Change in Carnival Loyalty Program

I for one hope that they don't change anything until after my B2B in January....that will be my Platinum cruise!

It is a long way, they really should. Just hope what ever it is it doesn't hurt to terribly bad. IMHO


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[quote name='volmoma']Just heard the announcement on live FB from John. Said the beards are working on changing the program somewhat. We're either going to happy (doubtful) or we'll all need to bend over and grab our ankles. I've only cruised Carnival, 25 in all. I did cruise on the Regal Princess in December of last year. (Carnival owned) I have 2 cruises booked and only 10 sea days from Diamond, truly hoping a level between platinum and diamond isn't on the table for discussion. Just my thoughts.[/QUOTE]

I imagine with everything else Carnival has done the past 8 years, we are about to lose something more. My biggest fear is.... Nah, I'm not gonna give them any ideas.

[quote name='MCFTJCH2V']I imagine with everything else Carnival has done the past 8 years, we are about to lose something more. My biggest fear is.... Nah, I'm not gonna give them any ideas.[/QUOTE]


Haha, that's probably smart. Just wish they would go ahead an announce what it is.


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[quote name='carsastic']Bottom line Dollars spent would solve all[/quote]

Actually, this deal could discriminate against those who budget and don't have a lot of money to spend on "extras" versus those who thinks the sky is the limit. Some people may not spend money on alcohol or buying trinkets on the ship, or eat in the specialty restaurants, buy expensive photos, or may get the cheapest cabin possible just to afford to cruise. At one time we fit into that category because we had 2 adult children with us. We all crowded into the same cabin to save money.

There's nothing wrong with the way that it is now. If anything, give those below platinum more perks - like a party of their own. The bottom line is Carnival, like other cruise lines, are out to save money and cut corners. Don't get your expectations up too high.

[quote name='poobears']I don't even care about the levels, there aren't really any perks I consider worth the hassle. I will cruise with them as long as I like what they offer, if I find something I like better I will cruise with someone else. So far Carnival has been the best offer out there from the ports we can drive to in a day, although RC has come close a couple of times. If Carnival keeps inching up prices and leveling the playing field I'm sure a cruise on RC will be in my future soon. Carnival seems to have bigger rooms on it's side though and that is definitely a point in it's favor unless something has changed on the RC ships since I last checked.[/QUOTE]

This! We could have been a couple levels higher, but we have been known to go on other lines because the price and itinerary offered by other lines were better for whatever we wanted to do. One good example is Celebrity has way cheaper Alaskan cruises than Carnival, especially when they through in drink packages and gratuities. I guess I am loyal to Imaginationcruisebride and Imaginationcruisegroom, and if I get some silly "perk" then I get some silly "perk" until then we will cruise with whomever offers us the best deal according to where we want to go at any given time!

I always get to the terminal early which gives me zone 1 or 2, therefore I board pretty fast, that perk is useless to me. I don't like leaving the ship early on debarkation and enjoy having breakfast and sitting around, so that perk isn't useful to me. The only perk I personally would ever consider useful is priority tendering, even then I normally don't get out until the crowd is gone anyway. I cruise carnival because I have always enjoyed my vacation thoroughly and it's been cheaper than the others. This or that perk would never make me leave or stay. Price increases would be the only thing to make me leave.

[quote name='BlazinSunsets']I always get to the terminal early which gives me zone 1 or 2, therefore I board pretty fast, that perk is useless to me. I don't like leaving the ship early on debarkation and enjoy having breakfast and sitting around, so that perk isn't useful to me. The only perk I personally would ever consider useful is priority tendering, even then I normally don't get out until the crowd is gone anyway. I cruise carnival because I have always enjoyed my vacation thoroughly and it's been cheaper than the others. This or that perk would never make me leave or stay. Price increases would be the only thing to make me leave.[/QUOTE]


Staggered embarkation that they are rolling out may put a crimp in your get there early and get on in zone 1 plans. Edited June 29, 2016 by jimbo5544

[quote name='Budget Queen']So what do you all think, will happen, when more people get those upper level perks? Already, the repeater party is packed, it will take days to get laundry back, hundreds of people- will expect their rooms and bags to be in/at their cabins when they board- which they are all going to want, no lines and being first on the ship, etc

Sorry, my opinion, upper level perks should only be for a small percentage to have the special "reward" effect. There's no way to expect that when there are large numbers of upper level.

A lot of people do multiple cruises/year. That has nothing to do with those who do not. It's about numbers and costs. Another factor is being added here that has nothing to do with "perks", going in the direction of not living near a port, having to pay for flights, cruise once/year etc etc etc. My opinion only.[/QUOTE]


Repeater party packed??? On our last cruise there were 104 Platinum guests and 4 Diamond Guests. The bar they had it in was plenty big. Definitely not packed.

They invited spouses to the Diamond event so there were 8 of us and probably 8 officers. Definitely not packed. In fact it was a great event and we actually got to know the senior officers. DH and the Captain were BFF by the end of the event. The Captain sent a bottle of wine to the steakhouse the next evening because he overheard us telling the GS manager that we were cruising for my husband's birthday and would celebrate in the steakhouse the next evening.

Why people put so much pressure/status on a loyalty program is mind blowing to me. They're really not loyal to anyone except those willing to spend thousands upon thousands (not your average cruiser, let's face it) of dollars per year on their specific line/item/product. And I think in today's economy it comes down to two things: itinerary and price. So, they make it unreachable for most. Airlines figured it out. I'm only fairly loyal to one airline because their hub is my airport. And the others aren't necessarily cheaper. I am not loyal to any hotel chain. I'm loyal to hotel consumer reports and the bottom dollar. Best bang for the buck.

Did they make the change announcement already? Did I miss it?

[quote name='Floating Lanai']Did they make the change announcement already? Did I miss it?[/QUOTE]


No John H just mentioned it could be happening. He made the announcement on his FB twice. So who knows when it will happen

[quote name='Cuizer2']Time to change the batteries in your calculator. 57 + 16 = 73[/QUOTE]

Thanks eagle eye, that should be 59.. ;)

[QUOTE=Micah's Grandad;50319756]

More likely they will look to make platinum harder to get too.[/QUOTE]

I was 2 cruises short of Platinum when they changed it from 10 cruises to 75 days. Now I'm 12 points short of Platinum - again 2 cruises. I'm sure they'll (again) make Platinum harder to get to.

[quote name='wikoffclan']I was 2 cruises short of Platinum when they changed it from 10 cruises to 75 days. Now I'm 12 points short of Platinum - again 2 cruises. I'm sure they'll (again) make Platinum harder to get to.[/QUOTE]

You should have booked the two cruises, that is what I did.

You're right. I should have, but didn't have the time. Now retired, I think I'll take your advice!

[quote name='wikoffclan']I was 2 cruises short of Platinum when they changed it from 10 cruises to 75 days. Now I'm 12 points short of Platinum - again 2 cruises. I'm sure they'll (again) make Platinum harder to get to.[/QUOTE]

We are also 12 points away from Platinum and also doing it the harder way after the change too. We will be taking our 10th cruise in November all 10 have been on Carnival. Not hoping for a major change, we already had a welcome back party taken away.

[quote name='Jayfo']Agree 100%. I like the idea of suites and solos getting double points. Pay more, get more.
Also, I'm not getting the big deal with reaching a certain "status"? :confused: I'm only a few cruises away from a different colored S & S card but that's not going to influence any vacation decisions. The monetary or any other value on the "perks" just don't seem so special to me. I guess I just don't get it. Carry on.[/quote]

I've been platinum for a long time but NEVER chose a cruise or Carnival because of that status. If I find a cruise that better fits me on another line, I go. The free laundry. priority boarding, and special line at GS is nice but I live without it on the other lines and get by just fine.

[quote name='wikoffclan']I was 2 cruises short of Platinum when they changed it from 10 cruises to 75 days. Now I'm 12 points short of Platinum - again 2 cruises. I'm sure they'll (again) make Platinum harder to get to.[/QUOTE]

If we could go back would have switched a few cruises to Princess to give us a fair shot at become elite. Much better benefits than being Diamond on CCL.

We choose Carnival not for the benefits but that we enjoy the product, food and that we always have fun. Benefits should be on the bottom of the list.


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[quote name='cocacola86']We choose Carnival not for the benefits but that we enjoy the product, food and that we always have fun. Benefits should be on the bottom of the list.


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The loyalty benefits are part of the value equation. It all depends on what it's worth to you.

I'm just happy to get away, look at NCL they just commented today that you can no longer take soda onboard or water, you have to drink it before security point.


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[quote name='cocacola86']We choose Carnival not for the benefits but that we enjoy the product, food and that we always have fun. Benefits should be on the bottom of the list.


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Guess we can agree to disagree. The benefits such as cocktail party with senior offices make the cruise a notch better.

Yes benefits are nice, but to us it's not the most important, I've got enough to worry about in life.


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[quote=Micah's Grandad;50381586]Guess we can agree to disagree. The benefits such as cocktail party with senior offices make the cruise a notch better.[/quote]

I like the perks and once you've achieved certain reward levels, you do enjoy them and expect them. However, some cruise line perks are better than others. IMHO, Carnival's perks are low on the perks scale. They don't stand by their priority debarkation policy for platinum or diamond. I've experienced this twice on Carnival. Even the FTTF folks on the Legend took it in the shorts debarking in Juneau. And their cruises are not any cheaper than Princess - in some cases Princess is better and less expensive.