Wow! Free Cruise on Carnival

[golfb4cruzing]

Maybe they saw our last 3 cruises were with Princess and Carnival is feeling left out.

[AmberTeka]

Maybe they saw our last 3 cruises were with Princess and Carnival is feeling left out.

 

We are sailing next Month on the Dream. For us and my daughter's family I paid almost $4,000 dollars. it too a while to save that up and sacrifices were made. Like No new kitchen cabinets. That was MY choice.....

 

Now my teeth are gritted. Every minute I am on that ship, I will know that half of the people on it..are sailing free. Carnival is treating them to a free cruise bt......Over a MILLION free cruse letters were sent out.......Got the cruise for Pennies.

 

I have a cruise booked on Princess for the fall. That is going to be cancelled this week.

 

I am never going to drop a dime on Carnival again. We have sailed on celebrity once. Like it a lot. never on RCI. 3 times on NCL and liked that.

 

AND Never........am I going to take anyone on a curise on Carnival because they are "so" nice.

AND carnival will NEVER notice that I am gone. But I sure will. Gon't get mad. LEAVE. and never forget. nor will anyone who knows me.

A MILLION free cruises were given away.

Edited February 14, 2014 by AmberTeka

[9d1225]

We are sailing next Month on the Dream. For us and my daughter's family I paid almost $4,000 dollars. it too a while to save that up and sacrifices were made. Like No new kitchen cabinets. That was MY choice.....

 

Now my teeth are gritted. Every minute I am on that ship, I will know that half of the people on it..are sailing free. Carnival is treating them to a free cruise bt......Over a MILLION free cruse letters were sent out.......Got the cruise for Pennies.

 

I have a cruise booked on Princess for the fall. That is going to be cancelled this week.

 

I am never going to drop a dime on Carnival again. We have sailed on celebrity once. Like it a lot. never on RCI. 3 times on NCL and liked that.

 

AND Never........am I going to take anyone on a curise on Carnival because they are "so" nice.

AND carnival will NEVER notice that I am gone. But I sure will. Gon't get mad. LEAVE. and never forget. nor will anyone who knows me.

A MILLION free cruises were given away.

 

Wow, somebody is bitter....if you notice thru this thread, some folks got these letters back in December, others (like me) just recently. Perhaps Carnival is doing this for ALL VIFP members, just spreading it out over time, it's too early to jump to conclusions on things you really have no idea about. I've been sailing with Carnival since 1982 (Festivale) and other lines, seen alot of changes over the years and have taken advantage of alot of great offers, in all that time, this is my first EVER free cruise. I've heard of others getting them on other lines for various reasons, why let it bother you what others paid (or didn't pay), you paid what you did and were happy about it when you did it, that is really all that matters.

Edited February 14, 2014 by 9d1225

[surfone]

I received offer, too, we last sailed over New Years and we got a great deal on a Southern Caribbean cruise to Aruba, etc., on Liberty, free interior but upgraded to a extended premium balcony aft for $295 total for both my hubby and I. that's over the July 4th sailing which is usually at a higher rate. Our letter was signed from a "Senior Casino Host" which we did play in the casino. Wonderful timing for us because we were looking for a cruise for that week. I'm curious on the people who are getting the free offers who didn't play in casino and who their letter is from if not a casino host? :)

[ibcnusoon]

I received offer, too, we last sailed over New Years and we got a great deal on a Southern Caribbean cruise to Aruba, etc., on Liberty, free interior but upgraded to a extended premium balcony aft for $295 total for both my hubby and I. that's over the July 4th sailing which is usually at a higher rate. Our letter was signed from a "Senior Casino Host" which we did play in the casino. Wonderful timing for us because we were looking for a cruise for that week. I'm curious on the people who are getting the free offers who didn't play in casino and who their letter is from if not a casino host? :)

 

My letter for a free cruise was not a casino promo as it is signed by the "Vice President - Customer Marketing", saying "we want to invite you back on board Carnival with an exclusive offer for a FREE CABIN.

[rlyans]

Our letter said "We want to invite you on board Carnival with an exclusive offer" (we did just sail last July on the Freedom) ours was from Rob Borden Vice President-customer Marketing

[elliair]

Maybe you should read the whole thread. Not every offer is on an old ship and not everyone is booking insides. You can get the cabin you want. As for kids running around, you take a chance on having minors as fellow cruisers on any cruise, on any line, on any date. Not every child is running wild and not every adult has a problem with kids. The only issue I have with the free cruise is that I didn't get one, lol, but I certainly would come on here and insult other people's plans because it's not what I would do if such an offer came my way. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe you should read the letter I got and what ships we could book. Only ship available was the Inspiration for us - So. California. All the others were in Florida and one out of Houston. Carnival never offered to pay for my airline tickets, and even if they did we still wouldn't go.

 

As to the OP who stated that she paid $4000 for a Carnival cruise while many others are sailing for free, well I don't blame her for being upset. But that's just the way things are. We aren't sailing on Carnival because of their smoking policies on balconies--not even for FREE. We're looking forward to our smoke free balcony on Princess in May.

[ibcnusoon]

Maybe you should read the letter I got and what ships we could book. Only ship available was the Inspiration for us - So. California. All the others were in Florida and one out of Houston. Carnival never offered to pay for my airline tickets, and even if they did we still wouldn't go.

 

As to the OP who stated that she paid $4000 for a Carnival cruise while many others are sailing for free, well I don't blame her for being upset. But that's just the way things are. We aren't sailing on Carnival because of their smoking policies on balconies--not even for FREE. We're looking forward to our smoke free balcony on Princess in May.

 

In the letter, they provided "EXAMPLES" of cruises you could book. If you went online to Carnival.com and entered your VIFP number you would see numerous other sailings. People have responded here on the boards that they received a FREE Cabin on Alaska and Hawaii cruises, not just Florida and Houston. I booked one out of New York.

[devinc]

Triumph 5 day balcony $207 ttl for the wife and I both. BOOKED!

[pepperfeet]

Is it interesting how many cruisers on CC are getting these letters considering the thousands and thousands of past cruisers.

[Scotch Mist]

I agree with a lot of replies from people like myself that have cruised with Carnival and haven't received this offer. Yes, it sounds like sour grapes but I feel justified in my feelings.

 

We cruised for 20 days in the last 5 months on Carnival (3 x cruises) flying from the UK to do so. I spend $1000+ onboard during my cuises, although minimal amounts in the casino. I'm not saying that by right I'm entitled to one of the free cruises but if Carnival are trying to lure back some of its previous customers then they are jeopardising the loyalty of their current customers!

[sassy0930]

""It is not unreasonable to believe they were feeling entitled to this perk because they had some specific history with the company.""

 

I disagree. People who have sailed often with Carnival, who have been sort of good will ambassadors, who have spent a lot of money, cruised with family and friends, who have returned to them when they are in the news every night for ....shipwrecks...Ships sailing with no power and little food........ships stranded with dead engines.............those people who remain loyal to them in the face of that.....ARE EXACTLY who Carnival should be rewarding. And that is exactly what most companies would do!

 

But Carnival has decided to reward people who "don't like Carnival much" or people who don't cruise often and if they did it would not be on carnival.., don't spend money on board, ' don't go to the casino.............Surely you can see cause of some irritation.

 

That there in red is the problem. You think Carnival is sitting there going "Let's reward these people because we like them better" but they are actually MARKETING! One free cruise to someone who might not sail otherwise might mean thousands of dollars in profit from that person if they continue to cruise after this. Of course, it's a risk. But don't think for a second it's some kind of reward program you got left out of. This isn't some kind of personal affront to cruisers who have spent more money. It's an attempt for the line to gain new customers with the reputation of cruising plummeting lately. It's all about money.

 

You already spend money with them, so why would they aim marketing measures at you? That's just bad business. They need to get new customers with these types of promotions. It's the same as a free month of Netflix. Existing customers can't just call up and get a free month whenever they want, because it's an offer for NEW customers. You get new customers on the ship with free cruises and you keep them by having reasonable rates and the amenities your customers want available on board.

[Scotch Mist]

The problem is that there is no rhyme nor reason to who received this promotion. If it was just for ex-Carnival cruisers then I would understand there attempt to lure them back. But it's not! Most people who have received this letter would appear to have sailed as recently as within the last few months!!!! :banghead::mad::confused:

[molme]

I don't see any rime or reason how Carnival makes their selections for these specials. We have cruised 22 times with them and have only received one good casino special that by the time we received it the one sailing we could do was already booked for the special rate. Oh well, maybe they really don't want our money after all!!

Edited February 14, 2014 by molme

[sassy0930]

The problem is that there is no rhyme nor reason to who received this promotion. If it was just for ex-Carnival cruisers then I would understand there attempt to lure them back. But it's not! Most people who have received this letter would appear to have sailed as recently as within the last few months!!!! :banghead::mad::confused:

 

Okay, I get being frustrated over not knowing who or why carnival is sending out letters. It's not really their responsibility to explain their marketing measures to their customers, but It's a huge bummer to not be a person who gets the free cruise. I just don't get being so angry that you'd stop cruising that line. I don't cruise because I am secretly hoping they give me something extra. I cruise because I like taking a vacation that moves me around and feeds me all under one fare. It's a little less for me to have to plan and budget out because all I really "need" for the vacation is included and I can just assign a certain amount of dollars for any extras I want. Would it be awesome to get a free cruise?! Absolutely. But I didn't pick Carnival because I was hoping they'd give me something above what I've paid for.

[gbearcruiser]

Does anyone know if more letters are going out, did anyone get one today?

[grumpyjr88]

An inside room just opened up on the Pride May 11 cruise. I upgraded to an Ocean View.

[surfone]

It's all marketing... and all companies use them and it's a trial and error thing... if this works for them then they will probably use same promotion in the future. Like someone mentioned there are free offers for most any product out there but most of the time it doesn't include everyone getting that offer, that's not feasible in the business world. I've been on a cruise where I paid about 50 percent more than my neighbor in the cabin next door but that's probably because he booked it at a different time and/or a better promotion was going on at the time they booked,same goes for airline tickets, hotel rooms they have promotions going on all the time and most people did not pay the same rate.

[ibcnusoon]

Does anyone know if more letters are going out, did anyone get one today?

 

You don't have to wait or look out for the letter. Click this link:

 

http://www.carnival.com/cclushome/loyalty/specialoffers.aspx

 

Enter your VIFP number and click SUBMIT. Your "Free Cabin" would be listed there, probably with other offers.

 

I'd keep check. I check every day, including my parents, DH and my kids. If you don't know their VIFP number you can still find out their offers using their birth date (under "Look Up My VIFP Number") on the same line.

 

Good luck! :D

[gbearcruiser]

Thanks!! checked nothing yet...

[carsaw]

I agree with a lot of replies from people like myself that have cruised with Carnival and haven't received this offer. Yes, it sounds like sour grapes but I feel justified in my feelings.

 

We cruised for 20 days in the last 5 months on Carnival (3 x cruises) flying from the UK to do so. I spend $1000+ onboard during my cuises, although minimal amounts in the casino. I'm not saying that by right I'm entitled to one of the free cruises but if Carnival are trying to lure back some of its previous customers then they are jeopardising the loyalty of their current customers!

 

I think you are totally justified the way you feel. Has nothing to do with casinos, past cruises or future cruises booked. If anyone got offered a free cruise of course they are going to take advantage of the opportunity. What Carnival should have done is give money off to all VIFP members (or some kind of perk) instead of picking certain people to reward. What they did was make people very angry knowing people on their cruises paid maybe $300 for a cruise they paid $3,000 for. :mad:

[tigerdadky]

Just booked my free cruise thanks to my great PVP. We have a balcony on the dream for 7 nights. Fees, upgrade to a balcony and transfers to and from Orlando for two for less than 500.00. Great deal.

[JMKreno]

The argument that people should accept that some did not get a free cruise seems to be coming generally from the people who got this huge windfall.

 

To be fair, you would be annoyed if you were a loyal shopper at a store and that store decided to just randomly give the person in front of you AND behind you their $200 worth of groceries free, but you just spent $200 buying the same items. If they announced some "Special" to all customers I would then know it was random and some kind of promotion, this seems pretty "sneaky" to me.

 

This is not also the same as knowing that Joe Shmoe in the cabin next to me got a 20% cheaper fare because they booked on a different date or through another website. This is like knowing that every other cabin in your hall was FREE and you paid a full fare.

 

The other argument, and I made this earlier, is that CC is such a SMALL percentage of the cruising population, it just seems a disproportionately large number of people are getting this promotion, and sometimes MULTIPLE people in the same family are getting this offer. If this was so random, very few people should have gotten this promotion like usually happens.

Edited February 14, 2014 by JMKreno

[L&J]

We are sailing next Month on the Dream. For us and my daughter's family I paid almost $4,000 dollars. it too a while to save that up and sacrifices were made. Like No new kitchen cabinets. That was MY choice.....

 

Now my teeth are gritted. Every minute I am on that ship, I will know that half of the people on it..are sailing free. Carnival is treating them to a free cruise bt......Over a MILLION free cruse letters were sent out.......Got the cruise for Pennies.

 

I have a cruise booked on Princess for the fall. That is going to be cancelled this week.

 

I am never going to drop a dime on Carnival again. We have sailed on celebrity once. Like it a lot. never on RCI. 3 times on NCL and liked that.

 

AND Never........am I going to take anyone on a curise on Carnival because they are "so" nice.

AND carnival will NEVER notice that I am gone. But I sure will. Gon't get mad. LEAVE. and never forget. nor will anyone who knows me.

A MILLION free cruises were given away.

 

Ok ok, we all know how mad you are at Carnival and everyone who doesn't appreciate the free cruise. Clearly you feel entitled to something for all the "good PR" you've done for Carnival, which I assume you've done because you've enjoyed your past vacations with them? (They really need to find a way to track that, don't they?) You don't agree with their marketing, that's your opinion. But note the difference, this isn't a "reward" promotion it's "marketing".

 

I paid $8k for our family vacation 2 weeks ago because we had to fly from Canada. We can't all live within driving distance of a port so sorry but don't have any sympathy for you there. You chose to spend your hard earned money on a vacation, we all have. Including the people that have received a free cruise. They are all past guests too. Why you're more deserving than them I'm not sure but I'm glad you've told Carnival how you feel.

 

I suggest for your own well being, and others, that you enjoy your final cruise with Carnival, being sure to express your disgust at all the "freeloaders" and focus your energy on the other boards of the companies that you will continue to sail and turn your negative into positive. Life is too short, for all of us, to dwell on what makes you unhappy.

Edited February 14, 2014 by L&J

[AmberTeka]

You don't have to wait or look out for the letter. Click this link:

 

http://www.carnival.com/cclushome/loyalty/specialoffers.aspx

 

Enter your VIFP number and click SUBMIT. Your "Free Cabin" would be listed there, probably with other offers.

 

I'd keep check. I check every day, including my parents, DH and my kids. If you don't know their VIFP number you can still find out their offers using their birth date (under "Look Up My VIFP Number") on the same line.

 

Good luck! :D

 

 

I did that. Again it said..........No Special offer for YOU. So I called Princess ( Carnival owned) and cancelled the cruise we had booked for November 2014.

 

Carnival won't notice that I cancelled. But I felt much better. I hope all of their free cruise folks........turn out be as good a customer as I have been. And sail as much. As stay as loyal as I have been. it is disgusting to treat loyal customers like this. Disgusting and bad business. So................I am not following the line anymore. I do have one cruise left...cannot get my money back. Even knowing that the people in the cabin next to me probably paid less than $400 for their cabin....while I paid a lot for 2 cabins...I will know that it will never happen to me again.

And I will enjoy the cruise. And it is not the fault of the people who got the free cruises. I am sure many are very nice people. but Carnival has put a bad taste in my mouth.