By the end of the year, we will have 20 loyalty points with Royal, compared to our current 12 with NCL. Should we choose one and remain with them going forward to accrue more loyalty days—or is that even really important?
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Most of the time, my spouse and I cruise on Royal and Celebrity. Although we have participated in NCL and Carnival in the past, they are not our top choices. Having said that, we let our plans and our destination determine what we bring. Whether or whether we have status on a cruise line is irrelevant.
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@Adele In this case, too! Free beverages and free laundry shouldn’t influence a passenger to select a less-than-ideal itinerary or ship.
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Experienced more than 100 cruises on more than 40 lines. The quick answer is that there isn’t much value in loyalty status. If you only choose one line, you will lose out on far too many interesting places and lines.
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@Banice Completely. We’ve tried a few different lines, but we much more like individual ships than brands. We steer the vessel, not the name.
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@Camilla I want to sail on as many different ships as I can, but I want to concentrate on Royal, NCL, and Celebrity.
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@Candy Don’t discount the new princess. We can’t wait to sail her for the first time in February.
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Especially considering that Princess’s new packages, which are by far the finest value at sea, start at $90 per day and include unlimited premium booze, prepaid gratuities and appreciation, unlimited specialty dining, WiFi for four devices per person, desserts, photographs, and more.
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@Camilla Yeah the Sun and Star look like nice ships and have been watching videos on the former.
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My wife and I LOVE NCL, their itineraries and the people. I would stick with NCL.
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That’s the best way to gain points and status with a cruise line. They do add up
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Cruises ought to resemble airplanes. Choose one you like, then stay with it. This is only relevant if you’re attempting to accrue points and advance your loyalty status.
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No. They genuinely want you to do that.
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Get the best deal that works for you across the board. You can afford those loyalty perks with your savings.
Also, when you’re ready to try a new line call them up, sometimes they may match your loyalty status to get your business!
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In my opinion, loyalty is no longer a very good measure. We choose the destination and the ship we wish to travel on.
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We’re Elite+ with Celebrity, only because we amassed most of our points before they changed their system. It only took 3 or 4 fourteen day cruises in a balcony cabin to become Elite back then. Now it takes forever based on the current system. The Elite+ status gets us some pretty great perks (huge discounts on internet, free bags of laundry, etc.) The best part of that is that Elite+ gives us Diamond status on Royal, which equates to us getting 4 free drinks a day, meaning I don’t need an expensive drink package (I’m old and 4 drinks is as much as I would generally want anyways).
We’ve pretty much moved on to Azamara now where our “status” doesn’t amount to all that much, but we like the small ship experience. I’m not going to bust my butt trying to get any kind of status with them or any other cruise line we might try - it’s not worth the effort unless you are really happy with the offerings of a particular cruise line anyways.
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My partner cruises a lot more than I.
He’s got RCCL (and related lines) status. So he gets these little extras. But that is it: small extras. A scoop of gelato, half price/set price laundry. Not much. And not enough to keep him from going on whatever line interests him.
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These days, I don’t think it matters as much. We choose cruises based on itineraries before examining the ship. That’s about our preferences when it comes to particular cruise lines.
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I think it’s strange that some people only draw one line. There are a plethora of lines offering a variety of experiences. If there was only one restaurant on land offering 10% off pictures and a complimentary starter, would you choose to eat there solely? No, I wouldn’t.
So far, I’ve sailed thirteen lines, and each one offers a unique experience. I’ve also had the good fortune to sail several of those frequently enough to have a respectable level status. While some benefits are wonderful, I don’t think any of them outweigh the value of trying new things.
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I have 149 points on NCL, and I’m happy to take any cruise from any cruise line that has the itinerary and price I want.
I have the highest lifetime status at Marriott, earned with 75 nights per year for 10 years, and I’m happy to stay at any hotel brand that is the location and price I want.