Celebrity Captain's Club changes

[hulamoon]

The search feature hasn't been working. The OP simply is expressing what hundreds did in multiple threads earlier. If he likes princess just as well and wants to go back, it doesn't make anyone else's vacation experience worse. I don't take it personally.

 

You are right 4cats, except for zenith the benefits need to be evaluated for their real value.

[boogs]

You must take short cruises.

 

Yep, they were probably playing the system to get to Elite in the shortest amount of time possible. Celebrity didn't like being taken advantage of and changed the program to make it more even for everyone - and now the OP is really mad! :rolleyes:

Edited February 27, 2014 by boogs

[BosoxI]

You are in luck. Good friends of ours, who have turned us on to cruising and have been rabid Princess fans for many years, have taken three Celebrity cruises with us so far (with another one in a few months) and have now switched sides. They took another cruise this past summer on Princess and won't go back again. According to them, Celebrity has tastier food, nicer cabins, and better ships. I think it's awfully nice of them to move UP to Celebrity so you have more room to move back DOWN to Princess.

 

By the way - they think the Celebrity perks are much better than Princess, where they were Platinum level before they switched. And these are people who thought they liked Princess until they tried Celebrity.

 

But, if you would rather go back to a cruise line with a loyalty program that is inferior to Celebrity's to prove your point, knock yourselves out. You'll really teach Celebrity a lesson! You are giving up a better product, with a better loyalty program, just so you can tell Celebrity to "show it". Real smart move. :rolleyes:

 

Wow! Was this really necessary?

[boogs]

Wow! Was this really necessary?

 

Yep. The OP is mad about not getting a free drink and won't cruise Celebrity anymore. My friends have come to appreciate Celebrity and won't cruise with Princess anymore. It was necessary to prove to the OP that not everyone thinks like he does. Some people actually prefer better products, even if they don't get the occasional free perk.

Edited February 27, 2014 by boogs

[grandgeezer]

There was talk of changing the loyality program for several years. You didn't think they were going to make it easier to move up levels did you? We were Elite after four cruises, but we continued cruising more cruises, at a higher cabin category, to get ready for the change. When the announced the changes, we had twenty five points, just enough to become Elite Plus. We'll never make it to Zenith, but that's O.K. If you didn't plan ahead that's on you. We'll stick with Celebrity and enjoy the free perks that we deserve.

Look at the other cruise lines and move on if you think it's better. We are 3 Star Mariners on HAL (101 days at sea), and Ruby on Princess (44 days) and get nothing.

Since RCL owns Celebrity, we are Diamond With RCL,even when we steped on one of their ships for the very first time. I think Holland America, Carnival, and Princess are all owned by the same company and there is no shared benefits when you change cruise lines.

[harz99]

They certainly did make it harder to reach the next level. This was something that many Elite's thought should be done and were vocal on this site as well as with Celebrity. They complained that it was too easy to become Elite and that the Elite functions were too crowded.

 

 

And the changes have made little difference to that position on the affected cruises!

 

The one thing that would have done that is to remove the RCI reciprocity, and leave both (or all 3 if you include AZ) loyalty programmes as stand alone.

[The_Big_M]

Go back and look over some of the threads, many were very vocal about wanting it to be harder for us to become Elite ...they said, there were too many Elites already that it was too crowded at the events and it was too easy for us to make elite (even though many made Elite under the same program and short cruises). They got what they wanted, but Celebrity also made it harder for them to make the next new levels as well. So, it worked out the same for everyone. At least Celebrity put everyone in the same position of having to cruise more to get to the next level.

 

My post didn't question whether it was said, just the irony of the situation.

[BosoxI]

Yep. The OP is mad about not getting a free drink and won't cruise Celebrity anymore. My friends have come to appreciate Celebrity and won't cruise with Princess anymore. It was necessary to prove to the OP that not everyone thinks like he does. Some people actually prefer better products, even if they don't get the occasional free perk.

 

In my experience "better products" tend to be in the eyes of the beholder, and yet you have taken it upon yourself to be the arbiter of "better products". Thanks, but I'll make up my own mind, having cruised many times on both P & C and a good number of other lines. I'm sure that a visit to the Princess CC site will find many people claiming just the opposite, that is, that Princess is the better product. You see, not everyone thinks as you do, either. Your friends won't cruise Princess anymore and the OP won't cruise Celebrity. Sounds like freedom of choice to me. No need for nasty diatribes.

[espo56]

I agree. They should have applied these changes to new members.

[miched]

I use to chase after loyalty levels but have gave it up. It is like waving the carrot in front of the mule or the dog chasing the car. Once you get you feel as if you accomplished something but then found that it really hasn't changed anything in your life. More times than not the perks are also changed once there because everyone else is also chasing after them and it becomes a overload.

 

Then more levels are added and the whole system is revised. The loyalty program is there to benefit the bottom line and not the customer. Sure some may really benefit but those are like the person that you will always see in the sales recruiting seminars that make in the 7 figures.

 

 

I see now that Delta is changing their frequent flier program so it is based on dollars spent instead of miles flown. When it comes down to the bottom line the money is made from those spending it and not those that are bargain seekers.

 

My loyalty is to what I feel is a good value and not due to chasing after that carrot.

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅🍸🍻

[boogs]

In my experience "better products" tend to be in the eyes of the beholder, and yet you have taken it upon yourself to be the arbiter of "better products". Thanks, but I'll make up my own mind, having cruised many times on both P & C and a good number of other lines. I'm sure that a visit to the Princess CC site will find many people claiming just the opposite, that is, that Princess is the better product. You see, not everyone thinks as you do, either. Your friends won't cruise Princess anymore and the OP won't cruise Celebrity. Sounds like freedom of choice to me. No need for nasty diatribes.

 

So, my opinion that Celebrity is a better product is not allowed? Who made you the opinion police? My point is that the OP is turning his back on Celebrity for the SOLE reason that he won't reach Elite status as soon as he thinks he should. Such a trivial reason, in my opinion (an opinion I have a right to have, by the way). Celebrity is a good product - even you admit that - and to throw a hissy fit and storm off because he can't get a free drink as quickly as he wants is pretty silly.

Edited February 27, 2014 by boogs

[fleckle]

Hi Secretbeach,

 

First off - welcome to Cruise Critic !

 

There are numerous threads on this forum, from folks who are unhappy with the formula Celebrity used when converting to the points system. While I feel that Celebrity did a fine job with the new perks - especially for Zenith members, which is the new Gold standard in cruise line benefits !, there are many others who (like yourself) are quite unhappy about how Celebrity calculated the points.

 

I can tell you that in our case, we feel that we definitely got the short end of the stick on the conversion, and it seems that those who sailed a large quantity of short sailings benefitted over those who opted for longer sailings, as we did. If I only knew then, what we knew now, We'd be Zenith for sure ! :) Of course, hindsight is 20/20.

 

Although there was a fair amount of initial disappointment, I'm pretty much over it, and will make the best of it. We'll probably get to Zenith at some point. If I had ONE wish ? It would be that Celebrity revisits how they calculated the conversion, and perhaps issue "Bonus" Points to those who frequently sailed longer cruises. However, I think the odds of that happening, is about the same as my chances of my beloved Mets winning the world series this year - which means - about slim to none :)

The ironic thing is that they could very easily have adjusted the new club points to make them equitable for everybody by giving someone who took an 11 day cruise the same points as someone who took two 4 day cruises and a 3 day cruise.

 

The way they actually did the conversion, if you took an 11 day cruise in a concierge cabin, you received only 60 club points, but if you split up your 11 days into 4-4-3, you received 180 club points!

 

They have our cruise histories in their computer system with the length of each cruise readily accessible.

 

Any junior level programmer could easily write a simple program to make the appropriate adjustments for the longer cruises, without penalizing anyone for taking the shorter cruises.

 

[Lastdance]

It is sad that this topic keeps emerging and so many are unhappy. I think that saying "I'm going to Princess" is childish, but I understand that life is full of ups and downs. That is something that many of us were able to adjust to a long time ago. If that is the worst that happens to the OP, life has been very kind. I too am glad that Celebrity has never been #1, but only #2. So, you do what you need to do to be happy!::cool:

[boogs]

The ironic thing is that they could very easily have adjusted the new club points to make them equitable for everybody by giving someone who took an 11 day cruise the same points as someone who took two 4 day cruises and a 3 day cruise.

 

The way they actually did the conversion, if you took an 11 day cruise in a concierge cabin, you received only 60 club points, but if you split up your 11 days into 4-4-3, you received 180 club points!

 

They have our cruise histories in their computer system with the length of each cruise readily accessible.

 

Any junior level programmer could easily write a simple program to make the appropriate adjustments for the longer cruises, without penalizing anyone for taking the shorter cruises.

 

The people who were clearly being penalized were the people taking longer cruises, definitely NOT the ones taking the shorter cruises. That is a simple and very real fact that anyone who can do simple math can figure out.

 

It is quite entertaining how people spin a situation so they can paint themselves as the victims. Consider this: the old system gave points out in a specific way. We all earned them in the same manner. Some gained more by taking shorter cruises, some gained less by taking longer cruises. A four night cruise was worth the same as an 11 night in the same stateroom, a cruise almost three times longer, and three times more expensive. Everyone accepted that as the way the system worked. If you had to gain Elite status as fast as humanly possible to feel your life was worthwhile, then you could go on shorter cruises and pass everyone else on those longer cruises. You win! Bravo!

 

So now Celebrity changes the system to make it more equal for everyone in the future. But, what they didn't do was reward those passengers who took those shorter cruises even more than they already had over those who took the longer cruises. If they had, the unfair advantage would have continued, and even gotten worse, which would have negated the whole transition. Why should you get more credit now for your past cruises than you got when you took them? That makes absolutely no sense at all - unless you feel you are more important than the rest of us who had to cruise many more days to gain the same points on the old system. Obviously, for some people, fairness is only acceptable if they get treated more "fair" than everyone else. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe what Celebrity should have done is to cancel EVERYONE'S existing points and force everyone to start over at zero. THAT would have been the fairest way to convert to the new system because no one would have an advantage over anyone else - not the short cruise people. Not the long cruise people. Everybody would be complaining on equal ground. What a wonderfully entertaining world that would have been. :D

Edited February 28, 2014 by boogs

[The_Big_M]

Maybe what Celebrity should have done is to cancel EVERYONE'S existing points and force everyone to start over at zero. THAT would have been the fairest way to convert to the new system because no one would have an advantage over anyone else - not the short cruise people. Not the long cruise people. Everybody would be complaining on equal ground. What a wonderfully entertaining world that would have been. :D

 

I wholeheartedly agree. That would have certainly made the playing field more level.

 

The other thing is that the new program is still a bit of a mess as people can spend more than others yet get the same earn rate. To reflect business earnings, it would have been better to be based on dollars spent rather than the unsuitable proxy of cabin grade.

[boogs]

IThe other thing is that the new program is still a bit of a mess as people can spend more than others yet get the same earn rate. To reflect business earnings, it would have been better to be based on dollars spent rather than the unsuitable proxy of cabin grade.

 

It is. An inside or ocean view earns two points per day. A balcony, which is more expensive, earns 3 points per day. Concierge or Aqua Class are even more expensive and warn 5 points per day. A Sky, Century or Aqua Class Suite earns points. A Celebrity, Signature or Royal Suite earns 12 points. And a Reflection or Penthouse Suite, the most expensive available on Celebrity, earns 18 points.

 

When you pay for a more expensive stateroom, you earn more points. That is exactly what you prefer. So why is this a mess? It isn't a mess for those of us who aren't kicking and screaming about some nonsense about being robbed!

Edited February 28, 2014 by boogs

[The_Big_M]

It is. An inside or ocean view earns two points per day. A balcony, which is more expensive, earns 3 points per day. Concierge or Aqua Class are even more expensive and warn 5 points per day. A Sky, Century or Aqua Class Suite earns points. A Celebrity, Signature or Royal Suite earns 12 points. And a Reflection or Penthouse Suite, the most expensive available on Celebrity, earns 18 points.

 

When you pay for a more expensive stateroom, you earn more points. That is exactly what you prefer. So why is this a mess? It isn't a mess for those of us who aren't kicking and screaming about some nonsense about being robbed!

 

I pointed out the inconsistency in pricing, and you even quoted the statement that cabin grade is an unsuitable proxy.

 

It's readily apparent and well known to any experienced cruisers that prices - for the same cabin grade - go up and down regularly. As a result, it's quite easy to pay more than double for the same cabin grade on different cruises - and even the same one!

 

As for your claim that the different tiers are evidence that earning is based on dollars spent, that's clearly ridiculous. Otherwise an ocean view costs exactly the same as an inside, and all grades of balcony are the same cost. There isn't even a single cruise that fulfils that criteria!

 

So no, the current earn rate is not based on dollars spent at all.

Edited February 28, 2014 by The_Big_M

[fleckle]

The people who were clearly being penalized were the people taking longer cruises, definitely NOT the ones taking the shorter cruises. That is a simple and very real fact that anyone who can do simple math can figure out...............

 

That is exactly what I pointed out in my previous post that you quoted.

 

Boogs, you are agreeing with what I said, but yet your reply makes it appear that you are disagreeing. :D

 

I even cited an example, showing how the current conversion system unfairly gives someone who cruised on several short cruises totaling 11 days three times as many club points as it gives to someone who cruised for 11 days on one cruise in the exact same cabin category.

The way they actually did the conversion, if you took an 11 day cruise in a concierge cabin, you received only 60 club points, but if you split up your 11 days into 4-4-3, you received 180 club points!

I still maintain that a simple computer program could easily and fairly assign the same number of points to everyone who cruised for the same number of days in the same cabin category, regardless of whether a passenger accumulated those points by taking long cruises or short cruises.

 

[caladezi]

Taking three short cruises 4-4-3 would be far more expensive than taking one 11 day cruise in the same cabin.

[Ma Bell]

I can't believe this is still going on.:eek: The decision has been made.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Ma Bell

[TeaBag]

Thanks Ma Bell. We need to move on.

[richsea]

I can't believe this is still going on.:eek: The decision has been made.

 

Wait..... What about ME!!!!!!!!! Why didn't I :eek: make Zenith???