Latest news with #CarnivalCruise
Fast Company
13 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Carnival is overhauling its cruise rewards program: Changes, launch dates to know
Rewards programs are getting revamps all over the place. Earlier this week, JPMorgan Chase announced major changes to its Chase Sapphire Reserve rewards credit card. That announcement came shortly after competitor American Express teased an upcoming overhaul to its premium Platinum rewards card. And now, one of America's most popular cruise lines, Carnival, has announced it will radically shake up its rewards program come 2026. Here's what you need to know about Carnival Cruise Line's upcoming overhauled rewards program. Bye-bye, Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) Carnival Cruise Line's current rewards and loyalty program is called the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) program. The program has been in existence since 2012 and is beloved by many Carnival Cruise enthusiasts. One of the reasons frequent Carnival customers love the VIFP program is its simplicity. You earn points based on how many days you cruise—that's it. There's no complicated earning structure or confusing rules. The total number of these points based on the total number of days cruised slots you into one of five groups: blue, red, gold, platinum, or diamond. The higher the group (diamond is tops), the more perks you get, including everything from free bottles of water to priority reservations at Specialty restaurants. However, Carnival has now announced that the VIFP program is being discontinued. Its last day of operation will be May 31, 2026. Hello, Carnival Rewards Carnival's VIFP program is being replaced with a new rewards and loyalty program called Carnival Rewards. The program will officially launch on June 1, 2026, and it represents a radical departure from the current VIFP program. One of the biggest changes to the new Carnival Rewards program is that points are no longer earned based on how many days you cruise with the line. Instead, points will be earned based on what you spend with Carnival Cruise Line. This spend includes the cost of tickets, drinks you buy on board, and even what you spend in the ship's casino. Points can also be earned through the use of a new Carnival Rewards Mastercard, which will be debuting. However, you won't just be collecting points to move up the group rankings anymore. The new Carnival Rewards program will use a dual-earning structure. The dollars you spend will earn you both stars and Carnival Rewards points. The stars will dictate which group you are slotted into—there are only four this time: red, gold, platinum, or diamond (blue is going away). The more prominent the group, the better perks you get, such as embarkation and debarkation priority, if you are a member of the diamond group. The Carnival Rewards points you earn can be redeemed for anything from cruise fares, transfers, onboard purchases, and more. Why is Carnival revamping its rewards program? The business answer to this question is that Carnival Cruise Line likely believes that the revamped rewards program will lead to a better bottom line. As points and group tiers are now dependent on what you spend, customers who are keen to collect Canrival Rewards points may be more willing to spend more onboard to keep earning those points. But Carnival would likely argue that the revamped program is now a little fairer than its current VIFP program. Under the VIFP, Carnival customers would receive the same amount of rewards regardless of whether they paid for the lowest or highest class of cabin on the ship. That's because the rewards were simply linked to the number of days cruised. The new program will mean that customers who book higher-priced cabins will now earn a higher number of reward points. But there is some bad news for customers under the new Carnival Rewards program, no matter how much they spend: the new status tiers they earn—red, gold, platinum, and diamond—don't last forever. Under the VIFP program, when a customer earned a status, they could only move up, not down. That means someone who earned diamond status would keep it for life. But the new status program will see customers lose their status after two years. And the points earned to achieve a status must be earned within a two-year period; otherwise, they do not count towards a status upgrade. In a FAQ about the new rewards program, Carnival says that this move is consistent with loyalty programs across the travel industry. The company says it recognizes 'that change can be difficult, but the current program based on cruise frequency makes it difficult to properly recognize our loyal guests.' Carnival stock price still well below pre-pandemic levels The owner of Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Corporation & plc, filed its most recent earnings report on March 21 for the first quarter of 2025. The company announced that its Q1 revenues increased by over $400 million from the same quarter a year earlier, reaching $5.8 billion. At the time, Carnival Corporation & plc's CEO, Josh Weinstein, boasted that the quarter 'was truly characterized by outperformance.' That growth is something investors are undoubtedly happy to see, especially after Carnival, like all other cruise lines, took a major hit in 2020 following the outbreak of the pandemic. In January 2020, Carnival Corporation & plc's stock (NYSE: CCL) was trading at above $50 per share. But by April, it had fallen to below $8 per share. As recently as October of 2022, CCL stock was trading below $7 per share. However, the stock's fortunes have improved as the cruise industry has slowly recovered from the pandemic's impact, receding from people's memories. As of yesterday's close, CCL stock is trading at above $23 per share. However, that is still down more than 5% since the beginning of the year. We won't know whether Carnival's new rewards program will have a material impact on the company's business, and thus its stock price, until it launches next year.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cruise passenger fumes after learning raunchy reason women were flirting with him
They thought he was doing a different kind of 'cruising.' A cruise passenger was steaming mad after he realized the shocking reason why strangers were paying so much attention to him on board, detailing the reveal in a TikTok video with over 19 million views In the viral clip, filmed from his female partner's point of view, content creator Ricky Bobby is seen lounging on the deck of a Carnival Cruise ship with his paramour as fellow passengers ogle, interact with and even touch him. 'They would whisper things under their breath,' she described in the caption. 'And even sometimes flirt with us.' At one point, a woman in a blue swimsuit even grabs him by the hand. Then, all of a sudden, it dawned on the couple why Bobby was so popular on board. 'We heard them say 'look at his pineapple shirt,'' exclaimed his partner as the camera pans to him donning a shirt that's emblazoned with the tropical fruit. While the symbol may seem innocuous or festive, it's also a sign that people are up for swinging, defined by engaging in group sex or swapping sexual partners. This pastime is particularly popular aboard cruise ships, where randy travelers have been known to pin pictures of upside-down pineapples to cabin doors to let fellow pleasure boaters know they're in the mood for a salacious switcheroo on the high seas. Bobby was reportedly 'p–sed' over his accidental SOS (sex on ship) signal, per the clip, which ends with the embarrassed content creator sitting on the deck chair without his pineapple-riddled attire. However, commenters found it hilarious that he inadvertently let his 'freaky' flag fly. 'Just looked up what upside down pineapple means. Howling,' said one bemused commenter, while another wrote, 'Blue swimsuit was trying to get chosen.' In fact, Bobby claimed that the latter woman even reached out to him on TikTok following the incident, writing, 'HEY GUYS!! BLUE SWIMSUIT GURL FOUND ME ON TIKTOK.' Others shared similar moments of sending mixed signals via pineapple-themed couture. 'I made the same mistake, I got called out by the comedian on the cruise ship during his show,' said one embarrassed commenter. 'The rest of the cruise I was called Mr. pineapple shirt. I had no idea…most def threw it in the trash.' 'Me and my ex didn't know and had matching pineapple shirts on a cruise — we were like people are so nice and keep talking to us.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
A brawl erupted on a Carnival cruise. Now those involved are banned for life.
Several Carnival Cruise passengers have been banned for life after a brawl on a recent sailing. Video shared by TikTok user @hellokittyyx shows multiple guests involved in the fight, with security and crew trying to break it up. At least two chairs appear to have been thrown in the video dated June 7. A spokesperson confirmed the incident happened on the Carnival Sunrise and told USA TODAY, "Those involved will not sail on Carnival Cruise Line again." In April, 24 Carnival passengers were banned after getting into a fight while disembarking the Carnival Jubilee. Other Carnival guests have been banned for fights on other ships in recent years. Carnival has a "zero-tolerance" policy toward disruptive behavior. "The safety and security of our guests, team members, the destinations we visit and the waters in which we travel are embedded in our company's values and guides our operation," according to Carnival's website. "Cruise ships are a shared space, and all guests are expected to treat others with respect." Guests are reminded about these safety and security policies when they travel with Carnival. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carnival Cruise guests banned after brawl with chair thrown
New York Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Cruise passenger fumes after learning raunchy reason women were flirting with him
They thought he was doing a different kind of 'cruising.' A cruise passenger was steaming mad after he realized the shocking reason why strangers were paying so much attention to him on board, detailing the reveal in a TikTok video with over 19 million views In the viral clip, filmed from his female partner's point of view, content creator Ricky Bobby is seen lounging on the deck of a Carnival Cruise ship with his paramour as fellow passengers ogle, interact with and even touch him. 'They would whisper things under their breath,' she described in the caption. 'And even sometimes flirt with us.' A woman in a blue swimsuit grabs the content creator by the hand. Tiktok/@prericky At one point, a woman in a blue swimsuit even grabs him by the hand. Then, all of a sudden, it dawned on the couple why Bobby was so popular on board. 'We heard them say 'look at his pineapple shirt,'' exclaimed his partner as the camera pans to him donning a shirt that's emblazoned with the tropical fruit. Bobby didn't realize his pineapple shirt inadvertently signaled that he was cruising for a maritime sex swap. Tiktok/@prericky While the symbol may seem innocuous or festive, it's also a sign that people are up for swinging, defined by engaging in group sex or swapping sexual partners. This pastime is particularly popular aboard cruise ships, where randy travelers have been known to pin pictures of upside-down pineapples to cabin doors to let fellow pleasure boaters know they're in the mood for a salacious switcheroo on the high seas. Bobby was reportedly 'p–sed' over his accidental SOS (sex on ship) signal, per the clip, which ends with the embarrassed content creator sitting on the deck chair without his pineapple-riddled attire. However, commenters found it hilarious that he inadvertently let his 'freaky' flag fly. 'Just looked up what upside down pineapple means. Howling,' said one bemused commenter, while another wrote, 'Blue swimsuit was trying to get chosen.' In fact, Bobby claimed that the latter woman even reached out to him on TikTok following the incident, writing, 'HEY GUYS!! BLUE SWIMSUIT GURL FOUND ME ON TIKTOK.' Others shared similar moments of sending mixed signals via pineapple-themed couture. 'I made the same mistake, I got called out by the comedian on the cruise ship during his show,' said one embarrassed commenter. 'The rest of the cruise I was called Mr. pineapple shirt. I had no idea…most def threw it in the trash.' 'Me and my ex didn't know and had matching pineapple shirts on a cruise — we were like people are so nice and keep talking to us.'
USA Today
7 days ago
- USA Today
A brawl erupted on a Carnival cruise. Now those involved are banned for life.
A brawl erupted on a Carnival cruise. Now those involved are banned for life. Several Carnival Cruise passengers have been banned for life after a brawl on a recent sailing. Video shared by TikTok user @hellokittyyx shows multiple guests involved in the fight, with security and crew trying to break it up. At least two chairs appear to have been thrown in the video dated June 7. A spokesperson confirmed the incident happened on the Carnival Sunrise and told USA TODAY, "Those involved will not sail on Carnival Cruise Line again." In April, 24 Carnival passengers were banned after getting into a fight while disembarking the Carnival Jubilee. Other Carnival guests have been banned for fights on other ships in recent years. Carnival has a "zero-tolerance" policy toward disruptive behavior. "The safety and security of our guests, team members, the destinations we visit and the waters in which we travel are embedded in our company's values and guides our operation," according to Carnival's website. "Cruise ships are a shared space, and all guests are expected to treat others with respect." Guests are reminded about these safety and security policies when they travel with Carnival.
