Princess "Commodores"

[judyjbest]

I hit Commodore as a TA the first day it was available. Our graduation cruise isn't until next year, but our first cruise after that was in 12/06. I received a black card, while my husband had a regular card. We had a stocked mini-bar, appetizers in the stateroom, priority tender service, internet minutes, a complimentary wine tasting, 10% boutique discount, and priority disembarkation. These benefits were only mine, not my spouse's. So, he paid for the wine tasting and could not get the discount with his card. He received the priority tender service and disembarkation lounge as my companion. These do not show up on your bookings online though, as those show your real status. You only have these benefits aboard the ship. And, you should have learned these items as you were accomplishing your Commodore status.

 

As travel agents, we commend each of you who achieved this status through sailing days! You are the best!

[DrivesLikeMario]

The funny thing is, when I reached the Commodore Level, I was told a couple of times by the Princess Academy reps. that my cruise card would be just like it always is - no color change whatsoever. When I boarded my first regular (non-TA) cruise, I was surprised to see that I had a black Elite Level card.

Go figure. :rolleyes:

 

Now if they'd just release a 7 night grad. cruise with a little more notice, I'd actually be able to use that free cruise! :cool:

[DrivesLikeMario]

As said.....this must be different from the TA program. As yet, I don't believe that Princess has rolled out something higher than Elite. Surely we would have heard about it from those holding a new 'ranking'.

 

Yes, it's for TAs only. There are no others that I know of - just TAs that have completed the 25 training modules, taken the 25 tests, then the final course and final exam and passed them all.

 

If you do all of that, you are automatically at the Elite Level with the Captain's Circle and are privy to all those benefits. :)

[Times Prince]

DH and I received our Commodore pins in 1984, after our first Princess cruise. We still wear them, along with our Elite(me) & Platinum (DH) pins. More than a couple of Captains have commented on the old pins. One told us to always wear it with our current level because it was the first recognition pin given to passengers.

 

As said.....this must be different from the TA program. As yet, I don't believe that Princess has rolled out something higher than Elite. Surely we would have heard about it from those holding a new 'ranking'.

We only made it to Captain in the old Captain's Circle rankings. We had a couple on one of our cruises receive their Commodore pin, and they received quite a lot of attention from the staff in the dining room.

 

We wore the Captain pins long after the new program cut in until we finally embarrased the onboard CC rep by letting her know the reason we wore it was because Princess never sent us the Platinum pins... We got some strange looks from some of the ship's officers in the receiving lines.

[crazy4cruzin]

Hi everyone - I just made Commodore and will be going on my first Princess cruise(10 days) in order to experience Princess first hand. I've been selling Princess for a long time but never had the opportunity to cruise on one of the ships. I am so looking forward to it. Can anyone that has cruised with the Elite black card tell me if the appetizers and afternoon tea in the cabin are a 'one time' deal or can you request those daily. Also if I have priorty embarkation/disembarkation I assume my family will also be included (that would make sense to me). What have your experiences been since achieving Commodore status and going on a Princess cruise with this status. Any other special treatment onboard such as a bridge tour, galley tour, etc.

[Toto2Kansas]

Appetizers are delivered on formal nights only, if you put our your request that morning. They are not available for every night to those with a black card.

We have never requested Tea in the cabin and not sure how they work this with embarkation/debarkation as we are both Elite and travel together.

 

BUT........now I am a bit confused. Didn't they teach you all this in the coarse for Princess which gave you the black card? I thought that extensive education when it came to Princess was part of the training. And knowing what Elite Princess passenger receive to me would be part of it.

Don't yell at me for this question please, I am just asking. :)

[aaerobear]

You go Toto, thats what I thought as well.

[Toto2Kansas]

You go Toto, thats what I thought as well.

 

 

Please don't misunderstand my question, I am honestly not trying to cause a debate about this.

But, for someone carrying a black card on Princess, taking all these classes/coarses to achieve Elite Status with the cruise line, admitedly selling lots of Princess cruises in the past, but never sailing on the line, I would expect them to know some of these answers and not relying on a message board for information.

 

If I used a TA and was sailing on my first cruise with Princess as an Elite member of the Captain's Circle, I would expect my TA to be giving ME the answers to these questions, not the other way around.

 

I met a TA on a cruise that had just made Commodore right when this started. I had never answered so many Princess questions on one cruise in my entire life. At that point, it really made me wonder what Princess was teaching in these classes as some of these questions were something TA's should already know if they are selling Princess cruises in their business.

 

Sorry if this statement offended anyone, but it is just the way I look at this Commodore Status.

[judyjbest]

BUT........now I am a bit confused. Didn't they teach you all this in the coarse for Princess which gave you the black card? I thought that extensive education when it came to Princess was part of the training. And knowing what Elite Princess passenger receive to me would be part of it. Don't yell at me for this question please, I am just asking. :)

 

It's a fair question, Toto. And, this is probably not the correct forum for TAs to get their questions like this answered. The Princess training teaches you the benefits for each Captain's Circle level, but not the little details that you learn from experience, like how often the canapes are available.

 

So, I was confused by the OP asking what he/she would receive as a Commodore, because that was part of the training. How often your mini-bar is restocked or canapes are available in the stateroom is not!

[DrivesLikeMario]

That's true...you don't learn the little details. The training is mostly on itineraries, ships, FCC's, using their booking engine, e-docs, selling, selling and oh, did I mention selling? :D

 

Crazy4cruzin - When we were on the Diamond with my Elite card, our friends were not invited into the priority lounge with us even though they were traveling with us. I'm sure you could bring your traveling companions in though. I do think it depends on the port you're at, as they are all different.

 

I cannot imagine how hard it has been for you to sell a product you have never experienced before! :( You'll be so glad you tried Princess - it'll make it easier on you on the long run. Happy selling and sailing! :)

[crazy4cruzin]

The courses are very informative and I learned much from them, but they do not supply us TA with minor details like the kind that I asked. Yes, I have sold many, many Princess cruises as well as other cruise lines that I have not had the pleasure or good fortune (or extra money) to cruise on, but I can tell you that my clients have always been very well informed by me about their cruise and what to expect. I do my homework and then some for each cruise that I sell. Even if I have not cruised on Princess I am well informed about the ship and what is available and usual policy even before I took the courses, all I was asking about was minor details that will not make or break this cruise for me, I just like to be well informed before I go on any cruise. Cruise Critic is a great message board that keeps me current with what is going on with each cruise line and ship and if I need additional information I ask my questions to others. This is a way to learn more and I want to always be learning, that is what makes a TA a good one. I may not always have every answer for my clients, but you can bet that I will find out the answer for them.

[cruisequeen2007]

I am a Princess Commodore and took my cruise in April aboard the Star Princess! It was a fantastic cruise! The amenities included free mini bar set-up (you can make your requests in "My Princess"), dry cleaning (it's true- we had several pieces laundered- not the best dry cleaning, but sufficient), priority tendering (it does not work for the return from the island), upgraded bathroom amenities and bed sheets (we had to request these once onboard- they were late in delivering them), complimentary cocktail party, complimentary wine tasting, 10% discount in the gift shops, $75 of free internet, and priority embarkation. I believe that was all of them. We enjoyed all of the amenities, but we did not feel that special. The main issue was that we did not have any of our amenities when we got to our staterooms. 7 days later, we still didn't have a sign outside our door stating our Elite status. All that said, it really was a wonderful cruise, and when you earn a cruise like this, you really can't complain! :) We received an upgrade, but it was still an inside stateroom. I'm also a Cunard Commodore, and my husband and I are excited for that cruise in November; that'll be a 10 day Caribbean cruise! Enjoy your cruises fellow Commodores, and thank you Princess and Cunard for being the most generous cruise lines!! :)

[marilynbn]

Cruisequeen2007- Wow you are fortunate! I was also one of the first to become a Princess Commodore and a Cunard Commodore and in each case I was not able to get on the good cruises. There was nothing over a couple of days of cruising when I completed the Princess one and then only Transatlantics for the Cunard ones. I am hoping to make use of the free cruise perks but so far nothing comes up. Unfortunately the Princess ones entail long, expensive flights to South America or last minute sailings, which I simply can't do. I love the training, best of any I have done but I just hope that I can avail myself of the real prize. Marilyn ;)

[vince_g]

"Don't you read the posts that come before yours?"

 

 

Why - I read the OP's post and there was no mention of being a TA - Anyone can become a TA if they want.

 

Ron

 

 

One of the problems with these boards is people who don't even take the time to read the thread so they can post constructive responses, and then go looking for confrontation at that!

[Toto2Kansas]

"Don't you read the posts that come before yours?"

 

 

 

 

 

One of the problems with these boards is people who don't even take the time to read the thread so they can post constructive responses, and then go looking for confrontation at that!

 

You are sooooooooo correct on that one! LOL ;)

[coiran]

"Don't you read the posts that come before yours?"

 

 

 

 

 

One of the problems with these boards is people who don't even take the time to read the thread so they can post constructive responses, and then go looking for confrontation at that!

 

FYI _ I did read the OP's post and it made no mention of being a TA - perhaps this thread should be labeled "for Travel Agents Only".

 

I did not "confront" anyone. I merely said that the "commodore" status along with the "Captain" status and all the others ( I have all the pins BTW) were replaced with the new system.

 

I didn't know that Cruise Critic was only for Travel Agents. As a matter of fact I was under the impression it was not for travel agents.

 

Sorry if I offended any TA's.

Ron

[jff50]

It doesn't give me a lot of confidence in travel agents, if they have to come to cruise critic to get information on the benefits of cruising with Princess. For the sake of your own image, you might want to carry on discussions like this at a less public forum.

[marilynbn]

Ouch!:(

[Samcorl]

It doesn't give me a lot of confidence in travel agents, if they have to come to cruise critic to get information on the benefits of cruising with Princess. For the sake of your own image, you might want to carry on discussions like this at a less public forum.

 

Although I am surprised that this thread exists, since it is obviously TA specific, and it looks like there is a plethora of travel agents participating, nowhere does it say that travel agents cannot comment on these boards. I believe cruise critic is an excellent and valuable tool for agents, especially since they receive first-hand critiques. After all, even travel agents cannot possibly have experienced every cruise line up close and personal. Just my opinion. Sam

[jff50]

Although I am surprised that this thread exists, since it is obviously TA specific, and it looks like there is a plethora of travel agents participating, nowhere does it say that travel agents cannot comment on these boards. I believe cruise critic is an excellent and valuable tool for agents, especially since they receive first-hand critiques. After all, even travel agents cannot possibly have experienced every cruise line up close and personal. Just my opinion. Sam

I think this is an excellent forum for travel agents to use as one source of information about cruise lines. However, I think they should be careful in how they use it.

 

Personally, I don't think that this thread casts travel agents in the best light. It highlights special treatment that travel agents get that other cruisers don't get (at all, or until their 16th cruise), it highlights things that travel agents (that have gone through special training with Princess) don't know about Princess, and includes instances of flaming other cruisers (the travel agents customers). While don't think there is anything wrong with this (except the part about flaming your customers) I just don't think that a public forum is the best place for this particular discussion.

[lvtotrvl1]

Sorry..from your statement

 

Princess hasn't had "commodore" status in years - we recieved that a long time ago and with less cruises than it took to become "elite" - There were no special "commodore" perks.

 

Ron

[Guest nhrich]

I'm also a Princess Commodore, and some of these questions (like the mini-bar one-time stocking and canapes on formal nights) are in the material that was covered (I thought so and just went back and double-checked before I posted). And it's also on the Princess website which is also a good resource.

 

Yes, CC can be a good resource for TA's, but used incorrectly, also puts some TA's in a bad light, as was mentioned above. I don't pretend to know all the answers about every line and every ship, but I'll do my darndest to find out. Most of our clients would rather we admit we don't know something and look into it than make up an answer and have it be wrong.

 

Rich, ACC

Carefree Vacations

[ljtinney]

Although I am surprised that this thread exists, since it is obviously TA specific, and it looks like there is a plethora of travel agents participating, nowhere does it say that travel agents cannot comment on these boards. I believe cruise critic is an excellent and valuable tool for agents, especially since they receive first-hand critiques. After all, even travel agents cannot possibly have experienced every cruise line up close and personal. Just my opinion. Sam

 

Nicely said.

I'm surprised that this thread is still continuing since the OP's question was answered on page 1

[Samcorl]

I think this is an excellent forum for travel agents to use as one source of information about cruise lines. However, I think they should be careful in how they use it.

 

Personally, I don't think that this thread casts travel agents in the best light. It highlights special treatment that travel agents get that other cruisers don't get (at all, or until their 16th cruise), it highlights things that travel agents (that have gone through special training with Princess) don't know about Princess, and includes instances of flaming other cruisers (the travel agents customers). While don't think there is anything wrong with this (except the part about flaming your customers) I just don't think that a public forum is the best place for this particular discussion.

 

Couldn't agree with you more about this being the absolute wrong forum for this topic. However, I don't agree with the "casting TAs in a bad light" comment. After all, a travel agent is simply an extension of a cruise line's sales force, and as such receives what every other sales person would receive . . . education training . . . which might include experiencing the ships first-hand. It makes perfect sense. Again, just my thoughts. Sam

[judyjbest]

In my first post on this thread, I stated that this probably wasn't the best forum to have this discussion, and now we all can see clearly why! It's also unprofessional to speak unkindly to others posting on any thread, because these are the very people we hope to gain as clients.

 

I was a Cruise Critic poster long before I became a travel agent, and so I already knew it as a great place for quick answers once I became a travel agent. And, I have lots of friends here who I still want to communicate with. We're just like you -- we love cruising, we love talking cruising, and we spend our working hours doing what we love most!

 

That said, the cruise lines offer travel agents these perks, not to treat us special, but so we can experience them and recommend them to you. If I can tell you from first hand experience (or book learning) the wonderful benefits you'll receive for booking a Princess cruise again and again, that's great service for you and a benefit to Princess cruise line.

 

The guests who have joined this thread are clearly Princess advocates and wonderful Princess guests. We wish all our guests were just like you!