Vifp platinum and diamond gift

[cruise granny sj]

Hello, does anyone know if the vifp gift has changed from the fanny pack to a different bag?

[3Sisters]

@cruise granny sj I saw this CCL update on a popular souvenir guests have been concerned about.

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-addresses-bitterness-over-sweet-souvenir/114630

This was another recent VIFP gift update. 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-to-deliver-top-tier-loyalty-gifts/112257

[RoadTravelled]

6 hours ago, cruise granny sj said:

Hello, does anyone know if the vifp gift has changed from the fanny pack to a different bag?

@cruise granny sj John Heald, CCL Brand Ambassador, on his page announced earlier this month that they are changing to a toiletry bag.  He has a pic of it there.  He indicated that some of the ships already have them and in the next couple of weeks they should be rolled out to the fleet.  We sailed on the Venezia in mid-September and got the fanny pack.  I wish I knew someone who wants 2 of these as we use day-packs instead.  I thought of finding a first-time CCL cruiser (blue card) and offering it to them, but didn't know how to really approach that.  Oh well, I guess I'll just keep them for now.

[cruise granny sj]

Thanks for your info. My husband and I have several of the fanny packs already. We are sailing the end of November and hoping for a new bag in the series. We often invite family or friends to cruise with us, and I put together gift bags of my extra Carnival gifts (coozies, fanny pack, luggage tag, etc) to give to them when they sail with us.

[3Sisters]

@RoadTravelled You are in the know! Thanks for confirming the bag change. After many fanny packs, I'm sure guests are excited about this toiletry bag change. You should probably resell the unused bags and make a bit of a profit!

@cruise granny sj Well I want to cruise with you! You sound like the life of the party. That's such a nice idea to make gift bags for your cruise crew! For my next cruise, you have inspired me to go above and beyond. I want to try making matching shirts for our crew. Have you done that before? 

[cruise granny sj]

@3Sisters I haven't done shirts yet, but do admire some of the great ones I have seen onboard.  Have fun.

 

[3Sisters]

@cruise granny sj I, too, have seen some memorable ones onboard a few of my recent cruises. I wouldn't go through all the effort if it's just my immediate family cruising but for a larger trip with friends, I will absolutely give it a try. What do you typically give as gifts to your crew? Also, once you receive your new bag, I would love it if you would be able to share it with the group! I always enjoy seeing the new gifts. 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@cruise granny sj & @RoadTravelled Did you see that the FunPlay casino perk was removed? CCL didn't announce the removal of this Diamond and Platinum perk, but its removal has been confirmed. 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-removes-vifp-perk-without-notice/136614

It seems this perk caused a financial loss to the line, hence its removal without notice. Will either of you be sad this perk is gone for good? 

[RoadTravelled]

@Cruising Caribbean  Thanks for calling this to my attention.  I had not noticed this or as you say seen anything announcing this.  But, we aren't casino people so this really doesn't affect us.  I think we used this fun credit of $25 twice before and it vanished for both of us in about 5 minutes of play!  LOL.  We had no idea what we were doing.  So, really, CCL gained nothing really or lost anything with us by offering this.  I'm much more interested to see how they revamp the whole program later this year.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@RoadTravelled I'm glad you don't feel affected by this "silent" change. I have used casino credits like this in the past and only won "something" (about $20 once). I don't see how this minimal FunPlay amount really was a financial loss to the line. I guess since the whole promo was not advertised, the line felt comfortable with the idea of getting rid of the perk without mentioning it beforehand. I'm assuming those that utilized this perk were about 50/50 split. I'm also more intrigued about the changes to come, because I think those are going to be really impactful ones. Are there any changes that you think could negatively impact anyone's loyalty status? I'm thinking no one will have to loose their status throughout the enhanced program. If anything there should only be opportunities for gain for loyalty guests. I would imagine an uproar if some guests had to move down a tier. 

[euroguy]

I won't say that it will impact my play but I will say that it's a bit disappointing to see CCL cutting rewards for being loyal to the cruise line.  I'm aware that heald stated they are looking to find something to replace it but I'm sure it will be some cheap trinket or something that people will have to go and pick up, to which many will not thus savi g CCL money.  

This does make me wonder what changes/other deductions will become in the new update of the loyalty program as a whole.

Edited June 8 by euroguy

[Cruising Caribbean]

@euroguy Cutting rewards for being loyal can't be an option! I can only assume/hope that this particular perk will be replaced with something even better soon enough. Knowing you, I'm sure you were utilizing that casino perk in the past. Let's just hope there is better to come with the loyalty program restructuring. I hope the casino play perk isn't replaced with a souvenir or branded object. I really hope deductions won't take place without a superior perk replacement. Guests are used to CCL's generosity and loyalty incentives. It will upset many guests if the cruise line doesn't replace the removal of popular perks.

[MszKitty]

The $25 casino fun play was in place of the slot tournament BOGO sentry, which was in place of the original free entry into the slot tournament. I would like to see them being back the slot tournaments and give P/D a discount of some sort into them. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@MszKitty That's a great thought! Why do you think that perk was initially replaced? Do you think that the slot tournaments weren't as popular but the Free Play incentive became more popular? A CCL Platinum or Diamond slot discount could be a good incentive. I don't recall when that BOGO entry was in place. When was that incentive removed? 

[euroguy]

@Kendall James-Vargas okay so I'm gonna show my cruising age here 😂

I remember back in the day CCL did in fact have a slot tournaments on the ship and thwy where lots of fun. They had a special bank of slots thwy used and i actually won once. Received a small bottle od champagne, tshirt and $500 and a ship on a stick.  I still have the tshirt  all these years later. It's a great memory that has stuck with me.

Now I will say this regarding ship casinos back then #1 they were much smaller and a whole lot less crowded, never a hard time to get on a machine.

I have seen the times change that the casinos are much much larger and much much more crowded. It has become a true cash cow for CCL and I don't blame them for doing it ad it's one more way to keep the ships on the water and turning a profit so we can take the cruises with new and nicer ships. I've also seen with these changes that the casino comps and free cruise offers improve over time. Times change. 

Yes it would be great to see the slot tournaments to return.

Below is a pit of the tshirt I won so many years ago

[euroguy]

[Cruising Caribbean]

@euroguy That's wild! I can't believe you won a. CL slot tournament. That's impressive. A $500 prize is awesome and surely you have that ship on a stick still. Which CCL ship was this on? It's noble of you to say that the competition was essentially lighter in the cruise casinos back then, but a win is a win! I'm even impressed by the condition of that t-shirt. I'm surprised it basically looks brand new still. If the slots tournaments returned, I would imagine you could win it all over again! Considering you cruise pretty often, your chances of winning would be pretty high. How do you feel about smoking in casinos? How have you noticed that evolve over time? I forget if that's something that has made a difference to you in regards to playing the casino.