Should there be another tier in the Crown & Anchor loyalty program?

[Carpe Diem]

 There are currently 6 tiers on the Crown & Anchor Society Loyalty Program:

Gold: 3-29 points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Platinum: 30-54 points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Emerald:  55-79 points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Diamond: 80-174 points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Diamond Plus: 175-699 points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Pinnacle: 700 points

There is a 27 point spread between Gold and Platinum, a 25 point spread between Platinum and Emerald, a 25 point spread between Emerald and Diamond and a 95 point spread between Diamond and Diamond Plus.  That all sounds achievable.  But, there is a whopping 525 point spread between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle.  I am a Diamond Plus member with 407 cruise points.  I first reached Diamond Plus at 175 points.  That means that I have been Diamond Plus for 232 points. I feel like I have been Diamond Plus forever and yet I still have 293 point to go before reaching Pinnacle. Shouldn't there be another tier added somewhere between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle?  

 

[MR_Soccer]

I guess the question would be how you differentiate between the new tier and the existing tiers and make it something to attain.  There are meaningful things between the tiers to some people like the welcome gifts, free drinks, internet...would this be the same for another tier?  I'm sure RCI could come up with something, but is it a business driver?  Maybe Pinnacle should be lower but post pandemic there are a lot more pinnacles than they could have planned for.  Lots of people with a stack of credit, the lower cruise prices and double points were able to move up the tiers.  I got 28 points for a one-week cruise in which I was able to get a suite cheaper post pandemic than the balcony I originally booked (would have been 7) and still had money left over.

[Last2Know]

Should there be another level between D+ and Pinn.  Probably, but I don't foresee any major revisions unless there is a dramatic overhaul of all the RCI brands and loyalty programs, to include Crown and Anchor, Capt's Club, & Casino Royale.  

[Biaggio]

Soon to cross over from diamond to diamond plus this year. With cruise prices escalating I wont live long enough to hit pinnacle.   Would like a reward in between, and not another drink. 

[Doug_Texas]

I'm D+ and probably will never reach Pinnacle.  In my mind Pinnacle should be reserved as a very elite tier.  I like it as it is today.  Besides, they throw a couple of nice perks at D+ with 340 points or more.

[smokeybandit]

Really there's only 3 tiers that matter now. D, D+ and Pin.

 

The rest are just fluff.  If anything you'd just put some distance between the tier levels (ie, make Diamond be 100 instead of 80) but I'm not sure you could get away with doing that.

[Austin]

What else would you add to another tier? A pat on the back from an officer? RC already has better perks than most other cruise lines.

[Biaggio]

12 minutes ago, Austin said:

What else would you add to another tier? A pat on the back from an officer? RC already has better perks than most other cruise lines.

More free Wi-Fi days, ship tour, more free laundry especially on TA crossings. Won’t happen because they are all revenue generators. 

[Rackham]

Another tier? No. Here's the loyalty program benefits charts for Carnival, MSC, NCL, and Royal.

Royal's for everyone who doesn't have the chart memorized already: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf

Depending on what you value, Royal's or NCL's program is going to be the best. Interestingly enough, both of which have similar point requirements for the tiers. It's just that Royal's has a hidden tier at 340 points versus NCL giving it a name at 350.

[ChessE4]

No, another tier isn't needed. Moreover, tiers aren't really that motivational. We don't cruise for the tiers, but the experience. Royal should focus on the experience to build and retain business. Existing perks are sufficient provided the onboard experience doesn't erode. If that happens, well give up drink vouchers for a better cruise vacation on another line.

[tonyfsu21]

I bet the current leadership would like to add a tier between Emerald and Diamond and cut back on the saturation of Diamond level members. 

[twangster]

There are sort of already tiers within D+ at 340/350 and 525 they just don't have names.  Granted the 525 level is effectively an extra bottle of wine, DP340 for solo cruisers is a massive benefit that has saved me thousands.  Of all the CAS perks offered, DP340 has netted me the most dollar impact of any benefit.  Many couples leverage DP340 to accelerate the climb to 700 so it's not just solo that can benefit from DP340.  

 

[twangster]

I built a graph of different cruise line loyalty programs and what it takes to reach the top in each program.  I adjusted each to normalize for the different top levels such as 700 on Royal and 3,000 on Celebrity.  CAS vs. Captain's Club vs. Latitudes vs. VIFP.   I took suites out of the equation since most cruisers don't stay in suites.  

Crown and Anchor does start off a little wonky before reaching Diamond but if that is the "golden point" after reaching that level all cruise line thresholds to level up track each other pretty well.

In summary, it's not broken and doesn't need to be fixed.

[FionaMG]

11 hours ago, twangster said:

Many couples leverage DP340 to accelerate the climb to 700 so it's not just solo that can benefit from DP340. 

That's an interesting strategy that would never have occurred to me. I doubt we'll even get that far (only just hit D+ on our Symphony cruise that ended on Sunday, anxiously waiting for the points to post and see the status change) but am filing it away for the future anyway.

[CrimsonCruiser]

I don't think there needs to be another level between the two because there are some milestone steps between first getting to D+ and the eventual pinnacle. If anything, Royal wouldn't so much add a level as they would turn a milestone into one (thereby making it look like a new level with no real change to the structure). Diamond Premium or something...

I never expect to make pinnacle and I'm okay with that. I thought it would take forever to make Diamond and yet, here  I am (and 2 cruises away from getting my crystal block). I think Royal provides enough perks at D and D+ levels that making another step in between would or could take away from the others.

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I don't think there needs to be another level between the two because there are some milestone steps between first getting to D+ and the eventual pinnacle. If anything, Royal wouldn't so much add a level as they would turn a milestone into one (thereby making it look like a new level with no real change to the structure). Diamond Premium or something...

I never expect to make pinnacle and I'm okay with that. I thought it would take forever to make Diamond and yet, here  I am (and 2 cruises away from getting my crystal block). I think Royal provides enough perks at D and D+ levels that making another step in between would or could take away from the others.

I think the space to insert another level would be between emerald and diamond from the perspective of RC. The pandemic cruise points promotions backfired and saturated the diamond level. 

[CrimsonCruiser]

10 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I think the space to insert another level would be between emerald and diamond from the perspective of RC. The pandemic cruise points promotions backfired and saturated the diamond level. 

I don't know if I would say it backfired. I'm sure Royal looked at the numbers and considered it an acceptable effect of getting people back on board quickly. And considering the changes to the C&A program that came about not long after the full restart, I'm sure they were already looking at ways to mitigate overcrowding in the top tiers without taking too much from the people who are already there. If anything, I think the only impact they didn't account for was the use of the lounges. I think, historically, people weren't using them much so it wasn't an issue to have 3 levels in the smaller areas. Coupled with the drink vouchers vs only happy hour, I don't think Royal expected such an uptick in usage. But cruisers now want all the bang for their buck and that means more quiet areas, more free food and more sense of exclusivity (or cruise within a cruise, as Matt says).

 

As for adding another step between Emerald and Diamond, I think for that to work they would have to do a lot of shifting and changing of the top 3 levels since there's only 25 points between emerald and diamond. The points needed for diamond and diamond plus would increase. no idea what perks they could give this new level (i'm bad at things like that)

[JasonOasis]

16 hours ago, Biaggio said:

More free Wi-Fi days, ship tour, more free laundry especially on TA crossings. Won’t happen because they are all revenue generators. 

How many people are in your room can also determine how many free bags of laundry you get.  

My husband and I get 2 free bags of laundry on cruises because it is a bag per person.  Those laundry bags can hold quite a bit of clothes if you fold them and compress them in there. As long as it's in the bag it qualifies for the free wash. We use that service when we do our B2B cruises we each do a bag of laundry the first week and then again the second week.  At first we thought it was one free bag per room but it is one free bag per person at D+ or higher.

As far as should there be another level I don't know whether it would help or not.  We both just passed 360 points on our last cruise this past January the benefits are nice but when I look at the benefits for pinnacle they are great and better than NCL, Carnival, and MSC but it isn't enough to keep me loyal to Royal which is why my next cruise is on Celebrity and next year I've already booked a cruise on Virgin.   Diamond plus is good but with pinnacle being so far away I kind of feel free now to go explore other cruise lines that are not NCL, Carnival or MSC (I've already cruised on those several times) because to reach pinnacle is going to take years.  

[Pattycruise]

On 2/19/2024 at 1:06 PM, Carpe Diem said:

I am a Diamond Plus member with 407 cruise points.  I first reached Diamond Plus at 175 points.  That means that I have been Diamond Plus for 232 points. I feel like I have been Diamond Plus forever and yet I still have 293 point to go before reaching Pinnacle. Shouldn't there be another tier added somewhere between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle?  

 

I imagine all those who reached Pinnacle felt the same….”took forever”. 

[Ampurp85]

3 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I think the space to insert another level would be between emerald and diamond from the perspective of RC. The pandemic cruise points promotions backfired and saturated the diamond level. 

I would disagree with this. The promotion did exactly what they wanted. Ensured that people would sail during a time when most people wouldn't and rewarded those who were loyal. I don't think it made too many diamonds. Every time someone post the numbers after a top tier event, I am shocked at how low the numbers are. Shocked because people keep saying how that promotion made so many diamond or higher members. On any given cruise the combination of diamond and higher combined, are less than gold or new cruisers. I think it put people where they would be, had they not lost out on 15mths of cruises.

Saying all of that, I don't think there needs to be another tier. I know it is 525pt to get to the next "official" tier once you make D+, but the in-between perks are better than being recognized with a pin or some element. Its 25pt between emerald and diamond, why would they put another tier there, they would have to rework everything. Also by having diamond at 80 points it is realistic. That is only 11 seven-night cruises in a balcony or less.  Royal's program is pretty great, I just wish it was more standardized across the entire business. 

[tonyfsu21]

43 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I would disagree with this. The promotion did exactly what they wanted. Ensured that people would sail during a time when most people wouldn't and rewarded those who were loyal. I don't think it made too many diamonds. Every time someone post the numbers after a top tier event, I am shocked at how low the numbers are. Shocked because people keep saying how that promotion made so many diamond or higher members. On any given cruise the combination of diamond and higher combined, are less than gold or new cruisers. I think it put people where they would be, had they not lost out on 15mths of cruises.

Saying all of that, I don't think there needs to be another tier. I know it is 525pt to get to the next "official" tier once you make D+, but the in-between perks are better than being recognized with a pin or some element. Its 25pt between emerald and diamond, why would they put another tier there, they would have to rework everything. Also by having diamond at 80 points it is realistic. That is only 11 seven-night cruises in a balcony or less.  Royal's program is pretty great, I just wish it was more standardized across the entire business. 

My suggestion would include sliding D and above so there would be more of a point spread between emerald & diamond and then creating a new tier. I can see this happening and hopefully the change will be coupled with a complete overhaul of the casino program. Never say never with the current leadership as anything is possible. 

[JFCruise]

Out of curiosity, I checked the Member Benefits PDF. Currently, there are 3 D+ benefits that only apply towards 340+ points:

1. Cheers with an officer

2. Upgraded bathroom amenities

3. Single supplement fare discount

If RC was to create another level, I would bet it would be at 340 since, unofficially, it already exists. Then maybe they can tweak benefits a bit to make it a little more attractive. For example: 

- Add a 7th free drink to Pinnacles and give this new tier 6.

- Discount on DBP at 35% (halfway between D+ and P)

- $15 off specialty dining on 5+ nights (P is at $25)

- 3 free internet on 7N+ sailings; 2 on all others (D is at 2, P get free internet always)

- Flex arrival

[dmattinson]

32 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I would disagree with this. The promotion did exactly what they wanted. Ensured that people would sail during a time when most people wouldn't and rewarded those who were loyal. I don't think it made too many diamonds. Every time someone post the numbers after a top tier event, I am shocked at how low the numbers are. Shocked because people keep saying how that promotion made so many diamond or higher members. On any given cruise the combination of diamond and higher combined, are less than gold or new cruisers. I think it put people where they would be, had they not lost out on 15mths of cruises.

Saying all of that, I don't think there needs to be another tier. I know it is 525pt to get to the next "official" tier once you make D+, but the in-between perks are better than being recognized with a pin or some element. Its 25pt between emerald and diamond, why would they put another tier there, they would have to rework everything. Also by having diamond at 80 points it is realistic. That is only 11 seven-night cruises in a balcony or less.  Royal's program is pretty great, I just wish it was more standardized across the entire business. 

I don't know if it made too many Diamond members but it sure helped people that knew how to game the "cruise with confidence" promos that were offering essentially a no-penalty of cruise fare postponement and was giving people double points for booking during specific times (that often coupled with the cruise with confidence forgiveness).  I think it sped up the timeline for some cruisers that were able to take advantage of the lower fares and get the extra points while having a little flexibility in future cruise plans.  Those folks have all met the tiers that they were going to meet by now or are getting close to meeting the next tier and their cruise with confidence bookings are all exhausted.   I know I personally benefited from one of these double point promos getting 14 points for staying in a balcony room on a 7-night Harmony cruise in 2021 (after the original 3-night sailing offering that promo was COVID cancelled and FCC applied to a future sailing also carried the double points credit).  I also benefited from a surprisingly cheap fare for a suite on a 12-night repo cruise netting me another 24 points (I mean, the fare for 2 in a 1BR Owner's Suite was cheaper than 1 person on Star in a Surfside family suite).  But I'm still not at Diamond...16 more points to get there with a 7-nighter in a balcony in May and a 5-nighter in a JS in April 2024 which will get me Diamond with one extra point over prior to our Star sailing in Sep 2024.  

Prior to 2021, I sailed Royal 1 time and had only credit for 1 sailing from 2005 in the C&A account...since then, I will have sailed on 7 unique sailings with a mix of balcony and suite rooms to get to Diamond.  

[MR_Soccer]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

 The promotion did exactly what they wanted. Ensured that people would sail during a time when most people wouldn't and rewarded those who were loyal.

I think the performance of the stock price and financial statements over the past year and a half agree with this as well

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

My suggestion would include sliding D and above so there would be more of a point spread between emerald & diamond and then creating a new tier. I can see this happening and hopefully the change will be coupled with a complete overhaul of the casino program. Never say never with the current leadership as anything is possible. 

I am not saying never in regard to creating a new tier, I just didn't agree that the promotion backfired.

I am also hoping the casino changes, but not for the worst. I don't want them to make it harder to get comps, but I would like a level between Prime and Signature, master's seems impossible to me. 

[GatorCruiser]

What are people’s thoughts on likelihood of pins one day getting punted from suite lounge? I want to say I have heard this already happens to lower tier pins if there’s a bunch on a particular sailing ? Forgive my ignorance if so. 

[Rackham]

5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I would disagree with this. The promotion did exactly what they wanted. Ensured that people would sail during a time when most people wouldn't and rewarded those who were loyal. I don't think it made too many diamonds. Every time someone post the numbers after a top tier event, I am shocked at how low the numbers are. Shocked because people keep saying how that promotion made so many diamond or higher members. On any given cruise the combination of diamond and higher combined, are less than gold or new cruisers. I think it put people where they would be, had they not lost out on 15mths of cruises.

I'm hypnotizing that the complaints are coming from guests aboard itineraries popular with those in the higher C&A levels. Percentage wise, it typical tracks from sailings I've been on and seen others posted, 7% or less are Diamond and above. On the sold out Anthem Christmas sailing last year, the amount of Platinum members aboard (296) was nearly that of Diamond and up (325). Gold had more than both combined at 880. Typically, this approximate ratio is maintained between sailings, at least when school is out from ships I've been on, with about there being ~10%-25% more Diamond and up aboard versus Platinum, and with Gold out numbering both by a significant margin.

[Pattycruise]

3 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

What are people’s thoughts on likelihood of pins one day getting punted from suite lounge? I want to say I have heard this already happens to lower tier pins if there’s a bunch on a particular sailing ? Forgive my ignorance if so. 

I think their current system is “working” for them.  I don’t see any complaining in the Facebook pinnacle groups of not getting entry.  Doesn’t mean they aren’t complaining though. 
As a new Pin I don’t see any communication regarding “you have entry” to the concierge lounge-but on my second 1/2 of the B2B where I made Pin on week1 I was told I’d have access when the C&A ambassador changed my seapass card from blue to gold.  This was a smaller ship I suspect she never would have told me otherwise though, as she never mentioned I could get breakfast in Chops.   Doesn’t really matter to me anyway, I sleep past the breakfast time, I really don’t go to the lounges-hardly did as D/D+ and I hardly use the 6 free drinks since I get free drinks in the casino due to my casino status. 
just sailed solo but met up with a friend so I never thought to go try and see if I could get into the suite lounge (doubtful on Anthem as a newbie).  Maybe I’ll try on my next sailing!-if I remember. I’ll also try and remember to ask the C&A if there’s a formula. 

[smokeybandit]

The double points promo certainly let some soar up the ranks (present company included).

But I'd really be surprised if it was that many beyond who would have gotten there anyway had cruise not been shut down for so long.

[JasonOasis]

14 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I think the space to insert another level would be between emerald and diamond from the perspective of RC. The pandemic cruise points promotions backfired and saturated the diamond level. 

It most certainly did not  backfire.  With all the negative press cruise lines endured both in both on social media and news media they had to do something because some in the media were basically blaming cruise lines for the spread of covid.  

Without double points promotion I don't know how many loyal cruisers would have put up with all the things we had to put up with just to get on a cruise ship.  You had to get vaccinated, boosted, then tested within days of departure (and when cruising first resumed they wouldn't take the rapid antigen test), you had to answer health questionnaires, when cruising first resumed you had to wear a mask inside certain venues on the ship, social distancing and more.  There were a lot of hurdles the cruise industry had to jump over then passengers had to jump over just so the CDC would let cruising resume.  We were already diamond when cruising resumed and would have needed 2 cruises to make diamond plus instead we made diamond plus in one cruise and we also took 3 other cruises during the double points promotion. Without that double points promotion it is doubtful either myself or my husband would have put up with everything passengers had to put up with to get on a cruise ship when we could go and had gone multiple times to Mexico and really didn't have to deal with any major restrictions to get into Mexico.  Think about it Florida was fully open, Las Vegas had opened back up and those hotels were packed in Las Vegas we took a trip to Vegas as well during the cruise industry shut down and Mexico were booming and the cruise industry or Royal had to come up with something to get customers back on their ships not just one time but multiple times.  For people loyal to Royal that double points promotion along with insanely cheap cruise fares is why we jumped though all those covid protocol hoops just to go on vacation.

[recogneyes]

15 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am not saying never in regard to creating a new tier, I just didn't agree that the promotion backfired.

I am also hoping the casino changes, but not for the worst. I don't want them to make it harder to get comps, but I would like a level between Prime and Signature, master's seems impossible to me. 

That would be a really good change as there is such a gap between levels.  I would also like to see the option for Diamond/D+/Pinnacle passengers to be able to forgo a drink package should they be booked in a cabin with a guest 21+ who wants to buy it.  This is even more of an issue when you become Prime (or higher) in the casino.  There is the option to contact Royal and just purchase the refreshment package if you don't drink alcohol, but if you do, then this isn't an option.  When you are getting 4/5/6 drink vouchers per day plus when in the casino, purchasing a drink package is likely not necessary for most.

[Ampurp85]

6 minutes ago, recogneyes said:

That would be a really good change as there is such a gap between levels.  I would also like to see the option for Diamond/D+/Pinnacle passengers to be able to forgo a drink package should they be booked in a cabin with a guest 21+ who wants to buy it.  This is even more of an issue when you become Prime (or higher) in the casino.  There is the option to contact Royal and just purchase the refreshment package if you don't drink alcohol, but if you do, then this isn't an option.  When you are getting 4/5/6 drink vouchers per day plus when in the casino, purchasing a drink package is likely not necessary for most.

I agree but I personally will book solo to avoid any drink packages. When I travel with a group, I put people who need the drink package in the same room, they don't stay in that room, but it is easier. With Prime offering certain sailings, then winning certain sailings and the drink options for being prime/D+ I often book a solo room. I am a little over 100 points from getting the D340, which will make my solo rooms even cheaper. I know not everyone can do this, but I find a solo room is often cheaper than forcing me to get any type of drink package.

[JLARZ]

Honestly, from this point forward, current pricing is going to be the biggest barrier to reaching a new tier. Even at emerald , seeing actual benefits (outside of perhaps a different colored sea pass card) at this level requires a microscope.

[Last2Know]

On 2/21/2024 at 11:02 AM, Ampurp85 said:

With Prime offering certain sailings, then winning certain sailings and the drink options for being prime/D+ I often book a solo room.

Same here with D+ and Prime.  I made Prime late last year and now find myself cruising solo for the first time since leaving Uncle Sam's Canoe Club in 2010.  Two solo cruises booked via Casino Royale since we welcomed our first grandchild.  Opa will be sailing without YaYa for a few more months while she's busy helping out the new mom.  

[tonyfsu21]

On 2/21/2024 at 2:28 AM, JasonOasis said:

It most certainly did not  backfire.  With all the negative press cruise lines endured both in both on social media and news media they had to do something because some in the media were basically blaming cruise lines for the spread of covid.  

Without double points promotion I don't know how many loyal cruisers would have put up with all the things we had to put up with just to get on a cruise ship.  You had to get vaccinated, boosted, then tested within days of departure (and when cruising first resumed they wouldn't take the rapid antigen test), you had to answer health questionnaires, when cruising first resumed you had to wear a mask inside certain venues on the ship, social distancing and more.  There were a lot of hurdles the cruise industry had to jump over then passengers had to jump over just so the CDC would let cruising resume.  We were already diamond when cruising resumed and would have needed 2 cruises to make diamond plus instead we made diamond plus in one cruise and we also took 3 other cruises during the double points promotion. Without that double points promotion it is doubtful either myself or my husband would have put up with everything passengers had to put up with to get on a cruise ship when we could go and had gone multiple times to Mexico and really didn't have to deal with any major restrictions to get into Mexico.  Think about it Florida was fully open, Las Vegas had opened back up and those hotels were packed in Las Vegas we took a trip to Vegas as well during the cruise industry shut down and Mexico were booming and the cruise industry or Royal had to come up with something to get customers back on their ships not just one time but multiple times.  For people loyal to Royal that double points promotion along with insanely cheap cruise fares is why we jumped though all those covid protocol hoops just to go on vacation.

I’m not disagreeing as we sailed at least 3 times in Suites during the points promotion and escalated our C&A status deep into D+. What I’m trying to point out is from a company perspective I think they bit off more then they can chew with the influx of new D members. Just an opinion but I do think the company will make changes regardless of the fact that the system is technically not “broken”. The casino program is certainly broken and that’s just a fact. 

[twangster]

An influx of new D/D+/P members is a good problem for the company.  

Time and again I see threads on “the problems” with so many loyal returning guests.  Hello?  That isn’t a problem.  That’s a great thing and proof the loyalty program is doing precisely what it is designed to do.  It’s a phenomenally successful program and from the company perspective it’s a major win.  

Returning guests who dislike being among so many other loyal returning guests is only a “problem” in the minds of those that choose to make it so.  

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

An influx of new D/D+/P members is a good problem for the company.  

Time and again I see threads on “the problems” with so many loyal returning guests.  Hello?  That isn’t a problem.  That’s a great thing and proof the loyalty program is doing precisely what it is designed to do.  It’s a phenomenally successful program and from the company perspective it’s a major win.  

Returning guests who dislike being among so many other loyal returning guests is only a “problem” in the minds of those that choose to make it so.  

While this may be true to some degree, it’s clearly a problem for the company at some level considering the renaming of the “diamond lounge”. I also find the dead zone between D+ and Pinnacle to be something that is ripe for another tier. 

[smokeybandit]

But if you add another tier, you need new perks for reaching that tier to give it value.  

[tonyfsu21]

31 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

But if you add another tier, you need new perks for reaching that tier to give it value.  

They already exist and would just need to be identified as a tier name and maybe some refining of additional perks. 

[twangster]

The Diamond lounge concept was great in the day but it will never scale to where Royal is taking the loyalty program.  The fact that we have reached this point in the life cycle of the DL isn't a problem.  That is a sign of success. 

Perks like free drinks are a huge win for the company.  Alcohol is cheap and four free drinks every day gives Royal a huge leg up when a cruiser shops across cruise lines.  Real estate is hard to come by on a ship.  This is a step in the ongoing life cycle of the DL concept.  Eventually a free coffee voucher added to D and up perks is the next step in re-purposing valuable real estate on a ship into something else.  Soft perks like vouchers are easy to adjust over time.  Hard perks like physical space dedicated solely to a free loyalty program just doesn't make sense.  What other cruise line has them?

Ten years from now there will be no loyalty lounge.  It's an outdated concept that isn't required anymore and a waste of ship real estate.