Crown & Anchor Program Revisions - join the merged discussions here

[Shmobo]

Michele: Just off the phone with C&A and in fact if you book a JS you will still get 2 cruise credits:p:p

 

Thanks for verifying that for us!!!

 

I only 3 cruise credit short to be D+. I have one cruise coming up in May in a balcony so I still can use the CL, and the one in August I booked a JS on Grandeur (there is no CL anyway so I won't miss anything)..

 

Then I will be D+ with CL access!! Before RCCL change the rules again :mad:..

 

I usually cruise on either RCCL or X during the Holiday Seasons for the last 7 years, but with the prices they are asking lately, I too jumped ship to try other cruiselines.

 

Jen

[Firefighterhoop]

I'm not "Happy" with the changes, but I knew something would be done. I think they could have somehow grandfathered in the current members and then changed things for new members.

 

I think the lounge is the decision breaker between cruising RCCL or another line, and I do think RCCL will lose buisness of their diamond members.

 

However, the lounges have gotten very overcrowded in the past year, causing many complaints (People complaining over something free), and this is a large cause for this to be done.

[JOKSTEN2000]

RCCL went way over board with the give aways in the past, most of you sound like spoiled kids. Get over it, there fighting to stay in business. I'll bet it's saving them money to cut back all those give away. They probably have many people that will pay top price for those suites. Soon as people create classes the problems always start. Everyone on the ship should be treated equally somebody's $1 is someone else's $10. Let's get real, unless some of you feel you can buy your way into heaven

[East Bay Skiers]

I think that now would be the time to repeat:

 

Royal Caribbean could pretty much *solve the problem of too many Diamonds* by restricting Diamond status to those who have actually sailed the requisite number of cruises.

 

If you get rid of all the "household members" who get Diamond status regardless of how many times they have (or haven't) cruised based merely on the fact that a real Diamond cruiser uses the same address that they do, then I believe that the "problem" goes away.

 

How about it, Royal Caribbean? If you are in the mood to make changes and overhaul Crown & Anchor, THAT would be a good place to start.

 

NOT THIS.

 

You will alienate far fewer people who can no longer claim illegitimate, unearned Diamond status than you are now, dumping Diamonds out of the Concierge Lounge.

 

Who agrees with me?

 

 

I agree with you a 100% Merion Mom. It's just not fair the way they go about giving diamond status to those that have not earned it on their own. We only got to enjoy the CL once since becoming diamond. Although we are not drinkers we loved the lounge, the expresso machine and having a quiet place go go during the day, but the best part was being able to meet some wonderful people there.

 

On a separate topic. I want to thank you from your great live posts on the Mariner around the hook. I absolutely loved it and was hooked.

[Host Kewlguy]

Truthfully.............

 

How many Dia+ memebers are secretly happy about the new changes.

 

I feel really bad for the Diamond members and know I would be fumming along with you if I was Diamond.

 

 

But that said a part of me feels kind of happy about the change.

 

I have mixed feelings about it. Many of my friends are Diamond but after what we witnessed on our last cruise on Explorer (11/30/08) we knew something had to give. People were fighting over seating, sneaking people in, threatening the concierge when he tried to restore order. It was a ridiculous situation. Finding a seat was nearly impossible. I agree Royal caused this situation themselves and certainly could have made other changes before this one. They've been contemplating many different changes in order to rectify this problem and this is obviously what they've decided to do. At least they decided to keep the Diamond lounges on the Freedom Class ships for the Diamond members instead of restricting them to Diamond Plus only. I can see the prices of the Freedom Class cruises becoming much more expensive now.

[TNT]

Do you guys like the Freedom or Oasis classes at all? You will still have access to the Diamond Club (which IS better than the CL) on those ship classes.:)

 

We do like the Freedom class. That was our last "girls cruise". Of course, wasn't Diamond then, so I didn't visit the lounge. My husband and I have booked Oasis for April '10. Do they have someone in Diamond Lounge to help with ice tickets, reservations, etc?

[The Grumpus]

We do like the Freedom class. That was our last "girls cruise". Of course, wasn't Diamond then, so I didn't visit the lounge. My husband and I have booked Oasis for April '10. Do they have someone in Diamond Lounge to help with ice tickets, reservations, etc?

Oh absolutly! It is run the same way as the CL only it's for the Diamond members only. RCCL saw this coming so they designed those ships with this separation in mind. It has all the services the CL has and the Diamond club also has it's own Concierge. So you are not losing anything on Oasis class or Freedom class.

[Allaboutsailingrc]

Unfortunately, there has been way too much abuse of the program in the past and something had to change. (Remember those school days when one kid was bad and the entire classroom got punished?) Yes, I am Diamond+ and earned those credits the hard way, one long cruise at a time and paying single occupancy. I will continue to be Loyal to Royal, as RC and Celebrity are the only lines I cruise.

[tony&lili]

We will absolutely think twice before booking another cruise with rci, we were thinking of booking on the Radience to Mexico on an 11 day cruise for November, but now rethinking maybe not.......Lili

[kborth]

I am a gold working toward Platinum, as per the transatlantic I booked, but I think that as a former cheerleader for them they should do everything possible to reward loyal members who tell 10 friends and they tell 10 friends and I expect my Crown and Anchor welcome back party. My cousin gets tons of perks with Princess

[heatherb1958]

We are D+ and a lot of our cruising friends are Diamonds.

We love it when we join a cruise not knowing which of our cruising friends we will bump into in the Concierge lounge. The number of reunions we have had this year already is fantastic:). I can't keep incontact with everyone we meet on our cruises but having the CL meant if there were going to be anyone we knew on the ship that was the place to find them ;):D

[ancldaca]

There has been a move, across all main lines, to stratify the cruise experience again. This is just one of those examples. By limiting access, the CL becomes again a "1st class" amenity. You can get this one of two ways: pay for a suite or cruise very repeatedly.

 

Sorry, but I happen to think that "elite" facilities should not be available to the masses and this CL concept certainly appears to have hit that point where it's exclusive ambiance was being lost.

 

Now, let's bring in the financial part. Anybody watch Cruise Inc. on CNBC? It's $7.25 per day per person - that's just to break even. If 400 Diamonds are boozing it up for free it makes it that much harder to sell the needed amounts of beverages.

 

While the repeat cruiser is important - I'm not saying we aren't - we all know that the first timer does spend more money on board. We know already where the freebies are. We leverage our repeater statuses to lower our costs. We may be a good customer base but we tend to represent less revenue per person.

 

Both major cruise corporations are SERIOUSLY in trouble right now. Forget about their stocks - that's speculative anyway but a good indicator. Both of them just got their debt downgraded: Carnival from A- to BBB+ and RCL, which already was a junk rated company, went from BB to BB-. S&P didn't even stop there, they downgraded AND slapped a negative outlook at the same time. That's quite severe and should give us all pause.

 

This is no time for both RCL and CCL to be giving out a lot of freebies. What are we all gonna do? Cruise NCL? MSC? Doubtful, who are we trying to kid. It's sort of like me swearing I will never fly American Airlines again but in the end I do...

 

(Oh, and even though CCL hasn't announced any cuts in loyalty benefits lately, do not be surprised if they do something to that effect as well soon. Monkey see - monkey do.)

[CruiseKeeper]

still not sure you can find a line with better loyalty benefits

 

you people that want to switch lines are not so bright, you're going to leave just because you cant have the lounge? you aren’t getting the lounge on any other line either and you're not going to have the other benefits... ever think about that? :rolleyes:

 

maybe you should think twice before making such rash decisions

 

Not saying we are switching; just saying we are going to research all lines when making a choice. RCI leveled the playing field since no lines have that benefit. I don't feel researching all options is making a rash decision. Besides, I kind of resent being told I'm not so bright. You didn't mean to be so unkind, did you?

[mohavemommy]

I spent all my vacation dollars with RCI over the past few years in order to reach the coveted Diamond status. Our upcoming TA cruise in April was our first chance to enjoy that status. As it happens, it will also be our last chance. IMHO it's a case of "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me". I will no longer be enticed to stay with RCI chasing the elusive and moving carrot. I will probably never reach D+, because I no longer believe in promised benefits. I usually go on two cruises per year (at least 10 days each) that I will now book based on value for my $$$ rather than potential loyalty benefits. Princess looks to be offering some great deals. I think that I will try them next.

 

Dorie

 

My feelings echo this and others on this thread. I stayed with RCI in order to attain Diamond level soley for the benefits. This was a BIG one to me... not the alcohol, but the access. I'm not sure if this will make a difference in my future bookings, but I can say that I will be looking more at the cost instead of the brand now.

[mohavemommy]

I think that now would be the time to repeat:

 

Royal Caribbean could pretty much *solve the problem of too many Diamonds* by restricting Diamond status to those who have actually sailed the requisite number of cruises.

 

If you get rid of all the "household members" who get Diamond status regardless of how many times they have (or haven't) cruised based merely on the fact that a real Diamond cruiser uses the same address that they do, then I believe that the "problem" goes away.

 

How about it, Royal Caribbean? If you are in the mood to make changes and overhaul Crown & Anchor, THAT would be a good place to start.

 

NOT THIS.

 

You will alienate far fewer people who can no longer claim illegitimate, unearned Diamond status than you are now, dumping Diamonds out of the Concierge Lounge.

 

Who agrees with me?

I agree fully! :D

[Firefighterhoop]

I have mixed feelings about it. Many of my friends are Diamond but after what we witnessed on our last cruise on Explorer (11/30/08) we knew something had to give. People were fighting over seating, sneaking people in, threatening the concierge when he tried to restore order. It was a ridiculous situation. Finding a seat was nearly impossible. I agree Royal caused this situation themselves and certainly could have made other changes before this one. They've been contemplating many different changes in order to rectify this problem and this is obviously what they've decided to do. At least they decided to keep the Diamond lounges on the Freedom Class ships for the Diamond members instead of restricting them to Diamond Plus only. I can see the prices of the Freedom Class cruises becoming much more expensive now.

 

I have to agree.

 

I can't believe how many people complain or treat the staff rude because they don't make THEIR particular drink during happy hour, or their 25 friends cruising with them can't come in to the lounge.

 

Seating was hard to find, some people were down right mean!

 

With the new coupon books, I wouldn't be suprised to see more free drink coupons in there however.

[csk]

I'm not "Happy" with the changes, but I knew something would be done. I think they could have somehow grandfathered in the current members and then changed things for new members.

 

I think the lounge is the decision breaker between cruising RCCL or another line, and I do think RCCL will lose buisness of their diamond members.

 

However, the lounges have gotten very overcrowded in the past year, causing many complaints (People complaining over something free), and this is a large cause for this to be done.

 

I agree 100% saw it coming on our last cruise on the Mariner, could not even get into the lounge at 5PM.

[NorbertsNiece]

And there was me thinking of picking up a 4 day cruise out of Southampton to bump up the points to get us to Platinum before we go to Alaska. Not much point now. No pun intended.

[shaggyofwv]

I am very upset about this and will now definately consider other lines.

I was a loyal RCI cruiser but this is just wrong in my opinion. I was looking to take the 6/7/09 med cruise with my parents for their 50th wedding anniv even though RCI did not have the port choice I wanted. My DW and I love the CL. So now I will look to other lines for this cruise. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So when I finally get to Diamond Plus they can take that away too. When will it end?

Way to go RCI - this could create a mutiny!!! Had to say mutiny!!! :)

 

 

I agree with you completely. My wife and I will take our cruise on RCI in June, but after that we will be looking elsewhere. We can get virtually the same cruise for MUCH less with NCL.

 

We have only been on 3 cruises with RCI, but we like their product. However, to me this shows a complete disregard for the C& A gold members.

[rascalious]

I think that now would be the time to repeat:

 

Royal Caribbean could pretty much *solve the problem of too many Diamonds* by restricting Diamond status to those who have actually sailed the requisite number of cruises.

 

If you get rid of all the "household members" who get Diamond status regardless of how many times they have (or haven't) cruised based merely on the fact that a real Diamond cruiser uses the same address that they do, then I believe that the "problem" goes away.

 

How about it, Royal Caribbean? If you are in the mood to make changes and overhaul Crown & Anchor, THAT would be a good place to start.

 

NOT THIS.

 

You will alienate far fewer people who can no longer claim illegitimate, unearned Diamond status than you are now, dumping Diamonds out of the Concierge Lounge.

 

Who agrees with me?

I agree! We earned our cruise credits the "hard way". Are you listening RCI????

[Fairsailing]

I think that now would be the time to repeat:

 

Royal Caribbean could pretty much *solve the problem of too many Diamonds* by restricting Diamond status to those who have actually sailed the requisite number of cruises.

 

If you get rid of all the "household members" who get Diamond status regardless of how many times they have (or haven't) cruised based merely on the fact that a real Diamond cruiser uses the same address that they do, then I believe that the "problem" goes away.

 

How about it, Royal Caribbean? If you are in the mood to make changes and overhaul Crown & Anchor, THAT would be a good place to start.

 

NOT THIS.

 

You will alienate far fewer people who can no longer claim illegitimate, unearned Diamond status than you are now, dumping Diamonds out of the Concierge Lounge.

 

Who agrees with me?

 

I'm not so sure. I doubt the "free riders" account for enough diamond members to make a difference if you remove them. My opinion is based upon the sound scientific method of remembering the ages of the people I saw in the CL and heard talking about how many cruises they've been on:D. I would love to see the numbers on this, but what are the odds that RCCL would release them:rolleyes:.

[ommboz]

Guess I kind of feel as though kind of decieved, as I was told that they would make some compensation for Diamond Members (such as free drink coupons in place of the CL). Sad that RCI did this.

[CruisinManiac]

still not sure you can find a line with better loyalty benefits

 

you people that want to switch lines are not so bright, you're going to leave just because you cant have the lounge? you aren’t getting the lounge on any other line either and you're not going to have the other benefits... ever think about that? :rolleyes:

 

maybe you should think twice before making such rash decisions

 

This thread is moving so fast, that I cannot keep up. :eek: Hope RCCL is reading it.

 

Just wanted to say that while the above is true, the Celebrity Mediterranean cruise that we are comparing to a RCCL cruise is $700 less! Without benefits, we will probably go with celebrity.

[medic123]

I just booked my first Carnival cruise in 10 years. We got a penthouse suite and a connecting ocean view for less than putting all 4 people in one balcony on Royal Caribbean. Now with the diamond perks gone too, why cruise with Royal?

[ommboz]

I just think it's ashame for RCI to have made the decision not to grandfather in current Diamond members in this new benefit program.