Crown & Anchor Status Match

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

But, when traveling together, one person can tag along with the person with status.  So a traveling companion, traveling with me, can use the priority check in line, get priority boarding, and go to the lounge with me.  WHEN I AM TRAVELING WITH THEM.  Otherwise, they are at their own status.

 

That's a great idea, why didn't someone suggest that?  😄

 

On 12/31/2019 at 10:38 AM, Another_Critic said:

No "permanent" status matching.  To simplify, just status match based on the highest level cabin mate for that cruise (and only that cruise); this should be able to be automated easily.  All (SO, kids, etc) C&A members status would be based on their actual points.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Another_Critic

[ZiggaZagga17]

On 12/29/2019 at 11:50 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

Or a brilliant marketing strategy on their part.  A whole lot of young adults that have significant status who are familiar with their product.  When they go to book their first cruise on their own where Mommy and Daddy aren’t paying they may be more inclined to return to Royal.

 

It only sucks for the other C&A members who complain about crowding in the lounges but those young adults are rarely in the lounges anyway and Royal doesn’t really care about out the fighting in the sandbox anyway.

 

On 12/31/2019 at 7:12 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it.  It's only a monster in your eyes.  For Royal they are gaining new customers who may just remain loyal.  Royal does not care one bit about the squabbling over seats in the lounge which unless I'm missing something is the only thing that affects other C&A guests.  Royal gave D and up the 3 free drinks to compensate for the lounges being busier.  I very much doubt that they will change things.

This is pretty much how I think about the whole Crown & Anchor system!

 

The only thing that RCCL are bothered about is where the next $ is coming from and how long it's going to be repeated!

That's why the ships are getting amplified with slides - how many adults actually use them? - and why some other additions to the ships facilities are based around the younger cruisers, especially young children!  You could even bring Coco Cay into this theory too - let's face it, you hardly see cruisers in their senior years first in the line to get off the ship to go spend a day there do you?

 

As far as the constant lounge debate and who should and who should not be in them goes - I say make hay whilst the sun shines because I predict that by the end of this new decade, if not sooner, they won't exist in the form they do now! The only lounges that will exist will be on a 'actual spend' and not 'historical spend' basis ie suite guests and maybe pinnacles. 

The small spaces they currently occupy can and will be used for other options to dine or drink - look at the huge increase in specialist dining options in the last few years with the newer ships - they want to maximise the $ in the long run, all the new ships, and for that matter the improvements to the older ships and places like Coco Cay need paying for!

 

Somebody will have sat down somewhere in RCCL HQ and figured out that cruisers with a loyalty status who've bought drinks packages for instance generally don't set foot in any of the lounges as they're frequently packed to the rafters and a package means they can drink anything - anywhere! They'll be working on a theory ( rightly or wrongly - I say 70/30) that most people who are the main users of the lounges don't or rarely spend any more $'s once they've stepped onboard! 

Free pictures ( on older ships they still actually print off everything anyway), cheap laundry, free internet etc etc are in the great scheme of things fairly immaterial to the cruise lines - constantly shelling out free booze for very little if any return is something totally different! They want the constant return of younger families and their children who will gain a loyalty status and keep spending $'s for the next 30/40/50 years or so rather than worrying what someone has already spent over the last 10 years or so! 

It's the way of life now with this industry - like it or lump it but the $ speaks volumes!

The lounges will go, maybe the 3 drinks will become 5 or maybe even a drinks card per cruise for instance, but more likely a discount on a dining option or excursion that will still draw in cash for them!

All the same, as much as this may never happen, it's fun to see people implode on here when they think someone is going to steal their seat and the gin n tonic! - as George Orwell said - everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others!

 

Happy Cruising shipmates!

 

 

[twangster]

When I am in a DL or CL I don't see very many young people, I see older more established people.  

 

The vast majority of people at happy hour in a diamond club don't appear to be the people that everyone is pointing at.  Probably because they are young and working, starting to build a family, rarely going a cruise.  

 

The vast majority of people I see in a diamond club are older people approaching or having retired.  On my last cruise there was one young adult in her twenties.  Just one in a massive crowd of people my age.  She popped in for a short time because her friends weren't diamond, then she left to join her friends.  Over dozens of cruises in 2019 there simply hasn't been a lot or any millennials in the DL.

 

Perhaps Royal is allowing it so when we all die off there will be people in the decades ahead to take our place once they are in a place in life that allows them to cruise more often.

[ZiggaZagga17]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

When I am in a DL or CL I don't see very many young people, I see older more established people.  

 

The vast majority of people at happy hour in a diamond club don't appear to be the people that everyone is pointing at.  Probably because they are young and working, starting to build a family, rarely going a cruise.  

 

The vast majority of people I see in a diamond club are older people approaching or having retired.  On my last cruise there was one young adult in her twenties.  Just one in a massive crowd of people my age.  She popped in for a short time because her friends weren't diamond, then she left to join her friends.  Over dozens of cruises in 2019 there simply hasn't been a lot or any millennials in the DL.

 

Perhaps Royal is allowing it so when we all die off there will be people in the decades ahead to take our place once they are in a place in life that allows them to cruise more often.

Again, this is where the ideal falls flat, it's not rewarding her loyalty any more than her 3 drinks elsewhere! 

It's not surprising that people want/try to circumvent the system when a situation like that arises - but what better way to 'show off' to new cruisers what they can look forward to!

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

Again, this is where the ideal falls flat, it's not rewarding her loyalty any more than her 3 drinks elsewhere! 

It's not surprising that people want/try to circumvent the system when a situation like that arises - but what better way to 'show off' to new cruisers what they can look forward to!

 

I'm not sure I follow.  What ideal is falling flat?  What system is being circumvented? 

 

She is Diamond.  I made no assumptions if she has cruised enough to reach 80 points in her own account or if she benefited from dependent status.  Not any of my business how she attained it, her card opens the door.

 

Her friends learn she is going to an area reserved for loyal customers only.  i would think that by itself makes them realize there is purpose for being loyal to Royal.  

 

She didn't try to sneak her friends into the club.  She left them and went to the club by herself.  No rules broken.  No system circumvented.  

[ZiggaZagga17]

8 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

I'm not sure I follow.  What ideal is falling flat?  What system is being circumvented? 

 

She is Diamond.  I made no assumptions if she has cruised enough to reach 80 points in her own account or if she benefited from dependent status.  Not any of my business how she attained it, her card opens the door.

 

Her friends learn she is going to an area reserved for loyal customers only.  i would think that by itself makes them realize there is purpose for being loyal to Royal.  

 

She didn't try to sneak her friends into the club.  She left them and went to the club by herself.  No rules broken.  No system circumvented.  

ha ha nothing more than crossed wires - what i meant was as other posters have allured to and in previous threads people try to sneak people in to show them what's available etc and the bit about her loyalty has been worded incorrectly lol  what i meant was it could be conceived she's missing out because she's travelling with non equal friends etc and only gets her flat 3 drinks!  But it seems people do try to circumvent the system whereas as you rightly put, she was honest and left to enjoy her time with her friends etc

sorry for the confusion!

[SRF]

The other thing that is interesting about the cruise program versus the airline model is recent spending.

 

For the airlines, it is not what did you do for me 10 years ago, it is what did you do for me last year.

 

Until you reach Million miler, there is no carry over of status from year to year.  You have to earn it each year again.

 

I could see a recent cruise requirement for cruise status.  If you don't cruise for X years, you drop one level.  And then need to reclaim that level by sailing X nights over Y years.

 

 

[Another_Critic]

6 minutes ago, SRF said:

The other thing that is interesting about the cruise program versus the airline model is recent spending.

 

For the airlines, it is not what did you do for me 10 years ago, it is what did you do for me last year.

 

Until you reach Million miler, there is no carry over of status from year to year.  You have to earn it each year again.

 

I could see a recent cruise requirement for cruise status.  If you don't cruise for X years, you drop one level.  And then need to reclaim that level by sailing X nights over Y years.

 

 

 

MSC loyalty expires after 3 dormant years.

 

MSC Voyagers Club membership is valid for three years and subject to a minimum of one cruise every three years. If the last cruise disembarkation date is over 3 years or no cruise has been completed in 3 years after the enrollment date, membership will expire. For example: if the last disembarkation date is January 1, 2015, and no cruises are completed by January 1, 2018, the membership will expire. If the registration date is January 1, 2015, and no cruises are completed by January 1, 2018, the membership will expire. Should your membership expire, you must subscribe to the MSC Voyagers Club again. A new Club identification number will be assigned. Check out now your membership expiry date in the MSC Voyagers Club online private area!

[LMaxwell]

8 hours ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

 

This is pretty much how I think about the whole Crown & Anchor system!

 

The only thing that RCCL are bothered about is where the next $ is coming from and how long it's going to be repeated!

That's why the ships are getting amplified with slides - how many adults actually use them? - and why some other additions to the ships facilities are based around the younger cruisers, especially young children!  You could even bring Coco Cay into this theory too - let's face it, you hardly see cruisers in their senior years first in the line to get off the ship to go spend a day there do you?

 

As far as the constant lounge debate and who should and who should not be in them goes - I say make hay whilst the sun shines because I predict that by the end of this new decade, if not sooner, they won't exist in the form they do now! The only lounges that will exist will be on a 'actual spend' and not 'historical spend' basis ie suite guests and maybe pinnacles. 

The small spaces they currently occupy can and will be used for other options to dine or drink - look at the huge increase in specialist dining options in the last few years with the newer ships - they want to maximise the $ in the long run, all the new ships, and for that matter the improvements to the older ships and places like Coco Cay need paying for!

 

Somebody will have sat down somewhere in RCCL HQ and figured out that cruisers with a loyalty status who've bought drinks packages for instance generally don't set foot in any of the lounges as they're frequently packed to the rafters and a package means they can drink anything - anywhere! They'll be working on a theory ( rightly or wrongly - I say 70/30) that most people who are the main users of the lounges don't or rarely spend any more $'s once they've stepped onboard! 

Free pictures ( on older ships they still actually print off everything anyway), cheap laundry, free internet etc etc are in the great scheme of things fairly immaterial to the cruise lines - constantly shelling out free booze for very little if any return is something totally different! They want the constant return of younger families and their children who will gain a loyalty status and keep spending $'s for the next 30/40/50 years or so rather than worrying what someone has already spent over the last 10 years or so! 

It's the way of life now with this industry - like it or lump it but the $ speaks volumes!

The lounges will go, maybe the 3 drinks will become 5 or maybe even a drinks card per cruise for instance, but more likely a discount on a dining option or excursion that will still draw in cash for them!

All the same, as much as this may never happen, it's fun to see people implode on here when they think someone is going to steal their seat and the gin n tonic! - as George Orwell said - everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others!

 

Happy Cruising shipmates!

 

 

MDR's will be gone.  More cabins.  Less staff.  Buffet included, or buy a specialty package. 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 hours ago, SRF said:

The other thing that is interesting about the cruise program versus the airline model is recent spending.

 

For the airlines, it is not what did you do for me 10 years ago, it is what did you do for me last year.

 

Until you reach Million miler, there is no carry over of status from year to year.  You have to earn it each year again.

 

I could see a recent cruise requirement for cruise status.  If you don't cruise for X years, you drop one level.  And then need to reclaim that level by sailing X nights over Y years.

 

 

Again, why do you think Royal has a problem with the current system.  They are trying to encourage people to stay loyal, not beat them back and tell them to go elsewhere.  The benefits they give out, even at the upper levels are peanuts in the grand scheme of things.  

[davekathy]

6 hours ago, SRF said:

...I could see a recent cruise requirement for cruise status.  If you don't cruise for X years, you drop one level.  And then need to reclaim that level by sailing X nights over Y years...

No way.👎 You're not seeing clearly.

[davekathy]

Deleted..duplicate post.

Edited January 3, 2020 by davekathy

[davekathy]

Deleted...duplicate post. 

[SRF]

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Again, why do you think Royal has a problem with the current system.  They are trying to encourage people to stay loyal, not beat them back and tell them to go elsewhere.  The benefits they give out, even at the upper levels are peanuts in the grand scheme of things.  

 

Then why not give everyone Diamond after one cruise???? 🙂

 

Just that Royal systems spawns a lot of cruisers with status that do not actually earn that status.  If that is what Royal wants to do, then just give the status.

[happytocruiseginny]

We went to LA and they instantly paired my husbands’ status with mine.  On our next cruise he shows up as Platinum.   I am the gambler.  He is not.  But I will go to Emerald this year - perhaps in the fall if I can squeeze in a 4th cruise this year!   🤞🏼 

Edited January 7, 2020 by happytocruiseginny
Removed “e” after 4th