You would need to take 100 cruises for a week in order to reach Royal Caribbean's highest loyalty status, but a five year old just did it.
While sailing on Star of the Seas last week, the cruise line recognized Aydin Derakhshan as its newest Pinnacle Club member.
Similar to the airlines, cruise lines have loyalty levels that offer special rewards and benefits for repeat customers.
For most tiers of the Crown and Anchor Society, kids under 18 years old can inherit their parent's status. However, to reach Pinnacle Club, you need to achieve it on your own by sailing enough to accrue the points.
Photo by Nora Ramadan
So yes, Aydin had to actually go on enough cruises to get his 700 points.
Aydin has now accumulated 702 points, making him the youngest person to hit the coveted status.
He reached Pinnacle in just 3 years
Photo by Twangster
Royal Caribbean holds a special event on all but the short cruises to thank its loyal customers and recognize repeat cruisers.
Whenever someone reaches 700 points, they get called up on stage to be awarded their new status.
Aydin and his family were sailing on the biggest cruise ship in the world, Star of the Seas, when he finally made it there.
The Atlanta, Georgia resident took his first cruise in 2022 and almost immediately started cruising.
The feat is even more impressive when you consider Royal Caribbean prohibits children younger than 6 months from cruising at all. So Ayden got to Pinnacle in just while missing out on half a year of eligibility.
If you do the "cruise math", that works out to 117 suite or 234 non-suite nights per year the last 3 years.
At the Top Tier event, Aydin said his favorite ship was Star of the Seas and his favorite port of call was Royal Caribbean's private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay.
The previous youngest cruiser to reach Pinnacle was 7 years old
Royal Caribbean doesn't usually publish information about its cruisers, but according to cruise fans, Aydin beat out the record for youngest person to make it to Pinnacle by 2 years.
As of 2023, Ryan Tyson was recognized as the youngest Pinnacle member at 7 years old.
In a video he collaborated on with the cruise line, he said his favorite ship was Oasis of the Seas because it has Portside BBQ specialty restaurant.
He also loves all the activities onboard, including the SeaPlex, mini golf, and everything on the sports deck.
What you get for making it to Pinnacle
Now that Aydin has set a new record for being Pinnacle, he will enjoy a lifetime of special perks.
Off the bat, he'll qualify for a free cruise as a way to thank him for his loyalty.
Photo by Kenneth Jarvis
On any cruise he takes, he'll enjoy:
- Priority boarding in the suite line
- 6 complimentary drinks per day
- Free internet package every cruise
- Access to Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge (assuming there aren't too many other Pinnacles onboard)
- A gold pin to wear around the ship
- Invitations to exclusive events
- Reciprocal status with Celebrity or Silversea
As a Pinnacle Club member myself, the amount of freebies you get is quite impressive. The drink vouchers, Wi-Fi package, and priority embarkation are easily my favorite benefits of the bunch.
Congratulations to Aydin and his family
Achieving Pinnacle Club status is quite a milestone for anyone, but especially for kids who are brought onboard by their parents.
Being a super frequent cruiser is not just about bragging rights, but quite a fun way to see the world. Going on that many cruises means at a young age Aydin has already visited a number of countries.
It can be argued that traveling with young kids is great for boosting their brain development, creativity, social skills, and global awareness. We don't know every port of call or country he visited, but cruising and being exposed to so many cultures is a great educational tool to "open your eyes to the world", figuratively speaking.
Welcome to the club, kid!
