Revamped Tier Levels Coming Soon

[Bgwest]

On 6/8/2021 at 3:23 PM, cruzsnooze said:

So when my credit card gives me 2% back is that a class system? If I spend more I get more back. If I book a suite I get better  perks and special privileges' like the elite/suite happy hour, another class system. We live in a capitalistic country where money does buy higher end goods and services.  

Right up until the moment on the immediate horizon when capitalism is beaten down and the incentive to work hard to be able afford cruises (suites?? not a chance) has completely evaporated. 

[cruzsnooze]

15 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Right up until the moment on the immediate horizon when capitalism is beaten down and the incentive to work hard to be able afford cruises (suites?? not a chance) has completely evaporated. 

You can only see that horizon if you book a balcony or higher category so you see money does buy higher end goods and services. 

[Bgwest]

1 minute ago, cruzsnooze said:

You can only see that horizon if you book a balcony or higher category so you see money does buy higher end goods and services. 

Of course it does. Capitalism 101. 

But when capitalism is drummed out of existence, what then?

[cruzsnooze]

1 hour ago, Bgwest said:

Of course it does. Capitalism 101. 

But when capitalism is drummed out of existence, what then?

I don't see that happening in my lifetime. Enjoy your view.

[geocruiser]

6 hours ago, MishelleMcc said:

FYI, they still have them...  Just ask "Stewart" once you are onboard...  Also, I was able to ask for & received a handheld shower from my PVP in Dec 2019... 

 

But I agree... lets not start on this again...🤣  Happy Cruising!!

You can ask, but might not receive.  Happy cruising.

[caribill]

 

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Actually, I appreciate the benefit of the separate boarding area (when available of course) where there are snacks and drinks. I also enjoy the disembarkation lounge where there is seating and drinks such as water, coffee, and juice. When we are on the way to the disembarkation lounge and I pass the myriad of passengers huddled on the floor and along the walls in the photo area or in the casino I am extremely happy that we are not among them.

 

a) With Princess, due to the pandemic, saying they will be enforcing assigned boarding times, the special Elite lounge will probably no longer exist unless it does for the first assigned boarding time.

 

b) The platinum/elite disembarkation lounge tends to get crowded where there are 1500 or more platinum/elite passengers on board.

[MissP22]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

a) With Princess, due to the pandemic, saying they will be enforcing assigned boarding times, the special Elite lounge will probably no longer exist unless it does for the first assigned boarding time.

I can't see why the Elite Lounge won't be available for boarding as before. Separating passengers can be done either in the general population or the lounge....but why knows for sure.

It wouldn't surprise me to see them enforce assigned boarding times but that would only mean longer lines outside the building accomplishing nothing but more crowding shoulder to shoulder. 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

 

It wouldn't surprise me to see them enforce assigned boarding times but that would only mean longer lines outside the building accomplishing nothing but more crowding shoulder to shoulder. 

 

Having enforced assigned boarding times, either self-selected or chosen by Princess, comes with its own set of problems, just like it did in the past when Princess tried to assign boarding times by cabin location.

 

a) Your flight arrives at 8 AM, but the time slot you have (assigned by Princess or only what is left when you try to pick one), is not until 3 PM. What do you do until then? And where?

 

b) Your flight arrives at 1 PM and the time slot assigned is earlier than that?

 

c) Must check out of the hotel by 11 AM, but can't check-in until 3:30.

 

None of the above makes it a happy start for your cruise vacation.

 

I once experienced enforced check-in times with CCL. I had picked 11:00 AM and reached the port about 11:25. As that was near the end of my allotted half hour, we could walk right in, walking past a very tightly packed crowd behind a rope waiting for their 11:30 check-in time to arrive. (Note: I was able to get the time I wanted because I selected it the first hour selecting a time was opened up.)

 

It works well if you can get the time you want, not so well otherwise.

 

I remember the only posts I have seen on Cruise Critic in the past about when Princess actually enforced the assigned boarding times by deck. First was in Sydney where the size of the terminal did not allow a large number of people to be inside at the same time.Second was in Fort Lauderdale when extra cleaning of the ship due to noro delayed boarding to late afternoon. In that case, everyone was packed into a convention hall for hours waiting for assigned boarding times to begin.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

I can't see why the Elite Lounge won't be available for boarding as before. Separating passengers can be done either in the general population or the lounge....but why knows for sure.

 

 

Access to the elite lounge was (a) after being checked in and (b) before boarding had started.

 

With enforced boarding times, except possibly for the earliest time slot, you can get on the ship immediately after checking in.

[MissP22]

8 minutes ago, caribill said:

With enforced boarding times, except possibly for the earliest time slot, you can get on the ship immediately after checking in.

I've never seen that happen in Florida. They always made people wait until general boarding had begun.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I've never seen that happen in Florida. They always made people wait until general boarding had begun.

 

And that was before the proposed assigned boarding times, back when a number of people could be waiting an hour or more after checking in before boarding began.

 

With the proposed enforced check-in/boarding times, by the time the 2nd group checks in, boarding will likely have started.

 

But in the past, once boarding did start,  Elite passengers could go directly to the ship after checking in.

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

But in the past, once boarding did start,  Elite passengers could go directly to the ship after checking in.

Since we always get there early in the morning we've never seen that situation. 

[Daniel A]

15 minutes ago, caribill said:

But in the past, once boarding did start,  Elite passengers could go directly to the ship after checking in.

Can I presume the same applies to Platinum passengers?  IIRC, expedited boarding is a Platinum benefit that gets grandfathered into Elite status.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Daniel A

[caribill]

35 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Can I presume the same applies to Platinum passengers?  IIRC, expedited boarding is a Platinum benefit that gets grandfathered into Elite status.

 

Basically it apples to all passengers once those who checked in before boarding began are allowed to board.

[Daniel A]

21 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Basically it apples to all passengers once those who checked in before boarding began are allowed to board.

But will they have an expedited lane for Platinum and Elite to check in?  Especially if they'll be doing enhanced health screenings?

[LACruiser88]

16 hours ago, caribill said:

The platinum/elite disembarkation lounge tends to get crowded where there are 1500 or more platinum/elite passengers on board.

We have been on many cruises where the Platinum/Elite disembarkation lounge was FULL and there were no empty seats.  Maybe having an Elite lounge and a separate Platinum lounge could help the cruises that have so many passengers in these two tiers?

[Thrak]

17 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We have been on many cruises where the Platinum/Elite disembarkation lounge was FULL and there were no empty seats.  Maybe having an Elite lounge and a separate Platinum lounge could help the cruises that have so many passengers in these two tiers?

 

It may well depend on what time slot you have for disembarkation. We tend to take a late departure time and many have already left the lounge and the ship.

[Bgwest]

On 6/10/2021 at 11:17 PM, cruzsnooze said:

I don't see that happening in my lifetime. Enjoy your view.

Nor do I. We are old fockers. I fully plan to outlive the sea change that is upon us. 

 

But then again, there are the next generations I worry about. As Thomas Jefferson once famously said........(never mind). 

[dave_k58]

On 6/7/2021 at 9:47 AM, cruzsnooze said:

That would be unfair to those of us who pay for suites vs the inside cabins. Company needs to reward their big spenders accordingly.

THat's how all the airlines and hotels do their reward programs

 

[NSWP]

On 6/7/2021 at 11:31 PM, cruzsnooze said:

Friend in high up places tells me they are coming out with new tier level and reworking the current perks for each level. I believe this was over due since elite level was a very low bar and number of elites is way to large. Laundry was a factor, it was taking too long for elites since it was over whelmed. I'm interested to see where the top tier will be............25-50 cruise credits sounds like a good number. The number of nights???

  Any guesses what the new top tier number of cruises will be?

300 nights or 30 cruises? Double the current requirement.

[NSWP]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:29 AM, geocruiser said:

Barrel Chairs!!! 🪑 On no, don't get me started on that.  My last two booked cruises were with HAL and not Princess because of that!!😀

We could kick of the pat of butter thread again as well as barrel chairs, 🤣

[Steelers36]

On 6/11/2021 at 1:11 AM, caribill said:

 

 

a) With Princess, due to the pandemic, saying they will be enforcing assigned boarding times, the special Elite lounge will probably no longer exist unless it does for the first assigned boarding time.

 

I would think anyone in the early arrival grouping who is Elite, Platinum, or Suite will go to the appropriate "lounge" to await start of general boarding.  The rest will be seated as usual.  If they enforce the groups, there are less people in the building prior to boarding.  But, we do not yet know the time gaps and the number processed in each gap.

 

18 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I can't see why the Elite Lounge won't be available for boarding as before. Separating passengers can be done either in the general population or the lounge....but why knows for sure.

It wouldn't surprise me to see them enforce assigned boarding times but that would only mean longer lines outside the building accomplishing nothing but more crowding shoulder to shoulder. 

I agree that the lounge area should be available - at least until general boarding begins. 

Yes, people will still arrive early and have to wait outside - but it's outside, so less of a concern and also with "everyone" vaccinated, no big deal IMO.

If fact, I hope by Fall 2022 this is dispensed with due to Bye-Bye Covid and all of the concerns @caribill outlined in a post above.

 

17 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Access to the elite lounge was (a) after being checked in and (b) before boarding had started.

 

With enforced boarding times, except possibly for the earliest time slot, you can get on the ship immediately after checking in.

Yes, I would think once general boarding begins and the second group comes in for check-in processing, the first group has gone aboard and as passengers are processed, they can proceed aboard and they will naturally be a lot more spaced out than the first group.  

 

And one assumes any Elite/Suite/Platinums in second and subsequent boarding groups are getting priority processing and among first to board in those groups.  But pity those who did not want a late group and wanted to get on board in order to book hot items like Sanctuary, Chef's Dinner, etc.

 

16 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I've never seen that happen in Florida. They always made people wait until general boarding had begun.

I think you just misunderstood.  Yes, even folks in the earliest boarding group have to wait for general boarding to begin - UNLESS Princess is going to keep everyone outside until one can just proceed on-board after check-in formalities.  But this would be terribly inefficient and slow down the whole process.

 

12 hours ago, caribill said:

 

And that was before the proposed assigned boarding times, back when a number of people could be waiting an hour or more after checking in before boarding began.

 

With the proposed enforced check-in/boarding times, by the time the 2nd group checks in, boarding will likely have started.

 

But in the past, once boarding did start,  Elite passengers could go directly to the ship after checking in.

Agree.

 

12 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Since we always get there early in the morning we've never seen that situation. 

We are quite early arrivers as we like to get on-board and be settled in and start the cruise with lunch.  Sometimes we are after Sanctuary chair booking or special dining, etc.  I have seen it later in the day on a couple of occasions so a bit familiar with that too.  Have also been thru B2B's.

 

 

 

As mentioned in an earlier post, the assigned groups can be problematic for folks who are out of sorts earlier in the day, or are late arrivers by choice or by travel arrangements.  But, we are supposed to be able to select desired groups via the App in due course, so the key to me is knowing the day and hour that opens up for a particular voyage and then jumping online like trying to buy a hot concert ticket if you want the early group.  I would hope and expect that Elite and Suite get a shot ahead of others - say one day.

 

An equivalent in the airline travel industry is that higher tier loyalty members get an earlier shot at upgrade requests over those with lower FF status.  Since Princess gives priority boarding to Elite/Suite/Platinum, at least we should get first shot at the early arrival group. Priority boarding doesn't mean much later on when the first group is aboard and you walk on after check-in completed.

 

 

[Steelers36]

<deleted duplicated post>

Edited June 12, 2021 by Steelers36

[dog]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

@caribill—————
—-…..______———-

 

As mentioned in an earlier post,

 

the assigned groups can be problematic for folks who are out of sorts earlier in the day, or are late arrivers by choice or by travel arrangements.  But, we are supposed to be able to select desired groups via the App in due course, so the key to me is knowing the day and hour that opens up for a particular voyage and then jumping online like trying to buy a hot concert ticket if you want the early group.  I would hope and expect that Elite and Suite get a shot ahead of others - say one day.

 

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

<deleted duplicated post>

 

Sorry, error.   
delete. 

[Daniel A]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I would hope and expect that Elite and Suite get a shot ahead of others - say one day.

Since priority embarkation is a Platinum benefit that gets grandfathered to Elite, did you exclude Platinum for the sake of brevity or are you suggesting 'watering down' the benefit for Platinum cruisers?

 

One of the unintended consequences of offering higher loyalty tier passengers too many perks like first crack at boarding, dining and show admissions is that they may well be shunning new customers.  I doubt if when I had a 'blue card' I couldn't get a decent dining time or it was standing room only for us at shows or I couldn't board the ship or disembark until later on, that I would ever have sailed with that line again.  After all, what is the main purpose of a loyalty program; is it getting those who have sailed 30+ times with you to sail again or is it to get the first time cruisers to want to return?  They need to be very careful when giving perks to some customers at the expense of other customers.  I firmly believe brand loyalty should be rewarded but it should be at the company's expense - not at the expense of other passengers.