Cruise Lines Offer Shortcuts To Elite Loyalty Perks

Cruise lines and airlines are finding new ways to monetize their loyalty programs, including selling higher tier status for cash. In lieu of actually cruising or flying, well-heeled travelers can purchase status upgrades. Does this damage their brand?

One side effect for CMOs and CXOs to worry about is that customers who earn status the old-fashioned way, by actually traveling, may resent the practice of their preferred brand offering shortcuts to status. We’ll look at customer reactions and offer suggestions on how any brand can minimize alienating their most loyal customers.

Cruise Lines: Lifetime Status

Because most people cruise infrequently, status has always accrued over a lifetime of cruising. Usually, status levels are based on the number of days spent on the brand’s ships or the total number of cruises on that line. In contrast, airlines assign status levels annually and switched from rewarding miles flown to dollars spent years ago.

The perks for elite cruisers are often of limited value – depending on the status level, one might get free laundry on the ship, an extra party or two, perhaps access to a special lounge or show seats, cruise discounts… each line has their own program. One unusually nice perk is a free cruise offered to Silversea (part of Royal Caribbean) Venetian Society members who accrue 350 days on the line.

Pinnacle Club status on Royal Caribbean takes 700 points, and in general each point represents on night. So, a cruiser who takes 7-day cruises would need 100 cruises to hit that level. The benefits are better than what most lines offer, including special boarding and restaurant access.

Part of the value of achieving higher cruise status levels seems to be the accomplishment itself. Pinnacle members receive a gold pin, and a few wear it on the ship as a badge of honor and expect deferential treatment from both passengers and crew. There’s even a Facebook group, Entitlement of the Seas, devoted to mocking cruisers (not only elites) who demand special treatment or exhibit entitled behavior. (Despite the occasional Pinnacle singled out for ridicule, there seems to be general agreement that the majority of Pinnacle members are as gracious as everyone else.)

Cruise Line Sells Status

When it takes a lifetime of cruising to achieve higher status levels, loyalty members are particularly sensitive to shortcuts others might use to reach that status. Some lines now reward higher spenders who book larger suites or travel solo by awarding extra days or points, though none have gone as far as the airlines in focusing exclusively on dollars.

Even though these plans create a shorter path to elite status, they haven’t seemed to cause resentment from cruisers who book less expensive cabins. These guests are still spending lots of time sailing, albeit somewhat fewer days than others.

Now, though, at least one cruise line is making an offer that let customers buy their way to higher status. Princess describes its Elite status level as, “reserved for our most loyal guests and adventure enthusiasts.” But, a promotion says, if a customer pays $14,999 for a somewhat larger total amount of future cruise credit, onboard credit, and hotel credits and vouchers, they’ll get Princess Elite status for two years.

Arguably, if a customer is able to use all of the credits, the status boost won’t cost them anything. Of course, they’ll be paying a substantial amount of money up front on the assumption they’ll be able to use all of the credits.

How Are Loyal Customers Reacting?

Normally, achieving Elite status on Princess takes 15 cruises or 150 days, numbers that would take most people years to achieve. While a current Elite member is minimally affected by Princess adding a few more Elites, some members are upset that the new members didn’t demonstrate their loyalty by cruising the line for many years.

It’s “the ultimate slap in the face to loyal Princess Elite Members,” according to one member of a Facebook group devoted to complaints about Princess. Another says, “after many sailings with Princess and a lot of money spent, I feel that Princess doesn’t care.” Some commenters agreed with the sentiment. Others pointed out that, as current Elites, they weren’t impacted and that the benefits weren’t that great anyway. At least one felt the move was something many companies were doing: prioritizing money over loyalty to the brand.

Status Matching Also Controversial

Another line has its own loyalty squabble. Royal Caribbean also owns the Celebrity and Silversea brands. In 2024, they began a status matching program to encourage their customers to try their other brands.

Status matching makes a lot of sense from a corporate standpoint – if an elite status Celebrity customer decides to move up to a luxury brand, they’ll be far more likely to choose Silversea than to start from scratch at Regent, Oceania, Crystal or another high-end line.

Of course, as with Princess loyalists, some members of Silversea’s Venetian Society are upset that cruisers who have spent far less are joining their ranks as equals. (Well, mostly as equals – status matchers don’t get the free cruise.)

When some Silversea cruises can cost upwards of $500 or even $1,000 per day per person, earning 250 day status – merely mid-level – takes not only time but plenty of money.

At Cruise Critic, an online forum for cruise enthusiasts, one poster noted that while they were less than 50 days short of 250-day status, a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity customer who had spent far less with the company could jump past them and qualify for the higher status.

Overall, resentment of the status match seemed muted. Multiple members, though, expressed a general sentiment that the line was less concerned about its most loyal customers.

Should Brands Offer Loyalty Shortcuts?

Cruise loyalty program members can be particularly sensitive because status accrues over many years. But any brand that offers a loyalty shortcut to big spenders runs a risk of alienating customers who, literally, are the most loyal to the brand. On the other hand, these shortcuts can offer not only additional current revenue but a way to attract and retain new customers.

I’d suggest a few steps to minimize collateral damage:

• Limit the number of shortcut members. If a 20-year members go to a special event and are surrounded by first-timers, they’ll wonder if the brand is reciprocating their loyalty.
• Beware of scarce benefits. Ensure that longtime members aren’t displaced by newbies for any benefits with limited availability, like event seating or admission.
• Give loyal customers something extra. If there’s an influx of top-tier members who have taken a shortcut to get in, do something extra for the members who earned their status the old fashioned way. Let them know they are still special.

In my next article, I’ll look at how loyalty shortcuts affect airline brands.