So now that DCL is 20 years old, what do you think will happen with all these "platinum" adults...

[cruiser21]

I have a long way to go until Platinum, but it doesn't seem that wildly beneficial to me, and I'm in no rush to get there. I am very happy on CC without a Cabana, I would book Palo brunch whether or not it was free since the upcharge is pretty minor and the food is amazing, and pretty much everything else you need to reserve in advance is optional for me (except rainforest passes, which I don't think you can book earlier with platinum anyway). So going back to OP's question, if people like me are the ones making Platinum, I doubt it will make all that much difference to reservation availability.

You are correct there is absolutely nothing beneficial to Platinum. There is no incentive for me to continue to cruise with DCL once my kids turn 18. I stick with DCL for them...no other reason.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Schmoo, since you have extensive experience with other lines as well....how/when do other lines' loyalty programs "top out?" It has been mentioned here that DCL should add another tier because there are already so many platinums & because DCL is now 20 years old. Other cruise lines have been around longer, so I was wondering how they deal with the situation? Have they added new loyalty levels as they've aged?

I wouldn't say "extensive", but I've got some time on other lines.

Since their levels are a bit further apart, and typically based on nights sailed, it takes a while to get to the upper tiers.

Princess:
Gold - after 1 cruise
Ruby - after 4-5 cruises OR 31-50 days
Platinum - after 6-15 cruises OR 51-150 days
Elite - after 16th cruise OR 151+ days

Holland America (you get bonus cruise day credits for suites and onboard purchases):
1 star - after 1 cruise
2 star - after 30 cruise days
3 star - 75 cruise days
4 star - 200 cruise days
5 star - 500 cruise days.

Holland America did add the 5 star level sometime within the last 10 years. And they also have the Medallion program that only includes actual cruise days, not the suite bonus or onboard spending bonus
Bronze Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 100 days
Silver Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 300 days
Gold Medallion for guests achieving 500 days
Platinum Medallion for those guests who have joined us for 700 or more days.
Medallion status is calculated using Cruise Days only; Suite Bonus and Onboard Spending Bonus do not apply toward Medallion status.

 

[ahain]

I wouldn't say "extensive", but I've got some time on other lines.

Since their levels are a bit further apart, and typically based on nights sailed, it takes a while to get to the upper tiers.

Princess:
Gold - after 1 cruise
Ruby - after 4-5 cruises OR 31-50 days
Platinum - after 6-15 cruises OR 51-150 days
Elite - after 16th cruise OR 151+ days

Holland America (you get bonus cruise day credits for suites and onboard purchases):
1 star - after 1 cruise
2 star - after 30 cruise days
3 star - 75 cruise days
4 star - 200 cruise days
5 star - 500 cruise days.

Holland America did add the 5 star level sometime within the last 10 years. And they also have the Medallion program that only includes actual cruise days, not the suite bonus or onboard spending bonus
Bronze Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 100 days
Silver Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 300 days
Gold Medallion for guests achieving 500 days
Platinum Medallion for those guests who have joined us for 700 or more days.
Medallion status is calculated using Cruise Days only; Suite Bonus and Onboard Spending Bonus do not apply toward Medallion status.

Thank you for giving some perspective on this!

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

absolutely nothing beneficial to Platinum

I happily disagree that not having to wait in the cattle pen...I mean the terminal... and having front of the line privileges is *very* attractive and beneficial!!

 

[slg]

I very much like that I can book on the first day that itineraries are available. For popular cruises like Hawaii, I can save a lot of money and score the room I want.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

front of the line privileges i

Once you run the gauntlet of all those "sure my boarding number is 23, but I'm going to stand right in the entrance to the boarding queue" people, it really doesn't feel like "front of the line".


And the waiting area is pretty small, if you arrive later you have to sit (if you can find somewhere) with the masses.

 

[quickcat]

They always open the “side door” over by the platinum /concierge check in area for us to board if we don’t get there early so we don’t have to wait and try to get through the mob of people.

 

[cruiser21]

I happily disagree that not having to wait in the cattle pen...I mean the terminal... and having front of the line privileges is *very* attractive and beneficial!!

I guess it depends on the cruise. I tend to take cruises where there are more platinums then not.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They always open the “side door” over by the platinum /concierge check in area for us to board if we don’t get there early so we don’t have to wait and try to get through the mob of people.

Well, they should do that when boarding first begins, as that's when the problem is most evident.

 

[owensamo]

So far I've been unable to cruise with anyone but DCL because of casinos and smoking. I'm very sensitive to smoke. I always look at other cruise lines but DCL brings me back every time.

My husband is also very sensitive to smoke, and it's one of the reasons we only cruised DCL until a few years ago. Celebrity has changed their smoking policy to be pretty much the same as DCL - and that includes no smoking in the casino. Since this policy change, we've been on 2 different Celebrity ships, and really enjoyed them both. We found the service on par with Disney, and really enjoyed a lot of the extras that Disney doesn't have, though we also missed some Disney touches. We managed to go a whole week both times without having to walk through the casinos (which our DD wasn't old enough to walk through anyway) though we did muster in one on our first cruise. We did not find much if any residual smoke, and the on-deck smoking areas were no more intrusive than those on DCL.

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

I imagine many of the 20 year old platinum cruisers won't be sailing on their own dime anyway, at least not for awhile. With college and starting new jobs/careers, it probably takes some time before they are able to cruise frequently.

 

[mcd2745]

That are a platinum status because they spent their entire childhood going on Disney cruises?

It got me thinking, because I met a young couple the other day. They were about 23 years old. They found out I love Disney and the man loved Disney too. I mentioned we liked cruising better, and he said he did too. His parents were DVC members and that he was a platinum cruise member. I laughed! I said you're platinum from all the years of your parents bringing you on a Disney Cruise. My kids are the same. We are not platinum yet, I have 2 more cruises to take and my kids have 3 more. They won't make Platinum on my dime, since this cruise in November will be the last one I pay for 100%. So after November, they will have to take 2 more cruises on their own dime to become platinum.

It occured to me, many 20+ years old will be booking their 1st adult cruise already platinum. You think that will impact booking shore excursions? Just curious.

I don't think anyone really addressed this potential issue. We're not platinum yet (Gold), but I think your point is taken. It's probably going to get to the point where there will be so many Platinum people that things like getting cabanas on CC, or other excursions potentially can get extremely tough. And then, situations like you had last week with the Hawaii sailings and many categories being sold out day 1 can become more common. Now, I think it was really bad/wrong what a lot of people did. Clearly, a lot of Platinum folks got holds for (in some cases, multiple) rooms for those sailings even though they knew it was extremely unlikely they would actually book it. Some will certainly say, as Platinum CC members, they absolutely earned the right to do that. Still doesn't make it right IMO.

 

[slg]

Why do you think a lot of people put holds they didn’t want? Were there a lot of cancels? DCL causes most of the first day issues by not releasing any pricing before the platinum can book. If you use a TA, and request a quote, they put a hold on it for you. If the price range was listed in advance, then platinums could figure out id they could afford it ahead of time. Maybe DCL does this to drive up prices and create artificial demand...I don’t know, but they used to offer a range of pricing before and then stopped doing it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Clearly, a lot of Platinum folks got holds for (in some cases, multiple) rooms for those sailings even though they knew it was extremely unlikely they would actually book it.

And you know this how?

Everyone booking on the early booking windows could only book one reservation, per phone call (or online session). If they were willing to wait on the phone multiple times to book multiple rooms, why shouldn't they?

As to booking a reservation they don't want - well, that happens all over the industry. People book "just in case" and then cancel later. Yes, by then the damage has been done, in respect for rising prices because the space onboard has filled up, but it is what it is.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

That are a platinum status because they spent their entire childhood going on Disney cruises?

It got me thinking, because I met a young couple the other day. They were about 23 years old. They found out I love Disney and the man loved Disney too. I mentioned we liked cruising better, and he said he did too. His parents were DVC members and that he was a platinum cruise member. I laughed! I said you're platinum from all the years of your parents bringing you on a Disney Cruise. My kids are the same. We are not platinum yet, I have 2 more cruises to take and my kids have 3 more. They won't make Platinum on my dime, since this cruise in November will be the last one I pay for 100%. So after November, they will have to take 2 more cruises on their own dime to become platinum.

It occured to me, many 20+ years old will be booking their 1st adult cruise already platinum. You think that will impact booking shore excursions? Just curious.

My daughter was 8 when she turned platinum. What does that say about our cruising addiction! LOL!

 

[MelSpees]

My husband is also very sensitive to smoke, and it's one of the reasons we only cruised DCL until a few years ago. Celebrity has changed their smoking policy to be pretty much the same as DCL - and that includes no smoking in the casino. Since this policy change, we've been on 2 different Celebrity ships, and really enjoyed them both. We found the service on par with Disney, and really enjoyed a lot of the extras that Disney doesn't have, though we also missed some Disney touches. We managed to go a whole week both times without having to walk through the casinos (which our DD wasn't old enough to walk through anyway) though we did muster in one on our first cruise. We did not find much if any residual smoke, and the on-deck smoking areas were no more intrusive than those on DCL.

This is nice to hear. We just booked our first Celebrity cruise.

 

[mcd2745]

Why do you think a lot of people put holds they didn’t want? Were there a lot of cancels? DCL causes most of the first day issues by not releasing any pricing before the platinum can book. If you use a TA, and request a quote, they put a hold on it for you. If the price range was listed in advance, then platinums could figure out id they could afford it ahead of time. Maybe DCL does this to drive up prices and create artificial demand...I don’t know, but they used to offer a range of pricing before and then stopped doing it.

And you know this how?

Everyone booking on the early booking windows could only book one reservation, per phone call (or online session). If they were willing to wait on the phone multiple times to book multiple rooms, why shouldn't they?

As to booking a reservation they don't want - well, that happens all over the industry. People book "just in case" and then cancel later. Yes, by then the damage has been done, in respect for rising prices because the space onboard has filled up, but it is what it is.

I've seen people post such on various FB groups - that they put holds on rooms even though they knew it was not really possible because of school or whatever reason.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've seen people post such on various FB groups - that they put holds on rooms even though they knew it was not really possible because of school or whatever reason.

And everything on the internet is gospel, right?

 

[slg]

Why would people do that? However, they will cancel within 72 hours so the rooms become available. How much can the pric8ng change? Anyone know?

 

[mcd2745]

And everything on the internet is gospel, right?

Not at all.

However, I have no reason to doubt those claims. It's the type of thing we see a lot of - particularly when it comes to Disney. It reminds me of how, with WDW, people use to hoard dining reservations. Just because they could. Very similar behavior.