Celebrity Blue Chip Question

[Noreen411]

Hi

 

My husband and I took our first Celebrity Cruise in April 2018 on the Reflection.  We became Amethyst on that cruise.  The way I understood the perks is that we would get some sort of discount depending on the sailing we choose in the future and some free play in the casino and a few other things.

 

We cruise pretty regularly with Royal Caribbean so I’m more familiar with how their program and use year works (their qualifying term is April 1 - March 31) for the next April through March.

 

So back to Celebrity...We are planning another cruise January/February 2020.  When we first booked it we were told it’s too soon to check for casino discounts and call back when we are within a year of sailing.

 

My travel agent called Blue Chip to ask about any discount we may be entitled to a few days ago.  The woman on the phone said we’re entitled to $100 free play in the casino but we aren’t entitled to any discount.  We asked how it’s determined since we were classed as prime.  She said it was based on the most recent cruise.  We only took 1 cruise that got us to prime.

 

We asked about the date ranges and does that have something to do with why she doesn’t show any discounts and she just kept saying it’s based on your last cruise play.

 

I understand if the answer is that the qualifying year is different than what it is on Royal.  If she said your earned Amethyst in 2018 and those perks/discounts are good in 2019 but if you don’t cruise with Celebrity in 2019, you are back to zero/no status.  That would make sense to me.  But she said we get the casino free play so the message seems inconsistent.

 

Any advice/thoughts are appreciated.

 

Thank you

Noreen

[fstuff1]

What is Prime?

[Noreen411]

6 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

What is Prime?

Prime is a level in Royal Caribbean’s casino program.

 

Sorry I used the wrong term in part of my question.  I meant we are Amethyst

[WonderMan3]

That seems very strange. In order for you to have become Amethyst level in one cruise you would have had to have earned at least 25,000 points, which means you played through at least $25K on that cruise (slots = 1 point for every $1 played, table games = 1 point for every $8 played), and at least $50K if each of you earned Amethyst level. You should've earned some sort of future cruise incentive based on that play. The only things that I could think of that might be impacting that is the following:

 

1) Did you receive some comps from the casino host while onboard that Reflection cruise, like maybe free spa treatments or specialty restaurants? Those comps could reduce your future cruise incentive. It's happened to us in the past.

 

2) Your next cruise might be too far out from the previous cruise. I thought I had heard somewhere from Blue Chip at some point recently that the future cruise incentive must be applied to a cruise departing within 18 months of the prior cruise. But I might be wrong on that. If that were true would need to take a cruise that departs by October of 2019 to apply your incentive

 

3) It could also be that you are eligible for a discount but they just can't apply it yet. Your travel agent might have gotten confused. Blue Chip will not apply a future cruise incentive earned on a prior cruise to your reservation until you are within 6 months from departure. They can tell you how much you are eligible for though even though you can't apply it yet. In your case you would have to wait until July or August 2019 for a January or February 2020 cruise respectively.

 

You should call Blue Chip yourself to get some clarity on your status and why you have no incentive. They may not be fully forthcoming about your play level and your incentives through a travel agent.

[Noreen411]

On 3/9/2019 at 9:14 PM, WonderMan3 said:

That seems very strange. In order for you to have become Amethyst level in one cruise you would have had to have earned at least 25,000 points, which means you played through at least $25K on that cruise (slots = 1 point for every $1 played, table games = 1 point for every $8 played), and at least $50K if each of you earned Amethyst level. You should've earned some sort of future cruise incentive based on that play. The only things that I could think of that might be impacting that is the following:

 

1) Did you receive some comps from the casino host while onboard that Reflection cruise, like maybe free spa treatments or specialty restaurants? Those comps could reduce your future cruise incentive. It's happened to us in the past.

 

2) Your next cruise might be too far out from the previous cruise. I thought I had heard somewhere from Blue Chip at some point recently that the future cruise incentive must be applied to a cruise departing within 18 months of the prior cruise. But I might be wrong on that. If that were true would need to take a cruise that departs by October of 2019 to apply your incentive

 

3) It could also be that you are eligible for a discount but they just can't apply it yet. Your travel agent might have gotten confused. Blue Chip will not apply a future cruise incentive earned on a prior cruise to your reservation until you are within 6 months from departure. They can tell you how much you are eligible for though even though you can't apply it yet. In your case you would have to wait until July or August 2019 for a January or February 2020 cruise respectively.

 

You should call Blue Chip yourself to get some clarity on your status and why you have no incentive. They may not be fully forthcoming about your play level and your incentives through a travel agent.

 

Hi

 

Thank you for this information.  

 

We didn’t have any extra comps from the casino host on the April cruise as you indicated that could reduce future incentives.  All our specialty restaurants were included with the cabin (we were in a Royal Suite).  We each had one spa treatment that we paid for with some on board credit we had prior to sailing.

 

I took your advice and called Blue Chip to ask them to explain the program to me and any incentives we would get.

 

The woman was very helpful and I think I understand it (sort of) so tell me if this makes sense...

Part is timing - you can’t apply any future discounts until 6 months before the sailing so she suggested we call back end of July.

I then asked how much she thought that dollar off would be, even if it’s just an estimate.  She told me maybe $150 which surprised me that it was so low so I asked her why so low when we earned Amethyst in one cruise which shows our amount of normal play.

She then went on to explain that your status (Amethyst in this case) is earned during an earning year but only valid for a certain period of time then your status goes back to square one and resets.  I forgot the exact dates she told me but since we cruised in April 2018 we’re technically out of status now.

While we aren’t really entitled to anything anymore, as a courtesy given our decent play level on the last cruise they will give us a small amount off.  And we’ll also get the $100 free play in the casino plus some of the other perks which won’t be as valuable to us since we already get most of them with the suite.

That part seems a little confusing to me that she’s acknowledging the Amethyst status and we’re getting some onboard perks, but not getting the discount.

 

Any feedback is appreciated

 

Thank you

Noreen

[WonderMan3]

53 minutes ago, Noreen411 said:

 

Hi

 

Thank you for this information.  

 

We didn’t have any extra comps from the casino host on the April cruise as you indicated that could reduce future incentives.  All our specialty restaurants were included with the cabin (we were in a Royal Suite).  We each had one spa treatment that we paid for with some on board credit we had prior to sailing.

 

I took your advice and called Blue Chip to ask them to explain the program to me and any incentives we would get.

 

The woman was very helpful and I think I understand it (sort of) so tell me if this makes sense...

Part is timing - you can’t apply any future discounts until 6 months before the sailing so she suggested we call back end of July.

I then asked how much she thought that dollar off would be, even if it’s just an estimate.  She told me maybe $150 which surprised me that it was so low so I asked her why so low when we earned Amethyst in one cruise which shows our amount of normal play.

She then went on to explain that your status (Amethyst in this case) is earned during an earning year but only valid for a certain period of time then your status goes back to square one and resets.  I forgot the exact dates she told me but since we cruised in April 2018 we’re technically out of status now.

While we aren’t really entitled to anything anymore, as a courtesy given our decent play level on the last cruise they will give us a small amount off.  And we’ll also get the $100 free play in the casino plus some of the other perks which won’t be as valuable to us since we already get most of them with the suite.

That part seems a little confusing to me that she’s acknowledging the Amethyst status and we’re getting some onboard perks, but not getting the discount.

 

Any feedback is appreciated

 

Thank you

Noreen

 

Okay. I think I know what happened now. I’ll try to explain as clearly as possible.

 

Because your Reflection Cruise was your first Celebrity Cruise, when you stepped onboard you were not a member of Blue Chip Club. You did earn enough points on that cruise to reach Amerhyst level but that status did not officially kick in until you completed that first cruise. So even though you were earning points you were still not recognized as a rated player for the full length of that cruise. In April of 2018, Blue Chip Club was still under its old reward system where  your future cruise incentive was earned at the end of a cruise and given to you by the casino host; you would get an amount of money off per night to use towards a future cruise. You were not eligible to earn one, despite your play, because you were not classified officially as a Blue Chip player until the end of that cruise.

 

As of July 2018 that incentive process changed. Now the casino host no longer gives the future cruise incentive; you have to call Blue Chip Club a week or so after your cruise ends to find out what your incentive is and then it can’t be applied until you are within 6 months from departure. Because your cruise was under the prior incentive program you are not eligible for this new incentive process for that Reflection cruise.

 

Now it sounds like you are staying in a suite again. Did you ask them about the 20% off? I have been getting 20% off my suite bookings through Blue Chip. I am a Sapphire level player though so I don’t know if that discount only applies to that level or higher. You should definitely ask though as it could save you a lot of money. I would also be curious to know if Amethyst is eligible for that as I will likely drop down to Amethyst level as of January as I only have around 80,000 tier points and won’t likely be taking another Celebrity cruise this year that could keep me at Sapphire.

Edited March 13, 2019 by WonderMan3

[Noreen411]

2 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Okay. I think I know what happened now. I’ll try to explain as clearly as possible.

 

Because your Reflection Cruise was your first Celebrity Cruise, when you stepped onboard you were not a member of Blue Chip Club. You did earn enough points on that cruise to reach Amerhyst level but that status did not officially kick in until you completed that first cruise. So even though you were earning points you were still not recognized as a rated player for the full length of that cruise. In April of 2018, Blue Chip Club was still under its old reward system where  your future cruise incentive was earned at the end of a cruise and given to you by the casino host; you would get an amount of money off per night to use towards a future cruise. You were not eligible to earn one, despite your play, because you were not classified officially as a Blue Chip player until the end of that cruise.

 

As of July 2018 that incentive process changed. Now the casino host no longer gives the future cruise incentive; you have to call Blue Chip Club a week or so after your cruise ends to find out what your incentive is and then it can’t be applied until you are within 6 months from departure. Because your cruise was under the prior incentive program you are not eligible for this new incentive process for that Reflection cruise.

 

Now it sounds like you are staying in a suite again. Did you ask them about the 20% off? I have been getting 20% off my suite bookings through Blue Chip. I am a Sapphire level player though so I don’t know if that discount only applies to that level or higher. You should definitely ask though as it could save you a lot of money. I would also be curious to know if Amethyst is eligible for that as I will likely drop down to Amethyst level as of January as I only have around 80,000 tier points and won’t likely be taking another Celebrity cruise this year that could keep me at Sapphire.

Hi

 

You explained it better than the woman from Blue Chip.  Thank you for that.

 

Yes we booked a Royal Suite again.  We really enjoyed it and I think it would be hard to go smaller now.

 

When we call back within 6 months of sailing I will ask about the 20% as that would be a nice savings.  And I will come back and advise what happens 

 

Thank you again for the information.

 

Noreen

[WonderMan3]

23 minutes ago, Noreen411 said:

Hi

 

You explained it better than the woman from Blue Chip.  Thank you for that.

 

Yes we booked a Royal Suite again.  We really enjoyed it and I think it would be hard to go smaller now.

 

When we call back within 6 months of sailing I will ask about the 20% as that would be a nice savings.  And I will come back and advise what happens 

 

Thank you again for the information.

 

Noreen

 

You don’t have to wait for that inside 6 month period for the 20% off. If you are eligible for it as Amethyst then they can apply it at any time. There are some cruises that may be blacked out though; likely all Apex cruises and possibly Edge.

[Noreen411]

58 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

You don’t have to wait for that inside 6 month period for the 20% off. If you are eligible for it as Amethyst then they can apply it at any time. There are some cruises that may be blacked out though; likely all Apex cruises and possibly Edge.

Hi

 

Is the 20% off for booking suites with the casino?

 

i will try to give them another ring this week and ask about it.

 

thank you

[WonderMan3]

8 minutes ago, Noreen411 said:

Hi

 

Is the 20% off for booking suites with the casino?

 

i will try to give them another ring this week and ask about it.

 

thank you

 

Yes, booking through Blue Chip.

[Noreen411]

1 minute ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Yes, booking through Blue Chip.

 

I have learned more from your posting than I learned calling Blue Chip

 

thank you again

[fstuff1]

5 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Okay. I think I know what happened now. I’ll try to explain as clearly as possible.

 

Because your Reflection Cruise was your first Celebrity Cruise, when you stepped onboard you were not a member of Blue Chip Club. You did earn enough points on that cruise to reach Amerhyst level but that status did not officially kick in until you completed that first cruise. So even though you were earning points you were still not recognized as a rated player for the full length of that cruise. In April of 2018, Blue Chip Club was still under its old reward system where  your future cruise incentive was earned at the end of a cruise and given to you by the casino host; you would get an amount of money off per night to use towards a future cruise. You were not eligible to earn one, despite your play, because you were not classified officially as a Blue Chip player until the end of that cruise.

 

As of July 2018 that incentive process changed. Now the casino host no longer gives the future cruise incentive; you have to call Blue Chip Club a week or so after your cruise ends to find out what your incentive is and then it can’t be applied until you are within 6 months from departure. Because your cruise was under the prior incentive program you are not eligible for this new incentive process for that Reflection cruise.

 

Now it sounds like you are staying in a suite again. Did you ask them about the 20% off? I have been getting 20% off my suite bookings through Blue Chip. I am a Sapphire level player though so I don’t know if that discount only applies to that level or higher. You should definitely ask though as it could save you a lot of money. I would also be curious to know if Amethyst is eligible for that as I will likely drop down to Amethyst level as of January as I only have around 80,000 tier points and won’t likely be taking another Celebrity cruise this year that could keep me at Sapphire.

 

hm.. i also made Amethyst on my 1st Celebrity cruise last month. i joined Blue Chip before i came on board.

 

i inquired via email to Blue chip  about the may 26 ,2019 '10 night Bermuda/New england' Cruise on the Summit.

he gave me a price that was $200 off per person if double occupancy on an Inside room even though i said i was going Solo.

 

$200 off sounds kinda low for earning 30,000 tier points in a 7day cruise?

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by fstuff1

[WonderMan3]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 

hm.. i also made Amethyst on my 1st Celebrity cruise last month. i joined Blue Chip before i came on board.

 

i inquired via email to Blue chip  about the may 26 ,2019 '10 night Bermuda/New england' Cruise on the Summit.

he gave me a price that was $200 off per person if double occupancy on an Inside room even though i said i was going Solo.

 

$200 off sounds kinda low for earning 30,000 tier points in a 7day cruise?

 

 

As I explained to you in another post, I earned 30,000 points on a 7 night cruise and only got an incentive of around $600. My play was purely slots while you had said yours was a mix of slots, VP and table games, with the latter getting the majority of your play. Since table games have a much lower edge for the casino they may not offer as many rewards, on the other hand since it takes so much more play to earn tier points on tables versus slots then you and I both earning 30,000 points should be on an even playing field even though you played through a lot more money than me. That being said, my theoretical loss would’ve been higher than yours and since I know that impacts what they give you for your tier level free play then it probably factors in to what they give you for your future cruise incentive. Celebrity has been getting very tight with their casino offers lately though so you shouldn’t expect much. You should make sure you are on the mailing list to receive offers though. Maybe one of them will work for you since you seem to be fine with an inside cabin. I have gotten several offers ranging from inside to veranda for a variety of cruises in the coming months (none that work for me though). Just today I got an offer for a free 7 night Alaska cruise in a veranda on Solstice for multiple dates this summer. I’m actually starting to look at other cruise lines as Celebrity’s prices are getting too high and the casino offers are decreasing. I’m doing two 7 night cruises on MSC in September in Europe in the Yacht Club through an offer from my local casino. If I like the experience then I might start cruising MSC more and Celebrity less.

[fstuff1]

12 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

As I explained to you in another post, I earned 30,000 points on a 7 night cruise and only got an incentive of around $600. My play was purely slots while you had said yours was a mix of slots, VP and table games, with the latter getting the majority of your play. Since table games have a much lower edge for the casino they may not offer as many rewards, on the other hand since it takes so much more play to earn tier points on tables versus slots then you and I both earning 30,000 points should be on an even playing field even though you played through a lot more money than me. That being said, my theoretical loss would’ve been higher than yours and since I know that impacts what they give you for your tier level free play then it probably factors in to what they give you for your future cruise incentive. Celebrity has been getting very tight with their casino offers lately though so you shouldn’t expect much. You should make sure you are on the mailing list to receive offers though. Maybe one of them will work for you since you seem to be fine with an inside cabin. I have gotten several offers ranging from inside to veranda for a variety of cruises in the coming months (none that work for me though). Just today I got an offer for a free 7 night Alaska cruise in a veranda on Solstice for multiple dates this summer. I’m actually starting to look at other cruise lines as Celebrity’s prices are getting too high and the casino offers are decreasing. I’m doing two 7 night cruises on MSC in September in Europe in the Yacht Club through an offer from my local casino. If I like the experience then I might start cruising MSC more and Celebrity less.

 

so i called blue chip.

based on my play, i get $100 off PER DAY.

so for a 7day cruise, thats $700 off. for a 15day cruise, thats $1500 off, etc.

plus most cruises booked through blue chip has a casino discount on top of the $100/day discount.

 

unfortunately, i usually go solo so im going to be paying double for a room. 😞

 

for your free cruise offers, were they based on your 1st cruise?

if so, how soon after your 1st cruise did you start getting the  offers?

 

[WonderMan3]

3 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

so i called blue chip.

based on my play, i get $100 off PER DAY.

so for a 7day cruise, thats $700 off. for a 15day cruise, thats $1500 off, etc.

plus most cruises booked through blue chip has a casino discount on top of the $100/day discount.

 

unfortunately, i usually go solo so im going to be paying double for a room. 😞

 

for your free cruise offers, were they based on your 1st cruise?

if so, how soon after your 1st cruise did you start getting the  offers?

 

 

Okay. That offer makes more sense. Odd that they  didn’t they tell you it was $100 per day when you called the first time. Also, I find it interesting that they are giving you a rate per day. That’s how they were doing it last year when you got certificates from casino hosts at the end of the cruise before they changed things in July. When I called in December after my Edge cruise they just quoted me a flat discount that I had earned, not per day. It seems like every person gets a different answer when they call Blue Chip which it makes it confusing dealing with them.

 

I’ve been cruising with Celebrity since 2013. They have changed their casino program two times since I started cruising with them so the criteria for offers when I started cruising is no longer the same. Offers are always going to be based on a combination of your tier level and your most recent cruise play. 

[Paulras]

I still find there's confusion whenever I call BlueChip but $100/day is good. I'm Sapphire and only got $190/day off of our upcoming 7 day Bermuda cruise. That's after earning 99,700 points on Silhouette at Christmas. Yes, they really left me needing 300 more points to maintain Sapphire! Like seriously?? A land casino host would have just added the small amount of points to get me to 100k. I'll probably earn that in 10 minutes this summer. 

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, Paulras said:

I still find there's confusion whenever I call BlueChip but $100/day is good. I'm Sapphire and only got $190/day off of our upcoming 7 day Bermuda cruise.

That's after earning 99,700 points on Silhouette at Christmas. Yes, they really left me needing 300 more points to maintain Sapphire! Like seriously?? A land casino host would have just added the small amount of points to get me to 100k. I'll probably earn that in 10 minutes this summer. 

 

wow.. you made 3x more points than me per cruise but only got double the discount? 😞

the scaling sucks.

 

and ugg about 300 points short.

thats the problem i have with Blue Chip: if im playing tables, i have no idea what my tier points are.

 

luckily you are already sapphire.

i would have been pissed off  if im Amethyst and left the ship 300 points short.

thats because i wont get the Sapphire benefits till the cruise AFTER i make Sapphire.

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by fstuff1

[Paulras]

17 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

wow.. you made 3x more points than me per cruise but only got double the discount? 😞

the scaling sucks.

 

and ugg about 300 points short.

thats the problem i have with Blue Chip: if im playing tables, i have no idea what my tier points are.

 

luckily you are already sapphire.

i would have been pissed off  if im Amethyst and left the ship 300 points short.

thats because i wont get the Sapphire benefits till the cruise AFTER i make Sapphire.

 

That's another annoying thing. You can reach the next tier on day 1 and you don't get any of its benefits until the next time you cruise. And if that's not until after a certain 18 month period, you lose it

[fstuff1]

On 3/14/2019 at 10:35 AM, fstuff1 said:

 

so i called blue chip.

based on my play, i get $100 off PER DAY.

so for a 7day cruise, thats $700 off. for a 15day cruise, thats $1500 off, etc.

plus most cruises booked through blue chip has a casino discount on top of the $100/day discount.

 

unfortunately, i usually go solo so im going to be paying double for a room. 😞

 

do i have to book the cruise through Blue chip to get the $100/day discount?

or can i book through a travel agent with some better perks?

 

[Paulras]

On 3/20/2019 at 11:26 PM, fstuff1 said:

 

do i have to book the cruise through Blue chip to get the $100/day discount?

or can i book through a travel agent with some better perks?

 

I book through an agency and get the extra perks, then call up Blue Chip within 6 months of sailing and they apply the discount behind the scenes. Have done that for the past 3 cruises but I've read some people are told the travel agent must call Blue Chip which becomes mass confusion. Maybe that's changed recently. 

[levcruiser]

I was told by a Blue Chip rep. That if I book through a travel agent I would no longer get discount or comp offers from Blue Chip.  Does anybody have experience with this?  

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, levcruiser said:

I was told by a Blue Chip rep. That if I book through a travel agent I would no longer get discount or comp offers from Blue Chip.  Does anybody have experience with this?  

i find lots of  inconsistencies within blue chip.

it's a mess.

the rules change depending on the rep.

 

i've given up on them.

i'll stick with urcomped, which means i will dont see myself ever booking a paying cruise with them.

 

note: i get free cruises for NCL because of their casino or partnerships with their casino program.

but 1/3 of the cruises i've taken with them werent free and i booked out of my own pocket.

 

[levcruiser]

Thanks fstuff1.

[MaryZ]

Tonight I just got offers for free cabins on the Edge for May and June sailings.

Obviously they are truly having issues filling this ship.  If our daughter wasn't getting married this summer

we would have considered going to Europe. 
I haven't received anything from them at all before this.  We sailed on the Silhouette in January.

[Eastern flygirl]

Could someone give me a contact number for Celebrity Blue Chip Club.  

Thank you.