Don't See the Big Deal about Elite+

[CruisingChick]

Now I probably should wait until we sail again and actually see the benefits but from the web-site the Elite + program looks like not that big of a deal to us.

 

The items bolded and in red we were already receiving at Elites.

 

Elite Plus Member Benefits*

(750-2,999 earned Club Points**)

Many of the benefits of Elite membership plus:

• Complimentary 200-minute Internet package

• Complimentary cappuccino, latte and espresso

• 10% discount on any Beverage Package‡

• 15% discount on any Specialty Restaurant‡

• Private shipboard departure lounge with continental breakfast

Access to a coffeehouse style breakfast and Evening Cocktail hour

• Invitation to the Elegant Tea event

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice, while the ship is in port)

• Two complimentary bags of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on all Celebrity cruises ***

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one item

• Ability to enroll in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level

 

Now the internet package is nice. I also like the complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso.

 

Other than that no big deal????

 

Maybe I'm wrong and will gladly admit it once we sail and actually experience Elite Plus.

[dmk]

I like the complimentary coffees! I don't usually buy a beverage package because it isn't a benefit for me. But free coffees, yeah!!:):)

Edited November 25, 2013 by dmk

[kelmac]

Now I probably should wait until we sail again and actually see the benefits but from the web-site the Elite + program looks like not that big of a deal to us.

 

The items bolded and in red we were already receiving at Elites.

 

Elite Plus Member Benefits*

(750-2,999 earned Club Points**)

Many of the benefits of Elite membership plus:

• Complimentary 200-minute Internet package

• Complimentary cappuccino, latte and espresso

• 10% discount on any Beverage Package‡

• 15% discount on any Specialty Restaurant‡

• Private shipboard departure lounge with continental breakfast

Access to a coffeehouse style breakfast and Evening Cocktail hour

• Invitation to the Elegant Tea event

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice, while the ship is in port)

• Two complimentary bags of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on all Celebrity cruises ***

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one item

• Ability to enroll in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level

 

Now the internet package is nice. I also like the complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso.

 

Other than that no big deal????

 

Maybe I'm wrong and will gladly admit it once we sail and actually experience Elite Plus.

 

CC,

 

Certainly better than Elite, and much better than Holland America, Princess, Cunard, NCL…,

We will use up all the laundry, internet minutes, and the discounts to the Alternative Restaurants. We aren't coffee drinkers, but maybe it applies to Hot Chocolates?

The Elite Lounge is very nice and I can't think of too many reasons to cruise other cruise lines.

 

The new program is not perfect, but it hits a home run for us!

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Edited November 25, 2013 by kelmac

[A Sixth?]

On another thread it was mentioned that priority tender tickets have vanished.... :eek:

 

That was a nice benefit when one needed it.

[barbels]

We currently have 690 points. So we have at least 2 cruises to go before we make Elite+. What will I be missing on my next trip-not much. I have a complimentary drink package so all the coffee drinks are included. The current laundry benefit is much appreciated and enough for us even on 14 day cruises. The big addition for us is the extra internet time. We'll probably spend an extra $50 on internet next cruise. So as far as I can tell being a lowly Elite will only cost me $50. What have we all been obsessing about for months?

 

I'm 67 so my chances of reaching 100 cruises are slim to none so making the journey to Pinnacle more difficult means nothing to me.

 

The one category upgrade being moved up to Aqua class is a very nice benefit for all CC members and I will definitely eat my complimentary gelato.

 

So summing it all up: Thanks Celebrity. You've made minor improvements for current Elite members and given us an attainable goal for a slight upgrade in benefits.

 

Now what I want to obsess about is whether I should book the Jan 18, 2015 Eclipse cruise on my January Equinox cruise without knowing if Perry is on the ship then. Why can't X give us Perry's schedule for the next 5 years so we can make sure not to miss him?

 

Barbara

[hulamoon]

CC,

 

Certainly better than Elite, and much better than Holland America, Princess, Cunard, NCL…,

We will use up all the laundry, internet minutes, and the discounts to the Alternative Restaurants. We aren't coffee drinkers, but maybe it applies to Hot Chocolates?

The Elite Lounge is very nice and I can't think of too many reasons to cruise other cruise lines.

 

The new program is not perfect, but it hits a home run for us!

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

Chai tea lattes...

[WestLakeGirl]

Gelato? Where does it say that?

[LunaSeaRetreat]

Just posted this on another thread.

I feel the same way. When I found out that I wouldn't make elite+ after my January cruises like I thought (730 instead of 780 points), I thought I'd book a cruise before my 34 days around Australia to make elite +. I won't do it for some additional internet minutes. I've always been happy with the elite benefits so I'll wait.

 

Cynthia

[hulamoon]

I think the program is pretty good compared to HAL and my current princess points.

 

The threads are like a collective group energy ramping up the possibilities and excitement so there is bound to be a feeling of a let down. I think of it like the moment of Christmas Day when it time to pick the wrapping paper off the floor.

[PORT ROYAL]

We currently have 690 points. So we have at least 2 cruises to go before we make Elite+. What will I be missing on my next trip-not much. I have a complimentary drink package so all the coffee drinks are included. The current laundry benefit is much appreciated and enough for us even on 14 day cruises. The big addition for us is the extra internet time. We'll probably spend an extra $50 on internet next cruise. So as far as I can tell being a lowly Elite will only cost me $50. What have we all been obsessing about for months?

 

I'm 67 so my chances of reaching 100 cruises are slim to none so making the journey to Pinnacle more difficult means nothing to me.

 

The one category upgrade being moved up to Aqua class is a very nice benefit for all CC members and I will definitely eat my complimentary gelato.

 

So summing it all up: Thanks Celebrity. You've made minor improvements for current Elite members and given us an attainable goal for a slight upgrade in benefits.

 

Now what I want to obsess about is whether I should book the Jan 18, 2015 Eclipse cruise on my January Equinox cruise without knowing if Perry is on the ship then. Why can't X give us Perry's schedule for the next 5 years so we can make sure not to miss him?

 

Barbara

 

It would appear in the last line you have accidentally/inadvertently inserted the word "not".;)

[CaroleSS]

We will be taking our second cruise with X and have opted to try Aqua (a splurge when the prices were low!) We received the classic package with the booking.

 

With the exception of the internet minutes (we don't 'surf' while on vacation as we're ON VACATION!), nothing on this list is anything that we didn't get by booking in Aqua.

 

I'm with the OP....I just don't get it. We accrue loyalty points on our cruises, but they aren't worth much to us. We book for itinerary regardless of the line.

[cruisegirl1]

Now I probably should wait until we sail again and actually see the benefits but from the web-site the Elite + program looks like not that big of a deal to us.

 

The items bolded and in red we were already receiving at Elites.

 

Elite Plus Member Benefits*

(750-2,999 earned Club Points**)

Many of the benefits of Elite membership plus:

• Complimentary 200-minute Internet package

• Complimentary cappuccino, latte and espresso

• 10% discount on any Beverage Package‡

• 15% discount on any Specialty Restaurant‡

• Private shipboard departure lounge with continental breakfast

Access to a coffeehouse style breakfast and Evening Cocktail hour

• Invitation to the Elegant Tea event

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice, while the ship is in port)

• Two complimentary bags of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on all Celebrity cruises ***

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one item

• Ability to enroll in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level

 

Now the internet package is nice. I also like the complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso.

 

Other than that no big deal????

 

Maybe I'm wrong and will gladly admit it once we sail and actually experience Elite Plus.

 

 

Thanks for posting the list.

 

I thought there was a coupon for a bag of wash/fold for Elite. Is that gone? I hope not. We pack light and use that coupon on every cruise. We have a 14 night coming up with 3 days pre cruise so the coupons would be a big help.

 

We use the internet and could use more minutes than what we already receive as Elite. We cruise often and don’t always consider ourselves “on vacation” but just happen to be on a ship for a particular week or two. Often our clients don’t even know we are out of town and that is the way we like it. The internet allows us to be away from the office so often.

 

m

Edited November 25, 2013 by cruisegirl1

[cruisestitch]

Gelato is way back under the Classic Benefits.

Edited November 25, 2013 by cruisestitch

[Karynanne]

Well I am one that is grateful for the Elite Plus benefits. We've cruised with Celebrity since 1999, and at that time there wasn't much of a Loyality program. This didn't deter us in any way. We stay with Celebrity for the ambiance of the ships, and our selected itineraries.

 

I do like the additional internet minutes, and the added espresso, latte drinks.

 

For those of you that were expecting additional perks from Celebrity...maybe your expectations were a bit high.

[Oville]

There is no mention of not having a cocktail party on embarkment day and Senior offices party. Maybe this is a new perk.

 

Not sure what people were expecting. Diamond+ on Royal gives you 45 minutes of Internet. Maybe if people had checked out the D+ perks they wouldn't have had such high expectations.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Oville

[tserface]

If you use the laundry benefit (2 bags instead of just one) and the internet and free coffee drink (I assume only one) there's likely around $100 of benefit. Elites can get coffee in the morning so that benefit isn't that big of a deal.

 

You can usually get a discount at a specialty restaurant if you care. They offer 20% off all the time and sometimes half off or 2 for one sales (to everyone).

 

I'm guessing the recognition is the big thing for a lot of people.

 

The Zenith level seems really nice with free cruises and reserved seats at the shows, etc. I wonder if they will be called chair hogs :rolleyes: But, getting to that level seems arduous so it really is reserved for people who have either tons of money or tons of time or both. I can understand X adding that incentive. They'd be nuts not to try to attract, and make happy, that level of cruiser.

 

We can only afford time and $$$ for one cruise a year so we'll sit at Elite for a while growing from our 360 points (12 cruises).

 

I'm happy for the conversion. If we'd been on this method all along I think we'd only have around 130 points so we got a good deal in the conversion.

 

It is going to make it tons harder for new people to get to the higher levels. That's probably part of the point to the point system.

 

I think like any other conversion there were growing pains, but overall I'm glad to still have the same benefits I had before. They could have taken stuff away from Elites and they didn't do that. Bravo.

 

Tom

 

Now I probably should wait until we sail again and actually see the benefits but from the web-site the Elite + program looks like not that big of a deal to us.

 

The items bolded and in red we were already receiving at Elites.

 

Elite Plus Member Benefits*

(750-2,999 earned Club Points**)

Many of the benefits of Elite membership plus:

• Complimentary 200-minute Internet package

• Complimentary cappuccino, latte and espresso

• 10% discount on any Beverage Package‡

• 15% discount on any Specialty Restaurant‡

• Private shipboard departure lounge with continental breakfast

Access to a coffeehouse style breakfast and Evening Cocktail hour

• Invitation to the Elegant Tea event

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice, while the ship is in port)

• Two complimentary bags of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on all Celebrity cruises ***

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one item

• Ability to enroll in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level

 

Now the internet package is nice. I also like the complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso.

 

Other than that no big deal????

 

Maybe I'm wrong and will gladly admit it once we sail and actually experience Elite Plus.

[islandchick]

I don't get it either. Laundry would be nice, internet I would only use on a 2 wk + cruise to check on family (not to mention that it is incredibly slow), otherwise no big deal. Every time I read these threads I am perplexed at all of the emotions surrounding it.

However I also don't get CC or AQ vs balcony as I can go buy a really cute tote bag for 10$, I get the beverage package so all my waters are included, and I don't care for Blu. ;)

Edited November 25, 2013 by islandchick

[Starry Eyes]

Now I probably should wait until we sail again and actually see the benefits but from the web-site the Elite + program looks like not that big of a deal to us.

 

The items bolded and in red we were already receiving at Elites.

 

Elite Plus Member Benefits*

(750-2,999 earned Club Points**)

Many of the benefits of Elite membership plus:

• Complimentary 200-minute Internet package

• Complimentary cappuccino, latte and espresso

• 10% discount on any Beverage Package‡

• 15% discount on any Specialty Restaurant‡

• Private shipboard departure lounge with continental breakfast

Access to a coffeehouse style breakfast and Evening Cocktail hour

• Invitation to the Elegant Tea event

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice, while the ship is in port)

• Two complimentary bags of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on all Celebrity cruises ***

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one item

• Ability to enroll in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level

 

Now the internet package is nice. I also like the complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso.

 

Other than that no big deal????

 

Maybe I'm wrong and will gladly admit it once we sail and actually experience Elite Plus.

Reading the list, I felt the same way. DH and I generally do not use all the internet and laundry provided to Elites, so, unless we go on a really long cruise someday, more of the same does not matter to me. The discounts on beverage packages and specialty dining are too small to excite me or to change my behavior. The very occasional cappuccino at the Elite breakfast is more than enough for me. As a current Elite, the list of benefits did not inspire me to strive for E+, but I will keep an open mind as the program rolls out on the ships.

 

Obviously people value different things. On Celebrity, making Elite did enhance our cruise experience. On Royal Caribbean, making Diamond also did so. Still, on Royal I did look forward to the additional benefits of D+ (especially the 45 min of internet and the concierge lounge, especially on Oasis class and on ships without a DL). To another poster on this thread, the D to D+ matters little; to us it was a nice step up. The same may happen here. For some the E+ benefits will matter substantially while others may not see it that way.

[CaroleSS]

However I also don't get CC or AQ vs balcony as I can go buy a really cute tote bag for 10$, I get the beverage package so all my waters are included, and I don't care for Blu. ;)

 

We are trying AQ because I've just read so much about Blu, I figured it was worth the try (plus it was a nominal upcharge from a regular balcony). We might find it's not worth all the hoopla, but ya never know until ya try, eh??

 

As with you, all the other 'perks' are a meh.

[maggie.1008]

Benefits are not enough to cruise more. We are at 1100 points now. We will never see 3000. I would like to see a level in between. Happy Hour lounge will still be just as full with Elite and Elite plus. I still think Elite benefits are generous, Elite + not so much.

[travelingmom37]

I am with the majority. I have 540 points, in the middle of the "Elite" group. I will be at 600 after our Dec cruise in a CC cabin. While I do splurge on the coffee package it is hardly enough to make me care about getting to "Plus".

The perks are great. don't look a gift horse...

[CruisingChick]

Benefits are not enough to cruise more. We are at 1100 points now. We will never see 3000. I would like to see a level in between. Happy Hour lounge will still be just as full with Elite and Elite plus. I still think Elite benefits are generous, Elite + not so much.

 

Glad to see I'm not alone.

[Oville]

. To another poster on this thread, the D to D+ matters little; to us it was a nice step up. The same may happen here. For some the E+ benefits will matter substantially while others may not see it that way.

 

If you are referring to my post, I never said D+ matters little. We have thoroughly enjoyed our perks as D+. You missed my point.

[beachchairs2]

I agree that there is way too big a space between elite plus and the top...maybe should have been another step between them...

 

we will now have a huge elite plus class...it will be the same issue...

 

with no way to get to the top, after you reach elite plus, there goes the incentive...

[NLH Arizona]

Many Elites were adamant about making it more difficult for some to reach the top tiers and that is exactly what Celebrity did. They listened to those Elite passengers and granted them their wish. It seems that they wanted it to become more difficult for others, but when it affects them, it is wrong. Hmmmm!