Does Carnival have plans to restructure its loyalty program in the future? Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear likely, according to Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador.
Cruise line loyalty programs are incredibly valuable, rewarding frequent cruisers for their commitment to a single brand. Similar to airline or hotel loyalty programs, cruisers who repeatedly sail with one line enjoy enticing benefits and lucrative perks. Each major cruise line approaches loyalty rewards differently, tailoring programs to their unique customer base.
Loyalty benefits not only reward the passengers but also ensure ongoing profitability for the cruise lines through customer retention. This dynamic encourages cruise lines to continuously seek new ways to keep customers coming back. In general, the more you cruise with one brand, the more points you will earn to achieve higher loyalty status. Each tier of a cruise line loyalty program provides different perks, although some programs are more lucrative than others.
Some top-tier loyalty statuses provide very enticing perks to cruisers, which keeps travelers returning again and again. For example, Royal Caribbean’s top-tier Pinnacle Club status includes impressive perks such as a free internet package, six daily drinks, and a complimentary 7-night cruise upon achieving the status.
Moreover, if you receive top-tier status with Royal Caribbean, you can receive a status match with the company’s two other brands: Celebrity Cruises and SilverSea Cruises. This recent program alignment among all three brands within the Royal Caribbean Group family was a welcomed change.
This means you can earn status on any of the three cruise brands, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and SilverSea cruises, and you’ll receive equivalent status perks on all three brands. For instance, Elite Plus status on Celebrity Cruises receives Diamond Plus benefits on Royal Caribbean while cruising. These benefits can amount to big savings, such as complimentary daily drinks, complimentary internet passes, specialty dining discounts, and free laundry.
Even still, each brand in Royal Caribbean Group's umbrella maintains its own loyalty program and earning structure. Although statuses and perks are matched, guests will earn points separately among the three brands.
Comparatively, other cruise lines take a different approach, including Carnival Cruise Line. The cruise line—one of the most popular in the world—is owned by parent company Carnival Corporation Other cruise lines under the same parent company include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, Aida, Costa Cruises, and P&O Cruises.
Recently, Carnival’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, addressed an inquiry from one cruiser about whether the company would adopt a similar loyalty-matching program to Royal Caribbean’s. Bill Hart asked, ”Since the parent company owns other cruise line brands besides Carnival, what is the possibility of having agreements between the brands to share points?”
Hart explained his rationale by stating, “So I could sail on Carnival and say Cunard and get credit for overall sailings. This is similar to, say, Caesars, where they have different brands, but points earned at each brand go to total points and rewards.”
In response, Heald shared that Carnival Corporation does not have any plans to restructure its loyalty program. He answered, “Thank you so much; unfortunately, at the moment, there are no plans to do this. Each of the cruise lines is run completely separately with a completely separate loyalty program, so at the moment, there is no synergy between us."
In terms of loyalty, Carnival Cruise Line’s reward program is known as the VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) club. The loyalty program features five different status levels: Blue (1st sailing), Red (1-24 points), Gold (25-74 points), Platinum (75-199 points), and Diamond (200 points).
Those who earn status in Carnival's VIFP club receive an assortment of benefits, with the most lucrative perks provided to its top-tier passengers. This includes complimentary laundry, free cabin upgrades, included specialty dining meals, priority embarkation/debarkation, free bottled water, guarantee dining preferences, exclusive events, and priority tendering.
However, the company does not offer any status match between its brands. Let's say you have top-tier Diamond status on Carnival and you choose to sail with Princess Cruises instead. Because of the cruise line's separate loyalty programs, you won’t receive any recognition or perks from Princess Cruises, even though the two cruise lines are owned by the same company. Instead, you’ll be treated like any other first-time cruiser in Princess’ Captain’s Circle loyalty program.
While Carnival Corporation owns multiple cruise brands, each operates independently with its own management and financial reporting, essentially functioning as separate businesses.
This segmented loyalty structure doesn’t strongly encourage passengers to stay within the Carnival Corporation portfolio. For instance, travelers with top-tier status on Holland America Line might be more inclined to choose Princess Cruises over Celebrity Cruises if comparable loyalty perks were extended across the brands.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Carnival Corporation will be looking to enhance its loyalty program in the near future. However, the cruise industry is highly competitive among the mainstream cruise lines.
In particular, Carnival Cruise Line has strong competition with Royal Caribbean International while Princess Cruises and Holland America compete directly with Celebrity Cruises in the premium cruise line industry. If Carnival Corporation is hoping to increase its brand retention among loyal customers, providing a status match among the brands could give a competitive edge to the company.
Carnival Corporation isn’t the only cruise company to structure its loyalty program. Norwegian Cruise Line is owned by parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which also operates luxury-brand Regent Seven Seas and premium-brand Oceania. However, the three different cruise lines have separate loyalty programs and point structures across their brands.
Finally, Virgin Voyages and MSC Cruises provide status-matching options for those with loyalty status on other cruise lines. This strategy encourages previously loyal cruisers to try a new cruise line without sacrificing all loyalty perks.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
