Elite Level Changing

[vbecky]

Little confused. Do you get your elite status on the 15th cruise?

[beg3yrs]

Little confused. Do you get your elite status on the 15th cruise?

 

You become Elite at the end of your 15th cruise. You will receive benefits beginning with the 16th cruise.

 

You can also become Elite at the end of the cruise upon which you accrue 150 days at sea.

[fuzwuz12]

I think there are too many elites and the system needs to be changed. If you wait in line for the elite appetizers at there party and it's a line out the door you realize there are too many elites. I wish they would up the elite level to 25 cruises.

 

Is the "long line" really caused by elites or by platinums? Perhaps the "elite appetizers" could be only for the elites. There were 127 elite passengers on the Regal and a big crowd trying to get snacks. It really isn't worth the effort to go.

[Woobstr112G]

I use to think the short cruises were a way to game the system. I have since changed my mind and now believe whatever works for someone, as far as reaching elite, is what works. I will qualify for elite after my next cruise which will be my 10th on Princess. I will make it due to spending $$$$$ booking full suites on a number of our cruises. It's kinda interesting that I will also only be 2 days shy of the 150 day mark due to the fact many of our Princess cruises were at least 14 days or more.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited October 8, 2015 by Woobstr112G

[Cruise Raider]

This is a tricky subject. We got to Elite on Celebrity just before they "changed the rules". All I can is I hope I get to Elite before they "change the rules".

 

Actually, on Celebrity, they awarded you additional points if you were close to getting your next level up. The points they gave you were enough to only require a 7 night cruise in an inside cabin on your next cruise.

There was quite the uproar at first and now all has calmed down and nobody has mentioned it in the last year or so.

[SteerageJack]

Is the "long line" really caused by elites or by platinums? Perhaps the "elite appetizers" could be only for the elites. There were 127 elite passengers on the Regal and a big crowd trying to get snacks. It really isn't worth the effort to go.

 

 

Why in the world would anyone spend a minute fretting over "elite snacks" on a ship full of free food?

[Steelers36]

Why in the world would anyone spend a minute fretting over "elite snacks" on a ship full of free food?

 

Because many folks can't help themselves but to make sure they have everything offered for free on board. And some want to get everything they can out of status. We're Platinum and most of the time I am not interested in chasing after that stuff. Then they often hold invitation events when we are looking to go to dinner. Oh well, so I miss a freebee or two.

Edited October 8, 2015 by steelers36

[iceleven]

Why in the world would anyone spend a minute fretting over "elite snacks" on a ship full of free food?

 

 

You beat me to it. :D

[Woobstr112G]

You beat me to it. :D

 

Me too.....:D:D:D

 

Bob

[SteerageJack]

For me the critical factor is not a question of how you become Elite, but more a question of how you behave when you are 'Elite'. I'm only Platinum, but I will shortly become Elite and I have seen so much aggressive behaviour from Elites, towards other passengers, that I am not sure I will wish anyone to know when I get to Elite.

 

By bad behaviour, I include:

 

a) pushing past non-Elite suite passengers in the Elite / Suite line at the reception desk on the basis that they have priority over the suite passenger.

 

b) pushing to the very front of the line for tendering, rather than accepting that priority tendering merely gives them the right to join the end of the line without a tender group card.

 

c) complaining directly to non-Elite passengers sitting by a window in the main dining room, that they wanted a window seat and should have been given priority for that table.

 

Elite is a loyalty status, not a personal attribute. Some folks are confused about that.

[SteerageJack]

You beat me to it. :D

 

I am sometimes mistaken for a smart-alecky jerk...okay, not mistaken so much as identified as such. But anyway, I just can't get worked up about all this loyalty level stuff. The perks I like best are those that don't require me to compete with someone. Give me shipboard credit and internet minutes and I am a happy guy. Others obviously feel differently and I do my best to stay out of their way.

[Steelers36]

Elite is a loyalty status, not a personal attribute. Some folks are confused about that.

 

It can be the same with airline status. I was the very top tier of Air Canada for almost a decade and some guys just expect way too much from that. I found it humbling at times, but I will miss it when those tough situations come up.

[abbydancer2003]

I think that when they first introduced the Elite lounge it was for suites and Elite only (we were Platinum and had just booked our first suite, and were a little bit excited we could go) but because apparently turnout wasn't good, they invited the Platinums. On our last cruise, Skywalkers was way too small. I did meet a lot of nice people sitting in the same seating area as us, though.

 

I look at door cards when I'm wandering the halls to get a sense of how many of each level there are.

 

And on the last cruise, we (now Elite) went to the tender dining room, and waited for them to start loading the next tender. We then followed a crew member to the tender. We were neither the first nor the last group on it.

 

And BTW, I've done a couple of one night cruises. I couldn't resist the dinner rolls either.

[geoherb]

Our back-to-back 4-day cruises a couple of years ago got us to Elite faster than we would have otherwise. But I figure they average out with the 10-day cruises we've taken. I'm looking forward to when we retire and can take really long cruises.

[fuzwuz12]

Why in the world would anyone spend a minute fretting over "elite snacks" on a ship full of free food?

 

I agree. The few times we checked out the elite snack area was because my husband wanted to try the chips and guacamole. We looked and left. We always have first traditional dining which is too close to the time of the snacks.

 

Our stop in Ecuador with only one tender running made it necessary to cancel many of the excursions and delay the ones that could still go. We decided to get off just to say we were in that country. The line for the tender was unbelievably long. When i went to the dining room for tender tickets, I was told elites do not need tickets and to just go to the front. I told him no way. I did not want to get attacked by the people in line.

 

Elite just means we were fortunate enough to be able to take nice cruises.

[waltd]

I agree. The few times we checked out the elite snack area was because my husband wanted to try the chips and guacamole. We looked and left. We always have first traditional dining which is too close to the time of the snacks.

 

Our stop in Ecuador with only one tender running made it necessary to cancel many of the excursions and delay the ones that could still go. We decided to get off just to say we were in that country. The line for the tender was unbelievably long. When i went to the dining room for tender tickets, I was told elites do not need tickets and to just go to the front. I told him no way. I did not want to get attacked by the people in line.

 

Elite just means we were fortunate enough to be able to take nice cruises.

 

Miss understanding. If you are told you do not need tender tickets you can go down to the tender but you get at the end of the line, if any, waiting to board the tender. You are right if you did go down and go to the very front of that line you might get some flack as there could be other Elite waiting to board as well as those that had all ready received tender tickets.

[bhopal21]

Why in the world would anyone spend a minute fretting over "elite snacks" on a ship full of free food?

 

Exactly!

 

On our recent 10 day AK cruise we didn't attend a single evening of the PSE event.

 

Mike:)

[Times Prince]

I do think it's wrong to promise if you cruise 6 cruises you get free laundry (or whatever) and then change it. But I bet the terms provide for them to change the rules whenever they like.

Yes they do. This is a loyalty program where the company can change the rules at any time based on their business model. Think of it like the airlines. I can't tell you how many times I have been at the cusp of getting a free flight, then the airline increases the number of miles required. Then they changed everything so there was a time limit and all my "miles" were flushed. At least the Princess loyalty program is cumulative. We got impacted when they went to the Platinum level, and changed accounting from the previous Captain's Circle program. It just took another cruise to get us back on track, and that was many cruises ago. With any change someone will be affected.

 

I think it's wrong to assume that anyone who wear his/her card on a lanyard is trying to flaunt elite status.

 

Why can't everyone just enjoy their cruise, whatever color they are, and not concern themselves with others?!

Exactly.

 

My wife uses the lanyard because women's clothing have few pockets. I put mine in my pocket, and the card loses magnetization at least once a cruise. Hers, on the lanyard, never does this.

 

We do love seeing the excitement on the faces of the blue card folks.

[crochetcruise]

Yes they do. This is a loyalty program where the company can change the rules at any time based on their business model. Think of it like the airlines. I can't tell you how many times I have been at the cusp of getting a free flight, then the airline increases the number of miles required. Then they changed everything so there was a time limit and all my "miles" were flushed. At least the Princess loyalty program is cumulative. We got impacted when they went to the Platinum level, and changed accounting from the previous Captain's Circle program. It just took another cruise to get us back on track, and that was many cruises ago. With any change someone will be affected.

 

Exactly.

 

My wife uses the lanyard because women's clothing have few pockets. I put mine in my pocket, and the card loses magnetization at least once a cruise. Hers, on the lanyard, never does this.

 

We do love seeing the excitement on the faces of the blue card folks.

 

THANK YOU! You've solved the problem for me of what to do with my cruise card so I don't lose it. I am used to wearing a lanyard with my unit key on it, and have another identical 1, so I'll pack it!

[satxdiver]

...

 

My wife uses the lanyard because women's clothing have few pockets. I put mine in my pocket, and the card loses magnetization at least once a cruise. Hers, on the lanyard, never does this.

 

We do love seeing the excitement on the faces of the blue card folks.

 

I always carry my card in my pocket. The only time I had a problem was when I bought a ship magnet to take home and mindlessly put it in the same pocket as my cruise card. You can guess the result. I spent my career working with computers so it was truly a id10t error of the greatest magnitude. My time probably is coming though when keeping it in my pocket will cause it to fail.

 

I would not be surprised if Princess changed their program to days at sea and not times sailed. It would not impact us but would cause some problems for others trying to reach the next level.

Edited December 3, 2015 by satxdiver

[PescadoAmarillo]

Interesting note about lanyards and ship cards...

I wore my card on a lanyard all the time until I started to need reading glasses, and then I purchased a small bag that would hold both. But on port days, I still wear my card and an expired drivers license with a hole punched in the corner as a photo ID on a lanyard. It speeds up embarkation and disembarkation considerably.

 

In Hilo last week we returned to the ship on a WalMart shuttle. The driver told us over and over to have a photo ID and ship card ready to show at the port gate. I pulled my lanyard out from under my shirt where I tuck it once off the ship. The security agent boarded...and two ladies in the seat across from us didn't have their card handy, and then had to dig in their purses for their wallets, and then through their wallets for their photo IDs. I thought the crew that was with us, who had very limited me off the ship, would lose their minds.

 

If someone is offended at a black card on a lanyard, that's a personal issue.

 

As for the Captains Circle program, of course it will change some day, and not for the better. That's life.

[BarbaraP]

Interesting note about lanyards and ship cards...

I wore my card on a lanyard all the time until I started to need reading glasses, and then I purchased a small bag that would hold both. But on port days, I still wear my card and an expired drivers license with a hole punched in the corner as a photo ID on a lanyard. It speeds up embarkation and disembarkation considerably.

 

In Hilo last week we returned to the ship on a WalMart shuttle. The driver told us over and over to have a photo ID and ship card ready to show at the port gate. I pulled my lanyard out from under my shirt where I tuck it once off the ship. The security agent boarded...and two ladies in the seat across from us didn't have their card handy, and then had to dig in their purses for their wallets, and then through their wallets for their photo IDs. I thought the crew that was with us, who had very limited me off the ship, would lose their minds.

If someone is offended at a black card on a lanyard, that's a personal issue.

 

As for the Captains Circle program, of course it will change some day, and not for the better. That's life.

 

I agree, I have worn my card on a lanyard since it was first blue, for my convenience.

[2pbears]

For me the critical factor is not a question of how you become Elite, but more a question of how you behave when you are 'Elite'. I'm only Platinum, but I will shortly become Elite and I have seen so much aggressive behaviour from Elites, towards other passengers, that I am not sure I will wish anyone to know when I get to Elite.

 

By bad behaviour, I include:

 

a) pushing past non-Elite suite passengers in the Elite / Suite line at the reception desk on the basis that they have priority over the suite passenger.

 

b) pushing to the very front of the line for tendering, rather than accepting that priority tendering merely gives them the right to join the end of the line without a tender group card.

 

c) complaining directly to non-Elite passengers sitting by a window in the main dining room, that they wanted a window seat and should have been given priority for that table.

 

Funny you should mention this as we have had crew members comment to us that the passengers with the "dreaded black card" can be the most difficult passengers on the ship to deal with.:rolleyes:

[WISH84]

Funny you should mention this as we have had crew members comment to us that the passengers with the "dreaded black card" can be the most difficult passengers on the ship to deal with.:rolleyes:

 

To be special and know it but not show it.. is truly divine. Anything else is just rude.

 

99.99% of the Elite passengers who sail on Princess (I am not one of those fortunate enough to have reached that status) are friendly, courteous and help make other cruisers feel welcome. It's that .01% however who make the most noise and give Elite passengers a bad name.

 

It's worse over on Carnival. Much worse.. and over there.. I am Elite (Platinum).

 

:cool:

[floridalover5623]

I'd love to trade in my card for a blue one just to see how everyone would treat me as a first time cruiser for a change. ;)