Carnival Cruise Club?

[Sterling30D]

Anyone a member? My wife and I joined the cruise club on our last cruise a few weeks ago on the Pride. It was our fifth cruise and since we've taken a cruise every year for the past five years we figured it wouldn't be a problem for us to take atleast one cruise per year for the next five years. We basically figured we'd pay for the cruises in advance and get the extra benifits that go along with club membership like VIP status. Just wondered if anyone else has joined this club and if so what benefits should I be aware of besides the VIP status?

 

BTW, one of the BIG reasons we joined was because of the two hour wait to embark. Anyone who joined us on the Pride on January 7th knows what I mean. We waited in line for two hours just to get on the ship while VIP members were being escorted on. I asked how to get VIP status and was told either take 10 cruises or join the Cruise Club. The rest of the cruise was great. There was plenty to do on ship during sea days. We ended up playing bingo, playing in the casino and attending the art auction. We even ended up purchasing a few pieces of art that really caught our eye. The only thing that could have gone better was embarkation. Now debarkation was GREAT as we were able to take advantage of our Cruise Club VIP status and were one of the first off of the ship.

[honeywell]

Never heard of the Carnival Cruise Club - what do I need to know to join?

[LHP]

Anyone a member? My wife and I joined the cruise club on our last cruise a few weeks ago on the Pride. It was our fifth cruise and since we've taken a cruise every year for the past five years we figured it wouldn't be a problem for us to take atleast one cruise per year for the next five years. We basically figured we'd pay for the cruises in advance and get the extra benifits that go along with club membership like VIP status. Just wondered if anyone else has joined this club and if so what benefits should I be aware of besides the VIP status?

 

BTW, one of the BIG reasons we joined was because of the two hour wait to embark. Anyone who joined us on the Pride on January 7th knows what I mean. We waited in line for two hours just to get on the ship while VIP members were being escorted on. I asked how to get VIP status and was told either take 10 cruises or join the Cruise Club. The rest of the cruise was great. There was plenty to do on ship during sea days. We ended up playing bingo, playing in the casino and attending the art auction. We even ended up purchasing a few pieces of art that really caught our eye. The only thing that could have gone better was embarkation. Now debarkation was GREAT as we were able to take advantage of our Cruise Club VIP status and were one of the first off of the ship.

 

If VIP Check In is the reason you joined, then you will be pleased with your package. Then by the time your VIP benefits run out ( in 5 years) you will have 10 cruises under your belt with Carnival and you will be a Platinum member and get those perks for free. Enjoy cruising!

[LHP]

Never heard of the Carnival Cruise Club - what do I need to know to join?

 

CVC - there is plenty written about it on these boards. Just do a search "CVC" (or "Carnival Vacation Club"). It is run by the timeshare agents who work for ICE.

 

You must purchase it while on one of the Carnival ships that have an office.

Pride, Miracle, Spirit, Conquest and a couple of more I can't remember.

 

Just remember it is not owned or operated by Carnival.

[rajntra]

I've heard of carnival vacation club, but never heard of cruise club. Are they the same thing???

[rajntra]

I've heard of carnival vacation club, but never heard of cruise club. Are they the same thing???

[Sterling30D]

They are the same thing. I'm at work and it's been a long day. I miss typed it is the Carnival Vacation Club.

[Sterling30D]

They are the same thing. I'm at work and it's been a long day. I miss typed it is the Carnival Vacation Club.

[LHP]

They are the same thing. I'm at work and it's been a long day. I miss typed it is the Carnival Vacation Club.

 

 

That's ok....it is just your cruise wearing off. Time to book another one!!!

[truecruiser]

LHP -- i thought this got negative reviews on here, no?

[PSRCPA]

It's a good deal if you use the resort stays and the companion air fares (which I understand they no longer give)

We joined the CVC on the Pride and have used them to book three cruises so far. You can still book through them even if you don't use your points. One cruise we got a Military Discount so we paid for it but still received the onboard "perks" of the CVC.

We are using a resort stay in Pueto Vallarta in April - $299. We were having trouble finding a resort stay and then tipped off that September 1st is a magic date when they seem to post the resort stays for the coming year. We kept watching and sure enough.....we found the resort stay and date we were looking for :D

You will find both negitive and positve comments on the boards regarding the CVC.

I'm sure we will give some thought as to whether we will renew after five years since I'm a platinum cruiser we now get several perks including priority boarding and debarking.

[NeptunesGoddess]

Anyone a member? My wife and I joined the cruise club on our last cruise a few weeks ago on the Pride. It was our fifth cruise and since we've taken a cruise every year for the past five years we figured it wouldn't be a problem for us to take atleast one cruise per year for the next five years. We basically figured we'd pay for the cruises in advance and get the extra benifits that go along with club membership like VIP status. Just wondered if anyone else has joined this club and if so what benefits should I be aware of besides the VIP status?

 

BTW, one of the BIG reasons we joined was because of the two hour wait to embark. Anyone who joined us on the Pride on January 7th knows what I mean. We waited in line for two hours just to get on the ship while VIP members were being escorted on. I asked how to get VIP status and was told either take 10 cruises or join the Cruise Club.

 

Yes, I was there January 7th and we never did see the end of the line because we got "whisked" up and escorted on as VIP. We got VIP by the third way you didn't mention, we booked a suite. I have to say it was very nice to go to the door with no line that day and taken straight to a counter by the Carnival employee that called out for VIP as we were looking for the end of the line. So nice, that I think I sold hubby on booking suites all the time. haha. Of course, he also loved having the suite, but he couldn't stop talking about how we were on the ship so quick with that VIP check-in.

 

A question about CVC. Do you have to take a combination of resort stays and cruises? Is there a cost? Um, I know. I need to do the search. :p

 

I guess we should have sat through the talk on the Pride, but we just didn't find the time. Maybe we will check it out when we sail the Spirit in October.

[Sterling30D]

Yes, I was there January 7th and we never did see the end of the line because we got "whisked" up and escorted on as VIP. We got VIP by the third way you didn't mention, we booked a suite. I have to say it was very nice to go to the door with no line that day and taken straight to a counter by the Carnival employee that called out for VIP as we were looking for the end of the line. So nice, that I think I sold hubby on booking suites all the time. haha. Of course, he also loved having the suite, but he couldn't stop talking about how we were on the ship so quick with that VIP check-in.

 

A question about CVC. Do you have to take a combination of resort stays and cruises? Is there a cost? Um, I know. I need to do the search. :p

 

I guess we should have sat through the talk on the Pride, but we just didn't find the time. Maybe we will check it out when we sail the Spirit in October.

 

Haha, yeah I think I actually saw you get swooped up and brought over to the VIP line. The person that scooped you up, if you are the same person I saw, was not a Carnival employee though. He was a CVC employee who had a VIP sign and was calling for anyone who had VIP status. His name was Kyle and we ended up asking him how we could get VIP status and he explained that we could either be Platinum memebrs with 10 cruises under our belts, we could have booked a suite or we could join the CVC. We ended up signing up for CVC through him. It was nice cruise after embarkation though wasn't it. :)

[LHP]

LHP -- i thought this got negative reviews on here, no?

 

It gets negative reviews from people who buy it for the wrong reasons.

Sadly these programs were sold by unethical agents for the first two years. That practice is (hopefully) being turned around and people are finally being told the truth.

 

You don't buy it to get cheaper cruises. You don't buy it to get the resorts.

You buy it for VIP Check In and Debarkation and then use the resorts, as a bonus if they happen to work out for you.

 

The OP clearly stated they purchased this for the VIP Check In and Debarkation and it should work out well for them. If VIP Check In and Debarkation is what you want, CVC is cheaper than getting a suite for those perks. At the end of 5 years, the OP will have enough cruises to be Platinum and won't need CVC because they will be Platinum.

[LHP]

It's a good deal if you use the resort stays and the companion air fares (which I understand they no longer give)

We joined the CVC on the Pride and have used them to book three cruises so far. You can still book through them even if you don't use your points. One cruise we got a Military Discount so we paid for it but still received the onboard "perks" of the CVC.

We are using a resort stay in Pueto Vallarta in April - $299. We were having trouble finding a resort stay and then tipped off that September 1st is a magic date when they seem to post the resort stays for the coming year. We kept watching and sure enough.....we found the resort stay and date we were looking for :D

You will find both negitive and positve comments on the boards regarding the CVC.

I'm sure we will give some thought as to whether we will renew after five years since I'm a platinum cruiser we now get several perks including priority boarding and debarking.

 

 

There is also a week in September at one of their timeshares in Aruba that is available. Sorry I don't know which week. A member on another board let folks know about it. So if you can go in September, there is another option.

[kamac56]

We booked a suite and know that embarkment we use VIP to get in but do you get VIP on debarkment also?

 

thanks

[Sterling30D]

We booked a suite and know that embarkment we use VIP to get in but do you get VIP on debarkment also?

 

thanks

 

I would think so. If you got VIP status during embarkment I don't see why you wouldn't get it during debarkment. You should get VIP luggage tags on the last night of the cruise with a letter stating to place these tags on all luggage and throw away any other tags you have on your luggage. If your cruise is on the Pride you should be meeting in the Butterflies Lounge at 7:00 in the morning for early debarkment or you can chose to wait until the first colored tags are called and then debark whenever you want to after that.

[truecruiser]

You don't buy it to get cheaper cruises. You don't buy it to get the resorts.

You buy it for VIP Check In and Debarkation and then use the resorts, as a bonus if they happen to work out for you.

 

...

 

i saw that the OP wrote that. i guess to each, his own. i wldn't buy it for that:confused: :confused: i've only had to wait one time to get on board, and that was due to a customs clearance issue, in which event, VIP embarkation guests wld also have to wait.

[Sterling30D]

i saw that the OP wrote that. i guess to each, his own. i wldn't buy it for that:confused: :confused: i've only had to wait one time to get on board, and that was due to a customs clearance issue, in which event, VIP embarkation guests wld also have to wait.

 

VIP was not the ONLY reason we purchased CVC but it was a big factor in our decision to purchase. We've only done the cruising so far and thought about trying a resort stay. We figured that purchasing CVC would pretty much pay for cruises we were going to pay for anyways and give us the benefit of VIP not to mention allow us to try a resort stay or two. We were told that we would have to pay for the all inclusive as that wasn't covered under the package but that was fine by us. We were informed that we really weren't getting a big break off of the price of each cruise using the CVC points but we felt that the VIP status and the resort stays were worth it. Hopefully we wont be disappointed but it sounds like we went into this with the right expectations so I think we'll be happy with our purchase. We were never lied to by any of the CVC staff. Infact, after talking to Kyle, he actually stated that for the way we vacation unless we intended to use the resort vouchers CVC might not be right for us. We discussed it and figured we'd try it as we did plan to try the resort stay. I figured out really quickly that we weren't going to get a huge discount on cruises going through CVC but the other benefits especially VIP status sold us. We may not renew depending on how things go but we'll see.

[NeptunesGoddess]

Haha, yeah I think I actually saw you get swooped up and brought over to the VIP line. The person that scooped you up, if you are the same person I saw, was not a Carnival employee though. He was a CVC employee who had a VIP sign and was calling for anyone who had VIP status. His name was Kyle and we ended up asking him how we could get VIP status and he explained that we could either be Platinum memebrs with 10 cruises under our belts, we could have booked a suite or we could join the CVC. We ended up signing up for CVC through him. It was nice cruise after embarkation though wasn't it. :)

 

Haha, no wonder he asked if we were CVC members before he asked about platinum or the suite. He was very helpful though and kept hold of our docs and took us right in. I didn't notice his name, but if I would have, I would have remembered it, since that is my son's name.

 

Yes, it was an awesome cruise. We really lucked out on the weather and the seas. :)

[Wennfred]

Im a Member of the Carnival Vacation Club and have posted lots on here. I like it due to the Perks that comes with it. I was also able to squeeze 4 cruises out of mine and thats great because I got some nice Upgrades with those. And being the first to board the ship and have Lido Deck all to yourself is amazing, No Crowds and the Food is nice and hot. Ports like Miami, they take you into a nice Air Conditioned room to check you in. The VIP parties are alot of fun. They have 2 of them on Spirit Class ships as well as the bigger ships. This is a picture of the Spread they have during their VIP parties. This is the LInk to the Thread I started: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=415036

 

[Wennfred]

For new CVC members while onboard, make sure you book with your concierge first because they will get you the discounts. 25% off on Spas. They say Port days only but if you book with your concierge they will get you the discounts while at sea also. Also have them book your Specialty Supper Club. If they mess up and forget, they will throw in 50.00 Onboard Credit. Customer Service while dealing with them on the phone is Great.

 

If you go down to Shore Excursions and they tell you its all booked or sold out, just call your concierge and they will get you tickets. We have first priority over everyone else for these.

 

I will be booking Hawaii for 2008 so Im glad to know that they will post the resorts in Sept. I will write about that whole experience when I get there.

 

Fred

[jandjfun]

We purchased the CVC on the Pride as well. I guess it has been 2 years ago.

I love the VIP embarking and disembarking. I love the resorts certificates they give you as a bonus for buying the program. I'm glad we did it. That being said. We would not do it again.

Since you buy points (determined by the package you buy) you must spend the points to book a cruise. The point value when we bought the program would have allowed us one 7 day cruise, and one 4 day cruise each with a few points left over.Both cruises with a balcony room. The sales person showed us the point value of 2 phontom cruises, that's how we knew what the points cost was.

Well, that's not how it worked out. The cost of the cruises (in point value) went way up!! And continue to go up as we speak. So what we ended up getting for our points is one 7 day cruise on a balcony to MX. and one 3 day OV room to Bahamas. However we had to pay extra (rent points) to do the bahamas cruise. Cost an additional 102.00. We figured up the cost of the 3 day cruise using the 17.5 cents per point you pay originally (when we bought) and the 31.5 cents we had to rent. We are actually paying about 200.00 more for the 3 day cruise using the points than if we just paid outright for it. But we wanted to spend the points and be done with it. Plus we are going on another cruise the day we disembark from this one. So the plane tickets were already paid for, why not take advantage of the "free cruise".

The resort stays for 299.00 for a week have been really nice places. Condos, not resorts, but nice just the same. We really loved Mazatlan the most. We feel that the club has afforded us nice vacations but not necessarily cruises.

The 2 for 1 airfare certificate included for us have been a real joke. There was never a flight available to us when we needed it. Always the day after, or days before. Never worked out.

The hotel discount book they gave us has helped a couple of times, that was a nice bonus as well.

Another negitive is if the price of the cruise goes down, to bad. You are not going to get the current cash rate because you pay with points and as far as I can tell, they have never gone down. Including the 200.00 off per cabin during Carnivals 12 days of christmas sale. No upgrades, or OBC for us.

Anyway. I would suggest you book your cruises now so the price won't go up on you and you actually get the number of cruises you thought you would.:)

Enjoy your VIP service, it is great!!

[mrBit]

We are members as well and we love the perks. The service has just been outstanding from embarkation to debarkation for both staffed and unstaffed ships.

My only question is when we bought ours it was for 3 years and not 5. So is it now 5 years or did you do the extension?

[LHP]

One other thing that people should be aware of:

 

There are 18 States that do not allow their residents to "rent" those extra points. Make sure you don't live in one of those states, so that you don't get left holding "left over" points. Always ask for a list of those States at the presentation for verification.