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Rumors of Crown And Anchor Points/Tiers Changes?


jmientus

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Here is what I recommend. Book all of the cruises that it will take to push you into D+. That way, if they DO change the rules on you (and I have heard these same rumors) then you can make the case that you had already booked all of the cruises you needed to make D+. I did this when I was about to make Diamond the last time they changed the rules, and they grandfathered me in as Diamond with no problem at all once I passed the original threshold. They were actually very gracious about it. I was surprised.

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I will be watching this closely as well...as I am contemplating a nice long solo cruise that would bump me into Diamond next year, prob in the fall.

 

Sounds like there could be major differences coming if they are going to start to allow you to "buy" points during cruises.

 

I assume everything will require more $ spent/more cruises to be taken to obtain the levels, but time will tell.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Only 7 more nights until we're Diamond Plus.  Let's hope they don't require even more nights until a Diamond member becomes Diamond Plus.  We're Elite on Princess, so if Royal Caribbean requires even more points, we'll go back to Princess.  We prefer Royal Caribbean, but we've noticed the service has become worse over the last few years.  Princess still has great service, so we may move on anyway.  "New" cruisers may not realize what the service was like a few years ago, but those of us who have been cruising for 30 years really see the difference, especially on Royal Caribbean. 

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  • 2 months later...

On a cruise last month, in the Diamond lounge, someone said changes were coming this April or May.  She mentioned that Pinnacle will take 1,000 points to make, only pinnacle and suite guests in the Suite lounge, and only diamond plus and pinnacle in the Diamond lounge.  There would be other changes to tiers and points but wasn't sure what they were.

 

I asked the Concierge if this was true.  He said that changes were coming but they are not finished working on them.  Guess we have to wait till they come out to know for sure what they are.

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I have also read the same one about changing PC to 1000 points. Typical solution. Climb the ladder and then pull it up behind you...

 

The Suites lounge is already limited to PC and Suites guests. Maybe you meant to say "Concierge" instead is "Suites" ? So did they mean that the DL would exclude PC ? I can't see that happening and Suite guests are already excluded from the DL if there is a CL or Suites Lounge on the ship.

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Not crazy about buying points, but if they keep upping the levels.....you have to do what you have to do I guess.

 

That being said, I haven't heard anything else about the "spending X amount of money on board" gets you more C&A points?

 

 

I can't imagine they would change it so Diamond members aren't even allowed in the lounge anymore...seems harsh. 

 

At 1000 points for Pinnacle...that would be approx. 142 cruises it would take at 7 nights a cruise....that's just not even acceptable.

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Yes, I meant CL; Yes, only DP & P in DL; Nothing is confirmed.  The woman stating this is supposedly a P with "connections"?  We'll see.  The C did state it was coming though but wouldn't mention what or actually when it was coming.  Just that they're working on it.

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Some thing is about to happen.

 

The 3 free drinks in any bar for Diamond and Diamond plus/ Pinnacle would suspect that something is in the background.

 

Diamond Plus are now excluded from the "Suite Lounge" on the revitalized Oasis ships and the new Quantum class. We still have access to "Concierge Lounge" on all other ships, but there are very few differences between Diamond and Diamond plus on the new ships.

 

It is only my feeling but we used to get Concierge as Diamond and this was removed, so it has happened before.

If they put another level between Diamond plus and Pinnacle, what happens then?

 

Even at over 350 points, all we get is another bottle of wine and lunch with an officer on sea day. With BOGOF there is no advantage for solo sailing.

Its a long way to pinnacle at 700 and unachievable at 1000.

 

Looks like Diamond plus is the best place to be at present.

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I am sure something is going to change..on my most recent cruise, out of 3900 passengers, over 1300 were C&A members...granted around 800 of them were Gold Status which basically means no perks really...but you can see when about 30% of the customers are "rewards" members they are going to have to do something to make it harder to obtain higher levels.

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My wife and I are at the Diamond level. We will reach Diamond Plus level at the end of 2016. I would hope that RC does not move the Diamond Plus points level further away from us. The cost to give us a few drinks every day does not cost them that much. I could see RC creating a couple levels between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle. Allowing us access only the in the Diamond and Diamond Plus Lounge is fine.

Suite lounge and the Concierge Lounge is off limits to us. We have not earned that level thus we have not been awarded that access.

Spending money at specialty restaurants, on board experiences could be a way to achieve additional points.  

 

Buying points is a bad concept. Points should always be earned by nights at sea. 

 

I have a friend that is Diamond Plus. He and his wife and son take a RC cruise two or three times a year.The husband and wife became Diamond Plus five years ago and since then every cruise from then on they have put in their son's name using his credit card. The parents paid the cc bill. At 21 years old and still in college the son is now Diamond Plus.

 

Current cruises they take are now registered and paid for by the parents and they are back to accumulating points.

Thank you

JR

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I have offered this advice many times before...but here it comes again.

 

If your goal is to achieve Diamond + and you want a hedge against any [negative] potential program changes, book all of the cruises that it will take for you to achieve D+ now.  If, between now and the time you complete that last cruise (the one that will "put you over" the line), they change the rules on you, you can ask the folks at C&A to grandfather you in.  This happened to us when we were about to make Diamond.  We knew that they were changing the program so we booked all of the cruises that we needed to surpass the [current] level for Diamond and they agreed to grant us Diamond level once we completed the last of those already-booked cruises. They were good to their word and even though our point level was lower than the new threshold, they granted us Diamond status.

 

So they ARE reasonable about such things when they know that it will negatively impact some loyal C&A members...but you have to be proactive and you have to follow up periodically to make sure that it has been properly documented in your "file"...whatever that is.

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It has become complicated for them.  

 

Way back when, the cruise experience was basically the same for everyone.  You only paid for what type cabin you wanted and any differences were inside the cabin... not outside.  The only "special" guests to contend with were the frequent floaters.  Now that the model dictates that the cost of the cabin can impact the entire cruise experience (suites), the suite guests are also a "special" group to contend with.  (I'm not judging, as people should get what they paid for, as advertized).  So you have 2 special groups...who is more special?  One spends a lot of $$$ on a single sailing, while the other spends lots of $$$ over the long haul.  How do you make them both feel like they are the tops without the other knowing?  Is a frequent floater staying in a suite "extra" special?  Add into the mix the fact that creating a popular product has caused your frequent floater program to explode in popularity, and you can almost end up with more guests with some sort of status than those with none on a single sailing.  

 

Popularity is a double edged sword it would seem.

 

As for me, I've been D+ for a while now, and I never use the DL or CL (and since I don't book suites, won't be using the SL either).  You're much more likely to find me in the back booth at Sorentos, the cigar lounge, or the Viking Crown, reading a book.  Even at my hoped for rate of 3 or 4 sailings a year, I probably won't ever see a Pinnacle Club badge with my name on it.  And thats ok, as I like the product, and will sail with them as long as I do.  

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That's why I am looking at trying to get to diamond asap....with my cruise in Feb..then doing a 7 day cruise solo cabin in April I will hit emerald and be 24 nights away from Diamond. Seriously looking at doing a transatlantic or repositioning  cruise in the fall solo just to bump me to diamond.

 

I am really hoping that if/when they do change....that at least at Diamond level you wouldn't loose too many of your perks and incentives.

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We become D+ after our next cruise in two weeks.  Don't drink, don't bother any more with the free photos, not showing up early and wait just to be first onboard anymore, book insides so don't use balcony discounts, don't buy RCCL logo gifts (discount).  Woo Hoo!  Kidding aside, we do enjoy meeting people and socializing at the DL (love the coffee machine), and getting some free wifi. We will do the BOGO specialty restaurant though when we're D+.

 

RCCL's problem is kind of like Soc Sec, too many collecting and they can't afford it anymore.  I think there will be a lot of angry customers if they change the # of points to get to the next tiers.  Think they're going to downgrade the benefits a little instead.  We'll see.....

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We become D+ after our next cruise in two weeks.  Don't drink, don't bother any more with the free photos, not showing up early and wait just to be first onboard anymore, book insides so don't use balcony discounts, don't buy RCCL logo gifts (discount).  Woo Hoo!  Kidding aside, we do enjoy meeting people and socializing at the DL (love the coffee machine), and getting some free wifi. We will do the BOGO specialty restaurant though when we're D+.

 

RCCL's problem is kind of like Soc Sec, too many collecting and they can't afford it anymore.  I think there will be a lot of angry customers if they change the # of points to get to the next tiers.  Think they're going to downgrade the benefits a little instead.  We'll see.....

 

Wait! Free WiFi in DL? Is that a real thing?

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As Diamond, we both get one 24 hour period of free WIFI.  It's actually a $40 coupon that can be used alone or with a package.  One thing we do is save one till the next to last day of the cruise because their package is $20 a day for one device for rest of cruise no matter what day you start.  That way we get the last two days free.  Not sure what the D+ WIFI benefit is but I think it's a little better.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just joined this blog. That said, I think the answer to them changing the levels lays in there recent and future changes to suite class. I believe they are trying to extend an area away from most c&a members unless they have suite access. There recent changes mostly affect the two largest ship classes that offer larger suite perks. That said they are trying to limit the availability of people using those perks outside of suite class. Since those perks will have limited space on board. The restaurants that are suite and P access only have limited space and if you paid 15.000 grand for your room and there are 20 plus p guests that are in inside cabins there could be a precived animosity there. Now that said i don't know how this will affect the older ships since they have limited ability to offer the new suite perks. But some have indicated that the pay as you go restaurants would be free for those in owner suites on ships without all the suite perk areas. This is one thing there already moving to on the two larger ships. Which makes sense if they are to be competitive even in the smallest ways with the now top brands. they have to up there suite game.

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  • 4 weeks later...

 (only two perks I care about are the balcony discount and the free drinks)

I was kind of surprised how many Diamond perks I used.

 

Balcony discount. (tho I've been doing this since I was platinum)

Priority boarding. Tho they seem to have fixed the boarding backlog problem in Galveston (at least this year).

 

Free drinks. Yeah, lots of those.

The free 24 hour wifi. I've noticed they've changed the structure on how they charge but my IT husband still is boggled they charge by time and not amount of data.

 

The 20% spa discount. I had booked a couples massage before the cruise and when it came time to pay, it was "oh you're diamond would you like to use your discount?" That's 20% off $380, I said "yes please".

 

The look on the bartender's face was priceless when I walked into Vintages and said "I'd like to use my BOGO" and ordered 2 glasses of Caymus.

 

I used the single drink discount when ordering a drink (that I actually paid for!) and the bartender noticed mine was still active. Saved what? Two, three dollars?

 

I've used the logo merchandise discount previous cruises but not this one.

I've used the free photograph coupon previous cruises but not this one.

We used to use the free spin ones but stopped when they stopped giving out keychains or whatever it was.

 

One day they sent up a plate of sweets out of the blue, I think that was a diamond thing. Speaking of, you'll get a couple bottles of water and a package of cookies first day.

 

Crew members tend to be more deferential when they notice you're diamond (but not always).

 

Oh and you get a diamond pin but I've only seen the men wear those. They're so cute, especially when they get their first platinum pin.

 

If you don't think you've had enough free booze, go to the Welcome Back event for some more.

 

Oh something I used heavily - the coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge. Cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, works for me.

 

Anything else I think is too much trouble to chase down/arrange.

 

And Bob's your uncle.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was kind of surprised how many Diamond perks I used.

 

Balcony discount. (tho I've been doing this since I was platinum)

Priority boarding. Tho they seem to have fixed the boarding backlog problem in Galveston (at least this year).

I just wish they would let you combine the balcony discount (which used to be the "free balcony upgrade" and far more valuable) with other promotions. They're getting more and more restrictive on the promotions. I'd rather them keep the "loopholes" and the discounts that you can combine but raise the overall price of the cruise--that way, I at least FEEL like I'm getting a deal!! ;-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

What I was told by a RCCL C & A staff member back in November, 2015 was that in May, 2016 there was going to be an announcement.  The changes were going to be:

P level elevated to 1000

DP level elevated to 340

No more double points for JS suites

Everyone would be grandfathered in if they are already at the levels.

Im a DP member with 305 points.  If they were to not grandfather me in, Since Im so close to the new DP point level,  I would just enjoy the D bennies and then get another DP recognition reward etc. when my DP Status arrived again.

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I am so bummed by this talk of changing the point system. I am a solo cruiser and RCCL has been gracious enough (roll eyes here) to give me two (2) points per day per voyage. With my May Empress cruise, if it happens, I will become diamond and was looking forward to it.

As WAAAYTOOO stated I booked enough cruises to get me close to D+ but won't quite make it. I am looking at the new 2017 and 2018 to see if anything rings my chimes.

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