Perks and Amenities ?

[Jancruz]

Never choose your cruises for "perks"...

 

Sure, I love the free drinks I get on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean...but, when it really comes down to it, I can BUY my own drinks if I want...

 

All "Customer Loyalty" programs really just come down to marketing...

You can get all the same perks that any line gives you on any other line merely by paying for them...

 

So, when it comes down to it, you should choose your cruises for the itinerary, the ship, the food, the service, etc.

 

If you like what you get from the cruise and cruise line, you book it...If you don't like the cruise or cruise line or itinerary, all of the free perks in the world shouldn't make you take that cruise...

 

That said, I think the reason most Oceania cruisers come back to Oceania is because it is a pretty good product...The food is outstanding, the service is top flight, the ships are spacious and the itineraries are outstanding...

 

I don't think many Oceania cruisers are as price-conscious as a lot of cruisers who choose some other lines...So, paying for your drinks or your laundry is not that big a deal...

 

And there is a difference in attitude between those who over-value customer loyalty perks and those who don't care...To many people, it is not a matter of your past cruising history...You deserve great service because of THE CRUISE YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON AND PAYING FOR...not because of how many cruises you've been on with that cruise line before...

 

Recently, on one of these boards, a poster was looking at a specific Baltic itinerary with Princess...There was a similar, but slightly better itinerary, same dates, on a newer, less crowded Celebrity ship selling for about $400 pp lower for a standard Balcony cabin, so I recommended to this poster that they consider that one...I also said they should look into Oceania and Azamara with some 3-day St. Petersburg stays...Oh, no, they responded, they were "loyal" Princess cruisers and were "working" toward the next level on Princess' loyalty program, so they were ONLY considering Princess! I guess some people just think differently...

 

Steve you and I definitely think the same..I think I am at the top of Princess loyalty program but wouldnt go on them again since I have gone beyond the mass market ships..

 

Jancruz1

[Paulchili]

Steve you and I definitely think the same..I think I am at the top of Princess loyalty program but wouldnt go on them again since I have gone beyond the mass market ships..

 

Jancruz1

 

I am not quite as picky. I too will be Elite on Princess which gives us 500 min of internet and free laundry/dry cleaning. That's nothing to sneeze at, especially on a very long cruise.

Also, considering that Princes has 2 R ships and does some unique itineraries (such as circumnavigate Australia and North Pacific & Atlantic passages, all of which we will do), I don't mind cruising Princess for the right itinerary and price. My expectations will be appropriate to the cruise line I am on and I am not likely to be disappointed.

[Mura]

I am not quite as picky. I too will be Elite on Princess which gives us 500 min of internet and free laundry/dry cleaning. That's nothing to sneeze at, especially on a very long cruise.

Also, considering that Princes has 2 R ships and does some unique itineraries (such as circumnavigate Australia and North Pacific & Atlantic passages, all of which we will do), I don't mind cruising Princess for the right itinerary and price. My expectations will be appropriate to the cruise line I am on and I am not likely to be disappointed.

 

 

I'm sure you won't be disappointed, given your attitude. More power to you.

 

But I know that *I* would be disappointed on a Princess "R" ship given the assigned seating on a ship that was designed for OPEN dining. So for me it doesn't matter what they can offer, I'm not interested.

 

To each his own ...

 

(Now, if Princess were to go to open seating, more restricted smoking, etc., etc., I'm sure I might change my mind!)

[Paulchili]

Now, if Princess were to go to open seating, more restricted smoking, etc., etc., I'm sure I might change my mind!

 

Funny you should say that! Princess just announced significant changes to their smoking policy - NO MORE smoking in cabins or balconies :D Of course, you still have photographers and art auctions - each avoided very easily. Most of the ships have anytime dining, others have early and late. As we ALWAYS eat at 6:30 on Oceania, early dining works just as well for us on Princess (table for two or share).

It's all about the itineraries for us - everything else is just cruising; and how can that be all that bad? Yes - for the same itinerary and same price, I would choose Oceania. However, sadly, that never seems to be the case.

As you said - to each his/her own :)

[Paulchili]

Mura,

There is another thing that is good about early and late dining (*for us*). They have 2 shows and thus you can catch the show soon after your 6:30 dinner instead of having to wait for it till 9:30 or 9:45 as you have to on Oceania. That works well for us early diners - may not matter for late diners.

YMMV

[CintiPam]

As we ALWAYS eat at 6:30 on Oceania, early dining works just as well for us on Princess (table for two or share).

It's all about the itineraries for us - everything else is just cruising; and how can that be all that bad? Yes - for the same itinerary and same price, I would choose Oceania. However, sadly, that never seems to be the case...

 

We have even more in common than I thought, Paul! :) We tried 6:30 PM dining for all our specialty restaurant dinners this cruise, and because it was too cool for sunbathing and swimming (my usual after-shore visits occupations) in the Baltics, it worked out great for us. Left us time to enjoy some of the evening entertainment before the shows (which were substantially better than those on our cruise last year, a nice big improvement on Marina). We did evening trivia a couple of nights, but both the hosts and the guests were so intense and serious (the host seemed bothered by my joking around), we simply stopped going.

 

Our past experience was the afternoon trivia was for the deadly serious (you can hear a pin drop), but Martinis after-dinner trivia was for relaxing and joking, providing you did not speak about the answers. Ah, well, just gave me more time for coffee and dessert!:):)