Castaway Cay levels- Diamond

[rosermama]

I have seen a lot people on here who have over 20 cruises with DCL. Do you think it is time for them to add another level to the Castaway Cay Club? A Diamond Level?

 

[kcashner]

It has been rumored for a while....the only question seem to be whether it will come along with a restructuring of the whole program to incorporate some measure of cruises vs. nights on board.

 

[NancyIL]

I agree that DCL needs to count number of cruises OR number of nights (whichever is higher) when establishing new Castaway Club membership levels. Other cruise lines that base their loyalty program levels on the number of cruises give additional points for longer cruises and/or staying in a suite.

I expect to finally make it to gold in 2013, but I don't know if I'll ever get to platinum with 10 cruises - let alone diamond at 20!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Guess it depends on what perks the Diamond tier would get. I doubt we'd ever get there.

I agree that DCL should base the levels on the number of cruises OR number of days per cruise. When they count a 2-day cruise to no where the same as a 15-day cruise, that just doesn't sit well with me.

And yes, I know I could sign up for the short(!) cruises but I'd much rather actually go somewhere instead of no where. By this summer we will have cruised a total of 44 days with DCL, but we'll still be silver.

 

[DVC Mary]

Another vote for counting the # of nights.

I agree w/ jdb in AZ. We want to go somewhere not back back to the Bahamas. I love CC, but I like variety. I loved Alaska last year. Almost got to do Canada but the dates didn't work out.

We only do 7 day cruises & can only cruise in the summer w/ a limited window of when we can cruise thanks to kids in sports, summer school, etc. & being a myself that can't take personal days to elongate a long weekend, Spring Break, or Christmas Break.

If something were to happen & I would not get back on time I'd get docked hundreds of dollars possibly closer to the thousand mark. And I'd get in big trouble! I just got a personal day turned down for Monday to attend a friend's funeral. My kids are devastated that they can't attend b/c I can't be there to sign them out of school.

 

[rosermama]

Maybe they could do a point system which combines cruises and # of nights for example

2-4 day cruises = 1 pt
5-7 day cruises= 1.5 pt
8-10 day cruises= 2 pt
11-15 day cruises= 2.5pt

This way you are getting rewarded for the taking the longer cruises and those who don't like the shorter cruises will earn pts just as fast as those who only like the shorter cruises.

I know that my DH and I were thinking to do a B2B just to get 2 cruises instead of the 1 we get for 7 night cruises but we are just not wanting to see Nassau that much

 

[trimix]

As far as 'should', in my opinion it would depend on what benefits they give the diamond members - would they come up with something new, or would they reduce benefits for the lower levels? If they are reducing benefits, i would naturally be opposed to the new level.

And, as another person who has no interest in a three night cruise, I would be very pleased to see a change to consideration of number of nights afloat. But I would be very surprised if that change happened. When I mentioned it in the past others pointed out that DCL makes a greater profit per night off the shorter cruises.

 

[Epcotopia]

Another vote for # of nights. Although I think there should be a multiplier depending on stateroom cat.
x1 for inside
x2 for ocean view
x3 for verandah
x4 for suite

So for example a verandah on a 7 night cruise would accumulate 21 points.

But then again, who knows if Disney even needs to change their system....

 

[OKW Lover]

Actually, I think DCL should reduce the number of perks that repeat cruisers get. Especially those that cruise >20 times. Obviously those people don't need any encouragement to rebook, so why not spend the extra money enticing new cruisers?

 

[over50visits]

Another vote for # of nights. Although I think there should be a multiplier depending on stateroom cat.
x1 for inside
x2 for ocean view
x3 for verandah
x4 for suite

So for example a verandah on a 7 night cruise would accumulate 21 points.

But then again, who knows if Disney even needs to change their system....

There should also be a deduction for cruises on another line! Castaway level based on number of nights on DCL minus number of nights on another cruise line.

 

[jdb in AZ]

There should also be a deduction for cruises on another line! Castaway level based on number of nights on DCL minus number of nights on another cruise line.

I hope that's an April Fool's joke. Disney has enough problems tracking the number of DCL cruises for their own loyalty program. There's no way they could accurately track other cruise lines as well. And why should someone be penalized for cruising somewhere DCL doesn't sail?

 

[clten]

I'm all for another level. But it really depends on what they would have planned for that level. I am not complaining as I understand that anything they do as part of their return cruiser program is a gift. But I have really seen a drop in the Platinum benefits especially in the onboard experiences over the last year. I have been told that part of this is the number of guests on some cruises. As more and more people return, that Platinum level is just going to get bigger and bigger. So what was once a nice perk, we now refer to at the return of the Platinum Theater tour. (We don't even anticipate being able to participate in any option on the Hawaii cruise as I'm sure it is a huge percentage of platinum cruisers.)

As for the person who said the cruisers who have cruised over 20 times don't need any perks -- one of the nice things was getting to do new things as a platinum cruiser. It actually keeps loyal customers from getting bored and thinking about trying out other cruise lines just to have new things to do.

 

[acourtwdw]

We are Platinum. I'm not complaining about the gifts but I really don't need one more backpack or rice krispy treat. In fact, on our last cruise (3 night Feb 2012), I left my CC gift bag and all it goodies for my physical therapist who was getting on the ship with his family on the day we were getting off for their first ever cruise.

My favorite parts of the CC Platinum gifts are Palo, sparkling wine and the behind the scenes tour. We got to visit the bridge in October 2011.

I would really like something that I could use, like free Internet! That would be much better than the bag and that other stuff that I already have.

 

[Grandma4ever]

What would be nice is several options for a gift and each family/person get to choice what will work best for that stateroom.

Outside of that I will leave it up to DCL.

 

[alikat99]

I've been on DCL 8 times, with #9 boarding in less than 2 months. I don't have a problem with DCL adding another level, for those that have cruised 20+ times. Heck, I would love to be a part of that, but cost is not in my favor, LOL!!

I also wouldn't have a problem with them doing some kind of restructuring, to account for those that have taken longer trips. Most of ours have been 7 night cruises, but living in FL, we have taken a couple of shorter cruises because it's a quick, easy trip from here.

What I don't really think is fair would be to make it about the type of cabin that you prefer. I just don't think that would be right. For us, our first cruise was in a verandah and it just wasn't for us. We hardly ever used it and we just couldn't justify the cost, if we weren't using it. We'd rather take a cruise in an oceanview (or even an inside room), than to spend the extra money on a verandah. To each his own, but I don't think that it should be counted for the Castaway Club benefits.

 

[jlwhitney]

I do not think they need to do anything with Castaway Club, I am gold and really don't care if it exsists or not. In the end no matter what they do people will complain and debates will take place.

 

[mmouse37]

We are Platinum. I'm not complaining about the gifts but I really don't need one more backpack or rice krispy treat. In fact, on our last cruise (3 night Feb 2012), I left my CC gift bag and all it goodies for my physical therapist who was getting on the ship with his family on the day we were getting off for their first ever cruise.

My favorite parts of the CC Platinum gifts are Palo, sparkling wine and the behind the scenes tour. We got to visit the bridge in October 2011.

I would really like something that I could use, like free Internet! That would be much better than the bag and that other stuff that I already have.

Ditto!!!

MJ

 

[scrapycruiser]

Ditto!!!

MJ

I totally agree !

 

[Iceman93]

Selfishly, I wish they would restructure the program. Last fall I took my first Disney cruise, a 14-day cruise in a royal suite. I spent more on that single cruise than some platinum members who've booked all kinds of special deals on 3- and 4-day cruises in inside cabins. But those folks get platinum benefits and I get nothing?

Of course the goal of any loyalty program is not really to reward prior business but to encourage future business. With that in mind, the current setup seems to be doing just fine, as Disney has a huge, loyal fan base...

 

[rosermama]

I like the idea of being able to pick for a series of gifts that is a nice idea. I really don't need another bag. They should take a page out of DVC everytime we cruise we have gotten a different gift from DVC and we don't even use our points for the cruise. Last time we got a nice wooden box that was way better than the bag. For some families the bag is most pratical but others not.

They could have a standard option (bag etc) or a take your chances option (could be a number of different things like free internet, water bottles and sun care stuff from H2O, big bottle of H2O shamppoo and conditoner but the one from the resort not the one on the cruise etc.)

Plantinum level is going to get bigger and bigger as more people reach 10 cruises + and all the people already there have no other level to get to which would break up the group.