New Blue Chip Club Tier Levels

[biguntx]

Has anyone else received an email with the details of the new Blue Chip Club tier levels and you respective tier level status?

 

I received such a email just this afternoon. I had no idea that this was happening.

 

I just stepped off the 4.1.17 sailing of the Reflection that was a Blue Chip Club "pop up" offering.

 

What I want to know is what is the "annual cruise" benefit mean? I emailed Blue Chip but I'm sure a response will take a day or two.

[Cruise Gopher]

Who/what the heck is "Blue Chip"? Are you confusing with Thrifty Car Rental's Blue Chip loyalty program?

[dkjretired]

Who/what the heck is "Blue Chip"? Are you confusing with Thrifty Car Rental's Blue Chip loyalty program?

 

It's Celebrity's casino program.l

[neenee61]

Has anyone else received an email with the details of the new Blue Chip Club tier levels and you respective tier level status?

 

I received such a email just this afternoon. I had no idea that this was happening.

 

I just stepped off the 4.1.17 sailing of the Reflection that was a Blue Chip Club "pop up" offering.

 

What I want to know is what is the "annual cruise" benefit mean? I emailed Blue Chip but I'm sure a response will take a day or two.

 

Interest...I rec'd an email last week stating' stay tuned for' the dawn of something BIG in our casinos'. Have been waiting of further info and as yest no more info. Have been a Blue chip member for many many years . Hoping it will not be like the change they did to Clue Royale on RCCL. Also been a member there for many many years and not keen on new program. I will be on Solstice tomorrow for 7 nights which is a comped cruise and have a substantial cash rebate waiting so will see what the host has to say about new program. Stay tuned for more info Cheers

[garda]

Any updates? Curious!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[biguntx]

Interest...I rec'd an email last week stating' stay tuned for' the dawn of something BIG in our casinos'. Have been waiting of further info and as yest no more info. Have been a Blue chip member for many many years . Hoping it will not be like the change they did to Clue Royale on RCCL. Also been a member there for many many years and not keen on new program. I will be on Solstice tomorrow for 7 nights which is a comped cruise and have a substantial cash rebate waiting so will see what the host has to say about new program. Stay tuned for more info Cheers

 

Still no response to my email.

[biguntx]

Any updates? Curious!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Haven't received a response.

 

But what I read is interesting.

[kk99]

I received a telephone call back from Blue Chip. There will no longer be bounce back cash earned on a sailing, but you can redeem your tier points earned on your cruise for casino play or other onboard purchases. If you have earned bounce back on prior sailings to the announcement of the new program, you can still redeem that on your next sailing. There are five tiers to the program. pearl, onyx,amethyst, sapphire and ruby. The benefits are good for 18 months, and you must re-qualify with the level of points required to maintain your tier or perhaps be moved up or down depending on your play at the end of each 18 month period. The casino host at his or her discretion will reach out to the blue chip casino player in the three highest tiers and may hand out a voucher for the player on that sailing for instance for a "free" (excluding port charges and taxes) or discounted amount for a future sailing in different categories, such as inside cabin, oceanview, balcony cabin etc. This is what is called the annual cruise benefit. The club will continue to have Blue Chip sailings where players are offered the cruise sailing in different categories depending on their level of play such as the slot or blackjack tournaments offered on Equinox this summer which is in addition to the annual cruise benefit. The three highest categories of the club, amethyst, sapphire and ruby get extra benefits. Tier points are counted at 1 tier point for every one dollar wagered on slots, 1 tier point for every two dollars wagered on video poker, and 1 tier point for every 8 dollars wagered on table games. Pearl members have to earn 1 tier point every 18 months, onyx, 2500 points, amethyst 25,000 points, sapphire 100,000 points, and ruby tier member 1 million.points.

It would be difficult in my opinion to earn the point levels in the higher tiers unless you cruise more than once a year.

[biguntx]

I received a telephone call back from Blue Chip. There will no longer be bounce back cash earned on a sailing, but you can redeem your tier points earned on your cruise for casino play or other onboard purchases. If you have earned bounce back on prior sailings to the announcement of the new program, you can still redeem that on your next sailing. There are five tiers to the program. pearl, onyx,amethyst, sapphire and ruby. The benefits are good for 18 months, and you must re-qualify with the level of points required to maintain your tier or perhaps be moved up or down depending on your play at the end of each 18 month period. The casino host at his or her discretion will reach out to the blue chip casino player in the three highest tiers and may hand out a voucher for the player on that sailing for instance for a "free" (excluding port charges and taxes) or discounted amount for a future sailing in different categories, such as inside cabin, oceanview, balcony cabin etc. This is what is called the annual cruise benefit. The club will continue to have Blue Chip sailings where players are offered the cruise sailing in different categories depending on their level of play such as the slot or blackjack tournaments offered on Equinox this summer which is in addition to the annual cruise benefit. The three highest categories of the club, amethyst, sapphire and ruby get extra benefits. Tier points are counted at 1 tier point for every one dollar wagered on slots, 1 tier point for every two dollars wagered on video poker, and 1 tier point for every 8 dollars wagered on table games. Pearl members have to earn 1 tier point every 18 months, onyx, 2500 points, amethyst 25,000 points, sapphire 100,000 points, and ruby tier member 1 million.points.

It would be difficult in my opinion to earn the point levels in the higher tiers unless you cruise more than once a year.

 

I called as well, I was told that the benefits such as premium beverage package would apply to any selling I book through the Blue Chip Club. This would apply to all other benefits in the appropriate member tier level.

 

However, I did not receive the detailed discussion of the "annual cruise benefit" you did. I was told that RCCL had not handed down the complete details of what that might entail.

 

In any case, a very interesting twist and an opportunity to receive a beverage package.

 

I await the actual details as I try to turn them into reality on an actual cruise. As with all my other casino tier benefits the proof is in the pudding.

 

Thanks for sharing you phone conversation. It was very informative....much more so than mine today.

[kk99]

Hi Gary and Jo Ann,

Here is the redacted email chart that I received. It only show the premium beverage package applying to the ruby tier, classic drink package to the sapphire tier, and standard drink package for amethyst tier. Again it will be helpful once someone takes a cruise in the next week or two and reports back on actual experience. with the new roll out. Also it says 8 dollars for one tier point for table play, and in the tiny type at the bottom, it says 8 dollars table theoretical per point which is different than an eight dollar table wager per point. I am glad to see the benefits reduced to writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAIL WITH THE BEST CASINO BENEFITS AT SEA.

Welcome to our new Blue Chip Club, a casino rewards program featuring five exclusive membership tiers and more benefits than ever before.

 

Your current membership tier is , based on your past play in our casinos.

 

Next time you sail with us, you can start earning points that could qualify you for higher tiers—as well as points that you can redeem toward free play and purchases on board.*

LEARN HOW

TIER BENEFITS BEGINNING ON YOUR NEXT CRUISE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

[pantoot]

In case anyone has trouble seeing the attachment, celebrity has it posted here, along with more in the FAQ:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/blue-chip-club

[biguntx]

Based on this response to a FAQ annual cruise benefits are not well defined. The answer to the question is the ability to ask the question again.

 

Q:How do I redeem my annual cruise benefit?

 

-A:Feel free to email the Blue Chip Club office or call 1-866-461-7170 Monday thru Friday from 9AM – 7PM EST. We're here to answer any questions you may have and are happy to assist.

[pantoot]

In case anyone is curious (I was) I asked how they will be handling cruises that are booked outside of the blue chip club, and they replied:

 

The blue Chip Club Membership is now going to be linked with your Captains Club number.

Your membership will be linked to your Sea Pass card

[biguntx]

In case anyone is curious (I was) I asked how they will be handling cruises that are booked outside of the blue chip club, and they replied:

 

Thanks

[ghstudio]

I have spent hours in the casino on various ships at $10 blackjack tables and have never been offered blue chip anything. Does this now mean that I will be a pearl or Onyx member (admittedly with pretty useless value). I seem to recall that in the past you had to do $25 minimum bets at tables for them to even talk to you about blue chip.....has that changed?

[dodger1964]

So if I gamble at least $8 million dollars at table game every 18 months, I get the top status?

 

That seems doable.

Edited April 17, 2017 by dodger1964

[biguntx]

So if I gamble at least $8 million dollars at table game every 18 months, I get the top status?

 

That seems doable.

 

That would be if you played table games.

 

If you are serious slot player only $1,000,000!

[FastandFurious]

Using precious stones to denominate tiers seems so...unimaginative. How about Sea Urchin, Sea Cucumber, Sea Horse, Shark, and Whale. Hey if I was playing either slots ( 1 million ) or tables ( 8 million ) in 18 months I would be putting the free cruise certificates in the laundry bags, Kleenex boxes and taped to to toilet seats in the cabin. Dodger 1964 does your handle mean what I think it means? Chavez Ravine, Vin Scully, Don Dysdale, Sandy Koufax and Frank Howard. Brings back a lot of good memories for me as a 13 year old in La La land.

[Projunior]

Based on our play, my wife and I were both invited to join the BCC by the casino manager on the last day of our Infinity cruise last September. He handed both of us letters confirming our invitation. In the intervening seven months: not one offer, not one email, not a single snail mail. They have no website. I sent them an email a couple of months ago. They couldn't be bothered to reply. Neither my wife nor I got the email mentioned by the OP. The word that comes to mine is "worthless".

[SREPRO]

I think it might be time for all of us to wise up! My wife and I have been members for about 18 years and have seen the pendulum swing both ways. In the beginning (1998 ), we were offered a sheet of about 30+ cruises in December/January that were complimentary at the concierge level stateroom. We have seen it change many times over the years including some years when they didn't publish a list at all. One year there were only 5 cruises on it; Now they seem to have opened up more cruises but the tier level is an interesting twist. If I read it correctly, my wife can play a dollar slot machine and get 3 tier points for one $ 3 bet. I am primarily a craps player and for me to get 3 tier points I need to wager $ 24 (1 tier point for every $ 8 wagered). So if I gamble $8,000 at the table - I get 1000 tier points. My wife plays $ 8,000 in slots and gets 8,000 tier points. Does this seem a little off to anyone else? It seems that maybe I should play slots more.

[mn1111]

I think it might be time for all of us to wise up! My wife and I have been members for about 18 years and have seen the pendulum swing both ways. In the beginning (1998 ), we were offered a sheet of about 30+ cruises in December/January that were complimentary at the concierge level stateroom. We have seen it change many times over the years including some years when they didn't publish a list at all. One year there were only 5 cruises on it; Now they seem to have opened up more cruises but the tier level is an interesting twist. If I read it correctly, my wife can play a dollar slot machine and get 3 tier points for one $ 3 bet. I am primarily a craps player and for me to get 3 tier points I need to wager $ 24 (1 tier point for every $ 8 wagered). So if I gamble $8,000 at the table - I get 1000 tier points. My wife plays $ 8,000 in slots and gets 8,000 tier points. Does this seem a little off to anyone else? It seems that maybe I should play slots more.

 

I'm a craps player too and was concerned at first. However, Celebrity does count the free odds bet when calculating the comps which most land casinos do not. I don't know your betting habits, but the way I bet the points should rack up pretty quickly. Don't forget, it's bets placed including the points you hit on and re bet so it's not only what you pull out of your pocket. Just stay away from the field, horn, hardway and single roll bets and stick to passline and come bets with at least double odds. That gives the house less than 1% mathematical advantage, I sign for my chips and pay with a 2% cash back card which technically gives me a 1.4% advantage over the house for the dollars that are signed (this dwindles down as the money is re bet of course). Doing it this way will give you lots of play and points without too much risked as long as the dice aren't too cold. I play slots too though and the points really rack up on those things, but they take my money almost every time whereas with craps, I can come out a winner a lot more often (losses are a lot bigger too when it's cold though so it evens out I guess).

[Ma Bell]

I think it might be time for all of us to wise up! My wife and I have been members for about 18 years and have seen the pendulum swing both ways. In the beginning (1998 ), we were offered a sheet of about 30+ cruises in December/January that were complimentary at the concierge level stateroom. We have seen it change many times over the years including some years when they didn't publish a list at all. One year there were only 5 cruises on it; Now they seem to have opened up more cruises but the tier level is an interesting twist. If I read it correctly, my wife can play a dollar slot machine and get 3 tier points for one $ 3 bet. I am primarily a craps player and for me to get 3 tier points I need to wager $ 24 (1 tier point for every $ 8 wagered). So if I gamble $8,000 at the table - I get 1000 tier points. My wife plays $ 8,000 in slots and gets 8,000 tier points. Does this seem a little off to anyone else? It seems that maybe I should play slots more.

 

How long does it take to put $8 through a slot machine compared to $8 on a craps table. That's your answer.

[neenee61]

Hi all, I'm back from my Easter cruise on Solstice and yep the new Blue Chip program has been implemented. I actually rec'd an email while waiting for my flight on Thursday 13 April advising that the new program is up and running effective 13 April and my status level is Sapphire.

 

On boarding I touched base with the host and he informed me I was the only Blue Chip on board and first to try new program. I suppose it is what it is as per fact sheet which has already been posted. They have fluffed up the benefits with the likes of Michaels Club - no big deal there for me. Laundry - ah no thanks. After a few days cruising can't afford for my clothes to be shrunk to Barbie size in the dryers (sorry Aust clothing not real good in hot dryers). Internet package - not that into spending my time on ipad or phone when cruising. Drink package- nice but only new benefit for me is free Cafe Bacio coffees during the day as always well looked after with drinks in casinos. Also can get coffee and drinks day and night in Michaels. $$$$$ free casino play....well have always rec'd well over the $1000 on my return cruise so that's no better for me either.

 

At the end of the day all the cruise lines are revamping their casino loyalty programs so it comes down to a personal choice if you wish to continue to gamble or not. Not one is forcing me to gamble and I do enjoy doing so on my cruises and do manage to get a lot of free cruising and heavily discounted.

 

Any questions fire away and I will do my best to answer. Cheers

[FastandFurious]

Did you happen to discuss the discretionary granting of the future reduced or free cruise voucher? It seems like at your level that would/should be offered.

[kk99]

Hi neenee 61,

Thanks for posting and hope you had a great cruise.

 

I do have a few questions for you,

 

1. Were the credits for the laundry, spa and specialty restaurant posted as a dollar obc to your account or just taken off if you used those services? For instance if you did not use the spa, could you use your spa obc in the shops instead?

 

2. What was the stateroom amenity/welcome gift in the cabin?

 

3. Did the host say if there were any other benefits other than the list of comp cruises which Blue Chip sends out periodically? ( which I was told was the annual cruise benefit)

 

It appears that the list of benefits for your tier are similar to other cruise lines and not as generous as before, especially with the bounceback offers no longer based on actual play.