Never got a crystal block!

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

420 point

Yikes..I'll never get close to that. If all my previous cruises would have been with RCL, I'd be much farther along. I could take or leave the whole tier / points system as far as that goes.

[Tatka]

48 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

I'll do that for our next cruise. If we do 12 nights we're at the 210 point level and so qualify for another block. Then, IF we actually get one (I'll be frankly surprised), and I don't care for it, I'll list it on my eBay site. No problem selling these. Only a small box needed to make things easier. Some sell with or without the original box. Doesn't seem to matter. People snap them up. Prices are often a bit high but most accept a decent offer.

 

So you do not really care. LOL. In this case I would just let them know I do not need them. They most definitely find next taker 

 

 We do not sell ours Anthem November 2021, Oasis May 2022, Anthem November 2023.

 

I am surprised people buy on Ebay or anywhere else other people Crystal blocks. Why? They are recognition for reaching certain milestone.

[Tatka]

50 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yikes..I'll never get close to that. If all my previous cruises would have been with RCL, I'd be much farther along. I could take or leave the whole tier / points system as far as that goes.

 

You will with a time.

 

Since 2003 we have

 

 31 cruise with RCI  - 304 points

 31 cruise with other 7 cruise lines

 

 Less points with others as with RCI we have many 12 dayers and 10 and 9 dayers. With others it is less.

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yikes..I'll never get close to that. If all my previous cruises would have been with RCL, I'd be much farther along. I could take or leave the whole tier / points system as far as that goes.

29 of 48 cruises were on RCI.

 

Edited May 10 by Another_Critic

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

You will with a time.

Doubtful we'll accumulate alot more points. We only have 20 cruises total. Only 9 of those are with RC, with the first being in 2011. At 68 and 69 years old, with DW having developed some health issues past year or so, simply not realistic. That's why I really wanted this block. With any luck maybe one more if we hit 210 points. Thanks for the encouragement, but reality is reality. 188 points right now. Pinnacle only another 512 away! HA!  Even with earning dbl points that's 256 nights ÷ an average 8-night cruise = 32 cruises. If doing 3 a year (and they'd all have to be with RC) = 10 years. Don't see it happening. IF cruising was our only (let alone favorite) vacation mode, maybe - but land touring / car trips are still our favorite. Easy to see that in my signature! And, we really like Viking the past few years (even after surviving a bomb cyclone by being air lifted), so we're not "loyal to Royal". My bigger goal is to see more US National parks.

 

Only reason we managed D+ is cause the last few cruises were quadruple suite points. That helps to add up much faster. Never did a cruise (nor wouldn't) without a suite, so at least double points.

 

 

Edited May 11 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

So you do not really care. LOL

Of course I do, which is why I was willing to pay $75 to get one! But, I just wanted to convey that if we don't like one we'd (maybe) get with the newer design (I don't like what I see on pictures anyway), why bother keeping it?

 

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

In this case I would just let them know I do not need them. They most definitely find next taker 

Not a chance! They already owe us, so I'll take that sucker at 210 points and decide if I want to keep it or not.

 

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

They are recognition for reaching certain milestone.

Yeah, true enough, but, as my sister-in-law said, who has 13 of them and several stratums, they also make good doorstops. 😉

Edited May 10 by OnTheJourney

[Tatka]

I take it as a comedy.

Otherwise it is extremely confusing.

 

I collect different things, which I do not use as doorstops.

I do not collect anything that I would use as doorstops. 🙂

[Gracie115]

We are now at 284 points and finally received our 1st block on our Allure cruise last week.  They are kind of cool and definitely made of glass, very heavy.  

 

Good idea as a doorstop.....lol

Edited May 12 by Gracie115

[smokeybandit]

17 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

Good idea as a doorstop.....lol

Getting a block is far more enjoyable than actually having one.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Getting a block is far more enjoyable than actually having one.

I find both equally enjoyable.

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Getting a block is far more enjoyable than actually having one.

 

Why? We have a nice display.

We have two. One is four shelves with ships models.

Another is with crystal blocks.

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Getting a block is far more enjoyable than actually having one.

“Having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but often true.” – Spock (Amok Time, Star Trek TOS)

[Brandis]

As we live outside the US, they don't mail the crystal. We asked for it onboard and they gave it to us. We're at 205 points now, so will pass 210 during our next cruise. Will we be able to ask for on day 5 or 6 of that cruise or will we have to wait for another cruise?

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, Brandis said:

As we live outside the US, they don't mail the crystal. We asked for it onboard and they gave it to us. We're at 205 points now, so will pass 210 during our next cruise. Will we be able to ask for on day 5 or 6 of that cruise or will we have to wait for another cruise?

If you meet the number requirement during the cruise you can get the block on that cruise.

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:16 AM, Brandis said:

so will pass 210 during our next cruise.

Same here if we do 12 nights.

 

On 5/15/2024 at 7:46 AM, Ocean Boy said:

If you meet the number requirement during the cruise you can get the block on that cruise.

Wanna bet? In probably most cases that does indeed happen, but we never got ours, and apparently neither did other people based on some replies, hence the reason I started the thread.

Edited May 16 by OnTheJourney

[little britain]

On 5/15/2024 at 10:16 AM, Brandis said:

As we live outside the US, they don't mail the crystal. We asked for it onboard and they gave it to us. We're at 205 points now, so will pass 210 during our next cruise. Will we be able to ask for on day 5 or 6 of that cruise or will we have to wait for another cruise?

The block will be left on your bed during the cruise. 
If concerned it’s worth swinging past the LA early in the cruise to check you are on the list to receive it. 
 

 

Edited May 16 by little britain

[Brandis]

 

We had to ask for our first one as well. I have to say I like the laser-etched 3D models better that the (newer?) photo blocks.The color ones to me look like fridge magnets glued behind a glass brick.

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Same here if we do 12 nights.

 

Wanna bet? In probably most cases that does indeed happen, but we never got ours, and apparently neither did other people based on some replies, hence the reason I started the thread.

What would you like to bet on? I said if you meet the number requirement while on a cruise you CAN GET the block while on that cruise meaning you qualify. I did not say you WILL GET the block. 

 

Which part of my post are you challenging me on?

[OnTheJourney]

18 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

you CAN GET the block

Yes...you're correct. I somehow read it as 'will'.

 

18 hours ago, Brandis said:

The color ones to me look like fridge magnets glued behind a glass brick.

Yeah I really don't care for them at all. El cheapo compared to the clear etched ones. If we actually get one when we reach 210 points, and I decide I don't really want it, I'll probably put it up on my eBay site, especially given that they sell like hotcakes.

 

18 hours ago, Brandis said:

We had to ask for our first one as well.

I'm sure there are lots of people with similar stories, as well as asked for but never got.

 

[OnTheJourney]

18 hours ago, little britain said:

The block will be left on your bed during the cruise. 

Well, how romantic. Almost as good as evening chocolate on the pillow 😆

[Ocean Boy]

10 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Well, how romantic. Almost as good as evening chocolate on the pillow 😆

The blocks won't rot your teeth like the chocolates.😁

 

BTW, I've not seen a colored block in person but at this point I agree that I much prefer the old style clear crystal blocks.

[OnTheJourney]

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The blocks won't rot your teeth like the chocolates.😁

Unless you start chomping down on the corner of one....looks pretty solid to me 😉

[dougp26364]

For those who think they’re made of glass, they’re not. We just received our first block and I took it through security on our flight home. The x-ray machines don’t see through leaded crystal, and they had to remove the block because the x-ray wouldn’t penetrate it. We had this issue years ago when brining home pieces from the Waterford Crystal store in Ireland

[bonsai3s]

2 hours ago, dougp26364 said:

For those who think they’re made of glass, they’re not. We just received our first block and I took it through security on our flight home. The x-ray machines don’t see through leaded crystal, and they had to remove the block because the x-ray wouldn’t penetrate it. We had this issue years ago when brining home pieces from the Waterford Crystal store in Ireland

 

Same thing happened to us.

 

So the next time, I just took it out of my hand-carry bag and placed it inside the TSA bin. 

 

They opened the box and asked: "What is it?"

 

I said: "It's a crystal block given by Royal Caribbean". He said : "Nice!"

 

* Much easier and faster than the first time through TSA. I had it in the bottom of my full backpack.

[dougp26364]

7 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

 

Same thing happened to us.

 

So the next time, I just took it out of my hand-carry bag and placed it inside the TSA bin. 

 

They opened the box and asked: "What is it?"

 

I said: "It's a crystal block given by Royal Caribbean". He said : "Nice!"

 

* Much easier and faster than the first time through TSA. I had it in the bottom of my full backpack.

That would have been easier and what I’ll do next time around. This time I was curious since so many appear to have the opinion it’s just glass. Sort of my little test to see if it was just glass or real leaded crystal. 
I knew enough not to put it in my checked luggage. That would have necessitated the TSA rummaging and routing around my dirty skivvies and who needs that?