Royal Caribbean Just Made a HUGE Change to Its Loyalty Program—Here’s Why It Matters

Royal Caribbean just announced a game-changing update to its loyalty program that could save you serious time and hassle if you cruise with multiple brands. Starting in early 2026, you will be able to earn Royal Caribbean loyalty points even when you sail on Celebrity Cruises or Silversea.

This is big news if you have been building status across different cruise lines within the Royal Caribbean Group family. Until now, your loyalty points stayed separate for each brand. Cruise Celebrity and those points only counted toward Celebrity. Sail Silversea and you built a different loyalty account. But the new “Points Choice” initiative changes that completely.

According to Royal Caribbean Blog, the company confirmed that early next year guests will be able to start earning points for Royal Caribbean cruises even if they sail on Celebrity or Silversea.

What This Means for You

If you have been splitting your cruise vacations between Royal Caribbean’s mass-market ships and Celebrity’s premium experiences, you no longer have to choose which loyalty program gets the credit. Want to try Silversea’s luxury all-inclusive sailings but worried about losing progress toward Royal Caribbean’s top tiers? That concern just disappeared.

This builds on Royal Caribbean Group’s existing status-matching program, which already lets you enjoy similar recognition across all three brands. But Points Choice takes it further by letting you consolidate where your actual loyalty points accumulate, rather than just matching your status level.

Why Royal Caribbean Made This Move

The cruise industry is competitive, and passengers increasingly want flexibility. By letting loyal customers earn points across its entire portfolio, Royal Caribbean Group removes a barrier that might have pushed guests toward competitor brands. If you know your Royal Caribbean loyalty progress will benefit from that Celebrity Alaska cruise or that Silversea Mediterranean voyage, you are more likely to stay within the Royal Caribbean family of brands.

For travelers who appreciate different cruise styles for different trips, this is a win. Mass-market fun for a Caribbean week. Premium sophistication for an anniversary. Ultra-luxury for a milestone celebration. Now all of those choices can feed into one loyalty account.

The program launches in early 2026, so if you have Celebrity or Silversea cruises booked for next year, you will want to pay attention to enrollment details as they roll out.