Loyalty Perks Just Got Better

[ottahand7]

17 hours ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Yes, I understand.  Has HA reached out to these loyal passengers who haven't sailed with them for a while?  Have these passengers written to Seattle to make their preferences known?  I understand that ships age and must be sold or retired, but if a corporation doesn't respond to customer demands, their bottom line may suffer.  I believe HA may be depending upon the "younger crowd" like my 32 year-old-son, who enjoys the newer ships in the HA fleet but isn't enamored of the smaller "older sisters".  He prefers HA over all the other lines, since he doesn't enjoy the theme park atmosphere so prevalent on many other lines.  I wonder how many younger cruisers feel this way.  HA is banking its future, I suppose, on this particular demographic.

Has anyone else gotten this email?   

Don't know why I did.  I am a loyal HA customer and I have sailed them a lot in the last 13 months.  My only complaints that might have made it to Seattle was a lousy meal in Sel de Mer.   Don't fit the younger crowd either.  Probably if I would cough up enough for Seaborn I'd go all in with Regent.  Airfare is a +.  Rather cruise more often than more luxury.  I agree about the "theme park" atmosphere - I love HA for the quiet vibe at the pool, I go for sun and sights of water, wildlife and ports.  We had pure luxury on HA on the balcony of our NS eating very good room service and watched the "world go by".  We saw a small flock of flamingos winging by coming into Grand Cayman last month. 

 

[Hawaiidan]

18 hours ago, kazu said:

 It’s an opinion I think that some of us have.

 

I can name a lot of CC members who used to sail HAL and have moved to Seabourn, Crystal, Azamara, Oceania & Silversea for example.

 

they still pop in here now and then but they don’t sail HAL any longer or very rarely.

I think a number will be looking around with a certain ship leaving the fleet.  There were a number of 4 and 5* Mariners that only sailed that ship. I was amazed when I heard the actual numbers - all stars only achieved on one ship.   So, they will definitely be looking I’m pretty sure.

 That is the  current business model   start the customer low and slowly develop his taste and needs to where he realizes he not only wants the lux/premium lines but needs them.  I think is a totally natural evolution    HAL is just one stepping stone in a big pond... and not at the end all be all.   Its a phase which prepares us for better things

[Hawaiidan]

20 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Maybe Carnival is realizing that HAL's downmarket trajectory is costing them customers and they want to encourage people leaving HAL to stay within the Carnival Corp "family."

No..... they are using HAL  to prepare people to seek out Seabourn.   Its very carefully thought out.    The want to encouraage people to start low and step up several time till they get to the top tier in their line up !!!

[Hawaiidan]

39 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

Has anyone else gotten this email?   

Don't know why I did.  I am a loyal HA customer and I have sailed them a lot in the last 13 months.  My only complaints that might have made it to Seattle was a lousy meal in Sel de Mer.   Don't fit the younger crowd either.  Probably if I would cough up enough for Seaborn I'd go all in with Regent.  Airfare is a +.  Rather cruise more often than more luxury.  I agree about the "theme park" atmosphere - I love HA for the quiet vibe at the pool, I go for sun and sights of water, wildlife and ports.  We had pure luxury on HA on the balcony of our NS eating very good room service and watched the "world go by".  We saw a small flock of flamingos winging by coming into Grand Cayman last month. 

 

 As one ages, like a fine wine,  taste improves.    Quantity stops being quality.    You sail less  but sail way nicer.       There comes a point where it  effects you   some earlier on,,, some later.  There comes a time  when you realize, no matter what HAL just dosen't have it anymore   nor will it get better..

[doublebzz]

I'm not sure HAL is using this as a stepping stone to the more upscale lines.  One would have to know the profitability of each line in order to make a reasoned judgement.    For instance, is a line that has a 450 guest capacity and charges $300 a day more profitable than a line that has a capacity of 2,000 and charges $150 a day; who knows? Secondly, RCCL had had this perk for many years' e.g. if you have status on RCCL, it carries over to Celebrity and Azamara so HAL is not particularly unique in this regard.

[Aquahound]

26 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

No..... they are using HAL  to prepare people to seek out Seabourn.   Its very carefully thought out.    The want to encouraage people to start low and step up several time till they get to the top tier in their line up !!!

 

That's not why they do this.  The typical mass market demographic doesn't change to expensive luxury lines.  Some might, but it's not typical.  Creating a loyalty system that crosses sister lines, like what RCCL did, helps keep people cruising under the same parent corporation rather than wandering to others.  They know most people aren't fanatic loyalists so this helps keep the $$ in Carnival's pocket.  

[Hawaiidan]

6 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's not why they do this.  The typical mass market demographic doesn't change to expensive luxury lines.  Some might, but it's not typical.  Creating a loyalty system that crosses sister lines, like what RCCL did, helps keep people cruising under the same parent corporation rather than wandering to others.  They know most people aren't fanatic loyalists so this helps keep the $$ in Carnival's pocket.  

I think your wrong...that is ok.....   I still think that a lot of mass market customers are becoming more and more discerning to  their cruse experience.     You see it here   I started with Carnival...went to Princess... now I want to try HAL.    And then  Hal isnt delivering...  I want to try something better      There dosen't have to be a huge turn over... because at the top tier there is limited limited capacity and the Premium/LUX lines   dont seem to be at a shortage of former  any line  mass market passengers.

 

If a company like Carnival can offer that option all in one  group...so much the better.     They have a product for every taste and wallet.  

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's not why they do this.  The typical mass market demographic doesn't change to expensive luxury lines.  Some might, but it's not typical.  Creating a loyalty system that crosses sister lines, like what RCCL did, helps keep people cruising under the same parent corporation rather than wandering to others.  They know most people aren't fanatic loyalists so this helps keep the $$ in Carnival's pocket.  

Now if Carnival allowed loyalty points to cross between HAL and Princess, I would definitely enjoy that!

[Hawaiidan]

38 minutes ago, doublebzz said:

I'm not sure HAL is using this as a stepping stone to the more upscale lines.  One would have to know the profitability of each line in order to make a reasoned judgement.    For instance, is a line that has a 450 guest capacity and charges $300 a day more profitable than a line that has a capacity of 2,000 and charges $150 a day; who knows? Secondly, RCCL had had this perk for many years' e.g. if you have status on RCCL, it carries over to Celebrity and Azamara so HAL is not particularly unique in this regard.

The RCCL  model you quote   is the same  the Carnival has for HAl

[StLouisCruisers]

I got that email last week from Seabourn trying to get us to move up to Cunard.  We have sailed Seabourn twice, 24 days each, and loved it.  But we can't do that kind of pricing several times a year.  I'm not really interested in Cunard though and would prefer to stay with Seabourn if I'm going to sail a premium cruise line.  And to answer a question earlier about what's included, yes, alcohol,  gratuities, and specialty restaurants are included, however internet was not.  But it was soooo cheap, and good quality, who could complain about that?

Edited March 19, 2019 by StLouisCruisers

[MTAK]

19 hours ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Yes, I understand.  Has HA reached out to these loyal passengers who haven't sailed with them for a while?  Have these passengers written to Seattle to make their preferences known?  I understand that ships age and must be sold or retired, but if a corporation doesn't respond to customer demands, their bottom line may suffer.  I believe HA may be depending upon the "younger crowd" like my 32 year-old-son, who enjoys the newer ships in the HA fleet but isn't enamored of the smaller "older sisters".  He prefers HA over all the other lines, since he doesn't enjoy the theme park atmosphere so prevalent on many other lines.  I wonder how many younger cruisers feel this way.  HA is banking its future, I suppose, on this particular demographic.

 

I can vouch for this as well as what @tntornadox mentioned previously.  We are in our late 30s/early 40s and have no interest in the mega-ships or party-hardy atmosphere.  We much prefer a more laid back atmosphere. We enjoyed our recent trip on the Eurodam to Alaska (my first cruise) enough that we've booked a Caribbean itinerary specifically on the Nieuw Amsterdam. If that trip goes well we will certainly continue to sail on HAL ships, although admittedly I've primarily been interested in trying one of the newer Pinnacle class ships next time, as opposed to one of the "older sisters".

 

With that being said, Celebrity has an itinerary out of Puerto Rico that we've also been interested in, but that is strictly due to the itinerary rather than the cruise line. From what I've read, the Summit might be a good fit for us for similar reasons HAL is.

[Sue from Canada]

7 hours ago, RuthC said:

I'm not sure which itinerary that route is, so I have no idea how to find any report I may have done on it.
However, I have been to Norway more times than I can count, including several times to Honningsvag, so perhaps I can help there (sorry to derail the thread, OP).

Yes, it is 'cool' in Honningsvag---in more than one sense of the word! The temperature can be pleasantly warm, chilled, or absolutely frigid with the strong wind. Be prepared for anything. In another sense, there is (or at least was; I don't know if it's still there) a really 'cool' ice bar that I thought was a lot of fun. The sail by North Cape is also pretty 'cool'.

Thanks Ruth.  I was going to pack a pair of capris and my light ski jacket.  I like cooler temps more than hot.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

 That is the  current business model   start the customer low and slowly develop his taste and needs to where he realizes he not only wants the lux/premium lines but needs them.  I think is a totally natural evolution    HAL is just one stepping stone in a big pond... and not at the end all be all.   Its a phase which prepares us for better things

 

While we had the Prinsendam it wasn't necessary IMO.  

 

I can say without hesitation that it's staff could have taught the Riviera's a lot of things.

 

It as the only time I saw DH say he would fill out his own survey and write a note to the Hotel Manager/Director - whatever the right term is on O.

 

Not sure Seabourn is in our future.  We will look very carefully after our O experience.  A one off experience not, since three cruises subsequent to it were the same. Now, it's all good again, I think, but that didn't help us.

 

I'll sail the Prinsendam happily one more time and think long and hard for my next cruise, honestly.  but, so far, HAL has the best itineraries from what I have seen and, outstanding ones were on the Prinsendam.

 

 

 

 

 

[HokiePoq]

10 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Royal Caribbean has been doing this across their brands for years and I love it.  It convinced me to step up to Celebrity.  Maybe now, HAL cruisers will take that same step up to experience the things they used to love about HAL.  

Yes, they have and it's the only reason I'd ever consider sailing on RCCL...can transfer Elite status.   I would like to try Princess and should Carnival have reciprocity from HAL to Princess, I'd do it.   

[ivanidea]

As a Cunard Platinum level member, I wish I could get recognition of my loyalty to Carnival on their other cruise lines too.  It's hard going back to the bottom rung when you have become accustomed to the perks.

 

I'm only looking at HAL since they have cruises departing from Florida, and I don't want to fly to a cruise port.

[Randyk47]

I may be wrong but the way I’m reading this offer it’s a short term incentive rather than a permanent change to the loyalty program.   Certainly it may be a “trial balloon” to see if it generates bookings.  Personally my wife and I are one of the past HAL loyalists who have gravitated away from HAL for more reasons than I feel like stating here.   We were, and still are, interested in Seabourn but have been cruising with Silversea but that has been driven by itineraries.   About the time we threw in the towel on HAL Seabourn cut their fleet in half and while new Seabourn ships are coming on line we haven’t found an itinerary on them yet.  Certainly moving our HAL standing to Seabourn would or could have an impact on future choices.    

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

 

First time  we sailed MSC, they took our RCI Diamond Plus status and made us 'Black Card''.

 

It would be great if HAL took our 241 days at sea with RCI and made us 4-Star. But, sadly, we're 32 days short of free laundry.

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, Oak Hill Cruisers said:

 

First time  we sailed MSC, they took our RCI Diamond Plus status and made us 'Black Card''.

 

Great you mentioned MSC.  They'll match any loyalty program; cruise or hotel.  

[Hawaiidan]

18 hours ago, kazu said:

 

While we had the Prinsendam it wasn't necessary IMO.  

 

I can say without hesitation that it's staff could have taught the Riviera's a lot of things.

 

It as the only time I saw DH say he would fill out his own survey and write a note to the Hotel Manager/Director - whatever the right term is on O.

 

Not sure Seabourn is in our future.  We will look very carefully after our O experience.  A one off experience not, since three cruises subsequent to it were the same. Now, it's all good again, I think, but that didn't help us.

 

I'll sail the Prinsendam happily one more time and think long and hard for my next cruise, honestly.  but, so far, HAL has the best itineraries from what I have seen and, outstanding ones were on the Prinsendam.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes,  HAL  is nowhere near top tier lines but I confess has some of the best itineraries.   So good I am booking for a  29 day Tokyo to Sydney.... hitting stuff none of the lux lines hit.. Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Siapan Guam, Gizo...   So, you have to  take your Chevy when the Mercedes in in the shop.  compromise is  reality.       

Like you  I think in the current market/ state of affairs on cruising  I  too dont see a lot of furure in quality cruisig 

 I remember when RVL owned the Princendam  before Seabourn anf then HAL gutted her.!!!!  That was sad to see.

[caribill]

On 3/19/2019 at 3:48 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Now if Carnival allowed loyalty points to cross between HAL and Princess, I would definitely enjoy that!

 

I have been on cruises where 2/3 of the passengers were in the top two loyalty levels. Perks like laundry which should have come back in 36 hours were taking up to five days.

 

If CCL, Princess and HAL allowed shared status, I could see cruises where almost 100% of the passengers were in top tiers and stretching the ability of the ship to provide a great top tiers experience to all.

[DaveOKC]

While I like the idea of shared loyalty programs among the CCL lines, there are negatives to it.

 

I saw what happened to Harrahs/Caesars program once they started this.  For one thing, the VIP lounge, which was originally a nice, quite, respite offering top shelf drinks and good light food (all for free of course) quickly was overrun with the "new" players.  First they restricted access to only one guest (from 4), then the food hours were reduced and the quality really diminished.  Then the top shelf liquors/wines disappeared.

 

So, this move ruined it for the original members and it became a non-event.

 

Harrahs/Caesars mistake was allowing people to accumulate points at any of their properties, thus ALOT more people qualified.

 

I like the idea of transferring loyalty level perks between lines, BUT restricting the earning of days/points to the lines you actually sailed on.  In this way, CCL benefits from keeping their best customers within the CCL family whenever they decide to try another line.  Just my opinion.

[tv24]

For the HAL Mariners who qualify, the big benefit on Cunard is the 6 hours of internet minutes.  On Seabourn, it's one free laundry bag per passenger per week and discounts on excursions.  Could be very attractive depending on the cruise and the passenger's needs.

[*Miss G*]

It looks like the OP is the only one who qualifies.  

[SilvertoGold]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I have been on cruises where 2/3 of the passengers were in the top two loyalty levels. Perks like laundry which should have come back in 36 hours were taking up to five days.

 

If CCL, Princess and HAL allowed shared status, I could see cruises where almost 100% of the passengers were in top tiers and stretching the ability of the ship to provide a great top tiers experience to all.

 

I agree.  HAL has a tough time just getting all the perks for 5 stars correct.  Add more to the mix on any CCL ships and you might have a real mess.

[SilvertoGold]

2 hours ago, tv24 said:

For the HAL Mariners who qualify, the big benefit on Cunard is the 6 hours of internet minutes.  On Seabourn, it's one free laundry bag per passenger per week and discounts on excursions.  Could be very attractive depending on the cruise and the passenger's needs.

 

We would qualify for top tier on Seabourn (through HAL for this one-time offer) and we were impressed with their offerings.  This list goes on and on.