Loyalty OBC

[quilter49]

Prior to Covid, Princess would give a small OBC after 25 cruises. Does this still exist?

[azbirdmom]

No, they eliminated it last year when they revamped the Elite / Platinum perks.

[VibeGuy]

Loyalty Commend OBC is deader than Pete Rose’s chance at the HOF. 

[cruisingrob21]

It's unfortunate they did away with it, but I get it. It would have been nice for them to provide like a $50 discount on a voyage for Princess Plus.

[VibeGuy]

What’s galling about it is how little money we are talking *per previous cruise*. 
 

At the $25 level, it was “here’s an average of dollar for every time you’ve sailed with us”.    At the $100 level, it was “here, at most, is $2 for every sailing you’ve ever taken with us.”

 

 

[sirclean]

8 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

What’s galling about it is how little money we are talking *per previous cruise*. 
 

At the $25 level, it was “here’s an average of dollar for every time you’ve sailed with us”.    At the $100 level, it was “here, at most, is $2 for every sailing you’ve ever taken with us.”

 

That is certainly a good perspective on it!  I hope that they do bring it back, but it may help reduce the sting I was feeling ... "it was a dollar in cabin credit!  acknowledgment of the past cruises I had taken.  (But I hope that they DO return it!)

[Coral]

I hope it gets returned.

[MissP22]

x

[CruzinNoony]

We were receiving $100.00 on every cruise.  It sure was nice to have that extra OBC.  I'm hoping when cruising gets back to what it was, they will reinstate it.  

[MissP22]

We got so use to getting it, now it even hurts more.

I wonder how many people stopped booking because of it?

[pms4104]

My guess ... the loyalty OBC will be reinstated at the same time Princess reintroduces passport stamps and booklets.

[memoak]

37 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

We got so use to getting it, now it even hurts more.

I wonder how many people stopped booking because of it?

I would bet none. If a few dollars is a make or break for someone that is pretty sad

[MissP22]

26 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

My guess ... the loyalty OBC will be reinstated at the same time Princess reintroduces passport stamps and booklets.

Now they were a real waste of paper. 

[pms4104]

19 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Now they were a real waste of paper. 

At least they were cheap ... Princess may never again afford to offer the Loyalty OBC.

Edited February 12, 2022 by pms4104

[MissP22]

54 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

At least they were cheap ... Princess may never again afford to offer the Loyalty OBC.

At least until there's some real competition between the cruise lines.

[sirclean]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We got so use to getting it, now it even hurts more.

I wonder how many people stopped booking because of it?

I would bet none. If a few dollars is a make or break for someone that is pretty sad

I would not be too quick to bet "none".  

While I have elite status on Princess and no status on any other line, now that the elite benefits are greatly reduced or even missing, ( the free minutes are now changed into a reduced FEE, and reports of the minibar are 1/3 reduced, OBC gone), The competitive edge that Princess had over the other lines is greatly reduced.  I recently booked on Princess for a short cruise, BUT that was before I was on these boards to hear about the lost benefits.  IF I had known about that BEFORE I booked, I may NOT have booked with Princess!!  

 

I just wonder, then, IF the Princess (and Carnival - as Royal Caribbean would likely be my next choice, not another Carnival line), is going to actually end up saving once they factor in that the lost cruisers.  At this point, anyway, I think that they are still making some money from the booking --- and not just the add on sales of booze, internet, spa services, and excursions.  

 

 

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, sirclean said:

minibar are 1/3 reduced

This must be a new problem because mine was not reduced in August 2021 (Majestic) or December 2021 (Emerald) & it still traded for 2 new grounds coffee packages. When was your cruise?? Which ship??? 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ombud

[sirclean]

See post 25 on the current cruise report "LIVE: Regal Princess, February 5-12, 2022: Geoherb goes solo again"

It has a picture of the minibar and as well as the typed list of what is there and missing.

[VibeGuy]

Emerald seems particularly affected by the minibar shortages.  We were 4:4 on Ruby in December and January with complete minibars, with the exception of tonic on the very first sailing which was replaced with soda, I think.  But it’s the spirits that count. 
 

We like lonnnng sailings and B2B2….and I barely tolerate doing laundry at home, let alone on vacation, so all factors being equal, the cost of three or four pieces of laundry per day on other lines vs letting talented professionals do it is a big attraction to Princess, even over other CCL brands.  The minibar is nice, but since Medallion and Plus fares allow drink delivery, it’s not as useful as it once was.  Same with the Internet.  
 

Ultimately, I look at this like a hotel or airline program - is the juice worth the squeeze.  Marriott Bonvoy gets me free breakfast at some very nice properties, lounge access, a few reservable suite upgrades a year, and at my tier, theoretically unlimited suite upgrades based on availability, as well as a $6-12 rebate on each stay in the form of points.   I guess I also get a snack on arrival (some of those are actually VERY nice).  Compared to other programs, Bonvoy gives me a lot more of things I enjoy, and it’s no worse than the others at free nights.  Princess still looks better than Brand X viewed through the lens of other ship programs, yet returns a lot less of my spending in frequent guest rewards than even the cruddiest motel program. 
 

I’m not privy to specific numbers at Princess, but I can assume that, like any other program where you don’t have to earn elevated tiers every year, there are more Platinum and Elite cruisers year over year.  So something was going to (eventually) give.  I was shocked it wasn’t a significant cutback in laundry (doesn’t scale well due to labor and capital equipment requirements), with a preservation of the Loyalty Commend cash, where the redemption can be spread over more ship departments.  
 

Cynically, we can blame the cuts on COVID, but let’s be real - top-tier cruisers bring in both their own revenue as well as new blood - kids, grandkids, friends who haven’t cruised.  The lines know this and are looking for pennies in the couch cushions while hoping such cheap behaviour doesn’t impact growth vs 2019. But much like the olives on the coach-class salads on American, once perks are gone, no hue and cry will ever bring them back - at best, they’ll staunch the more odious of future cuts. 
 

The *only* bright spot in these cuts, to me, is that it aligns Princess more closely to the other CCL brands which could bode well for cross-line recognition, at least at the very top tiers.  There are sailings on HAL, P&O and AIDA that are pretty appealing, where having their top-tier benefits would be a huge deciding factor. 

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, sirclean said:

See post 25 on the current cruise report "LIVE: Regal Princess, February 5-12, 2022: Geoherb goes solo again"

It has a picture of the minibar and as well as the typed list of what is there and missing.

 

I eventually got the right number of beverages in my minibar after telling a purser when I was at guest services for another problem.