Loyalty Program..do you sail other lines?

[caribbeanboy]

Do you travel almost exclusively with a cruise line (just) because you are a member of their loyalty program?

[ChipLondon]

Do you travel almost exclusively with a cruise line (just) because you are a member of their loyalty program?

 

 

We sail mainly with Royal, because of the quality of the ships and service, we have tried other lines but keep returning to Royal. Now that we have achieved D+ status the benefits do encourage us to stay loyal, however if these benefits were stopped we would consider other lines.

[cer10lee]

I will cruise whatever line offers the most value for my money.

 

I wil try anything once.:D

[DC2OC]

The reducing of loyalty benefits has removed giving RCCL the tiebreaker.

[printingchick]

I prefer Royal and will choose them first. I would not, however, rule out another cruise line for the right price and itinerary.

[caribbeanboy]

I will cruise whatever line offers the most value for my money.

 

I wil try anything once.:D

 

I'm with you..one of my cabinmates is Platinum with Carnival and actually I don't see any significant benfits except priority check in, which for me is useless because I always board around 3 PM.

[lhall85917]

We sailed mostly on NCL because of their great credit card benefits which allowed us to save $1000-$1500/year on our cruises. This program was cancelled in December and the credit card benefits are now minimal. Now we will shop around for the best deal on the itinerary and ship type that we want to sail.

I agree with others, the loyalty programs don't really add up to enough to keep us from looking at other lines but those credit card benefits certainly did!

[MrPete]

Never.

 

I have never understood why anyone would, until the CL debackle, finding most sail RCCL for the free drinks. Once gone, many posted they would venture out to other lines. This confused me even more. Why pay $500 more for your fare for "free" drinks? :confused::eek:

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We do sail on other lines when the itinerary is compelling or we see a really amazing bargain. So far, however, we have always been very happy to return to RCI. We haven't found a cruiseline that we actually PREFER to Royal C., plus we aren't especially in the market to find one we might prefer to Royal C, because we are satisfied with RCI.

 

My one and only beef with Royal is the itineraries could benefit from some changes. I want to see a South Eastern Caribbean route that leaves from Florida and not just San Juan. I would also like to see a cruise to Burmuda that leaves from Florida. It could include the Bahamas as well. Holland American has some very interesting itineraries.

[eaglesfan34]

My one and only beef with Royal is the itineraries could benefit from some changes. I want to see a South Eastern Caribbean route that leaves from Florida and not just San Juan. I would also like to see a cruise to Burmuda that leaves from Florida. It could include the Bahamas as well. Holland American has some very interesting itineraries.

 

I agree with that. So far, HAL has had the most attractive itineraries. I'm sure we'll be trying one at some point...

[aquatot11]

Heavy Surf - check Celebrity's Constellation. They have a 14 night "Exotic Caribbean" that visits many SE Islands.

 

We've sailed with RCCL 22 times, Celebrity 12 times and prefer Celebrity.

 

Charlie

[Debde]

No. Most folks know that loyalty programs are a marketing gimmick It tricks some consumers into not even entertaining the thought of shopping around.

Everytime I vaction-be it cruise or land based-I sign up for the loyalty program. It does not make my decision to choose any one of them.

 

If it's land based-I look into where I want to go and what resorts are available. Bonus for me if it happens to be a resort I am a member of.

 

Cruising has always been RC because the itinerary and price worked. Once that does not work-I will look elsewhere. Just like a Panama Canal trip that RC no longer does to leave and return from fla and yet sail through the canal. When I'm ready-it will be the line that offers that.

[ksuds]

We have been very loyal.....we are diamond + ........however.............

with their recent changes, we are now going to start being better shoppers. We just booked a 7 night cruise with Carnival in December. One week on the Legend w/ balchony for two 1400.00. Same time frame...basically same ports....RCI was 2500.00. I don't need their free drinks at that price. At this point...I am loyal to anyone that has a good price. I love cruising, you can put me on a tug boat and I'd probably have a good time.

[sea-cruise]

I've been sailing many different cruiselines for nearly 30 years, and will continue to do so. I enjoy experiencing new adventures.

[wblynch]

Do you travel almost exclusively with a cruise line (just) because you are a member of their loyalty program?

 

Not anymore

 

.

[Happy ks]

I think the choice of cruise should depend on the ports first. There are exceptions, as we used to cruise Monarch a couple times a year, the only competition being Carnival. We tried them and didn't care for it.

 

But, we've also cruised 5 other lines than RCI and Carnival and will cruise different ones in the future :)

[Aquahound]

To me, the loyalty program perks are a small reward for continuing to sail on the cruise line I love. I cruise to vacation, relax, and enjoy myself. It is what I love to do. I do not cruise in order to gain perks and I feel sorry for those who place priority on perks, not the love of cruising.

[robmab]

I haven't tried enough cruiselines yet to be qualified to choose which one is my favorite. (Gee, sounds like I need to take more cruises!) We like Royal Caribbean...have never had a bad experience. However, we loved our cruise on Celebrity and, next year, we're trying NCL.

 

I agree that RCCL's itineraries are getting a bit stale. I would love to see some new ports thrown into the mix. But ultimately, we book the cruise that gives us the most bang for our buck -- considering everything from cost to entertainment to dining to itineraries. RCCL has come out ahead several times, but the competition is getting tougher. We do not have enough "status" yet in the loyalty program for that to really be a factor.

[caribbeanboy]

To me, the loyalty program perks are a small reward for continuing to sail on the cruise line I love. I cruise to vacation, relax, and enjoy myself. It is what I love to do. I do not cruise in order to gain perks and I feel sorry for those who place priority on perks, not the love of cruising.

 

Totally agree with you, but there are a LOT of people who indeed place priority on perks.

[dougp26364]

Do you travel almost exclusively with a cruise line (just) because you are a member of their loyalty program?

 

In large part, RCI's loyalty program has kept us with RCI rather than cruising other lines. Yes, we've looked at other cruise lines but, the benefits of C&A kept us with RCI. The additional benefits afford to Diamond members had us wanting to achieve Diamond member status.

 

With the changes they've made, we'll just have to see how we feel about it when we're ready to book our next cruise. We've been pleased with RCI but, we have to many friends that sail with Princess or Carnival to completely turn a blind eye to the other cruise lines.

 

In looking at other lines loyalty programs, they're not so hot. If RCI falls to the catagory of their loyalty program being just like the others, it will come down to price and ports only. At this point, I see little advantage of striving to achieve Diamond Plus membership. Especially if the membership of Diamond Plus grows so large that RCI uses that as an excuse to cut back benefits as they've done to Diamond members now.

 

RCI, for now, remains our cruise line of choice. I see no reason to cancel our two existing cruises we have reserved with them and, I see no reason not to consider them for the future. But with the loyalty program taking recent hits, it's less of a reason to sail them exclusively.

[numberguy]

Having only cruised on NCL so far, I would say we stayed with them because we knew what we were getting (after the first cruise, anyway), and we really liked it. BUT, if there's another itinerary we want to go on that NCL doesn't do (like our RCCL Australia cruise this coming December), then we'll branch out. Who knows, we might grow to love RCCL more than NCL after December?

 

--Michael

[hannibal54]

I am a Platinum RCLL cruiser trying to get to Diamond, but with the cut backs being made on the perks, where is the incentive? My GF (Gold) and I are taking an NCL cruise in Sept. because of the price. I have sailed once before on NCL to Alaska.

[trfccruiser]

I love cruising it's my favourite type of holiday,but changing lines helps freshen things up fror me.Most of the loyalty schemes are of dubious benefit/quality about the best I've come accross is Princess.I've never found a particular line that I would stick with whatever.Some lines do some things better but not everything that I like.Haven't cruised with RCCl for some years but am looking forward to cruising on Voyager as it's the biggest ship I've been on .Recently,I've been on NCL,Princess,P&O and enjoyed them all but for different things.

Princess had the best quality of food but the entertainment wasn't great.

NCL had more choices of food and flexibility but quality not quite so good but entertainment was excellent,P&O was just okay.

[mafig]

I like variety too!

Ship, itinerary, price -- not necessarily in that order!

It would drive me crazy to see the same decor, the same menus, the same entertainment.

It's fun to try different lines.:)

[gerif]

We have cruised several other lines and enjoy RCCL - especially since we can cruise from Bayonne with no airfare or hassle, so it's worth paying a bit more. Having said that, we also enjoyed their loyalty perks and would have been Diamond after our next cruise. Now, since there are really no benefits for turning Diamond, we'll explore other options.