CL Access removed for Diamond members

[ritag35]

RCI sent out an announcement today that as of July 1, 2009 CL access will be for suite guests and diamond plus only on all ships that only have a CL. Freedom, Voyager Class, and Oasis and Allure will have the Diamond lounge, and that will be accessible for diamond members. On all other ships CL will only be available to suite and diamond plus guests. This is sure to cause a lot of angry people.

 

[reggae]

I can understand why they had to do this.

When they first started the Concierge Lounge, there were very few Diamond members on a cruise. It was very classy, lots of free hor'dourves, cappuccino's and drinks. As time went on, more and more people were filling up the lounge. (Maybe RCI didn't plan on so many Diamond Members??) It got bad. I actually saw people taking lots of booze from the lounge (bottles, beer, etc.). This really got out of hand. In addition, there were so many Diamond members on some cruises, that folks had to be turned away. Not good. It really doesn't take too long to become a Diamond member (like 5 or 6 cruises on a bigger ship), so before long, there were hundreds of D/M's on a Voyager Class ship.

Now we happen to be Diamond Plus (been cruising with RCI for many years), but I'm wondering (because I really don't know??) Do any other cruiselines (other than say Crystal) have free drinks every day for frequent cruisers?

We enjoy all the perks that we've had from RCI over the years. One of the biggest, I think, is the $200/300 off a balcony cabin for Diamond Members (on top of all other discounts).

(Just a note: I am a RCI fan, but NOT a Royal Champion)

 

[reggae]

This is quoted from the Crown and Anchor Benefits page: (Voyager Class is not listed here).

Due to limited capacity, the Concierge Lounge has not been able to accommodate our growing membership, challenging our ability to provide the optimum experience for our guests. Therefore the Concierge Lounge will now be accessible to our suite and Diamond Plus guests only. Diamond Members cruising on Freedom Class ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will continue to be able to experience exclusive access to a dedicated Diamond Lounge on these ships, which feature a complimentary 'happy hour' from 5-8:30pm daily.

 

[nlfletcher]

This isn't about the CL Access, but was in the same email message from RCCL. Concerning this "MyTime DiningSM, which allows guests more flexibility to dine according to their own schedule. As a cruiser with 25 cruises in the traditional way, i.e. first or second seating at the same table with OUR choice of eating companions and the same waitstaff, plus knowing how to check the dining room and making any changes as soon as we arrive on board, I HOPE that they are not going to go the route of Norwegian Cruise Lines.
We did one of their Freestyle cruises just in February and we absolutely hated it. We called it "Free For All" for the wait staff! We were not known by name by the second meal, they didn't know what we liked to drink, etc., if you liked coffee tea with dessert, you didn't get to know them at all and visa versa. Also, 14 of us (we met on the ship) decided we wanted to eat together for 1 meal, so a table for 14 was reserved on Thursday for Saturday night and they seated us at 2 tables not even by each other. We then told them we wanted a table for 14 together, then they got us one. On formal nights, (this was a 7 day cruise) they wore T-Shirts!!!. Female waitstaff goosing the male staff. Preening and picking at their teeth in the dining room mirrors. Playing on the basketball court during days at sea, lounging in uniform on deck, etc. But that is a whole other story! (I did get a survey from Norwegian and they were told all of this.) Anyways, tips were paid at the end of the cruise by being put on your onboard account automatically to be divided among the whole ships staff and the ship took care of paying the staff. So they had no desire or reason to serve people well as they would get their tips anyway! The only one's we were able to personally tip more for good service were the cabin steward (who did an excellent job) and room service staff.
I hope this wasn't too long or too off topic; I should have checked where to start this thread at. I just got the email and right away was trying to find out about the MYTime Dining
Nancy

 

[ritag35]

Nancy,

When RCI introduced MTD I was very unhappy, as we have experienced the same concept on NCL and Princess. Wehave lways had traditional late seating and were happy with that! However, we just had MTD on the NV during March, and it worked perfectly for us. We did make reservations for every night (usually between 8 and 8:15) and had the same waitstaff every night. We never had to wait for "our" table and were in and out of the dining room in about one hour, which was great. We were travelling with one other couple, and requested a table for 4, which we loved. Also, there were lots of tables of two at the windows, something not seen in the Main Dining Room......usually two tops are in the middle of the room, not at the windows. I think MTD works well for small groups, 2/4/6. While I have always enjoyed traditional dining, I didn't notice much difference doing the MT, except that we could change our dining times every night. No wait for tables (Princess gave us beepers, NCL was a bit of a free for all), same great service and servers, and dinner moved more quickly. I would do it again, no problem. In order to participate in MTD you have to prepay your tips (waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter and room steward), but our service was great all around, so no complaints.

Reggae, you are right, Voyager class doesn't have a separate Diamond lounge, so no CL access except on Freedom class ,Oasis and Allure/

 

[explorer50uk]

I must say I was pleased to hear RCCLs latest announcement that they are to only allow access to Concierge Lounge to Diamond plus and suites. This had to happen, the situation in the lounges was becoming crazy, last September on Liberty there were actually scuffles and arguments because people had to wait in such long lines to get a drink. The Concierge could not cope with the volume of passengers in the lounge and it made the whole business fairly unpleasant.
I can understand why people are annoyed, its a bit of a shame that people with over 20 cruises are to be penailised, but on a positive note they only have a few more to go and thent hey have access again. I think that in the not too distant future RCCL will totally pull the lounge for everyone because eventually there are going to be too many diamond plus for them to cope with. So all you diamond plus members enjoy while you can.!!!

 

[ritag35]

explorer50uk,

I think you are right...but I do think it will take a while before the numbers for D+ get to where the level of D was. I think you might see some more changes to the program, especially in the way cruise credits are counted. It doesn't seem to make sense to count a 3 day cruise and an 11 day cruise the same......however, that was the way Corporate made the rule, so you can't fault people for playing by the rules. I wonder what would happen if they went back and readjusted everyone's cruise count to days at sea....don't even want to think what that would cause.

We've been fortunate that we've never seen "fights" in the CL, but we have experienced very crowded conditions many times, and most times they have opened a satellite lounge. However, the concierge really can't contend with the large number of people in the satellite lounge (on the TA last year I heard there were over 700 diamond and diamond plus guests). Our last cruise a few weeks ago on NV had a crowded CL, but no overflow lounge....the concierge just put chairs around the room as it got crowded.
Service was fine, as he had a bartender that was outstanding.

I also understand why people are mad.......they have gotten used to the free happy hour and now it's being taken away. We'll have to see what happens to their bottom line......

Rita

 

[sanjoseca]

I believe that RCI is making the changes this year and taking the hit for possible lower bookings while the economy is down and their profits and revenue will already are impacted.

Perhaps RCI will be changing the credit structure to make it harder to reach the various levels......I'm sure, after all this, that theyn have to be looking further into the future.....I hope so, anyway.

 

[nlfletcher]

Re: My time dining

Thanks for your reply. I guess it won't be that bad if you have a choice on whether to do traditional dining as in the past or the MTD. If it becomes like NCL, seeing as we absolutely did not enjoy that, I don't know what we will do, as we love Royal Caribbean and would hate to see them go the route of NCL for ALL of their dining.
Nancy

 

[PH8]

I did MTD last week and LOVED it.................had the same wait staff and table.............would do this again............

and as far as the CL changes,'bout time............it really is getting outta hand.........

 

[cruisingator]

I don't have an issue with the changes. The CL was getting overcrowded and something needed to be done.

 

[spaman1]

Re: My time dining

I have cruised on NCL and the only ship that had time seating was the Norway. Don't get me wrong. It was nice. Ours was the first seating. I met new friends at the table that we sat on. One couple from Norway that I still e-mail too. The meals were nice too. but I rather the Freestyle dining. I usually go to the Buffets. Which means i can have seconds and I can have a private table only to me and my family. There is also more choices. I love NCL's Sushi Bar and Teppenyaki room and the Pizza and Hamburgers for lunch.

Sam

 

[Dan40]

On CL overcrowding, how many of the CL guests are not D or D+ but "guests" of the D and D+?

On the new dining option. It is an ADD on to early and late traditional dining. NCL went to ALL ANYTIME dining in a desperation attempt to look 'different.' RCL's add on to existing dining, same as all the CCL lines that have it now, is just a move to counteract NCL's move. And by having both, all the other lines have trumped NCL.

 

[PH8]

On CL overcrowding, how many of the CL guests are not D or D+ but "guests" of the D and D+?

L.

what about guests of the suite passengers??? Lets not forget them too......

But if the concierge allows guests, its their fault................they shouldnt allow it......plain and simple..............to me though,there is a fine line.........if one is travelling(as a cabinmate) with a non D pax, that person should be allowed in with them..........For the record,I have never done that,but I think one should be allowed to do it.................

 

[AJ coast]

It's peculiar that RCCL always seems to cut benefits in times of recession and decreased travel demand. Not a clever way to entice more cruising...