Celebrity elite + daily drinks like RCCL

[the penguins]

4 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

They have cut down on the amount of 14 day Transatlantic cruise to get maximum OBC from SHC , and increased the price the pre cruise to the TA 🤬

 

Partly true the first cruise after the West bound TA is still often cheaper. 
However, trying to stay on topic for a change, the OP was saying Royal and X are getting closer which is what I am questioning or at least not seeing.

[the penguins]

6 minutes ago, doghog said:

I can and it's happening. Give Jason Liberty more time as he has only been CEO of the RCG since 2022. 

 

Please give me some examples   to use as a benchmark.

[kwokpot]

11 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Some bars do not carry the any of the items on the HH drink list, so the coupons would be the same.

If Celebrity went will a voucher system there wouldn't be a limited drink list but instead a dollar value to each voucher,say $15, which can be used for all beverages sold on the ship. Any beverage whos' cost is higher than the limit one would be charged the difference plus gratuities on the differential. That's how it works on Royal and why there are many people that prefer that system since it allows one to get a better drink. On Royal you can get a frozen Pina Colada with your drink voucher while that's not an included drink on Celebrity's HH drink list. So quality vs quantity. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

12 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

If Celebrity went will a voucher system there wouldn't be a limited drink list but instead a dollar value to each voucher,say $15, which can be used for all beverages sold on the ship. Any beverage whos' cost is higher than the limit one would be charged the difference plus gratuities on the differential. That's how it works on Royal and why there are many people that prefer that system since it allows one to get a better drink. On Royal you can get a frozen Pina Colada with your drink voucher while that's not an included drink on Celebrity's HH drink list. So quality vs quantity. 

Knowing Celebrity, the limited would be $10 like the Classic package 😉

[PTC DAWG]

25 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Please give me some examples   to use as a benchmark.

As you said, the ships and what I believe the target demo to be are totally different for sure..

Edited Wednesday at 03:49 PM by PTC DAWG

[kwokpot]

39 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Please give me some examples   to use as a benchmark.

Going to Cococay and adding more 3-4 nights cruises. The Solarium having permanent family hours. 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Going to Cococay and adding more 3-4 nights cruises. The Solarium having permanent family hours. 

Celebrity has been adding ships, while not getting rid of older ones, something had to give on itineraries. A short getaway with a classier vibe than Royal or Carnival, what’s not to like for those who that fits better?  
 

I don’t get the angst with Coco Cay on some of the cruises..there are some nice quiet beach areas there if one seeks that out..

 

The family hours thing I’ve seen to vary from ship to ship and sailing to sailing..

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:48 PM by PTC DAWG

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

I don’t get the angst with Coco Cay on some of the cruises..there are some nice quiet beach areas there if one seeks that out..

 

With the addition of Hideaway and its DJ and musicians, I'm not so positive on that. At least not without paying for the Beach Club.

 

I got a beach bed on South Beach in February because I'd been advised that South Beach - especially the end where the beds are - is pretty quiet. Well...it is now just on the other side of foliage from Hideaway and I heard the thump thump thump of the DJ virtually all day (I think my only break was when they were on break).

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

With the addition of Hideaway and its DJ and musicians, I'm not so positive on that. At least not without paying for the Beach Club.

 

I got a beach bed on South Beach in February because I'd been advised that South Beach - especially the end where the beds are - is pretty quiet. Well...it is now just on the other side of foliage from Hideaway and I heard the thump thump thump of the DJ virtually all day (I think my only break was when they were on break).

Maybe not,  I need to go investigate..  🙂

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

If Celebrity went will a voucher system there wouldn't be a limited drink list but instead a dollar value to each voucher,say $15, which can be used for all beverages sold on the ship. Any beverage whos' cost is higher than the limit one would be charged the difference plus gratuities on the differential. That's how it works on Royal and why there are many people that prefer that system since it allows one to get a better drink. On Royal you can get a frozen Pina Colada with your drink voucher while that's not an included drink on Celebrity's HH drink list. So quality vs quantity. 

Celebrity did have a voucher system for certain cruises when they were large numbers of Elites when drinks were only served first in Michael’s club and then the Sky Lounge.  This was eliminated when Celebrity enhanced the program to include unlimited drinks from 5-7 PM from the same menu.  The irony is that the high number of Elites was driven  by the Royal reciprocal program and the liberal Celebrity points system.  The small gatherings in the Michael’s club were my favorite.

 

The current enhancement is about a selective reciprocal program across the three lines and not a common program for all three lines.  IMO that would be a major mistake.

 

As expected certain people wish to take the best of each brand’s loyalty programs, create a single program (best of the best), and then apply it across all three brands.  Or perhaps just the items that fit their preferences.
 

The end result would be either less profit for each brand or increased cruise pricing for everyone across all brands.  IMO that would be total management incompetence.
 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:02 PM by jagoffee

[kwokpot]

7 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

The current enhancement is about a selective reciprocal program across the three lines and not a common program for all three lines.  IMO that would be a major mistake.

 

As expected certain people wish to take the best of each brand’s loyalty programs, create a single program (best of the best), and then apply it across all three brands.  Or perhaps just the items that fit their preferences.
 

The end result would be either less profit for each brand or increased cruise pricing for everyone across all brands.  IMO that would be total management incompetence.

Have you done the analytics to confirm your hypothesis? BTW I was a Business Analyst for a bank before retiring, so it's always about the math. I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that if Celebrity, with regard to loyalty drinks benefit, went with the Royal program that it would be less profitable. 

[MCC retired]

Binge Drinking select menu for 2 hours a day , possibly during our dinner meal , VS Relaxed  Drinks off of a greater variety throughout the day. No brainer for us. 

[jagoffee]

17 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Have you done the analytics to confirm your hypothesis? BTW I was a Business Analyst for a bank before retiring, so it's always about the math. I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that if Celebrity, with regard to loyalty drinks benefit, went with the Royal program that it would be less profitable. 

I am not sure if that is true, but it was not want I said (or at least meant to say).

 

I meant to say that if the “best parts” of each brand loyalty programs were combined into a single common plan across the three brands, the result would be less profit or increased prices to offset the increased costs.

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:35 PM by jagoffee

[ch175]

40 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

I got a beach bed on South Beach in February because I'd been advised that South Beach - especially the end where the beds are - is pretty quiet. Well...it is now just on the other side of foliage from Hideaway and I heard the thump thump thump of the DJ virtually all day (I think my only break was when they were on break).

If it wasn’t to your liking, why did you stay? There are plenty of other places you can go on the island. I’ve never had a problem finding somewhere quiet.

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

I am not sure if that is true, but it was not want I said (or at least meant to say).

I meant to say that if the “best parts” of each brand loyalty programs were combined into a single common plan across the three brands, the result would be less profit or increased prices to offset the increased costs.

I'll repeat my question; why do you think that's the case? Without crunching the numbers and doing an analysis of the cost benefits of each component of the various loyalty programs it's impossible to predict what is and isn't more profitable vs having the best Loyalty program for customer retention. How 'sticky' are cruise passengers and to what extent does a loyalty program further customer retention? The most recent changes seem to indicate the REVERSE of what you're saying, since the enhancements to the loyalty programs seem at face value to be beneficial to the customer and all about customer retention and expansion within the RCC, to create further 'stickiness' to the Corporation's brands.  

Edited Wednesday at 06:39 PM by kwokpot

[doghog]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Please give me some examples   to use as a benchmark.

Come on man, you are on the Celebrity forum enough to see the changes (and not just the recent one) talked about in the different threads. Give it time.  FYI, we like the differences and similarities between Celebrity and RC. 

[kirtihk]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:13 PM, jelayne said:

 Minor correction the HH is now on embarkation day also.  
 

Why would Celebrity change their benefits to match Royal with the number of drink coupons up to  E+/D+ but retain the Zenith premium package benefit?  That would make no sense.  Currently it appears that Pinnacles are booking Celebrity in increased numbers to get the better benefits. 

I don't think people book cruises to use benefits as a major reason.

[kwokpot]

20 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

I don't think people book cruises to use benefits as a major reason.

I beg to differ. If you've attained a high enough status and the cruiseline's loyalty club is robust enough to give meaningful benefits, the chances of you staying with that cruiseline vs going to another cruiseline where you don't have any status and thus no additional benefits is very high. That's the whole point of ANY loyalty program. Look at how hotel and airline loyalty programs work. Customer retention and stickiness is the name of the game.  

https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/loyalty-programs/#:~:text=Loyalty programs entice customers to,CLV increases%2C so does revenue.&text=Loyalty programs focus on customer,acquire new customers as well.

Edited Wednesday at 08:17 PM by kwokpot

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, ch175 said:

If it wasn’t to your liking, why did you stay? There are plenty of other places you can go on the island. I’ve never had a problem finding somewhere quiet.

Because you pay for the beach bed. I don't have that much extra money to throw it away by leaving what I'd already paid for.

[hartwickds]

On 6/25/2024 at 9:14 AM, bikerunner said:

Unlimited while Cafe al Bacio is open yes, its a great perk as I drink about 4-5 min teas a day, morning is English breakfast than the herbal ones rest of day. From hot to iced.  Its a great benefit for Elite +

Good afternoon, Is this a new benefit? You indicate that it is all day? My last cruise in December I purchased a non alcoholic beverage package to get the coffees, sodas, etc… did I waste my money?

[hartwickds]

14 hours ago, the penguins said:

Happy Hour is now every night

I thought Elite HH is not on the first night? Did they change this?

[the penguins]

20 minutes ago, hartwickds said:

I thought Elite HH is not on the first night? Did they change this?

yes - one of the recent changes can't remember exactly when but earlier this year

[the penguins]

25 minutes ago, hartwickds said:

Good afternoon, Is this a new benefit? You indicate that it is all day? My last cruise in December I purchased a non alcoholic beverage package to get the coffees, sodas, etc… did I waste my money?

if you are Elite+ then yes, if not then no

[hartwickds]

1 minute ago, the penguins said:

if you are Elite+ then yes, if not then no

GREAT NEWS! Heading on the Silouette next Friday and wont be purchasing the non alcoholic beverage package anymore. Thank you for the response

[kwokpot]

26 minutes ago, hartwickds said:

Good afternoon, Is this a new benefit? You indicate that it is all day? My last cruise in December I purchased a non alcoholic beverage package to get the coffees, sodas, etc… did I waste my money?

No this isn't a new benefit. If you are Elite+ status or higher you get complimentary premium Coffee and teas throughout the day every day of your cruise. It's available at all ship venues that serve espresso based coffee drinks and venues that serve the Arte of Tea premium tea selections. This benefit doesn't include ANY bottled water of any kind or sodas/flavored seltzers;however, those beverages can be obtained, in unopened bottles and cans, at the daily Captain's Club Happy Hour from 5-7pm as long as you're at Elite or higher status.