Most cruise lines throw a party for top-tier members of their loyalty program. It can vary, but both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean host events on cruises that last five days or longer.
At the Royal Caribbean (RCL) events, in addition to free drinks and light snacks, the most loyal passengers are celebrated for how many points they have accrued in the Crown & Anchor Society program. In addition, new Pinnacle members (the top tier of the loyalty program) are saluted.
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Celebrity Cruise's loyalty celebration is usually more centered around the captain making some remarks. Usually, along with drinks and snacks being served, the ship's solo guitarist plays a few songs, some officers speak, and the captain caps it off with a short speech.
In the case of both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, the event is limited to invited passengers based on their loyalty tier. Security is posted at the food — and while it would not be impossible to sneak in — people who are not on the list are generally turned away.
That's not the case on some Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) ships, and some angry passengers have complained to Brand Ambassador John Heald.
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Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival passengers try to beat the system
While Heald gets a lot of one-off complaints that seem to be outliers, in this case, other passengers backed up the original complainer.
"As Carnival takes the time to send out an invitation to the Diamond event, why doesn't Carnival ask to see the invitation? Last Diamond event there was a large group who just showed up for the free drinks. They took over an area, and then as their friends passed by, they yelled for them to come in," Bob Neal posted.
He shared that the same thing happens at other Diamond events.
"Also experienced this at luncheon. I know they can bring a +1 but it's been clear many times none are Diamond or have more than a +1. As Carnival continues to cut expenses, hopefully, they don't cut this due to costs for those who shouldn't attend," Neal added.
Other passengers chimed in to back up Neal's point.
"With all due respect, John, this happens frequently on all ships at the D/P party. I’m never asked to show my card or invitation. I actually quit going to them a few cruises ago. I think it’s wonderful that you do them for everyone else to enjoy. I sincerely love Carnival with or without the lunches or D/P parties," wrote Cathie Reilly.
Carnival explains why the problem happens
Heald promised to investigate the situation.
"Thank you. I’ve never heard of this being before. A large group and nobody stopped them. I’m so sorry. Could you please write to me immediately now with your sailing date and your cabin number so that I can speak directly with the senior management on board. I will also make sure that whoever was at the door is reprimanded accordingly," he shared.
Neal responded quickly and was thankful.
"I’m not looking for anyone to be reprimanded; I just wanted to provide some feedback that might be helpful going forward. Since reaching Diamond status, I haven’t been asked to show an invitation or Sign and Sail card at the door, so I thought it could be useful to mention," he answered.
Cruise lines, not just Carnival, often struggle to enforce some rules because the person at the door, or the one who needs to kick kids out of 18-and-over areas, are not security personnel. In many cases, the crew members who see the offense lack the tools to correct the problem and choose to avoid the confrontation.
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Heald shared that he was taking the problem seriously and explained why it may be happening.
"So I just spoke with a good friend of mine who is a senior hotel Director, and somebody I know takes this kind of thing very seriously. They’re going to look at the whole thing across the fleet and see what we can do. I think there is a probability that we don’t want to cause a long line for Diamond guests. To have to stand and check every single invitation. But there’s a flip side of that, and that is the one that you’ve given here. So I do sincerely thank you, and this is now in discussion," he wrote.
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