Carnival Guests Need to Give Up Benefits for Boarding Solution
Loyalty can create big benefits for cruise travelers, with cruise line loyalty programs offering highly coveted perks for their most frequent guests.
It is important to remember, however, that some of those most desirable benefits cannot typically be shared.
Carnival Cruise Line has one of the most desirable loyalty benefits with its priority boarding perk. This exclusive opportunity is available only to guests who have reached the Platinum or Diamond levels of the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) program.
These guests are able to bypass what can be long lines in the cruise terminal and check in more quickly, getting right on the ship to start the fun of their cruise vacation as soon as possible.
This very popular benefit, however, cannot be shared with others – even in the same travel party – as one upcoming Carnival guest has learned.
The guest reached out to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, hoping to find a solution.
“I will be cruising on the Mardi Gras in August with a large family group. We are all Platinum or Diamond except except for my parents,” the guest explained. “For them this will be their first cruise. I am trying to figure out a way for them to board with the rest of us.”
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The guest does have legitimate concerns and is simply hoping that Heald may be able to offer a solution or even an exception to policies.
“[My parents] do not use phones or technology for anything and I am afraid they would not do well navigating the boarding process alone. Is this something you could help me with or suggest any other options for how to arrange this?” they asked.
The solution Heald offers, however, is not one the guest may appreciate.
“We have to be very strict with the priority line, which I’m sure you can understand because if we allowed everybody to bring guests through the line, it would be a line that would be never ending,” he explained.
“What you can do is in this particular case, please wait for them to board. As priority guests you can board at the later time with them and help them and give them all the comfort they need to get on the ship. I hope that helps a little bit, probably not what you wanted, but I’m afraid this is the only way.”
Other Options May Not Be Possible
Other than the loyalty perk, there are two other ways guests can enjoy priority embarkation. Purchasing the Faster to the Fun add-on package gives travelers the same perk, as does booking a suite stateroom.
These options, however, do not appeal to this guest and their traveling party, and may not even be possible.
“Faster to the Fun is not available and they don’t want to move to a suite away from the rest of the group,” the guest continued.
Because this guest’s sailing is at least three months away, it is possible that more reservations for Faster to the Fun might be made available as the sailing date approaches.
This is not guaranteed, however, as the number of packages depends on the size of the ship, how many loyalty guests are onboard, and how fully booked the sailing may be. With a summer cruise, it is possible that Faster to the Fun may already be fully sold out.
While the loyalty benefits can be exciting to take advantage of, guests need to remember that such benefits are never guaranteed.
Carnival Cruise Line regularly removes the priority embarkation perk from longer Carnival Journeys sailings that have so many high-level loyalty guests aboard that the perk becomes meaningless.
This problem has been growing in recent years, and it is possible that the perk may be redefined or removed entirely as the cruise line updates its loyalty program. Such updates have been announced as forthcoming this summer, with full implementation of the new program likely in early 2026.
How could the priority embarkation perk be adjusted so it is more readily available to those guests who have earned it? It might only apply to the very top tier of the loyalty program.
Another option could be making the perk a one-time benefit rather than on every cruise. There is precedent for this, as another benefit is a one-time cabin upgrade for Diamond level guests, as well as a one-time complimentary specialty dining reservation, also for Diamond level guests.
In the meantime, guests do not absolutely NEED to use every benefit they have earned, and instead, could simply embark a couple of hours later to keep their travel party together.
Carnival Guests Need to Give Up Benefits for Boarding Solution