Celebrity Cruises Launches New Captain's Club; Members Are 'Center Of Attention'
July 08 2009 - 9:05AM
PR Newswire (US)
MIAMI, July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Celebrity Cruises'
Captain's Club - the top-rated premium brand's three-tiered
recognition and benefits program designed exclusively for its most
loyal guests - has been redesigned and relaunched based on a series
of member-inspired improvements. Several new features are rolling
out across the fleet on sailings beginning this month, while others
will be introduced in intervals over the course of the year. "Our
most loyal guests deserve our loyalty in return, so we're thrilled
to offer them a vastly improved program," said Celebrity Cruises
President & CEO Dan Hanrahan. "Our new Captain's Club gives
them greater recognition, exclusive benefits, and a number of new
features designed to make them feel like the center of our
attention every time they sail with us." New features launching
this month include the Captain's Club Celebration, a one-of-a-kind
social and entertainment event available to all members;
significantly improved Internet and laundry benefits for Select and
Elite tier members; and a new onboard lounge exclusively for Elite
members. The brand has even introduced a new theme for the club,
which doubles as its ongoing commitment to members: "The center of
our attention." But these improvements are only the beginning.
During the second half of this year, Celebrity will expand the
Captain's Club with a variety of other new features, all of which
will be announced prior to taking effect. "Our new Captain's Club
was designed based on a tremendous amount of research, feedback
from our members, and advice from our travel partners," said
Hanrahan. "We want to ensure that we deliver every aspect to our
guests' utmost satisfaction, so we're choosing to roll out the
enhancements in intervals, beginning with improvements to the
member experience onboard." A highlight of the onboard experience
is likely to be the Captain's Club Celebration. Soon available
across the fleet, with the exception of Celebrity Xpedition, all
members will be invited to this exclusive event once per sailing.
Redesigned to be a highlight of every cruise, the spirited affair
will provide the perfect opportunity to meet fellow members, chat
with the Captain and senior shipboard officers, experience
interactive cooking demonstrations, and enjoy the new "CC Jams"
performance by a variety of shipboard musicians. For members
interested in a quiet haven of their own, Celebrity is pleased to
introduce the Captain's Club Lounge at Michael's Club, exclusively
for Elite members and their stateroom/suite companions each morning
and early evening. The new Lounge will offer a casual
coffeehouse-style experience from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., with
complimentary espressos, teas and other menu items, a variety of
reading materials, and, on Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity
Equinox, wi-fi access. Every evening from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
Captain's Club Elite members and their stateroom/suite companions
can return to the Lounge to socialize with fellow members,
participate in a wine tasting event, or simply relax and enjoy a
quiet, complimentary drink before dinner. In recognition of their
desire to stay in touch with family and friends while vacationing,
Elite members will now receive complimentary, 90-minute Internet
packages, while Select members will receive a 25 percent discount.
Also within the new program, Captain's Club Select- and Elite-level
members can now enjoy new laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing
benefits, based on the length of their cruise (laundry and Internet
benefits upgrade from tier to tier, and are not cumulative).
Celebrity also is extending its pledge to make members the center
of attention by engaging many in the entirely new Captain's Club
Advisory Board, to ensure its most loyal guests always have a voice
in shaping the program. Participation on the Advisory Board will be
offered online on a rotating basis to a selection of members across
all tiers. In addition to focusing on effectively delivering the
new features of the Captain's Club, Celebrity will continue to
ensure that members enjoy all the program benefits currently
available, too, and that they continue to have more opportunities
to achieve higher-tier status. "We will continue to provide members
in every tier of the Captain's Club with the recognition and
rewards they've come to expect, while adding several new
enhancements over the course of this year," said Hanrahan. "We also
want to ensure that our members have the opportunity to quickly
advance to the next tier. That's why we count tier credits versus
purely counting cruises. Tier credits are earned simply by sailing
with us, but we also award additional credits for cruises of 12 or
more nights, and for booking certain stateroom and suite
categories. As a result, members can more quickly advance to the
next tier." "What we're rolling out today, combined with everything
we'll be adding to the program over the course of this year, will
add up to what I'm confident will be the best loyalty program at
sea," Hanrahan added. Prior Captain's Club benefits and new
enhancements available at launch include: For Classic members (1-4
tier credits): Access to the loyalty desk and loyalty host; a
premium onboard discount booklet; access to the new Captain's Club
Celebration event; a complimentary custom air request; pre-cruise
specialty restaurant reservations; member reunion cruises;
one-category upgrades (when available); and an online newsletter.
For Select members (5-9 tier credits): All of the benefits of
Classic membership, plus priority embarkation, a complimentary wine
seminar, priority status to shore excursion waitlist, an invitation
to the senior officers' cocktail party, 25% off any Internet
package, complimentary pressing of two clothing items, and
discounted laundry on cruises of 12 nights or more. For Elite
members (10 or more tier credits): All of the benefits of Select
membership, plus a private shipboard departure lounge with
continental breakfast, priority tender service, priority waitlist
for dining room seating, elegant tea service, complimentary use of
Thalassotherapy pool use on Celebrity Mercury, complimentary access
to the Persian Garden (port days only), access to the new Captain's
Club Lounge at Michael's Club, 90 free Internet minutes, one free
item of dry cleaning, a complimentary bag of laundry (wash, dry,
fold) and additional discounted laundry on cruises of 12 nights or
more. Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale
vacation experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional
dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in
Alaska, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe,
Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and
South America. The line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in
Alaska, Canada, Europe and South America. Noted for four of the top
10 "Top Cruise Ships in the World" in the large-ship category, as
voted by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler (February 2009 readers'
poll), Celebrity's fleet - including the new Celebrity Solstice -
will be joined by Celebrity Equinox this year, Celebrity Eclipse in
2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in 2012.
For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111
or visit http://www.celebritycruises.com/. DATASOURCE: Celebrity
Cruises CONTACT: Elizabeth Jakeway, +1-305-539-6127, , or Tavia
Robb, +1-305-539-6721, , both of Celebrity Cruises Web Site:
http://www.celebritycruises.com/
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