Why Cruise Loyalty Programs Shouldn’t Matter to (Most) Passengers

If you’ve ever taken a cruise, then chances are you are a member of the cruise line’s loyalty program. They each go by different names such as Carnival’s VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) Program or Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society or Norwegian Cruise Line’s Latitudes Rewards.

But they all act in a similar way.

With these programs, you take your cruise and earn points for each night of the trip. The more points you earn, the higher in rank you climb, unlocking more rewards that you can receive the next time you cruise.

It’s all designed to keep you cruising with the same line over and over. But even though it’s completely free to join (meaning there’s no harm in gaining points), in our experience these programs are actually not worth much for the average cruise passenger. Here’s why…

The Details of How You Earn Perks With Cruise Loyalty Programs

To understand why cruise loyalty programs may not actually be worth much, it’s helpful to understand in a little more detail how they work.

When you book your cruise, you’re usually automatically enrolled in that line’s program. If not, you can sign up before your trip. Then for each cruise you take, you are credited points. Usually the baseline is one point for each night sailed. So if you take a week-long cruise, you’ll earn seven points at its conclusion. A three-night cruise earns three points.

There are some variances on the points earned with some lines. For instance, if sailing in a suite on some cruise lines, then you earn two points per night. And if sailing solo on some lines (such as Royal Caribbean) but paying a double occupancy fare, then you earn two points per night as well.

Your points accumulate over time and don’t expire. So if you took a cruise a decade ago, those points count just as much as a trip taken last week.

As you accumulate points, you move from tier-to-tier in the loyalty program. For instance, Carnival offers the following status levels based on points:

• Blue: First Sailing
• Red: 1-24 points
• Gold: 25-74 points
• Platinum: 75-199 points
• Diamond: 200+ points

As you move up in tiers, the cruise lines offer more and more perks that come with your loyalty status.

For example, in Carnival’s “Gold” tier you earn a drink on cruises of five days or longer. But the perks go well beyond just a small freebie here or there. Reach “Diamond” status on Carnival and you earn free cabin upgrades, laundry service, or a free meal for two at a specialty restaurant.

NCL’s Latitudes Rewards offers its highest-tier members behind-the-scenes ship tours, dinner with the ship’s officers, and even a complimentary 7-day cruise.

Royal Caribbean offers similar perks, including free cruises, free drinks, and free internet service for its top passengers.

Lots of Nights Sailed Before Benefits Ramp Up

A free program that can offer you all sorts of discounts, freebies, and perks for your cruise… what’s not to like?

To be sure, there is absolutely no harm in being a loyalty member. You can only benefit and we’d suggest anyone take advantage if they plan to cruise.

However, for the average passenger, we think letting loyalty points influence your decision on which line to cruise — or expecting many benefits — isn’t a good idea.

Let’s consider an occasional passenger that takes a week-long cruise every two years. For other vacations, they go to the mountains, traditional land resorts, or other conventional travel. They like to cruise but also like other travel.

In this case, at the end of two years, they’d have seven points. This earns them “Red” status on Carnival. The biggest perk? A complimentary 1.5 liter bottle of water.

On Royal Caribbean, seven points earns “Gold” status. There, you get two coupons for 50% off any glass of wine, beer, or soda and 25% off coffee on the ship.

NCL’s loyalty program would offer up “Bronze” status for a week of sailing. This gets you a 30% discount off the drink package, which sounds great except that most people sailing NCL already have the drink package included with the line’s Free at Sea offer.

Looking through all the perks offered, we find that attractive loyalty program offers really don’t kick in until you reach the third or fourth tier of the program.

Case in point: Royal Caribbean’s “Diamond” level kicks in at 80 points and offers four complimentary drinks per day (a roughly $60 value). NCL’s “Platinum” status (75 points) offers a complimentary dinner for two.

Want a free cruise? Then you better sail… a lot

Royal Caribbean offers a free balcony cabin for members reaching 700 points. That’s nearly two years worth of cruising in a traditional cabin. Norwegian offers a free cruise at the 700 point level as well.

In other words, to get access to the loyalty benefits that we think most people would be excited about, you have to be well into the higher tiers.

Earn the Points, But Most People Shouldn’t Expect Much

You’d expect that you’d receive better benefits the higher your loyalty status. We’d argue, however, that for most people reaching even middle tiers is a stretch.

A status that takes 75 points to reach is the equivalent of sailing nearly 11 weeks (nearly three months of cruising) unless doubling up with suites offering two points per night. If you’re someone that enjoys cruising and makes it your primary vacation, then that can be reached within a reasonable time frame.

But if you’re like most people and only sail occasionally, then that sort of level isn’t easy to meet. For instance, if you cruised one week a year, then it would take more than a decade… and even then you’re still far from the highest loyalty tiers with the best benefits.

And keep in mind this assumes you sail the same cruise line every time. If you want a variety in your lines (even frequent cruisers regularly try different cruise lines), then reaching the level to where you really start to benefit from the perks will take even longer.

Bottom line: As mentioned, there’s no harm in being a member of a cruise line’s loyalty program. And there are loyal cruisers that earn some nice benefits from having sailed again and again over the years. If you’re only a casual cruiser, however, then we’d suggest you not expect much from these programs.

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