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And there go the Crystal Blocks...


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20 minutes ago, Cruising With JT said:

Wow Doug...that is an impressive journey to hit Pinnacle... Anthem of the Seas in Jan 2022 correct? Almost 1000 by end of 2022...wow! I don't know how many points Super Mario has...but this is impressive.

The double points offer has simply been amazing for helping reach that goal more quickly than I'd have considered possible.

I found this on Super Mario: Royal Caribbean's #1 Cruise Passenger Super Mario Records 8,000th Cruise Point (cruisefever.net)

Based on that, I'd guess he's somewhere a few hundred points shy of 9,000 now.

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9 minutes ago, dswallow said:

The double points offer has simply been amazing for helping reach that goal more quickly than I'd have considered possible.

I found this on Super Mario: Royal Caribbean's #1 Cruise Passenger Super Mario Records 8,000th Cruise Point (cruisefever.net)

Based on that, I'd guess he's somewhere a few hundred points shy of 9,000 now.

Very nice!!! I am currently Gold with 17 points only but will reach Diamond by my December cruise on Navigator. The double points promotion is amazing!! An early congrats on getting to Pinnacle. Being Diamond+ right now must feel nice! It will take me awhile to get there and who knows how long it will take for Pinnacle, maybe my whole life once the Double points go away lol.

Wow @ Super Mario amazing.... 8000 points and counting!!

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1 hour ago, Nicci said:

Ohhhh, any chance you would care to share your spreadsheet layout and formulas? I have been thinking of making one, but would love a basis where to start ?

I'm a Mac user so my spreadsheet is in Apple Numbers format but more importantly I don't trust certain file types when shared in the wild since some can contain malicious code.  I would never download a strangers spreadsheet so by the same token I don't share spreadsheets.  I've also discovered that conditional formatting rules don't seem to survive very well when converting between Excel and Numbers and a lot of the magic in my spreadsheet is based on conditional formatting. 

My spreadsheet also has a life of its own.  It's evolved several times.  As different things become important to me I move columns around and track things like fees and taxes to make it easier to check for price drops by displaying the unloaded (pre-tax) base fare.  

There is a probably a more efficient way to calculate the glass block or not column.  

To contain the size of the formula I have adjusted the range used in different areas of my spreadsheet.  My past cruising isn't going to change so there was no need to build on this to cover the range from 140 to some future potential larger value with a really long formula so I just manipulate the same formula as I venture into new territory.  

An earlier version for lower points (140 to 700):

IF(AND($M17<140,$M18≥140),"Block",IF(AND($M17<210,$M18≥210),"Block",IF(AND($M17<280,$M18≥280),"Block",IF(AND($M17<350,$M18≥350),"Block",IF(AND($M17<420,$M18≥420),"Block",IF(AND($M17<490,$M18≥490),"Block",IF(AND($M17<560,$M18≥560),"Block",IF(AND($M17<630,$M18≥630),"Block",IF(AND($M17<700,$M18≥700),"Block","")))))))))

Column M is my C&A points tally.  It looks at my last point count and my next point count to see if I crossed a block threshold.  This is combined with a conditional formatting rule to turn the cell green when text "Block" is present that the formula above populates into the cell.

1561694453_ScreenShot2021-07-15at6_46_52AM.jpg.53292a875fddf74a6171c6eb81aed7dc.jpg

The problem with this early version is that I was lazy and used ">" which produced errors when my point count was exactly on a block threshold so my later versions included "greater than or equal to" and "less than or equal to".   As I climbed higher I updated the range (700 to 1,470).  

IF(AND($M73≤699,$M74≥700),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤769,$M74≥770),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤839,$M74≥840),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤909,$M74≥910),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤979,$M74≥980),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1049,$M74≥1050),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1119,$M74≥1120),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1189,$M74≥1190),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1259,$M74≥1260),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1329,$M74≥1330),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1339,$M74≥1400),"Block",IF(AND($M73≤1469,$M74≥1470),"Block",""))))))))))))

The rest of the spreadsheet is pretty simple math and columns that are important to me.  

I have a column that tracks Voom purchases.  To date in my RCI lifetime I have spent over $4k on Voom.  Gulp. 

I have a column that records if I have purchased the drink package.  My run rate is 27% on the deluxe drink packages.  

How many days until my next Royal Caribbean cruise?  Yep, I have a column for that.

I have columns that record the cabin type which allows to calculate how often I stay in each type of cabin.  As C&A balcony discounts have improved I have stayed in balcony cabins more often and the spreadsheet confirms that.

I often see people claim that you can reach Pinnacle by staying in cheap interior cabins then they find the cheapest interior price and do some simple calculation.  It's never that simple.  Those ultra cheap interior cruises don't occur every week or even every month.  If I had limited myself to just ultra cheap cruises I'd be way down in the points race.  On my way to Pinnacle my cabin breakdown was:

1703521739_ScreenShot2021-07-15at7_01_26AM.jpg.dc0999fef7114055914edf508c524176.jpg

So much for getting there on ultra cheap interior bookings...

How much did Pinnacle cost?  I'm not saying, but my spreadsheet knows.  

My columns include:

Booking #, Base Fare, Taxes/Fees, Deposit type, FCC (yes/no if applied), Start Date, End Date, Duration, Points, Countdown, Cruise #, Total C&A Points, Glass Block, Price All In, Price per night, Price per point,  FCC Balance, Cruise Balance, Final Payment Due Date, Voom Cost, Cabin Category, Cabin #,  Interior, OV, Balcony, Suite, Prepaid Gratuity

My C&A Points Column has conditional formatting rules that change the background color to match C&A colors:

1031148616_ScreenShot2021-07-15at7_19_23AM.thumb.jpg.a133804c16857afab585d3a71b55b6bd.jpg

When cruises cancel I cut and paste them off to a lower section that doesn't contribute to my metrics but allows me to retain a record for future reference.

Half the fun of cruising is planning the cruise.  For me some of the fun is also tracking it all and feeding my spreadsheet.  

Tracking FCC application is also critical as cruises have cancelled and FCC is reissued or combined and then reissued.  You definitely want to track all that.

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RELATED TOPIC:  For those who've sailed since cruises restarted, has anyone gotten the points from the Double Points promo as expected?

2 points per passenger/night - regular staterooms (double occupancy)

4 points per solo passenger/night

I don't know how points work for JS and upper suites (I'll cross the bridge when I get there)

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

Half the fun of cruising is planning the cruise.  For me some of the fun is also tracking it all and feeding my spreadsheet.  

Twangster, what is your hard drive storage capacity? I’m afraid a spreadsheet of your design and expanse would crash my laptop, dependably running on XP since 2007. 
I have a spreadsheet on this computer, my $/day cost of computer ownership is currently $.17

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4 hours ago, teddy said:

This thread has shown me that I really need to up my cruise game. 
 

I’m pulling rookie numbers over here.  ?

Everyone I know thinks I am crazy because I go on 3 cruises a year. Then I come on here and see these lists and feel so insignificant lol

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13 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Twangster, what is your hard drive storage capacity? I’m afraid a spreadsheet of your design and expanse would crash my laptop, dependably running on XP since 2007. 
I have a spreadsheet on this computer, my $/day cost of computer ownership is currently $.17

Most definitely.  Apple Numbers doesn't work on Winblows.  

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Calculating my "Crystal @nnn" column:

image.png.904e8fd24f0d14ea00ab69a862f5a562.png

Column M is the current point total, so the above $M30 is the point total at the end of the current sailing, $M29 is the point total at the end of the prior sailing.

I'm kinda laughing that our point totals are actually both in column M in our completely different spreadsheets. 

 

(Sorry, had to post the formula as an image because cloudflare detects something in there as an SQL attack. Someone has configured some really poorly-created script to look for such things.)

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5 hours ago, twangster said:

How much did Pinnacle cost?  I'm not saying, but my spreadsheet knows.  

I most always book Ocean View Balcony. I have Boardwalk View Balcony rooms booked on Oasis. But there were 3 times I did Promenade View Interior and twice just an Ocean View.

In total, including as much as I've managed to track, which includes airfare when needed, hotel stays when needed, transportation, parking, drink/internet packages (so far have always purchase the deluxe beverage package and VOOM SURF+STREAM every single time), and the occasional unlimited dining package, plus insurance costs, onboard incidentals, and gratuities... and in reality I have no doubt there's probably well more than $1,000 across all that I've not tracked well. But those would truly be very incidental expenses. But not including any (very occasional) gambling expenses. And I suppose one day I may go back through it all and fine tune it a bit when I can identify some missing items (sometimes it's more difficult to attribute some costs, like if I'm combining a cruise trip with a business trip, how should I attribute airfare, for instance).

Anyway based on what I have been tracking I will have spent $74,452.10 to reach Pinnacle Club status when I do reach it this coming January, on my 31st Royal Caribbean sailing with a total of 259 cruise nights since October 2016.

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Cruise Fare alone (no port taxes/fees, or any other expense) comes to $45,065.00. Port taxes/fees total $4,133.31. Drink Packages total $15,196.66. Internet totals $2,676.84. I received a total of $3,293.50 in onboard credit for various reasons -- booking promotions, NextCruise promotions, Shareholder benefits. 

 

Statistics are fun.

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40 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

It will be interesting to see if I receive this or if they offer to ship it to me.  I’ll be hitting the 70 point mark on my first night of my upcoming cruise 

You won't get one until your reach 140 points, and then at every additional 70 points.

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I meant to ask this earlier …….. if 2 adults and 1 child are in a family ………then 1 of the adults and the child go on the cruise that gets them all to 140 points and behind, do both the adult and the child each get a block?

Next question is ……. If the adult who doesn’t come on the cruise where the first block is earned and way surpasses 140 after the cruise they didn’t come on because of the family connection …… will that adult get a block on the next cruise since they weren’t on the cruise where they earned past the 140?

Lastly, all 3 of us will be on the cruise where we surpass 210 points for the next block, will all 3 of us get one?

Thanks in advance ?

 

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1 hour ago, ChrisK2793 said:


I meant to ask this earlier …….. if 2 adults and 1 child are in a family ………then 1 of the adults and the child go on the cruise that gets them all to 140 points and behind, do both the adult and the child each get a block?

Next question is ……. If the adult who doesn’t come on the cruise where the first block is earned and way surpasses 140 after the cruise they didn’t come on because of the family connection …… will that adult get a block on the next cruise since they weren’t on the cruise where they earned past the 140?

Lastly, all 3 of us will be on the cruise where we surpass 210 points for the next block, will all 3 of us get one?

Thanks in advance ?

Generally family units share a single block when they're sharing a cabin and hitting the points needed simultaneously. In practice, I'm not sure what people may or may not convince a loyalty ambassador to give them outside that policy. It generally doesn't seem particularly fair when you consider how it works with a solo cruiser and double points, though in practice I'd suspect a family is typically not caring about getting duplicates for each person, either. And I'm not sure about how a child in the mix may alter anything, but I wouldn't expect it would.

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Crown & Anchor Terms & Conditions state One (1) gift is awarded per relationship.   I have 14 points more than my husband, but we are linked so we both show the same number of points.  I did wonder if we would receive a second block when his personal total hit the milestone and the answer was no - not even if we were not linked.

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18 minutes ago, Hoppy2cruise said:

Crown & Anchor Terms & Conditions state One (1) gift is awarded per relationship.   I have 14 points more than my husband, but we are linked so we both show the same number of points.  I did wonder if we would receive a second block when his personal total hit the milestone and the answer was no - not even if we were not linked.


‘Thank you ?

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On 7/15/2021 at 2:28 AM, twangster said:

My spreadsheet uses a formula to write the word Block into a cell and then conditional formatting rules makes it appear or disappear.  My points column looks at cruise duration and depending on cabin type and date relative to the dates of the double points promo it automatically calculates the bonus multiplier.  

When they extended the date of the double points promo i just corrected one cell and all my new blocks updated. It also colors my points background to match the CAS color at each level. 

If I insert or remove a cruise it recalculates the block projection automatically. 

1544971220_ScreenShot2021-07-14at9_30_51PM.thumb.jpg.503f6df9ad5cfc7505a7c999d9a54630.jpg   

I also note the deposit type and if I applied an FCC so I know to be careful with that booking.

2012958437_2022BlockForecast.thumb.jpg.54b11c4686d0b3dd1358424dadb586b3.jpg

It also calculates the price per night and price per C&A point then applies a color background based on fixed price ranges.  The greener it is the better the deal it is.

1943033359_ScreenShot2021-07-14at9_38_18PM.jpg.b942c326ec59960dd809125557e7b1c8.jpg

 

I may have a problem.  

wow look at this!! is it possible to get a copy of this excel spreadsheet? it looks fantastic.

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  • 2 months later...

By my projections, I should be getting my first glass block on the Oasis where I get to 140 points.  Now for my second block, I'm expecting to get in on the Independence.  Now if I skip (cancel) my Independence sailing, I will get to 210 on the Wonder.  Do you think the Wonder will have the glass blocks available during the Inaugural?

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On 7/14/2021 at 11:57 AM, dswallow said:

I'm told it was announced today that Royal Caribbean will phase out distributing Crystal Blocks to Crown & Anchor members at 70-point milestones and will allow the current inventory to deplete.

They claim 60% of them were being left behind in the cabin.

Well, I say that would be a cost saving measure to be able to give people a benefit then recycle them for others. ?

Anyway, they're apparently also trying to figure out what to replace it with, like a mention at the top tier event or perhaps a printed certificate.

Neither my wife or I remember ever remember getting one and we would have received 2 by now.  Hmmmmm

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On 10/22/2021 at 3:49 PM, PG Cruiser said:

By my projections, I should be getting my first glass block on the Oasis where I get to 140 points.  Now for my second block, I'm expecting to get in on the Independence.  Now if I skip (cancel) my Independence sailing, I will get to 210 on the Wonder.  Do you think the Wonder will have the glass blocks available during the Inaugural?

In theory, even if they don't, they should be able to mail it to you once they get them.

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