Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Cruise lines reward their loyal cruising passengers

As they plan their trips, folks who vacation at sea sometimes bob from ship to ship, cruise line to cruise line. They may be drawn by price, a quest to sample different styles of food and service, or the tease of hot new vessels.

Many cruisers, however, find a comfort zone on one or two lines and return, year after year, often to a familiar ship, sometimes to the same cabin.

Internet at sea is slower, more costly

For their passenger loyalty, cruise lines pass out rewards. These are not nearly as lucrative nor as husbanded as frequent flyer mileage. But they can improve your voyage with such perks as free Internet time and onboard discounts.

Current wisdom among frequent cruisers — from conversations and Internet forum sites — is that most people would not switch cruise lines because of loyalty perks. They see them more as added benefits than enticements to choose a particular cruise company.

Cutting to the bone for a Vegas steak of Certified Angus Beef

Playing with words is what marketing people do. To consumers, marketing words often seem meant to mystify. This is the season for it. When I’m not traveling on the road or sailing on a cruise ship, I hang out in Ohio, where I heard enough obfuscating ad words and phrases in the 2012 presidential campaign to last me for a lifetime.

Marketing words in Wooster, Ohio, were more fun this fall, as I joined chefs slicing into a beef carcass in search of what marketing people are calling a Vegas steak.

 

Chef Rory Schepisi of Vega, Texas, slices into beef rib steak in the hunt for the hidden Vegas steak (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)