Unlinking a C&A partner

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, gmerick said:

As a fraction of cruise fare, Really what does D+ status ammount to?  Not talking the monstrously inflated price of drinks that customers see, but the actual cost to the ship?  Pinacle status does present some perks with real value, but I'm sure the cruise ship accountants can write off D+ and below as a minor advertizing expense.  C&A status does not influence my choice of cruise line.  I'm looking ports, length of cruise, cabin type.  Free alcohol does not interest me.

Not you, but it does to me.  As D+ with 340+ points it benefits in hundreds of $s.  Just a sample of benefits: solo discount, balcony discount, 2 days of free internet, the 5 drinks allowance, the visit to the CL/DL, special seating at events, a couple of bottles of wine and many more benefits.

 

Not sure what your level if accrued benefits does not interest you, then that is your loss.

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

Marital problems.  Why would the new spouse/partner even go on a cruise if treated differently.  No inducement to cruise.

Newbies without a D (or higher) spouse book cruises.  For a newbie with a D spouse, it is a better value.  Other loyalty programs do not give spouses and GF or BF matching status, yet those businesses manage.  If the couple is having marital problems, they should see a counselor not a TA.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[Joseph2018Baltic]

Wouldn't the simple solution be not to link a status unless legally married, or kids. 

[Merion_Mom]

I took my grandchildren on their first cruise last year.  Their parents are D+, and now they are, too.

 

Is this horrible?  When they grow up, and are considering their vacation choices, don't you think that they are going to be more inclined to book a Royal Caribbean cruise because of their D+ status?

 

This is actually how Loyalty Programs are meant to work.

 

🙂 

[PhillyFan33579]

32 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I took my grandchildren on their first cruise last year.  Their parents are D+, and now they are, too.

 

Is this horrible?  When they grow up, and are considering their vacation choices, don't you think that they are going to be more inclined to book a Royal Caribbean cruise because of their D+ status?

 

This is actually how Loyalty Programs are meant to work.

 

🙂 

This is an oversimplification…loyalty programs are designed to reward people who have remained loyal to a company. Your grandchildren have no loyalty to RCI. It is a major flaw in their loyalty program and ends up hurting people who earned their status when cuts are made to benefits because there are too many Ds and too many D+s. Probably sooner than later free drinks for Ds will be eliminated due to the quickly rising number of Ds. It doesn’t help when a lot of these Ds are like your grandchildren and never earned their status by cruising on RCI over and over again. 

[Starry Eyes]

38 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I took my grandchildren on their first cruise last year.  Their parents are D+, and now they are, too.

 

Is this horrible?  When they grow up, and are considering their vacation choices, don't you think that they are going to be more inclined to book a Royal Caribbean cruise because of their D+ status?

 

This is actually how Loyalty Programs are meant to work.

 

🙂 

Well, by that same logic they could make everyone D+ after one cruise, because then they’d be inclined to book another Royal Caribbean cruise…Is that actually how loyalty programs are supposed to work?🤪

[LobsterStalker]

2 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

I took my grandchildren on their first cruise last year.  Their parents are D+, and now they are, too.

 

Is this horrible?  When they grow up, and are considering their vacation choices, don't you think that they are going to be more inclined to book a Royal Caribbean cruise because of their D+ status?

 

This is actually how Loyalty Programs are meant to work.

 

🙂 

That is actually a hilarious statement .

Can you explain where those children have been Loyal in ANY way ?

 

Cheers

[Jetdriver787]

You mean we didn’t have to stay together for 35 years to keep our C&A loyalty level? 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

Truth is, we stayed married for the kids! Neither of us wanted to end up with custody of them! 😭

[gmerick]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:16 AM, nelblu said:

Not you, but it does to me.  As D+ with 340+ points it benefits in hundreds of $s.  Just a sample of benefits: solo discount, balcony discount, 2 days of free internet, the 5 drinks allowance, the visit to the CL/DL, special seating at events, a couple of bottles of wine and many more benefits.

 

Not sure what your level if accrued benefits does not interest you, then that is your loss.

 

C&A points working just as planned.  Value to you is enough to keep you sailing with the company, but again, think of "actual cost to the ship".

Solo discount? 25% off the rack rate, Balcony discount?  $225 off the rack rate.  - similar rates can be found waiting for price drops.  When the sale rate is less than the solo discount rate, are you going to insist on paying the higher rate because you've "earned" it?

2 days free internet -- cost to you, $40, to the ship? nothing.

5 drinks per day - to you $14x5x7=$490, to the ship $70 or even less (what are happy hour prices at home? -- the bottle it comes out of looks the same)

Wine?  On board cost to you? $70/bottle, at home? $7

Haute Monde lounges and seating - a great perk to you, cost to the ship - yeah right.

 

Yes the perks can be written off as advertising, and it works.  Just count the topics here of folks loving the perks and enjoying being among the privileged few.  

 

[Ourusualbeach]

What many people here perceive to be a problem is in fact anything but.

 

Allowing kids to share and then keep their parents status, allowing spouses to match status, not taking away status is brilliant marketing by Royal.  It costs them next to nothing in perks and yet when it comes to decision time as to which cruise line they will spend their $ with Royal instantly has the upper hand (yes I know there are exceptions and some dont cruise for the perks).

 

Look at it this way, it would have been easy to change this years ago and yet here we are.  That right there tells you Royal does not perceive it as a problem.  This same discussion has been ongoing for years and years.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, gmerick said:

Solo discount? 25% off the rack rate, Balcony discount?  $225 off the rack rate.  - similar rates can be found waiting for price drops.  When the sale rate is less than the solo discount rate, are you going to insist on paying the higher rate because you've "earned" it?

Solo rates and balcony discounts are not off the rack rate.  Those 2 perks are actual savings applied to the sale rate  with the exception of the balcony discount and booking suites where the extra savings or obc offered is not combinable with the balcony discount. 

[LobsterStalker]

31 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

What many people here perceive to be a problem is in fact anything but.

 

Allowing kids to share and then keep their parents status, allowing spouses to match status, not taking away status is brilliant marketing by Royal.  It costs them next to nothing in perks and yet when it comes to decision time as to which cruise line they will spend their $ with Royal instantly has the upper hand (yes I know there are exceptions and some dont cruise for the perks).

 

Look at it this way, it would have been easy to change this years ago and yet here we are.  That right there tells you Royal does not perceive it as a problem.  This same discussion has been ongoing for years and years.

I agree completely that from ROYAL's perspective it is brilliant and not a problem . 

Where I would say the problem is is where cruisers who have earned their perks and privileges , lose them or have them reduced or limited , due to numbers getting too high,(may or may not happen)  2 totally different perspectives .I believe Some are concerned  about future reductions (that may or may not happen). 

 

Cheers

[Ourusualbeach]

12 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

I agree completely that from ROYAL's perspective it is brilliant and not a problem . 

Where I would say the problem is is where cruisers who have earned their perks and privileges , lose them or have them reduced or limited , due to numbers getting too high,(may or may not happen)  2 totally different perspectives .I believe Some are concerned  about future reductions (that may or may not happen). 

 

Cheers

I agree but Royal has shown time and time again that they will not make changes to the program but will keep diluting the benefits although personally I will gladly give up my lounge access for the free daily drinks.  

I'll take that change any day of the week.

[LobsterStalker]

18 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I agree but Royal has shown time and time again that they will not make changes to the program but will keep diluting the benefits although personally I will gladly give up my lounge access for the free daily drinks.  

I'll take that change any day of the week.

Yes , the lounge is the last thing I care about . I just hope they don't decide at any point to come after those drinks . They may really have a fight on their hands then ! 

 

Cheers...And Cheers again.. and so on 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:15 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

This is an oversimplification…loyalty programs are designed to reward people who have remained loyal to a company. Your grandchildren have no loyalty to RCI. It is a major flaw in their loyalty program and ends up hurting people who earned their status when cuts are made to benefits because there are too many Ds and too many D+s. Probably sooner than later free drinks for Ds will be eliminated due to the quickly rising number of Ds. It doesn’t help when a lot of these Ds are like your grandchildren and never earned their status by cruising on RCI over and over again. 

i am confused. My dd has cruised since she was 5. I paid for it but she earned it one point at a time. what is the issue with them keeping their point status when they are grown? or am i not reading this correctly?

[toxicfairy]

On 10/31/2023 at 6:13 PM, Another_Critic said:

Yet another reason why there are so many D and above.

 

BF links GF.

Break up.

BF links new GF.

Old GF links new BF.

Rinse and Repeat.

 

Unlinking should revert to tier relative to earned points.

We had to earn ours the old fashioned way. And we just made D after 17 yrs of cruising only when we could afford it.

[Starry Eyes]

7 minutes ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

i am confused. My dd has cruised since she was 5. I paid for it but she earned it one point at a time. what is the issue with them keeping their point status when they are grown? or am i not reading this correctly?

It sounds like your dd has earned lots of points, perhaps as many as her parents if she went on just as many cruises.  This thread is not talking about kids like that.

There are people who have only been on one or a few cruises as minors yet they are D+ (for example) because their parents made D+ before the child turned 18.  They can pass that status to their significant other.

[LobsterStalker]

2 hours ago, toxicfairy said:

We had to earn ours the old fashioned way. And we just made D after 17 yrs of cruising only when we could afford it.

Exactly our timeline !

...First ship Navigator

 

Cheers

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, toxicfairy said:

We had to earn ours the old fashioned way. And we just made D after 17 yrs of cruising only when we could afford it.

Took me 24 years to make D, another 10 years for D+

[SRF]

They did make it hard to link.  You now have to have proof of the same address, such as a driver's license.

 

I agree that partners should go back to their earned status, not status from linking.

[doghog]

14 hours ago, toxicfairy said:

We had to earn ours the old fashioned way. And we just made D after 17 yrs of cruising only when we could afford it.

We made Diamond and Elite before RC and Celebrity came out with the reciprocal program. I have no issue with others being linked but death, divorced, no longer living together, turn 18 then their tier level reverts to what their actual CAS points reflect. With Celebrity kids under 18 can't be CC members. RC needs to do the same. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by doghog

[SRF]

Yeap

[Ourusualbeach]

On 11/4/2023 at 3:35 AM, SRF said:

They did make it hard to link.  You now have to have proof of the same address, such as a driver's license.

 

I agree that partners should go back to their earned status, not status from linking.

That must be very recent.  I have linked profiles for clients within the past couple of months and nothing was required

[SRF]

Last time I looked, that is what their policy said.

 

I know I was concerned when the screwed up and combined my ex-wife and my GFs accounts.   To fix, they had to create a new one for my GF and I was worried about relinking them.

 

It may have been one of those things where the official, published rules say one thing, but the reality is difference, like corkage fees. 😄

 

[Chiliburn]

A update and a answer to my question.

Yes ,they do return to their original tier if unlinked.

In my original question, someone who knows the girlfriend said she returned to gold with only her points.