Pinnacle Club Suite Lounge Access?

[TrueCruiseaholic]

There had been a thread some time earlier this year where a user claimed Royal was restoring Pinnacle Club members access to the Suite Class lounge. Is this still true?

 

Celebrity has just permanently removed Zenith (equivalent of Pinnacle Club) access to their Suite Lounge.

 

I am just trying to learn if there is a difference between the two lines and perhaps gain some insight as to why there may be differences between the lines.

 

Thank you in advance for assisting me with my uniformed question.

[torpeedo]

Just now, TrueCruiseaholic said:

There had been a thread some time earlier this year where a user claimed Royal was restoring Pinnacle Club members access to the Suite Class lounge. Is this still true?

 

Celebrity has just permanently removed Zenith (equivalent of Pinnacle Club) access to their Suite Lounge.

 

I am just trying to learn if there is a difference between the two lines and perhaps gain some insight as to why there may be differences between the lines.

 

Thank you in advance for assisting me with my uniformed question.

No idea why Celebrity did this but this was the notice from Royal on 2/28

 

Last Thursday, we announced the updates to our protocols based on our participation as "Highly Vaccinated" in the US CDC voluntary cruise program. This is yet another step towards providing the cruise vacation experience you've come to love.

Today, we're happy to share that we are reinstating your access to the Suite and Concierge Lounges across our fleet effective on sailings beginning after March 15. We know how much you enjoy gathering with your friends in this private setting and appreciate your patience and understanding during our temporary suspension of this benefit. And to deliver a great experience for you, should the number of guests surpass the desired capacity of these lounges, we will continue to provide a temporary Pinnacle Club lounge just for Pinnacle members.

Thank you for your continued loyalty to Royal Caribbean. We hope to welcome you back onboard soon!

Sincerely, 

Royal Caribbean International

[John&LaLa]

Currently on Harmony. Suite Lounge not crowded at all. 58 Pinnacles

[TrueCruiseaholic]

That is what I thought. It all seems very strange to me. The Celebrity justification was that they have too many Zenith members. There are A LOT more Pinnacle Club members than Zenith members. It all just doesn't make logical sense. The only thing I can attribute it to is the difference in leadership between the two companies.

 

Celebrity used to follow Royal's lead in most aspects. I guess they are making their product even more "unique" from Royal Caribbean.

[molly361]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Currently on Harmony. Suite Lounge not crowded at all. 58 Pinnacles

Do you have to use vouchers for your drinks as a NSP?

[smokeybandit]

Pinnacles have been allowed in the suite lounge since mid-March

[bonsai3s]

27 minutes ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

The Celebrity justification was that they have too many Zenith members. There are A LOT more Pinnacle Club members than Zenith members. 

"too many Zenith members"...

This is simply too difficult to believe.

Agree, it doesn't make any sense.

[TrueCruiseaholic]

From Celebrity head of loyalty (Retreat is Suite Class designation):

 

"And while we no longer need to practice social distancing, we do need to prioritize space in The Retreat for those guests booking The Retreat. Given the current number of Zenith members, projected Zenith member growth rates and the varying level of members on board a given sailing, unfortunately, we won’t be able to offer this benefit going forward unless you have booked in The Retreat."

[bonsai3s]

20 minutes ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

From Celebrity head of loyalty (Retreat is Suite Class designation):

 

"And while we no longer need to practice social distancing, we do need to prioritize space in The Retreat for those guests booking The Retreat. Given the current number of Zenith members, projected Zenith member growth rates and the varying level of members on board a given sailing, unfortunately, we won’t be able to offer this benefit going forward unless you have booked in The Retreat."

How many Zenith members are there?

[TrueCruiseaholic]

11 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

How many Zenith members are there?

No passenger really knows. Speculation is maybe 500-600 total in the world? The most I have ever seen on one cruise is maybe 30 on reunion or repositioning cruises. A far cry from the 58 on Harmony right now. Granted Harmony has double occupancy of 5479 whereas new Celebrity Beyond has double occupancy of 3260. Royal ships are bigger but Zeniths on Celebrity don't seem to be any more of a burden than Pinnacles on RCL.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

Do you have to use vouchers for your drinks as a NSP?

 

Correct, but sometimes they miss a few

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

No passenger really knows. Speculation is maybe 500-600 total in the world? The most I have ever seen on one cruise is maybe 30 on reunion or repositioning cruises. A far cry from the 58 on Harmony right now. Granted Harmony has double occupancy of 5479 whereas new Celebrity Beyond has double occupancy of 3260. Royal ships are bigger but Zeniths on Celebrity don't seem to be any more of a burden than Pinnacles on RCL.

 

A top heavy Pinnacle cruise can have well over 200 pins onboard

[mac_tlc]

And the Suite Lounge on O-class is a lot smaller than Retreat lounge on E-class . 
 

 

mac_tlc

[Ashland]

Pins on our last week Explorer could use the SL but they had to use their vouchers if not in a suite.

[TrueCruiseaholic]

Not to bring Mario into this, but a frequent Celebrity cruiser commented to me privately that it is like Mario having Suite Lounge access for cruises 6000-8000 and then Royal takes it away saying "sorry but our Suite guests are more important than you."

[smokeybandit]

6 minutes ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

Not to bring Mario into this, but a frequent Celebrity cruiser commented to me privately that it is like Mario having Suite Lounge access for cruises 6000-8000 and then Royal takes it away saying "sorry but our Suite guests are more important than you."

 

Or, "this is the suite lounge, not the pinnacle lounge, and we want those paying a premium to be here to want to pay that same premium again next cruise"

[davekathy]

15 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Pins on our last week Explorer could use the SL but they had to use their vouchers if not in a suite.

I notice the Connoisseur Club/Lounge (deck five) had a sign hanging over the door. "Pinnacle Lounge". My SeaPass card didn't work. 😉

[TrueCruiseaholic]

On Celebrity, the Retreat Lounge as it is now called was created in 2014 as a Suite/Zenith/VIP lounge. Other VIPs were from casino, onboard shopping, etc. With the COVID stoppage, Celebrity removed access to this lounge for anyone not in a suite. This is in theory, a permanent change that Celebrity just made. 

 

There is no equivalent of any Diamond, Diamond Plus, or Pinnacle Club lounge on Celebrity. The only exclusive lounge is for suites (now).

 

So, to reiterate my metaphor, it is like Mario having access to a lounge on every cruise he is on regardless of stateroom category from 2014 to 2020. In 2021, at the restart of cruising, Royal says that Mario will get lounge access back. In April 2022, Royal says "sorry but our Suite guests are more important than you." The benefit you got before for loyalty you don't get anymore, even though you have more loyalty now than you did when you got the benefit before.

 

There is no level of loyalty on Celebrity that can get the loyalty benefit that was given to guests before the stoppage. Royal actually returned a loyalty benefit to the Pins. Celebrity permanently took it away.

Edited April 8, 2022 by TrueCruiseaholic
Fixed misspelling

[jalves]

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Currently on Harmony. Suite Lounge not crowded at all. 58 Pinnacles

According to Elaine the Concierge there are ~4600 passengers this cruise.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

And the Suite Lounge on O-class is a lot smaller than Retreat lounge on E-class . 
 

 

mac_tlc

 

Suite guests on Oasis ships tend to be out and about enjoying all that Oasis Class offers.  That's my theory anyway.

[TrueCruiseaholic]

Apparently Crown and Anchor and Captain's Club (Celebrity) are completely different for frequent cruisers. A frequent Royal cruiser can get a free cruise every 350 points. So that is every 350 nights for a couple, 175 for a single (or couple in suites), or 117 for a single suite guest.

 

On Celebrity, a free cruise is every 1500 nights in inside, 1000 nights in balcony, 375 in lowest suite, and 167 in penthouse. Halve all these numbers for a solo cruiser.

[smokeybandit]

11 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Suite guests on Oasis ships tend to be out and about enjoying all that Oasis Class offers.  That's my theory anyway.

We avoid larger ships, but our only cruise on an Oasis ship the suite lounge was a graveyard the entire time.

[Biker19]

19 minutes ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

Apparently Crown and Anchor and Captain's Club (Celebrity) are completely different for frequent cruisers.

Not sure why anyone would assume otherwise.

[Lady Hudson]

FYI - Everything regarding the lounges and Coastal Kitchen was “back to normal” on a recent B2B on Anthem.  No crowding at  all - suite lounge was dead.  Heard we were at about 75% occupancy.  PIN numbers in the 30s each cruise. Katherine 

[sandebeach]

59 minutes ago, TrueCruiseaholic said:

Apparently Crown and Anchor and Captain's Club (Celebrity) are completely different for frequent cruisers. A frequent Royal cruiser can get a free cruise every 350 points. So that is every 350 nights for a couple, 175 for a single (or couple in suites), or 117 for a single suite guest.

 

On Celebrity, a free cruise is every 1500 nights in inside, 1000 nights in balcony, 375 in lowest suite, and 167 in penthouse. Halve all these numbers for a solo cruiser.

I thought you needed 700 C&A points (Pinnacle) to get a free cruise??????