If you sailed on a ten-night Royal Caribbean cruise ship every year, it would take you 70 years to reach the Pinnacle Club. Even if you sailed on a Royal Caribbean cruise every single night, it would still take you 2 years to reach Pinnacle. That sound out-of-reach for most people's lifetimes, but it's actually easier to reach Pinnacle much faster, but it's not cheap.
How do you become a Pinnacle member on Royal Caribbean? Each night you stay on a cruise (that you pay for, free cruises don't count), you get a point. The points add up to the different statuses on Royal Caribbean: 3 points gets you to Gold Status, 30 points is Platinum Status, 55 points is Emerald Status, 80 points is Diamond Status (what I'm currently working towards), 175 points is Diamond Plus Status, and then there's the exclusive 700 points is the Pinnacle Club Status.
So, why should you reach Pinnacle status anyways? Besides the fact of being the most elite thing you can do as a Royal Caribbean cruiser, it comes with a lot of perks. You get exclusive breakfasts every day, free unlimited Wi-Fi for the entire cruise, upgraded toiletries in your bathroom, 6 free drinks per day, free laundry, free gifts, exclusive dinner options, plus 1 free 7-night balcony cruise and then 1 free junior suite cruise. You know the special treatment celebrities get when they go to Disneyland with their family? Yeah, that's basically a Pinnacle member on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
What's the fastest way to get to the Pinnacle Club on Royal Caribbean? The answer is: double points! If you were to book a Suite, for example a Junior Suite, you get double the points! So the timelines above instantly getting halved. Another way to earn double points? Solo cruising. Some family friends actually did this during the pandemic when cruise prices were ridiculously cheap. One person would get a Junior Suite for themselves, (Junior Suite and a solo booking, you can imaging the points!), and then the other person would just get a cheap interior room for themselves (solo booking double points for them!), and then they would use the interior room for luggage and drying wet clothes, and both sleep/get ready in the Junior Suite. Now, the obvious downside is that you would have to do a lot of room-key sharing. It also really only works for a couple. And again, a Junior Suite ain't cheap. But, if you plan on cruising a lot in your future (hello, retirement), then being a Pinnacle Member can really help you save money from having to pay for the internet and drink packages.
