Should carnival add a new tier?

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Never understood this, Do you cruise for the brand or the perks? I cruise for carnival not the perks. 

 

Ask 10 people you know why they chose the last AI or cruise that they did. You will undoubtedly hear a ton of "free and included". Sure the amenities of a vacation are more significant than loyalty perks, to your point. My point is we are overly obsessed with free free free. You average vacationer would prefer a $1500 vacation where everything is included vs a $1000 vacation that has $300 in "nickel and dimes". If it was about logic, companies wouldn't have such big marketing departments. How much do they invest on trying to make the same product look like a better offer?

[SCBarker]

9 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

I think some of it is just preference.  My husband and I like comedy shows and Carnival has more of them and more comedians.  RCL's large ships are amazing and their theater shows are much better than Carnival's.  But we don't like making reservations for shows.  With Carnival, we can decide what we want to do the same day.  I really dislike the reservation system.

I couldn't agree more with this whole paragraph.  And we'll likely keep going back and forth because of it.

 

I also doesn't hurt they are the two companies in our backyard.  We flew to Florida for a cruise once, and we are unlikely to do that again anytime soon.  That's a whole other level of stress and expense compared to just calling an Uber to drop you off at the port.

[xDisconnections]

17 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Their competitors give free drinks like Royal and free specialty meals like NCL when you reach Platinum, which is not even the top tier attainable.

Complimentary drinks and dining cost them pennies on the dollar. Free drinks are one of the cheapest things for them to provide. Hotels have no problem getting you drunk if your room isn't ready at check in time -- you think you're getting a great deal and they spend at most $10 for your $150 bar bill.

[xDisconnections]

10 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

I think some of it is just preference.  My husband and I like comedy shows and Carnival has more of them and more comedians.  RCL's large ships are amazing and their theater shows are much better than Carnival's.  But we don't like making reservations for shows.  With Carnival, we can decide what we want to do the same day.  I really dislike the reservation system.

The reservation system for theme park access is the reason I recently gave up my WDW Annual Passes. As a last minute planner for Disney who usually decides the day before, I'm not a fan of making a reservation to go or the limited availability that comes with it.

[xDisconnections]

15 hours ago, crzndeb said:

Depends on where you are in your cruising career. I’m retired, so itinerary is important to me. If I was still working and could only do 7 day cruises, and was happy with the Caribbean, then perks are not a big deal. But if I’m going to be on a ship for 20-30+ days, then perks start coming into play. I got to Platinum in 2012, when I took the Spirit over to Australia, and it took me 7 years to get to Diamond, in 2019 when I took the Splendor to Singapore.

I don’t use the laundry perk, so Carnival doesn’t really have any other perks that really draws me in. Now unique itineraries bring me back.

You only need  80 points on Royal to Diamond, and I Iike the evening drinks (changing to XX number on your card over the whole day), and Internet minutes. Plus as a solo traveler, I get double points, and only have to pay deposit for one.  

When I’m cruising for extended periods of time, I do like some perks.
 

We have moved away from the Caribbean as well. At this time, I add in the short Princess cruises when I see them available to have random getaways to look forward to and book based on itinerary such as my most recent being Antarctica. It's been a long time (including prior to the suspension of operations) since I reserved a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean -- closest would be a 10 night repositioning in 2018 from NY to FLL. 

 

The perks play a bigger deal on these special itineraries but we still chose Royal Caribbean with a lower tier over Princess with Elite for our upcoming Scandinavia and Russia cruise.

[robc1972]

Make it across the entire Carnival family of lines.
Add in a another level before Diamond and another higher than Diamond.

[sailingships]

3 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

The Oasis ships

 

When I tried to make a reservation for a comedy show, they said there were no family shows, only adult.  I couldn't believe it.  

That's one thing that's good about Carnival. They have their adult shows after 10PM For instance kids love to do Karaoke and theyre fun to listen to. They can sing until 10 when its adults only.  

[xDisconnections]

34 minutes ago, robc1972 said:

Make it across the entire Carnival family of lines.
Add in a another level before Diamond and another higher than Diamond.

Not sure the passengers on the premium lines would be a fan of that when the cruises are typically at significantly higher average daily rates 😉 

[firefly333]

36 minutes ago, robc1972 said:

Make it across the entire Carnival family of lines.
Add in a another level before Diamond and another higher than Diamond.

It would be nice to share loyalty level across carnival brands. I was top tier on celebrity my first time on them because rcl shares with celebrity levels.

 

I have 3 on princess..would be awesome to bump up. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

25 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

It would be nice to share loyalty level across carnival brands. I was top tier on celebrity my first time on them because rcl shares with celebrity levels.

 

I have 3 on princess..would be awesome to bump up. 

 

We sailed Celebrity prior to Royal. We had made it to Elite with Celebrity (easily, with the points awarded based on cabin category, and the "conversion" which occurred in their program early on), thus our first sailing with Royal had us at Diamond.

 

Not sure if it's still an active arrangement, but being Elite with Celebrity also got me in at the Platinum tier of the MGM rewards program. That was nice for line passes and special taxi lines in Vegas. That had to be renewed each year... October as I recall. I like program reciprocity like that!

 

EDIT: here's what MGM offers for their guests with Royal and Celebrity. I remember now... back in the day, I actually got a free cruise on Royal as a result of my (earned with) MGM Platinum card. Hard to beat that - with the exception of that old adage... free ain't free !

 

 

 

Edit (take TWO!):  Just saw that going the other way (Celebrity to MGM) now only earns a GOLD MGM card - which is hardly worth the effort.. oh well!!

Tom

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Not sure the passengers on the premium lines would be a fan of that when the cruises are typically at significantly higher average daily rates 😉 

Given the size differential, the Carnival riffraff would dwarf the true elite on premium lines.

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

The reservation system for theme park access is the reason I recently gave up my WDW Annual Passes. As a last minute planner for Disney who usually decides the day before, I'm not a fan of making a reservation to go or the limited availability that comes with it.

I thought Disney was doing away with annual passes for some new program.

[sailingships]

7 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I thought Disney was doing away with annual passes for some new program.

I had a Disneyland annual pass 20 years ago for $99 and parking for $30. No restricted days. Now I wouldnt buy one. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 6/22/2021 at 1:21 PM, DGP1111 said:

 

Please help me out with a better understanding of what you mean by "many".  Thanks.

 

I know that the occasional Journeys voyages tend to have a much larger number of high-loyalty passengers, but on all of my cruises I've never had one of the Diamond events actually come close to filling the room space. Perhaps I'm just lucky there.  

 

.

When they fill the theater twice with Platinum and Diamond. Drinks and hours d'oeuvres. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

It would be nice to share loyalty level across carnival brands. I was top tier on celebrity my first time on them because rcl shares with celebrity levels.

 

I have 3 on princess..would be awesome to bump up. 

I agree. Royal and Celebrity do, that is great. Not Carnival and Princess. That I would like a lot.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

In addition to Carnival and Princess points share. I would like to see Carnival offer the Veterans OBC like Princess does.

[xDisconnections]

21 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I thought Disney was doing away with annual passes for some new program.

In Disneyland.

 

Walt Disney World still offers them but on a more restricted basis. They will only allow you to renew an active pass or purchase a new one through a certain date (which I believe is in August) if your pass expired during the closure. It can’t be purchased at the gate though and requires the proper communication channels.

Edited June 23, 2021 by xDisconnections

[robc1972]

2 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Not sure the passengers on the premium lines would be a fan of that when the cruises are typically at significantly higher average daily rates 😉 

Given the price difference between Cunard, Seabourn and Carnival its not likely that the stuffy rich people will encounter Carnival types on their cruises.

Also take into account the different brands service different areas of the world, they are less likely to cross over.

 

But it would be nice to take advantage of Carnival status when on Costa or Aida in Europe.

[sailingships]

50 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

In addition to Carnival and Princess points share. I would like to see Carnival offer the Veterans OBC like Princess does.

Its only been since last year that Carnival has finally offered cheaper prices for veterans. However I dont like the fact that they charge more for the deposit. Last year some deposits were reasonable and I booked a couple but those cruises got cancelled Cant win.

[Don Kehote]

7 minutes ago, sailingships said:

Its only been since last year that Carnival has finally offered cheaper prices for veterans. However I dont like the fact that they charge more for the deposit. Last year some deposits were reasonable and I booked a couple but those cruises got cancelled Cant win.

Are the veterans' discounts only applicable to Active duty / Retired?  I see conflicting information available online.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Don Kehote

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

23 minutes ago, sailingships said:

Its only been since last year that Carnival has finally offered cheaper prices for veterans. However I dont like the fact that they charge more for the deposit. Last year some deposits were reasonable and I booked a couple but those cruises got cancelled Cant win.

 

I've enjoyed the military rate for perhaps 10-15 years. It's offered on most sailings. It has the benefit of being able to choose your own room, and has a refundable deposit. So many of their low dollar/deposit offers will take your deposit if your plans change.

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

22 minutes ago, Don Kehote said:

Are the veterans' discounts only applicable to Active duty / Retired?  I see conflicting information available online.

 

I provided them with my 2007 DD-214. They eventually kept it on file (after dozens of military rate sailings) and now no longer ask for it.

 

Tom

[travelplus]

On 6/22/2021 at 8:37 AM, firefly333 said:

500 sounds too high to me. It's taken forever to reach 200. ..well ok 197 pts. But I dont feel motivated to reach diamond. The perks arent worth it as other than boarding no interest. One pay dinner forever at diamond.. a joke. I dont go on cruises ro get my laundry done, maybe moms like it. 

 

People are loyal to royal for the free booze. Used to be a diamond lounge which says temporarily going away .. who knows.. instead giving us daily drink vouchers. 4/5/6. Can use any time of the day to spread us out. Free wine delivered in your cabin. At diamond plus one pay dinner one free. Solo use 2 nights... and my personal favorite at 340 pts, 50% solo supplement. Oh and the balcony discount which increases as your level goes higher.

 

Rcl has perks that keep people loyal to royal, carnival has always said we dont care about keeping you imo with those perks.

 

500 would be unattainable for most .. maybe 300?

I will be honest it was easy to attain Diamond on Royal for all of my Father and my Trans Atlantic Cruises plus a 21 day Cruise. My Mother gets her Royal Status due to marriage and  we can status match to Elite on Celebrity , Azamara(forget which level) and MGM M Life Gold, Hyatt Explorist and MSC Diamond.  I wish Carnival would let you status match with Princess, Cunard and even Royal Caribbean.

 

 

[Don Kehote]

16 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I provided them with my 2007 DD-214. They eventually kept it on file (after dozens of military rate sailings) and now no longer ask for it.

 

Tom

Guess what I'm getting at was more to the point of: I didn't retire, but I spent a few years seeing the world on Uncle Sam's bill.  Would I be eligible, or does that only apply to Retirees and AD?

[BlerkOne]

2 minutes ago, Don Kehote said:

Guess what I'm getting at was more to the point of: I didn't retire, but I spent a few years seeing the world on Uncle Sam's bill.  Would I be eligible, or does that only apply to Retirees and AD?

Yes, you would.