Loyalty levels to change

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, mrpayroll said:

I am diamond and unless it has changed very recently, there is no free internet for twenty four hours. I think Princess has that .

Edit...I see Emmasnana posted

Edited February 22, 2020 by crzndeb

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, bury me at sea said:

My dusty and never trustworthy crystal ball says it will take more nights to reach platimum and that early access to cabins will be more restricted, either by eliminating it altogether for platinums or by adding a new level above gold that doesn't get it.

Jeeesh, now I know why it is dusty and hopefully not trustworthy.  

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Dive Master said:

I am Gold. 

Does this mean I don’t get the bottle of water ?

It means YOU get to do our laundry.   It’s a joke

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

You're just going to have to work that much harder and spend that much money to get your platinum 50 cent lanyard .......

Picture frame, your way behind and overwhelmed 

[Lee Cruiser]

3 hours ago, bury me at sea said:

My dusty and never trustworthy crystal ball says it will take more nights to reach platimum and that early access to cabins will be more restricted, either by eliminating it altogether for platinums or by adding a new level above gold that doesn't get it.

Someone who has been Platinum or Diamond for a long time, please correct me if I am wrong.  But wasn't the early stateroom access and priority luggage something that was added for platinum when they started selling FTTF?  Neither of these is listed under the list of benefits in the VIFP (it only says priority check in and boarding).  I've only seen the early stateroom access listed under the FTTF section where it says, "This is also a benefit for VIFP Diamond and Platinum guests."  For those who were platinum before, was it already a benefit before FTTF?

I don't see them changing it if they are going to continue to sell FTTF unless they remove it as a benefit of that program as well.

[Jamman54]

You are correct. That  was why we never were upset when people were able to purchase FTTF. 😎

Edited February 22, 2020 by Jamman54

[bury me at sea]

42 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Jeeesh, now I know why it is dusty and hopefully not trustworthy.  

 

Jimbo I hope you are correct.

[bury me at sea]

29 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Someone who has been Platinum or Diamond for a long time, please correct me if I am wrong.  But wasn't the early stateroom access and priority luggage something that was added for platinum when they started selling FTTF? 

 

Yes, that is correct.

 

Neither of these is listed under the list of benefits in the VIFP (it only says priority check in and boarding).  I've only seen the early stateroom access listed under the FTTF section where it says, "This is also a benefit for VIFP Diamond and Platinum guests."  For those who were platinum before, was it already a benefit before FTTF

 

No it was not.

 

29 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

I don't see them changing it if they are going to continue to sell FTTF unless they remove it as a benefit of that program as well.

 

As another poster stated above the current situation is untenable because there are too many Platinums.

 

FTTF is a cash cow for Carnival.  Would it sell out so quickly or be so expensive if it didn't include priority boarding and early access to cabins?

 

I am not advocating for these changes but merely speculating.

[jimbo5544]

59 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

You are correct. That  was why we never were upset when people were able to purchase FTTF. 😎

It is very possible that it could be pulled as a perk from Plats and diamonds.  

Edited February 22, 2020 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

22 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

No it was not.

 

 

As another poster stated above the current situation is untenable because there are too many Platinums.

 

FTTF is a cash cow for Carnival.  Would it sell out so quickly or be so expensive if it didn't include priority boarding and early access to cabins?

 

I am not advocating for these changes but merely speculating.

I have said at least several times, whoever thought of FTTF should have gotten a raise and/or promo. Huge homer in that brings in lots of $$ for nothing.

[kids1stcruise]

I’m going on my cruise in May...going to be platinum on this cruise

Do you think Carnival would just immediately change level or change it like starting 2021

😏🤷‍♀️

[Banditswife]

We wish they would merge the loyalty perks for all of their brands.  We sail Carnival most because of our Platinum status, but if they would combine them in some way, we might sail on a different brand.  We have 109 days on CCL with 28 more booked for this year.  19 days on HAL.  I sure hope they don't move that goal post further away.  I'd like to get to Diamond before I am too old to sail.

[Lee Cruiser]

1 hour ago, kids1stcruise said:

I’m going on my cruise in May...going to be platinum on this cruise

Do you think Carnival would just immediately change level or change it like starting 2021

😏🤷‍♀️

No one can truly answer that question.  But I wouldn't worry about your cruise in May.  As I said in my earlier post, a few years back it appeared that changes were imminent.  Three-four years later, those changes haven't happened and we are still speculating as to what those changes will be.  Enjoy your cruise and don't stress over what may happen.

[jimbo5544]

22 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

No one can truly answer that question.  But I wouldn't worry about your cruise in May.  As I said in my earlier post, a few years back it appeared that changes were imminent.  Three-four years later, those changes haven't happened and we are still speculating as to what those changes will be.  Enjoy your cruise and don't stress over what may happen.

Agree with all of this.  For whatever it is worth, the last time they made a change to the program I believe there was at least 90 days before the implementation to take place. 

[canes20]

6 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

You're just going to have to work that much harder and spend that much money to get your platinum 50 cent lanyard .......

 

good investment

 

[Lottacruises]

21 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Those numbers are more in line with RCI’s program, for what it’s worth. Everything I have heard is when Carnival changes the VIFP program, some level(s) will lose perks with no one being grand fathered. The most obvious level to lose perks is Platinums. But no sense worrying about it now when a change in the near future does not appear imminent. 

 

 

Absolutely benefits will be lost. Myself I'm not worried about any changes, its carnival's business and not mine. Me and everyone can choose if we want to be customers or not, but we are not their partners and they owe us nothing.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 minute ago, Lottacruises said:

 

 

Absolutely benefits will be lost. Myself I'm not worried about any changes, its carnival's business and not mine. Me and everyone can choose if we want to be customers or not, but we are not their partners and they owe us nothing.

I agree with you 100%, but no doubt there will be a plethora of people whining if/when Carnival makes change to their VIFP program that includes benefits being lost. 

[Lottacruises]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

I agree with you 100%, but no doubt there will be a plethora of people whining if/when Carnival makes change to their VIFP program that includes benefits being lost. 

 

Most definitely.  Those people have forgotten its carnivals business though and need to vote with their wallets if they are not happy with the decision. People that truly love to cruise could care less.

[TNcruising02]

Well, I admit that should I reach platinum on my next cruise only to have those benefits stripped away on the following cruise and told I will need 100 more nights (or whatever), it won't be a happy feeling.  I believe the right way to go about it is to create new levels, but grandfather in people who have already reached certain levels.  Removing benefits from someone who has already attained them due to loyalty to a product isn't a good way to treat people.

Anyway, that's my opinion.  I have no issue with them adding levels and changing requirements.  I do have an issue with giving someone loyalty perks and then taking them away.  Will this make me stop cruising on Carnival?  No.  I will just have to go back to stalking FTTF, checking in after midnight on the 90 day mark, and doing my own laundry or paying for a couple of promotional bags.  The same things I have been doing.  No other cruise lines is better at comedy and that's something my husband and I really enjoy throughout our entire cruise.  If not for that, I would have no issue changing to another line.
 

Edited February 23, 2020 by TNcruising02

[scpirate]

9 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

It's subjective. I'm not a big drinker anymore. Now & again I will, but when I do, I don't drink a lot. And we're not into hanging out at bars, on a ship or on land. So all those drink perks are almost meaningless to us. Even if I were to drink non-alcoholic beverages, I don't need to drink too many in a 3-hour period. As for internet, we don't get them on a 24-hour basis. Carnival already offers discounted internet for the entire cruise if it's purchased beforehand. So for us, Carnival's perks still win out. Now we just need to get to Platinum to be able to use most of them (without buying FTTF).

 

No one is trying to get you to change.carnival loves you and you belong together.i personally don't care about any of the perks and I jumped around.my wife likes carnival otherwise I would never have looked back when I decided carnival was not the one.i let her choose every other Cruise. I just pay for all of them 

[Joebucks]

Aside from the higher fares, limited alcohol selection, and the annoying entitlement culture of the diamond lounges, I do like Royal's included drinks. Even if I could just get a handful of vouchers that I could use at Alchemy, I'd be thrilled.

[xDisconnections]

12 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I agree with you 100%, but no doubt there will be a plethora of people whining if/when Carnival makes change to their VIFP program that includes benefits being lost. 

 

12 hours ago, Lottacruises said:

 

Most definitely.  Those people have forgotten its carnivals business though and need to vote with their wallets if they are not happy with the decision. People that truly love to cruise could care less.

A lot of us have. Back when the VIFP program was launched, I was extremely vocal about the changes as to me, it had been the last straw on top of a plethora of recent issues I had at the time. This was the change that caused me to look elsewhere as I took my monthly cruises at the time to a competitor and found a cruise experience I enjoyed much more. It took 7 years for me to sail Carnival again and it was only for a 3 night weekend cruise.

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, Banditswife said:

We wish they would merge the loyalty perks for all of their brands.  We sail Carnival most because of our Platinum status, but if they would combine them in some way, we might sail on a different brand.  We have 109 days on CCL with 28 more booked for this year.  19 days on HAL.  I sure hope they don't move that goal post further away.  I'd like to get to Diamond before I am too old to sail.

 

I agree, this is a huge miss on their part by not having at least some level of reciprocity. It is something Royal has done, and it seems to work well for them. By doing it right, not only would they likely retain more customers, but would even move some up to a more premium line. A lot of cruisers start looking for a different experience or even just want to mix it up more as they get older and have done many cruises. Letting those customers jump to lines like Celebrity when they could have moved to Princess or HAL is a poor move.

[xDisconnections]

18 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

I agree, this is a huge miss on their part by not having at least some level of reciprocity. It is something Royal has done, and it seems to work well for them. By doing it right, not only would they likely retain more customers, but would even move some up to a more premium line. A lot of cruisers start looking for a different experience or even just want to mix it up more as they get older and have done many cruises. Letting those customers jump to lines like Celebrity when they could have moved to Princess or HAL is a poor move.

The premium brands within Carnival Corporation already have an overcrowding problem where more than 75% of the passengers onboard can be Elite or the comparable highest tier. On Princess, most cruises now have a 72+ hour return for complimentary laundry.

 

The last thing they need is to automatically give passengers paying lower per diem rates access to the highest tier. The ADR between Carnival and a more premium line, such as Princess, HAL, Cunard or Seabourn is much different than the closer ADR of Royal and Celebrity. I’m not sure Carnival Corporation, or more specifically, the Holland America Group would find value in matching this as they just recently eliminated the cruise credit matching between Princess and P&O.

[Bookbug53]

I don't know what changes are coming or what they are secretly doing in the background but this little verbiage just showed up on my profile page on Carnival: (I am not Diamond and this is a Diamond perk)

 

All that glitters isn't gold, or even platinum. Because you're at the top of the VIFP Club, and that means you've got your own toll-free number for sales & service.

 

Did I miss something?