I'm rarely insulted by free booze. To each his own. On our Mariner cruise, many Diamond Plus folks joined us in the Dragon's Lair for conversation and story-swapping. We had a good time...heck, we had a great time. Though I'm with you on the appetizers. I think they could've put a couple of trays of something out at a minimum cost.

The facts for my own situation are that I more frequently cruise on ships that do not have Concierge Lounges or Diamond Lounges, and as a result, the Diamond happy hour on ALL RCL ships represents an enhancement to the program on ships that do not have lounges. I maintain that when viewed in its totality, RCL's Crown & Anchor program is OK. Not fabulous, but better than a stick in my eye. I cruise RCL for the ships, the staff, and they tend to cruise where I want to go. And in that regard, they've never let me down. In short, RCL works for me. Might not work for others, and that's ok.