Open Letter to Carnival

[CruisersNC]

So say I have ten dollars to spend at either store x or store z. I really like store z but store x gives me a special gift everytime I shop there. So because I like the gifts I shop at store x. Store x decides to quit giving gifts so now I spend my money at the store that I really like. Same thing with Carnival. I really like Princess I love the perks of Carnival. But you take them away and I am going to sail on Princess. I shop the sails and book last minute sials so it does not cost me anymore. I love the fresh water pools on Princess. But I enjoyed the perks on Carnival. No perks than fresh water wins out. I also enjoy RCCL so now my time will be spent between all of them.

 

 

I think that Carnival feels that its most important "perk"...the one that sets it apart and gives it the most business.....is the lower cruise fares that they charge. Sure its possible to find some deals on other cruise lines but they're few and far between. Most of the time Carnival soundly beats its competitors price on comparable cruises (date, departure port, itinerary). I guess they feel that its more important for them to keep beating their competitors cruise fares than trying to compete on things like farewell parties or loyalty programs. If the perks are more important to you than the cruise fare....then it makes sense to book with another cruise company! We've sailed on RCCL and I'm sure in the future we'll try out Celebrity, Holland, Princess, and NCL.....but no doubt most of our cruises will be on Carnival....because they're low fares will allow us to cruise more often and the "perks" don't mean a hill of beans to us. If they raised their prices so that they cost as much as the other cruise lines...then we'd definitely be trying everyone else out. So I think they've decided to do what they have to in order to remain the "bargain" of cruise lines. I think most of the "complainers" expect Carnival to match all the other cruise lines perks but at the same time keep their fares much lower than the competitors...and that's not a reasonable expectation.

[42CruiseCrazy]

You are correct, I was ready to book a September cruise this weekend. Then all the changes started being posted from different sources which puts some doubt in my mind even though I have 2 FCC to use by 2015. I found a very interesting Celebrity repositioning cruise today. I'm not going to wait until the end of June to get more details on the changes. We may just give Celebrity a try.

 

I have been on two Celebrity cruises (Millenium and Eclipse) and both were excellent and not that much more expensive than Carnival. You get what you pay for and both cruise lines have given me my money's worth in the past. If Carnival is going to start giving me LESS then they better charge less or I will go back to Celebrity which will give me MORE. Frankly I don't want less......I want MORE when I am on vacation. It boils down to getting your money's worth compared to the competition. As more and more people become experienced cruisers and try different cruise lines, Carnival's cut backs will back-fire. They will become the "economy" cruise line that people who cannot afford to cruise often will use once every 5 or 10 years while the rest of us (who are experienced cruisers) will be on other cruise lines. I hope Carnival takes notice before they lose too many of their loyal passengers.

[jbh1993]

I am a fairly new cruiser, as such I guess I would fall into the demographic of new cruisers who have no idea what they are missing. However, I have done quite a bit of reading here and everywhere, and my conclusion is this: At the end of the day Carnival is in business to make money. Period!

 

Many people who have platinum status obtained it from "cheating the system" (for lack of better words - note how I said MANY not all!) from how I read it, Carnival extended this platinum status to cruisers after a 10th cruise. What people were doing is booking back to back 2 day cruises to gain this status. I suspect Carnival extended this offer to be used so that even people who had tight budgets could benefit from the program. Instead it was exploited. So end result is the people who exploited the loop hole have ruined it for everyone else.

 

Yes not having the perks sucks, but you know what? Although I may not be a veteran cruiser, I am a more of a Disney goer.

Disney usually offers a free dining plan and has for many years (generally starting around beginning to mid August) This year they offered it towards the end of August. Now, am I going to get all bent out of shape because I have always enjoyed free dinning from Disney for my two week yearly visits and this year they started offering it late in the year? NO...

Disney's quick service dinning plan used to include 2 snacks, people saw a loophole of using left over credits to take "snacks" home, such as chocolate bars candies and other concession goodies. Disney saw this as an exploit and now offers 1 snack with quick service. Does this upset me? NO... why? Because last year I used the snack credits I had left over (from my 1 snack a day credit) and brought home 6 lollipops and I still have 4!!! I didn't starve while I was there, I ate well.

This year I decided that I would take a cruise for 5 days first, then go to Disney my last week on vacation when they offered the free dinning, and you know why I decided on that? Cause it works for my family - these guys are in business to make money and I am cheap and would rather save money. So moral of the story... if Carnaval's perks or lack thereof affect your family vacation that badly, maybe you need to look for something that does work for your family.

Just because you have platinum status does not mean you can only vacation with them! Do what works for your family!

 

I agree with you totally. Carnival works great for me and my family. I am darn well happy to even get to cruise. :)

[tada]

I'm going to continue to cruise Carnival regardless of perks. I think they still offer a good product at a good price. We are taking a 12 day cruise of the Mediterranean this fall that cost $749 per person. You just can't beat that price. We get to see so many great ports. The room will be clean and serviced. Good food and many food venues will be provided.

 

We will reach platinum level sometime next year. We really don't care about free laundry. The only time I had Carnival do my laundry, it came back stained with detergent. We pack light and do our own laundry onboard. It takes a few minutes, but it's no big deal. Priority boarding means nothing to us, we have never had to wait to board. And losing a few weak drinks doesn't matter either.

 

So many people are getting so upset. It's a free country and you have every right to, but for us, we still like Carnival.

[dclark]

I think that Carnival feels that its most important "perk"...the one that sets it apart and gives it the most business.....is the lower cruise fares that they charge. Sure its possible to find some deals on other cruise lines but they're few and far between. Most of the time Carnival soundly beats its competitors price on comparable cruises (date, departure port, itinerary). I guess they feel that its more important for them to keep beating their competitors cruise fares than trying to compete on things like farewell parties or loyalty programs. .

 

CCL doesn't set fares low to beat the competition- that's ridiculous! Prices are market driven and the market thinks CCL cruises are bottom barrell. If CCL priced cabins a hundred bucks more than they price now, they'd have a lot of empty cabins.

When you cheapen the product, you can't sell them for as much!

[Cjh1975]

I am a fairly new cruiser, as such I guess I would fall into the demographic of new cruisers who have no idea what they are missing. However, I have done quite a bit of reading here and everywhere, and my conclusion is this: At the end of the day Carnival is in business to make money. Period!

 

Many people who have platinum status obtained it from "cheating the system" (for lack of better words - note how I said MANY not all!) from how I read it, Carnival extended this platinum status to cruisers after a 10th cruise. What people were doing is booking back to back 2 day cruises to gain this status. I suspect Carnival extended this offer to be used so that even people who had tight budgets could benefit from the program. Instead it was exploited. So end result is the people who exploited the loop hole have ruined it for everyone else.

 

Yes not having the perks sucks, but you know what? Although I may not be a veteran cruiser, I am a more of a Disney goer.

Disney usually offers a free dining plan and has for many years (generally starting around beginning to mid August) This year they offered it towards the end of August. Now, am I going to get all bent out of shape because I have always enjoyed free dinning from Disney for my two week yearly visits and this year they started offering it late in the year? NO...

Disney's quick service dinning plan used to include 2 snacks, people saw a loophole of using left over credits to take "snacks" home, such as chocolate bars candies and other concession goodies. Disney saw this as an exploit and now offers 1 snack with quick service. Does this upset me? NO... why? Because last year I used the snack credits I had left over (from my 1 snack a day credit) and brought home 6 lollipops and I still have 4!!! I didn't starve while I was there, I ate well.

This year I decided that I would take a cruise for 5 days first, then go to Disney my last week on vacation when they offered the free dinning, and you know why I decided on that? Cause it works for my family - these guys are in business to make money and I am cheap and would rather save money. So moral of the story... if Carnaval's perks or lack thereof affect your family vacation that badly, maybe you need to look for something that does work for your family.

Just because you have platinum status does not mean you can only vacation with them! Do what works for your family!

 

Just curious how is that cheating the system? Aren't they paying for two different cruises? So why shouldn't it count as two?

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

I think that Carnival feels that its most important "perk"...the one that sets it apart and gives it the most business.....is the lower cruise fares that they charge. Sure its possible to find some deals on other cruise lines but they're few and far between. Most of the time Carnival soundly beats its competitors price on comparable cruises (date, departure port, itinerary). I guess they feel that its more important for them to keep beating their competitors cruise fares than trying to compete on things like farewell parties or loyalty programs. If the perks are more important to you than the cruise fare....then it makes sense to book with another cruise company! We've sailed on RCCL and I'm sure in the future we'll try out Celebrity, Holland, Princess, and NCL.....but no doubt most of our cruises will be on Carnival....because they're low fares will allow us to cruise more often and the "perks" don't mean a hill of beans to us. If they raised their prices so that they cost as much as the other cruise lines...then we'd definitely be trying everyone else out. So I think they've decided to do what they have to in order to remain the "bargain" of cruise lines. I think most of the "complainers" expect Carnival to match all the other cruise lines perks but at the same time keep their fares much lower than the competitors...and that's not a reasonable expectation.

 

Well said. Thanks for the well thought approach.

[Webecruzen]

I love your whole post but this line sums it all up.

I have not been ranting about the loyalty program because all I received was the past guest party and they take that away ( they are ) no big deal.

I fully intend to do just what they want, and take my higher expectations to a different cruise line.

I will pay more for cruises as well as soap that pleases me.

If you have a website email me nanaskittles at gmail dot com.

 

 

I agree! We can dump the CCL stock and move on with our vacation dollars if loyal cruisers mean so little to Carnival.

[scperk]

I'm a Milestone cruiser and when they changed the 1500 points for drinks in the casino they stopped buying drinks for the people who were in the casino every night..I always got at least one free drink every night and that kept me happy, but now I do not go every night and have told the casino host why..They are cutting back everywhere so that means I cut back on the money I spend on my sign & sail..I did not like it either whn they changed the minimum at the blackjack table to $6 so I use that money to purchase drinks...Dennis

[popsec]

I'm a Milestone cruiser and when they changed the 1500 points for drinks in the casino they stopped buying drinks for the people who were in the casino every night..I always got at least one free drink every night and that kept me happy, but now I do not go every night and have told the casino host why..They are cutting back everywhere so that means I cut back on the money I spend on my sign & sail..I did not like it either whn they changed the minimum at the blackjack table to $6 so I use that money to purchase drinks...Dennis

 

The bean counters have been at it again....Carnival marketing took over the casino promotions and there are now alot of unhappy repeat cruisers. It appears they're aiming the promotions at those who don't cruise several times a yr on Carnival.

 

As far as the loyalty program goes, there was 3+ years worth of hype about how wonderful it would be and now it looks like, not only are they NOT adding any perks but they've decided to take away perks. That's what frosts it for me...it's not that the little bonus' mean that much but that Carnival doesn't think repeat cruisers are worth it to them....

[scperk]

The bean counters have been at it again....Carnival marketing took over the casino promotions and there are now alot of unhappy repeat cruisers. It appears they're aiming the promotions at those who don't cruise several times a yr on Carnival.

 

As far as the loyalty program goes, there was 3+ years worth of hype about how wonderful it would be and now it looks like, not only are they NOT adding any perks but they've decided to take away perks. That's what frosts it for me...it's not that the little bonus' mean that much but that Carnival doesn't think repeat cruisers are worth it to them....

WE were supposed to be on the Valor with you last Jan. and my mother got sick and passed away..That may be to only invite my wife will get for a gambleing cruise as I heard they had changed the program.. Dennis

[mamaskittles]

I think that Carnival feels that its most important "perk"...the one that sets it apart and gives it the most business.....is the lower cruise fares that they charge. Sure its possible to find some deals on other cruise lines but they're few and far between. Most of the time Carnival soundly beats its competitors price on comparable cruises (date, departure port, itinerary). I guess they feel that its more important for them to keep beating their competitors cruise fares than trying to compete on things like farewell parties or loyalty programs. If the perks are more important to you than the cruise fare....then it makes sense to book with another cruise company! We've sailed on RCCL and I'm sure in the future we'll try out Celebrity, Holland, Princess, and NCL.....but no doubt most of our cruises will be on Carnival....because they're low fares will allow us to cruise more often and the "perks" don't mean a hill of beans to us. If they raised their prices so that they cost as much as the other cruise lines...then we'd definitely be trying everyone else out. So I think they've decided to do what they have to in order to remain the "bargain" of cruise lines. I think most of the "complainers" expect Carnival to match all the other cruise lines perks but at the same time keep their fares much lower than the competitors...and that's not a reasonable expectation.

Do you really believe that Jerry Cahill, Micky Arison, and the rest of the CCL headliners are sitting around thinking of ways to save CruisersNC a few hundred dollars on a cabin ?

Do you really believe these billionaire corporate moguls wouldn't raise the fares through the roof if they thought for just one second they could sell out the ships.

They know the problem.

Carnival has fulfilled the " Walmart of Cruises " image that was untrue only a few short years ago. As they remove more and more, and switch better for okay, and sail with the" it's good enough motto" on everyones lips they will never be able to recover.

They do not want to sell their cabins for hundreds less than the competition. They have given themselves no other choice.

They are a good value.

McDonalds has a value menu and on occasion I like a chicken snack wrap. That said I have never once confused McDonalds with Le Bernardin. And I bet Ronald wishes he could charge me $30 for that chicken snack wrap.

Keep in mind CCL owns many cruise lines. The one I am interested in HAL is a CCL product. For them a cruiser unhappy with the Micky D value may move up to one of the "better" lines in the stable.

Either way it's all good at the Carnival.

[popsec]

WE were supposed to be on the Valor with you last Jan. and my mother got sick and passed away..That may be to only invite my wife will get for a gambleing cruise as I heard they had changed the program.. Dennis

 

I'm so sorry to hear you lost your mother in Jan...that is such a hard thing to go through.

 

After I came back from the Pride cruise I emailed Michael in the casino office to see if we'd now start receiving the offers again as I had over 10,000 points on this cruise. He told me he didn't know if I'd qualify....huh? I've been on 4 of the VIP cruises and had received offers on many more that we hadn't been able to take because I'd already booked several cruises ahead. We're starting to look seriously at more cruises with NCL.

 

If the loyalty program turns out to be as was leaked it may just be the last straw. It's not so much about the perks as having been promised by Carnival for 3+ years that the new loyalty program would be awesome and finding out it's only awesome for the bean counters at Carnival....

[DGP1111]

Do you really believe that Jerry Cahill, Micky Arison, and the rest of the CCL headliners are sitting around thinking of ways to save CruisersNC a few hundred dollars on a cabin ?

 

Probably not.

Right now they are potentially more concerned of the possibility the Boston Celtics could kick their butt.

 

.

[durdenpb]

Sorry but i think your blowing hot air. All companies change. And if they have to do it to be profitable then so be it. Live with it or cruise with another company. Its like walmart.. they will never go out of business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This weekend a number of changes to Carnival have been unofficially leaked, or reported on Cruise Critic, Facebook, and by returning passengers. The apparent response of Carnival is to deny or postpone comment until a future date.

 

Many of your loyal cruisers have trips booked in the coming months and or anticipate future bookings in the short term. I myself was ready to book a September cruise this weekend, but that is now on hold.

 

We deserve to know what kind of product we are booking? This weekend it has become apparent the loyalty program has major changes you don't yet wish to discuss after 3 1/2 years. As a current Platinum member I won't be guaranteed a fixed dining time in the MDR. Laundry service will apparently be limited, no ice is apparently standard in each room, and the farewell party is being eliminated, among many other changes.

 

I feel it is in the best interest of your customer and ultimately you to let us know what we can expect for our vacation dollars? At this point much faith is being lost in your Ambassador John Heald by many of your customers. He has been a major asset to you and it would be a shame for this loss of confidence to be permanent.

 

I would ask that all changes be addressed this coming week.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mikel1733

 

I will be happy to provide my name, address and customer number to the proper people at Carnival

[Mikel1733]

Probably not.

Right now they are potentially more concerned of the possibility the Boston Celtics could kick their butt.

 

.

 

That or compensate for the Costa disaster

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I would really like to know who Carnival is targeting with it,.

 

I suspect they are targeting the 3 bars of soap buyers.

 

Folk who prefer 3 bars of commercial soap to one of handmade quality soap aren't the type who look for perks or loyalty. They remain loyal because the price and ease of availability and for them, that is the perk.

 

Carnival is probably following the same model. It will cause some degree of loss I suspect. Bad thing for them is, many are die hard Carvival supporters. A jilted lover is often the most dedicated to ones demise. Some could become the very Anti Carnival trolls they used to hate.

 

I think cutting back on existing perks was dumb as well though but I am not loyal enough to any line to worry about perks or not.

 

 

Oh and if you can, please link me to your soap. I want to try some.

[CruisersNC]

Do you really believe that Jerry Cahill, Micky Arison, and the rest of the CCL headliners are sitting around thinking of ways to save CruisersNC a few hundred dollars on a cabin ?

Do you really believe these billionaire corporate moguls wouldn't raise the fares through the roof if they thought for just one second they could sell out the ships.

They know the problem.

Carnival has fulfilled the " Walmart of Cruises " image that was untrue only a few short years ago.

 

 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh YES!!! I do believe Jerry Cahill and Micky Arison are sitting around thinking of ways to keep their cruise fares lower than their competitors!! That is obviously why there are cutbacks occurring. Bargain cruises ARE Carnival's niche...always has been....always will be. Hey why don't you switch to Celebrity or even Windstar? You'd be paying a good deal more for your cruise but then you can be happy with more "perks"! Do you think Carnival cares if mamaskittles goes on a different cruise line? If you wanted a Mercedes Benz why would you buy a Chevy and then complain it isn't a Mercedes?

[AtSeaWithChris]

Right now, Carnival has three strikes going against them. 1, Bad economy. 2, The Costa Concordia accident and the Costa Allegra incident which is costing a lot of money out of pocket that insurance does not cover. 3, The new ship, Breeze.

 

They are scrambling to cover lost revenue and manage spending to make the bottom line for investors to look acceptable. The only way is to cut spending. They will axe anything they think they can. It's business and that's what businesses do.

 

They might have had a vastly different past guest program in the works that got axed in the last quarter. We may never know. It may come up at the next iteration.

 

We are still getting value but you have to decide for yourself if it's enough value.

 

You don't have to like it and you should let them know if you disagree with it. It's the only thing they might listen to. You can find them at 866-257-0815 , email them at cclsupport@carnival.com ,Facebook Carnival Cruises or John Heald pages and @carnivalcruises on twitter.

 

Those are the channels that will get their attention the quickest. I guarantee you that if enough people made noise with clear thought about what they are doing that they will reverse their most hated changes or they will make a public statement as to why they can't.

 

There has been a huge discussion on Cruise Critic and they know it. But if you are not done voicing your opinion, take it to Carnival.

 

Just my opinion

[Mikel1733]

Sorry but i think your blowing hot air. All companies change. And if they have to do it to be profitable then so be it. Live with it or cruise with another company. Its like walmart.. they will never go out of business

 

Thanks for your opinion.

[vacruizer]

You mentioned a 2 day interior was closely priced to a 7 day balcony.

 

A 2 day interior will run you $300. An 8 day balcony next summer will run me almost $1600.

 

Not sure what point you are trying to make but this is the math I used to point out you may have been stretching your facts.

 

When I checked about 2 weeks ago, a 2 day CTN in October was going for $369pp interior plus taxes (haven't checked today so could have come down.) But they typically run in that price range. I sailed a 5 day in a balcony on the Fascination first week of Nov. a few years ago for $409pp. That's not much more money for 3 extra days plus a balcony vs. an inside.

[LuckyZ]

When I checked about 2 weeks ago, a 2 day CTN in October was going for $369pp interior plus taxes (haven't checked today so could have come down.) But they typically run in that price range. I sailed a 5 day in a balcony on the Fascination first week of Nov. a few years ago for $409pp. That's not much more money for 3 extra days plus a balcony vs. an inside.

 

Dude - you continue to make my original point. That is some people make their platinum going on 2 and 4 or 5 day cruises, where alot of us have done nothing but 7 or 8 day cruises, have less total cruises but more total days, and expense getting there.

[mzloolue]

Do y'all remember New Coke?

 

A huge company changed something that their customers did not want changed.

[waiting4acruise]

Dude - you continue to make my original point. That is some people make their platinum going on 2 and 4 or 5 day cruises, where alot of us have done nothing but 7 or 8 day cruises, have less total cruises but more total days, and expense getting there.

Currently that is Carnival's rule. There is nothing wrong with it.

[cathleen]

Do you repeat the same tired lies because of ignorance, or are you just a compulsive liar?

As i said before (and anyone with knowledge of coffee will concur) replacing quality espresso machines, machines that use portafilters, with super auto machines makes FOR POORER QUALITY ESPRESSO!!!! THEY ARE DITCHING HIGH QUALITY MADE IN ITALY ESPRESSO MACHINES FOR FULLY AUTOMATIC MACHINES!!!! SUPER AUTO MACHINES CAN'T MAKE AS GOOD A SHOT AS A MANUAL MACHINE!!!! STOP LYING, STOP LYING!!!!

 

Wow.