Cruise Line Loyalty Programs Explained

Should you be loyal to one cruise line?  Are the perks of the loyalty programs worth sticking with one cruise line to build up your status?  Or are the loyalty programs nice but not worth staying with one specific cruise line for?  Is it better to have lots of experiences across many cruise lines and forgo the perks?

Let’s take a look at the perks that come with cruise line loyalty programs and you can decide for yourself.

Keep in mind, the entry-level tiers with any cruise line have minimal benefits. You will have to cruise many-a-sailing to get to the good stuff! And keep going and you can even earn a free cruise with some programs!

Norwegian Cruise Line: Latitudes Rewards

In my opinion, this is the richest loyalty program out there!! You get so much extra once you hit the Platinum tier that really makes you want to spend time sailing with NCL to reach this level!

You will get discounts in the shops, photos and spa services during port days based on level starting at Bronze.

Priority embarkation starts at Platinum but priority tender and debarkation start at Gold.

Free laundry starts at Platinum – very nice perk!

Other benefits that start at Platinum are: discounted internet, chocolate-covered strawberries, two additional specialty dining meals, a behind-the-scenes ship tour, and concierge services. This is where the perks really kick in!! These are FABULOUS benefits!!

Free cruise at Ambassador! Grant it, you are putting in a LOT to get to this level, but NCL is one of the few cruise lines that offer this perk.

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

1 point per night + 1 additional point per night for suites and Haven. PLUS, you can earn bonus points for specific sailings (there is a list each month) – book one of these and no matter the cabin category you earn 2 points per night… 3 points for suites or Haven.

Royal Caribbean: Crown & Anchor Society

With the Crown & Anchor Society program, the good benefits start at Diamond.

Cabin discounts start at Platinum…nice!

Best Perk: Free drinks at Diamond – 4 drinks per day for Diamond, 5 for Diamond Plus and 6 for Pinnacle

Free cruise at Pinnacle – again, it takes a lot to get here, but what a perk!

This is AWESOME – Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will match loyalty level!! Not permanently, but if you hold a higher status with the sister company, prove your status and for that cruise, you will get the higher perks. You will still earn points separately for each cruise line.

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

1 point per night – can earn additional points in suites

Carnival Cruise Line: VIFP Club

In this program, the good benefits kick in when you hit Platinum which takes 75 nights of cruising to reach.  Includes a cocktail party and free laundry.  Plus priority boarding, debarkation, tenders and a dedicated line at guest services and a gift on each sailing.

Here I feel that the priority treatment and free laundry are the biggest perks for Carnival.

HUGE PERK: Being a VIFP member comes with random special offers for reduced pricing on sailings or onboard credit… or sometimes both. I say random as these offers truly are computer generated and not based on status. And I have seen some RIDICULOUSLY good offers!! The funny thing is that I, as a travel agent, have seen clients with Red status get better offers than clients with Platinum status… you never know what you will get. And you can sign up for Blue status before you even take your first cruise and get special offers!

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

1 point per night cruised. Cabin type or length of the cruise does not matter.

Celebrity Cruises: Captain’s Club

You will earn discounts on wifi, drink packages, specialty dining and spa treatments based on your loyalty level.

One-category upgrade request – this is pretty cool in that you can request a free cabin upgrade (one category up from what you are booked) at no extra charge!

Best Perks: Free laundry starting at Select AND

Free specialty breakfast and evening cocktail hour starting at Elite

Free cruise at Zenith, expensive to earn… but a great perk!

Full List of Benefits:

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean will status match – see above in RC…

How to earn points

Pro tip: You can also earn Power Up Point by completing surveys, sharing on social media and watching webinars. Once you are a member, you can sign up for these alerts for when bonus points can be earned.

Holland America Line: Mariner Society

Coolest benefit!  Up to $400 per stateroom onboard credit for cruises booked within 90 days of a new season launch. – All levels!!

Benefits really kick in at 4-Star with 50% off specialty dining and specialty coffees; priority boarding, tender and debarkation; free 3rd & 4th guests on select sailings and free laundry.

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

1 point per cruise day plus double points for suites. AND bonus points for onboard spending (example: $300 = 1 point).

Princess Cruises: Captain’s Circle

NICE PERK: Benefits for all tiers – discounts on cruises & special offers!

The best perks start at Platinum – priority boarding, Platinum & Elite Lounge, discounts on spa and photos.

Elite benefits add early access to new itineraries, discounts on shops and shore excursions, priority tender and debarkation, complimentary wine tasting, complimentary mini bar set-up, complimentary afternoon tea in your cabin and complimentary laundry.

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

1 point per cruise day plus double points for suites

MSC Cruises: Voyagers Club

THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! MSC will loyalty match to one cruise line – one time offer – NO OTHER CRUISE LINE DOES THIS!!

Every tier earns a 5% discount!  Up to 10% if booked 6-9 months prior to sailing.

Silver: you get a $50 onboard credit per person and can earn double points when booking in advance (9-12 months out)

Gold: you get priority tender and 1- hour free access to the thermal spa suite

Diamond: you get priority boarding and debarkation, free dance class, Diamond party and a free specialty dining tasting menu.

Full List of Benefits:

How to earn points

Points are determined by the length of the cruise and the cabin experience booked. There are special offers to collect bonus points at booking.

Disney Cruise Line: Castaway Club

Benefit highlights – being a past guest gives you early access to book new itineraries as they become available. With such a small ship fleet, this is a nice perk.

And at Platinum you also get a complimentary dinner at Palo.

Full List of Benefits:

So what is the verdict??

This is going to be a personal preference… some people really love one specific cruise line and building loyalty is important to them.

For us, it is not. The perks when you get to the higher levels are nice, but for us having different experiences across multiple cruise lines is better than the perks offered.

Pro tip: These programs can build up over YEARS. So you don’t have a certain time frame to get to a certain level. You can build points with multiple cruise lines at the same time. So variety can be the spice of life

Are you ready to plan your next cruise?

Whether you want to stick with a cruise line you have sailed with or are ready for a change, let us help you plan that next adventure! Having EECC Travels as your travel agent will cost you nothing and you are getting the planning experience of a travel professional.

Check out this video on YouTube:

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Carnival announced on March 22, 2018, that pre-purchased photo packages were finally available! Since this was so close to our cruise on April 1st I decided to give it a try. At the time the three options were:

Pixels Package 1: 5 Photos and 1 Canvas Print for $99

Pixels Plus Package 2: All Your Prints for $199

Pixels Plus Digital Package 3: All Your Prints Plus Digital File for $249

As of April 16, 2018, the package prices are now as follows:

Pixels Package 1: 5 Photos and 1 Canvas Print for $99 – stayed the same

Pixels Plus Package 2: All Your Prints for $249

Pixels Plus Digital Package 3: All Your Prints Plus Digital File for $399

Note:  these are pre-purchase only!  You must go to Carnival.com to the Fun Shops and purchase your package prior to your cruise.  On the ship, the photos are the same cost as they have always been.

This post contains affiliate links, you can read our disclosure policy here. 

Our experience

I really wanted the digital images so we went with the $249 package. A photo package is what you make of it, so we took lots of photos and definitely got our money’s worth! We got pictures from embarkation day and each port day.  There were photographers in the dining rooms during the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast and also taking pictures in the evenings.  And of course, there are photo ops all over the ship!  On elegant evenings, the backdrops are glittery and well, elegant.  But they had some fantastic casual backdrops too that looked like you were on a beach or standing in front of a cruise ship.  One evening they had special Dr. Seuss backdrops where you could take pictures with the characters or even done the wig… or full costume and take funny pics.

Here are a few tips of what to expect and how to best use your package:

Activate your package

These are pre-purchase packages only.  So you will have a receipt delivered to your cabin on embarkation day of what package you purchased.  You must take this to the Pixels gallery to activate your package.  They will then give you instructions on how it will work.  What we were told, is that at the end of each day our photos will be printed and saved for us.  We were to come after 9:00 PM on the last night to pick them up.

The Carnival Breeze is a digital ship so they do not print all of the pictures.  This is why they have to print ours at the end of each day.  If you are on a traditional Pixels ship, you can go and gather all of the printed photos during the day and they will hold them for you for later pickup.

Fun note…. the digital only ships are really cool!  They will only print the photos from embarkation, but they have stations (like iPads) all over the ship where you can log in with your folio number and date of birth to browse your pictures.  There is even one in the Pixels gallery that is floor to ceiling so you can view them in almost life size!  We really liked doing this.  Also, you can view them all on the Carnival Hub app… and if you didn’t buy a photo package, you can purchase the ones you want directly from the app!  Gotta love technology!

Digital only ships are the Breeze, Magic, Vista, Horizon, Panorama, Conquest, Paradise and Victory.

Use the right cabin number

We had two cabins on this cruise and one photo package…  Let me back up here by saying that yes, this is allowed.  When Carnival first released these packages it stated ‘one package per cabin’; well may people complained and they corrected this.  There are many families like ours, who need two (or more) cabins to be comfortable.

The rules state that one person from one of your cabins must be in the photo. So, yes, your kids can take pictures with friends they meet onboard… we did!

Ok, so the package was linked to room 1249, but on occasion, one of the kids gave their room number of 1251.  I went to the Pixels gallery and they were supposed to link those photos to our package… but they did not.  I have put in a request online for these photos and I am sure I will get them… but what a hassle!  If you are in this circumstance, make sure you use the right number every time!

You’ve got it… use it!

There are photographers EVERYWHERE!  So if you get the package use it!  We took LOTS of photos!  Keep scrolling to see them…

Digital isn’t completely digital…

The digital package will include all photos’ digital copy on a flash drive for all but the last day of the cruise.  So if you are on a seven day cruise, days 1-6 will be on the flash drive but any photos taken on that 7th day will be in print format only.

Now let’s see these photos!!!

Embarkation day:

Port Day Photos:

Casual Photos:

And the snazzy ones from the two elegant nights:

And just for fun:

These are not all of the photos either!!!  Just a sampling of our favorites!  Each photographer takes multiple shots and YOU GET THEM ALL!

Again, a photo package is what you make out of it.  So I say, if you bought it, then use it!!!!

I am still keeping out the hopes that one day soon, Carnival will come up with an all digital package as this is ideally what my family would like to have.  Then we can print the few we want to frame and have the rest to put in digitally created photo books (Shutterfly) or post, because we all know these photos are going all over social media!!!

Note: I created this post/video on 4/15/18 and on 4/16/18 Carnival changed the prices of these packages with no warning which has upset MANY people! This is a review of my experience, which was positive! I think $249 for the package is a fair price. Would I pay $399 for the same thing? Probably not…

If you would like to see this info in video format… here you go:

Do you want to see more cruise posts?  Click here.

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Thanks,

Alisa

EECC Travels

The post Carnival Cruise Line: Pixels Plus Digital Photo Package Review appeared first on EECC Travels.