Diamond Lounge

[Matt]

Regarding the issue with Diamonds on Wonder, that cruise is a casino signature level cruise, so it's just a one-off as best we can tell due to the unique nature of that sailing.

[smokeybandit]

4 minutes ago, Matt said:

Regarding the issue with Diamonds on Wonder, that cruise is a casino signature level cruise, so it's just a one-off as best we can tell due to the unique nature of that sailing.

I'm guessing this wouldn't even be overly newsworthy if we weren't fresh off "Diamond Lounge renaming"-gate"

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I'm guessing this wouldn't even be overly newsworthy if we weren't fresh off "Diamond Lounge renaming"-gate"

So agree.  Royal has a very unfortunate pattern on making an unfavorable change followed far-too-soon by another even more, unfavorable change.  Eg, (1) saying that Hideaway Beach would be complimentary and then announcing a significant admission upcharge, (2), "THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE IN ADMISSION TO THE CROWN LOUNGE" followed by an almost immediate announcement of potentially limiting Diamonds' access during certain hours and (3) Increasing gratuities while simultaneously reducing the service provided (once a day room servicing).

You would think that the marketeers would have shouted - At least let a LITTLE time pass before immediately making us look like liars/money-grubbing scoundrels !

[JimnKathy]

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We will also be able to go to Chop's for breakfast starting next week and that's one of the perks I'm most excited about.  No more WJ or MDR mania...for breakfast, at least.

I want to hear about the amazing Chops breakfast for the cool kids in school.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

Nothing particularly spectacular about the Chops breakfast itself.  Basically just a standard, static breakfast menu but not having to fight the crowd or convince the greeter why you aren’t “happy to share” a table with strangers will be a welcome change.

[smokeybandit]

Agreed, nothing special about the Chops breakfast. But it's a quiet, not crowded, made to order breakfast. That's what makes it desirable. Not necessarily the menu itself.

[Rob&Ana]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Regarding the issue with Diamonds on Wonder, that cruise is a casino signature level cruise, so it's just a one-off as best we can tell due to the unique nature of that sailing.

Not sure this is the case as we are on Jewel and starting the next sailing they will start this new system. This is the info that we are being told at this time while onboard.

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 minutes ago, Rob&Ana said:

Not sure this is the case as we are on Jewel and starting the next sailing they will start this new system. This is the info that we are being told at this time while onboard.

You’re being told on Jewel that the D’s are going to restricted from the CL during Happy Hour ?

[Matt]

2 hours ago, Rob&Ana said:

Not sure this is the case as we are on Jewel and starting the next sailing they will start this new system. This is the info that we are being told at this time while onboard.

Can you be more specific exactly what they mean? 

It's not heard of pre- or post-pandemic for DL access to be restricted when there are too many top tier members onboard. Not that it bothers me at all, since I'd much rather go to almost any other bar for my drinks.

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, Matt said:

I'd much rather go to almost any other bar for my drinks.

Me too… but those bars don’t have the DL snacks.

[Rob&Ana]

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

You’re being told on Jewel that the D’s are going to restricted from the CL during Happy Hour ?

No, the info is that the new system (if there is a high count of D, Dp and Pin) will be enacted as of the next sailing. Like what's happening on Wonder.

[Rob&Ana]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Can you be more specific exactly what they mean? 

It's not heard of pre- or post-pandemic for DL access to be restricted when there are too many top tier members onboard. Not that it bothers me at all, since I'd much rather go to almost any other bar for my drinks.

So this new system is set to start next cruise it's suppose to limit access during happy hour to the Crown Lounge when the numbers are high. No idea what the numbers are. But it's like what's happening Wonder.

[wordell1]

On 10/16/2023 at 2:30 PM, Matt said:

Can you be more specific exactly what they mean? 

It's not heard of pre- or post-pandemic for DL access to be restricted when there are too many top tier members onboard. Not that it bothers me at all, since I'd much rather go to almost any other bar for my drinks.

It was on Cruisehive. 

It's more the principle to me. Why tell us that the name change to Crown Lounge doesn't mean any changes to the lounge and then make changes a few weeks later? 

Obviously they had to change the name if they planned to restrict Diamond members from the Diamond lounge. Why lie about the reason? It shows a lack of respect for some of their long term customers.

Wonder has the worst Diamond Lounge in the fleet anyway so I'd be shocked if it were actually full.

[cruisellama]

On 10/15/2023 at 11:05 AM, smokeybandit said:

Seems kind of an odd thing to do since the happy hour isn't an open bar anymore.  It would make sense in the old days. Unless this is a quiet trial of what response will be. Or this just due to Quantum's current itinerary being a relocation cruise.

But they lay out  d'oeuvres during that timeframe.   When it's crowded - I don't even bother.  "Trial" of some sort makes sense.

[OCSC Mike]

49 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

Wonder has the worst Diamond Lounge in the fleet anyway so I'd be shocked if it were actually full

What makes the Wonder DL worse than any other deck 4 windowless Oasis class DL?

[Riley]

FWIW we were on Jewel recently with a LOT of Diamond and higher guests (including over 300 Pinnacles) and they split D/D+ into the lounge and Pinnacles into the Vortex next door... opened the divider between the two spaces and had a discreet rope inside with a staff member checking for Pins and the Vortex entry.  Each space had snacks set-ups and a support staffer (I checked and there was sometimes a difference between the two set-ups but not often), cocktail waiters worked both sides, and the Vortex bar was open with two bar tenders to help the waiters as well as any Pinnacles who wanted to belly up directly.  It worked pretty well and eased a lot of congestion.  Jewel has one of the nicer lounges (IMO) since it's on deck 13 and so was a really popular place.

[barjpoe]

They didn't do it on the TA back in August. We asked if that could be done, (because there weren't many Pins but a lot of D & D+. The concierge said Miami (home office) wouldn't allow it. Though back in the Spring on the Radiance repo they did.

I wish they'd leave it up to the concierges to make the decision, because they would know how many D, D+, & P are on board that particular sailing.

That's the one nice thing about the Radiance class that the DLounge can connect to the Viking Crown lounge. not so sure about the other classes. 

[david hannay]

the crown and anchor loyalty program needs to change,suggestions it starts with bronze,then silver,to move from each level you will need to have done 4 cruises on each level,no points,then to gold,where your points start,then to platimun,then we add ruby,then emerald,diamond,diamond plus,and pinnacle,points don't change till diamond from 80 points to 100,and diamond plus from 175 to 200,by adding more at the bottom and middle,everything is slowed down,and new diamond and diamond plus does the samething,we keep being told we have two many diamonds,with these changes and guests getting older,over time it will get better,also bringing bk priority boarding for diamond and above doesn't cost royal anything,but is a lovely gesture to loyal to royal clients,just a suggestion,what is your comment please,a loyal royal guest.

[david hannay]

i think that the crown and anchor needs to be upgraded,any suggestions to my above comments

[Cakemeister]

I think they could bump D+ to 340, Diamond to 175, and Emerald to 80.

[JimnKathy]

19 minutes ago, Cakemeister said:

I think they could bump D+ to 340, Diamond to 175, and Emerald to 80.

Raising the point levels while retaining the same benefits would be a negative marketing move. It would encourage folks like us (currently at 70 points and only a cruise or two away from Diamond status) give up being loyal to Royal and simply focus on other cruise lines.

[Cakemeister]

17 minutes ago, JimnKathy said:

Raising the point levels while retaining the same benefits would be a negative marketing move. It would encourage folks like us (currently at 70 points and only a cruise or two away from Diamond status) give up being loyal to Royal and simply focus on other cruise lines.

You could grandfather it in some way.

[Riley]

1 hour ago, Doug_Texas said:

You left out announcing early this year upgraded wine list for D+ 340 “Welcome Aboard” then doing away with “Welcome Aboard” alcohol.

They did? We got ours on "Jewel".

[twangster]

There are too many levels in the program today.  Adding more levels isn't a solution.

Moving the goalposts (changing thresholds) is a non-starter.  Disaster move from a customer relationship perspective. 

The best solution will always be adjusting perks and benefits to adapt the program to suit the overall goals of a free loyalty program over time.  That is what they have done in the past, that is what they are currently doing and that will be what they do in the future.  

[JasonOasis]

2 hours ago, Cakemeister said:

I think they could bump D+ to 340, Diamond to 175, and Emerald to 80.

That would be a disastrous move from a customer relations standpoint. 

Not many people were complaining in 2021 when Royal launched the double points program except people who were already pinnacle.  Royal did what they had to do to get people back on their cruise ships.  Airlines did the same thing in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 where they extended the status people earned in 2019 to try and get them to fly. The problem now is you have lounges that are full both on Royal ships and airline lounges. 

Where I think Royal miscalculated was in how long they let the double miles program run. They ran the promotion for to long and it has resulted in an explosion of Diamond members. I'm on Wonder right now and according to a loyalty event I went to largest number of guest onboard in the Crown and Anchor society are diamond members. Now Royal is trying to figure out how to best deal with over crowding in the lounge.  Right now with the huge influx of diamond members and the number of diamond members onboard they have restricted access to the Crown lounge during certain times of the day.  There is only so many people who can safely fit inside that lounge here on Wonder.

I was already diamond plus when Royal rolled out this promotion but that promotion has cut down significantly on the amount of time it will take for me and my husband to reach pinnacle status.   In my opinion if the promotion helped you cut down the time an the number of cruises you had to take to reach diamond I think its disingenuous to complain because Royal now has to respond to huge influx of diamond members which is now leading to overcrowding in the lounge formerly known as the diamond lounge.  

There were some people on this site (I was as not one of them as I benefited from the promotion) who issues warnings about that promotion when it was launched and warned something like this could happen but if my memory served me correctly most of us on this site didn't care all we cared about was double points on each cruise. Now the time has come where someone has to pay for this and unfortunately for NOW the group paying for that promotion are diamond members as it appears to be the group that experienced the largest increase in members which probably can be traced back this promotion 

[Doug_Texas]

2 hours ago, Riley said:

They did? We got ours on "Jewel".

The C&A web site still shows the "personalized gift" while the C&A benefit sheet in our stateroom last week had it clearly removed and we only received water.  I have no idea what is going on.

 

IMG_0785.pdf

[twangster]

5 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

That would be a disastrous move from a customer relations standpoint. 

Not many people were complaining in 2021 when Royal launched the double points program except people who were already pinnacle.  Royal did what they had to do to get people back on their cruise ships.  Airlines did the same thing in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 where they extended the status people earned in 2019 to try and get them to fly. The problem now is you have lounges that are full both on Royal ships and airline lounges. 

Where I think Royal miscalculated was in how long they let the double miles program run. They ran the promotion for to long and it has resulted in an explosion of Diamond members. I'm on Wonder right now and according to a loyalty event I went to largest number of guest onboard in the Crown and Anchor society are diamond members. Now Royal is trying to figure out how to best deal with over crowding in the lounge.  Right now with the huge influx of diamond members and the number of diamond members onboard they have restricted access to the Crown lounge during certain times of the day.  There is only so many people who can safely fit inside that lounge here on Wonder.

I was already diamond plus when Royal rolled out this promotion but that promotion has cut down significantly on the amount of time it will take for me and my husband to reach pinnacle status.   In my opinion if the promotion helped you cut down the time an the number of cruises you had to take to reach diamond I think its disingenuous to complain because Royal now has to respond to huge influx of diamond members which is now leading to overcrowding in the lounge formerly known as the diamond lounge.  

There were some people on this site (I was as not one of them as I benefited from the promotion) who issues warnings about that promotion when it was launched and warned something like this could happen but if my memory served me correctly most of us on this site didn't care all we cared about was double points on each cruise. Now the time has come where someone has to pay for this and unfortunately for NOW the group paying for that promotion are diamond members as it appears to be the group that experienced the largest increase in members which probably can be traced back this promotion 

Overcrowding in the lounge has been an issue for a long time.  The original 3 free drinks nearly 10 years ago was an early attempt to deal with it.  The limited drink menu back then made the 3 drinks less appealing.  Before the shutdown and the double points promo there were numerous threads on how Royal needs to fix the program due to high numbers.  The 4/5/6 anytime drinks from the full bar menu was another attempt to deal with it.  Restricting D+ and P lounge access on high top tier cruises started before the shutdown.  These are examples of tweaks to the program to deal with increasing numbers and most of the current tweaks have roots from before the shutdown and double points promo.  

The double points promo for most cruisers just restored what would have been their natural place if the industry wasn't shutdown.  The exception is frequent cruisers who gained more benefit from it.  I've not heard Pinnacles complaining about it, just the opposite as many used it to advance themselves to another free cruise certificate (or two, or three).  Instead it's mostly Diamonds who I've heard complain about it, unaware for many that crowded lounges are a decades old problem.

[deButler]

3 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

I'm on Wonder right now and according to a loyalty event I went to largest number of guest onboard in the Crown and Anchor society are diamond members. Right now with the huge influx of diamond members and the number of diamond members onboard they have restricted access to the Crown lounge during certain times of the day.   

Are you on the Oct 22nd sailing now?

We were onboard last week where we were congratulated as new Diamonds finally and then locked out from the “Crown Lounge” as well during the Happy Hour times. It was told to us by the the concierge that this was a “One time exclusion due to the Signature event going on in the Casino”.
 

If Diamonds are locked out AGAIN this very next cruise then obviously this is a planned exercise that will continue and not a single cruise, event related, occurrence. 

[karl_nj]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

Moving the goalposts (changing thresholds) is a non-starter.  Disaster move from a customer relationship perspective. 

The best solution will always be adjusting perks and benefits to adapt the program to suit the overall goals of a free loyalty program over time.  That is what they have done in the past, that is what they are currently doing and that will be what they do in the future.  

Well, they have also "moved the goalposts" in the past, but they have done it along with a bigger change around the criteria.  Such as when they moved from getting Diamond after 10 cruises, to getting it after 80 points. So they went from people needing to take 12 seven night cruises to hit diamond, instead of 10. But they also closed a "loophole" where you could hit diamond after 5 three night cruises in a suite.

I guess it's possible that they make bigger changes to the program, perhaps to also include spend as a criteria. But to avoid blowback, they would need to make the change complicated, so it isn't very apparent the goalposts were moved.

 

[teddy]

10 hours ago, twangster said:

The double points promo for most cruisers just restored what would have been their natural place if the industry wasn't shutdown. 

We fit this description. 
 

Sure, it actually took less cruises for us to reach Diamond than we would have if there was no pandemic.  However, we also jumped through the testing hoops, vaccination hoops, and masking hoops to go on cruises during the pandemic. There’s also flying….flying to Florida from Maine ensured we got to spend all day in masks.  I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it was to fly coast to coast.  

The fact in all of this is that if there had been no double points promo, we’d still be Diamond at this point in time because we would have been cruising during the time the industry was shut down.

[OCSC Mike]

FYI, no CL restrictions on Allure’s 1st sailing from PC that left yesterday. Nice view while I enjoyed some breaded shrimp before dinner.

It wasn’t full at 5:00 but there were a good number of seats taken.

[BrianB]

My opinion…

Royal panicked (understandably so) when the unprecedented shutdown occurred.

The entire business was rocked with huge losses that had to be balanced with enormous, expensive debt in the form of long term loans with very unattractive interest rates. There was no bailout, no subsidies, no government assistance of any kind…to my knowledge. They were left adrift on their own without a paddle. Some say they had significant profits stored away for emergencies, but I don’t think anyone could have ever imagined or prepared for such a long period of zero income. They realized their industry was being demonized with everything from ‘Petri Dish Cruising’ to ‘Covid Cruises’. Public perception was at it’s worse.

So they relied on their loyal cruisers when the restart occurred. Nobody knew how many would just stay away. So they offered incentives…double points, lower pricing, cheaper extras. Anything that would help bring back the regulars and help attract new customers. We were the priming for the pump.

But I don’t think they were expecting such a huge response. For whatever reason…cruise bookings have exploded. Ships are sailing at over one hundred percent capacity. Cruise Planner purchases are at an all-time high. Onboard spending is better than ever. Loyalty levels are saturated with new upper level members.

So they do what any other business would do…they start raising prices and see if demand continues. It did. So they raise prices even more. And people are paying more. Demand keeps rising so prices keep rising. I really think they are flabbergasted (and I don’t use that word lightly) that passengers are really paying such ridiculous prices for things that were so less expensive such a short time ago.

Just as an example, CocoCay Beach Club was $88. Now…some sailings are over $300. Overwater cabanas have risen to a price where instead of renting it for a few hours, it’s more like taking out a mortgage. Yet people are paying. The demand is there.

I don’t blame the company for acting like a for-profit business. But I think they should be able to figure out better ways they can reward their most loyal cruisers who helped ‘prime the pump’. At least come up with some way to improve the perception that we are as important to them now as we were at the beginning of the restart.

For me…I really appreciate what I get with my loyalty status. I know any of the perks can be removed or changed at any time. I really don’t care about the lounge access…it’s not important to me. But, it is important to so many others. I love the new MDR menus and don’t eat in CK…even when I’m in a suite. I appreciate the drinks and…especially…the WiFi.

I don’t know what can be done…but it’s fairly apparent that reading blogs and posts show there are many who feel under appreciated. This period of huge profits may eventually slow…or even reverse. And they will once again rely on the ‘Loyal to Royals’ to prime their pumps once again. 

Or, judging by the amazing comeback, maybe they realize they don’t have to anymore…

Just my opinion.

[smokeybandit]

18 minutes ago, BrianB said:

Just as an example, CocoCay Beach Club was $88. Now…some sailings are over $300.

It's that ole supply and demand thing. If people weren't paying those prices, the prices would go down.

[teddy]

Still called Diamond on Explorer, but I guess that could change when she gets back to the States in a couple weeks. 
 

We’ve been meaning to come here during happy hour to see how busy it is, but never made.  It’s 145 pm on day 7 (of a 7-day itinerary) and completely empty.  Coffee machine works great and there are softish chocolate chip cookies

 

 

[FloatyBoaty]

It was still called Diamond on Quantum when we got off the transpacific yesterday but heard from a manager that it was supposed to be changed to Crown that first day in Brisbane 

[deButler]

On 10/16/2023 at 9:28 AM, Matt said:

Regarding the issue with Diamonds on Wonder, that cruise is a casino signature level cruise, so it's just a one-off as best we can tell due to the unique nature of that sailing.

Doesn’t appear that this was a One Off event related change. I would just consider this a permanent change as we all expected.
 now onboard Jewel with no special events happening but the same letter we received on Wonder 2 weeks ago.  No denying they are just implementing Michael Bayley’s solution to over crowding in the “Diamond Lounge” with Rebranding to Crown Lounge and this new time restricted access on each cruise. 

[smokeybandit]

It just means if you sail on dates or itineraries popular (and cruises longer than 8 nights typically are that)  with top tiers.

 

BTW, Edna is an awesome concierge.  

[deButler]

21 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

It just means if you sail on dates or itineraries popular (and cruises longer than 8 nights typically are that)  with top tiers.

 

BTW, Edna is an awesome concierge.  

Exactly. Figured the count IS high given the number of Pinns we’ve seen embarking. Just interested to see how they are setting the thresholds. Our Wonder trip (10/15) had 483 Diamond,   467 Diamond +,  & 97 Pinnacle. Here we have a smaller lounge so I figured they will consider a much smaller number the maximum threshold. They did have the divider open during embarkation. 
 

Can’t wait to meet her. We’ll tell her you said hello

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, deButler said:

Doesn’t appear that this was a One Off event related change. I would just consider this a permanent change as we all expected.

I wouldn't and I didn't expect it. No restrictions on Allure (got off this morning).

[smokeybandit]

46 minutes ago, deButler said:

Can’t wait to meet her. We’ll tell her you said hello

A real sweetheart.  She is her own cartoon version of herself, and I say that as a compliment.