WHY the big goal to become Pinacle ?? ..

[orville99]

6 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I live in Florida...yet more than half of my booked cruises involve flights out of Florida. 

 

There are only so many times one can do the same ports over and over again in the Carib.  😉 

Yet, with all the new itineraries, there are quite a few interesting cruises available that didn't exist (at least out of the ports we can drive to). 

[island lady]

15 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Many of those people discovered one in a suite plus a throw away interior is very close in price and sometime cheaper than two in a suite once they are over 340.  They didn't spend gobs of extra money to game the system, the system left itself open to be played so that more points could be earned for the same or marginally more money.  

 

If you are sailing anyways you might as well play the game and earn more points.

 

Sometimes for $35 more I can move from a studio cabin to a double occupancy cabin.  I don't "need" the points but at the same time more points for a relatively low amount of money does move me a wee bit closer to my next free cruise threshold.  An extra 7 points for $35 is a good use of $35 for me but maybe not for the next cruiser.  So be it,  to each their own.  But to say I am only cruising to get points is not accurate.  I cruise because I love to cruise.  Playing the points game is just entertainment while on the ride.  

 

Sure, on the way to 700 many people play the system.  It's not accurate to paint them as only cruising to get points.  Anytime I saw a fare deal that's under $100 per night all in I jumped on that.  Not to gobble up points but because I love to cruise and I couldn't pass up a bargain to get back on board and do something I love.  Did it help to earn double points as a solo?  Absolutely but the points were not why I did it.  Even now when I see a cheap cruise deal I have a hard time saying no.  

 

Some people will buy a cheap short cruise to cross a threshold so they have Diamond for the next longer cruise.  That's very common at the Diamond level.  Some of those people have points primarily in mind.  Those kinds of people who book one cruise to jump over a threshold happen at each level but mostly at the Diamond level.  

 

Once you've made Pinnacle that's it.  Double or triple Pinnacle does nothing for you yet people still book cruises like they did on the way to Pinnacle.  It's not the points.  They just love to cruise.  For the same money while you are on board anyways why not earn more points?  Sure beats staying home and cutting the grass for the 3rd time this week.  

 

But I do love the ongoing 350 free cruises. 😉 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, SummerBeee said:

Our flight was Miami to Barbados, then Galveston back to Miami (repo cruise)

Looking at all your individual flights, wow so many and so long. I’ll get to visit all those places without flying 😁

A 4 hour drive to Miami then spending 9 months on Serenade 

 

I am flying to Miami from Orlando.  "Sea" you on board.  😉 

[island lady]

12 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Yet, with all the new itineraries, there are quite a few interesting cruises available that didn't exist (at least out of the ports we can drive to). 

 

I am happy about Jewel coming to PC....not to mention Wonder.  🤗   So with those, it will be a nice change of ship and crew to cruise out of locally.  🙂 

 

Though I do have to fly to the Wonder the first time...and happy to be on board when she comes into PC to her new homeport. 

[little britain]

12 hours ago, topnole said:

I’m not disagreeing with you.   In fact I think we are saying the same thing.  Everyone is different and we all have our different reasons.  I’m simply saying that a lot of pinnacles don’t just one day become pinnacles because they only cruised and enjoyed the journey (as was stated by a prior poster).  While they have obviously enjoyed the journey, many strategize a lot to either get there quicker or make it happen.   And I’m more than certain many are cruising a lot more than they would have in 2022 for all the extra points.  So I absolutely believe many engage in behavior they wouldn’t have otherwise to get more points and this gain ground in a given level of stays.  
 

Again, there is nothing wrong with this. I’d find it odd if people didn’t work the system to get the most out of it and I’m sure we have all done it.  But to claim all pinnacles or any other high status just cruise and one day it just happens is silly.   For many, there is a lot of attention and time put into maximizing points along the way.  It is most certainly an end game for some or many.  
 

But with all that said, I still think we agreeing with each other.  It would be somewhat irrational for someone not to care and not strategize.   One can also enjoy the journey while doing that.   I’ve done both.  

Agree. I hold my hand up 🙋‍♀️ and say I’m doing a lot of cruises, solo, this year purely because I realised with double points I would make it to Pin.  I started 2022 with 448 and will end with 758 if all goes to plan.  
This is something I thought I would never achieve- 340 and the solo discount was my goal because that saves a chunk of money. 

Every cruise this year was chosen because if interesting itinerary ( 3 weeks on grandeur around the Caribbean anyone..?); or because it’s a new ship.
TBH, only one cruise this year I’m “meh” about and that’s going on Wonder (again) to those same ports (again) in the Med; but a friend wanted to go and it was $815 for a solo o/v so why not 🤷‍♀️!! And another 14 points.  I actually get off Wonder with 696! 

 

@bonsai3s I have made a pinkie promise with DH that we will never wear our badges too! Ok perhaps just once…! 

[twangster]

Isn't the point of a loyalty program to entice members to book more cruises?  

 

Why is it a problem that the CAS is motivating frequent cruisers to book more cruises with Royal Caribbean? 

 

That's kind of the point.  

[sandebeach]

16 minutes ago, little britain said:

Agree. I hold my hand up 🙋‍♀️ and say I’m doing a lot of cruises, solo, this year purely because I realised with double points I would make it to Pin.  I started 2022 with 448 and will end with 758 if all goes to plan.  
This is something I thought I would never achieve- 340 and the solo discount was my goal because that saves a chunk of money. 

Every cruise this year was chosen because if interesting itinerary ( 3 weeks on grandeur around the Caribbean anyone..?); or because it’s a new ship.
TBH, only one cruise this year I’m “meh” about and that’s going on Wonder (again) to those same ports (again) in the Med; but a friend wanted to go and it was $815 for a solo o/v so why not 🤷‍♀️!! And another 14 points.  I actually get off Wonder with 696! 

 

@bonsai3s I have made a pinkie promise with DH that we will never wear our badges too! Ok perhaps just once…! 

We finally received our Pinnacle pins in the mail last Monday. My husband, who always said he would never wear a pin, has been wearing his constantly on this cruise. And I told him he looks very Handsome!!

[topnole]

14 minutes ago, little britain said:

Agree. I hold my hand up 🙋‍♀️ and say I’m doing a lot of cruises, solo, this year purely because I realised with double points I would make it to Pin.  I started 2022 with 448 and will end with 758 if all goes to plan.  
This is something I thought I would never achieve- 340 and the solo discount was my goal because that saves a chunk of money. 

Every cruise this year was chosen because if interesting itinerary ( 3 weeks on grandeur around the Caribbean anyone..?); or because it’s a new ship.
TBH, only one cruise this year I’m “meh” about and that’s going on Wonder (again) to those same ports (again) in the Med; but a friend wanted to go and it was $815 for a solo o/v so why not 🤷‍♀️!! And another 14 points.  I actually get off Wonder with 696! 

 

@bonsai3s I have made a pinkie promise with DH that we will never wear our badges too! Ok perhaps just once…! 

I think yours is the exact case I was envisioning.   Heck, I would do exactly what you did if I didn’t have young kids.  But I do have young kids, so I could only cruise a little and barely made any ground and still remain in the 300s.  I could’ve done it and still managed work and the budget aspect of it.  I did the calculations (Jr suite solo or regular solo depending on pricing in a given week) and could’ve made pinnacle this summer for sure, but I couldn’t leave my family.  So instead I will just have to enjoy the journey which will probably be at least another 10 years now.  
 

I have to admit that when I was thinking about this (more for fun than reality), they temporarily took away SL/CK access.  I was thinking that might be permanent and that to me was a huge perk for pinnacle.   The good thing is that with kids we tend to look for suites now (and we only cruise the big ships). So I’ll probably get all the benefits anyhow as Sky class.  If we do two connecting cabins, I’ll assess the solo booking for me for the double points and at least get

double points.  

[orville99]

12 hours ago, topnole said:

 I’m simply saying that a lot of pinnacles don’t just one day become pinnacles because they only cruised and enjoyed the journey (as was stated by a prior poster).  

Given that this is most likely a veiled reference to one of my posts, let me set the record straight.

We have been sailing for more than 40 years, and we are also top tier on Disney, but stopped sailing with them because we became dissatisfied with the onboard experience; we are top tier on both HAL and Princess, but stopped sailing on them because of how (and where) they scheduled their ships; we tried Carnival but after two cruises with them we decided their party till you drop crowd wasn't what we look for in a cruise. We are Pinnacle on RCL solely because they provide a product, itineraries, and atmosphere that we enjoy and didn't find elsewhere.

 

To paraphrase an old maxim, when you attempt to paint everyone with a single very broad brush, you end up with a lot of the paint all over yourself as well.

Edited August 10, 2022 by orville99

[topnole]

42 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Given that this is most likely a veiled reference to one of my posts, let me set the record straight.

We have been sailing for more than 40 years, and we are also top tier on Disney, but stopped sailing with them because we became dissatisfied with the onboard experience; we are top tier on both HAL and Princess, but stopped sailing on them because of how (and where) they scheduled their ships; we tried Carnival but after two cruises with them we decided their party till you drop crowd wasn't what we look for in a cruise. We are Pinnacle on RCL solely because they provide a product, itineraries, and atmosphere that we enjoy and didn't find elsewhere.

 

To paraphrase an old maxim, when you attempt to paint everyone with a single very broad brush, you end up with a lot of the paint all over yourself as well.

You left off my sentence immediately before what you quoted.  I’ll add it in below for you.  So in the full context

of my post, how exactly am I painting everyone with a broad brush?   I specifically inferred the exact opposite of what you are suggesting.  See below for a reminder.  
 

Everyone is different and we all have our different reasons.

 

 

[orville99]

14 minutes ago, topnole said:

You left off my sentence immediately before what you quoted.  I’ll add it in below for you.  So in the full context

of my post, how exactly am I painting everyone with a broad brush?   I specifically inferred the exact opposite of what you are suggesting.  See below for a reminder.  
 

Everyone is different and we all have our different reasons.

 

 

And then the entire rest of that post, and subsequent ones as well you went on to continue to slather Pins with that same broad brush, to the point that you readily admitted you would get Pin paint all over yourself if given the chance. You can't have it both ways.

Edited August 10, 2022 by orville99

[Maria63]

2 hours ago, sandebeach said:

We finally received our Pinnacle pins in the mail last Monday. My husband, who always said he would never wear a pin, has been wearing his constantly on this cruise. And I told him he looks very Handsome!!

Please all you Pinnacles, do wear your pins! My DH & I love spotting pin-wearing folks esp. early in a cruise. It gives a sense of reassurance that we made the right choice - because "if those people chose this ship & itinerary it can't be all bad". We're non-US and will never make Pinnacle ourselves, but one reason we still keep coming back to Royal is their loyalty program, which we think is perhaps the best in the business once you reach Diamond (the matching with Celebrity is also a big +).

[twangster]

The truth is I only pursued Pinnacle so I could access the Suite Lounge without booking a suite. 😱

 

 

JK!!!!

 

 

 

  

 

[vjmatty]

20 hours ago, topnole said:

I think a lot of pinnacles cruised just to increase their status along the way.   Sure, for some it just happens.  But there are many right now knocking the heck out of the double points strategizing even more points with single cabins.  Even before double points couples would get 2 cabins just for the extra points.  If double points weren’t offered many wouldn’t do that.  
 

Now I’m not criticizing any of that, but to pretend that all the pinnacles cruised a bunch and one day just realized they are close to pinnacle is probably not even close to accurate.  

 

For many years many frequent cruisers were doing everything possible to get more points to get to the next level.  Folks used to do short cruises back to back because it got them 2 points vs 1.  Folks used to cruise all December just to get the double Diamond points.  And folks now are purposefully sailing solo a bunch to rack up tons of points making near quantum gains in status in a very short order.  None of this behavior is along the lines of “I’m just cruising and the points and status are what they are” type of behavior.   Lots of pinnacles strategized a great deal to squeeze out every point possible just to climb more in status.  Again, not criticizing it, just being realistic.  This happens with airline status, hotel status, etc.  Most people strategize a bunch to maximize their output for a given input.  It is just human behavior.  

 

I don' t know why, but this reminds me of couples who complain that sex becomes a chore when trying to conceive.

[topnole]

55 minutes ago, orville99 said:

And then the entire rest of that post, and subsequent ones as well you went on to continue to slather Pins with that same broad brush, to the point that you readily admitted you would get Pin paint all over yourself if given the chance. You can't have it both ways.

I’m laughing out loud.   Get over yourself.    I never once said all pinnacles are a certain way and I most certainly didn’t say there is anything wrong with people playing the points game.  But I think we now all understand why some people think some pinnacles are obnoxious.  And by the way, much of what I was saying is about non pinnacles.  People in this category are the folks trying to maximize points.  Not all of course, but certainly many strategize (and some to near extremes) to maximize points.  No different than some folks who fly a round trip flight all in the same day for no other reason than to secure a status level before a deadline.  Again, I’m not criticizing this behavior in any way.  It is perfectly rational behavior and I’ve done it here and there to some extent.  
 

For me personally, the only reason I would want to be pinnacle is for the benefits such as internet and SL/CK when I’m not in a suite.   I’m already almost half way to pinnacle (without getting all these crazy Covid extra points)  and I have cruised way more on other cruise lines in my life.  If I cruised Royal only all these years I would easily be Pinnacle long ago.  But I still get great perks from Royal so D+ is fine for now because I mostly stay in suites.  And with kids, this is likely to continue for some time because it makes the most sense for us.  
 

Going sky and/or star class gets me better benefits than being pinnacle.  So if you think I have envy, your wrong.  I get it all with just sky class anyhow, so what is there to be envious about.  Anyone would be a liar to say they wouldn’t like the pinnacle perks in general, but that doesn’t mean they are envious.  Im perfectly capable of saying I would love the pinnacle perks while simultaneously being happy with my current situation (and not envious).   In fact, my current situation is that I can cruise in a suite any

time I want and have all the perks of a pinnacle.  So it really isn’t a big deal.  
 

If/when I make pinnacle I’ll be very happy to have whatever perks are offered (assuming it doesn’t get too watered down by then), but I won’t view it as any thing special or some type of accomplishment.   It will simply be a designation that will give me a few more potential extra perks.  Heck, it may rarely even matter if I continue to cruise in suites which seems likely.  
 

 

[topnole]

18 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

I don' t know why, but this reminds me of couples who complain that sex becomes a chore when trying to conceive.

That requires one viewing making pinnacle as similar to the miracle of having a child.  I can’t imagine anyone could compare the two.  I most certainly wouldn’t have tears in my eyes if I hit 700 points.  

Edited August 10, 2022 by topnole

[vjmatty]

2 minutes ago, topnole said:

That requires one viewing making pinnacle as similar to the miracle of having a child.  I can’t imagine anyone could compare the two.  I most certainly would have tears in my eyes if I hit 700 points.  

 

At my age, both would be equally miraculous.

[topnole]

29 minutes ago, twangster said:

The truth is I only pursued Pinnacle so I could access the Suite Lounge without booking a suite. 😱

 

 

JK!!!!

 

 

 

  

 

That to me would be the best perk (along with internet).  We mostly do suites now because we need the space with kids so we get CK that way.   But if I’m not in a suite, that would be the big benefit for us.  
 

Of course,  now with the Ultimate Dining Package, one can eat at specialty restaurants all trip long for pretty cheap.  Having three young kids who don’t use internet, we pretty much get free internet all trip because they now get that too as D+.   Plus, we get all of their non alcoholic beverages so we get all we need as far as drinks.  We are really only missing the CK when not in a suite.  That would be nice as pinnacle.  

[topnole]

11 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

At my age, both would be equally miraculous.

My kids might make pinnacle and not even know what it means.  Lol.  Lucky little munchkins getting a huge jump on life in terms of points.  I think my daughter (our oldest) is pushing 200 points and she is only 6.  With pregnancy restrictions for moms to be and age restrictions for babies, plus Covid shut downs, we haven’t been able to cruise for about half her life.  By the time she is an adult, she may very well be close to pinnacle. At this point, the coolest thing to her was the bunk bed she got to sleep in on the last cruise.  I’m going to work hard to make sure she prioritizes the simple things in life and not status or materialistic things.  Gotta keep them all grounded!!!   

[island lady]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Given that this is most likely a veiled reference to one of my posts, let me set the record straight.

We have been sailing for more than 40 years, and we are also top tier on Disney, but stopped sailing with them because we became dissatisfied with the onboard experience; we are top tier on both HAL and Princess, but stopped sailing on them because of how (and where) they scheduled their ships; we tried Carnival but after two cruises with them we decided their party till you drop crowd wasn't what we look for in a cruise. We are Pinnacle on RCL solely because they provide a product, itineraries, and atmosphere that we enjoy and didn't find elsewhere.

 

To paraphrase an old maxim, when you attempt to paint everyone with a single very broad brush, you end up with a lot of the paint all over yourself as well.

 

Very well stated...as usual.   And agree with all.   And you are not alone...my post was basically the same thing.  Some just don't get it.  😉 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

The truth is I only pursued Pinnacle so I could access the Suite Lounge without booking a suite. 

  

 

 

LOL...trouble maker twangster.  😄  🥰

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by island lady

[island lady]

3 hours ago, sandebeach said:

We finally received our Pinnacle pins in the mail last Monday. My husband, who always said he would never wear a pin, has been wearing his constantly on this cruise. And I told him he looks very Handsome!!

 

Bucky wears his only for events, or formal night.   Me, I try to wear it when I can, and am sometimes actually shocked at unexpected doors that become open to us.  

 

If wearing my pin annoys the paranoid types...then yes...my job is done.  😄 

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Bucky wears his only for events, or formal night.   Me, I try to wear it when I can, and am sometimes actually shocked at unexpected doors that become open to us.  

 

If wearing my pin annoys the paranoid types...then yes...my job is done.  😄 

Love your spunk. If I were pinnacle I'd do the same especially now reading some of the posts on this thread. Crazy thing now that I think about it, I never noticed you or Bucky wearing your pins. 

[fla gang]

I would just like the wifi to work!

[cruisegirl1]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

That requires one viewing making pinnacle as similar to the miracle of having a child.  I can’t imagine anyone could compare the two.  I most certainly wouldn’t have tears in my eyes if I hit 700 points.  

Given the age of many pinnacles, conceiving would be more news worthy than reaching 700 C&A points. 
 

I would have tears, but for a different reason  😄
m