Diamond Plus Experience

[island lady]

or, use the alternate D lounge in Blaze.

 

Don't they only open that when there are a large number of D's?

 

On another situation on our last Oasis cruise the DL was indeed very crowded until first seating started, but they could not open Blaze for D overflow due to a large group that booked and took over that lounge for the whole cruise. They totally took over the Wipe Out Cafe for breakfast also.

Edited November 12, 2017 by island lady

[island lady]

We have been cruising in suites but also diamond, concierge is normally much nicer since its less crowded and no problem getting a waiter, I doubt status is a issue , food and drink in same in both, I think problem was so many diamond plus just sit in lounge all 3 hours , we always get drink package and stop for about a hour a day

 

Not on Freedom class. The concierge is very tiny, with no windows, and always packed. Good for after dinner drinks or morning Latte. We prefer the light and open DL on those ships.

 

And no, we don't sit in the lounge for three hours. Don't know a lot that do either. :confused:

[island lady]

FWIW, I found the DL on Oasis much easier to get a drink than the SL. Twice as many passengers in DL but 3 times as many waiters.

 

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And we still plan to frequent the DL on our next Oasis cruise. Of course waiting until the magic hour of 6 pm...no problem for us!

 

Will love using CK, heading there for embarkation lunch. :)

[TeeRick]

There is no concierge lounge on Liberty. It has been turned into a suite lounge.

 

We should just get accustomed to the trend of having a Suite Lounge (suites guests and Pinnacles(?)) and a Diamond Lounge (with overflow areas) and elimination of the Concierge Lounge name. I personally do not see this as a major takeaway from us Diamond+ guests when the Concierge Lounge changes to a Suite Lounge. We can still use the Diamond Lounge (albeit crowded sometimes), the overflow areas, or the 3-drink vouchers (or both!). On Celebrity the suite lounge (Michael's Club) is for suite guests plus Captain's Club Zenith members only. Suite guests can get an alcoholic or other beverage there any time of day or night. Their event for Elite/Elite+ is in a reserved lounge every night.

Edited November 12, 2017 by TeeRick
typo

[caribbeanboy]

I usually have a couple of drinks around the ship, and head to one of the lounges around 6:30. Most are gone for dinner by that time.

[island lady]

We should just get accustomed to the trend of having a Suite Lounge (suites guests and Pinnacles(?)) and a Diamond Lounge (with overflow areas) and elimination of the Concierge Lounge name. I personally do not see this as a major takeaway from us Diamond+ guests when the Concierge Lounge changes to a Suite Lounge. We can still use the Diamond Lounge (albeit crowded sometimes), the overflow areas, or the 3-drink vouchers (or both!). On Celebrity the suite lounge (Michael's Club) is for suite guests plus Captain's Club Zenith members only. Suite guests can get an alcoholic or other beverage there any time of day or night. Their event for Elite/Elite+ is in a reserved lounge every night.

 

I love being able to pop over to the CL if the coffee machine is broken in the DL. ;)

[Richst48]

There is no concierge lounge on Liberty. It has been turned into a suite lounge.

 

We were on Liberty in July, not in a suite, but as D+ we were able to go in either lounge. Has it changed since then?

[southeastsun]

Patience--lots of talk that this will change in the near future and the diamond lounges will be diamond plus and above. the diamond members will only have drinks on their sea pass cards and no access to the lounge. Royal has created a monster and it is getting too big and unmanageable. All you have to do is talk with the lounge managers and ask their take on the whole thing, and or take a t/a with 1200-1500 diamond and above on board. It is way to easy to get to diamond and too large a gap from diamond plus to pinnacle.

[island lady]

Patience--lots of talk that this will change in the near future and the diamond lounges will be diamond plus and above. the diamond members will only have drinks on their sea pass cards and no access to the lounge. Royal has created a monster and it is getting too big and unmanageable. All you have to do is talk with the lounge managers and ask their take on the whole thing, and or take a t/a with 1200-1500 diamond and above on board. It is way to easy to get to diamond and too large a gap from diamond plus to pinnacle.

 

Agree totally. I actually that was what was going to happen when they first brought out the 3 drink voucher program.

 

Also, before the DL's were installed on the ships, we really enjoyed the simple "Diamond Event" with just beer and wine and a cup of bar munchies. On MJ there is no CL, SL or DL. It is still a fun event up in the VCL every night, no fancy lounge needed. ;) But I do miss the Latte machine available 24/7. :o

 

The thing we enjoy the most about the lounges and the old Diamond Events, is the gathering of like minded people. We all have the same thing in common, we love to cruise

and do it often. :D

[Biker19]

Don't they only open that when there are a large number of D's?

 

On another situation on our last Oasis cruise the DL was indeed very crowded until first seating started, but they could not open Blaze for D overflow due to a large group that booked and took over that lounge for the whole cruise. They totally took over the Wipe Out Cafe for breakfast also.

I think it has been reported that Blaze being used as overflow seems to be an ongoing thing, just about every sailing.

[John&LaLa]

I think it has been reported that Blaze being used as overflow seems to be an ongoing thing, just about every sailing.

All but once in September and October as far as I know. The one time it wasn't was because of a group reserving it

 

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[island lady]

I think it has been reported that Blaze being used as overflow seems to be an ongoing thing, just about every sailing.

 

I was surprised when that large booked group took it over for the cruise. Hope that is not a common thing.

[island lady]

All but once in September and October as far as I know. The one time it wasn't was because of a group reserving it

 

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Yup, that is what we ran into. Wow...that made the DL packed like sardines!

[xxHadleyxx]

I am not flaunting my status. I do not wear my pin, I don't have a sign. I have cruised multiple times and enjoy the experience. I don't care what lounge I am in; I just want the relaxing experience that the list of perks said I receive. I don't know what your problem is, but my comments were straight forward and not belittling. Don't introduce your mean self to me anytime soon. Thanks. :cool:

Interesting--thanks for clearing that up some. So basically, you are only interested in meeting a handful of new people and hten developing a relationship with them over a longer time frame with teh daily meet up?

[KansasK]

We were on the Liberty the week before last and found the Diamond Lounge usually full before the early dining time. There was a line at the bar. Many diamond members took drinks and snacks out into the Viking Crown. There was a good number of diamond members in the Viking Crown Lounge and many spoke with each other. We just got some champagne from the bar there, since it is on our card to use. Since there is an overflow issue, I wish they would put some of the snacks in the Lounge.

 

I can understand the OP's frustration with them not being able to use the Concierge Lounge, though. It is always hard when they take some perk away.

[wolfganghowell]

We were on the same Liberty sailing. Sorry your lounge was so crowded. I do think if you had gone back later, it might have loosened up. These lounges always seem worst between 5-6. On the flip side, we were in the SL and all but the last night there were only about 20 people in there - our group of 6, about 10 Pinnacles and a few scattered other people. This is the 3rd sailing on Liberty where the SL is not crowded - too bad, it's a nice venue.

[George C]

FWIW, I found the DL on Oasis much easier to get a drink than the SL. Twice as many passengers in DL but 3 times as many waiters.

 

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We are one year away from 1st Oasis cruise, , have been avoiding it because of cost of the GS which is way more than the smaller ships , that will be 1st cruise as a diamond plus also, love the option of doing both

[island lady]

We are one year away from 1st Oasis cruise, , have been avoiding it because of cost of the GS which is way more than the smaller ships , that will be 1st cruise as a diamond plus also, love the option of doing both

 

Perhaps you will get lucky and get a free upgrade to GS! :)

[George C]

Perhaps you will get lucky and get a free upgrade to GS! :)

 

we did book the GS while on last cruise and price went down several hundred since we booked it had to call RCCL twice to get a new price, have not had a upgrade on RCCL in last 20 years:D, but there is always hope

[Thetrail]

Royal has been and continues to change who they are marketing the cruises to. If you want the quiet more laid back cruises that are more about the ports you need to cruise on Radience class and below. The larger newer ships are all about the ships and are geared towards families.

 

Going forward as the older, smaller classes get sold off you will need to accept the changes or sail another line.

 

Roayl has positioned Celebrity to be that line that's offering more of the traditional experience.

True Ken or the OP can always head to the D lounge a bit earlier to snag a seat.:D

[John&LaLa]

We are one year away from 1st Oasis cruise, , have been avoiding it because of cost of the GS which is way more than the smaller ships , that will be 1st cruise as a diamond plus also, love the option of doing both

Unless you book that GS, you won't have a choice. DL only. Suites may cost more on Oasis class because you get more benefits.

 

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[island lady]

we did book the GS while on last cruise and price went down several hundred since we booked it had to call RCCL twice to get a new price, have not had a upgrade on RCCL in last 20 years:D, but there is always hope

 

Yes, there is. And when you least expect it. ;)

[island lady]

Unless you book that GS, you won't have a choice. DL only. Suites may cost more on Oasis class because you get more benefits.

 

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Yeah, but your key works even if you are in an inside cabin. :D:cool:

[steveru621]

We should just get accustomed to the trend of having a Suite Lounge (suites guests and Pinnacles(?)) and a Diamond Lounge (with overflow areas) and elimination of the Concierge Lounge name. I personally do not see this as a major takeaway from us Diamond+ guests when the Concierge Lounge changes to a Suite Lounge. We can still use the Diamond Lounge (albeit crowded sometimes), the overflow areas, or the 3-drink vouchers (or both!). On Celebrity the suite lounge (Michael's Club) is for suite guests plus Captain's Club Zenith members only. Suite guests can get an alcoholic or other beverage there any time of day or night. Their event for Elite/Elite+ is in a reserved lounge every night.

 

The Concierge Club on Radiance class ships is so much better than the Diamond Club. A great outdoor seating area, and my favorite a bar.

[George C]

Unless you book that GS, you won't have a choice. DL only. Suites may cost more on Oasis class because you get more benefits.

 

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Oasis cruise will be the 6th Grand suite in a row for us, hard to go back once you get used to all the perks