Royal Caribbean Just Announced You Can FINALLY Move Loyalty Points Between Brands—And It’s Going to Change Everything for Multi-Brand Cruisers

If you have ever taken a Celebrity or Silversea cruise just to try something different but hated losing progress toward your Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor status, we have some very good news for you.

Royal Caribbean Group just rolled out the details of its new Points Choice program, and it is officially launching January 30, 2026 for all cruise departures on or after that date, according to Royal Caribbean Blog. This is the biggest change to the loyalty program in years, and it is going to completely shift the way people think about booking cruises across Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.

Here Is How Points Choice Actually Works

Under the new system, guests can decide which loyalty program receives the points they earn on a sailing. Instead of points automatically being credited only to the brand you sailed, you can now move those points to another Royal Caribbean Group loyalty program if you prefer.

That means if you are a die-hard Royal Caribbean fan working toward Diamond status in Crown and Anchor Society, but you want to take a quick cruise on Celebrity or splurge on a Silversea voyage, you can now send all those points back to your Crown and Anchor account. The same flexibility applies in reverse for Celebrity Captain’s Club members or Silversea Venetian Society loyalists.

You will need to be enrolled in the loyalty program where you want the points to go, and you have 14 days after disembarkation to submit a Points Choice Request form through the Royal Caribbean app or website. If you do nothing, your points will just default to the brand you sailed—no action required.

The Exchange Rates Are Not One-to-One

This is the part that matters: points do not transfer at a one-to-one rate. Royal Caribbean has published brand-specific exchange rates, and they vary significantly depending on which direction you are moving points.

For example, if you book a high-tier suite on Royal Caribbean (like a Sunset, Owner, Aqua-Theater, or Oceanview Panoramic Suite), you would earn 2 points in Crown and Anchor. But if you choose to move those points to Celebrity’s Captain’s Club instead, they convert to 8 points. If you move them to Silversea’s Venetian Society, you only get 1 point.

The exchange rates are designed to reflect the different earning structures and tier thresholds across the three brands, but they do mean you need to do some math before deciding where to send your points.

This Only Applies to Future Cruises

One important limitation: Points Choice only applies to new cruises you sail on moving forward. It will not work retroactively for previous sailings you already took. So if you have been sailing Celebrity for years and were hoping to move all those past points over to Royal Caribbean, unfortunately that is not going to happen.

But for anyone planning future cruises across multiple Royal Caribbean Group brands, this is a huge win. You no longer have to choose between trying a different cruise line and maintaining your status on your preferred brand.

Why This Matters for Cruisers

For years, one of the biggest complaints from Royal Caribbean Group loyalists was that sailing on a sister brand meant sacrificing progress toward elite status and its associated perks—priority boarding, specialty dining discounts, free internet, suite upgrades, and more. If you were close to hitting the next tier in Crown and Anchor, booking a Celebrity cruise felt like a step backward.

Now, you can explore the full portfolio of Royal Caribbean Group brands without losing momentum. Want to try Celebrity’s more refined atmosphere or Silversea’s all-inclusive luxury? You can do that and still work toward your next Royal Caribbean status tier.

It also opens up strategic opportunities. If you find a great deal on a Celebrity sailing or want to experience Silversea’s ultra-luxury offerings, you can take advantage of those opportunities while still building your Crown and Anchor status. That kind of flexibility is going to be a game-changer for frequent cruisers who have been stuck in a single-brand loyalty loop.

Points Choice takes effect January 30, 2026, and applies to all cruise departures on or after that date. If you have upcoming sailings booked across multiple Royal Caribbean Group brands, you will want to pay close attention to the exchange rates and start thinking strategically about where you want those points to go.