What's it cost to make Pinnacle?

[island lady]

13 hours ago, SRF said:

 

I just don't get motor homes.   They are big and unwieldy, and then you still have to cook and clean your house (RV).  I would rather drive a nice vehicle and stay in a hotel. 😄

 

I do have friends who sold their house when they retired and lived exclusively in an RV for several years seeing the US.  Then sold it and bought a house.

 

I don't get them as a "vacation."

 

Yeah, so many different choices in vacation mode.  😉 

 

RV living:

 

1.  We were able to take our "girls" my four footed fur babies as we traveled for weeks at a time. 

2.  I love to cook...so cooking in the RV with my own pots/pans and dishware was nice.

3.  No packing and unpacking (kind of like cruising).  

4. Able to drag the Jeep behind us that had our kayaks on top, and use both as we set up in parks.

5. Cleaning an RV is a whole lot quicker and easier than a whole house.  😉 

6. I knew who had slept in bed from brand new...no one but us.  😄 

 

Girls were taken by the demon cancer...so we have since sold the RV and now cruise and the land travel is VRBO rental homes.  

[island lady]

13 hours ago, orville99 said:

This presumes one starts out with a goal of becoming Pinnacle, and plots the most cost effective way to get there. For us, Pinnacle was never a goal - we just love the sea and sailing away from all the chaos that exists on land. We had 20+ cruises on other lines before we were forced to switch to RCL when our go to ship on another cruise line repo’d to Europe (for the first time in that line’s history) and RCL was the only available option that fit our schedule. We continued to switch back and forth between lines for a few more years before we finally decided that RCL fit our lifestyle better than any of the available alternatives. We have always cruised 4-6 times a year (we try to never let more than 60-90 days go between cruises), and RCL just fit.

 

Pinnacle just sort of crept up and happened….

 

This exactly ^  😉 

[parrotfeathers]

I'll never make Pinnacle (or Diamond + for that matter).  But I've met a few really nice Pinnaclers.   My sis in law and I enjoy being in a suite and also have to pay ginormous air fare with layover in Atlanta, plus a hotel stay the night before.  

[aubreyc1988]

Imho, the best way is if you did solo cruises comped through the casino as much as you could.

[orville99]

31 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Imho, the best way is if you did solo cruises comped through the casino as much as you could.

How much money does one have to lose on each cruise in order to receive a "free" comped cruise? As my dad used to say, "the only way to leave Las Vegas with a small fortune is to enter Las Vegas with a large fortune."🤑

Edited November 6, 2022 by orville99

[aubreyc1988]

18 minutes ago, orville99 said:

How much money does one have to lose on each cruise in order to receive a "free" comped cruise? As my dad used to say, "the only way to leave Las Vegas with a small fortune is to enter Las Vegas with a large fortune."🤑

Depends. Sometimes you can get lucky. I spent 900.00 on Liberty in Sept. I got Prime, which gets me free drinks in casino and 1 free cruise in 2023. In addition to that, I have gotten around 7-8 free cruise offers since then, have taken Allure in October for free in an Oceanview with free drinks in the casino and done the Freedom last week in an oceanview with free drinks. I won 800.00 profit on Allure and I broke even on the freedom. I have the Harmony in a balcony booked for April, also with free drinks. I think the 900.00 I spent is really working for me 🙂

Edited November 6, 2022 by aubreyc1988

[cruiselvr04]

Okay we don’t enter the casino but maybe we should?  Free cruises sound good!  

[island lady]

Hmmm...who is paying the bill for all the equipment, employees, drinks, etc. in the casino?  😉 

[AlohaLivin]

22 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Free cruises sound good!  

Free is a bit of a misnomer 🙂 But there can be some pretty good perks from losing your money in the casino! I try to lose just enough to make it where I come out slightly ahead, we shall see if that holds over time.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[cruiselvr04]

We aren’t trying to reach Pinnacle but will take it if it comes.  Only half way there…..
 

We have been looking at all the options now that we’re getting to retirement.  For now we are doing Airbnb or similar for longer trips and hotels or B and B’s for short ones.  Cruising is not all we do but right now it’s most of our travel.  We’ve looked at Rv’s, 399 sq ft homes near the grands, lots of options.  

[orville99]

26 minutes ago, island lady said:

Hmmm...who is paying the bill for all the equipment, employees, drinks, etc. in the casino?  😉 

 

22 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

Free is a bit of a misnomer 🙂 But there can be some pretty good perks from losing your money in the casino! I try to lose just enough to make it where I come out slightly ahead, we shall see if that holds over time.

 

 

Ran in to a person on turnaround day on a recent B2B who told us they lost enough in the casino the week before on a “free” cruise that they could have booked and paid for an Owner’s suite instead.

[maria1122]

It was easy for us…….we just left our first born on the ship in exchange.   He now has a great job in the laundry.

[aubreyc1988]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

 

Ran in to a person on turnaround day on a recent B2B who told us they lost enough in the casino the week before on a “free” cruise that they could have booked and paid for an Owner’s suite instead.

I mean, of course there are people who do that, but you can also not. It's all about cycling your money through the machines. Sometimes you can get on a really good streak and cycle lots...just depends. Never gamble what you can't afford to throw out the window and not cry about. 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I mean, of course there are people who do that, but you can also not. It's all about cycling your money through the machines. Sometimes you can get on a really good streak and cycle lots...just depends. Never gamble what you can't afford to throw out the window and not cry about. 

Or, just never gamble...😇

[firefly333]

Took me about 20 years to get here. I cant remember even what cruises cost 20 years ago. People really keep track of how much they spent? 

[Cigar King]

9 hours ago, orville99 said:

How much money does one have to lose on each cruise in order to receive a "free" comped cruise?

My wife did it last year for 50 bucks.  This year, she's got ~1500 points for $350.00 so far.

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Depends. Sometimes you can get lucky. I spent 900.00 on Liberty in Sept. I got Prime, which gets me free drinks in casino and 1 free cruise in 2023. In addition to that, I have gotten around 7-8 free cruise offers since then, have taken Allure in October for free in an Oceanview with free drinks in the casino and done the Freedom last week in an oceanview with free drinks. I won 800.00 profit on Allure and I broke even on the freedom. I have the Harmony in a balcony booked for April, also with free drinks. I think the 900.00 I spent is really working for me 🙂

Remember as a prime member you get 30% off internet onboard too!   

Use your free day or two if D or D+ then ask voom desk to apply your 30% discount.

Usually comes out cheaper than sales on cruise planner.   

We have been prime for several years and both have had some great offers over the years.   

We definitely get our money's worth of free drinks in casino as prime.   Haven't bought a drink pkg for several years.

As i said early on this thread, IMO, if someone really wants to be Pinnacle becoming prime or signature is your cheapest way.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[aubreyc1988]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Remember as a prime member you get 30% off internet onboard too!   

Use your free day or two if D or D+ then ask voom desk to apply your 30% discount.

Usually comes out cheaper than sales on cruise planner.   

We have been prime for several years and both have had some great offers over the years.   

We definitely get our money's worth of free drinks in casino as prime.   Haven't bought a drink pkg for several years.

As i said early on this thread, IMO, if someone really wants to be Pinnacle becoming prime or signature is your cheapest way.

Exactly. 

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

Or, just never gamble...😇

I mean, yes of course that is an option too. I am simply saying if the goal is to reach pinnacle as fast/cheaply as possible, becoming prime or signature and sailing comped in a solo cabin is the way to go. 

[molly361]

9 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Took me about 20 years to get here. I cant remember even what cruises cost 20 years ago. People really keep track of how much they spent? 

I have a spreadsheet with the cost of every cruise (just the cruise fare) and the per day cost. 

 

[zebra36]

? for the casino comp cruisers Do you also get C&A tier benefits on these cruises such as access to the appropriate lounges, laundry, and daily drink allowance outside of the casino?

[Sunshine3601]

17 hours ago, orville99 said:

 

Ran in to a person on turnaround day on a recent B2B who told us they lost enough in the casino the week before on a “free” cruise that they could have booked and paid for an Owner’s suite instead.

That person may now start to receive comp offers for suites.   Yes, they give them away for free to casino members too!  It's all about the points played, not the how much you won or lost.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, zebra36 said:

? for the casino comp cruisers Do you also get C&A tier benefits on these cruises such as access to the appropriate lounges, laundry, and daily drink allowance outside of the casino?

Yes, same C&A benefits based on tier.  Our sea passes say Diamond Prime and will soon say Diamond Plus Prime.    We have done many cruises that are not comp cruises and usually book those thru the casino number for club royale members and get discounts off the rates show on royals website.   The discount is based on most recent play.

[Mikew0805]

9 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

if someone really wants to be Pinnacle becoming prime or signature is your cheapest way.

Uh, Yep!

 

 

51 minutes ago, zebra36 said:

? for the casino comp cruisers Do you also get C&A tier benefits on these cruises such as access to the appropriate lounges, laundry, and daily drink allowance outside of the casino?

Yes.

 

 

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, molly361 said:

I have a spreadsheet with the cost of every cruise (just the cruise fare) and the per day cost. 

 

For real. Wow. Maybe I dont want to know what I'm really spending. When I say I got 10 booked and add it up, I think oh my gosh I could buy ..... whatever. I dont think I really want to be confronted by what I spend. My first couple were over priced groups. Where a bunch of us whatever, weight loss group or whatever online group, wound playing for a couple of people to put it together and I quickly realized I could book on my own much cheaper. Those groups are crazy though there are a couple of bands I'd like to go with. Caribbean princess was my first group but it got me started. At least now my costs have gone down. 

[cruiselvr04]

I have kept all our invoices from every cruise so I could go back and figure it out.  Maybe after retirement I’ll add it up. I just thought it’d be interesting to see where we’ve gone and what we spent.