Celebrity Enhances Loyalty Progranmme

Celebrity Cruises has announced its enhanced Captain’s Club loyalty programme. The new programme includes two additional levels of status and rewards beyond the existing “Elite” level, the highest previous level of membership in the brand’s current four-tiered programme. Guests can also accelerate their progression through the loyalty tiers with a new Club Points system that recognises the stateroom category as well as the days spent onboard.

Effective on sailings commencing this week, the new Captain’s Club will offer a SIX-tier programme. The Club’s current levels of “Preview,” “Classic,” “Select” and “Elite” will remain, with two new tiers – “Elite Plus” and “Zenith" – each with their own unique benefits and privileges:

 

• Members who achieve the new Elite Plus status will receive broader benefits, including additional beverage and speciality dining discounts, complimentary 200-minute Internet packages, complimentary cappuccinos, lattes and more.
• Members who achieve Zenith status will receive benefits and perks befitting this ultimate level of membership, such as access to Michael’s Club Lounge (available fleetwide in 2014), a complimentary premium alcoholic beverage package, complimentary laundry, a 1,600-minute Internet package, and other benefits.

 

Members’ previous cruise credits will be automatically converted into Club Points, and members will retain all of the benefits they earned in the programme to date, with no expiration. In many cases, guests may automatically become members of the new Elite Plus or Zenith tiers. It is important to note that no current members will lose any of the benefits they enjoy today. Full details are on www.celebritycruises.co.uk/captainsclub.

 

Celebrity's director of loyalty, Lee Moreau, explained: “At a time when many loyalty programmes are cutting back on benefits or making it more difficult to redeem rewards, we’re thrilled to do just the opposite. Guest loyalty is the cornerstone to any successful business, and that’s why, at Celebrity, we make our guests the centre of our attention. We hope this reinvigorated programme will show our guests even more vividly how much we appreciate their loyalty, and allow us to welcome them back onboard even more frequently.” 

Captain’s Club members can now access exclusive special pricing through the Captain’s Club portal on the website. By simply entering their name and Captain’s Club member number on the site, they can instantly see available loyalty pricing.

More info: visit www.celebritycruises.co.uk, call 0844 493 2043.

Have you subscribed to World of Cruising magazine yet? We have a fabulous offer for all new subscribers this year - 50 per cent OFF the regular rate AND the chance to win a cruise in our free prize draw offer. See this link!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Celebrity's Captain's Club Bonus

Michael Bayley, Celebrity Cruises' president and CEO will host a Captain’s Club members “President’s Cruise” on board the line’s Celebrity Equinox departing from Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) on July 26 next year.

And featured as part of the cruise will be an evening of open-air entertainment and a complimentary dinner rich with authentic Italian fare and robust local wines in Bolgheri, a 15th Century medieval village in Tuscany.

Ports of call on offer include Livorno (for Florence), Villefranche (for Nice) and Porto Torres (Sardinia). During the cruise, members of Celebrity's Captain’s Club loyalty programme (“Classic” level membership or higher) can enjoy a series of culinary events including:
 

A Taste of Nice: A four-course Mediterranean dinner featuring locally-caught seafood, farm-to-table vegetables, artisanal olive oils, local wine pairings and dessert, all created by Celebrity Chefs Thomas Szymanski and Thierry Houlbert, and served in the elegant Murano restaurant. The prix fixe menu is $95pp.
 

Molecular Cocktail dinner: Guests can join Celebrity's James Beard-featured chef John Suley and “The Liquid Chef” Junior Merino for a unique pairing menu combining cocktails from the Molecular Bar and dishes from the ‘uniquely unordinary’ onboard speciality restaurant, Qsine. The prix fixe menu is $95 per person.

A Taste of Spain: Captain’s Club members can enjoy traditional tapas such as Iberico ham and samples of olive oils direct from Andalusia. Celebrity's chefs Rufino Rengifo and Thierry Houlbert will host the evening with Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson, pairing Spanish delicacies with fine wines including Riojas, Priorats and Sherry. The prix fixe menu is $95pp.

Guests on this sailing also can purchase new shore excursions, from the Celebrity Exclusives collection, such as a hot air balloon ride over the Tuscan countryside, a tour via Ferrari of the Côte d’Azur and a specially designed helicopter flight prior to an intimate lunch at renowned Chef Alain Ducasse’s Provencal Inn. Space is extremely limited within the collection of Celebrity Exclusives, and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
 

For more information about the President’s Cruise, Captain’s Club members can log into their member account at www.celebritycruises.com/captainsclub. Anyone over the age of 18 can join the Captain’s Club.

More info: visit www.celebritycruises.co.uk or call 0844 493 2043.

 

Have you subscribed to World of Cruising magazine yet? We have a fabulous offer for all new subscribers this year - 50 per cent OFF the regular rate AND the chance to win a cruise in our free prize draw offer. See this link!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Join the Club? (by SV)

Celebrity Cruises has relaunched its Captains Club benefits programme to offer more exclusive services and features for repeat passengers who qualify in its three-tier system.

And, for a change, it really does sound like a cruise line has "listened to our regular guests" in redesigning what the Club can do to make a Celebrity cruise more attractive for past passengers.

Instead of the hackneyed old 'private drinks reception,' (which, frankly, is a pretty feeble idea that set sail with the original Queen Mary), they have introduced a special Captain's Club quiet lounge, an exclusive, once-a-cruise Captain's Celebration, complimentary Internet packages and more (with Celebrity promising further additions to come after more 'consultations').

The new Lounge will offer a casual coffee-house style from 8-10am (with complimentary teas, espressos and other items) and a social wine club from 4-6pm, with wine-tasting and other events.

Another handy, if less dramatic, addition to the programme re laundrey, dry-cleaning and pressing benefits, based on the length of cruise.

It may not sound a lot but this does provide Captains Club members with some neat sea-going privileges and, more importantly, it gives the whole idea of cruise 'rewards' programmes far more credibility and clout, while this should certainly offer a genuine 'lure' for anyone looking to join (or take their next cruise if already enrolled). Members are also offered told there will be more opportunities to reach higher-tier status.

You can read the full press release on the Royal Caribbean investor website, and the promise of more to come, should make Celebrity a highly attractive proposition for anyone with a few 'credits' already under their belt (and credits are also earned for longer cruises and higher categories of stateroom with Celebrity Cruises).

When the competition for passengers' hard-earned money is getting more and more fevered almost day by day, it is these kinds of more thoughtful 'extras' which may well catch the eye. Just in the case the brand spanking new Celebrity Equinox doesn't!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.