Carnival Addresses Loyalty Outrage, Offers Hope for Program Revisions
Even with no hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, it’s been a stormy week for Carnival Cruise Line with intense, Category 5 reactions to the line’s announcement of the new Carnival Rewards program.
Due to replace the existing Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) loyalty program from June 1, 2026, the new rewards program has proven to be immediately controversial.
The cruise line, however, is urging guests to be patient and understand that the transition is still a year away and there may yet be tweaks and refinements.
Carnival’s brand ambassador, John Heald, answered hundreds of questions about the new program immediately following the announcement, and even made an extra daily video to reassure guests.
“There are lots of things happening,” Heald noted. “Let me just say two important things. Number one, today I have written with and spoken to people at the very highest level of Carnival Cruise Line and they all want me to say the same thing, and here it is: We announced this new program, the 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.”
Heald readily acknowledges that there are things many guests like about the new program, which includes a spend-based rewards system to earn points.
At the same time, there are things guests do not like, such as the expiration of those points and the loss of loyalty status in relatively short time frames.
“We have a year to look at it, possibly, maybe, fine tune it and change some things around,” Heald said. “That is what I was told today by somebody at the very highest level who I promise, cares about all of you, every single one of you, whether you’re a Blue card or a Diamond card.”
From the negative reactions from hundreds of Carnival guests, many of whom have set sail for years in order to earn their higher levels of loyalty status, it is clear that some fine-tuning of the new program may indeed be necessary.
Why Does the VIFP Program Need to Change?
Heald has been noting for years that changes were coming for the VIFP program, but there were no hints about what those changes could be.
“We had to do something with the program, it was massively top-heavy with millions of people joining the program since its first inception,” Heald said.
Read Also: Loyalty Programs – Should You Remain Loyal to One Cruise Line?
Previously, Carnival offered loyalty based solely on the number of sailings – a 3-night weekend cruise had the same loyalty consideration as a week-long sailing or even a 15-night crossing.
In 2012, the VIFP program was introduced and changed loyalty accounting to individual days spent with the cruise line. Guests who achieved 75 days were at the Platinum level, while 200+ days defined the Diamond level.
In announcing the Carnival Rewards program, the cruise line noted that the number of Platinum VIFP guests has doubled since 2022, and the number of Diamond guests has quadrupled in those three years.
This had made it increasingly difficult for Carnival to honor the promised benefits, particularly on highly sought-after sailings such as transatlantic cruises and longer Carnival Journeys cruises. These types of cruises might often have 50% or more of the passengers onboard at those highest loyalty tiers.
Despite this week’s reveal of the new rewards program, there are still many unanswered questions about who earns what points, how younger cruisers’ loyalty will be considered, if milestone awards are still earned, and more.
“We now have a whole year to fine tune everything and see what we can do to make sure you keep Choosing Fun!” Heald said.
It is promising that the cruise line is acknowledging that the program may not yet be finalized, though of course it will likely be some time before any further changes or tweaks could be announced.
Carnival Addresses Loyalty Outrage, Offers Hope for Program Revisions