Elite Qualifying

[Bgwest]

Wife and I presently each have 14 cruise credits. 

 

After the next cruise we will have 15 cruise credits. 

 

Will we be elite when we return for the next (16th) cruise? or must we complete #16 in order to reach elite. 

 

I find the language "ELITE From your 16th cruise credit on, or 151+ cruise days" to be a bit ambiguous. 

[jennybenny]

Yeah, I suppose it can sound a little confusing. You receive elite benefits beginning your 16th cruise and forward. 

If you reach the "cruise days" in the middle of a cruise, you won't receive the benefits until the "next" cruise (Unless it's a long cruise with segments, then you can usually go to the Captains Circle Host who can take care of it for you on the "next" segment of that cruise).  

 

So you will receive the elite benefits on the start of your 16th cruise. Make sense?

Edited March 23, 2020 by jennybenny

[dickinson]

At the end of your 15th cruise you will receive in your cabin an envelope telling you that you are now elite. It will include your elite pin. 

[jennybenny]

1 hour ago, dickinson said:

At the end of your 15th cruise you will receive in your cabin an envelope telling you that you are now elite. It will include your elite pin. 

We never got that, but I hear it happens

[dickinson]

We did in January 2018

Edited March 23, 2020 by dickinson

[paradiselivin1]

DH and I both became elite in the last 6 months. No letter. No pins. However, I did get my free laundry and the bar setup on my 16th cruise. They can keep the pin...

[G&T Cruisers]

We completed our 15th cruise and have our 16th booked but we got no pin no letter I had to call them to change our status for our next cruise

[Bgwest]

Thanks all. Now I think I’ve got it!

[Lucky TGO]

I remember when we completed our 15th cruise. We both received a Black Member Benefit Card with our Captain’s Circle number. 

See Photo. 

Tony 

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, dickinson said:

At the end of your 15th cruise you will receive in your cabin an envelope telling you that you are now elite. It will include your elite pin. 

I think those days are over.  Both wife and I got a congratulatory email shortly after the end of each of our qualifying cruises.

[dickinson]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I think those days are over.  Both wife and I got a congratulatory email shortly after the end of each of our qualifying cruises.

 

That is definitely less wasteful than the envelope with pin.  We don't save the pins.  An email would have been fine but apparently some don't even get that!

[susancruzs]

I turned Elite in 2016 between a TA and Baltic cruise, did get the benefits on ship for 2nd cruise but nothing else, no pin, no email, but I was most interested in the coffee cards! 🙂

[dickinson]

Maybe some of the Captain’s Circle hosts are not doing their jobs. 

[JF - retired RRT]

12 hours ago, paradiselivin1 said:

DH and I both became elite in the last 6 months. No letter. No pins. However, I did get my free laundry and the bar setup on my 16th cruise. They can keep the pin...

👍

[Thrak]

We turned elite last year after our 13th cruise that ended in Southampton. At that point we had 154 days with Princess so earned status that way. We didn't get a card or a pin at the end of the qualifying cruise. After that we flew to Barcelona and 4 days later boarded for a 14 day TA as our first Elite cruise.

 

At check in Princess gave us a Platinum card and said to get it fixed onboard. We didn't get Elite boarding or the Elite boarding lounge. I had to wait for 40 minutes or so at the Captain's Circle counter before anybody showed up. She gave me the pin and said to go wait in the line at Passenger Services for my card. The guy behind me in both lines had the same issue with the wrong status. The steward had us listed as Platinum and I had to hassle him for the mini-bar. When it finally came (two days later) it was mostly beer and he said they were out of Cognac and Vodka. I also had to hassle him twice before I could get the P/E/S lounge menu card. The steward failed to bring new glasses a couple of times. Once no bathroom glasses and once no cabin glasses. Also once he gave us only one bathroom glasses in the bathroom and two bathroom glasses in the cabin instead of the proper glasses. He failed to replace all of the towels and once left a dirty one from the floor in the bathroom sink. He was so slow that he was always in the hall with his cart several hours after the other stewards were finished. Worst... Steward... Ever. My wife used the laundry and got back a pair of pants belonging to someone else. They would maybe fit a 10 year old girl or an incredibly tiny woman. It took a couple of days to get the proper pants back. Hopefully future cruises as Elite will be a better experience.

 

I understand that these issues were just one cruise and "stuff happens" but it was a sorry introduction to being Elite. We do have 5 more Princess cruises booked and we both expect that they will be as great as all the others have been - with the one exception of course. I don't think my wife will trust the laundry again though. Something about receiving a pair of jeans with a tag saying "24x29 Skinny" was just a bit much for her. 😜

[TheRabbit]

For those that didn't get a pin, a simple call to the Princess Past Passenger number (8007581130 I believe) and I think they will take care of you. DW got hers (15 cruises) long before I got mine (she has cruised several times with them before I meat her), and I got mine on days as we started doing longer cruises. DW also received a nice suitcase from Princess when she went past 15, but that was YEARS ago.

[skynight]

Thrak

I don't think your on board experience has very much to do with elite status. Just sounds like an untrained cabin steward plus some errors in other areas. The mini bar is the responsibility of room service, not the cabin steward. In all our time getting free laundry service, since 2010, we only had one time where we received an incorrect clothing item. The issue was resolved fairly quickly. I would think this does not happen very often, and when it does is a laundry room error.

You probably are aware of all of this.

[susancruzs]

Good point, Skynight.  I'm surprised number of posts here not realizing it has nothing to do with their cabin steward.  I've always had fast service on getting the mini bar handled, changed out for coffee cards or water, no problem.  I don't call the minute I get on board, usually after dinner, or first thing following a.m. 

 

Trying to go through the cabin steward would be a major delay and most times they would say this is handled by room service.  I've had nothing but positive experiences being elite but rather low maintenance, use the laundry now and then, being alone don't need much.  I will admit sometimes room stewards are great, other times not so much.  I try to think they are handling a great deal of cabins and is what I'm thinking I need really a high priority?