Key Aspects:
- Three Carnival Journeys cruises departing October 18, 2025 have had several high-level loyalty benefits removed due to the numbers of Diamond and Platinum guests onboard.
- The impacted ships are Carnival Dream from Galveston, Carnival Radiance from Long Beach, and Carnival Venezia from New York.
- It is not uncommon for Carnival to be unable to provide select benefits onboard very popular cruises, which has been a strong impetus for changing the loyalty program in the months to come.
Carnival Cruise Line has sent alerts to their most loyal guests booked on three upcoming sailings that several of the most coveted Diamond and Platinum benefits will not be available.
The impacted cruises are Carnival Dream, Carnival Radiance, and Carnival Venezia, all of which are departing on Saturday, October 18, for the affected sailings.
Carnival Dream is setting sail from Galveston for a 14-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary, while Carnival Radiance is sailing from Long Beach for a 14-night Hawaii cruise. Carnival Venezia‘s impacted sailing is a 12-night voyage from New York to the Southern Caribbean.
The same notification was sent to Diamond and Platinum guests on all three cruises, and the same benefits are being removed on all three ships.
“Due to the high number of Diamond and Platinum guests joining us on this voyage, we will not be able to provide the following benefits,” the notification explained.
The benefits no longer available are:
- Priority embarkation and debarkation at the homeport as well as all ports of call
- Early stateroom access for dropping off luggage
- Priority luggage delivery to individual staterooms
- Priority guest line at the Guest Services desk
- Priority phone assistance from Guest Services representatives
- Guaranteed main dining room seating requests for Diamond guests
The email does note that these benefits are often removed on any sailing where there are “a very large number” of Diamond and Platinum guests.
Other loyalty benefits, including VIFP logo gifts, ship-specific pins, priority spa reservations, and complimentary laundry services are still being offered.
Many experienced guests note that this is why it has become necessary for Carnival Cruise Line to change the VIFP loyalty program, since it is impossible to continue offering all benefits on all sailings.
Full details of the new Carnival Rewards program have not yet been released, but it has been hinted that new benefits and flexibility for guests to customize their loyalty experience will be part of the program.
How Many Loyal Carnival Guests Are Sailing?
The cruise line has not revealed exactly how many high-level loyalty guests are booked on Carnival Dream, Carnival Radiance, and Carnival Venezia, but it is likely there are hundreds, if not thousands, of very experienced cruisers on each sailing.
Carnival Journeys cruises, longer and more immersive sailings with more unique itineraries, are very popular with frequent cruisers. Because the itineraries are not offered as often, they tend to sell out quickly to travelers who have the budget and schedule to accommodate the longer cruises.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, is occasionally able to share how many loyal guests are onboard different sailings.
For example, Mardi Gras has just finished her very first dry dock update and is departing Barcelona for a 14-night westbound transatlantic cruise to Port Canaveral on Thursday, October 16.
Carnival Dream Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: venuswix)
Onboard are 1,953 Platinum guests and 1,035 Diamond guests. Together, this is 59% of the overall 5,106 guests onboard the completely sold-out ship.
Clearly, it would be impossible to offer priority benefits for this very special sailing. Most guests are understanding about those operational difficulties, as removing such benefits has become common for unique sailings.
Read Also: Which Cruise Lines Match Loyalty Programs?
Recently, Heald shared some guest numbers for “regular” cruises while he was visiting ships in Miami. For example, onboard Carnival Horizon’s 8-night Southern Caribbean sailing that departed October 11, there are 794 Platinum guests and 90 Diamond guests, a total of 21% of the 4,306 guests onboard.
In comparison, for the 3-night Carnival Conquest sailing that departed October 10, there were just 112 Platinum guests and only 20 Diamond guests onboard, together representing 4% of the 3,265 guests sailing.
Hopefully, future cruises under the new loyalty program will be able to offer exclusive benefits more consistently, giving all Carnival guests a great time to enjoy their vacations no matter what their loyalty level.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
