ACCRUING POINTS TO GET TO DIAMOND

[elizabethbp]

This is probably a silly question but I  will need 7 points to reach Diamond after  a July cruise.    If I book 2 balcony  rooms on  a 5 night cruise - one for me and one for daughter, do I get  10 points and does she get 10 points?  Reservation  would be under my name.

 

Thanks for any info.

[OCSC Mike]

EDIT:

Yes, you get double points for traveling solo.

 

Another option would be sharing a JS for double points.

Edited May 17, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[mugtech]

Solo equals 2x the points, so 10 points for a 5 night solo for each of them. A lot of money for two solo balconies and why not share a balcony at about half the price of two solos. Wait until next cruise to become diamond.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, mugtech said:

Solo equals 2x the points, so 10 points for a 5 night solo for each of them. A lot of money for two solo balconies and why not share a balcony at about half the price of two solos. Wait until next cruise to become diamond.

 

Of course you're right but waiting is hard. 🤣

 

The most cost effective way is likely for them to just find a 7-night cruise if the price and their schedules allow.

 

We took the cheapest 4-night cruise that worked for us when we were exactly 4 points away.

[sara mom]

You only get points for the cabin you are staying in.

[twangster]

Make sure to avoid studio cabins designed for a single guest.  Single points only on those.  Avoid the word studio.

 

Depending on how old your daughter is there may be restrictions where the two cabins can be located relative to each other.  If your daughter is under 18 then her points don't matter as much.

 

[rjrpar]

12 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Solo equals 2x the points, so 10 points for a 5 night solo for each of them. A lot of money for two solo balconies and why not share a balcony at about half the price of two solos. Wait until next cruise to become diamond.

I agree.  Except for a few free drinks,, being Diamond is no big  deal.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, rjrpar said:

I agree.  Except for a few free drinks,, being Diamond is no big  deal.

I book group rates and the balcony discount helps quite a bit. Isnt always applicable booking direct. 

 

1 pt regular, 1 for solo, 1 for JS and above.

 

Maybe also as suggested above compare suite prices for 5 days .. not sure many bargains out there. Book your daughter inside? Lol. I'm for saving $$$. 

[elizabethbp]

Thanks to all. It would just mean a lot to  me to reach Diamond, though  I guess I thought there were more benefits, and at my age I would like to do it sooner than later.  I may just try a 7 night out of NJ in a  a regular balcony room.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, elizabethbp said:

Thanks to all. It would just mean a lot to  me to reach Diamond, though  I guess I thought there were more benefits, and at my age I would like to do it sooner than later.  I may just try a 7 night out of NJ in a  a regular balcony room.

Well you get 4 free drinks per day anywhere anytime. Also 24 hours of free wifi. I think a discount on logo items in onboard shops. The $6 free play in casino might kick in here. Free photo. 

 

I was the one above who said the balcony diamond discount on group rates is nice. 

 

I pushed for points last year on grandeur. I spent about $1600 but for more days than you are talking about. I wanted the solo discount to kick in. I doubt it was worth what I paid to get it 3 months before I'd have earned it anyway .. but imo without it imwoukdnt have booked a lot of the cruises I'm booking. 

 

I shouldnt have but I chased pts. I didnt care about any other perk, just the solo discount. 

[orville99]

7 minutes ago, elizabethbp said:

Thanks to all. It would just mean a lot to  me to reach Diamond, though  I guess I thought there were more benefits, and at my age I would like to do it sooner than later.  I may just try a 7 night out of NJ in a  a regular balcony room.

Price out a JS on a 5-night cruise vs two solo cabins on the same cruise. Solo's pay 200% of the fare, so you may find that a JS is a lot less expensive and will get you the points you are chasing.

[molly361]

22 minutes ago, elizabethbp said:

Thanks to all. It would just mean a lot to  me to reach Diamond, though  I guess I thought there were more benefits, and at my age I would like to do it sooner than later.  I may just try a 7 night out of NJ in a  a regular balcony room.

It's good to have goals  Go for it 

 

 

 

 

[OCSC Mike]

32 minutes ago, rjrpar said:

I agree.  Except for a few free drinks,, being Diamond is no big  deal.

 

To each his own.

 

It's a big deal to me. 8 free drinks per day between me and my wife is more than a few in my book. I have about 3 cappuccinos every morning from the DL coffee machine. We enjoy popping into the DL for the happy hour snacks most nights (even though it's not what it used to be since they started vouchers). And we like getting our 2 free pictures printed so we can toss them in a drawer and never look at them.😁

 

Getting close to D+ and looking forward to the 2 extra drinks per day, BOGO specialty dining, and 4 days of free internet..

[neverbeenhere]

51 minutes ago, molly361 said:

It's good to have goals  Go for it 

 

 

 

 

I agree: Go for it!   Plus then the OP can learn the secret handshake.

[NCMtnBoys]

1 hour ago, elizabethbp said:

Thanks to all. It would just mean a lot to  me to reach Diamond, though  I guess I thought there were more benefits, and at my age I would like to do it sooner than later.  I may just try a 7 night out of NJ in a  a regular balcony room.

I get it. We just made it to Diamond Plus in January, we were 7 points away and our cruise was 7 nights. I had been chasing Diamond Plus for three years after our January 2020 cruise got us to 168 points. Then Covid hit and my plan to get to Diamond Plus shortly thereafter was foiled. The biggest reason for me wanting to get to Diamond Plus ASAP was because it was attainable. And being so close, I didn't want to risk Royal making changes to the point levels before I could get there. I'll never make Pinnacle, but I knew I could make it to Diamond Plus. 

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

To each his own.

 

It's a big deal to me. 8 free drinks per day between me and my wife is more than a few in my book. I have about 3 cappuccinos every morning from the DL coffee machine. We enjoy popping into the DL for the happy hour snacks most nights (even though it's not what it used to be since they started vouchers). And we like getting our 2 free pictures printed so we can toss them in a drawer and never look at them.😁

 

Getting close to D+ and looking forward to the 2 extra drinks per day, BOGO specialty dining, and 4 days of free internet..

After D+, then it's DP340. Extra amenity, solo discount (and double points!), lunch with officers.  I just reached 348 points and subsequently booked two 14 night cruises solo.  And looking for a shorter cruise in the mean time for my 350 point crystal block.  🙂

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

To each his own.

 

It's a big deal to me. 8 free drinks per day between me and my wife is more than a few in my book. I have about 3 cappuccinos every morning from the DL coffee machine. We enjoy popping into the DL for the happy hour snacks most nights (even though it's not what it used to be since they started vouchers). And we like getting our 2 free pictures printed so we can toss them in a drawer and never look at them.😁

 

Getting close to D+ and looking forward to the 2 extra drinks per day, BOGO specialty dining, and 4 days of free internet..

Agree ! We just did 17 nights on Ovation/ Quantum. D+ got us 170 free drinks, all cocktails, if we were to pay full price with the 18% that would be close to $3000.00... Love Royal. + we did 4 BOGO on the two ships, with the BOGO on nights 7 and 8 on Quantum. Completely passed on the free internet. We booked both cruises when they were practically giving them away. The 3 thousand in free drinks was more then we paid for the 17 nights in a deck 12 balcony. Back to reality as prices now are making up for 2 years of lost revenue.

[OCSC Mike]

24 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Back to reality as prices now are making up for 2 years of lost revenue.

You aren’t kidding. I'm fortunate enough to have our next cruise paid for by my generous FIL & actually got a reasonable deal for next Spring Break via dumb luck (a new TA happened to have a good rate & tossed in some surprise OBC I wasn’t even expecting) but the deals I’m used to are long gone.

 

33 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

with the BOGO on nights 7 and 8 on Quantum

Since I’m almost there, I know the actual D+ BOGO perk reads “booked on nights 1 or 2” but I also know I’ve read about people occasionally being allowed to use them on other nights. Do you just ask politely & hope they let you choose other nights?

[cruisegirl1]

8 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Since I’m almost there, I know the actual D+ BOGO perk reads “booked on nights 1 or 2” but I also know I’ve read about people occasionally being allowed to use them on other nights. Do you just ask politely & hope they let you choose other nights?

Many (most)  ships allow you to use the Bogo on any night (based on availability), as long as you pay for it on night one or two. We just sailed Mariner and used our Bogo on night three, but paid for it on night two

 

m

[crzndeb]

Of course, then there’s the question when you’re solo, if they can get the correct amount points added 🙄. Three legs complete on the Ovation and I got double points (solo). Well almost, everybody on the TP got shorted points, since it said it was 18 nights, but only got 17 points, because they couldn’t figure out the repeat of April 20. They are aware, but say could take 30 days to fix. Finished the 9 night Hawaii leg and only got 9 points (still solo). I’m waiting to complete the 8 night Alaska leg and see what they post before I call. I do like the vouchers, although many days/nights I didn’t use any. And on 54 nights, I can only stash so much….LOL 

But so happy, I have now passed the 340 mark and get that solo discount. Hallelujah!

Edited May 18, 2023 by crzndeb

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

so happy, I have now passed the 340 mark and get that solo discount. Hallelujah!

Congratulations.  It makes a big difference, enough I'd book less without it now. I pushed to get it last sept. Cant be added to any cruise past final payment. The DP340 code couldnt be added even to my end of jan cruise I had, because all the group space had been recalled. Finally just got to use it 2 months ago in march. Glad I have it. Thanks rcl. 

[LilBlackDress]

6 hours ago, elizabethbp said:

This is probably a silly question but I  will need 7 points to reach Diamond after  a July cruise.    If I book 2 balcony  rooms on  a 5 night cruise - one for me and one for daughter, do I get  10 points and does she get 10 points?  Reservation  would be under my name.

 

Thanks for any info.

have you thought about looking to upgrade to a JS or above for the July Cruise? 

It would need to be an upgrade, not a RoyalUp 

[Rogueperson]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:18 PM, twangster said:

Make sure to avoid studio cabins designed for a single guest.  Single points only on those.  Avoid the word studio.

 

Depending on how old your daughter is there may be restrictions where the two cabins can be located relative to each other.  If your daughter is under 18 then her points don't matter as much.

 

Also, be careful with guarantees.  If a ship has an open studio in that category, you will probably get put into that cabin.  A friend of mine and I before the pandemic were shopping around for cheap solo cruises for specifically this reason.  We ran into a Brilliance guarantee that was really low.  We had almost decided to book, but only ONE of us got the price.  We concluded that the reason only one of us could get that price was because Brilliance had 3 studio interiors and only 1 was available and that low price was without a solo supplement.  If he had booked that price, he would have been assigned that studio and no double points.

The solo supplement also is not an indicator whether or not you get bonus points.  I sailed on two solos with no solo supplement and not only got the bonus points, got the promo double points they were offering at the time too (x4).

[gmerick]

Been diamond for 3 cruises now.  What do you expect to get out of having that status?  Here's the list, Member Benefits.  I don't see the value.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, gmerick said:

Been diamond for 3 cruises now.  What do you expect to get out of having that status?  Here's the list, Member Benefits.  I don't see the value.

 

See post #13 above.