Revamped Tier Levels Coming Soon

[taxatty]

8 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Not that I bothered to read the entire thread; below is the RCL conversion method used in their "new" loyalty program. (New means 2011??) Of course Princess can't use the same formula, but it wouldn't surprise me that they used something similar.  Then "credits" per day sailed and a bonus for upper staterooms. Perhaps some onboard spending twist(Holland) or non-sailing credit earner (Celebrity)

 

 

Conversion from old cruise credits to cruise points:

If credits were 1-4, points = credits * 7 + 1

If credits were 5-7, points = credits * 7 + 3

If credits were > 7, points = credits * 7 + 13

It was in January 2011. A few days before the RCI tier system changed, I took a last minute cheap 3 night solo cruise on the Majesty from Port Miami (25 minutes from where I live) because RCI was going to grandfather in everyone at the level they were at on the change date, and we had a long Royal cruise coming up after that where the Diamond perks were significant.

[2 cruises a year]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

The Atrium and International Cafe hogs annoy me, sitting around all day, many not buying any coffees or drinks, just occupying seats.

 

I think Super Elites should have an exclusive shiny black washing machine in the laundry room, to avoid laundry rage.

AND everyone would be leaving their laundry in that shiny black washing machine long after the wash cycle was done.

Hogs will be Hogs.

[franktown]

On 6/24/2021 at 12:19 PM, Thrak said:

 

Or mahjong. I've seen groups that seem to just stay there forever.

On are last cruise there was a group of about 8 that was there from the best we could tell morning till dinner time playing mahjong.  Didn't seem to matter if it was a sea day or port day.  They did seem to be having a good time.

Edited June 25, 2021 by franktown
add

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 6/24/2021 at 9:19 AM, caribill said:

 

I would hope while on vacation that I was not on the Internet 10 hours of awake time a day.

Yeah, well as long as you don’t try to upload photos to a blog while on a ship in French Polynesia you’ll probably be okay. 

[caribill]

5 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yeah, well as long as you don’t try to upload photos to a blog while on a ship in French Polynesia you’ll probably be okay. 

 

If only Princess still had a ship that did the 10 day French Polynesia cruise.

[TheRabbit]

On 6/7/2021 at 7:03 AM, suekel said:

Also curious as to whether # of cruises or # of cruise days will both be counted.  I only have 13 cruises but I have 202 sea days.  Guess time will tell.  

I am in the same edge case on days verses cruises with 269 in 22. They have the numbers and will run them for determining the sweet spot for them.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, TheRabbit said:

I am in the same edge case on days verses cruises with 269 in 22. They have the numbers and will run them for determining the sweet spot for them.

 

We have neither a ton of cruises or a ton of days. We did make Elite on days but don't really have a lot of days anyway. We are never going to be "in danger" of being in the Most Traveled group. To my mind, if they want to make a new tier, I'm in favor of using days rather than cruise credits. I don't at all favor the method of basing it on the amount of money spent onboard. That reeks of the old "steerage" class thing. Days at sea though, should definitely count. Some folks don't have a zillion cruises but have taken long cruises and I think that is worthy of reward.

[NSWP]

11 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

People are entitled to sit in any public area, that's their enjoyment of a cruise. They paid to occupy that seat just like you did. You sound bitter about elite level. Everyone is entitled to enjoy their cruise as they see fit as long as they are following the guidelines laid out in the cruise contract and not in violation of any written rules. 

  I frequently go to the suite/Platinum/elite happy hour in skywalkers and don't buy a drink (I don't drink) and occupy a seat. Sometimes I even sit at the pool but never go in the water.

Not bitter about Elite level, I have been Elite since 2008.  I just don't care for chair hogs, anywhere.

[Steelers36]

51 minutes ago, Thrak said:

To my mind, if they want to make a new tier, I'm in favor of using days rather than cruise credits. I don't at all favor the method of basing it on the amount of money spent onboard. That reeks of the old "steerage" class thing.

Some people might spend less on a cabin, but spend lots on drinks and casino.  Some might spend for a more expensive cabin and not even use all their OBC.  I like days.  I think once you are Elite, even in current system, anything else we get is based on days at sea.

[Ombud]

@Steelers36the Loyalty OBCs are based on # cruises sailed (normally 1 per voyage, solos & suites get 2 per voyage, heard solo suites get 3 cruise credits per voyage. Starts at 21 completed voyages). Starts at 25 OBC -> 100 OBC

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong

 

 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Ombud
Typo - fat fingers

[cruisequeen4ever]

I hope that if they add a new tier, they won’t dilute the original tiers. As for the Internet being outdated now, a solution to appease everyone would be to offer a menu of choices for Elites and above. “Pick any 5 perks”, for instance. That way, those who don’t wanna buy Princess Plus, can choose the free Internet minutes. Those who don’t drink alcohol, could choose a free dinner at a specialty restaurant.  Offering a menu of choices would be very customer centric. 

[2 cruises a year]

ooops, wrong answer

Edited June 26, 2021 by 2 cruises a year

[Ombud]

I think if they base it on days paid then solos should still get dbl credit for paying for 2 cruises each time

[2 cruises a year]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I think if they base it on days paid then solos should still get dbl credit for paying for 2 cruises each time

I think that is fair.  I am against any other form of money spent being used.  Days are equal all around.  I feel that money involved  sets up a class system.  Hec, most people in inside cabins probably sacrificed more financially than most people in suites.  Maybe they should be compensated for that.

[suzyed]

On 6/7/2021 at 6:14 PM, satxdiver said:

I have wondered many times why Princess stays with number of cruises when most if not all the other lines went to days cruised.  It makes more sense to do it based on days cruised and hopefully Princess will see the light and change.    Also I could see a level above elite which seems to have become very bloated.  No matter what there will be complaints and people moving to other cruise lines.  

You can achieve Elite level (or any level for that matter) by days cruised or voyages.  It's either/or.

Edited June 26, 2021 by suzyed

[caribill]

3 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I hope that if they add a new tier, they won’t dilute the original tiers. As for the Internet being outdated now, a solution to appease everyone would be to offer a menu of choices for Elites and above. “Pick any 5 perks”, for instance. That way, those who don’t wanna buy Princess Plus, can choose the free Internet minutes. Those who don’t drink alcohol, could choose a free dinner at a specialty restaurant.  Offering a menu of choices would be very customer centric. 

 

You are optimistically thinking Princess might offer something of financial value for new perks.

 

I think they will offer items that cost them essentially nothing. For example, a new, higher level might be able to reserve dining times or boarding times a day earlier than platinum/elite passengers.

[skynight]

9 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We have neither a ton of cruises or a ton of days. We did make Elite on days but don't really have a lot of days anyway. We are never going to be "in danger" of being in the Most Traveled group. To my mind, if they want to make a new tier, I'm in favor of using days rather than cruise credits. I don't at all favor the method of basing it on the amount of money spent onboard. That reeks of the old "steerage" class thing. Days at sea though, should definitely count. Some folks don't have a zillion cruises but have taken long cruises and I think that is worthy of reward.

I agree. Loyalty in the marketing sense is the preference to return to a single or limited brands. In this case it is your preference to re-book with Princess. From Princess' view it is their desire to have you return and the rewards they provide over time to encourage you to use their cruise line again and again. I fail to see how any on board or pre-cruise spending relates to loyalty. Purchased loyalty isn't really loyalty. If Princess wants to reward those in full suites, mini suites or other cabin categories then those benefits should be for the cruise booked and not count toward long term loyalty. Princess already provides a range of special on board benefits for those that paid extra to stay in full suites as well as some extra benefits for club class mini suites.  

[vjmatty]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:55 AM, Ombud said:

Not everyone buys PLUS FARES. Its not cost effective for elites who don't drink very much (or at all). So maybe that's the primary agenda. Push all inclusive pricing and retire basic option

 

 

At $25 per day difference for the drink portion of the PLUS fares, I don’t think you need to drink alcohol to make it pay off. Hubby with his coffees and bottled water covers that before touching a single drop of booze. I’m not sure where I found the breakdown of cost per PLUS perk, since it had to be in 2019 when it all started, but I remember noting that unless you’re only drinking tap water, juice, iced tea and the swill they pass off as non-speciality coffee, you’re going to get your money’s worth. 

[pompeii]

54 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

At $25 per day difference for the drink portion of the PLUS fares, I don’t think you need to drink alcohol to make it pay off. Hubby with his coffees and bottled water covers that before touching a single drop of booze. I’m not sure where I found the breakdown of cost per PLUS perk, since it had to be in 2019 when it all started, but I remember noting that unless you’re only drinking tap water, juice, iced tea and the swill they pass off as non-speciality coffee, you’re going to get your money’s worth. 

Princess offers a coffee package for the entire length of your cruise for $36, and a package of 12 bottles of water for $7 (you can purchase as many of these as you want.)  So, for example, you can buy coffee and water for a 7-day cruise for $43.  Or you can pay $175 extra (at $25/day.)  You do you, but $43 works for me.  

Edited June 27, 2021 by pompeii

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

At $25 per day difference for the drink portion of the PLUS fares, I don’t think you need to drink alcohol to make it pay off. Hubby with his coffees and bottled water covers that before touching a single drop of booze. I’m not sure where I found the breakdown of cost per PLUS perk, since it had to be in 2019 when it all started, but I remember noting that unless you’re only drinking tap water, juice, iced tea and the swill they pass off as non-speciality coffee, you’re going to get your money’s worth. 

Expand  

Princess offers a coffee package for the entire length of your cruise for $36, and a package of 12 bottles of water for $7 (you can purchase as many of these as you want.)  So, for example, you can buy coffee and water for a 7-day cruise for $43.  Or you can pay $175 extra (at $25/day.)  You do you, but $43 works for me

Elites get 250 internet minutes + free mini bar that I personally trade for 2 coffee programs, bring on 1 bottle wine per adult NC (I'm solo so just 1), 1st free drink in the app, free drink through captains party (I just walk in / grab wine / sometimes leave & sometimes they just load the app with another free drink and skip party altogether), free wine tasting and I don't drink much. So for me its not cost effective.  

Edited June 27, 2021 by Ombud

[san diego sue]

I think the number of cruises would be the one to go. Number of days is what Princess counts for Most traveled luncheon. Also the milestone voyages(for 500 days, 750, 1000 etc) are now only for days. use to be  for  voyages. When we hit 50 voyages, we got the perks (flowers, champagne, recognition at Captains party,etc).At the 50 voyages we actually had a lot more than 500 days. When we hit 750 days, that was our next  milestone, not how many voyages cruised.

I went on other cruise line websites and they count days that are turned into points(Royal Caribbean, Celebrity). Holland America does it weird. They count days and you get bonus days for amount spent on board.

[Daniel A]

4 minutes ago, san diego sue said:

I think the number of cruises would be the one to go. Number of days is what Princess counts for Most traveled luncheon. Also the milestone voyages(for 500 days, 750, 1000 etc) are now only for days. use to be  for  voyages. When we hit 50 voyages, we got the perks (flowers, champagne, recognition at Captains party,etc).At the 50 voyages we actually had a lot more than 500 days. When we hit 750 days, that was our next  milestone, not how many voyages cruised.

I went on other cruise line websites and they count days that are turned into points(Royal Caribbean, Celebrity). Holland America does it weird. They count days and you get bonus days for amount spent on board.

Do you think a 2 day repositioning cruise should be the equivalent of a 28 day South Pacific cruise?

[san diego sue]

18 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Do you think a 2 day repositioning cruise should be the equivalent of a 28 day South Pacific cruise?

Of course not. That is why I said probably they will go to days. We usually go on longer cruises. In fact have done the 28 day South Pacific cruise and have it booked again in 2023.

We reached Elite when we cruised 11 Princess cruises because of days. Have never gone on any one or two day cruises.

[Ombud]

IMHO currently Solos get 1 day credit for 1 day cruised despite paying for 2 whereas 1 cruise booked w/ solo supplement = 2 cruises booked. I have only cruised 20 times (32 credits / 204 days -> I was a single mom working stiff, now retired). I also don't do 1-3 day cruises

 

Guess you can't satisfy everyone. I just hope they don't remove any perks

 

Adding: to be perfectly honest I never could afford a 28 day cruise

 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Ombud

[san diego sue]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

IMHO currently Solos get 1 day credit for 1 day cruised despite paying for 2 whereas 1 cruise booked w/ solo supplement = 2 cruises booked. I have only cruised 20 times (32 credits / 204 days -> I was a single mom working stiff, now retired). I also don't do 1-3 day cruises

 

Guess you can't satisfy everyone. I just hope they don't remove any perks

 

Adding: to be perfectly honest I never could afford a 28 day cruise

 

 

Princess is really tough on single cruisers.I think there should be a discount for singles instead of paying double.

Possibly if you find a friend to cruise with  and share a cabin, your cost will go down considerably.I have several single friends that cruise and I know their cost is so high, doesn't seem fair.I also agree that paying for two(when you are one) should bring you  a perk.

We are very fortunate and are able to book longer cruises.

Hope when Princess decides to change their Elite qualifier rules, they grandfather those that worked hard to get there and don't take anything away, no matter how they reached Elite.Time will tell. The rumors have been flying around for at least a couple of years that a change is coming.