to D+ so get use to it across the fleet.