Cruise ships have loyalty programs.

[AlkiRagdoll]

I've cruised 5 time so far, all on different lines. Never knew there were loyalty programs for the cruise companies. Do they reciprocate with the airlines or hotel loyalty programs? Since next month will be my virgin sail on Celebrity, from reading the posts, it sounds like i will be treated like the back of the bus/coach air traveler.....bummer. Any tips/hints on how to improve my perks (short of more cruises)? I'm surprised that there will be parts of the ship i cant enter...i booked a 1A cabin and am traveling solo.

[jelayne]

Yes the cruise lines have loyalty programs. To my knowledge the only major cruise lines that recognizes status among its different cruise lines is Royal Caribbean. If you are Diamond or above on Royal

then you have elite status on Celebrity, and vise versa. Elite on Celebrity gives you Diamond status on Royal. Carnival, which owns Holland America, Princess & others does not do this.

 

I am not sure what parts of the ship you are referring to when you say some parts of the ship will be "off limits". If you are referring to the dining room Blu, access to Blu is not based on any loyality program status but rather on the type of cabin you booked. Blu is the restaurant for anyone booked in an Aqua class cabin whether or not it your first Celebrity cruise or 50th. If you can be more specific as to your concerns we may be able to confirm or clarify your understanding.

[bighairtexan]

You can get more perks by cruising in a suite.

[Denny01]

And you get more points on longer cruises.

 

Unless you get bent that someone is getting a free-be you aren't getting because they have used this product many times, then you won't feel you are in coach class or losing out. You'll get all the great service we all get but the loyalty program provides goodies such as a few bags of free laundry, free internet minutes and a few free drinks.

 

Nice but not a big deal. And certainly doesn't mean you are being treated poorly, just means those getting the benefits are saving a few bucks.

 

Kind of like if you book with a TA that gives you a few goodies such as free insurance, or a few hundred bucks on your onboard account. Some may even have a bottle of wine waiting in your SR. You get goodies I may not get. Life.

 

Many of us get benefits of some type. Very common in almost any service-oriented business.

 

Enjoy and just think, you are one cruise closer to those goodies.

 

Den

Edited November 16, 2013 by Denny01

[TN Vol Fan]

Please do not go cruising with the attitude that you will be "a back of the bus passenger". X does a really nice job of trying to accommodate everyone equally. Yes, if you are in a suite, you will be treated with special care, but all cabins have wonderful service and the same attention by the staff.

[akowilm]

You will have a fine time! The perks associated with the loyalty program are not a big deal; some free cocktails, drycleaning or laundry, free internet(I cruise to GET AWAY from the computer!) etc. You will certainly not 'stick out' due to this being your first cruise with Celebrity. You will meet great people, both Captain's Club members and not, and you will have a great time; great food, great ship, great service!

[Host Jazzbeau]

We have consciously spread our first five cruises among five different cruise lines, so that we could see first-hand the strengths and weakness of each FOR US. We're still not sure that any line is that much better than all others to commit just for the benefit of the "Elite" perks.

 

For instance, in Alaska no one does it better than Princess. For food, lots of people complain that Celebrity is slipping cruise by cruise -- Oceania and Crystal seem to get the best reviews. For entertainment, it really depends what you are looking for (a hug from Mickey Mouse?--UGH; rock climbing--no way; high energy dance contests--not for me).

 

Bottom line: itinerary is the biggest thing that influences our choice. Maybe when we have worked through the bucket list of itineraries, we will pick one cruise line and work our way up the perks scale…

[spookwife]

I've cruised 5 time so far, all on different lines. Never knew there were loyalty programs for the cruise companies. Do they reciprocate with the airlines or hotel loyalty programs? Since next month will be my virgin sail on Celebrity, from reading the posts, it sounds like i will be treated like the back of the bus/coach air traveler.....bummer. Any tips/hints on how to improve my perks (short of more cruises)? I'm surprised that there will be parts of the ship i cant enter...i booked a 1A cabin and am traveling solo.

 

all the lines heavily advertise their loyalty programs. on board and via the web. especially if you book directly through them. In fact Celebrity has gone one further and lets you sign up BEFORE your first cruise. ( everybody else you are not eligible until after your first cruise)

 

there is no reciprocity between Airline FF clubs, Hotel clubs or anything other than within the parent cruise line company..and as already been stated.. only Royal/Celebrity/Azamara do this.

 

I have yet to sail on my first Celebrity( that's in April) and have only sailed Royal 3 times so my Platinum status does not get me much on Celebrity. Furthermore you only get the status, not the points.. so really.. not that big a whupdidoo. ooh a free drink and maybe a bag of laundry. Quite honestly I vastly prefer the perks you get on Royal as opposed to the ones offered on Celebrity. and even then 2/3 of the ones offered go unused by us( we don't do casino and have yet to sail on a ship that has Johnny Rockets) we use the drink coupons, the photo coupons and maybe the spa discount. we don't need to get 10% off bedding, or 10% off $100 worth of logo merchandise, let alone a discount on a thousand bucks worth of fine jewelry.

 

as for being restricted.. umm other than Blu and maybe the for fee venues like Persian Garden or specialty restaurants, what' restrictions? as was previously stated. Blu is the exclusive Dining room for Aqua Class cabins. EVERYONE must pay for access to parts of the Persian Gardens.

 

bottom line, if you want something, you need to earn it.. either by booking higher end suites or by cruising more often. for instance, Suites get an extra point. sailing longer itineraries get an extra point. with only ten points needed to get to the highest level currently it is not all that hard to do it fairly quickly and even economically.

 

walk in with a sour attitude that you are being slighted, and you will be miserable.

[franksandy]

Big deal on the perks...I'm leaving on a 2 week cruise to Hawaii on the Century in 3 weeks....I'm elete because of Royal Carribean....I get 1 bag of laundry done for free....Honestly I'd rather have a laundry room....I get a free drink every night....but we get a beverage package on the deal we got with Century...I get some free minutes on the computer....I guess I will be able to check to see how much junk mail I can delete...Perks aren't that big of a deal...Being a first time cruiser on Celebrity will be you best perk...you will see everything through Rose Colored glasses....

[Hlitner]

Nearly all the cruise lines have individual perk programs and we think Celebrity has the best perks in the entire industry. But those great perks do not really kick-in until you make the Elite Level (you also can get reciprocity if you are Diamond or Diamond Plus with RCI). For us the Elite perks are a "big deal" (we say this having read the prior post) because of the cocktail opportunities. Celebrity has a daily (except the embarkation day) 2 hour cocktail party (with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres) with free drinks. They also have a daily Elite Continental breakfast where we can get free Bloody Mary's, Mimosas, cappuccino, etc. These perks save DW and I about $50 a day which "ain't" bad. We also appreciate the free internet time (also worth big bucks). One could compare this to Holland America where the upper echelon of frequent cruisers (4 and 5 Star Mariners) might get treated to a single 30 min cocktail party on a 60 day cruise. Princess also has some interesting perks (for their Elite Level) such as one free stocking of your in-cabin bar and lots of free internet time (hundreds of minutes on long cruises).

 

Hank

Edited November 16, 2013 by Hlitner

[Gonzo70]

There might be reciprocity with Ballys Hotel too, I remember reading something about that on RCI boards - not sure of details or if it apples toCelebrity as well.

[dkjretired]

There might be reciprocity with Ballys Hotel too, I remember reading something about that on RCI boards - not sure of details or if it apples toCelebrity as well.

 

Bally's hotels are run by Caesars (recently renamed from Harrahs) which have a partnership with NCL. I have received three free cruises from Caesars. Don't know about RCI.

[bighairtexan]

RCI is partner to MLife. Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, Luxor, Excalibur, Madalay Bay etc etc

[JMG]

We are Elite on Celebrity and D+ on RCI. Nice perks if you can use them. On Celebrity the free bag of laundry is not valid the last 3 days of the cruise...well...that is when I had my dirty clothes, so, did not use that perk. The free cocktail hour for Elite members is now a voucher system. We got 3 vouchers/person/night but not on embarkation or Senior Officer party nights. Vouchers were not good in dining room or Michaels. I assure you, I am not complaining...I am just saying that the perks are very nice but many times they are not/ cannot be used.

 

What is great is that the MDR, which includes the Select dining option, has the same menu for everyone. The entertainment is the same for everyone... and everyone goes to the same ports.

 

Do not worry that you will not get the same treatment. The crews are fantastic and they treat everyone in a friendly and cordial manner.

 

If you really like cruising...then perhaps you should decide which line you like the best and start earning those loyalty points. The longer you wait, the harder it could become to reach the upper levels since the cruise lines constantly review their programs due to the ever increasing number of people that are loyal.

Edited November 16, 2013 by JMG

[Kathie44]

Amazing that you didn't get info on ship or later on E-Mail about loyalty programs. I am in the Crown and Anchor, (RCCL) and Captain's Club (Celebrity) I am at the same level on both, even though I've had only 4 RCCL cruises as opposed to 11 X. Personally, I like the RCCL coupons better, specifically the 2-for-1 drinks and the free admission to the wine tasting party. I'm not big on wine, but if it's free I'll drink it. I get a kick out of the wine snobs who are usually at my table. We got those perks well before achieving the high levels.

I really like the free laundry coupon on X. 30 items on Alaska and Carib. cruises and 20 on European. I also like the free 90 mins of internet use, although I don't always use it except to do the airport check-in. Last Feb my cousin used the free dry cleaning for 1 item.

[mafig]

Never felt like a second class citizen on Celebrity or any line.

 

The perks the elites get are not "in your face." As a matter of fact, if you didn't know they were getting them, you would not even be aware of them.

 

:)

[Cruising89143]

Perks are not the deciding factor in choosing a cruise line but IMHO RCI/Celebrity have the best loyalty program that I've seen. We now feel that we have two cruise lines to move back and forth between since RCCL allows sharing of past guest perks between the lines. Carnival Corp does not allow their cruise lines to share perks but I think that there is a reason for that.

 

I like to step out from time to time and try other lines but in the end we come back to RCI and now Celebrity with Celebrity a slight edge. :)

[Gonzo70]

RCI is partner to MLife. Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, Luxor, Excalibur, Madalay Bay etc etc

 

That's right, MGM, not Ballys.

[herbanrenewal]

I'm not sure if this applies to the OP but I do know people who were totally turned off to posts referring to being Elite. I think its really an unfortunate choice of names since it makes some feel their status is inferior and the fear it will be reflected in their treatment onboard. Definitely won't be obvious difference in treatment by staff, so don't let that affect your perception of your cruise experience.

 

I would suggest the OP contact previous cruise lines to apply for their loyalty programs. That way as you try out lines you will have membership to begin building credit for when you select the couple of cruise lines you prefer. Since I choose my cruise based on ports and price I have membership in 3 loyalty programs, with Celebrity, Royal, and NCL.

[sabookkeeper]

I've cruised 5 time so far, all on different lines. Never knew there were loyalty programs for the cruise companies. Do they reciprocate with the airlines or hotel loyalty programs? Since next month will be my virgin sail on Celebrity, from reading the posts, it sounds like i will be treated like the back of the bus/coach air traveler.....bummer. Any tips/hints on how to improve my perks (short of more cruises)? I'm surprised that there will be parts of the ship i cant enter...i booked a 1A cabin and am traveling solo.

We took our first cruise with Celebrity in February after only cruising Princess previously. I in no way felt like I was being treated any different from any of the other guests. The only spot on board that I am aware of, and as others have said, is Blu which is only available to Aqua Class cabins or suite cabins if there is room. It doesn't matter how many times you have cruised to get into this restaurant, it all depends on the cabin you booked. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Silhouette and we will be on the Reflection next year. If we had been treated poorly because it was our first Celebrity cruise, we would have returned to Princess.

[phoenix_dream]

I'm not sure if this applies to the OP but I do know people who were totally turned off to posts referring to being Elite. I think its really an unfortunate choice of names since it makes some feel their status is inferior and the fear it will be reflected in their treatment onboard. Definitely won't be obvious difference in treatment by staff, so don't let that affect your perception of your cruise experience.

 

I would suggest the OP contact previous cruise lines to apply for their loyalty programs. That way as you try out lines you will have membership to begin building credit for when you select the couple of cruise lines you prefer. Since I choose my cruise based on ports and price I have membership in 3 loyalty programs, with Celebrity, Royal, and NCL.

 

I understand your point - even most of us 'Elite' folks really hate that name. You're almost paranoid to mention it in a posting even if it is relevant to the comment because some people presume you are saying it to brag or lord it over them or something. The very, very vast majority of people who have reached that level are normal, friendly, everyday people like anyone else and they also would never treat anyone else with less than respect, regardless how many times they have cruised. The OP need have no worries about feeling like a back of the bus passenger.

[warmwinds]

I have a hard time figuring out how a cruise line could have a reciprocal program with an airline or hotel...let's say you collect points on both...what is the redemption? Get enough points and get a cruise...for how long? what cabin type? to where? for how long?? Having defined air redemptions (25,000 miles gets you a rt domestic ticket) or hotel (25,000 miles gets you a standard room) is easy.

 

Even sticking with one cruise line only gets you tangible benefits on board (we personally LOVE the drinks, laundry and internet), but it doesn't get you "points" towards a future cruise.

 

Of course, to maximize everything, if you use a hotel or airline (or cruise line) credit card, you get points towards THAT, too.