Elite: Starting to feel less appreciated by Celebrity

[djjoe]

We just got home from an excellent weather Bermuda cruise aboard the Summit. We are Elite members with 20 cruise credits, but that doesn't seem to count anymore. Here are some changes that I observed at Bayonne and aboard the ship. There is now a special entrance (before the security scanner) for concierge, aqua class and suites. Only one scanner operating for everyone else created a very long wait for us to finally get into the check in area. The Captain's Club celebration on day three no longer has the "stations" serving crepes, sushi, the chocolate and fruit fountain, etc. They only serve drinks and very limited h'orderves. There seemed to be more suite guests (including children) in Michael's club than Elite members for happy hour. On the nights of the production shows, an area was roped off and reserved for suite guests only. I'm starting to get the feeling that Celebrity cares more about the suite guests than loyal Elite Captain's Club members. I was told that a new level will probably take effect in 2014. Hopefully my Diamond Plus status on Royal Caribbean will equate to whatever new level that X will create.

[scanditaly]

Starting to agree with you...............money is the bottom line.

[MicCanberra]

Starting to agree with you...............money is the bottom line.

Yes, I am not quite there yet but have many cruise friends who have said the same. It may also be that a fair number of the suite guests are Elite as well. On our last Solstice cruise there was over 600 elite passengers.:D

[Karynanne]

We just got home from an excellent weather Bermuda cruise aboard the Summit. We are Elite members with 20 cruise credits, but that doesn't seem to count anymore. Here are some changes that I observed at Bayonne and aboard the ship. There is now a special entrance (before the security scanner) for concierge, aqua class and suites. Only one scanner operating for everyone else created a very long wait for us to finally get into the check in area. The Captain's Club celebration on day three no longer has the "stations" serving crepes, sushi, the chocolate and fruit fountain, etc. They only serve drinks and very limited h'orderves. There seemed to be more suite guests (including children) in Michael's club than Elite members for happy hour. On the nights of the production shows, an area was roped off and reserved for suite guests only. I'm starting to get the feeling that Celebrity cares more about the suite guests than loyal Elite Captain's Club members. I was told that a new level will probably take effect in 2014. Hopefully my Diamond Plus status on Royal Caribbean will equate to whatever new level that X will create.

 

Just curious...but would you know if any of the Suite passengers weren't Elites?

[midwestchick]

This post is another one that causes concern.:eek: This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We are new to cruising and last year we were on Azamara. We were treated wonderfully. I just keep reading negative comments about how X treats their pax.

Then there was the whole Millenium fiasco. What a mess and it seems there was little support from the CEO and the Captain. How sad! :mad: :rolleyes:

I'm trying to stay positive and I hope I walk away feeling they did their best for ALL pax.

[excitedofharpenden]

The main issue is there are so many Elite members now so that the "special" treatment that might be given to them is not practical or the costs involved are too high. You use the reserved seating in the theatre as an example. I'm not sure how many Elites were on your sailing, but maybe a quarter of the seats would have to be reserved. It's much easier to focus your hospitality efforts in a personal way on a smaller group like suite occupants. Hopefully a new Captain's Club tier will identify and reward the more frequent cruisers, although with 20 cruise credits I think you may be disappointed.

 

Phil

[excitedofharpenden]

This post is another one that causes concern.:eek: This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We are new to cruising and last year we were on Azamara. We were treated wonderfully. I just keep reading negative comments about how X treats their pax.

Then there was the whole Millenium fiasco. What a mess and it seems there was little support from the CEO and the Captain. How sad! :mad: :rolleyes:

I'm trying to stay positive and I hope I walk away feeling they did their best for ALL pax.

You need to stop focusing on the negative stuff, go and enjoy your cruise and make up your own mind. I have never had a bad cruise on Celebrity, but will admit I prefer the more personal approach on Azamara.

 

Phil

[MicCanberra]

This post is another one that causes concern.:eek: This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We are new to cruising and last year we were on Azamara. We were treated wonderfully. I just keep reading negative comments about how X treats their pax.

Then there was the whole Millenium fiasco. What a mess and it seems there was little support from the CEO and the Captain. How sad! :mad: :rolleyes:

I'm trying to stay positive and I hope I walk away feeling they did their best for ALL pax.

 

The majority of the pax are treated fantasticly by X and generally their standards are high. I feel they dropped the ball with the Millie situation but they still have a whole fleet that is providing great service.

In regards to 'Elites' being treated worse than Suite guests, well if it is that much of an issue for you than get a suite.:D

[odysee]

This post is another one that causes concern.:eek: This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We are new to cruising and last year we were on Azamara. We were treated wonderfully. I just keep reading negative comments about how X treats their pax.

Then there was the whole Millenium fiasco. What a mess and it seems there was little support from the CEO and the Captain. How sad! :mad: :rolleyes:

I'm trying to stay positive and I hope I walk away feeling they did their best for ALL pax.

 

If Azamara was so wonderful, why not stick with them ? If you keep comparing and finding everything so much better with A, as per your many posts, you will make yourself very unhappy on the upcoming cruise.

[dkjretired]

Something which has not been brought up is the OP apparently called Celebrity last week and I would guess due to the Millie situation, the customer service lines were probably not operating at their best.

[Toronto Guy]

On our first Elite level cruise last year we were treated like gold. The Maitre d in Blu made sure we always had a window seat and remarked that it was because we were had the second highest number of Captains Club credits on that particular cruise sailing in AQ. I was shocked that a maitre d would have that info, but he certainly did and paid special attention as a result.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Jane2357]

I'm not Elite but all of these "they don't appreciate us Elite threads" are starting to get a bit much. It is a known fact that the sheer numbers of Elites now exceeds the ability of the program. I understand that people don't care for the voucher system when it has to be utilized (not on this sailing) - as most cherish the interaction of the cocktail party - but to be upset about Concierge, Aqua & Suites having a dedicated security line - oh come on - what do you think these people are PAYING more money for? You were in the nightly cocktail party and are going to complain about the suite guests being there? How are you sure they aren't in a suite and Elite too.

 

Like it or not this is a business - and while you should be grateful for the loyalty perks offered - you can't expect to be treated the same as the person staying in the higher priced cabins. Reserved seating in the theater costs X nothing and yet it makes the suites more appealing for some - while taking nothing away from you. The loyalty program for any business is to encourage repeat business but the focus is always on the bottom line and attracting those big spenders will be the priority.

 

Why so much focus on what others are getting? What a rotten vacation I would have if I had to compare the fact that someone else had a first class flight, a private limo pickup from the airport, a suite, got to attend the Elite functions. I do hope that I make it to Elite someday but in the meantime - I don't spend one second of my time paying attention to what anyone else is getting.

[bbeltmom]

I'm not Elite but all of these "they don't appreciate us Elite threads" are starting to get a bit much. It is a known fact that the sheer numbers of Elites now exceeds the ability of the program. I understand that people don't care for the voucher system when it has to be utilized (not on this sailing) - as most cherish the interaction of the cocktail party - but to be upset about Concierge, Aqua & Suites having a dedicated security line - oh come on - what do you think these people are PAYING more money for? You were in the nightly cocktail party and are going to complain about the suite guests being there? How are you sure they aren't in a suite and Elite too.

 

Like it or not this is a business - and while you should be grateful for the loyalty perks offered - you can't expect to be treated the same as the person staying in the higher priced cabins. Reserved seating in the theater costs X nothing and yet it makes the suites more appealing for some - while taking nothing away from you. The loyalty program for any business is to encourage repeat business but the focus is always on the bottom line and attracting those big spenders will be the priority.

 

Why so much focus on what others are getting? What a rotten vacation I would have if I had to compare the fact that someone else had a first class flight, a private limo pickup from the airport, a suite, got to attend the Elite functions. I do hope that I make it to Elite someday but in the meantime - I don't spend one second of my time paying attention to what anyone else is getting.

 

Very very well put.

[dln929]

Wonderful post, Jane. I agree! We've always had a marvelous time on Celebrity ships. I am very appreciative of the perks my loyalty gives me. They're very generous. I hardly need chocolate fountains every night to make me feel special. It seems nit-picky to grouse about such perceived slights when on the whole Celebrity delivers me a cruise that makes me happy. This is not to say I don't feel for the Millenium people, of course; I'm referring to my own experiences sailing Celebrity and I do feel valued.

[phoenix_dream]

This post is another one that causes concern.:eek: This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We are new to cruising and last year we were on Azamara. We were treated wonderfully. I just keep reading negative comments about how X treats their pax.

Then there was the whole Millenium fiasco. What a mess and it seems there was little support from the CEO and the Captain. How sad! :mad: :rolleyes:

I'm trying to stay positive and I hope I walk away feeling they did their best for ALL pax.

 

You are really inferring way too much by coming to these conclusions. First of all, we will all admit the way Celebrity is handling the most recent Millie cruise is abysmal. This is a very unique event and not likely to happen to you. (no excuse, but that is a fact). Second, you are not Elite, so how Celebrity treats Elite passengers is really no impact on you right now. And you would really need to fully understand the whole picture on that topic to make a determination of Celebrity's culpability (maybe you do, but that would take a lot of reading of posts, keeping in mind you would need to consider both sides of the equation - Celebrity and Elite passengers). I have been on over 20 Celebrity cruises and on most of their ships, including several no longer sailing. By a landslide, my positive experiences have far, far outweighed my negative on Celebrity. Will you get an Azamara experience on a Celebrity ship? Of course not - and nor will you be paying an Azamara price. Will you, in all likelihood, have a wonderful cruise on a beautiful ship with great service, food, entertainment, etc.? a resounding YES.

[hcat]

we did the Bermuda trip on Summit pre-refurb and had an enjoyable time. but the ship itself was tired and saggy, frayed and rusty. We had been on it twice before in earlier yrs to Carib & Hawaii, when it was really in its prime so by comparision that part was a bit of a neg. Service & food were very good to excellent and bermuda is a great place to cruise to.. and we enjoyed being docked out of the main town..best of both worlds! hope the refurb improved some of tiredness!

 

The "loyalty" issue on our cruise was that Elites were kind of ignored or tolerated --no special boarding etc. We are the sure thing in X's customer base, while the Diamonds on board from Royal C were being actively recruited & courted with lots of attention and extra perks in hopes they would switch to X. It was a bit of an annoyance but we do not cruise for perks but for love of the sea & ships!

[baldercash]

The fact that Aqua and Suites get a few perks is no reason to fret.

Elite is earned through Loyalty the other through money spent.

 

I must admit of our 20 points a few have been earned from cruising inside cabins. But we also have cruised Azamara and have now become fond of Aqua class.

Our next cruise will be B2B 35 days in Aqua for 6 or 8 points not sure?

I paid more for the perks we will receive in Aqua and I assume X appreciates our business more in AC over an inside.

 

It has been my experience we are treated famously on X regardless of out cabin choice.

[excitedofharpenden]

On our first Elite level cruise last year we were treated like gold. The Maitre d in Blu made sure we always had a window seat and remarked that it was because we were had the second highest number of Captains Club credits on that particular cruise sailing in AQ. I was shocked that a maitre d would have that info, but he certainly did and paid special attention as a result.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I would suggest that if it was your first Elite level cruise and you had the second highest Captain's Club credits for that sailing in AQ there probably weren't many Elites = easier to show recognition.

 

Phil

[phoenix_dream]

I have been Elite status for a long time now (started cruising X in 1993, and have 23 cruises since). I think in fairness, there is a definite change in how it 'feels' to be Elite now versus say 10 years ago. Please know - I still love Celebrity, still appreciate the Elite benefits, and so forth. At the same time, the change is noticeable and I think if you have cruised X for awhile you can feel the difference, and honestly you do miss feeling more 'special' than you do now. It is only human. I am not sure where the fine line is on this point between stating it for the record and just commiserating with other impacted passengers, and being seen as an ungrateful complainer.:)

 

There are basically two reasons for this. One is of course sheer numbers. No one is special if everyone is special (ok, not everyone but the Elite numbers are now huge). Second, Celebrity is making no bones about their intent to go after the more affluent customers. This has been blatantly stated by the CEO in pretty much so many words. This is a change from the past where loyalty was seemingly valued over sheer cost per cabin. I know behind the scenes there was often some extra attention given to high level suites and so forth, but now it is blatant. Now someone is saying to your face, you are not as important because you are not paying as much. It is one thing to know it, it is another to have it be so obvious. Yes, that's life. Yes, it's a business and this is no different from most businesses. At the same time, for many people it is a statement that before you were an important and valued guest; now not so much. It is more about that, than about what others are getting per se. It is human to react (but not overreact) to that message IMHO.:)

[Dave85]

On the nights of the production shows, an area was roped off and reserved for suite guests only.

 

Royal's been doing that for some time now so I'm not at all surprised to hear that it's trickled up to the sister line.

[jelayne]

Airlines do the same type of thing: 1st class boards first, gets free drinks a meal and more comfortable seats. One can be Executive, Platinum, Diamond in the airline frequent flyer program but if flying in coach no free drinks & food, and less space.

 

I figure you get what you are willing to pay for. Personally I appreciate any benefit I get for being a member of a loyalty program. Don't necessarily want or use some of the perc's but glad they are available.

[cyntil8ing]

I didn't notice the lack of stations and chocolate fountain at the Captain's Club party until you mentioned it. However, that's not taking something from Elite passengers; the parties are open to all Captain's Club members.

[baldercash]

The "loyalty" issue on our cruise was that Elites were kind of ignored or tolerated --no special boarding etc. We are the sure thing in X's customer base, while the Diamonds on board from Royal C were being actively recruited & courted with lots of attention and extra perks in hopes they would switch to X. It was a bit of an annoyance but we do not cruise for perks but for love of the sea & ships!

 

Can you supply an example of how Diamond members were treated differently?

On our last cruise on RCCL the Loyalty manager commented on our X cruise history while I booked a future cruise and though we are only close to 'real' Diamond on RC we were invited to a private cocktail party for Diamond Plus awards and were introduce to the Hotel manager and Captain.

The HM helped us with a few ship issues after our meeting.

 

They may be going out of their way to get that cross line business.

[phoenix_dream]

Airlines do the same type of thing: 1st class boards first, gets free drinks a meal and more comfortable seats. One can be Executive, Platinum, Diamond in the airline frequent flyer program but if flying in coach no free drinks & food, and less space.

 

I figure you get what you are willing to pay for. Personally I appreciate any benefit I get for being a member of a loyalty program. Don't necessarily want or use some of the perc's but glad they are available.

I don't disagree, but I think the key is the change in benefits, or perceived benefits. For example, prior to when United merged with Continental, my DH could book a seat in the Premier section of United (extra legroom) if one was available based on his status. Since the merger, he can only switch to that section at check-in 24 hours before IF a seat is still available. This was the loss of a very significant benefit for someone who is 6'3"! He still appreciates being able to upgrade to those seats when they are available, but at the same time he strongly feels the loss of being able to do it at the time of booking. He also was cut from two free checked bags to one. Doesn't usually affect us, but those are potentially real dollars we are talking. He didn't change what he was doing or his loyalty; the airlines changed their appreciation of his business.

 

I think that is the issue with long-time Elite folks. When you lose status/benefits/a feeling of importance and appreciation (however you would define that) it hurts. Maybe only a little, but you feel it. I think that is all most people are saying.

[TomTN]

We just got home from an excellent weather Bermuda cruise aboard the Summit. We are Elite members with 20 cruise credits, but that doesn't seem to count anymore. Here are some changes that I observed at Bayonne and aboard the ship. There is now a special entrance (before the security scanner) for concierge, aqua class and suites. Only one scanner operating for everyone else created a very long wait for us to finally get into the check in area. The Captain's Club celebration on day three no longer has the "stations" serving crepes, sushi, the chocolate and fruit fountain, etc. They only serve drinks and very limited h'orderves. There seemed to be more suite guests (including children) in Michael's club than Elite members for happy hour. On the nights of the production shows, an area was roped off and reserved for suite guests only. I'm starting to get the feeling that Celebrity cares more about the suite guests than loyal Elite Captain's Club members. I was told that a new level will probably take effect in 2014. Hopefully my Diamond Plus status on Royal Caribbean will equate to whatever new level that X will create.

 

Elite have not had their own check-in line for our last 4 X cruises dating back to 2009. Those were all European crusies, and I thought that might just be true for non US departing cruises.

 

More suite guest than Elites in Michaels? Is the captain suppose to make Elites show up for happy hour?

 

I just don't see the problem except that every mainstream cruise line has been and continues to make cuts for more profit.

 

Maybe X considers suite guest big spenders, and wants to keep them happy whether or not they are frequent X cruisers.