VIP Program

[Oville]

Mea culpa. I was basing all of my comments on the chart. I did not go to the RCL site to look at the actual thresholds for each level.

 

So where I was looking at 76 days to 83 days, it should have been 76 to 80. Your math is correct, but I stand by my general point that almost no one who was within a single cruise was put in worse shape.

 

I agree with you totally. No one within a cruise of any level was hurt by the change.

[Tony UK]

I just hope Celebrity hurry up and bring in the changes sooooon!

 

As much as I can't stop reading all the speculation and guessing there has been over all the years and love it - can't resist a good gossip! - There is a feeling of deja vu now and only Celebrity can stop it.

 

So bring in the changes and then everyone can start going over everything with a fine toothcomb and finding the flaws!

 

For me, happy to get what I get. I love the idea of loyalty extras, and that puts Celebrity ahead when I'm booking IF all else is even. If I didnt get them, I might look more closely at other lines, but then again I might still choose Celebrity.

[Cote d'or]

My assumption, based on this post from celebrity is that we will still have the 5-7 cocktail hour or three vouchers per person....we just wont have the cocktails in michaels club.

 

Just our personal thoughts : if a higher level is moved to the Michaels Club - or Cellar Masters - I think we would stick to the drinks in the Sky Lounge on the S-class ships. We like the open space and panoramic view, while enjoying our pre-dinner cocktail, especially during sailaway. We don't like that much the spaces with blinded windows, especially when there's still daylight.

[uktog]

I just hope Celebrity hurry up and bring in the changes sooooon!

 

..........

For me, happy to get what I get. I love the idea of loyalty extras, and that puts Celebrity ahead when I'm booking IF all else is even. If I didnt get them, I might look more closely at other lines, but then again I might still choose Celebrity.

 

Totally agree on both points

 

There is nothing more frustrating than this " in my conversations with senior managers, my contacts etc etc" I discovered but I am not telling you...............

 

Personally I would like to see a complete moratorium on new threads being started until we have a definitive update from Celebrity

[coldbird]

If they keep everyone where they are, don't take away any perks...I don't see the big deal.

 

Sure, bump up those with gazillion cruises to shore excursions to the moon and back - none of us will notice they are gone.

 

Since it's always been 10 to get to Elite (is that right?) - keep it that way. Then you'll get the very nice but not spectacular perks we Elites with 10 to whatever cruises get. It is going to take me a lifetime to get to the next level (what...25 points? 35? 50?) so I know I'll never get there, but I'm very happy and appreciative of what I do have. I could care less what rose petal strewn kow-towing they do for those above me.

 

I agree!! Isn't that what Celebrity said to everyone in an earlier post?

[PORT ROYAL]

I agree!! Isn't that what Celebrity said to everyone in an earlier post?

 

Well said, but it could be those Elites with a medium amount of Cruises [say 40] will receive a bump up to a lounge where they will be able to get a seat!

[hcat]

Hi Orator,

 

That's exactly what I mentioned to X, when the last set of Captains Club upgrades was launched. However, they didnt listen to my insights. At the time, I commented they'd never have a venue large enough to handle the amount of anticipated Guests, especially in the future... when the amount of Elites was certain to grow. I also commented that with the current amount of current & future Elites, the complimentary drinks would cost them a fortune. I suggested they should consider saving this perk as a 4th level benefit, if & when the new level were to be added. If they had listened, Celebrity would have saved a fortune, and wouldn't have a dilemma on their hands. At any rate, the person responsible for the decision is no longer with Celebrity, so I'm fairly certain they know the current structure is unsustainable. To be clear, I have no insights on what Celebrity is planning.

 

As I've said all along, I believe the most logical solution/compromise, is to offer 1 or 2 daily drink coupons to Elite members, and offer a dedicated lounge for Elite Plus, if & when it happens. I realize this may likely upset current Elite members, but *IF* Celebrity is looking to reduce costs, this is a reasonable solution. IMO, a reduced benefit is better than nothing.

 

IMO, any thoughts about elimimating the Elite Happy Hour, would be ill-advised, and ultimately create many unhappy Guests. Let's hope it does not happen.

 

All good points... and I notice that Elite ranks swell on many sailings b/c of the number Diamonds on board getting reciprocal perks ...esp. now with the new S class ships & drinks packages!

[RMSeadog]

I agree with you totally. No one within a cruise of any level was hurt by the change.

 

I met a RCCL couple that did many three and four day cruises and were one cruise from D+ (25 required) and when they switched to the point system they only had around 140 of the required 175 for D+, needless to say they were not in their "Happy Place". Many letters were written to all levels in RCCL, all to no avail. With all Elites in the system someone is bound to get burned. ~ Rick

[Dave85]

What misinformation? My assumption, based on this post from celebrity is that we will still have the 5-7 cocktail hour or three vouchers per person....we just wont have the cocktails in michaels club.

 

I was referring to the posts from some members claiming "inside info" that changes would be made without grandfathering current "Elite" members, resulting in a loss of benefits.

 

Such rumors were ridiculous on their face as no cruise line would unnecessarily risk upsetting their loyal cruisers to such an extent. Sure, they may find some way reducing or watering down benefits, but that's an entirely different scenario. My assumption based on the post from Celebrity is exactly the same as yours, however.

[Dave85]

All good points... and I notice that Elite ranks swell on many sailings b/c of the number Diamonds on board getting reciprocal perks ...esp. now with the new S class ships & drinks packages!

 

When such issues are discussed on the Royal Caribbean board, folks seem to think this is the entire point... the parent company wants to "push" their "more experienced" cruisers towards their "premium" product, Celebrity, with hopes of keeping Royal Caribbean ships filled with an increasing number of first time cruisers. If that's actually the case I'd say they've been wildly successful.

 

Personally I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. They want their more experienced cruisers to try Celebrity, but at the same time Royal's upper level perks are quite good so one cannot really claim that they don't value their best repeat cruisers.

[Oville]

I met a RCCL couple that did many three and four day cruises and were one cruise from D+ (25 required) and when they switched to the point system they only had around 140 of the required 175 for D+, needless to say they were not in their "Happy Place". Many letters were written to all levels in RCCL, all to no avail. With all Elites in the system someone is bound to get burned. ~ Rick

 

Well your friends were not being honest with you. Please see post 105 above. There was no way they had 140 days and were one cruise away from D+.

 

The formula for converting for those with 7 or more days was (points X 7) + 13. One point away would have converted to 174 days.

[cruiserhal]

I am willing to wait and see what the final changes/improvements are but I do have one comment for Celebrity.

 

We always book AQ because of Blu. If you want us to upgrade to a suite then provide a dining room just for suite passengers with plenty of tables for 2. I am not going to pay more then the cost of an AQ and have to eat in the main dining room.

 

Just my opinion.

[RMSeadog]

Well your friends were not being honest with you. Please see post 105 above. There was no way they had 140 days and were one cruise away from D+.

 

The formula for converting for those with 7 or more days was (points X 7) + 13. One point away would have converted to 174 days.

 

But you see I said one cruise not one point away. Under the old system 25 cruises were required to become D+ they had 24 cruises at the changeover to days/credits. They came up way short because they only received credit for the days cruised not the number of cruises. The math would work something like this, eh?

 

175 days = 25 seven night cruises

 

If all they only did three and four day cruises (not in a suite) it would take them twice as many a cruises to reach the 175 credits required. No? ~ Rick

[lucinjo]

But you see I said one cruise not one point away. Under the old system 25 cruises were required to become D+ they had 24 cruises at the changeover to days/credits. They came up way short because they only received credit for the days cruised not the number of cruises. The math would work something like this, eh?

 

175 days = 25 seven night cruises

 

If all they only did three and four day cruises (not in a suite) it would take them twice as many a cruises to reach the 175 credits required. No? ~ Rick

 

Rick,

 

No, it would not have taken them twice as many short cruises to reach 175 credits. At conversion RCL didn't compute actual days sailed, they used a formula given previously in this thread. Each credit was multiplied by 7 and then a certain number of "extra" days were added so that you were "grandfathered" in at same level and the same distance from the next level. Someone with 24 short cruises would still have been only a few days away from achieving D+. Of course, it would take an awful lot of 3 day cruises to make it to the next level of 750 under the current system.

[phoenix_dream]

I am willing to wait and see what the final changes/improvements are but I do have one comment for Celebrity.

 

We always book AQ because of Blu. If you want us to upgrade to a suite then provide a dining room just for suite passengers with plenty of tables for 2. I am not going to pay more then the cost of an AQ and have to eat in the main dining room.

 

Just my opinion.

The MDR is hardly like eating at the high school cafeteria:D. If it makes you feel any better, the suite passengers tend to get the tables in the best places in the dining room. I can't prove the point, but I suspect they also get the better waiters. As I mentioned earlier (was it on this thread or another, I'm losing track), the AQ category was developed specifically as a particular, spa-like experience. it was not developed per se as a level in-between CC and SS. As such, the perks designed for it were in keeping with the destination spa concept. Suites are higher priced, yes, but they also come with a whole lot of other perks not available to lower levels. Your vacation, your choice which room to pick. Based on your comments, it is clear that you value the Blu atmosphere. So Celebrity definitely pleased you with their AQ concept I guess:)

[Honeybearhollow]

The MDR is hardly like eating at the high school cafeteria:D. If it makes you feel any better, the suite passengers tend to get the tables in the best places in the dining room. I can't prove the point, but I suspect they also get the better waiters. As I mentioned earlier (was it on this thread or another, I'm losing track), the AQ category was developed specifically as a particular, spa-like experience. it was not developed per se as a level in-between CC and SS. As such, the perks designed for it were in keeping with the destination spa concept. Suites are higher priced, yes, but they also come with a whole lot of other perks not available to lower levels. Your vacation, your choice which room to pick. Based on your comments, it is clear that you value the Blu atmosphere. So Celebrity definitely pleased you with their AQ concept I guess:)

 

 

I have heard that AQ is just a really good marketing strategy since most of the rooms are really the worst location on the ship (under pool area, treadmills, etc.) and that the few perks (Blu, tile loungers, relaxation room) are increasingly being given or sold to others. It is certainly not the relaxing experience I expected. That said, I still enjoy Blu and book in AQ, if it is not too much more.

[RMSeadog]

Rick,

 

No, it would not have taken them twice as many short cruises to reach 175 credits. At conversion RCL didn't compute actual days sailed, they used a formula given previously in this thread. Each credit was multiplied by 7 and then a certain number of "extra" days were added so that you were "grandfathered" in at same level and the same distance from the next level. Someone with 24 short cruises would still have been only a few days away from achieving D+. Of course, it would take an awful lot of 3 day cruises to make it to the next level of 750 under the current system.

 

Okay, okay. He was a lying SOG and I was not smart enough to catch him and I really don't give a big rat's ..., nice talking to you. ~ Rick

[phoenix_dream]

I have heard that AQ is just a really good marketing strategy since most of the rooms are really the worst location on the ship (under pool area, treadmills, etc.) and that the few perks (Blu, tile loungers, relaxation room) are increasingly being given or sold to others. It is certainly not the relaxing experience I expected. That said, I still enjoy Blu and book in AQ, if it is not too much more.

I don't disagree. I have used the relaxation area on the one port day I am able to get in free due to Elite perks, and it was so crowded it was anything but relaxing. The other "perks" mean little to me. We are sailing in our first AQ next month, and what I am looking forward to is Blu. We even chanced one of the rooms under the pool for that privilege - hopefully not a mistake! We enjoyed the breakfasts there on our one and only SS sailing, so hope the dinners are equally impressive (couldn't try them that cruise as we were sailing with another person not in a SS or AQ)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

The MDR is hardly like eating at the high school cafeteria:D. If it makes you feel any better, the suite passengers tend to get the tables in the best places in the dining room. I can't prove the point, but I suspect they also get the better waiters. As I mentioned earlier (was it on this thread or another, I'm losing track), the AQ category was developed specifically as a particular, spa-like experience. it was not developed per se as a level in-between CC and SS. As such, the perks designed for it were in keeping with the destination spa concept. Suites are higher priced, yes, but they also come with a whole lot of other perks not available to lower levels. Your vacation, your choice which room to pick. Based on your comments, it is clear that you value the Blu atmosphere. So Celebrity definitely pleased you with their AQ concept I guess:)

 

Not in my experience. While sailing in a royal suite on the Infinity, we had a poor location in the MDR and probably the second worst waiter I've ever had on Celebrity. Luckily we could retreat to Blu or the specialty restaurants.

[karena1]

Did those that were a cruise away from the next level then have to basically start over to reach that levels. For example, if they have 9 points when the system is changed and Elite is changed to say 25 points, would they have to have another 16 points to reach Elite with the new program, even though in the old system they would only need 1 point to reach Elite. Not sure I'm explaining this correctly, but it is very important to those that are so close to Elite, but might not be cruising again until next year.

 

Yes, my sister was maybe 2 points away from being Diamond. When they changed the program she was XXX cruise nights from being Diamond. So instead of taking 2 cruises (3 nighters) to get to D, they ended up taking way more than that and finally made diamond on their last cruise. So for those that were on the "bubble", it was a jolt as it took them longer to get to the next level than it previously would have, especially if you were hoping to get there with 3 night cruises vs 7 night cruises.

[iSailor]

Okay, okay. He was a lying SOG and I was not smart enough to catch him and I really don't give a big rat's ..., nice talking to you. ~ Rick

 

You are right,it will be short by a lot of days if some one take a 3 or 4 days cruise.

you only get X 7 if is a seven days cruise,if is a 3 days cruise,it will be formulated X3.

24 3 days cruise X3 will be around 70+ days credit

[Oville]

Yes, my sister was maybe 2 points away from being Diamond. When they changed the program she was XXX cruise nights from being Diamond. So instead of taking 2 cruises (3 nighters) to get to D, they ended up taking way more than that and finally made diamond on their last cruise. So for those that were on the "bubble", it was a jolt as it took them longer to get to the next level than it previously would have, especially if you were hoping to get there with 3 night cruises vs 7 night cruises.

 

Your sister is the perfect example of why they changed the system. There was something very unfair about taking a 3 day Bahamas cruise opposed to an 11 day Panama Canal cruise and getting the same credit.

 

If your sister was two cruises away, 8 points, her conversion gave her 69 days. She then needed 11 cruise days to get to Diamond. It would have taken her four 3 day cruises to get to Diamond.

[Oville]

You are right,it will be short by a lot of days if some one take a 3 or 4 days cruise.

you only get X 7 if is a seven days cruise,if is a 3 days cruise,it will be formulated X3.

24 3 days cruise X3 will be around 70+ days credit

 

Sorry, but you are not correct. Regardless of the number of days you actually cruise, when Royal converted they assumed each accumulated point equalled 7 days. Going forward from that date, days sailed are all that matters.

[Miss SeaBee]

I don't know if this was at all related, but on our Millie cruise, March 2012, we were in a Royal Suite. When we checked in and got our sea pass , it had a little post it note stuck to it that said VIP. It was our second X cruise. We were taken to Michaels to wait for our cabin to be ready, and given the elite coupon book and invited to some things like the helipad, etc. We didn't participate in any of it, we had our own agenda of things we wanted to do, and hobnobbing with "elites" wasn't on the list. No offense, I just don't socialize much, and we don't drink at all, which eliminates a lot of the purpose of elite events.

 

The next cruise, Reflection, we did a CS, no post it note VIP, but got elite benefits and invitations again.

 

I don't know if this is the same thing at all, but the "VIP" did bring to mind my post it note, so I mentioned it. BTW, I removed the post it note, so my bright orange flag of sharpie designated VIPness would not offend others, as I tend to use a lanyard, and would not want to appear to be bragging. :)

[Miss SeaBee]

 

Well, then I'd guess I'd have to start thinking about a new cruise line or maybe an all inclusive vacation, which my DH mentioned the other day.

 

I've been totally underwhelmed by the elite benefits we have been offered as VIP. None of it sounds like anything I would care a bit about doing. I don't feel special socializing with others who have cruised X 100 times. I would assume that I spend my money on other things, and don't have time to cruise but maybe once a year. I don't think the elite are a higher class of people, and I don't think most of them believe that, either.

 

If X wants to reward me for my loyalty, give me an onboard credit, a gift basket of nice products from the spa, or a paper hat to wear in the dining room. Lol, jk about that last one. Celebrity makes me feel like I'm special every time I cruise, at first, I thought it was because it was my birthday (first cruise) until I realized about half the pax had a birthday that week. The next time I thought it was because of the suite we were in. Finally realized that it's just the way celebrity treats people, and that is why I'm loyal, not really for any exclusive benefits to set me apart, or lump me into a social group of people I have no interest in spending time with.

 

Priority boarding has seemed silly to me so far, but I have never been boarding in a crowed. So many categories of cabins and pax have "priority" boarding, that this must mean everyone. And if not, the regular line is often shorter than the others. I haven't had to tender on X, but I did on Princess, and I dont' know that I would have a shore excursion scheduled and be at the mercy of the whims of the tendering process.

 

Just give me an Elite discount when I book my cruise, and make it a nice one. I think that would keep me coming back more than anything else.