6/20/24: Double Cruise Credits for Captain's Circle Guests with Princess Cruises' New Loyalty Accelerator Program

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/20/2024 at 7:06 PM, Kay S said:

Exactly my first thought.  We've been Elite for years.  How about tossing us a few benefits instead of adding more Elite to the ranks, Princess?  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the nickel and diming would soon include selling loyalty status to everyone on the ship.

They are not doing this out of charity. It's pure profit. They already have you sucked in to being loyal it serves them no benefit to offer you anything more in value that would cost them money.  It seems to be working because solo cruisers seem to be plotting a way to advance tiers. As if solo cruising wasn't expensive enough, they are now willing to purchase a plus package and book a suite solo. They are the real cash cows.

[Iamcruzin]

6 hours ago, TRLD said:

Loyalty Programs are, always have been, and always will be marketing programs. They only exist because they return more revenue to the cruise line, or other business than they cost.

 

In this case the cruise line has a vested interest in getting people to buy packages. If this program provides some incentive for some people that would not buy packaged to do so then it is their interest.

 

Most of the benefits do not have any additional cost to the cruise line, they are mostly service related and the labor costs are pretty much fixed. A little more detergent for laundry, a little more cost for the minibar setups, etc. Pretty minimal costs if they sell more packages, and especially if those that try them continue to buy them after the program ends.

 

 

The small 10% discount they offer in shops also generates more business. As a senior I can get 10% discounts all day long on land without belonging to a loyalty program. These cruise line loyalty programs are a lot about nothing especially if you are purchasing a drink and wifi package.  The laundry service is the only value if you are on a long itinerary. Overall price and itinerary drives my business.

[Z0nker]

On 6/20/2024 at 8:46 AM, PacnGoNow said:

Another push for the Plus and Premier packages.  Are the bookings down during that period?

 

 

 

 

I recently read that cruise lines make almost nothing on your fare. The profits are in on board spending and shore ex. So pushing the packages makes sense. Also, if most voyages are sailing full then this is the way to increase revenue. 

[TRLD]

35 minutes ago, Z0nker said:

I recently read that cruise lines make almost nothing on your fare. The profits are in on board spending and shore ex. So pushing the packages makes sense. Also, if most voyages are sailing full then this is the way to increase revenue. 

Since the restart the cruise line companies (RCL, HCLH, CCL) have shown that 2/3 of their revenue is from fares and 1/3 is from on board spend, including packages.

 

The onboard spend is up from 25% precovid. 

 

Since even at the best of time cruise lines profit percentage was mid teens or lower, usually much lower in single digits, they clearly would not show profit without onboard spend.

[Z0nker]

5 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Since the restart the cruise line companies (RCL, HCLH, CCL) have shown that 2/3 of their revenue is from fares and 1/3 is from on board spend, including packages.

 

The onboard spend is up from 25% precovid. 

 

Since even at the best of time cruise lines profit percentage was mid teens or lower, usually much lower in single digits, they clearly would not show profit without onboard spend.

Revenue yes. Earnings no. 

[ReadyToCruise2]

This would be a rather convenient promotion for us since we are currently at 13 cruises with Princess (2 short of Elite).  It would be interesting to know if this promotion applies to our upcoming Princess cruise that departs on 07/27/2024.  The wording in the first part of their "Who is eligible for this promotion" states it applies to cruises that depart between August 1st and Dec 1st.  Based on that wording, our 07/27/2024 cruise would not qualify.

 

But then their very next sentence states:  "ANY guest who purchases Princess Plus or Princess Premier package at least two days prior to sailing and who sails during the sailing time period (August 1 – December 1, 2024) qualifies and will have their cruise and # of days cruised count double towards their Captain’s Circle level achievement".  Our 07/27/2024 cruise is obviously is sailing during August.

 

We are assuming it doesn't count, and if we are going to purchase the Plus package we prefer to just do it once on-board (can use OBC to partially pay for it, and not having the Princess insurance getting bumped up).  But if it did count, we would probably purchase it before the cruise in this case. 

[dog]

1 hour ago, ReadyToCruise2 said:

This would be a rather convenient promotion for us since we are currently at 13 cruises with Princess (2 short of Elite).  It would be interesting to know if this promotion applies to our upcoming Princess cruise that departs on 07/27/2024.  The wording in the first part of their "Who is eligible for this promotion" states it applies to cruises that depart between August 1st and Dec 1st.  Based on that wording, our 07/27/2024 cruise would not qualify.

 

But then their very next sentence states:  "ANY guest who purchases Princess Plus or Princess Premier package at least two days prior to sailing and who sails during the sailing time period (August 1 – December 1, 2024) qualifies and will have their cruise and # of days cruised count double towards their Captain’s Circle level achievement".  Our 07/27/2024 cruise is obviously is sailing during August.

 

We are assuming it doesn't count, and if we are going to purchase the Plus package we prefer to just do it once on-board (can use OBC to partially pay for it, and not having the Princess insurance getting bumped up).  But if it did count, we would probably purchase it before the cruise in this case. 

August first. Yours does not apply.

 

But call and ask.

[JimmyVWine]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:03 AM, loge23 said:

Frankly, I find this promotion insulting to long-time Princess cruisers. It erodes the whole idea of achievement of loyalty awards and skews the accounting of days sailed.

Yawn. Single cruisers have gotten double-counted cruises and days. People booking Suites have gotten double-counted cruises and days. So the “skewing of accounting days sailed” is a Rubicon that has already been crossed. All this does is add another subcategory of guests who get double-counted, and for a very short period of time. To the extent that one wants to argue that singles and Suites are paying more money so they should get the benefit, I would come back with: Sure. And people who are paying $80 more per day for a 10 day cruise are paying more too. 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, ReadyToCruise2 said:

The wording in the first part of their "Who is eligible for this promotion" states it applies to cruises that depart between August 1st and Dec 1st.  Based on that wording, our 07/27/2024 cruise would not qualify.

 

1 hour ago, ReadyToCruise2 said:

But then their very next sentence states:  "ANY guest who purchases Princess Plus or Princess Premier package at least two days prior to sailing and who sails during the sailing time period (August 1 – December 1, 2024) qualifies and will have their cruise and # of days cruised count double towards their Captain’s Circle level achievement".

If I were in the Princess Legal Department I would never have allowed this ambiguity to be published. “Departs between” and “Sails during” have very different meanings. As noted in the prior post, best to call and ask. My guess is that they meant “departs” but messed things up by using different phraseology later on. 

[azbirdmom]

20 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

If I were in the Princess Legal Department I would never have allowed this ambiguity to be published. “Departs between” and “Sails during” have very different meanings. As noted in the prior post, best to call and ask. My guess is that they meant “departs” but messed things up by using different phraseology later on. 

The thing is this sort of ambiguity is pretty typical for Princess.  This isn't the first time that there has been contradictory language or mistakes made (see my post several pages back re: Platinum qualification) when rolling out a new promo.  Princess still needs to learn that if you take the time to get it right the first time you save yourselves a lot of time in the long run.

[ebeluga]

22 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

If I were in the Princess Legal Department I would never have allowed this ambiguity to be published. “Departs between” and “Sails during” have very different meanings. As noted in the prior post, best to call and ask. My guess is that they meant “departs” but messed things up by using different phraseology later on. 

Their call center people would not comprehend the subtle differences of the wording!

[HotRoot]

Have they always given double points for a suite?  We sailed in the Owner's Suite maybe ten years ago and we only received one point for each night.  Should we pursue this and get additional points?  We are two points short for elite.    

[dog]

1 minute ago, HotRoot said:

Have they always given double points for a suite?  We sailed in the Owner's Suite maybe ten years ago and we only received one point for each night.  Should we pursue this and get additional points?  We are two points short for elite.    

We had aft corner Vista suite on Dawn NZ cruise and got one credit. Spoke to FC sept staff in a couple of ships- said they ‘d correct it but 12 years now and not yet corrected.

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

Yawn. 

Are we boring you?  The buffet thread might be more entertaining. 😝

[Ellipooh]

12 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

It seems to be working because solo cruisers seem to be plotting a way to advance tiers. As if solo cruising wasn't expensive enough, they are now willing to purchase a plus package and book a suite solo. They are the real cash cows.

Mooooo.

[Worldcruiser1983]

6 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Yawn. Single cruisers have gotten double-counted cruises and days. People booking Suites have gotten double-counted cruises and days. So the “skewing of accounting days sailed” is a Rubicon that has already been crossed. All this does is add another subcategory of guests who get double-counted, and for a very short period of time. To the extent that one wants to argue that singles and Suites are paying more money so they should get the benefit, I would come back with: Sure. And people who are paying $80 more per day for a 10 day cruise are paying more too. 

We pay double so we should be rewarded for paying for two. 

[Iamcruzin]

10 hours ago, Z0nker said:

I recently read that cruise lines make almost nothing on your fare. The profits are in on board spending and shore ex. So pushing the packages makes sense. Also, if most voyages are sailing full then this is the way to increase revenue. 

That has been the business model since I started cruising in the 80's.  First time cruisers spend the most on board buying pictures and trinkets in the shop and booking the excursions. I remember spending $800 on board on family pictures years ago. Don't ask me where those pictures are today because I have no idea. Now I just take my own pictures and they are stored in the cloud and I view them in a loop on  Frame TV.  

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:06 AM, voljeep said:

Our cruise on SUN P - Premier included will run about $600 per day for the 2 of us - Cat DA Balcony.

 

Now for $600 per day we could continue past Fort Lauderdale, driving for about 4 more hours, and be at a very nice hotel in the Keys.  A Publix stop to stock up - beer, wine, champagne at Publix prices - maybe even a BOGO or 2.  

 

Are we priced out on Princess - maybe not yet, but definitely closer

We recently moved to Florida and we are taking our first residents cruise with the discount on Celebrity. It's a short cruise but I only booked it because it calls on Key West. After driving from New York we don't want to do another long drive for a while. So many places to see here and cruising in the Caribbean/ Bahamas doesn't have the same appeal as it did when we were living up north. I see more land trips in our future here in FL.

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/21/2024 at 3:30 PM, FLAlaska said:

Me too! Many complain about the prices and the packages, but Princess packages are immensely more affordable than other cruiselines. They are also more clear as they are a set price and do not deviate. I hope they don't go that route. 

I agree. On Royal and Celebrity you follow the package prices like the Stock Market and wait until it crashes.

[TRLD]

We like having Elite status because it saves us approximately $400 on a 14 day cruise (internet reduction, laundry, minibar) plus since we buy excursions using OBC (stock, military, FCD)  the 10% rebate kicks in another $50 to $60.  The concept of spending over $100 per day extra, just to make it possible to maybe save  about $34 per day in the future faster seems a bit strange to me.

 

And if they continue to buy packages once they get elite status their savings drops to about $22 per day and that is only if they send their laundry out.

 

Not a good deal unless they are just looking to say thatthey are elite whatever the cost.

[SCX22]

1 minute ago, TRLD said:

We like having Elite status because it saves us approximately $400 on a 14 day cruise (internet reduction, laundry, minibar) plus since we buy excursions using OBC (stock, military, FCD)  the 10% rebate kicks in another $50 to $60.  The concept of spending over $100 per day extra, just to make it possible to maybe save  about $34 per day in the future faster seems a bit strange to me.

 

And if they continue to buy packages once they get elite status their savings drops to about $22 per day and that is only if they send their laundry out.

 

Not a good deal unless they are just looking to say thatthey are elite whatever the cost.

 

Wishful thinking, but this is the reason why I think the Elite price for any of the packages should be reduced by $12.50 per day (or whatever 50% of the current per day price of MedallionNet is, in the event Princess raises prices again).

[rosevew]

3 hours ago, TRLD said:

We like having Elite status because it saves us approximately $400 on a 14 day cruise (internet reduction, laundry, minibar) plus since we buy excursions using OBC (stock, military, FCD)  the 10% rebate kicks in another $50 to $60.  The concept of spending over $100 per day extra, just to make it possible to maybe save  about $34 per day in the future faster seems a bit strange to me.

 

And if they continue to buy packages once they get elite status their savings drops to about $22 per day and that is only if they send their laundry out.

 

Not a good deal unless they are just looking to say thatthey are elite whatever the cost.

Elite isn't going to help towards the cost of drinks though so a package is still required.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

17 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Single cruisers have gotten double-counted cruises and days. People booking Suites have gotten double-counted cruises and days.

Double cruise credits yes, double sea days no.  I have 335 sea days and these are the actual number of days I have spent at sea on Princess. My 73 cruise credits are the result of some sailings getting double credits on my 40 completed cruises. 

Edited Monday at 01:19 PM by HaveDogWillTravel

[Boku]

I received the email this morning confirming double the love for UK cruisers.

[rosevew]

Just now, Boku said:

I received the email this morning confirming double the love for UK cruisers.

Still had nothing here