Much to the chagrin of Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members, the cruise line has announced that it is dropping the popular balcony and suite discounts as of September 1, 2016, for its loyalty program participants unless they book more than 6 months in advance.
The change was rolled out on a promotional flyer recently and reads:
“Encourage your clients to book now! As of September 1, 2016 balcony and suite discounts will only apply to sailings booked more than six months out.”
The balcony discount is one of the most valuable perks of being loyal to Royal, and it is disappointing to see it removed for cruises booked less than 6 months in advance.
My Take
Disappointing, but there is some good news. If you’re booking less than 6 months out, you can now take advantage of other opportunities like the American Express Cruise Privileges program which may equal or exceed the value of the Crown & Anchor discount. In a bit of other good news for Royal’s most prolific cruisers, Pinnacle Club members, the discount is increasing by $25 starting August 15, 2016.
In the end, I’m not sure this is totally bad news for me as most of my sailings are booked more than 6 months in advance. Further, I can now take better advantage of the Amex Cruise Privileges program for those sailings I book a little closer in. However, for many Crown & Anchor members, especially those that live near ports and tend to book within shorter timeframes, it’s a problem…..and not a small one.
-MJ, August 11, 2016
Weird, I posted a comment earlier and it didn’t post. Anyhow, I’m disappointed by this news. I live really close to Cape Liberty (10-15 minute drive) and I almost always book last minute cruises since I’m not restricted and don’t have a preference for room location/itinerary. This is going to sting.
I’ve never heard of the Amex Cruise Privileges. Do those work in conjunction with Next Cruise certs? Probably not right? I don’t have a travel agent. Are you able to recommend one? I almost always use a next cruise cert and book directly with RCCL/Celebrity.
Also, have you tried buying Celebrity gc from Staples and RCCL gc from Newegg? There’s very little data point and using these along with a Next Cruise cert or just using them generally. I have a final payment due so I want to try buying the Celebrity gc to see if I can use them. The t&c are a little tricky since it says you can only use it on new bookings. Not sure what that means? Maybe you can do a post on this topic. I did a search/asked in Cruise Critic and people there don’t really understand my question so I’m hoping you do. Thanks!
Wow, this is pretty bad. I live about a 10 min drive from Cape Liberty =( I almost always book last minute since we’re pretty open on when we can travel and don’t need a specific itinerary/room. I’m just happy I live close and don’t have to deal with flying. I will have to look into the Amex Cruise Privileges you mentioned above.