Take a 3-night Cruise to make Diamond?

[Another_Critic]

22 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

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.

 

In case you're not aware, the free laundry is wash/fold for pajamas, socks, shorts, swimwear, t-shirts, and underwear.  YMMV if they allow other articles.  Also, the wash is in hot water.

[Tree_skier]

4 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

In case you're not aware, the free laundry is wash/fold for pajamas, socks, shorts, swimwear, t-shirts, and underwear.  YMMV if they allow other articles.  Also, the wash is in hot water.

I am aware... but thank you.🙂

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

20 hours ago, ito717 said:

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.

 

A good chunk of it for sure, although Concierge and Aqua class aren't quite as economical as the examples quoted above. 😉 But there's another potential source of savings to factor in: DH and I never get the internet package, since we both get a complimentary 24-hour period for sea days and we use our international mobile plan in port. That doesn't leave us with internet access for every minute of every day, which suits us just fine since part of reason why we cruise is to disconnect a bit. So it might not work if you want to be online around the clock, but it's something to consider. 

[Brandis]

We were 1 point shy of D+ before our TA cruise 2 years ago. As they had a 2 nights cruise just before doing the TA, we booked that one as well and on the first day of the 2nd part of our cruise I went to the Diamond Lounge attendant and he activacted the D+ status for us as it normally takes a couple of days after the cruise to become effective. That way we could use all the D+ perks from day one of the TA.

[gerif]

I’d do it to become diamond on an upcoming longer cruise but not to become elite. Going on my first Celebrity cruise in many years and will be elite by virtue of my Diamond status on Royal and was appalled by the lack of perks included. Free drinks only from 5-7 but not in the dining room so since I was talked into early dinner by my travel mates I would have to find a bar and carry a drink to the dining room. Would probably spill it on the way. Been cruising since around 1990 on several lines and never felt the need to have laundry done (or do it myself on those lines that offer facilities). But it was a really good group deal that included a lot so I’m fine getting virtually no loyalty perks. 

[leaveitallbehind]

20 minutes ago, gerif said:

I’d do it to become diamond on an upcoming longer cruise but not to become elite.

I understand the distinction you are making and agree completely as the RCCL C&A benefits are better. I think in this case the OP is closer to Elite with Celebrity than Diamond on RCCL and is looking to do the short cruise on Celebrity to reach Elite so they can have the reciprocal Diamond benefits on RCCL when they next sail with them.  If so, it's an interesting scenario to reach the higher tier on one line for the benefits on another. 

[Mum2Mercury]

You're asking us if you should take another cruise?  Seriously?  

 

Okay, really though:  How cheaply can you do that 3-nighter?  Inside room.  Can you drive to the port?  Spend little onboard -- I mean, if your goal is to earn perks /save on a future cruise, it'd be sensible to make this a budget trip.  

[Tatka]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:44 AM, 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. 

Where does it say they will go into debt? 

I personally would not do it as we don’t have 3 day cruises from ports around us (even 6 hours from us) and driving/flying long distance for 3 day cruise doesn’t seem reasonable.. and we generally don’t like. 3-4 dayers unless they attached to another longer cruise. 

[OCSC Mike]

27 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

How cheaply can you do that 3-nighter?  Inside room.  Can you drive to the port? 

 

Exactly what we did on the 4N cruise I mentioned earlier in the thread to get to Diamond a long time ago. Hour drive to PC to go on Enchantment in an interior after never being on anything smaller than Voyager and always having a balcony.

 

Besides getting us to Diamond, that cruise wound up saving us thousands of dollars over time. My wife always said she needed a balcony (b/c she always had one when she cruised a kid; my first cruise was our honeymoon so I didn't have any opinion other than liking to save money in general). She agreed to try the interior since it was only 4N and the goal was to hit Diamond... and she wound up liking it. She realized we barely used our balcony, spent little time in our cabin, and she enjoyed how dark and cold the interior got for sleeping/napping. We've booked almost nothing but interiors ever since.

 

Who knew that cheapo 4-nighter would wind up being so beneficial?

Edited May 30 by OCSC Mike

[dwp10mm]

Do it!  Lock in the benefit/status now is my thinking.  To give you my reference, it was April 2020.  I said "surely this covid crap won't last long".  I was 12 points from Diamond.  So I booked a 6 night Junior Suite on Independence for Feb. 2021.  I was thinking "this will grandfather my youngest into Diamond before he turns 18".  As we all know, the cruise did not happen.  I ended up doing a lift/shift on that cruise to Odyssey for Feb 2022.  Bad news is my youngest still needs 15 nights to get to Diamond.  Good news is I ended up with 24 points and a JS on Odyssey for $649 a person!  I now have D+ in sight for the Bella 2.0 and 2.5 cruises next year.  After that, my point chasing will likely stop.

[leaveitallbehind]

48 minutes ago, dwp10mm said:

I now have D+ in sight for the Bella 2.0 and 2.5 cruises next year. 

What are the Bella 2.0 and 2.5 cruises?

[The Fun Researcher]

I would do it.

 

Firstly, you get a nice little 3 day cruise.

 

Secondly, if you make use of the 4 daily drink vouchers that's $1,344 saved (@ $14 per drink)  versus paying out of pocket on a 12 night cruise.

Edited May 30 by The Fun Researcher

[scatmanjack]

After currently booked cruises are complete, We will be 1 day short of Diamond.  Need to find cheap 3 night to bump us up before longer 7 nighters in the future and to secure our daughter's Diamond status... (she's has same number of nights and it would nice for her to get Diamond before the separation at her 18th birthday next year...)

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, Tatka said:

I personally would not do it as we don’t have 3 day cruises from ports around us 

I agree that this plan is more feasible if you can drive.  Flying typically adds a great deal to the cost of a cruise.  

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Besides getting us to Diamond, that cruise wound up saving us thousands of dollars over time. My wife always said she needed a balcony (b/c she always had one when she cruised a kid; my first cruise was our honeymoon so I didn't have any opinion other than liking to save money in general). She agreed to try the interior since it was only 4N and the goal was to hit Diamond... and she wound up liking it. She realized we barely used our balcony, spent little time in our cabin, and she enjoyed how dark and cold the interior got for sleeping/napping. We've booked almost nothing but interiors ever since.

We've learned the same thing.  When we were younger and could only cruise occasionally /the kids were still cruising with us, we "had to have" a balcony.  Now that we're retired empty-nesters, we decided to try an interior and essentially no spending onboard.  We're fine with it!  More cruises!

[lovesthebeach2]

We did this on enchantment many years ago because we had an Oasis cruise booked when it was brand new and wanted to go in the D lounge. 

[cruisin73]

That's what we did. We have a 7 night on Harmony in January and only 3 nights away from Diamond.  We booked Allure for 4 nights to reach diamond status in August.  Since 4 night cruises are too short for me we also added a 3 night cruise to the 4 night cruise.  First back to back for us.  

[leaveitallbehind]

35 minutes ago, cruisin73 said:

That's what we did. We have a 7 night on Harmony in January and only 3 nights away from Diamond.  We booked Allure for 4 nights to reach diamond status in August.  Since 4 night cruises are too short for me we also added a 3 night cruise to the 4 night cruise.  First back to back for us.  

I get it, especially with the focus on 3 & 4 nights on Oasis class ships to the Bahamas, but it just sounds strange to me to do a 3 & 4 night as a B2B, which is the equivalent of a typical 7-night cruise - LOL.

Edited May 30 by leaveitallbehind

[cruisin73]

Just now, leaveitallbehind said:

I get it, especially with the focus on 3 & 4 nights on Oasis class ships to the Bahamas, but it just sounds strange to me to do a 3 & 4 night as a B2B, which is the equivalent to a typical 7-night cruise - LOL.

I know.  It's silly to go to Nassau and Coco Cay twice in 1 week. We should have just booked a 7 night instead of 2 shorter cruises. Timing worked out for us and we have never been on Allure or a back to back.  

[leaveitallbehind]

11 minutes ago, cruisin73 said:

I know.  It's silly to go to Nassau and Coco Cay twice in 1 week. We should have just booked a 7 night instead of 2 shorter cruises. Timing worked out for us and we have never been on Allure or a back to back.  

Enjoy!  

[OCSC Mike]

39 minutes ago, cruisin73 said:

It's silly to go to Nassau and Coco Cay twice in 1 week.

Not silly to me. We did it once in 2022 & plan to do it a few times on Utopia. We love CocoCay & mostly sail for the ship. It also means completely free internet as D+ (we share one account), zero $ spent on excursions, and more OBC from my TA than I’d get from our usual 7N cruise.

 

I totally understand why others would find it unappealing but everyone has their own preferences.

Edited May 30 by OCSC Mike

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

10 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

How cheaply can you do that 3-nighter?  Inside room.  

Unfortunately, the OP states for the math to work, it has to be a Concierge or Aqua Class cabin, so the cheapest cabin scenario won't work. But with a potential for $1400 in drink savings alone, it still might be worth it.

[runner2013]

I did a solo 3 day trip to get DH and I to Diamond.  We're booked for our first cruise with the free drinks perks now. Definitely worth it.