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Will Carnival , copy Disney cruise lines, loyalty program change?

CruiseHealing

By CruiseHealing,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
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I feel like the "too many platinums and diamonds" is an issue that only exists here. Carnival doesn't have an issue with it that I can see. Carnival had an issue with getting the rooms ready at embarkation at their current staffing level, so they just ended that perk. Some years ago the past guest party was far too crowded so they stopped allowing Golds to attend. Simple.

 

If Carnival has an issue with priority water shuttles for example, they'll end that perk too. And on down the line.

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firefly333

firefly333

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Posted
1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

I believe Royal has the best loyalty plan in the industry at the moment. It is a far better value proposition than what Carnival has at the moment. The question though, is how such perks may translate into profitable growth for Carnival. 

I think no one will argue that royal doesnt have the best perks by a long shot. Maybe too good, and now like carnival too many top tier. 

 

I'm D+, 503 pts. I get a welcome bottle of champagne and 2 glasses delivered. 2 amentity gifts, my choice, I chose a beach bag and a box of chocolates but i could pick 2 more bottles of wine. Both delivered. Chefs choice, dessert stuff or strawberries delivered. 5 drinks anywhere anytime per day free. 2 days of free wifi. Cheers with a officer, a lunch with as much wine as you can drink. We had the best fillet mignon my last cruise. BOGO, buy 1 restaurant get 1 free. I did izumi and paid and got wonderland free. Crown lounge which has a concierge to book stuff and a specialty coffee machine. Later with 2 squirts of hot milk please and a couple of pastries for breakfast. Snacks at happy hour. Upgraded toiletries. Nice if im flying to get tubes of shampoo and conditioner and lotion. Solo and balcony discount are huge for me as a booking incentive. .. I might have missed something ..and I'm not even pinnacle. They get so much more. Oh free laundry. 1 free professional photo. 

 

I keep hearing from carnival posters perks dont matter. If I'm getting a discount on a balcony then 25% off overall .. makes rcl almost always the least expensive. Add in their group rates. If I'm on carnival I miss the free wifi and 5 free drinks a day. I dont drink hardly and tried cheers but it's a waste. A balcony on harmony was $300 cheaper than a inside on jubilee. Once you get up there, royal is cheaper is my problem and why I switched over. Nothing against carnival. Perks matter to me somewhat. It's a matter of total price. When people says perks like money off dont matter I'm like what?

 

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I think no one will argue that royal doesnt have the best perks by a long shot. Maybe too good, and now like carnival too many top tier. 

 

I'm D+, 503 pts. I get a welcome bottle of champagne and 2 glasses delivered. 2 amentity gifts, my choice, I chose a beach bag and a box of chocolates but i could pick 2 more bottles of wine. Both delivered. Chefs choice, dessert stuff or strawberries delivered. 5 drinks anywhere anytime per day free. 2 days of free wifi. Cheers with a officer, a lunch with as much wine as you can drink. We had the best fillet mignon my last cruise. BOGO, buy 1 restaurant get 1 free. I did izumi and paid and got wonderland free. Crown lounge which has a concierge to book stuff and a specialty coffee machine. Later with 2 squirts of hot milk please and a couple of pastries for breakfast. Snacks at happy hour. Upgraded toiletries. Nice if im flying to get tubes of shampoo and conditioner and lotion. Solo and balcony discount are huge for me as a booking incentive. .. I might have missed something ..and I'm not even pinnacle. They get so much more. Oh free laundry. 1 free professional photo. 

 

I keep hearing from carnival posters perks dont matter. If I'm getting a discount on a balcony then 25% off overall .. makes rcl almost always the least expensive. Add in their group rates. If I'm on carnival I miss the free wifi and 5 free drinks a day. I dont drink hardly and tried cheers but it's a waste. A balcony on harmony was $300 cheaper than a inside on jubilee. Once you get up there, royal is cheaper is my problem and why I switched over. Nothing against carnival. Perks matter to me somewhat. It's a matter of total price. When people says perks like money off dont matter I'm like what?

 

I hear you.  How are the prices on Icon compared to Carnival?  Different ships, different room types, different perception.  Cannot argue the perks, experienced Royals thru son in law who is Diamond plus.  

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JMAE

JMAE

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It will be interesting to see how they define the levels. They may add point for dollars spent similar to the casino offerings or a combination of sailings and dollars spent. I believe a level or two may be add while adding days to achieve diamond. I can see the addition of discounted item vs free so they are giving a "benefit" but the cost is covered. 

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

Posted
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7 hours ago, mz-s said:


again I ask - what’s it to you?

 

7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

No, not really. The only requirement is the number of days sailed. Every loyalty program I'm aware of awards points to the traveler, not the person who pays. If that were the case I'd be Diamond and DW would be Blue.

Because when a toddler and a dog are being recognized for their "loyalty". it is mocking the actual loyal guests.

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
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8 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

 

Because when a toddler and a dog are being recognized for their "loyalty". it is mocking the actual loyal guests.

 

It is what it is. I guess it just doesn't bother me in the least. Each to their own.

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

Posted
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4 hours ago, mz-s said:

I feel like the "too many platinums and diamonds" is an issue that only exists here. Carnival doesn't have an issue with it that I can see. Carnival had an issue with getting the rooms ready at embarkation at their current staffing level, so they just ended that perk. Some years ago the past guest party was far too crowded so they stopped allowing Golds to attend. Simple.

 

If Carnival has an issue with priority water shuttles for example, they'll end that perk too. And on down the line.

Carnival has also created the "too many" problem by diluting the earned perks to non P/D guests.  Stop with the "and Guest" invites, stop with the bring 6 more people to priority water shuttle, stop with the "everyone in the same stateroom" boards together, etc.  If the perks are excusive and meant to make Elite statuses special,  then make them excusive.  Make it so when non P/D walk past that P/D party, they think "boy, some day I will be in there" and not hold the door open so they walk right in.  

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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40 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

 

Because when a toddler and a dog are being recognized for their "loyalty". it is mocking the actual loyal guests.

A dog I could certainly agreed with. I'd be envious of the toddler. I wouldn't see it as mocking.

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
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46 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Carnival has also created the "too many" problem by diluting the earned perks to non P/D guests.  Stop with the "and Guest" invites, stop with the bring 6 more people to priority water shuttle, stop with the "everyone in the same stateroom" boards together, etc.  If the perks are excusive and meant to make Elite statuses special,  then make them excusive.  Make it so when non P/D walk past that P/D party, they think "boy, some day I will be in there" and not hold the door open so they walk right in.  

 

On the flipside it's vacation and it's no fun for mom and dad to be separated from susie and betty at the water shuttle because they stayed home for a few cruises and aren't platinum yet.

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ngrund

ngrund

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14 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

A dog I could certainly agreed with. I'd be envious of the toddler. I wouldn't see it as mocking.

Yes, and for those that don't recall the story, it was a Veteran's service dog that was honored. Very nice feel good story that the Veterans was able to cruise again because of the dog

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, ngrund said:

Yes, and for those that don't recall the story, it was a Veteran's service dog that was honored. Very nice feel good story that the Veterans was able to cruise again because of the dog

I would not for one second feel bad about a Veteran's service dog being honored, or any other bona fide service dog for that matter.

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

Posted
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5 minutes ago, ngrund said:

Yes, and for those that don't recall the story, it was a Veteran's service dog that was honored. Very nice feel good story that the Veterans was able to cruise again because of the dog

It wasn't on my cruise, it was a Bitey McBarkey who belonged to a Diamond member who had the most days and they gave the dog a plaque also.  

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loanshark

loanshark

Posted
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5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

 

There are lots of industries that give "loyalty credit" only to the purchaser. I just got back from a hotel stay. I can assure you they didn't give points to everyone in the room. Just who purchased it. They do it because it's more about stimulating the one who makes the purchasing decisions vs entitlements for everyone they bring along. One is far more important than the other, regardless of everyone's feelings on the internet.

 

 

 

Actually, in cases of business travel where a corporation has paid for their employee's, visitor's, contractor's, etc... it is the person staying in the room, and not the entity that paid for the room who gets the credit.  That being said, your argument doesn't hold much water when comparing to a cruise line or an airline who awards miles or points based on whose butt is in the seat versus who paid for the seat or berth.

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Honolulu Blue Great Review Rare

Honolulu Blue

Posted
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5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I think no one will argue that royal doesnt have the best perks by a long shot. Maybe too good, and now like carnival too many top tier. 

 

I'm D+, 503 pts. I get a welcome bottle of champagne and 2 glasses delivered. 2 amentity gifts, my choice, I chose a beach bag and a box of chocolates but i could pick 2 more bottles of wine. Both delivered. Chefs choice, dessert stuff or strawberries delivered. 5 drinks anywhere anytime per day free. 2 days of free wifi. Cheers with a officer, a lunch with as much wine as you can drink. We had the best fillet mignon my last cruise. BOGO, buy 1 restaurant get 1 free. I did izumi and paid and got wonderland free. Crown lounge which has a concierge to book stuff and a specialty coffee machine. Later with 2 squirts of hot milk please and a couple of pastries for breakfast. Snacks at happy hour. Upgraded toiletries. Nice if im flying to get tubes of shampoo and conditioner and lotion. Solo and balcony discount are huge for me as a booking incentive. .. I might have missed something ..and I'm not even pinnacle. They get so much more. Oh free laundry. 1 free professional photo. 

 

I keep hearing from carnival posters perks dont matter. If I'm getting a discount on a balcony then 25% off overall .. makes rcl almost always the least expensive. Add in their group rates. If I'm on carnival I miss the free wifi and 5 free drinks a day. I dont drink hardly and tried cheers but it's a waste. A balcony on harmony was $300 cheaper than a inside on jubilee. Once you get up there, royal is cheaper is my problem and why I switched over. Nothing against carnival. Perks matter to me somewhat. It's a matter of total price. When people says perks like money off dont matter I'm like what?

Thanks for the detail.  I'm Platinum on Carnival as some of you are probably tired of me saying.  I'm also Platinum on Princess (yay).  I'm "Nothing" on Royal (I don't want to look up my actual level) and I'm "Almost Nothing" on Celebrity.  I've occasionally looked up prices on Royal and compared them to Carnival.  I have always found on the routes that interest me that Royal has been more expensive - by a lot.  The perks might be nice at higher levels, but I figure I'd have to pay a lot more than I want in order to (maybe) pay less and get more later on.  That's a tradeoff that, at this time, I'm not willing to make.

 

Also, my first cruise on Royal was in 2022 on a charter cruise.  Charters are expensive, so I can't do too many of them, and thus I have quite a way to go to get to any decent level on Royal.  I figure I'd need another lifetime or two to get to Diamond+ there.

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

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5 hours ago, loanshark said:

Actually, in cases of business travel where a corporation has paid for their employee's, visitor's, contractor's, etc... it is the person staying in the room, and not the entity that paid for the room who gets the credit.  That being said, your argument doesn't hold much water when comparing to a cruise line or an airline who awards miles or points based on whose butt is in the seat versus who paid for the seat or berth.

Not anymore, Delta will start to give elite points to who pays, not whose butt is in the seat.  That is why there was such an uproar

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

Posted
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2 hours ago, mz-s said:

Hey as long as we're going to diss kids who cruised as a 3rd or 4th guest, how about a new rule where adults who cruised for free or cheap using casino rates won't get VIFP points.

The diss is on the cruiseline who so little values loyalty that they award beings that have no such loyalty.  See people, watch us ignore you and reward a dog and a babe that can't use our pools as our best customers, that is how little we think of your Diamond status. 

It is the casino spend that is pushing Carnival back into the black. The casino doesn't reward loyalty though, they only reward spending.   

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