What's Happening With Loyalty?

[hubofhockey]

Loyalty works both ways. We chose Royal Caribbean because we loved the service, food, shows, activities etc. Thru the years we have seen so many changes. Some good, some bad. Nothing is the same anymore. I guess when you grow with a cruise line, it's just like a job. Your options are to go with the changes, speak up and fight, or leave. We feel kinda like were being pushed out. What do you think? Help us to stay loyal to Royal.

 

Why should you be loyal to any company. I look at each vacation as different and look specifically to each ship (not brand name of company), itinerary, and price when deciding the next cruise. Doing that has probably cost us a few hundred dollars overall in loyalty perks, but that's a price we're willing to pay. For now, we have future cruise certificates for Royal Caribbean and Princess. I'm not even sure if we will wind up using our Princess certificates. We may just redeem them for what we paid for them. In the future, we will eventually do a river cruise and go with a premium line. We don't want to limit ourselves to one or even two lines.

[time4u2go]

Why should you be loyal to any company. I look at each vacation as different and look specifically to each ship (not brand name of company), itinerary, and price when deciding the next cruise. Doing that has probably cost us a few hundred dollars overall in loyalty perks, but that's a price we're willing to pay. For now, we have future cruise certificates for Royal Caribbean and Princess. I'm not even sure if we will wind up using our Princess certificates. We may just redeem them for what we paid for them. In the future, we will eventually do a river cruise and go with a premium line. We don't want to limit ourselves to one or even two lines.

Same here. We like variety, and enjoy trying new things.

[AlexanderBeetle]

This is a perk I really hope stays, as no one else offers it (although the NCL boards mentioned them considering it for their recent acquisition). I almost switch to Celebrity for my cruise in March 2015 but decided to keep my booking on the Adventure.

 

I know this, the lack or reciprocity on Carnival keeps me away from trying Princess (and HAL, but I'm not really the HAL type as of yet). It isn't that I want a bunch of free stuff, but priority tender/boarding/disembark/customer service are very nice things to have. I'm just not tempted to be a "newbie" on a new line unless it is just an amazing deal.

 

Reciprocity was a perk that drew us to start with Royal. Having a loyalty program is a bonus when you have so many mass market lines to choose from. We decided our primary family vacation was going to be cruising which made my wife and I give some serious thought over what line will benefit us the most. RCCL had that initial win. We have figured that once the kids are older or have moved out we may enjoy Celebrity more and will have that option to carry our status.

 

May not be a big deal for everyone, but it was for us. If we continue with RCCL then we certainly hope reciprocity stays. I'd think NCL would be wise to do something similar with the Prestige cruises. Might create more competition between loyalty programs which certainly wouldn't hurt all of us.

[tserface]

We've also been cruising for a number of years and some things have changed (no more wasting food in midnight buffets for instance). But, we've always been blown away by the perks you get for being even a Diamond level on RCI. Just the drinks alone save us a lot of $$$ and they always treat us special and say "welcome back". We get invited to special events, get special coffees, gifts in our room, etc.

 

I RCI and Celebrity have some of the best loyalty perks ever.

 

And... I never ate much at midnight anyway.

 

Tom

[Guest maddycat]

I must be the only one who doesn't look at cost when picking a cruise, I pick the cruise I want first then pick a cabin. Cost only comes into play when I look at the next category up and watch for price drops.

 

You're not alone. I pick the cruise and then check the price for the cabin that I want. If I think that the price is reasonable I book the cruise. I still check daily for price drops.

[American Bear]

RCL is not trying to drive anyone away!

Just the opposite!

With the new ships holding 4-5-6,000, they can't afford to lose any of their members! Empty cabins=no money!

And if you look at all the new ships coming in the next 4-5 years from the different cruise lines, there are going to be a lot more cabins up for sale!:D

We have entered the best time to cruise in cruising history!:D

[Guest maddycat]

I love the balcony discount and the nightly cocktail hour. I think that there should be more enhanced benefits such as a larger balcony discount for those that reach Pinnacle status. I find it hard to believe that they get the same discount as D+ gets.

 

PS I am WAY far away from Pinnacle status:)

 

I also love the balcony discount and nightly cocktail hour for diamond and above C&A members. I'm happy that RCI is listening to passengers' as shown by them eliminating smoking on balconies. I also appreciate having elite status when I sail with Celebrity.

[deliver42]

I, personally love RCCL. I have sailed Carnival and NCL, but always come back to RCCL. I'm paying a little more, but The product is more tasteful to me. I love the ships, and the service. All lines are cutting back. Just look at their forums. The complaints are mostly the same, so it seems to be industry wide, not counting the high line cruises, which I can't afford anyway. For me, it's still RCCL.

[yamdy7]

In october, i will be taking my 2nd RC cruise. I am a crown & anchor member (gold level), and i am curious what is included in the Ultimate Value Booklet?

 

 

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[Rogueperson]

I think its a balancing act. C&A perks costs money. They have to balance those perks vs the amount of money repeat customers will spend. If a repeat customer can work the perks where they make out better than the company, then they're going to cut those perks. They are trying to balance that you will stay loyal even if that particular perk is gone. If they go too far, than those perks will cost them more than the revenue of the repeat customer, and if they take too much, they lost the revenue of the repeat customer.

[Bobal]

Just returned from a week on Oasis with my husband (we're D+) and sons (both D).

 

We booked using our balcony discount. Whilst onboard we enjoyed drinks in the Diamond or Concierge Lounge each evening, as well as 3 drinks vouchers each should we have wanted to use them elsewhere. We were able to use the services of the concierge to help sort out a few things. We used to pop in for a speciality coffee when we fancied it too.

 

We made good use of our free internet minutes and laundry. We were invited to a number of events, some of which we didn't attend although the champagne sailaway on the helipad from St Maarten was nice.

 

We appreciated the reserved seating at the shows and particularly loved our BOGO deal at 150 Central Park. We also appreciated the complimentary bottles of wine as part of our welcome back gift - and the snack baskets were put to good use. Oh, and we came away with 4 lovely (complimentary) 10 x 8 photos.

 

As others have pointed out, we've also enjoyed reciprocal benefits on the times we've sailed with Celebrity and on our recent Azamara cruise.

 

I wouldn't need anyone to persuade me to stay loyal to Royal ;)

Edited September 5, 2014 by Bobal

[TopCat310]

Heard from two loyal RCL cruisers this afternoon that at least two tier levels were "upped" by 10 nights at sea. We are sailing on FREEDOM on Sunday and we'll hit 600 (D++??) but I'm hoping someone out there can tell me if there is any factual PR release from RCL on any changes to the number of nights required to reach the various tier levels.

I agree with a lot of posts: loyalty should be a two-way street, but we all know it isn't that way most of the time. If you have "straight scoop" would you post please?

Thanks,

TopCat310 (D+)

46 cruises

 

Next two: FREEDOM on September 7th and Celebrity Silhouette on November 1st for Transatlantic. Three more booked after those.

[goodycruising]

I posted because we read the post about the changes in the loyalty program for Azamara members. We like our loyalty program the way it is, just afraid that Royal Caribbean may start making cuts in ours.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

So you got info that Azamara is changing, and you translated that to Royal are pushing you out?

 

From what we have seen every refurbishment brings more Diamond Lounges and they seem to be looking at ways to keep the perks going, like the drink vouchers on top heavy C&A trips. Not sure where they are pushing you out.

[sliderturk99]

If anybody is familiar with the move Casino, the dialogue at the end of the movie is a perfect comparison.

 

The town will never be the same. After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over. Today, it looks like Disneyland. And while the kids play cardboard pirates, Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior's college money on the poker slots. In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number.

[fishtaco]

Pretty much this.

 

New cruisers are more likely to buy photos, drinks in take home cups, excursions from the ship, etc. I may give Royal good money for a cabin, but my on board spending is usually limited to drinks, a specialty restaurant from time to time, and "clearance" t-shirts that show up later in the week. Occasionally I'll buy a ship excursion, but only when it makes more sense than going on my own (such as the "self explore St. John which is nice because it includes just the ferry).

 

So I spend a decent amount of money on board, but I'll bet it is only 50%-75% of what I new cruiser spends. Considering most sailings have 50% or more first time cruises on board (during peak season at least, based on discussions I've had with crew members), that money adds up.

 

I agree with you, new cruisers are far more likely to spend more money after the cruise price.

[fishtaco]

It is now well documented that all mainstream cruiselines do not make any profit from cabin sales alone but its all made on sundries.

 

Loyal frequent cruisers would not spend anything near what new cruisers spend so they are targeting new cruisers for the present and near future.

 

Loyalty perks also eat into profits and if these board discussions are a fair representation of frequent cruiser habits then it is obvious that many of them spend little to nothing with the company other than the non profit cruise price.

 

Many new cruisers would not know the money saving tips and tricks so many others have learned through cruising experience and discussion board info sharing.

 

Take a look at Carnival and their "Fast Track To Fun" programme! For $50 per cabin any cruisers can get most of the loyal cruiser perks on their first ever cruise. I am not loyal to any cruiseline and in June I purchased the fast track to fun and would do so on any cruiseline if it was available.

 

Very cheap cruises over the past few years have created easily obtained loyalty points, so couple loyalty perks with money saving experience then who would even expect a cruiseline to listen to its loyal when its focusing on profits from the new?

[BOGOman]

My big picture summary is that loyalty has disappeared in all forms of business, we the consumer started this. We are in a "cost-co" society... regardless of what store we are loyal to, if a product (such as gas, a shirt, bananas, etc) is a penny less in the store across the street on any given day, we the consumer for the most part will go to that store. I have seen this first hand in my business... the only way to compete against that is to trim and cut the fat, don't expect the loyalty back from the consumer when you cut prices but try to give the consumer more of what they want in order to outpace the competition... don't stay the same, re-invent yourself to the next best thing. It's not about loyalty anymore, it's about market share and keeping up with the times with the market segment with most dollars to spend. I feel RCL believes this also (at least somewhat) and are betting their new billion dollar ships on it.

 

Hoopster, you talk as if business has been let down by consumers. Hasn't business always been interested in pleasing the customer as the sure way of generating its profits? And doing so better than the competitors, or those who might infringe? That's pragmatism, not loyalty, and I would argue that a going business concern has never operated on the basis of loyalty to its customers. Good business doesn't need loyalty, only respect.

 

Loyalty is all about shared emotions and values. What does that have to do with business? If somebody starts a new business, those who share that venture are likely to be loyal to it. But big business commands no such loyalty, and trying to stimulate it is a fraudulent appeal to our emotions, not our common sense.

 

Business does well when it makes the products and provides the services we want at the lowest prices and with high impressions of quality. Loyalty has nothing to do with it, nor should it.

~ Bill

[KarinaGW]

Just returned from a week on Oasis with my husband (we're D+) and sons (both D).

 

We booked using our balcony discount. Whilst onboard we enjoyed drinks in the Diamond or Concierge Lounge each evening, as well as 3 drinks vouchers each should we have wanted to use them elsewhere.

 

Oh, good. Someone in the same situation as me. Were your D sons welcome in the concierge lounge (since it's supposed to be d+ & up plus suites) or did they just go with you to the Diamond lounge? I wouldn't really care, but a) this is our first time on Oasis and the two-level concierge lounge looks interesting and b) it turns out our cabins are just down the hall from the CL and occasionally, laziness does prevail.

[Bobal]

Oh, good. Someone in the same situation as me. Were your D sons welcome in the concierge lounge (since it's supposed to be d+ & up plus suites) or did they just go with you to the Diamond lounge? I wouldn't really care, but a) this is our first time on Oasis and the two-level concierge lounge looks interesting and b) it turns out our cabins are just down the hall from the CL and occasionally, laziness does prevail.

 

Sorry, only just noticed this. We didn't even try to go into the CL with them. The lounge is very nice and the lunch is a particularly nice touch but we decided not to push our luck. When we sailed on Serenade with them last year we did pop into the CL on occasion and mentioned to the Concierge that we were travelling with our sons who were D but he never suggested bringing them with us - even when he asked why we hardly ever went in there and we explained it was because they were only Diamond (hint, hint ;) )

 

On Oasis we actually liked sitting on the balcony of the D lounge overlooking the promenade. We always chose it over the CL on Allure earlier in the year when there were just the two of us.

 

They would have only joined us in the evening - and would have been drinking exactly the same and eating the same canapes - so in theory they wouldn't have been taking anything away that they couldn't have in the D lounge. It may be worth having a word with the concierges in the CL to see if they would allow them in. Any time we popped in there they were always really busy tending to other guests so I'm not sure if they ever got a chance to work the room and find out whether guests were all genuine suite or D+ and above.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Bobal