The New Celebrity Captains Club is Here!

[chamima]

There is nothing on my profile page at all! Is this something they're still updating and I can expect to see a change shortly?

 

 

 

Sign in

At the top put the cursor over "Captain's Club"

On the roll down click on Sailing History.

Edited November 25, 2013 by chamima

[mferranti]

I remember that on our last cruise we searched for the elite breakfast on debarkation day but found the location to be reserved for B2B passengers,

Perhaps you should have kept searching.

[dobes3kh]

Looking at the info you provide has me making some assumptions so feel free to correct me if the assumptions are incorrect

 

You had nine points under the old system

 

You booked either an inside or an ocean view five night February sailing on the Constellation to earn the one point you needed

 

Now under the new system that inside/ocean view will only earn you 10 points which will still leave you short of Elite.

 

Now here is where it gets a little murky, your statement that you have 286 new points. Maybe Celebrity awarded you 16 bonus points. You would have to check your celebrity captains club page to find out.

 

Another assumption then, If they did and you have the 286 all you need to do is upgrade to the Lowest cost Verandah. Under the new system any Verandah is worth three points per night. On a five night cruise fifteen points putting you one point over the Elite threshold.

 

I am guessing here but I would think that upgrade could be had for less then $250 per person. Then again all the assumptions I have made to this point maybe wrong. In any case best of luck and either way you will have Elite very soon.

 

Thanks for the info. I logged into my account and the spaces that should contain the information that everyone has mentioned are incomplete! There is a statement below that indicates if this is the case, to contact Celebrity so I will do that and hopefully this will be resolved.

 

Based on what you have written (and thank you for taking the time to do that!!!) it sounds logical that the 286 points we currently have is based on the 270 + 16 bonus. I am still annoyed and frustrated though that before this new system was implemented, we had booked a 'cheap cruise' $2500 for airfare and OV for a 5 night is not that cheap!!!! in order to achieve Elite.....I guess we're just not going to get it......sad thing is that we just started cruising Nov 11 and we have been on 5 X cruises (2 in Europe) and 1 - 12 night RCI in Europe (last month) and as we're only in our 40s, we were looking at a long sailing future!!!!

[maxsales]

Our upcoming cruise will be our second cruise as "elite" members. I read through the benefits for the "elite tier" and notice something we did not encounter on our last cruise. What is a cruise departure lounge with complimentary breakfast? I remember that on our last cruise we searched for the elite breakfast on debarkation day but found the location to be reserved for B2B passengers, so we waited in the theater for our number to be called.

 

It is held in one of the lounges or specialty restaurants last cruise on the Summit it was in the observation lounge forget the name similar to the sky on solstice class ships on the Eclipse they had in Tuscan grill.

 

Just ask the Captains club host on board they will tell you where it is.

[maxsales]

Our upcoming cruise will be our second cruise as "elite" members. I read through the benefits for the "elite tier" and notice something we did not encounter on our last cruise. What is a cruise departure lounge with complimentary breakfast? I remember that on our last cruise we searched for the elite breakfast on debarkation day but found the location to be reserved for B2B passengers, so we waited in the theater for our number to be called.

 

Btw it's nothing out of the ordinary coffee juice and a tray of pastries.

[Ontario Cruiser]

Is it true that it is only for Elite Plus and higher now and is that only between 5 -7pm. Can anyone go there at other hours I love that Club

Ontario Cruiser

[maxsales]

Thanks for the info. I logged into my account and the spaces that should contain the information that everyone has mentioned are incomplete! There is a statement below that indicates if this is the case, to contact Celebrity so I will do that and hopefully this will be resolved.

 

Based on what you have written (and thank you for taking the time to do that!!!) it sounds logical that the 286 points we currently have is based on the 270 + 16 bonus. I am still annoyed and frustrated though that before this new system was implemented, we had booked a 'cheap cruise' $2500 for airfare and OV for a 5 night is not that cheap!!!! in order to achieve Elite.....I guess we're just not going to get it......sad thing is that we just started cruising Nov 11 and we have been on 5 X cruises (2 in Europe) and 1 - 12 night RCI in Europe (last month) and as we're only in our 40s, we were looking at a long sailing future!!!!

 

Which cruise do you have booked. Date and ship?

[dobes3kh]

Which cruise do you have booked. Date and ship?

 

 

Constellation Feb 8th

[elena7seas]

Yes. People have had different problems with their browsers. But you should see something very much like post # 668 except your numbers should have been 9 credits earned converted to 270 points + 16 bonus points.

 

Unfortunately (if our assumptions are correct about your upcoming cruise being 5 nights in an inside cabin) you are caught up in that area of change the new program was designed to "correct". That of shorter cruises being equal to longer ones (4 or 5-day cruises had the same value as 10 or 11-day cruises).

 

Maybe Celebrity would offer you a "courtesy" cheap upgrade.

 

Celebrity created a sliding scale of bonus points to correct inequities in the conversion system, so that people nearing Elite status would be in roughly the same relation to achieving Elite as they were before the conversion was done.

 

In the case of people who booked and fully paid for cruises before the rules changed, under terms that would have brought them to Elite status at the end of those cruises, Celebrity should just have created the option to convey the necessary bonus points to bring them to Elite status. It is only fair to give them the status that they would have achieved under the terms that existed at the time that they made final payment. Isn't that the very basis of how we negotiate contracts, even verbal ones, in North America? Celebrity changed the rules on November 25th, but the cruisers cannot cancel the cruises without financial penalty.

 

The cut-off point of final payment is concrete, intuitive, and understandable....once people make final payment, they only cancel under unavoidable circumstances. This avoids the problem of the "fuzzy grey area" of cruises that are only booked, but not fully paid.

 

This fix would not have been rocket science to construct (involving a bonus of very minimal points), would have been eminently more just than the current system, and would have avoided a lot of sturm und drang for everyone.

Edited November 25, 2013 by elena7seas

[dobes3kh]

Celebrity created a sliding scale of bonus points to correct inequities in the conversion system, so that people nearing Elite status would be in roughly the same relation to achieving Elite as they were before the conversion was done.

 

In the case of people who booked and fully paid for cruises before the rules changed, under terms that would have brought them to Elite status at the end of those cruises, Celebrity should just have created the option to convey the necessary bonus points to bring them to Elite status. It is only fair to give them the status that they would have been under the terms that existed when they made final payment. Isn't that the very basis of how we negotiate contracts, even verbal ones, in North America? Celebrity changed the rules on November 25th, but the cruisers cannot cancel the cruises without financial penalty.

 

The cut-off point of final payment is concrete, intuitive, and understandable....once people make final payment, they only cancel under unavoidable circumstances. This avoids the problem of the "fuzzy grey area" of cruises that are only booked, but not fully paid.

 

This fix would not have been rocket science to construct (involving a bonus of very minimal points), would have been eminently more just than the current system, and would have avoided a lot of sturm und drang for everyone.

 

Well said.

[maxsales]

Constellation Feb 8th

 

That's a tough one it appears that the lowest balcony is around 799 per person. Check with your TA and see if they can do any better. You don't have to upgrade through Celebrity. You can have your travel agent do the upgrade all that matters is that you move to a balcony cabin. That will get you the points you need

 

Unfortunately you are traveling at a time when rstes are high in the Caribbean. A December sailing would have been way less other then Xmas and New Years.

[jagoffee]

Celebrity said today that 'as a favour to me' they would allow us to pay $250 more each to upgrade.....that's more than double what it would cost for our TA to upgrade us the same.

Upgrade to what?

[dobes3kh]

That's a tough one it appears that the lowest balcony is around 799 per person. Check with your TA and see if they can do any better. You don't have to upgrade through Celebrity. You can have your travel agent do the upgrade all that matters is that you move to a balcony cabin. That will get you the points you need

 

Unfortunately you are traveling at a time when rstes are high in the Caribbean. A December sailing would have been way less other then Xmas and New Years.

 

Thanks for the suggestion maxsales.

[maxsales]

Celebrity created a sliding scale of bonus points to correct inequities in the conversion system, so that people nearing Elite status would be in roughly the same relation to achieving Elite as they were before the conversion was done.

 

In the case of people who booked and fully paid for cruises before the rules changed, under terms that would have brought them to Elite status at the end of those cruises, Celebrity should just have created the option to convey the necessary bonus points to bring them to Elite status. It is only fair to give them the status that they would have achieved under the terms that existed at the time that they made final payment. Isn't that the very basis of how we negotiate contracts, even verbal ones, in North America? Celebrity changed the rules on November 25th, but the cruisers cannot cancel the cruises without financial penalty.

 

The cut-off point of final payment is concrete, intuitive, and understandable....once people make final payment, they only cancel under unavoidable circumstances. This avoids the problem of the "fuzzy grey area" of cruises that are only booked, but not fully paid.

 

This fix would not have been rocket science to construct (involving a bonus of very minimal points), would have been eminently more just than the current system, and would have avoided a lot of sturm und drang for everyone.

 

A couple of points first the captains club was not a contract simply a free benefit. It was clearly stated that the program could change without notice.

 

Second Celebrity did pretty much what you suggest, by providing bonus points to those members which would allow them to move up a category on their next cruise as they would have under the previous system. Unfortunately they based the next cruise on a Verandah. Which makes sense when you think about all the complaints on this forum about people moving up to Elite very quickly by booking insides on short cruises.

 

It appears Celebrity was listening to everyone and tried to make this change as equitably as possible. Some folks are going to be upset and I can understand that.

[elena7seas]

Constellation Feb 8th

 

Hi Dobes3kh:

 

If you watch the inventory you will get a good idea of whether there will be a price drop for your cruise, and in which categories.

 

Now is about the time when you would see price drops for this cruise date, and in a few weeks, this cruise might show up on Exciting Deals.

 

Hopefully you will be able to book a veranda or better at a price that would be worth it to you. Good luck!

[JJPacer]

Celebrity created a sliding scale of bonus points to correct inequities in the conversion system, so that people nearing Elite status would be in roughly the same relation to achieving Elite as they were before the conversion was done.

 

In the case of people who booked and fully paid for cruises before the rules changed, under terms that would have brought them to Elite status at the end of those cruises, Celebrity should just have created the option to convey the necessary bonus points to bring them to Elite status. It is only fair to give them the status that they would have been under the terms that existed when they made final payment. Isn't that the very basis of how we negotiate contracts, even verbal ones, in North America? Celebrity changed the rules on November 25th, but the cruisers cannot cancel the cruises without financial penalty.

 

The cut-off point of final payment is concrete, intuitive, and understandable....once people make final payment, they only cancel under unavoidable circumstances. This avoids the problem of the "fuzzy grey area" of cruises that are only booked, but not fully paid.

 

This fix would not have been rocket science to construct (involving a bonus of very minimal points), would have been eminently more just than the current system, and would have avoided a lot of sturm und drang for everyone.

 

This is our situation exactly. We made final payment on 2 cruises before this change was announced. We cannot cancel either one. We booked a 14 day South America/Antarctica cruise in a C3 cabin about 1 1/2 yrs. ago (3pts). We have 5 credits & that cruise would have given us 8 points. We decided to take a Dec. '13 5 day cruise in a C1 to get the 2 additional points we needed to be elite. Under the newly announced system, we will have 245 points, not the 300 needed for Elite. I plan to call the Captains Club and ask them about our situation. I hope they will decide to give us credit for the 2 cruises we have paid in full. There was a lot of speculation about a new loyalty program, but I didn't think they would make it effective the same day they announced it. I thought, at the very least, it would be effective Jan. 1 2014.

[RoamingRetirees]

This is our situation exactly. We made final payment on 2 cruises before this change was announced. We cannot cancel either one. We booked a 14 day South America/Antarctica cruise in a C3 cabin about 1 1/2 yrs. ago (3pts). We have 5 credits & that cruise would have given us 8 points. We decided to take a Dec. '13 5 day cruise in a C1 to get the 2 additional points we needed to be elite. Under the newly announced system, we will have 245 points, not the 300 needed for Elite. I plan to call the Captains Club and ask them about our situation. I hope they will decide to give us credit for the 2 cruises we have paid in full. There was a lot of speculation about a new loyalty program, but I didn't think they would make it effective the same day they announced it. I thought, at the very least, it would be effective Jan. 1 2014.

 

I totally understand--we have two cruises booked and paid for (leaving tomorrow for one). However, whenever they make the cutoff--whether today or next month, someone will be unhappy. There may be someone with future cruises booked and paid for that will give them more points under the new system than under the old. If they waited to implement, then those folks will be unhappy. There is just no way to make everyone happy. To try to do it on a case-by-case basis would be a nightmare.

[chamima]

Constellation Feb 8th

 

Hi Dobes3kh:

 

If you watch the inventory you will get a good idea of whether there will be a price drop for your cruise, and in which categories.

 

Now is about the time when you would see price drops for this cruise date, and in a few weeks, this cruise might show up on Exciting Deals.

 

Hopefully you will be able to book a veranda or better at a price that would be worth it to you. Good luck!

 

 

 

We are also sailing on Feb. 8 (different ship) and final payment was today so if prices are going to drop it should be in the near future. Our cruise has gone up exponentially in the last couple of weeks, maybe yours has, also, and prices might drop after this.

[Paulras]

A couple of points first the captains club was not a contract simply a free benefit. It was clearly stated that the program could change without notice.

 

Second Celebrity did pretty much what you suggest, by providing bonus points to those members which would allow them to move up a category on their next cruise as they would have under the previous system. Unfortunately they based the next cruise on a Verandah. Which makes sense when you think about all the complaints on this forum about people moving up to Elite very quickly by booking insides on short cruises.

 

It appears Celebrity was listening to everyone and tried to make this change as equitably as possible. Some folks are going to be upset and I can understand that.

 

Max - they only did this for Select that would be Elite after their next cruise. They did not provide bonus points for those like me who are cruising in 3 weeks, well after the final payment, who are Classic and would have been Select after this sailing. I will be short 10 points and they said there's nothing they will do.

 

Elena summed it up perfectly. I have no way of changing my cabin, either up or down, at this point. And I purposely went with Concierge Class to ensure I was Select after the cruise.

 

I also disagree that it's a "free benefit". We all know how business works and nothing is free. Any costs the company incurs to have the program, be it free cocktails, discounts, dry cleaning, etc. are eventually passed on to us, not to Celebrity's bottom line. All of our fares have the cost of the program built into it.

 

I understand that the program can change without notice and I actually agree with the new point system. I just think it's poor business practice to publicize that no one is losing anything when in fact, some of us who made our final payment but didn't step on board are being disadvantaged. Especially when bonus points are being given out for the exact same situation for those between Select and Elite.

[maxsales]

This is our situation exactly. We made final payment on 2 cruises before this change was announced. We cannot cancel either one. We booked a 14 day South America/Antarctica cruise in a C3 cabin about 1 1/2 yrs. ago (3pts). We have 5 credits & that cruise would have given us 8 points. We decided to take a Dec. '13 5 day cruise in a C1 to get the 2 additional points we needed to be elite. Under the newly announced system, we will have 245 points, not the 300 needed for Elite. I plan to call the Captains Club and ask them about our situation. I hope they will decide to give us credit for the 2 cruises we have paid in full. There was a lot of speculation about a new loyalty program, but I didn't think they would make it effective the same day they announced it. I thought, at the very least, it would be effective Jan. 1 2014.

 

You should be able to cancel the south american cruise and get a full refund, it far enough out that it shouldn't have reached final payment date yet.

[NLH Arizona]

It might say at the bottom I have been moved up but everything else is still saying I am Select. :confused:

Coincidentally, using the new system on my previous cruises works out at only 115 points. :rolleyes:

By moving us up, I believe they meant that they moved you closer to Elite, not that they upgraded you to Elite.

[elena7seas]

A couple of points first the captains club was not a contract simply a free benefit. It was clearly stated that the program could change without notice.

 

The Captain's Club terms were in place at the time full payment was made. The programme changed after Celebrity accepted the Dobes3kh's money. I'm not talking about what is legal, I am talking about what is just.

 

Second Celebrity did pretty much what you suggest, by providing bonus points to those members which would allow them to move up a category on their next cruise as they would have under the previous system. Unfortunately they based the next cruise on a Verandah.

 

Not in both cases where they assigned bonus points. If you had 9 points (270) at conversion, you received 16 bonus points, which put you one 7-night cruise in an Inside/Oceanview away from Elite. And that is one full step beyond where Dobes3kn is...she has already booked and paid for a cruise that should have brought her to Elite. This is not her needing to book another cruise after the conversion in order to bring her to Elite. Much different situation. The second group has options. Dobes3kn has none that do not involve her taking a financial hit.

 

Which makes sense when you think about all the complaints on this forum about people moving up to Elite very quickly by booking insides on short cruises.

 

That is about corrections for bookings that will be finalized in the future. People who have not paid in full for cruises can make informed choices. Dobes3kn had no such choice.

 

It appears Celebrity was listening to everyone and tried to make this change as equitably as possible. Some folks are going to be upset and I can understand that.

 

Actually, they weren't listening to everyone. I'm sure if Celebrity had asked and listened to ANY of the people who would have reached Elite at the end of cruises which were fully paid before the date of conversion, they would have included a "patch" for this particular (and very limited) situation.

 

This particular situation is fundamentally INequitable, and it would have been so easy to avoid.

Edited November 25, 2013 by elena7seas

[canadaont]

I'm sort of - I would have been Select after our sailing in 3 weeks but now I'll be 10 points short. No ability to change my cabin selection which I paid more for in order to get the 1 extra credit to reach Select. They moved the goal post on me and said they can't do anything.

 

What's this about paying $250 more?

 

We are the same 10 short after our feb cruise we booked to get to the next level before our group cruise next fall of 20 rooms I put together and they will not give us the 10 points asked supervisor yesterday

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[journeymore]

Actually, they weren't listening to everyone. I'm sure if Celebrity had asked and listened to ANY of the people who would have reached Elite at the end of cruises which were fully paid before the date of conversion, they would have included a "patch" for this particular (and very limited) situation.

 

This particular situation is fundamentally INequitable, and it would have been so easy to avoid.

 

Solo travelers are still paying double and getting single points:mad:

[maxsales]

Max - they only did this for Select that would be Elite after their next cruise. They did not provide bonus points for those like me who are cruising in 3 weeks, well after the final payment, who are Classic and would have been Select after this sailing. I will be short 10 points and they said there's nothing they will do.

 

Elena summed it up perfectly. I have no way of changing my cabin, either up or down, at this point. And I purposely went with Concierge Class to ensure I was Select after the cruise.

 

I also disagree that it's a "free benefit". We all know how business works and nothing is free. Any costs the company incurs to have the program, be it free cocktails, discounts, dry cleaning, etc. are eventually passed on to us, not to Celebrity's bottom line. All of our fares have the cost of the program built into it.

 

I understand that the program can change without notice and I actually agree with the new point system. I just think it's poor business practice to publicize that no one is losing anything when in fact, some of us who made our final payment but didn't step on board are being disadvantaged. Especially when bonus points are being given out for the exact same situation for those between Select and Elite.

 

Sorry but I can't agree. The Captains club was free, it had a cost that celebrity paid but they did not directly pass that on to you. It was and is a perk.

 

I do understand your feelings and I am sorry that things didn't work out better for you.

Edited November 25, 2013 by maxsales