Princess Cruises Has Devalued Elite Status — Here’s What That Means for You
Princess Captain’s Circle Elite status still has real value — but has Princess devalued loyalty by allowing Plus and Premier to overlap with some of the program’s most important benefits? In this video, we take a practical look at what Princess Elite status is actually worth today, how that value changes depending on the way you cruise, and whether Elite is still worth chasing. We break down the real-world value of Captain’s Circle Elite benefits including complimentary laundry, the minibar setup, MedallionNet savings, shore excursion discounts, Shops of Princess discounts, early dining access, priority ship-to-shore water shuttle access, priority disembarkation and more. We also compare what happens when you sail with Princess Plus or Princess Premier. Some Elite and Platinum benefits remain genuinely useful, while others overlap with things you may already be paying for through a package. There are even situations where a Captain’s Circle benefit still matters — such as using the 50% Wi-Fi discount when upgrading a Princess Plus one-device plan to four devices. Using examples from 7-, 10- and 18-day cruises, we show why there is no single dollar value for Elite. A passenger who sails without a package, uses Princess excursions, sends out laundry and values priority benefits can get very different value from someone who always books Premier and rarely uses those perks. But the bigger question is about loyalty itself. Reaching Elite takes 15 cruises or 150 cruise days, and that represents a significant commitment to Princess Cruises. While Elite is far from worthless, I believe Princess has allowed the program to become less distinctive as paid packages have expanded and some loyalty benefits have become less meaningful. So this isn’t a video arguing that you shouldn’t become Elite. If you already enjoy sailing with Princess, use every benefit you’ve earned. But should anyone book extra cruises simply to chase the current Elite benefit list? That’s a much harder argument to make. And this sets up our next Captain’s Circle video: how I would fix the Princess loyalty program and make Elite feel special again. If you’re already Elite, let me know in the comments: what single change would make you feel that Princess genuinely valued your loyalty again? Subscribe to Tidal Horizons for more Princess Cruises news, loyalty analysis, ship reviews, itinerary guides and cruise planning advice. #PrincessCruises #CaptainsCircle #PrincessElite #CruiseLoyalty #PrincessPlus #PrincessPremier #CruiseTips #CruiseNews #TidalHorizons ---- CHANNEL & CONTACT INFORMATION ---- If you are located in Canada or the United States and would like travel planning assistance, please contact me using this form: http://contact.tidalhorizons.com For Excursion planning, use our affiliate link for Shore Excursions Group, experts in cruise excursion planning. http://excursions.tidalhorizons.com ** Please note unless otherwise noted, my videos are not sponsored either by the brands depicted or by other brands unrelated to the video. ** "Tidal Horizons - Cruise & Travel" is for informational and entertainment purposes. Thank you for supporting the channel! ------------------------------------- Travel Related Business Inquiries and/or media: Please contact Andrew at andrew@tidalhorizons.com ------------------------------------- Note: While I'm happy to try and answer specific questions in the comment sections, I cannot help with travel planning through this channel. ------------------------------------- BIOGRAPHY My name is Andrew I live in Ontario, Canada with my wife and four boys. I have been an avid traveller all my life, something that we have instilled in our kids. In addition to my channel, I am a working travel consultant with one of the largest providers of cruise travel in North America.