Open Letter to Carnival

[Sargent_Schultz]

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,

 

No it isn't and no they don't. Bribery is a fundamental part of the Royal business model and isn't with Carnival.

 

On the Internet, Carnival does have free Internet access to Funville and a few other places. For ALL.

 

Carnival knows their business and who their target market is. They have nothing to worry about.

[Sargent_Schultz]

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

 

Walmart is a superior value to any shopping mall (of the seas). :p

[yogimax]

No it isn't and no they don't. Bribery is a fundamental part of the Royal business model and isn't with Carnival.

 

On the Internet, Carnival does have free Internet access to Funville and a few other places. For ALL.

 

Carnival knows their business and who their target market is. They have nothing to worry about.

 

So RCCL's program is "bribery?"

 

What then is Carnival's?

 

No logic in your comment whatsoever.

 

As for Carnival having "nothing to worry about," that's probably true for the executives with their salaries and bonuses, but not for the shareholders. Yeah, John Heald has nothing to worry about but the 80 year old grandma in Des Moines who owns CCL stock does.

 

In case you have missed it, this whole fiasco has been a nightmare for Carnival. It has been a PR disaster almost reaching the level of Costa.

 

You need to stop gloating in your status and open your eyes to reality.

[jaxonboy]

No it isn't and no they don't. Bribery is a fundamental part of the Royal business model and isn't with Carnival.

 

On the Internet, Carnival does have free Internet access to Funville and a few other places. For ALL.

 

Carnival knows their business and who their target market is. They have nothing to worry about.

 

Interesting thought about target market. I have noticed on various cruises that the more new cruisers there are, the more fun there is. When there are a lot of been there, done that cruisers the vibe is a little cranky sometimes. So, maybe Carnival is thinking that going after the 200 million potential cruisers is more rewarding than coming up with better programs to reward repeat cruisers? I have noticed this in other businesses as well, the new customer is preferred sometimes, easier to please, lower expectations. The marketing gurus may decide in balance it is profitable to go after the newbie.

 

What say you Sarge?

[Georgiagolfer]

Just back from our latest cruise and trying to catch up with the latest posts on CC. I find this forum completely confusing. DW and I both are Platinum, but we don't sail CCL for perks, we like what they offer.

 

We had 18 Platinum members on our cruise, I counted from the list in the casino when we signed up for the "free" slot Tournament entry. On the other hand, they announced that we had 2600+ passengers on board.

 

Food, service, staff, everything was outstanding. We will continue to sail CCL as we feel the line suits us, regardless of perks, or lack thereof. Why should I expect CCL or any other cruise line to give me something "free?":confused:

[yogimax]

Why should I expect CCL or any other cruise line to give me something "free?":confused:

 

Because that is the industry standard. I can't think of one major cruise line that does not have a rewards program.

 

As for being "free." The perks are just as "free" as food in the MDR, shows in the theatre and ships on a stick given to trivia winners.

[rellersi]

In case you have missed it, this whole fiasco has been a nightmare for Carnival. It has been a PR disaster almost reaching the level of Costa.

 

 

How is a few hundred people on CC complaining about it a PR disaster for Carnival. When this actually becomes public and appears in newspapers, on TV, etc, then we will see. Obviously right or wrong, Carnival does not yet see it as such, just because of these threads

[Georgiagolfer]

How is a few hundred people on CC complaining about it a PR disaster for Carnival. When this actually becomes public and appears in newspapers, on TV, etc, then we will see. Obviously right or wrong, Carnival does not yet see it as such, just because of these threads

 

Agree completely.

[yogimax]

How is a few hundred people on CC complaining about it a PR disaster for Carnival. When this actually becomes public and appears in newspapers, on TV, etc, then we will see. Obviously right or wrong, Carnival does not yet see it as such, just because of these threads

 

Then why did Carnival shut down John Heald?

 

Why were there over 77,000 views and 1400 replies to the initial thread before it was shut down?

 

No, you can better believe this was a PR disaster and Carnival immediately went to extreme damage control.

[rellersi]

Then why did Carnival shut down John Heald?

 

Why were there over 77,000 views and 1400 replies to the initial thread before it was shut down?

 

No, you can better believe this was a PR disaster and Carnival immediately went to extreme damage control.

 

lets see 3million annual cruisers, or is it more? 77000 views, that percentage does not even show on my calculator, yes major disaster

[yogimax]

lets see 3million annual cruisers, or is it more? 77000 views, that percentage does not even show on my calculator, yes major disaster

 

That's a false comparison.

 

You can't base the 77,000 on total cruisers, but on Cruise Critic members.

 

You also might want to buy a new calculator. Even using your figures, 77,000 divided by 3 million = 2.57% That is pretty significant!

[kenspidey]

lets see 3million annual cruisers, or is it more? 77000 views, that percentage does not even show on my calculator, yes major disaster

 

 

Although 77,000 is not a blip out of 3 Mill, it still is a significant number and yes I bet Carnival is concerned. They have a lot of ships to fill and they don't want this kind of reaction. We will see when the final plan is announced. All of this is speculation.

[AtSeaWithChris]

Then why did Carnival shut down John Heald?

 

Why were there over 77,000 views and 1400 replies to the initial thread before it was shut down?

 

No, you can better believe this was a PR disaster and Carnival immediately went to extreme damage control.

Did I miss this? What happened?

[sharecruises]

I don't think any open letter or "poll" or petition is going to change anything.

 

Carnival is a corporation....a corporation that took a big financial hit with the Costa disaster....a corporation that already is lowballing their fares compared to other cruiselines.

 

I am personally pretty much resigned to the fact that cruising is not what it once was...and honestly has not been for some years.

 

NCL started the "a la carte" stuff and it has proven to be popular.

 

There are good and bad to it all...I am glad I don't have to absorb the cost of stuff I am not interested in like the 5d theater etc. If I want to upgrade to the steakhouse I can choose to or not, same with the other new stuff.

 

I am not thrilled that they took away the fun farewell...

means I will make my own fun farewell LOL

 

Have to regard it more like a floating hotel that gets you to ports, not a total "experience"

 

I still prefer Carnival because I realized on Royal that there were many things I have zero interest in like the rock wall, skating, and honestly after watching 2 of them, the parades. Very geared to kids and the cost is high and I feel we all paid for that.

 

No I am not happy but I still plan to cruise and yes with Carnival.

[AmberTeka]

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.

 

then get out your deep pocket pants....because you are going to be paying a whale of a lot more for some of the same things.

 

And many folks on that ship will want to scald the dishes you eat on..sniff, sniff........you are not in their social league.

 

Gripe and whine. I am platimum..with 80 hours of sailing with carnival..maybe more..i have not checked.

I like priority boarding. Ditto exit. The guaranteed dining time is nice.

I do my own laundry. I have been to the farewell parties. Few people there but the same drunks. I have never had a problem with ice..and i have cruised three times on carnival this year............the dream last october..the freedom in feb. And the fascination last month...

The past passenger thing.........i can buy drinks.

 

This is a tiny minority. Carnival should not listen. Take that money saved and put it back into food..!!!!!!!! Snacks at the bars again for everyone.

[AmberTeka]

then why did carnival shut down john heald?

 

Why were there over 77,000 views and 1400 replies to the initial thread before it was shut down?

 

No, you can better believe this was a pr disaster and carnival immediately went to extreme damage control.

 

prove it. Show us any offical statement that says that many sent in views.

 

I simply do not believe it..no disrespect intended.

[rellersi]

That's a false comparison.

 

You can't base the 77,000 on total cruisers, but on Cruise Critic members.

 

You also might want to buy a new calculator. Even using your figures, 77,000 divided by 3 million = 2.57% That is pretty significant!

 

Actually, I did use a different calculator after that, because it should have shown. But it is not 2.57% but .0257% or 1/4 of 1 percent. Not a very big number

[TexasHorseLady]

...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 don't even sail this cruiseline, but I ran across this post looking under "today's posts". I am adding my 2cents in because this topic is not just a Carnival thing, but applies to all cruiselines. And for that matter, all service businesses. With the economy the way it is, fuel prices, what is happening in the markets, and the hits the cruise industry has taken lately, they absolutely HAVE to cut corners. I am not at all surprised, and to be honest with you I don't think it's that big a deal. Really...no ice in the rooms and limited Laundry Service is going to ruin your vacation? Changes are happening all around us these days. Perks and benefits are and always will be tweaked in hard times and that is what we are witnessing. Roll with it.

[yogimax]

Actually, I did use a different calculator after that, because it should have shown. But it is not 2.57% but .0257% or 1/4 of 1 percent. Not a very big number

 

o.k., You need a third computer. Actually, you don't even need a computer.

 

I'll try to simplify. One percent of 3 million is 30,000.

 

Two percent of 3 million is 60,000.

 

Bottom line is that 77,000 out of 3,000,000 is 2.56666666666%

 

And that, my friend is a VERY significant number!

[yogimax]

prove it. Show us any offical statement that says that many sent in views.

 

I simply do not believe it..no disrespect intended.

 

No problem. If you simply scroll back on CC or do a search, you will see that it is Cruise Critic, not me, that chronicles over 77,000 views.

 

If the thread had not been closed, who knows what it would be by now.

 

O ye of little faith, why do you doubt?

[AZNative2000]

That's a false comparison.

 

You can't base the 77,000 on total cruisers, but on Cruise Critic members.

 

You also might want to buy a new calculator. Even using your figures, 77,000 divided by 3 million = 2.57% That is pretty significant!

 

o.k., You need a third computer. Actually, you don't even need a computer.

 

I'll try to simplify. One percent of 3 million is 30,000.

 

Two percent of 3 million is 60,000.

 

Bottom line is that 77,000 out of 3,000,000 is 2.56666666666%

 

And that, my friend is a VERY significant number!

 

You also can't use exactly 3 million cruisers as, undoubtedly, many of them are repeat customers and so we aren't talking about 3 million different people.

 

Regardless, 2-3-4 percent or more, that is a significant amount of potential lost revenue.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Of the 77000 views, probably the majority were from a few posters each reading the thread 20000 times each. :p

 

And no, Carnival does not have to compete on perks with other cruise lines and should not.

 

Carnival's stock is healthy and still paying over a 3% dividend, so Grandma has nothing to worry about.

[Not_Done_Living]

I would have been Gold my next cruise (yay cruise #2!!! Lol) but now I get to be Red.

 

I will ask for ice if I need it.

I will pay for my laundry to be done at the end of our cruise.

I will pay my own entry into the slot tourney.

I have a suite so I get VIP embark/disembark.

I got my MTD just like I wanted.

I will drink my chocolate my at breakfast

And rather than attend the past guest party, or the farewell party, I will sit on my balcony and smoke.

And I will enjoy every minute of it, cause I do not go on vacation for perks, I go to relax.

[blondietink]

I would have been Gold my next cruise (yay cruise #2!!! Lol) but now I get to be Red.

 

I will ask for ice if I need it.

I will pay for my laundry to be done at the end of our cruise.

I will pay my own entry into the slot tourney.

I have a suite so I get VIP embark/disembark.

I got my MTD just like I wanted.

I will drink my chocolate my at breakfast

And rather than attend the past guest party, or the farewell party, I will sit on my balcony and smoke.

And I will enjoy every minute of it, cause I do not go on vacation for perks, I go to relax.

 

We were Gold the last cruise, but will be going back to Red on our next cruise in October? Not too sure about that one. Anyway:

 

We will also ask for ice if we want it.

We'll do our own laundry after our cruise when we check in to Disney World later in the day.

My DS is disabled and uses a wheelchair, so we get priority embark. Never used the priority disembark as we want to stay on the ship as long as we can.

We will pay $20.00 to attend a private cocktail party for 2 hours. We will miss the past guest party and fun farewell party, but oh, well, we'll roll with it.

We do YTD, so don't care anything else about the MDR perks.

We will be on the Liberty, so can eat our fill of Guy's burgers, fish and chips and sushi for free.

We don't gamble, so don't care about the slots tourney.

We will enjoy ourselves on our vacation and won't think about what we might be missing or how it used to be. After all, it is a VACATION!

 

PS - Has anybody ever read the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" All of the complainers should.

[barbatkins]

It is not something for nothing. It is something that you earned.

 

"Earned"???? I actually thought earning something meant you worked for it.......

 

Carnival does not owe us anything other than what the cruise contract says......and I sure hope all this pissing and moaning about laundry, free drinks etc doesn't make them stop the loyalty program all together!!