Royal Matches Celebrity - help

[hollon]

I just received an email from Royal Caribbean saying that Celebrity matches status.  I'm 3 points away from being Diamond on Royal Caribbean.  Should I wait until I get to Diamond to Match to Celebrity or does it matter.  Thanks

[PhillyFan33579]

If you go on Celebrity now you will be Select on Celebrity. If you wait until after you reach Diamond you will be Elite on Celebrity. 

[long time lurker]

The status changes continue to advance on each line. It is not a one time status match. If your status advances on one line it advances on the other also. 

[leaveitallbehind]

Just to be clear, "matching" means there are reciprocal tier benefits.  The tier benefits differ between the cruise lines and when you cruise with each other you receive what the comparable tier level benefits would be.  (There are certain limitations and exceptions when sailing with each).

 

The other important thing to remember is the points you earn when sailing on each remain with the cruise line on which you sailed.  The points are not combinable or shared.  As mentioned, tier reciprocity will move up as your points continue to build to the next tier with each line.

 

The reciprocity is automatic.  All you need to do is contact Celebrity Captains Club and request a CC number.  When you cruise with them whatever tier you are with RCI is the comparable tier level you will be with them.

Edited September 5 by leaveitallbehind

[cruisegus]

Just an FYI Diamond / match to / Elite on Celebrity doesn't get you much unless you are a non-alcohol drinker.  Much better benifits at that level on Royal

 

Real winners here we're Pinnacle match to Zenith.

 

Btw easier to climb the ladder on Royal

Edited September 6 by cruisegus

[Tatka]

11 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Just an FYI Diamond / match to / Elite on Celebrity doesn't get you much unless you are a non-alcohol drinker.  Much better benifits at that level on Royal

 

Real winners here we're Pinnacle match to Zenith.

 

Btw easier to climb the ladder on Royal

Eh.. there is 5-7 happy hour with unlimited alcohol from limited menu and Elite breakfast with Bellinis, Mimisas, Bloody Marys. 

[gerif]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

Eh.. there is 5-7 happy hour with unlimited alcohol from limited menu and Elite breakfast with Bellinis, Mimisas, Bloody Marys. 

And if you have early seating for dinner the HH is next to useless since it is not available in the MDR, only a bar. 

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, Tatka said:

Eh.. there is 5-7 happy hour with unlimited alcohol from limited menu and Elite breakfast with Bellinis, Mimisas, Bloody Marys. 

True, and a nice benefit.  The main difference, using Diamond / Elite as the comparison, is that the 4 Diamond vouchers offered each day are valid all day for any beverage at any venue (except Starbucks, Bionic Bar, and Milkshake Bar) and those with alcohol have a $14 drink value for north American sailings.  There is no limited menu or timeframe driving the choices. 

 

They are also combinable in, as example, that I can use mine for my wife and she can use hers for me. You can also cash in any unused vouchers at the end of the day for unopened canned or bottled beverages such as beer, Truly, soda, or water, and take them back to your stateroom for another time.

Edited September 6 by leaveitallbehind

[chiguypaul]

12 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Just an FYI Diamond / match to / Elite on Celebrity doesn't get you much unless you are a non-alcohol drinker.  Much better benifits at that level on Royal

 

Real winners here we're Pinnacle match to Zenith.

 

Btw easier to climb the ladder on Royal

The lack of the four free drinks on Celebrity with my rcl Diamond status is a bummer. 

[Tatka]

6 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

True, and a nice benefit.  The main difference, using Diamond / Elite as the comparison, is that the 4 Diamond vouchers offered each day are valid all day for any beverage at any venue (except Starbucks, Bionic Bar, and Milkshake Bar) and those with alcohol have a $14 drink value for north American sailings.  There is no limited menu driving the choices. 

 

You can also cash in any unused vouchers at the end of the day for unopened canned or bottled beverages such as beer, Truly, soda, or water, and take them back to your stateroom for another time.

We sailed as diamonds before Covid when Royal had the same system with even more limited drinks, but for 3.5 hours.

 

Technically during 2 hours you can collect bottles of water. You can save drinks like cognac if you absolutely must. 

[Tatka]

2 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

The lack of the four free drinks on Celebrity with my rcl Diamond status is a bummer. 

How did you sail with RCI pre pandemic? 

[chiguypaul]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

How did you sail with RCI pre pandemic? 

I made reservations, paid for them and went on the cruises.

[Tatka]

11 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

I made reservations, paid for them and went on the cruises.

You mean unlimited drinks from limited menu during happy hours didn’t bother you right? 

[cruisegus]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

How did you sail with RCI pre pandemic? 

Actually the 4 vouchers started before the Pandemic, not a long time before, but that system had already started prior to shutdown.

 

Like I eluded to, the HH works good for non-alcohol drinkers, as they can get plenty of bottled waters and unopened Cokes during those 2 hours. 

 

A 2 hours slamfest on a limited menu isn't much fun.

 

The unlimited specialty coffee can also be a factor for some demographics 

[doghog]

14 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Just an FYI Diamond / match to / Elite on Celebrity doesn't get you much unless you are a non-alcohol drinker.  Much better benifits at that level on Royal

 

Real winners here we're Pinnacle match to Zenith.

 

Btw easier to climb the ladder on Royal

We are drinkers. We get the CBP.   There's also a couple of other CC events we like. Senior officers party, Music and Mixology party, wine tasting, priority tendering at tender ports, etc.  Elite gets you a bag of wash n fold, Diamond doesn't. Elite internet minutes/usage is better than Diamond. 90 minutes and when logged off the clock stops.  

 

We like the perks/benefits associated with the CC and CAS. We made Elite and Diamond before phase 1 of the reciprocal program. We were 92 CC points from E+ but thanks to phase 2 of the reciprocal program we are now E+ via D+. 

 

 

[chiguypaul]

8 minutes ago, Tatka said:

You mean unlimited drinks from limited menu during happy hours didn’t bother you right? 

Oh, you mean my four Diamond drinks that I can use on anything up to $14 anytime during the day, not just during happy hour? Yeah, those definitely don’t bother me at all. 😉

[doghog]

1 hour ago, gerif said:

And if you have early seating for dinner the HH is next to useless since it is not available in the MDR, only a bar. 

Grab a CC drink or two before going to the MDR.  Leave, grab a drink or two and come back to the MDR. 

[Tatka]

10 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

Actually the 4 vouchers started before the Pandemic, not a long time before, but that system had already started prior to shutdown.

 

Like I eluded to, the HH works good for non-alcohol drinkers, as they can get plenty of bottled waters and unopened Cokes during those 2 hours. 

 

A 2 hours slamfest on a limited menu isn't much fun.

 

The unlimited specialty coffee can also be a factor for some demographics 

We were sailing as D in 2018-2020 up to 4 times a year with Royal.
 

3 vouchers were assigned and you could only use them during this time (5 - 8:30 or 4:30 - 8 ) outside of DL with the same limited menu. 
 

Change only happened after restart. And for some time we were not sure if we like it or not. 🙂 
 

Edited September 6 by Tatka

[leaveitallbehind]

Just to echo the other comments.  The 3-coupon program as I recall was introduced prior to the pandemic - I believe 2018?  Maybe earlier? This was an attempt as I understood it to thin the herd in the then Diamond Club due to the high numbers of D, D+, and P that were common on most sailings. Having the coupons provided the flexibility of still enjoying complimentary cocktails, but allowing that in other less crowded venues.  My skeptical nature took this as a step to ultimately limit the DC to D+ and P's as they typically were the lesser combined numbers.

 

After the Pandemic the current enhanced 4/5/6 voucher system was introduced as, again in my view, the next step in the process. Most recently the DC's were renamed the Crown Lounge, eliminating the word Diamond from its' name.  Now we are seeing on some high volume D/D+/P sailings that D's may be restricted from the CL during the published cocktail hour.

 

Personally I like the voucher program as it provides much more flexibility than that original DC cocktail hours and subsequent coupon program.  We rarely use the CL anymore, other than to communicate with the Concierge and have the occasional canape when it is not overcrowded.  Don't know if ultimately D's access will change or not, but I guess time will tell.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited September 6 by leaveitallbehind

[Tatka]

51 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

Oh, you mean my four Diamond drinks that I can use on anything up to $14 anytime during the day, not just during happy hour? Yeah, those definitely don’t bother me at all. 😉

You didn’t notice work “didn’t”, did you?

I meant this system with drinks only during Happy Hours (unlimited in lounge and limited to 3 outside. From limited menu) was Royal’s system all years before pandemic. And everyone lived happily. 
 

Also as I mentioned Celebrity has Elite breakfast every morning with some drinks.  

[Tatka]

14 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Just to echo the other comments.  The 3-coupon program as I recall was introduced prior to the pandemic - I believe 2018?  Maybe earlier? This was an attempt as I understood it to thin the herd in the then Diamond Club due to the high numbers of D, D+, and P that were common on most sailings. Having the coupons provided the flexibility of still enjoying complimentary cocktails, but allowing that in other less crowded venues.  My skeptical nature took this as a step to ultimately limit the DC to D+ and P's as they typically were the lesser combined numbers.

 

After the Pandemic the current enhanced 4/5/6 voucher system was introduced as, again in my view, the next step in the process. Most recently the DC's were renamed the Crown Lounge, eliminating the word Diamond from its' name.  Now we are seeing on some high volume D/D+/P sailings that D's may be restricted from the CL during the published cocktail hour.

 

Personally I like the voucher program as it provides much more flexibility than that original DC cocktail hours and subsequent coupon program.  We rarely use the CL anymore, other than to communicate with the Concierge and have the occasional canape when it is not overcrowded.  Don't know if ultimately D's access will change or not, but I guess time will tell.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Yes, we are now sailing with high number of D, D+, P and D are not allowed to CL during HH. Of course it’s not a problem as no drinks in the lounge are provided, but some are upset. 
 

[cruisegus]

20 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Yes, we are now sailing with high number of D, D+, P and D are not allowed to CL during HH. Of course it’s not a problem as no drinks in the lounge are provided, but some are upset. 
 

Not as upset as the Pinnacles excluded for CK on the larger ships, which is why those Diamonds are excluded during HH

[Tatka]

6 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

Not as upset as the Pinnacles excluded for CK on the larger ships, which is why those Diamonds are excluded during HH

On ours P aren’t excluded. 
 

In our experience Ps are at most 125 (we don’t do transatlantics), but ads could be 800-900s
 

 

Edited September 6 by Tatka

[little britain]

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

Eh.. there is 5-7 happy hour with unlimited alcohol from limited menu and Elite breakfast with Bellinis, Mimisas, Bloody Marys. 

I usually have my first drink of the day after 6:30p so this limited time frame doesn’t interest me drinking cheap gin

 ( although I remember when it was 4-6p and the outcry that it was the end of the world when X changed it to 5-7!!) 

I rarely make the breakfast on either X or RCI as it ends far too early for me. And I certainly don’t want a drink at that hour of the morning!! 
 

Thank goodness for the Zenacle Premium drinks package 👏 

Edited September 6 by little britain