Elite Social hour changing?

[maggie.1008]

We paid to join Founders club in 2000 bot never received OBC.

[wallie5446]

Times change, we get it, and it's ok. But it was so nice to board a Celebrity Ship with your CC lapel pin on and watch the staff members eye's widen and light up like they were seeing an old family member. When your luggage is delivered and your steward see's the CC luggage tags and starts the 20 questions trying to see if he was on a previous Ship when you were.

 

That's why we kept returning to cruise with Celebrity, and they are our line of choice. Not a coupon for a drink or a special line to get on 5 minutes before someone else, and that is what e really miss.

[Ray in NH]

Times change, we get it, and it's ok. But it was so nice to board a Celebrity Ship with your CC lapel pin on and watch the staff members eye's widen and light up like they were seeing an old family member. When your luggage is delivered and your steward see's the CC luggage tags and starts the 20 questions trying to see if he was on a previous Ship when you were.

 

That's why we kept returning to cruise with Celebrity, and they are our line of choice. Not a coupon for a drink or a special line to get on 5 minutes before someone else, and that is what e really miss.

 

Yes, Times do change. A year or so back, I came across the small Captain's Club pin, and put it on my blazer for a Celebrity cruise. Not one crew member recognized it. One bartender asked what the pin was; when I told him, he looked at me as if I was trying to put something over on him. :confused:

Ray in NH

[CPT Trips]

We were luckie Ray, we got in about a year before they did the 'experiment':eek: that didnt work out to well.

 

So, you eluded the charge? ;)

[wallie5446]

So, you eluded the charge? ;)

 

Not really, cant 'elude something that was never there.

[k9x8]

 

I disagree. Drinks are very cheap to the cruise line. Very cheap PR for Celebrity.

 

The drinks are cheap enough, especially during a two hour period in a lounge. If I were a bean counter, I'd be toting up the lost revenue when vouchers are used, and the number of free drinks is maximized. Folks carry drinks into the MDR, or squirrel them away in their cabins. To make matters worse, some have been quite forthcoming about unused vouchers being shared.

[texkan]

The drinks are cheap enough, especially during a two hour period in a lounge. If I were a bean counter, I'd be toting up the lost revenue when vouchers are used, and the number of free drinks is maximized. Folks carry drinks into the MDR, or squirrel them away in their cabins. To make matters worse, some have been quite forthcoming about unused vouchers being shared.

 

I was not Elite on 2013 cruise so not sure how many drink vouchers one reached. But do know that some used all their vouchers taking drinks to their cabins (easy to carry a can of beer for future use). We also had a couple (did not know the people) ask us if they could buy us a drink. They used the extra vouchers they had.

[Despegue]

We hope to get vouchers so we can share drinks with our companion travellers who are not elite.

[Jade13]

Are you saying that both Celebrity and RCCL will eliminate the cocktail hour for anyone under 25 cruises? This won't go over very well.

I'm not doubting you, but how would a crew member be privy to this info?

 

25 cruises or 25 credits?

[PORT ROYAL]

25 cruises or 25 credits?

 

So if your quess is correct the Seapass will now show "ELITE PLUS" allow one into the CC Elite Lounge and only "DIAMOND PLUS" will be allowed in the RCCL Diamond Lounge.

This would then free up the space in CL on RCCL with the CL only for Suite guests and above.

 

Sounds very fair to me!

[tserface]

Let me guess.... you would qualify for Elite Plus so you wouldn't have a benefit yanked away?

 

Tom

 

So if your quess is correct the Seapass will now show "ELITE PLUS" allow one into the CC Elite Lounge and only "DIAMOND PLUS" will be allowed in the RCCL Diamond Lounge.

This would then free up the space in CL on RCCL with the CL only for Suite guests and above.

 

Sounds very fair to me!

[cruisegirl1]

Because social interaction and the cocktails can make one happier than getting one's laundry returned??? :D

 

 

I guess I didn’t realize that social interaction and a cocktail was limited to the (maybe) 30 minutes a night the few evenings we get to the lounge.

 

How much can one really socialize over one drink that takes less than 30 minutes to consume? ( I spend more time than that “socializing” in the tender line when going ashore.)

 

 

Silly me, I thought there were numerous opportunities for social interaction and cocktails all around the ship, and at any time I prefer.

 

Now, if one’s intent is to suck up as many free drinks as possible in a two hour time period, then I guess the perk is valuable to those folks. enjoy

 

 

M

[Starry Eyes]

Well said

Do not forget that it was easier to get D on RCL with the "Double up December" where every 'cruise credit' was doubled, with no consideration to actual days. Then with the RCL D you become E with CC. I feel it is the D's which become E's that swell the flood in the CC Lounge. Then the D's double up again in December to become D+ in no time and then flood the CL on RCL. Where will it all end?

 

Hi, Port Royal. Hope you are well.

I am on the Royal Caribbean Boards a lot, and I am very familiar with "Diamonds in December" held in the three recent years. Those who were already Diamond or higher got double points, pushing them closer to D+ or Pinnacle. and I recall a promo last year that gave about 30% bonus points to C&A members who booked selected cruises during March 2012...for example get 13 points for a ten night cruise. But I have never before heard of "double up December" that would help anybody below Diamond get up to Diamond....Was "Double up" held many years ago or was it simply confusion with Diamonds in December? there are rumored that Diamonds in December will not return this year, but we will have to wait and see. If it does not return, the road toward D+ will be a little slower for D's. and sadly, the ranks of traveling D+'s thin as some stop traveling or pass away.

If one plays the game, it is currently much easier and faster to make Elite by credits on X than to make D by points on Royal Caribbean.

[PORT ROYAL]

Hi, Port Royal. Hope you are well.

I am on the Royal Caribbean Boards a lot, and I am very familiar with "Diamonds in December" held in the three recent years. Those who were already Diamond or higher got double points, pushing them closer to D+ or Pinnacle. and I recall a promo last year that gave about 30% bonus points to C&A members who booked selected cruises during March 2012...for example get 13 points for a ten night cruise. But I have never before heard of "double up December" that would help anybody below Diamond get up to Diamond....Was "Double up" held many years ago or was it simply confusion with Diamonds in December? there are rumored that Diamonds in December will not return this year, but we will have to wait and see. If it does not return, the road toward D+ will be a little slower for D's. and sadly, the ranks of traveling D+'s thin as some stop traveling or pass away.

If one plays the game, it is currently much easier and faster to make Elite by credits on X than to make D by points on Royal Caribbean.

 

Thank you for this - But my errors were correected in an earlier post

[PORT ROYAL]

Let me guess.... you would qualify for Elite Plus so you wouldn't have a benefit yanked away?

 

Tom

 

Regardless of our status - Just trying to be fair - For information we hardly ever use the Elite Lounge as having late sitting for dinner, the Elite Lounge is too early for us - too much effort getting changed for the Lounge and then changed again for dinner. It is ideal for those on early sitting or select dining.

[cruisegirl1]

Hi, Port Royal. Hope you are well.

I am on the Royal Caribbean Boards a lot, and I am very familiar with "Diamonds in December" held in the three recent years. Those who were already Diamond or higher got double points, pushing them closer to D+ or Pinnacle. and I recall a promo last year that gave about 30% bonus points to C&A members who booked selected cruises during March 2012...for example get 13 points for a ten night cruise. But I have never before heard of "double up December" that would help anybody below Diamond get up to Diamond....Was "Double up" held many years ago or was it simply confusion with Diamonds in December? there are rumored that Diamonds in December will not return this year, but we will have to wait and see. If it does not return, the road toward D+ will be a little slower for D's. and sadly, the ranks of traveling D+'s thin as some stop traveling or pass away.

If one plays the game, it is currently much easier and faster to make Elite by credits on X than to make D by points on Royal Caribbean.

 

In our experience, the Diamond in December events have only benefited Diamonds and above. We've been sailing in Mid December for many years ( even prior to the promotion). We were D+ when the promotions started, but many use the extra promotions to go from D to D+. We don’t worry about points as we are on that dead zone between D+ and Pinnacle. It is a long stretch from the 180 points of D Plus to 700 for Pinnacle even with a few extra point promotions scattered during the years. We received a few extra perks at 340 points and 350 points but nothing really significant. Our next level is an extra amenity at 525 points. ( wine, towel, etc.)

 

m

[Starry Eyes]

In our experience, the Diamond in December events have only benefited Diamonds and above. We've been sailing in Mid December for many years ( even prior to the promotion). We were D+ when the promotions started, but many use the extra promotions to go from D to D+. We don’t worry about points as we are on that dead zone between D+ and Pinnacle. It is a long stretch from the 180 points of D Plus to 700 for Pinnacle even with a few extra point promotions scattered during the years. We received a few extra perks at 340 points and 350 points but nothing really significant. Our next level is an extra amenity at 525 points. ( wine, towel, etc.)

 

m

It is a long stretch between D+ and Pinnacle, and I imagine it could feel like a dead zone. Solo cruisers seem to really appreciate the reduced single supplement at 340, but that is not useful if always traveling as a couple.

[Bruin Steve]

First, yes it is very easy to ge to "Elite"...

Thanks to some sort of accounting screw-up, we did it in a record three cruises! (Of course, we are now way beyond that--at 24 credits)...

 

But, the bigger impact may have been from the "reciprocity" thing...

Realize that Celebrity has only 11 ships (including the Expedition)...carrying a total of around 24,000 passengers...

Royal Caribbean has 24 ships carrying around 60,000 passengers...

 

Now add in that the bulk of Celebrity's cruises are between 7 and 14 nights while Royal Caribbean offers a fairly wide array of short cruises...

 

Every year, RCI is likely awarding three times as many credits--or the equivalent of credits--as Celebrity (Yes, their going to the nioghts rather than credits has brought that ratio down slightly to about 2.5 to one...

 

Far easier to get to Diamond on Royal Caribbean...and then get that status transfered over to Celebrity...

 

AND, the system is not fully reciprocal: Diamond status on Royal Caribbean gets you the highest possible status on Celebrity...while, even if you have 25 credits on Celebrity, you aren't afforded Diamond Plus status on Royal Caribbean...

 

And then there is my personal complaint: 24 credits on Celebrity and 125 new points on Royal Caribbean and I am still no better off than the guy who did 10 short three-nighters off season in inside cabins on RCCL before they changed the system...

 

Ever since RCCL went to "Diamond Plus", I have assumed that some day, Celebrity does the same...It will be fun to see how they translate my 24 credits--likely to leave me well short of whatever the new status is...

 

But here is the key to all of it: NONE of those "benefits" are really earned...They are all revocable. They can change them however they want at any time. I like the drinking hours or the Diamond Lounge and such...It is NOT for the "free drinks"...I can afford to pay for my own drinks after all...It is for that little bit of special service one gets...it's the feeling of being rewarded with some respect and esteem in return for your long-time loyalty...

 

After all, they COULD give EVERYONE free drinks...They've basically been doing it this year with the "1-2-3" offering...Well, everyone but ME, apparently...I booked before the offer went up...and it was for "new bookings only". Even when I upgraded my cabin and paid additional fare for the right, I was deemed "not eligible" for the 1-2-3 offer! But, to get back to the subject, they could offer anything...anbd merely hide the cost in the price...After all, NOTHING is free...

 

It really doesn't bother them, accounting-wise, to give away free anything--to 50 elite members, to 500 or to the whole ship...You've just got to figure the costs into your expense line...and adjust your prices accordingly. The only concern is staying competitive. The only other concern is the logistics of how you do it...limited rooms, limited hours, etc.

 

With enough people on the cruises this year with the free drinks package, I don't think the Elite thing will have much of an impact...No reason to rush to Michaels or Sky for 5:00 to 7:00 when you can walk into any bar at any hour and get a drink at no cost...Oh, yeah, except for me...

 

And, oh yeah, they're going to offer this 1-2-3 thing more...It gets a lot of potential customers excited, not just the Elites...After awhile, they can change the Elite thing and people won't notice...

[CruisingChick]

But, the bigger impact may have been from the "reciprocity" thing...

Realize that Celebrity has only 11 ships (including the Expedition)...carrying a total of around 24,000 passengers...

Royal Caribbean has 24 ships carrying around 60,000 passengers...

 

I agree. I believe it's the worse thing they did, was the reciprocity program.

 

 

And, oh yeah, they're going to offer this 1-2-3 thing more...It gets a lot of potential customers excited, not just the Elites...After awhile, they can change the Elite thing and people won't notice...

 

We will notice. The Elite Lounge is our favorite perk and we would never buy a drink package or pay a higher price for our cruise fare just to get the perk.

 

Plus 99% of the time we book inside cabins and you cannot get the 1-2-3 Go with an inside.

[Charles4515]

I agree. I believe it's the worse thing they did, was the reciprocity program.

 

 

 

From their standpoint it has likely turned out well. They get people to cruise on Celebrity who might not have otherwise and vise versa.

[A Sixth?]

Not really, cant 'elude something that was never there.

 

I'm sorry, my secret decoder ring hasn't arrived in the mail yet. :rolleyes::cool:

 

Was there no charge when the Captains Club first started or not? :confused:

 

Is that how you joined?

[CruisingChick]

From their standpoint it has likely turned out well. They get people to cruise on Celebrity who might not have otherwise and vise versa.

 

It hasn't gotten us on RCCL. The only thing that might get us on RCCL is that they will be home porting their new ship Quantum of the Seas in NJ.

[Quo Vadis?]

From their standpoint it has likely turned out well. They get people to cruise on Celebrity who might not have otherwise and vise versa.

 

It might be a relatively cheap way to attract new cruisers to try both lines. As the younger RCL passengers age or the Celebrity passenger wishes to cruise with families, I believe that both cruise brands have crunched the numbers and determined that the benefits are worth the costs.

 

From the crowded lounges that result, our perspective is of course different.

[baldercash]

Just finished a TA on Navigator of the Sea as a real "Diamond" and working towards D+.

We attended the Diamond lounge most nights and our cruising companions who are D+ joined us.

The D+ lounges, the assigned lounge and 2 rooms set aside on the top deck for D+ were over flowing and crowded every night. Our friends said it was not worth the frustration for a mixed drink.

We had a leisurely drink of wine or spritzer every night before dinner in the D lounge, not crowded and great service.

 

We do a 35 day B2B X cruise in the fall and that will put us at 25 points.

Must say we enjoyed being Diamond on our 1st RCL cruise as lots of Diamonds choked back then as they did not know about the reciprocity between the 2 lines.

Not a big difference between D & D+ benefits doubt it will make much of a difference with an Elite +.

Diamond + will likely get in so the crowding will continue.

[wallie5446]

I'm sorry, my secret decoder ring hasn't arrived in the mail yet. :rolleyes::cool:

 

Was there no charge when the Captains Club first started or not? :confused:

 

Is that how you joined?

 

Sorry, I too was trying to read between line's I thought were there but were not.:o

 

Correct, there was no charge, but you still had to fill out the membership card and drop it. There was no 'automatic' membership like Princess has.

 

Is this how CC is joined today or is X giving membership to anyone who sails weather they want it or not?