Royal Caribbean might have one of the best cruise line loyalty programs in the entire cruise industry, so you'll want to take maximize all of your benefits.
From my early days of cruising, I was impressed how much you get on your ship after just a few cruises from Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society.
There are discounts offered for drinks, spa treatments, packages, and more. While the best loyalty benefits are available beginning with the Diamond level, every discount helps.
After you take just one cruise, you automatically qualify to be a member of Crown and Anchor, and that means you can start getting onboard benefits with your next sailing.
You'll earn one point for every night you sail, and the more points you accrue, the higher you move up within Royal Caribbean's program.
It seems most cruisers are aware of the offers, but may not know how to use them all. Here's an easy explanation of how to use your cruise offers and discounts.
View your list of benefits
Before your can redeem your benefits, you need to know what you have.
Waiting in your stateroom will be a list of every discount you have, and you can refer to this sheet during your sailing. The paper is always on the desk in your cabin.
Everyone has their own set of benefits, including your kids. Minors have similar benefits to adults, with a few tweaks.
If the paper is not there, you can stop by the Loyalty Ambassador's desk onboard to get a list and verify it has you eligible for discounts in their system.
It's your responsibility to be aware of them and know which ones you've already used.
I recommend taking a photo of it so you have a copy to easily refer to, although you could fold it up and keep it in your pocket too.
Examples of what's offered
To give you an idea of what's available, here are a few of the most useful rewards that will be available onboard.
Keep in mind as you move up the levels, benefits stack. So something you got in Gold, you'd continue to get in Platinum.
Gold
- 50% off any glass of wine, beer or soda (two coupons per sailing)
- 50% off a Johnny Rockets milkshake (two coupons per sailing, on select ships)
- 25% discount on any coffee beverage, excluding Starbucks coffee
- $2 in Free Play at shipboard casinos
Platinum
- 50% discount on any coffee beverage, excluding Starbucks coffee
- $4 in Free Play at shipboard casinos
- 15% discount on any spa service (excluding medi-spa services)
- $5 off $25 dry-clean or press
- 3 free cards when buying a bingo package
Emerald
- 2 complimentary welcome waters (per adult)
- $6 in Free Play at shipboard casinos
Diamond
- 4 complimentary daily drinks up to $14 (excludes Starbucks, Bionic Bar, and Desserted)
- 1 free day of internet
- 1 free digital or printed photo
Diamond Plus
- 5 complimentary daily drinks up to $14 (excludes Starbucks, Bionic Bar, and Desserted)
- 2 free days of internet (for 1 device)
- 3 complimentary welcome waters (per adult)
- BOGO specialty restaurant cover charge during the first or second night of your cruise
- Single supplement cruise fare reduced to 150% from 200% for members that have 340+ cruise points
Pinnacle Club
- 6 complimentary daily drinks up to $14 (excludes Starbucks, Bionic Bar, and Desserted)
- Free cruise at 700 points (and more thereafter)
- Free unlimited internet for 1 device
Most aren't available before the cruise begins
While there are some minor Crown and Anchor benefits you can use before the cruise begins, all the discounts are only redeemable on the ship.
As an example, you cannot "stack" a drink package discount offered by the Diamond Plus tier with the pre-cruise discount Royal Caribbean offers.
There are a few Crown and Anchor discounts available while at home, but I find they rarely get used.
There's a balcony discount that begins at the Platinum level, but it's not combinable with other discounts. So in practice, it's rarely useful because of the constant sales Royal Caribbean offers that block Crown and Anchor option.
Another so-called benefit is when a new deployment is released, Crown and Anchor members are supposed to get a 24 hour head start on the general public to buy them.
While Royal Caribbean does advertise this, the reality is anyone can book a cruise.
Crown and Anchor benefits require you to ask for them
Don't worry about the pre-cruise benefits, because the real savings are once you're on the ship.
Essentially, all those discounts you see on the sheet are loaded onto your SeaPass card automatically. Years ago there were paper coupons, but those were discontinued a long time ago.
If you want to use your coupon, you need to ask to use it. Some crew members will see you have a coupon and may ask if you want to redeem it. In my experience, this happens less than half the time.
For example, when you order a glass of wine and give the bartender your SeaPass card, you just need to tell that person you want to apply the 50% off glass of wine discount.
You should get a receipt with the discount shown there, but it's a good idea to double check your SeaPass account periodically to verify it's been applied.
It sounds easy enough, but I've found it's somewhat difficult to remember you have them and then ask to use them.
All of your rewards are "use them or lose them", so you can't save them for another cruise (even if you're doing a back to back sailing).
The most valuable Crown and Anchor benefit
Without a doubt, I think the most lucrative reward that Royal Caribbean bestows on its customers are the daily drink vouchers that begin at the Diamond level.
When you reach Diamond level, you're entitled to four complimentary drinks per day across the ship, including alcoholic beverages
You get the four drinks every day, and many people think of it like an almost free drink package.
I'm not aware of any other cruise line that gives away that many extra cost beverages every day of the cruise.
