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Celebrity Blue Chip Club


fourfigg
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We will be on the Celebrity Constellation in April 2020.  I printed my Xpress pass and on the pass I am listed as Amethyst for the casinos.   This is only own 7th cruise all on Celebrity and we actually do not gamble a lot per cruise.  So I was so surprised I am at this level.  Could it be a mistake?  Anyway looking at the benefits it seems I get a unlimited digital package for free.  We already have all 4 perks so not interested in free drinks in casino.   What is an annual cruise benefit and also does it seem I get $100 in free chips?  Thanks for any information.

 

Leesa

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You must have accumulated 25,000 points in the 18 month period from july 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2019. Were you on a few cruises then? A few thousand points is relatively easy to get on a cruise if you play a few hours each cruise depending on what your play and what your average spin/bet is. The other option is if you are a certain level in MGM's MLife players card program. It transfers over (though you tend to have to tell them to match you, not automatically). 

 

Everyone seems to get free drinks in the casino lately when they play. The photo package is new this year. The $100 is a minimum that you'll get. It's actually 5% of the higher of your actual or theoretical loss from your last cruise. Go to the cashier when you board and they'll have a sheet showing how much you'll get. It's paid in free play or promotional chips. Oh, and bring your ID, not just your sign and sail card. 

 

The annual cruise benefit is the most confusing. You could technically get a free cruise or money taken off your final payment. It all depends on your prior play. I recommend you call the Blue Chip club (search celebrity site) and ask them if they can adjust your final payment for what ever you're entitled to for the annual cruise benefit. Report back with what they give you! 

 

 

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On 1/20/2020 at 6:39 PM, Paulras said:

...

The annual cruise benefit is the most confusing. You could technically get a free cruise or money taken off your final payment. It all depends on your prior play. I recommend you call the Blue Chip club (search celebrity site) and ask them if they can adjust your final payment for what ever you're entitled to for the annual cruise benefit. Report back with what they give you! 

 

 

I agree with this ... my next cruise is more than 6 months out so I have to wait to get the 'real' implemented answer, but thus far anytime I have talked with them I get a different answer.  The free cruise offers have been straight forward as it has been mail outs and been black and white., price 'adjustments' not so much.  So now I will wait until within the 6 month window and I will steal your words to ask for 'what ever .. entitled to ... for annual cruise benefit' to take off my cruise cost (if they don't go silent and wonder what the heck i mean ughhh).

 

The other thing I haven't nailed down is whether an adjustment can be done for two people in a room that are both Amethyst or if it will be one per booking.  I think I know the answer but will be fun to ask.  My cruise isn't until next April and it is going to kill me to wait the end of this year to ask 🙂

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16 minutes ago, poffles said:

I agree with this ... my next cruise is more than 6 months out so I have to wait to get the 'real' implemented answer, but thus far anytime I have talked with them I get a different answer.  The free cruise offers have been straight forward as it has been mail outs and been black and white., price 'adjustments' not so much.  So now I will wait until within the 6 month window and I will steal your words to ask for 'what ever .. entitled to ... for annual cruise benefit' to take off my cruise cost (if they don't go silent and wonder what the heck i mean ughhh).

 

The other thing I haven't nailed down is whether an adjustment can be done for two people in a room that are both Amethyst or if it will be one per booking.  I think I know the answer but will be fun to ask.  My cruise isn't until next April and it is going to kill me to wait the end of this year to ask 🙂

Forgot to mention the 6 month thing. 

 

But yes, Blue Chip is notorious for different answers every time you call. I was given only $1600 off a back to back cruise once. Called back and got the supervisor who said the previous agent looked at it wrong. I ended up with the first cruise for free (about $1500 value) and $3600 off the second cruise.  That's a huge difference! 

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6 minutes ago, Paulras said:

Forgot to mention the 6 month thing. 

 

But yes, Blue Chip is notorious for different answers every time you call. I was given only $1600 off a back to back cruise once. Called back and got the supervisor who said the previous agent looked at it wrong. I ended up with the first cruise for free (about $1500 value) and $3600 off the second cruise.  That's a huge difference! 

 

Okay now that is just ridiculous.  That is beyond hocus pocus and it shouldn't be when it is based on $$$$$$$$$$ ... and nothing they offer is 'free' so stop messing with us.

 

I like the unlimited digital package benefit; I never even let them take pics now since I know I won't like any enough to pay for them, this is a game changer on my next cruise.  Some friends will be joining this trip so will be nice to get one group photo for memories.

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I'm Sapphire, but it's because of several cruises in the 18 month period.  Booked an Aqua Class cabin, solo, for a June Alaska sailing.  Going with a few friends who have no casino standing - when I booked I received 20% off as casino adjustment, then they told me to call back after the 1st of the year and they would credit some more based on my gambling from the last cruise.  When I called last week, I got another $550 off based on my May cruise.  I am doing an invited cruise to Bermuda in July, but that one is free except for port fees and taxes.  I'm not sure exactly what "annual cruise benefit" is - sounds like it might be the $550 they credited me.

 

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20 hours ago, CTSandy said:

I'm Sapphire, but it's because of several cruises in the 18 month period.  Booked an Aqua Class cabin, solo, for a June Alaska sailing.  Going with a few friends who have no casino standing - when I booked I received 20% off as casino adjustment, then they told me to call back after the 1st of the year and they would credit some more based on my gambling from the last cruise.  When I called last week, I got another $550 off based on my May cruise.  I am doing an invited cruise to Bermuda in July, but that one is free except for port fees and taxes.  I'm not sure exactly what "annual cruise benefit" is - sounds like it might be the $550 they credited me.

 

 

Ya that is what it seems the annual benefit is but to peeps (like me) it continues to be top secret how they calculate and when/if it applies ...thus the head scratching and multiple calls later still head scratching.   I am anxious for my 6 month out window.

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We sailed on two cruises in 2018.  One transatlantic in April 2018 and then an 11 days Caribbean  cruise in November 2018.  Didn't  sail on any cruise in 2019.  For 2020 we have an 15 day Dubai to Rome in April and an Alaskan Cruise in September 2020.  I will call BCC tomorrow and see if any credit can be applied.  However have already paid for the April cruise.  Will let you know what I find out.  

 

Leesa

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17 minutes ago, fourfigg said:

We sailed on two cruises in 2018.  One transatlantic in April 2018 and then an 11 days Caribbean  cruise in November 2018.  Didn't  sail on any cruise in 2019.  For 2020 we have an 15 day Dubai to Rome in April and an Alaskan Cruise in September 2020.  I will call BCC tomorrow and see if any credit can be applied.  However have already paid for the April cruise.  Will let you know what I find out.  

 

Leesa

They once adjusted my price after final payment and my credit card was refunded the difference

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I've never been clear to me on how these Blue Chip discounts work. I just booked a Royal Suite on the Infinity in Europe for next year through Blue Chip and they quoted me a "Net 40" discount. I assumed that was 40% off the fare. When I calculated the numbers on my invoice it came out to more like a 45% discount. But it should be noted that these discounts are off of RACK RATE. So while on my invoice it looked like I saved around $10,350 for the two of us, when I compared it to the rates currently offered on the Celebrity website it only wound up being around $5973 less in total. Now it should be noted that I asked when booking to not include the Go Best package and that reduced my rate by $2800 (It's overpaying with the Royal Suite since that room already includes Wifi and Premium Beverage Package. We'll just have to pay the $432 in gratuities onboard). My comparison to the website prices was against pricing including Go Best. The website does not allow you to book a suite without Go Best (not sure if you can do that through central reservations either). If I remove the Go Best value from the website price then it reduces my savings to only $3173. That's still nice of course. Once we get to six months out we'll be able to apply our earned incentive from our prior cruise which is a combined amount of $2040. So in the end we will wind up saving $5213 against the current website pricing or $12,390 versus rack rate. Of course that savings value against website pricing could increase or decrease at anytime depending on if they raise or lower prices.

 

As a reference point I took a look at a cruise I took last January that I booked through Blue Chip and that was on a "Net 20" discount, but it was off of the discounted fare at the time I booked. If I calculate out at "Net 20" on the current website pricing it comes out to almost the same as "Net 40" off the rack rate. So even though they are calculating things differently now I'm still saving the same amount.

 

It's all very mysterious and confusing but as long as I'm saving money that's all I care about.

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It's really like a puzzle that has multiple answers! 

 

For an upcoming Alaska cruise, I decided to use a 3rd party casino host. They got me a free AQ cabin (just pay taxes). However, no perks but I get the free classic package and free wifi as Sapphire anyway. I could have paid more and gotten perks but it would have been more money than what I'll need to pay on my own. And if celebrity has a sale on beverage packages beforehand, even better. 

 

Not sure if it'll be a better deal in the end than if I did the whole kabuki dance with Blue Chip. 

But certainly easier and less stressful. 

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4 hours ago, Paulras said:

It's really like a puzzle that has multiple answers! 

 

For an upcoming Alaska cruise, I decided to use a 3rd party casino host. They got me a free AQ cabin (just pay taxes). However, no perks but I get the free classic package and free wifi as Sapphire anyway. I could have paid more and gotten perks but it would have been more money than what I'll need to pay on my own. And if celebrity has a sale on beverage packages beforehand, even better. 

 

Not sure if it'll be a better deal in the end than if I did the whole kabuki dance with Blue Chip. 

But certainly easier and less stressful. 


You should check and make sure that you will in fact get your Sapphire perks. I have gotten free cabin offers directly from Blue Chip over the last year and when I inquired about one of them I was told that your tier level perks do not apply when receiving a comped cabin. If it’s just a discounted rate you will but not a comp. Not sure how that works when you go through a 3rd party.

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34 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:


You should check and make sure that you will in fact get your Sapphire perks. I have gotten free cabin offers directly from Blue Chip over the last year and when I inquired about one of them I was told that your tier level perks do not apply when receiving a comped cabin. If it’s just a discounted rate you will but not a comp. Not sure how that works when you go through a 3rd party.

Thanks. I actually did confirm with the host when I booked it and I have it in writing that I will receive the beverage package and wifi based on my Sapphire status. So I can always fall back on that if there are issues. 

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So. I called Blue Chip Club today and basically he told me what being an amethyst level gets. I brought up the annual cruise benefit and he said that I will receive in the mail or email if I am entitled to a benefit.  I was thinking I could just call up and ask but I guess not.

 

Thanks for all the responses.  
Leesa

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5 minutes ago, fourfigg said:

So. I called Blue Chip Club today and basically he told me what being an amethyst level gets. I brought up the annual cruise benefit and he said that I will receive in the mail or email if I am entitled to a benefit.  I was thinking I could just call up and ask but I guess not.

 

Thanks for all the responses.  
Leesa

Did you specifically ask if they can apply any comps to your April cruise? Even if you did and they said no, call back and you'll probably get a different answer. 

 

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On 11/19/2019 at 2:38 PM, malted muse said:

just booked on to this - very little space now left.

 

On 1/13/2020 at 10:50 PM, Beanb41 said:

Who is coordinating the gift exchange?

 

11 minutes ago, Paulras said:

Did you specifically ask if they can apply any comps to your April cruise? Even if you did and they said no, call back and you'll probably get a different answer. 

 

 OMG. thank you so much Paulras.  I called back and at first she said since it is after payment it may be to late but she put me on hold and came back and said yes!   $3000. going back on my credit card.  I am in shock.  LOL

THANK. YOU SO. MUCH Paulras again!!!!!  I will buy you a drink if we are ever on the same cruise. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, fourfigg said:

 

 

 OMG. thank you so much Paulras.  I called back and at first she said since it is after payment it may be to late but she put me on hold and came back and said yes!   $3000. going back on my credit card.  I am in shock.  LOL

THANK. YOU SO. MUCH Paulras again!!!!!  I will buy you a drink if we are ever on the same cruise. 

 

 

That is fantastic!!!!!!!!

 

This is exactly what confuses everyone.  I am not shocked but more saddened by such a differing level of service response.  I will add that when I have had the not so great response it has been a "he" on the other end of the phone and that was more than once, coincidence perhaps.  I have definitely learned one has to push things and clearly they don't all seem to work from the same material?????  This is incredible!

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1 hour ago, fourfigg said:

 

 

 OMG. thank you so much Paulras.  I called back and at first she said since it is after payment it may be to late but she put me on hold and came back and said yes!   $3000. going back on my credit card.  I am in shock.  LOL

THANK. YOU SO. MUCH Paulras again!!!!!  I will buy you a drink if we are ever on the same cruise. 

 

 

That's awesome!

 

Though now I want to know why I don't get more having 10 times the tier points as you! 

 

Congrats. Now don't lose it all in the casino! 

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Don't forget to get your free play at the cashier when the casino opens. Oh. One more thing. On the last day of the cruise (not too late), ask the casino host to check your play to see if he/she can comp anything off of your bill. They'll look at the play and look at your bill. They're more stingy now. They used to take 5% off based on your actual or theoretical loss. Now it's only 2%. I remember when they'd tell me to buy stuff at the gift shop so they can credit me for that. Now I'm like "that's it??". But hey, freebie. Doesn't hurt to ask. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Paulras said:

Don't forget to get your free play at the cashier when the casino opens. Oh. One more thing. On the last day of the cruise (not too late), ask the casino host to check your play to see if he/she can comp anything off of your bill. They'll look at the play and look at your bill. They're more stingy now. They used to take 5% off based on your actual or theoretical loss. Now it's only 2%. I remember when they'd tell me to buy stuff at the gift shop so they can credit me for that. Now I'm like "that's it??". But hey, freebie. Doesn't hurt to ask. 

 

 

Thanks Paulras I sure will.   We have also booked an Alaskan cruise in September!!!     Maybe we got so much comp because the cruise in April is 15 nights.  I will keep this topic informed on our cruise.

Leesa

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22 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:


You should check and make sure that you will in fact get your Sapphire perks. I have gotten free cabin offers directly from Blue Chip over the last year and when I inquired about one of them I was told that your tier level perks do not apply when receiving a comped cabin. If it’s just a discounted rate you will but not a comp. Not sure how that works when you go through a 3rd party.

I sailed a comped cruise and as Amethyst I got the drinks sticker and the wifi comp for that status.  Both obtained by visiting the casino and asking ... I of course also got the free chips calculated on the prior cruise play.

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1 hour ago, poffles said:

I sailed a comped cruise and as Amethyst I got the drinks sticker and the wifi comp for that status.  Both obtained by visiting the casino and asking ... I of course also got the free chips calculated on the prior cruise play.

 
This is good to hear. A few people had reported here awhile back that they had been denied their benefits onboard when sailing on a comp and I was told the same by a rep when inquiring by phone about a potential reservation but that was also about a year ago if I remember correctly. Maybe they got pushback from customers and backtracked on that policy.

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18 hours ago, Paulras said:

Don't forget to get your free play at the cashier when the casino opens. Oh. One more thing. On the last day of the cruise (not too late), ask the casino host to check your play to see if he/she can comp anything off of your bill. They'll look at the play and look at your bill. They're more stingy now. They used to take 5% off based on your actual or theoretical loss. Now it's only 2%. I remember when they'd tell me to buy stuff at the gift shop so they can credit me for that. Now I'm like "that's it??". But hey, freebie. Doesn't hurt to ask. 

 

 

Make sure that whatever onboard charges you make that you might want to be rebated due to casino play HAS to be on the account of the person who's the Blue Chip Club Player with the most play. In other words if only one person in a room is the Blue Chip Club player the charges need to be on that person's onboard account. For example my husband is the Blue Chip Club gambler and on our last Edge cruise I had my Spa Day pass purchased on HIS onboard account. At the end of the cruise the Casino host picked up the spa charge. 

This advice applies to every ship based casino program. Same thing on Casino Royale. 

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I just had a thought!.  I did not get anything in writing that I am receiving a comp  on my cruse.  I. didn't. even get the representatives name.  UGH.  Should I be worried or in your experience they follow through on what they say!.  Also I asked if she had my credit. card. on file and she said yes but I booked through Costco (hope I am allowed to say that). However have been on 6 prior cruises with Celebrity so they should have the credit cards we used for charges. on the ship etc.   Anything to be worried about?

 

Thanks Leesa

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