Platinum requirements changing

[halos]

Well I see what you mean..humm suite everytime here..maybe it should be amount spent to cruise..just saying.

 

I have never had a suite on CCL and probably never will have one. However, if they gave more credit to people purchasing suites I would applaud it.

Why? Because it makes sense to me.

For as liberal as I am, I can't even believe I say this...I almost seem totally right winged when I say that the more days you sail per cruise and the more money you spend on your cabin should count as more in CCL's eyes. It shouldn't be even.

That's just my opinion...but I find it bizarre that folks that take ten 3 night cruises in an inside cabin can obtain platinum status.

[leedm]

What, you don't care for those free drinks they have at the past guest party? That is top shelf stuff there buddy -- though from the top shelf of a lower cabinet! :eek:

 

:D

 

Tom

 

Are you saying that maybe at the past guest party we may be getting low class rum in our drinks?:confused: I thought it was top shelf stuff, lol :D. Unless I see it poured out of the bottle... and I pay for it.... it must be from under the bar watered down stuff.

;);)

 

leedm

[tef43]

For as liberal as I am, I can't even believe I say this...I almost seem totally right winged when I say that the more days you sail per cruise and the more money you spend on your cabin should count as more in CCL's eyes. It shouldn't be even.

How about we return the the halcyon days of cruising with specific public areas based on which class of cabin that you book?

[Mt Lassen]

Yea maybe..maybe not...many scout out specials and cruise often. Not sure any cruise line does their loyalty program based on dollars spent. I've done suites, reg balcony, OV, inside....depending on how many times I want to cruise each year. When we had a suite every time, we didnt cruise as often lol! If anything, the # of days at sea has been tossed around before as an idea, similar to what some other cruiselines do.

 

Not sure if this is still true, but two years ago Holland American gave you two days credit for each day sailed if you booked a suite and one day credit for each $300 spent onboard.

[AShipForMe]

Even though there were outcries on HAL, I like the way they currently do their loyalty program. They go by days sailed, double days for a suite and 1 day for every $300 on board spending.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

For as liberal as I am, I can't even believe I say this..

 

I feel it's HEALTHY to have an opinion which does not always mesh with some rigid framework. There are a lot of good people in Washington - but then there are even more that are... well.. NOT! If they could just access the ability to make the right decisions and not try to blindly tow their party line - we would all be in better shape!!!

 

OK ... off, once again, from soapbox! (you'll notice how I refrained from mentioning any particular party) ;)

 

 

Tom

[Thundertouch]

Even though there were outcries on HAL, I like the way they currently do their loyalty program. They go by days sailed, double days for a suite and 1 day for every $300 on board spending.

 

 

I agree with this statement..There are alot of ppl that don't live within 2 or less hours drive to port and we make it a point to do mega vacations only twice a year but for 2 weeks each time. We shouldn't have to go by number of cruises...but by days and suites and like AshiipforMe stated.

[dasmonkey]

Originally Posted by halos

For as liberal as I am, I can't even believe I say this...I almost seem totally right winged when I say that the more days you sail per cruise and the more money you spend on your cabin should count as more in CCL's eyes. It shouldn't be even.

 

 

 

How about we return the the halcyon days of cruising with specific public areas based on which class of cabin that you book?

 

Yeah, that's EXACTLY the same. :rolleyes:

 

How does one even argue that a 3 day cruise should carry the same weight as a 10 day or longer.

[AShipForMe]

How about we return the the halcyon days of cruising with specific public areas based on which class of cabin that you book?

 

Isn't that called sailing Cunard!! LOL

[DarthGrady]

I'll go ahead and make the same point I always do when this topic comes up:

 

It is a loyalty program! That's it.

 

It is not a days sailed program. Nor is it a money spent on board program. It is simply in place to reward those who continually give business to CCL time and again.

 

I love CCL's program because the rules are simple, a cruise equals a point. If ones goal is climb the ladder faster it is very easy to do, book more cruises. If someone simply can't do shorter cruises, B2B's work great. You get the desired longer length and multiple credits.

[CanWeGoYet?]

 

How does one even argue that a 3 day cruise should carry the same weight as a 10 day or longer.

 

It doesn't make much sense to me. Celebrity takes into account cruise length & cabin category, HAL takes these into account plus money spent on board. I hope Carnival comes up with something similar. Not to affect anyone who is already platinum, of course.

[PictureChris]

Originally Posted by blusry

...

Our most recent cruise aboard the Conquest was the first bad experience with using the status. We left the ship in Grand Cayman as a group for a ship sponsored excursion and returned to town to shop. We were shamed by the agent in front of other passengers with the attempt to board the tender to return to the ship via the front of the line.

 

Fellow passengers glared at us and my wife wanted to leave me at the port...

 

 

According to the documentation I have, there is no priority tender boarding for returning to the ship, only for getting off the ship.

[AShipForMe]

I'll go ahead and make the same point I always do when this topic comes up:

 

It is a loyalty program! That's it.

 

It is not a days sailed program. Nor is it a money spent on board program. It is simply in place to reward those who continually give business to CCL time and again.

 

I love CCL's program because the rules are simple, a cruise equals a point. If ones goal is climb the ladder faster it is very easy to do, book more cruises. If someone simply can't do shorter cruises, B2B's work great. You get the desired longer length and multiple credits.

 

This makes absolutely no sense! You are saying that someone who sails 10 CTN is MORE loyal than someone who sails on 3 7 day cruises? If it's a loyalty program, then the loyalty lies in the length of stay on a ship and money made by the cruiseline. 10 CTNs barely makes the cruiseline break even.

[DGP1111]

This makes absolutely no sense! You are saying that someone who sails 10 CTN is MORE loyal than someone who sails on 3 7 day cruises? If it's a loyalty program, then the loyalty lies in the length of stay on a ship and money made by the cruiseline. 10 CTNs barely makes the cruiseline break even.

 

I respect that opinion, but choose to disagree.

 

.

[MSRussell]

As you can see by my upcoming cruises, I am cruising 3 times in a row on the same ship to meet my requirement for Platinum. I know it is 'cheating', but it saves a lot on airfare, and I always book a Balcony room, so I am spending a tad more on a room, as usually I go Solo.

Melanie

[Froufie]

Originally Posted by blusry

...

Our most recent cruise aboard the Conquest was the first bad experience with using the status. We left the ship in Grand Cayman as a group for a ship sponsored excursion and returned to town to shop. We were shamed by the agent in front of other passengers with the attempt to board the tender to return to the ship via the front of the line.

 

Fellow passengers glared at us and my wife wanted to leave me at the port...

 

 

According to the documentation I have, there is no priority tender boarding for returning to the ship, only for getting off the ship.

 

According to John Heald's posted information there IS priority tendering back to the ship for platinum cruisers - problem is not everyone is aware of this and the ports are usually manned by port security not by Carnival staff.

[DGP1111]

Also, a calendar update of how long it's been since Jim got "in the saddle" at Carnival to update the loyalty program (as well as other duties) . . .

.

.

 

986 Days

2 years, 8 months, 14 days

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[DarthGrady]

This makes absolutely no sense! You are saying that someone who sails 10 CTN is MORE loyal than someone who sails on 3 7 day cruises? If it's a loyalty program, then the loyalty lies in the length of stay on a ship and money made by the cruiseline. 10 CTNs barely makes the cruiseline break even.

 

Longer cruise length does not necessarily equal higher profits, but that's not the issue at all.

 

My statement makes sense if you wrap your mind around the fact that it is not a money-spent rewards program. I'm solely defining loyalty (as does CCL, obviously) as the number of times a person cruises with them.

 

I think we will just have to be at loggerheads on this one. There is no right or wrong way for a cruise line to operate their respective programs. Each favors a certain demographic of cruiser over another, none are fair to everyone. You can only play by the rules given. Some folks will be unhappy regardless of how it is structured.

[silygirl77]

Hopefully they will add something new like platinum cocktail party or lunch with the officers.

 

That's a nice idea! I'd love to do that if I became Platinum one day. I think Lunch with some of the officers would be very interesting. :cool:

[Silverscreencruiser]

This makes absolutely no sense! You are saying that someone who sails 10 CTN is MORE loyal than someone who sails on 3 7 day cruises? If it's a loyalty program, then the loyalty lies in the length of stay on a ship and money made by the cruiseline. 10 CTNs barely makes the cruiseline break even.

 

Loyalty also means spending you money with Carnival instead of RCCI or NCL. Carnival recognizes that some people may not have the time or the money to get away for a 7 day cruise and they'd rather they spend their 4-5 day cruise money with them than with someone else.

 

And the urge to get to platinum might convince someone to do a BTB 4-5 days cruise rather than a 7 day cruise with someone else.

 

And as a practical matter, it's going to take quite a while for someone to become platinum if they only take CTNs.

 

Also, by my count, Carnival currently has 10 ships that sail predominantly 3-5 day itineraries out of a fleet of 23 ships. It's just as important to Carnival's bottom line to keep those ships filled as the ones on the longer itinerary. People usually spend more on a per day basis on a shorter cruise than a longer one. They need a loyalty program that does not ignore 40% of their fleet.

[DGP1111]

Also, by my count, Carnival currently has 10 ships that sail predominantly 3-5 day itineraries out of a fleet of 23 ships. It's just as important to Carnival's bottom line to keep those ships filled as the ones on the longer itinerary . . .

 

Now there's an angle I've not previously seen in this ongoing discussion over multiple threads.

Nicely played, SSC . . . nicely played. :)

.

.

[DEBnGAB]

Loyalty also means spending you money with Carnival instead of RCCI or NCL. Carnival recognizes that some people may not have the time or the money to get away for a 7 day cruise and they'd rather they spend their 4-5 day cruise money with them than with someone else.

 

And the urge to get to platinum might convince someone to do a BTB 4-5 days cruise rather than a 7 day cruise with someone else.

 

And as a practical matter, it's going to take quite a while for someone to become platinum if they only take CTNs.

 

Also, by my count, Carnival currently has 10 ships that sail predominantly 3-5 day itineraries out of a fleet of 23 ships. It's just as important to Carnival's bottom line to keep those ships filled as the ones on the longer itinerary. People usually spend more on a per day basis on a shorter cruise than a longer one. They need a loyalty program that does not ignore 40% of their fleet.

 

Now there's an angle I've not previously seen in this ongoing discussion over multiple threads.

 

Nicely played, SSC . . . nicely played. :)

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.

 

I concur with Don. Very good angle.

[CanWeGoYet?]

As you can see by my upcoming cruises, I am cruising 3 times in a row on the same ship to meet my requirement for Platinum. I know it is 'cheating', but it saves a lot on airfare, and I always book a Balcony room, so I am spending a tad more on a room, as usually I go Solo.

Melanie

 

While I don't like the way the program is set up, the way you are getting to platinum is absolutely not cheating! You are just playing by the rules made by Carnival in setting up their platinum program.

[iluvdoxies]

Which IS disappointing :(! Carnival doesn't really seem to be making an effort to encourage the Milestone or Platinum cruiser to continue.

 

We have certainly enjoyed working our way to Platinum.....but now we find ourselves asking "now what??" :o We feel like we are suffering from a bad case of "been there and done that" :cool:

 

Exactly !

 

Except for what I already have booked, we are done with Carnival for now/

 

Just booked 2 cruises with NCL this past week, time to move on.

[Rosefloater]

I'll go ahead and make the same point I always do when this topic comes up:

 

It is a loyalty program! That's it.

 

It is not a days sailed program. Nor is it a money spent on board program. It is simply in place to reward those who continually give business to CCL time and again.

 

I love CCL's program because the rules are simple, a cruise equals a point. If ones goal is climb the ladder faster it is very easy to do, book more cruises. If someone simply can't do shorter cruises, B2B's work great. You get the desired longer length and multiple credits.

 

DarthGrady - I agree with you.

 

When we (i.e. all of us) started cruising with Carnival, we knew the rules to get to Platinum. It is 10 cruises. Doesn't matter the length of the cruise or the cabin category. People say Carnival likes to keep everyone at the same level and not create classes. This is probably the best way to do it.

 

If the way Carnival does it's loyalty program bothers you, then cruise another line that has a loyalty program that appeals to you.

 

But on another note, I don't like that we have to wait until our 25th, 50th or 100th cruise for percentage off the cruise, but I know this is the program requirements and I will live with them.

 

I cruise to cruise and travel, not to get different colored cards, discounts or gifts (but they are nice:)).

 

According to John Heald's posted information there IS priority tendering back to the ship for platinum cruisers - problem is not everyone is aware of this and the ports are usually manned by port security not by Carnival staff.

 

On Catalina Island (on the Paradise) the pier is manned by ship personnel. In Feb. they noticed our platinum cards and called us up to the front of the line. But in May, I asked if platinum could go to the front of the line and I was told 'No'. So unfortunately, it isn't just port security it is also Carnival personnel stationed at the pier. It would be nice if it would be consistent one way or the other.