What would you do for a first Elite cruise?

[jasbo49]

I know there are people out there with more urgent questions, but let me toss out a frivolous first-world problem:

 

Assuming we take all the cruises we have booked, we'll reach Elite on the Princess loyalty ladder in October of 2018. What kind of cruise would you take to best make use of the added benefits?

 

-- A long cruise would give us plenty of chances to use the laundry perk, but the complimentary mini-bar wouldn't last long.

 

-- Something with a lot of tender ports would give us a lot of chances to pull rank. But c'mon, that's sick.

 

So what kind of cruise would you take (or did you take) to celebrate your Elite-ness?

 

Jim

[floridalover5623]

I never thought of it being anything special.

[Pam in CA]

It doesn't matter in the least. The perks are available no matter how long your cruise is. You might get more benefit from the unlimited laundry on a longer cruise.

 

There's no Elite perk that allows you to "pull rank" unless the perks have changed. The tender priority allows you to get on the back of the line for the tender. It doesn't mean you "jump" the line and it's only going ashore.

[skynight]

We have been Elite statue for many years. My advise, book whatever cruise that has the itinerary you will enjoy. Elite benefits are certainly not a determining factor in selecting any cruise.

[jasbo49]

There's no Elite perk that allows you to "pull rank" unless the perks have changed. The tender priority allows you to get on the back of the line for the tender. It doesn't mean you "jump" the line and it's only going ashore.

Pam, it's probably been a while since you had to do this, but people without Elite benefits sit in a dining room for 30 minutes, an hour or more waiting for their group number to be called at tender ports.

 

I know the Elites don't cut in line, but they do get to join the back of the existing line instead of waiting for their number to be called. That's what I jokingly referred to as "pulling rank."

 

Jim

[mr green]

B2B cruises work well.

[Astro Flyer]

We have been Elite statue for many years. My advise, book whatever cruise that has the itinerary you will enjoy. Elite benefits are certainly not a determining factor in selecting any cruise.

I agree but we did rationalize taking an inexpensive 7-day Mexico cruise (drove to the port) to reach the elite benefits before our month long cruise from Sydney back to LA. We enjoy finding any excuse to enjoy another cruise. ;) There were only a couple of tender ports but we enjoyed the onboard perks during a longer cruise.

 

And the H1N1 scare resulted in changing from a Mexican Riviera to a CA Coastal itinerary, receiving half of our cruise fare as a credit which we used for our Sydney/LA cruise and qualifying for elite benefits...win, win, win for us. :D

Edited June 30, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Iamcruzin]

I'm not elite and probably won't ever get there since I don't by into these loyalty programs. However the one thing I would do is send my shoes out to be shined. There doesn't seem to be a big demand for that perk so I'm sure it won't take 3 days to get them back. Laundry I prefer to do my own. I probably would also send my suit out to be pressed. It's always a wrinkled mess from packing even freshly dry cleaned.

Congratulations on your achievement. Enjoy your perks.

[nukesubsailor]

I'm not elite and probably won't ever get there since I don't by into these loyalty programs. However the one thing I would do is send my shoes out to be shined. There doesn't seem to be a big demand for that perk so I'm sure it won't take 3 days to get them back. Laundry I prefer to do my own. I probably would also send my suit out to be pressed. It's always a wrinkled mess from packing even freshly dry cleaned.

Congratulations on your achievement. Enjoy your perks.

 

The shoe shine perk is not what you might expect. I asked for it once and what I got was a quick once over with one of those bottles of liquid polish with a sponge applicator.

[jasbo49]

... Laundry I prefer to do my own. I probably would also send my suit out to be pressed. It's always a wrinkled mess from packing even freshly dry cleaned.

Congratulations on your achievement. Enjoy your perks.

Thanks Mike, but I'm afraid any "achievement" is a ways in the future. It's interesting that you actually prefer to do your own laundry. Ever since my wife invited me 35 years ago to do my own, "if you don't like wrinkles," I've been getting tired of laundry.

 

On one cruise, we took an upsell to a suite and of course sent our laundry out to be done. There was one shirt in particular that came back better than new. So ever since, I've been thinking Elite would be cool for the laundry perk.

 

Jim

[Iamcruzin]

The shoe shine perk is not what you might expect. I asked for it once and what I got was a quick once over with one of those bottles of liquid polish with a sponge applicator.

 

Oh boy :(. No wonder nobody asks for it.

[Iamcruzin]

I know there are people out there with more urgent questions, but let me toss out a frivolous first-world problem:

 

Assuming we take all the cruises we have booked, we'll reach Elite on the Princess loyalty ladder in October of 2018. What kind of cruise would you take to best make use of the added benefits?

 

-- A long cruise would give us plenty of chances to use the laundry perk, but the complimentary mini-bar wouldn't last long.

 

-- Something with a lot of tender ports would give us a lot of chances to pull rank. But c'mon, that's sick.

 

 

So what kind of cruise would you take (or did you take) to celebrate your Elite-ness?

 

Jim

 

I've been doing my laundry for most of my life. My mother never folded my jeans correctly so I relieved her of the duty, It was harder on her than it was for me. When we were first married 26 years ago my wife left her lipstick in her pocket and it melted all over my shirt. She was also relieved from the duty. I am very OCD about laundry and how it should be separated and dried. Don't even get me started on how the dishwasher should be loaded.

[easyboy]

So what kind of cruise would you take (or did you take) to celebrate your Elite-ness?

 

Jim

When we became Elite, we booked our cruise not because of the status level. But we did enjoy the perks that came along with it.

[JF - retired RRT]

I've been doing my laundry for most of my life. My mother never folded my jeans correctly so I relieved her of the duty, It was harder on her than it was for me. When we were first married 26 years ago my wife left her lipstick in her pocket and it melted all over my shirt. She was also relieved from the duty. I am very OCD about laundry and how it should be separated and dried. Don't even get me started on how the dishwasher should be loaded.

Would you like to come live at my house??;p

[OCruisers]

Just take the same sort of cruise you normally would. :)

[lovevacadays]

I have two more cruise and I will be Elite so it will be on the Fall of 2018 on a Caribbean cruise. I'm looking forward to the tender perk as two of our ports are tender ports. :)

[JF - retired RRT]

When we hit Elite, we booked a B2B Panama on the Pacific Princess. It was GREAT!!

The biggest thing for us is the laundry.

We don't drink much, so most of our mini-bars turn into coffee cards.

Sometimes there's a long wait for the Elite tender, especially on long cruises.

Can't shine sandals.;)

The hors d'oeuvres are MEH.

Really enjoy the tea/coffee/treats in the embarkation lounge when they do it.

Laundry wins.:D

[Iamcruzin]

Would you like to come live at my house??;p

All you would get is clean clothes and an efficiently loaded dishwasher. I don't cook or clean and my son takes care of the lawn now.

[jasbo49]

When we hit Elite, we booked a B2B Panama on the Pacific Princess. It was GREAT!!

The biggest thing for us is the laundry.

We don't drink much, so most of our mini-bars turn into coffee cards.

Sometimes there's a long wait for the Elite tender, especially on long cruises.

Can't shine sandals.;)

The hors d'oeuvres are MEH.

Really enjoy the tea/coffee/treats in the embarkation lounge when they do it.

Laundry wins.:D

Anything on the Pacific Princess sounds great to me.

 

Jim

[rickays]

I know there are people out there with more urgent questions, but let me toss out a frivolous first-world problem:

 

So what kind of cruise would you take (or did you take) to celebrate your Elite-ness?

 

Jim

 

Our first cruise as Elite was very memorable - We boarded in our home port and knew we were having an overnight in port as they had urgent repairs that needed to be done. In our cabin was a lovely mini bar set up. The following day, instead of leaving port we were informed that our cruise had been cancelled as more faults had been found. So our first Elite cruise was an overnight in port - no laundry, no preferred tender boarding, just a taxi ride home - but we did take the mini bar with us ;p

[4cats4me]

Book what makes you happy. We never even bother with most of the elite perks. We'd rather use onboard credit to do our laundry or pay for it outright instead of waiting three days to have it returned due to it being a freebie. We usually end up taking home our little alcohol bottles from the free set up, and rarely utilize all of our internet minutes. Can't remember what the rest of the perks are... oh, the special toiletries, we always give them away upon arriving home.

 

 

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[geoherb]

We did not do anything special for our first cruise as Elite--just a regular 7-day eastern Caribbean cruise. We did enjoy the tender priority at Princess Cays and sent a few pieces of laundry out for cleaning, so we did not have to pack as many clothes. Our next two cruises were shorties, back to back. Once again, priority tendering at Princess Cays was nice. Getting the free minibar setup both cruises was also very nice. Our next cruise is a 12-night British Isles one. We are looking forward to the laundry perk the most, since we'll be in England for four nights before the cruise.

[Pam in CA]

Pam, it's probably been a while since you had to do this, but people without Elite benefits sit in a dining room for 30 minutes, an hour or more waiting for their group number to be called at tender ports.

 

I know the Elites don't cut in line, but they do get to join the back of the existing line instead of waiting for their number to be called. That's what I jokingly referred to as "pulling rank."

Yup... been years.

 

On the other hand, I've stood in line waiting to disembark when someone with a group of people trailing behind them waves their (one) black card and tries to push their way in front. Waving mine back doesn't deter them. They feel they're entitled and raise a fuss that they can go ahead of anyone. It's happened a bunch of times. So, I'm a little sensitive when someone even jokes about "pulling rank." It's not you...

[Times Prince]

I know there are people out there with more urgent questions, but let me toss out a frivolous first-world problem:

 

Assuming we take all the cruises we have booked, we'll reach Elite on the Princess loyalty ladder in October of 2018. What kind of cruise would you take to best make use of the added benefits?

 

-- A long cruise would give us plenty of chances to use the laundry perk, but the complimentary mini-bar wouldn't last long.

 

-- Something with a lot of tender ports would give us a lot of chances to pull rank. But c'mon, that's sick.

 

So what kind of cruise would you take (or did you take) to celebrate your Elite-ness?

 

Jim

Noting the cruises and cruise lengths you have scheduled, I think you will be happy with anything similar. We average 10 day cruises, and the laundry benefit is perfect. Learning to pack lighter is the challenge.

 

We're not big drinkers, and have yet to use everything in the mini-bar during a cruise.

 

And out of all our cruises since becoming Elite, we've only had one opportunity to tender to a port. Tender priority is not a big deal, and can be negated if you take a Princess excursion at that port where you have to meet and go with the tour group.

 

The extra bathroom goodies are a nice benefit too.

 

We've stopped getting hor d'ouviers (sp) since they discontinued the chocolate covered strawberries, as nothing else appeals to us.

 

The one thing we really enjoy is getting high tea served on our balcony. That's a real treat, especially the scones.

[floridalover5623]

I've been doing my laundry for most of my life. My mother never folded my jeans correctly so I relieved her of the duty, It was harder on her than it was for me. When we were first married 26 years ago my wife left her lipstick in her pocket and it melted all over my shirt. She was also relieved from the duty. I am very OCD about laundry and how it should be separated and dried. Don't even get me started on how the dishwasher should be loaded.

Did you ever consider she did those things on purpose. ;):D