“I’m going over to Royal!!”: Longtime Carnival Cruise Line customers say they’re jumping ship following new loyalty program

Last week, Carnival Cruise Line dropped a major change to its loyalty program—and let’s just say, not everyone’s thrilled.

Why change it now?

Carnival says the old program had become too generous. Too many people had reached the top tiers, like Platinum and Diamond, which meant perks like free laundry and priority lines were getting harder to maintain.

With more elite guests on each ship, the “elite experience” was starting to feel pretty average.

So now, instead of counting cruises, Carnival is counting dollars. The higher your spending, the better your perks. The catch, however, is that a reset happens every two years.

Diamond members will get to keep their status until 2032, but after that, they’ll need to spend around $33,000 every two years to keep it. Everyone else has until mid-2028 before the reset kicks in.

What customers are saying

The backlash came quickly. TikTok user @leah_a_c_ posted a video after showing her Platinum status on the Carnival website, with the text overlay, “Me looking at carnival knowing this will all be for nothing next year.”

Her video got over 1.2 million views, and commenters had their own thoughts.

“I finally reached Platinum after many years, and now it means nothing,” she said. “I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise once, and it felt like a nursing home on a boat. It was so catered to old people, so I’ve always stuck to Carnival.”

Others are now thinking of jumping ship—literally.

“That’s me too. I’m Platinum and now we’re talking about September being our last cruise,” one person commented. “I’m going over to Royal!!”

Another said, “I’ve been cruising on Carnival since 2001—over 20 years. We can only cruise once a year, so maintaining Platinum will be impossible. It’s like $16,000 every two years.”

They added, “With this new program, there’s not much reason to stay loyal. Might as well just book the best deal with the best itinerary. From what I’m seeing in the comments, Carnival has decided to FAFO.”

@leah_a_c_ I am actually not ok. Check on your carnival friends. #carnivalcruise #carnival #cruise #fyp #loyalty ♬ original sound – thomas parrish

Could they walk it back?

Carnival hasn’t promised anything, but brand ambassador John Heald posted a video that seemed to hint at possible tweaks. He mentioned that the announcement was made early specifically so the company could consider customer feedback.