So many elites, I pretended to be blue

[Anubi]

One of the most hilarious things that ever happened to DH and I was on a cruise when one of our fellow roll call members said "You're only a blue card?" It was like we went way down in their estimation. We still laugh over that one!!

[24639]

I think a lot of the "Entitled" Elites are the new ones who got it the "easy" way.

 

Sadly, an even easier way is to go on Ebay and buy a black card to hang on your lanyard and flash at people.

I cannot believe people get so worked up over this status thing. The perks are nice, but hardly define my cruise experience.

[jamesnnb]

We, too, were on the Sapphire on the 10-day March 1st cruise and had a question (perhaps Pam would know). We noticed a couple from Baja deck being paged just before we left Puerto Vallarta (and a couple of other couples, too, but this one was paged last and paged several times). Then, as we pulled out they came running but we were already on our way and they remained on the pier. Does anyone know what happened (other than the obvious that they didn't make it back on time :D ). And were they the only ones? PV was our last port, so I guess they had to fly back to LA and get their belongings once our 2-days at sea time was over. In all our cruises this was just the second time we noticed someone left behind.

[golfb4cruzing]

I am amazed at the blue eyes, brown eyes conversation. I usually find the Princess board better than Snooty but reality has a way.

[Northender]

Right?! :) I'm a newly-minted elite, but have noticed the folks who go out of their way to let you know they're elites. :rolleyes:

 

This happens to us all the time. :D:D

 

We witnessed "black card holders" actually run in front of a wheel chair bound young man, who, by the way, was waiting at the elevator before they were. They then hijacked the elevator claiming Black cards go first. People in the elevator looked stunned as the door closed. Also the rest of us who were there before the black card folks, probably had the same stunned look.:(

Edited March 12, 2014 by Northender

[funny1]

I guess we've been lucky and have never seen bad behavior based on the use of a black card (or any other color). I'm what most people would refer to as a seasoned traveler. I'm like a few others that mentioned that the card around the neck is easy to use and not lose. I never notice what side is facing out. The perks are nice but we travel on other lines without perks and it makes no difference to us. We always have fun. We have met many more pleasant people than the other kind. Lucky, I guess.

[PrincessLuver]

Hi Fellow Floaters! I just disembarked today on the Sapphire Princess 10 day Sea of Cortez cruise to Mexico and had one of the BEST cruises EVER and I mean it was really fantastic! The food was great, the entertainment was over the top (I'm still giggling over Albert and Seymore) and the DJ Mateo made being out by the pool a wonderful experience once again. One issue. There were over 600 Elites on board and let me say that some were quite arrogant to say the least. So much so that I wanted to change my black card to a blue one because I didn't want to be associated with such a demanding group. It makes me think that starting a higher category for perhaps 500 plus days or more would be a good idea to calm them down a bit. Boy did I witness some scenes. On a lighter note, Loretto and LaPaz were great additions to the Mexican Itinerary! I hope Princess adds more of these 10 day'ers to the schedule!

 

Interesting observation.....my wife and I have consistently noticed that staff on the Princess ships do not seem as friendly or happy as staff on other cruise lines we have been on. We contributed it to the fact that Princess ships tend to sail with an abundance of elite members who frequently seem to be pretty demanding and we surmise that it might impact the staff in a negative way. Just our little theory. :cool:

[Lammy23]

Yeesh…reading through this thread is just giving me another reason to feel super hesitant about our first cruise coming up in September. I know there's rude people everywhere, but it sounds like there's a big percentage of jerks all crammed into the close quarters of a cruise ship. Ick.

 

Fingers crossed we don't have any run-ins with the negative, miserable people on board. It all just sounds so silly and juvenile…with the cards and the colors and "oooh I'm elite, bow down!". I mean, get over yourself already.

[alexspepa]

This happens to us all the time. :D:D

 

We witnessed "black card holders" actually run in front of a wheel chair bound young man, who, by the way, was waiting at the elevator before they were. They then hijacked the elevator claiming Black cards go first. People in the elevator looked stunned as the door closed. Also the rest of us who were there before the black card folks, probably had the same stunned look.:(

 

i think i might have to block the door shutting on that one and wait for a crew member to sort it out...that is one of the most outrageous things i have ever heard.

[Ethel5]

Yeesh…reading through this thread is just giving me another reason to feel super hesitant about our first cruise coming up in September. I know there's rude people everywhere, but it sounds like there's a big percentage of jerks all crammed into the close quarters of a cruise ship. Ick.

 

Fingers crossed we don't have any run-ins with the negative, miserable people on board. It all just sounds so silly and juvenile…with the cards and the colors and "oooh I'm elite, bow down!". I mean, get over yourself already.

 

Don't let this discussion scare you. 99.99% of the folks on board are nice and friendly - it's just that we tend to remember the ones who aren't.

[CaptainKlutz]

Fingers crossed we don't have any run-ins with the negative, miserable people on board. It all just sounds so silly and juvenile…with the cards and the colors and "oooh I'm elite, bow down!". I mean, get over yourself already.

 

 

No bowing required...merely scraping! I'm KIDDING!!!

 

I've seen awful behavior from all ages and card types. The worst behaved couples we encountered on our last 2 trips were seniors at our table with zero courtesy to others...both times we finally gave up on the main dining room and ate at HC just so we didn't have to deal with them.

 

We did a couple of short trips to get to Elite (I gather that's "Cheating")...all we really wanted was the laundry! I'm working very hard to keep my wife from bringing drapes in our luggage next month! :eek:

[helpmesailaway]

Reminds me of Hyacinth Bucket. ;)

 

It's "Bou - quet":rolleyes:

[helpmesailaway]

It's "Bou - quet":rolleyes:

 

I see you got to "Bouquet" already - perhaps a "candlelight supper" will make amends::D

[Nancyquilts]

We're obviously doing Elite wrong. We stand at the back of the line for the tenders, and hold the elevator door for those in wheelchairs and scooters. I use a walker, and have been known to wait for the next elevator when someone with a wheelchair needs to get in. Although I must say I'm tickled by the idea of elevator access - maybe for the 40 passengers with the most days. And our cards are in our pockets except when being used.

When people are rude, I figure their parents didn't raise them correctly.:rolleyes:

[kendon]

As I understand it, using your elite card for tenders just means you don't need a tender pass, but you still stand in line with those that do when boarding the tender.

 

That's correct.

[beg3yrs]

One of the most hilarious things that ever happened to DH and I was on a cruise when one of our fellow roll call members said "You're only a blue card?" It was like we went way down in their estimation. We still laugh over that one!!

 

You're probably correct in your understanding of the comment.

 

Yours truly has in the past been capable of, and still probably is capable of, delivering a comment like that with the utmost of good intentions. My intent would have been for the receiver to infer "You seem so experienced at cruising, I'm surprised this is your first Princess cruise."

[greenie082756]

I see the flip side to people that have platinum or elite cards. In this aspect, I and my husband like listening to people with many cruises under their belt. Its like whenever I join something new, I will try to find someone with more experience to help guide me.

On our very first cruise with Princess and after being an avid reader on this board, I honestly was hesitant on what our experience would be like. I found that most of the people were very nice, helpful AND understanding that we were new to Princess. We met some great ambassadors for elite cruisers!

So, if there is anyone new thinking about cruising and reading this, bottom line is relax and have fun! Its your vacation and enjoy! We did and that's why we are going to cruise again. Side note: I told my husband that after our last cruise that I would give up going to our annual Laughlin or Las Vegas trip as long as I could go on a cruise in its replacement. ;) Yeehaa!

[chamima]

I usually keep my card out of sight. I did take advantage of the Elite line at the Purser's desk and got a lot of grumbling from those in the other line.

 

 

That is the ONLY time I keep the card out.

I always feel slightly uncomfortable (but not uncomfortable enough to wait in the longer line ;) ) when getting in the Suite/Elite line so try to keep my card in plain view.

 

 

I took my first Sitmar cruise 40 years ago this summer. I loved the service and the food, but having to go the a small area to use curling irons wasn't too convenient.

We still run into former Sitmar employees from time to time, but most of them have retired by now. Francesco who was the beverage manager on deck on the Ruby a few years ago was my waiter in 1975.

 

We also ran into Francesco a couple of years ago and he remembered us from Sitmar (as we did him!!!) :D

[Colo Cruiser]

I see the flip side to people that have platinum or elite cards. In this aspect, I and my husband like listening to people with many cruises under their belt. Its like whenever I join something new, I will try to find someone with more experience to help guide me.

On our very first cruise with Princess and after being an avid reader on this board, I honestly was hesitant on what our experience would be like. I found that most of the people were very nice, helpful AND understanding that we were new to Princess. We met some great ambassadors for elite cruisers!

So, if there is anyone new thinking about cruising and reading this, bottom line is relax and have fun! Its your vacation and enjoy! We did and that's why we are going to cruise again. Side note: I told my husband that after our last cruise that I would give up going to our annual Laughlin or Las Vegas trip as long as I could go on a cruise in its replacement. ;) Yeehaa!

 

 

Thats a trade off I would take every day!! :D

[chamima]

Interesting observation.....my wife and I have consistently noticed that staff on the Princess ships do not seem as friendly or happy as staff on other cruise lines we have been on. We contributed it to the fact that Princess ships tend to sail with an abundance of elite members who frequently seem to be pretty demanding and we surmise that it might impact the staff in a negative way. Just our little theory. :cool:

 

Interesting that you found that.

We are just off two weeks on the Celebrity Eclipse followed immediately by a week on the Royal Princess.

I wrote a thread on the Celebrity boards about how much more friendly, happy, less stressed and service oriented the staff on Princess was.

Doing those two cruises B2B really made it crystal clear.

(Food was way better on Princess, too.) I just wish Princess had the beautiful indoor Solarium pool that the S class on Celebrity does. (I know the Island and Coral have it but how many times can you go to the Panama Canal?)

 

And BTW - both lines have an overabundance of Elites. Just read all of the negative comments there.

I think the opposite of you. Because we've cruised a lot we see some of the same staff again and again and it's like old home week. (See comment about Francesco above.)

[Colo Cruiser]

Interesting that you found that.

We are just off two weeks on the Celebrity Eclipse followed immediately by a week on the Royal Princess.

I wrote a thread on the Celebrity boards about how much more friendly, happy, less stressed and service oriented the staff on Princess was.

Doing those two cruises B2B really made it crystal clear.

(Food was way better on Princess, too.) I just wish Princess had the beautiful indoor Solarium pool that the S class on Celebrity does. (I know the Island and Coral have it but how many times can you go to the Panama Canal?)

 

And BTW - both lines have an overabundance of Elites. Just read all of the negative comments there.

I think the opposite of you. Because we've cruised a lot we see some of the same staff again and again and it's like old home week. (See comment about Francesco above.)

 

I agree.....

Just goes to show ya, perceptions! :)

[Jim Avery]

I'll be the first one to admit that I got to elite "the easy way" with pacific coastal cruises and some help from a former princess employee and the "friends and family" program. And I'm also not of the typical demographic of the elite cruiser being probably close to half the age of most. However, I was reading someone about my generation the other day that I agree with 100%. When it comes to promised benefits, I/we don't really expect anything. I've cruised long ago enough to know what cruising used to be compared to what it is now. I expect to be bartered to on each cruise for a variety of goods and services I don't need or want. I expect to be around rude and disgusting people because cruising is now affordable to the masses. And germain to this topic, I expect to have loyalty "benefits" dilluted and eventually curtailed. The day that the airlines and cruise lines decided that ancilliary revenue was THE way to make money, and that getting pax into seats/cabins at any cost (usually low cost) was the best way to make the ancilliary revenue was the same day that the loyalty programs got flushed down the bilge, so to speak. This country is obsessed with the lowest price first, and value second. Look at Virgin America airlines, consistently rated the top domestic airline with mood lighting, food ordered on demand, and video screens with tv, movies, music, games in every seat, yet its constantly in the red and would be out of business if not for Richard Branson's pockets and slightly insane brain.

 

My point is, Princess and most other cruise lines (among several industries) don't give a rip about our "loyalty". Statistically, we spend far less than first time cruisers. Perhaps the only redeeming quality is that the average elite cruiser might bring family members along. As for me, my baby doesn't buy much when I go on a cruise, so I'm pretty worthless to the cruise lines.

 

I don't mean to rant, but I don't understand why people get so angry that there are others that have cruised as much as them and "cheated" to get there. And then how the benefits used to be better but not anymore. On the HAL boards today I read someone ranting about how they no longer got a free glass of champagne when they boarded. If you want all the niceties, pay 2x as much and go on a premium line or pony up when you come on board. My generation lives on credit, which I think is awful, but it is what it is, and its what the cruise line is latching on to.

 

My 2 cents, sorry if I angered folks.

 

Nicely put. No anger here.:D

[Jim Avery]

So, I’m patiently standing in a line to get onto a tender when I can feel someone off of my right shoulder trying to get by me. I turn my head to see who it is and take a slight step to the right to block the person. The woman is holding up a black cruise card and with an annoyed look on her face she says “I’m elite, I get to go first”.

I hold up my black card and tell her, “that doesn’t mean anything to me and the line is behind me. “

I do believe those were death stares I was getting from her on the tender. :D

 

My guess is she is just as rude off the ship as she was on.

 

We are not Elite being rather new to Princess but do usually book suites so supposedly have priority tendering as well. But, a big one, I am not good at waiting in lines. Show me a line at a "hot" new restaurant and I will proceed to McDs. We have found a nicer way to go ashore (at least it works for us) if we are not with an excursion group. Go find a nice bar and have a Bloody Mary and enjoy the view. After about an hour, no lines. Imho, much nicer.:D

[CI66774]

Yeesh…reading through this thread is just giving me another reason to feel super hesitant about our first cruise coming up in September. I know there's rude people everywhere, but it sounds like there's a big percentage of jerks all crammed into the close quarters of a cruise ship. Ick.

 

Fingers crossed we don't have any run-ins with the negative, miserable people on board. It all just sounds so silly and juvenile…with the cards and the colors and "oooh I'm elite, bow down!". I mean, get over yourself already.

 

I just took my first Princess cruise on the Royal in December. People were lovely! I wouldn't give it second thought. Vast majority of sensible people don't give a rat's (you know what) about some imaginary "status."

Edited March 12, 2014 by CI66774

[shredie]

 

We did a couple of short trips to get to Elite (I gather that's "Cheating").

 

It never would have occurred to me that anyone would care what the length of my cruise had been. Bizarre. We are within shooting distance of Elite, and that based on our number of days, not cruises. We have never taken a cruise any shorter than 10 days, so we collect days faster than we collect cruises. However, we are booked for one of the four-day coastals. The small number of days will not really help us, but maybe that extra cruise will. I really don't understand why the method I used to I achieve Elite status is significant in any way.

 

I haven't met these rude black-carders mentioned here. I have met a few rude people, but I thing they came from all over the card spectrum. Rude is rude. I have met some black-card people I really liked. I also like to hear of their cruising experiences, some of which are fascinating. I haven't been flashing my Platinum card, so I don't thing I'll be flashing the Elite one either.