New Pearl tier benefits

[kurts mom]

It's such a joke. After 25 cruises, are you really going to wait in line to have your picture taken? It's just like Palo, a benefit that they don't have to pay for.

This is exactly what I said, we have 22 cruises ( #23 in June) and while we take a photo every now and again we stopped awhile ago.When they first made the announcement I told my husband we aren’t cruising with anyone else until we are pearl, and while I wasn’t expecting much, this is super disappointing. This won’t stop us from sailing Disney but I am no longer in any hurry to get to pearl. We enjoy other lines too!

 

[n2mm]

Despite what the website says, there were reports here of the Gold & Platinum reception happening on multiple cruises last year. The real cut was when they switched it to cruises of 8 nights or more, which are rather rare with DCL.

We were on the 8 night eastern Caribbean in October. We had a gold/platinum reception.

 

[insureman]

Has there been any mention if concierge will still be able to book experiences ahead of all the tiers?

 

[Kwami]

Has there been any mention if concierge will still be able to book experiences ahead of all the tiers?

They haven't mentioned any changes to the concierge timing, so I'd assume that it's still more than 123 days.

 

[4 mickey]

So did I get this right

pearls will have photo package
and an extra palo ( so two dinners ?

 

[4 mickey]

I will never be pearl status, but the benefits IMO are quite underwhelming.

Not everyone even values the photos, and I am sure that Pearl CC members probably don't want to wait in line for photos, and while some might, I bet most don't.

They really should offer an OBC, higher discounts on merch. Bring back the reception and put it on 7+ night sailings. There needs to be more on-board benefits.

Yes higher discounts and no port arrival time would have been nice

 

[shananigans]

I do like the tumblers, though. Excited for new gifts for all starting this summer.

If we can move on from the sling bags … that would be great! We will become Platinum this Fall and after this release - not much incentive to reach Pearl … I think concierge will continue to be where the greatest benefits are.

 

[Kwami]

So did I get this right

pearls will have photo package
and an extra palo ( so two dinners ?

Just the one Palo.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes higher discounts and no port arrival time would have been nice

I can’t believe they aren’t offering preferred boarding. I thought for sure they would offer that.

 

[cvjw]

Despite what the website says, there were reports here of the Gold & Platinum reception happening on multiple cruises last year. The real cut was when they switched it to cruises of 8 nights or more, which are rather rare with DCL.

We did the reception on the 8 night cruise last fall on the fantasy. We received a free drink, a free rice crispy treat and listened to some performers talk about the frozen show and characters.

Interesting enough. But not enough to attend on the 8 night in April. We will be platinum after our cruise in April. No rush for pearl.

 

[shananigans]

I can’t believe they aren’t offering preferred boarding. I thought for sure they would offer that.

I’m guessing that will always remained reserved for concierge - I’d love to see them have set online check in times. The mad dash at midnight is exhausting!

 

[jrapps]

I’m really hoping we enjoy Royal in 3 months because DCL’s locality program is rather insulting.

I hope you like Royal as well. We love it personally. While we won't stop sailing Disney and I will reach Pearl soon enough no matter what, I certainly am not going out of my way to book more of them. At this point, Royal is our preferred cruise line. For our family (Adults, teens, & pre-teens) it fits us nicely.

As long as you go into it expecting a different experience and going with that, you will likely have a great time. And once you reach status on Royal, you will actually feel appreciated! 4 daily free alcoholic drinks goes a long way, even for people like us who are NOT big drinkers.

 

[JM_97]

I am merely a Silver member but what doesn't make sense is that it's by sailings and not nights. A 14 night Panama Canal Cruise should be worth more for the loyalty program than a 3 night Bahamas cruise.

It incentives longer cruises (who generally are attended by more seasoned cruisers) and to me it's not really fair that a shorter cruise has the same amount of "points" as a much longer one.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I mean, I would totally use that photo package. But why not give OBC instead. Disney would still get their money back.

Same logic why the palo meal can't just be onboard credit.

 

[toontoy]

I would say the main reason for the package and not OBC is simply its a perk that most will not redeem. If you have cash to spend you are more willing to spend it. I wonder how many palo redemptions go unused. I would say if we ever get this 'perk', I may walk away with 3-4 photos is all.

 

[DCLMP]

I hope you like Royal as well. We love it personally. While we won't stop sailing Disney and I will reach Pearl soon enough no matter what, I certainly am not going out of my way to book more of them. At this point, Royal is our preferred cruise line. For our family (Adults, teens, & pre-teens) it fits us nicely.

As long as you go into it expecting a different experience and going with that, you will likely have a great time. And once you reach status on Royal, you will actually feel appreciated! 4 daily free alcoholic drinks goes a long way, even for people like us who are NOT big drinkers.

Four free drinks daily sounds perfect. I'm debating the drink package I don't think I drink enough, but the unlimited bottled waters, and coffee drinks may make it worth it. It's a convenience more than anything.

I did cruise on Allure in 2020. It was just OK. I feel the same way about DCL in the Caribbean...I'm just kind of tired of those itinerary's. .

 

[DCLMP]

I’m guessing that will always remained reserved for concierge - I’d love to see them have set online check in times. The mad dash at midnight is exhausting!

Pre-covid platinum got group 1. I don't see why they can't offer group 1 to Pearl.

 

[princesscinderella]

Pre-covid platinum got group 1. I don't see why they can't offer group 1 to Pearl.

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

 

[DCLMP]

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

I don't recall ever doing that, but we never showed up until around noon and then boarded right away. My boarding experiences since the restart have been horrible. I don't need to be the first one on, but I also don't want to wait in the terminal for two hours.

I'll admit a lot of it has been bad luck. Twice the computer system went down, once the coast guard inspection, another time delayed for no reason. I have no idea what happened in San Diego, but we didn't get on the ship until 3pm. We've have cruised DCL 5 times since the restart and every time boarding has been a disaster. I think it's mostly bad luck, but had they let platinum's boarded first it would have erased some of the pain.

There was never even an apology when DCL's system went down in Miami. We waited three hours to re- board on our B2B. Stuff happens, but what happened to the great customer service Disney is known for. A free drink or a coffee would have gone a long way.

The last cruise out of PC there was a coast guard inspection and boarding did not start until 1230 and then we had to sit there for 90 minutes and watch all the first time cruisers board before us.

I don't want to sound entitled, but for all the money I've spent on DCL you kind of expect not to have to sit in the terminal for hours to board.

I was looking at what I would get on Royal if I had been cruising on them the last 15 years and it's not even comparable. I would be Diamond plus on Royal and the perks are fantastic.

 

[Kwami]

I'll admit a lot of it has been bad luck. Twice the computer system went down, once the coast guard inspection, another time delayed for no reason. I have no idea what happened in San Diego, but we didn't get on the ship until 3pm. We've have cruised DCL 5 times since the restart and every time boarding has been a disaster. I think it's mostly bad luck, but had they let platinum's boarded first it would have erased some of the pain.

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.