Open Letter to Carnival

[GrUvGrL]

"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."

 

Calling people that utilize the system that Carnival or any other line "cheaters shows your lack of understanding of the program and your assumption that they are doing something wrong. Far from it as the lines have set up the system, set the rules and monitor its usage. So please be so kind as the where you get off calling people "cheaters" as that also implies they are some sort of criminals that violated the system. Wrong answer and thank you for putting all cruisers under that blanket. Using Back to back cruises as two cruises is an acceptable use of the system or it would have been stopped long ago. If a person wants to book 2 cruises instead of one long one that is there choice under the existing guidelines as established by the cruise line. There is NO CHEATING the system going on. Just you misunderstanding of what you are talking about.

 

Maybe you should go back and read my post... I said MANY not all... when I see a thread on here of people posting they been on 3 or 4 cruises and they are booking B2B2B2B2B 2 day cruises to GAIN PLATINUM status, that tells me they are using a loophole to gain a status... so yes cheating.

 

NOWHERE - in that entire thread did I once read... "oh I am booking 6 B2B cruises cause I just love going to the same place every 2 days and I prefer to take 6 short cruises then one really long one." Although I do understand some people may prefer to take a couple B2B cruises for whatever reasons... these were not the people I was talking about hence my comment "Many people who have platinum status obtained it from "cheating the system" (for lack of better words - note how I said MANY not all!)"

 

YOU lumped yourself into that category - not I... as I said, my post was based on what I read... and I do realize that NOT ALL people book B2B cruises to cheat a system... Insinuating that I called anyone a criminal is just absurd! You obviously see everything black and white and I'm not going to sit here and educate you on the obvious difference between someone who cheats and someone who steals. You are obviously old enough to use the internet so google the two and figure it out!

[bythehex]

Oh my gosh, will the moaning and complaining ever end?! *banging head against wall*

 

I know, they complain about everything, don't they??

 

Next thing you know, people will be complaining about not getting shrimp cocktails every night. :rolleyes:

[GrUvGrL]

I know, they complain about everything, don't they??

 

Next thing you know, people will be complaining about not getting shrimp cocktails every night. :rolleyes:

 

People are complaining about rumors and information that may have been leaked. Nothing is official yet, and these people who claim to be "LOYAL" have got to be the most unloyal people I have seen, they have no idea what will be lost if anything at all, if some lost perks will be replaced with some better ones... no idea what-so-ever, but yet here they are all chanting "I'm loyal - Carnival sucks cause they are making me ask for ice and I'm not able to do all my laundry before I leave" At least wait till an official announcement is made.

 

I'd laugh if Carnival put a better loyalty program out and then went looking for their loyal unloyals who sat here bad mouthing them and revoked their status for being unloyal - cause that is what they all deserve.

 

I tell people at work on a daily basis... "You can't teach someone how to have common sense" this thread and many others are prime examples of that.

[dave_k63]

They don't and the more people whine about it the more I think Carnival should drop it altogether.

I seriously wonder how many passengers on a given cruise have different loyalty levels. The few cruises I have been on had many more people that were on either their first or only took a cruise once a year or every other year. I don't think Carnival has to worry all that much about who changes cruise lines. The price differential seems to be significant to me, at least. I still think Carnival is a terrific value for a family vacation. Especially for geezer's like me to take grandchildren.

[dclark]

Repeat customers DO grow a business and hopefully Carnival learns this before its too late.

 

The past guest party is always well attended and the always announced the number of repeat cruisers with pride.

Assuming that 2/3 of the ship is repeat cruisers, imagine how empty that repeaters cocktail party (I'll refer to the past as a lot will be excluded from future parties because of the new system) would be if instead of 2/3 of the ship being repeaters, only 1/3 was.

If that 1/3 of repeat cruisers wasn't on board, would they have empty cabins? Maybe not, but they would have to drop the price of them lest they sail with vacancies. And, that would cut into profits. Before cheerleaders shout "yeah, cheaper for me to cruise!" It could cost them so much that they have to move ships or make cutbacks that even they will say "Hey, I miss that!".

[Jana60]

I seriously wonder how many passengers on a given cruise have different loyalty levels. The few cruises I have been on had many more people that were on either their first or only took a cruise once a year or every other year. I don't think Carnival has to worry all that much about who changes cruise lines. The price differential seems to be significant to me, at least. I still think Carnival is a terrific value for a family vacation. Especially for geezer's like me to take grandchildren.

 

I do agree with you that Carnival would still be highly successful even without a loyalty program because of the product they offer and if someone with 2-3 cruises under their belt is going to quit cruising with them because of lack of 1 party then they probably would have anyway. I really don't even know if lack of a loyalty program would effect the cruising habits of the ones who have cruised 30, 50, or even 100 times with them. But I do believe that the frequent cruisers are also very important to Carnivals business and if it were indeed found that it affected that return business, it would behoove Carnival to work to keep those customers. I enjoy cruising with Carnival and have 3 cruises booked before next April but I will admit its the overall package that attracts me. The value for the money, the little extras without an extra charge (like robes in the rooms, Matched play $5 token card for each Long Island Tea I drink, Escargot and lobster in the MDR), the entertainment and Karaoke (I love to sing and just don't enjoy myself on ships without it), but I will admit that my impending Platinum statis probably effected at least a little my decision to book with Carnival rather than another line.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

People are complaining about rumors and information that may have been leaked. Nothing is official yet, ............................... At least wait till an official announcement is made.

 

I agree but many here claimed to have left Carnival already and nothing official has been released. Or has it? Is it on the Carnival.com page yet?

[Sargent_Schultz]

I seriously wonder how many passengers on a given cruise have different loyalty levels. The few cruises I have been on had many more people that were on either their first or only took a cruise once a year or every other year. I don't think Carnival has to worry all that much about who changes cruise lines. The price differential seems to be significant to me, at least. I still think Carnival is a terrific value for a family vacation. Especially for geezer's like me to take grandchildren.

 

 

Carnival has nothing to worry about.

 

The people who are unhappy need to step back and try to remember why they started cruising in the first place. Maybe it IS time for them to move on.

[GrUvGrL]

I agree but many here claimed to have left Carnival already and nothing official has been released. Or has it? Is it on the Carnival.com page yet?

 

I think they are officially releasing the full details in July sometime. I need to stop reading these posts cause I am seriously having some issues coming to terms with the thought that I maybe having to cruise with some of these people who sit and whine about everything!

 

Cruise cause you enjoy it... crap if your spoiled behind is that lazy that you can't get off your butt to get ice and I am cruising with you, ask me to bring you ice - I'll be happy to get it for you if it'll shut you up!

 

I will however draw the line at washing your stinky clothes :D I don't even wash my own! :D

[Sargent_Schultz]

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!!!!

 

I am not lying. Have you ever considered decaf? :p:rolleyes:

 

Some true facts about the pay cappuccino, etc:

 

[mzloolue]

I think they are officially releasing the full details in July sometime. I need to stop reading these posts cause I am seriously having some issues coming to terms with the thought that I maybe having to cruise with some of these people who sit and whine about everything!

 

Cruise cause you enjoy it... crap if your spoiled behind is that lazy that you can't get off your butt to get ice and I am cruising with you, ask me to bring you ice - I'll be happy to get it for you if it'll shut you up!

 

I will however draw the line at washing your stinky clothes :D I don't even wash my own! :D

 

I believe that getting ice yourself is forbidden.

One time I needed ice, saw the ice machine and got some.

The steward came and seemed very upset and asked me to please allow him to get ice for me as guests are not allowed to get ice from the ice machine.

 

And I am sorry that your clothes stink.

[crewsweeper]

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Changes (turn and face the strain)!

-Earworm Jake

[DarthGrady]

Maybe you should go back and read my post... I said MANY not all... when I see a thread on here of people posting they been on 3 or 4 cruises and they are booking B2B2B2B2B 2 day cruises to GAIN PLATINUM status, that tells me they are using a loophole to gain a status... so yes cheating.

 

NOWHERE - in that entire thread did I once read... "oh I am booking 6 B2B cruises cause I just love going to the same place every 2 days and I prefer to take 6 short cruises then one really long one." Although I do understand some people may prefer to take a couple B2B cruises for whatever reasons... these were not the people I was talking about hence my comment "Many people who have platinum status obtained it from "cheating the system" (for lack of better words - note how I said MANY not all!)"

 

YOU lumped yourself into that category - not I... as I said, my post was based on what I read... and I do realize that NOT ALL people book B2B cruises to cheat a system... Insinuating that I called anyone a criminal is just absurd! You obviously see everything black and white and I'm not going to sit here and educate you on the obvious difference between someone who cheats and someone who steals. You are obviously old enough to use the internet so google the two and figure it out!

 

I see that you're stuck on the "cheaters" doing B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B 2-night cruises. So I'll offer some explanation:

 

First, the 2-night "Cruise to Nowhere" issue: Booking multiple (back to back) 2-night cruises wouldn't be cheating. Carnival's policy grants 1 point for 1 cruise regardless of the length. Not that this matters because rarely (if ever) does anyone do back to back 2-night cruises-to-nowhere. 2-night CTNs aren't offered regularly enough for someone to book that many in a row. Plus, they are too expensive to be a practical method of obtaining Platinum in 20 nights.

 

It's not a loophole either. A loophole is something exploited in a set of rules that was not intended or covered by the creator of said rules. If Carnival didn't want people gaining points via short cruises, they could have modified the program at any time.

 

No one has (or could) "cheat" their way to Platinum. The only way to get to Platinum is by gaining points via cruising. If you take a cruise and get a point it isn't cheating. Just because you don't like the current system doesn't mean that people are cheating or exploiting a loophole.

[tracyanns]

I seriously wonder how many passengers on a given cruise have different loyalty levels. The few cruises I have been on had many more people that were on either their first or only took a cruise once a year or every other year. I don't think Carnival has to worry all that much about who changes cruise lines. The price differential seems to be significant to me, at least. I still think Carnival is a terrific value for a family vacation. Especially for geezer's like me to take grandchildren.

 

May more are non-platinum than platinum, that is for sure. You can tell by the size of the VIP embarkation areas. Our last Miracle cruise had less than 100 people in that lounge, and that lounge is also suites so not even all of them were platinum, so while some of the platinum cruisers seem to think that CCL will go under without them, they could easily book up those rooms on most cruises without having to lower the fares much at all, certainly not enough that they will lose money.

 

I understand that this feels like betrayal for some people, but it is called life, it changes and you either get over it or you can kill yourself over it, either way, you aren't going to change anything so better to just suck it up and quit stomping your feet like entitled spoiled brats and just deal with it. There is more to the cruise than laundry and being on the ship 2 minutes before the first 4 zones. (And yes, I board VIP but if they took that away I would just get to the pier earlier if I wanted to get on the ship sooner, and I could care less about laundry, we use it once a week and could either do without or pay the $15)...the perks are nice, but they are certainly not OWED to me in anyway. I didn't EARN them, I chose to cruise CCL and they chose to throw me some perks, now they chose to change that, I still choose to sail with CCL if that is what fits the cruise I am looking for.

 

I kind of look at it like this...you go to your local grocery store how often and spend how much? You get a club card or whatever that gets you things that are on sale...well, by being a past guest you get a better rate most times, kind of like your club card. When was the last time your grocery store gave you anything for free, or atleast anything of any value? They didn't, you PAID for it...if you got a free turkey to spend $300, you have a $300 free turkey. Just not sure why people get so hung up on having to get something for free, or to atleast appear free...

[beshears]

You know, as the saying goes.............."If you never had it, you don't miss it", but we who have cruised many times and KNOW what good things we had, will certainly MISS them now.:(

[kbmeow]

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!!!!

 

 

First of all have you had to to tell us if it is different? Second, how many people have really gone to Italy and had a cappuccino or espresso to really know the difference? And third, you really think all the machines in the little cafe's in Italy and France and all threw Europe are made in Italy?

 

I for one have been to many a cafe in Italy, and France so I may know the difference. And who cares where the machine is made as long as it is good? Gosh people argue Starbucks makes good cappuccino and I think that is crap to me. Also maybe you need to back off on the espresso. To be yelling like that at this hour.... # sleepmayhelpthenerves

[gladimhere]

all this talk I assumed it was official where is info coming from. As i said in an earlier post give change a chance it might be better people get bored so industry needs change.I am a new cruiser but have done alot of research into everything cruise related and im guessing alot of lines will be changing to meet demands of a new economy different customers and other thing we live in a world that is always changing.Carnival has been successful and has already seen alot of changes in past years and now own a couple of other cruiselines.Im impressed with their business plan and enhancements on many of their ships . Im guessing they will have a great new loyalty program might be different but I bet everyone will like it. It need to make sense to customers and from business perspective.Im guessing they have some smart employees who will make them money by giving you a wonderful experience because thats what vacations are all about.They are expensive not necessity and there are a ton of options so its in their best interest to provide a fabulous experience .

[Mikel1733]

May more are non-platinum than platinum, that is for sure. You can tell by the size of the VIP embarkation areas. Our last Miracle cruise had less than 100 people in that lounge, and that lounge is also suites so not even all of them were platinum, so while some of the platinum cruisers seem to think that CCL will go under without them, they could easily book up those rooms on most cruises without having to lower the fares much at all, certainly not enough that they will lose money.

 

I understand that this feels like betrayal for some people, but it is called life, it changes and you either get over it or you can kill yourself over it, either way, you aren't going to change anything so better to just suck it up and quit stomping your feet like entitled spoiled brats and just deal with it. There is more to the cruise than laundry and being on the ship 2 minutes before the first 4 zones. (And yes, I board VIP but if they took that away I would just get to the pier earlier if I wanted to get on the ship sooner, and I could care less about laundry, we use it once a week and could either do without or pay the $15)...the perks are nice, but they are certainly not OWED to me in anyway. I didn't EARN them, I chose to cruise CCL and they chose to throw me some perks, now they chose to change that, I still choose to sail with CCL if that is what fits the cruise I am looking for.

 

I kind of look at it like this...you go to your local grocery store how often and spend how much? You get a club card or whatever that gets you things that are on sale...well, by being a past guest you get a better rate most times, kind of like your club card. When was the last time your grocery store gave you anything for free, or atleast anything of any value? They didn't, you PAID for it...if you got a free turkey to spend $300, you have a $300 free turkey. Just not sure why people get so hung up on having to get something for free, or to atleast appear free...

 

Carnival management decided at various points in time that the different perks they packaged into the Loyalty program were in place to reward their customers who loyally sailed whether it be several times short term or long term. Once you made various levels they specified you achieved certain perks.

 

Carnival decided over 3 years ago changes for what ever reason needed to be made to the program I'm certain whatever reasons causedb management at that time to consider changes, that current managent is looking at totally different reasons. Critics pro and con should agree things in the economy are much different now than 3 or 4 years ago.

 

It seems very logically that Carnival leaked a portion of this plan to gauge reaction. I think they leaked a loyalty plan the was a plan best suited to them. A leak hopefully will allow them to tweak the plan to benefit them and us. At least that is what I hope.

[waiting4acruise]

Carnival management decided at various points in time that the different perks they packaged into the Loyalty program were in place to reward their customers who loyally sailed whether it be several times short term or long term. Once you made various levels they specified you achieved certain perks.

 

Carnival decided over 3 years ago changes for what ever reason needed to be made to the program I'm certain whatever reasons causedb management at that time to consider changes, that current managent is looking at totally different reasons. Critics pro and con should agree things in the economy are much different now than 3 or 4 years ago.

 

It seems very logically that Carnival leaked a portion of this plan to gauge reaction. I think they leaked a loyalty plan the was a plan best suited to them. A leak hopefully will allow them to tweak the plan to benefit them and us. At least that is what I hope.

We will see on June 11.

[rellersi]

You hit the nail on the head. You are the new Carnival cruiser. You have no interest in the perks, don't miss what you never had , and find their product cost effective for your families vacation dollars.

It is a shame though, that the bread and butter of the company, those that cruised when the rumors of sex and booze filled party boats almost ruined the line are being tossed away like used undies.

I believe this is a very short-sighted move on Carnivals part. Those long time loyal cruisers who mean ziltch to them now generally leave the ship with huge sail and sign bills and leave the staff very happy with the extra tips they give.

Perhaps not you personally but many new cruisers on a budget are not going to spend the same.

 

I know this sounds like a Carnival cheerleader but, how are the bread & butter of the company being tossed away, by not getting perks that they have never had. It has not stopped most of them from continuing with carnival before, why should it now?

[Sargent_Schultz]

Repeat customers DO grow a business and hopefully Carnival learns this before its too late.

 

By definition that is impossible.

[karefree]

Another thing I noticed is that all the refurbished ships are now putting more people on the ships. The crowds and waiting times were terrible. It's all about money for Carnival. After many Carnival cruises I am changing to different to cruise ships. :confused:

[Mikel1733]

I know this sounds like a Carnival cheerleader but, how are the bread & butter of the company being tossed away, by not getting perks that they have never had. It has not stopped most of them from continuing with carnival before, why should it now?

 

To some change means nothing. To others this program as leaked looks like a lessening of value and service. The way Carnival has made this whole process so extended for over 3years plus in saying the change will be so wonderful has left many of us less than enthusiastic or supportive. Isn't the whole idea of a loyalty program to reward good customers and to make them want to steer all their business to Carnival.

[yogimax]

 

A leak hopefully will allow them to tweak the plan to benefit them and us. At least that is what I hope.

 

"Tweak?"

 

No, the plan that was revealed needs a whole lot more than a "tweak."

 

It needs a major overhaul. Let's start with the middle group, the Platinums.

 

This group is comparable to Diamond on Royal Caribbean. If you look at the benefits, they don't come close. Carnival needs to consider a NIGHTLY EVENT wit free wine and champagne as RCCL already does.

 

That's a minimum.

 

Free internet access is next and I could go on and on and on.

 

Unless, there is a major overhaul, Carnival has made a BIG, BIG mistake,

[46 cruiser]

What do you expect from the WAL-MART of the seas. Lmao!!!!!!!!