Captain's Club Revamp- Stinks for me!

[Orator]

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Captain's Club Points were not received until cruises were completed, so having trips booked and paid for would not have counted anyway.

 

Just to clarify: no one advocated awarding points prior to the completion of a cruise. The argument was whether or not people who booked and paid in full under the old system prior to the announcement of the new system should be given the option of having points calculated under the old rules. Obviously if they did not actually take the cruise they wouldn't received any points. One can read all the arguments and make up their own mind.

[NLH Arizona]

I cant stand anymore 82 out of 247 was posted by this two person.The percentage is 33.198%

Thats what the poster MAJORITY means.

Every times I come to this thread and I see their posts.

Looks like they are Full time employee of Celebrity :confused::confused::confused:

Let's see, I've been accused of being a Captain on one of the ships, a travel agent that works for Celebrity and now a Celebrity employee. Wow! All because I voice my opinion on the Captain's Club, which I feel was totally fair. Based on what I've been accused of being, you would then have to wonder where the poster would think those that so strongly disagree with the program works for.

Edited January 5, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[MicCanberra]

This is a perfect example of a misinterpretation of the OP's and many other's sentiments.

I have not read any comments like this except from those wishing to trivialize those who are not thrilled

with X's changes to its loyalty program. Yes celebrity can make changes and no that is not why we wish to cruise Celebrity.

 

Most of the complaints focus on how Celebrity changed the program without any transition period or any allowances given

especially to those who had booked and paid for upcoming cruises.

 

Frankly it's not a big deal but neither is it no deal. The loyalty program is not a big part of the entire Celebrity "package",

but it is a part of the package.

Well said.:D

[MicCanberra]

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Captain's Club Points were not received until cruises were completed, so having trips booked and paid for would not have counted anyway.

They didn't but they then offered new bookings 25 bonus points, and still left us with no options to take advantage of that without penalty.:D

[WpgCruise]

Why is it that some people think that by saying the same thing over and over and over that all of a sudden the rest of the Cruise Critic Community will sit up and post "My Goodness, You Were Right All Along!"

 

Why not agree that there are differing opinions and move along?

 

Sheese, it's like being back on the schoolyard playground.

 

I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right.

 

 

[Tenderpaw]

This thread was originally about the fact that:

 

1. I'm unhappy that my cruise was bought and paid under the old program but am earning points under the new program.

 

2. I'm further away from Elite now in terms of number of cruises needed than before. I was looking forward to having the Elite perks and only would have needed one more cruise to have them.

 

Item #1 is the biggest issue for me.

 

I don't understand the logic that these changes aren't a "cut". If it takes more cruises than before to reach Elite, it is a cut in Celebrity's future expenses. Fewer cruisers will ultimately reach Elite. Yes, their current expense level will be the same or increase a little for the Zenith people, but ultimately their expenses will decrease long term. The number of people at the Zenith level will probably remain fairly constant over time.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Tenderpaw

[richstowe]

After reading through this thread, about all I can add is:

 

Life isn't fair, then you die.

 

How do we want to be remembered, as someone who fussed their life away about a free loyalty program, or as someone who was great company, loved life and appreciated the gifts life gave them.

 

Some of us perhaps need to give our heads a shake.

 

Why is it that some people think that by saying the same thing over and over and over that all of a sudden the rest of the Cruise Critic Community will sit up and post "My Goodness, You Were Right All Along!"

 

Why not agree that there are differing opinions and move along?

 

Sheese, it's like being back on the schoolyard playground.

 

I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right, no I'm right.

I guess in the end you had more to add. Welcome to the schoolyard playground.

[MicCanberra]

This thread was originally about the fact that:

 

1. I'm unhappy that my cruise was bought and paid under the old program but am earning points under the new program.

 

2. I'm further away from Elite now in terms of number of cruises needed than before. I was looking forward to having the Elite perks and only would have needed one more cruise to have them.

 

Item #1 is the biggest issue for me.

 

I don't understand the logic that these changes aren't a "cut". If it takes more cruises than before to reach Elite, it is a cut in Celebrity's future expenses. Fewer cruisers will ultimately reach Elite. Yes, their current expense level will be the same or increase a little for the Zenith people, but ultimately their expenses will decrease long term. The number of people at the Zenith level will probably remain fairly constant over time.

Good post.:D

[chamima]

This thread was originally about the fact that:

 

1. I'm unhappy that my cruise was bought and paid under the old program but am earning points under the new program.

 

2. I'm further away from Elite now in terms of number of cruises needed than before. I was looking forward to having the Elite perks and only would have needed one more cruise to have them.

 

Item #1 is the biggest issue for me.

 

I don't understand the logic that these changes aren't a "cut". If it takes more cruises than before to reach Elite, it is a cut in Celebrity's future expenses. Fewer cruisers will ultimately reach Elite. Yes, their current expense level will be the same or increase a little for the Zenith people, but ultimately their expenses will decrease long term. The number of people at the Zenith level will probably remain fairly constant over time.

 

Lots of us agree with you!

[baldercash]

I was on Mille doing a back to trans Pacific 35 days in Aqua Class.

Under old system I would get 6 points equals 180 points under new system.

I was into the 2nd leg when it came down and they converted the 1st & 2nd under the new system so 35 x 5 = 175 maybe I will raise a stink.....

 

The people in insides must have raised a huge stink.

[Putterdude]

This thread was originally about the fact that:

 

1. I'm unhappy that my cruise was bought and paid under the old program but am earning points under the new program.

 

2. I'm further away from Elite now in terms of number of cruises needed than before. I was looking forward to having the Elite perks and only would have needed one more cruise to have them.

 

Item #1 is the biggest issue for me.

 

I don't understand the logic that these changes aren't a "cut". If it takes more cruises than before to reach Elite, it is a cut in Celebrity's future expenses. Fewer cruisers will ultimately reach Elite. Yes, their current expense level will be the same or increase a little for the Zenith people, but ultimately their expenses will decrease long term. The number of people at the Zenith level will probably remain fairly constant over time.

 

I am with you, I am unhappy with the change. Now I will sit back and listen to the same 2 or 3 posters explain why I shouldn't be.:eek:

[Oville]

 

I am with you, I am unhappy with the change. Now I will sit back and listen to the same 2 or 3 posters explain why I shouldn't be.:eek:

 

Because you've only taken 2 Celebrity cruises and a slew of Princess sailings in your cruise history .;):rolleyes::D

Edited January 6, 2014 by Oville

[Putterdude]

Because you've only taken 2 Celebrity cruises and a slew of Princess sailings in your cruise history .;):rolleyes::D

Oh really, if you had looked at my signature you would have noticed that I leave on a b/b on the Silhouette which I booked and payed for long before the changes took place. These two cruises would have left me 7 nights in concierge away from Elite.....now I need 21 nights. You will excuse my anger....but please in an intelligent manner explain why I should not be unhappy. :confused:

[mcrcruiser]

The new program is fine for us;) .We are at 690 points & need 60 to reach Elite + . We can do that if we book concierge or aqua class cabins for our (2) 7 night Caribbean cruises =70 points +690 =760 total points :D

[baldercash]

Seems Celebrity changes is achieving what they want, which is people sailing C Class and above.

They can sail with insides empty if they can fill the premium cabins. From what people are posting they are sailing higher categories to achieve status quicker.

Loyalty does pay I guess if I had sailed exclusively X and Azamara the past 15 years I would be Zenith. As it is I am close to Diamond plus and have tier points on a bunch of other lines.

Thing is I would never trade those cruise experiences.

[C 2 C]

Celebrity has a loyalty program for rewarding passengers and attracting repeat cruisers. A friend told me years ago that he was told by another frequent cruiser to pick one cruise line in order to be rewarded for loyalty.

 

Changes to Celebrity's program have been rumoured for years. Frequent cruisers who picked Celebrity as their line of choice will be rewarded.

 

For those who have been playing the field, the road to Celebrity perks has become longer.

 

Celebrity (and many frequent X cruisers) realized that the path to Elite status was economically unsustainable and changed it.

Of course it is painful for many; of course those who were already at the new levels were happier than before.

I still believe it is overall the most generous loyalty program out there. However if the Celebrity cruise experience is not for some, accumulating points makes no sense anyways.

[bob278]

This thread was originally about the fact that:

 

1. I'm unhappy that my cruise was bought and paid under the old program but am earning points under the new program.

 

2. I'm further away from Elite now in terms of number of cruises needed than before. I was looking forward to having the Elite perks and only would have needed one more cruise to have them.

 

Item #1 is the biggest issue for me.

 

I don't understand the logic that these changes aren't a "cut". If it takes more cruises than before to reach Elite, it is a cut in Celebrity's future expenses. Fewer cruisers will ultimately reach Elite. Yes, their current expense level will be the same or increase a little for the Zenith people, but ultimately their expenses will decrease long term. The number of people at the Zenith level will probably remain fairly constant over time.

Best post I have seen that clearly states why the poster is upset. Facts followed by reaction.

 

I am with you, I am unhappy with the change. Now I will sit back and listen to the same 2 or 3 posters explain why I shouldn't be.:eek:

 

Because you've only taken 2 Celebrity cruises and a slew of Princess sailings in your cruise history .;):rolleyes::D

Immaterial. Putterdude had an expectation that was reasonable based on past practices. Doesn't matter what the expectation was, it was not met and he is disappointed.

 

Oh really, if you had looked at my signature you would have noticed that I leave on a b/b on the Silhouette which I booked and payed for long before the changes took place. These two cruises would have left me 7 nights in concierge away from Elite.....now I need 21 nights. You will excuse my anger....but please in an intelligent manner explain why I should not be unhappy. :confused:

Not possible. Your disappointment is valid and nobody should try to tell you how to feel.

 

I have followed this thread with some dismay and amusement. I think there are two definitely valid points of view that really have little to do with each other.

 

There are those who were negatively impacted by the change and are not happy. There are those who think the program was changed for the better and implemented fairly. They are all right.

 

Anyone who was negatively impacted should be upset and has every right to vent about it. Responses that might indicate sympathy but doubts that Celebrity would change are on point, but to say that people should not be upset or disappointed is useless and, frankly, insulting.

 

In a public forum, there will always be people who are passionate about certain things. Look at threads about dress code, smoking, chair hogs, etc. All are people who have different views on a subject and many go on and on and on and on.........:eek:

 

My only complaint is that some of these posts are reaching the point of personal attack and are out of line. Every person is entitled to their opinion and it should be respected. My favorite color is blue and if yours is red, I have no problem with that. We can both be right (and neither of us is wrong).

[NLH Arizona]

Celebrity has a loyalty program for rewarding passengers and attracting repeat cruisers. A friend told me years ago that he was told by another frequent cruiser to pick one cruise line in order to be rewarded for loyalty.

 

Changes to Celebrity's program have been rumoured for years. Frequent cruisers who picked Celebrity as their line of choice will be rewarded.

 

For those who have been playing the field, the road to Celebrity perks has become longer.

 

Celebrity (and many frequent X cruisers) realized that the path to Elite status was economically unsustainable and changed it.

Of course it is painful for many; of course those who were already at the new levels were happier than before.

I still believe it is overall the most generous loyalty program out there. However if the Celebrity cruise experience is not for some, accumulating points makes no sense anyways.

Very well said.

[Cruise Raider]

I am confused. Given the information above, you had to have had at least 8 old points (even if all 8 of your celebrity cruises were less than 5 days in inside cabins). That would have converted to 240 new points and I am pretty sure people with 8 points were given an additional 25 point bonus so that a 7-night cruise in Concierge Class would make them elite. How do you figure you need 3 more cruises?

 

If you really completed 8 cruises on Celebrity and need three more to make elite, then I can understand and agree with your frustration. But I really think you have mis-calculated.

 

The OP should check his point balance on the Celebrity site. If they didn't offer him any additional points, he could still make elite status in one cruise without a problem.

He/she stated: Now I'm at least 3 cruises away assuming i book CC for all of them!

If he/she had 8 points under the previous system, one CC or AQ cruise would have given him 10 points. So if the OP has 240 points, then 2 seven day cruises in CC would bump him/her into Elite (70 points)....or one 12 day cruise in CC or higher would do the trick (60 points)....assuming they didn't give him/her any additional points with the conversion.

For us, either way, the next cruise would have bumped us into Elite but they added an just enough additional points in order that we would only have to sail on a 7 day itinerary in an inside cabin to reach elite. We already had an 8 day CC cabin booked. I really think they tried to do what is fair for everyone.

[BosoxI]

I can't help but believe that X set up the new system with malice aforethought. Too many people had paid in full in advance of the revamp and lost a good number of points with the installatiion of the new system. DW and I have been Elite for sometime, but the two cruises we took in December would have put us within 30 points of Elite Plus and our March 2014 cruise would have put us well over 750. Elite Plus for us will have to wait until May 2014. Extra internet minutes and cappucini are not going to get us to raise a big stink, but we won't forget X's action when choosing future trips, as we are already Elite on other lines. Screw me once, shame on you; screw me twice... I surely do empathize with those who were so close to Elite (which is the most important tier to attain, I think) and now find themselves several cruises away. I guess X figures those people will stick with them, being so close to the higher tier. Maybe yes, maybe no. Time will tell.

[Tenderpaw]

Prior to my cruise in December, I had 6 points. The December cruise would have given me 8 points had it been calculated under the old system. Thus I would have been one cruise away from Elite. With conversion I would have had 240 points if they would have grandfathered the point calc considering when I paid. But since they elected to use the new system for that cruise even though I paid for it under the old system, I only get 215 points. Thus I need 2.5 cruises in a CC balcony to get Elite.

 

If they would simply grandfather the points on the cruise and then do the conversion based their conversion rules, I'd think they did the right thing. That seems fair to me and to X. Are they really saving that much otherwise?

[attilamom1217]

I agree that Celebrity could have/should have calculated booked/paid for cruises with some extra consideration in the conversion in the name of fairness.

 

We had 4 points (2 Concierge Class cruises - one 9 night; one 7 night) and were one point away from Select. We booked AQ for this January which would give us 6 points and move us to Select with one extra point toward Elite.

 

We will still reach Select after our Jan cruise (4x30 = 120 + 7x5 = 155 points). Not sure how many cruises we will need to make Elite, but the conversion for us put us where we thought we would be (Select).

 

I'm looking at a 12 nighter (CC or AQ) which would have been 3 points under the old system. That would not have been enough to bring us to Elite and it won't under the new system either.

 

I understand that many are upset because the math in the conversion did not work in their favor. I probably would be too if I ended up further behind that I was prior to the converstion. I'm sure as I move up toward Elite, I will feel like it is taking me forever to get there and will join the 'dissatisfaction club' then.

 

In the meantime - no one should ever tell anyone how they should feel. Those who are upset or disappointed have every right to feel that way.

 

Debbi

[Jade13]

OP, I'm in a similar boat. Anyone past final payment should have been given the old points, since they/we had agreed to a different contract when paying.

I can't do anything until my cruise points post, but if they don't give me the courtesy points (that some have reported), I will be going to the Better Business Bureau, reporting them under deceptive tactics. After all, when we made final payment, the agreed upon perks of a CC cabin included double the amount of tier points.

 

I even considered an Amex dispute since I didn't get everything that I paid for, but the extra money alone doesn't get me my points. The amount I'm now short is more than a few hundred to earn, and that's why I booked CC.

 

Maybe if enough of us do this, we will actually get our points back.

 

Really, you ae going to the BBB?

 

What would you dispute with American Express?

[MicCanberra]

Best post I have seen that clearly states why the poster is upset. Facts followed by reaction.

 

 

 

Immaterial. Putterdude had an expectation that was reasonable based on past practices. Doesn't matter what the expectation was, it was not met and he is disappointed.

 

 

Not possible. Your disappointment is valid and nobody should try to tell you how to feel.

 

I have followed this thread with some dismay and amusement. I think there are two definitely valid points of view that really have little to do with each other.

 

There are those who were negatively impacted by the change and are not happy. There are those who think the program was changed for the better and implemented fairly. They are all right.

 

Anyone who was negatively impacted should be upset and has every right to vent about it. Responses that might indicate sympathy but doubts that Celebrity would change are on point, but to say that people should not be upset or disappointed is useless and, frankly, insulting.

 

In a public forum, there will always be people who are passionate about certain things. Look at threads about dress code, smoking, chair hogs, etc. All are people who have different views on a subject and many go on and on and on and on.........:eek:

 

My only complaint is that some of these posts are reaching the point of personal attack and are out of line. Every person is entitled to their opinion and it should be respected. My favorite color is blue and if yours is red, I have no problem with that. We can both be right (and neither of us is wrong).

 

Spot on, great post.:D

[MicCanberra]

Prior to my cruise in December, I had 6 points. The December cruise would have given me 8 points had it been calculated under the old system. Thus I would have been one cruise away from Elite. With conversion I would have had 240 points if they would have grandfathered the point calc considering when I paid. But since they elected to use the new system for that cruise even though I paid for it under the old system, I only get 215 points. Thus I need 2.5 cruises in a CC balcony to get Elite.

 

If they would simply grandfather the points on the cruise and then do the conversion based their conversion rules, I'd think they did the right thing. That seems fair to me and to X. Are they really saving that much otherwise?

 

Almost the same situation, 6 credits and would have gone to 8 on my next cruise except I had already paid for a second cruise that would have got me to 10 credits and elite straight away. Now I will be 43 points short which may be another one or two cruises.:(