Crown & Anchor benefits - am I missing something?

[frank808]

We took our first cruise 4.5 years ago.  Didn't even know about the C&A program or have even heard of Cruise Critic.   We never thought we would be D+ at all.  But we liked what royal had to offer and stuck with them as it was something I knew and most imortantly ENJOYED.  The C&A loyalty program is definitely the best out there for my cruise needs.  I dont know of any other line that offers all D members and above 3.5 hours of free drinks and the chance to meet and speak with so many like minded folks.  We finally tried another cruise line this past July with MSC.  We had 14 days sailing on the Seaside in a Yacht Club suite.  It was nice but every evening I missed the D lounge atmosphere.

 

You have to do what you think is right for your family and circumstances.  But the benefits of cruising with royal makes me look at them first. 

[stringbean10]

12 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

We have numerous cruises under our belts, as “they” say. At one cruise per year, you should be looking at where you will be 15 years from now. What kind of cruise will you enjoy then and are there perks related to their loyalty program that you might prefer.  Things will change and so will you.  Loyalty perks will change. 

 

Very good points!

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 

As long as the suite has a balcony 

 

I must just be lucky lately.  Got my $275 CAS discount on the VP category

[stringbean10]

4 minutes ago, jazzycitrine said:

I think the retiring baby boomers certainly will add to the top tier numbers.  But being a newbie, I will leave this to others who are more experienced to opine 

 

My husband likes cruising.  The only problem is that there are so many land trips we want to make - and even if they are locations reached by cruise ships, the type of travelling we want to do would not make it work.  So for the forseeable future, we are talking about 1 cruise per year, may be 2.  

 

Yep!  We are in the same boat! Lol

[John&LaLa]

49 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

Truly treated us like kings.  It is mostly wasted on us because we don’t ask for extras, although the free trip to Disney Springs was awesome.  Thank goodness, since John stood us up.😈  Others thoroughly took advantage, and were treated like kings.

 

Just finished yesterday.  The cellar is open.

Edited December 21, 2018 by John&LaLa

[stringbean10]

4 minutes ago, frank808 said:

We took our first cruise 4.5 years ago.  Didn't even know about the C&A program or have even heard of Cruise Critic.   We never thought we would be D+ at all.  But we liked what royal had to offer and stuck with them as it was something I knew and most imortantly ENJOYED.  The C&A loyalty program is definitely the best out there for my cruise needs.  I dont know of any other line that offers all D members and above 3.5 hours of free drinks and the chance to meet and speak with so many like minded folks.  We finally tried another cruise line this past July with MSC.  We had 14 days sailing on the Seaside in a Yacht Club suite.  It was nice but every evening I missed the D lounge atmosphere.

 

You have to do what you think is right for your family and circumstances.  But the benefits of cruising with royal makes me look at them first. 

 

Nice!  I’m not really a mixer & mingler. I’d most likely grab a cocktail in the lounge and scoot on out -  how would you describe the lounge atmosphere?  I’m picturing like a airport crown lounge or is it like a swanky jazz club - do they have live music?  Or is it quiet? Is there food that is unavailable elsewhere on the ship?

[neverbeenhere]

Strippers and tequila shots abound in the lounge. 

[neverbeenhere]

Drinks, canapé (I cant spell horsey devers) I nice place to meet up with your group or others to discuss your cruise war stories. People watching, people talking. Bonus: you get to make comments about other’s dress and loyalty status. 😜

Edited December 21, 2018 by neverbeenhere

[stringbean10]

45 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Celebrity captain’s club hosts provide frequent cruisers benefits not listed in the official documents. Passengers have been known to receive all types of perks based upon their personal likes. Be that spa visits, drinks, OBC, specialty dining etc. 

 

Do celebrity captains club hosts provide these things on royal sailings?

 

It sounds like a roll of the dice whether you receive them rather than a defined benefit. Have you ever had a sailing where they didn’t provide anything extra? 

[stringbean10]

2 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Drinks, canapé (I cant spell horsey devers) I nice place to meet up with your group or others to discuss your cruise war stories. People watching, people talking. Bonus: you get to make comments about other’s dress and loyalty status. 😜

 

Lolololololololol so like a snarky airport lounge? Got it -

 

oh but clearly the main difference is the strippers - obviously!  I knew I was missing something!!!

[neverbeenhere]

Each line is separate.

 

We have not been on a cruise that we didn’t receive something additional to the stated benefits while on a Celebrity cruise. 

 

YMMV

[neverbeenhere]

Just now, stringbean10 said:

 

Lolololololololol so like a snarky airport lounge? Got it -

 

oh but clearly the main difference is the strippers - obviously!  I knew I was missing something!!!

 Mostly men hang out early, the ladies prefer the later hour. 🤡

[neverbeenhere]

We actually love the diamond lounge(for as long as they last) during the early day time. Usually they are sparsely attended. (A quiet place to get away) 

[stringbean10]

2 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Each line is separate.

 

We have not been on a cruise that we didn’t receive something additional to the stated benefits while on a Celebrity cruise. 

 

YMMV

 

Ok I thought so -

 

I missunderstood your post & thought your celebrity host was doing these things for you on rci sailings - I wondered if the two programs overlapped like that.

 

have you sailed rci w your celebrity status and been comped something similar? 

[neverbeenhere]

Celebrity/RCL comp diamond(elite) status, but not diamond plus (elite plus). So, sadly you have to earn those 175 pesky points on RCL. 

[barb in ga]

There are  several D/D+ benefits that we enjoy regularly: priority boarding, nightly Diamond lounge, top tier event, 1 free photo each, internet time, robes, water in the cabin, soda or juice in the cabin on arrival come to mind.

 

We reached D+ after our last cruise, so we'll get the laundry now also. As much as I like Royal Caribbean, I know I'm not likely to reach Pinnacle. There is just too big a difference between 175 points and 700 points. We only cruise suites occasionally, so it's mostly 1 point per night for us.

 

What that means for us is now I feel OK "jumping ship" to try something new or different. We just booked Celebrity Edge for April and we'll get Elite benefits there. This doesn't mean I won't continue to sail Royal; we have a January week on Oasis and just booked Brilliance out of Amsterdam for a 12 night in May 2020. It's fun moving up the levels and meeting people who have cruised frequently; I just wish there was another level or two before Pinnacle.

Barb

[neverbeenhere]

Every frequent cruiser has their own hints, tips and tricks they use to receive additional perks. Most will say that they don’t try to squeeze extra out of the cruise line, but everyone does try. The line definitely squeezes extra out of the passengers. 

[stringbean10]

16 minutes ago, barb in ga said:

There are  several D/D+ benefits that we enjoy regularly: priority boarding, nightly Diamond lounge, top tier event, 1 free photo each, internet time, robes, water in the cabin, soda or juice in the cabin on arrival come to mind.

 

We reached D+ after our last cruise, so we'll get the laundry now also. As much as I like Royal Caribbean, I know I'm not likely to reach Pinnacle. There is just too big a difference between 175 points and 700 points. We only cruise suites occasionally, so it's mostly 1 point per night for us.

 

What that means for us is now I feel OK "jumping ship" to try something new or different. We just booked Celebrity Edge for April and we'll get Elite benefits there. This doesn't mean I won't continue to sail Royal; we have a January week on Oasis and just booked Brilliance out of Amsterdam for a 12 night in May 2020. It's fun moving up the levels and meeting people who have cruised frequently; I just wish there was another level or two before Pinnacle.

Barb

Hi Barb!  I’m in Ga too 🙂. The jump required for pinnacle shocked me - every other leap seems to be about double the previous points. 

 

I am am so excited about edge - it looks fantastic to me!  Have fun!

[frank808]

2 hours ago, stringbean10 said:

 

Nice!  I’m not really a mixer & mingler. I’d most likely grab a cocktail in the lounge and scoot on out -  how would you describe the lounge atmosphere?  I’m picturing like a airport crown lounge or is it like a swanky jazz club - do they have live music?  Or is it quiet? Is there food that is unavailable elsewhere on the ship?

I have seen many people just sit there and sip their drinks not wanting to talk to anyone.  I have also met many, many nice individuals who share their love of cruising.  Though i would say at happy hour i wouldnt sit in the d lounge if i wanted to be alone or in a quiet atmosphere.   Better to use your three free drinks at a nice quiet bar.

 

Atmosphere more like a airport lounge than a jazz club.  But more geared toward meeting and talking to other people.  At the airline lounges i access i dont usually talk to other people to much.  Guest are not usually visiting airline lounges for socializing. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by frank808

[xpcdoojk]

6 hours ago, frank808 said:

I have seen many people just sit there and sip their drinks not wanting to talk to anyone.  I have also met many, many nice individuals who share their love of cruising.  Though i would say at happy hour i wouldnt sit in the d lounge if i wanted to be alone or in a quiet atmosphere.   Better to use your three free drinks at a nice quiet bar.

 

Atmosphere more like a airport lounge than a jazz club.  But more geared toward meeting and talking to other people.  At the airline lounges i access i dont usually talk to other people to much.  Guest are not usually visiting airline lounges for socializing. 

 

Yeah, the only resemblance is the drinks and food, I would say that the food in good airport lounges such as the Centurion Lounges is that the food is designed to replace dinner, whereas the DL is more designed as a pre dinner snack.  The good airport lounges have a better bar.  

 

People in the evenings are typically talking socially in the DL and most people in an airport lounge are trying to catch up on email or figure out the rest of their day’s travel or sleep.  So, IMHO, they are not alike in atmosphere in any way.

 

jc

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

  The Diamond lounge provides that along with some of the most memorable entertainment of the cruise.  

+1.

[The Fun Researcher]

The only level that matters to me is Diamond.  I could care less about Diamond + or Pinnacle.  

 

The reason I'm looking forward to Diamond is because it actually brings real value (3 drink credits per night).  This can easily reach $200+ per person in value over a 7 night cruise.  ...and no, this doesn't make me an alcoholic.  It just opens the option for free drinks each evening if I'm interested.

 

I could care less about the lounges, pins, top tier events...

Dan

[xpcdoojk]

23 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The only level that matters to me is Diamond.  I could care less about Diamond + or Pinnacle.  

 

The reason I'm looking forward to Diamond is because it actually brings real value (3 drink credits per night).  This can easily reach $200+ per person in value over a 7 night cruise.  ...and no, this doesn't make me an alcoholic.  It just opens the option for free drinks each evening if I'm interested.

 

I could care less about the lounges, pins, top tier events...

Dan

 

Free laundry is nice.  Free internet is nice.  So, there is an advantage to reaching D+

 

jc

[The Fun Researcher]

8 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

Free laundry is nice.  Free internet is nice.  So, there is an advantage to reaching D+

 

jc

 

Those are nice.  The free photo is nice also.  Pales in comparison to the step from Platinum to Diamond IMO however.  It's all in what each individual values.

Dan

Edited December 21, 2018 by The Fun Researcher

[xpcdoojk]

No arguement, Diamond is the first level that makes a difference that moves my needle.

 

jc