Revamped Tier Levels Coming Soon

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Imagine a virtual Captain's Circle Party...where they'll simply load your Medallion with a digital coupon for a free drink, which does nothing for those of us with a Plus package.

That's what happened on the Royal Princess out of LA on 10/14/19!!!

[caribill]

30 minutes ago, phabric said:

When we finally get to on a cruise, go to the Captain Circle desk and complain about the decease of Elite benefits, if many complain they will see many are not happy.

 

If you are on the ship, it shows that loss of the benefits did not stop you from booking with Princess.

 

More effective might be not booking the cruise and letting Princess management know why.

[dog]

13 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

If you are on the ship, it shows that loss of the benefits did not stop you from booking with Princess.

 

More effective might be not booking the cruise and letting Princess management know why.

I think we have to do the squawking now. Use the contact us- captain circle form to let them know now that you expect them to honour the elite benefits promised when they took your deposit. Yes, they have the right to change things at any time- — then stop peddling the loyalty line for taking away benefits and replacing them with discounts on-board. 

[2 cruises a year]

Old News

Edited July 3, 2021 by 2 cruises a year
Old News

[dog]

I would not. Stop cruising with Princess over this, however, as I have always done, I compare cruise fares—-apples to apples. 
I always remind myself, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”, but for some on here losing $1000/year in Loyalty OBC isn’t small. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by dog

[dog]

6 minutes ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Old News

 

numerous threads and 25 pages 

[2 cruises a year]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

 

numerous threads and 25 pages 

My bad.  That didn't come out right.  I had responded to a completely different post and found out after posting that someone else had responded.  "Old News" was my reason for the delete, not your comment.  Sorry for the misunderstanding. I have to learn to read to the end of a thread before responding.

[wineglass]

As to the comment from cruzsnooze about a friend being moved to a cabin below the waterline. Viking ships have no passenger cabins below deck three, well above the waterline. Below them are an entire deck of restaurants, shops, etc also well above the waterline. I don’t doubt they got a lower class cabin, but not in the bilge.

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, Syracusefan44 said:

The only thing I want to do is get on a cruise ship for the first time since December 2019 and start enjoying life again traveling the world.  
 

If I was actually looking forward to was stepping onboard so I could  complain to the Captains Circle host about losing a limited number of free internet I would stay home.

 

Free laundry and a 10% discount on Princess excursions is fine with me.

After much disappointment I realize that I really need a cruise. I think, personally, a lot of my frustration comes from corporate backing me into buying Princess➕ even though it doesn't really make sense if I can still trade the minibar. I think for me it's a loss of control. I won't like it but I'll buy the internet before boarding using the 50% rebate to partially offset tips. I'll suck up losing loyalty OBC by buying an extra gift card / getting extra 50 bonus card (which oddly enough = my lost loyalty OBC). I did complain to my PVP while refaring a TA and wound up getting extra 300 OBC despite promo stating 100 OBC and having just 100 confirmed when I put it on hold (gotta find out if solos = pay dbl = get dbl OBC). 

 

Overall, I understand their position especially since another thread has 64% buying ➕ so not needing internet, minimally needing more OBC.

 

But it's still disappointing.  

[nocl]

5 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Be careful, we spent many thousands on a suite on a Viking River Cruise and got horrible service .  Our neighbors were moved from a balcony to a below waterline cabin when their original cruise was cancelled.  Viking told them it was an equivalent exchange as the sale they booked under had ended.  If you want to be treated badly, use Viking.

We have found that when things are normal Viking has a good product, but when problems arise some of their business practices leave a bit to be desired.

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Are you thinking of another line, perhaps?  Don't get it.

 

Sun Princess and Sea Princess were small ships in the Australian market since 2007 and left the fleet in 2020.

 

3 hours ago, caribill said:

Have you been on any of HAL's newest ships such as the Nieuw Statendam? They have significantly more live music entertainment in the evening than Princess. The newer HAL ships do not effectively shut down at 9 PM anymore.

 

I haven't. I didn't dislike any of the HAL ships I've been on, I just wasn't blown away by them. But if there were identical itineraries on HAL and RCCI at the same price, I'd pick RCCI because the last RCCI ship I was on did impress me. If HAL were a significant savings, I'd have no problem booking them. I may look into the newer ships and book them just to give it a shot.

 

PS I am more of a daytime guy too, food and nice pools get me on ships. I'll go to a show, especially a Broadway type one, but I don't choose a cruise for it. Not a dancer either, so that's out.

[caribill]

1 minute ago, scottca075 said:

I didn't dislike any of the HAL ships I've been on, I just wasn't blown away by them. But if there were identical itineraries on HAL and RCCI at the same price, I'd pick RCCI because the last RCCI ship I was on did impress me.

 

The newest HAL ships are just as impressive as the newest RCI ships (but without climbing walls, ice skating and water shows) and are just as impressive as the newest Princess ships.

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

With the loss of loyalty OBC  you are loosing more then the laundry service should you  pay for it.    I found their laundry takes too long and comes back shrunk from scalding hot water. It is not a perk I used much at all. 

We gave up on their laundry service years ago due to damage and slow service. Nothing lost there.

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Have you been on any of HAL's newest ships such as the Nieuw Statendam? They have significantly more live music entertainment in the evening than Princess. The newer HAL ships do not effectively shut down at 9 PM anymore.

From what I'm reading/seeing the HAL ships seem to be a step up over Princess and now considering the loss of most Princess perks, offer more value. 

Is there anything that HAL did differently that stood out over Princess. Food, entertainment, service, cabin layout ???

[dog]

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

After much disappointment I realize that.   

 

Overall, I understand their position especially since another thread has 64% buying ➕ so not needing internet, minimally needing more OBC.

 

But it's still disappointing.  

I also understand their position.  This is the first time I have purchased the Plus package,  only because I had FCC which cover most of our cruise fare. Otherwise I would not since my elite internet minutes are sufficient and we are not big drinkers.  

The discounts as benefits makes us spend on-board. 
 

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

I guess the most disappointing realization of all for me is that when Princess finally chose to “re-vamp” their Captains Circle benefits, they chose to make the biggest cuts of all to their most traveled guests. 

[dog]

5 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I guess the most disappointing realization of all for me is that when Princess finally chose to “re-vamp” their Captains Circle benefits, they chose to make the biggest cuts of all to their most traveled guests. 

Yes, 
In your case you really took a hit. 
 

To me, I see them marketing to a younger clientele- app requiring smart phone/ device, spenders in spas, shops, photos, ship excursions 

While many posting as Platinum/ elite say they don’t spend much on-board. 
 

 

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, dog said:

Yes, 
In your case you really took a hit. 
 

To me, I see them marketing to a younger clientele- app requiring smart phone/ device, spenders in spas, shops, photos, ship excursions 

While many posting as Platinum/ elite say they don’t spend much on-board. 
 

 

I have it on good authority that @PescadoAmarillo is not all that "old".  They are still younger retirees.  We are not far from their age range and don't think of us as old.

😉

 

Sure, Princess needs to continue to attract new and younger clientele and hope to retain them over the years as the really older clientele will stop traveling and sadly pass away as well.

[dog]

36 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I have it on good authority that @PescadoAmarillo is not all that "old".  They are still younger retirees.  We are not far from their age range and don't think of us as old.

😉

 

Sure, Princess needs to continue to attract new and younger clientele and hope to retain them over the years as the really older clientele will stop traveling and sadly pass away as well.

I am not implying ANyONE on the board is OLD!

 

my word:  Younger 

 

your word: OLD 

 

please don’t change the meaning of my post 

Edited July 3, 2021 by dog

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, dog said:

I am not implying ANyONE on the board is OLD!

 

my word:  Younger 

 

your word: OLD 

 

please don’t change the meaning of my post 

Sorry.  Point taken.  

[Daniel A]

10 hours ago, wineglass said:

As to the comment from cruzsnooze about a friend being moved to a cabin below the waterline. Viking ships have no passenger cabins below deck three, well above the waterline. Below them are an entire deck of restaurants, shops, etc also well above the waterline. I don’t doubt they got a lower class cabin, but not in the bilge.

Actually, it was my comment about friends being moved to a below waterline cabin.  The cruise started in Paris and traveled the Seine.  It was shortly after the Paris terror attacks in November 2015.  Due to subsequent cancellations from uneasy passengers, the cruise got consolidated with another one.  The cabin is well below the water line in a Viking Longship.  See photos of a Longship.  The small windows at the waterline are from passenger cabins.

 

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Actually, it was my comment about friends being moved to a below waterline cabin.  The cruise started in Paris and traveled the Seine.  It was shortly after the Paris terror attacks in November 2015.  Due to subsequent cancellations from uneasy passengers, the cruise got consolidated with another one.  The cabin is well below the water line in a Viking Longship.  See photos of a Longship.  The small windows at the waterline are from passenger cabins.

 

 

Obvious mixup between one writing about a river cruise and the other assuming an ocean cruise.  I admit I was in latter camp due to the context, but this post clarifies.

[manunia]

i think i would be more open to changes if i could have some options.

 

Here is an example: there are 10 choices for perks and elites can chose any 5 (or 3 or 4) to receive.

 

Personally, i have been using 3 perks on my cruises: priority embarkation /disembarkation, exchanging mini-bar set up for coffee, and free internet minutes mainly for flight check and to follow up with my family if there is more than one sea day in a row (i am spending all my work time on computer and do not want to deal with internet/typing on my time off). Upgraded bathroom amenities have been a joke for a long time. I have not used the others for different reasons. Loyalty money was an extra bonus.

But now, I need to have a phone/tablet that would work with Medallion Class, care it with me all the time (i used to turn it on only for port days and model did not make a difference for simple needs), priority boarding in your group you got lucky to get into, buy an internet package to use only during sea days/flight check in - all of the above makes me feel that i got punished for going on the cruise.

at least, when coffee cards were cancelled and coffee package only for current cruise was invented, there was some revenue involved (i am Not talking about people who were selling it). what revenue would come out from removing priority embarkation /disembarkation?

 

Please do not attack me for my personal opinion.

[roamerfromtexas]

I agree with pescado amarillo.  I think Princess threw those of us who cruise extensively under the bus.  I understand the need for revenue, but 164 days booked for next summer and fall at higher prices and minimal fcc isn’t peanuts.  We aren’t rich but enjoy cruising and save accordingly so we can.

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We gave up on their laundry service years ago due to damage and slow service. Nothing lost there.

 

Laundry services is one of the few Elite perks my parents ever use and have never had an issue. Since I stay in suites usually I get laundry service too and use them all I can. I can pack lighter for a longer trip and return home with mostly clean clothes. Great benefit in my eyes.

 

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

From what I'm reading/seeing the HAL ships seem to be a step up over Princess and now considering the loss of most Princess perks, offer more value. 

 

But to be clear, you've never been on HAL?

 

I have, and I will repeat for the record, I like HAL, but it isn't better (or really that different from Princess) and their loyalty program isn't any better.

 

[Daniel A]

15 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Be careful, we spent many thousands on a suite on a Viking River Cruise and got horrible service .  Our neighbors were moved from a balcony to a below waterline cabin when their original cruise was cancelled.  Viking told them it was an equivalent exchange as the sale they booked under had ended.  If you want to be treated badly, use Viking.

 

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Obvious mixup between one writing about a river cruise and the other assuming an ocean cruise.  I admit I was in latter camp due to the context, but this post clarifies.

I originally posted that it was Viking River Cruises I was referencing.  After my experience and my neighbor's experience I would have to be Shanghaied to get me on another Viking product.  I suspected there was a misunderstanding of my original post.  This is one instance where a picture was worth a thousand words...🙂

 

@nocl is absolutely correct.  If everything goes right it is likely a pleasant experience.  But, if you encounter any difficulties their customer service is non-existent.  I just hope people use Viking with their eyes wide open.