No more MTG luncheon, only cocktail party

[JimmyVWine]

13 hours ago, TRLD said:

First and foremost loyalty programs are marketing programs. They only exist as long as value is multiples of cost.

Making my point about the Elite benefits and to some degree, the luncheons.  Those mini-liquor bottles placed in the cabins are almost free to the cruise line.  The emotional value is multiples of the cost.  And they serve as a "someday I will get that" carrot.  There is no reason to view the luncheons or cocktail parties any differently.  As for airlines, they have changed their programs in dramatic ways.  Moving from a "miles flown" to a "dollars spent" has made it very difficult for the casual flyer to accumulate much of anything in less than 10 years, especially if they shop for the lowest price. Sure, being a "Million Miler" gets you current benefits.  But it took me 20 years to achieve that.  It is very possible that cruise lines will move to a "dollars spent" loyalty model. That wouldn't be so bad.  Shouldn't someone who spends $20,000 on two cruises get rewarded more than someone who spends $10,000 on 10 cruises?

[555]

21 hours ago, memoak said:

The itinerary makes a big difference. On our  b2b Alaska cruises last month there were people with under 200 days who were invited. On those cruises there were over 2,100 blue cards on each week and this was in the Grand

We no longer sail to Alaska and stay local where we can drive to the port.

Also not on the Grand. It's much to old and prefer newer ships.

[TRLD]

19 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

One of the ways that a business convinces the newbies with most of their purchasing on the horizon instead of the rearview mirror to become and remain brand-loyal is to show them a carrot that they can one day hope to obtain.  Elite benefits and things like MTG Luncheons are very much a "One day I hope to be able to experience that" type of thing.  So while the benefit may be physically conferred on people whose spending is mostly behind them (and prior posts cast doubt on the validity of that idea), the benefit is being emotionally conferred on the people who aren't actually the recipients.    

Most new cruisers do not even know the mtg luncheon exists. No public announcements. Not listed in benefits. Not on ships schedule. Only individual invitations. so not much of a carrot there.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, 555 said:

See above.

 

No, it is not an elite perk.  It is a most traveled recognition.  Of course, in practice I cannot imagine the most traveled are not at elite status.  I wonder if that has ever happened.    

[ldubs]

15 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Most new cruisers do not even know the mtg luncheon exists. No public announcements. Not listed in benefits. Not on ships schedule. Only individual invitations. so not much of a carrot there.

 

Seems I commonly hear the CD make a remark or two about the most traveled person.  But, like you say, it has been a while since I recall hearing anything about the group being gathered for recognition.  

[JimmyVWine]

3 hours ago, TRLD said:

Most new cruisers do not even know the mtg luncheon exists.

The carrot is not intended for new cruisers.  If you had a nickel for every post here from someone who said: "I just missed the cut" you'd be rich.  Don't try to pretend that the people who comment about just missing the cut don't continue their loyalty with PCL in hopes that someday they will make the cut.  I'm not saying that this is the only reason for their loyalty.  But you can't say that it is a non-factor.

[cruising.mark.uk]

16 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

The carrot is not intended for new cruisers.  If you had a nickel for every post here from someone who said: "I just missed the cut" you'd be rich.  Don't try to pretend that the people who comment about just missing the cut don't continue their loyalty with PCL in hopes that someday they will make the cut.  I'm not saying that this is the only reason for their loyalty.  But you can't say that it is a non-factor.

I'd say it's a non-factor other than for a very special type of person who thinks 'All I've got to do is spend another $10000, $20000 or $30000 and then maybe I can get invited to a lunch worth $10'.  

I think it's pretty safe to say that the MTG lunch is not a carrot for anyone, other than the fraction of a % of Princess cruisers who have been invited to it in the past and the tiny number of keyboard warriors on here who believe that its potential loss is another example of the 'downgrading' of their benefits.  Seems to me that if they are that concerned about it they would be better off finding another cruise line to which they could give a few hundred thousand dollars in the hope of a 'free lunch' at some unspecified time in the future. 

Meanwhile, I suspect that Princess will continue to stay afloat without their patronage. 

[555]

52 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I'd say it's a non-factor other than for a very special type of person who thinks 'All I've got to do is spend another $10000, $20000 or $30000 and then maybe I can get invited to a lunch worth $10'. 

I'd venture to say the luncheon is worth a little more than $10.

Multiple appetizers, multiple glasses of any wine you prefer, main course & dessert.

We can hardly eat dinner afterwards, but we try.

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

The carrot is not intended for new cruisers.  If you had a nickel for every post here from someone who said: "I just missed the cut" you'd be rich.  Don't try to pretend that the people who comment about just missing the cut don't continue their loyalty with PCL in hopes that someday they will make the cut.  I'm not saying that this is the only reason for their loyalty.  But you can't say that it is a non-factor.

Unless they sail almost a 100 days per year or more they are most likely falling further out of the selection rather than getting closer. To attend they would need to pick a few routes that are mostly new folks like the Alaska 1 way cruises.

 

Pre Covid the cutoff was 8n the 3-400 range, now it is usually 600+.

 

Usually we see mostly the same set of attendees.

 

just as most traveled guest used be aeound 1000, now 2000+ not unusual

[TRLD]

13 minutes ago, 555 said:

I'd venture to say the luncheon is worth a little more than $10.

Multiple appetizers, multiple glasses of any wine you prefer, main course & dessert.

We can hardly eat dinner afterwards, but we try.

Duplicating the lunch in a land based restuarant probably in the $100 per person range due to the Chefs personal efforts.

[TRLD]

8 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Seems I commonly hear the CD make a remark or two about the most traveled person.  But, like you say, it has been a while since I recall hearing anything about the group being gathered for recognition.  

They make a comment about the 3 most traveled when they are recognized by the Captain at the Captains Circle cocktail party. But do not mention the luncheon for the top top 20 with guest.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, TRLD said:

They make a comment about the 3 most traveled when they are recognized by the Captain at the Captains Circle cocktail party. But do not mention the luncheon for the top top 20 with guest.

 

So, we are in agreement, at least somewhat.  

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, 555 said:

That's what I said.

I think we're going in circles here. 😄

 

Oh sorry.  I was agreeing with you.  🙂

[deltaqueenie]

We were surprised and honored to be invited to a MTG Luncheon, and had a lovely time with the Captain and fellow passengers. The food was outstanding and the tablescapes were beautiful! All the conversation we were involved in was appreciative and positive. IMO this was the most enjoyable, special event we’ve experienced with Princess. I hope Princess will continue these personal luncheons instead of a cocktail party… 

[karatemom2]

9 hours ago, TRLD said:

Unless they sail almost a 100 days per year or more they are most likely falling further out of the selection rather than getting closer. To attend they would need to pick a few routes that are mostly new folks like the Alaska 1 way cruises.

 

Pre Covid the cutoff was 8n the 3-400 range, now it is usually 600+.

 

Usually we see mostly the same set of attendees.

 

just as most traveled guest used be aeound 1000, now 2000+ not unusual

We just received an invite for the first time on our Alaska cruise last week. We are in the upper 300 range so usually don’t quite make the grade. 
 

We very much enjoyed the cocktail party and ended up skipping dinner because the hors d’ouevres offered were so filling and delicious. 
 

We may find it a long wait until we get another invite since, to your point, we are often among cruisers with much higher number of days.   
 

The most traveled guest on our Alaska cruise had over 2500 days!

[DJ Cruisers]

We just went to the Most Travelled Captain's Lunch and it was very nice.  We're on the Enchanted Princess.  It certainly isn't gone.

[555]

1 minute ago, DJ Cruisers said:

We just went to the Most Travelled Captain's Lunch and it was very nice.  We're on the Enchanted Princess.  It certainly isn't gone.

Do you happen to know the cut off number?

[DJ Cruisers]

Two couples at our table said they had around 400 days.  There appeared to be around 40 people invited.

[karatemom2]

4 hours ago, DJ Cruisers said:

Two couples at our table said they had around 400 days.  There appeared to be around 40 people invited.

 
40 sounds right based on what we heard at the cocktail party - the Captain made a comment that we represented the 40 cruisers on the ship with the highest number of days. 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

 
40 sounds right based on what we heard at the cocktail party - the Captain made a comment that we represented the 40 cruisers on the ship with the highest number of days. 

It is actually the top 20 and a guest can be added. Mostly there are couples in most cabins that would both qualify 

[Grego]

On 9/10/2024 at 3:34 PM, TRLD said:

Unless they sail almost a 100 days per year or more they are most likely falling further out of the selection rather than getting closer. To attend they would need to pick a few routes that are mostly new folks like the Alaska 1 way cruises.

 

Pre Covid the cutoff was 8n the 3-400 range, now it is usually 600+.

 

Usually we see mostly the same set of attendees.

 

just as most traveled guest used be aeound 1000, now 2000+ not unusual

We have been to five MTG luncheons having around 600 days but there are times that we weren't even close depending on the time of the year and the length of the voyage.  Most longer itineraries and trans ocean have the longer traveled guests.

It wasn't a "carrot" for us because we didn't even know it existed on our way to 60 bookings.  Once we reached Elite it was more about when the next cruise was rather than any other perk because there wasn't any.  The MTG luncheon was just something special as a thanks for continued loyalty.

[esad9556]

On 9/5/2024 at 6:51 PM, Yehootu said:

Island Princess April 2018, Champagne served on the bridge at end of the Behind the Scenes ship tour. Captain opened the first bottle, but no crew member had any.

In the chart room or office behind the bridge, possibly.....but on the bridge then please post a picture.

 

[esad9556]

On 9/8/2024 at 6:34 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

From a commercial perspective why does Princess need to show appreciation to most travelled guests?  I'd hazard a guess that the per diem revenue they get from guests in this category is very low.  And, the fact that they are most travelled suggests that they need little incentive to keep cruising with Princess. 

 

Commercial logic suggests that the cruise line should focus on the newbies, who are far more likely to spend more in terms of extras and on board spend over and above the base cabin fare and are also likely to be of a younger demographic.  In general terms, those who get invited to most travelled guests functions probably have most of their cruising behind them.  The cruise line needs to focus on those who have most of their cruising ahead of them - that's where the future revenue lies. 

 

So, it's no surprise to me that - when financial times are tight - marketing / loyalty expenditure will be directed towards passengers most likely to make a significant and long-term positive contribution to future revenue generation.

Finally a voice of reason, it's all about financials and the persons paying full fare with packages.  Princess needs these people to reduce their debt load to survive...... as a stock holder and elite passenger I do understand this.

[esad9556]

On 9/8/2024 at 7:00 AM, Iamcruzin said:

The cruise lines don't owe anyone anything but trip they paid for. These loyalty programs were a trap with most of the complaints coming from the top tier members. This is my experience on all the cruise line boards I follow. They are constantly asking for more tiers and more freebies.

 

I wish I had a dime for every time I read how Elites don't buy the drink package because they are fine with the free Elite offerings and how they send their dirty laundry from the land portion of the trip to be cleaned on embarkation day. Be satisfied with what you are getting and hope that they don't cut back anymore. If you don't feel appreciated you can always try another cruise line. For every person leaving there is another one sailing.  New cruisers are a better investment as they spend on board where it adds to the bottom line.

Could not of put it better.......unfortunately there are many MTG's who don't get this!

[chrysalis]

The Emerald has a luncheon this week...

The cutoff is about 470 days