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Pinnacle Cruise Awards


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  • 2 years later...

I redeemed my Pinnacle free cruise certificate today…even though I made it in February and have yet to receive my Pinnacle ‘Box’ with the actual certificate.
I called C&A (press 9) and they had my certificate on file.
I had my certificate applied to a current booking on the Oasis in a CLS. Because I sail solo, the booking price had to be reconfigured to a double occupancy price. So I lost my 150% solo supplement. I also lost over $400 for the flash sale when I originally booked. But the price remained the same as the date I booked it, not the current price.
So, although I received the full $2400 value…it was applied to a double occupancy rate. 
At the end of the computations…I received a total benefit of $1,387. 
Oh, well…pretty soon I’ll be at 1050 points and get another certificate.🤷🏼‍♂️

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2 hours ago, BrianB said:

I redeemed my Pinnacle free cruise certificate today…even though I made it in February and have yet to receive my Pinnacle ‘Box’ with the actual certificate.
I called C&A (press 9) and they had my certificate on file.
I had my certificate applied to a current booking on the Oasis in a CLS. Because I sail solo, the booking price had to be reconfigured to a double occupancy price. So I lost my 150% solo supplement. I also lost over $400 for the flash sale when I originally booked. But the price remained the same as the date I booked it, not the current price.
So, although I received the full $2400 value…it was applied to a double occupancy rate. 
At the end of the computations…I received a total benefit of $1,387. 
Oh, well…pretty soon I’ll be at 1050 points and get another certificate.🤷🏼‍♂️

I just used my 1050 cert for a SC booking solo.  I lost the CAS balcony discount and shareholder OBC both of which was expected.  I kept my solo DP340 discount though.  

In the end I realized $2,250 in value for the Pinnacle milestone but only because my cruise started out at $2,799.  If I applied it to a more costly cruise with a higher base fare I would have received all of that $2,400.  

The best way to use the Pinnacle cruises is to go seven nights to the Caribbean in a balcony during the summer or spring break peak if your goal is get the most mileage from the free cruise cert.  You can get a larger balcony category for maximum value.  Or do a cruise somewhere more exotic that is over $3k if you want to maximize the $2,400 option.  By paying some out of pocket you get points for the certificate cruise.  I used my 700 cert for a spring break large balcony since I was supposed to go with a teacher who had to vacation during the school spring break.  That was a $4,200 cruise that I just paid the taxes & port fees plus gratuity.  

Its well known that the $2,400 option isn't combinable with some discounts but you can still do pretty well like my upcoming Star Class cruise which will cost me around $500 out of pocket.  Not bad really.  

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@twangsterThanks for relying. I appreciate the information. Maybe it’s new, but the restrictions on the free cruise Include Spring Break and Peak Summer Season (June 15 through August 15). I wonder how they figure spring break when different schools have different spring break periods. It doesn’t specify on the certificate. Did they allow you to apply it to a cruise during those periods if it was already booked?

***also…after further review, I may have missed something in the Royal calculations. I think the solo supplement was applied after the 2400 was deducted from the price of a double occupancy rate. It doesn’t show on the receipt, but it would make sense.

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On 6/4/2022 at 8:03 AM, BrianB said:

@twangsterThanks for relying. I appreciate the information. Maybe it’s new, but the restrictions on the free cruise Include Spring Break and Peak Summer Season (June 15 through August 15). I wonder how they figure spring break when different schools have different spring break periods. It doesn’t specify on the certificate. Did they allow you to apply it to a cruise during those periods if it was already booked?

***also…after further review, I may have missed something in the Royal calculations. I think the solo supplement was applied after the 2400 was deducted from the price of a double occupancy rate. It doesn’t show on the receipt, but it would make sense.

I'm not certain how Royal decides what dates are Spring Break or Christmas.  They allowed me to use it March 13 this year and December 18 but that cruises ends before Christmas day and does not have the word "Holiday" or "Christmas" in the name like the cruise the week after does.

I suspect there is some variance depending on who you get when booking it.  My Spring Break cruise was rebooked as a new 7 night balcony in the Caribbean cruise so it qualified for the full fare treatment.  My December cruise was booked as a normal Star cruise a while ago then I applied the $2,400 option recently.  

Royal was very good in both cases.  My 700 cruise was originally a $2,400 cruise on a JS to Alaska in 2020 but we all know what happened in 2020.  Then it was rebooked for June 2021 but we all know there was no Alaska cruising in June 2021.  They let me rebook it a third time despite the warning that no changes can be made.    They never blinked when I moved it again and again.  They were very easy to work with and eager to allow me to change it to something that worked.  My Spring Break cruise started as two guests but my other guest didn't want to cruise with protocols so they let me convert it to solo.  I splurged on a RoyalUp and ended up in a loft suite reasoning that my total out of pocket was pretty low so why not?  Since I paid for RoyalUp the cruise qualified for points and I ended up with double points since it was booked before September, although I missed the extra points for being in a suite since RoyalUp doesn't allow extra suite points when starting in a balcony.

In my experience they have been great and didn't try to introduce policy or any other excuse as a reason to say no.  I'm sure there are limits to that had I tried to use it for something that is clearly not allowed like Wonder in the first year of service.

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15 hours ago, Matt said:

If you look at terms and conditions of any offer they specify dates for “spring break” or other holidays

The certificates use words to define the blackout dates.  i.e. "Spring Break/Easter" or "Christmas/New Years".  The fine print doesn't address the actual dates.  

March 13, 2022 for example was not Spring Break.  So what was?

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We have not received our Pinnacle Box yet, but they said we can book our free cruise as it’s already in our profile. So there is a $2400 limit per person? Other than a 7 day Caribbean cruise and the previous mentioned black out dates, are there other parameters?

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39 minutes ago, BarbieBell said:

We have not received our Pinnacle Box yet, but they said we can book our free cruise as it’s already in our profile. So there is a $2400 limit per person? Other than a 7 day Caribbean cruise and the previous mentioned black out dates, are there other parameters?

Congratulations!

The Pinnacle cruise certificate has two primary options.

1. Seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean for two guests.  

In this option you pay only taxes and port fees, plus gratuity.  If the cruise cost $2,000 or $6,000 it doesn't matter.  If it is a seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean the cruise fare portion is covered.  Large balcony cabins qualify if the ship has them.

If you don't want a seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean then option two kicks in.

2. $2,400 off the regular undiscounted price of a cruise.   Not per person, total cost of the cruise fare.

If you change anything such an eight night, or not in a balcony, or not the Caribbean, then option two applies.   Alaska, Europe, Australia, Hawaii, Transatlantic, etc. for example are not the Caribbean so option two applies.  A suite is not a balcony cabin so if you want a suite, option two applies.  Any cruise length other than seven means option two applies.  Any deviation from seven night in a balcony to the Caribbean means options two applies.  

Once you reach 1,400 points the balcony cabin becomes a junior suite but the same concept applies.  

Blackout dates apply, typically Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Peak Summer and Spring Break.  A new ship in the first year of service is blacked out.  

There can be some nuances and some agents will interpret "Spring Break" or "Christmas" different than others.

Once booked no changes are allowed so book wisely.  

For option two some discounts are not combinable so the website rate with your C&A, age, military, state, etc. discounts included may come out at a higher rate once the discounts that can't be combined are removed.   

You can call C&A and tell them you want to explore pricing for your Pinnacle cruise.  They'll tell you what the final price will be when choosing to use option two.  

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7 hours ago, twangster said:

Congratulations!

The Pinnacle cruise certificate has two primary options.

1. Seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean for two guests.  

In this option you pay only taxes and port fees, plus gratuity.  If the cruise cost $2,000 or $6,000 it doesn't matter.  If it is a seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean the cruise fare portion is covered.  Large balcony cabins qualify if the ship has them.

If you don't want a seven night cruise in a balcony cabin to the Caribbean then option two kicks in.

2. $2,400 off the regular undiscounted price of a cruise.   Not per person, total cost of the cruise fare.

If you change anything such an eight night, or not in a balcony, or not the Caribbean, then option two applies.   Alaska, Europe, Australia, Hawaii, Transatlantic, etc. for example are not the Caribbean so option two applies.  A suite is not a balcony cabin so if you want a suite, option two applies.  Any cruise length other than seven means option two applies.  Any deviation from seven night in a balcony to the Caribbean means options two applies.  

Once you reach 1,400 points the balcony cabin becomes a junior suite but the same concept applies.  

Blackout dates apply, typically Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Peak Summer and Spring Break.  A new ship in the first year of service is blacked out.  

There can be some nuances and some agents will interpret "Spring Break" or "Christmas" different than others.

Once booked no changes are allowed so book wisely.  

For option two some discounts are not combinable so the website rate with your C&A, age, military, state, etc. discounts included may come out at a higher rate once the discounts that can't be combined are removed.   

You can call C&A and tell them you want to explore pricing for your Pinnacle cruise.  They'll tell you what the final price will be when choosing to use option two.  

can you explain option 2 again?  I'm not sure I understand.  just kidding!! Great explanation!!!

 

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@twangsterdo you know if mid-cruise you tick over 700 nights, do they recognise you turning Pinnacle and upgrade your sea pass, or is it like C&A where you are recognised on the next cruise for a level status change? A way off still but wish to plan the Pinnacle on a specific ship and hope to have family with us. Thanks  

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12 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

@twangsterdo you know if mid-cruise you tick over 700 nights, do they recognise you turning Pinnacle and upgrade your sea pass, or is it like C&A where you are recognised on the next cruise for a level status change? A way off still but wish to plan the Pinnacle on a specific ship and hope to have family with us. Thanks  

This can vary by Loyalty Ambassador.  

What is supposed to happen is that you are recognized on the cruise where you reach seven hundred much like crystal blocks.   Recognition traditionally has meant being named at the Top Tier event and called up with the Captain, Hotel Director and Loyalty Ambassador for a photo.  A bottle of sparkling wine is often delivered to your stateroom.  Like other tier levels the Pinnacle benefits are not supposed to kick in until your next cruise when you board the ship with Pinnacle status.   Recognition = yes, perks = no.  

In some cases guests who have reached seven hundred sometimes report being granted some or all of the associated perks on the cruise when they reached seven hundred.  Access to the suite lounge, free internet, etc.  This isn't supposed to happen so if it does they got lucky.  It should not be expected.  

In my case I was invited to a suites and Pinnacle cocktail event and a separate suites and Pinnacle event on the winch pad (no helipad on Anthem where I reached seven hundred).  I did not get any other Pinnacle benefits on my seven hundred cruise nor was I expecting any so the unexpected invitations were appreciated especially the winch pad invite as not many HD's host winch pad events on Quantum class ships.

Before the shutdown the short cruises didn't have a top tier event so many soon to be Pinnacle avoided short cruises for their seven hundred cruise while guests who don't want to be called up on stage might purposely reach seven hundred on such a cruise. 

Sometimes a guest can ask to defer recognition to another ship or sail date for friends and family.  This is variable with some LA's allowing a one cruise deferral and some LA's sticking to the policy and recognizing on the seven hundred cruise only.  

Given the variability many soon to be Pinnacle carefully book cruises as they near seven hundred so they can be sure which ship and sail date will be their seven hundred cruise.

In my case I reached exactly seven hundred on a cruise sailing solo in a JS.  It was an eleven night cruise and all of the thirty three points were needed to make seven hundred.  As I neared seven hundred there were some hurricane induced changes to my points plan that netted me more points than I was expecting so I added a few cruises and upgraded one to a suite to control which ship would be my seven hundred.   I went to the LA on day one to see if Royal had done the math for the extra points for being solo in a suite and they had.  The LA recognized my name right away and had planned to seek me out to discuss the milestone.  He explained everything carefully and methodically including that no Pinnacle perks would be granted on that cruise.  This was expected so it was not a let down for me.  There was a form to be completed inquiring how I'd like the name on the badge to appear and my mailing address for the Pinnacle welcome kit that would be several months in the making.   

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8 hours ago, BigKarl said:

I am only halfway to Pennacle and may never make it so.....   Do you mind if I hang out with you all here and try to blend in?

Halfway is when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.  The second half went a lot quicker than I imagined and that was without any double points promo.  

Nonetheless hang out all you want... it's just a level in a loyalty program. 

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