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Cruising for loyalty points with C&A


Wheeler825

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Im not really planning on doing it, but the thought came up.  Has anyone taken extra cruises for loyalty points? I know cruise loyalty programs really aren't that valuable, but I guess if you got time and money you could.  My understanding is you get 2 points per night per stateroom, so If a person were to cruise alone in an interior stateroom, you could get gold in 15 nights.  Do I understand that suites get 2x the points? So could you find a cheap cruise in the off-season, upgrade to a suite, go alone, rack up 4 points per night, for say 32 points in a single 8 night cruise?  

I only bring this up as I've recently learned that there's people that take flights solely for the purpose of building up sky miles or whatever for their rewards.  I just hope this topic is entertaining for everyone.

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13 minutes ago, teddy said:

Everyone earns their own points.

For example, if my wife and I stay in a suite, we each get 2 points per night.

Thanks, I thought the divvying was up per room though.  Like there was essentially a certain number of points per room divided by the people in it, but I guess that wouldn't make sense because kids are getting points too.

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I have taken cruises for loyalty points. I am 4 away from being D+. That's a great level because you start getting specialty dining discounts and free laundry. I mostly sail solo so it took me less time than others to reach the goal. However once I reach D+ I might start to only cruise with my family.

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16 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Cruise because you want to cruise. Choose the ship you WANT to go on. Choose the itinerary you WANT to sail. Sailing to 'earn' points is silly as the overall benefits cost is generally not really more than the price of the cruise.

I can't really think of a cruise I wouldn't want to go on.  My wife might have other opinions, but anytime I'm not working is a good time.

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I only get to cruise once-ish per year. So when I go I do look at total cost, points earning, and value. I often choose a smaller ship with a better state room as my option. I LOVE getting double points. I WANT to get to the loyalty sweet spot. I'm not above taking a cruise for points. That is clearly threatening me with a good time!

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We just squeezed in a short 3 night cruise to get us to Platinum before a big family cruise we're hoping to take in 2025. So we are cruising for loyalty points but we're also cruising on a new ship and going to ports we enjoy. So to me it's a win in all categories.

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I believe once you take more than one cruise on Royal you start cruising for points. Not that its not an enjoyable vacation. You start choosing the rooms, itineraries, ships etc. Based on where you might end up. I have never cared about ports but I do care about what a ship might have as far as shows, entertainment, and restaurants.

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We were going to be a few points shy of Diamond Plus when we went to AK in August....so when we got a free cruise offer for a Jr suite in July...we took it...it put us over the threshold for AK and we got an extra cruise in for good measure.

With that said.....I don't think the benefits are really there to 'pay' for a cruise just to tier up most of the time.  Since this was a port fees and taxes free cruise that we drove to the port to take and the benefit would be 5 free drinks per day (instead of 4) for 4 people on AK cruise.....So $13x7x4= $364 it worked out pretty closely to be a wash.

 

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I am and I am not cruising between 2022 and 2023 for the points. I’ll save the entire story, and why I chose Royal, for another time. I will say that with the loyalty rewards Royal has in place, the lack of a requalification period (loyalty status doesn’t expire if you don’t cruise for a year, unlike hotels and airlines), where cruise pricing was in 2021 and 2022, my finances due to work covering certain educational expenditures of mine, and sailing solo, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reach Diamond in two years over seven cruises. I’ll have enjoyed plenty of vacation and will have a nice set of comps with future bookings.

A few things to note:

  • I live close enough to a port where Royal regularly runs cruises and has for years.
  • I have enough time off during the year to easily do an extended sailing (9+ nights) or a land/sea combo whether on my own or through Royal.
  • Royal has enough itineraries which interest me during times of year I can get away.

To sum it up. I’m in a position to actually use the benefits earned due to loyalty status.

An aside on pricing:
With how the rest of the leisure travel industry had sharply increased their prices over the years, I was confident Royal (and other cruise lines) would be following suit. It was a question of time, not if. In some ways, I’m viewing this as an investment in future vacations. Yes, Royal can change the benefits at any time. However, they’ve publicly stated they’re happy with the response the program has had and have increased benefits with time. They’ve also tied promos when bookings are soft to C&A level. So higher the level, to a point, the more discounts or benefits for booking a cruise. I don’t see that changing either.

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32 minutes ago, Rackham said:

I am and I am not cruising between 2022 and 2023 for the points. I’ll save the entire story, and why I chose Royal, for another time. I will say that with the loyalty rewards Royal has in place, the lack of a requalification period (loyalty status doesn’t expire if you don’t cruise for a year, unlike hotels and airlines), where cruise pricing was in 2021 and 2022, my finances due to work covering certain educational expenditures of mine, and sailing solo, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reach Diamond in two years over seven cruises. I’ll have enjoyed plenty of vacation and will have a nice set of comps with future bookings.

A few things to note:

  • I live close enough to a port where Royal regularly runs cruises and has for years.
  • I have enough time off during the year to easily do an extended sailing (9+ nights) or a land/sea combo whether on my own or through Royal.
  • Royal has enough itineraries which interest me during times of year I can get away.

To sum it up. I’m in a position to actually use the benefits earned due to loyalty status.

An aside on pricing:
With how the rest of the leisure travel industry had sharply increased their prices over the years, I was confident Royal (and other cruise lines) would be following suit. It was a question of time, not if. In some ways, I’m viewing this as an investment in future vacations. Yes, Royal can change the benefits at any time. However, they’ve publicly stated they’re happy with the response the program has had and have increased benefits with time. They’ve also tied promos when bookings are soft to C&A level. So higher the level, to a point, the more discounts or benefits for booking a cruise. I don’t see that changing either.

I'm blessed with a generous vacation policy too, which is part of the reason I'm thinking about it.  Hell I could work remote if I paid for the internet

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If you had kids, there used to be an incentive to get to a certain level before they turned 18 because they could then keep that. But it appears Royal Caribbean has changed the policy, so the value there is diminished. 

I did try to sneak as many bookings as I could in while they were still offering double points. 

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20 minutes ago, WesKinetic said:

If you had kids, there used to be an incentive to get to a certain level before they turned 18 because they could then keep that. But it appears Royal Caribbean has changed the policy, so the value there is diminished. 

I did try to sneak as many bookings as I could in while they were still offering double points. 

I believe they still keep points for life?

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I did book suites during the double points covid time period to max our points.  My wife and I earned 28 points on 3 different 7 day cruises which has pushed us well into the Diamond category and will allow us to reach Diamond Plus much quicker.

I had wanted to try out suites anyway, but the double points made it easy to make that decision. 

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I sailed solo 4 nights because our family of 6 needed 8 points to get to diamond. We have two family sailings coming up, totaling 17 nights, so the $380 I spent on the four night cruise MORE than pays for our free drinks and one free day of Wi-Fi per person, which we’ll take turns using one persons each day to have Wi-Fi almost the entire cruise. Otherwise, until we’re close to the next tier I don’t plan on cruising just for points. 

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I absolutely took advantage of double points promo. 2 cruises were cancelled during Covid and we moved them to other dates. Booked 2 more and ended up going from baby Diamond (83 points) to Diamond Plus (187 points) with 4 cruises. Now that we’re here, no more point chasing. We don’t sail enough to make pinnacle in this lifetime 

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Right now I am at 120 points ... I have a 8 night reserved for May to put me at 128. I am looking to book a  holiday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, at least 7 nights to put me at 135+. Then an Icon cruise, first quarter of next year to put me over 140 and to get my first crystal block of Icon. Actually I think we would get two since my spouse and I are both C&A at the same level. Is this cruising for points? I guess so but a cruise is a cruise ... points or not.

Then its a short 30 points or so to D+. I doubt I live long enough to get 700.

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

@Ditchdoc, even though you are both C&A members with eligibility, you will only receive one crystal block.  It’s not a per person award.  I’m very envious though….a crystal block from Icon !  Woohoo !

We’re doing a 4 night on Allure so we can get our second block on Icon. I noticed we would be a few nights short so I convinced hubby we needed a quick get away between Wonder and Icon. He fell for it 😂 Living in Florida makes it too tempting 

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