Between Elite+...and Zenith

[Redtravel]

On my recent Eclipse cruise, there were several guests who told me that there was something in the works about another level between elite plus and zenith level. Any truth in it? It does seem like after getting to elite plus, the great beyond is out of reach. 2250 point difference seems like a joke. Unless you are young, sail in an expensive suite on Celebrity/Azamara many times a year, there is no way you can get to zenith level. I have been cruising since 1986. No Zenith in my lifetime.

[dodger1964]

After our cruise last month on reflection we are now "plus"...if we sail in same cabin every time from now on (aqua class) we only need to cruise 65 more times to be Zenith!!

[CRUZBUDS]

we only need to cruise 65 more times to be Zenith!!

 

Time flies when you're having fun ... you'll be Zenith before you know it ;)

 

We're barely Elite+ -- we have no incentive to try to move to the next level - it is too far away to be a reasonable goal.

[Wine-O]

I think they should have another level -- 1,500 seems reasonable. Now, they would have to figure out the extra perks.

 

I'm very happy with the Elite + perks, myself.

[CruisingChick]

After our cruise last month on reflection we are now "plus"...if we sail in same cabin every time from now on (aqua class) we only need to cruise 65 more times to be Zenith!!

 

And just think how many cruises those of us who book inside cabins must take to make Zenith. I would have to be 10 years old in order to make it. Basically 150 - one week cruises.

[Shake]

Wine-O, It's good to keep your eye on a new and attainable level/future prize. Yes I agree and would like to see it happen.

 

1500 points would be a good spot between Elite + and Zenith or even two new levels, 1250 and 2000. Going from 750 points to 3000 without any stops between is just too large.

[Gordoncruickshank]

If they had any sense they would introduce at least two more level to give everyone the chance to aim that little bit higher. One at 1500 and one at 2250 works for me.

 

It is a great turn off to get to 750 and then have a mountain to climb. There is a good chance that those on the way to Elite plus will switch allegiance to a competitor line as the 2250 gap seems unattainable.

 

Gordon

[sginva]

If they had any sense they would introduce at least two more level to give everyone the chance to aim that little bit higher. One at 1500 and one at 2250 works for me.

 

It is a great turn off to get to 750 and then have a mountain to climb. There is a good chance that those on the way to Elite plus will switch allegiance to a competitor line as the 2250 gap seems unattainable.

 

Gordon

 

We are Elite Plus at 1500 plus and see no reason currently to be ever loyal to Celebrity. Our next cruise is on HAL next month and we find ourselves

checking itineraries, great rates, perks offered frequently on other cruise lines. It is a whole new world. Still love Celebrity of course.

Thanks

[Nachosdelux]

We are Elite Plus at 1500 plus and see no reason currently to be ever loyal to Celebrity. Our next cruise is on HAL next month and we find ourselves

checking itineraries, great rates, perks offered frequently on other cruise lines. It is a whole new world. Still love Celebrity of course.

Thanks

 

agree with you 100%

 

Celebrity should read what you said and listen.

[dodger1964]

And just think how many cruises those of us who book inside cabins must take to make Zenith. I would have to be 10 years old in order to make it. Basically 150 - one week cruises.

 

We usually try to sail in balcony, or ocean view, but this trip booked in Aqua Class to put us into the "plus" level.

[maggie.1008]

We are Elite plus and will be at 1400 in Sept. My last 3 cruises have been on Princess as I will never make Zenith and Princess cruises more out of the West Coast. If there were more benefits at 1500 I would go for it. X is still my favorite line.

[Orator]

I have said this many times: I believe that a new level at 1500 points would be a good marketing strategy since it might create a desire for a number of cruisers to take more cruises to reach a new level.This is what precisely happend when Elite+ and Zenith were created. I was soundly criticised by some for simply "cruising for points". I can tell you that I was not alone. One of the Miami staff in charge of the Captain's Club program told me that they were surprised by the number making Zenith. The number of Zeniths is growing every week.I'll be leaving for a cruise tomorrow and have been told by the Captain that a new Zenith couple will be onboard. There will be at least 8 Zeniths on that cruise. I believe that creating a level between Elite and Zenith would have the same affect on increasing demand. That being said, I don't believe that Celebrity will revisit the Captain's Club Program in the near future.They made their decisionsand took their hits. They don't wanttoopen the Pandora'sBox again.They are now focused on the new builds and Suite enhancements. Someone on the inside told me that they are now focused on hign margin (Suite) passengers, not Loyalty.

[maggie.1008]

Sounds like X should make Michael`s Club a lot larger on their new builds !

[BrendaJ]

I agree that a level between Elite+ and Zenith would give many of us something to strive for. Personally, I can't imagine a perk that would make me cruise more often that I already do, other than a large discount on the cruise price. :rolleyes:

 

Zenith is just plain unreachable for the vast majority - it would take a new cruiser nearly half a year in the Penthouse to get to Zenith. Many of us only have as many points as we do because the point conversion process was very generous. I do think the new way of accumulating points is more logical than the old way, where short cruises could rack up a lot of points quickly. I think we can all thank our lucky stars that the points don't expire, like many of the airline points do.

 

As much as I would like to see a new level, a can't imagine many more perks they can put on the table without affecting the bottom line too much. I'm pretty happy with Elite+, but I guess I might be tempted to book more suites if there was another level to shoot for.

 

We can always dream . . .

[maggie.1008]

I wonder how many are at 1500 points ? Maybe X could let us know ? That might be a factor in what kind of benefits they could offer.

[smtcan]

Since we reached Elite+ we have taken several cruises with Princess when their itineraries were more interesting and the pricing was better. The beverage packages do not have a great deal of value for us, and we are seeing much higher prices when they are included. We are unlikely to ever reach Zenith, since we rarely cruise in anything above a balcony. A level in between would be a bit of an incentive to stay with Celebrity.

[phoenix_dream]

I agree with Orator's point that the focus right now is not on loyalty, it is on high spend customers. One of the big perks of being Elite or Elite+ was the social hour, but with beverage packages usually included as perks (albeit clearly not 'free' as prices confirm) that benefit is of little value anymore. Same for the free specialty coffee. The priority tendering makes a huge difference on a cruise with a lot of tender ports, but otherwise not. Two bags of laundry is appreciated. Some internet minutes are nice, but honestly there is no way I want to be attached to the internet for hours on a cruise - heck, I am trying to get away from it all, not bring it with me!! Elite breakfast? Ok if you like continental only.

 

I also wish they would include a level in-between but my gut tells me no. Many of us getting to Elite+ are older as well, and unless you are in the 1% they really don't care about the older folks anyway - they are trying to build the brand with the younger crowd (preferably the younger crowd with a lot of disposable income:)).

 

Don't mean to sound overly pessimistic - heaven knows a Celebrity cruise is still a joy. But I think realistically it's not going to happen or it would have already. Would love, love, love to be wrong about this.

[ghstudio]

. Someone on the inside told me that they are now focused on hign margin (Suite) passengers, not Loyalty.

 

 

That's hardly inside information...it's blatantly obvious and is causing some if not many to realize that celebrity doesn't care (or think) much about elite +s or other past cruisers. Our last 8 cruises have been in Aqua...which is pretty good revenue...but we certainly don't feel like valued customers these days.

 

We're elite plus and our next cruise is on holland American with cruises booked on Oceania. If celebrity doesn't value my $'s, it's hard to care about loyalty to celebrity.

Edited February 20, 2015 by ghstudio

[smtcan]

I agree with Orator's point that the focus right now is not on loyalty, it is on high spend customers. One of the big perks of being Elite or Elite+ was the social hour, but with beverage packages usually included as perks (albeit clearly not 'free' as prices confirm) that benefit is of little value anymore. Same for the free specialty coffee.

 

The reverse of this is that beverage packages have little value to moderate drinkers who are Elite or Elite+, so why pay extra for an unneeded benefit.

[LuAnn]

something more reasonable as the next level is warranted! We did make Elite Plus in the change...but at our age we will be dead and cruising the skies before we make Zenith!!! :p And I do feel a little like the "step-child" with everything focused on the suite passengers! We don't book any higher than AQ. But I think we'll stay with X...we do enjoy the benefits we have now. LuAnn

[phoenix_dream]

The reverse of this is that beverage packages have little value to moderate drinkers who are Elite or Elite+, so why pay extra for an unneeded benefit.

 

I agree 100%. I am a very modest drinker, and I hate paying the increased cabin prices to subsidize the 'free' beverage packages. At the same time, the difference between a regular or other sale price (like a resident discount) and the value of the 1-2-3 perks is so significant that even for modest drinkers you really have little choice if you want to sail X.

[miched]

Being rather foolish and not wanting to cruise on what was perceived as a snobbish cruise line like Celebrity we sailed mostly on the Carnival Cruise Lines We enjoyed the cruises got into chasing status in their loyalty programs. It seemed as if as soon as we got there we found that the chase was more fun than the benefits especially when they were changed soon after we got there.

 

Out of curiouity we decided to try RC and Celebrity. RC didn't impress us but Celebrity did. We were close to Elite and then they changed the format. Under the old formula our next 14 day cruise would have put us into Elite status. Under the new it took us that cruise plus another 14 day cruise. As for the benefits we have always sailed in AQ and since reaching Elite the morning breakfast is not used because we use Blu and the HH isn't of much value as we have always had the drink pack.

 

After the experience on CCL and the change in format for Celebrity we learned not to chase after loyalty club status because it can and will change. With the new suite perks and the new class of ships I can see where the HH drinks and morning breakfast will be eliminated. Elite, and Elite plus will probably end up with a one BYGO drink coupon per cruise and another for 10% off a scoop of gelato.

 

As others have posted we now sail more for value, and service and not club rewards or status.

 

The changes in reward is not unique to cruise lines. It also happened in the casinos and airlines.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[swigso]

I am looking at the MCS yacht club

Seems a good deal

[Project_gal]

They don't wanttoopen the Pandora'sBox again.They are now focused on the new builds and Suite enhancements. Someone on the inside told me that they are now focused on hign margin (Suite) passengers, not Loyalty.

 

Just a shame we were treated so poorly in the conversion from the old to new Captain's Club points!

[omeinv]

Am I the only one who finds irony in all the people talking about Celebrity's failings in their loyalty to customers, and in the same breath tell how they are cruising other lines over the lack of a "free" benefit. An odd concept of "loyalty" indeed.

 

I'll grant that in business "loyalty" often means frequent rather than loyal, but really now. Celebrity's Elite Plus level provides an array of benefits that makes cruising with them quite nice; and it's more than I see other lines offering. Considering those factors, and the fact that Celebrity had better make a profit, or none of us will be enjoying their product for long; I'm quite happy with the program. I too will likely never make it to Zenith. So what? As much as I enjoy and use the Elite Plus perks, if the whole Captain's Club program were to disappear, Celebrity still provides an overall top-notch product, at a very competitive price.

 

In my relatively brief cruising history (only 8 years) I've seen some changes I have not liked, but the Captain's Club program has changed dramatically for the better. Yet each change has brought a flood of complaints (e.g. The free drinks should be at a different time. The free drinks should be different quality. The free internet isn't fast enough. The free laundry isn't valid on the last three days of the cruise). If I were Celebrity, I would be becoming disillusioned with offering a "loyalty program" when every improvement only begets calls for "More!".

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Edited February 21, 2015 by omeinv