Elite loyalty status

[rj59]

My favorite is the minibar. I ask the steward to swap out waters for diet cokes, and I end up taking most of the minibottles home, though. For laundry, since every floor has a laundry room, I just ask guest services for some tokens, saying I don't have time to send my clothes out, and then I save what I don't use for future cruises. The wine tasting can be a good way to meet others and have some fun, even if you don't care about wine.  I used the priority tender operation once, which is a bonus in a place like Cabo, and priority disembarking is nice if you have an early flight, if you do self-assist disembark and carry your own bags. The minibar, along with the half-off internet, allows me to skip Plus or Premier, since I get military/shareholder OBC also. I sometimes stop by the evening cocktail hour and might pick up a plate of snacks, if there's something interesting, but I don't like having ship's officers making awkward small talk, and the discounted drinks aren't anything I like, so I mostly skip it now, along with the captain's reception, which is too crowded, with all the platinum/elite on a ship and again not worth getting a free drink or two. I wish it had a nicer medallion look than black, so it would have a bit of a prestige element, like how they used to put loyalty-color name tags on rooms, although it is nice to be able to get the fast line at guest services, especially on embarkation day when 90% of the people are there to figure out how to get their internet working ("airplane mode? but I'm not on a plane!"). The doubling of internet prices hurts, since $5/day was pretty nice,  but the discount also applies if you pay for 'end of cruise', so I usually wait until the 1/2 sea days returning home in Mexico or Alaska to pay for internet, or just do without. The pushing of Plus/Premier and increased benefits and removal of free benefits for everyone else (like Alfredo's and oceannow delivery) makes me feel not very Elite, though. As someone on here said once, the tangible benefits are minor, like $30 of drinks in the minibar and $6 for laundry if you did it yourself (or free on Discovery), and so it pales in comparison to the increased cruise fares, onboard costs, and other costs of travel. It's the same with single-mindedly pursuing a single airline loyalty program, since you miss out on a lot of savings and varied experiences, and the same goes for cruise lines. 

[rheathslc]

I wanted to give my two cents about the laundry perk. I have read several posts that say that everything is washed and dried in the same temps. In my experience, this is not entirely accurate or at least it may vary depending on the ship. 

 

I have VERY specific laundry processes at home. Many of my items wash in cold water and hang dry. Others wash in lukewarm water and dry for not more than 25 minutes on the lowest temp setting. Only a few things wash in warm and even those I dry in extra low heat.

I was nervous about sending out my first set of laundry when we had it as a Suite perk (I now do have Elite status). I chose a few items carefully knowing I would be okay if they came back ruined in any way. I gave VERY explicit instructions on the form and everything, even the very delicate items, came back PERFECT! I was thrilled. And will pack less on all future cruises since I feel confident I can send out whatever I need to and have overall positive results.

 

It reminds me of my experience with Stitch Fix (a personal shopping program - I HATE shopping). I LOVED it and recommended it to my mom. She had a terrible experience. When I asked her how many details she gave for the stylist, she said only a little bit. I on the other hand filled out every questionnaire and took several "style quizzes" and have gotten wonderful selections each time I get a box. 

The moral of the story is, be specific. Take the time to give clear instructions. In my experience it pays off. 🙂

 

Of course there can always be mishaps. And I don't mean to discount anyone else's negative experiences. I just wanted to say that mine have been overwhelmingly positive. 

 

[commodoredave]

5 hours ago, memoak said:

Yes you get one elite and one for full suite.  Enjoy 

Does that also apply to Signature Penthouse suites?

[Sudoku]

rj59

You said it perfectly and wrote exactly how we feel regarding elite. Thank you for your port!

[Scottdalfonso]

We decided against the laundry because it said it would be a 36 hour turn around, we opted to just pay the 6 bucks to do it ourselves the last morning. We did ask the mini bar to be wiped out in exchange for a bottle of wine, they told us they would do it on day two, but after dinner on night one, we had the bottle of wine, AND all of the mini bar selections were left behind, as well. So that was pretty nice.  The priority tender and the evening cocktail\snacks were our favorite perks. We enjoyed sitting in the lounge, having a wing or two and some cheese while we listened to the live music. 

[Alaska05]

What I'd like to see is a reduction in the price of the Plus or Premier packages for Elite members.

The 50% off WIFI for Elites is completely negated if you buy a package.

We don't drink alcohol or coffee so the only major items in the packages is WIFI and crew appreciation.  Currently that does not justify buying any of the packages.

[memoak]

13 minutes ago, Alaska05 said:

What I'd like to see is a reduction in the price of the Plus or Premier packages for Elite members.

The 50% off WIFI for Elites is completely negated if you buy a package.

We don't drink alcohol or coffee so the only major items in the packages is WIFI and crew appreciation.  Currently that does not justify buying any of the packages.

If you don’t drink then the package is not designed for you. Where elite stays helps is with free laundry which we use every 3-4 days and the mini bar. That is where we get value 

Edited Wednesday at 09:23 PM by memoak

[Happiest when cruising]

1 hour ago, Alaska05 said:

What I'd like to see is a reduction in the price of the Plus or Premier packages for Elite members.

The 50% off WIFI for Elites is completely negated if you buy a package.

We don't drink alcohol or coffee so the only major items in the packages is WIFI and crew appreciation.  Currently that does not justify buying any of the packages.

That is all that is included on Celebrity  cruises, since they removed the gratuities from their bundles. 

[kywildcatfanone]

3 hours ago, Alaska05 said:

What I'd like to see is a reduction in the price of the Plus or Premier packages for Elite members.

The 50% off WIFI for Elites is completely negated if you buy a package.

We don't drink alcohol or coffee so the only major items in the packages is WIFI and crew appreciation.  Currently that does not justify buying any of the packages.

This would mean value for loyalty, and that is the last thing cruise lines want to provide.

[disgirl]

I used to take advantage of the Elite check in line and lounge to wait in before boarding, but I guess those are gone the wayside since the green/blue lanes have come in to play.  I havent cruised Princess since they changed to the green/blue lanes (but will be in 2 weeks).

[Scottdalfonso]

19 hours ago, memoak said:

If you don’t drink then the package is not designed for you

I don't drink, but got the package- it was still a great value to me. I wish I could've done laundry a few times, but couldn't even get it in once with a 3 day turn around. 

[rheathslc]

28 minutes ago, disgirl said:

I used to take advantage of the Elite check in line and lounge to wait in before boarding, but I guess those are gone the wayside since the green/blue lanes have come in to play.  I havent cruised Princess since they changed to the green/blue lanes (but will be in 2 weeks).

My last cruise was in March of this year maybe someone has more recent info.

 

With that said on every cruise I've been on since the restart they did have an Elite lounge. Sometimes it was a combined Platinum and Elite, sometimes they were separate. And on almost every cruise the Elite guests were called to board immediately after suite passengers and the folks herding the masses have done a pretty good job of making sure people don't board before their group is called.

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I don't drink, but got the package- it was still a great value to me. I wish I could've done laundry a few times, but couldn't even get it in once with a 3 day turn around. 

I am confused laundry is not part of a package   Wi-Fi and gratuities would account for around half of a plus package or 1/3 of a premier. How do you account for the rest of the monies ?  Just curious 

[GonzoWCS]

Great information here thanks!

 

Cheers

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

I am confused laundry is not part of a package   Wi-Fi and gratuities would account for around half of a plus package or 1/3 of a premier. How do you account for the rest of the monies ?  Just curious 

While the cost of the daily gratuity woukd be taken of the top, most of the other services would be considered at the cruise lines actual cost, not retail price. Most of those costs are fixed for a given cruise and itinerary. The actual alcohol and other drinks are about the only variable per user costs. So most of the revenue from packages is distributed over fixed cost making them quite nice from a revenue perspective. Cm

[memoak]

33 minutes ago, TRLD said:

While the cost of the daily gratuity woukd be taken of the top, most of the other services would be considered at the cruise lines actual cost, not retail price. Most of those costs are fixed for a given cruise and itinerary. The actual alcohol and other drinks are about the only variable per user costs. So most of the revenue from packages is distributed over fixed cost making them quite nice from a revenue perspective. Cm

 Not from us we average 8-10 alcoholic drinks a day plus some coffees and lots of waters. I guess we make up for you

[Scottdalfonso]

3 hours ago, rheathslc said:

My last cruise was in March of this year maybe someone has more recent info.

 

With that said on every cruise I've been on since the restart they did have an Elite lounge. Sometimes it was a combined Platinum and Elite, sometimes they were separate. And on almost every cruise the Elite guests were called to board immediately after suite passengers and the folks herding the masses have done a pretty good job of making sure people don't board before their group is called.

I was green lane, but then whisked into an Elite lounge to wait for boarding since we got there before boarding started.. It wasn't much, just a separate room with some water but we did board first

[karatemom2]

4 hours ago, disgirl said:

I used to take advantage of the Elite check in line and lounge to wait in before boarding, but I guess those are gone the wayside since the green/blue lanes have come in to play.  I havent cruised Princess since they changed to the green/blue lanes (but will be in 2 weeks).

 

I think it depends on when you arrive and if there is a wait. For most of our recent cruises, we have walked right on the ship as early as 10:45 a.m. However, on our last cruise just a couple of weeks ago on the Ruby out of Vancouver, the ship was not ready for boarding quite as early and we were directed to the Elite lounge where they had beverages and light breakfast snacks set up. We ended up boarding right around Noon and those of sitting in the lounge were escorted out past the very large group of other waiting guests in the holding area and were first to board. So, loyalty does still have its benefits.

[rheathslc]

4 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I was green lane, but then whisked into an Elite lounge to wait for boarding since we got there before boarding started.. It wasn't much, just a separate room with some water but we did board first

I think it definitely varies by port and even berth and possibly also by ship.

 

In March when we boarded Discovery in San Pedro we were at Berth 93 (which I actually prefer to 92.) There was a whole separate room for Elite passengers, guarded by a port employee who was screening people trying to enter. It had coffee, water, juice, and pastries. And it was staffed by Princess waitstaff who made rounds serving folks and cleaning up discarded cups and plates. We were allowed to board after the in-transit and then Sky Suite guests were escorted on. It was by far the best embarkation lounge that we have experienced. To be fair it was my first cruise at Elite.

 

On other cruises the lounge was Elite and Platinum together.

Seattle (Pier 91) had a separate space cordoned off by curtains. It had drinks and pastries but no servers and very little in the way of monitoring. It was a tiny space and was packed very quickly. The port staff seemed confused about how that space was supposed to work. Fortunately boarding started pretty early. I was on board before 10:45am.

Vancouver just had a separate seating area, not even any curtains like in other ports. The snacks were delivered only a few minutes before we were allowed to board, which was before other groups. Shortly after 10:30

San Francisco had a small separate seating area and was Platinum and Elite combined. It had the the curtains to delineate the space but no snacks. We were almost the first on board around 10:30. To be fair that was November 2021 and we still had to wear masks so snacks would have been weird. 🙂

 

[rheathslc]

3 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

I think it definitely varies by port and even berth and possibly also by ship.

 

In March when we boarded Discovery in San Pedro we were at Berth 93 (which I actually prefer to 92.) There was a whole separate room for Elite passengers, guarded by a port employee who was screening people trying to enter. It had coffee, water, juice, and pastries. And it was staffed by Princess waitstaff who made rounds serving folks and cleaning up discarded cups and plates. We were allowed to board after the in-transit and then Sky Suite guests were escorted on. It was by far the best embarkation lounge that we have experienced. To be fair it was my first cruise at Elite.

 

On other cruises the lounge was Elite and Platinum together.

Seattle (Pier 91) had a separate space cordoned off by curtains. It had drinks and pastries but no servers and very little in the way of monitoring. It was a tiny space and was packed very quickly. The port staff seemed confused about how that space was supposed to work. Fortunately boarding started pretty early. I was on board before 10:45am.

Vancouver just had a separate seating area, not even any curtains like in other ports. The snacks were delivered only a few minutes before we were allowed to board, which was before other groups. Shortly after 10:30

San Francisco had a small separate seating area and was Platinum and Elite combined. It had the the curtains to delineate the space but no snacks. We were almost the first on board around 10:30. To be fair that was November 2021 and we still had to wear masks so snacks would have been weird. 🙂

 

I should note that I also show up to the port VERY early. I have sometimes been first in line to enter the building to clear security and check-in and always within the first 15 or so folks in line. I know other people think that's unnecessary but for me it's all part of the excitement and I enjoy it. Even if it's cold and/or rainy.

[Scottdalfonso]

7 hours ago, memoak said:

I am confused laundry is not part of a package   Wi-Fi and gratuities would account for around half of a plus package or 1/3 of a premier. How do you account for the rest of the monies ?  Just curious 

No. Sorry I was a little confusing. I was responding to two different things. The laundry is an elite perk. 

[TRLD]

6 hours ago, memoak said:

 Not from us we average 8-10 alcoholic drinks a day plus some coffees and lots of waters. I guess we make up for you

no, same for everyone. Matter of how the accointing is done. Most of what is obtaimed through the package has little incremental cost to the cruise line.  Each coffee costs the cruise line little. Each water pretty much the same. Really only the alcohol and even there the cruise lines actual cost is not very high. A land bar usually has a 20% pour cosr, but a lot of their cost is taxes, a lot of which the cruise line might avoid. Even if one maxes out the drinks the cruise line still makes a profit on tge package. They might pay an opportunity cost, potential additional revenue from a given individual, which might have been higher without a package, but they do not lose om any package sold.

Edited yesterday at 02:41 AM by TRLD