Joebucks Posted February 18, 2019 #51 Share Posted February 18, 2019 On 2/16/2019 at 5:54 PM, bury me at sea said: Carnival enjoys being a leader in the go to line for novice cruisers. In addition to being family friendly and fun, they offer a good value for the cost. They don't need to foster loyalty; it's not the market that makes them money. Put yourself in a corporate seat for a moment. You can sell early boarding and cabin access to relatively new cruisers or you can give it away to thousands of platinums a year. I, possibly as a minority of one, will be astonished if changes in VIFP perks result in more benefits. My crystal ball predicts a new level between gold and platinum that includes a second bottle of water and many many more nights to achieve platinum status. The prospect that early access to cabins will continue to be offered to platinums is dubious at best. It has never been listed as a perk at the platinum level, but came in the back door when FTTF was implemented. Just my two cents, which with inflation might be worth one no longer copper cent. I agree that new cruisers are more important than most people believe. But to say they don't need to foster loyalty is just wrong. If that was the case, they wouldn't even have a VIFP program. Carnival has previously said they had interest in using the loyalty program to capture more of those 3rd time cruisers. What they would offer, I don't know. People think they are going to get room upgrades and alcohol because some hotels do it. Not the same business. However, I don't think they want to be bested by Royal in many areas. I would love to see a Diamond lounge like thing. I would almost certainly put Platinum at 100 nights or more though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bury me at sea Posted February 18, 2019 #52 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Joebucks I agree with you far more than I disagree. However I suspect any changes to the VIFP perks will benefit relatively newer cruisers and may well disappoint gold and platinum cruisers. That's what I meant by my comment on fostering loyalty. Happy sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterty Posted February 19, 2019 #53 Share Posted February 19, 2019 They should make it 1 point per $1k spent per pax. Leave everything else alone. JM2C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crooooze Posted February 19, 2019 #54 Share Posted February 19, 2019 9 hours ago, grantbob said: They did. Last September I used mine in the Alchemy bar and paid the difference between the cost of the drink and value of the coupon. Yeah, the restriction for Gold is that the coupon is only valid after 5pm on the last night... Nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbethel11 Posted February 19, 2019 #55 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/11/2019 at 10:02 PM, Joebucks said: There needs to be more benefits for gold members. Platinum and Diamond members are doing just fine. Thank you! Like at least give us the Arcade Credits/Casino Credits and the Logo Gift/Discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbethel11 Posted February 19, 2019 #56 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/13/2019 at 7:47 AM, robertlanajean said: I've only been on one cruise (second one coming up!!), don't gamble or buy Cheers and enjoy a variety of vacations, so perhaps I'm not the demo Carnival is after, but I have to say that compared to other travel/entertainment options the rewards for cruising are pretty lame and difficult to obtain. frequent flyer = free flights frequent car renter = free rental days/upgrades frequent hotel stay = free nights my local pizza buffet gives every 10th visit free frequent cruise = free bottle of water and eventually .. you get on the ship faster and a blankets (left off the drink and party for dramatic purposes 🙂 ) They could really up the ante... free blanket for ALL repeat cruisers, free soda package for gold and up, free specialty meal for platinum (every cruise), free gratuities for diamond (once per year).. with all benefits stacking. As of now the loyalty programs are not enough to make me a loyal Carnival cruiser. I'm still more interested in ports, amenities, and overall value. Perhaps an aggressive loyalty campaign would create more loyalty and make casual cruisers faithful cruisers. By beverage package, you mean Bottomless Bubbles? That would make sense, as Carnival would NEVER give Cheers to us. They already allow us to bring 12 cans of soda, so why not give us the beverage package. I think Platinum and up should receive 1 free steakhouse dinner or 2 other free specialty restaurants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fla Senior Posted February 19, 2019 #57 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, masterty said: They should make it 1 point per $1k spent per pax. Leave everything else alone. JM2C. Then the program would become a rewards program, not a loyalty program. Maybe have both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDisconnections Posted February 19, 2019 #58 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, jbethel11 said: By beverage package, you mean Bottomless Bubbles? That would make sense, as Carnival would NEVER give Cheers to us. They already allow us to bring 12 cans of soda, so why not give us the beverage package. I think Platinum and up should receive 1 free steakhouse dinner or 2 other free specialty restaurants. As long as they’re using cans, they won’t give you a free soda package either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrounds Posted February 19, 2019 #59 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/11/2019 at 12:46 PM, BenjiRodney said: Thre needs to be a level between Platinum and Diamond. 75-199 is a huge jump. Currently at 115 days with 19 more days booked. Will take awhile to hit that Diamond Status. I quite agree. 156 nights here and running out of time (80 in October) 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrounds Posted February 19, 2019 #60 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/16/2019 at 3:54 PM, bury me at sea said: Carnival enjoys being a leader in the go to line for novice cruisers. In addition to being family friendly and fun, they offer a good value for the cost. They don't need to foster loyalty; it's not the market that makes them money. Put yourself in a corporate seat for a moment. You can sell early boarding and cabin access to relatively new cruisers or you can give it away to thousands of platinums a year. I, possibly as a minority of one, will be astonished if changes in VIFP perks result in more benefits. My crystal ball predicts a new level between gold and platinum that includes a second bottle of water and many many more nights to achieve platinum status. The prospect that early access to cabins will continue to be offered to platinums is dubious at best. It has never been listed as a perk at the platinum level, but came in the back door when FTTF was implemented. Just my two cents, which with inflation might be worth one no longer copper cent. I agree with almost all of this. For many reasons Platinums and Diamonds don't make Carnival a lot of money. Carnival's market is the novice and family cruisers. They buy a butt load of Carnival photos on the ship and in every port, trinkets and clothing from the ship store, and ship-sponsored tours. They spend a fortune on booze. They pay a fortune for the FTTF to board an hour before the other regular paxs. They drop a fortune in the casinos where there is absolutely no authority looking over their shoulder like the Nevada Gaming Commission does. They are pure gold to Carnival. Barnum & Bailey had a title for them. Whereas, the P&D cruisers, with phones and cameras take excellent pics for themselves, have figured out how to book tours on the internet that are in many cases exact duplicates of those offered by Carnival at TWICE the price. Do their heavy drinking in ports at a fraction ($1 beers and bargain jello shots in Los Cabos !) or at the P&D special drink away. Wait until the last night at sea to scoop up t-shirts, jackets and other trinkets at HALF PRICE. Attend the Art auction for the free wine, seldom bid on anything. And a zillion other COST advantages we have from experience I can't remember now.🙂 From a corporate standpoint Carnival would, most likely, just as soon P&Ds move onto another one of their lines for a few dollars more. Have a cruise on the PANORAMA booked in January bringing me to 156 nights on a Carnival ship and believe me, at times, it's very tempting. However, they always get me with the Steakhouse. An absolute steal at $38. Usually go at least twice per week.🙂 As "bury me at sea" says it's just my 2 cents worth. As a retired business owner, I frequently view things from a PURE business standpoint. P&Ds are a royal pain to Carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNJCruisers Posted February 19, 2019 #61 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Been platinum for 10 years, with 19 on Carnival, but my first two were from '91 and '86, so I did not get credit for them. Have two booked this year and '21, but still leaves me 6 short of Milestone. Diamond will never be obtained. The Milestone benefit of 25% off will be the only real major perk I'll ever get, but with so many other choices out there, don't know if it will become reality. A free 8x10 picture, a BOGO specialty dinner and a 10% discount on Cheers would be three perks I would like to see for platinum. But I certainly will not be holding my breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkbiiii Posted February 19, 2019 #62 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Royal Caribbean: Diamonds & above get comped drinks & more. Celebrity: Elite & above get comped drinks and more. Zenith gets Premium Drink package! MSC: Black Cards get a Specialty Dinner for two, & more. Princess: Elite's get cabin beverage set up & more. Crystal: free credit and comped cruises, even suites! NCL: Platinum & above, get Comped Specialty Dining & more. Cunard: Diamonds get Comped Specialty Dinner for two. Costa: Peril & above Comped Specialty Dining. Peril Diamond Comped Spa Dining Room whole voyage. So yes, Carnival could step it up a notch or two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkbiiii Posted February 19, 2019 #63 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Fla Senior said: Then the program would become a rewards program, not a loyalty program. Maybe have both. But many cruise lines do just that & award points based on cabin category. Royal even gives you extra points, for cruising single, in a cabin. So it is possible to get three points per day (normal, single, suite, daily points). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe4all Posted February 19, 2019 #64 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I am quite happy with the "perks" given at my current level. (Platinum) However, I would love it if Carnival gave extra points like NCL (and other lines do). After only 6 cruises on NCL I was at their Platinum level, as I was given double points for booking 9 months or more in advance, double points for Med sailing promo they were running, double points for our Baltic cruise for a promo, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amyracecar Posted February 19, 2019 #65 Share Posted February 19, 2019 As a new(ish) Carnival customer can I also say that it amuses me greatly that our 'perk' is a bottle of water each. (Especially as they're now doing the cheaper water packs to order. When we first started cruising in-room water was expensive, not quite so much now) I still have all the other rather average perks to look forward to! It baffles me how they can't work something like this to their advantage. Why not offer red/gold cruisers something like a free drink in the speciality restaurants, meaning that it encourages people to book & pay for a table, or 10% off a couple of photos. Either way they're potentially making more money but it looks like you're getting a benefit. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wms99 Posted February 19, 2019 #66 Share Posted February 19, 2019 16 hours ago, ImANewfie said: There needs to be a level above Diamond. I am just under 500 and have 11 other cruises booked... What would be above a Diamond? Adamanthium? Uru? Mythrial? Vibrainium? I ask in a serious way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted February 19, 2019 #67 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Any changes would reduce benefits for the current platinum. There are too many to give them anything additional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted February 19, 2019 #68 Share Posted February 19, 2019 7 minutes ago, wms99 said: What would be above a Diamond? Adamanthium? Uru? Mythrial? Vibrainium? I ask in a serious way. Reduce benefits for platinum, taking away the priority boarding, putting in a sapphire level at 150 days, move diamond to 300 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbethel11 Posted February 19, 2019 #69 Share Posted February 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, Lottacruises said: Reduce benefits for platinum, taking away the priority boarding, putting in a sapphire level at 150 days, move diamond to 300 days. But then add something to gold. It would balance it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPlayWithString Posted February 19, 2019 #70 Share Posted February 19, 2019 13 hours ago, masterty said: They should make it 1 point per $1k spent per pax. Leave everything else alone. JM2C. See..the reason I don't like this is because it's unfair. If you keep it at 1 pt per cruise day, then it's fair across the board, no matter if you are staying in an inside room or the grand suite (or whatever it's called). If you change it to 1 pt per X$, then some people would NEVER get to platinum or diamond because they just don't cruise that often or don't spend that much money per cruise. We usually choose inside rooms, which are cheaper, and we choose them for a variety of reasons. One of which is usually cost. It's not that we don't like balconies, but inside rooms are generally better for us. Are you saying we don't deserve to reach diamond (since we're already platinum) because we don't spend as much money as Joe Megabucks who books a suite every time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNJCruisers Posted February 19, 2019 #71 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Lottacruises said: Reduce benefits for platinum, taking away the priority boarding, LOL...that is the ONLY perk for Platinum worth anything besides whatever trinket they decide to give away. The drink coupon is worthless, the Platinum/Diamond gathering is worthless and the hot water only wash is worthless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted February 19, 2019 #72 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said: LOL...that is the ONLY perk for Platinum worth anything besides whatever trinket they decide to give away. The drink coupon is worthless, the Platinum/Diamond gathering is worthless and the hot water only wash is worthless. Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bury me at sea Posted February 19, 2019 #73 Share Posted February 19, 2019 5 hours ago, Amyracecar said: As a new(ish) Carnival customer can I also say that it amuses me greatly that our 'perk' is a bottle of water each. (Especially as they're now doing the cheaper water packs to order. When we first started cruising in-room water was expensive, not quite so much now) I don't find it amusing; I find it insulting. Free water is available all over the ship, including in the bathroom sink in every cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schazzy Posted February 19, 2019 #74 Share Posted February 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, bury me at sea said: I don't find it amusing; I find it insulting. Free water is available all over the ship, including in the bathroom sink in every cabin. I guess we are spoiled by having very good tap water at home, but unless it's ice cold, the ship's tap water seems to taste very metallic to us, so we tend to drink the bottled water more often than not on a cruise. So we actually appreciate getting 2 large bottles of water to have for the cabin and not having to pay $4 a piece for them. Greatest perk ever? No. Do I enjoy getting them? Yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clhayes Posted February 19, 2019 #75 Share Posted February 19, 2019 John Heald mentioned during a recently taped Q&A session in November’18 that he personally recommends adding two levels. One between Platinum and Diamond, as well as a second titled Diamond Plus. John states that there are approximately 500,000 Plats and 10,000 Diamonds. Just sharing as I thought it relevant to the OP. https://youtu.be/-8M_wwyTRcE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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