As Carnival Cruise Line prepares to overtake its loyalty program, Royal Caribbean cruisers are staying anchored in acquainted waters, clinging to their Crown & Anchor standing like a life vest – and hoping their program doesn’t get swept into the identical present.
Carnival’s upcoming swap to a dollar-based rewards system has rattled longtime cruisers who spent years crusing their approach as much as the VIFP (Very Essential Enjoyable Particular person) ranks.
The brand new Carnival Rewards program, launching June 1, 2026, will remove the cruise-night mannequin and change it with tiers based mostly on how a lot cash company spend. Standing will even expire after two years except re-earned.
The change has sparked a backlash from Carnival followers, and triggered concern for Royal Caribbean’s long-running Crown & Anchor Society, which nonetheless rewards cruisers based mostly on nights sailed fairly than {dollars} spent.
“Do you assume that is one thing Royal and the opposite strains will attempt to undertake? In that case, would cruisers keep loyal to Royal, or would this be a motive to attempt different manufacturers?” requested a cruiser on a Royal Caribbean Reddit web page.
One response summed up the sentiment of many: “If there’s no actual loyalty program, then why be loyal? That’s all the motive for it.”
The Redditor continued, “What Carnival did is an insult to everybody who’s been loyal. So no, if Royal went that route, I’d not be loyal to them anymore.”
Whereas Carnival Cruise Line says the change is required to deal with an overwhelming variety of top-tier company on sure sailings, many cruisers see it as a transfer that prioritizes spending over loyalty.
And the broader concern is that when one line shifts its mannequin, others might observe below the information of streamlining advantages or encouraging greater spend.
“If Carnival sees no drop in enterprise, different strains will fall proper in line,” warned one Redditor.
“That is how Delta began,” one visitor added. “Now loyalty means how a lot you spend, not how usually you fly. I don’t need that to occur to cruises.”
Crown & Anchor Society Loyalty
For Royal Caribbean followers, Carnival Cruise Line’s announcement is sparking new appreciation for the cruise line’s loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor Society. And presently, the cruise line’s program is constructed round one factor: Nights sailed.
Members earn one level per cruise evening sailed, or two factors per evening in a set. Factors by no means expire, and as soon as a tier is earned, it’s yours for all times.
“Royal appreciates my cruising days, not simply the cash I spend on their ships,” stated one cruiser in one other dialogue on Fb.
Added one other, “They reward loyalty in an easy approach. I don’t have to consider requalifying each two years.”
The Crown & Anchor Society tier construction begins at Gold (3 factors) and tops out with Pinnacle Membership (700 factors), with advantages growing at every stage.
Learn Additionally: What’s Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society?
These advantages embrace day by day drink vouchers, Wi-Fi reductions, milestone presents, precedence boarding, and unique lounges – perks that many company say could be exhausting to surrender.
Royal Caribbean additionally gives reciprocal perks with Celeb Cruises’ Captain’s Membership and Silversea’s Venetian Society loyalty packages, because the cruise strains are every owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
Carnival Cruise Line, which is owned by Carnival Company, doesn’t have reciprocal perks with its sister manufacturers, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, and P&O Cruises.
For now, Royal Caribbean has not signaled any modifications to its loyalty program, which passengers say is without doubt one of the perks of the cruise line. Nevertheless, their message to the cruise line is obvious: Loyalty ought to nonetheless imply loyalty.
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