Royal Caribbean Group Updates Its Status-matching Program — What to Know

Royal Caribbean Group is making it easier for frequent cruisers to reap the benefits of their loyalty by matching their status across each of its cruise lines.

Starting June 5, Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea, will provide a one-for-one status match across any of its brands, the cruise company shared with Travel + Leisure. Status matching applies to members of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, or Silversea’s Venetian Society.

Currently, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises provide some status matching, but travelers are not guaranteed the equivalent tier. Previously, Silversea was not included its status-matching program.

“We strive to provide guests with experiences within our portfolio of brands that meet them for all of life’s moments,” Jason Liberty, the president and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, said in a statement shared with T+L. “Each of our differentiated brands have 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.”

As part of the initiative, passengers who travel with one of Royal Caribbean Group’s cruise lines will now enjoy reciprocal benefits associated with their equivalent status tier. For example, Diamond Crown & Anchor Society members who sail on a Celebrity ship will automatically receive the benefits that come with Elite Captain’s Club’s status.

Royal Caribbean added travelers who are already enrolled in multiple programs will also be automatically status matched across each of the brands within seven days. However, points won’t be combinable across brands.

Travelers earn status by sailing for multiple nights and receive benefits like discounts on alcohol, Internet packages, and more. 

While status matching is quite common for airlines, it is less so in the cruise world. But it’s not unheard of as competitor MSC Cruises similarly allows guests to request a status match with other cruise lines, hotels, or tour operators.