A loyalty award proposal

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I would like to see 2 lines upon embarkation at a port and at the return tender ports. Just like the 2 lines at passenger services - Suite & Elite' date=' all others...[/color'] :D

 

That's what I'm talking about! The part I like least about cruising is the tender wait, especially shore-to-ship when in the hot sun :(.

[caribill]

Forget tenders -- that's lame. What we really need is express luggage delivery to the cabin. As in, whisked away from you at the curb and delivered immediately to your door, there waiting for you when you get onboard. That's a perk I could really get enthused about striving for.

 

Unfortunately Princess has no control over timing of the delivery of the luggage from when it is given to porters and when it makes it onto the ship.

 

Once it is on the ship, it is in a cage with lots of other luggage. Only when Princess personnel empty that cage (which might be behind many other cages loaded) could Princess personnel put a priority on its delivery. And that delivery, unless combined with other luggage going to your area, could require extra personnel so that it could get to your area faster.

[Colo Cruiser]

Unfortunately Princess has no control over timing of the delivery of the luggage from when it is given to porters and when it makes it onto the ship.

 

Once it is on the ship, it is in a cage with lots of other luggage. Only when Princess personnel empty that cage (which might be behind many other cages loaded) could Princess personnel put a priority on its delivery. And that delivery, unless combined with other luggage going to your area, could require extra personnel so that it could get to your area faster.

 

 

I can only imagine the issues that the porters would create with this.

If they felt that the passenger did not tip them enough then the bag would be set aside or buried to be dealt with later. It would have a special tag (red flag to everyone) :rolleyes:

I am not interested. :(

[paul929207]

To us, getting our bags unpacked is not a high priority. However, it is nice to know they all made it.

[Phyljim]

There's no Sabatini's for breakfast on your 50th cruise any longer....only at 75 and 100. QUOTE]

 

When did they change that? We enjoyed breakfast in Sabatini's when we sailed on our 50th cruise! That was a holiday cruise in 2013. Now we are looking forward to breakfast in Sabatini's which should occur before the end of this year.;)

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

I think the priority shore-to-ship would be a little too public. Most Elite benefits are not terribly public, having people wander up in front of the city-sized queue they get at Princess Cays when the Royal is in, to return to the ship ... I think that would be resented, that's all.

No more resented that when 100 or more people are waiting in line at embarkation terminal in the heat and the priority people are ushered into the building upon arrival. ( and this includes Platinum, Elite and Suite people as well)

That's easily solved by having a Elite/Suite line just like at the PSD which is also in plain view. You could have those Elite/Suite people standing in the priority group board the next available tender before filling in with those standing in the regular line then make the next group of Elite/Suite just arriving wait for the next tender.

 

BTW- We were on the CB recently & it's the first ship we've been on to actually utilize the priority line correctly. All the crew when finished with a person would look over to the priority section before calling for a person on the regular line.

 

There's no Sabatini's for breakfast on your 50th cruise any longer....only at 75 and 100. QUOTE]

 

When did they change that? We enjoyed breakfast in Sabatini's when we sailed on our 50th cruise! That was a holiday cruise in 2013. Now we are looking forward to breakfast in Sabatini's which should occur before the end of this year.;)

 

I'm not sure when it did change....all I know is that this past Sept on the CB we didn't receive the perk. I asked specifically about it & was told by the Capt Circle host that it only applied to the 75th cruise, not the 50th.

Previously I read that it was a 50th cruise perk but some posters while others had said they didn't get it so it might be the particular ship that honors it.

[Pia1913]

No more resented that when 100 or more people are waiting in line at embarkation terminal in the heat and the priority people are ushered into the building upon arrival. ( and this includes Platinum, Elite and Suite people as well)

That's easily solved by having a Elite/Suite line just like at the PSD which is also in plain view. You could have those Elite/Suite people standing in the priority group board the next available tender before filling in with those standing in the regular line then make the next group of Elite/Suite just arriving wait for the next tender.

 

BTW- We were on the CB recently & it's the first ship we've been on to actually utilize the priority line correctly. All the crew when finished with a person would look over to the priority section before calling for a person on the regular line.

 

 

I'm not sure when it did change....all I know is that this past Sept on the CB we didn't receive the perk. I asked specifically about it & was told by the Capt Circle host that it only applied to the 75th cruise, not the 50th.

Previously I read that it was a 50th cruise perk but some posters while others had said they didn't get it so it might be the particular ship that honors it.

 

 

The 50th must have come and gone very quickly, because we didn't get it for #50. I imagine it was instituted after we passed #50, so not retroactive. Anyhow, we did enjoy having it at #75.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

The 50th must have come and gone very quickly, because we didn't get it for #50. I imagine it was instituted after we passed #50, so not retroactive. Anyhow, we did enjoy having it at #75.

 

#75 will be a while for us but I'm marking it down on my cruise spreadsheet for sure. :D

[Phyljim]

Our 75th will come up during December this year. :D Yea! They are such milestones!

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Our 75th will come up during December this year. :D Yea! They are such milestones!

There's still a good reason to take a few of the short 4 & 5 day cruises back to back to back.......(assuming the price is right);)

[PescadoAmarillo]

Our 75th will come up during December this year. :D Yea! They are such milestones!

 

Hi Phyllis! You guys are moving right along. Cruise on! We'll probably hit 75 this year too, and gave some thought to the length of that cruise, but decided to just take it as it happens, whatever its length. Might even be on the florist-lacking Pacific Princess. ;)

[DougH]

Is the 50th, 75th and 100 based on the # or cruises or on the # of cruise credits? I went past 50 credits a couple of years ago and didn't get any special perks. Closing in on 50 cruises.

[Phyljim]

Hi Phyllis! You guys are moving right along. Cruise on! We'll probably hit 75 this year too, and gave some thought to the length of that cruise, but decided to just take it as it happens, whatever its length. Might even be on the florist-lacking Pacific Princess. ;)

 

Looked like you two got hooked on the small ships. Enjoyed reading your blog while in the South Pacific. Many memories. ;)

 

We need to look at what cruise our 75th will fall on.....we are booked on the Emerald again for the holidays!

[Wehwalt]

Is the 50th, 75th and 100 based on the # or cruises or on the # of cruise credits? I went past 50 credits a couple of years ago and didn't get any special perks. Closing in on 50 cruises.

 

Cruise credits. On my 50th, which was the shortened cruise on the Crown, I received flowers, and I think a plate of chocolate covered strawberries (the chocolate is too heavy for me) and a bottle of the cheap ship bubbly, which came with two very nice champagne glasses that have the Princess logo and "CONGRATULATIONS!" on them (I kept one). The bridge tour was cancelled due to Norovirus, but I spoke with the Captain's Circle rep and he put a note in my record (hm, like a copy of what they've said about me! :) ) and I got the bridge tour on the CB, which was my next cruise.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Wehwalt

[paul929207]

Is the 50th, 75th and 100 based on the # or cruises or on the # of cruise credits? I went past 50 credits a couple of years ago and didn't get any special perks. Closing in on 50 cruises.

It is Cruise Credits.

[joybook]

I think all you 50,75,100 etc etc etc cruisers aught to remember one thing. That is that someone driving a 20 year old VW has just as much right to the road as a 2015 model Mercedes Benz. Get the idea?:)In simple English, the first time cruiser has as much right to the facilities on a ship and to enjoy the cruise as one that has dozens of cruises behind.

Edited February 26, 2015 by joybook

[Wehwalt]

I think all you 50,75,100 etc etc etc cruisers aught to remember one thing. That is that someone driving a 20 year old VW has just as much right to the road as a 2015 model Mercedes Benz. Get the idea?:)

 

I don't feel very senior. There are always lots of cruisers with more days than me. I just get two cruise credits because I sail alone.

[floridarob]

Honestly I can't see the cruise lines doing these perks for ever, not the way it seems people cruise so many times a year.

 

When I worked onboard we use to joke that the cruise line was about 8 yrs behind corporate America in their thinking (not a bad thing)

 

Elites typically spend the least onboard even when having all the free onboard credits.... blue cards spend the most, because is their 1st time and haven't learned "the system" yet of what not to waste money on.

 

I think they will eventually fall into line with what the airlines now do and base it on revenue.... I use to get Gold and Platinum every year with the airlines without spending a ton of money (a few Asia trips was all it took). Now I am LUCKY to barely make silver, however I am close to a million miler which will get me gold status for life, unless they eliminate that too, lol

 

I know everyone will say that they should reward their "loyal" pax, but what other options do we really have in this market/price.... 3 main companies, almost just like the airlines, cell phone companies, banks, etc..... if we don't like it and change who we travel with....they will lose some and win some new passengers , acceptable gains/losses.

 

And in the end we will just accept it.... like how we have gotten used to baggage fees, cell phone insurance/deductibles, NSF fees, wire fees, etc....

[shredie]

I think all you 50,75,100 etc etc etc cruisers aught to remember one thing. That is that someone driving a 20 year old VW has just as much right to the road as a 2015 model Mercedes Benz. Get the idea?:)In simple English, the first time cruiser has as much right to the facilities on a ship and to enjoy the cruise as one that has dozens of cruises behind.

 

Did I miss something? Did a 50x cruiser say new cruisers don't have a right to use the facilities on a ship? or enjoy the cruise? :confused:

[SadieN]

Carnivals FTTF ($49.95)/cabin tender priority is as you suspect only ship-to-shore priority. But it appears to be on "priority tenders" which will be scheduled at specific times in a port, not on "the next tender" which the Princess elite benefit is good for.

 

Tender Priority

You will have the option to choose a priority tender from the ship to shore (multiple departure times may be possible), so you can explore ashore as quickly as you would like.

 

 

In some cases it may only be good for a single tender time as one person has posted: "We then tried to use our FTTF pass to avoid the lineup to disembark the ship at 8am and the nice Carnival staff informed us that the Faster to Fun (or Slower to Fun) guests were called at 7:15am and that we had to wait like everyone else even though there was 2 lines to disembark and one line was completely empty!"

 

 

Sounds more like debarkation than the tender line. For the tender line you go to Guest Services and the escort you down.

 

Forget tenders -- that's lame. What we really need is express luggage delivery to the cabin. As in, whisked away from you at the curb and delivered immediately to your door, there waiting for you when you get onboard. That's a perk I could really get enthused about striving for.

 

 

Carnival has priority luggage for Diamond, Platinum and FTTF. Just need to make sure the orange sticker gets place on your tags. Many times the luggage is at the door within an hour of dropping it off.

[Wehwalt]

Honestly I can't see the cruise lines doing these perks for ever, not the way it seems people cruise so many times a year.

 

I suppose they make it up in volume! Seriously though, if the cruise lines, and I mean all of them, eliminate the perks, I'll start doing land trips in Europe again and take the train or drive and be very content. Princess's competition is not just other lines, but also other forms of vacationing, especially resorts.

[paul929207]

Also, they cannot all get together and agree to eliminate or limit their loyalty programs. That would be an anti-trust violation in the US.

[floridarob]

Also, they cannot all get together and agree to eliminate or limit their loyalty programs. That would be an anti-trust violation in the US.

 

They won't "get together"

 

One will do it and the others will follow..... just like the airline industry has recently done to stay "competitive".

 

Like I said, cruise lines lag years behind in their decisions.... think about it Elites, how much do you spend once onboard, I listen to stories all day long on cruises about how many OBC's you have and how cheap the cruise was.... do you think they are making money on us? They already know the real money is from 1st time or occasional cruisers....

[caribill]

Like I said, cruise lines lag years behind in their decisions.... think about it Elites, how much do you spend once onboard, I listen to stories all day long on cruises about how many OBC's you have and how cheap the cruise was.... do you think they are making money on us? They already know the real money is from 1st time or occasional cruisers....

 

Maybe the best benefits should be given to first time cruisers and gradually taken away the more you cruise.

[shredie]

Maybe the best benefits should be given to first time cruisers and gradually taken away the more you cruise.

 

Hahaha! ;)