Status matters on cruise ships. Many passengers sail regularly on one cruise line in order to earn better perks in its loyalty program.
Royal Caribbean arguably has the best loyalty benefits of any cruise line through its Crown and Anchor Society. Passengers earn one point for every night sailed with the cruise line, two if they sail solo or in a suite, and three if they sail solo in a suite.
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There are multiple tiers to the program, but the real benefits kick in when you earn 80 points and achieve "Diamond" status. That gives you one day of free internet access per cruise, four free drink vouchers per day that can be redeemed for any drink up to $14, and access to the Crown Lounge.
The Crown Lounge, formerly known as the Diamond Lounge, offers pastries at breakfast, a coffee machine that makes fancy espresso drinks, and a concierge who can help with dining or show reservations. It also hosts a happy hour from 5-8 p.m. where drinks are served and a small buffet of hot and cold appetizers are offered.
Before the pandemic, Royal Caribbean did not offer Diamond members the drink vouchers and drinks were unlimited during the happy hour period in the lounge. Now, the vouchers are accepted all day at every bar on the ship as well as at its private islands, and the happy hour drinks require a voucher, a drink package, or they are charged for.
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Royal Caribbean offered big loyalty perks
During its return to sailing after the pandemic, Royal Caribbean enticed people to take a cruise by offering double points. If you sailed solo, you actually got four points per night. Sailing solo in a suite earned you six points.
That helped a lot of passengers climb the ranks of the loyalty program with many achieving Diamond much faster than would have otherwise. The cruise line also saw an increase in the number of people who reached Diamond Plus (175 points) and the revered Pinnacle (700 points) status.
During the double-points period, a solo traveler in a regular room would earn 28 points on a single sailing as would two people sailing in a suite. If you sailed solo in a suite, you would have earned 42 points for a single week-long sailing.
The promotion was a great success as it enticed people to book cruises, but it had some unexpected side effects. Royal Caribbean now has a lot more Diamond or higher passengers, and that sometimes causes problems.
Royal Caribbean has a capacity problem
On some recent sailings, Royal Caribbean has been forced to limit access to the Crown Lounge during the Happy Hour period. In these cases, Diamond members are not allowed in. That's in the fine print on the cruise line's loyalty program page, but the impacted passengers see it as losing a perk they had earned.
"Royal Caribbean may limit or remove access to the Crown Lounge as needed to accommodate special sailings including, but not limited to Charters, Crossings, Repositionings, Inaugurals, Trade Events, and President’s Cruises," the cruise line posted in small type on its website.
The problem is that certain cruises attract customers more likely to have top-tier status. Longer cruises, including transatlantic, generally attract an older clientele because people who are retired are more likely to be able to go on sailings of two weeks or longer.
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It has generally been a fairly rare situation when Royal Caribbean has been forced to limit Crown Lounge access. In the cases where it has happened, Diamond members can still use the lounge outside of the 5-8 p.m. happy hour.
