Is Your Sail Status Important To You or is it Just Another Gimmick?

I just got elevated from Gold to Ruby on my last cruise with Princess in October.

It was a big deal for Princess as they promised me an extra bottle of water in my cabin and a few extra minutes of internet on my next sailing. Also I think I checkin at a special line for Ruby in any case my next 2 cruises are on NCL.

Some Elites on our cruise made a big deal deal because they weren't offered priority tendering, me I just slept a little longer then boarded the dingy. So seems like the more status then more the self inflicted stress.:cool:

For some reason it just isn't important enough for me to take that in to consideration when I'm looking for my next cruise.

Makes no nevermind to me! I have a 3 star, platinum, gold etc., what makes a difference to me is how I'm treated as a passenger in a suite. You take care of me, and my fellow travelers in Suite level accommodations, and I'm a happy cruiser. To me it's getting what you paid for, not how many times you paid for it.;)

My status is my life.

I’m the only Un-Obtanium in the trailer park and I proudly wear my crown wherever I go.

Makes no nevermind to me! I have a 3 star, platinum, gold etc., what makes a difference to me is how I'm treated as a passenger in a suite. You take care of me, and my fellow travelers in Suite level accommodations, and I'm a happy cruiser. To me it's getting what you paid for, not how many times you paid for it.;)

I stay in many suites too, but the nice thing about moving up in the loyalty levels is that a person gets many nice perks (some similar to suite perks) WITHOUT having to stay in/pay for a suite. Not everyone can afford a suite....but those people who are Platinum or Elite can have a little more cruising pleasure at the price they can afford. :D

Its a funny thing about those frequent cruiser perks. In over forty years of cruising we have never let it influence our booking decisions. But now, we are in the position of being near (or at the top) tier of many different cruise lines. The reality is that we do like the free internet perks (on some lines) and the free laundry (on some lines) which does become useful on our longer cruises (over a few weeks). But so many of the other perks are just not a biggie and we often skip many of the parties and invites to other events.

Is it all a gimmick? No...because some of the perks are quite useful and can save passengers some money. But, its not all its cracked up to be. We still laugh at those who seem to wear their status around their necks (literally and figuratively) and it does make for some humorous moments.

Hank

I

Is it all a gimmick? No...because some of the perks are quite useful and can save passengers some money. But, its not all its cracked up to be. We still laugh at those who seem to wear their status around their necks (literally and figuratively) and it does make for some humorous moments.

 

Hank

I am surprised that they do not sell status level shirts on board the ships. Or do they?

DON

I am surprised that they do not sell status level shirts on board the ships. Or do they?

 

DON

Shirts are much too subtle. Holland America gives away pins and medallions.

It is a gimmick.

No one cares except for some people and they brag about it.

It is never even part of my consideration of what line to sail on. However, it is nice when some of the perks are useful; e.g., internet time and possibly laundry.

 

No one cares except for some people....

Isn't that one of those Yogi Berra sayings? :')

The perks are money savers for me, especially since I'm paying the single supplement.

Free laundry means less packing. Free internet minutes means easer check-in with my family at home. Free minibar means I don't have to buy soda or water.

So, yes, "status" is an important convenience for me that can influence my choice of a cruise.

I don't really care about status and don't book cruises based on that. We do enjoy the extra perks--free internet, priority boarding, etc. that comes with certain levels but not ever anything I would brag about or even think about much.

Are perks the most important thing? No.

However, we do enjoy the little things that come with sailing one line repeatedly. For now, that line works for us, and when it no longer meets our travel needs, we will go elsewhere.

Loyalty clubs and perks are not limited to cruising or travel, I see them advertised for car brands, restaurants, etc.

Shirts are much too subtle. Holland America gives away pins and medallions.

Those medallions are the most obnoxious display of status I’ve seen in any program. Most cruise lines just do subtle lapel pins.

I enjoy the free drinks in the early evening as Diamond with Royal Caribbean. Plus a day each of free internet per cruise.

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Sometimes the perks are fairly useless. On Cunard Platinums are given access to a disembarkation lounge on Deck 8 with Grills guests rather than one's normal disembarkation waiting area. Our default embarkation area was on Deck 3 across from the gangway. We didn't bother going to the "special" lounge.

I'd never advertise or announce status in any way on a cruise, but the perks are part of our decision process. Some of the perks are useless to us, but the free internet minutes (250 minutes each for our last cruise) and the free upgrade to Princess Platinum Insurance coverage are major money-savers. We do an annual extra medical/evacuation independent policy to supplement the Princess insurance but, at our ages, private insurance plans that provide what the Princess policy gives us can cost well $1000 more than what we pay Princess.

If I ever get to the status level where I get to use the shorter check in line on embarkation that will matter to me. The bottle of wine, the bottle of water & the chocolate covered strawberries are useless.

On the POA our status got us invited to sail away from Kauai from the crew recreation / swimming pool deck where there was cocktail party. It was the same old NCL hard sell BS but the view from the very pointed bow of the ship was lovely. I kept apologizing to the crew waiting on us for taking away their recreation deck; they all laughed & said nobody ever comes out there because it's too hot; they'd rather sleep in AC. So that was a nice perk but I otherwise don't care.

I agree with others, some of the perks are nice but certainly not something to flash around in the crowd!

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We never flaunt the platinum status we have on Carnival. But the perks are very nice

1. Priority boarding

2. priority dining

3. Laundry

4. Early debarkation.

We also get bottles of wine, champagne, fruit baskets and plates of chocolates.

If all other things were equal, I'd definitely book Princess since we get free internet minutes. Other than that, no. It's not important to me.

Please stop referring to it as "status". It is a simple customer rewards programs - aka - a marketing scheme created to get you to buy more. It's the same concept as a big red Sale sign hung on a display of chicken or a huge yellow Clearance sign on a table of last year's socks. The difference is that the store labels the socks as important in order to get you to buy it and the cruise lines label your previous spending as important in order to get you to buy another cruise.

For me, those who display their customer reward levels are doing nothing more than displaying a big yellow clearance sign.

It isn't "status". It could be a perk that saves some $. Kind of like frequent flyer programs.

I'd stay loyal to Princess without the elite perks I get, because I like the way Princess treats me, no matter what category of cabin I am booked in.

I appreciate the perks they give me, and figure that, in reality, I earned them (or pre-paid for them) because of how much $$ I have spent on my many Princess cruises over the past 14 years.

I wear my cruise card on a lanyard around my neck for MY convenience, not because I am advertising that I have achieved elite status. If some people think that is worth a laugh ........ Oh Well! I guess they are easily amused.

Nope. I'm not one to deny perks when given to me, but my status in their loyalty programs has no bearing on my bookings. Loyalty perks don't mean a whole lot to me if the cruise itself isn't something new.

We don't consider the tier levels we've paid for with the different cruises lines we've sailed with a status or a gimmick. We do enjoy and use the different perks associated with the different tier levels of each cruise line we sail with.