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RCCL - Profits First. Never Mind Your Loyal Customers!!! Concierge / Lounge Service removed as a privilege for Diamond+

PEBTRAVEL49

By PEBTRAVEL49,
in Royal Caribbean International

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graciekelli

graciekelli

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

Just book a suite, then you get what you pay for 

CL should be for people that have paid for it in their cruise fare

Finally CL and SL for SUITES (Pinnacle’s when there is room)😉

 

I really am not getting all the hoopla, nothing has been lost other than a coffee machine, which is also In all DL’s

And you can have 4/5 drinks ANYWHERE in much nicer places 24/7 across the fleet consistently with all tiers of cruisers 👍🏻

 

If you fly economy, don’t expect access to the airport lounges 

 

Happy Days!
I can take the heat, wrath hoopla cheerleading Pom Poms 🤡 

We fly first class and we still don't get access to the airport lounges unless flying internationally or having a credit card with a huge annual fee.  We are only lowly diamonds and are very happy with visits to the DL.  We also love the vouchers that can be used anywhere.  I can't comment though on the CL/SL because we have never been in those lounges and I can't understand for the life of me what the OP's complaint is really about.

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Mapleleafforever

Mapleleafforever

Posted
Posted
On 12/13/2022 at 8:31 AM, PEBTRAVEL49 said:

Dear RCCL

 

We are in receipt of your Members email 13th December 2022. 

 

What a terrible shame that Concierge / Lounge Service is being removed as a privilege for Diamond Plus Members.   For us, this was the only thing that separated RCCL apart from Cunard, Disney, Virgin. 

 

We were due to book on Quantum for 2023 (our first since the pandemic) and our travel agent was just finalising the arrangements before we paid our deposit.  We are now unlikely to proceed with our booking on Quantum as a consequence of this change & sail with Virgin Voyages.  

 

We know there is nothing you can do about it personally as it's a company policy decision but we just wanted to express our real disappointment and the main reason we have always booked with RCCL - we felt rewarded for our loyalty to RCCL.  In our lifetime we would never be able to attain Pinnacle Club Membership status.  We feel let down by a company we have given plenty of business to over many years.  What a shame.

 

We hope you are able to communicate our disappointment to senior executives within RCCL (not that it is likely to change anything!)

 

Kind regards

Paul & Mike

 

Dear Diamond Plus Members,

 

As we reflect on 2022, there is so much to be thankful for. Our full fleet is back in service and our ships are once again bustling with happy guests making memories that will last a lifetime.

 

The Crown & Anchor® Society continues to grow as we welcome new members each day and existing members continue to sail. And while we are excited for the growth of our program, we must remain mindful of our onboard operations to ensure that we continue to deliver the award-winning experience you know and love.

 

One of the published benefits of Diamond Plus members has been access to the Concierge Lounge on ships that lack a Suite Lounge, including:

 

Quantum of the Seas

Anthem of the Seas

Ovation of the Seas

Radiance of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas

Serenade of the Seas

Jewel of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Grandeur of the Seas

Enchantment of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas

Vision of the Seas

Access has been largely based on guest count and lounge capacity levels, which are assessed on a voyage-by-voyage basis. Due to high counts of top-tier members on most sailings, we have had to limit access to the Concierge Lounge altogether.

 

As a result, we have made the decision to standardize Concierge and Suite Lounge access across the fleet. This means that beginning on sailings departing on or after December 16th, 2022, both Concierge and Suite Lounge access on all ships will be limited to eligible Suite guests and Pinnacle Club members only. This change is reflected on our updated Member Benefits Grid.

 

Sincerely,

 

Crown & Anchor Society

First the concierge lounge and next relegation. Sorry for your loss. 

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JsMom2

JsMom2

Posted
Posted

OMG why is this an issue????  All of the ships have Diamond lounges that have the same amenities as the concierge lounge!  We are not losing anything!  Remember suite guests ONLY have access to the concierge lounge - unless they are Diamond or above.   Why should their lounge be over crowded while the Diamond lounge sits empty.  It’s just a way to manage the venues.  No privileges have been lost!!!

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ONECRUISER

ONECRUISER

Posted
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, nferr said:

Diamond lounge is for Diamond and Diamond+. Simple IMO.  You want the Concierge Lounge? Get more points or book a suite.

Yes, now it is. First used CL as Diamond in 90's before there was a DL. First Diamond, now D+ have lost CL.

 

40 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

OMG why is this an issue????  All of the ships have Diamond lounges that have the same amenities as the concierge lounge!  We are not losing anything!  Remember suite guests ONLY have access to the concierge lounge - unless they are Diamond or above.   Why should their lounge be over crowded while the Diamond lounge sits empty.  It’s just a way to manage the venues.  No privileges have been lost!!!

Cruises I'm on DL is never empty. So many Diamond's and D+ that along with DL they get Crown Lounge and 2 other Lounges to use 5-8pm... That said we've known was coming last 2+ yrs. First Diamonds, now D+ have lost the CL. Not surprised 

Edited by ONECRUISER
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StephPS79

StephPS79

Posted
Posted

I'm really have a lot of trouble understanding why people are so angry about this.  Diamond and Diamond + members still have access to the Diamond Lounge, just not the Concierge Lounge.  I mean, how many lounges to you all want?  

 

 

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Another_Critic

Another_Critic

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, StephPS79 said:

I'm really have a lot of trouble understanding why people are so angry about this.  Diamond and Diamond + members still have access to the Diamond Lounge, just not the Concierge Lounge.  I mean, how many lounges to you all want?  

 

 

It would be nice to have access to the Captain's Lounge.  🙂

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alex_drew

alex_drew

Posted
Posted

We were on a b2b Nov. 11 and 19th on Enchantment out of Baltimore.  We booked (for the first ever time!) a GS for our 30th anniversary.  On the Nov. 11th cruise D+ were allowed in the CL.  On the first leg of the b2b (Nov 11) there was a family who were in a GS next to us that had two small children 3 & 4 years old.  A couple of  nights they were able to get 4 chairs for the 4 of them, but most nights they had to get their snacks and go out to the VCL because it was so crowded.  On this cruise both D+ and Pinns had access to the CL.

 

 On the Nov. 19th cruise only Suite and Pinns were allowed in the CL due to the large number of D+ on board.  For those of you who don't know, on Enchantment, the Diamond lounge is on the floor above, but open to the CL and we clearly heard complaints from "above" that they were D+ and had been kicked out of the CL.  We are also D+ so we have (thankfully) vouchers available.  On the Nov 19th leg of the cruise we only went to the CL for "HH" once...and there were NO seats available.  None.  Now it was fine for us, we had the D+ vouchers so we just went to another bar, but honestly, if I didn't have the vouchers and I had paid for a GS with promised free drinks from 5-8, I would have been really unhappy to not be able to take advantage of that promised perk.  The Concierge looked at us nervously when it was clear that there were NO seats available, but we didn't say anything and just left because it really didn't matter to us...but it really does put RCL in a bad position when a paying suite guest isn't provided what is promised.  As I said, it didn't matter to us, as we had D+ vouchers anyway, but you can imagine the unhappy suite passengers that they may have had to deal with over a situation like this.

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bonsai3s

bonsai3s

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

It would be nice to have access to the Captain's Lounge.  🙂

That reminds me...

Will they ever bring back the bridge tour? or the galley tour? Or are they gone forever...victims of the pandemic.

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TexasRon "Live from...." Rare

TexasRon

Posted
Posted

We had a Suite on Independence for a cruise last year.  The Concierge Lounge was packed with people and the Concierge scrounged up a couple of empty seats for us and put them together at a table with a couple she introduced to us.

 

It turned out okay…the man had worked with a friend of my wife’s parents.  They had a good time taking about them.

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Tatka

Tatka

Posted
Posted

Just re-read name of this topic.

Profit is always first.

You do not want to know how things look when it is not for profit. (I am from another country where things were not for profit. Quality matched this)

 

RCI still has the best loyalty benefits among massmarket. We checked.

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JsMom2

JsMom2

Posted
Posted
On 12/14/2022 at 2:49 PM, ONECRUISER said:

Yes, now it is. First used CL as Diamond in 90's before there was a DL. First Diamond, now D+ have lost CL.

 

Cruises I'm on DL is never empty. So many Diamond's and D+ that along with DL they get Crown Lounge and 2 other Lounges to use 5-8pm... That said we've known was coming last 2+ yrs. First Diamonds, now D+ have lost the CL. Not surprised 


They started putting Diamond lounges on ships, because the concierge lounge was too full. And this is why they added suite lounges specifically for suite passengers. No one has “lost” anything. Previously D+ could choose between CL on those ships that still had one, and D lounge.  Now they are only assigned to D lounge.  Which is only fair as suite passengers can’t bop back and forth between the 2.  Either use the D lounge, or book a suite so you can get the exact same amenities in the CL. 

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JsMom2

JsMom2

Posted
Posted
On 12/13/2022 at 12:07 PM, ldubs said:

We have gone to the diamond lounge from time to time.  It is nice option but not considered a "must do".  

 

Can someone describe how the concierge lounge compares?  Just curious is all.   

The only difference is that if you are in a suite the drinks are free.  This used to be the case for everyone long ago.   But I believe that since they went to the coupon allocation they will now use your coupons for drinks like they do in the DL.  Not sure if this is the case every time, but when we were in a suite on EX in Sept they took our cards the first couple times we came in the lounge and ordered drinks, even though they didn’t charge us.  Other than that you still have a dedicated concierge, 24/7 specialty coffee machine, continental breakfast, and happy hour.  I don’t understand the whining!

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