Um, yeah, Pinnacles

[Sea Squirrel]

So we are just off Star and Pinnacles overwhelmed the suites areas. This seems to be a trend on rccl. While at the Grove, we watched pinns dump nuts and dried fruit (literally dumped the jars into provided bowls), wrap them in napkins and walk away. We also noticed that when shows are fully booked, Pinns can still book (reservations are open for pinns when closed for all other passengers). We are getting a tad tired of pinnacles in the suite area. I am sure this isnt popular but not sure I care.

[smokeybandit]

Don't they limit the number of pinnacles that can be in the suite area like they do on other ships?

[Ogilthorpe]

42 minutes ago, Sea Squirrel said:

So we are just off Star and Pinnacles overwhelmed the suites areas. This seems to be a trend on rccl. While at the Grove, we watched pinns dump nuts and dried fruit (literally dumped the jars into provided bowls), wrap them in napkins and walk away. We also noticed that when shows are fully booked, Pinns can still book (reservations are open for pinns when closed for all other passengers). We are getting a tad tired of pinnacles in the suite area. I am sure this isnt popular but not sure I care.

We observed similar circumstances on our last cruise. The pinnacles exhibited some of the worst entitled and abusive behaviors towards the staff in the lounge and Coastal Kitchen and showed open disdain for all of the lowly suite guests invading their private country club. I was thinking it may have been isolated,  but sounds like it is more pervasive than we assumed.

[Sea Squirrel]

47 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Don't they limit the number of pinnacles that can be in the suite area like they do on other ships?

We heard 78 on our sailing boats t that doesnt include guests

[Sea Squirrel]

20 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

We observed similar circumstances on our last cruise. The pinnacles exhibited some of the worst entitled and abusive behaviors towards the staff in the lounge and Coastal Kitchen and showed open disdain for all of the lowly suite guests invading their private country club. I was thinking it may have been isolated,  but sounds like it is more pervasive than we assumed.

Same. The staff openly voiced their disdan for the pinns that take advantage. 

[Sea Squirrel]

52 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Don't they limit the number of pinnacles that can be in the suite area like they do on other ships?

We had 78 pinn onboard. As Diamond Plus we know when we get bumped as suite guests to accompany the pinns. Id still like to know if they get open rezzies to shows. I am all for pinn bennies but it shouldnt cut into my bennies when i pay for them. 

[Sea Squirrel]

28 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

The pinnacles exhibited some of the worst entitled and abusive behaviors towards the staf

So on our cruise, the staff openly voiced their disdain. 

[smokeybandit]

11 minutes ago, Sea Squirrel said:

We had 78 pinn onboard. As Diamond Plus we know when we get bumped as suite guests to accompany the pinns. Id still like to know if they get open rezzies to shows. I am all for pinn bennies but it shouldnt cut into my bennies when i pay for them. 

Suite guests don't get bumped from suite areas though. Plus through the concierge you should be able to book shows that are sold out.

 

[Sea Squirrel]

Just now, smokeybandit said:

Suite guests don't get bumped from suite areas though. Plus through the concierge you should be able to book shows that are sold out.

 

They may not be bumped but get less service for what they paid. As for concierge, they are limited as well. You seem to be leaning towards pinns vs suite. Disappointing 

[smokeybandit]

I've never felt I got less service when in a suite no matter how many pins were in there.

[Sea Squirrel]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've never felt I got less service when in a suite no matter how many pins were in there.

Were you on the 8/23 sailing of Star? Stop being a company cheerleader. Star isnt the only ship weve seen this weve seen ot on utopia so much. Sorry. Ot is a problem. 

[smokeybandit]

3 minutes ago, Sea Squirrel said:

Were you on the 8/23 sailing of Star? Stop being a company cheerleader. Star isnt the only ship weve seen this weve seen ot on utopia so much. Sorry. Ot is a problem. 

I'm merely speaking from my own experiences over the years.

[Sea Squirrel]

9 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'm merely speaking from my own experiences over the years.

Appreciated but look at how 2025 is going. Premium payment for a suite to have your benefits overwhelmed by pinns.  Maybe you are ok with subsidizing pinns but we are not. 

[twangster]

If there were 78 on board there would have been restrictions on Pinnacles in the Suite Lounge.  

A lot of Pinnacles book suites.  They are often people of means which is how they cruised so much in the first place. 

All ships restrict Pinnacle access when the numbers are high, except if they are booked in full suites, then they don't get restricted from the Suite Lounge because they booked a suite.  

This is particularly true on new ships in the inaugural phase because Pinnacles know they won't have suite area access unless they book a full suite. 

The same goes for the upcoming President's Cruise.  A lot of Pinnacle will have booked suites so they are guaranteed CK and SL access.  

That doesn't excuse bad behavior, which I've also seen from suite guests from time to time.  

[smokeybandit]

33 minutes ago, twangster said:

That doesn't excuse bad behavior, which I've also seen from suite guests from time to time.  

I've seen clique-ish, "I'm above you lowly suite guest" behavior from pins (though this is rare, pins in the suite lounge typically are quite welcoming to non-pins). But that is just snooty behavior, not really bad behavior.

I've seen more jackwad behavior from suite guests.

[twangster]

21 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've seen clique-ish, "I'm above you lowly suite guest" behavior from pins (though this is rare, pins in the suite lounge typically are quite welcoming to non-pins). But that is just snooty behavior, not really bad behavior.

I've seen more jackwad behavior from suite guests.

I once saw a relatively new Diamond member, back in 2018, stand near the entrance to the Viking Crown Lounge, which was overflow DL on this sailing, and physically block people who he determined couldn't possibly be Diamond from accessing the VCL.   Crew had to pull him aside and talk with him. I'm not sure what gets into some people.   Bizzare.  

[WAYNO]

Whatever group I am most jealous, I could point my finger their direction and post it on the internet.

Arses are arses, regardless of their cruise status.

[twangster]

I'm on Star in a couple of weeks.  I'm assuming I won't have CK/SL access due to Pinnacle numbers.   I'm okay with that.  So be it.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

It's rather hilarious to read that "suite guests are subsidizing Pinns".  Pretty funny.

I do think that the number of Pinns, on Star in particular, will trend downwards as time goes on.  Many frequent guests - both Pinn and non-Pinns - are eager to sail on the newest ships, but that craze slows as times passes and the newness wears off.  The number of Pinns permitted into the SL/CK is, indeed, controlled, based on the number of suites guests (a rather consistent number) and the number of Pinns onboard.  The number of Pinns permitted in the SL/CK is arbitrary and at the sole discretion of the CK Manager and Suites Concierge....so if someone feels there are too many Pinns in the SL, go and talk to the Manager(s), as they are the ones who control that situation....not the Loyalty Ambassador, as some believe.

[wstephensi]

I'm just sad I will not live long enough to be able to earn enough cruise points to make Pinnacle and be an .  

Although my wife has referred to me on more than one occasion as being an .  

[twangster]

I have a name for those types of Pinnacles.   I call them Painicles.   

Like someone who drives a company car with logos, bad driving skills stands out when in a company car.   Same poor driving skills in an unmarked car is quickly forgotten.   

I don't wear my Pin so I blend in.  No one knows.  There are many Pins like me.  We walk among you, and no one knows. 

I often see entitled behavior by D+ simply because by numbers, there's 100 times as many D+ on board compared to Pinnacle for any given sailing.  Its not that D+ by definition are entitled, the ones that are, are entitled because that is just the way they are.   Later they become Pinnacle and they remain entitled, except now they wear their Pins so everyone knows they are entitled Pinnacle.  Same arse, different CAS level. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

If there were 78 on board there would have been restrictions on Pinnacles in the Suite Lounge.  

I thought the number was 100? Or does it vary by ship.

Anyhow, I have only seen suites area/CK overrun once by Pins in all of my sailings. It was on the inaugural sailing of Icon. So another one of those anomaly sailings. But seeing how it was there, I can see how that might be the case on Star at the moment as well. Over the last two months, when we were on Symphony and Wonder, many chatter in the SL among Pins involved their excitement in checking out Star in the months to come. Many were either sailing at the end of August or September.

[twangster]

I have spoken to a number of LAs about this.  During the week prior to a new sailing they receive daily spreadsheets with the the manifest for the upcoming cruise.   They filter the Pinnacle in suites so the Pinnacles not in suites allowed  list in based on the threshold for that ship.   For example Vision and Radiance class is typically 30 non-suite Pinnacle in the SL.   

Beyond the US for typical cruises there are often not enough Pinnacles to trip the cutoff.   

On Jewel right now for the 3 night weekend cruise there are 10 Pinnacle on board. 

New ship inaugural, repo cruises including transatlantic, long sailings like Panama Canal, often see higher numbers. Those are not typical.   Last summer the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise on Icon had 5 Pinnacle if i recall, or maybe 9.  Most were blog users.   

On most sailings I rarely visit the suite lounge. Since Pinnacles not in suites typically have to use vouchers in the SL I'd rather use my vouchers at a real bar.  When I am in a full suite I will typically use the SL more during happy hour to save my vouchers.   On the 21 night Quantum TP I dropped by the SL once to say hi to the concierge.   

I've got 35 nights in a GS coming up this fall.  I won't be wearing my pin, but I'll probably be in the SL many nights.   Then I can use my vouchers for coffees, sports drinks and waters.   I'm guessing there will be high numbers of top CAS just because they are long cruises.  

In Australia they never restrict.  Just not many top CAS numbers typically.   Same with Europe.  

Eating nuts, or eating all the nuts, is not a Pinnacle trait  They don't teach that in Pinnacle school.   You got some Painicles who were likely just as poorly behaved as they were when they were D+.

[Traveling Mike]

It takes a long time and/or a lot of money to have 700 points.  I cruise a lot and I wont be 1/2 way there until next year.  Having cruised 700 days on the same cruise line you deserve some gratitude.  I only wish the people that  have cruised over 700 day would treat the staff better and not act so entitled.  

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I have only seen suites area/CK overrun once by Pins in all of my sailings.

Sailing Oasis class during school breaks = very low top tier numbers. My version of that is…

Forget the CL being off-limits to Diamonds… it’s often a ghost town when we sail. You already know from my last blog but the CL concierge we got friendly with (the magic dot one) was literally thanking us for stopping by to chat with him each night b/c he was so bored (we were also looking for krispie treats & checking snacks of course).

Sorry for the semi tangent.

[MLH]

At least they don't have kids with them.

[twangster]

11 minutes ago, Traveling Mike said:

It takes a long time and/or a lot of money to have 700 points.  I cruise a lot and I wont be 1/2 way there until next year.  Having cruised 700 days on the same cruise line you deserve some gratitude.  I only wish the people that  have cruised over 700 day would treat the staff better and not act so entitled.  

That's basic respect which is not, by and large, lacking because of Pinnacle.  I see crew dispect even from new to cruise.  

When it comes to crew relationships, I would wager that most Pinnacle have great relationships with the crew.  

Let me put it this way... if a Pinnacle is disrespectful to crew, it's not because they are Pinnacle, it's most likely because that is the kind of person they are in life, to a lot of others. They were likely that way all the while they progressed to Pinnacle.

[WAAAYTOOO]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

When it comes to crew relationships, I would wager that most Pinnacle have great relationships with the crew.  

This is my experience as well.  Most Pinns know the crew members personally....especially if they are cruising on the same ships often.

[Sea Squirrel]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

You got some Painicles who were likely just as poorly behaved as they were when they were D+. Sorry if what ai wrote suggested all pinns were a bit rude because our experience has been the complete opposite on most sailings. It may have just the bad pennies turning up with a large group onboard due to being a new ship, short sailing/ casino comps. We wouldnt have even known they were pinns had they not worn the tag. 

[Sea Squirrel]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

This is my experience as well.  Most Pinns know the crew members personally....especially if they are cruising on the same ships often.

This is our experience as well. It may have just been this sailing. However, the crew in the Grove made comments about a couple groups of pinns which we had never heard before. 

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

You got some Painicles who were likely just as poorly behaved as they were when they were D+.

And "mere" Diamond.

And pre-Diamond levels - "Hey, we're Emerald - why do those first-timers get to board ahead of us?"

And on their first cruise.

[wordell1]

I've definitely encountered some entitled PINS, but the vast majority that I have met are not that way at all, and super helpful in sharing their experience. 

I remember one older couple who were wearing the nametags in the hot tub and still mentioned it almost immediately in conversation.  We were all kind of rolling our eyes and when they left, one of the other guys was laughing and said that he was pinnacle also and that they were giving them a bad name.

 

[smokeybandit]

I find it entertaining when "normal" pinnacles make fun of other more entitled pinnacles.

[PRMLVM]

16 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I've definitely encountered some entitled PINS, but the vast majority that I have met are not that way at all, and super helpful in sharing their experience. 

I remember one older couple who were wearing the nametags in the hot tub and still mentioned it almost immediately in conversation.  We were all kind of rolling our eyes and when they left, one of the other guys was laughing and said that he was pinnacle also and that they were giving them a bad name.

 

I've never been bumped or treated badly by a PIN but I will always remember the cruise where I sat close to a PIN at two events and both times she was telling her newfound friend how she and her husband were "the highest ranking passengers on the ship."  She was actually giving the other young cruisers some nice advice.....but that statement (said TWICE) still stands out.

[RCIfan1912]

I'm blown away that many people have the time and money to sail that much to get to 700 points! God we are just trying slowly to get D+.

[WAYNO]

1 hour ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I'm blown away that many people have the time and money to sail that much to get to 700 points! God we are just trying slowly to get D+.

I'm a relatively new cruiser.  We started in 2016.

That said, we're very close to half-way to Pinnacle.  Had we started just a few years earlier, we could've been a whole lot closer.  And at our age, I really don't see us making it.

[WAAAYTOOO]

4 minutes ago, WAYNO said:

And at our age, I really don't see us making it.

Never say never.  I didn't see us ever getting there either...

[smokeybandit]

We started in 2015 when it was time to find a family vacation. We'll be half way to Pinnacle in March and as long as life cooperates should get there just before retirement.

[Ogilthorpe]

Seems unreachable at times,  then I remind myself: it's just 50 short weeks in a suite 

[Jamesszy94]

Anyone can make Pinnacle... granted they have enough disposable income, which probably 98% of us do not. 

Most of the entitled ones are probably that way cause they want to show off like "oh, look at me, I have money and am a Pinnacle! I'm better than all of you"

I hate those kinds of people... and just treat them the same way that they treat other people, it's the only thing they know.