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Do You See Your Loyalty Benefits Slowly Slipping Away?

Ramjet1997

By Ramjet1997,
in Royal Caribbean International

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boscobeans

boscobeans

Posted
Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, Ramjet1997 said:

You have the most reasonable comments as anyone here.......you put my concerns in perspective.......thank you....

 

Having cruised Celebrity and Royal Caribbean for the past 20 years we are elite and diamond.

 

In our opinion the drinks matter not since we always get drink packages but the 3 hours of internet we get on Celebrity and the one complimentary bag of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on every sailing per person. Complimentary pressing of 2 garment items and dry cleaning of 1 garment. are FREE and well appreciated. The 3 hours of internet is fine for an occasional email or to get boarding passes and can be used by the minute, spread out as you wish. A nice perk is Priority embarkation while boarding the ship (where available) 

 

There are also a few parties and other things that really don't excite us..

Edited by boscobeans
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Cruise_Couple

Cruise_Couple

Posted
Posted

I am still a lowly "Gold" members and I buy the drink package. I can drink whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. The same as every other passenger on the ship whether they are a "club" member or buy a drink package or choose to buy drinks individually. We all have the choice! I do not need to worry about where some special "loyalty" lounge is located or what time my "free" drinks are being served (does anyone really believe the drinks are free???) or whether I can get a seat or not. I cruise Royal Caribbean because I enjoy their ships and their staff... not for any "perks" that I may get now or in the future. They can call me gold, diamond, platinum or whatever... it does not matter... if my family enjoys their vacation then Royal Caribbean has provided me with the service that I agreed to pay for. I think we all need to stop worrying about "status" and "free perks" which are not free regardless of what anyone says! Just live for the day and enjoy your cruise. I promise you will be happier in the end and so will everyone else around you. Just my opinion.

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wytygr8

wytygr8

Posted
Posted (edited)
23 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

 

The benefits are not really benefits.  They have no cash value, so letting someone pay for something you get for free, is a good thing.  You still get it for free.

 

WiFi is still a benefit, unless you want to pay for the Key, which you don't, since you already have the benefits for free.

 

What I want, is the "free" items that actually cost money.  The free picture.  The free drinks.  Free wifi for 24 or 48 hours.  Balcony discount when booking 6 months out.  All those items save me money, on a 7 day cruise, about $780.00.  Jump to the front of the line, has no monetary value, therefore, I don't care.

 

 

Time is money, friend.

Edited by wytygr8
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josh.vincent.180

josh.vincent.180

Posted
Posted

I was on this cruise and only a Platinum Member but went to the the "Exclusive Event".  The issue with this cruise was not eroding benefits it was every person on this cruise was Loyal to Royal, I bet 30% of people on this cruise was Platinum or better.


Since the economy is good and many Floridians are jumping at the chance to drive over to port for a cruise more people are cruising.  This is what is driving the stock price up and them needing to find more ways to increase revenue.   

 

Also of Note - we had wifi on both phones on Adventure and its definitely not worth if, 1 yes 2 no.  SLOW and unreliable, on Harmony in April we had no issues.

 

We will be diamond by this time next year, I think best thing for Royal to do is allow drinks for Diamond to just be able to be gotten anywhere and credits on accounts.   I believe for the Wifi included we will be getting the Key in the future.

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cb at sea

cb at sea

Posted
Posted

There is no "benefit" to a company rewarding your continued support.  They have PLENTY of "new" cruisers who are willing to pay an "uncharge" for everything, since they are new and have no idea how it "used to be".  The "new" cruisers have to be hooked somehow!  If you like the RCI (or any other cruise line) product...keep on sailing them.  Otherwise, there are lots of options out there.

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pcur

pcur

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/12/2018 at 5:01 PM, Ramjet1997 said:

We recently returned from an 8 night cruise on Adventure (Nov 24-Dec 2) which started off very badly in the so-called Diamond Lounge....as some of you know the lounge only seats maybe 90-100 people.  I am sure that anyone who experienced the following story can confirm the events.  Add to the fact that the same regulars started reserving their seats about an hour before the happy hour actually begins.....so the lounge seats are basically spoken for before it even opens.  These people (similar to pool chair hogs) made sure that all of the lounge was "taken" before the 4:30 opening time.  The "overflow" was of course the Viking Crown lounge to handle the other 150-250 people who showed up at the starting hour-4:30.  Around 4:45 a RCCL "group coordinator" closed off 80-90% of the VCL for a "private party"- he literally went from table to table and told C&A people to leave the overflow area because there was a "private party".  Almost immediately loud obnoxious ethnic music was blaring through the speakers for this private group, without any regard for the C & A Diamond & Diamond Plus members in attendance.  It was obvious that the LOYAL C & A members were no longer welcomed, except for maybe 6 or 7 small tables by the bar.  This episode put many C & A members in their place real quick, and many simply left without saying a word.

 

The reason I bring this up is the recent announcement concerning the "for a fee, the KEY" program.  I noticed that at least 3 of the Key benefits listed were items which had previously been included in your "Diamond Plus" benefits:

 

1.  Priority Boarding (thought we already had this)

2.  Reserved seating at shows (thought we already had this)

3.  Priority Debarkation (thought we already had this)

 

And the "complimentary internet" is NOT complimentary if you are paying $25 per person for "the Key"!!

 

It has become clear to me, and many others on this particular sailing, that loyalty to Royal Caribbean no longer means anything.....the benefits that come with being a "Loyal to Royal" are being slowly diluted....Only if you spend MORE MONEY and BUY your way into the benefits which were promised to many folks years ago.  I am sure that shareholders and people who buy "skip the line" tickets at amusement parks will applaud this never ending money grab.  While we have several upcoming cruises with RCCL, it is fairly obvious that slowly but surely they are taking away your loyalty earned benefits, one by one.  Unless, of course, you want to pay more.....and more.....and more.....and more......The future will tell if the smart loyal members of C & A will continue to support RCCL, or look elsewhere..........

OK, maybe I'm reading this incorrectly, but the Viking Crown is the UNANNOUNCED and UNOFFICIAL overflow, so it's NOT reserved for D or D+.  Therefore, other passengers can reserve it for a group function.  Happens all the time.  That's when we take our trusty seapass cards and go to a quieter lounge somewhere else on the ship.  We were on the Adventure from 10/27/18 to 11/4/18.

 

The Key Pass program is $20 / day and does not include happy hour.  Where's the comparison to the D/D+ benefits??????

 

This smart and loyal C&A D+ member is booked for 83 nights on RCCL in 2019, so I guess that answers that question.

 

I have no idea where anyone will find a better loyalty program on another cruise line unless they just start over.  There's no incentive for us to do this:  we aren't suffering with what we have now with RCCL.

 

 

Edited by pcur
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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Andy C said:

 

John, I am about to start my next LIVE review.  What app should I use?

 

Not sure if it's out yet.  That may be why they are going down for a while tonight.

 

You may have to just use Mobile Web from your phone or tablet.  It should work well from Allure

 

Have fun

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Andy C

Andy C

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Not sure if it's out yet.  That may be why they are going down for a while tonight.

 

You may have to just use Mobile Web from your phone or tablet.  It should work well from Allure

 

Have fun

 

Harmony.  

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bilyclub

bilyclub

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, Cruise_Couple said:

I am still a lowly "Gold" members and I buy the drink package. I can drink whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. The same as every other passenger on the ship whether they are a "club" member or buy a drink package or choose to buy drinks individually. We all have the choice! I do not need to worry about where some special "loyalty" lounge is located or what time my "free" drinks are being served (does anyone really believe the drinks are free???) or whether I can get a seat or not. I cruise Royal Caribbean because I enjoy their ships and their staff... not for any "perks" that I may get now or in the future. They can call me gold, diamond, platinum or whatever... it does not matter... if my family enjoys their vacation then Royal Caribbean has provided me with the service that I agreed to pay for. I think we all need to stop worrying about "status" and "free perks" which are not free regardless of what anyone says! Just live for the day and enjoy your cruise. I promise you will be happier in the end and so will everyone else around you. Just my opinion.

:classic_ohmy:

Apparently  your'e not "enjoying" Royal that much if your'e still Gold.  :classic_biggrin:

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tinkr2

tinkr2

Posted
Posted

The Key is $20 per person in the cabin. We would not rule it out as we usually purchase internet.The Key takes nothing away, except possibly the seat issue. I heard 100 keys, not cabins.  And key members must still make reservations for the shows, they can't just show up. Their breakfast is in a separate  area completely. But regardless of people buying perks, it takes nothing from you. You're not entitled to the Viking Lounge, an unspoken overflow area. The people that rented it for their event are entitled to the tables they paid for. I am a new diamond but if the seat is that important to you, you better get there earlier.

And in regards to the loud ethnic music, are you nuts? The group that booked the venue should surely get to select music to their liking. I know that bagpipe music is annoying, but what are you gonna do? Oh I know, head to another bar and grab your free drinks.

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Coralc

Coralc

Posted
Posted

Do You See Your Loyalty Benefits Slowly Slipping Away?

Yes. Along with our youth. It's funny. We cruised on other cruise lines, Princess, Carnival and then Royal Caribbean. We had so much fun with RC that we had decided to continue with them. Great food (used to be), people our age, fun times, best friends and we have we have continued to cruise with them. 

And now we seem to be older than a lot of other Royal Caribbean cruisers. We never lost any benefits with the removal of Diamonds from the CL, because we were already D+. And we are still Diamond Plus and quite a ways from Pinnacle. And a ton of people are Diamond Plus. And of course the benefits have been diluted. 

 

But we still enjoy cruising and the experience. We don't need WIFI on vacation and we purchase drink packages, so we don't need the lounges. Flying from California adds to vacation cost and time. It was nice to be special for a few years. Cruising is fun! 

 

 

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Paulxyz2004

Paulxyz2004

Posted
Posted
On 12/14/2018 at 1:27 PM, Cruise_Couple said:

I am still a lowly "Gold" members and I buy the drink package. I can drink whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. The same as every other passenger on the ship whether they are a "club" member or buy a drink package or choose to buy drinks individually. We all have the choice! I do not need to worry about where some special "loyalty" lounge is located or what time my "free" drinks are being served (does anyone really believe the drinks are free???) or whether I can get a seat or not. I cruise Royal Caribbean because I enjoy their ships and their staff... not for any "perks" that I may get now or in the future. They can call me gold, diamond, platinum or whatever... it does not matter... if my family enjoys their vacation then Royal Caribbean has provided me with the service that I agreed to pay for. I think we all need to stop worrying about "status" and "free perks" which are not free regardless of what anyone says! Just live for the day and enjoy your cruise. I promise you will be happier in the end and so will everyone else around you. Just my opinion.

 

I agree with most what you said, but one point.

Yes I say those drinks are actually free for me. I know there´s nothing free in the world and someone has to pay for it. In the case of the free drinks it´s somehow built into the business structure and you cold probably say we are all paying for them with our cruise fare. However as long as I´m paying the same amount of money for the cruise as someone not getting the free drinks I consider them free to me, as I wouldn´t have paid anything more than if I had not gotten those drinks. Now some people say they had "bought" those perks with all the cruises they did and paid dearly for this. I disagree with this for the same reasons. I had taken those cruises and paid for them the same amount if there had not been an advertised perk of getting free drinks at some point. Yes I paid for cruises and I got a product delivered for my money. Free drinks were not part of this deal, it´s an on top and thus to me it´s free.

 

 

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Paulxyz2004

Paulxyz2004

Posted
Posted
On 12/13/2018 at 2:01 AM, Ramjet1997 said:

We recently returned from an 8 night cruise on Adventure (Nov 24-Dec 2) which started off very badly in the so-called Diamond Lounge....as some of you know the lounge only seats maybe 90-100 people.  I am sure that anyone who experienced the following story can confirm the events.  Add to the fact that the same regulars started reserving their seats about an hour before the happy hour actually begins.....so the lounge seats are basically spoken for before it even opens.  These people (similar to pool chair hogs) made sure that all of the lounge was "taken" before the 4:30 opening time.  The "overflow" was of course the Viking Crown lounge to handle the other 150-250 people who showed up at the starting hour-4:30.  Around 4:45 a RCCL "group coordinator" closed off 80-90% of the VCL for a "private party"- he literally went from table to table and told C&A people to leave the overflow area because there was a "private party".  Almost immediately loud obnoxious ethnic music was blaring through the speakers for this private group, without any regard for the C & A Diamond & Diamond Plus members in attendance.  It was obvious that the LOYAL C & A members were no longer welcomed, except for maybe 6 or 7 small tables by the bar.  This episode put many C & A members in their place real quick, and many simply left without saying a word.

 

The reason I bring this up is the recent announcement concerning the "for a fee, the KEY" program.  I noticed that at least 3 of the Key benefits listed were items which had previously been included in your "Diamond Plus" benefits:

 

1.  Priority Boarding (thought we already had this)

2.  Reserved seating at shows (thought we already had this)

3.  Priority Debarkation (thought we already had this)

 

And the "complimentary internet" is NOT complimentary if you are paying $25 per person for "the Key"!!

 

It has become clear to me, and many others on this particular sailing, that loyalty to Royal Caribbean no longer means anything.....the benefits that come with being a "Loyal to Royal" are being slowly diluted....Only if you spend MORE MONEY and BUY your way into the benefits which were promised to many folks years ago.  I am sure that shareholders and people who buy "skip the line" tickets at amusement parks will applaud this never ending money grab.  While we have several upcoming cruises with RCCL, it is fairly obvious that slowly but surely they are taking away your loyalty earned benefits, one by one.  Unless, of course, you want to pay more.....and more.....and more.....and more......The future will tell if the smart loyal members of C & A will continue to support RCCL, or look elsewhere..........

 

Nope I don´t see it and I certainly don´t share your point of view.

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