Is the Captain Circle Loyalty Program sailing in the wake of the future?

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Back in the day, it was different.  Miles came from BIS (butt in seat) and the most highly valued benefit was an upgrade.  
 

With hotels, you slept there and there were other benefits.  Breakfast, suites, executive lounge access.  I used to get bottles of beer and wine in my suite upgrade along with special glasses and a bottle opener I took home.  Now, it’s a few bucks off breakfast and a parking place close to the door.

 

Looking at hotel and airline programs, I know what’s coming for cruise lines.  I hope  everyone enjoyed and appreciated the perks while they were there.  

The biggest value with hotel tiers is the multiplier on how fast you earn points, more value than the 15 dollars per person per day instead of supplying breakfast (hilton), or room upgrades. For both hotels and airlines you can get many of the top tier benefits from holding the right credit card, as you could from earning top tier status each year. About the only thing you cannot get is free domestic upgrades on flights.

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by ldtr

[neverbeenhere]

Brand me up a 3% on all, 5% on cruise line purchases credit card and I’m there. 

[startedwithamouse]

Princess loyalty program no longer makes sense as once you're elite, there's nothing more to strive for. And many Princess elites choose standard, and buy nothing more onboard. Similar to a Disneyland AP who walks in the park, goes on rides and spends nothing extra. They bring no extra value to the cruise line.  

 

A new loyalty program should be in line with airlines/hotels, where money spent would turn into Princess Points to redeem on items onboard.  This gives passengers incentives to spend a certain amount each year with Princess.  Did you get Plus or Premier? That could be bonus points awarded. Did you take a ship excursion?  More extra points. , 

 

Princess has already rid themselves of the elites exchanging the minibar for coffee cards (all those cups cost money to the cruise line), but they need to do more. 

 

Princess needs to weed out the old elites and program and come up with a new one.  

 

Note - We're elite.

 

  

Edited April 30, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[jwattle]

5 hours ago, davekathy said:

The plus is if you elect not to get the AI then the CC HH drinks are a great perk/benefit. IMO Celebrity and RC have a lot better loyalty programs and not just for drinks.

 

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder

[Kay S]

15 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

.

 

Princess needs to weed out the old elites and program and come up with a new one.  

 

Note - We're elite.

 

  

Oh dear, will they use a pitchfork or just noxious chemicals? 😶

[startedwithamouse]

9 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Oh dear, will they use a pitchfork or just noxious chemicals? 😶

HAHAHA  They just reset the program. 

 

Current program we use one thing, the laundry perk, that's all since we get Plus every cruise.

[J13C85]

My understanding is that on RC, loyalty benefits count on both Royal and Celebrity (that is what Celebrity told me when I called)  DW and I started cruising in our 30s and like many started with Carnival.  At some point, we felt like we "graduated" and were ready to try a higher end experience.  This can't be unique to us, lol.  I never understood why the benefits weren't good through all the Carnival brands.  I agree with those who say they don't choose a cruise based on loyalty.  That said, if I am ready to try Princess or HAL, Carnival Corp is giving me no incentive to stay in house, and I would also look at Celebrity because I am basically starting from scratch on all of them.

 

We are now Plat on Princess and on our last 2 (and next 2) we were/are in suites.  Now we are thinking we are ready to graduate to a luxury line.  Again, no incentive from Carnival to stay "in house" so we will look at Seaborne, Regent, & Silversea.

 

If you think about it, Carnival spent marketing money to lure a chstomer, sold customer multiple cruises, and then when it is time for that customer to spend more money failed to capitalize on these expenses and put themselves on equal footing with competitors.  Royal does just the opposite, when you are ready to "graduate" to that next level, they give you incentive to stay in the Royal family.

 

Pls forgive any typos

 

[Redwing55]

I don't have a solution, but I feel "cheated" a bit when the perk is something that is already included with some other package.  Like WIFI is great, but you essentially lose it if one gets the premium package.   So go with some discounts or experience.  The early boarding is great as is the tender priority.  

 

Still, I'm grateful for most anything since IMO, the more cruises that one takes, the less that they likely purchase on board.  The frequent cruise crowd knows the tricks and values on board.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Redwing55

[PescadoAmarillo]

I think the generally accepted belief that Elites spend less on board than everyone else is incorrect. I think first time cruisers spend more than everyone else, Gold and Ruby included. Our first cruise (RC in Alaska booked three days before sail date) we bought everything there was to buy. I still have drink recipe cards around here somewhere and photos where we look like kids. But by the second cruise, we’d already slowed our spending.  I don’t think we’re an anomaly on this. Even now we enjoy Princess Plus or premium on shorter cruises and spent thousands on shorex in SE Asia. 
 

So unless Princess can fill their ships with first time cruisers (they can’t), repeat cruisers bring onboard revenue at every level. 

[LACruiser88]

37 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

So unless Princess can fill their ships with first time cruisers (they can’t), repeat cruisers bring onboard revenue at every level. 

Totally agree!  We know many Elite cruisers that spend lots on every cruise, us included.

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, J13C85 said:

Again, no incentive from Carnival to stay "in house" so we will look at Seaborne, Regent, & Silversea.

Just to let you know, Seaborne is owned by Carnival Corporation.

Also when it comes to combining loyalties on Royal and Celebrity there is one caveat.  If you have 5 on each cruise line and you need 10 to reach a certain level, you can't combine the 5 and 5 to reach the 10.  You need to reach 10 on Royal and then Celebrity would match you to their corresponding 10 level.  It's nice, but not that great.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

Oh dear, will they use a pitchfork or just noxious chemicals? 😶

When I weed I use a hoe. 

[J13C85]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Just to let you know, Seaborne is owned by Carnival Corporation.

Also when it comes to combining loyalties on Royal and Celebrity there is one caveat.  If you have 5 on each cruise line and you need 10 to reach a certain level, you can't combine the 5 and 5 to reach the 10.  You need to reach 10 on Royal and then Celebrity would match you to their corresponding 10 level.  It's nice, but not that great.

Thank you.  I do know Seaborne is under the Carnival umbrella.

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, jwattle said:

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder

Yep, that's why I said, "IMO...". In this case it's added value for something we've paid for.

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, J13C85 said:

My understanding is that on RC, loyalty benefits count on both Royal and Celebrity (that is what Celebrity told me when I called)

Celebrity and RC tier levels are reciprocal up to Elite with Celebrity and Diamond with RC. Cruise points do not transfer across the lines. CC and CAS perks/benefits are different between Celebrity and RC and do not cross the lines. 

[shorne]

7 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I’m pretty sure you were instructed not to look behind the curtain.

 

Meaning what? That there are unannounced advantages that one has to track down somehow?

[hobbyfarmer2]

Offering discounts or giving away perks costs Princess money.  The ships have a maximum number of passengers that can cruise.  Carnival is carrying billions of $$$ in debt as a result of surviving (so far) the pandemic.  The debt has to be serviced which means interest paid out and hopefully principle reduction.  The above forces a minimum revenue stream which must be met to run the business in the very competetive premium line cruise segment.  I frankly don't care about loyalty perks as I understand the perks force price increases in other areas to compensate for revenue loss.  DW and I mitigate by purchasing Plus and enjoy a couple of extra drinks a day which compensates quite well for the unmissed perks.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Looking at hotel and airline programs, I know what’s coming for cruise lines.  I hope  everyone enjoyed and appreciated the perks while they were there.  

Airline/hotel loyalty programs differ from cruise line loyalty programs in an important way.

 

Airline/hotel loyalty programs are really designed with the business traveler in mind, people who take multiple trips a year, often multiple trips a month. The casual vacation traveler who may fly and use an airline/hotel a couple of times a year can participate in the programs, but will never have as many benefits as a business traveler.

 

The cruise line loyalty programs do not expect members to cruise many times every year. Most cruisers may take a cruise once a year or once every two years. These programs are designed to entice the cruiser to consider the same cruise line from their next once-a-year cruise.

 

Of course Cruise Critic posters are more likely to take more than one cruise a year. Some practically live on a ship for several months each year. Thus they will likely reach a high loyalty level much faster than the casual cruiser,

 

And, as posts in this thread show, many CC posters have high loyalty status on multiple cruise lines.

 

 

[caribill]

10 hours ago, J13C85 said:

I never understood why the benefits weren't good through all the Carnival brands.  I agree with those who say they don't choose a cruise based on loyalty.  That said, if I am ready to try Princess or HAL, Carnival Corp is giving me no incentive to stay in house, and I would also look at Celebrity because I am basically starting from scratch on all of them.

 

 

I have often been on a Princess cruise where 2/3rds of the passengers were platinum/elite.

 

If Princess allowed equal status to those who have status with the other CCL brands, it could be almost everyone has high status and benefits that are diluted with more participants (priority tendering, return time for free laundry, special disembarkation lounge are examples) become almost meaningless.

 

 

[MissP22]

9 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I think the generally accepted belief that Elites spend less on board than everyone else is incorrect. I think first time cruisers spend more than everyone else, Gold and Ruby included. Our first cruise (RC in Alaska booked three days before sail date) we bought everything there was to buy. I still have drink recipe cards around here somewhere and photos where we look like kids. But by the second cruise, we’d already slowed our spending.  I don’t think we’re an anomaly on this. Even now we enjoy Princess Plus or premium on shorter cruises and spent thousands on shorex in SE Asia. 
 

So unless Princess can fill their ships with first time cruisers (they can’t), repeat cruisers bring onboard revenue at every level. 

 

8 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Totally agree!  We know many Elite cruisers that spend lots on every cruise, us included.

It really depends on where you're cruising to.

How many times can you expect a repeat cruiser to sail the same itinerary & do repeat excursions over & over? Or purchase photo's when they have boxes of them in the closet collecting dust?

Lots of us Elites just prefer the ship as a destination without having to spend extra on things we've done many times over. We've also discovered that we can do without drinking 15 drinks a day & how to soften the blow. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

Airline/hotel loyalty programs differ from cruise line loyalty programs in an important way.

 

Airline/hotel loyalty programs are really designed with the business traveler in mind, people who take multiple trips a year, often multiple trips a month. The casual vacation traveler who may fly and use an airline/hotel a couple of times a year can participate in the programs, but will never have as many benefits as a business traveler.

 

The cruise line loyalty programs do not expect members to cruise many times every year. Most cruisers may take a cruise once a year or once every two years. These programs are designed to entice the cruiser to consider the same cruise line from their next once-a-year cruise.

 

Of course Cruise Critic posters are more likely to take more than one cruise a year. Some practically live on a ship for several months each year. Thus they will likely reach a high loyalty level much faster than the casual cruiser,

 

And, as posts in this thread show, many CC posters have high loyalty status on multiple cruise lines.

 

 

Not so much any more. While frequent business travelers may be thr primary group that hold status on airlines. The credit card holders drive most of the points use. As far as hotels go you can get top status on most of the major chains just by  having one of their credit cards like ihg premier or Hilton Aspire. The benefits more the equal the annual fee.

 

A combined points and status program would provide even infrequent cruisers with points, while frequent cruisers could get benefits for a defined period based upon status. The number of those with status would be a lower number based upon recent history, though it could be longer than just a year.

 

It could also provide the cruisevlines with a major revenue stream selling points to other businesses who award them as part of their business.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[caribill]

With Princess expecting 75% of cruisers to purchase the Plus or Primier package, many, many repeat Princess passengers are spending more than the minimum cruise fare.

[Guest ldtr]

14 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I think the generally accepted belief that Elites spend less on board than everyone else is incorrect. I think first time cruisers spend more than everyone else, Gold and Ruby included. Our first cruise (RC in Alaska booked three days before sail date) we bought everything there was to buy. I still have drink recipe cards around here somewhere and photos where we look like kids. But by the second cruise, we’d already slowed our spending.  I don’t think we’re an anomaly on this. Even now we enjoy Princess Plus or premium on shorter cruises and spent thousands on shorex in SE Asia. 
 

So unless Princess can fill their ships with first time cruisers (they can’t), repeat cruisers bring onboard revenue at every level. 

Of course the entire class of repeat cruisers they need is not all Elite or even Platinum. Princess is now running the oldest average age on the main stream lines (Hal, Celebrity, Princess, Royal, Carnival, NCL).  HAL and Celebrity have been successful in lowering their demographics, while Princess has gotten older. 30 to 35% elite and platinum might be a good mix 50 to 70% is a bit much

[remydiva]

37 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Of course the entire class of repeat cruisers they need is not all Elite or even Platinum. Princess is now running the oldest average age on the main stream lines (Hal, Celebrity, Princess, Royal, Carnival, NCL).  HAL and Celebrity have been successful in lowering their demographics, while Princess has gotten older. 30 to 35% elite and platinum might be a good mix 50 to 70% is a bit much

Short answer.. yes. 
long answer.. yes.

After 20+ Princess cruises and 200 days, we found the ONLY Elite ‘perks’ left that we used was mini bar set up and 10% off ship store purchases including the snacks in Celebration’store’.

I did NOT buy Plus package as hubby non drinker but bought wifi pack ‘till end of cruise’ on last three days for 50% off for $22.50  to be able to check in flights 

and print boarding passes.

 

Free laundry had a 3 day turnaround due to high number of elites on board TA and we only use carryon so don’t have 6 days of clothes! I wash in sink every few days.

 

bottom line rather than reward our loyality, it’s giving me the incentive to look elsewhere at other cruise lines for future cruising. 

 

[BamaVol]

11 hours ago, shorne said:

 

Meaning what? That there are unannounced advantages that one has to track down somehow?

Wizard of Oz reference.  Meaning, the loyalty benefits are an illusion. Don’t look to closely or the illusion vanishes.