Changes coming to Captains Circle Host Position.

[Jeter02]

30 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Can you use crew chat with your cabin TV?

 

Not everyone has a smart phone with a current fully functioning Princess app.

o have digital devices, but not ones that Princess supports the app on

o have no smart phone at all (a minority of people)

No! Crew tract is strictly on the medallion apps. And it does come in handy because if it's nothing that I need taking care of immediately or just a random question it is pretty nice to have that feature to do a quick chat versus having to wait in line

[Steelers36]

On 5/6/2023 at 11:55 AM, ldtr said:

Apparently this is a new move, requested by ONE. The existing hosts are apparently getting moved into customer service, focusing on special events such as weddings, VIP visits, ash spreading, etc.

IDK why the new old position person wouldn't appear at the CC Loyalty reception, the formal night champagne shin-dig in the Piazza, etc.  Why wouldn't they still organize the invites to the MTP Luncheon?  

 

Aside from that and after reviewing all of the discussion, I can understand an increased focus on on-board sales.  Huzzah from a Shareholder perspective to take advantage of a captive audience that is presumably having a good time.  That said, the Loyalty Host did serve a purpose, so seems odd to hide them away in the GS back-office.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

At the Royal Caribbean stock analysts call, Royal Caribbean said "Cruising remains an exceptional value proposition, I would actually say it's too attractive of a value proposition, which is allowing us to outperform broader leisure travel as we seek to close the gap to land-based vacations and drive better revenue and happy customers.......So, our goal is to close the gap."

The price of cruising has usually been fairly consistent compared to competing travel options. Due to cruise lines needing to get back to full occupancy before they raised prices that gap has spread far beyond normal. The next year will see it return to a more normal range.

[J13C85]

12 hours ago, caribill said:

But I bet you would respond politely that you would not be discussing that.

I wouldn't take that bet.  We don't know how many times this person was subjected to this rude and inappropriate question. I've been in this situation as I had a job where people were constantly asking me how much money I made.  I always tried to be polite, but, we are all human and have our individual breaking points.

[Guest ldtr]

11 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

We always use crew chat and it works well.  Why don't you think they would not be able to answer questions?  Much more efficient. 

crew chat just goes to customer service, who then notifies other departments if action is  needed. Not all that effective if customer service cannot answer the question directly.

[cruzsnooze]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

These close to sailing prices are not generally advertised, but any good TA can find them.

On the opening page is a DROP AND GO last minute cruises discounted

 

Drop & Go - Last Minute Cruise Deals

Last minute offers on cruises sailing soon. Hurry to book our best priced cruises!

Edited May 7, 2023 by cruzsnooze

[caribill]

The Captain's Circle rep did a lot of work that was not visible to everyone. Yes, of course, there were several hours each day he/she was available to passengers for questions. And, yes, he/she did host the past passenger parties and the MTP event, but there much administrative work also being done which theoretically will now be handled to the sales people:

o Processing FCD requests

o Preparing invitations to the past passenger parties

o Preparing invitations to the MTP event

o Preparing letters for next segment passengers detailing what Captain's Circle benefits they get

o Preparing letters for passengers who will advance Captain's Circle status at the end of the cruise

o Dealing with menu choices/restrictions for MTP event

o Sending out the information about the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge to thhe appropriate cabins

o and no doubt more

 

It will be interesting to see how well the sales people perform these tasks or see which of these tasks will disappear along with the events they supported.

[Steelers36]

51 minutes ago, caribill said:

The Captain's Circle rep did a lot of work that was not visible to everyone. Yes, of course, there were several hours each day he/she was available to passengers for questions. And, yes, he/she did host the past passenger parties and the MTP event, but there much administrative work also being done which theoretically will now be handled to the sales people:

o Processing FCD requests

o Preparing invitations to the past passenger parties

o Preparing invitations to the MTP event

o Preparing letters for next segment passengers detailing what Captain's Circle benefits they get

o Preparing letters for passengers who will advance Captain's Circle status at the end of the cruise

o Dealing with menu choices/restrictions for MTP event

o Sending out the information about the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge to thhe appropriate cabins

o and no doubt more

 

It will be interesting to see how well the sales people perform these tasks or see which of these tasks will disappear along with the events they supported.

Are we privy to facts that all of these tasks are removed from the position?  I am not sure we read that much into @ldtr's post.

 

[Happiest when cruising]

13 hours ago, ldtr said:

I did talk with another person the the future cruise sales department. He indicated that they would still handle refares on existing cruises and did not know why another rep said that they could not.

 

He did say that those  were only done by the department head since they could be rather complex.

 

8 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

The 50% deal is legit.  They manually adjust 50% off the lowest Basic fare other than casino offers that comes up on a user’s account. 

The rep on the Crown last week would not even look at what I had booked, and really wasn’t helpful when I asked about the 50% off on the next cruise. We were thinking about staying on and going to Alaska. He didn’t seem very interested in booking us. 

[SCX22]

Some of the Captain's Circle Host duties seem superfluous:

 

2 hours ago, caribill said:

o Processing FCD requests

 

The ONE reps at Future Cruise can handle this now that they are outsourced.  It's the least that they can do.  Also, the Medallion App has this function which allows for almost instantaneous confirmation, without having to waste paper.

 

2 hours ago, caribill said:

o Preparing letters for next segment passengers detailing what Captain's Circle benefits they get

 

Never understood why Princess wastes paper on this.  This should really only be printed for passengers when they reach a new loyalty level because new benefits are attained only when reaching a new loyalty level.  In reality, passengers can download the PDF of benefits from the Princess website or have Guest Services print them a hard copy.

 

2 hours ago, caribill said:

o Preparing letters for passengers who will advance Captain's Circle status at the end of the cruise

 

Can't take too much time because most of the time there aren't too many B2B passengers who advance mid segment.

 

2 hours ago, caribill said:

o Sending out the information about the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge to thhe appropriate cabins

 

The CC Lounge hours should be published in the Patter/Event Listings.  Even if other passengers were to know, the crew manning the entrance checks for Platinum/Elite credentials and would be able to deny entry for those not eligible.

 

 

Princess can drop some of these duties on to the other Guest Services crew, and have them do it during off hours.  Can't imagine those working Guest Services in the wee hours of the morning have too many passengers to deal with.

[caribill]

20 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

The ONE reps at Future Cruise can handle this now that they are outsourced.  It's the least that they can do.  Also, the Medallion App has this function which allows for almost instantaneous confirmation, without having to waste paper.

Gee it is great that every passenger has a digital device that Princess makes the app work on. Also good that the app can process credit card transactions.

 

 

20 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Never understood why Princess wastes paper on this.  This should really only be printed for passengers when they reach a new loyalty level because new benefits are attained only when reaching a new loyalty level.  In reality, passengers can download the PDF of benefits from the Princess website or have Guest Services print them a hard copy.

 

Have you ever downloaded or printed out the current benefits for your status before going on a cruise?

 

20 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Can't take too much time because most of the time there aren't too many B2B passengers who advance mid segment.

Has nothing to do with being on for the next segment. It is a "welcome to the higher status" acknowledgement letter before the passenger disembarks.

 

 

20 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

The CC Lounge hours should be published in the Patter/Event Listings.  Even if other passengers were to know, the crew manning the entrance checks for Platinum/Elite credentials and would be able to deny entry for those not eligible.

I guess the Patter could also list that evening's special food item as that was also a part of the notice that went the the cabins at the start of the cruise.

 

Need to add staff to make the checks at the entrances, something that has not been done in the past. (Maybe the new sales staff could perform this function, telling passengers how many more cruises they should book so that they could enter the room in the future.)

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Are we privy to facts that all of these tasks are removed from the position?  I am not sure we read that much into @ldtr's post.

 

All I can say is what the Host told me. The position is being eliminated. The function is moving to future cruise sales. They were offered 2 options. 1. Go to work for ONE in the fcd department (nolonger a Princess employee) or 2.  Take a position as a customer service manager coordinating events (not loyalty related events) including weddings, vow renewals, ash distributions, VIP visits, etc. in that position they would maintain their officer rank and would remain a Princess employee.

 

They then said that in their meeting with fcs when they went over all of the administrative tasks with the position, they basically got a blank look back, along with the question of if they could just keep doing all that. They said that they responded that it is NOT part of their job and that they could train the fcs staff.  They also told me why would they have to give up the visible and prestigious part of the job"and be willing to still do all of the paperwork.

 

Possible that others might decide to keep doing some of the administrative stuff even though it technically is no longer part of their job.

 

The person I talked with was very upset by the change and indicated that they were evaluating their future career choices.

Edited May 8, 2023 by ldtr

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

All I can say is what the Host told me. The position is being eliminated. The function is moving to future cruise sales. They were offered 2 options. 1. Go to work for ONE in the fcd department (nolonger a Princess employee) or 2.  Take a position as a customer service manager coordinating events (not loyalty related events) including weddings, vow renewals, ash distributions, VIP visits, etc. in that position they would maintain their officer rank and would remain a Princess employee.

 

They then said that in their meeting with fcd when they went over all of the administrative tasks with the position, they basically got a blank look back, along with the question of if they could just keep doing all that. They said that they responded that it is NOT part of their job and that they could train the fcd staff.  They also told me why would they have to give up the visible and prestigious part of the job"and be willing to still do all of the paperwork.

 

Possible that others might decide to keep doing some of the administrative stuff even though it technically is no longer part of their job.

 

The person I talked with was very upset by the change and indicated that they were evaluating their future career choices.

Thanks for the additional insight and color to the situation.  Sounds like another bad move by Princess without fully thinking it out.

[SCX22]

37 minutes ago, caribill said:

Have you ever downloaded or printed out the current benefits for your status before going on a cruise?

Yes, I have, but only to confirm the changes made to the benefits.  Once you reach Elite after 15 cruises or 150 days, you should be able to remember your benefits.  After all, you have spent so much time with Princess.  Really the only time you should not know is when you change tiers.  That, I would understand.

 

42 minutes ago, caribill said:

Has nothing to do with being on for the next segment. It is a "welcome to the higher status" acknowledgement letter before the passenger disembarks.

 

The only time passengers are acknowledged when they change tiers post restart, is if they change tiers on a B2B.  Even the pins are hard to find now.  I had a friend trying to collect her platinum pin and none to be found on the ship.

 

45 minutes ago, caribill said:

I guess the Patter could also list that evening's special food item as that was also a part of the notice that went the the cabins at the start of the cruise.

The "special" cocktails and food aren't revealed in notices sent to the cabins.  There is a small menu  posted somewhere on the buffet table in the lounge during the open hours.

[Happiest when cruising]

8 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Yes, I have, but only to confirm the changes made to the benefits.  Once you reach Elite after 15 cruises or 150 days, you should be able to remember your benefits.  After all, you have spent so much time with Princess.  Really the only time you should not know is when you change tiers.  That, I would understand.

 

The only time passengers are acknowledged when they change tiers post restart, is if they change tiers on a B2B.  Even the pins are hard to find now.  I had a friend trying to collect her platinum pin and none to be found on the ship.

 

The "special" cocktails and food aren't revealed in notices sent to the cabins.  There is a small menu  posted somewhere on the buffet table in the lounge during the open hours.

The cocktails and a brief menu used to printed and delivered to the cabin. 
this time, we just got the one where it told you where and when it was happening, and the night of your Captains Circle party. 

[MissP22]

9 hours ago, caribill said:

The Captain's Circle rep did a lot of work that was not visible to everyone. Yes, of course, there were several hours each day he/she was available to passengers for questions. And, yes, he/she did host the past passenger parties and the MTP event, but there much administrative work also being done which theoretically will now be handled to the sales people:

o Processing FCD requests

o Preparing invitations to the past passenger parties

o Preparing invitations to the MTP event

o Preparing letters for next segment passengers detailing what Captain's Circle benefits they get

o Preparing letters for passengers who will advance Captain's Circle status at the end of the cruise

o Dealing with menu choices/restrictions for MTP event

o Sending out the information about the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge to thhe appropriate cabins

o and no doubt more

 

It will be interesting to see how well the sales people perform these tasks or see which of these tasks will disappear along with the events they supported.

Something tells me that the Future sales person will put many of those items on the back burner, especially if their really busy with sales.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Something tells me that the Future sales person will put many of those items on the back burner, especially if their really busy with sales.

Well someone is going to have to generate and distribute the party and luncheon invitations at a bare minimum.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Well someone is going to have to generate and distribute the party and luncheon invitations at a bare minimum.

Last cruise I never received an invitation & unless I questioned the Host about it, I never would have. They would assume I wasn't interested.

[wrongwaywatson]

Loyalty Pins?  I don't recall getting a Platinum one, but that was several years ago.  We were elite on our last April 1 cruise, but we didn't get a pin, LOL   We did get the pretty black medallions, which are now magnets on our fridge.

[PacnGoNow]

6 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Loyalty Pins?  I don't recall getting a Platinum one, but that was several years ago.  We were elite on our last April 1 cruise, but we didn't get a pin, LOL   We did get the pretty black medallions, which are now magnets on our fridge.

Seems they were given at random.  We didn’t get them pre covid either.  But, we really didn’t want them anyway. 🙄  If you asked, you could get them.

Edited May 8, 2023 by PacnGoNow

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Loyalty Pins?  I don't recall getting a Platinum one, but that was several years ago.  We were elite on our last April 1 cruise, but we didn't get a pin, LOL   We did get the pretty black medallions, which are now magnets on our fridge.

I  recall that Princess stopped giving out the pins several years ago.

[wrongwaywatson]

30 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Seems they were given at random.  We didn’t get them pre covid either.  But, we really didn’t want them anyway. 🙄  If you asked, you could get them.

LOL   No, we don't want them.  I just didn't remember anything about them!  I do like looking at our Medallions on the side of the fridge, though!

[Steelers36]

13 hours ago, SCX22 said:

The only time passengers are acknowledged when they change tiers post restart, is if they change tiers on a B2B.  Even the pins are hard to find now.  I had a friend trying to collect her platinum pin and none to be found on the ship.

Could care less  about the pins.  Threw mine away.  IMO, it's like flashing the black card around.  Pin never got me anything.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Could care less  about the pins.  Threw mine away.  IMO, it's like flashing the black card around.  Pin never got me anything.

they make ok bulletin board tacks.

[Jeter02]

8 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Something tells me that the Future sales person will put many of those items on the back burner, especially if their really busy with sales.

Agreed