Integration of RC Loyalty Programs

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

2 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Love it!

It must be something to do with my settings. I can't get any GIFs up at all.

Same with me!  Wish I knew why!  There was a time when I could find GIFs anytime and now Nothing!   

[steverk]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Well if Royal and X are going to merge, I sure hope it's effective immediately. I have a sailing on Reflection in August. 

My earlier post was speculating that they will announce it in about 2 months. I'd expect it to take effect immediately after the announcement. 

We'll know soon enough if I'm prescient or just a old fool with a big mouth!

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Any changes will make a difference if I join my mother on her next Celebrity sailing in January or not

Umm...free cruise. Why would you say no? lol

2 hours ago, steverk said:

My earlier post was speculating that they will announce it in about 2 months. I'd expect it to take effect immediately after the announcement. 

We'll know soon enough if I'm prescient or just a old fool with a big mouth!

I hope you guess is right. I have been wishing for them to integrate the program for quite a while. Ever since you know who took over Royal....

[smokeybandit]

I still think merging programs is an effort to get people chasing C&A points on the over full ships on RC onto not as full ships on Celebrity.

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Umm...free cruise. Why would you say no? lol

Limited time off...I have to pick and chose. I can wrap around weekends for less time off than the full week-longs she books.  One week-long cruise is 4 long weekend trips worth of time off with my schedule.

[Last Lion]

Okay sports fans what happens in a loyalty program merger in this case?

You’re Diamond Plus on Royal. You are closing in on Elite Plus on Celebrity.

Way up on both lines so a lot of points earned on a lot of cruises on both brands.

If a merge were to happen, would loyalty to both brands be recognized by adding 

up both point amounts to put you at or near Pinnacle level? Or would you be kind

of shortchanged and given a Diamond Plusy level?

Asking  for a friend!

 

[steverk]

51 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

Okay sports fans what happens in a loyalty program merger in this case?

You’re Diamond Plus on Royal. You are closing in on Elite Plus on Celebrity.

Way up on both lines so a lot of points earned on a lot of cruises on both brands.

If a merge were to happen, would loyalty to both brands be recognized by adding 

up both point amounts to put you at or near Pinnacle level? Or would you be kind

of shortchanged and given a Diamond Plusy level?

Asking  for a friend!

 

All I can do is guess. But hey, here goes!

My bet is that the program is combined in name and in levels.

However,  the exact benefits will differ based on which line you are sailing. The points to reach each level will be increased, but all of your existing points with either line will be recalculated, giving many a higher number of points. Even if you fall below the threshold for your current level,  you'll stay at that level anyway.

The tricky part is how to make the points consistent across the 2 lines. Royal rewards getting on the ship. Celebrity rewards booking a suite. IDK how they'll address this problem 

[Chili]

It would be good if you got the drinks vouchers on Celebrity. That happy hour is like a football scrum. Everyone getting as many drinks in a short time.

[steverk]

51 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

Okay sports fans what happens in a loyalty program merger in this case?

You’re Diamond Plus on Royal. You are closing in on Elite Plus on Celebrity.

Way up on both lines so a lot of points earned on a lot of cruises on both brands.

If a merge were to happen, would loyalty to both brands be recognized by adding 

up both point amounts to put you at or near Pinnacle level? Or would you be kind

of shortchanged and given a Diamond Plusy level?

Asking  for a friend!

 

All I can do is guess. But hey, here goes!

My bet is that the program is combined in name and in levels.

However,  the exact benefits will differ based on which line you are sailing. The points to reach each level will be increased, but all of your existing points with either line will be recalculated, giving many a higher number of points. Even if you fall below the threshold for your current level,  you'll stay at that level anyway.

The tricky part is how to make the points consistent across the 2 lines. Royal rewards getting on the ship. Celebrity rewards booking a suite. IDK how they'll address this problem 

[Rackham]

2 hours ago, Last Lion said:

Okay sports fans what happens in a loyalty program merger in this case?

You’re Diamond Plus on Royal. You are closing in on Elite Plus on Celebrity.

Way up on both lines so a lot of points earned on a lot of cruises on both brands.

If a merge were to happen, would loyalty to both brands be recognized by adding 

up both point amounts to put you at or near Pinnacle level? Or would you be kind

of shortchanged and given a Diamond Plusy level?

Asking  for a friend!

 

 

I'm expecting RCCL to be switching to daily points based on cabin category, like Celebrity, with the changeover. C&A points would be converted during the change over so that no one loses ground from the C&A levels, but big spenders would also not gain ground for previous suite bookings. Also, because most people don't cruise as much as many of the regulars in these sorts of forums, I'd expect point totals to be combined by addition. Since post program consolidation a cruise on either line would net the same amount of points, addition makes the most sense. The other reasonable option is the ending point total, after adjustment of C&A points to a category based system, is the new account receives the higher total of points between C&A and CC. Any other option runs into issues with processing requirements or people losing status levels.

Benefit wise I'm expecting drink vouchers to be decreased by one for the levels formerly known as Diamond, Diamond+, and Pinnacle (happy hour on X would go away). However, the new vouchers value will be increased to $17 so that it includes Celebrity's highest priced menu cocktails at select bars. Drink vouchers, and the promise of them in the future, gets people excited to book another cruise and the service cost for RCG is negligible. While decreasing the count given will make some people angry, increasing their value at the same time and making them available on Celebrity should have most either pleased or at least thinking it's a lateral move from a benefit perspective.

[Mike.s]

12 hours ago, Last Lion said:

Okay sports fans what happens in a loyalty program merger in this case?

You’re Diamond Plus on Royal. You are closing in on Elite Plus on Celebrity.

Way up on both lines so a lot of points earned on a lot of cruises on both brands.

If a merge were to happen, would loyalty to both brands be recognized by adding 

up both point amounts to put you at or near Pinnacle level? Or would you be kind

of shortchanged and given a Diamond Plusy level?

Asking  for a friend!

 

We must have the same friend, they wanted me to ask the same question (OK so we're, sorry they're a little way off Elite plus)

[HeWhoWaits]

14 hours ago, steverk said:

The tricky part is how to make the points consistent across the 2 lines.

This is where the issue of IT figuring it out comes into play. Not exactly a soothing thought.

[HeWhoWaits]

12 hours ago, Rackham said:

However, the new vouchers value will be increased to $17 so that it includes Celebrity's highest priced menu cocktails at select bars.

The highest level drink package on Celebrity doesn't cover all the way to those prices, so why would you expect the vouchers to do so?

[smokeybandit]

In the end I think we're mind melding a lot of changes that the RC IT system simply isn't prepared to handle.

[asquared17]

12 hours ago, Rackham said:

the new vouchers value will be increased to $17 so that it includes Celebrity's highest priced menu cocktails at select bars.

i do find this part fascinating because - we typically drink chandon sparkling wine on royal. it falls under the $14 threshold — again, it’s a nice sparkling wine. 

on celebrity, it’s $17. 

for reference, a bottle of chandon costs about $24. 

so they are considering it a “premium” when it really… isn’t. 

and i understand the convenience factor and everything; obviously we can just bring a bottle of it on board ourselves.

but it makes me wonder how many other of their wines/beverages fall into that category.

like yes, a handcrafted martini at the martini bar with the special tricks and pouring skills — that’s a performance on top of a beverage. i understand that. 

but X lumps in premium water (evian, acqua panna, pellegrino) at the $17 cap and you can’t get unless you have a premium package — ie, you can’t get for happy hour, even though it’s nowhere near $17 a bottle. (or a water package)

i understand thats probably more to discourage people from grabbing endless bottles of "free" water during happy hour — but the long winded point of this is that i think some of their thresholds — $14 for basic drinks and $17 for premium — is a bit murky. 

if it were based on top shelf liquors, yes, okay — i understand that completely. 

but it isn't. 

and obvs they have the right to set their prices at whatever they'd like. 

it would be interesting to see a comparison between the two (an old fashioned costs $14 on royal and $17 on X, for example) just to get a better understanding of this.

[Rackham]

25 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

The highest level drink package on Celebrity doesn't cover all the way to those prices, so why would you expect the vouchers to do so?

For a couple of reasons. First, loyalty benefits are there to drive bookings. With drink packages as part of the cruise booking bundle, there needs to be something a little extra to encourage Celebrity bookings if drink vouchers make a debut on X. Having the vouchers go up to those drinks is a nice perk with a drink package. Without any data, it'd make the premium package feel like it's more inclusive and make the classic (? can't recall the name) feel less restrictive. Thus, encouraging bookings with the inclusions. Second, on Royal, at Diamond it saves at least $5 pp per day, $2 pp per day at Diamond+, and would cost Royal an extra $1 pp per day at Pinnacle if someone actually had that many $17 beverages as they'd be entitled to. This makes increasing the voucher value, with decreasing their number, a net positive on the Royal side while sounding like a good trade to the general public. 

[steverk]

I want to encourage everyone to step back and take a deep breath. 

Speculating is fun but doesn't really change anything.  Regardless of what each of us thinks or wants, Royal is going to do what Royal is going to do.

Please don't let your emotions run too wild!

[twangster]

Somewhere around 2018-2019 the former CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group eluded to the possibility that they are looking into closer integration of the two loyalty programs.  

That was around six years ago.

That person is no longer the CEO.

Note - he never said merging the two programs, just closer integration.  

Since then the two programs now use the same looking web portal and share common credentials.  It sounds like the two programs have already finished with the closer integration.  The two programs are running the same version of the web platform in the background and clearly share a password database at a minimum. 

Two and half years with a new CEO and no new comments about merging the loyalty programs from him.

Yet the speculation continues.  

[Ampurp85]

As far as speculation goes, I think Celebrity may adopt Royal's loyalty structure, but the casino will adopt Celebrity's. Celebrity has more levels for the casino than club Royale. I think the names of each level will change but I cannot see them reducing the vouchers. I also think it won't be Granny Smith to Granny Smith (aka the same), but apples to apples. In other words, I still think you will earn points the same way: that means if suites earn more points per night than inside on Celebrity, or you get double points on Royal for solo/suite. I think they will grandfather those with certain rankings and then make the new tiers. But the value will still differ on each line. This means that Royal won't raise the voucher cost for their ships but put a different voucher cost on Celebrity ships. I am basically saying that while it will merge the programs, the offerings will just be similar and not the same across both lines. 

[smokeybandit]

38 minutes ago, twangster said:

The two programs are running the same version of the web platform in the background and clearly share a password database at a minimum. 

And they just upgraded it, causing the entire population of C&A to change their password (which makes sense) and didn't email blast the population as to what was happening (which doesn't make sense)

[teddy]

....Since I'm here, I'll add my two cents....

Since becoming Diamond, we've come to really appreciate the drink vouchers, 24 hours of internet, and complementary photo we each get.   These benefits have tipped the scales for us to book with Royal rather than one of the other companies.  The whole "Loyal to Royal" thing works in our case.

While we are not cruising specifically for status, Diamond Plus is in our sights at our current sailing rate.  We are looking forward to the additional voucher and 24 hours of internet, BOGO specialty dining, and the laundry bag that comes with D+.

 

We've never been able to find a Celebrity cruise priced the same or less than a Royal one (for itineraries/dates we are definitely booking).   Honestly, going on Celebrity cruise isn't a big thing on our wish list.

[OCSC Mike]

22 minutes ago, teddy said:

I'll add my two cents

Agree with almost everything you wrote and have posted the exact same sentiments about D perks and looking forward to D+ on more than one occasion over the past couple years. 33 days til we can finally enjoy them.

[Doug_Texas]

2 hours ago, teddy said:

....Since I'm here, I'll add my two cents....

Since becoming Diamond, we've come to really appreciate the drink vouchers, 24 hours of internet, and complementary photo we each get.   These benefits have tipped the scales for us to book with Royal rather than one of the other companies.  The whole "Loyal to Royal" thing works in our case.

While we are not cruising specifically for status, Diamond Plus is in our sights at our current sailing rate.  We are looking forward to the additional voucher and 24 hours of internet, BOGO specialty dining, and the laundry bag that comes with D+.

 

We've never been able to find a Celebrity cruise priced the same or less than a Royal one (for itineraries/dates we are definitely booking).   Honestly, going on Celebrity cruise isn't a big thing on our wish list.

I am seeing 7 night sailings on Icon and Star that are running $4,200 for 2 people INSIDE CABIN just with cruise fare and taxes (just the standard caribbean ports from Florida).  There are definitely Celebrity 7 night sailings on Edge class for surprising prices (7 night “Beyond" out of Miami for 2 for $1,706 incl tax).  

It’s not to spur debate about Icon class vs Edge class and there are similar Oasis class vs Edge class examples but the point is that is if there is a point I get 5 drink vouchers on Celebrity there will definitely be some booking shifts in my empty nester family.  There are many Celebrity sailings that are really attractive from a ports-of-call standpoint but I can’t go on Celebrity without a drinks package where on RCL the D+ vouchers, 2 bottles of carry on wine, and 1 bottle amenity wine is sufficient.

[steverk]

38 minutes ago, Doug_Texas said:

There are many Celebrity sailings that are really attractive from a ports-of-call standpoint 

I completely agree! There used to be even more, but Celebrity has been redeploying more ships to the Caribbean.

We shall see what, if anything, comes of these rumors.

 

[Andy & Sheryl Unwin]

For what it's worth, I was in the exact same situation when Marriott bought out Sheraton and Starwood Brands some years ago. I had status with all three.

The points earned for each program simply merged into one, Marriott. Thereafter, based on total points, I was given a new Tier. Based on an accumulated 941 nights spent in those brands, I went from what was then mere platinum at Marriott, to a "Lifetime Titanium Status."

There is no telling if that's what will happen here, but it's fun to speculate. Sheryl and I have not yet cruised on Celebrity; we prefer to stick with one line and have cruised only on Royal Caribbean ships. Perhaps if things merge in a way we feel is beneficial to us, that may change, at least once.

 

 

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, Andy & Sheryl Unwin said:

For what it's worth, I was in the exact same situation when Marriott bought out Sheraton and Starwood Brands some years ago. I had status with all three.

The points earned for each program simply merged into one, Marriott. Thereafter, based on total points, I was given a new Tier. Based on an accumulated 941 nights spent in those brands, I went from what was then mere platinum at Marriott, to a "Lifetime Titanium Status."

There is no telling if that's what will happen here, but it's fun to speculate. Sheryl and I have not yet cruised on Celebrity; we prefer to stick with one line and have cruised only on Royal Caribbean ships. Perhaps if things merge in a way we feel is beneficial to us, that may change, at least once.

 

 

The difference there is Marriott and Starwood were merging into a single entity. 

[Chili]

5 hours ago, Andy & Sheryl Unwin said:

 

There is no telling if that's what will happen here, but it's fun to speculate. Sheryl and I have not yet cruised on Celebrity; we prefer to stick with one line and have cruised only on Royal Caribbean ships. Perhaps if things merge in a way we feel is beneficial to us, that may change, at least once.

 

 

If Celebrity match Royal’s benefits I would do a few more cruises.

Celebrity is nice (apart from the price) but as someone said ,with the perks on Royal Caribbean,it feels like home.

[Ryansox]

5 hours ago, Andy & Sheryl Unwin said:

For what it's worth, I was in the exact same situation when Marriott bought out Sheraton and Starwood Brands some years ago. I had status with all three.

The points earned for each program simply merged into one, Marriott. Thereafter, based on total points, I was given a new Tier. Based on an accumulated 941 nights spent in those brands, I went from what was then mere platinum at Marriott, to a "Lifetime Titanium Status."

There is no telling if that's what will happen here, but it's fun to speculate. Sheryl and I have not yet cruised on Celebrity; we prefer to stick with one line and have cruised only on Royal Caribbean ships. Perhaps if things merge in a way we feel is beneficial to us, that may change, at least once.

 

 

True but that merge was kinda a disaster for a few years after as they messed up a lot of peoples stuff. Either way I'm looking forward to a combined loyalty program as I've never sailed with Celebrity, I've seen some awesome itineraries I'd love to try one day.

[Andy & Sheryl Unwin]

1 hour ago, Chili said:

Celebrity is nice (apart from the price) but as someone said ,with the perks on Royal Caribbean,it feels like home.

I couldn't agree more. Our first cruise on Brilliance in 2016 was a complete happenstance. While I was considering options for Sheryl's birthday, I had an email from the Hilton Rewards Offers informing me of cruise deals available. Royal was first on the list, so I looked at them first and found something suitable quickly. It seems I hit the ball out of the park as it was a raging success. (word to the wise, don't surprise your wife with a cruise 3 days before the departure date). and we have been loyal to Royal ever since.

[AshleyDillo]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:15 AM, asquared17 said:

but it makes me wonder how many other of their wines/beverages fall into that category

On X Michelob Ultra wasn't included in the classic drink package..you had to upgrade for that

[smokeybandit]

5 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

On X Michelob Ultra wasn't included in the classic drink package..you had to upgrade for that

Not a beer I'd typically associate with the word "upgrade"

[AshleyDillo]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Not a beer I'd typically associate with the word "upgrade"

Well that's modern luxury for you.

[Elliot Chan]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:29 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Well if Royal and X are going to merge, I sure hope it's effective immediately. I have a sailing on Reflection in August. 

Most likely it will not be immediate though 

[HeWhoWaits]

15 hours ago, Chili said:

Celebrity is nice (apart from the price)

Many posters keep mentioning that Celebrity prices are higher than Royal. We took a Celebrity cruise in February and the cost for the have it all package (includes wi-fi and the base drink package) was only about $100 pp more than a similar Royal itinerary on a similarly sized ship.

Throw us the five D+ vouchers and there's absolutely no need to purchase the upgrade to the premium package (we would just use the vouchers for anything not covered by the base package). If you're going to purchase them, the wi-fi and drink package made the Celebrity option LESS expensive.

[steverk]

3 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Throw us the five D+ vouchers and there's absolutely no need to purchase the upgrade to the premium package (we would just use the vouchers for anything not covered by the base package). If you're going to purchase them, the wi-fi and drink package made the Celebrity option LESS expensive.

I hope you realize that you don't get the drink vouchers while sailing on Celebrity.

[Ampurp85]

4 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Many posters keep mentioning that Celebrity prices are higher than Royal. We took a Celebrity cruise in February and the cost for the have it all package (includes wi-fi and the base drink package) was only about $100 pp more than a similar Royal itinerary on a similarly sized ship.

I think as a whole Celebrity is higher than Royal. There are a lot of factors at play. I am D+ and prime on Royal. So, for me Celebrity is too expensive for my taste. Since I rarely venture to bars and prefer to spend my time in the casino and going to shows; the 5 drinks a day and casino drinks work in my favor. So, I wouldn't be buying a drink package. Being prime and D+ also cuts my internet bill. That negates any bundle pricing. On top of which, I get monthlies and instant certs, so my cruise fare is heavily discounted. I just realized I haven't paid full price for a cruise since late 2021. Right now, I cannot fathom paying $3K for a Celebrity cruise because I am probably only spending $950 for the same thing on Royal. 

[HeWhoWaits]

2 hours ago, steverk said:

I hope you realize that you don't get the drink vouchers while sailing on Celebrity.

Fully aware. That ties in with a previous comment I made about how easy it would be for us to switch to Celebrity IF we got the current vouchers from C&A.

[HeWhoWaits]

44 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am probably only spending $950 for the same thing on Royal. 

Plus casino spend on previous cruise(s) to get the discount. Still less than the $3000 you quoted for Celebrity unless you're a REALLY bad/unlucky casino patron.

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Plus casino spend on previous cruise(s) to get the discount. Still less than the $3000 you quoted for Celebrity unless you're a REALLY bad/unlucky casino patron.

See that's also the rub, I would be spending in the casino on Celebrity as well, since I count the casino as my excursions .

I currently have a celebrity cruise on the books but between my prime tier cruise and monthlies, I cannot justify it. I too originally thought, in comparison to Icon, Celebrity wasn't that bad with pricing. If the loyalty programs were to merge, it would be easier to justify keeping the sailing. 

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I count the casino as my excursions

I love that logic! Entertainment is entertainment!