Best/Generous Past Passenger Program??

[Bo1953]

Hello all,

 

My spouse and I are now getting into cruising, albeit a little late in life, yet I wanted to find out which line/company has the 'best/generous' Past Passenger Program.

 

While we prefer vessels with less than 1k people, I will consider all lines for the perks.

 

I have tried reading up on the various programs, but really could not discern which ones leads the pack...

 

I tried to search for a discussion on this but could only find individual lines discussion. But feel free to point me in the right discussion if I over looked it.

 

Thank you for your input/thoughts...

 

bo1953

[nolatravelgirl]

There are no lines worth considering just for there loyalty program. They each offer modest benefits such as welcome drinks, priority boarding and sometimes a perk such as a bag of laundry or spa discount. None of these perks are worth throwing all your spend at one cruise line. Go for the itinerary and line that offers the best service for your price point.

 

The problem with cruise loyalty programs is that you earn status based on nights cruised in a lifetime, so there is no turnover in the top tiers, they just keep piling more and more people at the top while they wait for them to die off, which means there is no reason for the lines to add more perks to the top. Cruise lines should go to the hotel/airline policy of earning status based on a calendar year, heck I would be okay if they based status on how much you cruised in a 5 year rolling period. Because cruise lines offer status based on lifetime days they have a problem with the old and geriatric filling up the top ranks who also have outrageous expectations with that status based on the dollars they spent in 1982.

[Essiesmom]

You need to try several cruise lines to find the one that is a good fit for you. If you choose one only based on future loyalty benefits, you might miss out on the perfect line for you. EM

[Keith1010]

The most generous ones are offered by the luxury lines but the costs to sail are higher.

 

I would not make my cruising decision based on this though.

 

I would find the cruise line(s) that work best for you.

 

Also when it comes to programs they can change overtime so a cruise line with a strong program today might not have it in place a few years from now.

 

Keith

[dorisis]

We are Elite, Diamond, Siver, 3 star on various lines because we like most of them but for past passenger rewards, I feel Princess comes out ahead.

[paul929207]

While I enjoy the perks we get for the cruise lines, I don't think any of the programs is so good it makes a reason to only sail with them. I would worry about which cruises best suit you and which go where you want to go and from the ports you want to leave from

[Bo1953]

... each and every one of you. I will start to identify which line(s) I like sailing on and go that route. It does seem the best way to go and approach it based on the input.

 

Thank you again for the information.

 

bo1953

[Aquahound]

... each and every one of you. I will start to identify which line(s) I like sailing on and go that route. It does seem the best way to go and approach it based on the input.

 

Thank you again for the information.

 

I have experience with loyalty programs on 5 different cruise lines....Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and NCL. Of the 5, I think Royal Caribbean has the best perks, especially at the higher levels.

 

However, RCI is about as far away as you can get from 1k passenger ships.

 

I think a good mix of uncrowded ships and a great loyalty program is Celebrity.

[A2Mich]

There are no lines worth considering just for there loyalty program. They each offer modest benefits such as welcome drinks, priority boarding and sometimes a perk such as a bag of laundry or spa discount. None of these perks are worth throwing all your spend at one cruise line. Go for the itinerary and line that offers the best service for your price point.

 

The problem with cruise loyalty programs is that you earn status based on nights cruised in a lifetime, so there is no turnover in the top tiers, they just keep piling more and more people at the top while they wait for them to die off, which means there is no reason for the lines to add more perks to the top. Cruise lines should go to the hotel/airline policy of earning status based on a calendar year, heck I would be okay if they based status on how much you cruised in a 5 year rolling period. Because cruise lines offer status based on lifetime days they have a problem with the old and geriatric filling up the top ranks who also have outrageous expectations with that status based on the dollars they spent in 1982.

 

 

I think this about sums it up........