Carnival Cruise Line offers generous perks to its most loyal guests through the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) program, including exclusive gifts. Unfortunately, the most recent gift is not getting the best reviews, but the cruise line is urging guests not to express their frustration in a wasteful way.
The VIFP gifts are offered to Platinum and Diamond Level guests. To reach the Platinum level, travelers must accrue at least 75 points in the program, while Diamond level guests must reach 200 points.
Carnival Cruise Line guests receive one point for every night they’ve sailed with the line – 3 points for a 3-night cruise, 7 points for a 7-night cruise, and so forth.
The latest loyalty gift for these well-cruised passengers and top Carnival fans is a baseball cap that was introduced in October 2024. The blue canvas cap includes the iconic Carnival funnel embroidered on the side, as well as a VIFP patch on the front.
The cap received immediate criticism as more oriented toward male passengers or not useful for travelers who don’t wear baseball caps.
Now, that criticism has reached another level with reports of the caps being simple tossed in the trash. One cruiser reached out to John Heald, the cruise line’s Brand Ambassador, with the details.
“I hate to break your back bubble but the ball cap presents are a bust,” the commenter said. “Many of the Platinum and Diamond guests have been very disappointed with this decision. I have seen guests refuse them, throwing them away, or trying to give them away.”
Because guests must pick up their loyalty gifts at the Pixels photo gallery onboard each ship – they are no longer delivered to staterooms, a practice that ended with the COVID-19 pandemic – refusing the cap is easy and actually would reduce waste.
Giving the cap away is something many travelers may do, often offering the gift to a child or a new cruiser who would be excited to have such a unique souvenir whey they have not cruised enough to be at that loyalty level.
Throwing the baseball cap in the trash, however, is wasteful and a very poor gesture.
“I know the baseball cap is not our most popular gift. I accept that totally,” Heald acknowledged. “It makes me very sad to see that people are allegedly throwing them away. If you do not like it, surely there is someone else either on board to ship that you can hand it to, or perhaps give to somebody at home. Please don’t throw them away.”
Obviously, Carnival Cruise Line has no problem if Platinum and Diamond guests want to share their VIFP gift with others. This is not the first time, however, that a gift has been less than popular.
Other Carnival VIFP Gifts – Good and Bad
Other Platinum and Diamond VIFP gift offerings that have received poor reactions include a visor, a heavily logo-branded beach tote bag, and foam slap-style drink koozies.
Carnival Cruise Line Cap Loyalty Gift
While the baseball cap may not be the most popular option, many guests are enjoying it or sharing it with others. Furthermore, many travelers feel it is easier to simply not pick up the gift rather than be rude about what is, after all, a free gift.
Read Also: Loyalty Programs – Should You Stay Loyal to One Cruise Line?
More popular gift options that Carnival has offered in the past include insulated tumblers, blankets, valet bags, and similar practical and useful items. The cruise line has also offered chess sets, journals, headphones, and a wide range of other items over the years.
Exactly which gifts are available depend on popularity, the numbers of VIFP cruisers eligible to pick up the gifts, manufacturing supply options, production costs, and other factors. When a new gift is introduced, it may take several weeks to roll out across the entire Carnival fleet depending on individual ship supplies.
Heald has mentioned many times that there are changes coming to the VIFP program, but has not offered any hints at what those changes may be or if the gifts may be impacted.
Do you receive any VIFP gifts when you cruise on Carnival? Which options have been your favorites, and which have you not bothered with? Share your experiences on the Cruise Hive boards!
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
