Loyalty not rewarded

As the OP on this thread, the point I was trying to make is not about a lack of appreciation of the benefits, but rather do the benefits they offer to encourage loyalty to the line make much sense in terms of keeping customers loyal to the brand. That’s the whole point of Captains Club afterall. If they offer you 30 percent discount at Elite level and 20% discount to everyone else, then it is a 10% discount. Just call it that then and don’t try to constantly spin to your customers about how great your loyalty program is - when clearly it isn’t. That’s all I’m saying. I do believe that their program USED to be terrific and probably the best in the industry of the mainstream lines, I just don’t think it is any more as a result of the constant promotions and flash sales that offer the same benefits to increase revenue.

Everybody doesn't get 20%.

 

 

 

It's a flash sale. Valid for what, a day or so. I have no idea since the real "stupidest thing ever" was that not everybody got the email.

 

 

 

Whereas your loyalty is available permanently. So if you booked the cruise tomorrow, after the flash sale was over you would still get the discount. And in every case your discount is greater.

 

 

 

 

 

Sanctimonious much?

I really have no interest in having rude online arguments with you or anyone else thanks.

In the USA, at least 40% of the population has never been on a cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

But let's look at the future: China. That's the next market for finding passengers. And less than 1% of them have cruised before. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-14/cruise-ships-navigate-hostile-sea-beauty-pageants-to-lure-china (and many more articles)

indeed in the US - 64% of the population don’t have a passport.

The chinese will start cruising but will be on specific lines with a specific product. And definitely not Celebrity.

My point remains - Most successful business models are built on loyalty. Celebrity has perhaps changed its business model. But presumably they want people back

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In the USA, at least 40% of the population has never been on a cruise. But let's look at the future: China. That's the next market for finding passengers. And less than 1% of them have cruised before. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-14/cruise-ships-navigate-hostile-sea-beauty-pageants-to-lure-china (and many more articles)

 

 

 

is that a problem?

No. Just a fact she stated to increase revenue.

It is the upsurge in Asian cruising that makes me wary of cruising Asia with Celebrity. Too often over the past couple of years "Millenium" cruises have been cancelled because the ship gets chartered. Compensation for cancelled cruises due to a charter are pretty miserable as well.

Back to the original point - it is not a 30 percent discount for loyalty if everybody gets 20 percent discount regardless of loyalty on your cruise. It is a 10 percent discount if you're elite and no discount if you are Select. It is silly.

You can get 10% off pre-cruise and combine that with your Captain's Club discount, so as Elite you can get close to 40% off if you purchase pre-cruise. And you can do that up to 3 days before you sale! :cool:

The 20% off during the 48 hour sale is off of the on board price, so is only an additional 10% off the pre-cruise price, however Celebrity like to dress it up as 20% off when it's not really.

The sale price showing for a cruise I have booked in November is $255.20, which is 20% off of the on board price of $319. Before the sale the price was showing as $287. I can combine my 25% Select discount with that, which brings the price down to $215.25, giving me a saving of around $40 compared to the current sale price that is open to everyone. If I was Elite the price would come down to $200.90, giving a saving of $55.

Complaining about lack of loyalty benefits, degradation of the Celebrity experience or anything else is a waste of time if you are trying to get Celebrity’s attention on this board. They don’t care. Read their last quarter analyst call transcript for the reasons why (short answer: business is booming across all segments at higher per diems).

You can expect loyalty only it it doesn't impact the bottom line. On the April 15Eclipse cruise Zeniths did not receive any of the usual "gifts". No dinner or lunch invitations. No sparkling wine, or strawberries delivered to cabin. No flowers, except one rose given at Captain's Club Celebration that for us replaced the usual Captain's Club flowers. Cutbacks or poor communication? Don't know. I am very thankful for the benefits and desire nothing more, but loyalty cannot compete with bottom line.

Oceania was coming in less than X for the Med next summer on an itinerary I was considering - who’d have thought that :confused:!

Really??? Are you going to try Oceania ?

Any plans for Edge?

.the proper term for us would be thrifty, frugal, financially prudent, financially conservative. We are that way with all our purchases, not just vacations. We wear those banners proudly.

2 thumbs up!

Another term - "fiscally responsible" ;)

There are only so many first timers out there.

 

 

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There are a huge number of first timers and it’s only going to grow. When we started cruising 20 years ago we must have been the youngest people on the ship. It was full of couples that were in their 70/80 that had been cruising for decades, you were lucky if you could find anyone else under 35. It’s a totally different cruising world these days and ships have adapted and changed to cater for that new demographic. The money is in new, younger cruisers with disposable incolm and not couples in their 70’s.

There are a huge number of first timers and it’s only going to grow. When we started cruising 20 years ago we must have been the youngest people on the ship. It was full of couples that were in their 70/80 that had been cruising for decades, you were lucky if you could find anyone else under 35. It’s a totally different cruising world these days and ships have adapted and changed to cater for that new demographic. The money is in new, younger cruisers with disposable incolm and not couples in their 70’s.

Marketing has changed to encourage younger cruisers too. For example, more shorter cruises of 10/12 nights rather than 14 meaning working couples can fit them into a two week time scale.

Another example is more staterooms catering for families rather than couples, (Edge).

More cruises being offered as part of tour and stay packages....

I am not saying that any of these things are good or bad just that the changes make the cruise line more appealing to a greater number of possible future cruisers.

Really??? Are you going to try Oceania ?

Any plans for Edge?

We were looking at the prices on Edge for a 7 night in Europe during the summer, in a basic balcony, the price with taxes was coming in at around $3000pp (and these were not due to the hike in pricing since the itineraries were released that I keep reading on CC - most are initially costing) :o. As I said, Oceania was coming in slightly less with all the included perks in their price. And if you observe the higher suites :eek:, you could buy a decent car for the same money: $28,000pp. So I think we’ll pass on that one ;p.

Keeping our options open, but we could sail on Princess for 13 nights for the same sort of money during the summer and obtain the drink package if we book when the Sip & Sail promo is on. We still have the two X placeholders, but as I said, we’ll just sit on those for the moment and hopefully the pricing will become more realistic. On the other hand, I suppose the money has got to come from somewhere to pay for the Revolution ;).

If the price is right and the product is good then people will come back. Key factors are reputation and marketing but the line has to deliver. If you use food quality as a USP then you have to deliver. Same goes for other aspects. If a line is to market itself and consistently fail to deliver then people will not come back. Nor will travel agents recommend.

Celebrity markets itself quite well I think, but I think perhaps the accountants are realising that there is not much money to be made if certain loyal customers get a suitcase load of benefits - Can other passengers fill those rooms and generate more money? They are probably benefitting quite well from their tiered model.

Perks for me only go so far (in fact I don’t get any) - I have cruised on 4 different lines with a 5th due in August. All of these I would go back on if the price was right and the itinerary was something I liked.

Celebrity attracted me through a good reputation, nice ships, good food. First time it exceeded expectations. 2nd time it fell down on certain aspects (clear cost cutting) which have also been highlighted on these boards. The forthcoming cruise we booked came down to a good price and a certain willingness to give them a second chance to deliver on the first experience.

Star clippers attracted me though a niche sailing experience, good food and relaxed. They delivered but feeling now is been there done that. Maybe that will change.

Azamara attracted me through a great itinerary, good price/value ratio, late port days and a variety of included experiences. The white night was fun and overall it was a very relaxed week on board. Will definitely cruise again with them.

Cunard attracted me by a bucket list winter transatlantic crossing. A chance to really get away from things. Exceeded expectations and will go back for a west bound transatlantic in a few years.

Seaborne, which we will sail on in August, has attracted me through a great itinerary, variety of restaurants and a great itinerary plus a time that suits. Spoke to some Seaborne guests in a beach in the Caribbean last year and they were very happy and the crew seemed nice too.

I am also tempted by Oceania so that will probably bring it to 6 lines next year.

I am not tempted by certain cruise lines - RCCL is in my mind for kids, Carnival holds no interest. Disney is for kids even though I have heard positive things. HAL tempts me and then not as I am not sure what the product is - think it is also in transition as a line. NCL seems to cater to the same demographic as RCCL, and MSC gets too many mixed reviews for my liking to give them money to spend my scarce free time. Princess is tempting also but I think in terms of price/quality Celebrity may be better.

If I pay for something and they deliver then they have fulfilled their contract with me. And I will most likely consider them again. One issue is that marketeers can create unreasonable expectations which leads to less than satisfactory experiences.

 

The chinese will start cruising but will be on specific lines with a specific product. And definitely not Celebrity.

 

 

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Agree, I believe the Chinese market would want changes to the current X ships as Royal’s experience has shown. All their ships that sail in that region were altered accordingly before they were installed in that particular market.

They are chartering Celebrity ships now

They are chartering Celebrity ships now

Exactly the point - chartered so things can be altered to accommodate the market onboard. That’s what all charters do - provide an experience to the needs of its clientele.

To leave an X ship full time in that region, solely for that market, I presume they would have make alterations as Royal did e.g. increase the casino area, source food locally etc. in order to cater for the majority of pax onboard. I recall an officer on Royal explaining it to us quite a few years ago; she also stated that it would be a different experience to the usual American style cruising that we were used to, so to plan accordingly if we decided to sail in that region.

I tried to look up my CC loyalty level, but Celebrity's website kept giving me an error message when I clicked that I couldn't remember my user name and password. I guess that's one reason we haven't sailed on Celebrity in a long time--the difficulties I always have with the website.

I still try to look at what Celebrity is offering before booking a cruise. Lately, however, Princess and Holland America have been winning our business.

So I get the email today about the Flash Sale for onboard purchases like internet, drink packages, spa etc. Of course internet 20% discount is not stackable with elite 30% discount...which really is the stupidest thing ever. If I have a drink package the elite cocktail hour is pointless for me, and can’t even get more than a measly 10% extra off the internet than a newbie. So why bother even having a loyalty program? If they’re going to undermine all the earned perks of loyalty they may as well just scrap Captains Club entirely. There is clearly minimal benefit sticking with this line.

Sorry to disagree!

You pay for a cruise and you receive a cruise. If you like what you get stick with the line. If you don’t, look for another line. If you do, they give you some extras... fine.

Celebrity has no problem whatsoever to fill the ships long term. They make more money on any new cruiser than on the loyalists with all their feelings of entitlement, discounts and perks. So why would Celebrity care? You and I don’t matter to them, it‘s our money they want. The more the better. And rightly so - Celebrity is a corporation not a charity.

As long as I am satisfied with the product I will stick with Celebrity. We never cared about points and never will (and we are close to E+). With all due respect: if the CC perks are all that keep you, it is time to see if you find something better anyway.

Very interesting conversations from a whole lot of folks. Kind of covers all types of thinking from all types of economic levels. One point I specially agree with is , you choose based on personal preference and perceived value. Agreed! But! In my opinion that sets a standard , an expectation of future choices. Also what has happened on X with retaining customers? Are they pricing out the conservative buyers. Do they care?

I just booked Edge for a May 2019 Med sailing, it will be my last. My decision had nothing to do with perks or loyalty. Strictly it was made on their complete disregard for us as good customers. Let me explain.

We like C cabins and booked a C-2 for an 11 day Med cruise out of Rome. Over a a month after our booking we heard rumors our bank of cabins had been changed to AQ. Now most folks would have loved that predicament. We called our TA she had no info. We called X no info. After two days one of the couples that was traveling with us received verified info that indeed our cabins had been changed. We where happy but concerned that the dinning reservations we had made would be canceled , so we inquired? Following are the options given to us:

1. Pay the AQ price for the Cabin they changed after our purchase.

2. If we stayed in our cabin all the reservations we made would indeed be canceled.

3.Our assigned restaurant would indeed be Blu and no reservations could be made till day of boarding for the 4 new dinning main restaurants. We would loose the time slots we had reserved .

4. They would put us in another C-2 cabin but with an obstructed view by the Magic Carpet at a higher cost.

5. Choose one and take it or leave it.

We are Elite customers 11 cruises on X, 8 on RCL mostly Oasis ships, 3 on Azmara, 4 Disney, numerous on other lines like O,Viking,Costa,Regent, etc. Our choices are driven by itineraries, good service and quality of the product. All that said our biggest choice point is, Common sense business practices, X just lost our business.

By the way we started as bottom feeders and worked our way up.

That would seriously annoy me too.

That would seriously annoy me too.

Lol. If the itinerary is enticing, the time lines workout and we don’t decide to go for another river cruise, we will take you up on Cunard. Any suggestions on your experiences with them would be greatly appreciated.

Very interesting conversations from a whole lot of folks. Kind of covers all types of thinking from all types of economic levels. One point I specially agree with is , you choose based on personal preference and perceived value. Agreed! But! In my opinion that sets a standard , an expectation of future choices. Also what has happened on X with retaining customers? Are they pricing out the conservative buyers. Do they care?

I just booked Edge for a May 2019 Med sailing, it will be my last. My decision had nothing to do with perks or loyalty. Strictly it was made on their complete disregard for us as good customers. Let me explain.

We like C cabins and booked a C-2 for an 11 day Med cruise out of Rome. Over a a month after our booking we heard rumors our bank of cabins had been changed to AQ. Now most folks would have loved that predicament. We called our TA she had no info. We called X no info. After two days one of the couples that was traveling with us received verified info that indeed our cabins had been changed. We where happy but concerned that the dinning reservations we had made would be canceled , so we inquired? Following are the options given to us:

1. Pay the AQ price for the Cabin they changed after our purchase.

2. If we stayed in our cabin all the reservations we made would indeed be canceled.

3.Our assigned restaurant would indeed be Blu and no reservations could be made till day of boarding for the 4 new dinning main restaurants. We would loose the time slots we had reserved .

4. They would put us in another C-2 cabin but with an obstructed view by the Magic Carpet at a higher cost.

5. Choose one and take it or leave it.

 

We are Elite customers 11 cruises on X, 8 on RCL mostly Oasis ships, 3 on Azmara, 4 Disney, numerous on other lines like O,Viking,Costa,Regent, etc. Our choices are driven by itineraries, good service and quality of the product. All that said our biggest choice point is, Common sense business practices, X just lost our business.

By the way we started as bottom feeders and worked our way up.

As I’ve stated on other posts, I think there will be a few category changes even to the existing fleet once the Revolution has taken place ;). Some of those desired locations will suddenly be in higher pricing categories and X have already stated that they’ll be more suites on those ships. There may indeed be a revolution, just not the one they were anticipating :D ;p.

Sorry to hear you’re already in that predicament.

Lol. If the itinerary is enticing, the time lines workout and we don’t decide to go for another river cruise, we will take you up on Cunard. Any suggestions on your experiences with them would be greatly appreciated.

I was finishing a job in early December (and moving countries) and then starting a new one in early January, but we did not want a long haul holiday. Decided to fly to NY, spent 4 nights there enjoying the festive spirit, hopped on the QM2 for a 7 night crossing to Southampton which we followed with 3 nights in London. The whole trip was great. And no jet lag for Christmas.

This article describes the experience quite well - https://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/travel/seven-days-on-the-queen-mary-2.html

- the food overall was excellent. We skipped breakfast but did an early lunch and a late dinner.

- dancing to an orchestra was good fun.

- best music I have found at sea - some excellent cocktail bars on board.

- despite no stops, we were never bored. In fact could have done with an extra day or two.

- spending a few hours in a hot tub in the middle of Atlantic in the middle of winter is a nice experience.

- there are formal nights but on this ship it feels natural. Especially in winter.

- interesting mix of passengers - many of whom will not fly.

Overall, would do a transatlantic crossing again in a few years but west bound as you get extra hours on board.

As a "bottom feeder" I thank you for subsidizing my cruise experience at 2-3x my cost. You may be sitting next to me at one of the shows, martini bar, restaurant, spa, movie..