Diamond changes

[htkodiak]

Do they still give out the free one time only specialty dinning for reaching diamond status ? And how do you claim it ? Thanks for any help.

[ChrisNCruiser]

Yes, but I had to fight like the dickens to get mine - I technically earned it in 2019 on the Sunrise's first cruise but never received the free dinner voucher or the leather luggage tags that were supposed to be delivered to the cabin. After the cruise I called the Diamond line several times, and they eventually sent the tags but not the voucher, and then COVID happened. 

 

This past August, we booked a last-minute cruise on the Magic and once again tried to call the Diamond line - they told us they'd contact us before our cruise, yet we didn't hear from them. 

 

Well, we went on the cruise, talked to Guest Services a few times, and on the last day of the cruise we FINALLY got the voucher, along with another set of the luggage tags (after they confirmed our numerous attempts with Carnival's home office). We enjoyed the Magic steakhouse that evening. It probably wasn't worth all of that effort over a two-year span but it became a matter of principle for my better half. 

 

If you don't see the voucher /  tag set upon entering your cabin on your first eligible cruise, make sure to ask for them from your room steward and/or guest services ASAP - our mistake was waiting too late on our eligible cruise. 

Edited November 8, 2021 by newpherchris

[mondello]

I see it is still listed in the Carnival site for Diamond benefits. 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by mondello
Correction

[Bgcruising]

1 hour ago, htkodiak said:

Do they still give out the free one time only specialty dinning for reaching diamond status ? And how do you claim it ? Thanks for any help.

Yes. They will give you a certificate during the cruise that you make diamond. They will tell you it's the same as cash and not to lose it. Also they will give you the passport holder. 

[firefly333]

Sounds like you have to take your one time free pay dinner and use it the cruise you turn diamond? I was hoping to save it until I was ready to use it. 

[ChrisNCruiser]

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Sounds like you have to take your one time free pay dinner and use it the cruise you turn diamond? I was hoping to save it until I was ready to use it. 

You can save it and use it on the sailing of your choice - after finally getting mine we decided to burn it off immediately. You do need to bring the voucher to the steakhouse when you go, and they'll keep the voucher

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, newpherchris said:

You can save it and use it on the sailing of your choice - after finally getting mine we decided to burn it off immediately. You do need to bring the voucher to the steakhouse when you go, and they'll keep the voucher

I'm at 197 pts, so next cruise for any amount of days I'll hit diamond. We dont have shorter than 3 days out of Galveston... so any cruise. Thanks

[nlktx49]

You shouldn't have to ask for this! It is clearly stated on Carnival's website as a benefit of becoming Diamond. Seems more and more lately that passengers have to keep track of their benefits and request them from Guest Services. Someone at Carnival is really falling down on their job. Certainly takes away from the "specialness" of a milestone ike this when you have to request it. Especially when you have to request it more than once. I think someone at Carnival owes you and your spouse an apology. And maybe another dinner at the Steakhouse!!

[Guest BasicSailor]

32 minutes ago, nlktx49 said:

You shouldn't have to ask for this! It is clearly stated on Carnival's website as a benefit of becoming Diamond. Seems more and more lately that passengers have to keep track of their benefits and request them from Guest Services. Someone at Carnival is really falling down on their job. Certainly takes away from the "specialness" of a milestone ike this when you have to request it. Especially when you have to request it more than once. I think someone at Carnival owes you and your spouse an apology. And maybe another dinner at the Steakhouse!!

This!  You must be on top of this or you could lose it. Don't wait on Carnival to contact you , contact them . 

Edited November 8, 2021 by BasicSailor

[Frank12]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I'm at 197 pts, so next cruise for any amount of days I'll hit diamond. We dont have shorter than 3 days out of Galveston... so any cruise. Thanks

Congratulations!  

We are 43 days away.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I could say a lot about the Diamond program, but will just refer you to any one of dozens of threads I've contributed to or started on this topic...

 

Carnival Diamond was a good initial "thought", but they let if flounder and die over the last (nearly) 10 years since the inception of the program. It's not a contender...

 

Tom

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

This!  You must be on top of this or you could lose it. Don't wait on Carnival to contact you , contact them . 

There is no expiration and guest services on a ship should be able to print up a new one. I lost count of how many times I misplaced 1 or our two and kept having it replaced. Miami knows if you have used it or not.

[Guest BasicSailor]

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

There is no expiration and guest services on a ship should be able to print up a new one. I lost count of how many times I misplaced 1 or our two and kept having it replaced. Miami knows if you have used it or not.

I cant speak of your situation . We lost one of ours or we were misinformed.

 

[sailingships]

3 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

You shouldn't have to ask for this! It is clearly stated on Carnival's website as a benefit of becoming Diamond. Seems more and more lately that passengers have to keep track of their benefits and request them from Guest Services. Someone at Carnival is really falling down on their job. Certainly takes away from the "specialness" of a milestone ike this when you have to request it. Especially when you have to request it more than once. I think someone at Carnival owes you and your spouse an apology. And maybe another dinner at the Steakhouse!!

I didnt feel very special om the Mardi Gras in August, having to run around to different places to receive the goodies that were delivered in the past. And for all that effort we just got the same old cheap plastic tags. I would have thought at least another blanket.

[htkodiak]

Thanks for all the info.We hope to use it on the Magic Dec 12 sailing , this will be my DW  first Diamond cruise.I have to wait until January on the Mardi Gras for mine.

[ChrisNCruiser]

8 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

You shouldn't have to ask for this! It is clearly stated on Carnival's website as a benefit of becoming Diamond. Seems more and more lately that passengers have to keep track of their benefits and request them from Guest Services. Someone at Carnival is really falling down on their job. Certainly takes away from the "specialness" of a milestone ike this when you have to request it. Especially when you have to request it more than once. I think someone at Carnival owes you and your spouse an apology. And maybe another dinner at the Steakhouse!!

In my case, I unfortunately attribute it to the room steward. On that same Sunrise sailing (my first Diamond cruise), he didn't deliver the Diamond get-together invitation to our room until literally one hour before the get together (and we know this because we'd been in the cabin right before it was delivered). At the time I assumed that all Diamond invitees had received the invite late. I had been really looking foward to my first Diamond shindig, so I (professionally) provided feedback to guest services. It wasn't a complaint or a demand for restitution, but to their credit they arranged for me and my cabin mates to meet the captain on the bridge, and it was lovely. I felt bad at the time because based on my subsequent interactions with the room steward I could tell he'd been severely reprimanded. Based on my experiences, I do believe that onboard Guest Services associates will go the extra mile to right a wrong for their Diamond passengers - I can't say the same for the 20-ish cruises for which I was 'only' a Platinum, though.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by newpherchris

[mondello]

4 hours ago, sailingships said:

I didnt feel very special om the Mardi Gras in August, having to run around to different places to receive the goodies that were delivered in the past. And for all that effort we just got the same old cheap plastic tags. I would have thought at least another blanket.

Thought they were supposed to be leather luggage tags? Sounds like you were given the Platinum perk.

[icft]

Diamond perks have become a true mess. We became Diamond on our cruise this September. We didn’t get the specialty dining letters till late the last night on the ship. Obviously we could not use them on that cruise. The letter said you could use them on a later cruise by booking specialty dining prior to the later cruise and bringing the letter when you dined. Well, you can’t book specialty dining before a cruise without paying. It was hell finding someone at Carnival who even knew what we were talking about, but eventually we were told to just go the restaurant once on board, show the letters and book a time. We shall see if that works on our December cruise.

 

It appears Carnival is trying hard to discourage people from getting the perks they promise. You have to go to guest services (major time waster) and ask how you get each thing. They then tell you where to go to pick it up. We didn’t take a printout of the perks to which we were entitled so didn’t even know to ask for some things. If they really were interested in your getting these things they would put a paper in your cabin, or notice on the app, listing what you get and telling you how to get it. As it is they keep you in the dark and blame covid.

[BlerkOne]

I think Carnival is interested in getting perks to cruisers who are interested in receiving them. There have been countless posts about people who throw away unwanted items. What waste. 

 

It makes me wonder how some people find their way to dinner without a personal escort.