WOW Royal C&A does not want to send me my crystal block!

[Shari]

I was not offered my crystal block for reaching 140 when I was on Radiance of the Seas in August.  I am currently on the phone with C&A and they are telling me that I am entitled to the block but that they are no longer mailing them to your home.  I am waiting for the supervisor to get back to me.  Will keep you all posted.

[Shari]

They are going to call me back in 24 to 48 hours to let me know if they will make an exception to their NEW policy of NOT mailing the crystal blocks to your home.  This policy is because all ships are equipped with the ability to give you your block.  So their policy of up to 12 months is moot if they will not mail it to you if you do not receive it on the ship.

[OCSC Mike]

Hope it works out and you receive your block!

[WAYNO]

I suspect they alter their delivery methods on a whim, to match supply and demand at the moment.  When we were supposed to receive our block, aboard a cruise, we were told they ran out, and they would have to mail the item.  It was many months, but we did receive the block. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Wow, that’s completely different than what they said a few months ago when they tried to cut out the crystal blocks altogether !

We were Due a block on Grandeur several months ago and they told us they were out of them and would mail ours to us.  We never have received it.  It’s kinda shi##y to make this kind of change and never tell anyone.

I sure hope you get your block, @Shari.

[Mark_A]

I've never received  a block or was offered one.  

[smokeybandit]

I've been waiting for block #1 to be mailed since June 2022. Each cruise I've been on since I get a different answer from the LA as to why I haven't gotten it ranging from "There's nothing I can do" to "Oh I see it still in a pending status in my system"

Block #2 was received onboard in 2023.

[Pattycruise]

I was on Jewel last month and they were out of blocks. I had to check a box on a card as to wether or not I wanted a block and if I did they would mail it to me. 
 

reminder for people who get the block….it’s likely it will be pulled at TSA due to the scanners picking it up as suspect.  Remove it from your carry on, and place in a bin by itself if possible.  Don’t do the mistakes I’ve done.  Left it in a carryon to which they pulled apart my carry on inspecting ALL items.  Or left in a bin with my shoes so I had to wait for them to “clear the block” before I could get my shoes to put on!l, and of course the agent wasn’t immediately available….

I can’t imagine what would transpire if it was packed in a checked bag, 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Mark_A said:

I've never received  a block or was offered one.  

I didn't either when I crossed 140 on Harmony in June 2022 and didn't realize I was due one til I got home. I called C&A and was told it would be mailed but it would take 5-6 months due to the backlog. I received it in that time frame.

[smokeybandit]

44 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

reminder for people who get the block….it’s likely it will be pulled at TSA due to the scanners picking it up as suspect.

We put it on top and out of the box in case they did flag it, but, there was no evidence TSA opened the bag.

[Ampurp85]

I took mine home in both a checked and carry-on and I wasn't flagged at all. 

[Bowen]

So do you get this on the cruise after you have reached 140, or on the cruise in which you reach 140?

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, Bowen said:

So do you get this on the cruise after you have reached 140, or on the cruise in which you reach 140?

On the cruise when you reach it. See the LA onboard if you don't get any type of notice in your cabin.

[tonyfsu21]

What is everyone doing with these cheap “crystal” blocks? I don’t get this at all. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, tonyfsu21 said:

What is everyone doing with these cheap “crystal” blocks? I don’t get this at all. 

Paperweight, doorstop, tchotchke… the possibilities are endless!

And Iif you have enough of them they can actually make a display.

[Mike.s]

We recieved our first block on Explorer last week, was a note in our cabin asking if we wanted one, we said yes it was delivered a day later. We were thrilled it's the old style.

Kept it in our hand luggage, didn't get flagged by security at Venice.

Now just 70 more points needed for the next one!!

[ChessE4]

We received just one of two back-ordered blocks. Doubtful we'll get the second. Truthfully, one is enough.

[BrianB]

On the Jewel last week I received a card in my cabin telling me there were no blocks onboard and to fill in my name and address to have the block shipped to my home.

approximately a month ago I received a package at home with four overdue blocks.

I hope you get your block.

[tonyfsu21]

21 minutes ago, BrianB said:

On the Jewel last week I received a card in my cabin telling me there were no blocks onboard and to fill in my name and address to have the block shipped to my home.

approximately a month ago I received a package at home with four overdue blocks.

I hope you get your block.

Now I feel bad for tossing ours in the trash can on the ship. It looks like there’s a market for this block of “crystal”. 

[OCSC Mike]

14 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Now I feel bad for tossing ours in the trash can on the ship. It looks like there’s a market for this block of “crystal”. 

No biggie but people would have taken it and you can sell them on ebay for a little bit.

[smokeybandit]

42 minutes ago, BrianB said:

On the Jewel last week I received a card in my cabin telling me there were no blocks onboard and to fill in my name and address to have the block shipped to my home.

 

Same thing for us in 2022 for block #1. Never got it.

[Lovetocruise2002]

17 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

reminder for people who get the block….it’s likely it will be pulled at TSA due to the scanners picking it up as suspect.

This is true for me too! Each time I have come home with a block or a ship model, my carry on gets pulled aside by TSA. This most recent time in August, coming home from Liberty at EWR, my bag was pulled aside once again because I had a block and a ship model in there. Anyway, as the TSA agent was opening my bag and he saw the box, he said, "I can guess what this is." We both had a good laugh when I told him that I expected to get flagged, and he said that it is a very common occurrence with these ships and blocks and he has seen it before. Then he asked me if he should go on a cruise and you can guess where it went from there lol

[Iluv4n6]

Interesting variety of experiences with receiving crystal blocks--or not.  Have my fingers crossed that blocks are still a thing for RC when my wife and I cross 140 on Wonder in February...and, @Lovetocruise2002, if we luck out and get one (or two?) onboard they'll be going home in our checked bag...

[Mike n Ky]

Odyssey 1/2023 we topped 140...note in our cabin and was offered to have it shipped or delivered to our room the day before we left the ship...we chose to take it with us.

[Pattycruise]

2 hours ago, Iluv4n6 said:

Interesting variety of experiences with receiving crystal blocks--or not.  Have my fingers crossed that blocks are still a thing for RC when my wife and I cross 140 on Wonder in February...and, @Lovetocruise2002, if we luck out and get one (or two?) onboard they'll be going home in our checked bag...

It is one per household

[WAAAYTOOO]

11 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

It is one per household

1 per household is the rule....but we got one each on one of our Anthem Star Class cruises a few years ago.

[Iluv4n6]

11 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

It is one per household

Perfect...we only have one mantle.

[Iluv4n6]

1 minute ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1 per household is the rule....but we got one each on one of our Anthem Star Class cruises a few years ago.

You rule-breakers!

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 minutes ago, Iluv4n6 said:

You rule-breakers!

It wasn't us !    The Genie brought 2.  We told her we were only supposed to get 1 but she wouldn't take it back....so I traded the multiple Anthem block for 1 we didn't have.

[Lovetocruise2002]

28 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

It is one per household

 

16 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1 per household is the rule....but we got one each on one of our Anthem Star Class cruises a few years ago.

Definitely one per household, but we also ended up with 2 in August on Liberty. Different styles too. So I had 2 blocks plus a ship model when that TSA officer checked. The original plan was that Hubby would sell one block on eBay when we got home but I still have both of them because I cannot part with either one. Neither one was the tacky new style they just came out with so I like them both.

[tonyfsu21]

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1 per household is the rule....but we got one each on one of our Anthem Star Class cruises a few years ago.

Yep, confirmed. There were 2 loud bangs when I dumped ours in the trash can. 

[Linda R]

22 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I took mine home in both a checked and carry-on and I wasn't flagged at all. 

Same here.  I have taken them home in checked baggage and carry-on.  No problems at all. 

[Marc]

I'm not intending to be maudlin with this story; these are unfortunate circumstances. We're all okay now.

We are very fortunate that we happened to coincidentally earn crystal blocks on the two burial-at-sea cruises we did for each of our sons. It wasn't planned like that at all, but it's heartwarming to have those special keepsakes from those sailings.

The first was on Mariner of the Seas in February 2020. We didn't get that block onboard, and the world shut down for a while. We tried to get RC to send us the block in mid-2020, but nothing happened. We called back in spring 2021 and tried again. They found the records where it was approved to have been sent, but there was no record of it actually having been shipped (2020, again). So, that time they did send it to us.

The second was on Anthem of the Seas (Dec 2022), and I made darned sure that the Loyalty Ambassador knew how important this was to us. We did get that block.

Those two crystal blocks are on our mantel.

[HeWhoWaits]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:31 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wow, that’s completely different than what they said a few months ago when they tried to cut out the crystal blocks altogether !

We were Due a block on Grandeur several months ago and they told us they were out of them and would mail ours to us.  We never have received it.  It’s kinda shi##y to make this kind of change and never tell anyone.

I sure hope you get your block, @Shari.

My wife is still waiting for one from Mariner in June 2022. She checked on it on both Freedom and Explorer in July 2022 and again on Freedom this June. In all three cases, the LA said the system showed it as out of stock or backlogged but that it would be coming. Clearly NOT holding our breath.

[ScottD]

On 10/7/2023 at 4:26 PM, tonyfsu21 said:

Yep, confirmed. There were 2 loud bangs when I dumped ours in the trash can. 

Why you hating on the block?  I'd rather have that than a silly pin or most of the souvenirs they sell in the shops

[Shari]

Update:  I just received a call from C&A and they will be mailing me my block in 4 to 6 weeks.  Now to wait to see if it actually arrives.  If not I will stop by the C&A desk on my cruise in late November.

[Jill]

On 10/6/2023 at 8:41 PM, tonyfsu21 said:

What is everyone doing with these cheap “crystal” blocks? I don’t get this at all. 

For me, our Odyssey block is a remembrance of our Holy Land cruise where I put over 100 names of cancer patients/survivors in the Western Wall in Israel. It was also my 6 year anniversary of being cancer free from stage 4b cancer, a cancer that gave me a 15% chance of making it 5 years. 

So yeah those “cheap crystal blocks” actually can mean a lot to some people. I hope you never experience something like that but if you do, it’s nice to have a remembrance. 

[tonyfsu21]

9 hours ago, Jill said:

For me, our Odyssey block is a remembrance of our Holy Land cruise where I put over 100 names of cancer patients/survivors in the Western Wall in Israel. It was also my 6 year anniversary of being cancer free from stage 4b cancer, a cancer that gave me a 15% chance of making it 5 years. 

So yeah those “cheap crystal blocks” actually can mean a lot to some people. I hope you never experience something like that but if you do, it’s nice to have a remembrance. 

Sorry, that’s just my opinion. Congrats on being a cancer survivor. 

[tonyfsu21]

On 10/10/2023 at 4:41 AM, ScottD said:

Why you hating on the block?  I'd rather have that than a silly pin or most of the souvenirs they sell in the shops

It’s all junk. 

[WAYNO]

Haters gotta hate...

 

Speaking only for us, of all the little Royal Caribbean trinkets we have, this is our favorite.