New Pearl tier benefits

[Marc D]

Didn’t platinum also get to hang out in the concierge pre boarding at the port too?

No. They could use the Concierge check-in counter, but not the Concierge waiting area. That was always reserved for B2B and Concierge only.

 

[goofy4prez]

I doubt I will even reach platinum status let alone pearl since DCL is not my exclusive choice of cruise lines. I also enjoy Regent Seven Seas as well (have a cruise in 2 weeks on the Splendor) and I'm just not a fan of 3 or 4-day Bahama cruises which would help to elevate my level (not trying to offend those who enjoy them or have budget constraints). I just did the Dream for 5 nights and felt that was too short. But I have to agree, the benefits of this "BIG" announcement is an epic letdown and I truly feel for those of you that cruise often or outside of concierge. I prefer concierge and its benefits, but my gosh, Pearl level deserves more than booking a cruise 1 day before platinum, cruise activities 3 days before platinum, and a photo package. Very underwhelming, but no surprise coming from Disney.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I’m happy with the photos and I like the tumblers. Booking things early will be nice. I still would like the early boarding that we used to have.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I think it is all perfectly fine. Personally the photo package is really good , on longer cruises they are super expensive. They don't have to do anything to keep people cruising with them, its all just a bonus IMO. I don't buy/do anything based on some loyalty program I do it because I enjoy the experience or the product.

 

[jrapps]

I think it is all perfectly fine. Personally the photo package is really good , on longer cruises they are super expensive. They don't have to do anything to keep people cruising with them, its all just a bonus IMO. I don't buy/do anything based on some loyalty program I do it because I enjoy the experience or the product.

I definitely don't cruise Disney for the perks, but there is such a thing as reverse loyalty. For a company that prides itself on customer service like Disney I would think that they would have this figured out.... Just as offering amazing perks to your loyal fan base can entice them to spend even more money, insulting perks can and will push them to spend less money. I love Disney but they're not the only game in town. I was tempted to do more cruises in the next few years to make a run for Pearl before this announcement. Now I can tell you that Royal will be getting a significantly larger amount of my money over the next 3 to 5 years.

The really sad part is even pulling back I would likely hit Pearl status in the next 5 or 6 years. And when it happens I won't even care. When I hit diamond on Royal I was overjoyed. Whenever I get the letter from Disney telling me I've got pearl status I'll shrug and throw it in the garbage can.

 

[DCLMP]

I guess it's just bad luck. Or maybe those ports just don't have enough staff?

I've done four cruises since the restart and I've never had trouble boarding. For my first cruise from PC, I took the DCL bus from the Hayatt and we went right through testing and then boarded. There was no waiting in the lobby, which I think was intentional because of the Covid-19 restrictions at the time. The next two from PC were mostly the same. We didn't take the DCL bus, but we did arrive, went through testing, and then boarded without a wait.

The last cruise was from NYC once all of the Covid-19 restrictions had been removed. Again, we showed up at our arranged boarding time (~11:30) and got right on the ship without a wait.

I don't know why they haven't returned special boarding privileges to Platinum members, though. It seems like an easy enough thing to do.

It was bad luck no doubt about it, but regardless pre-covid we still would have been able to board before everyone else. It would have made it less awful. I'm sure DCL has gotten numerous comment cards complaining about this I thought for sure they would at least bring that back.
Our boarding experience out of Dover was fine, then again the bus from London was an hour late and then the other DCL contracted bus got in an accident and backed up traffic for an hour so we didn't make it to port until after 2pm.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I definitely don't cruise Disney for the perks, but there is such a thing as reverse loyalty. For a company that prides itself on customer service like Disney I would think that they would have this figured out.... Just as offering amazing perks to your loyal fan base can entice them to spend even more money, insulting perks can and will push them to spend less money. I love Disney but they're not the only game in town. I was tempted to do more cruises in the next few years to make a run for Pearl before this announcement. Now I can tell you that Royal will be getting a significantly larger amount of my money over the next 3 to 5 years.

The really sad part is even pulling back I would likely hit Pearl status in the next 5 or 6 years. And when it happens I won't even care. When I hit diamond on Royal I was overjoyed. Whenever I get the letter from Disney telling me I've got pearl status I'll shrug and throw it in the garbage can.

Guess everyone makes decisions different. No loyalty program makes me pick them more to just get higher, if it happens it happens if it doesn't it doesn't. I am platinum with DCL it will be years till we are pearl and I don't care.

We have our first Royal Carribbean cruise in June and I am so nervous if we will like it or not. My daughters dance studio is going to be performing on board the independence of the seas (4 night ) in June, and its the only reason we are going.

 

[jrapps]

Guess everyone makes decisions different. No loyalty program makes me pick them more to just get higher, if it happens it happens if it doesn't it doesn't. I am platinum with DCL it will be years till we are pearl and I don't care.

We have our first Royal Carribbean cruise in June and I am so nervous if we will like it or not. My daughters dance studio is going to be performing on board the independence of the seas (4 night ) in June, and its the only reason we are going.

How fun! I've been on quite a few Royal cruises that have had gymnastics or dance competitions on board.

I can tell you they don't feel like the typical cruise experience because of that, either for those of you traveling with dance studio or for other guests on board that have nothing to do with dance. Maybe it's just something with them shutting down venues dedicated to the dance activities. It has a slightly different vibe. Especially if you're there for the competition You're so focused on that and being in certain places at certain times it takes some of the relaxing care-free vacation experience away.

That said, I really hope you like Royal but obviously everybody's tastes are different. We try not to compare them too much as their different experiences but we inevitably do so anyway. There are many times we're on a royal ship and groan and say why can't they do this like Disney... Just as there are many times I'm on a Disney ship and I groan and say I wish this was more like Royal. LOL.

Hopefully you enjoy the experience.

 

[jrapps]

I'm sure DCL has gotten numerous comment cards complaining about this I thought for sure they would at least bring that back.

I had thought for sure the reason they had not brought it back was because they were going to make it a pearl perk instead.

Now that the pearl announcement has come and gone, I'm convinced that they have zero intention of ever bringing this perk back for anyone. Maybe they felt it was just too much of a complex logistical nightmare having every platinum person show up right when the door is open and create a congested mess.

 

[DCLMP]

I

I think it is all perfectly fine. Personally the photo package is really good , on longer cruises they are super expensive. They don't have to do anything to keep people cruising with them, its all just a bonus IMO. I don't buy/do anything based on some loyalty program I do it because I enjoy the experience or the product.

I have high status with Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. It's worth it. With Marriott I get free breakfast, room upgrades and late check out. Hilton I get access to executive lounge and room upgrades. Hyatt I get room upgrades, and late check out. Airlines offer numerous perks to their frequent flyers. There are reasons companies reward loyalty.

DCL does not feel like they need to offer much, but that may come back to bite them down the road. They have more competition in the family market then ever before. Covid changed a lot of things. The economy is far from great. I don't see a mad rush to book Disney cruises on opening day anymore all I see when I go to their website is a lot of discounted cruises. Time will tell, but I feel a consumer pull back coming.

 

[DCLMP]

I had thought for sure the reason they had not brought it back was because they were going to make it a pearl perk instead.

Now that the pearl announcement has come and gone, I'm convinced that they have zero intention of ever bringing this perk back for anyone. Maybe they felt it was just too much of a complex logistical nightmare having every platinum person show up right when the door is open and create a congested mess.

I see very few people in the platinum line sailing out of Florida. When we showed up at PC last month the platinum line was empty. It's only the unique itinerary's like Hawaii, Quebec, Transatlantic etc where the platinum line is longer than the regular line. I don't even care about being in group 1. I just like to be able to board whenever I get there and not worry about a PAT time.

 

[CastawayCayLover]

I see very few people in the platinum line sailing out of Florida. When we showed up at PC last month the platinum line was empty. It's only the unique itinerary's like Hawaii, Quebec, Transatlantic etc where the platinum line is longer than the regular line. I don't even care about being in group 1. I just like to be able to board whenever I get there and not worry about a PAT time.

Most of the time I won't use the Platinum check-in line because it winds up taking longer than the regular line. Same thing happens with the dedicated AP entrance at the parks, half the time I wind up waiting longer than if I had just gone through one of the regular entrances.

 

[n2mm]

I was also hoping for the early boarding perk to return. I think they could board Pearl after concierge and then give platinum back their #1. I’m underwhelmed by this new info.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Nothing enticing to book another 13 cruises to get a photo package we would not use. Our next cruise is Holland America. We're exploring other options and new ports to visit.

 

[anricat]

Most of the time I won't use the Platinum check-in line because it winds up taking longer than the regular line. Same thing happens with the dedicated AP entrance at the parks, half the time I wind up waiting longer than if I had just gone through one of the regular entrances.

It completely depends on the cruise. Anything shorter than 7 nights tends to have a shorter line.

The AP line at the parks is always full because they don't really enforce it and everyone just gets in the line because they aren't paying attention. I'm always loudly saying things like "WOW! THERE ARE A LOT OF PASSHOLDERS HERE TODAY IN THIS LINE."

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

How fun! I've been on quite a few Royal cruises that have had gymnastics or dance competitions on board.

I can tell you they don't feel like the typical cruise experience because of that, either for those of you traveling with dance studio or for other guests on board that have nothing to do with dance. Maybe it's just something with them shutting down venues dedicated to the dance activities. It has a slightly different vibe. Especially if you're there for the competition You're so focused on that and being in certain places at certain times it takes some of the relaxing care-free vacation experience away.

That said, I really hope you like Royal but obviously everybody's tastes are different. We try not to compare them too much as their different experiences but we inevitably do so anyway. There are many times we're on a royal ship and groan and say why can't they do this like Disney... Just as there are many times I'm on a Disney ship and I groan and say I wish this was more like Royal. LOL.

Hopefully you enjoy the experience.

The one we are doing is not a competition or anything. It won't really affect much, they will do a performance on the main stage during the day of the sea day.

 

[DCLMP]

It completely depends on the cruise. Anything shorter than 7 nights tends to have a shorter line.

The AP line at the parks is always full because they don't really enforce it and everyone just gets in the line because they aren't paying attention. I'm always loudly saying things like "WOW! THERE ARE A LOT OF PASSHOLDERS HERE TODAY IN THIS LINE."

It may also depend on what time you arrive at the port. I've never seen a line at PC, but we also don't cruise during the Summer.

 

[squirk]

I had hopes that DCL would take this opportunity to create a loyalty tier actually worth striving for.

But then I remembered we were talking about Disney, so the realist in me set my expectations very low. Man, I was not disappointed.

Think about it - a threshold Pearl has sailed 15 more times - 15! - than a threshold Platinum.

All this nonsense about “a pearl takes time and patience to cultivate,” and this is all they get?

Honestly, Pearl is such a small subset of their cruisers, would free wi-fi and free laundry really have been equivalent to anything more than a rounding error in their net revenue for the year?

 

[jrapps]

I had hopes that DCL would take this opportunity to create a loyalty tier actually worth striving for.

But then I remembered we were talking about Disney, so the realist in me set my expectations very low. Man, I was not disappointed.

Think about it - a threshold Pearl has sailed 15 more times - 15! - than a threshold Platinum.

All this nonsense about “a pearl takes time and patience to cultivate,” and this is all they get?

Honestly, Pearl is such a small subset of their cruisers, would free wi-fi and free laundry really have been equivalent to anything more than a rounding error in their net revenue for the year?

Just wait, 10 years from now when there are to many Pearls, they will introduce the Opal tier. 50 sailings. Will include all the perks of Pearl, but you get to book new cruises 5 days before public, book experience 124 days before sailing, and get an exclusive keychain! (No opals on the keychain, sorry)

 

[tidefan]

The really sad part is even pulling back I would likely hit Pearl status in the next 5 or 6 years. And when it happens I won't even care. When I hit diamond on Royal I was overjoyed. Whenever I get the letter from Disney telling me I've got pearl status I'll shrug and throw it in the garbage can.

Man, I know that feeling. When we hit Elite on Princess, we got a free minibar (or if you don't drink, you get free specialty coffees) and most importantly, free laundry!