Why restructured loyalty program?

[the penguins]

54 minutes ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

I think I mentioned this many times.

As for Diamond plus drink perks:

We can have these anytime (not restricted to 5-7pm on Celebrity) and anywhere (ie pool, supper etc) unlike Celebrity (only a bar or during HH).

RCL WINS!

As for HH. Royal has OUTSTANDING food with multiple

tablea of hot and cold YUMMIES! in the Diamond Club

AS for Celebrity HH a very few waiters serving stale cheese

on stale crackers- Usually your lucky when they get to

you in the HH venue.

RCL. Wins!

I'll agree with you on free WIFI. Celebrity wins!

 

you have totally missed my point: 

we do not drink any alcohol therefor neither the 5 to 7pm drinks rule nor the limited choice of free alcoholic drinks does not affect us.

On Royal we only get 5 drinks of any sort a day - in our case lets say 2 waters, 1 soda and 2 coffees and that's it.

On Celebrity we get unlimited speciality coffees/teas/chocolate all day (incidentally all served in proper glasses/mugs in the comfort of the Al Bacio with full service) plus we can get water and sodas in unopened bottles/cans between 5 and 7 to last us 24 hours.

For us Celebrity is clearly the winner, perhaps not for you but that's the beauty of choice.

 

[PTC DAWG]

I’ve sailed both lines a good bit, sailing in Royal only makes sense to me of the younger ones in my family are going..my Son DIL and any nieces or nephews..

 

Celebrity wins for me all day long for my Wife and I..The Ascent and Beyond especially have entertainment/music/DJ’s that we enjoy..

 

someone used to Royal might not be chomping at the bit to try Celebrity..they won’t be building amusement parks on board, couldn’t if they wanted, not enough room. 

 

re the 4-5 free drinks daily on Royal, we always upgrade on Celebrity, life is too short to drink cheap booze and be told how many I can have and or when. 
 

They may exist, but I have yet to see anyone wearing a Zenith pin like all those jokers on Royal parading around with their Pinnacle pins..

Edited June 18 by PTC DAWG

[verizon]

24 minutes ago, the penguins said:

you have totally missed my point: 

we do not drink any alcohol therefor neither the 5 to 7pm drinks rule nor the limited choice of free alcoholic drinks does not affect us.

On Royal we only get 5 drinks of any sort a day - in our case lets say 2 waters, 1 soda and 2 coffees and that's it.

On Celebrity we get unlimited speciality coffees/teas/chocolate all day (incidentally all served in proper glasses/mugs in the comfort of the Al Bacio with full service) plus we can get water and sodas in unopened bottles/cans between 5 and 7 to last us 24 hours.

For us Celebrity is clearly the winner, perhaps not for you but that's the beauty of choice.

 

Does Royal D and D+ get any Laundry benefit like Elite does ?

 

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, verizon said:

Does Royal D and D+ get any Laundry benefit like Elite does ?

 

Thats what the water slides are for…but yes, it’s on a chart I saw recently..seems like a certain $$ amount off. 

Edited June 18 by PTC DAWG

[verizon]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Thats what the water slides are for…but yes, it’s on a chart I saw recently..seems like a certain $$ amount off. 

For Elite they get 1bag FREE and Elite+ 2 bags FREE

[leaveitallbehind]

7 minutes ago, verizon said:

Does Royal D and D+ get any Laundry benefit like Elite does ?

 

From the RCCL C & A benefits page regarding laundry services:

 

21_Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members receive $5 off the purchase of a $25 Dry Clean or Press service.

 

22_Receive a one-time discount off a $34.99 wash and fold laundry bag on 5+ night sailings. Platinum and Emerald members receive a $5 discount. Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members receive a $10 discount.

 

Not as robust as Celebrity.

Edited June 18 by leaveitallbehind

[PTC DAWG]

Just now, verizon said:

For Elite they get 1bag FREE and Elite+ 2 bags FREE

I thought that was on Celebrity?  They asked about Royal I thought..

[PTC DAWG]

1 minute ago, leaveitallbehind said:

From the C & A benefits page regarding laundry services:

 

21_Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members receive $5 off the purchase of a $25 Dry Clean or Press service.

 

22_Receive a one-time discount off a $34.99 wash and fold laundry bag on 5+ night sailings. Platinum and Emerald members receive a $5 discount. Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members receive a $10 discount.

 

Not as robust as Celebrity.

Exactly..

[the penguins]

2 minutes ago, verizon said:

For Elite they get 1bag FREE and Elite+ 2 bags FREE

plus some pressing and for Elite+ an item dry cleaned

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

On Royal we only get 5 drinks of any sort a day - in our case lets say 2 waters, 1 soda and 2 coffees and that's it.

 

 As much as I agree with you on everything else, I have to point out that you are missing the fact that there is a Diamond Lounge with an espresso / cappuccino machine that is accessible to Diamond + members.  Granted the drinks this machine makes is no where near the quality of Cafe al Bacio but they are available. 

 

[leaveitallbehind]

15 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 As much as I agree with you on everything else, I have to point out that you are missing the fact that there is a Diamond Lounge with an espresso / cappuccino machine that is accessible to Diamond + members.  Granted the drinks this machine makes is no where near the quality of Cafe al Bacio but they are available. 

 

Just to clarify, the Diamond Club, now known as the Crown Lounge, is accessible to Diamonds and above.  There may be some restriction on some ships to Diamonds based on the total number of Diamond+ and Pinnacles on board during the cocktail hours, but otherwise Diamonds have full access as well.  At least that's how it was on our NYE cruise and for now.....

 

And unfortunately in our experience, the machine has been inoperative almost as often as not - LOL.

Edited June 18 by leaveitallbehind

[c-leg5]

2 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

And unfortunately in our experience, the machine has been inoperative almost as often as not - LOL

Unfortunately that is often the case these days as there often seems to be a problem attaining replacement parts. However there is generally an agreement made with the on board coffee shop  under these circumstances. Also for high volume sailings like TA’s and holiday cruises.

[hcat]

My opinion

Just another step towards full Royalization and obliteration of the unique X brand   .More crossovers will cross from Royal (by sheer numbers), and they will push to make X a clone of Royal... other than X has  nicer ships!

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

My opinion

Just another step towards full Royalization and obliteration of the unique X brand   .More crossovers will cross from Royal (by sheer numbers), and they will push to make X a clone of Royal... other than X has  nicer ships!

I hope you’re wrong, but I fear you are right. 

[Oxo]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’ve sailed both lines a good bit, sailing in Royal only makes sense to me of the younger ones in my family are going..my Son DIL and any nieces or nephews..

 

Celebrity wins for me all day long for my Wife and I..The Ascent and Beyond especially have entertainment/music/DJ’s that we enjoy..

 

someone used to Royal might not be chomping at the bit to try Celebrity..they won’t be building amusement parks on board, couldn’t if they wanted, not enough room. 

 

re the 4-5 free drinks daily on Royal, we always upgrade on Celebrity, life is too short to drink cheap booze and be told how many I can have and or when. 
 

They may exist, but I have yet to see anyone wearing a Zenith pin like all those jokers on Royal parading around with their Pinnacle pins..

What is cheap booze? If you mix it with water, pop or etc., it becomes cheap booze. In the end, it all comes out a urine. LOL

What does the packages cost on Celebrity? Yes, I know. Almost as much as a 7 day cruise.

Premium From $79.99 up to $99.99 + 20%/day. $80*7+20%=$672.00.

$120*7=$840.

On RCI I can do with 5 Drinks anytime during that day for free. So, 5/day*0=$0. Celebrity 5*$10=$50*7=$350.

RCI has Ice Skating shows, Aqua shows and Production shows. 

I still cruise Celebrity as Elite+. In fact have 2 celebrity booked this year and a TA next year.

JMHO! 

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

23 minutes ago, Oxo said:

What is cheap booze? If you mix it with water, pop or etc., it becomes cheap booze. In the end, it all comes out a urine. LOL

What does the packages cost on Celebrity? Yes, I know. Almost as much as a 7 day cruise.

Premium From $79.99 up to $99.99 + 20%/day. $80*7+20%=$672.00.

$120*7=$840.

On RCI I can do with 5 Drinks anytime during that day for free. So, 5/day*0=$0. Celebrity 5*$10=$50*7=$350.

RCI has Ice Skating shows, Aqua shows and Production shows. 

I still cruise Celebrity as Elite+. In fact have 2 celebrity booked this year and a TA next year.

JMHO! 

 

 

The lines are different no doubt, I like that part.. 

 

Lowly Elite Jere, we always book AI rate and look for a flash sale on upgrade to premium..The AI rate seems to usually add around $50-60 PPPD..

Edited June 18 by PTC DAWG

[Ex-Airbalancer]

20 minutes ago, Oxo said:

.

RCI has Ice Skating shows,  Production shows. 

I feel sorry for the skaters on the ship , the rink is way to small for them to do anything 

I wouldn’t  go to another one 

 

it is RCG loyalty program, they can do what they want 😉

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

And unfortunately in our experience, the machine has been inoperative almost as often as not - LOL.

The Celebrity version of the ice cream machine at McDonald's.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 As much as I agree with you on everything else, I have to point out that you are missing the fact that there is a Diamond Lounge with an espresso / cappuccino machine that is accessible to Diamond + members.  Granted the drinks this machine makes is no where near the quality of Cafe al Bacio but they are available. 

 

True.

However it doesn't have the speciality teas or hot chocolate nor the iced coffees drinks.

Plus you have to go to an enclosed lounge that is only open to Diamond and above whereas many of the friends we travel with and/ or meet on the cruise do not have access to that lounge.

Also most of our cruises now are Transatlantic and, if the number of Diamond and above reach the levels usually seen on Celebrity TA's,  I would think the lounge would be swamped.

I accept that how each person values the loyalty programmes differs my comment was to rebalance/ put an alternative view to the one expressed in the original post.

The programmes are different and choice is good.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

14 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

The Celebrity version of the ice cream machine at McDonald's.

I believe the comment about the coffee machines were about the Diamond lounge , nothing to do with Celebrity 

Also do people still go to McDonald’s 🤔

[the penguins]

37 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I feel sorry for the skaters on the ship , the rink is way to small for them to do anything 

I wouldn’t  go to another one 

 

it is RCG loyalty program, they can do what they want 😉

one third full size and given that restriction I think they do an amazing job

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I believe the comment about the coffee machines were about the Diamond lounge , nothing to do with Celebrity 

Also do people still go to McDonald’s 🤔

 

Oh, sorry. My mistake.

 

I was referencing that 9 times out of 10 (at least) if you ask for ice cream (or a sundae or McFlurry) you get "Sorry, the machine is broken."

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I feel sorry for the skaters on the ship , the rink is way to small for them to do anything 

I wouldn’t  go to another one 

 

it is RCG loyalty program, they can do what they want 😉

RCI has had professional skaters in the Ice Shows ever since the Oasis came out in 2009 and the other Oasis Class ships have the shows. There are a minimum of 2 shows per 7 day cruise. So, I don't know where you get your info from on the rink is way to small for them to do anything? 

Happy Cruising! 

 

[Cruising89143]

5 minutes ago, Oxo said:

RCI has had professional skaters in the Ice Shows ever since the Oasis came out in 2009 and the other Oasis Class ships have the shows. There are a minimum of 2 shows per 7 day cruise. So, I don't know where you get your info from on the rink is way to small for them to do anything? 

Happy Cruising! 

 

Actually RCI started with the ice shows in 1998 with the Voyager of the Seas. I think most of the ice shows are great. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

9 minutes ago, Oxo said:

RCI has had professional skaters in the Ice Shows ever since the Oasis came out in 2009 and the other Oasis Class ships have the shows. There are a minimum of 2 shows per 7 day cruise. So, I don't know where you get your info from on the rink is way to small for them to do anything? 

Happy Cruising! 

 

My info is from watching the show , they look like they are in slow motion 

The Voyager has the ice rink since the ship was launched way before the Oasis class ships 

 

Edited June 18 by Ex-Airbalancer