Using diamond benefits on a Celebrity Cruise

[doghog]

10 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I had zero points with Celebrity on my first Celebrity cruise, yet I was Nothing.  😄

 

When I took my first Celebrity cruise the reciprocal program didn't exist (was Platinum on RCI).

We also became Elite and Diamond before the reciprocal program. We joined the Captains Club (was Founders Club) in 1994. We each had to pay $35.00 to join the CC. 

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, doghog said:

We also became Elite and Diamond before the reciprocal program. We joined the Captains Club (was Founders Club) in 1994. We each had to pay $35.00 to join the CC. 

Same here. I joined the Founders Club for $35 and became Elite on points and Diamond on points before the reciprocal match. That is probably why I have never been a fan of that program change. It was fairly easy to make Diamond. Take a bunch of short cruises. Then they came over to Celebrity as Elite. 

[Another_Critic]

33 minutes ago, doghog said:

We also became Elite and Diamond before the reciprocal program. We joined the Captains Club (was Founders Club) in 1994. We each had to pay $35.00 to join the CC. 

When I became Elite on Celebrity, the reciprocal program was then in place, so I was bumped to Diamond (from Platinum [had 45 points]) on RCI.

 

I also paid $35 for CC, but I missed the deadline for Founders Club.

 

Since I took 1 cruise on Azamara while owned by RCG, I am Discoverer with 521 points.  Celebrity and Azamara shared points.

[loman]

I just logged into to Celebrity for the first time with my RC login .

Im Elite status ( match with my Diamond status on RC )

[LeeW]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The good thing is, Celebrity is a great product overall. 

 

I would be interested in trying their newer ships.  We did the Equinox (Solstice class) again in December and while food and drink was good (on par with Royal) it was just sleepy compared to what we're used to with Royal.  It was the week before Christmas and I think they were maybe putting in a lot of effort planning for that next week and kind of forgot about us. 😄 (Just a guess.)

 

We like Equinox and tried Beyond just after Christmas (not in Infinite Suite).  If you like specialty dining Edge-class ships are great.  All interior (and a lot of exterior) space seems to be devoted to specialty dining venues.  If you are not into that, ship is pretty blah (although beautiful).

[Saturngrl]

Other perks of Elite on Celebrity include: 

• Elite breakfast in Tuscan Grill offering mimosas, pastry, fruit and cheese plates.
• Music and Mixology event
• Backstage theatre tour
• Free scoop of gelato (I like taking mine over to Cafe' Baccio to pour espresso over it to create an affogato)
• Disembarkation Lounge (usually Tuscan Grill) with coffee, tea and pastries while you wait to leave the ship the final morning, 

 

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Same here. I joined the Founders Club for $35 and became Elite on points and Diamond on points before the reciprocal match. That is probably why I have never been a fan of that program change. It was fairly easy to make Diamond. Take a bunch of short cruises. Then they came over to Celebrity as Elite. 

Agree. Both the CC and CAS programs are bloated. Especially the CAS program. At least with Celebrity you need to be 18 years old in order to be a CC member. RC needs to change who and how someone becomes a CAS member, IMO. 

[Another_Critic]

19 minutes ago, Saturngrl said:

Other perks of Elite on Celebrity include: 

• Elite breakfast in Tuscan Grill offering mimosas, pastry, fruit and cheese plates.

 

I miss the RCI MDR Diamond breakfast.

[cruiseguy1016]

17 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Wrong!

 

Wrong!

 

Wrong!

 

Wrong!

 

Wrong!

 

You just can't talk sense into some people.

[doghog]

41 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I miss the RCI MDR Diamond breakfast.

We do too. 

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

I miss the RCI MDR Diamond breakfast.

 

26 minutes ago, doghog said:

We do too. 

Hmm, not much of a breakfast person but the rest of my family is.  How does this work?

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Hmm, not much of a breakfast person but the rest of my family is.  How does this work?

I was a special section of the MDR reserved for Diamond and above.  Usually the same MDR menu, but occasionally they would have some special items (e.g., chocolate breakfast items).

 

In addition, free cappuccinos and lattes.

[doghog]

5 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Hmm, not much of a breakfast person but the rest of my family is.  How does this work?

No longer. Use to be just a set aside area in the MDR with the same MDR breakfast menu. Less people and better service. More two tops also. 

Edited April 10 by doghog

[The Fun Researcher]

33 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I was a special section of the MDR reserved for Diamond and above.  Usually the same MDR menu, but occasionally they would have some special items (e.g., chocolate breakfast items).

 

In addition, free cappuccinos and lattes.

 

32 minutes ago, doghog said:

No longer. Use to be just a set aside area in the MDR with the same MDR breakfast menu. Less people and better service. More two tops also. 

Thanks.  No wonder I don't remember seeing anything about it.  😄

[driverandrews]

 I called Celebrity and a very helpful lady said to log out and she would do something her end and when I logged in again I should be Elite. 
so all sorted now 

 

thanks 

[cruiseguy1016]

3 hours ago, driverandrews said:

 I called Celebrity and a very helpful lady said to log out and she would do something her end and when I logged in again I should be Elite. 
so all sorted now 

 

thanks 

 

Congrats! Enjoy your Elite benefits.

[cruisegirl1]

On 4/10/2024 at 2:00 PM, Another_Critic said:

I was a special section of the MDR reserved for Diamond and above.  Usually the same MDR menu, but occasionally they would have some special items (e.g., chocolate breakfast items).

 

In addition, free cappuccinos and lattes.

That Diamond (and up) breakfast was a nice touch and is long gone. It was at a time with relatively few D and up members.  I can't recall the timing of removal, but it might have been discontinued even before there was a Pinnacle category.  There was a daily special item on the standard MDR menu, and also provided in the D section. 

 

Can you imagine if they had that today, it would include half the ship population.  You would get better service in the NON D and up section.  😀

 

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. 

M

[Another_Critic]

28 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

That Diamond (and up) breakfast was a nice touch and is long gone. It was at a time with relatively few D and up members.  I can't recall the timing of removal, but it might have been discontinued even before there was a Pinnacle category.  There was a daily special item on the standard MDR menu, and also provided in the D section. 

 

Can you imagine if they had that today, it would include half the ship population.  You would get better service in the NON D and up section.  😀

 

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. 

M

The MDR Diamond breakfast was available on my last sailing before shutdown (Grandeur - Feb. 20-28, 2020).

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

The MDR Diamond breakfast was available on my last sailing before shutdown (Grandeur - Feb. 20-28, 2020).

Was it crowded? I sailed on Grandeur twice last year. According to numbers they showed at the Top Tier event, about 75 percent of the passengers on both cruises were Diamond or higher. Not really surprising since older ships like Grandeur tend to have a very different passenger demographic compared to newer ships like Oasis class ships. 

[danv3]

On 4/9/2024 at 7:19 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

Having said that, Celebrity has pretty poor perks for Elite compared to Diamond (and above) for Royal.  The happy hour is right overtop of dinner (unless you eat late).  You can't order elite drinks from the MDR, so if you want one you need to leave your table, exit the dining room, and find a bar.  The laundry can be nice but we've never used it on Royal or Celebrity.

 

The 4 drink vouchers and the 24 hours of wifi are far above any of the Elite benefits on Celebrity

 

Echo that.  I enjoy cruising on X, but the drink vouchers on RCI are 100x better than the "happy hour" arrangement on X.  In addition to being limited to certain bars (and not the MDR), drinks also aren't available on night 1 (because reasons, I guess).

[Another_Critic]

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Was it crowded? I sailed on Grandeur twice last year. According to numbers they showed at the Top Tier event, about 75 percent of the passengers on both cruises were Diamond or higher. Not really surprising since older ships like Grandeur tend to have a very different passenger demographic compared to newer ships like Oasis class ships. 

It was busy.  Note that this was before double points, so I would expect that there were a smaller percent of D and above than there is now.

[Another_Critic]

7 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Can you imagine if they had that today, it would include half the ship population.  You would get better service in the NON D and up section.  😀

Simple solution; make half the MDR D and up for breakfast.  🙂

 

[Harrisonkid]

Like everyone else I too had to call..and yes you get Elite benefits .In my case i like the reduced drink package (upgrade) and a free bag of laundry...been awhile but they also offered a small casino benefit...cheers and welcome to Diamond and Elite 

[The Fun Researcher]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:24 PM, danv3 said:

 

Echo that.  I enjoy cruising on X, but the drink vouchers on RCI are 100x better than the "happy hour" arrangement on X.  In addition to being limited to certain bars (and not the MDR), drinks also aren't available on night 1 (because reasons, I guess).

Agreed. 

 

We solved it on our past cruise (5 nights) by purchasing the "all in" package for the Drinks and Wifi for a very reasonable cost. (I think is was only $300 or so total for my wife and I combined) 

 

However, our friends who were cruising with us, and were also Diamond, did pay for the "all in" package . By the time they booked, Celebrity was asking $700 or more for it.  They really didn't like how the elite happy hour benefits worked, at all.

[doghog]

3 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Agreed. 

 

We solved it on our past cruise (5 nights) by purchasing the "all in" package for the Drinks and Wifi for a very reasonable cost. (I think is was only $300 or so total for my wife and I combined) 

 

However, our friends who were cruising with us, and were also Diamond, did pay for the "all in" package . By the time they booked, Celebrity was asking $700 or more for it.  They really didn't like how the elite happy hour benefits worked, at all.

Too bad Celebrity screwed the AI package up by eliminating the daily gratuities from it.