Met head of Loyalty for Celebrity

[Luvcrusn]

I'd not bet on new perks coming any time soon. The current trends of price increases and cost cutting don't make that seem to be a likely outcome. It's always fun to daydream however. 

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'd not bet on new perks coming any time soon. The current trends of price increases and cost cutting don't make that seem to be a likely outcome. It's always fun to daydream however. 

Oh, the less for more program. But I will dream on!

[Luvcrusn]

12 minutes ago, hcat said:

Oh, the less for more program. But I will dream on!

Yes, I try to keep my glass half full!

[Xport]

11 hours ago, Ma Bell said:

Honestly, if someone has time to come and greet us or escort us off it's nice but if we've been around long enough to be Zenith I think we might know where to go and what to do.

 

I certainly don't need the navigational assistance of an escort to disembark a Celebrity ship--as of Sunday, including Edge--but there can be significant advantage to using Priority Disembarkation via Michael's Club or The Retreat Lounge if one needs to be among the first off as I did on Sunday [I live locally and have a standing 9:30 AM volunteer commitment every other week].  If time is not of the essence--whether disembarking domestically or internationally--I don't use it...

 

Perhaps you've never had occasion to use it but, if the Priority Disembarkation process works well--it usually does, Edge was a mess--it couldn't be quicker/easier/more convenient.

• Bags associated with those guests eligible for expedited ship departure are tagged/picked up the night before and are the first to be delivered to the terminal.
• In the morning, the Michael's Club Concierge escorts those who need to depart early out a back door to Deck 5 and to final security scan/the gangway a few minutes before the unassisted walk-off group [with luggage] starts to disembark.
• All told the first departure group has checked out, has luggage in hand, has cleared Immigration/Customs [new facial recognition at Terminal 25 at Port Everglades is promising] and--in my experience, I used it when disembarking Silhouette in November--out the terminal door in five to seven minutes. 

 

 

 

[Ma Bell]

12 minutes ago, Xport said:

 

I certainly don't need the navigational assistance of an escort to disembark a Celebrity ship--as of Sunday, including Edge--but there can be significant advantage to using Priority Disembarkation via Michael's Club or The Retreat Lounge if one needs to be among the first off as I did on Sunday [I live locally and have a standing 9:30 AM volunteer commitment every other week].  If time is not of the essence--whether disembarking domestically or internationally--I don't use it...

 

Perhaps you've never had occasion to use it but, if the Priority Disembarkation process works well--it usually does, Edge was a mess--it couldn't be quicker/easier/more convenient.

• Bags associated with those guests eligible for expedited ship departure are tagged/picked up the night before and are the first to be delivered to the terminal.
• In the morning, the Michael's Club Concierge escorts those who need to depart early out a back door to Deck 5 and to final security scan/the gangway a few minutes before the unassisted walk-off group [with luggage] starts to disembark.
• All told the first departure group has checked out, has luggage in hand, has cleared Immigration/Customs [new facial recognition at Terminal 25 at Port Everglades is promising] and--in my experience, I used it when disembarking Silhouette in November--out the terminal door in five to seven minutes. 

 

 

 

Yes, it's nice if you need it. The point I was making is you can still use priority boarding without someone leading the way.

[LXA350]

The loyality programs of RCCL, Celebrity, Azamara and Silversea should either be integrated into one group wide program or at least enable to collect points and receive equivalent status recognition when cruising on either of the lines. Hence, a RCCL Diamond Plus Member to be recognized ad Elite + on Celebrity etc.

[Texed]

55 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

The loyality programs of RCCL, Celebrity, Azamara and Silversea should either be integrated into one group wide program or at least enable to collect points and receive equivalent status recognition when cruising on either of the lines. Hence, a RCCL Diamond Plus Member to be recognized ad Elite + on Celebrity etc.

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

[TeeRick]

I would be in favor of no Loyalty programs if it meant lower prices to cruise.

[TeaBag]

7 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

I agree totally.

[Luvcrusn]

I'd like the label for Elite and Elite+ changed to almost anything else. Those tend to carry a negative connotation that makes anyone who hears the name feel like they're being "put down" if they're not among that group. The names for the other levels (Classic, Select, Zenith) carry no such connotation nor does Royal's Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Pinnacle. I have many friends that express their level (only if directly asked and they hide their cards) as "the next one up from Select, or two up from Select" for that reason.

[Silkroad]

I must admit that the term “Elite” doesn’t resonate with me, even though I’m quite looking forward to finally having those laundry and internet benefits next month. They’ll be especially useful on a TA🙂  

 

How about naming the levels after mountains, each higher than the last? Or seas & oceans, each larger than the last? 

[Luvcrusn]

Anything but Elite and Elite+ (which is even worse)!

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

Agree..that is what has diluted the program...Too many at events, too many with priority.. More Royals come to X  than the reverse...and I guess many of them stay with X.

[maggie.1008]

I have been on RCL once. Too many kids for me and we have not returned. All of my points are with X. I wish they had never combined the programs. 

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

Agree..! 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

19 hours ago, Ma Bell said:

Honestly, if someone has time to come and greet us or escort us off it's nice but if we've been around long enough to be Zenith I think we might know where to go and what to do.

 

I know where to go and what to do upon boarding.  It's still nice to be escorted.  It's absolutely essential when getting off the ship if you want to bypass lines and crowds.  If I've paid a premium for my cabin, I expect it.  If I haven't paid a premium, then no problem.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

 

Exactly.  I get a big kick out of newbies who say they've booked a concierge cabin because they get priority boarding.  I'd venture to guess that about 80% of the people entering the terminal are entitled to priority boarding for one reason or another.  Pretty silly.

[varoo]

On 3/14/2019 at 2:50 PM, Orator said:

I met Andrea Shey, the Head of Loyalty Department and some of her staff on the Reflection. She seems interested in receiving feedback from cruisers on the Loyalty program and I am opening this thread to give cruisers a platform for making suggestions........

 

It would be nice if she would come on this forum and reply to the comments that have been made here.

 

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, LXA350 said:

The loyality programs of RCCL, Celebrity, Azamara and Silversea should either be integrated into one group wide program or at least enable to collect points and receive equivalent status recognition when cruising on either of the lines. Hence, a RCCL Diamond Plus Member to be recognized ad Elite + on Celebrity etc.

 

2 hours ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

Texted, I agree. 

[Shadow9612]

12 hours ago, hcat said:

 I have already said...It's  not the perks that others get that are an issue..They get them as part of their booking at a much higher fare. 

 

It is the diminution and pull back of  special  focus for loyalty  groups that has taken place on X.  E  and E plus are not very special anymore ( further diluted by Royal  crossover).   Old saying  "Take from Peter to pay Paul". What one segment gains, another loses.  The new loyalty rep can hopefully re- invigorate the the program with a few more incentives.

 

 We still enjoy cruising with X,   mostly happy with the perks  and look forward to any news about a new Cap Club Level or a few new perks ... 

Ah, ok, I understand the feeling that E and E+ aren't as special.  I had misunderstood and thought the 'blame' was on suite guests getting more perks and attention.  

 

When I reached E level, I was so happy to go to the E breakfast - I was mesmorized by the view of the wake of the ship with my cappuccino in hand and the peaceful atmospheres....fast forward a few years and now the E breakfast is self serve and there are so many E guests that the restaurant is as noisy as the oceanview .. I'm not sure if it's always that way now but I was quite disappointed ....

[Shadow9612]

12 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'd not bet on new perks coming any time soon. The current trends of price increases and cost cutting don't make that seem to be a likely outcome. It's always fun to daydream however. 

 

12 hours ago, hcat said:

Oh, the less for more program. But I will dream on!

Maybe we can request that they give captain club points for dreaming!

[Shadow9612]

6 hours ago, LXA350 said:

The loyality programs of RCCL, Celebrity, Azamara and Silversea should either be integrated into one group wide program or at least enable to collect points and receive equivalent status recognition when cruising on either of the lines. Hence, a RCCL Diamond Plus Member to be recognized ad Elite + on Celebrity etc.

No.......

 

5 hours ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

Exactly.

[bob278]

7 hours ago, Texed said:

 

I disagree.  In my opinion, that is why the loyalty program on Celebrity has been diluted because there is crossover from RCI.  If everyone has "priority", no one has priority.  😊 

Exactly.  I lived through a perfect example of that  few years back on Delta.

 

They had priority boarding for Medallion members and, at that time, boarded by zones.  The gate agent announced "Folks, we have 103 passengers on this flight and 97 of you are Medallions so we are going to board strictly by zones".

 

Nobody should care why someone else has the same perks they do.  The only reason it might matter at all is if there are so many, the perk is less valuable.

 

But let's not lose sight of the fact that the truth is it isn't a loyalty program.  It is a business providing incentive to get you to give them more of your dollars.  A loyalty award is a gift with no strings.  These perks require you to spend more money to get them. 

 

An example of what I mean is a true gift I got when I reached a million miles on Delta.  They gave me a choice of several gifts.  The fact that I chose a really nice carry-on bag that made quite a few more Delta flights was coincidental as there was no requirement for me to ever board another Delta flight.

[upwarduk]

4 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

now the E breakfast is self serve and there are so many E guests that the restaurant is as noisy as the oceanview

Not on Silhouette in the Baltic in summer 2018.

Elite breakfast was plated and served. At the most there were only 3 more couples eating in Tuscan. We only went to the Elite breakfast on sea days, so it wasn’t that passengers were on excursions.

 

I do do wish that I could earn points on Royal that would increase my Celebrity points, as I can on Azamara.

Edited March 20, 2019 by upwarduk

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Ah, ok, I understand the feeling that E and E+ aren't as special.  I had misunderstood and thought the 'blame' was on suite guests getting more perks and attention.  

 

When I reached E level, I was so happy to go to the E breakfast - I was mesmorized by the view of the wake of the ship with my cappuccino in hand and the peaceful atmospheres....fast forward a few years and now the E breakfast is self serve and there are so many E guests that the restaurant is as noisy as the oceanview .. I'm not sure if it's always that way now but I was quite disappointed ....

 

We were told that if there are only a few guests on board they have the menu and plated delivery, if there are lots of Elites on board then it is buffet service.

 

We really enjoy the odd Elite breakfast too, a nice light relaxing start to the day. On all of our cruises we have never experienced a noisy breakfast, often only the window seats are in use. I think you must have been unlucky. Don’t let that one experience put you off. Nothing like starting the day with a Bellini!