Your opinion on latitudes rewards

[KeithJenner]

Regarding potential changes, these were refreshed in early 2017, and before that there hadn't been changes for a while. You never know, but I don't expect any further changes for a good few years (unless the fallout from Covid results in something).

[Sand and Seas]

I agree with the others about Platinum Plus.   We have been Plat Plus since it was separated from Platinum and we will never have a chance to make it to Ambassador.

 

I'm happy with the dinners, laundry and a couple of water bottles.  I just wish they would let us state our preferences.  Would love the chance to get an extra water bottle in place of the wine we never drink.

[Nataly1982]

Has anyone got free artwork for attending art auction? We attended auction on our first cruise, but after 45 mins they were still reading T&Cs so we left. 

[mscdivina2016]

23 minutes ago, Nataly1982 said:

Has anyone got free artwork for attending art auction? We attended auction on our first cruise, but after 45 mins they were still reading T&Cs so we left. 

Its garbage.  Its like a color photocopy of something.

STeve

[pbenjamin]

It's all pretty useless from my standpoint. Everything short of platinum I either don't want, wouldn't use or already get by staying in a suite or the Haven.

[UKstages]

3 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Regarding potential changes, these were refreshed in early 2017, and before that there hadn't been changes for a while. You never know, but I don't expect any further changes for a good few years (unless the fallout from Covid results in something).

 

two things will necessitate changes sooner rather than later.

 

the first is that they will wake up and realize that they need to align themselves with most other hospitality loyalty programs and base rewards on revenue... how much the customer spends. (the time has long since passed that airlines reward flyers based on distance flown. that never made any sense whatsoever and it took them thirty years to realize it!)

 

the second thing is that - due to current COVID incentives - most people are earning 2X and 3X latitudes reward points. very soon, a heck of a lot of people will be platinum or plus. and when everyone is platinum or plus, the program is no longer meaningful... not that most platinum benefits are meaningful, anyway.

 

this is a very weak loyalty program, with very few benefits that matter.

 

[KeithJenner]

5 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

two things will necessitate changes sooner rather than later.

 

the first is that they will wake up and realize that they need to align themselves with most other hospitality loyalty programs and base rewards on revenue... how much the customer spends. (the time has long since passed that airlines reward flyers based on distance flown. that never made any sense whatsoever and it took them thirty years to realize it!)

 

the second thing is that - due to current COVID incentives - most people are earning 2X and 3X latitudes reward points. very soon, a heck of a lot of people will be platinum or plus. and when everyone is platinum or plus, the program is no longer meaningful... not that most platinum benefits are meaningful, anyway.

 

this is a very weak loyalty program, with very few benefits that matter.

 

It was a very weak loyalty program 4 years ago when they revamped it, but it was just as weak afterwards.

 

I agree on your second point though. That is very likely to cause a revamp at some point, but I suspect that they will just weaken the benefits or push the tier levels out which will do nothing the strengthen the program.

[SeaShark]

21 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

two things will necessitate changes sooner rather than later.

 

the first is that they will wake up and realize that they need to align themselves with most other hospitality loyalty programs and base rewards on revenue... how much the customer spends. (the time has long since passed that airlines reward flyers based on distance flown. that never made any sense whatsoever and it took them thirty years to realize it!)

 

the second thing is that - due to current COVID incentives - most people are earning 2X and 3X latitudes reward points. very soon, a heck of a lot of people will be platinum or plus. and when everyone is platinum or plus, the program is no longer meaningful... not that most platinum benefits are meaningful, anyway.

 

this is a very weak loyalty program, with very few benefits that matter.

 

 

Actually, when "a heck of a lot of people will be platinum or plus" is true then that is a sign that the loyalty program is working. The whole point is to create repeat business and the biggest sign of repeat business is having lots of people at the upper levels of the program. OTOH, a weak program would produce lots of people at the lower levels and very few at the upper levels.

 

Also...the loyalty program isn't about benefits, it is about enticing people to repeatedly try the product by giving them small incentives so that those people come to appreciate the product and don't just give up after a possible mediocre or poor experience. 

 

At some point, the cruise experience is what draws you back, the loyalty program is only designed to get you to that point...not to shower you with freebies.

[KeithJenner]

One quite big difference between latitudes and many other travel reward programs is the non expiry of points. I’m not sure how that compares to other cruise lines.

 

Making points expire would solve any problems with too many platinums, but the nature of cruising means that for many it is a once every few years thing so it would make it irrelevant to those people.

 

I think it’s a mistake to compare it too directly with things like airline plans.

[complawyer]

to nataly1982- most cruise websites (including cruise critic) will all tell you to avoid the art auctions.

 

1st off, even at an auction, all the pieces are terribly overpriced. for a free glass of champagne, and some small piece of art, dont waste your time. 

 

you're better off sitting by the pool people watching, sitting on your balcony with a cold beer, reading a book, or any myriad of things available on a cruise ship. much better than sitting at this presentation.

[BermudaBound2014]

I'm barely loyal to my family and would never ever even consider selecting a cruise based on obtaining some arbitrary loyalty status. Cruise loyalty perks have always been a joke IMO and the statuses we have obtained we have done by chance.

 

Kidding about the family of course.

[UKstages]

2 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Actually, when "a heck of a lot of people will be platinum or plus" is true then that is a sign that the loyalty program is working. The whole point is to create repeat business and the biggest sign of repeat business is having lots of people at the upper levels of the program. OTOH, a weak program would produce lots of people at the lower levels and very few at the upper levels.

 

Also...the loyalty program isn't about benefits, it is about enticing people to repeatedly try the product by giving them small incentives so that those people come to appreciate the product and don't just give up after a possible mediocre or poor experience. 

 

At some point, the cruise experience is what draws you back, the loyalty program is only designed to get you to that point...not to shower you with freebies.

 

if they got to the higher level of the latitudes loyalty program through a 2X and 3X points reward promo that is not a sign that the loyalty program is working... it's a sign that NCL has not thought this promotion through very well. (anybody remember the 3X airline miles promos in the late 1980s and how they were scammed?)

 

if you want to "entice people to repeatedly try the product," you give the product away or lower the price significantly or give lots of value added freebies... trying does not necessarily equal loyalty, unless the company repeatedly delivers on whatever they promised. meaningful benefits, however, are one way loyal customers are cultivated.

 

latitudes is a very poorly designed loyalty program, with very few benefits that matter.

 

nobody sails to get a free bag of laundry and a bottle of swill delivered to the room after spending thousands and thousands of dollars on cruising.

 

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

One quite big difference between latitudes and many other travel reward programs is the non expiry of points. I’m not sure how that compares to other cruise lines.

 

Making points expire would solve any problems with too many platinums, but the nature of cruising means that for many it is a once every few years thing so it would make it irrelevant to those people.

 

I think it’s a mistake to compare it too directly with things like airline plans.

 

points in most airline and hotel guest reward programs no longer expire, provided you have "activity" within a specified period, usually 2 or 3 years. and qualifying activity can be something as simple as earning points through a partner (car rental, florist, dining partner) or redeeming an award. every time you have activity, the clock is reset.

 

as for airline programs, apart from influencing the purchase decisions of  business travelers, the most value (to the airline) comes from the sale of miles and points to their partners (car rental companies, credit card issuing banks, realtors, hotels). airline programs are valued in the tens of billions of dollars and have become necessary for the survival of the airline. prior to the pandemic, financial records show that american airlines was actually losing money on passenger travel, but making money on their advantage frequent flyer program. the frequent flyer program kept them afloat! united wasn't in such dire straits, but did make 26% of its earnings from the sale of miles. miles have become an alternate currency.

 

apart from credit card affinity programs, no cruise line has monetized their loyalty program in the same manner.

[Oxo]

7 minutes ago, UKstages said:

latitudes is a very poorly designed loyalty program, with very few benefits that matter.

 

How would you redesign it? What benefits would you suggest? 

[KeithJenner]

8 hours ago, UKstages said:

points in most airline and hotel guest reward programs no longer expire, provided you have "activity" within a specified period, usually 2 or 3 years. and qualifying activity can be something as simple as earning points through a partner (car rental, florist, dining partner) or redeeming an award. every time you have activity, the clock is reset.

 

as for airline programs, apart from influencing the purchase decisions of  business travelers, the most value (to the airline) comes from the sale of miles and points to their partners (car rental companies, credit card issuing banks, realtors, hotels). airline programs are valued in the tens of billions of dollars and have become necessary for the survival of the airline. prior to the pandemic, financial records show that american airlines was actually losing money on passenger travel, but making money on their advantage frequent flyer program. the frequent flyer program kept them afloat! united wasn't in such dire straits, but did make 26% of its earnings from the sale of miles. miles have become an alternate currency.

 

apart from credit card affinity programs, no cruise line has monetized their loyalty program in the same manner.

Yes, airline programs are very different from latitudes, which was my point and is why I think that it is a mistake to compare the two.

 

In my experience (and I only know details of a few), the points which don't tend to expire are the ones which offer free (or reduced) flights. Status points do expire in my experience. Latitudes doesn't offer any equivalent to the airline miles points, which are the real attraction for most people who are members of these programs. I have collected and used millions of airline points, and usually use these to fly transatlantic in higher cabins. Status is a complete irrelevance for me any many millions of others who are active members of these plans. Can cruise lines compete against these, when it comes to things like credit card signups etc? I doubt it. Even on here the NCL credit card seems to be rarely used.

 

Latitudes and airline loyalty programs are totally different things, and to compare them is just misleading things. Yes, latitudes could be improved, but it is never going to be anything like an airline program. The fact that the airline programs are valued so high just demonstrates this.

 

I'd love to see latitudes improved, I just don't see the benefit to NCL of them doing this, which when it comes to it is the only reason why they would do so. At some point there will be another change, and it will most likely just be shuffling the cards again.

[NCLer57]

Platinum Plus here.  The 2 specialty dining coupons are the best perk.  BUT I think NCL should provide them as additional specialty dining on your cruise adding to the purchased or provided count of specialty dining - rather than a capped coupon that has carried and then provided to the food-server and having the "you can have this, but not those" explanation provided.

 

Most of the rest of the perks are ok.  All of the service perks (priority boarding, etc.) are far out weighed by the service perks you already get if you stay in a Suite.

[Nataly1982]

21 hours ago, complawyer said:

to nataly1982- most cruise websites (including cruise critic) will all tell you to avoid the art auctions.

 

1st off, even at an auction, all the pieces are terribly overpriced. for a free glass of champagne, and some small piece of art, dont waste your time. 

 

you're better off sitting by the pool people watching, sitting on your balcony with a cold beer, reading a book, or any myriad of things available on a cruise ship. much better than sitting at this presentation.

Hi, I know this now. But you know how it is on your 1st cruise, you don’t want to miss anything. We even went to detox class to the gym, turned out to be a sales pitch for some spa treatments 🙄

[ChiefMateJRK]

I like sailing NCL and would continue regardless of any rewards program.  That said, I enjoy any free bonuses they want to throw at me.  I'll soon be platinum and am looking forward to the two extra dinners.  I might use the laundry bag, but that's largely irrelevant.  I highly doubt I would ever take the dinner with officers or behind the scenes tour.

[complawyer]

just wanted to save you from total boredom and potential rip off.

 

mid 80's we went to art auctions at least once a month. but i stay real clear of them on a cruise ship. glad you found out early.

[complawyer]

take the behind the scenes tour once. it kills an hour or so, but only  do it once.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, complawyer said:

it kills an hour or so,

I enjoy every minute on a cruise ship.  Why would I want to "kill" 60 of them?

[trivimp]

I actually like the art auctions, but to each one's own.  Just don't get caught up in the "rare & valuable" hype, it's not.  The free piece of art is generally a small (8x12 or so) serigraph, sometimes nice enough to warrant a cheap frame once you get it home, sometimes so ugly you can just throw it out. 

[UKstages]

22 hours ago, Oxo said:

How would you redesign it? What benefits would you suggest? 

 

i would award points based on spend (revenue). the points would have a set value within the program and could be redeemed for virtually anything that NCL sells... drink gratuities, upgrades, specialty dining, go-kart rides... even "free" cruises. frankly, what i'm suggesting is no different than an airline program. and once having established the value of the alternate currency, NCL can then run successful affinity programs through third parties... like car rental companies, credit card companies, realtors and so forth. again, no different than airline loyalty programs. one of the main reasons  the NCL loyalty program doesn't work is because earning is largely limited to taking trips on NCL, except for a meager credit card sign up bonus. once people rack up NCL points through other means, they will be more inclined to take more cruises using whatever discount they can manage to secure by using their points. rinse. lather. repeat. 

 

latitudes isn't so much a loyalty program as it is a tier status program. those are two different things... you can have a successful loyalty program without a companion tier status program. but you can't have a tier status program without a loyalty program.

 

which brings us here...

 

14 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Yes, airline programs are very different from latitudes, which was my point and is why I think that it is a mistake to compare the two.

 

In my experience (and I only know details of a few), the points which don't tend to expire are the ones which offer free (or reduced) flights. Status points do expire in my experience. Latitudes doesn't offer any equivalent to the airline miles points, which are the real attraction for most people who are members of these programs. I have collected and used millions of airline points, and usually use these to fly transatlantic in higher cabins. Status is a complete irrelevance for me any many millions of others who are active members of these plans. Can cruise lines compete against these, when it comes to things like credit card signups etc? I doubt it. Even on here the NCL credit card seems to be rarely used.

 

Latitudes and airline loyalty programs are totally different things, and to compare them is just misleading things. Yes, latitudes could be improved, but it is never going to be anything like an airline program. The fact that the airline programs are valued so high just demonstrates this.

 

I'd love to see latitudes improved, I just don't see the benefit to NCL of them doing this, which when it comes to it is the only reason why they would do so. At some point there will be another change, and it will most likely just be shuffling the cards again.

 

NCL's loyalty program is different than airline programs because the people who imagined NCL's program had limited vision and muddled intent. i disagree with your premise on its face... that NCL's program is inherently different, that cruising is somehow different, so that the things that make airline programs beloved by millions just won't work for a cruise ship program.

 

i maintain that they are exactly the same. what makes NCL's program different is that it's only half a program.... it's only a tier status program.

 

the key difference you describe above about expiring "points" refers to tier status earning. and, yes, that is something very different. you (generally) have to re-qualify for your tier every year with an airline program. (in these COVID times, however, most airlines have smartly extended benefits to their elite flyers for two years longer, even though most haven't flown much or at all.) NCL does the tier status thing pretty well, although the benefits are not meaningful, except for the ones mentioned in this thread, such as free meals and preferred embarkation and debarkation. if NCL were to add more meaningful benefits, they will have solved their tier status program problem... except, of course, for the flood of platinums and platinums plus that will be around after the 2X and 3X points promos.

 

but what i'm suggesting is that NCL customers would probably enjoy redeeming points (similar to frequent flyer miles) earned by cruising for discounts on cruise fare, specialty dining, free upgrades, excursions and such.  if you're an infrequent cruiser, maybe you could snag $100 in OBC or $100 off your fare. if you're a frequent cruiser or somebody who books the haven with great regularity, well, you'd probably have more points... maybe you could redeem for 1K or 2K off your cruise fare.

 

you'd earn more points by booking the haven than an inside cabin, just as you generally earn more points when you purchase a business class airfare. and you'd earn more points by booking a suite than you would a balcony. look, they have the right idea with the program they have now... but they've chosen to just award status points... other than a bag of laundry and a couple of free meals that comes with that status, you're just earning an honorific. it's like playing a game on an app and you go into the virtual store to buy virtual gifts, which you can't use in real life and have no real purpose and in fact... don't actually exist.

 

as for airline status being irrelevant if you're already flying up front... i will concede that may be the case for some flyers for that particular trip, particularly if flying for business when somebody else is paying. but on my airline, it gets me my preferred choice of meal above all other flyers. it gets me preferred award availability not available to others. it allows me to use upgrade points on free flights, which your average bear can not. and it allows me pre-boarding before all other flyers. and when my flight is running late, they meet me on the tarmac with an SUV and drive me to my next gate.  but the most important thing status does is that it extends the same benefits and treatment to me and my traveling companions when i'm flying on my own dime.

 

so, it may be your view that status is irrelevant in a loyalty program. that's fair. i'm here to tell you that it's extraordinarily relevant to me and i would venture to say that it's relevant for most of the people who go out of their way to achieve it.

 

within this thread we've heard from folks who love to get on and off the ship before anybody else. they have either earned that right or purchased it (by virtue of their haven accommodation). so status does matter to some.

 

 

[complawyer]

ive discussed this before. we're platinum+ have been for a while, and although i like the 2 extra meals,  while i also appreciate being able to board before my 2000 closest friends, to me the ability to disembark with little or no effort is the major benefit .  You meet in a specially designated area with the concierge and he walks you right off the ship and directly to your luggage. within a half hour we're out and into a taxi.

 

that my friends to me is worth the entire price of admission. i dont mind waiting for a seat at the shows, or a few minutes for a table to open up in the mdr.

 

in 11 years and 18 cruises, i've only had 1 problem getting a dinner reservation at teppanyaki, and only been unable to book a shore excursion once.

 

so generally speaking. i'm a very happy camper without all the fuss about booking 120 days out, 

[Sand and Seas]

13 minutes ago, complawyer said:

ive discussed this before. we're platinum+ have been for a while, and although i like the 2 extra meals,  while i also appreciate being able to board before my 2000 closest friends, to me the ability to disembark with little or no effort is the major benefit .  You meet in a specially designated area with the concierge and he walks you right off the ship and directly to your luggage. within a half hour we're out and into a taxi.

 

that my friends to me is worth the entire price of admission. i dont mind waiting for a seat at the shows, or a few minutes for a table to open up in the mdr.

 

in 11 years and 18 cruises, i've only had 1 problem getting a dinner reservation at teppanyaki, and only been unable to book a shore excursion once.

 

so generally speaking. i'm a very happy camper without all the fuss about booking 120 days out, 

We have been Platinum Plus forever. I've asked about this for disembarkation and been told 'no'.   Just take these yellow bag tags and walk off when you want.  It's like the elusive Platinum Concierge service.  

 

I would love the gold bag tags with the escort off the ship but only got this once when we were with a special casino group. 

 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

We have been Platinum Plus forever. I've asked about this for disembarkation and been told 'no'.   Just take these yellow bag tags and walk off when you want.  It's like the elusive Platinum Concierge service.  

 

I would love the gold bag tags with the escort off the ship but only got this once when we were with a special casino group. 

 

I’d forgotten about disembarkation, but this is actually one of the most useful benefits for us.

 

Getting the yellow tags means that we don’t need to bother deciding which tag we need and joining that scrum which I sometimes see at guest services to pick them up. We can then just leave our bags out the night before and leave the ship whenever we want. Generally the yellow tag area is much smaller than others so finding out bags is easy (this will depend on the port, and numbers of platinums of course).

 

I know the way to the gangway, so don’t need any guidance to get off. Maybe if I sailed more from the US, with the queues to get off, then that would matter more but the current setup offers us everything we need.