Carnival may make changes to new loyalty program as 47% of cruisers threaten to leave

• Just a day after Carnival revealed the details of it’s new loyalty program, the line has said it was taking customer feedback “to heart”.
• Their discontent was spread so widely, including a poll where 47% of Carnival cruisers said they would stop cruising.
• Carnival Cruise Line ambassador John Heald has revealed the rewards program could be ‘fine tuned’ following customer feedback.

Carnival’s new rewards system has drawn such a strong reaction of discontent from cruisers, that the cruise line has revealed it may “fine-tune it and change some things around.”

Carnival cruises ambassador John Heald said on Facebook: “There are lots of things happening, some things I can’t talk about, some things I can. 

“Today I have written with and spoke to people at the very highest levels of Carnival Cruise Lines. They all want me to say the same thing and here it is”

“We announced this new rewards program a year before it comes into place.The reason we did this, and it’s really important that you understand this. The reason we did this, is so that it has time to settle. And we have time as a company to look at the things you like.

“The reason that we’ve announced it now, is so that we have time to look at it, and possibly, maybe, fine-tune it and change some things around.

“That is what I was told today by someone at the very highest level.”

This statement comes out after cruisers responded very negatively to the new rewards program, which would remove life-long status, and instead make cruisers re-earn their status every two years, as well as tie rewards to onboard purchases, rather than sailing days.

In an online survey of more than 4000 Carnival cruises, a massive 47% said they would stop cruising Carnival because of the loyalty program change. 49% said they didn’t care about status and would continue cruising, and 4% said they like the new program and would continue cruising.

With such a massive outpouring of discontent, including so many cruisers threatening to find a new cruise line, it now appears possible that Carnival could make some changes to the new system.

It remains to be seen if Carnival will seriously reconsider the policies, or rather try and wait for the reaction to blow over, but cruisers definitely made their voices heard and forced the line to speak up and admit it was considering changes.

Why did Carnival change its rewards system?

In the FAQ for the new program, Carnival answered quite frankly about why the new program is necessary. The cruise line explained that the previous system that worked based on the total number of sailing days has resulted in too many members having top loyalty status and Carnival can’t sustain this.

Put more simply, Carnival’s loyalty program is clearly cutting into profits as more and more cruisers achieve the higher tiers of loyalty status. 

The cruise line wrote: “The way guests gain status in the VIFP Club is based on sailing days, and the status qualifying levels have not changed since 2012.  So, every month, more and more guests are achieving top-tier Platinum and Diamond status, which is a positive as it relates to our guest loyalty, but is a challenge with regard to delivering meaningful rewards and recognition. 

“In just the last three years, we have doubled the number of Platinum guests and quadrupled the number of Diamond guests.

“While we love that we have such a loyal customer base and that they are cruising more often, our ships and our team cannot offer special recognition when so many people on board are categorised as top-tier guests.”

Now Carnival has redesigned the system so that not only will many current members lose perks, but cruisers will have to spend and cruise frequently to maintain their new levels of status. This is because the new loyalty program will be tied more closely to onboard spend, not to sailing days. 

Furthermore, it appears that your rewards tier will now reset every two years.

The FAQ reads: “In general, as we roll out Carnival Rewards, there will be a fixed two-year window starting June 1, 2026 (next one on June 1, 2028, then June 1, 2030 and so on) for earning status, which will be honored for the next two years (with the exception of the one-time six-year window for Diamond guests).”

This means that the program will now no longer reward long-term and consistent sailing with Carnival, but more so those that spend large amounts over a short period of time.

How the new program works 

Under Carnival Rewards, rather than being awarded points per night of sailing, guests will get three stars points for each dollar spent, in USD. It isn’t clear how the Australian system will integrate Australian dollars. 

This means that to achieve Diamond status, which previously required 200 days of sailings, will now require spending $50,000. However, as explained above, this will reset every two years, meaning it will take $50,000 every two years to maintain your Diamond Status.

It will even take about $5000 just to get gold status, which only earns you 1.5 litres of water and one complimentary beverage. 

The other way to earn points is to use Carnival’s new Barclay’s Mastercard, however, this won’t even be available for Australians.

The changes won’t be instant, with the new program launching on June 1, 2026 and Diamond Status will be honoured for the next six years and Platinum guests will continue to receive some benefits.

While the rationale for the new program makes sense, many cruisers are upset.

Why are cruisers so angry? 

There are several reasons why cruisers feel aggrieved, which is the reality of Carnival changing their program to make sure they’re not giving out so many rewards all at once.

• Rewards will no longer be life long, they will reset every two years. This not only means Carnival cruisers will lose what they’ve already worked for, but that cruisers will no longer be able to build loyalty points long term. This means that loyalty can no longer be earned over time, only consistently high spending will maintain loyalty benefits. 
• It’s not as budget friendly. Because the new program is tied to onboard spend, it means that amassing enough points to enjoy benefits will require significant onboard spend, rewarding cruisers who are able to splash their cash onboard. Before, cruisers would earn points for consistent sailing, even if they weren’t able to spend so much onboard.
• Aussies can’t access the new mastercard. The program will work in conjunction with a new Carnival MasterCard; however, this card can’t be accessed by Australians. The cruise line writes: “No, unfortunately the Carnival Co-branded credit card is only for U.S. residents. We currently do not have a co-branded credit card or partnership for Canada, Australia or other countries outside the U.S.” This means cruisers in other countries will be able to amass loyalty points faster than Aussies can.

What are cruisers saying?

There are many cruisers who feel like the change will lead to them cruising less with Carnival, as they no longer feel ‘tied’ to the benefits of their earned loyalty statuses.

One cruiser wrote: “So I have been platinum for years, and stay loyal to Carnival solely because of that status. Apparently loyalty means nothing, and now I can choose other cruise lines without a second thought.”

Another cruiser echoed the same sentiment: “Well, this just means I won’t default to carnival when I book. I’m still working, so we only cruise every other year, but I’m platinum because I have cruised with Carnival for 20 years. I think someone else said it, it’s no longer a loyalty program, so why would I now have loyalty to the brand?”

Many others expressed the same feeling: “To be fair, the allure of earning towards diamond was keeping me only looking at Carnival. But with this change, I’ll look at different lines for value.”

An Aussie cruiser says: “Carnival has officially sold their soul”.

Another Aussie said that while they understand business is business, they’ll probably opt for Royal Caribbean from now on.

“All my cruises have been on carnival to this point. But, its definitely changing. Constant upsells on board, now this. Nothing against them, margins are tight and they have to make a buck.

“For me though, I think I’ll be going exclusively RCL moving forwards.”

Many cruisers expressed their discontent on the Facebook page of popular brand ambassador John Heald. 

The top comment reads: “The only thing that kept me loyal was building up my loyalty status. Now I’m told I have to do in two years what has taken me 10 to get to where I am now, and if I don’t spend that 10 years worth of money every two years I’ll lose my status? Perfect reason for me, my family and all my friends that book with us to try other cruise lines. “Nothing left to lose now, you are already taking it.”

Another wrote: “Just got platinum after 26 years lol… been too loyal to the soil. I am now a FREE AGENT for any other cruise line.”

Another cruiser spelled out the new reality for him and his family.

“My wife and I turn Platinum next week and our kids next year. However to maintain a family of 4 at Platinum, we’d have to earn 200k points (50k each) over a two year period. Yeah, that isn’t happening. It’s pretty much designed so kids can’t achieve any status higher than red unless they get their own credit card. Definitely makes looking at other cruises lines (and we’ve sailed several others) much easier.”