VIFP Revamp - What are YOUR Ideas?

[cruisingguy007]

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Less there be any doubt about what Carnival brands are targeting

 

Carnival Corporation is ramping up advertising spending across its portfolio of brands, according to President and CEO Josh Weinstein, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

He said it was a move to support future demand.

“I’ve actively been working with each brand on their strategies and road maps,” Weinstein said. “As a result, I’ve authorized our brands to take a significant step up in advertising activities, including a nearly 20 percent increase in our investment this past quarter over 2019, to elevate awareness and consideration and to drive demand for both the near and the longer term. This should be particularly impactful with those new-to-cruise, where we draw about one-third of our guests, as we position to take share from land-based alternatives.”

 

Smart, this would work out west for sure. A campaign reminding folks that cruising isn't just for old folks by highlighting some of the new features on the ships, specifically reminding folks that a passport isn't required and talking up the all-inclusiveness would certainly yield dividends. I don't think I've ever even seen a Carnival cruise commercial. I've seen a couple of NCL commercials (I think it was during sports) and one RCI commercial. Raising awareness in certain markets makes a lot of sense, new cruisers that have a great time will tell others. We've only been cruising a short while and have introduced several cruise newbies and all have instantly loved it but had no idea about it.   

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

I'm quite certain you have no insight into their thinking. They want to increase profit and my suggestion is the only logical conclusion. lol.

Oh you're correct there, and nor did I claim too.  Nice deflection.  The point is -  you don't have a clue (into their thinking is included in topics lol).

Edited December 23, 2022 by bucfan2

[BlerkOne]

38 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Oh you're correct there, and nor did I claim too.  Nice deflection.  The point is -  you don't have a clue (into their thinking is included in topics lol).

Once again, you try a personal attack. Blocked and rejected.

 

Clearly the status quo isn't getting Carnival where they need to be. Change is the only answer. You offered nothing but insults. I offered the solution.

[staceyglow]

3 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

 I don't think I've ever even seen a Carnival cruise commercial. 

You've never seen the ones with Shaquille O'Neal?  I think it's been a couple of years, but they exist.

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by staceyglow

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, staceyglow said:

You've never seen the ones with Shaquille O'Neal?  I think it's been a couple of years, but they exist.

 

 

I've seen these on the ship lots of times but not on any other advertising platform. Granted, I haven't had cable TV in years and don't watch many commercials unless they are part of a live sports stream from a network source but even within that limited scope I saw a NCL and RCI ad within the last year or so.  

[staceyglow]

20 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I've seen these on the ship lots of times but not on any other advertising platform. Granted, I haven't had cable TV in years and don't watch many commercials unless they are part of a live sports stream from a network source but even within that limited scope I saw a NCL and RCI ad within the last year or so.  

If I am remembering correctly, I saw these commercials on network prime time.  That may be why you never saw them.  And it's perfectly reasonable to assume that an ad is going to reach a wider audience doing that than, say, advertising on streaming sports.

[cruisingguy007]

13 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

If I am remembering correctly, I saw these commercials on network prime time.  That may be why you never saw them.  And it's perfectly reasonable to assume that an ad is going to reach a wider audience doing that than, say, advertising on streaming sports.

 

I don't know, sporting events are watched by a lot of people (and listen to in the background by non viewers) and unless you're catching a premium feed, there are usually national and local ads in the mix, just like watching it on cable. Pretty sure the last cruise ad was during super bowl (NCL I think). Network prime-time doesn't have the audience it used to. Once people cut the cord it's hard to watch regular cable TV ever again, it feels like you're just watching commercials instead of programming. Cord cutting is growing year over year. Streaming is mainstream.  

Edited December 24, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[staceyglow]

1 minute ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I don't know, sporting events are watched by a lot of people (and listen to in the background by non viewers) and unless you're catching a premium feed, there are usually national and local ads in the mix, just like watching it on TV. Pretty sure the last cruise ad was during super bowl (NCL I think). Network prime-time doesn't have the audience it used to. One people cut the cord it's hard to watch regular TV ever again, it feels like you're just watching commercials instead of programming. Cord cutting is growing year over year. Streaming is mainstream.  

All I am saying is just because you didn't see any Carnival advertising on TV, it doesn't mean it didn't happen.  And watching only sports means that your viewing habits are very narrow.

 

And I know there are many, many people who never watch sports. And that is especially true when it comes to women, who I imagine are involved in well over half of all vacation planning decisions.

[cruisingguy007]

2 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

All I am saying is just because you didn't see any Carnival advertising on TV, it doesn't mean it didn't happen.  And watching only sports means that your viewing habits are very narrow.

 

And I know there are many, many people who never watch sports. And that is especially true when it comes to women, who I imagine are involved in well over half of all vacation planning decisions.

 

I didn't say I only watch sports, tI said the only time I may see a commercial is when I watch a sport feed. I can watch anything else (way way more than cable) without seeing commercials. Same as when I'm on the net, no ads/popups or any of that stuff. Plenty of women watch sports, it's one of the fastest growing segments, they are also playing more sports than ever with professional women options in nearly every sport, including MMA and bodybuilding. Look in the stands at a NFL game, lots and lots of women. They are referees, coaches and trainers as well.   

[icft]

29 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

... And watching only sports means that your viewing habits are very narrow...

 

 

.😆🤣😂. Zing! Us guys are known for our narrow interests.

[BlerkOne]

On 12/22/2022 at 3:58 PM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I'm up to 1500 points, and a fair number have been casino sailings (though every one I've paid to upgrade, or received a casino discount). On the flip side, I've paid OOP for a couple of sailings in a PH. My CS and RS cabins all earned 12 points/night, the PH I think was 18!

 

Tom

I see that Celebrity has (eventually) given me triple points for the comped cruise. I'm not refusing them (not  sure I could)m but I still think it is double dipping. I had a nice balcony cabin for $166. Airfare on relatively short notice did run it up.

 

[d12j28]

20 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

OF course it is. The free room is the incentive for the gambler to cruise. and the free drinks. Now they also want an extra bottle of water and an extra drink?

 

What rate does the casino pay for the room? More than what a paying customer would? I don't think so.

We will agree to disagree on the double dipping. 

 

Why in the world would anyone care about a bottle of water or a free drink from the VIFP program when they already get free drinks? We are platinum and besides using the laundry (twice on longer cruises), priority boarding and the buy on get one tourney entry (now $25 casino play) we don't even use any of the other perks.

 

The room is paid. At what rate I do not (nor did I claim to) know, but I do know Carnival is getting money for the room. They are getting at least $200 ($100 pp to book) plus gratuities and taxes from me and whatever rate the casino pays. Everyone gambles at different levels so I can't speak for all but I will say that we spend way more on board than the cruise would of cost. If Carnival decided to change and make the casino and VIFP levels separate it really wouldn't bother us much as I'm sure the casino would offer better things than the VIFP program. 

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, d12j28 said:

We will agree to disagree on the double dipping. 

 

Why in the world would anyone care about a bottle of water or a free drink from the VIFP program when they already get free drinks? We are platinum and besides using the laundry (twice on longer cruises), priority boarding and the buy on get one tourney entry (now $25 casino play) we don't even use any of the other perks.

 

The room is paid. At what rate I do not (nor did I claim to) know, but I do know Carnival is getting money for the room. They are getting at least $200 ($100 pp to book) plus gratuities and taxes from me and whatever rate the casino pays. Everyone gambles at different levels so I can't speak for all but I will say that we spend way more on board than the cruise would of cost. If Carnival decided to change and make the casino and VIFP levels separate it really wouldn't bother us much as I'm sure the casino would offer better things than the VIFP program. 

People who don't get casino offers also gamble and spend money on the ship in addition to paying for their cabin.

 

The VIFP program has a budget and there are limited resources on a ship. It was not designed to attract gamblers. That's why the casino has a budget to attract gamblers.  No marketing program is sustainable without change but with well over a million platinum cruisers with points that never expire, there will be changes, but not for the better, for those not on casino offers.

 

CCL reserves the right to not count sea days on non-revenue fares, but they they usually don't enforce that and have wrecked the program as a result. The Carnival loyals, as opposed to casino loyals, want more, but there is no more to give. There will have to be cutbacks.

[icft]

3 hours ago, d12j28 said:

 

...The room is paid. At what rate I do not (nor did I claim to) know, but I do know Carnival is getting money for the room...

They will be getting an "arms length" price for the rooms in order to maintain the corporate veil. If they give preferential pricing to the casino corporation the courts will not consider them separate corporations and the whole purpose of putting the operations in separate corporations will be defeated.

 

Each ship is in a separate corporation. The reason for that is that if the worst happens, such as the ship sinking with many deaths, those suing the ship will only be able to reach the assets of the corporation that owns the ship and the rest of the corporations will be unaffected. So they are not going to facilitate piercing the corporate veil by doing business with each other at rates other than those at which they can convince a court they would do business with anyone. 

[icft]

5 minutes ago, icft said:

They will be getting an "arms length" price for the rooms in order to maintain the corporate veil. If they give preferential pricing to the casino corporation the courts will not consider them separate corporations and the whole purpose of putting the operations in separate corporations will be defeated.

 

Each ship is in a separate corporation. The reason for that is that if the worst happens, such as the ship sinking with many deaths, those suing the ship will only be able to reach the assets of the corporation that owns the ship and the rest of the corporations will be unaffected. So they are not going to facilitate piercing the corporate veil by doing business with each other at rates other than those at which they can convince a court they would do business with anyone. 

Come to think about it. This is probably why people who have not gotten casino offers in the past have been surprised to receive casino offers these days. As the regular fares have dropped that has reduced the cost to the casino operation for each room. So if they have X million dollars set aside in their promotions budget for buying rooms they can now buy more rooms for that same X million and can afford to go after lower level gamblers to try to get them hooked (so to speak).

[BlerkOne]

As Carnival raises fares, it would only make sense that fewer freeloaders are allowed to dilute to VFIP program, but it is already too late.

[Illbcruzn4life]

let's see how well the raising rates part goes.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

5 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

let's see how well the raising rates part goes.

Probably not too well, given that inflation tends to hit some groups disproportionately harder than others. And that may well coincide with some of their passenger demographic.  

 

Carnival definitely seems to be the king of new cruisers. Since boarding the Liberty on Thursday, I've seen 1 gold card, maybe a dozen reds, and perhaps 50+ blues. It's almost a given - pull up to any bar and look to your left or right and you'll see a sea of blue. 

 

So - the folks paying the bills (and probably getting all the photos, etc) are mostly newbies. There's a newbie born every minute...

 

Oh, and while I'm at it... what possesses adults (usually family groups) to wear pajamas to the MDR for breakfast? I'd venture a guess that, if you look across all cruise lines, it's more prevalent on Carnival. 

 

Tom

[BlerkOne]

20 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Probably not too well, given that inflation tends to hit some groups disproportionately harder than others. And that may well coincide with some of their passenger demographic.  

 

Carnival definitely seems to be the king of new cruisers. Since boarding the Liberty on Thursday, I've seen 1 gold card, maybe a dozen reds, and perhaps 50+ blues. It's almost a given - pull up to any bar and look to your left or right and you'll see a sea of blue. 

 

 

This has always been Carnival's target market. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

16 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

This has always been Carnival's target market. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

 

Without a doubt. Though, I've been on more than a couple Carnival cruises, and this (by far) takes the cake! It could be just everything lining up for this one, an unusual 4 night weekend holiday sailing...

 

Tom

[DallasGuy75219]

On 12/19/2022 at 11:48 PM, Chip1 said:

According to Diamond perk list I have from 2012 Diamond members are supposed to get guaranteed reservations for the main dining room. Under the previous program where Platinum was the top tier, they were supposed to get guaranteed dining reservations. Based upon my experience the guaranteed dining reservation perk is very rarely done. In the 10 sailings where I was supposed to get guaranteed dining reservations, I only received it once.

From 2012, seriously?  The current benefit is worded "Guaranteed seating time requested in Main Dining Room for dinner only" and "Priority reservations at Specialty restaurants."  

 

As a Platinum (under the old program) and Diamond (under the new program) I've never not gotten my first choice of dining times (usually YTD), even when it was waitlisted or full.  

 

What do you mean that you weren't able to get "guaranteed dining reservations"?  We're you trying to reserve a specific time for YTD or trying to reserve a seating (early, late, or YTD)?

[Chip1]

14 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

From 2012, seriously?  The current benefit is worded "Guaranteed seating time requested in Main Dining Room for dinner only" and "Priority reservations at Specialty restaurants."  

 

As a Platinum (under the old program) and Diamond (under the new program) I've never not gotten my first choice of dining times (usually YTD), even when it was waitlisted or full.  

 

What do you mean that you weren't able to get "guaranteed dining reservations"?  We're you trying to reserve a specific time for YTD or trying to reserve a seating (early, late, or YTD)?

I don't check Carnival's web site for the current wording as I haven't sailed with them for a long time. When the current program was announced in 2012 it said, "guaranteed reservations" and not mealtime. That same wording was used in the prior program when Platinum was the highest level. Guaranteed reservations should mean both mealtime and table size. I would request Late seating at a table for 8 - which should be an indication that I wanted tablemates. Most of the sailings when I should l have received guaranteed dining reservations, I was assigned either a table for 2 or a table / booth for 4 without tablemates.

[Eli_6]

FYI, if you get YTD and you wanted a set dining time and the same table, you can talk to the maitre d and they will often give you the same time/table every night.  I have made this request when I had YTD and was able to get the same time and table every night on a full ship.  

[DallasGuy75219]

56 minutes ago, Chip1 said:

I don't check Carnival's web site for the current wording as I haven't sailed with them for a long time. When the current program was announced in 2012 it said, "guaranteed reservations" and not mealtime. That same wording was used in the prior program when Platinum was the highest level. Guaranteed reservations should mean both mealtime and table size. I would request Late seating at a table for 8 - which should be an indication that I wanted tablemates. Most of the sailings when I should l have received guaranteed dining reservations, I was assigned either a table for 2 or a table / booth for 4 without tablemates.

Granted the perk may not have been worded well, which is probably why it's now more specific, but in practice it's never been intended to guarantee a specific size table at assigned time dinner (or to allow a reservation time at YTD).

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Chip1 said:

I don't check Carnival's web site for the current wording as I haven't sailed with them for a long time. When the current program was announced in 2012 it said, "guaranteed reservations" and not mealtime. That same wording was used in the prior program when Platinum was the highest level. Guaranteed reservations should mean both mealtime and table size. I would request Late seating at a table for 8 - which should be an indication that I wanted tablemates. Most of the sailings when I should l have received guaranteed dining reservations, I was assigned either a table for 2 or a table / booth for 4 without tablemates.

The wording of any year would include near the top the program terms and conditions includes the program is subject to change with or with notice.

 

There are always some people switching tables on any given cruise. Did you ask the maitre d' to move you to a larger table?

 

As for wording in 2012

Platinum (75 to 199 cruise days): Benefits include priority embarkation, debarkation, tender service, and dining times (including main dining room and specialty restaurants, if applicable), an enhanced logo gift item, along with a ship- and year-    specific pin each voyage that will be redesigned annually, a dedicated phone number and concierge desk on board, complimentary wash and fold laundry service, casino buy-one-get-one tournament entry, complimentary arcade $5 play for guests under   18, as well as all of the benefits of the Red and Gold level memberships.

 

https://carnival-news.com/2012/06/11/carnival-cruise-lines-rolls-out-revamped-guest-recognition-program-offering-array-of-exciting-perks-and-benefits/