Woo Hoo... Pinnacle now equals Zenith on Celebrity

[Tlbecker1]

40 minutes ago, MartinsCruise said:

Thanks!  This will be their first cruise so hopefully they'll love it and want to go on more.  There are four of them ranging in ages 3 to 11 so they're very excited to go. 😊

They will have a blast!

[orville99]

1 hour ago, TourDeCruise said:

What do they mean by Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club amenities that I highlighted below? Are those the personal amenities that we choose pre-cruise to enjoy during the cruise such as soda, beer, wine, cookies, etc.?

That is my understanding. You would, however, receive the same on board benefits as any other Pinnacle - internet, drink vouchers, etc.

[Starry Eyes]

53 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Stinks for the Zeniths..

A Zenith that wants to sail on Royal Caribbean benefits, just as a Pinnacle who wants to sail on Celebrity benefits.  Both Z’s and P’s (including never plan to cross over to the other line) must accept others at their level.  

[orville99]

21 hours ago, little britain said:

No it’s not a requirement - it’s a choice. 
 

2 of my cruises are sold out so I don’t have an option to reprice to cruise only; but I am just checking out the 3rd… 

Just got of the phone with Celebrity - removing the AI internet and drink package and repricing to cruise only just saved us $1,680 on our Ascent cruise for next December😇

[little britain]

37 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Just got of the phone with Celebrity - removing the AI internet and drink package and repricing to cruise only just saved us $1,680 on our Ascent cruise for next December😇

My guy is just downgrading me to Cruise only and saving me $800.

You win! 

[orville99]

27 minutes ago, little britain said:

My guy is just downgrading me to Cruise only and saving me $800.

You win! 

Ours is an 11 night cruise ($840/pp), so we both win😇

[island lady]

1 hour ago, Starry Eyes said:

A Zenith that wants to sail on Royal Caribbean benefits, just as a Pinnacle who wants to sail on Celebrity benefits.  Both Z’s and P’s (including never plan to cross over to the other line) must accept others at their level.  

 

Exactly!  Well said!   🙂   It goes both ways.  😉 

[Tlbecker1]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Just got of the phone with Celebrity - removing the AI internet and drink package and repricing to cruise only just saved us $1,680 on our Ascent cruise for next December😇

I only had internet booked for my cruise.  Still happy with the savings, but that is a huge savings for you.

[orville99]

31 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Exactly!  Well said!   🙂   It goes both ways.  😉 

Couldn’t have come at a better time for us. Already starting to shift our cruise focus away from RCL to Celebrity and Silversea, and this change just makes it easier to do. Not really any benefit on the Silversea end, and since we always sail in suites, the Zenith benefits are nice, but really don’t make or break our decisions.😇

 

[cruise wizard]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Couldn’t have come at a better time for us. Already starting to shift our cruise focus away from RCL to Celebrity and Silversea, and this change just makes it easier to do. Not really any benefit on the Silversea end, and since we always sail in suites, the Zenith benefits are nice, but really don’t make or break our decisions.😇

 

 

We essentially made the break from Royal to Celebrity over a year ago - this is just frosting on the cake. Celebrity suites are just out of our budget - so not experiencing the full Zenith benefits.

[3yorkies]

On 5/30/2024 at 8:13 AM, Oceansaway17 said:

all this status talk hurts my head.  Could care less since I do not drink. I am diamond plus and when I go to the Diamond lounge, it is to get chocolate covered strawberries and then leave.

 

Otherwise Status is just over rated IMHO

I enjoy my 490 dollars worth of free drinks on each 7 day cruise!!!   Would not go on Celebrity again unless I get to Pinnacle (only 386 points right now) as their drink program from 5 to 7 with limited alcohols sucks IMHO.

[orville99]

33 minutes ago, cruise wizard said:

 

We essentially made the break from Royal to Celebrity over a year ago - this is just frosting on the cake. Celebrity suites are just out of our budget - so not experiencing the full Zenith benefits.

We tend to prefer to sail on the older and smaller ships, and suites on those are more in our price range. When we decided to book the 11 night southern on Ascent, the cost/day of a sky suite was more than double the cost/day of a sky suite on Equinox, so we settled on a Prime Concierge Suite. Zenith status makes that compromise much more doable on the Edge class ships.

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

Just got of the phone with Celebrity - removing the AI internet and drink package and repricing to cruise only just saved us $1,680 on our Ascent cruise for next December😇

 

2 hours ago, little britain said:

My guy is just downgrading me to Cruise only and saving me $800.

You win! 

🤞 Hopefully they don't change the P->Z benefits to "enhance your cruise experience".  🤞

 

I'm actually shocked that this change actually does enhance your cruise experience.  😄

 

Edited May 31 by Another_Critic

[PhillyFan33579]

19 minutes ago, 3yorkies said:

I enjoy my 490 dollars worth of free drinks on each 7 day cruise!!!   Would not go on Celebrity again unless I get to Pinnacle (only 386 points right now) as their drink program from 5 to 7 with limited alcohols sucks IMHO.

I agree with you that currently RCI’s drink package is better than Celebrity’s right now. When I was on Explorer last month I heard rumblings that RCI was looking at changing their C&A free drinks program. I didn’t give much credence to it at the time, but in light of this change it makes more sense that RCI might possibly change their free drinks program. 

[orville99]

18 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Hopefully they don't change the P->Z benefits to "enhance your cruise experience".

They would actually have to elevate the P benefits to match the Z benefits, and I doubt they are going to do that. The president of X stated (twice) in a web video today that the Z benefits would absolutely not change as a result of the matching program.

[Rackham]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

They would actually have to elevate the P benefits to match the Z benefits, and I doubt they are going to do that. The president of X stated (twice) in a web video today that the Z benefits would absolutely not change as a result of the matching program.

 

One way this could settle out is drink vouchers go away on Royal, Celebrity stops nightly happy hour, Pinnacles gain a deluxe beverage package on Royal, and Diamond/Elite & Diamond Plus/Elite Plus receive a significant discount on the deluxe/premium beverage package.

 

Would there be many angry people below P/Z with losing the drink vouchers or cocktail hour? You bet.

 

Would there be many people below P/Z who'd be excited that they can get the top tier beverage package at a nice price? You bet.

 

And RCG comes out ahead since they've turned a previous cost sink into a revenue generator for everyone who's not P/Z. I would be willing to bet there'd be less people bailing on the RCG companies to other lines than the number who'd claim to online with this change.

[The Fun Researcher]

24 minutes ago, Rackham said:

 

One way this could settle out is drink vouchers go away on Royal, Celebrity stops nightly happy hour, Pinnacles gain a deluxe beverage package on Royal, and Diamond/Elite & Diamond Plus/Elite Plus receive a significant discount on the deluxe/premium beverage package.

 

Would there be many angry people below P/Z with losing the drink vouchers or cocktail hour? You bet.

 

Would there be many people below P/Z who'd be excited that they can get the top tier beverage package at a nice price? You bet.

 

And RCG comes out ahead since they've turned a previous cost sink into a revenue generator for everyone who's not P/Z. I would be willing to bet there'd be less people bailing on the RCG companies to other lines than the number who'd claim to online with this change.

Personally I hate this idea.

 

I don't see Royal or Celebrity going away from some sort of free drink program.  Both lines had happy hours prior to Royal moving to vouchers.  That enticement has been very successful.  I don't see either of them pushing cruisers to only getting a beverage package discount.  Plus the discount would have to be MASSIVE to come close to the 4+ voucher benefit on Royal.  Just my opinion though. 

[nelblu]

15 hours ago, 3yorkies said:

I enjoy my 490 dollars worth of free drinks on each 7 day cruise!!!   Would not go on Celebrity again unless I get to Pinnacle (only 386 points right now) as their drink program from 5 to 7 with limited alcohols sucks IMHO.

I'm not going anywhere until they X institutes a "Solo Supplement" policy and the drink allowance benefits.

 

By the way, I don't want to research, but does X have the same gifts as offered by the C&A. eg..  water, wine allowances, bogo, etc. 

[RFerrington]

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

By the way, I don't want to research, but does X have the same gifts as offered by the C&A. eg..  water, wine allowances, bogo, etc. 

According to the information that came out recently, those "loyalty amenities" are excluded on both sides for those who are status match only. Presumably you would rate them once your points counts were reached.

[verizon]

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

I'm not going anywhere until they X institutes a "Solo Supplement" policy and the drink allowance benefits.

 

By the way, I don't want to research, but does X have the same gifts as offered by the C&A. eg..  water, wine allowances, bogo, etc. 

Does Royal has SOLO pricing ?

[RFerrington]

3 minutes ago, verizon said:

Does Royal has SOLO pricing ?

Yes.  At 340 points.

[not-enough-cruising]

33 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Yes.  At 340 points.

Or in studio cabins at any point level, albeit those cabins are not plentiful

[orville99]

19 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I agree with you that currently RCI’s drink package is better than Celebrity’s right now.

True until one gets to Zenith/Pinnacle status, and then X's becomes significantly better🍷

[verizon]

2 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Yes.  At 340 points.

You mean 340+ SOLO will be 150% on any cabin including suites ?

 

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Yes.  At 340 points.

And double/triple points/nights to booth.