Are Crown and Anchor discounts actually a scam?

[JFCruise]

I'm a Platinum member. According to the C&A benefits program PDF (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf), I'm eligible for a discount on Balcony staterooms and above. However, it seems like the discount is nothing more than a scam, or at least a big fat lie.

I went into the RC site to get a quote for a cruise. To avoid any sort of error, I used an incognito tab. The one in question is a 7 night Harmony of the Seas cruise for 2 fake persons. The first screenshot I'm posting here is the cruise fare, with absolutely no add-ons at all. The total is for $1873.48, in has the NRD 'kicker', a '30% off every cruise', plus a super dubious $100 '30%off every cruise'. Then I went forward to the payment page to check teh final price, and for sure, it was the same 1873.48 from the previous page.

I then went back to the previous page and put my actual information in the site, and added my C&A number. The super dubious $100 discount  now changed to be a 'Balc Suite NRD' discount. The payment page was exactly the same as the second screenshot.

I then called Royal Caribbean to quote the same cruise cruise, but the initial price was higher than the 1873.48 so I had no intentions to actually go forward, and when asked about the C&A discount the sales rep basically said something along the lines of "Oh I don't know, I can only give you the price the system shows me".

So is there something funny going on? The same PDF I linked above says absolutely nothing about any sort of restrictions for the discount - it only says that

Quote

this offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares and is not combinable with any other promotion or offer, including other dollars off and onboard credit offers

But are the discounts on the main site that are always there ("Up to $550 off!" "30% off every cruise") part of that restriction? Because if they are, then no one will ever be eligible since RC always shows some sort of discount.

And even then, why did the label on the $100 change after I punched in my C&A number? To be clear, I tested this with a few different cruises - so it's not a one-time error or something similar. So are the C&A discount incentives just fake? Or am I (and I hope this is the case) missing something?

 

 

 

[Ampurp85]

I think people really need to look up the word scam.

This discount is there, however there just so happens to also be another discount that is the same......under a different name. You really don't see much in the way of discounts at the early tiers.....or even after if certain promotions are ongoing.

[twangster]

It is not a scam but like any offer you need to read the terms and conditions.  Here they are:

Balcony and Suite Discounts are a per stateroom discount applicable on balcony and suite categories only available to Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members. Savings are not redeemable for cash and are non-transferable. When reserving, a valid Crown & Anchor Society membership number must be included in the reservation. Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members will receive an increased discount for making a reservation for a sail date outside of six (6) months. Within six (6) months of sailing, if the guest cancels and reinstates the booking, applies a fare change, changes categories, or changes the ship or sail date of the booking, the discount will be automatically adjusted to the lower value. This offer can only be combined with the Onboard Booking Bonus while making a reservation onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares and is not combinable with any other promotion or offer, including other dollars off and onboard credit offers, MyCruise® Rewards Credit Card Program Upgrades, Companion Fare and Free Cruise promotions and benefi ts. Single occupancy guests paying 200% cruise fare are eligible for Offer. Single occupancy guests paying less than 200% cruise fare will be eligible for a prorated value of the Offer. Prices vary by ship and sail dates; space is subject to availability at the time of making your reservation. Please call or have your travel advisor contact our exclusive pre-cruise number at (888) 437-1953 to answer additional questions or to make arrangements.

The pertinent section is copied here:

This offer can only be combined with the Onboard Booking Bonus while making a reservation onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares and is not combinable with any other promotion or offer, including other dollars off and onboard credit offers, MyCruise® Rewards Credit Card Program Upgrades, Companion Fare and Free Cruise promotions and benefits.

In reality when you apply the CAS balcony discount it removes any incompatible offers or promotions that it cannot be combined with.  The booking engine compares the rate with the CAS balcony discount against the rate without it.  Whichever is lower is displayed.  

[twangster]

I first discovered this back when I was platinum.  I wanted the balcony discount to be a flat amount, such as always $X off the best rate I could find.  Unfortunately I learned that isn't how it works.  

As I climbed higher in the CAS I have found that more frequently the CAS balcony discount did start to make a bigger difference.  It has never been always $X dollars off the best rate I can find, it depends.  Even now as a Pinnacle member I sometimes find a cruise fare where my Pinnacle discount does nothing for me.  

I am booked in a suite in 2024 where the best rate offered was available for everyone in the world including folks who had never cruised Royal before.  On that particular ship and sail date with the promotion that was offered at the time that was the way it was.  It was a really good rate, one of the least expensive Star Class bookings I've made.  So I got over the fact that my Pinnacleness did not get me a better rate compared to anyone else and since it was a great deal I booked it.  

So it is not a scam or a lie.  It works just like it says in the terms and conditions.  Booking 15 or 20 cruises a year I see it in action and it does save me money from time to time.  My platinum son booked a cruise recently and so did his friend.  His fare was less than his buddies.  The reason was the CAS balcony discount.  On that ship and sail date it worked out that way.   This was a couple of weeks ago.

[smokeybandit]

I remember a few years ago sitting in the NextCruise office waiting for an agent to free up. A guy was furious that using his C&A discount resulted in a higher price than using the current promotion. He just didn't get it (and the agent didn't explain well) that the C&A discount isn't stackable with the current promotion.

[twangster]

Royal ikes to use the magic words "up to" in many of their terms and conditions.  NextCruise OBC "Up to $600".  If you meet all of the requirements, a booking far in the future, the most expensive suites on the longer voyages you can get $600.  An interior cabin for a solo cruiser on a last minute Going, Going, Gone fare will not get anywhere close to $600.    

As humans we just read "$600" and it's easy to expect $600 until you read the terms and conditions.  

The CAS balcony discount is the same.  

If you just read the headlines without diving into the details you will form an inaccurate expectation.  

I am guilty as charged.  I had the wrong expectation when I was early in the program.  

[smokeybandit]

Every company likes to use that "up to" discount wording.

 

Airlines love the opposite case. "Airfare as low as $39 one way!" Then you realize the only tickets at that price are to Peoria or Amarillo at 5am or 11:30pm

[billdauterive]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Every company likes to use that "up to" discount wording.

 

Airlines love the opposite case. "Airfare as low as $39 one way!" Then you realize the only tickets at that price are to Peoria or Amarillo at 5am or 11:30pm

Amarillo by morning...

[JFCruise]

Thanks for all the answers above. And to be clear, I wasn't furious or arm waving, just confused and frustrated. I didn't yell at anyone or threw anyhing at anyone either.

I'm guilty of using the word scam wrong, but honestly I was feeling a bit frustrated at the whole thing, especially since the sales rep couldn't tell me why the discounts didn't stack up for me. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I knew I wasn't seeing the full picture. From my understanding now, is that the "30% off" $100 discount that is offered to everyone is not combinable with the CAS offer. So at my level they cancel out. Ok, I can live with that - I still don't understand the first discount in the first place but whatever.

Quote

Every company likes to use that "up to" discount wording.

Airlines love the opposite case. "Airfare as low as $39 one way!" 

That's because they want to show the best deal from the customer's perspective. In cruise's discounts, you are saving money. In airfare, you are giving them money.

[Ditchdoc]

Marketing is what it is .... they want to make you think if you don't act now, you are going to lose out on some bargain.

I documented the "SALE" e-mails I got from RC for a couple of months.

Virtually every one was $650 off +30% off every cruise.

The lead in would vary with ...

"Ends Tonight"

"Ends Tomorrow"

"Now Extended"

Invariably, the exact same "sale" or discount would show up again in another e-mail within a couple of days.

Occasionally they throw in :

"Deluxe Beverage Package Buy One, get one 50% off" or "Up to 35% Off Internet, Drinks, Photo Packages"

Basically, the pricing never changes, at least not in these promos and the promos seem to be nearly continuous.

 

 

[Carlos A.]

3 minutes ago, Ditchdoc said:

Basically, the pricing never changes, at least not in these promos and the promos seem to be nearly continuous.

 

 

That's the catch, so RC have a never ending "sale" that turns obsolete almost every C&A Discount. 

[twangster]

12 minutes ago, Carlos A. said:

That's the catch, so RC have a never ending "sale" that turns obsolete almost every C&A Discount. 

Most of the cruises I book benefit from the CAS balcony discount. 

In fact when I was early in the program I was booking balconies 28% of the time.  Now thanks to the CAS balcony discount I book balconies over 70% of the time.  

There is no question it does not work for every cruise all the time.  However as you climb the CAS ladder it gets better which makes sense... more loyal, more discount.   

As a result the gap often leaves me paying just a little more for a balcony compared to interior or OV and the CAS balcony discount is exclusively why I book balconies twice as often now.  

[JFCruise]

15 minutes ago, twangster said:

Most of the cruises I book benefit from the CAS balcony discount. 

In fact when I was early in the program I was booking balconies 28% of the time.  Now thanks to the CAS balcony discount I book balconies over 70% of the time.  

There is no question it does not work for every cruise all the time.  However as you climb the CAS ladder it gets better which makes sense... more loyal, more discount.   

As a result the gap often leaves me paying just a little more for a balcony compared to interior or OV and the CAS balcony discount is exclusively why I book balconies twice as often now.  

I think that the issue is most of us are never going to get to the upper levels of CAS, so the "exclusive discounts" for us seem more like an exception than a rule, to be honest.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/crown-anchor-society/balcony-and-suites-chart?country=SGP

This link is on the Singapore site (and can't find it on the US site for whatever reason), but it seems to be accurate.

[Carlos A.]

19 hours ago, twangster said:

Most of the cruises I book benefit from the CAS balcony discount. 

In fact when I was early in the program I was booking balconies 28% of the time.  Now thanks to the CAS balcony discount I book balconies over 70% of the time.  

There is no question it does not work for every cruise all the time.  However as you climb the CAS ladder it gets better which makes sense... more loyal, more discount.   

As a result the gap often leaves me paying just a little more for a balcony compared to interior or OV and the CAS balcony discount is exclusively why I book balconies twice as often now.  

I Know, and one have to be at least Diamond to take advantage of this discounts. And that's why I said "...almost all C&A discounts".

The % of Gold, Platinum and Emerald C&A cruisers is way bigger than the % of Diamond and above.

 

[USFFrank]

I for 1 wish the Crown & Anchor discounts (if and when they work) would extend beyond balcony cabins. How about some kind of discount for outside view or inside cabins.

[twangster]

2 hours ago, Carlos A. said:

I Know, and one have to be at least Diamond to take advantage of this discounts. And that's why I said "...almost all C&A discounts".

The % of Gold, Platinum and Emerald C&A cruisers is way bigger than the % of Diamond and above.

 

My platinum son saved $50 a couple weeks ago.

Miracles do exist.

[Rackham]

I saved enough on a rare, square, partially obstructed balcony cabin on an April 2025, Odyssey of the Seas sailing with the Platinum C&A balcony/suite discount that the fare was cheaper than an oceanview for that sailing.

[DunkelBierJay]

I always felt that marketing was "ethical misleading." It gets the ethical adjective when you read the T&Cs:

[Ampurp85]

I too wish it could be used for interior cabins; I wish the higher you go, the better your discount is regardless of cabin type. I was diamond for a lot of my past cruises and the discount fluctuated between $175-200, meaning it wasn't always the full amount. Often the "promotion" being ran and my casino rate for being prime works out better. 

[jticarruthers]

When I first started cruising (not in the days of sailing ships FYI) the "sales" were very infrequent and even the low level C&A discounts were actually useful ... then one of the marketing geniuses learned about the "always on sale, all the time" technique and the low level C&A discounts basically became worthless because the prevailing sale is almost always as good or better.

I wish they were stackable but it is what it is ...not a scam but it feels wrong when you are supposed to be getting a loyalty benefit but instead they give the same benefit to everyone.

 

[ChessE4]

I still think that the motivation for a cruiser should be to pay a fair price, not get a super deal. (You don't get points when you die for all the great deals you got.) Yes, as consumers we've been burned enough with overpricing that we like to catch a sale when we can to offset the other misfortunes, but we need to be realistic about vacation travel. We found the loyalty benefits helpful as we moved up the ladder as long as we were buying something we'd purchase anyway.  Did bingo a couple of times and gave up, but at least we had some discounts to try it.  Ditto for some drinks or internet.  I look at the bottom-line price not caring or understanding which "discount" I got on our staterooms; if the price is fare or even "good" for the room category, I don't think twice about the marketing.  Same thing in cruise planner - is the price fair?  If not, don't buy it.  Fair is subjective, and so are our individual tastes/preferences.  Hence, all the disussion on this forum.

[Rackham]

11 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I too wish it could be used for interior cabins; I wish the higher you go, the better your discount is regardless of cabin type. I was diamond for a lot of my past cruises and the discount fluctuated between $175-200, meaning it wasn't always the full amount. Often the "promotion" being ran and my casino rate for being prime works out better. 

I've been thinking about pricing, and while balconies and suites seemed to be priced what the market will bear, interiors and oceanviews (at least on older ships) seem to be priced at something like what Royal's cost is, plus what they can expect to spend on loyalty benefits (if applicable for travelers in the cabin), plus $X in net profit. Depending on the fare, a Pinnacle couple might cost Royal their profit on an interior or more. So Royal is willing to give up some of their profit to get C&As booking balconies and suites, with their higher profit margins than interiors and oceanviews even after discounting, as the raison d'etre for that discount starting at Platinum. 

[Dad2Cue]

I like discounts and sales.  I just know the price of a cruise is less when I enter my C&A number as compared to when I omit my C&A number.  My C&A "discount" is always itemized so I'm happy with that.   The discount appears to save me some money but it seems to vary depending on the cruise.

I have a cruise that is getting close to the final payment date.  I know my remaining balance was $500.   When I logged on to make my payment I owed a balance of $486.  I compared the numbers to my last receipt and the C&A discount was changed.

All my discounts were changed for some  unknown reason:

CAS Balc Suite    $350 instead of $326

30% Savings       $1942 instead of $1950

Military Disc        $454 instead of $456

I'm just happy that my Balance Due was $486 instead of $500