Consolidating Loyalty Programs

[dadecitycruiser]

Has there ever been any discussion of consolidating loyalty programs accross the Carnival Fleets? From a personal point of view (selfish) I have 3 cruises that I am getting little or no credit for since I will do most of my cruises on HAL. BUT... the other cruises were on Carnival owned lines.

 

As long as Carnival Corp. is getting your dollars it would seem to make sense to recognize it. It sure would make selecting a cruise easier with 5 lines to choose from in your planning.

 

What are the "cons" that I may be missing?

 

DCC

[sail7seas]

I sailed on Princess about 5 or 6 cruises prior to Carnival Corporation owning them. Should I get credit for those cruises?

 

[tjcox9]

Some time ago - a year (?) maybe, some of us received an online survey asking questions that led one to believe that there was some consideration of combining some of the lines, not all - HAL, Princess and Carnival, as I recall were the ones in the survey.

 

It was one of those, what is most important to you type of surveys. I've not seen or heard anything more about it since.

[Randyk47]

My answer is yes, no, and maybe. Yes, it's been discussed on this board that at least the cruise days ought to be transferred and fully honored from line to line within the Carnival group. No, I don't think I've ever seen anything official other than one survey from Carnival about a fully consolidated loyalty program for all their products. The maybe is that while it makes perfectly good sense to us it may not make the same good sense to the overall Carnival corporation or the individual lines within Carnival. My understanding is that while they're all part of the same larger company the lines are run somewhat independently and must financially stand on their own. They are different products and while there is obviously some overlap at the edges they all have their specific market demographic. To me it would make sense for my 3-star HAL status to gain me some kind of consideration on say Seabourn and that might make me more likely to try that line but I'm not sure Seabourn sees that as much of an issue.

[kazu]

My answer is yes, no, and maybe. Yes, it's been discussed on this board that at least the cruise days ought to be transferred and fully honored from line to line within the Carnival group. No, I don't think I've ever seen anything official other than one survey from Carnival about a fully consolidated loyalty program for all their products. The maybe is that while it makes perfectly good sense to us it may not make the same good sense to the overall Carnival corporation or the individual lines within Carnival. My understanding is that while they're all part of the same larger company the lines are run somewhat independently and must financially stand on their own. They are different products and while there is obviously some overlap at the edges they all have their specific market demographic. To me it would make sense for my 3-star HAL status to gain me some kind of consideration on say Seabourn and that might make me more likely to try that line but I'm not sure Seabourn sees that as much of an issue.

 

Randy make some good points here. If we look at the loyalty programmes they are all different. How do you merge them? You are going to have unhappy people in each group as everyone has different ideas. Plus, it will increase costs to all cruise lines.

 

The cruise lines do have to stand on their own, but it would be nice if you are say, a three or four star mariner on HAL and sailing on one of the other lines in the 'group' if there could be something done. It might help the Seabourns/whichever line.

 

If there was 'something' then perhaps I would book Seabourn instead of Crystal or Oceania? Same thing with the premium lines - if I've sailed Princess and want to try another line, a bit of motivation might swing me to HAL instead of say, Celebrity.

 

Just a wild and crazy idea, but it would be a balancing act for profit and client satisfaction. It would be nice though :)

[iancal]

Carnival Corp's loyalty programs are not great when compared with other travel reward programs. HAL's appear to be the worst of a bad lot.

 

I think the issue is competion. I cannot see Carnival starting any sort of a competition on reward programs among their own corporate brands. Why would they as it would hurt the corporate bottom line.

 

Their competition is RCI and to a certain extent NCL. If RCI does not do something similar (and to date they have not), then I cannot see Carnival doing it either...or improving the individual plans that they currently have.

[rburk]

Since it doesn't seem that being loyal to Holland America has much pay back, I don't see that it much matters. They recently made changes to the program so now unless you practically live on board there isn't much you get for being loyal. I keep hearing about upgrades that happen to loyal cruisers, exactly how many times do you have to cruise to get upgraded. The only upgrades I get offered are the kind you have to pay for. I am on my third cruise in less than a year all on Holland America, with three previous cruises with them. I think I am going to be exploring other options for my next cruise.

[sail7seas]

rburk.......

 

The thing with HAL is they have such a huge base of repeaters, they really don't have to offer all sorts of 'goodies'. They have the highest percentage of people cruising again and again. There are many Mariners who have hundreds of days with HAL

[iancal]

We are starting to lean more to Celebrity for a number of reasons. I do not hold out any hope for worthwhile loyalty rewards as long as the cruise industry is concentrated between two major corporate players. We are in a demographic group that HAL should, and is supposedly, directing their marketing and promotion efforts toward. We do not really feel the love or see the changes-it is same old same old.

 

Airlines are the opposite..lots of competition. We just booked a spring reward trip on our air miles. Canada to Venice with a stopever in London. That's a reward and it certainly beats having a few shirts cleaned gratis, a 'free' meal, or some sort of medal that one is supposed to hang over one's neck.

 

That is the difference between competition and an oligopoly. And I think that we spend more on cruise fares than we do on airfares.

[kazu]

Since it doesn't seem that being loyal to Holland America has much pay back, I don't see that it much matters. They recently made changes to the program so now unless you practically live on board there isn't much you get for being loyal. I keep hearing about upgrades that happen to loyal cruisers, exactly how many times do you have to cruise to get upgraded. The only upgrades I get offered are the kind you have to pay for. I am on my third cruise in less than a year all on Holland America, with three previous cruises with them. I think I am going to be exploring other options for my next cruise.

 

 

Nothing wrong with an upsell, if it's the right one. You can SAVE a lot of money. Of course, if that is not of interest to you and you want a free upgrade, I understand where you are coming from. Our next cruise we will be four star mariners and have NEVER been offered a free upgrade.

 

we have been offerered upsells though at very appealing prices that we grabbed. So, it's all in how you look at things.

 

I'll take the (soon to be) 50% discount on my wine package, thank you and my free laundry thank you. Because I like the line.

 

Different strokes............

 

no worries, each to their own. We've sailed on a lot of lines and prefer this one unless we move to luxury.

 

No matter where you sail, no matter what ship you are on, have a good cruise :):)

[rburk]

Like I said, I am going to be investigating other cruise lines in the future. We froze on the ms Amsterdam in December and no amount of complaints fixed it. A lot of folks were thinking of wearing their robes over their formal wear for one night to see if that would get someone's attention. I am not talking about our room temperatures, but the show room, dining room, theater, and the piano bar was like a 'meat locker' the whole 12 days. The pianist had made requests every night to get a warmer temperature but to no avail.

[Desert Cruisers]

rburk.......

 

The thing with HAL is they have such a huge base of repeaters, they really don't have to offer all sorts of 'goodies'. They have the highest percentage of people cruising again and again. There are many Mariners who have hundreds of days with HAL

 

While there are many loyal repeaters, a significant number of these repeaters are aging. HAL needs to continue to attract a younger audience to replace those passengers. We have sailed HAL - 2 star Mariners - but find it to be oriented to an older "pre-baby boom" crowd. Our main allegiance is to Princess. There is very little incentive for us, as Elite-level cruisers on Princess, to sail HAL. HAL's frequent cruiser program is very weak compared to what we get on Princess.

[Jade13]

I sailed on Princess about 5 or 6 cruises prior to Carnival Corporation owning them. Should I get credit for those cruises?

 

 

No, but HAL is not keeping up with the competition. Celebrity and Azamara points are all being combined through this April/May. There is also reciprocal status among the RCCL brands. HAL made a slight move so that those who have cruised on Princess or Carnival will have one mariner point when they board and can go to the past passenger luncheon. There really is not much to the HAL program, so does not really seem to make a differance whereas Azamara and Celebrity have free internet at certain levels.

[doncarlos]

There really is not much to the HAL program, so does not really seem to make a differance whereas Azamara and Celebrity have free internet at certain levels.

 

 

suspect free internet is on the horizon sooner than later:)

[iancal]

I would not really call being invited to to the 'past passenger luncheon' anything to write home about. We have several cruises on each of the Carnival Corp brands but frankly we would not be that interested in attending such a lunch on HAL or on any other Carnival ship.

 

Getting a 'free' lunch that I have already paid for in my cruise fare does not even come close to my notion of a loyalty reward.

[Nancyquilts]

suspect free internet is on the horizon sooner than later:)

Next month would be good!:D

[Randyk47]

I would not really call being invited to to the 'past passenger luncheon' anything to write home about. We have several cruises on each of the Carnival Corp brands but frankly we would not be that interested in attending such a lunch on HAL or on any other Carnival ship.

 

Getting a 'free' lunch that I have already paid for in my cruise fare does not even come close to my notion of a loyalty reward.

 

Next month would be good!:D

 

I agree about the "free lunch", nothing particularly outstanding about that. I'd add that free Internet isn't a big deal for us, in fact really of no use as we kind of refuse to take a laptop or netbook with us on a cruise. Both my wife and I kind of live on our computers as part of our jobs and thought of getting away from any computer sounds so good we just don't haul the equipment with us. I understand that's a big deal and a great perk for some and I'm just pointing out that it's hard to find a package of rewards that meets everybody's wants and desires.

[djhsolara]

No matter what the details of the program involves, IMHO I am one who does believe that all of the lines of Carnival Corp should have a unified loyalty program. It isn't competition...it will all have a positive effect on Carnival Corp's bottom line. As long as you're sailing on one of their lines, why should you not receive the same recognition? I might want to have different experiences...HAL doesn't sail locally for me and I might want to take a cruise from close to home, so I'd have to choose Carnival. I might want a distinctive experience so I might choose Cunard. Maybe I want to go on the Love Boat, so I'll choose Princess. Why should my reason for cruising one of Carnival Corp's determine my loyalty...the loyalty to me is to the company, not the line.

 

Take a minute and equate this to land-based hotels (and I've discussed this in the past on here as well)...Hilton has a great loyalty program. They don't care if you're staying at Hilton, Hilton Garden, Hampton, Doubletree...you're still staying with a Hilton family hotel and you receive the same type of recognition.

 

Honestly, I think the loyalty should not only be based on the days cruised but on the dollars spent. We all know that we all pay different amounts for sailings and we all spend different amounts onboard...there should be some sort of recognition for that as well. Just like at the casinos in Vegas or AC...the more you spend the more you get.

 

:) :)

[iancal]

Marriott, Starwood, and Meridien/Mercure are the same...stay at one of the 'members' and you account is credited accordingly.

 

There is a difference though...everyone has access to the same pricing schedules no matter where they live AND there is a great deal more competition in the hospitality business.

[sail7seas]

<snip>

Honestly, I think the loyalty should not only be based on the days cruised but on the dollars spent. We all know that we all pay different amounts for sailings and we all spend different amounts onboard...there should be some sort of recognition for that as well. Just like at the casinos in Vegas or AC...the more you spend the more you get.

 

:) :)

 

 

HAL Mariner's Program Does take spending into consideration. You earn one extra day for every $300 spent. Any pre-spending done in advance of boarding, such as excursions or Pinnacle Restaurant etc, is included.

[iceman93]

HAL Mariner's Program Does take spending into consideration. You earn one extra day for every $300 spent. Any pre-spending done in advance of boarding, such as excursions or Pinnacle Restaurant etc, is included.

 

Yeah, sort of. For the amount I spent on cruise fare plus extras I am clearly worth more to HAL's bottom line than some customers who sail up to 10x the number of days I do. I don't think the suite and $300 bonus really cut it, especially since both are limited to multiplying the actual number of days sailed and not unlimited.

 

Hotel programs tend to offer elite status based on nights or stays but points based on spending. That seems to be a better model than the airline miles model based on distance flown (with a small bonus for full-fare or premium cabin travel).

[sail7seas]

You got double days for sailing in the Suite. We always have the number of days aboard x 2. For a ten day cruise in a Suite, if we spend (for example) $2,100, we get ten days x 2 = 20 days plus seven more days for our spending. (One day for every $300). In this example, a 10 day cruise, earned 27 days for DH's account and for mine.

 

Truthfully, once you reach 200 days and become Four Star Mariner, there is nothing to gain (other than the enjoyment of the cruises, of course) by adding more days. The program tops out at 200 days.

 

 

[ironin]

Does anyone here know of an airline or hotel loyalty program that does NOT require annual recertification to maintain elite status (other than million milers)? Does anyone here know of a cruise line that DOES require annual recertification to maintain elite status?

 

Airline million milers do usually get permanent elite status, although I've read that many of the programs have cut back on their benefits as well. AFAIK, none of the hotel programs I'm enrolled in calculate elite status based on a combination of amount spent and days spent. It is either/or.

[iceman93]

Does anyone here know of an airline or hotel loyalty program that does NOT require annual recertification to maintain elite status (other than million milers)? Does anyone here know of a cruise line that DOES require annual recertification to maintain elite status?

 

Airline million milers do usually get permanent elite status, although I've read that many of the programs have cut back on their benefits as well. AFAIK, none of the hotel programs I'm enrolled in calculate elite status based on a combination of amount spent and days spent. It is either/or.

 

No, but as I said elite status is usually based on nights or stays, while points are earned based on dollars spent.

 

The annual requalification doesn't work in an apples to apples sense, though. People fly or stay in hotels repeatedly throughout a calendar year. While some people cruise more than once a year, most do not. Even loyal cruisers probably don't spend more than 30 days a year on a particular line's ships. Rewarding those who do could make financial sense (by going after those who book really long voyages or who spend their retired days largely at sea), but that's different than trying to build long-term loyalty over many years.

 

What the cruise lines really want to do is to get the casual regular cruiser to be loyal. If you're going to take one vacation a year, they want it to be on their cruise line rather than a competing line or a land-based vacation. So in that sense they offer perks to keep you coming back, which would be worthless if they reset every January 1st.

[GeriatricNurse]

You got double days for sailing in the Suite. We always have the number of days aboard x 2. For a ten day cruise in a Suite, if we spend (for example) $2,100, we get ten days x 2 = 20 days plus seven more days for our spending. (One day for every $300). In this example, a 10 day cruise, earned 27 days for DH's account and for mine.

 

Truthfully, once you reach 200 days and become Four Star Mariner, there is nothing to gain (other than the enjoyment of the cruises, of course) by adding more days. The program tops out at 200 days.

 

 

 

 

What about the medallions after 200 days!:confused: (Or have they been eliminated, again)?:rolleyes: