PotatoPotahto wrote:A lot of people have suggested it, but I think the easiest way would just be to reserve a few of every kind of cabin.
So, when gold tickets go on sale, 50% of cabins are available (and likely sell out)
When silver tickets go on sale, 25% of cabins go on sale (and likely sell out)
And when public sales open the rest are available.
It would probably piss off veterans the least out of all the suggestions so far, instead of not letting them get their early access or opening up to every body at the same time. They still get discounts and early access, but it's not possible for them to book the whole cruise to themselves.
Hope I explained this well.
I think this could be something they'll actually implement. The problem would arise when the allocated supply of staterooms runs out and, say, Gold survivors then get some sort of "sold out" message. Would Gold survivors then have to wait until Silver sales start, or until general sales start, or....? And just the rumor of 70K being "sold out" prematurely could impact general sales.
It would be a tricky rope to walk.
I still think their best bet would be to establish at least one additional loyalty tier, but I like the thought of adding a percentage of prior 70Ks instead of a hard-and-fast number. Start sales off with the higher tiers and work down. It would help alleviate the website behaving like a frightened child when Gold sales start. Using a percentage would mean that if people remain loyal they could advance to the next tier as time went on.
Say.....
-- Diamond Survivors:
all 70Ks, or maybe all but one 70Ks to date. This would be like "80 or 90%" of 70Ks.
-- Platinum Survivors: 60% of all 70Ks to date. For this year, that would equate to 5 or 6 70Ks.
-- Gold Survivors: 40% of all 70Ks to date. This would come out to 3 or 4 70Ks.
-- Silver Survivors: 20% of all 70Ks to date. 1 or 2 prior 70Ks.
-- General public sales.
Or, simplify it and combine the top two tiers as "Platinum" and make it 5 70Ks or more.
Ironically, the cruise lines themselves are having similar issues with their loyalty program tiers...although not quite for the same reasons.