Will Carnival , copy Disney cruise lines, loyalty program change?

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

They monetized priority boarding, debark and GS with FTTF-all perks for P/D guests so why not? Especially guests who have non Carnival excursions?

Yes they did but so what? That's fodder for a different thread.

[kdr69]

On 12/28/2023 at 5:56 PM, jimbo5544 said:

The overhaul of the loyalty program is WAY overdo.  The program is unsustainable.  When I read about the Disney program, I thought it was too weak to make any difference.  I have personally heard about changes from mgt going back to when the Splendor came out and they hired Hana away from Starwood loyalty (I think it was).  

 

The fact of the matter is that when half the ship qualifies for the “program” it needs to be scoped down, significantly.  I doubt very much very there change will only be the Disney or MSC versions.  Look for somethingwhre they raise the bar for the top two levels and add a third level (just mho).

OMG please not until after my Platinum Cruise in April....

[jimbo5544]

21 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

OMG please not until after my Platinum Cruise in April....

LOL, this has been on the works for a LONG time.

 

[Elaine5715]

19 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

On the flipside it's vacation and it's no fun for mom and dad to be separated from susie and betty at the water shuttle because they stayed home for a few cruises and aren't platinum yet.

 

19 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Then charge them for the experience.  

 

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Yes they did but so what? That's fodder for a different thread.

Nope, for this one

[sparks1093]

9 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

 

 

Nope, for this one

They pat their fare for the requisite number of cruises, same as you do, so they are paying for the experience the same way you do. Their age has no relevance. If you can't be thankful for your current status now then you will never be thankful.

[firefly333]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:54 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I hear you.  How are the prices on Icon compared to Carnival?  Different ships, different room types, different perception.  Cannot argue the perks, experienced Royals thru son in law who is Diamond plus.  

I havent booked Icon, or Star, Star is the next Icon class. When I read they added more 3 and 4 pax cabins so they can get more families onboard so far I havent said oh that's what I'm looking for a new class that has cabins that hold more kids. Lol. 

 

I do have wonder currently the newest and Utopia who is being built and will debut after icon booked. Utopia will be newer than icon, but icon gets all the hype. Utopia is doing 3 and 4 day. Our group is doing wonder for 7 days, 1 day break then utopia. So I joined in. 

 

No argument from me icon prices are crazy. Utopia albeit only 4 days will be newer but I got a balcony for 1k. High I agree. I think jubilee prices are high .. waiting. Everyone pts to icon, even with utopia and star announced. 

 

I'm glad I'm nailing diamond on carnival in case they change their policy. I've been at 197 too long. 14 more pts. Nailed. Now if carnival changes hopefully I'm grandfathered in. 

[mz-s]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I havent booked Icon, or Star, Star is the next Icon class. When I read they added more 3 and 4 pax cabins so they can get more families onboard so far I havent said oh that's what I'm looking for a new class that has cabins that hold more kids. Lol. 

 

I do have wonder currently the newest and Utopia who is being built and will debut after icon booked. Utopia will be newer than icon, but icon gets all the hype. Utopia is doing 3 and 4 day. Our group is doing wonder for 7 days, 1 day break then utopia. So I joined in. 

 

No argument from me icon prices are crazy. Utopia albeit only 4 days will be newer but I got a balcony for 1k. High I agree. I think jubilee prices are high .. waiting. Everyone pts to icon, even with utopia and star announced. 

 

I'm glad I'm nailing diamond on carnival in case they change their policy. I've been at 197 too long. 14 more pts. Nailed. Now if carnival changes hopefully I'm grandfathered in. 

 

Congratulations on your upcoming free steakhouse dinner and fanny pack!

[jimbo5544]

27 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I havent booked Icon, or Star, Star is the next Icon class. When I read they added more 3 and 4 pax cabins so they can get more families onboard so far I havent said oh that's what I'm looking for a new class that has cabins that hold more kids. Lol. 

 

I do have wonder currently the newest and Utopia who is being built and will debut after icon booked. Utopia will be newer than icon, but icon gets all the hype. Utopia is doing 3 and 4 day. Our group is doing wonder for 7 days, 1 day break then utopia. So I joined in. 

 

No argument from me icon prices are crazy. Utopia albeit only 4 days will be newer but I got a balcony for 1k. High I agree. I think jubilee prices are high .. waiting. Everyone pts to icon, even with utopia and star announced. 

 

I'm glad I'm nailing diamond on carnival in case they change their policy. I've been at 197 too long. 14 more pts. Nailed. Now if carnival changes hopefully I'm grandfathered in. 

One cannot argue with the demand for Icon.  We had clients that had to go out an amazing amount of months, and the price is ridiculous.  That said, to each their own.  They sure have put a whole lot of money into new ships.  The market (RCCL) does have a saturation point.

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

They pat their fare for the requisite number of cruises, same as you do, so they are paying for the experience the same way you do. Their age has no relevance. If you can't be thankful for your current status now then you will never be thankful.

Wasn't the conversation.  Also, don't need to be thankful for something I purchased.  

[sparks1093]

21 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Wasn't the conversation.  Also, don't need to be thankful for something I purchased.  

It was the conversation from my understanding and I apologize for misunderstanding. Substitute happy for thankful then- if you aren't happy with your status as it is you won't be happy as you perceive it should be. 

[glrounds]

On 12/30/2023 at 6:04 AM, firefly333 said:

I've taken women with me on cruises I paid for, just asked them if they would pay their own extra expenses. .. so can I get a extra point for paying for them? I agree it's going too far to worry about others and who paid their fare if they should get pts for days they actually cruised. I've taken at least 4 other women since the cabin is paid for anyway. Im solo and paid double. I should have been diamond a while ago on carnival too.

I often took my ex-wife since I was paying DO. She only had to pay her own tips on her card. I would easily have made Diamond by this time with that added credit.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, glrounds said:

I often took my ex-wife since I was paying DO. She only had to pay her own tips on her card. I would easily have made Diamond by this time with that added credit.

I think you can sleep safely without worrying about that going forward.

[Theosprey247]

The question is, do you cruise for the experience, or do you cruise for the loyalty “perks”?

[jimbo5544]

19 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

The question is, do you cruise for the experience, or do you cruise for the loyalty “perks”?

Are they mutually exclusive?

[mz-s]

20 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

The question is, do you cruise for the experience, or do you cruise for the loyalty “perks”?

 

I think a lot of people would say they cruise for the experience. But perks could certainly help when deciding which cruise / cruise line to choose.

[Joebucks]

20 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

The question is, do you cruise for the experience, or do you cruise for the loyalty “perks”?

 

What people say and what they actually think/say/do, are often two-different things.

 

I have a friend who is going on a mass market cruise soon because "it was a good deal and everything was free." $4000 later, it was a decision for perks. Not loyalty, but "perks" nonetheless. 

 

Honestly, after years of monitoring travel discussion, I can tell you one thing. People will spend thousands for their transportation, hotels, destinations, food, etc. The first thing they will point out is 2% of that cost that was "free" or "an extra fee." Some people absolutely cruise for perks. They may not admit or even fully realize it, but they do. That is why the perks exist.

[pe4all]

Don't really care if the loyalty program changes at this point in time.  However - I do wish they would extend the loyalty "perks" to the rest of their sister lines - Princess, HAL, etc.  Would love to try them at some point, but would hate to start over when I am Diamond on Carnival. Free laundry alone is worth me continuing to sail with them - lol!

[ninjacat123]

sorry didn't mean to post

Edited January 2 by ninjacat123
mistake

[ProgRockCruiser]

We don't cruise Carnival for the perks, but we're "only" Gold.

 

My "value" for the possible perks that lurk in my future:

 

Early access to the cabins, even just for drop off, is something I would certainly take advantage of, but doesn't stress me that I cannot do right now - we typically board around 11am (sometimes noon), grab a drink and do e-muster, and just carry the backpack(s) around for an hour or two and head to the cabin at 1:30pm.

 

The free laundry could be useful for certain stuff, but not a huge deal - we haven't had any issues packing 8 days of stuff in our suitcases (we don't have enough leisure time for anything longer), including two elegant nights worth of nicer clothing.

 

D&P party or free drinks?  We get Cheers, so I don't see that being useful unless/until we really reign in our alcohol consumption.

 

Tender priority?  Yeah, would be nice, though it is not too common for us to have tender ports recently, for some reason.

 

The one Gold perk we use regularly is the two free large bottles of water - but with Cheers we can get unlimited smaller bottles, so that's just a convenience factor for the beach outings.

 

So we are the outliers perhaps, where we cruise because we like what Carnival has to offer, and the "perks" are welcome but not driving any decisions.

 

If free wifi is possible in the future as a perk, I might need to actively avoid that because we cruise to disconnect - I don't need work hassling me over today's "emergency" (that will soon be forgotten during tomorrow's "emergency", rinse & repeat).

[aborgman]

On 12/30/2023 at 1:34 PM, Elaine5715 said:

 

Because when a toddler and a dog are being recognized for their "loyalty". it is mocking the actual loyal guests.

 

...but loyalty programs aren't to reward customers for loyalty... they're to skim profitable information, and attempt to increase your spend. It isn't a reward, it's just an incentive to give the company more money.

As the old saying goes - if you aren't paying for it, YOU are the product.

[aborgman]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:39 PM, Elaine5715 said:

Then charge them for the experience.  

 

Carnival obviously feels that doing so is a money loser, and not a money maker - or they would have done it long ago.

 

It isn't about what is right, or what you (or I) want - it's 100% about what Carnival thinks will make them the most cash.

[aborgman]

On 12/30/2023 at 8:57 PM, Elaine5715 said:

The diss is on the cruiseline who so little values loyalty that they award beings that have no such loyalty.

 

The cruise lines (nor any other business) ever valued "loyalty". They don't value us, or our loyalty.

 

They value the MONEY loyalty can bring - but if burning loyal customers to the ground means more money, they would do it in a second.

 

Loyalty programs don't exist to reward the loyal - they exist to extract more money from the loyal.

[aborgman]

On 1/1/2024 at 11:51 AM, Theosprey247 said:

The question is, do you cruise for the experience, or do you cruise for the loyalty “perks”?

 

The perks are part of the experience, no?

 

A distinction without difference.

[mz-s]

9 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

...but loyalty programs aren't to reward customers for loyalty... they're to skim profitable information, and attempt to increase your spend. It isn't a reward, it's just an incentive to give the company more money.

As the old saying goes - if you aren't paying for it, YOU are the product.

 

6 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

Carnival obviously feels that doing so is a money loser, and not a money maker - or they would have done it long ago.

 

It isn't about what is right, or what you (or I) want - it's 100% about what Carnival thinks will make them the most cash.

 

2 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

The cruise lines (nor any other business) ever valued "loyalty". They don't value us, or our loyalty.

 

They value the MONEY loyalty can bring - but if burning loyal customers to the ground means more money, they would do it in a second.

 

Loyalty programs don't exist to reward the loyal - they exist to extract more money from the loyal.

 

None of this is any big secret or any new revelation.

[aborgman]

13 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

 

 

None of this is any big secret or any new revelation.

 

Well, lots of folks are complaining about "loyalty" programs not rewarding loyalty in this thread... so apparently it is a big secret to those complaining.