Changes to Carnival Loyalty Program

[WeCruise5]

I’m not disputing any of the numbers stated in these comments, but do have a question. If they truly can’t provide the services to the number of Platinum and Diamond cruisers… how are they still able to sell “Faster to the Fun”? I lack a few sailings to make platinum and book this almost every time. Just curious if the laundry and VIFP party are where the number of people is the issue, as faster to the fun includes all of the other perks. 

[Joebucks]

11 hours ago, Sgwscruiser said:

How do you know this 

 

They were all there for priority boarding and ensured everyone was aware

[Guest]

11 hours ago, JMAE said:

I know what you said, the fares (about 70% of their income) only cover about 85% of operational experiences. The other 15% comes from on board spending (about 30% of their income). 

 

I believe it was CNBC several years ago had a show about the financials of a cruise ship for one sailing. If i can recall correctly - it was break even or just a little under just from cruise fares - and on-board sales determined profitability. They even showed that alcohol sales were down mid-cruise and were pushing specials to increase sales. 

Edited March 26 by Guest

[Rudyard]

51 minutes ago, Afttastic said:

 

I believe it was CNBC several years ago had a show about the financials of a cruise ship for one sailing. If i can recall correctly - it was break even or just a little under just from cruise fares - and on-board sales determined profitability. They even showed that alcohol sales were down mid-cruise and were pushing specials to increase sales. 

I remember that show. It was called Cruise Inc: Big Money on the High Seas. Pretty good behind the scenes documentary. I remember they lost a lot of money at one port where some excursions were cancelled due to weather. 

[Elaine5715]

56 minutes ago, Afttastic said:

 

I believe it was CNBC several years ago had a show about the financials of a cruise ship for one sailing. If i can recall correctly - it was break even or just a little under just from cruise fares - and on-board sales determined profitability. They even showed that alcohol sales were down mid-cruise and were pushing specials to increase sales. 

You are correct.  The ship also declined to say what that amount was but close to the end of the cruise, they hit their target.  

[Frank12]

On 3/22/2024 at 3:17 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

I have everything planned out so I get diamond on a particular cruise next year. There's no doubt they're going to screw me over.

Same!😡

[SRF]

21 hours ago, jedi bobs said:

I would change things a little, Leave Blue Red and Gold as is, then with Plats, Get rid of priority Boarding, but keep early check in, Get rid of the Past guest party Get rid of the 1 drink per person Durring Sea day brunch, and give 2 or 3 vouchers for a free drink of there choice per day.  Add Plat + and add 1 free specilty dining on 5+ day saiings, or Steakhouse Selection on ships w/o specialty dining also 4 free drinks per day.  Dimond would stay the same except 2 specilty dining and 5 free drinks, and Dimond + would be 3 specialty dining, and 6 free drinks per day, and special Lunch with the captian.  JMHO on what should be done.

Hmm.  Sounds a lot like the Royal Loyalty program

[Stick93]

It going to impossible to keep up with the changes and the numbers always going up. Most people who start to  cruise, go again… and if they enjoy repeat the same line. Everyday people are increasing their days/points. You don’t want to make the levels unattainable as some people like the gimmick and the small additions they get. 

 

Will take smart people to come up with a solution.. 

[MtnSeaGirl]

22 hours ago, BeachChik said:

I don’t know if the condescending comment was to me or not. But I wasn’t being condescending at all. I was simply stating that it’s weird to me. You are free to do what you want. But I personally have no loyalty to any brand in any area of my life. 
 

I love Disney and we go often because we live right there. But I am under no illusion that Disney would prefer I don’t go. I don’t buy souvenirs, we often get in for free because I know a cast member, we don’t spend a lot eating but we add to the crowds. Disney gets no value out of my being there. 
 

Cruises are the same. They don’t want the person that has cruised 27 times and stays in a lower tier cabin, doesn’t book cruise shore excursions, doesn’t spend a fortune on pictures. They want the new cruiser that will drop tons of money because it’s new to them. They will buy the photo package, booked the cruise line excursions, buy all the onboard souvenirs, eat all the for fee foods. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cruise with them but it does mean you shouldn’t expect anything regarding loyalty to the brand. 
 

I totally get why they have to keep changing the rules. How many people are hitting these milestones? Even doing cheap stuff it probably still costs the line quite a bit of money given the numbers of people. 

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Just now, MtnSeaGirl said:

 

No, BeachChik , the comment was not directed to you are anyone on this thread. I Should have been more plain on that one. I was thinking about comments in which a few seem to like to flame someone, belittle them, call them a troll, etc which is exactly why I don't post much.  I read tons but rarely post.  It seems since the PHE, people often feel more free to be a little ...rude...  We all have different opinions, ways to look at things. Those views when combined make a good 360 degree assessment.  My mantra is agree to disagree in a way that does not break the fellowship.   EX: one responder broke it down into it being a pure business decision.  Gave very sound logic and walked everyone thru the reasoning. Made perfect sense.

Please accept my sincere apology ,   

[ninjacat123]

21 minutes ago, MtnSeaGirl said:

No, BeachChik , the comment was not directed to you are anyone on this thread. I Should have been more plain on that one. I was thinking about comments in which a few seem to like to flame someone, belittle them, call them a troll, etc which is exactly why I don't post much.  I read tons but rarely post.  It seems since the PHE, people often feel more free to be a little ...rude...  We all have different opinions, ways to look at things. Those views when combined make a good 360 degree assessment.  My mantra is agree to disagree in a way that does not break the fellowship.   EX: one responder broke it down into it being a pure business decision.  Gave very sound logic and walked everyone thru the reasoning. Made perfect sense.

Please accept my sincere apology ,   

PHE is Public Health Emergency?  Just hadn't heard of it and wanted to find out. Thanks!!

[skywalkr2]

now that I have platinum, I really don't notice the abundance of too many platinums... at least out of NYC or Baltimore.  Still mostly red/blue cruisers.

 

however I know for a fact that If I lose priority embarkation on my platinum, I will just have no reason to stick with Carnival any more, and there will be a lot of others who decide its time to try other lines.

[mz-s]

I really think the "there are too many platinums and diamonds" thing is something that people on here have dreamed up. If it was an issue for Carnival they would have changed the program by now.

[MtnSeaGirl]

30 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

PHE is Public Health Emergency?  Just hadn't heard of it and wanted to find out. Thanks!!

Yes, PHE = Public Health Emergency.  Another prime example of me forgetting folks can't read or get into my mind....which would be scary at best.   🙂  Please know, it seems some folks are snappy on more than just Cruise Critic. It's at work, on social media platforms, etc.  Certainly not isolated to here.  Cruise Critic has been invaluable to trip planning, esp on our first cruises.  LIFESAVERS may be a better name of this forum some days.  For folks I know just beginning to cruise, I always tell them to get on Cruise Critic.  

[staceyglow]

4 hours ago, Afttastic said:

I heard recently from my "guy" that works in the mail room at Carnival world headquarters and he tells me that Carnival will be transitioning to a membership fee based loyalty system.

 

Everyone will be "Blue". Red perks will be for Carnival credit card holders, Gold perks will be $200 a year, Platinum perks will be $500 a year, and Diamond will be $2,500 a year.

I don't believe this for one minute. 

[mz-s]

I could see the credit card tying in to VIFP somehow. A lot of travel brands do that. But the program would have to be significantly overhauled and expanded to make it worth paying any amount of money for.

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I don't believe this for one minute. 

 

🤷‍♀️

[ninjacat123]

57 minutes ago, MtnSeaGirl said:

Yes, PHE = Public Health Emergency.  Another prime example of me forgetting folks can't read or get into my mind....which would be scary at best.   🙂  Please know, it seems some folks are snappy on more than just Cruise Critic. It's at work, on social media platforms, etc.  Certainly not isolated to here.  Cruise Critic has been invaluable to trip planning, esp on our first cruises.  LIFESAVERS may be a better name of this forum some days.  For folks I know just beginning to cruise, I always tell them to get on Cruise Critic.  

I agree!  Social media is a blessing and a curse and COVID enhanced all of that. I do the same thing, advising newbie cruisers about CC.  My cruises (and land trips) have been benefited in so many ways and I hope my reviews and comments pay it forward. 👍😺

[Illbcruzn4life]

6 hours ago, skywalkr2 said:

now that I have platinum, I really don't notice the abundance of too many platinums... at least out of NYC or Baltimore.  Still mostly red/blue cruisers.

 

however I know for a fact that If I lose priority embarkation on my platinum, I will just have no reason to stick with Carnival any more, and there will be a lot of others who decide its time to try other lines.

I wouldn’t let the fact that you have priority boarding stop you from trying other lines 

[icft]

8 hours ago, mz-s said:

I really think the "there are too many platinums and diamonds" thing is something that people on here have dreamed up. If it was an issue for Carnival they would have changed the program by now.

I think they kind of changed it already.

 

They cut down on the labor cost by not delivering your water, pin and nylon bag (in the shape of a fanny pack or makeup bag or whatever the shape of the day) to the room; the value of pin and water might be the same as old, but the nylon bag is cheaper than the pre-covid gifts; the chocolate delights are not what they once were (less quantity and lower quality) and the platinum/diamond party has done away with hors d'oeuvres.

 

None of this is of any real concern because the platinum and diamond benefits never were impressive, with the most valuable items being service items (like priority boarding and laundry etc) but they have whittled down the benefits about as much as possible without officially declaring certain benefits gone.

 

The only thing I feel sure of about concerning any new loyalty program is that it will cost Carnival less than the current program.

[Lee Cruiser]

27 minutes ago, icft said:

I think they kind of changed it already.

 

They cut down on the labor cost by not delivering your water, pin and nylon bag (in the shape of a fanny pack or makeup bag or whatever the shape of the day) to the room; the value of pin and water might be the same as old, but the nylon bag is cheaper than the pre-covid gifts; the chocolate delights are not what they once were (less quantity and lower quality) and the platinum/diamond party has done away with hors d'oeuvres.

 

None of this is of any real concern because the platinum and diamond benefits never were impressive, with the most valuable items being service items (like priority boarding and laundry etc) but they have whittled down the benefits about as much as possible without officially declaring certain benefits gone.

 

The only thing I feel sure of about concerning any new loyalty program is that it will cost Carnival less than the current program.

You could also add that they changed from having your stateroom ready upon boarding to just being able to drop your bags off.  That's a huge change that they said was because there were too many rooms to have ready upon boarding.  That's one of the things that disappointed us the most with the changes as we would go back to our room after eating and unpack and relax during all the chaos of folks waiting in public areas with tons of luggage everywhere.

[Lee Cruiser]

On 3/23/2024 at 9:58 PM, lasvegascruising said:

NOW HEAR THIS...we are due to turn platinum December 2024 which happens to be our 40th anniversary cruise.  If this gets screwed up, we are going to SCREAM.  We were due to turn platinum December 2023 for our 39th anniversary cruise but the Panorama was cancelled.  Please wait until 2025 to make any changes so we can at least have one cruise with priority boarding.

Being platinum really doesn't mean that much now anyway.  They already took away the best part for us in having your rooms ready upon boarding.

[Warm Breezes]

Wow.  I can't believe the number of people who say they will cruise/not cruise on a certain line because of the loyalty perks.  Perks which when you add them all up really don't amount to much money in comparison to the amount of money you spend on a cruise.  We are platinum on Carnival.  But out of our 24 cruises, 10 have been on other cruise lines.  While I think of the perks as a fun bonus, I do not sail Carnival, or any other line, for them.  Many other factors go into choosing our cruises such as cost, itinerary, ship, embarkation port, who we are traveling with....but never what loyalty perks I get on the ship.  We have 2 cruises coming up.  One on Carnival chosen because Jubilee is a new ship to us and Galveston is a new embarkation port for us.  Another factor for Jubilee is we can easily drive to Galveston making it an extended road trip vacation which we love to do since we retired.  The other on Norwegian Joy chosen with our friends whom we are sailing with to Alaska which is a bucket list cruise for all us.  We just love to cruise and if a cruise fits our wish list for a certain vacation, it doesn't matter what cruise line it is or what the loyalty perks are.  But hey, if loyalty perks mean that much to you then have fun on the other lines.  I have a great time on them too.

[mz-s]

9 hours ago, icft said:

I think they kind of changed it already.

 

They cut down on the labor cost by not delivering your water, pin and nylon bag (in the shape of a fanny pack or makeup bag or whatever the shape of the day) to the room; the value of pin and water might be the same as old, but the nylon bag is cheaper than the pre-covid gifts; the chocolate delights are not what they once were (less quantity and lower quality) and the platinum/diamond party has done away with hors d'oeuvres.

 

None of this is of any real concern because the platinum and diamond benefits never were impressive, with the most valuable items being service items (like priority boarding and laundry etc) but they have whittled down the benefits about as much as possible without officially declaring certain benefits gone.

 

The only thing I feel sure of about concerning any new loyalty program is that it will cost Carnival less than the current program.

 

Exactly my point - they change it as necessary to make the program sustainable.

 

I don't think anyone here really has anything to worry about with the VIFP overhaul. Like I said if they wanted to cut the program they would have already.

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

You could also add that they changed from having your stateroom ready upon boarding to just being able to drop your bags off.  That's a huge change that they said was because there were too many rooms to have ready upon boarding.  That's one of the things that disappointed us the most with the changes as we would go back to our room after eating and unpack and relax during all the chaos of folks waiting in public areas with tons of luggage everywhere.

I would suggest that any changes will be on the qualifying of the benefits vs what the benefits are (or change), but just my guess.  The facts strongly suggest that way to many people qualify vs what the costs of the perks are to the company.