Carnival Corp. Introduces New Marketing Program

[HamOp]

From the Cruise Critic News section http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6072

 

Of special interest is the last paragraph which reads

 

The resurrection of the World's Leading Cruise Line moniker is significant because Carnival Corp. once had a loyalty program under that name, in which travelers could keep their status (and get rewards) on whichever of the lines under the banner they were cruising on. The loyalty component, Donald mentioned in his Monday call, will be added later. "Definitely plans are in the works for a loyalty program that would cut across the nine brands. We do not have that ready yet, but it's coming down the pike."

[Globaliser]

The loyalty component, Donald mentioned in his Monday call, will be added later. "Definitely plans are in the works for a loyalty program that would cut across the nine brands. We do not have that ready yet, but it's coming down the pike."

It will be interesting to see whether the regulators now sit up and take notice. I think that Carnival has been able to sail under the radar so far because there is in fact effective competition between the brands. But a company-wide loyalty scheme would start to erode that, and so there could be potential trouble ahead.

[Susie51]

I wonder if this policy is put into effect, if more days cruising will be necessary to reach the various levels.

[Sam.Seattle]

It will be interesting to see whether the regulators now sit up and take notice. I think that Carnival has been able to sail under the radar so far because there is in fact effective competition between the brands. But a company-wide loyalty scheme would start to erode that, and so there could be potential trouble ahead.

What regulators? And, what will they sit up and take notice about? We are not talking about a public company or utility, right?

[serendipity1499]

It will be interesting to see whether the regulators now sit up and take notice. I think that Carnival has been able to sail under the radar so far because there is in fact effective competition between the brands. But a company-wide loyalty scheme would start to erode that, and so there could be potential trouble ahead.

 

I believe that Sam is right.. We don't have regulators here in the States, like you have in Europe & the British Isles...Carnival Corp. is a privately held company which still should be able to sail under the radar in the U.S. as I believe they will maintain competition among the brands...

 

Don't know about the regulators in Europe though, which might find things differently...

Edited November 19, 2014 by serendipity1499

[DaveOKC]

From the Cruise Critic News section http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6072

 

Of special interest is the last paragraph which reads

 

The resurrection of the World's Leading Cruise Line moniker is significant because Carnival Corp. once had a loyalty program under that name, in which travelers could keep their status (and get rewards) on whichever of the lines under the banner they were cruising on. The loyalty component, Donald mentioned in his Monday call, will be added later. "Definitely plans are in the works for a loyalty program that would cut across the nine brands. We do not have that ready yet, but it's coming down the pike."

 

This sounds great to me and I sort of expected it after doing a survey on the topic. I am happy that we just made 4 Stars, so that we hopefully will be grandfathered in on a new program.

 

A few years back, Harrahs/Caesars merged their loyalty programs. At first it was great, but after a year or so things worsened. With all the new higher level members (since you could earn points at any of their hotels) they had to reduce the perks we had. I sure hope that CCL thinks this through to avoid a similar situation.

 

It should be good for most of us.

 

Dave

[Roz]

All of my 19 cruises have been under the Carnival Corp. - Carnival, HAL, and Princess - so this should be interesting. Please keep us informed as things unfold.

 

Roz

[sail7seas]

What regulators? And, what will they sit up and take notice about? We are not talking about a public company or utility, right?

 

Yes, Carnival Corporation is a public company. Shareholders delight each time they produce evidence of their stock ownership and get OBC.

 

Among the cruise lines that Carnival Corporation owns are Seabourn, Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Princess and HAL.

Headquarters for Carnival Corporation are in Miami. None of the ships, however, are U.S. flagged.

 

Edited November 19, 2014 by sail7seas

[iancal]

Very good for us who have Princess, Carnival, and HAL credits.

 

RCI does this and we were very pleasantly surprised on only our second RCI cruise to be placed in a higher category because of our Celebrity status. Certainly not a deal breaker but very nice IF the perks are worthwhile. In our case a few of them were. Ohers were rubbish aimed at making the list appear longer than it really was or offering some sort dubious exclusivity.

 

Made no difference to our cruise selection since our only indication on booking was that it provided us with a $200 discount on our balcony cabin. The ship, the itinerary, the cruise fare, and the one way cruise air fare from Europe were the deciding factors for us.

Edited November 19, 2014 by iancal

[Pia1913]

I'm one who is interested in what they will do, since our cruises on their various ships are more than 100.

[niceguyneastbay]

Funny that I just saw this threat because about an hour ago I sent an e-mail to S. Krause at HAL saying give folks who travel on other ships under the Carnival umbrella some type of credit.

[Globaliser]

What regulators? And, what will they sit up and take notice about?

We don't have regulators here in the States, like you have in Europe & the British Isles ... Carnival Corp. is a privately held company which still should be able to sail under the radar in the U.S. as I believe they will maintain competition among the brands ...

 

Don't know about the regulators in Europe though, which might find things differently ...

And in theory, that could be enough by itself to require (or prevent) changes by Carnival in its business practices in order to maintain adequate competition.

 

But yes, the US does have regulators such as (for example) the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice, which oversee the amount of competition in various markets to ensure that there is an adequate amount of it to protect customers.

 

Would there still be enough competition if Carnival instituted a group-wide loyalty scheme? That would be for the regulators to decide. But Carnival's size and its dominance (as a group) of the cruise market has long been notable, hence I wonder whether this might be the point at which the regulators sit up and take notice.

[HamOp]

Funny that I just saw this threat because about an hour ago I sent an e-mail to S. Krause at HAL saying give folks who travel on other ships under the Carnival umbrella some type of credit.

 

Freudian Slip?:D

[InTheWASide]

Funny that I just saw this threat because about an hour ago I sent an e-mail to S. Krause at HAL saying give folks who travel on other ships under the Carnival umbrella some type of credit.

 

Well Mr. Kruse would be one of the people to make the decision... along with likely top Carnival CORPORATION leadership and the other CEO's, but whoever this Mr. Krause guy is, if he's efficient and keeps the company's bottom line in mind I'm sure he may be considered for the task just like any other effective and efficient members of the Carnival Corporation team.

 

(And I know the rules about correcting people, but if you're gonna go to the top of the ladder (regardless of reason) be sure fundamentals like spelling of that individual's name are correct)

[regnig]

Sure would be great for us with over 25 cruises (not nearly as many as others) on 3 of their products!

[InTheWASide]

Sure would be great for us with over 25 cruises (not nearly as many as others) on 3 of their products!

 

Agreed. I would gain about 40 days if we add in the Carnival and Princess

[rkacruiser]

I would also benefit adding my CCL-owned lines days to my HAL totals. But, doing so for all of the many guests of the CCL companies, what kind of experiences will the past guest events on the ships become? It is now sometimes necessary to have two Mariner Luncheon events on some ships, if I have been told correctly. I have experienced a two tier Mariner Luncheon situation on the Westerdam last January where there was a small reception for those of us Mariners with large numbers of days and new Medal receipants. The other Mariners were not so invited and attended the luncheon without the reception.

 

Combining days may be worthwhile in some respects; in others, maybe not so much.

[SilvertoGold]

I would also benefit adding my CCL-owned lines days to my HAL totals. But, doing so for all of the many guests of the CCL companies, what kind of experiences will the past guest events on the ships become? It is now sometimes necessary to have two Mariner Luncheon events on some ships, if I have been told correctly. I have experienced a two tier Mariner Luncheon situation on the Westerdam last January where there was a small reception for those of us Mariners with large numbers of days and new Medal receipants. The other Mariners were not so invited and attended the luncheon without the reception.

 

Combining days may be worthwhile in some respects; in others, maybe not so much.

 

The medallion reception has always been for awardees and 4 stars and above.

 

I think you are correct, though, about the masses that would qualify for high Mariner status with the combining of the 9 brands.

The ships have enough problems with what they have right now just with HAL Mariners!

[DaveOKC]

The medallion reception has always been for awardees and 4 stars and above.

 

I think you are correct, though, about the masses that would qualify for high Mariner status with the combining of the 9 brands.

The ships have enough problems with what they have right now just with HAL Mariners!

 

While at first this idea seems great, there could be alot of negatives - like reduced perks or more days to qualify. We will just have to wait and see the new program. I just hope they grandfather people who have hit certain levels.

[RocketMan275]

First, I think he may be talking about harmonizing loyalty status across the brands. Instead of Princess having colors and Holland having stars and Carnival having something or other, all the Carnival lines would share a single set of loyalty statuses. For example, you could call these pearl, sapphire, ruby, emerald, and diamond or whatever and you could have more or fewer levels.

 

Second, there would be sharing of cruise credits across all brands. A cruise on carnival would count towards your status as would a cruise on Princess. All the cruises on any of the carnival brand lines would count towards the harmonized loyal status. If you were ruby on Princess, you'd be ruby on Holland too.

 

Third, a common set of perks. (Edit, you might allow some flexibility here since these cruise lines may wish to tailor the perks to their target demographic with a common core set of perks)

 

I really don't see that regulators would have an issue with this. Carnival can always claim that competition exists aplenty with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, etc., regardless of how loyalty status is managed.

Edited November 19, 2014 by RocketMan275

[taxmantoo]

Way too many assumptions for me ;) Let's wait and see!

[Globaliser]

Second, there would be sharing of cruise credits across all brands. A cruise on carnival would count towards your status as would a cruise on Princess. All the cruises on any of the carnival brand lines would count towards the harmonized loyal status. If you were ruby on Princess, you'd be ruby on Holland too.

 

...

 

I really don't see that regulators would have an issue with this.

This is exactly the sort of thing that regulators have in the past had issues with in similar industry sectors. That's why I wonder whether they might now become interested in this, given the huge percentage of the cruise market that would be covered by a single or harmonised loyalty scheme.

 

One example I know of was when American Airlines and British Airways founded (with others) the oneworld alliance. Inside the airline alliances, you're generally supposed to be able to earn miles and status in any one airline's scheme by flying on any alliance airline. However, across the Atlantic you could not earn AA miles by flying on BA and vice versa, because of the dominance of those two airlines combined in key trans-Atlantic markets. The restriction was only lifted many years later, as part of a competition clearance by regulators for a joint business arrangement that included other provisions to ensure adequate competition.

[whogo]

I assume that benefits will be harder to achieve as the brands combine their credits, some cruisers will be winners, others losers. With a uniformity of loyalty plans I would expect Holland America's medallion program to be eliminated rather than spread to the 8 other brands.

[sppunk]

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have a loyalty interchange program; your level on RC transfers to the equivalent Celebrity level.

[DaveOKC]

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have a loyalty interchange program; your level on RC transfers to the equivalent Celebrity level.

 

How does their program work? For example, if you have 50 days on RC and 40 on Celebrity do you have 90 or 50 days towards the RC programs?

 

I think a good program would keep the programs systems as they are now and you earn days on your line. But then when you travel a different line, you get the perks of the similar level on the new line. This way neither program gets overwhelmed.