Captain's Club Survey

[dodger1964]

I just achieved Elite status after my last cruise' date=' so I have not yet sailed as an Elite. On our upcoming SE Asia cruise we are cruising with two other couples who are Elite, so will attend events together, but if they weren't Elite I would still attend the events. It's just an hour or so, and would be a nice chance to meet other people. That's the only potential pitfall of cruising with friends: you're less likely to reach out and meet others.[/quote']

 

I don't know how widespread or fair it is, but if you are sailing with another couple that is not elite, you can book in a way, together, so you all 4 get elite benefits.

[We're The Groupnors]

When I access cruise critic on my iPhone or iPad, I cannot see the poll itself. Does anyone else have the same problem?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I can see it on my I-pad.

[compman9]

Interesting that as many as 44 respondents believe status should relate to dollars spent.

 

I bet they don't have to fly from the UK to Puerto Rico, just to get an affordable cruise with a half interesting itinerary :eek:

 

No-one's status in life should be based on how much money they have got.

[FLACRUISER99]

I can see it on my I-pad.

 

I can see it in Safari not Tapatalk.

[Fixit2010]

I know most if not all lines have some loyalty programme, just like I have a tescos club card. However the captains club is a gimmic and doesn't influence me at all, even though my up and coming cruise will take me to Elite, I really am not swayed by it. I book a cruise based on the ship, whats on board, the destination and the price I pay with my TA.

 

If anything loyalty should be given on an account basis per customer, that way Celebrity can offer what it likes to individuals. It shouldn't be a case of we have cruised x days or spent x $/£ and we should get rewards xyz. It is for Celebrity to say Mr and / or Mrs have been very good to us and it is at our discretion that we give them such reward back.

 

I know it will never happen like this as people like something tangible and to be able to show to others their progression. (certainly in western society demonstrating progression is so important to so many).

[Bridge Maven]

I can see it in Safari not Tapatalk.

 

Flacruiser - That is probably the problem. Even though I obviously have the option of using Safari, I always read cruise critic in Tapatalk on my mobile devices.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Previously, I favored the idea of actual discounts available for Elite (or the hypothetical Elite Plus) tier, but the idea of cashing in points to get a discount appeals to me. Once you get to the highest level, additional points do you no good, except to be recognized as a cruise's top cruiser, which is really a separate deal-- I think they simply do that on the basis of total number of cruises, not CC points. So you get your ten cruise credits and become Elite-- once you get to twenty points, you have the opportunity to cash ten of them in to get a nice discount on a cruise. I'll leave it to others to debate what would constitute a "nice discount." Some exclusions may apply, like holiday cruises. From a business standpoint, it keeps 'em coming back for more. Otherwise, once a cruiser reaches Elite, there's no incentive for them to continue cruising if at some point they find themselves dissatisfied with X, even with the regular Elite benefits.

 

I don't know how widespread or fair it is, but if you are sailing with another couple that is not elite, you can book in a way, together, so you all 4 get elite benefits.

 

Not very widespread, but cabin swapping to take advantage of Elite benefits, senior, military, or residency discounts, Captain's Club free upgrades (inside and OV cabins only) is fair, according to Celebrity. They will even allow one adult and one child booked into a cabin each, then allow the kids to actually occupy their own cabin, as long as the cabins are adjacent or right across the hall. Believe me, I checked into this thoroughly. Book one Elite and one non-Elite into one cabin, same in another. Once you board, you can either have two of the "wrong" SeaPass cards recoded to open the "correct" doors or they will issue extra cards that only open doors.

 

However, I don't believe there are many benefits the non-Elite person would get, other than being able to accompany the Elite person to the CC lounge for breakfast and the social hour. For instance, the non-Elite would not receive the free 90 minutes of internet. Sailing with an Elite does not make someone else Elite for that cruise.

[Bridge Maven]

When I gave the option of earning points based on dollars spent, I was thinking of what Hotel programs do. They give you a credit for every dollar spent at their hotel, as well as various other perks. Then when you have accumulated enough points you can use them to get a credit for part of a hotel stay, and the points used for that credit are then deducted from your account.

 

BTW - when I made the final payment to the hotel's wedding coordinator for our daughter's wedding 8 years ago, I received a very pleasant surprise. We had selected this hotel because it had a beautiful ballroom with windows on three sides overlooking the city of Chicago, as well as good food and service, but never expected to receive any personal perks for doing so. Then when we made our final payment the hotel credited our Hyatt membership club with points for every dollar we spent on food and beverages for our daughter's wedding :)

[Orator]

The results of the poll is quite clear to this point on how Celebrity should calculate points:

Days: 61.89%

Dollars: 16.17%

Cruises: 20.87%

 

If you were at Celebrity reading this interesting thread what might you conclude:

1. We should go to days since that's highly favored,or

2. We should continue the status quo and let those folks on Cruise Critic continue to argue.

 

At some point we all need to get on the same page and organize a effort to improve the system.

[Iluvcruising2]

I don't know how widespread or fair it is, but if you are sailing with another couple that is not elite, you can book in a way, together, so you all 4 get elite benefits.

 

How do you do this?

 

We will be Elite by the time we go on our Celebrity cruise in Nov 2013.

 

However, our parents and/or in-laws would not be.

 

Is there any way we can get Elite benefits for them for this cruise by booking as a party?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

How do you do this?

 

We will be Elite by the time we go on our Celebrity cruise in Nov 2013.

 

However, our parents and/or in-laws would not be.

 

Is there any way we can get Elite benefits for them for this cruise by booking as a party?

 

See my post #32.

 

I don't believe there really is a way for non-Elites to become Elite for a cruise by booking with other Elites, although they can ride their coattails to enjoy some Elite benefits. These would pretty much be limited to the free category upgrade (inside and OV cabins only) that all CC members enjoy and being able to accompany their Elite cabinmate to the CC lounge for breakfast and the social hour.

 

It's not really that much, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Here's how you do it-- book one of you and one of your parents in one cabin, and your spouse and the other parent in another cabin. You don't have to travel that way, though. Once you board the ship, go to Guest Services and ask to have your parents' SeaPass cards recoded so they open the opposite doors they were originally programmed for. Reports vary on whether they will recode the SeaPass cards or simply issue additional cards that will only serve as a room key.

 

And I will restate that Celebrity is fine with this little game of Musical Cabins. We're not Elite, but we have our upcoming cruise with my in-laws booked that way, DFIL with me, DMIL with DW in the next cabin. We did it in order to take advantage of any senior or military (for DFIL's room) discounts that might have arisen. I previously had considered this a form of cheating, but was assured by four different Celebrity agents (I was paranoid enough that I called four times) and was told that Celebrity is fine with this, it happens all the time, we'd be smart if we did it this way, and one agent even suggested it before I could ask about it.

[Iluvcruising2]

See my post #32.

 

I don't believe there really is a way for non-Elites to become Elite for a cruise by booking with other Elites, although they can ride their coattails to enjoy some Elite benefits. These would pretty much be limited to the free category upgrade (inside and OV cabins only) that all CC members enjoy and being able to accompany their Elite cabinmate to the CC lounge for breakfast and the social hour.

 

It's not really that much, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Here's how you do it-- book one of you and one of your parents in one cabin, and your spouse and the other parent in another cabin. You don't have to travel that way, though. Once you board the ship, go to Guest Services and ask to have your parents' SeaPass cards recoded so they open the opposite doors they were originally programmed for. Reports vary on whether they will recode the SeaPass cards or simply issue additional cards that will only serve as a room key.

 

And I will restate that Celebrity is fine with this little game of Musical Cabins. We're not Elite, but we have our upcoming cruise with my in-laws booked that way, DFIL with me, DMIL with DW in the next cabin. We did it in order to take advantage of any senior or military (for DFIL's room) discounts that might have arisen. I previously had considered this a form of cheating, but was assured by four different Celebrity agents (I was paranoid enough that I called four times) and was told that Celebrity is fine with this, it happens all the time, we'd be smart if we did it this way, and one agent even suggested it before I could ask about it.

 

Thanks very much for the reply.

[Bridge Maven]

My understanding is that the only time a non elite friend who is traveling with you, if you are elite, is allowed to attend elite functions is if that person is sharing a cabin with you.