By Virginia López Valiente
Managing Director of Cruises News Media Group and Editor of CruisesNews magazine
Editorial from CruisesNews magazine no. 66 – September 2023
Showing loyalty to a specific cruise line can bring significant advantages.
A loyalty program is a marketing strategy established by a company to reward customer purchasing behavior, fostering a sense of loyalty and commitment to the brand. These programs offer access to credits, discounts, prizes, privileges, or preferential access on board, or any other type of benefit that reinforces customer loyalty.
Cruises also have their loyalty programs, with cards, levels, and measured by days on board, complete trips, or monetary amounts.
While basic levels of cruise line loyalty programs don't usually offer many benefits, mid-level levels offer everything from spa discounts to free meals at extra-charge restaurants, and the perks improve from there.
At the highest level of some programs, you can even get a free cruise for two.
Unlike most airline or hotel loyalty programs, cruise loyalty programs do not typically require customers to earn the minimum points again each year to maintain their status.
The duration of points in company loyalty programs is much longer, and even indefinite in some cases, allowing members to reach higher levels in just a few years.
Even so, not all loyalty programs are created equal. Some are very robust and offer numerous benefits even at lower tiers, while others are quite modest in what they offer. Incidentally, there are companies that still don't have these programs, despite having many repeat customers, but they do their best to offer some kind of perk.
However, I understand that many people wonder why they might prefer to always travel with the same company instead of trying all the options available, since the only reason for taking a cruise is for a vacation, whereas on airplanes or in hotels, your reasons might be professional, whether you're paying for it yourself or not, and especially if you're only using it for a few hours. This brings us to what we always try to explain: not all cruises are the same, not in terms of service, size, or even when they go to the same destinations. Customers may value things that aren't easily imagined, such as the food, the overall service from the crew or the individual service of one or more crew members, the laundry service, the spa and its treatments, the brands of drinks, a particular restaurant, the mattresses, the sheets, the entertainment, the casino, or the captain.
Loyalty is rewarded in almost every business, and if you design a good plan, the strategy pays off. The best ambassadors and advocates for cruises are satisfied customers.
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