OK...time to admit I'm wrong (a little bit).

[Danno]

Over the past I have made meantion that I find little use to being a Captain's Club member...except...if I need an answer to any question, I call the C/Club and I get answers, from a concerned person, quick...this very nice person even insisted on making sure our friends reservations were proper, as well as our own.

 

I still think the "perks" are too diluted and thinly spread to be of any value...but thanks to a very helpful person in Kansas, I have had a good Captain's Club experience.

 

Good job....

[C 2 C]

OK what was the latest positive news? We were on a CC reunion cruise on Summit in November and now long for another pampering...

[idssms]

I enjoy the captains club perks:

 

You give them the 2 coupons and they give you $4.00 ($10 for $12), We got 4 of them so we had $8 extra to gamble with.

 

I like the "bet the $5 on even money bets and get $10 if you win" coupons.

 

The wine mixing seminar is great!!!

 

The captains cocktail party is great.

 

For free,, its unbeatable !!

 

Don

[Tricia724]

Unfortunately, decreased perks is a side effect of advancing age....not yours....Celebrity's. Celebrity is a youngster compared to other cruiselines, but as the years go by and more and more passengers become repeaters, the higher the cost goes to provide perks.

 

Think about it....even something as elementary as the repeaters' party. What is the cost to the cruiseline when they have to provide free drinks to 100 people? Probably not a lot. Well, what happens when there are 500 or 800 or 1,000 repeaters on a cruise? How many extra bottles of wine/champagne/liquor does that require? Then, multiply that times the number of ships times the number of cruises, etc. and I think you can see that some serious dollars can be involved. The same thing happens to the other perks. As more and more people become "entitled," the larger the liability to the cruiselines. And let's face it....once you've sailed 5 or 10 times, they pretty well figure you like their product and they don't have to bribe you to return.

 

For those of us who frequently sail HAL, it is not uncommon for 75-80% of the passengers to be repeaters. The perks and discounts for Mariners has virtually disappeared....mostly because there are so many of us. I'm afraid decreased perks goes along with any business's success. At first, they're new, they have to prove themselves, so they offer all kinds of goodies to keep you coming back....and when you do, they gradually take them away. It's life happening. You can't take it personal.

[tuggers]

I'm still in favor of charging for CC and getting nicer perks and less members!:D

[canderson]

I'm still in favor of charging for CC and getting nicer perks and less members!:D

I don't know how effective that would be, Tuggers. As I recall, you can join CC at some point after you have had some number of cruises with X, and are then credited with those cruises at the time you join. The true "perks" (such as they are) don't start to kick in until you've hit 5 cruises. So a person these days would be smart to simply avoid chipping in the cash until they've got their 5 and think there's some value added starting to accrue.

 

In order to avoid this, the program would have to be changed such that a person not only paid to join as was once the case, but did not receive retroactive cruise credits for cruises taken prior to joining.

 

Regardless of that point, however, the real question is whether it's in Celebrity's interest to reward their "frequent flyers" just as do United Airlines, Starbuck's Coffee, and a host of other businesses. It's done to help lock in a loyal customer base. Is Celebrity SO certain of that base that they can afford to take it for granted? RCCL's program is actually better from what I can see on-line.

 

Has anyone done a proper write-up/comparison of the different lines' programs?

[tuggers]

I just remember that we did much better when we paid $30!

 

RCCL has a much better program! Better perks and an actual saving on cabins as does HAL. A side by side comparison would certainly be interesting. I would love to see it!

 

Are you volunteering?:rolleyes:

[asctony]

I did a matrix on cruise lines perks and posted it on some of the CC boards. I do not have a copy of it any longer. However, without a doubt, I rank them in order of the most to the least: Princess, RCI, Celebrity then HAL. From what I have seen on this board, Celebrity may promise in writing that you will get certain perks, but does not deliver.

[Andy]

I just remember that we did much better when we paid $30!

 

RCCL has a much better program! Better perks and an actual saving on cabins as does HAL. A side by side comparison would certainly be interesting. I would love to see it!

 

Are you volunteering?:rolleyes:

 

Hi Gail !

 

Happy Holidays. I pretty much agree with your comments. While I am not sure if we would wind up much better, I do think the Captains Club Program was better when you had to enroll and pay for it. It feels totally diluted now.

 

One thing that I strongly feel..... is that RCI's loyalty program is much better than Celebrity. As Celebrity considers themselves to be a more upscale line, they SHOULD do much more for their repeat passengers via perks/benefits. I also feel they need another level for those above 20 Cruises or so.

 

Hopefully, Celebrity will address these issues in 2006.

[Petert]

The perquisites available to repeat cruisers, and the loyalty programs, can be viewed as an advertising supplement. New cruisers have to be sold on the product offered by the cruise line, which requires a relatively large advertising and promotional outlay. The retention of repeat customers requires a different approach, and a relatively smaller outlay of funds directed towards ensuring their loyalty after they have been introduced to the cruise experience. It works for me: enjoy the coupon books, one category upgrade (small discount), repeater's cocktail party, discount cruise coupons, onboard booking discounts, wine tastings, continental breakfast and debarkation lounge, preferential boarding process, early debarkation, concierge access, tender ticket preference, all of which I have used at one time or another.

 

For us the selection of a cruise involves; Itinerary, price, cruise ship, and the overall experience we anticipate. Celebrity and RCI are a good fit for us, so we have sailed with them often. The loyalty programs are icing on the cake, but might help make us biased towards our favorite cruise line.

 

Petert

[wieslaw]

Hi Gail !

 

Happy Holidays. I pretty much agree with your comments. While I am not sure if we would wind up much better, I do think the Captains Club Program was better when you had to enroll and pay for it. It feels totally diluted now.

 

One thing that I strongly feel..... is that RCI's loyalty program is much better than Celebrity. As Celebrity considers themselves to be a more upscale line, they SHOULD do much more for their repeat passengers via perks/benefits. I also feel they need another level for those above 20 Cruises or so.

 

Hopefully, Celebrity will address these issues in 2006.

 

 

Hello Host Andy and Very Happy Holidays to You and other fellow Cruise Critics as well.

I will put my 'two cents' worth of comments in here as well.

I have joined the Captain's Club long time ago (I think 1991 or 1992) on our first cruise on Horizon when it was brand new and just started operating for Celebrity.......and yes that was a new line and few members of the Captain's Club. They just started to build their 'loyal' base of people that would pay them money to cruise with them......so they provided all kinds of 'perks' and it is my opinion that the perks then the same as now ........were not really for the benefit of 'us' but for the benefits of the Celebrity. Whatever they did then and still doing it now ....is just to 'lure' you and I on their ships.

At that time their ships were not as full, they did not have the recognizable name.....many people never heard of Celebrity .....so the company kept spending money to gain more of the 'market' and tried to fill their fleet. The Captain's Club was not growing as quickly as they wanted so they dropped the fee (and returned the money to those that paid -coupon) to increase the numbers. They know the 'human' nature.... they figured once they 'hooked you or me' in which ever form.....we will come back to them. To some people the status of whatever level of membership in the Captain's Club really means something and it will influence their decession when doing the booking.....it is going to be Celebrity and not 'some other company' ..... so the strategy of their marketing or whatever departement works. They also 'brain washed people' with their advertising about being 'treated famously' being 'pampered' being 'premium' line and all other good phrases as "true departure" and whatever. Then to give people just a little more choice but to keep them still in the RCCL family....they opened up the same benefits for RCI's C& A and Celebrity's Captain's Club members when 'we are on each other sister line's ships.

It all works very well for them....they did not build any new ships lately, so the demand is there and did catch up with capacity. I have seen numbers as high as 103, 105 or higher procentage of capacity of their ships being filled ............so there is no need for them to do any more 'bribing of us to go and sail with them. Even if some of 'us' not happy with them with whatever do not sail with them now.......others will.... the projection for cruising in the future keep going up.

So I do not believe Celebrity will do anything to improve the 'perks' or anything else. What I do believe is: they will continue to cut the 'corners' wherever they are less noticable to keep the cost down and offset some higher costs of fuel, food or whatever. They will do nothing to 'lure' more people unless something happens and they start loosing market share and have their ships sailing less than full. That is only my opinion and view and nothing else.

Money, money, money is what this and any other cruise line is all about......they have to make it to sail and keep the stock holders happy.

 

Wes

[canderson]

Money, money, money is what this and any other cruise line is all about......they have to make it to sail and keep the stock holders happy.

 

Wes

It's not like they've done that very well. Their stock is down about 17% for the year while the S&P is up about 5%. Not a good performance if they've done as well filling their ships as we've been led to believe. If the analysts' figures are any good, they're expecting about a 5% growth in earnings this next year, WAY below the sector average. Carnival (you know, those guys who own almost everyone else) is expected to produce about 16% earnings growth for next year, and has lost only 7% this year. No question about which one has outperformed the other in the market, and who's expected to continue to do so.

[wieslaw]

It's not like they've done that very well. Their stock is down about 17% for the year while the S&P is up about 5%. Not a good performance if they've done as well filling their ships as we've been led to believe. If the analysts' figures are any good, they're expecting about a 5% growth in earnings this next year, WAY below the sector average. Carnival (you know, those guys who own almost everyone else) is expected to produce about 16% earnings growth for next year, and has lost only 7% this year. No question about which one has outperformed the other in the market, and who's expected to continue to do so.

 

Wow, there seems to be the answer: Carnival should buy RCCL and everything will be OK.......including the money.

Wes

[dkjretired]

by cruise critic on comparisons of past passenger programs. It appears that like so many other things Celebrity is better than some programs and worse than others. I am really surprised at the differences between Celebrity and RC since they are the same company.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=73

[negc]

Hi Gail !

 

Happy Holidays. I pretty much agree with your comments. While I am not sure if we would wind up much better, I do think the Captains Club Program was better when you had to enroll and pay for it. It feels totally diluted now.

 

One thing that I strongly feel..... is that RCI's loyalty program is much better than Celebrity. As Celebrity considers themselves to be a more upscale line, they SHOULD do much more for their repeat passengers via perks/benefits. I also feel they need another level for those above 20 Cruises or so.

 

Hopefully, Celebrity will address these issues in 2006.

 

If, as you and some others believe, the Captains Club Program was "better when you had to enroll and pay for it." and RCI's loyalty program is "much better than Celebrity", how do you reconcile the fact that membership in RCI's Crown and Anchor Society, is, and always has been, free?:confused:

[goouchjac]

If, as you and some others believe, the Captains Club Program was "better when you had to enroll and pay for it." and RCI's loyalty program is "much better than Celebrity", how do you reconcile the fact that membership in RCI's Crown and Anchor Society, is, and always has been, free?:confused:

Well that is a great question! Having been a cc founder member since 1992 I don't see any difference from then till now, that being said, reached "elite status" and we are going on RCC in Jan. and have "diamond" status with them...There is a great discount on our cabin $200. to be exact and from what I have learned on RCC board , perks are much better than X....We have been loyal to X for many cruises but we think it is time for a change...And BTW, prices on X this winter are almost $1000. more than RCC...We will give it a try and let you all know when we get back;) ...Happy Cruising everyone;)

[TEXASMUNK]

Has become a mandatory thing. If the lines are shorter at check in for the great unwashed, that is the line we get in. If the lines are shorter for the privilaged members, that is the line we get in.

 

If the timing of a "free party" fits our schedule, we go, if not, nothing missed.

 

Kinda gives you a way to keep your options open

[goouchjac]

Hi Gail !

 

Happy Holidays. I pretty much agree with your comments. While I am not sure if we would wind up much better, I do think the Captains Club Program was better when you had to enroll and pay for it. It feels totally diluted now.

 

One thing that I strongly feel..... is that RCI's loyalty program is much better than Celebrity. As Celebrity considers themselves to be a more upscale line, they SHOULD do much more for their repeat passengers via perks/benefits. I also feel they need another level for those above 20 Cruises or so.

 

Hopefully, Celebrity will address these issues in 2006.

Hi Andy,,couldn't agree with you more,,,hope X gets their act together:D ..We will be sailing soon on the Radiance and will post when we get back...Ann

[negc]

Has become a mandatory thing. If the lines are shorter at check in for the great unwashed, that is the line we get in.

Jim, you don't mean to imply that those who didn't or couldn't pay the original $35 membership fee are to be considered the "great unwashed" do you?:D

[hermang]

In general - X charges more for a comparable cruise so one would think benefits for CC should be better.

 

X for the most part has older ships and has not invested in new builds - so where is the money going?? Certainly not for CC cards as many a member has complained.

 

10 minutes of internet credit on X vs almost 1/2 hr on RCCL - considering there is really no out of pocket here for the cruise line - got to wonder.

 

A "token of appreciation" for C&A members - NADA for CC - they give the stuiff away to the travel agents and marketing promos.

 

No free Johnnie Rockets coupons on X

 

So it seems to me that X could spring for a couple of extra bucks for the repeat cruisers if for no other reason then keep em comming back

[canderson]

In general - X charges more for a comparable cruise so one would think benefits for CC should be better.

 

X for the most part has older ships and has not invested in new builds - so where is the money going??

RCCL and Celebrity are the same company as far as the books go (consolidated financials). RCCL has been building new ships. And you want to know where the money has been going? Reminds me of how Frank Lorenzo killed Eastern by shifting the costs to Eastern and the benefits to Continental.

[negc]

RCCL and Celebrity are the same company as far as the books go (consolidated financials). RCCL has been building new ships. And you want to know where the money has been going? Reminds me of how Frank Lorenzo killed Eastern by shifting the costs to Eastern and the benefits to Continental.

 

Didn't RCCL recently announce that there will be a new build for Celebrity and didn't they also announce a significant renovation and upgrading of the Century? Seems that RCI and Celebrity are attempting, somewhat successfully it appears, to appeal to different segments of the cruise audience. I suspect that if Celebrity suddenly offered coupons for Johnny Rockets (can't really picture one on an X ship) most loyal Celebrity fans would take enormous offense.:D

But I guess from your post, you believe that RCCL is trying to kill off Celebrity by having RCI give away toiletry kits to members of its loyalty program.:confused:

[TEXASMUNK]

"if the line for the "great unwashed"

 

I did not say when the line WAS (past tense)

 

therefore, I am referring to the current program

[canderson]

But I guess from your post, you believe that RCCL is trying to kill off Celebrity by having RCI give away toiletry kits to members of its loyalty program.:confused:

Not at all. It was, I'll admit, an extreme example. RCCL would be nuts to kill off Celebrity.

 

But you can see which line benefited from the profits first. How many megabucks were announced for new RCCL builds after RCCL bought Celebrity, and how long did it take them to start making any plans for Celebrity?

 

If you could see the windows in the Stratosphere Lounge (forward observation area) on the Galaxy, you'd really get a better idea where I'm coming from. I've never heard of an RCCL ship being allowed to sail with water sloshing around between the panes, and half the windows too hazed over with salt between them to see through them. They've been that way for a long time, and unless RCCL does something dramatic, it will be yet another year before it's addressed.

 

Let's just say that it concerns me a bit, as this sort of thing wasn't allowed to happen in the "old days" as far as I know.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI GANG!!!

 

I was upset when X announced the "disbanding" of the original Captain's Club, which we paid $50?? to join. The differences were: X used to offer its CC members better discounts on special cruises to CC members. When you boarded there was a BIG difference between CC and regular embarkation. The CC party was a real event with a lot fewer participants and high quality time with the Captain and officers. X should have left it alone and created 2 distinct groups: paying Founders and non-paying Newbies. NEGC (Hi Bill!!!) is right...RCI does a much better job and it is free. Nothing that Celebrity offers can even come close to the Concierge Program on RCI. X has diluted their product to the point where I do not even pay attention to all the CC blather that they mail out. It seems to me that the CC party is about what the Welcome Aboard party used to be. Have you noticed X cutting out or diluting the Welcome Aborad Party??...I have. The last time we were on X they did not even have a recognizable Welcome Aboard Party...we went to the CC party instead. This is what happens when a bunch of airline executives take over a cruise line. X really needs to get it's act together in this department...they are losing loyal customers with all of this diluted foolishness. The stock dove 17% because of the No Discount Policy...pax are jumping ship...pardon the pun...to other lines that are offering a bigger bang for the buck. There are now some good alternatives to the X brand and the prices are more attractive. You would think that X would have the good sense to offer the CC members some real value.

 

ROSS