Lovalty Programs and ... Loyalty

[Floridiana]

We sail for the itinerary which makes it almost impossible to stick with one line, been on 8 so far for 16 cruises. Right now, we are booked on a line we have never been on. Will leave soon. It's a b2b and we have already acquired one of their loyalty levels, free laundry. I thought that was great. :)

[jonmary]

While it is great to get the perks - picking ships and itineraries to maximize them does not make sense to me. Yes, it's great to save on free Internet, or laundry, or free drinks, but the point of picking a cruise has to remain the cruise itself.

 

I was Navy 63-83. Submarines: so you were on targets! We have sailed Disney, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival. Some people are not concerned about price (I wish I were not concerned) and since we are I am more interested in service. With all our sailings I have found Celebrity to have the best service! Like everyone - that is my opinion. If you find a specific cruise line that you like more than others then the "perks" are something to add to your experience. Until we reached a certain level with Celebrity I had never thought of having laundry done on the ship - now it is free! I don't have to pack as much as I have - especially on 10 day and longer cruises. Celebrity is the only cruise line that allows just one person to get a drink package in a stateroom. Others require everyone in the cabin to get the package. My wife does not drink - not at all! So, it is another benefit we like. Anyway, that is my two cents.

[natski]

We are about to go on our 3rd Hal cruise March 7 , Westerdamn, Eastern Carib, we hope to get a upgrade in our room for the Mariner status we have as little as it is with only 3 cruises with Hal , they did it on our last 10 day southern cruise , speaking of loyality programs we are Air Miles collectors and those miles just purchased a Camcorder for this cruise so i am a fan of them and with were we live in a very rural area it is easy to collect the air Miles as there sponser affiliates are pretty well all we have for options lol Gas, Food ,LCBO ( Booze store ) ect ect so it is a win win for us .

[lizard3684]

Celebrity is the only cruise line that allows just one person to get a drink package in a stateroom. Others require everyone in the cabin to get the package.

 

Royal also allows only one person to buy drink package. That worked great for us on our recent Explorer cruise. It's not that I "won't" drink. I just want to save my calories for DESSERT!

[Lewisleagueleader]

Each line has it's own target and plan. Loyalty plan participation support those. The all keep data as to what you bought, drank and if you complained. Like grocery and drug stores they could just give you the discounts and perks with no consumer's actions.

I did notice abcent from the discussion safty and health. These are large floating communities totally dependent on ship operation. For that reason we do not sail on a few lines. In our price range RCL and Celb. work for my family. NCL working hard to come up.

[JoseyP]

Loyalty programs are OK, but i sure wouldn't choose a cruise because of my loyalty status. I am platinum on Carnival, because of price, and convenience of where the ship leaves from, and my generous mother taking us all on family cruises, and she picks what ship we sail. There are also limited options out of Ny. It is nice to be platinum on Carnival, and have my laundry done, but I never pick a cruise because of it.

 

When a line asks for your comments at the end of the cruise, they ask a good question: What kind of cruiser are you? and I always answer: itinerary driven.

A cruise has to be in my price range, have an itinerary I want, and be at a time I want.

 

I think as I have cruised more, I am interested in sampling different ships and lines, but I think a new cruiser should not be so concerned with the ship, because any one that is 3.5 star or more will seem amazing to him, but concerned with the timing, price and itinerary of the trip.

[GUT2407]

I don't care about loyalty programs and not just because in all honesty most have little for me.

 

Free booze, we don't drink.

 

Free internet, yuk! One of the reasons I cruise is to get away from people contacting me.

 

Free laundry, herself doesn't really like sending most things out to industrial washers and dryers, but we might send a few things.

 

Princess do sometimes give us extra OBC and a discount, but you get that after one cruise anyway.

 

I cruise with whoever has the itinerary I want [most :D] at the time we can do [not so many :(] and a price I can justify.

[Aquahound]

Celebrity is the only cruise line that allows just one person to get a drink package in a stateroom. Others require everyone in the cabin to get the package. My wife does not drink - not at all! So, it is another benefit we like. Anyway, that is my two cents.

 

As already stated, this is not true. Royal Caribbean also allows for only 1 person to purchase a booze package. But either way, that's a perk of the cruise line available to all, not a loyalty perk.

[lamchops]

For me, it's only about itinerary and price.

I use the cruise as transportation to see different ports and sites.

I expect my priorities may change when I retire and cruise for the cruising experience.

[fundirector]

I have a friend who will only cruise one cruise line due to their loyalty to them. She even took a short 5 day cruise just to bump herself up a category in the program. I do not see where the cost of that saved her anything in the future. Once when we sailed with them and they asked about some of the other ports we went to and how did we get there. I simply said, try other cruise lines.

 

We had taken a Med Cruise a few years ago with a fantastic offer that included $500 off the air per person. Plus many other good deals. They would have gotten them as well by going with us. I called them to go. But of course it was not their cruise line and they made a silly excuse not to go. They are going now and the itinerary is close but more sea days, smaller ship and more money. Oh well.

 

We choose by time, itinerary,price and sometimes the ship itself if it is one we really want to try.

Variety is the spice of life. The perks usually are not that great and you start to get the better ones after one or two sailing per cruise line, such as early boarding.

 

Happy sailing everone

Edited February 24, 2015 by fundirector

[retiredgirl]

It seems cruise loyalty programs are joined automatically after one's first voyage; nothing need be done from the cruiser end, you're automatically in their system (unlike airline frequent flyer programs which require a passenger to register for same).

 

We choose a cruise by itinerary, departure port and costs. But we also signup for loyalty programs. We are Crown and Anchor (Royal Caribbean) and Captains Club (Celebrity) members but will cruise other lines. There is nothing wrong with getting the "perks" - like free room upgrades or free drinks or extra points to achieve the next level, which will give more perks. :-) But that doesn't influence what ships we cruise. Our thought is - if we are going to cruise why not signup for the loyalty program? It may take us a while to achieve Diamond status but we don't care. Keep choosing what you like and going where you want. I think everyone cruise line has a loyalty program. Join it and enjoy whatever perks you're given.

[retiredgirl]

Although we have no personal "loyalty" to any cruise line (we have been on 14 lines) as a result of more then forty years cruising we are in the upper tier of many different loyalty programs. Each has some benefits, and some of these benefit are nice to have. When Princess gives DW and I 1000 free internet minutes we do not complain. When Celebrity gives us free cocktails every day (usually a 2 hour party) we accept the free booze. Several cruise lines give us priority tendering and this is a great benefit for us in many tender ports since we can get ashore when we want rather then wait (sometimes for hours). And we do appreciate the free laundry we get on HAL, Princess, Celebrity, RCI, etc.

 

But we actually agree with much of what the OP says. We do not choose our cruises because of these extra perks. But there are many cruisers who are really into this "loyalty thing" and will cruise on a line for loyalty sake. HAL gives out Medallions as recognition for having cruised a certain number of days (i.e. 100, 300, 500, etc). These Medallions are essentially worthless pieces of cheap metal, but for some of these loyal HAL folks they take this stuff very seriously. In fact, there are some who will bring their Medallions onboard so they can wear them to a few loyalty functions. Go figure.

 

Hank

 

To me, bringing medallions is just bringing extra baggage. I have enough problems staying under the 50 pound limit!

[OctoberKat]

I've no particular beef with loyalty programs. From the corporate perspective, they are pure gold. From the cruiser perspective, rather less so. Loyalty programs don't cost a penny so, to be sure, sign up so you can get whatever perks come your way. Yet I would not ever take into account such a program when choosing my next cruise.

 

I think there's been a consensus here on that: get what you can but don't let " loyalty" be a factor in your choice.

[dorisis]

I am not sure about all cruise lines, but on Royal Caribbean you have to join their Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program - it is not an automatic - many people choose not to join for their own personal reasons. Crown and Anchor on RC also works with Celebrity cruisline's loyalty program, but I believe you also have to join the Celebrity program too - not automatic.

 

I don't think that is entirely true. We became Diamond automatically on RC on the first RC cruise we ever took, That was because of being Elite in Celebrity's Captain's Club. I don't remember if we had to sign up for the Celebrity Club.

[Grandma Dazzles]

I don't think that is entirely true. We became Diamond automatically on RC on the first RC cruise we ever took, That was because of being Elite in Celebrity's Captain's Club. I don't remember if we had to sign up for the Celebrity Club.

 

You do have to sign up for both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity - they accept each other's loyalty programs, but you have to sign up and have different numbers.

 

I have diamond plus status on RC and automatically get Elite on Celebrity, as they do not have a tier equal to Diamond Plus or Pinnacle. I do, however, have a different membership number for each cruise line, which they originally assigned to me.

 

Not sure if that has changed recently, but that's the way it was in 2014, my last cruise. I wouldn't be surprised if Celebrity creates another tier level to equal those on RC. RC now has a lot of diamonds, and there is talk of re-vamping the program again.

[OctoberKat]

I speculated earlier in a different thread that we could expect cruise lines to take a tip from the new loyalty model airlines are introducing wherein it is not frequency of flying that is rewarded so much as dollar spend. Interesting therefore to see this snippet from Seabourn's program:

 

SEABOURN CLUB POINTS

 

In addition to earning Milestone Awards, you can also earn Seabourn Club Points that qualify you for an array of additional benefits on board and at home. These points establish your Seabourn Club Membership level. There are a number of ways to earn Seabourn Club Points:

Each Sailed Day on board a Seabourn ship earns you one Seabourn Club Point

Each Sailed Day in a penthouse or premium suite accommodation earns one additional Seabourn Club Point

Each night on an escorted Seabourn Journey earns one Seabourn Club Point

Every $500 of eligible onboard and pre-cruise online purchases earns one Seabourn Club Point (net of returns, and limited to one additional Seabourn Club Point for each Sailed Day)

Edited March 28, 2015 by OctoberKat

[Azulann]

I speculated earlier in a different thread that we could expect cruise lines to take a tip from the new loyalty model airlines are introducing wherein it is not frequency of flying that is rewarded so much as dollar spend. Interesting therefore to see this snippet from Seabourn's program:

 

SEABOURN CLUB POINTS

 

In addition to earning Milestone Awards, you can also earn Seabourn Club Points that qualify you for an array of additional benefits on board and at home. These points establish your Seabourn Club Membership level. There are a number of ways to earn Seabourn Club Points:

Each Sailed Day on board a Seabourn ship earns you one Seabourn Club Point

Each Sailed Day in a penthouse or premium suite accommodation earns one additional Seabourn Club Point

Each night on an escorted Seabourn Journey earns one Seabourn Club Point

Every $500 of eligible onboard and pre-cruise online purchases earns one Seabourn Club Point (net of returns, and limited to one additional Seabourn Club Point for each Sailed Day)

 

Yes, both Delta FF miles and Celebrity Cruise line has moved their programs to $$ spent . Celebrity uses type of stateroom($$ spent) plus days travelled.

I participate in these two programs.

 

I seeing cruising as a floating hotel/ means of transportation. I prefer cruises at least ten days or more in Europe, South/ Central America. Will be exploring river cruising to explore more places in Europe in the future.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Azulann

[hubofhockey]

Bully for you! Variety is the spice of life and I too just find these "loyalty" program are just silly. Happy travels to you and yours.:)

 

I agree with you. No $250 to $300 perk is going to have any influence over how I choose my vacation. We are spread out on three lines now for loyalty points and we're trying a fourth line out next year.