Crown & Anchor Society level changes

[Ocean Boy]

[quote name='margaret a']I was on that cruise too!!!![/QUOTE]

Do YOU have a picture of yourself with the two brothers to prove it????

[Trickie Dickie]

[quote name='storm1of4'][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=4][B]This whole mess is really starting to freak me out![/B][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

I think the people that are freaking out the most are like me who are almost at Diamond and are worried they are going to have to wait longer to get there. Reaching the finish line then they move it! :D Who knows maybe the finish line will be moved the other direction! :eek: Ya right :rolleyes:

[Tamerella]

[quote name='Ocean Boy']Do YOU have a picture of yourself with the two brothers to prove it????[/quote]

LOL!! I, myself, have many photos with them. I was their tour manager for 7 years! Spent many days on the ships with them! :)

[mommabean]

[quote name='Tamerella']That must be it. Seems odd that they would list more benefits when you are logged in....than when you are not logged in.[/QUOTE]

It should be the same either way. Why they don't show them all in both places is strange. I also printed out a copy of the longer list a few days ago. I want to have a copy to compare when they change the benefits again. Sometimes it's hard to remember the little details.

Gina

[mommabean]

[quote name='Trickie Dickie']I think the people that are freaking out the most are like me who are almost at Diamond and are worried they are going to have to wait longer to get there. Reaching the finish line then they move it! :D Who knows maybe the finish line will be moved the other direction! :eek: Ya right :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

for those who have booked mostly longer cruises, I think the finish line will move the other way and they will jump up a level. I think it will be fewer than those who are bumped back farther though.

Gina

[cruising grandma]

Overnight, they took away one of our cruise credits.....but we are still at Diamond +. :confused:

[cruising granddad]

They must have re-checked my cruise history. I now have one cruise credit less, but I am still D+. My history is closer to being right, but is still wrong!:D

P.S. I want to be at the "Merion" level, too!!!

[crusinmama06]

[quote name='Tamerella']LOL!! I, myself, have many photos with them. I was their tour manager for 7 years! Spent many days on the ships with them! :)[/quote]

Sounds fishy ;) :p

So my account is back up and all is well...for now. I have taken screen shots of both my account and my husband's account. And as long as I don't have a hard drive melt down due to the changing of the northern pole -- I'll be ok.

[havebagswilltravel]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gina -
That must be it. Seems odd that they would list more benefits when you are logged in....than when you are not logged in.
It should be the same either way. Why they don't show them all in both places is strange. I also printed out a copy of the longer list a few days ago. I want to have a copy to compare when they change the benefits again. Sometimes it's hard to remember the little details.
Gina

[COLOR="Blue"][B]Yikes - I REALLY should have read the "how to's" for quote and reply -
What I meant to post is:

"Dear Gina - AND - Tamerella - I've always guessed that the reason we have to be logged in to see the all benefits is to keep the information "exclusive" to C&A members; so we'll feel "special" -
(and we are!!!)-

Nancy (the Novice)[/B][/COLOR]

[PH8]

[quote name='SherriZ366']Is this Pancho's Backyard on the Carnival Pier?[/quote]
Yes,it is the one on the Carnival Pier......:D

[Tamerella]

[quote name='havebagswilltravel']Quote:
Originally Posted by Gina -
That must be it. Seems odd that they would list more benefits when you are logged in....than when you are not logged in.
It should be the same either way. Why they don't show them all in both places is strange. I also printed out a copy of the longer list a few days ago. I want to have a copy to compare when they change the benefits again. Sometimes it's hard to remember the little details.
Gina

[COLOR=blue][B]Yikes - I REALLY should have read the "how to's" for quote and reply -[/B][/COLOR]
[B][COLOR=blue]What I meant to post is:[/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR=blue]"Dear Gina - AND - Tamerella - I've always guessed that the reason we have to be logged in to see the all benefits is to keep the information "exclusive" to C&A members; so we'll feel "special" - [/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=blue](and we are!!!)- [/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR=blue]Nancy (the Novice)[/COLOR][/B][/quote]

I do feel special....and don't want that to be taken away!! :D

[Tucker in Texas]

[quote name='mommabean']for those who have booked mostly longer cruises, I think the finish line will move the other way and they will jump up a level. I think it will be fewer than those who are bumped back farther though.

Gina[/quote]

Not for me. I have three at 7-days, and nine at 12 plus days mostly 14-day trans-Atlantics. If they go to nights, I will be at 168 nights vs. 24 credits after completing a 16-day trans-Atlantic in the fall.

While I wasn't happy about being bounced from the Diamond lounge, what hurt the most was non-combining of benefits with a balcony discount. The balcony discount was usually what made the price more affordable than another similar cruise. Then I could combine it with OBC for owning stock. I've booked three Celebrity cruises next year because the balcony price was the same or less than Royal Caribbeans and I could use my stockholder's discount. In my opinion, Celebrity's Elite benefits are better than Royal's Diamond benefits.

What they do with the change in benefits makes no difference to me. I've booked what I am going to book for 2011. As for making Diamond+. that was never a serious goal because I figured they would move the goal posts again before I got there. I only had one cruise in as Diamond before the change last time.

Tucker in Texas

[nydiana]

[quote name='Tremolo']Have you seen the updated C&A Benefits page on the RCCL site? It looks like they have listed/detailed more of the benefits (listing more Diamond Plus benefits than before). The page was different yesterday.[/QUOTE]

So I can compare any changes in the benefits I created a PDF of the "Crown & Anchor Society Benefits - Royal Caribbean International" on 1/6/11. The PDF matches what is on there today. I think you just were not logon.
Diana

[bob278]

[quote name='Tucker in Texas']Not for me. I have three at 7-days, and nine at 12 plus days mostly 14-day trans-Atlantics. If they go to nights, I will be at 168 nights vs. 24 credits after completing a 16-day trans-Atlantic in the fall.

While I wasn't happy about being bounced from the Diamond lounge, what hurt the most was non-combining of benefits with a balcony discount. The balcony discount was usually what made the price more affordable than another similar cruise. Then I could combine it with OBC for owning stock. [COLOR=Red] I've booked three Celebrity cruises next year because the balcony price was the same or less than Royal Caribbeans and I could use my stockholder's discount. In my opinion, Celebrity's Elite benefits are better than Royal's Diamond benefits. [/COLOR]

What they do with the change in benefits makes no difference to me. I've booked what I am going to book for 2011. As for making Diamond+. that was never a serious goal because I figured they would move the goal posts again before I got there. I only had one cruise in as Diamond before the change last time.

Tucker in Texas[/quote]

That's really interesting. I seldom find Celebrity's prices to be even the same as Royal's before I consider the discount. We were booked on the Eclipse TA in October coupled with a 16-night med cruise just before it. We switched to the Voyager b2b2b in a Junior Suite (compared to a balcony cabin on Eclipse) and saved nearly $800 per person. The three cruises are one day less than the 2 were on Eclipse, but we have a much nicer cabin and get more time in Venice which was our original target.

I am hoping seriously that they will add combining to the top one or two tiers as a benefit. Nobody asked me, but I think it would be great to let D and D+ combine any two OBCs or discounts.

But I don't see how the Elite benefits are better. The free drinks are only for 2 hours (4:00 - 6:00) and have some limits and the internet and laundry are too similar to really say either is better (I am comparing our D+ benefits so the Diamond may be a tad less). And Elites get no discount on balconies or suites and the combining (or lack of it) is the same.

We love both cruise lines and have sailed on them almost equally. We have experienced highs and lows on both lines In general, I prefer the Royal ships and Celebrity service. But neither one is significantly better than the other in any category that matters to me.

[Merion_Mom]

[quote name='bob278']That's really interesting. I seldom find Celebrity's prices to be even the same as Royal's before I consider the discount. We were booked on the Eclipse TA in October coupled with a 16-night med cruise just before it. We switched to the Voyager b2b2b in a Junior Suite (compared to a balcony cabin on Eclipse) and saved nearly $800 per person. The three cruises are one day less than the 2 were on Eclipse, but we have a much nicer cabin and get more time in Venice which was our original target.

I am hoping seriously that they will add combining to the top one or two tiers as a benefit. Nobody asked me, but I think it would be great to let D and D+ combine any two OBCs or discounts.

But I don't see how the Elite benefits are better. The free drinks are only for 2 hours (4:00 - 6:00) and have some limits and the internet and laundry are too similar to really say either is better (I am comparing our D+ benefits so the Diamond may be a tad less). And Elites get no discount on balconies or suites and the combining (or lack of it) is the same.

We love both cruise lines and have sailed on them almost equally. We have experienced highs and lows on both lines In general, I prefer the Royal ships and Celebrity service. But neither one is significantly better than the other in any category that matters to me.[/QUOTE]

My personal opinion - and it is ONLY that, an opinion - is that Royal Caribbean would like the top C & A members to migrate ("graduate") over to Celebrity. I doubt that they will combine credits, ever.

[wg6530]

[quote name='bob278']...
I am hoping seriously that they will add combining to the top one or two tiers as a benefit. Nobody asked me, but I think it would be great to let D and D+ combine any two OBCs or discounts.

But I don't see how the Elite benefits are better. The free drinks are only for 2 hours (4:00 - 6:00) and have some limits and the internet and laundry are too similar to really say either is better (I am comparing our D+ benefits so the Diamond may be a tad less). And Elites get no discount on balconies or suites and the combining (or lack of it) is the same.

We love both cruise lines and have sailed on them almost equally. We have experienced highs and lows on both lines In general, I prefer the Royal ships and Celebrity service. But neither one is significantly better than the other in any category that matters to me.[/QUOTE]
It would be great if we could combine two benefits. even if there were a cap, and I only got a partial shareholder discount, I would appreciate the thought.

In fairness, I think one has to compare D benefits to elite benefits, since both require 10 credits ( as of today;)). Perhaps X will eventually add another tier comparable to D+. as you point out, they are different, not necessarily better or worse.

For people like you (and maybe eventually me), I hope they consider all lines toward Pinnacle status. recognizing there most devoted cruises who love more than one line would make sense to me as a shareholder.

[mommabean]

[quote name='Merion_Mom']My personal opinion - and it is ONLY that, an opinion - is that Royal Caribbean would like the top C & A members to migrate ("graduate") over to Celebrity. I doubt that they will combine credits, ever.[/QUOTE]

What they would like and what they get....:rolleyes:

Comparing the prices of a JS on RCI to a CC on Celebrity and what you get....I'll take RCI for sure. After staying in a CC on X just once, I'll NEVER do that again. Tooooo tiny especially for the price. My only X cruise didn't have such great service overall either.

I guess I won't ever graduate. I'm not saying I wouldn't consider an X cruise but the price and circumstances would have to fall in place for some reason.

Gina

[renech]

[quote name='mommabean']What they would like and what they get....:rolleyes:

Comparing the prices of a JS on RCI to a CC on Celebrity and what you get....I'll take RCI for sure. After staying in a CC on X just once, I'll NEVER do that again. Tooooo tiny especially for the price. My only X cruise didn't have such great service overall either.

I guess I won't ever graduate. I'm not saying I wouldn't consider an X cruise but the price and circumstances would have to fall in place for some reason.

Gina[/quote]

Interesting. I just made a post on the Celebrity board asking for a comparison of their 4 day itinerary ships. I'm thinking about trying X for the first time, but I'd like to know that the price difference is actually worth it.

Back on topic - After reading this thread, I went and checked my C&A page and it hasn't changed. I'm really not worried about getting bumped down from Diamond status. As long as they grandfather people in, which I can't imagine them not doing, I'm not worried. I'll get to D+ soon enough, it's really not a huge goal for me. I just like cruising. :)

[DarthGrady]

After reading this and the other (now locked) CAS Changes threads, I have only one recommendation for RCI. I won't say to simply not change anything, because that seems to be a moot point. Unless that sign is a fake (why would someone fake a sign? :confused:) it seems that changes are inevitable. And although I wholly disagree with the [I]rumored[/I] changes, I offer this to RCI:

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="6"]Grace period!!!!!!!!![/SIZE][/COLOR]

A grace period would be the fair thing to do. That way cruises which cannot be canceled will still get proper credit. It will also give folks who are near another level a chance to still attain it. It wouldn't [I]hurt anything[/I] to have a grace period, and it would certainly be in the interest of customer relations.

We got a good deal and upgraded to a suite for our Radiance cruise [B]next month[/B]. Partially for the better accommodations and balcony, but also because the two credits would make us Diamond. So I contacted C&A with my concerns over the changes. Of course the person I spoke to gave the usual canned statements: "any changes would be in the best interests of our guests", "we're always striving to improve our program" and so on.

But what I found very interesting that she repeated several times during my probing that if we completed the sailing on Radiance in a suite, we [B]would[/B] indeed be Diamond for our Allure cruise (the next one we have planned in October). Perhaps she was trying to tell me something without actually saying it? I hope so, I will be very disappointed if there is no lead time for such drastic changes that will negatively affect so many.

[mommabean]

[quote name='renech']Interesting. I just made a post on the Celebrity board asking for a comparison of their 4 day itinerary ships. I'm thinking about trying X for the first time, but I'd like to know that the price difference is actually worth it.

Back on topic - After reading this thread, I went and checked my C&A page and it hasn't changed. I'm really not worried about getting bumped down from Diamond status. As long as they grandfather people in, which I can't imagine them not doing, I'm not worried. I'll get to D+ soon enough, it's really not a huge goal for me. I just like cruising. :)[/QUOTE]

I'll be brief - I'd take an E category RCI room over a concierge class X room any day - at least on the ships I've been on because of the arrangement of the room. The E category seems larger since the bed is over by the balcony wall freeing up the space in front of the sofa between the bathroom and the bed. On X the room was inconveniently designed and the storage was horrible compared to RCI E cat. This is comparing Millenium class to Radiance class - basically the same ships.

Gina

[beachbuddy]

Seems some people are surprised about these changes happening........there's been rumor about it for at least the past year. When we were on the Explorer this past May, we heard things were going to change after the end of the year and that the program was going to be changed. Many people spent thousands all year cruising B2B or repeat cruises just to get to the next level. Not us.......spending thousands to get to a level is not worth it to us............but is worth it to some people.

They should give a dead line date for the changes, but honestly, everyone has been saying changes were coming for some time now so I'm not surprised.

I do however still think they should take status away from family members that don't deserve it.

[wg6530]

[quote name='mommabean']What they would like and what they get....:rolleyes:

Comparing the prices of a JS on RCI to a CC on Celebrity and what you get....I'll take RCI for sure. After staying in a CC on X just once, I'll NEVER do that again. Tooooo tiny especially for the price. My only X cruise didn't have such great service overall either.

I guess I won't ever graduate. I'm not saying I wouldn't consider an X cruise but the price and circumstances would have to fall in place for some reason.

Gina[/QUOTE]

Interesting. I have gotten some pretty decent deals on X CC cabins, including nice afts. We didn't pay much more than regular balcony prices, got a few extra little touches, a tiny bit bigger room and an extra cruise credit. I know RCL JS's are much larger, but when I have priced them, they have been much more expensive. Maybe for your specific cruises, the price difference was reversed. dumb luck? Or maybe supply and demand at work?
We have had very good service on Royal and excellent service on X, but there is always some luck of the draw. maybe you were not too lucky on your only X cruise. I like both lines and enjoy the differences in menus, ships and style.

[bob278]

I agree with most comments about cabins. I already said that, in general I prefer the Royal ships to Celebrity's. Even on the new S-Class ships, what makes them as good as they are is that they took many of the good features of the Radiance class ships. The centrum area is much nicer than any previous class ships for Celebrity and the buffet is more like the Windjammer and a great improvement.

Celebrity does have more specialty restaurant options on the newer ships. I like Portofino's and Chops but the Tuscan Grille on the S-class ships is outstanding in so many ways.

The cabins, category-for-category favor Royal across the board (well, maybe not for the M-class Penthouse suites which I've seen on a cabin crawl - never as a guest :D). In almost every case, the RCL cabins are at least a few square feet larger but always more conveniently laid out.

Service and food quality vary too much to say with any certainty that one is always better than the other. I have had b2b cruises on a ship where there was a noticeable difference and that has happened on both lines. For my simple palate, Royal's menus are more to my liking but I can see that Celebrity tries to take their offerings to a higher level (as far as "experts" would say). My basic rule of thumb is that if I can't pronounce it, I probably won't like it and that happens far more on Celebrity. I some times think my waiter on Celebrity is stuttering when he describes a dish (what the heck is cous cous? :eek:)

For our October cruises, we went from a C2 cabin with 194 sq feet to a JS with 277 sq feet. the JS fits between the Concierge Class and a sky suite in amenities and is usually priced at or below the CC. Of course, like everything else, there are many exceptions.

All other things being equal (cost and itinerary), I'd choose RCl just about every time. Our split was dead even two years ago between the two but the gap is widening now with RCL leading by 5.

I think changes were inevitable (and needed to preserve the program). Two comments made recently that I definitely agree with:

A grace period should be factored in. Maybe allowing any cruises that were booked as of some date (December first?) count towards level achievement under the old program and then grandfatherd in.

And it would be wonderful if they combined credits across the two lines toward Pinnacle status. It's so far above D+ that very few will achieve it for quite some time. Of course I would say that because it takes Pinnacle from being absolutely impossible to remotely possible for me.

But they will have to change the Celebrity program to match before that is even possible.

So much has been made of how each level will be achieved but only a few have focused on what the benefits will be. It won't matter much if someone keeps their status if half the benefits go away. I doubt it will be that drastic, but I would not be surprised to see some re-alignment to cover the new Emerald level.

[margaret a]

[quote name='Ocean Boy']Do YOU have a picture of yourself with the two brothers to prove it????[/quote]

Nope - this is the best that I can do!

[Morecruisesplz]

[quote name='DarthGrady']Perhaps she was trying to tell me something without actually saying it? I hope so, I will be very disappointed if there is no lead time for such drastic changes that will negatively affect so many.[/quote]

How would that be possible? The changes have not been announced. If there were a "leak" and every person who answers the phone at RCI knew what the changes were going to be you can bet the full details would have been posted here by now. This person was just trying to get you not to cancel your cruise.