twangster

In the case of the Leafs the ex is doing them a favor.

I wouldn't be surprised if what everyone has experienced isn't based on a hard policy but their inability to implement technology to apply a policy . It may seem like it should be easy to do but we all know how bad Royal is with their back office systems. Occasionally I'll get a old phone number from 5 years ago pre-populated in a field. Where did that come from? Once when trying to update my address the LA couldn't. Later I found out the system went haywire and 128 attempts to change my address were logged. They eventually managed to get my address updated then a year later they shipped my blocks to my old address. It was a simple address change, no weird data, just a simple address. Yet that was too much for them. It's all they can do to keep the antiquated database up and running. Automating an action upon an 18th birthday is way beyond their ability.

The Crown and Anchor Society provides discounts for certain levels of the loyalty program.

People do strange things during divorce proceedings. My ex petitioned the court to be granted my airline status during our divorce. The judge denied it on the basis the court has no power to order an airline to comply with the motion over a free loyalty program. With all the stuff that was occurring at the time somehow my ex decided that airline status, when she rarely flew, was important enough to be a specific item that she needed. 🤷‍♂️

I'm not sure about kids but for spouses when you log into the account for the person who has lesser points, their "past cruises" may contain the audit trail for their actual points if they were outside of the relationship.

It used to be July and August were blacked out. Now it's June 15 through Aug. 15. It used to be Christmas and New Year's were blacked out. Now it's Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Easter/Spring break are blacked out. "Spring break" is a bit elusive too as spring break is practiced different weeks by different entities. That's basically the month of March. Old verbiage Single members must have 340 Cruise Points earned in order to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas and New Year) and the months of July and August are not included in this offer. March 2023 verbiage: Single members must have at least 340 Cruise Points earned to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring break) and the peak summer months of June 15 thru August 15 are not included in this offer. Personally this has led me to book an MSC ship for Thanksgiving. Pulling DP340 for Thanksgiving tilted the playing field and drove me to MSC. Interesting impact of a loyalty program. Oh well - their ships, their rules.

That has historically been my experience. The new verbiage of the free laundry CAS perk being on specific days is more recent and not something I've observed. It's curious they would cite the verbiage but some ships can choose to ignore it. We'll see how it gets implemented fleetwide in the time to come - consistent or another Royal-ism.

My post was in jest. It really doesn't matter to me how easy or not they make any level including Pinnacle. I don't sail Royal exclusively. I enjoy Royal the most and I appreciate the Pinnacle benefits I receive but they are not why I cruise or why I pick Royal. DP340 was a game changer for me and it makes looking at other lines harder because when you combine the CAS perks and lower rates from DP340 it makes Royal a winner in many pricing exercises. The newly adjusted DP340 time frames will cause Royal to come out on the losing side for a few more cruises now but in the bigger picture it doesn't really matter as price isn't the only factor when playing the field. Sometimes I book elsewhere at a higher cost just to try something different. I don't think Royal sees the numbers of any level as a "problem" but they do need to contain the cost of the program. That will always be an ongoing exercise for them but it does drive a lot of repeat business so it's a balancing act for them. As numbers grow eventually they will have to boot Pinnacle from the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen on a permanent basis. Celebrity already does that so there is some precedent in the family for it. That won't impact me personally or cause me to stop booking Royal and I book suites occasionally now I'll just savor it more in the future when it happens. I think the double promo swelled the D+ level the most as it shortened the distance to 175 so that was very easy to accomplish. Many folks simply got to where they would have been if the pandemic never happened so I really don't think the overall impact was that dramatic. Some very frequent cruisers made out well but for the most part I don't think it changed the landscape that much. For anyone already Pinnacle (like me) it did nothing for me except bring me to a free cruise threshold I would have received during the shutdown. There is no advantage to having way more than 700 compared to any other amount over 700 except for the free cruises every 350. I'm betting there was greater attrition experienced at the Pinnacle level due to the average age through natural effects so a few more new Pinnacle just kept the numbers intact.

Someday has arrived! Welcome to the future!

Updated URL https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf March 29 edition.

So would an LA go to the trouble to call them on board and notify them of the demotion?

It's simple. If you see a towel on a chair left there by a chair hog feel free to grab that towel. You can swing by the towel station and swap it for a fresh one as a added measure of safety.

Unless there is a renewed focus being placed on the subject by the new director and/or CEO. Somewhere on a spreadsheet the cost of the Crown and Anchor Society is listed as a line item. With the new CEO of RCG, who is a numbers guy by trade, along with a new CAS director, who has to explain and account for the cost of the CAS, there may be a new push to reduce the annual cost of the CAS. They can reduce benefits or cut down on the number of members in the more costly tiers. One way or another they will be taking steps, like eliminating crystal blocks, to reduce the cost of the CAS. Eliminating blocks didn't last long so something else has to give.

Benefits from the action on board and CAS benefits that apply globally off the ship are great ...until the two worlds meet.

It's interesting (to me) they've moved verbiage about dependents to a different area of the benefits grid now. Specific pinnacle dependent status added. Children share the same tier (up to Diamond Plus) as their parent until age 18. Children of Pinnacle Club members enjoy select onboard benefits of their parents, however, not the tier. Children will be removed from a loyalty relationship with a parent or guardian upon their 18th birthday. If it is found that a dependent or child is not immediately removed from a relationship upon their 18th birthday and accumulates a higher tier status outside of this time period, the dependent’s record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status without notice.

The ultimate cancel culture.

JR milkshake discount is clearly defined now. 50% off a Johnny Rockets milkshake (2 coupons per sailing) This was variable before or non-existent.

One nice change is that onboard offers are more clear now and more of them are in the published benefits grid. Before many were onboard offers on a letter in your cabin but not widely published for all to see before boarding.

Specialty dining venues updated in BOGO. Hooked excluded. Izumi (non-Hibachi) is unclear. Purchase one cover charge in a specialty restaurant on the fi rst or second day of your cruise and the second cover charge is free. Excludes Izumi Hibachi, Teppanyaki, Chef’s Table, and Hooked Seafood .

Free laundry for top elite is updated. This occurred with last update I think. Free laundry is a specific day. Otherwise up to a $10 discount.

DP340 time has adjusted. It used to be July and August. Now it's June 15 through Aug. 15. More holidays are now blacked out too. Old verbiage Single members must have 340 Cruise Points earned in order to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas and New Year) and the months of July and August are not included in this offer. March 2023 verbiage: Single members must have at least 340 Cruise Points earned to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring break) and the peak summer months of June 15 thru August 15 are not included in this offer.

For some time now there have been reports of this occurring. Granted most folks reported the opposite but it's not something that hasn't been reported before so this isn't totally new. People have reported for years that dependent children lost their status at 18 and were reset to their natural level. There were not a lot of reports of it happening but there have been reports. Most families did not experience this but that doesn't make it a documented policy. When it has happened and it was appealed, the appeal reportedly was denied. It has become more of a practice than a policy. In practice, most families saw their children's status frozen upon turning 18 but as stated there have been reported cases of the opposite. It is odd that a phone agent and a ship LA both cited this recently. It's even more odd that an LA went out of their way to make the phone call to inform a guest of this change. Most would presumably choose to avoid the confrontation and demote after the cruise without saying a word. I've yet to find written policy that explicitly states it one way or the other. The so-called "policy" has been an interpretation based on what occurred more often. Here is 2017 verbiage from an old PDF I found. A Crown & Anchor Society member can be added into a relationship with other family members in the same household and receive equivalent tier status; however Cruise Points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the Program level accrual system described above. Pinnacle Club member tier status will not be awarded to dependents if earned by their parent and/or guardian. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual, spouse or significant other by one of them accumulating 700 Cruise Points or more in the CAS program. For all tiers except Pinnacle Club, a relationship is defined as a spouse or significant other and children less than 18 years old. For Pinnacle Club a relationship is considered a spouse and/or significant other. Children will be taken out of a relationship with a parent or guardian upon their 18th birthday date. If it is found that a dependent or child is not immediately removed from a relationship upon their 18th birthday and accumulates a higher tier status outside of this time period, the dependents record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. Interpretation hinges on: Children will be taken out of a relationship with a parent or guardian upon their 18th birthday date. If they are taken out of the relationship then they would not be eligible for any status other than their natural status. Some people interpreted that children would have their status frozen upon their 18th birthday but it has never actually stated that. ...the dependents record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. This is ambiguous because it doesn't define what "appropriate tier status" is supposed to be. The frozen level or the earned by their own actual points level? So what happens upon a divorce? Are the individuals set back to their natural points levels or does the person with the lower personal points become frozen at their pre-divorce level? It's kind of the same scenario as a dependent turning 18. They are no longer in the relationship, but what happens to their status? It's never been clear in the published verbiage. The lastest is now dated March 10, 2023. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf A Crown & Anchor Society member can be added into a relationship with other family members in the same household and receive equivalent tier status; however, Cruise Points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the Program level accrual system described above. Pinnacle Club member tier status will not be awarded to dependents if earned by their parent and/or guardian. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual, spouse or significant other* by one of them accumulating 700 Cruise Points or more in the Crown & Anchor Society program. For all tiers except Pinnacle Club, a relationship is defined as a spouse or significant other* and children less than 18 years old. For Pinnacle Club a relationship is considered a spouse and/or significant other*. *In all instances, a “significant other” is defined as someone in a similar relationship to an individual as a spouse. Note there is less verbiage but it is clear that you must be under 18 to be a dependent in a family relationship. If over 18 you cannot be in a relationship. That leads us to the next question. What happens if you are no longer eligible to be in a defined relationship? It doesn't say if CAS level becomes frozen or not. So that leaves the CAS in a position to make a determination such as "No relationship, no match. No freeze. Period.". My formerly dependent children missed the boat on dependent status because we used to cruise other cruise lines and their first Royal cruise occured when they were over 17. When I called to see if there was any manner that would allow them to be retroactively adjusted I was told no and the reason given was because as soon as they turned 18 they would have lost the status match anyways, so even if they were retroactively made my status as 17 yo's it would be instantly lost because of their current age. That conversation occurred a number of years ago so going back a number of years the policy has been "Lose status on the 18th birthday" and not "frozen at the 18th birthday" despite that is what most seem to have experienced. I'm guessing in this case the daughter's account was flagged because of the phone call pre-cruise. Had that call not happened they would have likely continued to fly under the radar like the vast majority of people with now older than dependent children. With the account flagged the LA onboard must have seen the red flag and acted by fulfilling the record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. Lesson learned - if you are over 17 and a former dependent status match benefactor keep quiet and fly under the radar.

I'd love to get a Spectrum block. He must have a couple he would be willing to trade by now. 🤣

Hopefully he is a decent gambler and not ruining his life because of a gambling addiction.

This picture was taken as we left Hubbard Glacier on the first trip for this class to Alaska in 2019. On subsequent trips on both Ovation and Quantum I've always seen someone using the Flowrider when it was running in Alaska. This wasn't staged.