No more Diamond Plus access to concierge lounges

[CruiseGus]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

      16 hours 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.

16 hours 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.  

 

14 hours ago, twangster said:

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.  

@twangster I think you have made a pretty good case for removing Pinnacle's from the suite lounge.  If that requires the current D Lounge to be only for Pinnacle or Pin's & D+ is yet to be seen, but to me that may make the most sense.

I can say that staying in full Suites on Oasis class ships 4 times this year, that like @Neesa said, in the early evening we felt that the suite amenity was impacted, maybe not greatly, but very limited seating.  I could identify the number of Pinnacle by there name badges, which was well over half in the lounge, what I couldn't tell you is how many were actually in suites. 

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

 

@twangster I think you have made a pretty good case for removing Pinnacle's from the suite lounge.  If that requires the current D Lounge to be only for Pinnacle or Pin's & D+ is yet to be seen, but to me that may make the most sense.

I can say that staying in full Suites on Oasis class ships 4 times this year, that like @Neesa said, in the early evening we felt that the suite amenity was impacted, maybe not greatly, but very limited seating.  I could identify the number of Pinnacle by there name badges, which was well over half in the lounge, what I couldn't tell you is how many were actually in suites. 

Indeed Pinnacle numbers have grown to critical mass on many US sailings but not so much in the rest of the world.  

Royal is monitoring the situation and there will be additional policy changes in the future.   The only question is when?  For the moment they have established thresholds for each class of ship and once those numbers are reached on a particular sailing Pinnacle are banned from the CL/SL.  For now this methodology allows access to remain in other regions where the numbers don't consistently approach or exceed the threshold.  The benefit of this approach is also that they can lower the threshold at any time at their discretion without notifying anyone.  That is possibly on their radar screen as they observe what works and what doesn't.  

[Thorntor]

On 12/12/2022 at 1:53 PM, 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. 

I don't get concerned about the lounge issue, what concerns me is that some of the lifeboats are actually labelled "Pinnacle and Suite Guests Only."

[HeWhoWaits]

15 hours ago, Thorntor said:

I don't get concerned about the lounge issue, what concerns me is that some of the lifeboats are actually labelled "Pinnacle and Suite Guests Only."

Cram them all together and there's more room for the rest of us in the other lifeboats.

[AlmondFarmer]

12 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Cram them all together and there's more room for the rest of us in the other lifeboats.

Pinnacles in a life boat? Ha!

Allegedly Royal designs its ships so that the suite lounge and Costal kitchen detach from the ship in the event of a sinking. This new self contained vessel serves three meals a day with open bar. 
And now with StarLink, Voom service is maintained. 

[smokeybandit]

35 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Pinnacles in a life boat? Ha!

 

They even have it named

[twangster]

42 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Pinnacles in a life boat? Ha!

Allegedly Royal designs its ships so that the suite lounge and Costal kitchen detach from the ship in the event of a sinking. This new self contained vessel serves three meals a day with open bar. 
And now with StarLink, Voom service is maintained. 

 

[Done]

Royal Caribbean enabled the increase in the number of higher tier cruisers with their Crown And Anchor double points bonus promotion.  Now they have to figure out how to live with it. 

[smokeybandit]

48 minutes ago, Toby said:

Royal Caribbean enabled the increase in the number of higher tier cruisers with their Crown And Anchor double points bonus promotion.  Now they have to figure out how to live with it. 

No doubt there's a portion of cruisers who took advantage of double points to move up (like me) but I would think generally the double points merely moved people up to where they would have been anyway once you factor in 1.5 years with no cruising.

[Ampurp85]

While the double points helped someone like me move a little faster, I don't think it made much difference. I think it is the suites selling point.

Before the pandemic most people thought cruising was disgusting or too expensive.......some still do. After the pandemic more people were willing to cruise and when they do, they are willing to spend. The suites often sell out first, which when I started cruising wasn't really a thing. Yes, particular suites sold out but when you searched it was a decent number available. So now you have suites at possibly full max, who are using the concierge/suite lounge along with pinnacles and D+. No one knows the overlap and so space becomes an issue because the lounges weren't intended to hold 3 different groups. 

[twangster]

Some historical perspective.  

This isn't the first time that a group has been banned from a lounge and it won't be the last time (Pinnacle next?). 

Interesting read from the last time:

************************************************************************************************************

April 13, 2009 Dear               , I am writing to provide you with an update regarding the recent changes to our Crown & Anchor Loyalty Program. Let me begin by thanking you for being loyal customers of Royal Caribbean International. These are remarkable times - economic challenges, new modes of communication, amazing new ships and so many other changes that impact our lives at every turn. Especially in these times, we appreciate your loyalty as our Crown & Anchor Diamond and Diamond Plus members. As you may know, we recently announced a number of changes to our Crown & Anchor Loyalty Program. Many of our Diamond Members have expressed considerable unhappiness about the change in eligibility for access to our Concierge Lounges. While we knew the reaction would be negative, it has been more negative than we anticipated. This underscores how phenomenally passionate our most loyal customers are about their Royal Caribbean experiences. We believe one of our strengths that inspires such loyalty is our ability to learn from others and especially from our Crown & Anchor customers. With this in mind, I will comment on the change in eligibility regarding our Concierge Lounges and also inform you of some new enhancements that will improve your experience onboard our ships. Our decision to limit access to the Concierge Lounges was based on the unfortunate but inescapable fact that we cannot deliver an acceptable experience in lounges that were never designed to handle so many people. We regret that the crowding in our Concierge Lounges prevents us from delivering the experience we intended. It also prevents us from being able to grandfather in Concierge Lounge access for existing Diamond level members. We deeply regret having to restrict this access, but we are committed to delivering an exceptional Concierge Lounge experience. Having said that, we realize we should have provided more notice of our decision, which carries such consequences. To that end, we will delay the implementation date for the change in eligibility from July 1, 2009, to September 1, 2009. Before I address the additional initiatives we will implement, I would like to summarize the physical or "hardware" status of our fleet as it relates to Concierge Lounges and Diamond Lounges, taking into account all 22 Royal Caribbean International ships that are now open for sale. Five ships (our Freedom class and Oasis class) have both Concierge Lounges and Diamond Lounges. We are excited about the Concierge Lounge overlooking the Boardwalk and the Diamond Lounge overlooking the Royal Promenade on our forthcoming Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Five ships (Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas) have no Concierge Lounges and two ships (Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas) have limited Concierge Lounges. Ten ships have Concierge Lounges but no Diamond Lounges (Enchantment of the Seas, as well as the ships in our Voyager class and Radiance class). While we don't currently have plans to add Diamond Lounges to these ships, we will look for opportunities to invest in Diamond Lounges as we go forward. The strong response from our Diamond members regarding our recent changes demonstrates how much the Concierge Lounges are valued and we clearly should honor that response. The feedback we have received from Diamond members falls primarily into one of the three following categories: Preserving the social aspect - the ability to meet and mingle with other members Maintaining free or reduced price drinks And, access to concierge-type services for ice show tickets and other activities In order to address the first two interests for Diamond members, outside the Concierge Lounge, effective September 1 we will offer them a dedicated VIP private party in one of our bars or lounges. This may be held in the Viking Crown Lounge, or any other bar or lounge designated by the ship. In this dedicated area, from approximately 5 to 8 p.m., we will offer complimentary wine and champagne and happy hour discount of 25 percent off all other beverages. This will be offered every day of each sailing and will replace our recently announced one-time per-cruise special Diamond party. Additionally, we will offer a new continental breakfast from approximately 8 to 10 a.m. in one of the rooms adjacent to the main dining room onboard. During these morning hours, a crew member will be present and will provide services such as obtaining ice show tickets, and other assistance. We believe these changes will address the primary desires our Diamond members have expressed. These enhancements will be instituted on all our ships that don't have a Diamond Lounge today. A number of Crown & Anchor members have placed the Concierge Lounge issue in the context of a perceived sequence of "cutbacks" that taken together have reduced the quality of the product we offer. We take these comments seriously. I am pleased to inform you that in 2009 we are seeing one of the most meaningful year-over-year improvements in our guest satisfaction ratings in memory. Apart from the obvious - in 2008, Independence of the Seas entered the fleet while Empress of the Seas and Sovereign of the Seas left the fleet and Oasis of the Seas will join the fleet this year. Also, systemic improvements such as My Time Dining, our suite enhancements, the new debarkation process, and numerous smaller initiatives are being very positively recognized by guests, travel agents and the media. While we understand not everyone is happy about every change taking place in our fleet, we appreciate your loyalty to our company and we sincerely hope you will continue to choose Royal Caribbean International. It gives us no pleasure to hear from aggrieved Diamond and Diamond Plus customers. Our goal is to earn your advocacy and your return to our fleet by providing you with truly memorable vacations and by recognizing and rewarding your loyalty. Our mantra at Royal Caribbean International, besides delivering the "Wow," is "continuous improvement." We constantly strive to find the right balance, so our product evolves in ways that our guests, especially our most loyal guests, are comfortable with. Our ratings and most communications we receive indicate that the balancing is working. However, occasionally we stumble and when we do we try to react quickly. This may be such an instance. We are committed to earning the faith you place in us. I hope the additional enhancements explained in this letter demonstrate our commitment. Thank you very much for being our customer and for your loyalty to Royal Caribbean International. These changes will be reflected on our website in the next 48 hours. Sincerely, Adam M. Goldstein President and Chief Executive Officer Royal Caribbean International

[Done]

I will bid this forum continued success.  I do not belong here.

[twangster]

Some takeaways given the historical trends.

• Royal continues to experience significant growth in CAS top tier levels.  This isn't new.  Royal Caribbean is popular.  Cruisers love Royal.  Guests love to come back because they have a great product.  
• The problem didn't start in 2009, in 2009 it reached a boiling point where they had to act, just like the issue today didn't come about from a points promo in 2021, it's been building for years, we just reached another boiling point in 2022.
• Many of you love Royal so it shouldn't be a surprise that many others do as well. 
• Success breeds some challenges that requires Royal to adapt.
• Royal has faced this before.  Imagine if they did nothing in 2009?  Suite guests wouldn't stand a chance.  No one would.
• What was 300 to 800 eligible guests in 2009 is once again 300 to more than 800 who would be eligible guests today.   
• No single venue can accommodate these numbers, not in 2009 and not today.  
• In 2009 upset guests said they are done and are leaving.  Yet from 2009 onward CAS levels continued to grow year after year.  Royal doesn't want to see anyone go, but they'll do fine without all of those that decide to leave this time as well, assuming they actually do, which I'm am willing to bet not many did in 2009.
• Pinnacle levels are growing too just like other levels because cruisers love Royal Caribbean.    
• This change was inevitable just as it will be when they have to do this again at some point in the future. 

[HeWhoWaits]

14 hours ago, twangster said:

Interesting read from the last time:

************************************************************************************************************

April 13, 2009

It took almost 14 years from the change to Diamond until D+ changed. Pinnacles probably don't have to worry just yet.

[twangster]

27 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

It took almost 14 years from the change to Diamond until D+ changed. Pinnacles probably don't have to worry just yet.

Royal didn't have the Royal Suite Class 14 years ago.  Since that time Royal has put considerable effort in developing a suite product.  Granted they haven't done much to evolve the suite product on the older ships.  None the less they are much more focused on the suite product on all new ships since Oasis and Allure were upgraded to Royal Suite Class and received a dedicated suite restaurant Coastal Kitchen mid-decade

It won't be another 14 years before the next change is made.   

[Sarge]

15 hours ago, twangster said:

Some historical perspective.  

This isn't the first time that a group has been banned from a lounge and it won't be the last time (Pinnacle next?). 

Interesting read from the last time:

************************************************************************************************************

April 13, 2009 Dear               , I am writing to provide you with an update regarding the recent changes to our Crown & Anchor Loyalty Program. Let me begin by thanking you for being loyal customers of Royal Caribbean International. These are remarkable times - economic challenges, new modes of communication, amazing new ships and so many other changes that impact our lives at every turn. Especially in these times, we appreciate your loyalty as our Crown & Anchor Diamond and Diamond Plus members. As you may know, we recently announced a number of changes to our Crown & Anchor Loyalty Program. Many of our Diamond Members have expressed considerable unhappiness about the change in eligibility for access to our Concierge Lounges. While we knew the reaction would be negative, it has been more negative than we anticipated. This underscores how phenomenally passionate our most loyal customers are about their Royal Caribbean experiences. We believe one of our strengths that inspires such loyalty is our ability to learn from others and especially from our Crown & Anchor customers. With this in mind, I will comment on the change in eligibility regarding our Concierge Lounges and also inform you of some new enhancements that will improve your experience onboard our ships. Our decision to limit access to the Concierge Lounges was based on the unfortunate but inescapable fact that we cannot deliver an acceptable experience in lounges that were never designed to handle so many people. We regret that the crowding in our Concierge Lounges prevents us from delivering the experience we intended. It also prevents us from being able to grandfather in Concierge Lounge access for existing Diamond level members. We deeply regret having to restrict this access, but we are committed to delivering an exceptional Concierge Lounge experience. Having said that, we realize we should have provided more notice of our decision, which carries such consequences. To that end, we will delay the implementation date for the change in eligibility from July 1, 2009, to September 1, 2009. Before I address the additional initiatives we will implement, I would like to summarize the physical or "hardware" status of our fleet as it relates to Concierge Lounges and Diamond Lounges, taking into account all 22 Royal Caribbean International ships that are now open for sale. Five ships (our Freedom class and Oasis class) have both Concierge Lounges and Diamond Lounges. We are excited about the Concierge Lounge overlooking the Boardwalk and the Diamond Lounge overlooking the Royal Promenade on our forthcoming Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Five ships (Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas) have no Concierge Lounges and two ships (Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas) have limited Concierge Lounges. Ten ships have Concierge Lounges but no Diamond Lounges (Enchantment of the Seas, as well as the ships in our Voyager class and Radiance class). While we don't currently have plans to add Diamond Lounges to these ships, we will look for opportunities to invest in Diamond Lounges as we go forward. The strong response from our Diamond members regarding our recent changes demonstrates how much the Concierge Lounges are valued and we clearly should honor that response. The feedback we have received from Diamond members falls primarily into one of the three following categories: Preserving the social aspect - the ability to meet and mingle with other members Maintaining free or reduced price drinks And, access to concierge-type services for ice show tickets and other activities In order to address the first two interests for Diamond members, outside the Concierge Lounge, effective September 1 we will offer them a dedicated VIP private party in one of our bars or lounges. This may be held in the Viking Crown Lounge, or any other bar or lounge designated by the ship. In this dedicated area, from approximately 5 to 8 p.m., we will offer complimentary wine and champagne and happy hour discount of 25 percent off all other beverages. This will be offered every day of each sailing and will replace our recently announced one-time per-cruise special Diamond party. Additionally, we will offer a new continental breakfast from approximately 8 to 10 a.m. in one of the rooms adjacent to the main dining room onboard. During these morning hours, a crew member will be present and will provide services such as obtaining ice show tickets, and other assistance. We believe these changes will address the primary desires our Diamond members have expressed. These enhancements will be instituted on all our ships that don't have a Diamond Lounge today. A number of Crown & Anchor members have placed the Concierge Lounge issue in the context of a perceived sequence of "cutbacks" that taken together have reduced the quality of the product we offer. We take these comments seriously. I am pleased to inform you that in 2009 we are seeing one of the most meaningful year-over-year improvements in our guest satisfaction ratings in memory. Apart from the obvious - in 2008, Independence of the Seas entered the fleet while Empress of the Seas and Sovereign of the Seas left the fleet and Oasis of the Seas will join the fleet this year. Also, systemic improvements such as My Time Dining, our suite enhancements, the new debarkation process, and numerous smaller initiatives are being very positively recognized by guests, travel agents and the media. While we understand not everyone is happy about every change taking place in our fleet, we appreciate your loyalty to our company and we sincerely hope you will continue to choose Royal Caribbean International. It gives us no pleasure to hear from aggrieved Diamond and Diamond Plus customers. Our goal is to earn your advocacy and your return to our fleet by providing you with truly memorable vacations and by recognizing and rewarding your loyalty. Our mantra at Royal Caribbean International, besides delivering the "Wow," is "continuous improvement." We constantly strive to find the right balance, so our product evolves in ways that our guests, especially our most loyal guests, are comfortable with. Our ratings and most communications we receive indicate that the balancing is working. However, occasionally we stumble and when we do we try to react quickly. This may be such an instance. We are committed to earning the faith you place in us. I hope the additional enhancements explained in this letter demonstrate our commitment. Thank you very much for being our customer and for your loyalty to Royal Caribbean International. These changes will be reflected on our website in the next 48 hours. Sincerely, Adam M. Goldstein President and Chief Executive Officer Royal Caribbean International

I remember that the changes mentioned in this letter went into effect for our 1st cruise as Diamonds, years ago.

Our 1st cruise as D+ was earlier this year...our 2nd will be in January, '23.

Seems like whenever we advance to a new tier, benefits get reduced...

Those rooms certainly are packed and I can understand why they need to reduce the amount of people. They do pretty much thin out just before dinner times...It's almost comical to watch all the folks leaving for dinner, many with a full drink in each hand on the way to their dinner...

We're not big drinkers and many times, we don't use all our drink vouchers allotted to us but, the quality of the drinks seem a bit better in the rooms.

[GatorCruiser]

I’m a big fan of the suite class product presently. Has become a weakness to my wallet. 

[smokeybandit]

36 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

I’m a big fan of the suite class product presently. Has become a weakness to my wallet. 

[GatorCruiser]

Yeah , we  messed up and joined the suite life crew.  No going back now. My mooching children have no idea how good they have it. All they care about is the availability of the sprinkles ice cream machines. 

[smokeybandit]

56 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Yeah , we  messed up and joined the suite life crew.  No going back now. My mooching children have no idea how good they have it. All they care about is the availability of the sprinkles ice cream machines. 

My son asks, "are we getting a two bedroom suite this time? I don't want to sleep on the sofa"

[TXcruzer]

On 12/14/2022 at 8:25 AM, Done said:

Royal Caribbean enabled the increase in the number of higher tier cruisers with their Crown And Anchor double points bonus promotion.  Now they have to figure out how to live with it. 

I would guess the 2X promotion had a statistically insignificant effect in the numbers.  As many (or more) points were lost to the lockdown as were gained by the 2X promotion.

[TXcruzer]

On 12/15/2022 at 10:09 AM, Sarge said:

I remember that the changes mentioned in this letter went into effect for our 1st cruise as Diamonds, years ago.

Our 1st cruise as D+ was earlier this year...our 2nd will be in January, '23.

Seems like whenever we advance to a new tier, benefits get reduced...

Those rooms certainly are packed and I can understand why they need to reduce the amount of people. They do pretty much thin out just before dinner times...It's almost comical to watch all the folks leaving for dinner, many with a full drink in each hand on the way to their dinner...

We're not big drinkers and many times, we don't use all our drink vouchers allotted to us but, the quality of the drinks seem a bit better in the rooms.

I really do not see a reduction in benefits

[Neesa]

As long as my 5 vouchers remain, I'm happy. The lounge is great, but I will take the vouchers remaining over the  lounge loss, and the Diamond lounge is still available so not really a lost amenity.

When the voucher times email arrived, I admit my breath hitched, I was like oh no, please don't take away my vouchers. I'm pretty happy with the loyalty amenities. While the pins taking over the suite lounge when I'm in a suite isn't ideal, I don't book a suite for the suite lounge so if it gives them joy so be it. Most of them are super sweet, and the jerky entitled ones we ignore, win, win, win!

[asquared17]

22 hours ago, Neesa said:

As long as my 5 vouchers remain, I'm happy. The lounge is great, but I will take the vouchers remaining over the  lounge loss, and the Diamond lounge is still available so not really a lost amenity.

When the voucher times email arrived, I admit my breath hitched, I was like oh no, please don't take away my vouchers. I'm pretty happy with the loyalty amenities. While the pins taking over the suite lounge when I'm in a suite isn't ideal, I don't book a suite for the suite lounge so if it gives them joy so be it. Most of them are super sweet, and the jerky entitled ones we ignore, win, win, win!

THIS.

the greatest benefit to me is the vouchers.

on the off chances i wander into the lounge, it's seemingly never when the concierge is there anyway. we are pretty chill on vacation and keep to ourselves, so we don't typically go to the lounges for the social aspect.

[khynzelman]

I loved reading this thread especially about the history of the C&A program from long time cruisers.  Seems like the program is due for a change and hopefully the new C&A Ambassador will set that ship on course.  Loyalty programs are all about recognition and reward.  As long as they are able to consistently deliver on those promises hopefully most people will be happy.

[Reigert2008]

As someone who just became Diamond but. It yet sailed as a Diamond, I’m shocked about how many people just hang out in the lounges.  To this point, I imagined that I would only be in the lounge to get coffee and maybe use the concierge if guest services is packed.  We’re looking forward to the combo of the coffee machine and the vouchers which allowed us to drop from the refreshment package to the soda package.

 

of course, once I get into the lounge my story may change

[Ampurp85]

I like to chill in the DL for a light breakfast when everything is too crowded. If they take it away, I won't be to upset because I don't drink coffee or use my vouchers there. I feel like I can find another quiet place to relax.......as long as I am on the "right" ship.

[Mac Mac]

Mac here , wanted to know if y’all purchased excursion through RC or outside?

 

[Ditchdoc]

Diamonds can get their drink allotment anywhere and the lounge offers no extra. Last cruise I went to the lounge early morning to get coffee but the machine was out of order. Never bothered going back. I am at a point where I just don't see much, if any, value in the Diamond lounge.

[SweetPea]

It's been interesting for me to read this thread. Our first Royal cruise was on Mariner in a suite in Fall 2008. It was a truly subpar experience compared to suite cruising on other lines.

Access to the suite lounge during Happy Hour bordered on a Hunger Games scenario. They had a lounge and an overflow lounge if I recall. Didn't matter. Even the larger lounge was simply so overwhelmed with the number of eligible guests. Long lines everywhere, no seats available. People hogging loaded plates of appetizers that were never replenished quickly enough. Two bartenders to serve what seemed like 150 people who all wanted their drinks at once. It was so loud and terribly unrefined. 

I remember filling out our end of cruise survey explaining our experience, ending it with "there is a cruise line for everyone. Yours is not for us. I was left wondering why we booked a suite at all. We won't be back."

And we weren't back until 2019, well after Royal implemented its Suite Program, and the experience was night and day to the point our next 3 cruises are only with Royal, despite our high status on Norwegian and Disney and middle of the line status on Holland. (Although to be fair, we're only booking O and Q class where the program is in effect. Mariner left me one bitten, twice shy in that respect.)

Please understand, i begrudge no one their status perks. But comingling perks like they used to was not working, and I'm glad to see these policy changes that seem to be a vast improvement. 

 

 

[smokeybandit]

RC has renovated all the ships to move that windowless, tightly packed suite lounge to a more appropriate space. Since then I've never seen a packed suite lounge, other than the first night, on a ship since.