Loyalty Program..do you sail other lines?

[piercetc4]

we tried ccl first ( mainly because of the prices) then tried rci and loved the voyager class ships, the loyalty program, and the credit card we use to earn points there. Then I did a girls trip on Princess to see how we like them. Our fav was rci because they made us feel like they appreciated our business - the diamond perks , c and a coupon, and time of yr we cruise usually meant rci cruise price was close to the other lines -

as rci decreases the ways in which they let us know they appreciate us.........we are going to look first at price ...... then at cruiseline whereas before it was cruiseline , then best price by sailing during a few months time frame- if we can save 200 or more pp to go elsewhere , we will be going elsewhere ;)

[DC2OC]

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

 

There is alot to be said for perks.First off you do have to enjoy the cruise line.On our last cruise we got 200 stockholders OBC,200 OBC for Next Cruise and 200 Platinum Balcony credit.Diamonds were getting free Happy Hour.Now these perks are slikpping away which is leveling the playing field to try other lines.Princess,Hal,Celebrity all have great itens with competitive pricing.Caenival is sailing out of Baltimore so giving them a try during non family,heavy party season is a real possibility.Removing several hundred dillar in perks gives incentive to try others.

[debshomespun]

We have been on 5different cruise lines. We have sailed the most with RCCL, being diamond members with them. We have enjoyed them all. We did 5 RCCL cruises last year, and by the last one, the food was all tasting the same. It was nice to switch lines to have a little more variety in things.

 

Variety is the spice of life! :D :D

 

We now look at the price, itinerary, ship/cruise line.

[siren]

We do go mostly with RCCL. We have done Norweigan, Carnival and Celebrity. In January we will be Diamond status. I do have to admit that I am getting bored with the same ports/itineraries and the same food. We just went on the LOS 2 wks ago. We also went on the same ship last May but diff ports. The shows were exactly the same. RCCL does need to shake it up a bit for repeat cruisers.

[Hlitner]

We have been blessed to have done a lot of cruising (probably 2 years on cruise ships) with 11 different lines. We used to give some preference to RCI because we loved the line and enjoyed the Diamond benefits. Than, RCI started reduciing Diamond benefits, increased on-board charges (more than 600% mark-ups on lower cost wines..etc), reduced on-board staffing (causing reduced quality), cut-back on their food budget (try finding decent lobster on TAs and European cruises), and cut-back on entertainment budgets. Most recently, they have become a "multi-class" line with special reserved space at the pool and in some shows for suite passengers (like the old first-class steerage class). The result is that RCI is now way down on our last of preferred cruise lines and where we might be booking several RCI cruises a year we currently have no RCI cruises booked and have no plans to book any in the immediate future. Our last cruise was 26 days on HA (absolutely excellent and far superior to RCI) and we just booked a Dec cruise on the Ruby Princess ...which in prior days would have probably been a RCI cruise. To be honest, we find RCI to now be a "budget mass-market line" which charges prices above other lines that have better quality and must more interesting itineraries. We hope this situation changes in the future (things are always changing in the cruise industry), but at the moment it seems that RCI is emphasizing size (huge ships) over quality. Does size really matter? Well, for those who have never experienced smaller ships keep in mind that all the really high-quality luxury lines (Seabourn, Silverseas, Sea Dream,...etc) where folks pay $1000 per day are very small ships. It is interesting that many Holland America fans consider their larger 80,000 ton ships to be too large!

 

Hank

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are Platinum in RCI but are trying other lines. We just did a Princess cruise - loved it. Two out of my next 3 cruises are with Princess. The reason for the next one (Mex Riviera) is price. Princess beats out RCI for the same itinerary and a equivilent cabin type (JS vs. Mini-suite). For Alaska we are using Princess for the ship (newer) and mostly because of the itinerary (R/T out of Seattle - includes Glacier Bay). The cruise we were just on we chose Princess for the itinerary exclusively. The Southern Caribbean (Aruba) route on Princess was much better in our opinion. The best perk I have with RCI is now the RCI VISA. I am saving a ton with that card. We had over $500 savings with it on our Explorer cruise last year and just sent in my certificate for free companion fare for the full $500 value (25,000 points) for our 4 night Radiance cruise in September. In addition I will get $150 OBC from the card on that cruise. Princess also has a card, but I will keep my RCI card for now as I still like RCI cruises, but the loyalty program is no longer a big factor for me. I will build up my VISA points and either use them for our next RCI cruise that meets our needs or find an "extra" cruise when we build up enough for a freebie.;)

 

BTW, we would be Diamond now on RCI if we had not gone with Princess for two cruises since Jan of '08.

[printingchick]

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:

 

I agree! However, like IHALL, I use a cruise line credit card, which allows me to book a low-cost, inside cabin and upgrade to an ocean view cabin. (I'm not willing to us enough points or $$ to upgrade to balcony...maybe some day.) It only costs 15,000 points for the upgrade and I have that many each year to use. That saves me $100-$150/per person, making that cruise line a better deal for me.

 

Although, I have to admit that I own stock in both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, so I can get the OBC on either one.

[KikiKruiser]

 

Variety is the spice of life! :D :D

 

 

So true! I liken it to going into a ice cream store and limiting yourself to vanilla every time. There are so many other flavors to enjoy. And it doesn't stop at cruise lines. Within each cruise line you can find variations in the ships themselves.... there's a whole world of cruising out there at our fingertips to try. If you cruise to see new places, then go with the best itinerary; if you just need to get away and pennies need to be pinched, then go with price. Just know that you have choices and the world of cruising is constantly evolving, as are all the various cruise lines.... :)

[Hlitner]

So true! I liken it to going into a ice cream store and limiting yourself to vanilla every time. There are so many other flavors to enjoy. And it doesn't stop at cruise lines. Within each cruise line you can find variations in the ships themselves.... there's a whole world of cruising out there at our fingertips to try. If you cruise to see new places, then go with the best itinerary; if you just need to get away and pennies need to be pinched, then go with price. Just know that you have choices and the world of cruising is constantly evolving, as are all the various cruise lines.... :)

 

Since you mention "ice cream" I could not resist :) On HA cruises they have two ice cream bars (they serve many different flavors, have waffle cones, and have toppings) in their Lido buffet and they are open all day and evening...and the ice cream is FREE not to mention really good. On Princess, they have free ice cream in their buffet area for an hour every afternoon, and the ice cream is pretty good! On RCI they do not usually have ice cream on their buffet, but, they do give you ability to purchase ice cream (and its not even that good) for a price....which is mighty generous of them. It was also mightly generous to give us a free Hagen Das ice cream bar as a perk in our old Diamond book. Just one more reason we consider some other lines to have a much better cost/benefit ratio than RCI. And while we are on the subject of buffets, most cruise lines (Princess, HA, etc) have a pool deck grill where you can get hamburgers, hotdogs, steak sandwiches, etc) made to order without having to go inside and deal with lines, putting on clothes, etc. On HA they have a poolside buffet (all day) with tacos and other goodies and have an excellent sandwich bar (in their buffet area) that makes any deli-type sandwich to order. On Princess they have fresh hand-made pizza (really good stuff) near the pool. On HA they often serve jumbo shrimp in the dining room that are about as large as the so-called lobster served on some RCI ships (no longer on Europe or TA cruises). I only mention this stuff for the benefit of those that have not tried other cruise lines. My point is that there are many differences between the cruise lines and you cannot even have a clue to what you are missing until you try the competitors.

 

Hank

[temple1]

I've only cruised Royal so far for a couple of reasons - itenerary and credit card. :D

[Annieeee]

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

 

 

99% of my cruises are on the same cruiseline (RCI) that happens to have a loyalty program. I cruise with RCI because I happen to like their ships, their itineraries, the fact that they have a loyalty program is just like extra icing on the cake. I do cruise other lines once in a while when the price, ship and itinerary is to my liking. For instance my last cruise 7 night cruise was on the Solstice. Next year I am booked on the Ruby, like I said it all depends on where and when I want to go and RCI just happens to be at the right place and time most often.

 

THe fact that they have cut back on some things does not keep me from wanting to cruise with them. It is a business after all.

 

Annieeee

[katiel53]

We live in Central Florida and love sailing from Pt Canaveral. When we were looking for a cruise for the end of Feb, beginning of March, there was no Royal Caribbean ship sailing the 7 day route(s). Our choice was Carnival.

 

We went with friends who had never sailed Carnival. They only sailed Celebrity with us. We had a great time. So much so that we booked the Carnival Dream for sailing in January.

 

My husband and I are Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean and my father, sister, and brother-in-law, all of whom usually sail with us are Diamond. I guess I am more annoyed at the changes for the Diamonds than they are.

 

I think that sailing a western Caribbean cruise from Pt Canaveral, Carnival has a far better itinerary than RCI does at a much lower price. I also have to say that we felt the food was far better on Carnival than it has been on our last several cruises with Royal Caribbean. I do love Portofino on RCI. I will miss that.

 

I think Royal Caribbean is over-priced. I am now thinking about things we don't use. For example, we don't use the rock climbing wall, never ever would use the flow-rider, Adventure Ocean and golf driving machine. It seems we are paying a lot for things we don't use, while RCI has taken away the things we do use. (I realize that Diamond Plus can still use the CL and that Freedom class ships have the Diamond Lounge for Diamond and above.)

 

I guess we are disappointed in RCI and their cut-backs all over that make our cruise not as great as they used to be. The prices on RCI are still high, and I can no longer justify spending the money for RCI if we want to go on 2-3 week long cruises every year.

 

I am not saying I will never cruise RCI again, but until the prices are low enough (which Richard Fain says won't happen, but I do think he's mistaken) I will choose to sail on other lines. Granted, the ships might not be as beautiful, but for $600 or so for a week less, for a balcony cabin, not even a JS which is what we usually booked on RCI, we can accept that.

 

Personally, I think RCI has alienated the wrong people by changing the Diamond benefits. Allowing drinks during happy hour to be 25% off, is just a slap in the face to those of us who have spent a lot of money being "Loyal to Royal."

 

I will continue to choose cruises based on itinerary, prices and what we use on the ship. You may look at things differently and there is no right or wrong. JMO.

[jdh]

We only cruise RCCL because of their service to handicapped. It is so great we wouldn't think of trying any other line. And no we are not members of any loyalty group, but we are loyal to RCCL.

[DeepWaterMariner]

So true! I liken it to going into a ice cream store and limiting yourself to vanilla every time. There are so many other flavors to enjoy. And it doesn't stop at cruise lines. Within each cruise line you can find variations in the ships themselves.... there's a whole world of cruising out there at our fingertips to try. If you cruise to see new places, then go with the best itinerary; if you just need to get away and pennies need to be pinched, then go with price. Just know that you have choices and the world of cruising is constantly evolving, as are all the various cruise lines.... :)

 

Well said! From the itinerary standpoint I can't understand delaying a cruise to new and interesting ports because your favorite cruise line doesn't go there when other comparable lines do. You could die before your favorite line gets around to sailing there. To me an exotic itinerary trumps loyalty perks hands down.

[mistyflannigan]

Our upcoming cruise is our third with RCL. The past few cruises we have taken were with HAL but last time dining was a disaster because they implemented the flexible dining and the service in the dining room was horrible. HAL also did away with the midnight chocolate buffet. Prior to this past cruise, HAL provided great service compared to other lines. I'm hoping RCCL can step up.

[MaskedTurtle]

We are loyal to Royal! We became Crown and Anchor members about 2 years ago, but we don't stay with them just because of it. We stay with them because we like the cruise line. Sometimes non-members get equal or even better perks. Sometimes when booking the cruises, the sales that non-loyal members get, or even the price drops that non-members can take advantage of, are better than the rates we get as Crown and Anchor members(or the C & A certificates we get.). Loyalty members aren't often given the courtesy of being able to combine offers. Also, as far as the "gifts" we get as members, I've read on some threads that people have asked for and received gifts intended for loyalty program members(or Gold members who have received gifts intended for higher levels.). At times, it seems almost pointless to be part of a loyalty club. (Pointless is a harse word, but I can't think of any others right now.).

[Alexis]

We sailed RCCL for the first time in 1998 and except for two American Hawaiian cruises, have stayed with them since then.

As you can see by my signature and the number of cruises with them,

Yes, we are Loyal to Royal.

We love their whole cruise experience. We are comfortable on their ships. We like their service and we have no reason to leave them now. ;)

[retiredonthesea]

Cruising with NCL has been our main choice, but we have and will cruise on other lines. We think NCL has the best suite perks and their CAS (Casinos at Sea) discount program has really been the best--saved a lot of money by booking through this program. Free drinks while gambling and have won enough on some of their ships to pay for our cruise makes it worth while for us!!

 

We will be trying RCL for the first time in Nov. and have bk'd a GS so will be interesting to compare their suites to NCL's.

[aqhacruiser]

I've stayed with RCCL the past 4 years but I'm looking forward to our cruise on the QM2 this fall/winter:) I'm D plus but cruising is not about the perks for us and we are looking forward to trying Cunard for both the ship and the itinerary. We're fortunate to live an hour to hour 1/2 from Bayonne and NY ports so we do have several ships to choose from.

[killian25]

The wife and I prefer RCL but did try Carnival for the 1st time a few weeks ago just because of $$ and the ship was right where we live. The cruise was fun but the service was NO WHRE near the RCL level...But I would travel another cruiseline anyday...

[npacute]

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

 

No...I choose the ship and Itinerary first

 

The rewards aren't great

 

The best reward for me would be free laundry service only

[hmsdos]

We have sailed (almost) every line... until 2006. Since then only cruised once on anything other than RCCL. With all the changes... now looking at other lines, in addition to RCCL. Loyalty must go both ways... and "core customers" which in most business include frequent cruisers/spenders must get recognition in order for me to stay with a (any) Company, to the exclusion of other Companies. The "thing" that is keeping us favoring RCCL today is the attitude of the people who work on the ships.... they have been and remain awesome!!!

[lhall85917]

Maybe this should be on a separate thread but all of these posts have made me wonder what it would take for a loyalty program to make a real difference in your decision to cruise?

 

Things I think that I would like to see included would be specialty restaurant vouchers, free internet, free shore excursion...and of course, that might not be enough if there was a significant price difference between 2 lines with similar offerings. Even better, would be to offer the great credit card programs like NCL had - it truly did make a difference in keeping us loyal to NCL!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Maybe this should be on a separate thread but all of these posts have made me wonder what it would take for a loyalty program to make a real difference in your decision to cruise?

 

Things I think that I would like to see included would be specialty restaurant vouchers, free internet, free shore excursion...and of course, that might not be enough if there was a significant price difference between 2 lines with similar offerings. Even better, would be to offer the great credit card programs like NCL had - it truly did make a difference in keeping us loyal to NCL!

 

Anything that would add real value to the cruise like the items listed above do make a difference. Also, just the recognition that you are "special" as my DH says creates loyalty. I think what RCI has done lately, by taking away perks is saying to their frequent passengers that they are just not as special as they used to be.:( From reading these boards I have a feeling that it is not the loss of a few free drinks that has most Diamonds upset, but the feeling that they are now second class, instead of the first class they were before. Add to that the new policy of roping off public areas of the ships where all passengers previously had full acccess and reserve them just for suite passengers and the previously loyal RCI cruisers feel as if they have been slapped in the face. Poor decisions on RCI's part, IMHO.

 

As far as the cc is concerned, I do use the RCI card and enjoy the benefits. I think it is better than Princess' at this time. However, I use it on other cruise lines. The "double points" don't translate into enough savings compared to the prices I have been getting elsewhere.

[seagoer55]

Up until 2001 I don't think we had sailed the same line twice.. just checked them all out... then we did RCL and it was like night & day... I had never felt so welcomed on a cruise before...that feeling lasted for about 6 years...now more & more I am feeling like I am just another "fare"and even though I am Diamond the welcome feeling just isn't the same. I don't rule out RCL.. but they are no longer the only line I would consider...even though I have the credit card...