Are Royal Loyal to Customers - Of Course Not

[tinkr2]

5 hours ago, Sizzlechest said:

 

Yes, they have value. Sort of. The Key is a good deal at $19.99 if you're planning on getting the high-speed Internet plan for everyone. To pay that just for preferential boarding, not really. Regardless, people have been loyal to Royal just to earn a spot in front of the line and now they sell it to the highest bidder. Makes you feel cheated, no?

Nope. I bought it also. I boarded behind the diamond plus. I did not have the same perks as a Plus or pinnacle. And they have fixed that low intro price pretty quickly. 

[4774Papa]

13 hours ago, jetta8300 said:

 

You're misunderstanding me... I'm not saying that these perks aren't "nice".  Of course a free drink is nice.  A little tumbler is "nice".  But from what you're saying, there is a $200 savings for you in free drinks in 14 nights.  And due to this $200 savings  in free drinks you are willing to severely limit your choices and experiences in cruising, and limit yourself to one cruise line.  Which to me is baffling.  

 

It's up to the individual if these little perks are worthwhile.  And of course some people here think it is.  But an extra $200 off my bar bill for a 14 night cruise is in no way going to make me limit my choices to one cruise line.  I have hopefully years of cruising ahead, we are only in our mid thirties.  And I have LOVED our experiences with different variety and lines.  I hope to especially enjoy each cruise company's private islands.  More than once.  Carnival's Half Moon Cay is unbelievable As was Norwegian's Great Stirrup Cay, and RCI's Labadee.    and I can't wait to try CoCo Cay.  We loved Norwegian's Haven area, and Carnival's serenity area, and RCI's ships and entertainment.  There is no $200 savings in bar bills that would tempt me to limit my vacationing experiences simply for loyalty or a few perks.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

First, we probably saved $300-400 on our Explorer of the Seas TransPacific, 23 day cruise because of the Diamond HH benefit.

Second, when we pick a cruise, the loyalty benefits are only a factor in the cruise we select.  I thought that I was clear on this.  I routinely compare Celebrity, Royal, NCL and Princess.  Also, itinerary is huge.  We don't do the Caribbean (we did one in 2012).  We like to visit historical and scenic places.  Sorry, we are not beach people.  I am 71 and limit how much time I am exposed to the sun.   

 

We have cruises Australia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Dubai, the Med, British Isles, Panama Canal, Alaska, Around the Horn of South America, Iceland and more.  

 

We have done three TransAtlantics and one TransPacific.    In looking for another TransAtlantic out of Rome in 2020, I found that Royal's prices were the best.  Also, Diamond benefits exceed the Platinum benefits on NCL and the Elite benefits on Celebrity.  Princess was the highest price, so we won't pick Princess.

[SRF]

I don't cruise on Royal for the loyalty perks.  I cruise on them because I like the experiences I have had on them.

 

The loyalty perks are a nice added bonus.