Carnival Cruise Line’s new loyalty program angers some customers. ‘One of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.’

The cruise company is making changes that will put greater emphasis on how much its guests spend, rather than how many days they sail

Published: June 20, 2025 at 5:24 p.m. ET

Carnival Cruise Line may tout its “fun ship” approach, but some of its loyal customers are saying there’s nothing fun about the changes the company is making to its loyalty program.

Carnival CCL announced earlier this week that it’s revamping its VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) Club and turning it into the Carnival Rewards program. The key change: Members who previously obtained perk-rich status levels, from “Blue” to “Diamond,” based on how many days they sailed with Carnival will now have to qualify through their spending, instead.