Will you ever be Zenith ?

[maggie.1008]

I put this on another thread and it has me thinking. How many of you will ever become Zenith. We have 42 cruises ( 21 on Celebrity ) Had we only cruised on Celebrity we would be Zenith right now. We are Elite Plus and I don`t think we will ever see Zenith. How about you ?

[dkjretired]

I put this on another thread and it has me thinking. How many of you will ever become Zenith. We have 42 cruises ( 21 on Celebrity ) Had we only cruised on Celebrity we would be Zenith right now. We are Elite Plus and I don`t think we will ever see Zenith. How about you ?

 

E+ after next week's cruise, never make Zenith because we still like to do land trips and my health stinks.

Edited August 21, 2014 by dkjretired

[TeaBag]

E+ and no, not unless I find the fountain of youth.

[CruisingChick]

No. Unless we win the big MegaMillions Jackpot on Friday.

 

We only have 884 points (I believe) and 99% of the time we book insides.

[NLH Arizona]

Now that we are being given double points for solo traveling, there is now a chance. Yeah!

[hosscow]

No, we like variety. Maybe if Celebrity would have more west coast cruise out of Seattle or BC.

[uktog]

I put this on another thread and it has me thinking. How many of you will ever become Zenith. We have 42 cruises ( 21 on Celebrity ) Had we only cruised on Celebrity we would be Zenith right now. We are Elite Plus and I don`t think we will ever see Zenith. How about you ?

 

An interesting question - had we not started cruising until now we would have had a better chance, previous cruises 14-17 nights in RS etc were converted at a miserable 90 points in the new process so we were about 25% down on points in total

I know this kind of thing always happens on conversions. Unfortunately as we move to retirement, splurges on suites will be far less often so not sure how long we will take

[TeaBag]

No, we like variety. Maybe if Celebrity would have more west coast cruise out of Seattle or BC.

Yes, definitely...put us down for those. Those Florida people have it made!

[maggie.1008]

I agree. If we had more West Coast cruises I might have a chance. Going on Princess in October for the Coastal cruise.

[Project_gal]

Had the current points system been in place from the start of our cruising, we would have become Zenith by the time that we completed the cruises we currently have booked. As the conversion did not adequately take into account those who had always taken long cruises in suites, we are likely to have to stop cruising before we collect sufficient points to achieve Zenith.

[amazinglife]

Not likey as we have been and will continue to be loyal to Princess. Hard to give up the Elite perks with them.

[Orator]

Celebrity has taken some steps such as double points for solo cruisers and offering "bonus" points as promotions that might increase the number of Zeniths. At one time I predicted that there would be an initial surge in Zeniths that would increase the initial number from about 42 to perhaps 60. I thought that over time the number would level off to about 50 Zeniths. I need to revise my numbers upward by at least 25. Many have recently become Zenith members and the great benefits and point incentives appear to have worked well in increasing cruising days for those close to the Zenith level. I would predict that there might be some changes to the program if Celebrity sees costs increasing more than benefits. I believe that the focus of Celebrity cruisers should not be on the Zenith level, but getting a new level between Elite+ and Zenith. That effort would certainly benefit more people and would, IMHO motivate people who are close to do more cruising.

[jonsmum]

No chance - too old and poor!

[maggie.1008]

I would like to see a level between Elite plus and Zenith. I think 1500 would be a good half way mark.

[Karynanne]

I would like to see a level between Elite plus and Zenith. I think 1500 would be a good half way mark.

 

We're at 1600 points now. We possibly could see Zenith, but we may change our travel plans in the future. We'd like to do some River Cruises in Europe and see regions that large ships can't navigate.

[maggie.1008]

We have many friends who have cruises on Viking River cruises. They all loved it. We have been on small luxury ships and were very happy. Not sure River boats might be too small.

[hulamoon]

The weakness of the program is that elite plus isn't a big deal except as a milestone. Zenith sounds amazing. We will make it if we are healthy in upper decades and we won't if we decide to cruise another line or our health does not hold out.

 

I agree add something between elite plus and zenith and adding a little something to elite plus would be good.

 

We have no control over what they do. It could be that they go inclusive and the benefits have less meaning, or they scale back in which case I will have thought a lot about nothing. Lol

[Bruin Steve]

Not likely...

 

When they switched to the new system, I was at 24 old credits--which got converted to 730 new points--putting me just below the new Elite Plus...

 

I have an Xpedition Galapagos 10 night cruisetour booked for July...That will get me to 780 points and "Elite Plus" and still leave me 2,220 points short of "Zenith"...

 

Assuming I always book a balcony cabin (now that I am on a "fixed income", even that is not a certainty), I would need to take an additional 106 seven night cruises to get to Zenith...

 

If I always moved up to Concierge or Aqua, that number would go down to 64 week-long cruises needed...

 

I am now 60 years old...If I took four Celebrity cruises a year (or the equivalent--say two 14 night cruises per year...or one 14 and two 7s), I would reach "Zenith" at the age of 87...If I live that long...and am still in any shape to cruise...

 

If I always moved up to Concierge class (and having somehow done this several times, I still don't see where it merits the additional cost), I could do it in 16 years...by the age of 76...

 

But, the problem is the assumption that I cruise four weeks a year and always on Celebrity...

 

My history shows that it just isn't that likely for the following reasons:

 

1) Celebrity has largely abandoned the West Coast...So, almost every Celebrity cruise I take requires me to fly a long distance somewhere--adding to the expense and difficulty...Which is why, for the second November in a row, I will be on a Princess cruise out of Los Angeles...(I really do wish Celebrity would permanently home-port a ship here)...

 

2) Sometimes I want a slightly different experience. My wife enjoys Royal Caribbean--especially the newer, larger ships with the incredible entertainment (Broadway, water shows, ice shows, etc.), so, sometimes we cruise on those...

 

3) Sometimes, when I look at Celebrity's itineraries, it seems I've done them before...and I look for some different or more original itineraries...and often find those on Oceania--which I also like...or do something like the Viking River Cruises China tour we did this past summer...

 

So, even if I were to take four cruises a year, there's a good chance that they might not all be on Celebrity.

 

Sure, if I won the Power Ball Lotto, maybe I'd cruise 10 or 12 weeks a year--with a lot of them on Celebrity---and I'd make it to "Zenith" rather quickly...But I'd probably also be cruising in Suites and get lots of perks anyway and wouldn't care about things like free internet or free laundry...

 

So, since, realistically, I am looking at, at the best, reaching Zenith when I am incredibly elderly, I've decided to not even worry about it...

 

I'll be happy to get whatever perks "Elite Plus" gets...book my cruises because of the itinerary, the ship, the timing...and I will never pay attention to the "points"...It is all meaningless to me...

Edited August 21, 2014 by Bruin Steve

[cruiserone]

Wow Bruin Steve, you are my hero with all the cruises that you have taken!! We started in 1989 with Royal Caribbean, then switched to Princess, then back to Royal Caribbean, now we sail with Celebrity (and love it). My cruises on RCCL helped us become Elite on Celebrity but we are now sailing more since my retirement. We live on the East Coast but usually fly out of FL. Would love to see more cruises on X go out of NJ/NY. Zenith is way out of our reach even if we move to FL full time and cruise 4 times a year! with retirement we would stay with a balcony and no more Sky Suites for us. Have never been offered an extra point!

 

Happy Sailing and enjoy every sunset and sunrise on the way!

 

Cruiserone

[maggie.1008]

Bruin Steve,

Your history sounds a lot like mine. I am also 60 yrs. We like to book Sky Suites but we will still never reach Zenith.

[Cruise Junky]

Possible but doubtful. I'm in my 40s so time wise it's possible but we like our land trips too much. If we switched to full time cruising I could probably make it before I'm dead. Of course, there's always the lotto option ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xport]

Now that we are being given double points for solo traveling, there is now a chance. Yeah!

 

Had that been the practice all along, I'd have been Zenith--by a hair--at conversion...

 

While I wish that Celebrity would create a level between Elite + and Zenith too, I now have reasonable expectation--if my health and travel budget hold--of making Zenith over the next few years when I thought, until the "double up" for solos was implemented last month, that it was unlikely to occur or--if/when it did--that I'd be too damned old to care...

Edited August 21, 2014 by Xport

[NLH Arizona]

Had that been the practice all along, I'd have been Zenith--by a hair--at conversion...

 

While I wish that Celebrity would create a level between Elite + and Zenith too, I now have reasonable expectation--if my health and travel budget hold--of making Zenith over the next few years when I thought, until the "double up" for solos was implemented last month, that it was unlikely to occur or--if/when it did--that I'd be too damned old to care...

But think about it, when they created Elite+, there were posters who didn't feel that the perks were good enough and wanted more. If Celebrity were to add another tier, say Elite++, I'm sure there would be the same complaints, so Celebrity is probably better off in the long run to leave it as it is, instead of opening up that can of worms again.

 

I'm just thrilled with the double points for solos and that points are accrued each and every day, instead of someone on a 4 day cruise getting the same points as someone on a 10 day cruise who is spending substantially more $$'s.

[Xport]

But think about it, when they created Elite+, there were posters who didn't feel that the perks were good enough and wanted more.

 

But when you think about it, those of us who sail solo and who are now Elite+ are essentially getting the same benefits--laundry and internet are most tangible to me--that Elite couples were enjoying all along for equivalent spend, time, and level of accommodation as previously measured... The disparity still exists but at least I'm now at a place that works for me in the context of the long consecutive sailings I tend to do... If I make Zenith, great! If not--and I won't upsize to suites for space and amenities that I don't need/care about to get there--that's fine too!

 

Now if only Azamara were to adopt the "double up" for solos too...

Edited August 21, 2014 by Xport

[vulcan1971]

I put this on another thread and it has me thinking. How many of you will ever become Zenith. We have 42 cruises ( 21 on Celebrity ) Had we only cruised on Celebrity we would be Zenith right now. We are Elite Plus and I don`t think we will ever see Zenith. How about you ?

 

Maggie -

 

Interesting question. Do I think I can get to Zenith? Yes, I sure do. It is only a mathematical challenge looking at it from the outside. However, that challenge doesn't account for things such as time off from work, finances, etc. I am in my "early 40s" and have many more years of cruising ahead of me. After my November cruise, I could arrive at Zenith in just 5 cruises if each of those 5 cruises were 15 days in duration and I was traveling solo in a PH. That is not realistic for me, but maybe an option for some other people.

 

Just one cruise of 15 days as a solo passenger in a PH can get you 540 points. So becoming Elite can be arrived at in 1 cruise under the new system. Take another solo cruise of 14 days in a Celebrity, Royal or Signature Suite and you have another 336 points. In two trips you now have 876 points, far exceeding 750 points for what you need to achieve Elite+ in only 2 cruises.

 

That is amazing, to be honest... but as others have said, the redesign of the Captain's Club program is about rewarding your "spending" habits and not about rewarding your frequency of cruising.