Tier Levels Posted

The Tier Levels are now posted here. Unfortunately they don't go into effect until April 2006.

http://www.rssc.com/rss/promotions/Tier.pdf

I noticed that the upper tier lists "free liquor", while the other tiers don't. I wonder if this means "open bar" for some and not for others, or elimination of the initial inroom setup.

Don't think I'll ever get to the 200+night category, so don't see this new tiered system as anything but a glorified promotion similar to the one that RCCL has...didn't like that one, so probably won't like this one either. In general I have an aversion to store or companies having "favored" customers to whom they give discounts or other benefits. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer companies who value all customers equally. This may be the one program that sends me to another line.

What is wrong with companies offering loyalty programs? Why shouldn't a hotel offer a 100 night a year guest better benefits than a once a year guest? Or, more importantly, if I am a 100 night a year guest why shouldn't I be able to play one hotel chain against another to give me the better benefits?

Marc

We don't mind taking any priviledges that we are offered to us and are intrigued by some of these new Seven Seas Society benefits. Most interesting are the priority reservations at restaurants and spas that we are supposed to get as Gold Members. But we wonder how these priorities will work. If it means that we will be able to eat at Signatures more than once or twice a week even if the ship is full, then we will actually spend more time on RSSC than we are currently planning to do.

There is nothing wrong with a company rewarding customer loyalty. It is a good policy that all smart companies follow. All customers need to be treated well, but the most loyal ones must be treated with extra care and priviledges.

For several years, we have taken only RSSC cruises. However, our last cruise on the Voyager with a Mary Kay Cosmetics sales convention was so bad that we are now booked on Silversea, Seabourn and Hapag-Lloyd cruises. Any hint that RSSC plans to try to reward loyal cruisers and give us what we want will help them to woo us back.

IMO, If gold or platinum members get to eat multiple times at Signatures or Latitudes at the expense of non gold/ platinum members not getting to eat there I think it is just wrong. RSSC advertises Signatures and Latitudes as part of their product and if it becomes a laborious/ imposible task to get a reservation if you are a non-elite member it wouldn't be right. Of course, we don't know how they're planning to implement it.

The tiered program actually seems pretty good.

I think those who have sailed longer should get more benefits and, frankly, an open bar policy seems appropriate (and considering the actual cost of most liquor would not really have a negative impact on the bottom line).

I also don't think there will be a mad run on the restaurants. During my three past cruises I never had any problem getting a reservation in any of the restaurants, noting that we are pretty flexible as to later times.

Internet may be an issue if they do not increase the wireless access and bandwith or provide enough computers, though.

Just because I have an aversion to most frequent customer programs doesn't mean I expect everybody else to agree. Certainly discounts for return cruisers are standard in the industry, and most of us are able to benefit from this discount. But my opinion of each program differs based on the benefits. If an airline upgrades a frequent flyer to fill empty first class seats, no problem. But if I'm paying for pressing, liquor, internet or other services that frequent cruisers (who paid the same fare) enjoy for free...then I do have a problem. If they receive those same benefits because they paid the higher fare for a better cabin, then no problem. I may be in a minority, but it is still a turn-off for me.

I'm in favor of rewarding RSSC's most loyal guest with perks but I think ONCE ON BOARD everyone should be treated equal... royally.... as we all pay dearly for these cruises. I would much rather have seen RSSC go all inclusive rather than some of the cheezy things like the art auction coupon (I think they should do away with these auctions all together), 2 for 1 type spa coupons, bridge tour (we get those on sea days anyway) canapes (we can get those from room service), signed picture with the captain (easily done on our own). I think the free internet is great and hopefully the ships will all be wi-fi by then. Just hope it doesn't slow down the connection speed.

I think rewarding the most loyal customers (Platinum) with a free one week cruise would have been a much better incentive than what RSSC came up with. I think many will be quite disappointed in the new tier program. I don't think RSSC was listening to what the passengers want when this tier program was created. They "missed the boat" IMO.

Could not agree more Marcie. One of the things we liked about Radisson was their ability to treat everyone the same. Priority dinner reservations will cause problems and the other benefits, as you so aptly put, are not benefits but things we can already have with a phone call (bridge visit, captain photo, etc). A free cruise for those most loyal is the way to go and I do believe that some of the other luxury lines offer this. Too bad RSSC missed their opportunity with this "special" program we have all waited far too long to hear/read about.

Cheers, Pam

There are some very interesting perspectives being expressed quite nicely.

One perspective which I think many will soon change is that RSSC is a "luxury" line. A few years ago it may have been "near luxury", but it has been - as many have noted - slipping. While it still has many aspects which are superior to, say, Celebrity, it is falling further away from what Seabourn and Silversea offer. In other words, it seems that RSSC is becoming a "better" Celebrity rather than an almost Seabourn/Silversea.

What also seems to cut against this is RSSC's increasing of prices which seems counterproductive and counterintuitive. That may well have something to do with having less ships and, apparently, no long term plan for expansion.

So, if the Tiers are looked at vis-a-vis Celebrity they seem all right. If you look at it as compared to Seabourn - which basically treats everyone equally and awards a 2 week cruise for every 140 days sailed - the distance only, as stated above, increases and the Tiers look terrible.

I guess we need to accept where RSSC is and where it will be, rather than fooling ourselves into believing it is something it is not.

On the issue of freebies, as a frequent flyer I regularly get upgraded from coach to first class. The loss of revenue to the airline is nil, but the benefit to me is great. But gratuitous upgrades to non-frequent flyers were a big issue when the airlines gave them out. So, as here, do the upgrade fairies go away for non-Upper Tier cruisers so that the frequent cruisers get upgrades that mean something?

And then, what do the lower tier cruisers get? What the new plan gives seems to make sense for them/us.

BTW, I do agree that some of the Upper Tier benefits are cheezy at best. Art Auction credits...who thought of that one?

The reservation pert may upset people. I know it did friends of mine on Oceania. The "Concierge" class got first crack at the top two restaurants and my friends had to go down daily to check if they could get in. Once in the "regulars" just looked at them like what are you doing here.

Myself, I am a Main dining room person and did not even think of going to Signatures.:p

And the bridge tour thing upset me on my Amazon cruise, there were a lot of sea days and I kept waiting for it to show up in the daily paper but it didn't. I found out later you had to request one to get on the list. IMHO, there should not be secrets like that period.

And what is "Inspirations" magazine... The only things I have gotten from Radisson in a year are brochures. :D And yes I like them....

I will fall in the Gold Member category. I am also a bit underwhelmed and hoping that this will be modified to better suit the passengers' request closer to implementation.

I had to laugh at some of these....$100 complimentary opening bid and a private art viewing. I find it hard to believe that passengers were begging for this!! A signed photo with the Captain? From the 4 or 5 captains I've cruised with my guess is they would have been more than happy to have a photo taken with me and gladly signed it as well. The only two things that are of any interest to me are the complimentary internet (if it's in the cabins) and to a much lesser degree the complimentary pressing. Agree with the others, I'd prefer to have seen RSSC go all inclusive. What's with the invitation to paricipate in Seven Seas Socity Advisory Board? Isn't that what we've been doing on our suggestion cards that apparently aren't read?

I agree....this is a step backwards and away from being a luxury cruise line. Silverseas and Seabourn must be loving this, an easy way to lure passengers away from Radisson.

We've had one RSSC cruise: 8 nights 9/16 to 24, 2005 on the Navigator, Montreal to NYC. We booked so early that we got a 1-for-1 fare, so I don't even know if we're eligible for the Seven Seas Society. Under the new scheme, will our 8 days at least make us 1st tier members?

On another matter, Joe has a very limited 2006 vacation schedule, so we couldn't book an RSSC cruise for 2006. Does anyone know when the full 2007 schedule will be out? Our vacation windows (with 2005 a happy exception) are normally May, June, and November.

Joan,

The first tier is 4-20 days so you would qualify for that.

Last year the 2006 schedules came out I think in April. I know I'm hoping this year they'll come out earlier than that but I haven't heard anything.

Petlover you said it all so much better than I was able to. I agree that many of the "perks" are really "non-perks", i.e. those related to the tacky art auctions. I thought Internet was free in suites; on the Diamond there was a laptop and free internet access in the suite Likewise that others so-called perks may negatively impact the on-board experience of the non 200+ day folks. Like getting shut out of restaurant reservations.

I would have much preferred movement toward full all-inclusive to keep pace with other luxury lines. Can't quite figure out how free liquor for some but not for others will work out. And gosh I'll be at a different tier than hubby. Does this mean I'll have free internet and he won't? Or that I'll have to eat alone because he didn't qualify for a preferred reservation? Overall, I think RSSC missed the mark on this one.

There is another way to look at it. I'm Platinum frequent flyer for Continental and the allied partners. Can't remember the last time I was forced to fly in the back of the plane. And maintaining this status does influence my choice of airlines. Which is good for Continental. But all of the airlines have similar programs. And their passengers are equally conscious of their own ff status which then keeps them off Continental. In the end it is probably a wash, with each airline having it's own share of loyal passengers.

Psychologically it is devisive and risky for the line. I would be curious to see a breakdown of the percentages of passengers falling in each tier.

 

I think rewarding the most loyal customers (Platinum) with a free one week cruise would have been a much better incentive than what RSSC came up with. I think many will be quite disappointed in the new tier program. I don't think RSSC was listening to what the passengers want when this tier program was created. They "missed the boat" IMO.

I talked to two nice ladies on the Mariner that were 100+ days on Silverseas, and they had all laundry taking care of as one of their perts but you have to do 200 days for this pert... Does Radisson not know what Silverseas offers there guests. Mmmmm

It is a geek thing but anybody having trouble with viewing the PDF that petlover posted, you need the newest free reader from Adobe which you can get http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html

:D I had to update my work machine to read it .

Does Radisson not know what Silverseas offers there guests. Mmmmm

I would hope so.....Mark Conroy's wife is a Silverseas executive

On the 2005 World Cruise I sat next to Mark Conroy at dinner one night and I sure promoted going all inclusive, as did MANY MANY others on the WC. He said it's all about "lost revenue". Sure there are a few who don't drink who don't care about this and don't feel they should subsidize others' liquor blah blah blah but they are in the vast minority. The WC is all inclusive so I was able to see for myself what a big difference in made in the socialization onboard. The lounges were "jumping" most every night! It was so nice not being annoyed signing checks or give a hoot who bought the last round etc. I didn't find that I drank anymore than I would have normally either!!!

I hope RSSC will reconsider the tier plan as well, doesn't sound like too many are pleased with it. Joanne B, I too would be curious to find out the percentages that fall into each category. I am one of the fortunate ones (thanks to a WC !) that am Platinum. I'll leave a basket outside my door to drop off your dirty clothes and the drinks are on me! LOL.:D

Marcie,

If we're ever lucky enough to be on the same cruise I'll take you up on the drink. As for laundry, I'll keep washing out my undies in the sink. But thanks for the offer. At least on transatlantic's nobody sees them hanging on the balcony door! Back in the pre-RSSC days, I loved Holland America's laundry package. It probably cost more than sending a few things individually, but it was sooooo convenient. Again, it goes to not having to bother with individual chits.

Maybe someday I'll have be able to free up enough time to do a WC. Hubby keeps telling me I wouldn't like being at sea for so long. Wanta bet?

Cheers.

Marcie,

 

I loved Holland America's laundry package. It probably cost more than sending a few things individually, but it was sooooo convenient. Again, it goes to not having to bother with individual chits.

 

Cheers.

On Grumpy 2005 WC, he said the HAL laundry package was around $8 per week, which I would pay on any cruise line. :)

As for the drinking issue, I am a very light drinker and returned the bottle of sparkling vinegar they had in my room. I like my wine with dinner but other than that I do not drink much. Having said that, I am looking forward on my Silver Whisper cruise to trying a Bloody Mary that I have been told, on here, are great at the pool bar. :D One of the cruise drinks I did not have on the Mariner was my standard Pina Colada at the Pool, WHY I was not sure they could make it. Every time I went by the Pool bar, they were sloooowww and at most serving beer. IMHO this would change if they went all all inclusive.

Grrr could not make it back in time to edit.

Marcie, please email me at bsterner@techsafari.com

As a side note, over in the HAL forum they are talking about the new spa products they are now setting up in the bathrooms... The good news is they now are giving out shower gel, the bad news ... 1.3 oz bottles :eek: I loved the Radisson shower gel and I had enough for more than one shower... :D

The last time I sailed Holland America the laundry package was just over $100 for a 13 day cruise, up from $99. This rate included all laundry and pressing. I thought it was a real bargain. And laundry was returned neatly folded in a tissue lined basket.