Always Included for Elite

[Godblessourhome]

Now that Celebrity has increased the cruise price to become "Always Included".  They takes away most of the perks for Captain's Club Elite and above benefits.  Now Celebrity includes drink package while Elite and above always have complementary drinks during cocktail hours and 290 mins free internet for Elite+.  Now these amenities are included in the Always Included cruise price which you have to pay for them.

It looks likes that you have to pay for your Captain's Club benefits which was included!!

Your comments and thoughts please.

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, Godblessourhome said:

Now that Celebrity has increased the cruise price to become "Always Included".  They takes away most of the perks for Captain's Club Elite and above benefits.  Now Celebrity includes drink package while Elite and above always have complementary drinks during cocktail hours and 290 mins free internet for Elite+.  Now these amenities are included in the Always Included cruise price which you have to pay for them.

It looks likes that you have to pay for your Captain's Club benefits which was included!!

Your comments and thoughts please.

There are SO very many threads here that have addressed to Infinity and Beyond...

[KikisDad]

I believe they increased the discount to upgrade internet. You also get 10% off drink upgrade. We still have the category upgrade. There is more too. Now that cruises are restarting and new surveys will go out, I’m sure they will feel pressure and make changes. 

[Godblessourhome]

1 minute ago, KikisDad said:

I believe they increased the discount to upgrade internet. You also get 10% off drink upgrade. We still have the category upgrade. There is more too. Now that cruises are restarting and new surveys will go out, I’m sure they will feel pressure and make changes. 

Thanks for your thoughts. 

It will be a good business idea to have choices of pricing, i.e., one price for NOT always included but keep the old Captain's Club loyalty benefits; and another one for Always Included pricing.

Celebrity is going to lost our business with the current price structure...

[jg51]

You are quite correct, "Godblessourhome."

A serious injustice has been inflicted on all Captain's Club members (at least within the Elite and Elite+ tiers).

 

Despite several months of complaints, sent by e-mail and posted in a large number of threads here (at Cruise Critic) over the last six months), Celebrity has chosen to ignore good people like you and us, whose "loyalty" has now earned us almost nothing.  [Sorry, KikisDad, but the two little things that you mentioned (which we don't even want) are of no consolation/benefit.]

 

"Godblessourhome," we just mentioned that your complaints have been voiced many times during 2021, on various threads.  Here is a link to the most recent one, where you can read what people said (in May) about this topic:

.

"God keep our land glorious and free!  O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."

[jelayne]

And the troll is on yet another thread.

[CharlieCharlieCharlie]

There are SO very many threads here that have addressed to Infinity and Beyond...

 

"Godblessourhome," we just mentioned that your complaints have been voiced many times during 2021, on various threads.  Here is a link to the most recent one, where you can read what people said (in May) about this topic:

42 minutes ago, Godblessourhome said:

Now that Celebrity has increased the cruise price to become "Always Included".  They takes away most of the perks for Captain's Club Elite and above benefits.  Now Celebrity includes drink package while Elite and above always have complementary drinks during cocktail hours and 290 mins free internet for Elite+.  Now these amenities are included in the Always Included cruise price which you have to pay for them.

It looks likes that you have to pay for your Captain's Club benefits which was included!!

Your comments and thoughts please.

 

37 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

There are SO very many threads here that have addressed to Infinity and Beyond...

Sometimes these topics are of interest to some of us who don't read these boards multiple times every single day, and might not have even thought of the questions presented, but find them of interest.  No need to make comments that sound like chastising people for posting questions, topics of discussion and things that interest them at the moment.  If you are not interested, don't click on the post to read it.  Thank you for the link, jg51, it is most helpful. Not every single reader was interested in this in May, but might be interested now, and/or never even looked at cruise critic back in May when they were not sailing.  If questions and comments are occasionally repeated, there would be very little that is new and of interest to actually read here.

[Bruin Steve]

Yes, discussed many times before...

But it's also been evolving long before AI...

Those perks were devalued when they started marketing cruises with two perks included or three perks included, making the pricing too difficult to pass up the deal--but worth far more to newbies than Elite or Elite Plus.

 

That 10% off on drink package upgrade is fairly worthless as well.  The upgrade cost what?  About $11 per day?  10% off means on a 7-night cruise, you get a whopping $7.70 discount--but you must opt for this prior to the cruise.

 

Pretty much, the one decent perk left is the free bag of laundry at Elite or two at E+...

 

But, also realize that the Captains Club perks were never something anyone guaranteed to you.  They could add, they could take away.  So never cruise just to collect points.  Choose your cruise based on the cruise itself and the deal you get on each cruise.  Points are irrelevant.  Perks are close to irrelevant--You could always buy drinks and laundry and internet...just cost you a little more.  But nothing is really "free', it's blended into the price somewhere.  The Captains Club and all other cruise line loyalty programs are just marketing gimmicks.  It's nice to get stuff, but you should get stuff because you paid for the cruise you are on.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

There are cruise only rates, they generally become available around 90 days of the sailing.

[4774Papa]

1 hour ago, Godblessourhome said:

Now that Celebrity has increased the cruise price to become "Always Included".  They takes away most of the perks for Captain's Club Elite and above benefits.  Now Celebrity includes drink package while Elite and above always have complementary drinks during cocktail hours and 290 mins free internet for Elite+.  Now these amenities are included in the Always Included cruise price which you have to pay for them.

It looks likes that you have to pay for your Captain's Club benefits which was included!!

Your comments and thoughts please.

AI means higher prices and AI means most of our Elite benefits are history.   Now cruising with X means paying a lot more than with Royal C or Princess.

[LGW59]

5 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

AI means higher prices and AI means most of our Elite benefits are history.   Now cruising with X means paying a lot more than with Royal C or Princess.

Always good to have options/choices 

[TeeRick]

57 minutes ago, Godblessourhome said:

Thanks for your thoughts. 

It will be a good business idea to have choices of pricing, i.e., one price for NOT always included but keep the old Captain's Club loyalty benefits; and another one for Always Included pricing.

Celebrity is going to lost our business with the current price structure...

We have already given Celebrity plenty of business and money if we are Elite or above.  Always Included* is the latest name for a marketing program in effect for years with bundled tiered pricing. Remember Go Big, Go Better, Go Best?  And many others?  All of these programs were in place over the years and not really in competition with loyalty benefits.  Not sure why now there is such concern about this strategy.    Just because of a new name for the program (AI*)?  And  yes the *asterisk is always there for the fine print. Now and in the past, it is your money-your choice on whether Celebrity is still offering a good value and price and overall experience based on your cruising interests.  

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, jg51 said:

... O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."

 

That's a lot easier to do with the border closed.

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, jg51 said:

A serious injustice has been inflicted on all Captain's Club members

Thanks for the chuckle 🤣

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Godblessourhome said:

Now that Celebrity has increased the cruise price to become "Always Included".  They takes away most of the perks for Captain's Club Elite and above benefits.  Now Celebrity includes drink package while Elite and above always have complementary drinks during cocktail hours and 290 mins free internet for Elite+.  Now these amenities are included in the Always Included cruise price which you have to pay for them.

It looks likes that you have to pay for your Captain's Club benefits which was included!!

Your comments and thoughts please.

Now you're really going to be bummed as E+ gets 240 minutes of internet not 290 minutes. There still is other CC perks/benefits besides the CC HH drinks and WiFi  that we consider a value to us.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

We have already given Celebrity plenty of business and money if we are Elite or above.  Always Included* is the latest name for a marketing program in effect for years with bundled tiered pricing. Remember Go Big, Go Better, Go Best?  And many others?  All of these programs were in place over the years and not really in competition with loyalty benefits.  Not sure why now there is such concern about this strategy.    Just because of a new name for the program (AI*)?  And  yes the *asterisk is always there for the fine print. Now and in the past, it is your money-your choice on whether Celebrity is still offering a good value and price and overall experience based on your cruising interests.  

We are Elite +  and don't (for medical / social reasons) drink alcoholic. The new system is a disaster and grossly unfair. Compare 2 Transatlantics cruises on Silhouette with the same cabin each time. In 2019 for a 15 night including tips we paid £3110. In 2021 for an 11 night we will pay £4178 - where is the value in that?. For solo passengers it is even worse they pay 2 lots of tips, for 2 drink packages and 2 Internet packages - where is the fairness in that?

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, the penguins said:

We are Elite +  and don't (for medical / social reasons) drink alcoholic. The new system is a disaster and grossly unfair. Compare 2 Transatlantics cruises on Silhouette with the same cabin each time. In 2019 for a 15 night including tips we paid £3110. In 2021 for an 11 night we will pay £4178 - where is the value in that?. For solo passengers it is even worse they pay 2 lots of tips, for 2 drink packages and 2 Internet packages - where is the fairness in that?

Remember the pandemic, cruise lines have lost billions of $$$.  The grocery store is also now more expensive, almost every single item, esp. meat, chicken, seafood and paper goods.  I don't call it unfair at all, I call it trying to keep a business intact.

[Godblessourhome]

4 minutes ago, the penguins said:

We are Elite +  and don't (for medical / social reasons) drink alcoholic. The new system is a disaster and grossly unfair. Compare 2 Transatlantics cruises on Silhouette with the same cabin each time. In 2019 for a 15 night including tips we paid £3110. In 2021 for an 11 night we will pay £4178 - where is the value in that?. For solo passengers it is even worse they pay 2 lots of tips, for 2 drink packages and 2 Internet packages - where is the fairness in that?

Agreed! We are Elite+ too.  We don't drink alcoholic - just don't like the taste!  The internet is the perk that we can really use.  Now that the new "AI" pricing is so much higher than before that I don't see the added value at all.  Sorry, we will choose another cruise line and compare the value in our future cruise bookings.

[TeeRick]

32 minutes ago, Godblessourhome said:

Agreed! We are Elite+ too.  We don't drink alcoholic - just don't like the taste!  The internet is the perk that we can really use.  Now that the new "AI" pricing is so much higher than before that I don't see the added value at all.  Sorry, we will choose another cruise line and compare the value in our future cruise bookings.

Yes I definitely understand what you are saying and also what @the penguinsis saying. No disagreement from me.  So for your situation(s) then Celebrity is not a good value for you anymore with their AI pricing strategy.  OK then the ball is in your court.  No need to view this as unfair- just choose another cruise line that gives you the value you need and deserve for your money.  Just because you are Elite+ does not mean you need to give your future business to Celebrity.  Unless of course you are pretty close to Zenith and that means something to you.  

[cruising teacher]

Zenith is definitely not what it used to be😥

[mom says]

5 hours ago, Godblessourhome said:

It will be a good business idea to have choices of pricing

Of course. There are still fares available that are base fares, without the AI features. You just have to look for them. Or have your TA look for them.

 

Or you can move to another line, where you may pay less, and have no loyalty perks.

 

So, there are choices for pricing. Choose what suits you best.

[grandgeezer]

4 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Yes, discussed many times before...

But it's also been evolving long before AI...

Those perks were devalued when they started marketing cruises with two perks included or three perks included, making the pricing too difficult to pass up the deal--but worth far more to newbies than Elite or Elite Plus.

 

That 10% off on drink package upgrade is fairly worthless as well.  The upgrade cost what?  About $11 per day?  10% off means on a 7-night cruise, you get a whopping $7.70 discount--but you must opt for this prior to the cruise.

 

Pretty much, the one decent perk left is the free bag of laundry at Elite or two at E+...

 

But, also realize that the Captains Club perks were never something anyone guaranteed to you.  They could add, they could take away.  So never cruise just to collect points.  Choose your cruise based on the cruise itself and the deal you get on each cruise.  Points are irrelevant.  Perks are close to irrelevant--You could always buy drinks and laundry and internet...just cost you a little more.  But nothing is really "free', it's blended into the price somewhere.  The Captains Club and all other cruise line loyalty programs are just marketing gimmicks.  It's nice to get stuff, but you should get stuff because you paid for the cruise you are on.  

Perks blended into the price? I think not, the Ai some of it most definitely. Until now A person, who is Elite Plus pays exactly the same price as a person taking their first cruise. The Elite Plus gets 240 minutes of internet, free drinks everyday, except embarkation day and Captains Party, for two hours, two bags of laundry, free specialty coffee, and others. What does the newbie get?

As far as AI, the cruises I looked at, the Simply Sail was only $200 p.p. less, which includes the tips.

Take the tips out, so you have a direct comparison, and they are giving you the streaming wi-fi and classic drink package for a little over $14 p.p. per day. You really think that's what's happening??

You can fool some of the people all of the time.

[Straughn]

As E +, I have been following this thread. Since the AI pricing was offered, I have been following a number of threads related to the pros and cons of AI. I often sail solo, so I totally appreciate and agree with the comments about paying for a product/service you don’t want or need. There are currently, several X cruises available which have solo pricing. All are inside the 90-day final payment window.
 

That window appears to be when “simply sail” is available. While that is good for some, many cruisers need to plan farther in advance than 90 days. I think Celebrity needs to offer two prices on all cruises- AI and no perks included. The difference between the two does not need to be the total $$ cost of the perks. It needs to be enough to satisfy passengers who do not want to pay for all the perks. If not paying for alcohol or wi-fi is important to a cruiser, then give him/her their loyalty benefit option. It isn’t necessary to reduce the cost of the cruise by the total of alcohol, wi-fi and tips. 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

As long as we each get 1 bag of laundry (up to 30 pieces) and 2 bags each once we make elite+, we're good! 😎

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, Straughn said:

As E +, I have been following this thread. Since the AI pricing was offered, I have been following a number of threads related to the pros and cons of AI. I often sail solo, so I totally appreciate and agree with the comments about paying for a product/service you don’t want or need. There are currently, several X cruises available which have solo pricing. All are inside the 90-day final payment window.
 

That window appears to be when “simply sail” is available. While that is good for some, many cruisers need to plan farther in advance than 90 days. I think Celebrity needs to offer two prices on all cruises- AI and no perks included. The difference between the two does not need to be the total $$ cost of the perks. It needs to be enough to satisfy passengers who do not want to pay for all the perks. If not paying for alcohol or wi-fi is important to a cruiser, then give him/her their loyalty benefit option. It isn’t necessary to reduce the cost of the cruise by the total of alcohol, wi-fi and tips. 

 

The reason I cruise or travel for that matter, is to have a fun, relaxing, exciting vacation.  Good food, sights, people, drink etc.  if the options I see are not to my liking I simply find one that is.  I/we all have a choice on how we decide to spend our money.  If one does not like what a particular cruise is offering, there are plenty of other ships in the sea.