Heidi BucoloIt certainly pays to be loyal to one particular cruise line. Most cruise lines offer incentives for repeat customers with loyalty programs. These tiered programs offer cruisers more and more perks as they work their way up the ranks. In this Guide to the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society, we provide all the details on each level in this loyalty program including all the associated benefits.
Guide to Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Levels and Benefits (2024)
How to Sign Up for Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society
Becoming a member of Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society is easy. All you need to do is take a cruise! Royal Caribbean cruisers are automatically enrolled in the Crown and Anchor Society after the completion of their first sailing.
Cruisers then receive loyalty points equal to the number of cruise days sailed. For instance, a seven-day cruise will earn you seven points. Guests who book suites earn double points. This point structure applies to all cruise destinations. Further, the cruise line will occasionally run promotions offering double points for booking.
How to Earn Points in Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society
As mentioned above, you will accrue Crown and Anchor points for each night you spend on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Cruisers will receive these points after completing their cruise.
Therefore, if a current sailing bumps you into the next level, you will not recognize the new benefits until your next sailing. Further, you will earn these points based on the cabin category for which you paid. Complimentary or reduced rate upgrades into suites do no qualify for additional points.
If you have kids and they don’t have as many points as you, they are still able to share in your tier status until they are 18. However, their own individual accounts only reflect the cruises they’ve taken, and therefore only the points they’ve earned.
Kids cannot achieve Pinnacle Club status, and are removed from a family relationship in your account upon their 18th birthday. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual or spouse accumulating 700 cruise points or more.
Like most loyalty programs, the more points you accumulate, the more benefits you receive.
These benefits are broken down into three groups: Exclusive Savings, Onboard Rewards, and Benefits on Land. These benefits vary by Crown and Anchor Society levels but can range from onboard discounts, to private events, and booking discounts on certain room categories.
Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Levels
GOLD: To become a member of Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society Gold Level, you need as little as three points. That means that after one quick three-day getaway to Perfect Day at CocoCay, you will qualify.
PLATINUM: To move up to the second tier in the Crown and Anchor Society, you will need to achieve 30 points. This equates to as few as five traditional length cruises if staying in a traditional stateroom. This is also the first tier where you will begin to receive discounts on balcony cabins and suites.
EMERALD: The third Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society level is Emerald. You will achieve this tier at 55 points. There is not much difference in terms of perks between Emerald and Platinum status.
DIAMOND: You will achieve Diamond level in Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society at 80 points. In addition, this is the first category where the benefits really start to add up. The biggest perks are access to the Crown Lounge, nightly free drinks, and a Backstage Tour on cruises that are five nights or longer.
DIAMOND PLUS: You will need 175 points to reach the Diamond Plus level. This tier will qualify you for two free days of internet and a free bag of laundry. In addition, you will have priority seating in some entertainment venues, among a few other perks. Plus, since this is a very large point category, personalized gifts are provided at 175, 340, and 525 points.
PINNACLE: Every Royal Caribbean loyalist’s dream is to become Pinnacle one day. To attain this Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society level, you will need a whopping 700 points. This is about two full years at sea! Of course, your rewards for being the most loyal cruisers are many extra perks. This includes milestone FREE CRUISES!
Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Benefits
Exclusive Savings
The exclusive savings offered for each of the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society levels are pretty similar. They include discounts on balcony and suite staterooms and reduced rate upgrades (when available). Plus, there are Crown & Anchor exclusive rates which are applicable to specific ships and sail dates.
Onboard Rewards
The onboard rewards offer the biggest perks and discounts. These rewards do vary a bit more based on the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society levels. All tiers except Gold qualify for an exclusive Top Tier Event on sailings that are five nights or longer. All tiers Diamond and above get a lapel pin upon reaching the next status. Guests who are Emerald and above receive complimentary bottles of water in their stateroom.
Onboard discounts on a large variety of items and services are also a perk of having loyalty status with Royal Caribbean. These offers are subject to change and vary based on tier status. Plus, these offers sometimes vary even by ship. For example, below are Diamond level benefits:
- 50 percent off any glass of wine, beer, or soda (two coupons per sailing)
- 50 percent off a Johnny Rockets milkshake (two coupons per sailing on select ships)
- 20 percent discount on any glass of wine, beer, or soda
- $5 off a $25 dry clean or press
- $10 discount on a $34.99 wash and fold laundry bag on 5+ night cruises
- 30 percent discount on a single photo, photo package, or photo book
- 15 percent off Royal Caribbean logo products sold onboard (minimum $25 purchase)
- 20 percent off any spa service (excludes medi-spa services)
Kids also get their own discounts, here are some Diamond ones:
- 50 percent off one scoop of ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor (on select ships)
- Buy 1 movie rental in your stateroom and receive the second free
- Spend $15 in arcade credits to get $5 off your onboard expense account or spend $50 in arcade credits to get $25 off
Drink Vouchers
Now, perhaps the biggest benefit of the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society are free drinks once Diamond status is achieved.
Since COVID, Royal Caribbean began issuing free drink vouchers to Diamond tiers and above that could be used in just about any venue around the ship to help minimize crowding in the Crown Lounge. Though COVID isn’t the same level of concern anymore, the vouchers have remained in place.
Diamond level gets four drink vouchers daily on beverages worth up to $14 (excludes Starbucks, the Bionic Bar, and Desserted). Diamond Plus gets five per day, while Pinnacle level guests receive six vouchers each day.
Benefits on Land
The benefits on land are very similar for each of the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society levels. For example, all levels receive a monthly newsletter, priority notice on special offers, and Crown & Anchor exclusive rates. Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members have a dedicated call center for inquiries.
Reciprocity With Other Brands
Finally, Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society status will qualify you for reciprocity with sister brand Celebrity Cruises. Platinum members and higher will receive matching Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club member benefits.
In addition, the cross-over benefits will be equal to a matching tier status. However, cruise points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the accrual system for each respective brand. Further, credits earned on one brand are not combinable with credits earned from another brand.
For instance, Platinum and Emerald levels will be equivalent to Select in Celebrity Cruise’s Captain’s Club. Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club levels will be equivalent to Elite in Celebrity Cruise’s Captain’s Club.
Also, Pinnacle Club membership tier level can only be obtained through earning the appropriate number of points on Royal Caribbean ships. Likewise, there are no cross-over points to Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club Elite Plus or Zenith levels.
Comments
To which of the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society levels do you belong? Do you take advantage of all the perks associated with this loyalty program? Drop us an anchor below to let us know if you prefer to stay loyal to one brand or cruise with a variety of brands.
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3 comments
David and Barbara Schell
With all of the craziness of the last two years and with our cruises being delayed there will be little time between our achieving Emerald status and then 6 days later leaving on another cruise which we will be Diamond status. We booked during the double points offer and are going on back to back 11 nights Vision(on which we will become Emerald status), 10 nights Vision(on which we will achieve our Diamond status) then we will return to Ft. Lauderdale 5 days after completion of those two cruises to board the Allure at which time we will have become Diamond status. How can we be assured our upgrades to our status will be completed in this time frame? Originally we would have had approximately 2 weeks between 2nd and 3rd cruises which would be plenty of time to post. Please advise that this can be accomplished in such a short turn around! Thank you