Crown and Anchor Society explained: points, tiers and useful benefits

How Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society earns points and tiers, what some benefits include, and how household status, status matching and Points Choice differ.

Published by Greg M., Editor in Chief · Updated November 7, 2026

Crown and Anchor Society is Royal Caribbean International’s loyalty program. You earn Cruise Points for eligible sailing nights, with extra points possible for qualifying suites, solo fares and offers. Your qualifying points determine your tier. This guide explains how points are earned, what the tiers are, a few benefits worth knowing about and who can use them, and how household recognition, status matching and Points Choice differ. It describes the program for US residents booking in US dollars, using Royal Caribbean’s current program rules and benefit terms.

An example: from 75 points to Diamond

Suppose a traveler has 75 Cruise Points, all earned on their own sailings. That puts them in Emerald, which starts at 55. They book an eligible seven-night sailing in a standard (non-suite) cabin, paying the usual double-occupancy fare with their membership number on the booking, and no bonus-point offer applies.

At one point per night, the sailing earns 7 points: 75 + 7 = 82. Diamond starts at 80, so they reach Diamond.

They don’t become Diamond partway through that cruise. Royal Caribbean’s credit-timing FAQ says the new benefits begin on a later sailing once the completed cruise’s points have posted; they don’t begin mid-cruise. So Diamond benefits start on their next sailing after the points post.

The next tier, Diamond Plus, starts at 175. At the same base rate, that’s 93 more nights (175 − 82 = 93).

Who can join, and why your account is yours alone

Membership is free. Royal Caribbean enrolls eligible guests automatically when they complete their first sailing, and you can join earlier. Under-18s need a parent’s or guardian’s consent, and corporations and groups can’t be members.

Every account belongs to one person. The program rules (effective January 30, 2026; checked November 7, 2026) say no joint or shared accounts are allowed, “even if you reside within the same household”. Points aren’t property and have no cash value.

How Cruise Points are earned

• One point per night. You earn one Cruise Point for each night of an eligible sailing.
• Suites can earn an extra point per night. The rules add a point per night for listed suite categories. The category you paid for counts, not the one you end up in, so a complimentary, promotional or reduced-rate upgrade, including one through RoyalUp, doesn’t ordinarily earn extra points. The rules exclude loyalty promotions from that restriction; check the specific offer’s terms. Check that your exact category qualifies: the program’s lists don’t fully agree (see “What this guide doesn’t settle”).
• Solo travelers can earn an extra point per night when they pay the single pricing type for a double-occupancy cabin.
• Your membership number has to be on the booking when it’s made.
• Some reduced fares don’t earn. The rules exclude sailings bought at a reduced cruise fare and list examples such as employee, friends-and-family, travel agent, vendor, interline, charter and net rates. That isn’t a statement about ordinary public sales. If your rate is unusual, ask before you rely on the points.

Points are added after the sailing ends. The governing rules say within 30 business days of disembarkation. Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor overview page says within 30 days. The rules are the governing terms, so don’t count on the shorter window.

The overview also says “points never expire”. That’s Royal Caribbean’s statement about points, not a promise that tiers, benefits or the program won’t change: the rules let Royal Caribbean change or end the program, sometimes without notice.

The six tiers

The thresholds are from the program rules. The rules don’t say whether a tier has to be requalified for, so this guide doesn’t say either way.

A few benefits, and who can use them

Royal Caribbean’s benefit terms list dozens of items. These are a few that show how the rules work. The terms say they apply to sailings departing September 1, 2026 and later (benefits and supplemental terms, checked November 7, 2026). This isn’t a full list of what each tier gets.

• A drink discount from Gold up. Members at every tier get 50% off a single glass of wine, beer or soda, twice per sailing.
• Daily drink vouchers from Diamond up. Diamond members get 4 vouchers a day, Diamond Plus 5 and Pinnacle Club 6. Each covers a drink up to $14; the terms list different amounts on some sailings outside the US. The vouchers belong to the member, and youth members of the same tier get the same number for non-alcoholic drinks. Their value to you depends on what you’d actually have bought.
• Crown Lounge from Diamond up. The terms reserve the lounge for Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members, and say “Guests and friends of members are not permitted”. Anyone under 21 admitted to the lounge must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Royal Caribbean’s FAQ adds that Diamond access may be restricted at peak evening hours on busy sailings.
• A reduced single supplement from 340 earned points. The terms offer eligible solo members a 150% rate, or 125% on specified routes of at least five nights. Availability and capacity limits apply. Ocean Voyage Packages, listed holidays, June 1–August 15 departures and ships in their first 365 days are excluded. Check the full terms before treating a sailing as eligible.
• Complimentary milestone cruises from 700 earned points. These are per household, with category, itinerary, availability and cost limits. Timing matters: the terms tie the benefit to the milestone sailing and otherwise say it is forfeited; a milestone reached through Points Choice has a separate next-eligible-sailing rule. Taxes, fees and other excluded costs remain payable. Read the full benefit terms before planning around it.

As these show, who can use a benefit varies: some are for the member only, some extend to youth members of the same tier, and some are per household. There’s no single rule for guests, so check the terms for the specific benefit.

Four things that are easy to confuse

1. Points you earned. Your balance records your own Cruise Points, including any eligible additional points. It is not necessarily your number of nights sailed. You can’t pool balances with another member.

2. Household tier recognition. You can link your account to a family member in your household with whom you have a qualifying relationship, and sail with their tier’s benefits. The rules define the relationship as a spouse or significant other, a verified child under 18 at the same address, or an unrelated adult who has shared a stateroom with you for 10 or more sailings. For Pinnacle Club it’s narrower: a spouse or significant other at the same address. Your own points don’t change.

Example. Suppose two partners at the same address link their accounts. One has the 82 points from the example above, and the other has earned 31. While linked, the second partner can sail with Diamond-tier benefits; Royal Caribbean’s FAQ says the higher total is displayed. Their own balance is still 31, which is Platinum on its own, and the two balances aren’t added together. If the relationship ends, each tier goes back to the points that person earned.

There’s an important limit. Section 4.2.a of the rules covers status-match members and others who hold a tier without its corresponding earned points. Our reading is that a household-linked tier is not a shortcut to benefits that require your own earned points. Confirm those benefits against your own balance. The listed examples include milestone cruises, some Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club amenities, the reduced single supplement and the “Cheers with an Officer” event.

3. Status matching with Celebrity and Silversea. If you’re a member of Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club or Silversea’s Venetian Society as well, Royal Caribbean matches your status across the programs at the highest level you’ve qualified for in any of them, using the equivalents in its status match chart and rules. The tiers have different names and the benefits aren’t identical, and the same earned-points limit applies to matched status.

4. Points Choice. This decides which program a sailing’s points go to. You can ask for the Cruise Points from a Royal Caribbean sailing to be converted into Captain’s Club or Venetian Society points at the rates in the rules. You can request it any time before the sailing, up to 14 days after it ends. The conversion has firm limits:

• It moves points only between your own accounts.
• It moves all of that sailing’s eligible points, not some of them.
• Bonus and solo-traveler points can’t move, and are forfeited when you request a transfer.
• Once requested, it can’t be cancelled or changed.

Moving points the other way is requested through the other program, under that program’s terms. Points Choice isn’t a way to pool points with someone else or to spend points.

Before you rely on a benefit

• Check the tier you’ll actually have when the sailing departs, after your last cruise’s points have posted.
• Read the benefit’s own terms for who it covers, when it’s available, and any ship, venue or capacity limits.
• If your tier comes from a household link or a status match, check whether the benefit needs points you earned yourself.
• If the suite bonus matters to your choice of cabin, confirm that your exact category earns it before you book.

Loyalty perks are one part of choosing a cruise. TravelTutor’s guide to cruise loyalty programs shows how to weigh perks against the price and the sailing itself.

What this guide doesn’t settle

• Which suites earn the extra point. The program rules list suite categories ending “GS, IS”, and the overview page lists them ending “GS, JS”. We haven’t resolved the difference, so check your exact category with Royal Caribbean.
• Posting time. The rules say within 30 business days; the overview page says within 30 days.
• Whether tiers last for life. The overview says points never expire, but the rules we read don’t address requalification.
• Every benefit for every tier. We’ve described a few benefits from Royal Caribbean’s terms, not the full list.
• A general rule for companions. Guest access depends on the benefit.

This guide describes Royal Caribbean’s published terms as checked on November 7, 2026. It isn’t a review of the cruise line, and the program can change. Check the current terms before you book.