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Points Choice Royal Caribbean Loyalty Starts Jan 30, 2026

Royal Caribbean Points Choice loyalty shown at cruise terminal kiosks as guests choose where points post
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5 min read

Royal Caribbean Group is rolling out a cross brand loyalty feature that lets guests steer where newly earned cruise points land within its portfolio. The change affects frequent cruisers who move between Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea and want their earning to build in one place instead of being split across separate accounts. If you have bookings around the start date, the practical move is to decide your target program for each sailing, submit the request early, and keep a calendar reminder for the post cruise deadline.

Royal Caribbean Points Choice loyalty is available for sailings departing on or after January 30, 2026, and it adds a new decision step after each eligible cruise, choose which of the three loyalty programs receives the points earned on that sailing.

Who Is Affected

Points Choice is built for travelers who cross shop within the Royal Caribbean Group family, for example, a mass market itinerary on Royal Caribbean, a premium ship and dining mix on Celebrity, and an expedition or ultra luxury trip on Silversea. The feature spans Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society, Celebrity's Captain's Club, and Silversea's Venetian Society.

The travelers most likely to feel the change are those chasing a near term tier milestone, because they can now aim one sailing's credit toward the program where it matters most. Exchange rates can differ sharply across brands for the same stateroom category, so a sailing that would have been slow progress in one program could be more meaningful in another, depending on where you choose to post the points.

This also affects travel advisors and multi sailing planners, because Points Choice does not automatically "unify" your accounts. It is still three separate programs with separate benefit ladders, and Points Choice is a routing choice for where newly earned credit posts. Status Match, introduced in 2024, remains the layer that aligns tier recognition across the three brands, it is not replaced by Points Choice.

What Travelers Should Do

Make your choice before you travel, not when you are tired after disembarkation. If you already know which program you want to build, submit the Points Choice request before sailing, then keep proof of submission and a reminder to verify posting later, since the company says updates can take time after the cruise ends.

Use a simple decision threshold for rethinking your plan, if the trip is a one off on a sister brand, direct the points back to your primary program so the experiment does not fragment your progress. If you are intentionally shifting your mix of cruises for the next year, compare the exchange rates and the tier benefits you actually use, then pick the program that delivers those benefits earliest, even if it is not the brand you sail most often.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours after your cruise ends, monitor three things, whether the request window is still open, whether your points have posted to the expected program, and whether you tripped any special rules. For example, Royal Caribbean notes that transfers into Silversea's Venetian Society require qualifying for at least 1 VS Day, and partial VS Days are not awarded, so short sailings and lower categories may not translate the way you expect.

How It Works

Points Choice does not merge the programs, it adds a controlled way to route newly earned credit across them. You still earn cruise points based on nights sailed and the stateroom category on the brand you actually sailed. After the sailing, you can choose to apply those earned points to Crown and Anchor, Captain's Club, or Venetian Society by submitting a Points Choice request. If you want the points to stay with the brand you sailed, no action is needed.

Timing is the trap. Royal Caribbean's FAQ states you can submit a request any time before your sailing and up to 14 days after the cruise ends, and requests after that window are not processed. The company also says each sailing needs its own request, although a preference center is planned to reduce repeat submissions.

The reason this propagates through the travel system is that loyalty behavior changes booking behavior. At the source, Points Choice can nudge cabin selection and sailing length, because travelers may pick an itinerary, or a stateroom category, that earns more effectively toward a specific tier. The second order ripple is on itinerary construction, advisors can blend ships and brands while still consolidating loyalty progress, which can shift demand between brands on overlapping regions and seasons. A third ripple is onboard spend expectations and retention, because tier perks and recognition, carried by Status Match and now reinforced by points routing, can change what travelers perceive as "worth it" when comparing offers across competing cruise groups.

If you are trying to optimize the math, focus on Royal Caribbean Group's published exchange rates, not social media charts. Royal Caribbean has published a 2026 exchange table on its loyalty pages, and it shows that the same sailing can translate very differently depending on where you apply the points. For example, Royal Caribbean lists several top suite categories that earn 2 Crown and Anchor points per night, which can exchange to 8 Captain's Club points per night or 1 Venetian Society day per night when routed to those programs.

For additional context and planning angles, see Points Choice Loyalty Starts Jan 30 on Royal Caribbean and Royal Caribbean's Points Choice Lets You Pick Points.

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