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anyone in favor of eliminating all status programs


luckyinpa
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3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

If I had to guess, I'll say the hills. And then people came to the hills to make hillbilly music.

 

And now we are back to square one. The hills are made of rocks, which would imply that rockabilly came before the hills, but rockabilly had its origins in hillbilly, too, so hillbilly came first and last.

 

Let the Circle Be Unbroken, indeed.

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58 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

And now we are back to square one. The hills are made of rocks, which would imply that rockabilly came before the hills, but rockabilly had its origins in hillbilly, too, so hillbilly came first and last.

 

Let the Circle Be Unbroken, indeed.

Yes, let's get down to the real Nitty Gritty.

 

Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Glory, Glory) - YouTube

 

Of the featured artists on here the ones I have seen live in concert are Doc Watson and Alison Krauss. Also Jerry Douglass playing with Alison Krauss.

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22 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In the old days when I began cruising there was no such thing as loyalty programs.

 

22 hours ago, Hlitner said:

LOL.  Guess we are both old as dirt as I also remember those days.

 

Hank

 

1970 was the year of my first cruise and a loyalty program was the furthest thing from my mind.  In fact, it was not even a concept of which I was aware.  

 

HAL must have developed their Mariner Society program around that time, though.  It was on my third HAL cruise in 1975 that I was surprised to have "earned" the status of being a Cadet Mariner.  Have no memory of where the status of "Cadet Mariner" might lead.  But, my early loyalty remained in tact and when the Mariner Society program of today began, I received credit for those early HAL cruises.    

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5 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

 

1970 was the year of my first cruise and a loyalty program was the furthest thing from my mind.  In fact, it was not even a concept of which I was aware.  

 

HAL must have developed their Mariner Society program around that time, though.  It was on my third HAL cruise in 1975 that I was surprised to have "earned" the status of being a Cadet Mariner.  Have no memory of where the status of "Cadet Mariner" might lead.  But, my early loyalty remained in tact and when the Mariner Society program of today began, I received credit for those early HAL cruises.    

In those early days (when we were young) we cruised on NCL, RCCL, and Sitmar.  We had no interest in HAL until we got on the far side of 50 which still left us among the youngest on HAL.  Now we are in our 70s which still leaves us among the younger crowd on longer HAL cruises :).

 

Hank

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11 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

In those early days (when we were young) we cruised on NCL, RCCL, and Sitmar.

 

Don't know about NCL (1979 was my only experience with them); if they had a loyalty program then, I was unaware of it.  My sole RCL cruise was in 1983 with my Sitmar cruise being in 1987 or 1988.  I do remember that I received notice after my cruises that I was a member of their respective loyalty programs.  

 

My Sitmar Captain's Circle credit did get transferred to Princess when Princess acquired Sitmar.  Those Sitmar credits have benefited me since I have sufficient days now on Princess to have reached the Elite level.  When I booked my Celebrity Eclipse cruise, I was able to apply credit from the sole RCL cruise.  The only benefit of that was I was invited to a Past Passenger's Party with a free drink and some goodies.  

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There seems a bit of kerfuffle... about the haves and have nots  ,

getting some extra small things.....

 

Honestly who really cares.... ( yes some do flash their black card... well good for them )

 

Does free laundry make you pick that cruise ??  what about just paid for it if you want it...

 

Or is this whole idea of a ""Status program""  come down to look at me

 

For us we travel in a suite.....why because we like to 

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3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

In those early days (when we were young) we cruised on NCL, RCCL, and Sitmar.  We had no interest in HAL until we got on the far side of 50 which still left us among the youngest on HAL.  Now we are in our 70s which still leaves us among the younger crowd on longer HAL cruises :).

 

Hank

We began cruising on HAL in 2008 when Mrs.66 retired .We chose HAL to be our regular cruise line at the time because friends that we would be cruising with every year until 2016 were regulars with the cruise line .We also cruised with Celebrity and RCI every year and even a few times with NCL.When we did the initial HAL cruise the majority of the passengers appeared to be in there 50’s.That was to Alaska.

On our first cruise in 1973 on Cunard the majority were probably in their 70’s .

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On 6/5/2021 at 7:45 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Loyalty programs are intended to boost revenues, not cut them - which is what fare discounts would accomplish.  The lines are pretty clever at making a big thing about something that costs them very little.

I agree. 

 

One can always dream though.

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Perks are fine with me. The people cruising have earned them. Just looking at CCL and their top level is 200 days of cruising. Assuming 7-day cruises, that is 29 to get to. Rough estimate, that it ~$40k just in cruise fares. What I dislike is the nose breaking the lights from the groups. 

 

It is the same with anything that offers this type of thing. If I hear someone say "But I am Super Giant Better Than Everyone Level", you are just an idiot to me. 

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10 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

"But I am Super Giant Better Than Everyone Level", you are just an idiot to me. 

 

Braggarts on or off a cruise are major "turn-offs" for me.  

 

When I am on a cruise, I am most reluctant to even say how many cruises that I have experienced.  And, will do so, only when the person(s) with whom I am conversing have developed more than just a very "hi/how are you" type of relationship.

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13 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Braggarts on or off a cruise are major "turn-offs" for me.  

 

When I am on a cruise, I am most reluctant to even say how many cruises that I have experienced.  And, will do so, only when the person(s) with whom I am conversing have developed more than just a very "hi/how are you" type of relationship.

I like to reveal how many cruises I have been on and specifically on the line we will be travelling on when i first post to a roll call. I feel it helps give a sense of who we are. Also sometimes it can lead to someone asking a question that I might be able to answer.

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4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I like to reveal how many cruises I have been on and specifically on the line we will be travelling on when i first post to a roll call. I feel it helps give a sense of who we are. Also sometimes it can lead to someone asking a question that I might be able to answer.

 

18 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Braggarts on or off a cruise are major "turn-offs" for me.  

 

When I am on a cruise, I am most reluctant to even say how many cruises that I have experienced.  And, will do so, only when the person(s) with whom I am conversing have developed more than just a very "hi/how are you" type of relationship.

 

I don't think sharing your cruse experience in context is bragging.  

 

It is amusing how quickly out-of-nowhere some folk get to boasting/self promotion.  They have no idea how unenjoyable I find their conversations.   

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We do not care one way or the other.  It is a cruise line issue.  Simply one tool in their sales and marketing kit.  

 

We are not loyal to any cruise line.  The bottom line for us is that we get far more useful benefits in terms of OBC's  from our TA  that we do from any low value aspirational kinds of incentives from the cruise lines.     From my perspective the only one that we like is the $200 discount that we get when purchasing a balcony cabin on RCI because of Celebrity status.

 

I mean really....a medal, a so called 'free lunch',  bottle of water, half price venue dinner, a lapel pin, or a different color of key.

 

 Rewards for spending thousands of dollars????  Get real.  The cruise lines are really 'putting it over' on their customers.  I think the cruise feel that they have the measure of their customers...appeal to their aspirational levels.  Make them feel like barons of old when cruising was for the very rich.  Even though pre covid some seven day trips sold for as low as $299-$399.

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3 minutes ago, iancal said:

We do not care one way or the other.  It is a cruise line issue.  Simply one tool in their sales and marketing kit.  

 

We are not loyal to any cruise line.  The bottom line for us is that we get far more useful benefits in terms of OBC's  from our TA  that we do from any low value aspirational kinds of incentives from the cruise lines.     From my perspective the only one that we like is the $200 discount that we get when purchasing a balcony cabin on RCI because of Celebrity status.

 

I mean really....a medal, a so called 'free lunch',  bottle of water, half price venue dinner, a lapel pin, or a different color of key.

 

 Rewards for spending thousands of dollars????  Get real.  The cruise lines are really 'putting it over' on their customers.  I think the cruise feel that they have the measure of their customers...appeal to their aspirational levels.  Make them feel like barons of old when cruising was for the very rich.  Even though pre covid some seven day trips sold for as low as $299-$399.

 

We both pay $X for a cabin.  You pay extra for wifi, laundry, and drinks.  My same fare includes wifi, laundry, three drinks/day, a few $hundred OBC and some other perks like early boarding.   That is a little more than an aspirational lapel pin.    These perks are not enough to sway us away from a preferred itinerary on another cruise line.  But all things being relatively equal, they would be considered when selecting a cruise line.   And of course, if we didn't enjoy the cruise line we would not have used them so much as to qualify for these perks.  

 

I haven't had any aspirations to be among the noble class for some time now.  😃

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The funniest thing we ever saw was years ago.   A gentleman on a ship rushing about with some medal hanging from his neck.  We asked another cruiser what it was all about.  She told us...then we all started laughing at how very silly it seemed.   It was some sort of loyalty reward for many days at sea.   My spouse commented that I should get one from the hardware store I frequently based on spend and time spent inside the store.

 

The medal looked like something out of a dollar store.....something our young son would have worm when 'dressing up'.    

 

We add up the value to us of any freebees when we are comparing fares.   That includes any perks that come our way. But we value them at the the value to us....not the price the cruise line places on them.

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2 minutes ago, iancal said:

The funniest thing we ever saw was years ago.   A gentleman on a ship rushing about with some medal hanging from his neck.  We asked another cruiser what it was all about.  She told us...then we all started laughing at how very silly it seemed.   

 

The medal looked like something out of a dollar store.....something our young son would have worm when 'dressing up'.    

 

We add up the value to us of any freebees when we are comparing fares.   That includes any perks that come our way. But we value them at the the value to us....not the price the cruise line places on them.

 

 

"But we value them at the the value to us....not the price the cruise line places on them."

 

Of course.  I agree and everyone should do that when it comes to perks. 

 

Was the medal a cruise status thing?  Maybe it was a cut-the-line pass!  Haha.   

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A fellow cruiser told us it was some sort of reward for multiple cruises.  Moreover she told us that there were multiple levels.  Gold, silver, bronze or something.  As I recall this one was silver.  Mind you...they all come from the same place in China and they all have the same value....a buck or so.  It is all about the aspirational aspect and bragging rites I guess.  Go figure.   

 

We have done 20 plus cruises.  Do we think anyone else cares about that?  No.  Do we think anyone else wants to know about it?  No. 

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12 minutes ago, iancal said:

A fellow cruiser told us it was some sort of reward for multiple cruises.  Moreover she told us that there were multiple levels.  Gold, silver, bronze or something.  As I recall this one was silver.  Mind you...they all come from the same place in China and they all have the same value....a buck or so.  It is all about the aspirational aspect and bragging rites I guess.  Go figure.   

 

We have done 20 plus cruises.  Do we think anyone else cares about that?  No.  Do we think anyone else wants to know about it?  No. 

OMG, many folks have no idea!  On HAL (where they have a many repeaters at various levels within their Mariners Club) any kind of change, or rumor, generates an uproar!  A few years ago there was a rumor that HAL was going to eliminate their "Medallions" which are awarded to folks who have cruised X number of days.  This is actually separate from their Mariners Club and does not impact the various perks one gets from certain club status.  But Medallions are usually given at an "awards ceremony" and these tinny things (probably made in China) are put around the recipient's necks by the Captain.  There are actually some folks (we are talking grownups) who will wear these things around their necks when they walk around the ship...or put on all their Medallions if they go to Mariner's lunch (imagine a free lunch on a cruise ship).  

 

When HAL threatened to take away these silly Medallions some folks reacted like they were losing their first-born.   And God forbid you make light of these Medallions when onboard a HAL cruise because you are likely to upset some folks that see these worthless pieces of tin as something akin to the Silver Star or Congressional Medal of Honor.    So I think HAL learned their lesson and will not mess with these worthless pieces of tin or their various award pins.   In the interests of full disclosure DW has a drawer somewhere that is full of old Medallions, award pins, etc.  But the only cruise memento that has any meaning to me are two Princess Cruises coffee mugs we won (over 25 years ago) in an onboard Trivia Game (in the days before they had teams or took trivia seriously).  I love those two coffee mugs, still use them every day...and a pox to anyone who ever messes with those mugs!

 

Hank 

 

Hank

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Then it is genius marketing on the part of HAL.  A reward that costs a buck to hang around someone's neck at a 'free lunch' or some similar venue that is valued by the customer and encourages them to spend thousands more with the cruise line in order to get to the next level.

 

Sounds almost like the Queen's New Years List!  

 

Not.

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2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

 

I don't think sharing your cruse experience in context is bragging.  

 

It is amusing how quickly out-of-nowhere some folk get to boasting/self promotion.  They have no idea how unenjoyable I find their conversations.   

Right, I do not do it to boast. Even if I wanted to, we have not been on that many cruises.

 

On our cancelled 2020 Norwegian fjords cruise, there were some on the roll call who were also intending to do a Baltic cruise. I was able to be helpful, and to give them some feedback on what to expect.

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I wonder how people in upper echelons would react to a simple %-age discount that is equivalent to the monetary value of all the little daily things, plus a gratis drink package perhaps.  If it is the value of the perks that is most important, that should work and make it much easier for staff. But if it is for the status of having a special lounge, or special things waiting upon arrival, then it is not just a financial reward.

 

 

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On 6/9/2021 at 11:47 AM, ldubs said:

 

We both pay $X for a cabin.  You pay extra for wifi, laundry, and drinks.  My same fare includes wifi, laundry, three drinks/day, a few $hundred OBC and some other perks like early boarding.   That is a little more than an aspirational lapel pin.    These perks are not enough to sway us away from a preferred itinerary on another cruise line.  But all things being relatively equal, they would be considered when selecting a cruise line.   And of course, if we didn't enjoy the cruise line we would not have used them so much as to qualify for these perks.  

 

I haven't had any aspirations to be among the noble class for some time now.  😃


and that’s how it should be. But then people get out of shape at a perceived slight to their status. And suddenly they will never cruise the line again because they aren’t appreciated. Presumably they have status because they enjoy cruising that line more than other. If nothing has changed other than whatever loyalty issue it was, then why penalize yourself by spending money on a less enjoyable cruise where you also have no loyalty benefits. It mostly sounds like a child throwing a tantrum.

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5 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

I wonder how people in upper echelons would react to a simple %-age discount that is equivalent to the monetary value of all the little daily things, plus a gratis drink package perhaps.  If it is the value of the perks that is most important, that should work and make it much easier for staff. But if it is for the status of having a special lounge, or special things waiting upon arrival, then it is not just a financial reward.

 

 

Huh?

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On 6/9/2021 at 11:06 AM, ontheweb said:

Right, I do not do it to boast. Even if I wanted to, we have not been on that many cruises.

 

On our cancelled 2020 Norwegian fjords cruise, there were some on the roll call who were also intending to do a Baltic cruise. I was able to be helpful, and to give them some feedback on what to expect.

 

You have been on plenty enough to be helpful to the newer cruise passengers when they have a question.  You know, I still enjoy bumping into first time cruisers all fresh and agog with the whole experience.   Brings a smile.  

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31 minutes ago, sanger727 said:


and that’s how it should be. But then people get out of shape at a perceived slight to their status. And suddenly they will never cruise the line again because they aren’t appreciated. Presumably they have status because they enjoy cruising that line more than other. If nothing has changed other than whatever loyalty issue it was, then why penalize yourself by spending money on a less enjoyable cruise where you also have no loyalty benefits. It mostly sounds like a child throwing a tantrum.

 

"It mostly sounds like a child throwing a tantrum."

 

I know, Haha.   If they even think about not giving me my free peanuts, I'm going to throw the biggest purple tizzy they ever saw!   😄😄

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