Brandon, because of your previous reviews on Celebrity - and also mentioning the reciprocal status with Royal Caribbean, we have booked our first Celebrity cruise in May. Thanks for all the information you share!
Thank you Brandon for explaining the loyalty program in detail. We just reached Diamond which should of happened over 3 years ago...thanks covid ! Without your information I would not have known about the status of carrying over to another line. We are booked on Celebrity Equinox next year thanks to you and looking forward to it.
@@TheWeekendCruiser yep, I leave a tab open. And all three on the first day or so would reset minutes if they believed you’d forgotten! I had one where I signed out just as there was a break in connectivity! What a mess!
@@TheWeekendCruiser Because you are a vlogger and may actually be doing work remotely, I’d guess it isn’t really as appropriate of a solution for you. Hubby on a 14 day trip as B2Bs can actually pay bills and still have a lot of minutes left over. It takes him a bit longer as he chooses to input data each time rather than set automatic pay. Errors are just too hard to fix with automatic pay set.
YES!!! So trying out Celebrity! D+ with RC - had a cruise booked with Celebrity to Japan but cancelled last year. Need to book another with Celebrity! It may take me a bit to figure out their points but ready to try! :) The videos of the ships look so amazing! And seeing them at ports. Yep...ready to jump on over. Still cruise with RC but time to branch out.
Let's not forget if you sail solo on Celebrity you get double points. So for example if I sail 7 nights in inside solo, I would get 28 points, instead of 14. As a select I always get a free scoop of gelato per cruise. I think even Classic gets this too! I always take advantage of this. They don't tell you this openly but its a nice secret perk. Also I don't know if you get upgraded, say through their moveup if you get the upgraded points or if you stay at the category you originally booked. I'm guessing the latter.
Hey Dave, as I have only done one Celebrity so far, did not realize they do double points! Though, I can't seem to see this spelled out anywhere from Celebrity. I did get the gelato on my last cruise and liked i! For upgrades, I do know you stay at the category you booked in and do not get the step up. Thanks for clarying!
I just got off 2 weeks on the Wonder of the Seas ! I was so disappointed with everything! However Beautiful Ship ! Just became Diamond so I’m so looking forward to Celebrity status ! Thank you 🙏🏼
@@TheWeekendCruiser Neither Royal Caribbean or Celebrity keeps tabs on the other guests to determine when to issue loyalty program. Sometimes it works and already done but 90% of my clients who try the other brand, need to have tier match called in. It’s a simple hassle free call that takes couple of mins where it offers benefits to that specific cruiser, so well worth the phone call. Let’s be honest, RCG IT infrastructure is no where close to automatically doing this for everyone. Heck, they couldn’t figure out Premier Pass was a Celebrity product. I could go on and on about all of the IT blunders.
are you a non drinker ? Why would you use drink vouchers worth up to $14 on coffee drinks worth only about $6 ? I love my espresso too, but I pay for those and save the vouchers for something a little stronger LOL
haha that is exactly it Micahel! I don't drink alcohol, so my expensive drink options are fairly limited. They do have a few non-alcholic options at the bar but I can't always find them.@@michaelvitale4029
Royal’s program used to be similar before the increased the hours to 24 consecutive hours. Both increase at the Plus level. It maybe worth checking out what the percentage discounts on full packages are too. Recently, I waited until closer to the end of the cruise to cash in my hubby’s discount and paid slightly over $5 a day as at plus we got a 75% discount. Please note I was on Azamara, when they were still using the Celebrity rules although I had never checked the percentages before. Yes, I did the conversion the other way. I began at Diamond and now have enough Royal points that I am now working toward Diamond Plus. Most of my Royal points were done in Oceanview too! At least that’s how remember them.
Thanks for explaining this, Brandon. Yea, that seems a bit rough that Celebrity groups all 3 tiers of Royal Caribbean's Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club into their Elite level. I guess since Celebrity's highest level of Zenith starts at 3,000 points... so, if I would book an inside cabin at 2 points per night, it would take me 1,500 nights to reach Celebrity's highest tier of Zenith. (More than double RC's 700 nights to reach Pinnacle.) But, maybe Celebrity could at least match Pinnacle Club to their 2nd highest tier of Elite Plus?
You would think? With other cruise lines doing a solid match into their highest tiers, it amazes me that Royal does not do this. Yes, Zenith will not be happening for me on Celebrity. You also do not get double points for solo cruising! 😂
If I understand correctly, if I'm a C&A Diamond member, and go on a Celebrity cruise, I'll get Celebrity "Elite" perks, but not actually "Elite" tier status because it's only my first cruise with them. Kind of like if I was a C&A Gold member but with Diamond perks. Each cruise line doesn't count the other's cruises on its tier status - you just get reciprical courtesy perks. Right? This has never made sense to me because Royal and Celebrity are in the same corporation - your status should move at the same rate in both lines, allowing you to switch back and forth while still gaining equal status points with each cruise, regardless which line you sail on. In other words, it should just be Royal Caribbean International status, which can be applied to any and all of their cruise lines. In essence, if you're trying to work on your membership status with one line, you're kind of wasting a cruise by sailing with the other line, even with the reciprocal perks.
You are thinking about it correctly. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have a reciprocal agreement, it is not a status match which provide you the benefits of Celebrity's Elite. Keep in mind, they do not give you the points for elite. For you to move to Elite Plus, you will need to earn all of the elite points and then the elite plus points on Celebrity sailings. This is a concept I have thought and talked a lot about recently. There are currently no cruise companies that operate in this fashion and each cruise line operates their loyalty program independently. I too wish Royal would consolidate programs but this would be considered very progressive and doing something no one has done before. Time will tell!
Very disappointed there are no points awarded/provided for cruises on Celebrity for Royal Crown and Anchor. This is an extremely unfortunate missed opportunity and will result in a negative perception and perspective for a “true” one for one. Suggest they revisit the points awarded!!!
Hey David, that could be coming in time! I think this is a good first step in truly merging the programs - currently, there is no way to sail on Royal and Celebrity and accrue points for the other because the way of earning points is very different. Check out the video from this week on the new announcement that goes into the fine print and details (this is the old video) ruclips.net/video/ku0GanhwFp8/видео.html
Hey Beverly, the matching should be happening automatic in the background. If you were Platnium and now you Diamond going on Celebrity you will take the higher status. If that doesn't carry over, I would speak with Loyalty Ambassador as the benefit list says you have earned the reciprocal status. Hope this helps!
It does! Just surprised it isn't a like for like match. That would be very nice! Glad they offer what they do though as giving up benefits on a cruise line with status is tough!
Hey there! Check out my new video where I break this down (you found the old one). Quick answer is now, you only earn points on the cruise line you are sailing. ruclips.net/video/ku0GanhwFp8/видео.html
No. The programs will operate independently and you will not loose any status or points. They have a reciprocal agreement where if you have status with Royal, he will automatically get status with celebrity if it is linked in your account
If you are with RCL or Celebrity and have status, you can still auto match between the two. Even when Royal Caribbean just re-did it's benefit sheet last week, it is still there.
Thank you for the information. I’m loyal to royal but I am thinking about doing the status match with Celebrity. My question for you is when you are doing the status match, do you start at the minimum points for that Celebrity status category or are you just put in the Celebrity status at 0 points? Thanks in advance.
Hey Jake, it is the latter. You are put in the Celebrity category with zero points. Every sailing you take will give you more points until you have enough to move out of that category.
So if I understand this right, if I need 4 more nights to reach next status on Royal it won’t help me to take a 4 night cruise on Celebrity before doing my next Royal cruise? The cruise lines match your existing level but don’t actually help ADD to it?
Thanks Brandon for explaining in detail the cross over from RCCL to Celebrity!
Brandon, because of your previous reviews on Celebrity - and also mentioning the reciprocal status with Royal Caribbean, we have booked our first Celebrity cruise in May. Thanks for all the information you share!
My pleasure and excited for you Judi! You will have to let us know how it goes!
Thank you Brandon for explaining the loyalty program in detail. We just reached Diamond which should of happened over 3 years ago...thanks covid ! Without your information I would not have known about the status of carrying over to another line. We are booked on Celebrity Equinox next year thanks to you and looking forward to it.
Excellent and definitly get all the freebies and special treatment you can! One of the advantages of staying with a Royal Caribbean brand.
On celebrity the 90 minutes can be more beneficial in that they don’t have to be consecutive which means you can usually pick up emails everyday!
That's a good point! I would be the one person who just forgets to log out lol
@@TheWeekendCruiser yep, I leave a tab open. And all three on the first day or so would reset minutes if they believed you’d forgotten! I had one where I signed out just as there was a break in connectivity! What a mess!
@@TheWeekendCruiser Because you are a vlogger and may actually be doing work remotely, I’d guess it isn’t really as appropriate of a solution for you. Hubby on a 14 day trip as B2Bs can actually pay bills and still have a lot of minutes left over. It takes him a bit longer as he chooses to input data each time rather than set automatic pay. Errors are just too hard to fix with automatic pay set.
@@Reed-2big haha I hadn't even thought about you had to be able to access the system to sign out! Ouch!
YES!!! So trying out Celebrity! D+ with RC - had a cruise booked with Celebrity to Japan but cancelled last year. Need to book another with Celebrity! It may take me a bit to figure out their points but ready to try! :) The videos of the ships look so amazing! And seeing them at ports. Yep...ready to jump on over. Still cruise with RC but time to branch out.
I hear you Lucy! I am doing the exact same thing! I am sure you will have hang of the points in no time!
Let's not forget if you sail solo on Celebrity you get double points. So for example if I sail 7 nights in inside solo, I would get 28 points, instead of 14. As a select I always get a free scoop of gelato per cruise. I think even Classic gets this too! I always take advantage of this. They don't tell you this openly but its a nice secret perk.
Also I don't know if you get upgraded, say through their moveup if you get the upgraded points or if you stay at the category you originally booked. I'm guessing the latter.
Hey Dave, as I have only done one Celebrity so far, did not realize they do double points! Though, I can't seem to see this spelled out anywhere from Celebrity. I did get the gelato on my last cruise and liked i! For upgrades, I do know you stay at the category you booked in and do not get the step up. Thanks for clarying!
And then do those 28pts carry over to RCL?
I just got off 2 weeks on the Wonder of the Seas ! I was so disappointed with everything! However Beautiful Ship ! Just became Diamond so I’m so looking forward to Celebrity status ! Thank you 🙏🏼
Congrats Zena and sorry Wonder didn't workout well for you 😢
@@TheWeekendCruiser Thank you 🙏🏼 you are so kind ! Love this video on Status Matching because now I’m headed to Celebrity !
Not always the case. Many people have to call Celebrity to have them do tier match. I have spent many hours on the phone on this very topic.
Well that is unfortunate if the system doesn't work! This should be an easy one for them!
@@TheWeekendCruiser Neither Royal Caribbean or Celebrity keeps tabs on the other guests to determine when to issue loyalty program. Sometimes it works and already done but 90% of my clients who try the other brand, need to have tier match called in.
It’s a simple hassle free call that takes couple of mins where it offers benefits to that specific cruiser, so well worth the phone call.
Let’s be honest, RCG IT infrastructure is no where close to automatically doing this for everyone. Heck, they couldn’t figure out Premier Pass was a Celebrity product. I could go on and on about all of the IT blunders.
informative vid. Unfortunately I don't wanna do all my drinking in a 2 hour window. I like the voucher system.
I like the voucher system too Michael! I use them for my espresso drinks!
are you a non drinker ? Why would you use drink vouchers worth up to $14 on coffee drinks worth only about $6 ? I love my espresso too, but I pay for those and save the vouchers for something a little stronger LOL
haha that is exactly it Micahel! I don't drink alcohol, so my expensive drink options are fairly limited. They do have a few non-alcholic options at the bar but I can't always find them.@@michaelvitale4029
Great info bc this “matching status” is smoke & mirrors except a very select cruise line.
It is true! Wish they would elevate this matching program but no luck.
Thank you!
Royal’s program used to be similar before the increased the hours to 24 consecutive hours.
Both increase at the Plus level.
It maybe worth checking out what the percentage discounts on full packages are too. Recently, I waited until closer to the end of the cruise to cash in my hubby’s discount and paid slightly over $5 a day as at plus we got a 75% discount. Please note I was on Azamara, when they were still using the Celebrity rules although I had never checked the percentages before.
Yes, I did the conversion the other way. I began at Diamond and now have enough Royal points that I am now working toward Diamond Plus. Most of my Royal points were done in Oceanview too! At least that’s how remember them.
You are smart to play the "short gam" right now as cruises are getting cheaper within a few months of sailing before skyrocketing again
Thanks for explaining this, Brandon.
Yea, that seems a bit rough that Celebrity groups all 3 tiers of Royal Caribbean's Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club into their Elite level. I guess since Celebrity's highest level of Zenith starts at 3,000 points... so, if I would book an inside cabin at 2 points per night, it would take me 1,500 nights to reach Celebrity's highest tier of Zenith. (More than double RC's 700 nights to reach Pinnacle.) But, maybe Celebrity could at least match Pinnacle Club to their 2nd highest tier of Elite Plus?
You would think? With other cruise lines doing a solid match into their highest tiers, it amazes me that Royal does not do this. Yes, Zenith will not be happening for me on Celebrity. You also do not get double points for solo cruising! 😂
If I understand correctly, if I'm a C&A Diamond member, and go on a Celebrity cruise, I'll get Celebrity "Elite" perks, but not actually "Elite" tier status because it's only my first cruise with them. Kind of like if I was a C&A Gold member but with Diamond perks. Each cruise line doesn't count the other's cruises on its tier status - you just get reciprical courtesy perks. Right? This has never made sense to me because Royal and Celebrity are in the same corporation - your status should move at the same rate in both lines, allowing you to switch back and forth while still gaining equal status points with each cruise, regardless which line you sail on. In other words, it should just be Royal Caribbean International status, which can be applied to any and all of their cruise lines. In essence, if you're trying to work on your membership status with one line, you're kind of wasting a cruise by sailing with the other line, even with the reciprocal perks.
You are thinking about it correctly. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have a reciprocal agreement, it is not a status match which provide you the benefits of Celebrity's Elite. Keep in mind, they do not give you the points for elite. For you to move to Elite Plus, you will need to earn all of the elite points and then the elite plus points on Celebrity sailings. This is a concept I have thought and talked a lot about recently. There are currently no cruise companies that operate in this fashion and each cruise line operates their loyalty program independently. I too wish Royal would consolidate programs but this would be considered very progressive and doing something no one has done before. Time will tell!
Very disappointed there are no points awarded/provided for cruises on Celebrity for Royal Crown and Anchor. This is an extremely unfortunate missed opportunity and will result in a negative perception and perspective for a “true” one for one. Suggest they revisit the points awarded!!!
Hey David, that could be coming in time! I think this is a good first step in truly merging the programs - currently, there is no way to sail on Royal and Celebrity and accrue points for the other because the way of earning points is very different. Check out the video from this week on the new announcement that goes into the fine print and details (this is the old video) ruclips.net/video/ku0GanhwFp8/видео.html
We were told that it only can be done once..additional points earned on RCL do not transfer...has it changed?
Hey Beverly, the matching should be happening automatic in the background. If you were Platnium and now you Diamond going on Celebrity you will take the higher status. If that doesn't carry over, I would speak with Loyalty Ambassador as the benefit list says you have earned the reciprocal status. Hope this helps!
Since Royal and Celebrity are owned by the same company, the carry over makes sense.
It does! Just surprised it isn't a like for like match. That would be very nice! Glad they offer what they do though as giving up benefits on a cruise line with status is tough!
You cannot beat RC’s loyalty perks.
True story.
I am an Elite on celebrity missing a few points to getting Elite Plus. If I book a cruise on Royal Caribbean do I get points to advance to Elite Plus?
Hey there! Check out my new video where I break this down (you found the old one). Quick answer is now, you only earn points on the cruise line you are sailing. ruclips.net/video/ku0GanhwFp8/видео.html
Is it possible to "transfer" my MSC Status to RC or Celebrity Cruise Lines?!?!
It sure is!! Made a video on this a bit ago if you want to check it out: ruclips.net/video/YKdArfF5ZgU/видео.html
So if I link my royal with celebrity I won’t lose my status with royal?
No. The programs will operate independently and you will not loose any status or points. They have a reciprocal agreement where if you have status with Royal, he will automatically get status with celebrity if it is linked in your account
I heard the status matching is no longer a thing anymore.
If you are with RCL or Celebrity and have status, you can still auto match between the two. Even when Royal Caribbean just re-did it's benefit sheet last week, it is still there.
Thank you for the information. I’m loyal to royal but I am thinking about doing the status match with Celebrity.
My question for you is when you are doing the status match, do you start at the minimum points for that Celebrity status category or are you just put in the Celebrity status at 0 points?
Thanks in advance.
Hey Jake, it is the latter. You are put in the Celebrity category with zero points. Every sailing you take will give you more points until you have enough to move out of that category.
So if I understand this right, if I need 4 more nights to reach next status on Royal it won’t help me to take a 4 night cruise on Celebrity before doing my next Royal cruise?
The cruise lines match your existing level but don’t actually help ADD to it?
That is correct! They match but any points you earn on one line will stay on that line and only count towards it's program.
🛳🛳🛳Wish Carnival would do this with lines underneath their umbrella🛳🛳🛳
Surprised to hear they don't do this either! Granted, Carnival has a TON of brands under them. But at least to Princess ;-)