Changes coming to Captains Circle Host Position.

[PacnGoNow]

5 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

All mentioned were strictly cruise only packages. We always make our own hotel arrangements. 

Good to hear. 

[gottagocit]

19 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

All mentioned were strictly cruise only packages. We always make our own hotel arrangements. 

I should have noted the promos we were able to use were only available on “basic” packages and not ones with the drinking packages. 

[crusdiva]

Hi all,

Just spoke to a friend - currently a Loyalty and Events Manager (formally Captain’s Circle Host) and I was told this: 

The Loyalty and Events Manager will be moving to a “back office” position renamed Events and Guests Services Supervisor. 

Captain’s Circle members will be directed to Future Cruise Sales to answer membership questions.

Edited May 6, 2023 by crusdiva
Spelling

[cr8tiv1]

I am saddened by this thread.  I have met and had dealings with Loyalty and Events coordinators in the past with much success.  

 

On the other hand, most of my encounters with the Future Cruise person was less than friendly.  Most times, they would tell me that they can't help me since I am booked with a travel agent.  Most times, they were not interested in my "inquiries" unless I was willing to book a cruise with them.    Most times, they didn't have any more answers than what I could find on the website.

 

I will admit that the person I talked to on the Diamond was courteous and helpful. She looked up my sister's account (sister there) to see how many FCDs were available AND explained why she couldn't get OBC for this cruise (I already knew that). 

 

If this means that they will have longer office hours.  If this means that there will be more people available.  If this means they will help solve some onboard issues.  If this means that they will continue to provide question and answer sessions.  If this means that they will cover the duties of the Loyalty Events (CC person).

 

Then I am willing to give them a chance to improve this program.  A little bias since my only experience with Princess changes have been not for the better when they outsource.  It was a horrible change to move to Park West Arts.  It was not a good thing when they went to the lowest bidder for the Medallion.  Etc.

[Jeter02]

3 minutes ago, crusdiva said:

Hi all,

Just spoke to a friend - currently a Loyalty and Events Manager (formally Captain’s Circle Host) and I was told this: 

The Loyalty and Events Manager will be moving to a “back office” position renamed Events and Guests Services Supervisor. 

Captain’s Circle members will be directed to Future Cruise Sales to answer membership questions.

Glad to know they can continue to do their role with their events. But I am sad that they won't be there to answer like any loyalty membership questions. Because all of the captain circle or loyalty of that manager of people hosts whatever you may call them, have always been absolutely lovely to talk with

[crusdiva]

I completely agree. I love just sitting and chatting with the when they’re not too busy.

[VibeGuy]

3 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

The next big question is do we think they will add an extra level beyond Elite in the captain circle? 

Not add.  Add back. That was the whole point of the four unpublished loyalty commend levels that were, being unpublished, quietly eliminated before the restart.  
 

Cross-line loyalty recognition between Carnival brands will happen before they do anything that costs a dime.  They have 12 years of profits owing to bond holders.  

[Jeter02]

8 minutes ago, VibeGuy said:

Not add.  Add back. That was the whole point of the four unpublished loyalty commend levels that were, being unpublished, quietly eliminated before the restart.  
 

Cross-line loyalty recognition between Carnival brands will happen before they do anything that costs a dime.  They have 12 years of profits owing to bond holders.  

I remember when they ended the crossline loyalty. I know Disney just added a new level for guest to hit 25 cruises or more. Oh I agree I wish they would bring back a lot of the benefits they had prepandemic but reality is that most likely will never happen.

[beg3yrs]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I see a big move to subcontract all of the ships functions.  They have already subcontracted the art program, the shops, and the Spa/Salon.  And now the Future Cruise Program.  What is next?  Maybe subcontract the housekeeping to the Holiday Inn?  The restaurants to Denny's?  Maybe they can find a company to navigate the ships too!

 

IMHO not a good direction to take! 

I see a lot of truth in this. As soon as I read the first sentence I immediately thought of the bridge officers and then you mentioned that towards the end of your post. Already we see bridge officers who get "seconded" from one line within the Carnival Corporation to another. I'm pretty sure this happens with the engineering / technical officers as well. Medical staff is another area that may already be subcontracted. We all know the casino staff works for an overarching Carnival Corporation company.

 

While I don't see all of this as a bad thing, what I would miss is if we get a lot of subcontracted areas that are mostly passenger-facing, Princess will begin to lose its "personality" or "family feel" if you will. We all have our favorite captains and the more experienced of us like to mention to captains that we remember them when they were third officers or even deck cadets. Same goes for the entertainment staff. How I love to see a new CD and remember them as a very young junior rookie organizing the champagne bottle ring toss game.

 

Going to stop now as this is making me feel old...

Edited May 6, 2023 by beg3yrs

[neverbeenhere]

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Wrong cruiseline.

Oops! 

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Yes. I am confused with all the negativity. I had been reading in so many posts about how the FCC people had such short hours and long lines when they were available. That actually seems like a poor business practice if you are trying to sell future cruises.

 

I've never talked to either of these people and only once did I try. That was to talk to an FCC person, but their hours were short and when I went during their open hours, like others, the line was too long. 

 

As a shareholder it seems like a department that was begging to be expanded. 

As a cruiser, will it negatively impact something? Maybe, but I'll wait and see. 

Exactly. 

 

We want this business to become profitable.  

 

Old cruisers hate change. New ones will never notice the change, but they will notice the efficiency. 

 

How many sales did they miss out on with one future cruise sales consultant?  Lots.  Now they've looked at this problem and solved it. Why all the complaining?  

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, crusdiva said:

Hi all,

Just spoke to a friend - currently a Loyalty and Events Manager (formally Captain’s Circle Host) and I was told this: 

The Loyalty and Events Manager will be moving to a “back office” position renamed Events and Guests Services Supervisor. 

Captain’s Circle members will be directed to Future Cruise Sales to answer membership questions.

This creates a relationship with the Future Cruise Sales employee to sell cruises. 

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Exactly. 

 

We want this business to become profitable.  

 

Old cruisers hate change. New ones will never notice the change, but they will notice the efficiency. 

 

How many sales did they miss out on with one future cruise sales consultant?  Lots.  Now they've looked at this problem and solved it. Why all the complaining?  

They wouldn’t have missed so many sales, had they been open more hours.  People wanted to book, but not wait in long lines.  Why not just hire more agents and be open during business hours?  
Too late now.

 

However, this is off subject.  Supposed to be about Captain Circle Hostess/Host.

 

[Kay S]

More shenanigans from the "new" Princess.  I am not surprised.  

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

More shenanigans from the "new" Princess.  I am not surprised.  

There was a pandemic.

They are looking at ways to save money.

Our last cruise the CC host was mingling at the Platinum/Elite happy hour. Not necessary. 

[cruzsnooze]

7 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I see a big move to subcontract all of the ships functions.  They have already subcontracted the art program, the shops, and the Spa/Salon.  And now the Future Cruise Program.  What is next?  Maybe subcontract the housekeeping to the Holiday Inn?  The restaurants to Denny's?  Maybe they can find a company to navigate the ships too!

 

IMHO not a good direction to take! 

So with all the subcontracting who are my gratuities going to? The dining staff seems to be only ones that are Princess employees besides  most the officers.

[Guest ldtr]

13 hours ago, crusdiva said:

Hi all,

Just spoke to a friend - currently a Loyalty and Events Manager (formally Captain’s Circle Host) and I was told this: 

The Loyalty and Events Manager will be moving to a “back office” position renamed Events and Guests Services Supervisor. 

Captain’s Circle members will be directed to Future Cruise Sales to answer membership questions.

I was told that the they will maintain their officer status and will be a guest services supervisor, but that the events they will be dealing with are events such as weddings, vow renewals, ash distributions, VIP visits, etc. Not any loyalty related events. 

[Expat Cruise]

They also handle groups on the ships. Like the CC roll calls, I have set up service CC Roll Calls on Princess Cruises. The contact person is the CC host. Just another one of the many things Princess is doing to increase profit, and the costs of customer service. Really sad how far downhill Princess is going.

 

[Happiest when cruising]

9 hours ago, ldtr said:

If you have an issue with you credited cruise days or trips they were the onboard point of contact. If you had trouble with any of your benefits they were another avenue to resolve the issue. If you had an issue and ran into a dead end with customer service they could often put you in contact with the appropriate person to address the issue. If you status changed during b2b cruises they were the one to make sure you got the new benefits.

 

Basically they function as an advocate for guests when other avenues fail.

 

A resource that one did not have to use often, but very handy when one had need.

 

Their direct duties include that they were responsible for all loyalty issues. VIP tender tickets, disembarkation lounges, identify loyalty lunch participants. identify and contact most traveled, MC most traveled luncheon and Captain Circle events.

We just got off the Crown from a BTB. We turned Elite on the 2nd cruise. The first cruise was 15 nights, the next was only 6. I went to see the loyalty desk staff a couple of days before the 2nd cruise started to make sure we were set up properly. I sat with Rheanna for a couple of minutes.  She spent a few minutes entering our new loyalty level on her computer as she said sometimes it isn’t correct. She said…great. You are all set up now. I said, great..so I can send out laundry today?  No…she just set it up manually. She made a handwritten note on her calendar to make sure our medallions were changed to the correct colour at the start of the new cruise. I never heard from her and just went to guest services and had them changed there, when the new cruise started. At the very  least I expected a phone call to congratulate us on the big occasion and make sure everything was fine.  We also waited until the 3rd night to call and ask when our mini bar would be set up. I had read it could take a day or two, so I didn’t worry too much about it. It did seem weird, since we were already on the ship, you would think it would have been one of the first cabins done. It didn’t feel special, at all to have to ask for something we earned. They had no explanation or apology of why we didn’t get it. Of course there was no choice left of which little fun bottles of alcohol to get,  either. We don’t drink much alcohol, but that wasn’t the point. So..

they gave us 20 drinks..which were mostly useless as 2 of the 

last 3 days were port days, so we were gone off the ship all day on those days. There was one of those, how are we doing? notes left in our cabin at the start of the cruise. On the Tuesday, I wrote a few lines about how we were disappointed about not getting the mini bar and having to ask for it, and that we did not feel appreciated for our loyalty. The form asked for feedback, so I kindly told them that not having to ask for something we earned, would be a good start. I hand delivered it to guest services, but never heard from “Tim” the hotel manager, to ask me more about my comments. I’m sure it just got recycled. 
So,our start to their highest loyalty level left me feeling underwhelmed, to say the least. I hope others had better experiences with the CC desk and staff. Oh…I did send out a small load of laundry, so that was a nice perk. It came back in 2 days. 

 

[caribill]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

Personally I would not appreciate anyone asking me how I get paid. That is between me and my employer 

But I bet you would respond politely that you would not be discussing that.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

How many sales did they miss out on with one future cruise sales consultant?  Lots.  Now they've looked at this problem and solved it. Why all the complaining?  

 

o Having more future sales people is good and nobody is complaining about that,

o Being unwilling/unable to work with you about existing reservations is not good.

o Being unable to work with you to resolve Captain's Circle point/days questions is not good.

[caribill]

5 hours ago, ldtr said:

I was told that the they will maintain their officer status and will be a guest services supervisor, but that the events they will be dealing with are events such as weddings, vow renewals, ash distributions, VIP visits, etc. Not any loyalty related events. 

 

Sounds like an existing job, not a newly created position, because Princess has always had someone to do those tasks.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

I especially love going to them to find out how many people are currently sailing and better yet Did I make the top 40 most traveled

 

You will have to see how well the sales people can answer those questions on your next cruise.

[caribill]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I am saddened by this thread.  I have met and had dealings with Loyalty and Events coordinators in the past with much success.  

 

On the other hand, most of my encounters with the Future Cruise person was less than friendly.  Most times, they would tell me that they can't help me since I am booked with a travel agent. 

 

And that would be true on land if you booked with a TA. Princess will not answer any questions on land that concern costs, cabin assignments, changes to the booking, etc., if the booking is with a TA.

[MissP22]

40 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

You will have to see how well the sales people can answer those questions on your next cruise.

There was one cruise that the Capt. Circle Host posted a sign at her desk that informed everyone what the cutoff number was eliminating the usual line of people wanting to know.

Now that responsibility has transferred to the Future Sales person (as well as other questions) they'll be less available for questions about sales. 

I can only wonder how many people will just walk away, not wanting to wait an hour to discuss a future cruise.