Did Elite Perks change recently?

[Betsynh]

We were Elite on our last Celebrity cruise pre-COVID. Just booked the Equinox for Ultimate Southern in January 2023, and it appears that the perks are far less than what I recall. Is it only RCCL that switched to three daily drink vouchers for Diamond? I thought Internet minutes were offered rather than just discounts, too. We didn’t upgrade to the all inclusive package since we’re Elite and I was excited to benefit from the perks… now I’m questioning the idea. Is there a point to being loyal to one brand when most things are included nowadays? Thanks for your advice!

[RTShaker]

5 minutes ago, Betsynh said:

We were Elite on our last Celebrity cruise pre-COVID. Just booked the Equinox for Ultimate Southern in January 2023, and it appears that the perks are far less than what I recall. Is it only RCCL that switched to three daily drink vouchers for Diamond? I thought Internet minutes were offered rather than just discounts, too. We didn’t upgrade to the all inclusive package since we’re Elite and I was excited to benefit from the perks… now I’m questioning the idea. Is there a point to being loyal to one brand when most things are included nowadays? Thanks for your advice!

You still have the 90 free internet minutes as well as unlimited drinks from the special CC menu 5-7 every day. These are available all around the ship.

 

Look here to see all the perks.

Edited July 6, 2022 by RTShaker

[Jim_Iain]

They did recently changed slightly.     The summary does not list everything and best to click on the link on the CC page to view the detail list.  They added some bonus upgrades $ to move up bids according to CC limit.  Some have said better perks on upgrading drinks package but I didn't see it.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes

 

Click view Full Benefits at the bottom

 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[jelayne]

They increased the discount on the beverage package upgrade and are bringing back some events that were discontinued  with Covid. The internet minutes are still available as is the wash & fold laundry , priority tendering and drinks from 5-7.

Edited July 6, 2022 by jelayne

[Charles4515]

9 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

now I’m questioning the idea. Is there a point to being loyal to one brand when most things are included nowadays? Thanks for your advice!

There never was a point to being loyal to one brand. You one branders have been taken in by marketing. As for the all included that is marketing too. You pay for it. 

[RTShaker]

19 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

There never was a point to being loyal to one brand. You one branders have been taken in by marketing. As for the all included that is marketing too. You pay for it. 

You attributed that quote to me, but it was the OPs. That said, I for one, am not a "one brander", but ended up mostly one brand because of the product, marketing be damned.

[Betsynh]

21 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

There never was a point to being loyal to one brand. You one branders have been taken in by marketing. As for the all included that is marketing too. You pay for it. 

 

I’m actually not a one-brander but musing nonetheless… most recent trip on NCL Pearl, I did the math and it was cheaper to accept the “free” drink package and pay the gratuity for any drinks rather than pay per drink for the number of sodas, specialty coffees, wine, etc. that we might buy on board. Overall, we had a great time… and was pleased with our choice.

[Betsynh]

1 minute ago, RTShaker said:

You attributed that quote to me, but it was the OPs. That said, I for one, am not a "one brander", but ended up mostly one brand because of the product, marketing be damned.

 

I guess he didn’t read my signature to see that I’ve cruised on several different lines over 20+ years… but I lean toward RCCL/Celebrity if their itinerary/pricing meets my needs.

[Charles4515]

30 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

You attributed that quote to me, but it was the OPs. That said, I for one, am not a "one brander", but ended up mostly one brand because of the product, marketing be damned.

 

Sorry. all I did was quote a selection. I don't know how the software attributed it to you. 

[Charles4515]

45 minutes ago, Betsynh said:

 

I’m actually not a one-brander but musing nonetheless… most recent trip on NCL Pearl, I did the math and it was cheaper to accept the “free” drink package and pay the gratuity for any drinks rather than pay per drink for the number of sodas, specialty coffees, wine, etc. that we might buy on board. Overall, we had a great time… and was pleased with our choice.

 

I don't drink that much alcohol.  My drinks bill usually runs about $45 on any cruise line. You were asking if it payed to be loyal to one brand and I simply gave my opinion. No. I have cruised a lot on Celebrity because it seems to be my sweet spot, enough to be Elite Plus  but not out of any loyalty. I would have done those cruises if there were no loyalty program. I have figured out the math on Celebrity and i always come out about $300 ahead not doing the included fares. I don't know about NCL as they are at the bottom of my cruise list. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by Charles4515

[cdn_tbird]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

There never was a point to being loyal to one brand. You one branders have been taken in by marketing. As for the all included that is marketing too. You pay for it. 

Most people are intelligent enough to understand that they actually pay for all those things that are included and "not taken in by the marketing". Personally, outside of possibly some of the discounts we won't take advantage of most of the other "loyalty perks". We book X because we like the product and it's at a price point that we feel we get value not for the "free" scope of gelato. We will explore other lines and will book them if it makes sense to us.

[Lisah101]

Actually the OP is correct, after reading through all the Captain's Club benefits, it no longer says 90 minutes free internet anywhere that I can find.  Can anyone else find it?

[WestLakeGirl]

Its in the link in post #3 of this thread

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, Lisah101 said:

Actually the OP is correct, after reading through all the Captain's Club benefits, it no longer says 90 minutes free internet anywhere that I can find.  Can anyone else find it?

All onboard perks/benefits will be spelled out in your CC welcome onboard letter for your specific CC tier level. More detail then the website. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by davekathy

[Lisah101]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

All onboard perks/benefits will be spelled out in your CC welcome onboard letter for your specific CC tier level. More detail then the website. 

But that doesn't answer the question - can anyone find the 90 free minutes or are we just assuming it wasn't taken away.

[davekathy]

16 minutes ago, Lisah101 said:

But that doesn't answer the question - can anyone find the 90 free minutes or are we just assuming it wasn't taken away.

I have no problem waiting until we are onboard to see what our onboard tier level perks/benefits are.

 

The CC internet minutes are listed on Celebrity's website.

 

 https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes

[cruisestitch]

Did you follow the link in post #3?

[HskrCrsr]

This is going to be hard to read, but here's a shot of the Wifi benefits

[DCPIV]

1 hour ago, Lisah101 said:

But that doesn't answer the question - can anyone find the 90 free minutes or are we just assuming it wasn't taken away.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes

 

Follow that link, scroll all the way down and click on "VIEW BENEFITS" in the box.  That'll open a brochure.  Go to the second page of the brochure (yes, there is a second page), and you'll see the complete table of benefits.  The 90 minutes is there.

[Lisah101]

So I finally found it on the website page that lists the changes but it was not on the flyer.

21 minutes ago, HskrCrsr said:

This is going to be hard to read, but here's a shot of the Wifi benefits

Thank you - honestly it was so small I couldn't read it at first.  Makes me feel better!

[kearney]

On the provided link... scroll down and in big letters it mentions wifi... within the box by that heading it does mention 90 minutes of wifi streaming.  I like the 90 minutes on Celebrity over the 24 hours on Royal... allows me to check email on several days vs a 24 hour period

[dani negreanu]

We just got back from Beyond.

 

Being Elite, each of us got the 90 minutes free.

 

One IMPORTANT thing !!

 

We had the "free wi-fi" included, whether we liked it or not. Turns out the "free" is very basic -- just enabling you to check emails and send whatsapp. NO pictures.

 

I've voiced my disappointment [to the CC concierge] in the somewhat useless perk, and was told to use the 90 minutes for sending pictures.

 

BUT, they wanted to start the 90 minutes immediately... I told them "until I'm back in my cabin, there goes 10 minutes". I was pleased to see that they've seen my point, and gave me the 2 options -- to switch between the "basic" and the "Elite".

 

So, when I wanted to send pics, I logged out from the "basic", and then returned to it after sending the pics.

 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, Lisah101 said:

So I finally found it on the website page that lists the changes but it was not on the flyer.

Thank you - honestly it was so small I couldn't read it at first.  Makes me feel better!

The link I provided you and the link in post #3 is a lot larger font and very easy to read. 

[HskrCrsr]

The Captain's Club terms say "Complimentary 90 premium minutes for Elite and 240 premium minutes for Elite Plus will still apply. These minutes must be used before any basic minutes included in your ticket." (https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/join-the-club) I don't know if/when/how they enforce that, or if it's even current since they don't update the site very often.

[UniPac]

14 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Being Elite, each of us got the 90 minutes free.

 

One IMPORTANT thing !!

 

I was pleased to see that they've seen my point, and gave me the 2 options -- to switch between the "basic" and the "Elite".

 

So, when I wanted to send pics, I logged out from the "basic", and then returned to it after sending the pics.

 

 

So you basically had two accounts - one with the included "slow" but unlimited wifi and the other account (different login name?) with the 90minutes high speed internet?