Best Way to Reach Elite Status

[Ex-Airbalancer]

41 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

It would be dumb of them to combine points but they sometimes do dumb. The limited status match is a little too good but really those Royal cruisers are not getting much. Celebrity cruisers going on Royal are getting more out the match if they don't mind going on Royal. 

What is better on RCL C&A benefits ? 
was on Royal for 21 days last year year , did like the 4 drinks a day , but didn’t notice any other good perk

[peachcreamsicle]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Does he have a CF1 card ? It was $200 off the price with military discount

The cf1 card also gets you free luggage on AC, Air Transat , West Jet and Porter 

And a bunch of other discounts 

The deal may not be the same come December,  with Celebrity if you see a deal you have jump on it 

Wow! I had no idea! I asked my husband to look up the CF1 card and he says he has everything needed to apply except his enrollment date.  Would that be his swear in date? 
 

Thanks so much for all of the info, by the way!  You’re so helpful!  🥳

[Charles4515]

11 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is better on RCL C&A benefits ? 
was on Royal for 21 days last year year , did like the 4 drinks a day , but didn’t notice any other good perk

The four drinks a day.  I would not need a drink package or buy any drinks. That covers most drinks for me. Most drinks covered not a limited menu. The Crown Lounge (formally Diamond Lounge) specialty coffee machine. Balcony and suite discounts which for me as Diamond are $200 and above. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 minutes ago, peachcreamsicle said:

Wow! I had no idea! I asked my husband to look up the CF1 card and he says he has everything needed to apply except his enrollment date.  Would that be his swear in date? 
 

Thanks so much for all of the info, by the way!  You’re so helpful!  🥳

Swearing date ? Don’t you swear at him everyday 🤣

not sure about that,  as we using the wife’s military  reserve service which was about 50 years ago 😁

the perk for luggage is great 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

The four drinks a day.  I would not need a drink package or buy any drinks. That covers most drinks for me. Most drinks covered not a limited menu. The Crown Lounge (formally Diamond Lounge) specialty coffee machine. Balcony and suite discounts which for me as Diamond are $200 and above. 

The crown lounge on a TA is pretty useless as there so many people in there and machine is always broken 

Book in a group so you couldn’t  use the Diamond perk 

Anything else ? 

I do like our bags of laundry on Celebrity 

[Charles4515]

19 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The crown lounge on a TA is pretty useless as there so many people in there and machine is always broken 

Book in a group so you couldn’t  use the Diamond perk 

Anything else ? 

I do like our bags of laundry on Celebrity 

Whenever the machine was broken on a couple of cruises we could get free coffee drinks somewhere else. That was acually somewhat better as coffees were pulled by a barista except had to stand in line. Never been on a transatlantic with Royal. Most of my Royal cruises were group cruises, I did get the balocny discount. That is probably the only way to get me on Royal the last ten years except one which was  a ten day med sailing where the balcony cabin was  a last minute $800 for the cabin deal because the sailing was supposed to be Egypt and Israel but was changed because of tensions so there were huge cancelations at final payment.    

Edited October 26, 2023 by Charles4515

[neverlaysup]

6 hours ago, peachcreamsicle said:

My husband and I are excited to experience the perks bestowed upon Elite status cruisers, but it seems like a chore to accumulate the required 300 points.  
 

Would we be crazy to sail exclusively on Royal Caribbean until we accumulate the required 80 points to reach “Platinum” status, then request status match to Celebrity Elite? 
 

Is it just me, or is achieving status much easier on other cruiselines? Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions! 

It's only 13 nights in an Iconic Suite!

[SbbquilterUT]

7 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

In the past they’ve offered “Double Points” bookings and of course, there’s always booking suites and longer cruises that can help with point accumulation. 
 

We didn’t actively pursue loyalty points but did enjoy a nice status match when we switched from RCI. We sail multiple cruise lines so even with the status match, it took us a while. 
 

our fav Elite perks include the breakfast, invitations to private events, and the discounts. We’ve used the pass to Persian Gardens on a port day… not available on E class ships… not sure why. 

Because E class ships do not have a Persian Gardens - spa is different.

[lienf]

5 hours ago, CaroleSS said:

Doubt it

 

I don't worry about any company's loyalty points because, IMHO, they don't amount to anything anymore.

We are E-plus and we find that works well for us. Two bags of laundry each, 240 minutes of Wi-Fi each, and the 5-7 Happy Hour. We don’t need to purchase the AI package and that is a big saving for us. 

[doghog]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

It would be dumb of them to combine points but they sometimes do dumb. The limited status match is a little too good but really those Royal cruisers are not getting much. Celebrity cruisers going on Royal are getting more out the match if they don't mind going on Royal. 

Agree. We made Elite and Diamond before the reciprocal program. Way too easy now which has created the monster for the CC and CAS. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by doghog

[Lastdance]

You can also purchase the stock for extra OBC.  Just a thought. 

[cruisegirlppp]

23 hours ago, peachcreamsicle said:

Ahh, ok thank you! How do you find Royal Caribbean compares to Celebrity in terms of food and overall vibe? Do you have a preference between the two? 

When we were planning our first cruise (back in the mid 90's) the TA asked which was more important to us, entertainment or food...we answered food and she put us on Celebrity. I think she hit the nail on the head with that question.   

[SusieAV8R]

On 10/26/2023 at 9:01 AM, peachcreamsicle said:

Wow! That’s an amazing price and I’m super tempted 😍 we’re sailing on the Equinox this December, so assuming we like it, I just may! 
 

Question: what does it take to book the military discount? My husband was in the army for 10 years, but I’m not sure if that’s enough. 

You simply need your military identification if requested. There is no time frame.  Simply "are you active or retired military"?  We have used that discount for all 28 of our cruises (being retired military).

[hcat]

On 10/26/2023 at 3:17 PM, doghog said:

Agree. We made Elite and Diamond before the reciprocal program. Way too easy now which has created the monster for the CC and CAS. 

way too many ways to accrue points and  huge number of crossover from Royal to X kills it!

[doghog]

7 minutes ago, hcat said:

way too many ways to accrue points and  huge number of crossover from Royal to X kills it!

and visa versa. 

[neverlaysup]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:13 PM, lienf said:

We are E-plus and we find that works well for us. Two bags of laundry each, 240 minutes of Wi-Fi each, and the 5-7 Happy Hour. We don’t need to purchase the AI package and that is a big saving for us. 

You forgot the part I enjoy the most....unlimited Specialty coffee at Al Bacio (minus the boozy ones).

[buncosquad]

On 10/26/2023 at 4:00 AM, peachcreamsicle said:

My husband and I are excited to experience the perks bestowed upon Elite status cruisers, but it seems like a chore to accumulate the required 300 points.  
 

Would we be crazy to sail exclusively on Royal Caribbean until we accumulate the required 80 points to reach “Platinum” status, then request status match to Celebrity Elite? 
 

Is it just me, or is achieving status much easier on other cruiselines? Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions! 

We made Elite status after two sailings (one EV for 7 nights and one IC for 11 nights).

 

We did one more 7 night EV and recently another 11 night IC and now we're Elite+ after only four sailings.

 

Though status doesn't enter our equation, if soonest to Elite is most desirable, book their top staterooms each time.

Edited October 29, 2023 by buncosquad

[Missymo]

I started as Elite when I transferred  from Diamond   on Royal Caribbean .  It took me 12 years to reach. that plateau.  In 2021 at the restart, ( my DH had passed ) and I needed to get out.  So I started with Celebrity as a solo in sky suite around the USA.  Not cheap, but I was happy to be sailing.,  Meet wonderful people onboard the ships and actually have new friends from the sailings .  I reached the magic Elite Plus just recently . (double points for solos in suite).   I have  a whirlwind 2024 so far with 4 Celebrity Cruises , plus  a 10 day Italy tour around the boot.    Evenn with that, don't on't think I'll ever reach the top tier .

Edited October 29, 2023 by Missymo

[DonnaK]

On our upcoming Ascent cruise, we will be Elite due to status match with RCI.

 

Please tell me about the Happy Hour drinks?  What is included?  At any bar, or just a specific one?

 

Any other useful benefits included?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, DonnaK said:

On our upcoming Ascent cruise, we will be Elite due to status match with RCI.

 

Please tell me about the Happy Hour drinks?  What is included?  At any bar, or just a specific one?

 

Any other useful benefits included?

Check post 6 

[hcat]

23 hours ago, doghog said:

and visa versa. 

true but my sense is we start out with fewer X cruisers to begin with, and not that many crossover these days unless doing a family  cruise???

 

We used to  cruise on both lines equally but  not since the  really big ships were introduced on Royal we stick with X ..

[maggie.1008]

We tried Royal once, it was one and done for us. All of our 35 cruises are with Celebrity. 
I am sure if we had young children we would enjoy. 

[doghog]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

true but my sense is we start out with fewer X cruisers to begin with, and not that many crossover these days unless doing a family  cruise???

 

We used to  cruise on both lines equally but  not since the  really big ships were introduced on Royal we stick with X ..

We still cruise with RC but never cruise on the mega ships. Radiance class is our favorite size of ships.  

[doghog]

1 hour ago, maggie.1008 said:

We tried Royal once, it was one and done for us. All of our 35 cruises are with Celebrity. 
I am sure if we had young children we would enjoy. 

We must be young then. No kids. We don't cruise on RCs floating amusement parks.