carnival loyalty program vs. others?

[Jana60]

I agree completely. Also, as a suite passenger, we get double cruise credit on other lines. We just completed a Princess cruise in a Vista Suite. Everything about the cruise including the Chef's Table was better than Carnival. We have one more cruise booked on Carnival. It will be our last although we are Platinum.

 

Like I said before everybody has their own preferences. I took my sister on a cruise to Alaska for her 60th birthday on Princess cruise lines. I got us a mini suite. With cruise, tours and airfare our trip cost almost $5000. Alaska was gorgeous and I wouldn't have missed seeing Glacier Bay for anything. But the mini-suite was the same size as the regular balcony on carnival, the entertainment was not as varied, and the food was not as good. Now I realize that food preferences vary greatly among individuals but that's why it's great that we have the choice of whether to cruise with Princess or Carnival. Obviously carnival realizes that as well since they own both cruise lines.

 

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Edited April 10, 2014 by Jana60

[Warm Breezes]

I been on 2 carnival ships and i liked both cruises i have been on. I was wondering if carnival loyalty program is the best out there or is there better ones? Also, are the loyalty programs good enough that i should stay with one ship or not?

 

Personally I could care less about loyalty programs. IMHO they are just bonus if you sail on a line enough to earn it, but not something that would make me choose sailing a certain line for. I choose the "ship" that best fits our wants for the vacation I am planning. I don't care what line it is. We have different wants for different vacations so our priorities can change each time we cruise. On top of that cruise lines are always changing so I always have to do my research to make sure I am up on what the ships we have narrowed it down to actually offer today. It all comes down to who is offering what we want at the price we are willing to pay for it.....loyalty (or loyalty programs) have never been a factor for us.

[Warm Breezes]

Then you haven't really been checking prices of the other lines. I keep hearing people say, "We cruise CCL because of price," yet most don't even bother to check the rates of other lines...they just assume CCL is the cheapest and book. Our cruise Sunday on Epic was $200 cheaper for a balcony than on any 7-Day CCL Western Caribbean itinerary and that's even factoring in the interline employee discount CCL offers to airline employees. Picking between Epic or the Glory, Legend, or Conquest...I'm choosing Epic every single time, but for it to be $200'pp cheaper is the icing on the cake.

 

To the OP, yes the CCL loyalty program isn't what it used to be. If loyalty is important to you look at NCL or RCI. Both offer decent benefits and ways to earn double and triple points. Also NCL offers discounts on pictures and on board purchases...the discount depends on your level.

 

I have to disagree with you. I always check all lines when I am researching a cruise. The majority of the time (not all but the majority), after I've narrowed down my choices because of dates, itinerary, embarkation port...it is Carnival that is the lowest price. Now I don't sail only on CCL and I don't always choose the lowest price. I choose the ship that best fits our wants for a price I'm willing to pay....but if a Carnival Ship has a lower price, all other things being equal....more than likely we will be sailing Carnival and it's not to build up loyalty points.

[Hendricks Clan]

I have to disagree with you. I always check all lines when I am researching a cruise. The majority of the time (not all but the majority), after I've narrowed down my choices because of dates, itinerary, embarkation port...it is Carnival that is the lowest price. Now I don't sail only on CCL and I don't always choose the lowest price. I choose the ship that best fits our wants for a price I'm willing to pay....but if a Carnival Ship has a lower price, all other things being equal....more than likely we will be sailing Carnival and it's not to build up loyalty points.

 

I know for our past several cruises, CCL was equal to or exceeded NCL's price and this includes our cruise to Alaska last year. The only cruise that CCL has been much cheaper than NCL is on our summer cruise on the Getaway, but that's to be expected since your paying for the new ship. I think RCI is more times than not going to be a little more but I disagree with you completely on the pretext that CCL is the cheapest most of the time. At least in our cases they were equal to or higher than NCL on a much older ship.

I was ready to give CCL another try to earn my business back, but i was unwilling to pay roughly $200 more pp than the Epic. If all things were equal price wise I'd still choose Epic over any Conquest class ship as they just simply can't compete with the options Epic offers.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Hendricks Clan

[serene56]

None of the cruise lines have a loyalty program that would motivate me to cruise with them for that reason. I have gone on several cruises on each of the following cruise lines Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Princess and I cruise most often with Carnival because I simply have had more fun on carnival. So I am platinum on carnival only because I enjoyed my Carnival Cruises not because I wanted to become platinum.

 

 

I dont cruise because of a loyalty program. I cruise if the price is right.

Platiunum on Carnival half way there on Princess and not even close on Royal.

[Disconnections]

I am well aware of the program. FTTF is not a take away, never understoond that arguement. The stationary was, and I stopped sobbing on that after a while. Milestone was never part of the program....it is a "milestone". Shifting is just that ...shifting (all cruiseliens have done it) no take way there either. Laundry from every day to 3 times (on a 7 day cruise), most Platinum members sail together (2 per cabin) so it is really no take way there either. Question still stands.

 

I never cared about the stationary, either. However, it was silently removed and something to take into consideration. While you may not consider milestone to be an actual level, the brand ambassador did up until the debacle where they weren't grandfathered into Diamond. If you looked at the PDF I linked you to in my prior post, you would see every single post the brand ambassador made about the VIFP program, Milestone and how we would not lose perks with he "brilliant changes." In case you are interested in taking the time to review some posts made by John Heald, you can look at the link below. The apology letter is in the original post and the document is in post #19.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1655257

 

Edit: I personally think the loyalty program on Carnival is a joke and a reason on its own to consider another line prior to considering a cruise with Carnival.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Disconnections

[Strmwatch]

IMO if you're sailing JUST due to the loyalty program, you're cruising for the wrong reason.

[Warm Breezes]

I know for our past several cruises, CCL was equal to or exceeded NCL's price and this includes our cruise to Alaska last year. The only cruise that CCL has been much cheaper than NCL is on our summer cruise on the Getaway, but that's to be expected since your paying for the new ship. I think RCI is more times than not going to be a little more but I disagree with you completely on the pretext that CCL is the cheapest most of the time. At least in our cases they were equal to or higher than NCL on a much older ship.

I was ready to give CCL another try to earn my business back, but i was unwilling to pay roughly $200 more pp than the Epic. If all things were equal price wise I'd still choose Epic over any Conquest class ship as they just simply can't compete with the options Epic offers.

 

CCL may not have been the cheapest the majority of the time for the cruises you were looking at, but they have been the cheapest the majority of the time for the cruise I have been looking at. That is where I was basically disagreeing with your post. You stated that most people who said CCL was the cheapest didn't look at other lines and just assumed CCL was cheaper. I disagree. I am someone who says that based on my experience and I do look at other lines when researching a vacation....shoot I even look at alternative land vacations if we are not sure what type of vacation we want.

 

I have to say that when we sailed on Epic it was after 3 CCL cruises in a row and our wants at that time was a change up from CCL (not because we didn't like them but because we like to try new things once in while....the food and the shows were starting to get repetitive for us), and we wanted to try a larger,newer ship. Because of this, I didn't even include CCL in my search because I didn't want to become tempted with a lower cost. Our decision came down to Epic and Oasis. Both were larger, newer ships. Both had the same itinerary only opposite of each other for the week we had available. We priced out 2 inside rooms on both. Epic was $1000 less total for the 2 rooms. That was a no brainer for us.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[jimbo5544]

Taking away free blackjack tourney was a biggee to me. No more guaranteed dining reservations has bit us on several occasions.

 

Have several FTTF ahead of you on the platinum line and that is rather annoying.

 

Stationary who cares. Laundry 6 bags for a week is more than we will ever need.

I would agree on the black jack tourney. Having a couple of people in front of me (FTTF) would not bother me, I am not sure how I would know the difference (if they were Plat/Diamond or FTTF). I can kind of agre on the non guarantee on dining, but I ahve never ahd to sue it, so I don't perceive it as a loss.

[jimbo5544]

I never cared about the stationary, either. However, it was silently removed and something to take into consideration. While you may not consider milestone to be an actual level, the brand ambassador did up until the debacle where they weren't grandfathered into Diamond. If you looked at the PDF I linked you to in my prior post, you would see every single post the brand ambassador made about the VIFP program, Milestone and how we would not lose perks with he "brilliant changes." In case you are interested in taking the time to review some posts made by John Heald, you can look at the link below. The apology letter is in the original post and the document is in post #19.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1655257

 

Edit: I personally think the loyalty program on Carnival is a joke and a reason on its own to consider another line prior to considering a cruise with Carnival.

I don't have the inclination to read the flow of the thread (19 pages plus attachments). I don't know what he said, but my understanding was/is that Milestone is just that, Milestone (25%,50%, 75%, 100%). Having just reached it (the 25%), I can tell yuo it still works. You obviously have strong biased feelings on the subject (note your edit line which you keep inserting). So it begs the next question, if you feel this is enough to strongly consider (which most other posters would disagree with - read back) going elsewhere, why are you here? It's a joke, move on.

[crzndeb]

I don't cruise for loyalty programs, but I sure like some better than others. I'm Platinum on Carnival, Platinum on Princess (thanks to my past Sitmar cruises) and Emerald on RCI. I have 18 more days until Diamond on RCI, and with their double days now for solo passengers, I will probably be focusing on them after my Legend cruise to Australia with Carnival.

 

It really is personal preference. I don't use Carnival Plat. Laundry service. I much prefer free evening cocktails and reduced internet costs. And I can cruise Celebrity, which I hope to try soon, and go over at an equal level to RCI, even if it's my first cruise.

 

Loyalty programs aren't what they used to be, you just have to decide what things you might like as a little bonus. And if you are just looking for cheap, then that's going to be Carnival most of the time.

[iuki]

I agree with you about the pricing. The Carnival Liberty costs the same as the Freedom of the Seas for a comparable itinerary.

 

I did a cost comparison for July 2015 and did not enter special discounts. The savings on Carnival vs RCCL was $270 pp. :o

[put me on a ship]

I been on 2 carnival ships and i liked both cruises i have been on. I was wondering if carnival loyalty program is the best out there or is there better ones? Also, are the loyalty programs good enough that i should stay with one ship or not?

 

Carnival's loyalty program is about the worst out there, but we don't cruise for loyalty programs. We cruise because we love to cruise, and will try any line, if the itinerary is what we want. We have sailed mostly with Carnival to date, but now we are kind of wanting something different, so after our upcoming Glory cruise, it might be the last Carnival one for awhile.

[Disconnections]

I don't have the inclination to read the flow of the thread (19 pages plus attachments). I don't know what he said, but my understanding was/is that Milestone is just that, Milestone (25%,50%, 75%, 100%). Having just reached it (the 25%), I can tell yuo it still works. You obviously have strong biased feelings on the subject (note your edit line which you keep inserting). So it begs the next question, if you feel this is enough to strongly consider (which most other posters would disagree with - read back) going elsewhere, why are you here? It's a joke, move on.

 

I still haven't shunned off the line, even after having a really bad experience on the Carnival Miracle. The Magic Transatlantic and Ecstasy weren't all that great, either. I have no plans to sail with Carnival anytime in the near future. I also decided to sail with another line prior to the VIFP changes and other cutbacks.

 

However, I am a shareholder with Carnival Corporation & plc and feel it is important to stay up to date with one of their subsidies, Carnival Cruise Lines. As a paying customer in the past with many cruises and the possibility of establishing another business relationship in the future, I feel it is my right to provide feedback and share my opinion about a company in the service industry. Not to mention, I still sail on a sister cruise line under the Carnival Corporation umbrella.

 

Edit: After hearing how "brilliant" the changes would be, it was very disappointing to see the devaluation. Jim Berra, the employee who oversaw the changes, developed the loyalty program for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Preferred Guest, which is currently considered one of the best hotel loyalty programs.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Disconnections

[Jamman54]

I never cared about the stationary, either. However, it was silently removed and something to take into consideration. While you may not consider milestone to be an actual level, the brand ambassador did up until the debacle where they weren't grandfathered into Diamond. If you looked at the PDF I linked you to in my prior post, you would see every single post the brand ambassador made about the VIFP program, Milestone and how we would not lose perks with he "brilliant changes." In case you are interested in taking the time to review some posts made by John Heald, you can look at the link below. The apology letter is in the original post and the document is in post #19.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1655257

 

Edit: I personally think the loyalty program on Carnival is a joke and a reason on its own to consider another line prior to considering a cruise with Carnival.

 

I guess having worked in union shops for the better part of 30 years, I've learned not to listen to anyone's "promises". I can't tell you how many times the local union would "promise" us the world, but after negotiations were completed, those "promises" never worked out. JH can "promise" us whatever he wants, but it really isn't his call, and until I see the "official" announcement regarding any program, I choose to ignore him.

Was I disappointed that Milestones weren't given Diamond status, sure, but when you think about it, how many reach 200 days by their first Milestone (25th cruise)?

I cruised with Carnival for 20 years before there was a loyalty program, and if they scrapped the whole thing tomorrow, I would still sail on them.

[golfadj]

I don't have the inclination to read the flow of the thread (19 pages plus attachments). I don't know what he said, but my understanding was/is that Milestone is just that, Milestone (25%,50%, 75%, 100%). Having just reached it (the 25%), I can tell yuo it still works. You obviously have strong biased feelings on the subject (note your edit line which you keep inserting). So it begs the next question, if you feel this is enough to strongly consider (which most other posters would disagree with - read back) going elsewhere, why are you here? It's a joke, move on.

 

I was amazed that JH made post after post about the loyalty program being so brilliant and than when it came out he survived as brand ambassador.

 

He hasnt learned that his beards will float things and he will pass it on to his public and than the beards will decide to go another direction and just toss him under the bus.

[Budget Queen]

I do not expect much with loyalty programs. Cruising has exploded in the last 10 years, with loads of repeaters. It isn't difficult for a lot of people to cruise multiple times per year. Prices are low for what you get- meals, lodging and transportation. :)

 

I'm a long time cruiser, just off my 87th cruise a few weeks ago. I am Diamond on RCI, Platinum on Carnival and NCL, Elite on Princess and Celebrity. Several years ago, I used to be the only cruiser on NCL that was Platinum, got a lot of cpt dinner invites and gifts sent to my lowly cheap inside cabin. :) Now it isn't uncommon for 100's of Platinum guests to be on board. My sailing on the Conquest in March had 600 Platinums on board. I am happy with the repeater parties. All that I expect. The other stuff is nice, but way back a beginning response to this thread said it for me. I cruise because I enjoy cruising. :)

[wanderingjew]

I was amazed that JH made post after post about the loyalty program being so brilliant and than when it came out he survived as brand ambassador.

 

He hasnt learned that his beards will float things and he will pass it on to his public and than the beards will decide to go another direction and just toss him under the bus.

Stu I guess in the UK BRILLIANT means terrible especially with the Vastly Inferior Fake Program LOL

[dadroy]

Just to add to the mix, Royal points will transfer over on Celebrity, which is nice if you ever decide to try Celebrity (especially as you get older). The reciprocity does not go all the way to the top tiers, but does allow you some mobility of perks.:D

[Cruising Rules]

The loyalty program of this cruise lines does, however, work both ways.

 

Some may say that Carnival has somewhat dramatically 'watered down' its loyalty program to the current/former long-term passengers.

 

Others may say that some of those long-term passengers have 'watered down' their loyalty program to Carnival.

 

.

 

Huh? You lost me!

[winddawn]

I been on 2 carnival ships and i liked both cruises i have been on. I was wondering if carnival loyalty program is the best out there or is there better ones? Also, are the loyalty programs good enough that i should stay with one ship or not?

Personally, I wouldn't choose my cruises based on the loyalty programs. Loyalty programs tend to correlate to prices. If value is most important to you, then Carnival will likely give you the best value. If you prefer to pay more for extras, then look elsewhere. On both Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, you will have more extra fees for food. If you are a gambler, Carnival is probably not your best bet for casino perks. If you are smoker, Carnival is probably your best choice because their smoking policy is more liberal. Each line caters to a different clientele and you need to experience them or do research to figure out which one is the best fit for you.

 

Carnival's loyalty program has been watered down the last few years, but prices have been pretty cheap too. However Carnival's prices do seem to be increasing overall this year.

Edited April 11, 2014 by winddawn

[OCruisers]

It's hard to beat the loyalty program from Princess as an Elite! :)

Still, even as Elite on Princess we cruise on other lines when we wish.

LuLu

~~~

[Cruising Rules]

Stu I guess in the UK BRILLIANT means terrible especially with the Vastly Inferior Fake Program LOL

 

Having been a Platinum with Carnival for about 6-7 years I agree with both your sentiments. I just returned from a Princess cruise with two other couples who are Platinum with Princess. Among several things they receive is the fact they have a private lounge each afternoon from 5 to 7 with not only exclusive drink specials and and free appetizers but also each individual had 3 free drink coupons. Not sure we will ever see that on Carnival. Pretty sure we won't. Oh well one more Princess cruise and we'll be platinum.

Of course I have never cruised to become a Carnival

Platinum member but as enticement along the way I was promised certain benefits for my loyalty. Slowly but surely those benefits have diminished and at the same pace I have been giving my business to Princess, Holland and Celebrity. Too bad Carnival makes commitments they don't keep. They have lost a fair amount of business from me.

[Almost Packed]

I stayed with Carnival because I enjoyed their cruises and I wanted to make platinum. I like the perks.

 

I plan to sail, but the added benefits of now being platinum will help keep me coming back to carnival.

 

I have a saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I enjoy carnival. For now, I have no desire to try other lines.

 

I like having free laundry, priority boarding, disembarking and tendering. I may not always use it, but it's nice to know it's there if I choose to.

 

I would say becoming Platinum kept me motivated to cruise with carnival. I had considered trying other lines. As others have stated, start trying other lines now while it's early on in your "cruise life". I was halfway to platinum when the rules changed. So I took 5 cruises to be grandfathered in last year. That kept me from trying other lines. I've had fun and always enjoy my cruises on Carnival. The perks did motivate me to stay loyal.

[Luluwa]

I have 119 nights on Carnival and agree the perks keep me coming back.

 

 

 

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