Elite no longer get priority ??

[lovescarborough]

We embarked Reflection on Jan 18th from the new Terminal 25. We arrived early, around 11.00 and checked in fairly quickly although there were quite a few people already there. From then on it was a total mess. In this new terminal there is no separate waiting area for Elite /plus as in the old terminal. Suite guests and Zenith take a separate access after security.  Time went on and nobody gave any information on the delay in boarding. By noon the place was getting full and people were standing around as there are not enough seats. Staff were shouting at people to move away from the doors or boarding wouldn't start. To be honest it was like being back at school. Eventually someone came on the PA system and told us the systems onboard were down and all photos would have to be taken again on boarding. They then announced that the order of boarding would be Aqua class followed by Concierge and then Elite plus and Elite ! Now I may be getting this wrong but since when did this change ? Are customers spending a few hundred dollars more for a Aqua or Concierge cabin, maybe only their first cruise, really going to get priority over people who have spent thousands getting to Elite status ?  Apart from this the cruise was wonderful !! 

[dkjretired]

20 minutes ago, lovescarborough said:

We embarked Reflection on Jan 18th from the new Terminal 25. We arrived early, around 11.00 and checked in fairly quickly although there were quite a few people already there. From then on it was a total mess. In this new terminal there is no separate waiting area for Elite /plus as in the old terminal. Suite guests and Zenith take a separate access after security.  Time went on and nobody gave any information on the delay in boarding. By noon the place was getting full and people were standing around as there are not enough seats. Staff were shouting at people to move away from the doors or boarding wouldn't start. To be honest it was like being back at school. Eventually someone came on the PA system and told us the systems onboard were down and all photos would have to be taken again on boarding. They then announced that the order of boarding would be Aqua class followed by Concierge and then Elite plus and Elite ! Now I may be getting this wrong but since when did this change ? Are customers spending a few hundred dollars more for a Aqua or Concierge cabin, maybe only their first cruise, really going to get priority over people who have spent thousands getting to Elite status ?  Apart from this the cruise was wonderful !! 

 

Suites and Zenith, Aqua, Concierge, Elite Plus and then Elite has always been the order.   Your priority is over the rest of the people on the cruise.  Like it or not, that's the way its always been.    

Edited February 2, 2019 by dkjretired

[Jim_Iain]

I have to agree.  Elie and Elite+  still have the same priority.  It is just that there are many other classifications that have higher priority.  You still have "Priority" over those with Preview, Classic and Select. 

 

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have to agree.  Elie and Elite+  still have the same priority.  It is just that there are many other classifications that have higher priority.  You still have "Priority" over those with Preview, Classic and Select. 

 

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

 

That's exactly it:  the Celebrity loyalty program is drowning in its own success.  There are too many elites to have an elite cocktail party and too many elites to offer any real priority perks.

[davekathy]

13 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

That's exactly it:  the Celebrity loyalty program is drowning in its own success.  There are too many elites to have an elite cocktail party and too many elites to offer any real priority perks.

Agree. Another reason to stop allowing those that are Elite from escorting their non-Elite friends/cabinmates into the CC HH they are just cruising with. This is also a problem with RC and the DLs becoming overcrowded. RC allows Diamonds to escort non-Diamond into the DL during the C&A HH only if they are living at the same address. But not cabinmates if they are just cruising together. 

Edited February 3, 2019 by davekathy

[jpsykes]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

Flew Dallas to Ft Lauderdale one time - Airline came on and said normally they board family first but since flight was going to Disneyland area let's face it everybody was family so not doing it --- worked for us as we were just 2 people going on a cruise. 

[Redtravel]

We were on Jan. 4th. Raise out of terminal 25. Embarkation was strange.  Lots of long lines. We got into the elite line which was close to the entrance. After waiting some time, an attendant noticed my spouse’s cane and told us to follow her to the handicapped desk. We walked to the far end of the building. We waited in another line. Then had to walk back the entire length of the ship to get onto the ship. Not everyone that is handicapped is in a wheelchair.  The handicap line is a good idea when it shortens the wait and walking distance. Unfortunately, the placement of the handicapped desk is the furthest from the entry. I hope somebody reads this and rethinks the location of the handicap desk.

[dkjretired]

Surprised no one mentioned that one of the reasons we are drowning with Elites is the people from Royal coming over.  I'm sure Royal has the same problem.  Maybe that should be revisited. 

[Miaminice]

28 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

Surprised no one mentioned that one of the reasons we are drowning with Elites is the people from Royal coming over.  I'm sure Royal has the same problem.  Maybe that should be revisited. 

 

I have to disagree... I bet the migration from Royal to Celebrity is much higher than the other way around 😉

[PatC]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have to agree.  Elie and Elite+  still have the same priority.  It is just that there are many other classifications that have higher priority.  You still have "Priority" over those with Preview, Classic and Select. 

 

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

And now out of the blue we have another "category" called "CASINO"!!!  They boarded before us on our January 13th cruise.  We did love the terminal for boarding Edge.  Then came back on Silhouette on the 1st of February and disembarked from 25.  Only difference was facial recognition didn't work well.  It worked like a charm from Edge.

 

[ghstudio]

At least as an elite you get priority at check in.......oh, but wait, the line for the "unwashed" is shorter 🙂 

[begood2me]

21 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have to agree.  Elie and Elite+  still have the same priority.  It is just that there are many other classifications that have higher priority.  You still have "Priority" over those with Preview, Classic and Select. 

 

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

Sounds like just about every international flight not originating in the US :).

[mahdnc]

3 hours ago, ghstudio said:

At least as an elite you get priority at check in.......oh, but wait, the line for the "unwashed" is shorter 🙂 

 

Same check in priority as Select.....

[Jim_Iain]

The airline business class lounges are suffering the same syndrome and most are doing away with the sale and use of day passes.   We were recently flying to Paris and the lounge at SF was really small.   They were turning away everyone except people on Business Class within 2 hours.

[davekathy]

15 hours ago, jpsykes said:

Flew Dallas to Ft Lauderdale one time - Airline came on and said normally they board family first but since flight was going to Disneyland area let's face it everybody was family so not doing it --- worked for us as we were just 2 people going on a cruise. 

Much better choice. 

[lovescarborough]

We met some Zenith cruisers on this cruise and even they had problems at the new Terminal 25. Apparently after using the separate access for Suites and Zenith the check in computer refused to check them in as they weren't in a suite ! They had to be taken to a line at the main check in desks and then back to their own waiting area. Fortunately they saw the funny side ! 

[hrhdhd]

On 2/2/2019 at 1:42 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Reminds me of flying out of San Francisco on United.   One agent recently announced that they would not be boarding priority members or everyone in the boarding area would board at once. 

 

There is a hilarious Key & Peele video called "Boarding Order" on YouTube that I try to remember when my boarding pass says Group 2 and 200 people get on before me.

[Fogfog]

8 hours ago, Miaminice said:

 

I have to disagree... I bet the migration from Royal to Celebrity is much higher than the other way around 😉

Exactly We have no interest in Royal

[CruiseCrew123]

I think celebrity managed the failure of the electronic check in issues on the 17 jan really badly . There was no PA system just a staff member shouting at people to sit down - however there were no seats . They should have a back up manual system - perhaps allocating group numbers as people check in. It took us over 2 hours to get on the ship 😞

[keesar]

11 hours ago, dkjretired said:

Surprised no one mentioned that one of the reasons we are drowning with Elites is the people from Royal coming over.  I'm sure Royal has the same problem.  Maybe that should be revisited. 

 

How about the two elites that bring along 6 "close family friends" to join them?  

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm clearly the odd-ball here, but I have never had to wait for check-in on a ship because I start my 'cruise' with a leisurely morning at the hotel.  Sleep late, go to breakfast just before they close, repack the clothes from airline style [split between bags] to more logical for unpacking on the ship, then call Uber to roll over to a relatively empty cruise terminal.  Yes, we risk giving up the free lunch onboard – but the relaxed beginning to our cruise is priceless!

[miched]

It should be logical that Elite Plus and Elite should get priority over the others in the same cabin catgory.  That is if someone was Elite Plus and in AQ they should get priority over those in AQ that aren’t so they should be able to go ahead of them in that line. 🙄🤗

 

Is getting on board 10 minutes faster really that important?    

 

Just relax and slow down.  I found that if you are in always in a rush the cruise will end a lot faster.   Once  you get on board the cruise gets closer to the end and before you know it you will be packing to leave and the same people that were in a rush and to get on are now in a bigger rush  to get off.  🤔

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[jagoffee]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

The airline business class lounges are suffering the same syndrome and most are doing away with the sale and use of day passes.   We were recently flying to Paris and the lounge at SF was really small.   They were turning away everyone except people on Business Class within 2 hours.

What airlines and lounge?  That is very unusual, but I believe AA’s Admiral Club has stop selling one day passes.  

Was it a Partner’s Lounge?

[drew69]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 10:57 PM, jpsykes said:

Flew Dallas to Ft Lauderdale one time - Airline came on and said normally they board family first but since flight was going to Disneyland area let's face it everybody was family so not doing it --- worked for us as we were just 2 people going on a cruise. 

Wow, that is strange!  Disneyland is in Anaheim, CA quite far away form Fort Lauderdale, FL!  Disney World is over 3 hours away from Fort Lauderdale and most people heading there fly into Orlando. Doubt anyone on that flight was actually going to Disneyland.

 

[Fogfog]

On 2/2/2019 at 1:17 PM, dkjretired said:

 

Suites and Zenith, Aqua, Concierge, Elite Plus and then Elite has always been the order.   Your priority is over the rest of the people on the cruise.  Like it or not, that's the way its always been.    

Definitely worth looking at the lines and deciding to get in line per Captains Club level vs Stateroom! Not being Zenith our stateroom class is better every time