Milestone Cruise?

[GranysT]

Does Carnival contact you, when you have completed your 24th cruise with them, about your milestone cruise?  If yes, do they send you everything you need to know, and do?  If no, what do I have to do in order to think about the milestone ? 

[rvsullivan]

I thought Carnival counted days cruising not cruises?

 

[PhillyFan33579]

My wife and I both reached our 25th cruise last year. We never got a letter from Carnival about our milestone cruise, which was consistent with what we were told by friends. There have also been recent posts on this site from people saying they never received a letter either. 
 

Once you have 25 cruises, you need to call the Milestone Desk to have the 25% OBC applied to the cruise of your choice. Don’t call the normal toll free number for Carnival. If you do this, they will likely have no clue about the milestone program. I know this from first hand experience. 

[PhillyFan33579]

29 minutes ago, rvsullivan said:

I thought Carnival counted days cruising not cruises?

 

The VIFP levels are based on the number of days. However, the Milestone Program is based on the number of cruises. 

[rvsullivan]

Learn something new everyday!! Thanks!!

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Recently It took me some time to receive the same replies from Carnival. Every time I called I got a different reply. We will be coming up on your 50th cruise soon and wanted to know when that would be applied. It totally depends who you are talking to. I finally got in touch with a high up supervisor that called me. You are to receive a letter. But you may not get one. It is up to you to call and ask for the discount at least two weeks before the cruise.  Will you get it on the cruise like your 25th, 50th. etc. Again that depends who you end up talking to. You might, if you get the right person. Otherwise you will be told, you will get it applied to your next cruise. When we did our 25th I did not even know there was a perk till we purchased a drink at the bar and the bartender noticed the Diamond Card that had printed on it in big numbers 25th cruise. He congratulated us told me that we should have the 25% added to our OBC. So we went and checked. They put it on our OBC.

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Here is the number for the Milestone's Desk at 877-CCL-VIPS (in case you needed it)

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Mistake. You need to call at least 30 days before your cruise. So what is the deal here. If you will not receive the credit till the cruise is completed. Why the 30 days notice?

[Jamman54]

22 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Mistake. You need to call at least 30 days before your cruise. So what is the deal here. If you will not receive the credit till the cruise is completed. Why the 30 days notice?

They want you to call the Milestone desk at least 30 days before the cruise you want to use the credit on. You don't have to use it on your 25th or 50th cruise. You should use it on a more expensive cruise, such as a Journeys cruise. Sounds like you called the CCL # looking for milestone information which they know very little about. You need to call the dedicated Milestone desk whose number was posted above. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

They want you to call the Milestone desk at least 30 days before the cruise you want to use the credit on. You don't have to use it on your 25th or 50th cruise. You should use it on a more expensive cruise, such as a Journeys cruise. Sounds like you called the CCL # looking for milestone information which they know very little about. You need to call the dedicated Milestone desk whose number was posted above. 

Even if you want to use it on your 25th 50th etc. Thy usually will not let you. You will be able to use it on the next cruise. I just found out something else. The cruise I wanted to use it on we only have a balance of $500. I was told I cannot get the left over towards OBC. My wife and I would get $747.88 each. So we can only do one. The other on a different cruise. 

[dbrucern]

Thats why I have a great PVP at Carnival, he reminded me about our milestone.  You have up to two years to use it so we booked the Alaska cruise and got $1000 OBC

 

[PhillyFan33579]

4 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Recently It took me some time to receive the same replies from Carnival. Every time I called I got a different reply. We will be coming up on your 50th cruise soon and wanted to know when that would be applied. It totally depends who you are talking to. I finally got in touch with a high up supervisor that called me. You are to receive a letter. But you may not get one. It is up to you to call and ask for the discount at least two weeks before the cruise.  Will you get it on the cruise like your 25th, 50th. etc. Again that depends who you end up talking to. You might, if you get the right person. Otherwise you will be told, you will get it applied to your next cruise. When we did our 25th I did not even know there was a perk till we purchased a drink at the bar and the bartender noticed the Diamond Card that had printed on it in big numbers 25th cruise. He congratulated us told me that we should have the 25% added to our OBC. So we went and checked. They put it on our OBC.

Sounds like you made the same mistake I made the first time I called about adding OBC for my wife’s 25th cruise. I called the regular Carnival number and no one had a clue what I was talking about. Once I finally figured out I needed to call the Milestone Desk directly it was fast and easy getting OBC added to a future cruise. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Sounds like you made the same mistake I made the first time I called about adding OBC for my wife’s 25th cruise. I called the regular Carnival number and no one had a clue what I was talking about. Once I finally figured out I needed to call the Milestone Desk directly it was fast and easy getting OBC added to a future cruise. 

So you are saying. The Milestone can be an OBC and not a reduced cruise cost. I was just told no OBC for that. Just the reduction of the cruise fair.

[TomCruise48]

7 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

So you are saying. The Milestone can be an OBC and not a reduced cruise cost. I was just told no OBC for that. Just the reduction of the cruise fair.

The earlier Milestone program was a credit towards the basic fare.  You could use it on the 25th or on a cruise after the 25th.  With the earlier program, they would send you a letter after your 25th cruise explaining how to redeem the award, but if you were already familiar with the program, you could call the Milestone desk and they would apply the fare reduction to your 25th cruise if that was the one for which you wished to apply the award.  They have changed the program so that the award is now an OBC.  As several others have mentioned, make sure to call the Milestone desk to get the correct info.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

So you are saying. The Milestone can be an OBC and not a reduced cruise cost. I was just told no OBC for that. Just the reduction of the cruise fair.

Under the current milestone program, you get an OBC of 25%, 50%, and 75% of your cruise fare when you reach your 25th, 50th and 75th cruise. The OBC can be used on a cruise you choose. As others have stated in this thread it is best to use the OBC on a longer, more expensive cruise. When you reach your 100th cruise, you get a free cruise, as opposed to getting an OBC of 100%. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

14 hours ago, TomCruise48 said:

The earlier Milestone program was a credit towards the basic fare.  You could use it on the 25th or on a cruise after the 25th.  With the earlier program, they would send you a letter after your 25th cruise explaining how to redeem the award, but if you were already familiar with the program, you could call the Milestone desk and they would apply the fare reduction to your 25th cruise if that was the one for which you wished to apply the award.  They have changed the program so that the award is now an OBC.  As several others have mentioned, make sure to call the Milestone desk to get the correct info.

As I mentioned before. I called the Milestone desk. The cruise I want to use it on I only owe $500.00 The 50th milestone for me and my wife would be a total of $747.88. According to  the person I talked to. Because I only owe $500.00 mine could be used but my wife's would be applied to another cruise. Cannot be used as OBC. She said it would be nice if it could. BUT NO! I remember when we did the 25th. While on the cruise they gave it to us as OBC.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Well I just called again. And the Milestone is given as OBC no matter what you owe. That is great. So every time i call I get different answers. How interesting is that.

[Jamman54]

What does owing anything have to do with the Milestone credit.? The credit is the base cruise rate of the person requesting the credit, and is 25, 50, or 75% of that. You and your wife can both get it on the same cruise if she is eligible and that is what you wish.

[Jamman54]

5 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Well I just called again. And the Milestone is given as OBC no matter what you owe. That is great. So every time i call I get different answers. How interesting is that.

 

The terms and conditions are quite clear on the Carnival website, so I don't understand the problem. The only time I've had to call the Milestone desk was to request the credit to be applied to the cruise I was choosing. Sorry you are having so much trouble. 😎

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

23 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

The terms and conditions are quite clear on the Carnival website, so I don't understand the problem. The only time I've had to call the Milestone desk was to request the credit to be applied to the cruise I was choosing. Sorry you are having so much trouble. 😎

You read it far better than I do. What does "redeem a future OBC" mean. Future? As I said before. When I called I had received many different answers to that. Here are a few.  Will I receive it on my 50th cruise? NO the 51st. Your wife's on a different one. Will I receive it on my 50th cruise. YES. Can I use it to pay off the cruise and the balance put towards OBC? You can pay off the cruise but the balance cannot be used as OBC. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise. NO. Hers would go towards another cruise. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise? YES. So I guess they do not know either. Not just me. I see no answers to any of these on the Mile Stone rewards explanation.

[dbrucern]

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

You read it far better than I do. What does "redeem a future OBC" mean. Future? As I said before. When I called I had received many different answers to that. Here are a few.  Will I receive it on my 50th cruise? NO the 51st. Your wife's on a different one. Will I receive it on my 50th cruise. YES. Can I use it to pay off the cruise and the balance put towards OBC? You can pay off the cruise but the balance cannot be used as OBC. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise. NO. Hers would go towards another cruise. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise? YES. So I guess they do not know either. Not just me. I see no answers to any of these on the Mile Stone rewards explanation.

Not true, we used both mine and my husbands on the same cruise to Alaska and that is how we got the $1000 OBC. We were given the option of using both or just one.  With excursions being so expensive for the Alaska cruise we chose to use both so it went towards the excursions that we wanted. 

Edited November 9, 2019 by dbrucern

[Jamman54]

41 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

You read it far better than I do. What does "redeem a future OBC" mean. Future? As I said before. When I called I had received many different answers to that. Here are a few.  Will I receive it on my 50th cruise? NO the 51st. Your wife's on a different one. Will I receive it on my 50th cruise. YES. Can I use it to pay off the cruise and the balance put towards OBC? You can pay off the cruise but the balance cannot be used as OBC. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise. NO. Hers would go towards another cruise. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise? YES. So I guess they do not know either. Not just me. I see no answers to any of these on the Mile Stone rewards explanation.

 

Take a deep breath, relax, and I will help you get through this. You have to trust me as I have successfully applied for and received the milestone credit for my 25th & 50th cruises, and my wife's 25th. First, let's bring in the Milestone Program along ith the terms and conditions:

 

GUEST RECOGNITION - MILESTONE REWARDS PROGRAM

As part of Carnival’s Guest Recognition Program, Milestone Rewards was developed in appreciation of longtime Carnival guests.  This milestone reward benefit is in addition to the wide range of amenities and privileges that guests already receive as part of the VIFP Club.

Milestone Rewards Program denotes a guest’s 25th, 50th 75th and 100th revenue cruise with Carnival.  Guests will receive a special Milestone Sail & Sign card on their corresponding Milestone cruise.  We want to distinguish guests on their Milestone sailing with a unique card so that we can make his/her Milestone experience extra special and memorable.  After this milestone cruise, they will revert to the card that corresponds to their VIFP level.

In appreciation for their loyalty, the guest will also be granted the opportunity to redeem a future non-refundable onboard credit equivalent to 25%, 50% or 75% of the cruise ticket price, corresponding to the milestone reached. And when a guest reaches his/her 100th cruise, will qualify for a FREE Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska or Australia cruise of their choice (8 days or less, for 2 guests), in accommodations up to and including Ocean Suites (category OS). This onboard credit may be applied to any future cruise in accordance with the terms and conditions below.  

If you have questions regarding your Milestone rewards, please contact our Milestone's Desk at 877-CCL-VIPS.

Terms and Conditions (in fine print on the bottom of the Milestone letter)

• Milestone Reward is valid for its stated value in U.S. dollars, only on Carnival Cruise Line and/or Carnival Australia cruise booking, to be used as a credit on board a ship. The Milestone Reward is not valid on any other cruise line, including any Carnival Corporation affiliate line. Milestone Reward is nontransferable, nonrefundable and has no cash value.
• Milestone Reward must be redeemed at least 30 days prior to sail date and will be applied to the booking on the week prior to sailing.
• Only one Milestone Reward is redeemable per guest, per booking; more than one guest per booking may redeem a Milestone Reward.
• Booking must be made within 18 months of the date stated on the letter from Carnival's Milestone Desk; there is no specific sailing window.

What does "redeem a future OBC" mean. Future?   You say that you are coming up to your 50th cruise. That's in the future isn't it?

Will I receive it on my 50th cruise? NO the 51st. Your wife's on a different one. Will I receive it on my 50th cruise. YES.  First of all, Carnival doesn't choose what cruise you use your Milestone OBC credit on, you do. In your case you can redeem the OBC credit anywhere between your 50th and 74th cruises. Your choice. My advice is to use it on a more expensive cruise to get more bang for your buck.

Can I use it to pay off the cruise and the balance put towards OBC? You can pay off the cruise but the balance cannot be used as OBC.  Of course not! It's On Board Credit. You don't get OBC until you are on board. You don't get on board until you've paid for the cruise.

Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise. NO. Hers would go towards another cruise. Can I use mine and my wife's Milestone on the same cruise? YES. So I guess they do not know either. Not just me. I see no answers to any of these on the Mile Stone rewards explanation.  I'll just copy and paste from the terms and conditions: Only one Milestone Reward is redeemable per guest, per booking; more than one guest per booking may redeem a Milestone Reward.

Booking must be made within 18 months of the date stated on the letter from Carnival's Milestone Desk; there is no specific sailing window. Just an FYI. I've been told by the Milestone Desk that they really don't enforce this.They just want you to use your current Milestone OBC before you reach the next milestone.

 

[glrounds]

I have my 25th coming up in January. This is very helpful, Jamman. Thank you.

 

I cruise solo and in effect pay DOUBLE. Can this 25% be taken of the doubled fare or just half of the DO fare ?

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by glrounds

[Jamman54]

53 minutes ago, glrounds said:

I have my 25th coming up in January. This is very helpful, Jamman. Thank you.

 

I cruise solo and in effect pay DOUBLE. Can this 25% be taken of the doubled fare or just half of the DO fare ?

 

It's 25% of what you paid, so if you paid double then yes. Remember that the credit is based on the base fare, not including port fees and taxes. You don't have to use it on your 25th cruise unless you want to. You will get the Milestone sail & sign card regardless. If you do plan to use it in January, remember to call the Milestone desk at least 30 days in advance. It's really that simple. Congrats on your 25th!😀

[NCTribeFan]

I did receive a letter but don't recall whether it was prior to #25 or after but I knew, from reading here, that I could've used it on #25 had I chosen to.  And the cruise to which I applied it was beyond the 18 months after #25.  I also knew from reading here that they don't hold you to the 18-month time limit. 

 

I waited until my Horizon TA to use my 25% since I was solo and it was rather more expensive than my typical Caribbean week-long sailings.  Add that plus the SH credit for a 14-night sailing and I had some nice OBC to cover my drinks and casino contributions. 😉