Cruise Line Loyalty Programs

[RobinKY]

I have been on 3 CCL and 2 RC. My wife and I love cruising and while our kids are younger CCL works the best. We enjoyed a recent cruise on RC too but it is a bit more pricey. The HAL ships look great and might be worth a try when we have more money to spend sans kids. They cater to older crowd, right? I don't know much about Celebrity or Princess but they seem to get good remarks.

 

So my question is does it pay to stick with one cruise line for their loyalty programs? CCL doesn't seem to off too much until you reach platinum or diamond which would take us another 5-10 years to reach.

 

Are any cruise line loyalty programs that great that it makes sticking to their line worth it?

[jh2360]

Only you can decide that for you and your family. Your best bet is to look at the different lines yourself and see what is offered

[Cruisegirl6]

Good question....I find the loyalty programs on RC to be the best. We always get discount offers and they have many sailings where you get shipboard credit and if you book your next RC cruise when your onboard your current cruise, they have an onboard booking bonus usually balcony and suite discount of $100 for a 6-9 night cruise, $200 for a 10 plus night cruise and $50 for a 3-5 night cruise and if your book within 6 months its a bit less, but booking more than six months out that is what you generally get.

As a Crown and Anchor member, your given crown and anchor exclusive rates for selected sailings and balcony and suite discounts too on top of that.

 

I do not stick with any particular cruise line, it depends what I want in the next cruise, sometimes its for a 8 night cruise, sometimes its to be local and not have to fly to ports and other times it can be price (we generally take 2-3 cruises a year plus 3-4 land based vacations a year) if I get a good price it gives me the opportunity to have another trip. I generally never cruise for ports, been to them all and done it all so that doesn't matter to me, although, we usually choose a cruise that generally has the most sea days as we love sea days.

 

I love Princess, its pretty much equivalent to RC, service is excellent, the food is better than Carnivals and perhaps RC too! I love their ships they are classy/elegant and they also offer more food opens late in the evening, where Carnival only offers you room service and pizza.

 

I would never cruise HAL, I am no young chicken myself (turning 53 in three months) but I don't want to cruise where there are many people in scooters, wheelchairs and have oxygen tanks, not that I won't be one of them myself one day, but I avoid this type of crowd...although on another note, I prefer an older crowd than to a very young crowd with kids...this is a reason why we always choose a time to cruise when the kids are in school.

 

Celebrity to me offers the best in food and the service is excellent, they also offer at times complimentary drink packages if you book within a certain time, the crowd is a good mix leaning on from middle age to older but will have more kids when school is out......the only difference is past 11pm at night, we found that Celebrity is too quiet many people are in bed by then where people are more up and more things to do on Princess. RC is more lively late at night with its newer and larger ships offering more choices, Carnival remains to have live bands that play rock n roll until around midnight and they do pretty much have comedy shows each evening.

 

My first favorite cruise line is RC, then Princess, Carnival and Celebrity (only because its too dead for me late in the evening), HAL not sure whether I ever take that cruise line but time will tell as I get older and would never take MSC and Disney cruises no way.

[Kamloops50]

Quote"I would never cruise HAL, I am no young chicken myself (turning 53 in three months) but I don't want to cruise where there are many people in scooters, wheelchairs and have oxygen tanks, not that I won't be one of them myself one day, but I avoid this type of crowd...although on another note, I prefer an older crowd than to a very young crowd with kids...this is a reason why we always choose a time to cruise when the kids are in school."

 

You won't find people on board with the highlighted items . I actually found more on Celebrity then Princess or HAL.

I like Princess Future Cruise Deposits . You pay $100 per deposit . You have two years to book a cruise and you get on board credit . The $100 is the deposit for most cruises except for World Cruises and Holiday ones.

[Cruisegirl6]

Its been awhile since I been on Celebrity thanks for the heads up!

[RobinKY]

My first favorite cruise line is RC, then Princess, Carnival and Celebrity (only because its too dead for me late in the evening), HAL not sure whether I ever take that cruise line but time will tell as I get older and would never take MSC and Disney cruises no way.

 

Thanks that is good info. I like talking to experienced cruisers to see how they would rank the different lines. We have done 3 CCL and my wife and I were talking that it would be nice to experience a nicer quality ship.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Brand loyalty isn't something I do unless other factors are at play like price and overall experience. Carnival is a fit for me and my current strategy is to achieve the highest (or second highest) loyalty status on each line one at a time. That will give me enough time to experience the best benefits of every line. Of course only if I get to live that long :)

[Cruisegirl6]

Your welcome and anytime you have any other questions or whatever feel free to ask anytime. ;)

[RobinKY]

My first favorite cruise line is RC, then Princess, Carnival and Celebrity (only because its too dead for me late in the evening), HAL not sure whether I ever take that cruise line but time will tell as I get older and would never take MSC and Disney cruises no way.

 

 

What is the deal with MSC? They pop up when I do searches on cruise only and the ships looks pretty nice, upscale.

[marco]

The perks you get by being a higher tier are nice, but I would not choose a cruise ONLY because of the perks I would get with a particular line. We'er "elite" on Princess, 3 Star Mariner on HAL and I don't remember what they call the category we are on "X", but those are our 3 favorite lines and we pretty much sail on only those 3. We have been on many other lines once or twice and went based on the itinerary/price/date, but prefer the 3 mentioned prior. I think HAL has gotten a bad rap regarding an older clientele. I think the last statistic I saw was that the average age of a HAL pax was only 1 yr older than that of Princess. If you want excellent service, the nicest fit and finish and overall ship's appointments and (IMO) the most comfortable bedding....go with HAL.

[annawanX2]

I have only cruised CCL. I've just scheduled my 11th cruise. Under the new rewards system, I have 2 more 7 day cruises (after this cruise)before I hit Platinum. Under the old system (10 cruises) I would already be Platinum. I hate they changed it to how many days you cruise rather than number of cruises. I understand why they did it - but I don't like it !!! :mad: Thank goodness I travel with a "Platinum" friend !! :D

[Extra Kim]

What is the deal with MSC? They pop up when I do searches on cruise only and the ships looks pretty nice, upscale.

They are Italian, might not be what people from the U.S a used to and different compared to the "U.S lines".

 

I have never been on MSC.

[cruzeluver]

Personally I find the loyalty programs pretty laughable.

 

We love having different experiences and do not want to cruise the same line over and over and over again, especially just in order to obtain Platinum, Diamond, Medallion, Super-Deluxe whatever nonsense they call them.

 

Some like the sameness and predictability of sticking to one cruise line, but not us.

[geoherb]

Our preferred cruise line is Princess. We made it to the top of their loyalty program--where we get free laundry, Internet minutes, and a mini bar setup. But I still look at other cruise lines before booking to see if there's a cruise we'd like to take. We've sailed on Holland America, Carnival, and Celebrity ships in the past decade in addition to Princess. We'll eventually have enough cruises on HAL to be four-star Mariners, but I doubt we'll ever make it to being five-stars.

[GUT2407]

Princess us our preferred line (just feels right) but far from welded on.

 

And there is no way I'd book one cruise (line) over another purely for loyalty points.

[Essiesmom]

I don't have a preferred line. I cruise for itinerary and price. I do like the free internet minutes for being platinum on Princess, and the free laundry for being platinum on Carnival. Limited free laundry for being Elite on Celebrity is also nice. But I don't sail them just for that. EM

[trystran72]

I don't choose Princess specifically for the points, but they are my preferred line. On my next cruise I will have reached the Elite status so I guess I get some fun perks. One of those I believe is 150 minutes of free internet - which is a nice perk since it is so pricey.

 

I choose Princess because I've always had fantastic experiences each time and it keeps me coming back. I've been on HAL and it is really lovely - but yes very laid back and quiet. That happened to be perfect for me at the time in Alaska. Plus their beds are the BEST. I hope to be able to try out each line and experience life on each. Someday... :D

 

Happy cruising!!

[pmcubed]

 

I have been on 3 HAL cruises and one Carnival. And to be honest I saw just as many with wheelchairs and oxygen tanks on CCL as I have on HAL.

 

I just saw fewer young families on HAL - but still saw them!

 

It cracks me up that people keep telling me that HAL cruise ships are full of the older crowd - most of them have never cruised with HAL.

 

I have loved my cruises and I believe a vacation is what YOU make it.

 

Pat

[NIATPAC29]

Your opinion on HAL varies from the majority

[Texas Tillie]

Your opinion on HAL varies from the majority

 

It's not an opinion, it's an observation based on actual experience. That's not to say the YMMV, but only actual observations are valid. :)

[cruzeluver]

Your opinion on HAL varies from the majority

 

Many of whom have never stepped foot on a HAL ship.......

[Crew News]

... The HAL ships look great and might be worth a try when we have more money to spend sans kids. They cater to older crowd, right? I don't know much about Celebrity or Princess but they seem to get good remarks.

 

So my question is does it pay to stick with one cruise line for their loyalty programs? CCL doesn't seem to off too much until you reach platinum or diamond which would take us another 5-10 years to reach.

 

Are any cruise line loyalty programs that great that it makes sticking to their line worth it?

 

Holland America Line (HAL) "statistically" caters to an older crowd because only older passengers can devote the time for cruises exceeding 30 days which is a specialty of HAL. Although HAL has a great kids program, most families with kids prefer ships with climbing walls, water slides, etc.

 

If you cruise on HAL when schools are not in session, the age mix is nearly the same as RC, CCL, and Celebrity. As we sailed out of Fort Lauderdale one afternoon, our Cruise Director told us that we had 300 kids on board but the ship following us out of the port had 1200.

 

HAL is traditional cruising with laid-back shipboard activities, fun ports, great food, and a crew-passenger ratio of 1 - 2 that ensures great service.

 

At each stage of of the HAL loyalty program, discounts become higher and higher. it took us five years to reach Four-Star Mariner status with 50% discounts at Specialty Restaurants, priority boarding/tendering, free laundry, 50% minibar beverages, etc. thanks to "additional days" for on-board purchases.

 

Every cruise line has a loyalty program but sticking to one allows cashing in the benefits sooner in your cruising experience.

 

Sign me, satisfied with being in the favorite cruise line minority with HAL.

[NIATPAC29]

I'm guessing the average age of an HAL Cruiser is 60 or over

[Krazy Kruizers]

I'm guessing the average age of an HAL Cruiser is 60 or over

 

 

On longer cruises -- yes.

But on 7 day cruises, there are a lot of families and younger cruisers.

[DaKa2002]

Cruise reward programs offer some benefits (free internet time, laundry service, free or reduced price specialty restaurant, early boarding, etc), but those benefits do not affect our choices when we look for our annual cruise. Our choice is based upon itinerary first, then relative cost for our choice of room, and lastly on the ship's features. We tend to cruise during the school year so the number of children on any of the ships tends to be rather small and insignificant.

 

Loyalty programs can vary greatly on how "status" is determined. We have sailed on Azamara, Celebrity, Disney, HAL, Oceania, & Royal Caribbean. It is the smoking policy that keeps us from sailing more on HAL. Otherwise we would have sailed HAL many more times.

 

I might also note that the only time I have literally been run over by a powered scooter was on a Caribbean Celebrity cruise! I got no apology, only a glare from the driver and a very nasty comment from her husband!