Carnival Pulls Platinum Perks on Three More Sailings
Passengers on three ships leaving October 31 and November 1 were told that priority services may be unavailable. The cruise line blames the number of Platinum guests on board.
Carnival Cruise Line has again told loyal guests that their status perks may not be honored. Passengers on three U.S. sailings got an email just before boarding. It said VIFP Platinum benefits may be unavailable.
The affected trips are the October 31 sailing of the Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral and the November 1 sailing of the Carnival Pride from Baltimore. The third is the November 1 voyage of the Carnival Legend, which is repositioning to Tampa from Civitavecchia, Italy.
The email gave "the high number of Platinum guests" on board as the reason. Priority embarkation and debarkation, early stateroom access, priority luggage delivery, luggage "Drop and Go" and the priority line at Guest Services may not be available. "We apologize for any disappointment, and thank you for your understanding," it read.
Platinum members in the new scheme get two complimentary beverages, preferred main and specialty dining times, complimentary wash and fold for one to four bags, Captain's Lounge boarding, early bag drop-off in the stateroom and priority water shuttle boarding.
A repeat problem
Carnival rolled out its new Rewards Program on September 1. It replaced VIFP Rewards. Stars are now earned by money spent rather than days on board, and there are four tiers: Red, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
Under the old VIFP scheme, status could in some cases be kept indefinitely once earned. Guests must now recertify every two years, though Platinum holders from the old program may keep that level until 2028, however often they sail.
The change was supposed to ease the operational bottlenecks behind such cuts. It has not. Platinum benefits have been removed on other ships since the launch. In 2026 alone, Carnival has stripped status perks on several sailings for the same reason.
Some guests spent years earning their status. Many feel sidelined by a decision made days before departure, without prior warning. According to the report, once Platinum members pass a certain share of passengers, the crew cannot physically deliver the line-skipping and speed-up perks.
Source: TheTravel