No more Diamond Plus access to concierge lounges

[smokeybandit]

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.

[Traveler]

Just got it also , 

Not that anyone is surprised , It was even cheaper to do that than just go and change the sign on the door to suite  Lounge

[CruiseGus]

Finally, I've been thinking they should do this even before the shutdown.

Now with the 5 anytime vouchers there is really no reason to have to get into a less crowded lounge, especially since you don't get free drinks.

I guess one could say you lose access to the Suite Concierge, but personally I've never really need the extra help on anything, except when I was in a suite and that was pre-cruise show & dinner reservations, along with cutting lines at ports & disembarkcation.

 

BUT I'm prepared for all the complaints coming

[Gears]

The erosion continues....

[mworkman]

Eventually it will become the pinnacle lounge only and Suite lounge only, no pinnacle’s…watch the crying then

[bobroo]

It’s access to one less potential working cappuccino machine that is the most disappointing.

 

[JohnK6404]

Correct me if I'm wrong... Diamond lounge is still an option (if avail on ship) for Diamond and higher, just concierge/suite lounge access is being restricted.

[Neesa]

On our Serenade sailing while staying in a suite we were greeted by a letter from the C&A ambassador stating as D+ we were not permitted in the concierge lounge.  

There were 39 pins on board and the concierge lounge was standing room only from about 1530 until maybe 1900. It emptied out by then. The Diamond lounge across the way was just as crowded, the concierges had lines at their desks constantly. 

I felt that the suite amenity was impacted greatly, just charge me less for the suite and make it a Pinnacles lounge. It was mostly uncomfortable in that tiny space. 

 

[Neesa]

12 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong... Diamond lounge is still an option (if avail on ship) for Diamond and higher, just concierge/suite lounge access is being restricted.

Yes

[AlmondFarmer]

25 minutes ago, Neesa said:

There were 39 pins on board and the concierge lounge was standing room only from about 1530 until maybe 1900. It emptied out by then.

Any Pinnacle pins get tangled together while maneuvering around such close quarters? 

[Neesa]

11 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Any Pinnacle pins get tangled together while maneuvering around such close quarters? 

OMG so funny. One lovely lady had it on her shirt and tattooed on her ankle in addition to a big anchor necklace, she beamed with pride which made me smile. They are very territorial when it comes to that lounge. 

[AlmondFarmer]

14 minutes ago, Neesa said:

They are very territorial when it comes to that lounge.

High ground is easiest to defend.

Also good for looking down on people. 

[JohnK6404]

1 hour ago, AlmondFarmer said:

High ground is easiest to defend.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Any Pinnacle pins get tangled together while maneuvering around such close quarters? 

The north and south poles on the magnetic badges can be orientated to form a greater magnetic field when pinnacle members align and form in groups as illustrated in the pinnacle manual. 

They don't mean to take over the lounges but critical mass can only be obtained when sufficient numbers of pinnacle members join into formation within the lounges. 

[AlmondFarmer]

28 minutes ago, twangster said:

The north and south poles on the magnetic badges can be orientated to form a greater magnetic field when pinnacle members align and form in groups as illustrated in the pinnacle manual. 

 

This will be the catalyst for Earths next magnetic field reversal. 
 

My crystal ball predicts a critical mass of pinnacles will converge at a given point on January 27, 2024. 

[mrp100461]

Have seen the comments about your cutting back its all over fb. If I was royal I would consider changing your mind to some the disgusting changes that eating into our enjoyment on a cruise. You will lose loyal customers.

The death by 1000 cuts 

[Gears]

41 minutes ago, twangster said:

The north and south poles on the magnetic badges can be orientated to form a greater magnetic field when pinnacle members align and form in groups as illustrated in the pinnacle manual. 

They don't mean to take over the lounges but critical mass can only be obtained when sufficient numbers of pinnacle members join into formation within the lounges. 

Once enough mass accumulates and begins to rotate fast enough...fusion begins.

[Sweety]

We can still go to the Diamond lounge.

[Floski]

[smokeybandit]

17 minutes ago, Gears said:

Once enough mass accumulates and begins to rotate fast enough...fusion begins.

Right on cue, too.   And who says RC is behind on technology?

 

 

[twangster]

47 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Right on cue, too.   And who says RC is behind on technology?

 

 

Does this mean Royal will be leveraging pinnacle members to power new ships going forward?  Does that mean we cruise for free?  And more importantly does it cement our inclusion in the suite lounge a.k.a Fusion Lounge?

[smokeybandit]

17 minutes ago, twangster said:

Does this mean Royal will be leveraging pinnacle members to power new ships going forward? 

In a way they're leveraging your  $$$$ spent over the years to power new ships going forward.

[GatorCruiser]

Pins no doubt love to Wear their pins 

[Matt]

I'm not going to defend the change or pretend it's not a cut, because it is.

However.....

CL access has been gone for a while. They've been replacing suite lounges with concierge lounges for years. If not for covid, maybe they could have kept the benefit on paper and pushed through more of these CL to SL updates and it not have been as noticeable as a reply-all email to everyone.

And as noted in Royal's email and plenty of anecdotal evidence here, access had been pretty much cut off lately.

My point is practically speaking, there isn't a major change in how we D+ operate.

And yes, I'm D+ myself.

[F1guynz]

I agree with @Matt, we are Diamond Plus and am not really bothered by the change. If I really want to go this lounge instead of the Diamond lounge I will book a suite. If it was a choice between this and the 5 drink vouchers, I would far rather have those 

In reality the people who are most upset are probably cruisers who aren't Diamond Plus yet, the keyboard warriors love something like this to sink their teeth into.

 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, GatorCruiser said:

Pins no doubt love to Wear their pins 

[twangster]

As @Matt posted above this has been in effect for many years.  All the time I was D+ I rarely was able to visit a CL.  However they did expand the DL on those occasions.

The reality is there are too many D+ to be able to accommodate them in the CL.  When I was documenting the CAS distribution in 2019 on my cruises I noted numbers of D+ like 354, 345, 1272, 499, 415, etc.  There are simply too many to allow them into the CL without dramatically impacting suite guests.

As it is when there are 40 Pinnacle on some classes they have to ban Pinnacle from the CL/SL.  On my last cruise I was banned from the SL.  So be it.  They have to protect the privileges of suite guests.  We are talking 40 as a threshold, there is no way they can accommodate 10 times that number when there are simply too many D+.  

 

[billdauterive]

Lowly Diamond here, but I guess I just don't see the issue.  Is there some extra or better benefit of being in the suite/concierge lounge compared to the diamond lounge?  Suite guests can't visit the diamond lounge unless they are also at diamond level correct?  Is the Suite concierge better or more competent than the Diamond concierge, or the lounge space itself better?  I was under the impression they are basically 2 sides of the same coin so I'm really confused by all this.

[F1guynz]

The main difference is that during happy hour in the Suite Lounge the drinks are unlimited whereas in the Diamond Lounge they count against your daily allocation. Before the daily drink vouchers where introduced I think there was also a difference in the quality of the alcohol served and the drinks menu was more limited.

 

[billdauterive]

12 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

The main difference is that during happy hour in the Suite Lounge the drinks are unlimited whereas in the Diamond Lounge they count against your daily allocation.

Ah, I thought they did away with that in both with C&A vouchers and not for actual suite guests.  Yep, that's definitely a better perk.

[smokeybandit]

27 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

The main difference is that during happy hour in the Suite Lounge the drinks are unlimited whereas in the Diamond Lounge they count against your daily allocation. Before the daily drink vouchers where introduced I think there was also a difference in the quality of the alcohol served and the drinks menu was more limited.

 

But non-suite guests are still expected to use vouchers in the suite lounge though right?

[AlmondFarmer]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

And yes, I'm D+ myself.

I heard you received an honorary pinnacle degree from chancellor Fain before his retirement.

Rumors these days!

[twangster]

27 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

The main difference is that during happy hour in the Suite Lounge the drinks are unlimited whereas in the Diamond Lounge they count against your daily allocation. Before the daily drink vouchers where introduced I think there was also a difference in the quality of the alcohol served and the drinks menu was more limited.

 

Before the pandemic the concierge lounge and suite lounge used the same bar menu as the old diamond drink menu.  Same food choices as the diamond club.  

During the restart when only suite guests could use the lounges some ships offered a better bar menu in the lounges.   

When they started letting Pinnacle back into the suite lounge some ships reverted to the old limited bar menu from 2020 and they reverted to unlimited drinks.  Other ships kept the upgraded bar menu and carded everyone to figure out who was not in a suite.   Then some ships did a hybrid of the two - better choices and no or limited carding.  In typical Royal fashion it was up to each ship to decide.

18 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

But non-suite guests are still expected to use vouchers in the suite lounge though right?

Varies by ship.  

Suite guests don't like being carded but to ensure non-suite members aren't getting unlimited drinks they have to card.  Carding has its own challenges.

Often Pinnacle members stay in full suites.  Bar staff not knowing any better were using drink vouchers for suites guests if they were Pinnacle based on the color of their card.  Then a Pinnacle would later go to a regular bar and have no drink vouchers left.  This led to having to re-issue Pinnacle cards in the suite color as opposed to the Pinnacle color if the guests were Pinnacle in Suites.  This happened to me on Harmony.  The suite concierge explained that they can't expect wait staff to memorize every cabin number of all full suites, vs. junior suites, vs. non-suites, so they told the bar staff to use the color of the card.  As a Pinnacle suite guest the card left outside your suite door on boarding day is Pinnacle color, not suite color.  So unless you get your card swapped, you don't get unlimited suite drinks like someone on their first Royal cruise in a suite would.  

It becomes a big PITA for the lounge crew to differentiate between a suite guest, a Pinnacle in a non-suite and a Pinnacle in a suite.  Some ships have taken the matter into their hands and devised their own approach.  

[GatorCruiser]

6640 pax and 113 pins on my current wonder cruise. 

[twangster]

33 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

6640 pax and 113 pins on my current wonder cruise. 

1.7% is pretty close to average from the tracking I did pre-pandemic.   

The unknown is how many are in suites.  Only Royal knows that.  

[GatorCruiser]

Also, for you dance mom fans , Jojo Siwa is aboard. 

[GatorCruiser]

Suite concierge told us 184 have suite lounge access for whatever that’s worth 

[twangster]

I'm glad Royal finally ripped off the bandaid and got on with putting into policy what they've effectively been doing for 5 years already but doing so sheepishly once D+ guests got on board and read the letter left in their cabin. 

At some point Pinnacle will be banned next and that's okay with me.  As an investor and as someone who occasionally books suites I firmly believe they need a solid suite product that includes a suite lounge with quality drinks. 

I also think they need to standardize suite benefits across the fleet.  I get that not all ships have a dedicated suite restaurant but all other suite perks can be standardized.  

[Lexster]

Hell, I'm probably never going to make it to Diamond, let alone Diamond Plus, so not exactly worried about this! it does suck to lose benefits, though.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Lexster said:

it does suck to lose benefits, though.

Those benefits have been gone for a long time....it's just official now.  In a way, it's a good thing that they finally came out and said it, straight up.  Now we won't have to "guess" about whether or not our particular ship/sailing will allow D+ in.  Nope.