Royal Caribbean double-points promo is back, but casino fares look excluded

Just saw a genuinely current item that may matter to the loyalty crowd here: Royal Caribbean brought back its double Crown & Anchor points promo yesterday, July 23. I read the details in Royal Caribbean Blog, and the fine print being shared around says bookings made July 21-31, 2026 for sailings from September 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027 can earn double points. The part that caught my eye is the exclusion list. It appears casino offers are not combinable, along with comp cruises and some reduced-rate bookings. So this may be nice for regular cash bookings, but maybe not much help for folks sailing on Club Royale-type deals. Curious how everyone reads this: if you had a choice, would you rather book for double status points or keep the casino rate and not chase the extra points?

Replies

That’s how I’d read it too. If the casino rate is meaningfully cheaper, I personally wouldn’t give that up just to goose status points. Gene and I learned a while back that chasing a perk can cost more than it’s worth if you back into it. The only time I’d lean cash booking is if the fare difference was small anyway and you were already close to a Crown & Anchor tier you truly use. I’d also want

That sounds about right to me. I’d price it like I price oysters in the Quarter: nice if they’re on special, but I’m not paying steak money just because the sign looks pretty. Denise and I had one Royal sailing where the regular fare came with a promo that looked great on paper, but once I stacked it against the casino offer, the math got real skinny real fast. One thing I’d watch is whether the d

I’d keep the casino fare unless the point run was unusually close to a tier line and the cash fare was basically neck and neck. On Royal especially, I’ve had two bookings that looked similar at first, then once taxes/fees and the actual cabin choice settled out, the casino side was still the better deal. Also worth checking whether the promo is based on booking date only or if any reprice after Ju