Elite Status "The Easy Way"

[fishin' musician]

Not true. Elite for as long as you are active as a TA.

 

However, it is HARDLY the easy way. You need to watch and take tests on 20+ videos on line and actually stay active booking cruises. I find it a wee bit offensive that people say you just "sign up to be a TA" and that's it.

 

:rolleyes:

 

The REAL easy way is to be the owner of an agency (in our case tour operator), once one of your employees reache Commodore status you automatically qualify!

[dweeb]

Loyalty programs were only mean to get repeat customers. Most programs in the travel industry are changing and they are based on "what can you do for me today....not what you did for me yesterday." Airlines are stating to award Elite status based on money customers spend now not how many miles they fly. Credit card companies are also offering elite benefits for just owning their card....Chase UA MP card (free baggage, early boarding, passes to airline lounges)....AMEX....HHonors Gold status.....even if you have never stayed at a Hilton brand hotel....the times are changing and hopefully Princess will base it's reward program on the amount of money a customer spends on a cruise and not the number of cruises they have taken.....this would be rewarding true loyalty....:)

 

And don't forget that many in travel industry have an annual requalification to maintain the status. Meaning that if you don't provide enough hotel stays or airline miles flown, you lose that status.

 

Maybe Princess should have it so that you have to sail xx number of days per year, with a certain amount of money spent for each cruise to maintain your current status. If you fail to meet this criteria, you drop to a lower status tier. Just like the majority of the travel industry.

 

I hope that Princess does not go down this road.

 

Be careful as to what you ask for, it may not be as good as you think!

[Dreamer333]

 

Be careful as to what you ask for, it may not be as good as you think!

 

Agreed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :)

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would say the easiest way is to be able to enjoy cruising for 150 days with my best friend, as opposed to taking courses and tests or figuring out coastal cruises or cruising solo. Trust me, I did not feel overworked cruising for 150 days and I'm surprised anyone does.

[geoherb]

We'll be Elite for the first time on our next cruise. We made it sooner than I thought we would because of doing 4-day back-to-back cruises at Christmas on the Ruby instead of a 7-day cruise. We also took a 5-day Ruby cruise for spring break this year because the airfare worked out better than doing a 7-day cruise on the Royal. Overall, though, our number of days average out to be more than 7 per cruise.

 

If we lived in Seattle like my brother and his wife do, I'm sure we would have made Elite a lot quicker. I definitely would have taken advantage of doing some of the short cruises. And I don't begrudge the people who can take advantage of those cruises. I'd hate to see Princess switch to a complicated loyalty system like Celebrity has.

[pathi]

I find the Elite perks threads a little amusing. We will turn ruby after this cruise. But we can have elite perks anytime we want by booking a full suite. Plus Sabatinis Breakfast!

 

Otherwise we will just have to suffer the "horror" of 12 more cruises on Princess!:eek:

 

Heheh

Edited April 3, 2014 by pathi

[IECalCruiser]

I agree with Grego. Count days cruising, NOT the number of cruises. Once again the purpose of elite status is to show your loyalty.

Be careful about asking for changes. Celebrity changed the program, but not to just days cruised. Rather, a different number of club points is earned per day based upon the cabin category with the cheapest inside cabin earning just 2 club points per day while the most expensive suite earning 18 club points. It is much harder to reach higher categories sailing in a inside cabin. This type of loyalty program rewards people who spend more for their cabin.

 

 

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[Kmkub]

I agree with Grego. Count days cruising, NOT the number of cruises. Once again the purpose of elite status is to show your loyalty.

 

This is up to Princess. Their financial analysts are saying that people on those short cruises are spending enough money to warrant the benefit. They wouldn't do it, otherwise.

 

It only seems odd to me because I don't have access to all the information that Princess does. By my calculation, you could make elite by doing 15 $69 cruises, for a total of just over $1K. We'll have given princess well over $30K by the time we make elite. This doesn't anger me, though. Why should it? Live and let live.

 

If someone is unhappy by the unfairness of a loyalty program, they should vote with their cruise $$ and go elsewhere.

[Colo Cruiser]

I find the Elite perks threads a little amusing. We will turn ruby after this cruise. But we can have elite perks anytime we want by booking a full suite. Plus Sabatinis Breakfast!

 

Otherwise we will just have to suffer the "horror" of 12 more cruises on Princess!:eek:

 

Heheh

 

Aw come on, look at it as 12 more suites!!

[ggprincess2004]

[quote

 

Awww, the horror! It would only be 6 more suite cruises, 2 cruise credits for each on a suite booking.

 

I don't think it is appropriate to really criticize Princess for their loyalty program - it is most generous. And while their criteria might leave us scratching our heads from time to time, the truth is it is theirs to run.

 

I strongly suspect the shorter the cruise, the higher the $$$ spent on board per day. Trying to pack more fun (whatever your definition) and shopping into fewer days equates to "faster spending".

[Colo Cruiser]

I strongly suspect the shorter the cruise, the higher the $$$ spent on board per day. Trying to pack more fun (whatever your definition) and shopping into fewer days equates to "faster spending".

 

I think the spending is actually less. JMHO

[PescadoAmarillo]

I also believe this is true. If you're going to do specialty restaurants just once, and buy one formal portrait, and get to the $10 sale just once, better to have a turnover of people every 4 days and not every 7, 10 or more days.

 

But we'll know the answer to that in a year or two. If Princess stops offering the short cruises, we'll know they weren't as profitable as we imagine. And if they add more, we'll know we were wrong.

[RetiredNTraveling]

I find the Elite perks threads a little amusing. We will turn ruby after this cruise. But we can have elite perks anytime we want by booking a full suite. Plus Sabatinis Breakfast!

We agree, as our last 3 cruises have been in suites! So what if we are now Platinum! We enjoy cruising and will continue to as money becomes available for more suites! :rolleyes:

Otherwise we will just have to suffer the "horror" of 12 more cruises on Princess!:eek: Ain't it great to suffer? :eek:

 

Heheh

 

After all what's the difference when we are in a suite?

[RetiredNTraveling]

I find the Elite perks threads a little amusing. We will turn ruby after this cruise. But we can have elite perks anytime we want by booking a full suite. Plus Sabatinis Breakfast!

We agree, as our last 3 cruises have been in suites! So what if we only Platinum! We enjoy cruising and will continue to as money becomes available for more suites! :rolleyes:

Otherwise we will just have to suffer the "horror" of 12 more cruises on Princess!:eek: Ain't it great to suffer? :eek:

 

Heheh

 

After all what's the difference when we are in a suite?

[Colo Cruiser]

After all what's the difference when we are in a suite?

 

After all what's the difference when we are in a suite?

 

 

Yes and Yes! :D

[Dreamer333]

I don't think it is appropriate to really criticize Princess for their loyalty program - it is most generous. And while their criteria might leave us scratching our heads from time to time, the truth is it is theirs to run.

 

I like your attitude. The perks of the loyalty programs are a gifts. We should appreciate them. I do!

 

All of my cruises except one have been seven nights on Princess, but if I lived closer to a port, I would definitely take advantage of those short cruises! I'm happy for those passengers who can enjoy more cruises and get rewarded for it.

[Colo Cruiser]

, but if I lived closer to a port, I would definitely take advantage of those short cruises! I'm happy for those passengers who can enjoy more cruises and get rewarded for it.

 

 

Yes if I was not landlocked I would be in big trouble! :eek:

[RetiredNTraveling]

Yes and Yes! :D

 

So Sorry for the double post! :p I guess that once again, my fat fingers got carried away. :eek:

[RetiredNTraveling]

Yes if I was not landlocked I would be in big trouble! :eek:

 

I raise my glass (of Jack Daniels) to those of us who suffer by being landlocked! ;) Oh, Have Mercy on Us!:D

[Dreamer333]

Yes if I was not landlocked I would be in big trouble! :eek:

 

Lol you and me both!

[geoherb]

We're not exactly land-locked in Raleigh, being just two hours away from the beach--but we might as well be since Princess doesn't sail from any nearby ports that we could drive to the day of a cruise. We took a Carnival cruise from Charleston and a Holland America one from Norfolk. It was great being able to drive. We've flown for all of our cruises leaving from Florida. Once we retire in a few years, we'll have the time to drive down and back for them.

[Wehwalt]

We're not exactly land-locked in Raleigh, being just two hours away from the beach--but we might as well be since Princess doesn't sail from any nearby ports that we could drive to the day of a cruise. We took a Carnival cruise from Charleston and a Holland America one from Norfolk. It was great being able to drive. We've flown for all of our cruises leaving from Florida. Once we retire in a few years, we'll have the time to drive down and back for them.

 

And while the cruise was so so, I enjoyed my Royal Caribbean departure from Baltimore, just off the interstate and an hour from home.

[Colo Cruiser]

We're not exactly land-locked in Raleigh, being just two hours away from the beach--but we might as well be since Princess doesn't sail from any nearby ports that we could drive to the day of a cruise. We took a Carnival cruise from Charleston and a Holland America one from Norfolk. It was great being able to drive. We've flown for all of our cruises leaving from Florida. Once we retire in a few years, we'll have the time to drive down and back for them.

 

 

Beach doesn't count!!! :p

[caribill]

This is up to Princess. Their financial analysts are saying that people on those short cruises are spending enough money to warrant the benefit. They wouldn't do it, otherwise.

 

So much so Princess had to give back (in the form of future credit) 100% of the fares on most of these short cruises.

[Vexorg]

Admittedly, I did do one of the 1-day cruises solo to get extra cruise credits back before I was platinum and had 3 previous cruises. I have also done two other longer cruises as a solo (a 5-day coastal and a 7-day Caribbean) so between those and cruises with other people I've got credit for 11 cruises even though I only have 43 days sailed.