What is the Platinum Gift

[cruisingguy007]

43 minutes ago, Jasonsterling said:

Yes and no- attracting new clients is definitely a huge focus in marketing and busines but so is, typically, maintaining an existing client base. Maybe you'll keep the new client, maybe not, with a great offer BUT you can almost assure you'll keep an existing client by extending them the same offer. In a market where increasing competition from other lines moving to non-traditional ports with greater numbers of ships and increasing prices on Carnival's side along with moves placing it in line with it's rivals in regard to economic stratification within the experience i.e. reserved areas, higher end suites, upcharge eating, upcharge entertainment and so on maintaining your base takes on greater importance because the base in a field of identical choices needs a reason not to move. 

 

In my case Carnival has always been an excellent choice because the port was nearby, they placed newer ships there quickly better insuring there was availability when I was free on a nicer ship and the price was competitive on top of that. Plus, I figured the difference between the lines would not be great enough to go on RCL to justify the price difference or flying to Miami. Now with RCL preparing to move their massive mega liner to Galveston, something I've always wanted to sail on, in addition to Carnival's increasing ala carte schedule of pricing I have to say that I'm tempted to at least try RCL and if I try them I might stick with them, I might like them better. Most companies don't ever want to give you a reason to try anything else. They don't want to give you a chance to find out if it's better. That's what Loyalty Programs are meant to do always give you the reason, the little nudge or edge to stay with what you know over something else.   

 

Very good points made here. Carnival seems to be moving in the direction of the competition. Moving from the every man/woman line into the up-charge for everything market will mean customers will try different products since the value equation has changed. Their base product is probably the best in the industry IMO, I think they could keep it the way it is and increase the quality of that base product and the prices to match. Some of the competition is trying to do too much as far as different levels for everything and passengers end up losing out in the end.

 

It seems like you simply have more options but it's really a bamboozle trick to slowly move people from a base/included product into a base/up charge product. Why not improve the base product for everyone and then just raise prices accordingly? If they lower the quality of the 'included' items or continue to give you less and less, they essentially have conditioned folks to pay for what used to get. Make the pools so crowded you can't enjoy them and then offer a solution. Keep the food choices basic or lower the quality and then offer a solution etc. Packing too many people on the ships will naturally lead people to seek out solutions that will happily be provided for an up charge. At a certain point the base product may lose its value and/or not be enough of a reason to stick around. 

 

It seems crowding is the most complained about issue. Makes you wonder if folks would be willing to pay more for less crowded ships. Say factoring double occupancy as a maximum and tailoring it to per passenger price so a party of 4 would be better off getting two cabins vs 4 to a cabin since the per passenger rate is the same, no discounts for packing folks in like sardines. They can do lots of small things to improve the base product for everyone while still maintaining value and not emulating the class system of the competition. If Carnival fully embraces the business plan of the competition, who will be there to replace Carnival as the every man/woman line? That space is big and needs to be filled, hopefully it wouldn't disappear forever.         

[glrounds]

8 hours ago, carib1 said:

I'm platinum and got the same casino offer!

 

I've been PLATINUM for a decade and I get casino offers all the time (almost daily). Take a closer look at the restrictions and conditions that come with that offer.

 

[Steve551]

You guys are doing something wrong.... Carnival gave me a new C8 Corvette

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

If Carnival fully embraces the business plan of the competition, who will be there to replace Carnival as the every man/woman line? That space is big and needs to be filled, hopefully it wouldn't disappear forever.         

Carnival isn't and never will. Carnival works as a feeder cruise line for the other Carnival brands such as Princess and Holland America. It would be stupid for them to compete more with themselves than they already do 

[Old Fart Cruisers]

2 hours ago, Steve551 said:

You guys are doing something wrong.... Carnival gave me a new C8 Corvette

Did it have a Whale tail?

[tallnthensome]

3 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Carnival only cares about gaining new blue cards and giving promos to the reds and some golds.  Targeted marketing...just like some got the RU1-2-3 codes for Cheers, while others got the useless RU9.

For sure, no doubt. It would bother some that many below get better offers than many above.  I was just thinking about earlier that I have read so many times over the years here on CC people say “I’m not sailing with anyone else, I’m almost platinum”. I say congrats on never experiencing another cruise line over a luggage tag …… 

[phoneman69]

21 hours ago, VolzCruiser said:

Since Carnival has started sailing again, I was wondering what the Platinum Gift is at this time.

So did anyone who actually cruised the last month answer your question? saw it turn to offer discussion  

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, phoneman69 said:

So did anyone who actually cruised the last month answer your question? saw it turn to offer discussion  

It has been all over the boards and FB, and straight from Carnival, that the gift is the luggage tag.

[sailingships]

25 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

I absolutely could not care less how new a ship is and how many bells and whistles it has.  So what if Spirit-class ships don't have 15 different dining areas?  I don't go hungry on Fantasy-class.  I'm sure I'll manage on my B2B2B Med/TA on Pride in October 2022.

 

The 10 day on Oct 11?

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

For sure, no doubt. It would bother some that many below get better offers than many above.  I was just thinking about earlier that I have read so many times over the years here on CC people say “I’m not sailing with anyone else, I’m almost platinum”. I say congrats on never experiencing another cruise line over a luggage tag …… 

16 out of my first 20 cruises dating back to 1986 were on Carnival.  I then took the blinders off and only 4 of my next 15 cruises have been on them.  Royal treats their Diamond and above loyalists with free drinks and discounted balconies.  Carnival gives out luggage tags, LOL.

[SCBarker]

20 hours ago, Jasonsterling said:

In my case Carnival has always been an excellent choice because the port was nearby, they placed newer ships there quickly better insuring there was availability when I was free on a nicer ship and the price was competitive on top of that. Plus, I figured the difference between the lines would not be great enough to go on RCL to justify the price difference or flying to Miami.

You're describing me.  Port is biggest deal to me.  The minute I cruise out of somewhere other than my home area, I'm guaranteed to be spending quintuple due to airfare, ground transportation, and extra days off work.  Obviously people who live in Florida and the ones who live nowhere close to a port have an easier time justifying moving lines around.  

[RoperDK]

8 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

For sure, no doubt. It would bother some that many below get better offers than many above.  I was just thinking about earlier that I have read so many times over the years here on CC people say “I’m not sailing with anyone else, I’m almost platinum”. I say congrats on never experiencing another cruise line over a luggage tag …… 

Focusing on the trivial gift is not why most people try to reach platinum.  It's the other perks that make reaching platinum a goal.         

[RoperDK]

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

16 out of my first 20 cruises dating back to 1986 were on Carnival.  I then took the blinders off and only 4 of my next 15 cruises have been on them.  Royal treats their Diamond and above loyalists with free drinks and discounted balconies.  Carnival gives out luggage tags, LOL.

Love how Royal treats suite guests on Oasis Class.  Royal does give loyalty guests more perks, however, Royal's base price is more expensive than Carnival.  Onboard expenses are higher, too.  You have to pay more to get more.  

[tallnthensome]

49 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Focusing on the trivial gift is not why most people try to reach platinum.  It's the other perks that make reaching platinum a goal.         

That goal is one that has about $8 worth of actual cash value benefits. But whatever floats people's boats I guess. It doesn't matter to me at all but I just question the loyalty after spending thousands to do so out of your pocket while getting pretty much nothing except priority and this and that which has no real  cash value. A bottle of water, a luggage tag, a bag of laundry, a $5 casino play ..... sounds amazing. Let's face it, loyalty rewards are a joke.  

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

To me, the "benefit" of reaching Platinum (I assume I will eventually) is that it will mark a pseudo-random milestone of being a long-time cruiser with a line.  The early boarding and other minor perks will be nice, but are not the goal.  The "goal" is to have cruised at least 75 days of my life.  The memories we have created so far are what matters, and we want to create more.

 

Also, it is probable that by Platinum I will have visited all of the ports on the various itineraries Carnival offers - as long as there is somewhere new to go, we'll cruise.  So if we've been "everywhere possible" by the time we hit Platinum, maybe we'll shift gears - maybe even cruise less, travel otherwise more.

 

I cruise Carnival because it seems to represent the best net pricing for the port I sail from (because I can drive to Port Canaveral in 35 min), and I have been supremely happy with the experiences I have had.  My wife too.  So we don't want to mess with that success.  If we start to feel like we aren't getting the bang for the buck that we used to, then we might look further afield.

 

But that is me.  Others may really have a hankering for flip-flop shaped luggage tags.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by ProgRockCruiser

[cruisingguy007]

28 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

That goal is one that has about $8 worth of actual cash value benefits. But whatever floats people's boats I guess. It doesn't matter to me at all but I just question the loyalty after spending thousands to do so out of your pocket while getting pretty much nothing except priority and this and that which has no real  cash value. A bottle of water, a luggage tag, a bag of laundry, a $5 casino play ..... sounds amazing. Let's face it, loyalty rewards are a joke.  

 

 

It's purely marketing. Even many of the fancy lines make folks think they are getting a bunch of "free" stuff when it's anything but. It's just juiced in to the price or the taxes, fees or auto grats cover the cost (remember labor costs are very low comparatively). People are easy to manipulate. Sell something for $500 and it may do well but mark it up to $1000 and sell it at a 50% discount and it will go gangbusters! Same price, same product. The more numbers (aka values) you can throw at customers, while having a tiny ** at the bottom that shows the real total cost, the better. All they see is savings, the more they spend the more they save lol.  it's a physiological basic instinct.

 

Sales manipulation was the grandfather of many of the financial investment products we have today. Business school is built on it and the titans of financial services are the ones who can create products/opportunities by twisting/contorting/reversing/flipping/siphoning/bouncing/trading ect, while making things so convoluted that people can't even figure the product out enough to attempt to regulate it. It's a beautiful science that's no accident.

 

I also think the vast majority of cruisers choose lines based on price and product and would still do it without these enticements and clever marketing. I like Toyota cars and Samsung TV's and I don't get anything in the way for loyalty rewards. I get a long lasting car at a fair price and a TV with the best panels. A good product will sell without gimmicks. Carnival offers a good value for your vacation dollar. Comparing them to other lines who juice in different perks for products isn't necessarily a better deal, even if the rewards appear to be more or better. There is truth to the old adage that "there is no free lunch".            

Edited July 23, 2021 by cruisingguy007

[RoperDK]

5 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

I cruise Carnival because it seems to represent the best net pricing for the port I sail from (because I can drive to Port Canaveral in 35 min), and I have been supremely happy with the experiences I have had.  My wife too.  So we don't want to mess with that success.  If we start to feel like we aren't getting the bang for the buck that we used to, then we might look further afield.

 

But that is me.  Others may really have a hankering for flip-flop shaped luggage tags.

 

 

 

I agree that Carnival does well at putting out a good product at a reasonable price.  Over the years there has been reduced quality in the food area, but I now enjoy their grab and go type options.  We haven't eaten in the dining room in years.  We have been pampered more on other lines, but we still enjoy the fun on Carnival.  I personally don't care about the "gift".  Some we have used, but most we give away.  Priority embarkation and debarkation is a gold mine for us.  Enjoy the priority line at guest services, too.  We do use the laundry, but only for durables.       

[SNJCruisers]

13 hours ago, RoperDK said:

Focusing on the trivial gift is not why most people try to reach platinum.  It's the other perks that make reaching platinum a goal.         

Priority embarkation, priority tendering and priority line at guest services are the only perks worthwhile and they cost Carnival nothing.

[tallnthensome]

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Priority embarkation, priority tendering and priority line at guest services are the only perks worthwhile and they cost Carnival nothing.

Correct ..... 

[Steve551]

On 7/24/2021 at 3:45 AM, tallnthensome said:

Correct ..... 

I like the "wash-n-fold" perk too.  Cuts down on the number of bags my wife brings

[JaniceB]

On 7/24/2021 at 4:01 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Priority embarkation, priority tendering and priority line at guest services are the only perks worthwhile and they cost Carnival nothing.

The small bag of laundry isn't a bad perk either.  I know people complain because of the hot water your clothes are washed in, but I have never given them anything that would shrink in hot water.

[mredandchis]

The gift usually doesn't mean squat to us.  Sometimes it is 'nice' to have but many times I will find someone on board that would like it and give it to them.  

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, JaniceB said:

The small bag of laundry isn't a bad perk either.  I know people complain because of the hot water your clothes are washed in, but I have never given them anything that would shrink in hot water.

I only wash my whites in hot water, so it's  a worthless perk to me.  But I do remember many were upset  when the Platinum perk dropped from 3 to 2 over a 7 day cruise.

[JaniceB]

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

I only wash my whites in hot water, so it's  a worthless perk to me.  But I do remember many were upset  when the Platinum perk dropped from 3 to 2 over a 7 day cruise.

I thought it was still 3 bags.  Unless I am arriving a few days early for the cruise I dont have that many things I'd want washed.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

10 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

I thought it was still 3 bags.  Unless I am arriving a few days early for the cruise I dont have that many things I'd want washed.

Platinum:

Complimentary Wash & Fold laundry service
(2 bags on 3 – 6 day cruises,
3 bags on 7-12 day cruises, 5 bags on a 12+ day cruises )

 

Diamond:

Unlimited complimentary Wash & Fold service