Take a 3-night Cruise to make Diamond?

[ito717]

We will be on the 8/10 12-night Jewel sailing to Norway and are within a 3-night cruise of making Elite on Celebrity which would match to Diamond on Royal.  Are we crazy to consider a weekend trip to get over the Diamond hump before the big trip this summer?  Seems like the drink vouchers alone would offset most if not all of the cost.

 

More specifically, we've split our sailing too much between the two brands so only have 59 C&A points.  This would go up to 71 after the 12-night cruise, still a long way from diamond.  Over in Captain's Club we have 285 points, which is only 15 shy of Elite and can be earned with 3 nights in Concierge or Aqua class.  My understanding is crossing the Elite threshold in Captain's Club would 'match' to Diamond on Royal.

[wdwkings]

While there are other perks that come with diamond, I think you keyed in on the main one the drinks. A three day cruise to achieve diamond is a good option if it’s something you could take advantage of on the 12th night cruise.
 

Jusy doing some basic math, and this is not scientific at all, here’s where the dollar amount land. If you do 4 drinks at $14 each for 12 days, your total is $56 a day or $672 for the cruise in drinks.  You could add specialty coffee from the lounge to further justify the “drink cost”.  
 

Not sure you can get a three day cruise for less than $672 per person but if you can your in the black on drinks alone. 

Edited May 29 by wdwkings

[OCSC Mike]

We did this when we were 4 points short a long time ago... but it was also much cheaper back then and we were flexible and live an hour from PC. If the numbers work for you, go for it!

[mugtech]

         We found the cheapest way for us to fly to New York from the Philippines was by flying from Singapore, so we went 3 days early and took our first less than 7 day cruise by doing 3 days out of Singapore on Spectrum.  It got us to 80 points each and Diamond status.  Our next Royal Caribbean cruise is April next year, 15 days out of Tokyo to Seattle on Anthem.   So we each will get 60 free drinks, a great deal but we are not drinkers.  We enjoyed the 3 day cruise, great food, very relaxing before our flight home by way of Saudi Arabia. 

[JJK2008]

If you will use the perks, it's a no-brainer. Happy cruising. 

[LuCruise]

DH and I did this exact thing last July. We were 2 points away from Diamond and our next booked cruise was December. So we booked a 3 day weekend cruise so we would get to enjoy Diamond benefits for the New Year's cruise. Crazy thing for us is we flew from Toronto to Los Angeles (5 hr flight) for a 3 day cruise ...and with a time change. We didn't regret it and has a great 3 days  Free drinks, coffee machine and treats in Crown Lounge, free photos for cruises going forward. Those are the main perks for us .

Edited May 29 by LuCruise

[BecciBoo]

We did a 3 day and 4 day B2B to get ours back in the day.

[dodgestang]

We took a 5 night to Bermuda via a free casino comp 2 weeks before we went to Alaska because it would mean we were diamond plus in Alaska.....so not that unusual to do if the next tier is important.  Considering the drink vouchers being diamond can be a big perk for some.

[leaveitallbehind]

Clearly you would not be alone in your plans to attain the next reciprocal tier level.  If being provided with four drink vouchers daily per person with RCCL is motivation enough to do it, then go for it.  IMO RCCL's C & A loyalty program is probably the strongest in the industry and attaining the Diamond tier is when most of those benefits start to be the more lucrative.  

 

Just to be clear, your beverage coupons work as follows: They are loaded daily commencing at 5:00 AM to your SeaPass card. They can be used at any venue except the Bionic Bar at anytime during each 24 hour period. Any unused daily vouchers are lost and do not accumulate. If it is you and your spouse traveling together (as example), they are interchangeable in that they can be used for each other, not just individually, so in essence you would have 8 combined vouchers each day. Unused vouchers can be used for unopened canned or bottled beverages at the end of the day (beer, Truly, water, soda, etc.) that can be taken back to your stateroom to be used another time.  Their individual value is $14, so drink availability is pretty much unlimited.  They can also be used as discounts towards wine bottle purchases.

 

In our case we have 5 daily coupons (10 combined) and as a result never purchase any beverage packages as the a la carte price for anything we would want daily in addition (that does not also have a C&A benefit) is far less than the daily average beverage package price.  This and the balcony discount, and (at our tier) the specialty restaurant BOGO are three strong benefits that we enjoy from our tier level.  Only the BOGO would not be available to you at Diamond.

 

FYI here is a link describing all tier level benefits with the RCCL C&A program in case you don't have it:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf

Edited May 29 by leaveitallbehind

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, JJK2008 said:

If you will use the perks, it's a no-brainer. Happy cruising. 

How is it a no brainer? I don’t understand how spending more money for a cruise to get perks worth less than the cost of a cruise makes sense financially. Having said that, I have no idea about thr OP’s finances. If they have excessive disposable income, than booking another cruise might be a no brainer like you stated. But recently I have been surprised to read that quite a few posters on this site actually go into debt to book a cruise. That is crazy in my book, but probably reflects why so many people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck. 

[PhillyFan33579]

7 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

in our case we have 5 daily coupons (10 combined) and as a result never purchase any beverage packages as the a la carte price for anything we would want daily in addition (that does not also have a C&A benefit) is far less than the daily average beverage package price.  This and the balcony discount, and (at our tier) the specialty restaurant BOGO are three strong benefits that we enjoy from our tier level.

How often have you been able to use the balcony discount? Since turning D+ 25 cruises or so ago, I have never been able to use the balcony discount. I have always been told, every time without exception, that the fare I booked had a bigger discount than the D+ balcony discount. 

[blondie from arizona]

More + for being Diamond, 1 free bag of laundry and a free day of internet per Diamond member. The laundry could be very beneficial on a long, int'l cruise. Also the internet is a good perk, even on vacation it is nice to connect at least once during your cruise.  Also, there is just something nice/better about the cruise when you get to Diamond. It just seemed more relaxed. Better. Also, love the coffee in the lounge!

[leaveitallbehind]

11 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How often have you been able to use the balcony discount? Since turning D+ 25 cruises or so ago, I have never been able to use the balcony discount. I have always been told, every time without exception, that the fare I booked had a bigger discount than the D+ balcony discount. 

You are correct that it is not always combinable with other promo fares (a wonderful change made when Michael Bayley took over in 2014 - but that is a whole other discussion) but it still applies and we have used it a number of times since turning D+. It is not an absolute as you indicate, but often the promo is better.

 

You or your TA can do mock bookings with your C&A number applied, and then not, to see what the resulting pricing is to see if the applied balcony discount provides a resulting better fare.  We have booked fares without it that were better and then had the L.A. or Concierge on board add the number back to our reservation for booking credits.  Other times it was more attractive with it.  It depends on the sailing and you need to check the fares both ways.

Edited May 29 by leaveitallbehind

[cruiseguy1016]

7 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How often have you been able to use the balcony discount? Since turning D+ 25 cruises or so ago, I have never been able to use the balcony discount. I have always been told, every time without exception, that the fare I booked had a bigger discount than the D+ balcony discount. 

 

Since becoming Diamond, I have used my balcony discount on every cruise we have taken, with the exception of one. We only cruise once a year but when we do, we've been able to use the discount. Your "I have always been told" statement intrigues me. I remind my TA that we are Diamond and would like to use our discount and he makes it happen.

[leaveitallbehind]

11 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Since becoming Diamond, I have used my balcony discount on every cruise we have taken, with the exception of one. We only cruise once a year but when we do, we've been able to use the discount. Your "I have always been told" statement intrigues me. I remind my TA that we are Diamond and would like to use our discount and he makes it happen.

Well @PhillyFan33579 is correct that often the balcony discount fares are less attractive than a given promo as, I also indicated, in many cases the balcony discount and given promo fares are not combinable - it's one or the other. IMO the lack of always being combinable since 2014 is the real rub. Your TA isn't "making it happen" if the better balcony discount fares are not there or not combinable in the first place.  You are likely just getting the best of the options. 

Edited May 29 by leaveitallbehind

[Toddcan]

31 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How is it a no brainer? I don’t understand how spending more money for a cruise to get perks worth less than the cost of a cruise makes sense financially. Having said that, I have no idea about thr OP’s finances. If they have excessive disposable income, than booking another cruise might be a no brainer like you stated. But recently I have been surprised to read that quite a few posters on this site actually go into debt to book a cruise. That is crazy in my book, but probably reflects why so many people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck. 

 

IMO, the "no brainer" statement also had an unspoken assumption that the 3 day cruise itself was worth purchasing - because it's also a cruise (and not ONLY a way to get points).   I took it as all those factors combine to make it a no brainer. Maybe it's just me. 

 

[cruiselvr04]

Many years ago we did this to make Diamond before a 12 night Med cruise. I think it’s the only 3 night we’ve ever done.

[Another_Critic]

44 minutes ago, blondie from arizona said:

More + for being Diamond, 1 free bag of laundry and a free day of internet per Diamond member. 

Free bag of laundry starts at Diamond Plus, not Diamond.

 

FYI - Celebrity has free bag of laundry for Elite.

[wdwkings]

58 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How is it a no brainer? I don’t understand how spending more money for a cruise to get perks worth less than the cost of a cruise makes sense financially. 

Not all that hard to understand.  There are many diamond perks and some can be associated to a specific dollar amount, others may not have a dollar amount but could add value to someone.  If the person feels the Diamond perks are worth it, it is moot, but there is also the probability that the cost is offset.
 

Going back to the Diamond drinks for the OP’s 12 night cruise.  If they paid out of pocket, they would be paying for 4 drinks at $14 a drink for 12 days totaling $672 per person.  If they take a cruise similar to the one below they are coming out ahead.

The cost of the cruise is less than they would pay for the 12 days of drinks.  Your statement that spending more to get less is not accurate for every situation.  (Usually it is but not always.)

[dodgestang]

Cost of drink package: $78/day/person....12 night cruise: $1872 for drinks

Don't get drink package and buy 4 drinks/day @ $14 each.....$1344 for drinks

Have diamond status - cost per drinks....first $1344 free.  $14/drink 5 and over daily.

 

3 night cruise on Celebrity in cheap inside cabin...$350/person so $700....round it up to $1200 to cover things like parking at the port, gas, tips, incidentals and you took a 3 day cruise and still save a couple hundred min on your 12 day cruise.  Plus you got to spend more time at sea.

 

And before you say "I would never drink 4 alcoholic drinks in one day" remember...if you want a cappuccino at breakfast or with desert....that counts as a fancy pay for it drink.  Or if you feel a little sluggish and want a coke or a redbull.....gotta pay for those too.

Edited May 29 by dodgestang

[Tree_skier]

Taking an extra cruise is always a good idea 🙂 

 

Go for it!

[WisconsinFan]

We did this, but only my DH went. Sailing solo, booked as a solo he earned double points. Booked a GTY interior, won a bid up to a balcony for hardly anything. Got a really cheap plane ticket. Diamond for our big spring break trip. This was during return to service, so fall of 2021? Sort of crazy but it allows for the four drinks on Royal and the free bag of laundry on Celebrity.

 

[doghog]

Should have booked a B2B cruise. 

[LINDAE3213]

3 nights in Aqua or Concierge class was mentioned to get the 15 points needed....

[Tree_skier]

If you have the time and money I would definitely do it.  My next bump up will be to D+. Part of the reason I booked a 4 day Navigator cruise in October was so I would be D+ for my S2S on Icon and Oasis Nov/Dec.  The biggest perk I'm looking forward to is the laundry perk.  Between DW and I that is a nice savings. We'll be traveling a total of 15 days the free laundry will be great.

 

The extra drink is nice as well.  This will completely eliminate my out of pocket cost for all my beverages.  Right now, as diamond we each get 4.  DW uses only 2, sometimes 3 so that leaves me with 5 or 6 depending on her consumption.  Sometimes that isn't enough and I pay out of pocket.  Usually sea days but on a port day where I don't prebook an excursion and just wander off and shop I'll exceed the 6 drinks.  Also on private island days as well since the voucher drinks work there too.  

 

With my OBC I get from my BOA RC visa covering my daily gratuity my only out of pocket expense while on board will be extra tips to bartenders and contributions to the Royal Caribbean Covid Debt Relief Fund (aka Casino Royale).

 

All that being said, I don't really need an excuse to book a cruise.  Truth be told, the biggest reason I booked that short 4 day for the end of Oct. is my Grandson came to me and said... "Papa, you and me should go on cruise all by ourselves."  

 

I was sold.

 

That it bumps me to D+ is just an added bonus.

 

I've got my best stretch of cruising coming ever...

 

1 at the end of Sept, 1 at the end of Oct, 1 at the end of Nov and then side 2 side with early Dec...  Then a B2B in March 2025.  

 

Book it, you won't regret it 🙂 

 

Edited May 29 by Tree_skier