Milestone Cruisers that are not Diamond

[yesaccasey]

If you made milestone with 25 cruises, and your wife made milestone with 25 cruises could you both get the 25% on different furture cruises?

Thanks:confused:

 

You get a letter after your 25th and you have 18 months from the date of the 25th cruise to claim the 25% OBC off the base price of the cruise you choose to use it on.

 

It is 25% off for the one passenger that just earned Milestone. If both of you earned milestone, you could use one of your letters on one cruise and the other on another cruise if you wanted to or you could use both of them on one cruise.

[PA Dutchman]

If you made milestone with 25 cruises, and your wife made milestone with 25 cruises could you both get the 25% on different furture cruises?

Thanks:confused:

 

We did under the old system, we never got a letter. We did a back to back got 25% for both cruises. Not that it was alot of money. ea got $300 for the first one (7 day) and ea $175 for the 5 day 2nd cruise. Both were balconys. Its not a great big deal hitting milestone, and then there is nothing till cruise 50. We will never hit 50. Diamond is just about the same you get 1 cruise with some extra perks and then your back to platinum perks. We don't use the laundry and don't do the Capt deal, were not into that.

[leedm]

You get a letter after your 25th and you have 18 months from the date of the 25th cruise to claim the 25% OBC off the base price of the cruise you choose to use it on.

 

It is 25% off for the one passenger that just earned Milestone. If both of you earned milestone, you could use one of your letters on one cruise and the other on another cruise if you wanted to or you could use both of them on one cruise.

Thanks for the info,,,,We have 19 CCL cruises and 125 cruise days each, but were looking at some NCL cruises. Not sure if we should work to get milestone or look to other cruise lines. Not happy with the new CCL loyalty program:cool::cool:

[maggieworkman]

I don't have a copy of any statement from John Heald for you. However, on another one of these threads, someone posted a link to John's blog that basically said what you are looking for. Sadly I don't know what thread that was on because there have been about a million VIFP threads. However if you maybe search "milestone" on his blog, you could find it. He was answering someone's question at the time, it wasn't in the "text" part of his blog.

 

Maggie

 

Edit: I did find this:

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2012/02/29/dress-code-live-from-the-front-line/

 

That might help.

[yesaccasey]

I don't have a copy of any statement from John Heald for you. However, on another one of these threads, someone posted a link to John's blog that basically said what you are looking for. Sadly I don't know what thread that was on because there have been about a million VIFP threads. However if you maybe search "milestone" on his blog, you could find it. He was answering someone's question at the time, it wasn't in the "text" part of his blog.

 

Maggie

 

Edit: I did find this:

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2012/02/29/dress-code-live-from-the-front-line/

 

That might help.

 

Exactly! Thanks! I love how John and his followers are defending him when what was promised is clear and reiterated time and time again among CCL staffers.... during the past 3.5 years up until about a week or 2 ago when John did a 180. What a joke! Makes me even angrier now that I can verify I am not going crazy and the things I wsa told... well, I was really told them!

[LHP]

You are still grandfathered in, you (and a lot of the ship board crew) did not understand the rules before.

 

 

 

 

How could you be grandfathered into something that did not exist. You have been placed into the level that you have earned. You still have your milestone, which was never a level but a single cruise.

 

 

 

Carnival had the opportunity to clear this up 10 months ago and they did not.

 

10 months ago, when the survey came out, the chatter exploded about what people should do if they were close to Milestone.

 

Cruisers were told to cram in short cruises to make Milestone before the new program was implemented because they would be grandfathered in. Now, IF this Milestone level did not exist....just what were they suppose to be grandfathered into???

 

10 months ago is when Carnival should have said "whoa folks, you are misundstanding Milestone. It is not a tier.". But Carnival did not do that.

 

Carnival allowed their employees to continue to give out incorrect information.

 

There are people who booked and sailed on cruises to reach this level based on the word of On Line Coordinators who are paid to answer questions about Carnival and help cruisers.

 

This is unacceptable.

[popsec]

I don't have a copy of any statement from John Heald for you. However, on another one of these threads, someone posted a link to John's blog that basically said what you are looking for. Sadly I don't know what thread that was on because there have been about a million VIFP threads. However if you maybe search "milestone" on his blog, you could find it. He was answering someone's question at the time, it wasn't in the "text" part of his blog.

 

Maggie

 

Edit: I did find this:

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2012/02/29/dress-code-live-from-the-front-line/

 

That might help.

 

I posted the question and response from JH on his FB page and can't wait to see if he bothers to respond. I have nothing against him but I do feel he misled people and should be held accountable....

[ericrz]

Such vitriol towards John Heald. It does seem pretty clear that he was being misled by CCL higher-ups (talking about "4 levels," etc.) or there were some last-minute changes.

 

Maybe some of you have a right to be angry with CCL (though of course they have the right to change the terms of their loyalty program at any time; implied promises are not a contract.)

 

But I don't get the anger towards John. Does ANY other cruise line have a "brand ambassador" so open and honest with their customers? Could you ever have a realistic change of getting questions answered from NCL, RCI, etc. the way John answers questions on his blog and FB?

 

I just don't get it.

[cruzn buckeye]

Such vitriol towards John Heald. It does seem pretty clear that he was being misled by CCL higher-ups (talking about "4 levels," etc.) or there were some last-minute changes.

 

Maybe some of you have a right to be angry with CCL (though of course they have the right to change the terms of their loyalty program at any time; implied promises are not a contract.)

 

But I don't get the anger towards John. Does ANY other cruise line have a "brand ambassador" so open and honest with their customers? Could you ever have a realistic change of getting questions answered from NCL, RCI, etc. the way John answers questions on his blog and FB?

 

I just don't get it.

 

I dont have any anger towards John. No anger at all actually. Just disappointment. So he was misled to the "four levels" or there were last minute changes. I believe it is the last minute changes, Add a level so you dont have to give the Milestones that upper tier that was promised to them. then we will have fewer perks to give to the few Diamonds.

The fact is Milestone was promised the highest tier...there was never anything called Platinum-Milestone... it was just Milestone...

[SkyMaster]

We too, have been given "White Cards" every cruise, since our 25th cruise. I just checked, and both the lovely Mrs. Jones and I have 212 days, according to Carnivals records, so I can assume that we'll be "Diamond". (Actually, I had counted 'em up, and came up with a few more days than that, but I won't complain) What color is the "Diamond Card"?

 

"SKY"

[maggieworkman]

Carnival had the opportunity to clear this up 10 months ago and they did not.

 

10 months ago, when the survey came out, the chatter exploded about what people should do if they were close to Milestone.

 

Cruisers were told to cram in short cruises to make Milestone before the new program was implemented because they would be grandfathered in. Now, IF this Milestone level did not exist....just what were they suppose to be grandfathered into???

 

10 months ago is when Carnival should have said "whoa folks, you are misundstanding Milestone. It is not a tier.". But Carnival did not do that.

 

Carnival allowed their employees to continue to give out incorrect information.

 

There are people who booked and sailed on cruises to reach this level based on the word of On Line Coordinators who are paid to answer questions about Carnival and help cruisers.

 

This is unacceptable.

 

While looking for something else, I found this were John talks about what the milestone program was:

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2011/10/18/now-showing/

 

Oct. 18, 2011

 

Stacey asked:

John,

I LOVE your blog! I see people post, “I am a platinum member”….what does that mean? May seem a nutty question – but it is driving me crazy! Looking forward to cruising the Glory in Feb 2012 ; )

Thanks,

Stacey

John says:

Hello Stacey,

I am sorry to say that your question doesn’t even come close to entering the “nutty” section here on the blog. Platinum members are guests who have been loyal to Carnival and have cruised between 10 and 24 times. For doing this they receive a special service such as first on and first off the ship, confirmed dining room seating and free laundry to name just some of the benefits. Then we have Milestone guests who have cruised 25 times or more and they get discounts as well when they cruise — 25% off for cruise number 25 and 50% off for cruise number 50. I hope one day you reach Platinum status Stacey and if you have any other questions nutty or otherwise, I am here to help.

Best wishes.

John

 

Maggie

[LHP]

Again, the point is .... despite Carnival's "intentions" for Milestone....

 

CARNIVAL is the one that represented Milestone as a separate tier for all these years.

 

Carnival On Line Coordinators encouraged cruisers that were "close" to Milestone to cruise some short cruises to make "the next level" so that they would be grandfathered in. John Heald did the same thing.

 

Even Carnival EMPLOYEES were cramming in cruises to "make the next level"....now if EMPLOYESS did not understand that Milestone was not a separate tier from Platinum....

 

how are we suppose to??????

[nawlinscruiser22]

There are people who booked and sailed on cruises to reach this level based on the word of On Line Coordinators who are paid to answer questions about Carnival and help cruisers.

 

I happen to be one of those and I agree, it is unacceptable! I am not angry, per se, just extremely disappointed that the company that I once valued and spent many hard earned dollars with clearly has no loyalty to their most dedicated customers.

 

I'm not going to say "I'll never sail with Carnival again" but I do know that my time (and money) spent with Carnival will be drastically reduced from here on out.

 

Quite frankly, it makes me sad:(

[INTERLINER13]

I am very disappointed in Carnival. 32 cruises and 176 days and I am now at the platinium level again. I was under the impression we would be grandfathered into Diamond. I will have 200 days in Dec, anbd I am not grandfathered into diamond like the platinium. I feel so cheated.Yes I will still sail Carnival, but very disappointed in this new system. 75 days-200 days and no grandfathering in.

 

 

Just curious as to the perks people receive as a milestone cruiser not on a milestone cruise? It looks to me like nothing other then a card?

[Kreeb]

Again, the point is .... despite Carnival's "intentions" for Milestone....

 

CARNIVAL is the one that represented Milestone as a separate tier for all these years.

 

Carnival On Line Coordinators encouraged cruisers that were "close" to Milestone to cruise some short cruises to make "the next level" so that they would be grandfathered in. John Heald did the same thing.

 

Even Carnival EMPLOYEES were cramming in cruises to "make the next level"....now if EMPLOYESS did not understand that Milestone was not a separate tier from Platinum....

 

how are we suppose to??????

 

DW and I have cruised 29 times on Carnival, with a total of 199 days and an average of 6.9 days per cruise. We know what we were told by Carnival and Mr. Heald and it has been clearly documented on his own Blog and other sources. So we feel betrayed.

 

Now, all we have to do is go on any cruise to hit Diamond, but what we have here is a matter of principal. So we will not set foot on any Carnival Cruise until they honor their promises to us. It's called voting with your wallet. if they choose not to, then we will know truly how they value our loyalty.

[okgirl]

....and do we really think Carnival printed up all those white milestone cards for a single use....how dumb and gullible do they think we are??...jeesh!

 

Those white cards were printed up several years ago when all of the cards were going to be white with just the waves being different colors blue, gold and platinum. There was such an out cry that Carnival changed the cards again to be solid color as in the past, but they continued to use the white card with platinum waves as the milestone card and it also says milestone on the card.

 

I happen to be one of those and I agree, it is unacceptable! I am not angry, per se, just extremely disappointed that the company that I once valued and spent many hard earned dollars with clearly has no loyalty to their most dedicated customers.

 

I'm not going to say "I'll never sail with Carnival again" but I do know that my time (and money) spent with Carnival will be drastically reduced from here on out.

 

Quite frankly, it makes me sad:(

 

This is exactly how I feel. Extremely disappointed :( Carnival's focus for a very long time has been on attracting the new cruiser, who doesn't notice or complain about the cutbacks that have occurred.

 

Even on my last cruise which was my Milestone cruise it was simply a complete dud. In every situation where I presented my white milestone card it was met with a complete lack of response from the crew. No thanks for your loyalty, no acknowledgement of any kind.

[realtyexecdeb]

Posted on JH's blog Oct 2011:

 

John says:

 

Hello Stacey,

I am sorry to say that your question doesn’t even come close to entering the “nutty” section here on the blog. Platinum members are guests who have been loyal to Carnival and have cruised between 10 and 24 times. For doing this they receive a special service such as first on and first off the ship, confirmed dining room seating and free laundry to name just some of the benefits.

 

Then we have Milestone guests who have cruised 25 times or more and they get discounts as well when they cruise — 25% off for cruise number 25 and 50% off for cruise number 50. I hope one day you reach Platinum status Stacey and if you have any other questions nutty or otherwise, I am here to help.

Best wishes.

John

[mariah9999]

THANK YOU! I heard that from John and asked CCL many times and I am not making assumptions here. I was told this was going to happen.

 

I have the right to be upset. My family and I have been so loyal to CCL and for them to go back on their word is unacceptable. Maybe some don't feel this way and good for you if you don't, but if you are dedicated to a brand and are promised certain things and come to expect them then it is a real let down when those things don't come through. I understand CCL can change things and do whatever they want but that doesn't mean it is right.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you've said! It is a let down especially at this level of loyalty.

[INTERLINER13]

DW and I have cruised 29 times on Carnival, with a total of 199 days and an average of 6.9 days per cruise. We know what we were told by Carnival and Mr. Heald and it has been clearly documented on his own Blog and other sources. So we feel betrayed.

 

Now, all we have to do is go on any cruise to hit Diamond, but what we have here is a matter of principal. So we will not set foot on any Carnival Cruise until they honor their promises to us. It's called voting with your wallet. if they choose not to, then we will know truly how they value our loyalty.

 

You would still have be Diamond on your next cruise with 199 days sailed. The next level should begin before the cruise sails. So either way it just comes down to a principle thing. I do not think many people will leave Carnival due to the fact they offer a great rate, for a great vacation.

[ericrz]

DW and I have cruised 29 times on Carnival, with a total of 199 days and an average of 6.9 days per cruise. We know what we were told by Carnival and Mr. Heald and it has been clearly documented on his own Blog and other sources. So we feel betrayed.

 

Now, all we have to do is go on any cruise to hit Diamond, but what we have here is a matter of principal. So we will not set foot on any Carnival Cruise until they honor their promises to us. It's called voting with your wallet. if they choose not to, then we will know truly how they value our loyalty.

 

This is just about the silliest comment I've read. Yes, perhaps right now you are "technically" Platinum, one day short of Diamond. But from the moment you enter the cruise terminal for embarkation on your next cruise, you will be Diamond. So what have you actually lost? Nothing, nada, zilch. You won't ever take a cruise at the Platinum level.

 

You can refuse to sail Carnival on "principle" (spelt correctly) if you want, but you're only hurting yourselves. In your case, you have lost absolutely, positively, nothing.

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

Totally agree - we were under the same impression. This Milestone cruiser is voting with her feet. After the horrible cruise we had on the Triumph over Memorial Day we plan to never set foot on another Carnival ship again. I also think they should have done what RCI does - give double sailing points when you book a suite.

 

Where is the Like button!!

[yesaccasey]

This is just about the silliest comment I've read. Yes, perhaps right now you are "technically" Platinum, one day short of Diamond. But from the moment you enter the cruise terminal for embarkation on your next cruise, you will be Diamond. So what have you actually lost? Nothing, nada, zilch. You won't ever take a cruise at the Platinum level.

 

You can refuse to sail Carnival on "principle" (spelt correctly) if you want, but you're only hurting yourselves. In your case, you have lost absolutely, positively, nothing.

 

 

It is not silly... standing up to lies is what has to be done. CCL isn't getting anything from me or my family or people who cruise with me until they provide an explanation. I think that's reasonable.

[djacobson]

Again, the point is .... despite Carnival's "intentions" for Milestone....

 

CARNIVAL is the one that represented Milestone as a separate tier for all these years.

 

Carnival On Line Coordinators encouraged cruisers that were "close" to Milestone to cruise some short cruises to make "the next level" so that they would be grandfathered in. John Heald did the same thing.

 

Even Carnival EMPLOYEES were cramming in cruises to "make the next level"....now if EMPLOYESS did not understand that Milestone was not a separate tier from Platinum....

 

how are we suppose to??????

 

This morning on the Conquest the Cruise Director, during the shore excursion talk, saw my white Milestone Rewards card. He asked me how many cruises I have been on. After I replied, he called me a Diamond level cruiser. Guess I will have to get with him later to explain that I don't have enough days at sea with 27 cruises.

[LHP]

John has now admitted that even he thought that Milestone was indeed a level (or tier) above Platinum.

 

So at least we (who also thought that) were not the only ones.

 

 

It seems this was just a case of extremely poor communication and training within the Carnival ranks.

 

 

IF Cruise Critic would allow me to put a link on here from that "social page" that shall remain unnamed....I could show you the actual page from Carnival's OLD (prior to today) website clearly showing that Milestone was never intended to be a stand alone level.

 

 

To be perfectly honest, I had never seen this one page from their website.

It was one of those things that just did not pop up on a regular basis when you visited their site.

 

 

It shows a GOLD card.....and explains the benefits.

 

It shows a PLATINUM card ...and explains the benefits.

 

Then it clearly shows a WHITE card that says:

 

PLATINUM MEMBER - MILESTONE and explains how you will get the 25% etc.

 

So all this time on the Carnival website, it has CLEARLY shown that Milestone was not a separate tier from Platinum.

 

 

What Corporate "intended" was handled completely incorrectly all these years by who ever prints the cards on the ship and by the Carnival Reps who hand them out.

 

 

These same employees were also responsible for separating the two groups all these years on the manifests....etc.

 

So all this seems to be one HUGE miscommunication.

 

Now this does not help those Milestoners who do not have 200 days....

 

but I hope that at least explains "how it happened" and that it was not an intentional thing by John or anyone else.

 

And that Carnival hates that this happened as much as anyone.....

[leedm]

John has now admitted that even he thought that Milestone was indeed a level (or tier) above Platinum.

 

So at least we (who also thought that) were not the only ones.

 

 

It seems this was just a case of extremely poor communication and training within the Carnival ranks.

 

 

IF Cruise Critic would allow me to put a link on here from that "social page" that shall remain unnamed....I could show you the actual page from Carnival's OLD (prior to today) website clearly showing that Milestone was never intended to be a stand alone level.

 

 

To be perfectly honest, I had never seen this one page from their website.

It was one of those things that just did not pop up on a regular basis when you visited their site.

 

 

It shows a GOLD card.....and explains the benefits.

 

It shows a PLATINUM card ...and explains the benefits.

 

Then it clearly shows a WHITE card that says:

 

PLATINUM MEMBER - MILESTONE and explains how you will get the 25% etc.

 

So all this time on the Carnival website, it has CLEARLY shown that Milestone was not a separate tier from Platinum.

 

 

What Corporate "intended" was handled completely incorrectly all these years by who ever prints the cards on the ship and by the Carnival Reps who hand them out.

 

 

These same employees were also responsible for separating the two groups all these years on the manifests....etc.

 

So all this seems to be one HUGE miscommunication.

 

Now this does not help those Milestoners who do not have 200 days....

 

but I hope that at least explains "how it happened" and that it was not an intentional thing by John or anyone else.

 

And that Carnival hates that this happened as much as anyone.....

 

Well we all may not agree with the new program. It is what it is and yes the rollout could have been commmunicated better, but life is too short to really worry about things out of your control. There are new changes, at least I will not have more picture frames or cardboard horse d' vors. The sun will shine I will cruise CCL and drink another DOD or maybe two. Almost Milestone

See you cruising

leedm