Trying to understand how Celebrity community works

[Tarika]

Hi everyone!

 

I recently traveled with celebrity to south-east asia. I had a wonderful experience cruising with them. While on board I came across the "celebrity community". They had frequent meets and greets with each other, I never got a chance to attend one of them.

 

I am a university student and I am using Celebrity cruises as a brand in one of my assignments, I wanted to know how does "celebrity community" works? Like how can I be part of it? Do i have to pay for it or do I need to travel with them a certain number of time before they invite me to their community? Also, how does members of this community keep in touch? What is the platform used (online, offline)? How does celebrity professionals manage/engage this community? Do they offer special deals or just update about new travel itinerary..etc?

 

Thank you!

[dkjretired]

Hi everyone!

 

I recently traveled with celebrity to south-east asia. I had a wonderful experience cruising with them. While on board I came across the "celebrity community". They had frequent meets and greets with each other, I never got a chance to attend one of them.

 

I am a university student and I am using Celebrity cruises as a brand in one of my assignments, I wanted to know how does "celebrity community" works? Like how can I be part of it? Do i have to pay for it or do I need to travel with them a certain number of time before they invite me to their community? Also, how does members of this community keep in touch? What is the platform used (online, offline)? How does celebrity professionals manage/engage this community? Do they offer special deals or just update about new travel itinerary..etc?

 

Thank you!

 

On the main Celebrity page find the link for roll calls. Look up the ship you will be on and the particular cruise should be listed. Just join in the roll call.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

No idea what "celebrity community" might be and I'm a frequent Celebrity cruiser. It may have been a special interest group. Only way to know would have been to ask them.

 

[Tarika]

Thanks Don for your reply! I just visited the roll call page and it seems they are all for future cruises, I don't have any future cruise booked yet, is there a way I can join the group I sailed with? It was in Dec 2015

[Tarika]

thanks happy cruiser 6143, i'll message them directly!

 

by Celebrity community I meant people who generally opt to travel with celebrity and now they have formed a group of people they might know or want to know their fellow travelers for the next cruise.

 

In short, everyone who is remotely related to celebrity as a consumer.

[az_tchr]

That is a group of millions of people. Really not a group, but simply people making friends with other people. If this is it - I also have never heard of any such group having "meetings" - then it is everyone of the people who post here and post. There is simply an opportunity to "meet" people through the roll call organize activities.

[jenZ]

Hello Tarika, Your university project sounds interesting! And having first hand experience ( well, at least tangentially!) with your target brand and subset audiences should certainly enhance your understanding for your end product.

 

Attempts to answer some of your questions:

 

1) yes, you can join a roll call after the sailing. Not sure how many of this community will respond after the fact. If nothing else you will be able to gather data from this community and may be able to ascertain other subset communities from the prior postings. Additionally, if you are seeking two way feedback, you can 'join' ( follow, really) any roll call. Not sure how the community would react to an active roll of a non- sailor. Probably depends on the individual make-up of any particular community. But no one can stop you from lurking! May I suggest you lurk on some transatlantic cruises? You will find a more active community on these that may help on your research. Don't think this would be unique to the Celebrity brand however.

 

2) regarding various communities within the Celebrity brand- here are a few I can think of-

 

-first, would be the Cruise Critic community., which is not just your particular sailing as in the roll-call but also a community to learn and share more about the cruise line and its offerings. Celebrity does offer this community a 'Meet & Mingle Cruise Connections' gathering on board with refreshments and attendance by one or more of the ship's officers. It is by invitation only after 25 or more Cruise Critic participants register online at the Celebrity website for your particular sailing.

 

- another community would be the Captain's Club, essentially a rewards program for frequent sailors; you can read about the benefits at their website. The upper tiers do get special offerings that you may have observed.- specifically the Elite tier gets a cocktail party every evening ( or if there are a lot of 'Elites' on board a specific sailing, they may get drink vouchers. )There are other benefits too, such as priority boarding for tenders at those ports, where you may have observed groups.

 

- a third community I can think of that is related to Celebrity's branding is the class of cabin service you book for your cruise. Above the standard verandah cabin, different cabins classes have different benefits and you may have observed some group gatherings for these. Suite class cabins have access to special dining room (Luminae) and a private lounge (Michael's Club). These are recent branding enhancements. Aqua class cabins also have a separate dining room (Blu) and other benefits related to the branding of the 'Spa Experience'. This class has been around since the introduction of the S-class ships. This community does not necessarily have special events for gathering opportunities but there are passionate members if evidenced by the Cruise Critic feedback. It might be an interesting case study for your project to assess the changing perspective of value of these various cabin classes. You will find a myriads of opinions on these boards!

 

Just a quick overview. Hope this helps you get started. Enjoy your research!

Jen

[CathyCruises]

We have a group of people that we have traveled with multiple times now. We originally met on roll calls for various Transatlantic cruises. We have had our own private Facebook page for several years now, where we talk about great deals that we have found, share cruise stories, and maintain our friendships. So we are a little 'celebrity community' all unto ourselves, although occasionally members do drift over and try other ships! This has evolved into greater friendships where we now visit each other's homes, etc. Last summer, my DH and I drove from California to Toronto Canada to visit some cruise friends, and we have visited other friends in London, Edinburgh, and Dallas within the last year. So these cruise mates have evolved into lifetime friends.

[El Crucero]

You have found the "Celebrity Community", right here on the Cruise Critic Celebrity Forum.

[rnrcruzin]

Nice job Jen and Cathy.

[ORV]

Hello Tarika, Your university project sounds interesting! And having first hand experience ( well, at least tangentially!) with your target brand and subset audiences should certainly enhance your understanding for your end product.

 

Attempts to answer some of your questions:

 

1) yes, you can join a roll call after the sailing. Not sure how many of this community will respond after the fact. If nothing else you will be able to gather data from this community and may be able to ascertain other subset communities from the prior postings. Additionally, if you are seeking two way feedback, you can 'join' ( follow, really) any roll call. Not sure how the community would react to an active roll of a non- sailor. Probably depends on the individual make-up of any particular community. But no one can stop you from lurking! May I suggest you lurk on some transatlantic cruises? You will find a more active community on these that may help on your research. Don't think this would be unique to the Celebrity brand however.

 

2) regarding various communities within the Celebrity brand- here are a few I can think of-

 

-first, would be the Cruise Critic community., which is not just your particular sailing as in the roll-call but also a community to learn and share more about the cruise line and its offerings. Celebrity does offer this community a 'Meet & Mingle Cruise Connections' gathering on board with refreshments and attendance by one or more of the ship's officers. It is by invitation only after 25 or more Cruise Critic participants register online at the Celebrity website for your particular sailing.

 

- another community would be the Captain's Club, essentially a rewards program for frequent sailors; you can read about the benefits at their website. The upper tiers do get special offerings that you may have observed.- specifically the Elite tier gets a cocktail party every evening ( or if there are a lot of 'Elites' on board a specific sailing, they may get drink vouchers. )There are other benefits too, such as priority boarding for tenders at those ports, where you may have observed groups.

 

- a third community I can think of that is related to Celebrity's branding is the class of cabin service you book for your cruise. Above the standard verandah cabin, different cabins classes have different benefits and you may have observed some group gatherings for these. Suite class cabins have access to special dining room (Luminae) and a private lounge (Michael's Club). These are recent branding enhancements. Aqua class cabins also have a separate dining room (Blu) and other benefits related to the branding of the 'Spa Experience'. This class has been around since the introduction of the S-class ships. This community does not necessarily have special events for gathering opportunities but there are passionate members if evidenced by the Cruise Critic feedback. It might be an interesting case study for your project to assess the changing perspective of value of these various cabin classes. You will find a myriads of opinions on these boards!

 

Just a quick overview. Hope this helps you get started. Enjoy your research!

Jen

 

You gave a very good answer, one comment I would have is that once a cruise is over most people very rarely post or look at the Roll Call. At least this has been my experience.

[Karynanne]

We have a group of people that we have traveled with multiple times now. We originally met on roll calls for various Transatlantic cruises. We have had our own private Facebook page for several years now, where we talk about great deals that we have found, share cruise stories, and maintain our friendships. So we are a little 'celebrity community' all unto ourselves, although occasionally members do drift over and try other ships! This has evolved into greater friendships where we now visit each other's homes, etc. Last summer, my DH and I drove from California to Toronto Canada to visit some cruise friends, and we have visited other friends in London, Edinburgh, and Dallas within the last year. So these cruise mates have evolved into lifetime friends.

 

Cathy, we too have met people through cruising...primarily through through Cruise Critic. I found a thread on "Floataway Lounge", and just happened to click on this particular thread. I lurked for some time before posting. To make a long story short...most of those people on that thread, particularly one couple, have become life-long friends. We have cruised with one couple since 2005, and I consider them "family". Our paths would have never crossed if it wasn't for Cruise Critic.

[Tarika]

Thank you so much Jen for your guidance, that is exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks Cathy, that helped enhance my understanding, how people continue to be friends even after the trip!

Thanks heaps everyone for all your help!

[jayoldschool]

I hope the email you used for your user name isn't your personal email...

[Tarika]

That user name is created by mistake.. I have asked admin to change it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

One other through is to watch this space for a review of the cruise you were on. Fellow cruisers will post comments on that thread, and it is a way for you to re-connect with them.

[Ereggae]

So what is the difference with the Community and Message Board tabs? Seems like they are the same to me.

[AlexDouglass]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the original poster is referring to something we saw on our last Caribbean trip - a largish group of people who hung out together, several/many of whom wore sashes that read "Celebrity Community." I didn't recall seeing them on our earlier (first) Celebrity cruise a couple of years ago, and so it stuck with me. Seemed to be mostly couples in their 40s and 50s.

[Tarika]

Hi Alex, that's what I was referring to....what did that large group of people do? Just hang out at the bar every evening or was there a special event/activity organised for them?

[fleckle]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the original poster is referring to something we saw on our last Caribbean trip - a largish group of people who hung out together, several/many of whom wore sashes that read "Celebrity Community."

 

Hi Alex, that's what I was referring to....what did that large group of people do? Just hang out at the bar every evening or was there a special event/activity organised for them?

 

 

Could this be the group that you saw?

 

About Us | Cabot Community Celebrity Cruise

 

 

It describes who those people are.

Notice in photos they are wearing the sashes that AlexDouglass mentioned.

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by fleckle

[Tarika]

Thanks fleckle, that was a great help!