Loyalty vs Revenue

[tfred]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

Actually there is. It creates the expectation that one can save money by booking a cheaper cabin and then getting a cheap upgrade on board. Better to defend the price point and make it clear that you get what you book and pay for.

this

 

a land hotel would never allow on site upgrades at a low price since it trains customers to wait until last minute for low cost rooms or upgrades 

[JLMcruise]

Trying to upgrade on board for a "bargain" price is a thing of the past. Move Up Bid prior to sailing is the way to go -- unless your booking agent doesn't participate. I have scored some great deals with Move Up Bid on some of our sailing and unsuccessful on some of our others. We always pick a cabin we will be happy with our original booking. As for loyalty -- our last cruise at least 10 crew members greeted us by name and welcomed us on board and bent over backwards to make sure we were happy. Several were from different ships we were on. That's the loyalty I enjoy!!! It felt like coming home. Can't wait for our next cruise!

[Northern Aurora]

Given the length of the global suspension of cruises due to the pandemic and the "move up bid" implementation (which I suspect is successful in generating more revenue) the business model is going to emphasize  revenue over loyalty.  I also applaud the honesty of the Guest Relations Manager.

[Hawkstar33]

57 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Given the length of the global suspension of cruises due to the pandemic and the "move up bid" implementation (which I suspect is successful in generating more revenue) the business model is going to emphasize  revenue over loyalty.  I also applaud the honesty of the Guest Relations Manager.

She was very nice to me. Although her answers were not in my favor, I prefer hearing it straight out.  After reading all the comments, my understanding is much better now. 

[omeinv]

2 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

She was very nice to me. Although her answers were not in my favor, I prefer hearing it straight out.  After reading all the comments, my understanding is much better now. 

@Hawkstar33

 

You know, if you're going to use Cruise Critic to post an experience, then consider other opinions and come to a conclusion based on a reasonable consideration of your own experiences, the needs of a corporation, and the opinion of those you posed the question to; you're going to make the rest of us loo bad. 🙂

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Hawkstar33]

2 minutes ago, omeinv said:

@Hawkstar33

 

You know, if you're going to use Cruise Critic to post an experience, then consider other opinions and come to a conclusion based on a reasonable consideration of your own experiences, the needs of a corporation, and the opinion of those you posed the question to; you're going to make the rest of us loo bad. 🙂

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Uhhh ok I think.  I just wanted to let people know what happened. And get some insight. That's all..I thought posting the good, as well as the not so good, was what this was about. Learning from experiences of others.  I post my honest experiences. Ty for your input, and if what I write makes you look bad, SORRY.   

[omeinv]

Just now, Hawkstar33 said:

Uhhh ok I think.  I just wanted to let people know what happened. And get some insight. That's all..I thought posting the good, as well as the not so good, was what this was about. Learning from experiences of others.  I post my honest experiences. Ty for your input, and if what I write makes you look bad, SORRY.   

I raeally was kidding.  It's delightful to see a reasonable person here was the point I was hoping to make.  It's very easy for all of us to forget cruises are overall a great time.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Guest ldtr]

7 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

cruise lines (like airline and hotel programs) see loyalty programs as a liability (necessary evil)

 

Revenue is king and frankly all that really matters to these travel companies. 

 

Anyone that believes differently is frankly kidding themselves about their value to the company.

 

"what have you done for me lately" is all that matters.  Believe it.

Loyalty programs are first and foremost marketing programs that provide a return on investment.  Financially they made more sense 10 to 20 years ago when far fewer reached the higher tiers and more trying to get there. Now you have a fair number of passengers in the higher status tiers on each cruise. Rather unlikely the cruise lines will add to their expense on such programs. The good news is that are continuing the program mostly intact.

[Fly and Sail]

If you continue to pay big bucks for the sole purpose of gaining Captains Club points, you'll be utterly disappointed by what you actually receive. Why waste your money on Concierge Class?

[RichYak]

16 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

We have 2 others on the books with MSC (whose loyalty perks are abysmal, IMO)

Hmmm. 5% + 5% cruise fare discount that kicks in at the lowest tier is real money. As is the $50pp OBC that kicks in at the 2nd tier (silver). Add to that the ability to easily status match and those loyalty benefits should be available on one's first MSC sailing.

[C4HCG]

6 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

If you continue to pay big bucks for the sole purpose of gaining Captains Club points, you'll be utterly disappointed by what you actually receive. Why waste your money on Concierge Class?

For the location, we “waste our money” on them every cruise 👍

[Orator]

"Revenue" and "Loyalty" are not mutually exclusive. Loyalty can lead to revenue growth if it encourages bookings. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

Thanks for telling us the story. Good info.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

Hmmm. 5% + 5% cruise fare discount that kicks in at the lowest tier is real money. As is the $50pp OBC that kicks in at the 2nd tier (silver). Add to that the ability to easily status match and those loyalty benefits should be available on one's first MSC sailing.

Very good points! 😊

[Markanddonna]

On a recent Celebrity TA, passengers with inside cabins were offered balcony and balcony concierge cabins at no cost upon boarding. The only inconvenience was waiting for the luggage to get transferred to the new cabin. I suspect they were attempting to put their special entertainers and high-ranking crew in one of the inside hallways. Or, they suspected they might need them for isolation. There were COVID cases aboard.

 

These folks also got the perks package gratis. We didn't ask questions like "why?"  

[C4HCG]

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

On a recent Celebrity TA, passengers with inside cabins were offered balcony and balcony concierge cabins at no cost upon boarding. The only inconvenience was waiting for the luggage to get transferred to the new cabin. I suspect they were attempting to put their special entertainers and high-ranking crew in one of the inside hallways. Or, they suspected they might need them for isolation. There were COVID cases aboard.

 

These folks also got the perks package gratis. We didn't ask questions like "why?"  

What’s the perks package?

[jagoffee]

On 5/11/2023 at 8:59 AM, Hawkstar33 said:

TY. Yes you are correct about moveup  points,   But we would've gotten the points, only because I was only able  to upgrade thru my cruise travel group.  Thus making me eligible for the extra points.  

 

21 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Move up was available, but does not come with the added points per day, if you win your bid. 

Interesting experience that you shared.  Your experience should be helpful to others.

 

If you would have taken the offer that your TA presented (most likely the prevailing rate), I am sure you would have received the extra points.

 

I am not convinced that a deeply  discounted upgrade would have included the extra points.  Perhaps you were lucky that your theory was not tested in this example.

 

Any possibility that the empty cabins were in categories below yours?

 

Personally I do not think it is fair for Celebrity to issue greatly reduced upgrades on board just because someone asks at guest services.  Seems unfair to a vast majority of passengers.  Also it creates a line at guest services for people that might have a real issue that needs attention.  

[Markanddonna]

8 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

What’s the perks package?

Free gratuities, beverage package and internet. Very generous, I would say.

[hcat]

6 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Free gratuities, beverage package and internet. Very generous, I would say.

Did they get extra cruise points?

I believe OP was seeking and upgrade with the points

[Markanddonna]

No clue about cruise points. No one asked questions...😁

[amevola]

20 hours ago, JLMcruise said:

Trying to upgrade on board for a "bargain" price is a thing of the past. Move Up Bid prior to sailing is the way to go -- unless your booking agent doesn't participate. I have scored some great deals with Move Up Bid on some of our sailing and unsuccessful on some of our others. We always pick a cabin we will be happy with our original booking. As for loyalty -- our last cruise at least 10 crew members greeted us by name and welcomed us on board and bent over backwards to make sure we were happy. Several were from different ships we were on. That's the loyalty I enjoy!!! It felt like coming home. Can't wait for our next cruise!

 

JMLcruise,

 

You and I must have been twins separated at birth! LOL  You answer is exactly what I believe, have experienced, and desire each time we cruise, especially the "loyalty" part.

 

Pick a cabin you will enjoy, be happy with the move-up cabin should you bid successfully, and hope you sail enough that crew members will remember you.  We have had that experience and loved that more than our move-up successes. 

[Hawkstar33]

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

 

Interesting experience that you shared.  Your experience should be helpful to others.

 

If you would have taken the offer that your TA presented (most likely the prevailing rate), I am sure you would have received the extra points.

 

I am not convinced that a deeply  discounted upgrade would have included the extra points.  Perhaps you were lucky that your theory was not tested in this example.

 

Any possibility that the empty cabins were in categories below yours?

 

Personally I do not think it is fair for Celebrity to issue greatly reduced upgrades on board just because someone asks at guest services.  Seems unfair to a vast majority of passengers.  Also it creates a line at guest services for people that might have a real issue that needs attention.  

Agreed.  And yes, there were cabins available in every category except suites.  I do now understand the reasoning, and issues that would arise, if everyone was able to do this. I did think at the time, think that I would have a decent chance of gettin some type of deal being the ships half full capacity. Again, I understand it would not be fair to those who paid the full price. I've read where others have caught a good deal, once onboard. I guess that is a random thing that happens here and there.  If you get lucky.

[Fly and Sail]

Cruise lines have absolutely no reason to encourage an upgrade frenzy trend to build up and make the ship even more of a zoo on boarding day.

 

If lines suddenly start to sell cheap upgrades on day of departure that’ll spread like wildfire.

[Milhouse]

Very open to being corrected here...

My limited understand of the revenue flow is that until the ship leaves port, control of the sale and assignment of cabins fall under corporate and their associated policy & procedures.  Once the ship leaves port, the ship has control to manage their resources and do whatever (within reason) to generate additional revenue: Paid upgrades, contests/prizes, etc.    

If the OP was trying to procure an upgrade while during their first sailing, I would suspect they would encounter the typical issues trying to change a booking pre-cruise, some of which were mentioned:  Potentially, losing bonuses/perks associated with the original purchase, needing to go through who they initially purchased the cruise from, likely being directed to the Move-Up process, etc.  

I suspect the better strategy would be to head down to guest services on day 1 of the second half of their B2B and tell them they are interested in a paid upgrade if rooms were available.  And someone would contact them in the evening with options once everyone is aboard and they have done an assessment of what rooms were available.

[the penguins]

On 5/12/2023 at 11:54 PM, Milhouse said:

Very open to being corrected here...

My limited understand of the revenue flow is that until the ship leaves port, control of the sale and assignment of cabins fall under corporate and their associated policy & procedures.  Once the ship leaves port, the ship has control to manage their resources and do whatever (within reason) to generate additional revenue: Paid upgrades, contests/prizes, etc.    

If the OP was trying to procure an upgrade while during their first sailing, I would suspect they would encounter the typical issues trying to change a booking pre-cruise, some of which were mentioned:  Potentially, losing bonuses/perks associated with the original purchase, needing to go through who they initially purchased the cruise from, likely being directed to the Move-Up process, etc.  

I suspect the better strategy would be to head down to guest services on day 1 of the second half of their B2B and tell them they are interested in a paid upgrade if rooms were available.  And someone would contact them in the evening with options once everyone is aboard and they have done an assessment of what rooms were available.

On Silhouette last May 3 days before the end of our cruise we decided to stay onboard for the next sailing as we knew the ship only had 800 passengers booked. We asked at Guest relations were still refered to future cruises who in turn had to ask Miami to authorise a discount. To meet UK government restrictions the booking had to be completed 48 hours the sailing time. Miami took so long to make an offer that when it came through (the Manager of the FC came to find me in the MDR) I had to leave my dinner, rush to FC office and make the payment. The booking was confirmed with 5 minutes to spare before the cutoff.