Crown & Anchor Program Revisions - join the merged discussions here

[CruiseKeeper]

Oh come off it ...........talk about exaggeration.:eek: No-one has been cheated!! It has often been discussed that the contract says that the loyalty benefits can change at any time. I have never seen it written anywhere that we would get free drinks for life!!! And regular posters on CC have seen many posts about the CL overcrowding and how we expected that at some point, RCCL would have to take action.

 

The airlines are all 'cheating' when they change their loyalty programmes? I don't think so!!! Nothing is forever!!! Adults with intellect understand this perfectly well - the Company has financial problems and the rats seem to be jumping ship, having enjoyed all the benefits.

 

See, I can be rude too!!!:D It was very nice to do it - fed up with feeding y'all tea and sympathy and receiving insults in return!! Especially enjoyed the nautical reference.

 

As I said previously, by all means change lines - I hope you will enjoy free drinks and a CL Lounge without booking a suite on the other lines of your choice.

 

And to all Diamond cruisers who are reasonably sane and can post without resorting to insults - I respect your feelings on the subject and had it been my decision, I would have done things rather differently. But the situation in the CL and the free drinks, had got out of hand. RCCL made their decision - we shall have to wait and see if they change their minds.

 

Oh look, Sybill is back respecting the feelings for the rats that are jumping ship. Remember, it's just "I'm sorry". No buts about it. Pick a side, any side.

[mojitodiva]

According to Royal website here it is in black and white.....

 

 

Terms & Conditions

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program (“the Program”) or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice.

 

 

 

Nobody was ever cheated. One should have read the fine print and booked cruises with Royal for the the reasons that make sense...

Itinerary, Price, Ship, Service, etc, etc, etc and NOT because of perks.

 

:p

[CruiseKeeper]

The customers of RCI that are feeling the loss of benefits are certainly entitled to their feelings. No one is entitled to tell them how they should feel.

[temple1]

The customers of RCI that are feeling the loss of benefits are certainly entitled to their feelings. No one is entitled to tell them how they should feel.

 

After approximately 80 posts by you alone on the subjuct, you don't think the rest of us understands how deeply you feel about this?

 

I'm sure the folks who are going on the next cruise with you and some of the others who have taken up the banner are really looking forward to spending time with Diamonds in the CL lounge or elsewhere on the ship.

 

I just keep looking for something new to be added to the merged discussion. Oh, but really, there is nothing new to be added, is there? So at this point when your children continue on and on and on, what do you call it?

[beachbuddy]

Let's see, is this topic titled - Come in ONLY if you are here to B**** and Moan about the changes to the Crown and Anchor Program revisions, all others stay out, this is our own private pity party? OR is it titled - Crown and Anchor program revisions - join the merged discussion?

 

That's not exactly the point I was making. The point is that I don't understand why people read and post on a thread about a subject that doesn't bother them unless they're here to stir the pot. I wouldn't think of going to a thread about the youth programs or bringing liquor on board, or even tippng, etc. since those subjects have nothing to do with me and I wouldn't go there and give my point of view because I wouldn't care about the subjects.

 

People here can b!tch if they want to but they still need to respect each other and some of the postings that I've read here shows no respect since we're (yes, I'll include myself in the whiner group even though I don't think I whined any here at all) constantly told we are whiners and we should leave.

 

Personally I think RCCL made a lot of mistakes with many of their cuts. One being that P/D/D+ are not able to use their EARNED BALCONY DISCOUNT with one other OBC. Since anyone can use an OBC, we're not getting anything extra for our C&A level. They should be able to see what they've done to all of us but evidently, they don't care. I feel that any P/D/D+ should be able to still combine at least ONE OBC with their Balcony Discount. Okay, I know this is off the subject but I'm just showing things that they have recently done to turn loyal customers away. This last Loyalty change is just the icing on the cake!!! And no, I'm not happy about the choice they made......not just for the free drinks but because I own more than 100 shares of their stock and I'd sure would like to see that stock start going back up, but deep down I really feel that RCCL is turning people off big time!!!

[CruiseKeeper]

After approximately 80 posts by you alone on the subjuct, you don't think the rest of us understands how deeply you feel about this?

 

I'm sure the folks who are going on the next cruise with you and some of the others who have taken up the banner are really looking forward to spending time with Diamonds in the CL lounge or elsewhere on the ship.

 

I just keep looking for something new to be added to the merged discussion. Oh, but really, there is nothing new to be added, is there? So at this point when your children continue on and on and on, what do you call it?

 

Check me out again. My biggest complaint in this thread is addressed to people that generalize and in general are not fair in their comments. In fact, I feel more animosity towards those posters than I feel towards RCI for making the change. If people would stop agitating with these unfair comments, this thread could reveal more appropriate discussion.

[curley23]

According to Royal website here it is in black and white.....

 

 

Terms & Conditions

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program (“the Program”) or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice.

 

 

 

Nobody was ever cheated. One should have read the fine print and booked cruises with Royal for the the reasons that make sense...

Itinerary, Price, Ship, Service, etc, etc, etc and NOT because of perks.

 

:p[/quote

 

You should know by now that making any kind of sense doesn't matter here. There may be some who will say that the statement was never there, along with those who feel it is all because of cost, which has never been mentioned by RC.

I would guess that there are some who could care less about anything except a few free cocktails, not why they made the choice to cruise with RC in the first place. They also don't realize that the benefits haven't been reduced for the most part, just the number of ships that will be providing them.

The C/A society is nothing but a club. No one forced anyone to join. There was no 'Contract". Yes they have certain "rewards", NOT entitlements as most seem to perceive here.

[tugboat]

One change you haven't seen, that is right arond the corner will be adding tips to your sea pass, reguired by all to do so.

 

Too many cheap folks out their not tipping the dinning staff when they eat in the WJ all week. or they don't get there Towel animal every nite.

 

Remember tips are the only way the folks make aliving.

[kauppias]

One change you haven't seen, that is right arond the corner will be adding tips to your sea pass, reguired by all to do so.

 

Too many cheap folks out their not tipping the dinning staff when they eat in the WJ all week. or they don't get there Towel animal every nite.

 

Remember tips are the only way the folks make aliving.

 

 

this is one change I will not take to, IF they change this I WILL STOP cruising with RCL as I do not want to go without service...

 

I tip above the guidelines for GOOD SERVICE and have also tipped the WJ servers in addittion to the MDR when we get waited on extra special etc BUT I ALSO tip below for below average service.... and YES the towel animals is one criteria when I am traveling with my kids...

 

 

I think the tip system as is now is the ONLY and BEST WAY to keep the service level HIGH... IF they know it is coming for swure why strive... some will but will ALL OR MOST???

[Ocean Boy]

Ocean Boy,

 

Same here.......we never sit down by the pool. Actually we prefer deck 12......LOL

 

I actually go for deck 13... the St. Tropez deck. It is the smaller area that you take the flight of stairs up from deck 12. It is very quiet and peaceful. You don't hear any sound coming from the pool deck.

[curley23]

The Geneses of "The Plan"

Thanks cruiser ... but I think I have a better point to make. It came to me like an epiphany while walking the dogs ... actually right in front of the San Francisco Theological Seminary ... hmm.

 

Actually,Sealord, I don't think it was all that thought out. RCL saw how many people were becoming Diamond and took it into account when they started building larger ships - hence they built a lounge for the Diamond and Diamond Plus sailers on the larger ships. These ships are huge and amazingly expensive and tend to command a higher price.

The Concierge lounge on the other ships were way too small to accomodate everybody. Rather than taking over another room or bar area and creating another lounge for the Diamonds and Diamond Plus, they decided to exclude the Diamonds in the hopes they would sail on the larger ships, where they would still have the concierge lounge (same thing, even though the name has changed to Diamond lounge).

Look at their ship's positioning. There used to be several choices of RCL ships sailing out of the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area. Now, unless you want a 3 or 4 nighter, your only option is the Freedom class, soon to be replaced by the Oasis. They are hoping to fill these ships with passengers, and by "pushing" the Diamond members towards them (as well as the Floridians who cruise all the time), they have a larger customer base.

I am not defending this - I am just pointing out why I think this happened.

 

You make a very good point. The Caribbean is still the largest cruise market out there, an RC has positioned themselves to have their biggest and newest ships sailing there, and this is how they will try and capture a big piece of that market. RC is also not the only cruise line with bigger ships coming out in the next several years.

I think within the coming years we will see most ships of the vision class and soveriegn class gone. The have already started using Voyager ships for 4 and 5 day trips in the Caribbean, and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or 2 of those, or even Radiance class doing the 3/4 day Bahama trips.

I would tend to think that this change to the C/A program has probably been several years in the works, ever since they designed the Freedom ships.

[Ocean Boy]

According to Royal website here it is in black and white.....

 

 

Terms & Conditions

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program (“the Program”) or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice.

 

 

 

Nobody was ever cheated. One should have read the fine print and booked cruises with Royal for the the reasons that make sense...

Itinerary, Price, Ship, Service, etc, etc, etc and NOT because of perks.

 

:p

 

Is that just above or below were RCI states that they make no warranty as to the sea worthiness of their ships?

[tugboat]

this is one change I will not take to, IF they change this I WILL STOP cruising with RCL as I do not want to go without service...

 

I tip above the guidelines for GOOD SERVICE and have also tipped the WJ servers in addittion to the MDR when we get waited on extra special etc BUT I ALSO tip below for below average service.... and YES the towel animals is one criteria when I am traveling with my kids...

 

 

I think the tip system as is now is the ONLY and BEST WAY to keep the service level HIGH... IF they know it is coming for swure why strive... some will but will ALL OR MOST???

 

Where are you going to go all cruise lines except RCL do it already:confused:

[kauppias]

Where are you going to go all cruise lines except RCL do it already:confused:

 

CRUISING is not the only way to travel :) I LOVE to cruise but at the point where they "add tips" then they are NO LONGER TIPS they are then fees, I love to TIP if I get treated well then I tip WELL but I have also been on the flip side where service was so poor that I would not ever come back, so then WHY should I tip for that... on our previous 3 cruises on the jewel of the seas we had 3 different room stewards. 2 of them were excellent, and got tipped accordingly, the thisr one I never even saw except when it was time for the tip to be given, he had ignored our requests for ice, for towel animals, and the room was cleaned quite poorly, so his "tip" reflected that service... but had tips been added automatically what recourse would we have?

 

I understand that somepeople stiffthe service staff, and I sure hope its a small percentage that does not tip and not the other way around but I personally feel the need for service based tipping....

[Catnip]

Feel free to not watch, it will take less of your time and energy.

 

 

LOL!!! That's just what I was thinking! If this thread annoys some posters, they are free to unsubscribe to it. Seems to me that some of the people that are complaining about the whiners are whining themselves!!! :D :D

[xpcdoojk]

We are only gold but found that the only platinum perk we could use would be the robes in our room. Now it makes no sence to try for diamond, so we switched to ccl and we get robes anyway. And saved a little over $800.00.

 

And yet you post in the RCI forum instead of the CCL forum where your future cruises are. :rolleyes:

 

jc

[rubrrick]

I sailed in a GS on the Voyager last January. There is in fact a walk in/glass enclosed shower and a jacuzzi tub separate from each other. Although the bathroom is quite big enough to accommodate a w/c, the walk in shower may prove problematic as it does have a stepover to get in (keeps the water inside). I've also seen the bathrooms on the Owners Suites and they're quite large as well. Just FYI.;)

 

 

While I realise that this thread is about the taking away of C&A benefits, if I can interject to this gentleman...........that either he was in an OS on the Voyager...........which has both a shower and tub.........or is dreaming.

 

There is not a GS to the best of my knowledge, on any Royal Caribbean ship, Oasis excluded, that has both a stand up shower and bathtub in that catagory.

 

Now back to the discussion at hand.

 

Rick

[capecodrealtor]

And yet you post in the RCI forum instead of the CCL forum where your future cruises are. :rolleyes:

 

jc

 

I didn't know that we were restricted to reading or posting only on boards of cruise lines that we have cruises booked on. Is this a new posting guideline? :rolleyes:

[xpcdoojk]

Thanks cruiser ... but I think I have a better point to make. It came to me like an epiphany while walking the dogs ... actually right in front of the San Francisco Theological Seminary ... hmm.

 

We have all been assuming or viewing the facts in chronological order. But, as of necessity, the 'plan' had to be executed somewhat in reverse. I'm not sure it is good to have a sufficiently 'devious' mind to figure this out ... finally ... but it probably stems from my military planning experience.

 

Here's my hypothosis.

 

1. RCCL decided that the Crown & Anchor 'Diamond' program had 'succeeded' beyond their expectations, and they now had too many Diamonds to accomodate easily in the CL. So instead of 'expanding', like any 'successful' enterprise might do they did the following.

 

2. Solution: The decision was made to renege on the Diamond benefits deal. That is, take the CL away from the Diamonds.

 

3. Dilemma: To simply take that benefit away from all of C&A would be too blatent and too obvious, and would really annoy all of their C&A people. They might lose business.

 

4. Solution to the Dilemma: We will create Diamond Plus 'in order to give recognition to our 'really' frequent cruisers'. This of course would be a substantially smaller number of people than the Diamonds. (Some might notice that the additional benefits of Diamond Plus {until now} were far from 'earthshaking'.)

 

5. Allow a short period of time to pass with the Diamonds and Diamond Plus commingling in the CL with the suite people, and others (Golds and Platinums) still striving to achieve that level so they can get the only 'substantial' benefit of the C&A program ... the CL. The utilization of overflow lounges will give the appearance that all is well.

 

6. Execution: After the Diamond Plus 'program' has had some time to sink in we announce ... ta da ... 'new enhanced C&A benefits', and the Diamonds are 'enhanced' right out of the CL. Problem solved ... just toss out honesty and integrity, and replace them with expediency.

 

So, if you were to accept this hypothesis, it would become apparent that the Diamond Plus level was created 'specifically' to provide a vehicle for taking the CL away from the Diamonds and providing incentive (I don't think so) to the Diamonds to cruise like crazy and become 'Plus'. And this plan allows them to not expand the CL, get rid of the overflow lounges, and yes improve the bottom line a 'little'.

 

So the 'appearance' was that this decision was made two weeks ago. I don't think so ... the 'plan' happened 'before' Diamond Plus was announced. The timing of the plan was all that had to be determined. Just my opinion.;)

 

Wow, now you are channelling senior RCI management. Amazing.

 

This thread is simply the most insane thread I have ever seen here.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

I didn't know that we were restricted to reading or posting only on boards of cruise lines that we have cruises booked on. Is this a new posting guideline? :rolleyes:

 

Nope, just pointing out the inconsistency of the poster. The constant I am leaving and I am gone to my new cruiseline, and yet the posting in the old forum....

 

The program hasn't changed folks, you just need to book the ships that define RCI in the current age.... not the ships that are on their way to the X or Azmara fleets. Guess what RCI has generously, agreed to allow you to have the perks equal to those lines perks when you change to the ships you prefer.

 

Of course, most here don't read threads that don't agree with their point of view, but join in to continue the BMW session....:rolleyes:

 

jc

[AnotherCruisingKid]

 

I just want to point out it doesn't have to take years and years to get D plus. 2 credits for JS and up no matter what length of cruise it is. It took me less then 3 years sailing 9 and 12 night cruises in JS and OS ( extra credit for 12 nights so 3 credits if in JS or up) but I know people who made D plus in far less time sailing just 3-4 night cruises in JS and up. it's 12 cruises in a JS and up for 24 credits to be D plus and even less cruises if you do the long cruises as you get that extra credit for to total 3 in a suite. Some people sail in balcony or below at 1 credit for 24 cruises or 2 for long cruises and some mix it up and sail different cats all the time. It just depends on the cabin people choose and the length of cruise.

I completely agree.

I have been cruising with Royal Caribbean less than a year total right now. I am currently just platinum and by the end of the year after our next cruise (a b2b) we will be diamond. Total of 18 months. Some long, some short, most in a JS.

 

Its possible. And to be honest, it was playing the game by the rules they gave.

 

We ARE looking at switching to Princess over this issue. Not so much because we're going to lose 2 free drinks a night going forward (about 20% of our daily spend savings it would have been) but because they offer itineraries we'd prefer. So Royal's issue is making us look around. We found something we hope to like better. Bad move by them. But we're not abandoning RCL entirely either. Just keeping our eyes open for everything that makes us happy. Royal or not.

 

We cruise 2 to 3 times a year. Going forward I see one of those going to Royal. If the benefits weren't changed, i'd bet most would go to RCL. Its not about free drinks even if it would save us $20 a day. Its about the precedent they are setting that they will change things at will.

 

My above posts about how the program is fundamentally flawed aside, this is our reaction to the current state of things.

[ws1965]

One change you haven't seen, that is right arond the corner will be adding tips to your sea pass, reguired by all to do so.

 

Too many cheap folks out their not tipping the dinning staff when they eat in the WJ all week. or they don't get there Towel animal every nite.

 

Remember tips are the only way the folks make aliving.

 

 

When we check into the cabin and meet the steward, we always give him/her a tip right away. So far after 10 cruises, we have never had bad service. And at the end of the cruise, we always add the tips to our sea pass card and then add extra money in the envelope for superior service.

[beachbuzzard]

Wow, now you are channelling senior RCI management. Amazing.

 

This thread is simply the most insane thread I have ever seen here.

 

jc

 

Obviously you are unfamiliar with the word "hypothesis".

 

What makes the thread the most insane isn't the content, but the endless criticism of it.

[beachbuzzard]

I completely agree.

I have been cruising with Royal Caribbean less than a year total right now. I am currently just platinum and by the end of the year after our next cruise (a b2b) we will be diamond. Total of 18 months. Some long, some short, most in a JS.

 

Its possible. And to be honest, it was playing the game by the rules they gave.

 

We ARE looking at switching to Princess over this issue. Not so much because we're going to lose 2 free drinks a night going forward (about 20% of our daily spend savings it would have been) but because they offer itineraries we'd prefer. So Royal's issue is making us look around. We found something we hope to like better. Bad move by them. But we're not abandoning RCL entirely either. Just keeping our eyes open for everything that makes us happy. Royal or not.

 

We cruise 2 to 3 times a year. Going forward I see one of those going to Royal. If the benefits weren't changed, i'd bet most would go to RCL. Its not about free drinks even if it would save us $20 a day. Its about the precedent they are setting that they will change things at will.

 

My above posts about how the program is fundamentally flawed aside, this is our reaction to the current state of things.

 

Agree with this entirely and feel the same way.

 

The move isn't about "hating" RCCL. It is about dropping them to a level which opens them up to more competition. A few drinks a day isn't the end all, but it sure did tip our scales a little. Now RCCL is just one of the gang of cruise lines, in addition to land-based vacations, battling for our vacation dollars.

[capecodrealtor]

"Of course, most here don't read threads that don't agree with their point of view, but join in to continue the BMW session...."

 

Yet, there are those that continue to post to further whine about the whining....I gues also posting to BMW about those who may tend to disagree with them??

 

Hmmm....doesn't everyone deserve the opportunity to post an opinion??