Best loyalty program?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 minutes ago, GenghisQuan said:

As I understand, RCI gives you reciprocal status along their lines according to a table, but not the points. Celebrity and Azamara tiers match with each other, but RCI can only get you up to Celebrity Elite (which still has a bunch of nice goodies), and if you want to continue earning status, you still start at 0 points.

 

That's the impression I got from the terms, anyway. Did they give you points on Celebrity in addition to status also when you booked them?

MSC will match whatever you have on any other line also. Thanks for clearing that up. You are correct on the points match. Reciprocal status. Almost the same as a points match but it is not.

[GenghisQuan]

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

MSC will match whatever you have on any other line also. Thanks for clearing that up. You are correct on the points match. Reciprocal status. Almost the same as a points match but it is not.

Yep, and as I'm finding out from that thread, MSC also gives you the points for whatever status they match.

 

Although MSC Black doesn't really get you a whole lot.

 

Also, MSC status doesn't stay forever, need to keep cruising with them at least once every 3 years to maintain it.

[GenghisQuan]

If we are looking at the luxury lines, Seabourn awards levels based on days sailed. 140 to get to a complimentary cruise.

http://staging.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seabourn/clubpointsbenefits2017/stage.php?device=accessible

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/faq.about.904.html

Edited June 21, 2019 by GenghisQuan

[Hlitner]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 2:44 PM, GenghisQuan said:

Yep, and as I'm finding out from that thread, MSC also gives you the points for whatever status they match.

 

Although MSC Black doesn't really get you a whole lot.

 

Also, MSC status doesn't stay forever, need to keep cruising with them at least once every 3 years to maintain it.

What MSC does get you is a 5% discount (at any level).  Since we cruise in the YC the other perks have very little value to us.  We did attend one of the Black Club parties and nearly everyone we talked with said it was their first cruise on MSC :).

 

Hank

[GenghisQuan]

On 6/21/2019 at 3:54 PM, Hlitner said:

What MSC does get you is a 5% discount (at any level).  Since we cruise in the YC the other perks have very little value to us.  We did attend one of the Black Club parties and nearly everyone we talked with said it was their first cruise on MSC :).

 

Hank

Do you find that this 5% discount is generally better than whatever discounts/kickbacks/perks are obtained from using a booking portal or travel agent?

[Hlitner]

18 hours ago, GenghisQuan said:

Do you find that this 5% discount is generally better than whatever discounts/kickbacks/perks are obtained from using a booking portal or travel agent?

We used both :).  The cruise agent was not able to further reduce the price of the cruise, but tossed in over $700 in OBC.  The 5% comes off the best price.  MSC sometimes runs a 10% off sale so that is also the best time to book (assuming you can wait for a sale).  But there can be some difficult decision making if booking the Yacht Club since those cabins are often in very high demand.  In fact, we booked a MSC cruise over 18 months in advance and grabbed the last available YC cabin.  

 

Hank

[GenghisQuan]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We used both :).  The cruise agent was not able to further reduce the price of the cruise, but tossed in over $700 in OBC.  The 5% comes off the best price.  MSC sometimes runs a 10% off sale so that is also the best time to book (assuming you can wait for a sale).  But there can be some difficult decision making if booking the Yacht Club since those cabins are often in very high demand.  In fact, we booked a MSC cruise over 18 months in advance and grabbed the last available YC cabin.  

 

Hank

So just so I'm understanding correctly, it's 5% off whatever price paid, regardless of whether it's booked directly or through a third party vendor? If you book third party, do you need to then contact MSC for this or is it automatic as long as your loyalty ID is provided?

Edited June 25, 2019 by GenghisQuan

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, GenghisQuan said:

So just so I'm understanding correctly, it's 5% off whatever price paid, regardless of whether it's booked directly or through a third party vendor? If you book third party, do you need to then contact MSC for this or is it automatic as long as your loyalty ID is provided?

That is a terrific question because of inconsistencies with MSC's nearly infamous US Customer service.  The first time we booked with MSC, through one of our favorite cruise agencies, the online price did not reflect the 5% discount even after we inputted our Black Card number.  So we booked our cabin online and then immediately telephoned our cruise agencies customer service folks.  Their system also would not take off 5% so they put us on hold and called MSC who immediately reduced our price by 5%.  But on our subsequent two bookings we were able to get the 5% off by simply booking online (via one of our favored cruise agencies).  The 5% perk should be given no matter how you book. 

 

MSC has an awful reputation when it comes to dealing with their USA office.  Some cruise agencies refuse to handle their bookings because of the hassles.  But one agent told me things have gotten much better.  

[Liketachat]

We are ELITE on Princess Cruises.  We are very disappointed that they have changed their loyalty program so you now have to pay for Internet when we used to get 300 minutes for free.

 

We don't do much more than check our emails and send a message to family or maybe a Skype now and then.

 

We would also like to see another tier as it is too easy for people who do a 2 or 3 day cruise to get to the top level.  Perhaps you could name it "Pinnacle" and base it on days travelled in lieu of cruises taken.

 

 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Liketachat said:

We are ELITE on Princess Cruises.  We are very disappointed that they have changed their loyalty program so you now have to pay for Internet when we used to get 300 minutes for free.

 

We don't do much more than check our emails and send a message to family or maybe a Skype now and then.

 

We would also like to see another tier as it is too easy for people who do a 2 or 3 day cruise to get to the top level.  Perhaps you could name it "Pinnacle" and base it on days travelled in lieu of cruises taken.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[Hlitner]

54 minutes ago, Liketachat said:

We are ELITE on Princess Cruises.  We are very disappointed that they have changed their loyalty program so you now have to pay for Internet when we used to get 300 minutes for free.

 

We don't do much more than check our emails and send a message to family or maybe a Skype now and then.

 

We would also like to see another tier as it is too easy for people who do a 2 or 3 day cruise to get to the top level.  Perhaps you could name it "Pinnacle" and base it on days travelled in lieu of cruises taken.

 

 

 

 

You have resurrected an old thread but it is a good topic.  This is not just about Princess.  Many cruise lines have essentially "watered down" their loyalty programs in several ways.  Perks that used to only go to the most loyal are now often available to anyone who is willing to pay a little more (such as HAL's Club Orange) or they might just be included as a booking incentive.   I like to post this thought that when most folks get "priority" the reality is that nobody gets any priority.

 

DW and I have been blessed to have cruised on many cruise lines (over decades) and are in the higher/highest tiers of loyalty programs on quite a few different lines.  Personally, we could care less.  Those perks have never been a reason we booked with a specific line.  In fact, our last few cruises have been on a line that we recently did our first cruise, and we have an upcoming cruise in December on another line upon which we have never cruised (it will be our 17th cruise line).  

 

As to Princess, we were quite happy to have the Elite Internet perk.  But the Internet on ships has never been a big deal to us (we would usually turn off our phones and lock them in the cabin safe after we embarked).  I am not surprised to see Princess (and many other cruise lines) moving away from metered Internet service to an unlimited service.  Just a few months ago Seabourn suddenly decided to give everyone unlimited Free Internet.  Oceania has been giving included Internet for quite some time.  MSC stated including Free Internet about a year ago for those in the Yacht Club.  The problem for the cruise lines is that their customers are now demanding decent Internet service and it should be either Free or at a reasonable price.  

 

As to Elites on Princess, they face the same problem encountered by RCI many years ago.  RCI (previously RCCL) has a decent loyalty program where folks got some great perks when they got to the Diamond Level.  But over time, too many cruisers got to that Diamond Level and RCI could not longer deliver the perks to the larger number of folks.  So, for example, the small Concierge Lounges were just too crowded with Diamond members and it was an issue.  They took away that perk (and did create new Diamond Lounges on the new vessels) but many of us were very unhappy.  Now Princess faces a similar dilemma where there are just too many Elites and packages are being revamped to deal with the problem.

 

There is a solution :).  Book cruises on the ultra luxury lines that give you everything.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Liketachat said:

We are ELITE on Princess Cruises.  We are very disappointed that they have changed their loyalty program so you now have to pay for Internet when we used to get 300 minutes for free.

 

We don't do much more than check our emails and send a message to family or maybe a Skype now and then.

 

We would also like to see another tier as it is too easy for people who do a 2 or 3 day cruise to get to the top level.  Perhaps you could name it "Pinnacle" and base it on days travelled in lieu of cruises taken.

 

 

 

 

Of course, on all cruises: unlimited internet, non-alcoholic beverages, comp specialty restaurants, etc.

Edited October 2, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[clo]

3 hours ago, Liketachat said:

We would also like to see another tier as it is too easy for people who do a 2 or 3 day cruise to get to the top level.

How does that negatively affect you?

[iancal]

Pre covid we preferred the RCI/Celebrity program.  We also have some sort of status in others.

 

We are not loyal to any one cruise line.  The programs are a bonus.  So far,  we would rank HAL's program at the very bottom of the list.

 

 This would never preclude us from selecting a HAL ship.  It might, however cause us to select  Celebrity or Princess  if we felt that the shortlisted  ships, prices, etc. on the identical itinerary were equal given our preferences

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, iancal said:

Pre covid we preferred the RCI/Celebrity program.  We also have some sort of status in others.

 

We are not loyal to any one cruise line.  The programs are a bonus.  So far,  we would rank HAL's program at the very bottom of the list.

 

 This would never preclude us from selecting a HAL ship.  It might, however cause us to select  Celebrity or Princess  if we felt that the shortlisted  ships, prices, etc. on the identical itinerary were equal given our preferences

I do think the argument is now being made that Princess has watered down their program by taking away the free Internet (from Elites) which was a very valuable benefit.  As to HAL, we would agree their Mariners Program is among the worst loyalty program but do not try to tell that to the HAL cheerleaders who think everything HAL is great.  For us, the only valuable benefit of the Mariners program has been 50% off their wine packages (OK if you are not too choosy about your wine).  We also do appreciate their unlimited laundry (Princess has a similar benefit).  By the way, one big difference between laundry on HAL and Princess involves timing.  HAL will almost always have your laundry back by the afternoon or the following day.  But Princess often takes 3 days (and even gives Elites a warning that laundry will be slow).  

 

Both lines do give various priorities to those in the higher loyalty categories but this has really been watered down since they give priority to so many other folks that priority is really not priority.  For many years we thought that Celebrity had the best loyalty program (with their daily free drinks) which was turned into a big nothing when they went to something akin to all-inclusive with everyone getting drink packages.  And now, Celebrity gives priority to so many different categories that they need to have various priority areas in the embarkation terminal.  So you may find that you are in the 4th or 5th priority group :(.  

 

Perhaps MSC has it right by simply giving all their loyalty members a 5% discount on the cruise fare.  When we book their Yacht Club that perk is worth over $500!  And MSC makes their loyalty program a bit of a joke by having status match with many other cruise/hotel loyalty programs.  The first time we cruised on MSC we were able to get into their highest loyalty category (called Black) by simply proving we were 5 Star Mariners on HAL.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We will happily take a cruise fare discount in lieu of a percent off a wine package or some other non monetary offering designed to boost our fragile egos.  That includes lapel pins, medals (who on earth would want one let alone think it is a reward) or a Special cruise check in line.

 

 

 

 

 

[George C]

On 6/25/2019 at 7:48 PM, Hlitner said:

That is a terrific question because of inconsistencies with MSC's nearly infamous US Customer service.  The first time we booked with MSC, through one of our favorite cruise agencies, the online price did not reflect the 5% discount even after we inputted our Black Card number.  So we booked our cabin online and then immediately telephoned our cruise agencies customer service folks.  Their system also would not take off 5% so they put us on hold and called MSC who immediately reduced our price by 5%.  But on our subsequent two bookings we were able to get the 5% off by simply booking online (via one of our favored cruise agencies).  The 5% perk should be given no matter how you book. 

 

MSC has an awful reputation when it comes to dealing with their USA office.  Some cruise agencies refuse to handle their bookings because of the hassles.  But one agent told me things have gotten much better.  

Agree MSc customer service seems to suck , but if you are a veteran you get ten percent discount, I believe other government workers also get ten percent. By far best deal for veterans.

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, iancal said:

We will happily take a cruise fare discount in lieu of a percent off a wine package or some other non monetary offering designed to boost our fragile egos.  That includes lapel pins, medals (who on earth would want one let alone think it is a reward) or a Special cruise check in line.

 

 

 

 

 

You do not ever to ever post a disparaging remark, on the HAL board, about the pins or medallions.  For some folks these things are their life!  How dare anyone make a joke or criticize their love of these items.  Some cruisers will even tell you that they worked hard to get those items!    On MSC they give us chocolate ships (they are made of decent Italian chocolate and weigh over a pound).  At least these things are edible (not bad) and would be a cute gift for a child.  I think HAL should consider making their Medallions out of good chocolate 🙂

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, George C said:

Agree MSc customer service seems to suck , but if you are a veteran you get ten percent discount, I believe other government workers also get ten percent. By far best deal for veterans.

We have never even bothered to go through the hassle of applying for the veterans discount with MSC.  To be honest, we thought it just applied to retirees or active duty folks.  But many years ago we did send our DD214 to Princess and they continue to give us a nice OBC on every cruise.

 

Hank

[George C]

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have never even bothered to go through the hassle of applying for the veterans discount with MSC.  To be honest, we thought it just applied to retirees or active duty folks.  But many years ago we did send our DD214 to Princess and they continue to give us a nice OBC on every cruise.

 

Hank

I sent my dd214 to travel agent and they got us ten percent discount, i only served two years, that’s a nice discount. I wasn’t aware of Princess discount.

Edited October 2, 2021 by George C

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, George C said:

I sent my dd214 to travel agent and they got us ten percent discount, i only served two years, that’s a nice discount. I wasn’t aware of Princess discount.

Princess actually has a terrific program. Once you register your DD214 (and qualify) you get OBCs for every subsequent cruise.  Apparently they tied the designation to one's file so no need to reapply when booking subsequent cruises.  The OBC varies from $50 - $250 (per cruise) depending on the cruise length.  That being said, a 10% discount on MSC would be a lot more valuable to us since we only book their Yacht Club.

 

Hank

[George C]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Princess actually has a terrific program. Once you register your DD214 (and qualify) you get OBCs for every subsequent cruise.  Apparently they tied the designation to one's file so no need to reapply when booking subsequent cruises.  The OBC varies from $50 - $250 (per cruise) depending on the cruise length.  That being said, a 10% discount on MSC would be a lot more valuable to us since we only book their Yacht Club.

 

Hank

We love the yacht club, best perks. 

[iancal]

39 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

You do not ever to ever post a disparaging remark, on the HAL board, about the pins or medallions.  For some folks these things are their life!  How dare anyone make a joke or criticize their love of these items.  Some cruisers will even tell you that they worked hard to get those items!    On MSC they give us chocolate ships (they are made of decent Italian chocolate and weigh over a pound).  At least these things are edible (not bad) and would be a cute gift for a child.  I think HAL should consider making their Medallions out of good chocolate 🙂

 

Hank

We have left a few RCI pins in the waste basket of our cabin.Cannot imagine HAL changing their medallion material.  An inexpensive made in China  trinket is far less costly than even the poorest quality chocolate bar..or ship,!  This is the crux of the issue..

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

You do not ever to ever post a disparaging remark, on the HAL board, about the pins or medallions.  For some folks these things are their life!  How dare anyone make a joke or criticize their love of these items.  Some cruisers will even tell you that they worked hard to get those items!    On MSC they give us chocolate ships (they are made of decent Italian chocolate and weigh over a pound).  At least these things are edible (not bad) and would be a cute gift for a child.  I think HAL should consider making their Medallions out of good chocolate 🙂

 

Hank

Speaking of HAL, cute story:

After a LONG hiatus from cruising due to our professional commitments, retirement found me contacting several TAs on the Condé Nast “best of ....” list at that time (who were also well respected by some of my marine industry contacts).

One of my “interviewee” TAs was particularly comprehensive in working on developing a “profile” for our travel experiences, preferences, expectations and, of course, the means to pay for it. 
Having several friends who are/were regular HAL cruisers, I then asked her opinion of HAL. Her immediate answer was “that’s NOT you.”

To my reply, “You seem pretty sure of that,” she remarked “I was a HAL Guest Services Director for many years.”

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Speaking of HAL, cute story:

After a LONG hiatus from cruising due to our professional commitments, retirement found me contacting several TAs on the Condé Nast “best of ....” list at that time (who were also well respected by some of my marine industry contacts).

One of my “interviewee” TAs was particularly comprehensive in working on developing a “profile” for our travel experiences, preferences, expectations and, of course, the means to pay for it. 
Having several friends who are/were regular HAL cruisers, I then asked her opinion of HAL. Her immediate answer was “that’s NOT you.”

To my reply, “You seem pretty sure of that,” she remarked “I was a HAL Guest Services Director for many years.”

Knowing that seem to like smaller ship lines with very good cuisine I would agree you would not be very happy on HAL.  Until 2 days ago we had a 42 day HAL cruise (Noordam) booked for March-April 2022.  That cruise involved Japan and was cancelled (by HAL) two days ago.  It is the third straight year that HAL has had to cancel their Japan cruises because of COVID.  But the difference (for us) is that HAL has been changing having eliminated Production Shows and now seeming to have further downgraded their menus.  Not only that, but HAL has now added extra cost items to their MDR menus (a practice I deplore).  When HAL cancelled our 42 day booking they said it would automatically be rolled over to the similar cruises in 2023.  But DW and I now face a decision on whether we want to cruise on HAL for 42 days, given their lack of Production Shows and questionable menus?  We will take some time to think about it :).  But perhaps HAL should be concerned that we even thinking about it since we are 5 Star Mariners and long time customers.  Our issues are not about the itinerary, ship, or cost....but simply about whether this line offers the quality experience we expect on a long cruise.

 

Hank