WHY the big goal to become Pinacle ?? ..

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Bucky wears his only for events, or formal night.   Me, I try to wear it when I can, and am sometimes actually shocked at unexpected doors that become open to us.  

 

If wearing my pin annoys the paranoid types...then yes...my job is done.  😄 

Love your spunk. If I were pinnacle I'd do the same especially now reading some of the posts on this thread. Crazy thing now that I think about it, I never noticed you or Bucky wearing your pins. 

[fla gang]

I would just like the wifi to work!

[cruisegirl1]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

That requires one viewing making pinnacle as similar to the miracle of having a child.  I can’t imagine anyone could compare the two.  I most certainly wouldn’t have tears in my eyes if I hit 700 points.  

Given the age of many pinnacles, conceiving would be more news worthy than reaching 700 C&A points. 
 

I would have tears, but for a different reason  😄
m

[yogimax]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

 I’m going to work hard to make sure she prioritizes the simple things in life and not status or materialistic things.  Gotta keep them all grounded!!!   

Well said!

[island lady]

39 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Love your spunk. If I were pinnacle I'd do the same especially now reading some of the posts on this thread. Crazy thing now that I think about it, I never noticed you or Bucky wearing your pins. 

 

We tend to be sneaky.  😉 

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

We tend to be sneaky.  😉 

Or I'm not to observant. Plus proves Kathy is wrong. I do keep my eyes at eye level. 😇 

[ALKID]

Its a very big deal to some people, almost as big of a deal to obtain 20,000 posts on cruise critic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

[Mikew0805]

On 8/7/2022 at 2:41 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

It never cost you a thing if you were planning on talking all of the other cruises regardless of whether Royal offered a free cruise or not.

That is how I feel about casino comps. They are free for me! I would have gambled anyway!

 

 

To stay on topic - Pinnacle was not the goal, the goal was to be on cruise ships as much as possible. Pinnacle is just one of many results of that goal. 

[Mikew0805]

9 hours ago, sandebeach said:

We finally received our Pinnacle pins in the mail last Monday. My husband, who always said he would never wear a pin, has been wearing his constantly on this cruise. And I told him he looks very Handsome!!

What month did you cross 700? I am thinking I will not see mine until at least December.

[sandebeach]

53 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

What month did you cross 700? I am thinking I will not see mine until at least December.

March 4 on the Wonder. So almost 5 months. 

[island lady]

17 hours ago, davekathy said:

Or I'm not to observant. Plus proves Kathy is wrong. I do keep my eyes at eye level. 😇 

 

LOL!!  😄 

[Vibe]

I like to cruise many cruise lines because I enjoy the variety and differences between them. If I only cruised with Royal Caribbean, I would have been Pinnacle years ago however I am close to becoming Pinnacle.

 

Once I become Pinnacle, I will NOT wear my pin. I do not see why I would want to walk around the ship on my vacation wearing a name tag. I feel that is showing off to other guests and intimidates the already stressed and hardworking crew making them feel that they have to kiss my butt, which is not necessary.  This is my opinion and do not expect everyone to agree.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Vibe

[island lady]

To choose to...or not to choose to.   That is makes us unique.  Choice. 

 

Thank goodness we are not all alike.  What a boring world that would be.  😉 

[twangster]

10 minutes ago, Vibe said:

Once I become Pinnacle, I will NOT wear my pin.

 

I used to say that too.  

 

It's not a matter of having a butt kissed.  That doesn't happen.  It does open doors that are not opened when the pin is off.  It's hard to explain but you'll see once you get there.  Keep an open mind.  

[island lady]

Just now, twangster said:

 

 It does open doors that are not opened when the pin is off.  It's hard to explain but you'll see once you get there.  Keep an open mind.  

 

Hey...where did I see that?  😉   Indeed, that was the surprising thing I had not expected.  

[ReneeFLL]

On 8/8/2022 at 6:23 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Most of the Diamonds and Diamond + I know still get the drink package. As others have stated countless times on this site, the drink package includes a lot more than just alcohol (water, soda, speciality coffees, etc.). I know I would spend a lot more money on a cruise if I didn’t get the drink package just based on all the Pellagrino I drink every day. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration but reinforces that the drink package is a lot more that just being about drinking alcohol. 

We bought the drink package 1 time before we made diamond. It was for a TP with a lot of sea days. After that we said never again. Some days we would drink 5 - 6 drinks a day (yes I know it includes other drinks also), but other days it would only be 1 - 3 drinks. For us it wasn’t worth it, but I know for others it is. The 5 free drinks a day is usually enough. Now with the prices we would definitely not get it. I also know many diamond and up who never buy the package.

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[cruisegirl1]

A few months ago on Mariner, our waiter found out we were pinnacle. He asked us to wear our  badges in the dining room. He told us he wanted the other waiters to know that he was waiting on a pinnacle couple. That was a first for us.  (We rarely wear our badges).

m 
 

 

[davekathy]

All this pinnacle badge/pin talk, now I'm going to be obsessed with seeing who is wearing a pinnacle badge/pin on our next cruise. So much for redeeming myself by keeping my eyes at eye level. 👀

[island lady]

12 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

A few months ago on Mariner, our waiter found out we were pinnacle. He asked us to wear our  badges in the dining room. He told us he wanted the other waiters to know that he was waiting on a pinnacle couple. That was a first for us.  (We rarely wear our badges).

m 
 

 

 

I was sheepish at first to wear it...considering the Pinnacle bashers you find on CC (happily in the minority)...but kind of the same thing happened. 

 

Even with the D+ pin...we would be surprised at how many crew members actually thanked me for wearing it.   Each one, same reason...they told me they love to see us be proud of their family.  🥰

[island lady]

8 minutes ago, davekathy said:

All this pinnacle badge/pin talk, now I'm going to be obsessed with seeing who is wearing a pinnacle badge/pin on our next cruise. So much for redeeming myself by keeping my eyes at eye level. 👀

 

I notice shoes!!   I remember when we were commenting on Kathy's shoes...I loved them...and had no idea they were therapy shoes.  😊

 

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, island lady said:

 

I notice shoes!!   I remember when we were commenting on Kathy's shoes...I loved them...and had no idea they were therapy shoes.  😊

 

She hates them, but she likes them as they make her feet happy and still can walk as she no longer can wear off the shelf shoes of any type/style.

 

So does your little stuffed cruise escort animal get to wear a pinnacle pin along with the other CAS tier level pins?  

[alfaeric]

Just turned on our last cruise, and I wasn’t going to wear our pins…. But thanks to the vitriol against pinnacles, I will certainly wear it. 
 

This reminds me of the lanyard discussions, where people were Soooo upset that people would not use their pockets. All I can say is if you are going to let someone else’s appearance ruin your vacation, you have some serious problems. As for the crew, when anyone noticed we were d+, they would not stress out at all. It’s how they are treated that stresses them out, so be nice. We had a long talk about being a pinnacle to a bartender we were friends with- and pointed out that the crew is a significant reason we have cruised so many times to reach pinnacle- he got that, and appreciated that. 

[Mikew0805]

4 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

A few months ago on Mariner, our waiter found out we were pinnacle. He asked us to wear our  badges in the dining room. He told us he wanted the other waiters to know that he was waiting on a pinnacle couple. That was a first for us.  (We rarely wear our badges).

m 
 

 

That would be a request I would turn the waiter down on. We have no intention of wearing them, and they will sit on the shelf with our blocks, stratum, etc. I do like them, I just will not wear them. My preference only. Nothing to do with nothing, just not my preference.

[LobsterStalker]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:50 PM, topnole said:

I think a lot of pinnacles cruised just to increase their status along the way.   Sure, for some it just happens.  But there are many right now knocking the heck out of the double points strategizing even more points with single cabins.  Even before double points couples would get 2 cabins just for the extra points.  If double points weren’t offered many wouldn’t do that.  
 

Now I’m not criticizing any of that, but to pretend that all the pinnacles cruised a bunch and one day just realized they are close to pinnacle is probably not even close to accurate.  

 

For many years many frequent cruisers were doing everything possible to get more points to get to the next level.  Folks used to do short cruises back to back because it got them 2 points vs 1.  Folks used to cruise all December just to get the double Diamond points.  And folks now are purposefully sailing solo a bunch to rack up tons of points making near quantum gains in status in a very short order.  None of this behavior is along the lines of “I’m just cruising and the points and status are what they are” type of behavior.   Lots of pinnacles strategized a great deal to squeeze out every point possible just to climb more in status.  Again, not criticizing it, just being realistic.  This happens with airline status, hotel status, etc.  Most people strategize a bunch to maximize their output for a given input.  It is just human behavior.  

If any of this statement is to be taken as a critisicm , that would be sooo wrong. 

The fact that people 'strategize' constantly should not be viewed as a critisicm but rather should be applauded ! Some may feel that using loyalty programs to thier full advantage is nickel and diming , but that would be a dead wrong assumption. I use every loyalty program possible to full advantage including grocery and pharmacy / entertainment /credit card points / air miles programs etc. to maximize the benefit, and unless you work them to full potential you would never believe the benefits you can achieve. I have redeemed for well over 40k in value on different programs {most of them free to join}and still have stockpiles waiting to be used . 

That being said I have done this for the purpose of maximized financial benefit and not for the purpose of acheiving any kind of ststus.

Everyone needs groceries/gas/pharmacy etc. If i can spend 700$ to get 1000$ in value simply by doing a little 'strategizing 'its only common sense.

Same goes for cruising. Everybody needs to cruise .. If you can spend 700$ for every 1000$ in value to get what you needed , youd be foolish to do it any other way !

Kudos !

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Just turned on our last cruise, and I wasn’t going to wear our pins…. But thanks to the vitriol against pinnacles, I will certainly wear it. 

 

No vitriol from me.... I bow in solemn reverence whenever I see a Pin-pin.