Royal Caribbean Group is making it easier for frequent cruisers to enjoy loyalty benefits across its cruise lines by introducing a comprehensive status-matching program.
Effective June 5, the Royal Caribbean Group, which includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea, will offer a seamless one-for-one status match across its brands, the company announced to Travel + Leisure. This update applies to members of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, and Silversea’s Venetian Society.
Previously, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises offered limited status matching, and Silversea was excluded from the program. The new initiative guarantees equivalent tier benefits across all three brands.
“We strive to provide guests with experiences within our portfolio of brands that meet them for all of life’s moments,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, in a statement to Travel + Leisure. “Each of our differentiated brands has passionate fans who take pride in the status they’ve achieved through repeat sailings. In a first for the cruise industry, our new Loyalty Status Match program rewards guests traveling across our brands, and this is one more step in our journey of transforming a vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations.”
Under this new program, passengers will enjoy reciprocal benefits corresponding to their status tier. For instance, Diamond Crown & Anchor Society members sailing on a Celebrity ship will automatically receive Elite Captain’s Club benefits.
Travelers already enrolled in multiple programs will be automatically matched across brands within seven days. However, loyalty points will not be combinable across brands.
Frequent cruisers earn status through multiple nights of sailing, receiving perks such as discounts on alcohol, internet packages, and more.
While status matching is common among airlines, it is less prevalent in the cruise industry. However, competitors like MSC Cruises also offer status matching with other cruise lines, hotels, or tour operators.