Carnival Cruise Line Announces Major Overhaul of Loyalty Program, Launching “Carnival Rewards” in 2026

Carnival Cruise Line has announced a sweeping revamp of its long-running loyalty scheme, the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) Club, with a new program called “Carnival Rewards” set to launch in June 2026.

The move comes as the cruise line continues to grow and welcomes an increasing number of repeat guests. According to Carnival, the sheer volume of cruisers reaching elite status has made it challenging to provide meaningful recognition to its most loyal passengers, prompting the need for an overhaul.

The new program will shift from a cruise-days model to a points-based system that rewards both cruise fare and onboard spending. Guests will be able to accumulate points and redeem them for a range of options including cruise discounts, retail purchases, specialty dining, and more. In addition, a new tiered “stars” system will help guests earn status based on their spending activity.

Here is the full statement from Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy:

Dear Carnival Guest:

Whether it’s their first or 50th cruise, Carnival is committed to making sure every guest has a memorable vacation and that we demonstrate our appreciation for sailing with us. We know, however, that some guests cruise with us more than others and some guests spend more than others – and that there is often an expectation of a certain level of recognition and benefits that reflects their patronage.

With your help, our company has grown in many ways: the number of ships in our fleet, the size of our ships, the number of homeports and the number of guests who sail with us each year. As we think about how we can better reward our guests for their business, we have concluded that a change to our VIFP Club® guest recognition program is the best step forward. It was designed in a simpler time when status was based on the number of days spent on our ships. In a smaller, growing company with a modest customer base, that kind of program works. But as The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line®, the current program does not allow us to deliver the recognition to guests based only on sailing frequency.

As currently configured, status levels have never been adjusted, therefore reaching status is a permanent, lifetime achievement and every week more guests are moving into our top tier Platinum and Diamond statuses. For example:

• From 2021 to 2024, we have more than doubled the number of Platinum guests and more than tripled the number of Diamond guests in the VIFP program.

• On our Excel class ships, on average, more than 1200 guests are Platinum or Diamond, making it nearly impossible to provide meaningful priority benefits, and we face the same situation on virtually all other ship classes and itineraries.

When so many guests have elite status, it is much more difficult to make everyone feel special. These realities will only continue to erode the recognition and rewards of the current VIFP Club program, and we feel that change is necessary in order to better recognize our guests and give them more choice in how they are rewarded.

As a result, in June 2026 we will be updating our VIFP Club program to Carnival Rewards™. Making this announcement in June 2025 gives our guests plenty of time to learn more about the changes and continue to earn status in the VIFP Club program ahead of the cutover. Our announcement also includes a transition plan so that your earned status will carry over for a set multi-year period in the Carnival Rewards program (as outlined below).

Carnival Rewards will see the introduction of a new points-based system that can be earned through cruise fares and onboard spending. More importantly, the points provide many ways to spend on Carnival cruises and onboard activities – providing guests the chance to personalize their rewards when and how they want. Spend activity on cruise fares, onboard activity and other activities will also earn new status qualifiers (stars) that can be accumulated to earn status.

The new program will be closely tied to everyday spending on the co-branded credit card with Barclays – the Carnival Rewards Mastercard – giving cardmembers the opportunity to earn points and status even faster. More details on the credit card offering will be announced later. In addition, upon launch of the Carnival Rewards program, current cardmembers, as well as any new cardmembers between now and the launch of the updates, will have the balance of their Fun Points converted to Carnival Rewards points in their Carnival Rewards account.

These enhancements will allow each guest to customize their rewards and allow us to address the need for changes to the program. It will also result in other offerings being adjusted, such as VIFP Club logo gifts being phased out with the VIFP program’s sunset. However, the ability to quickly accumulate points through cruise spending and our co-branded credit card will allow guests to redeem their points for purchases including their cruise fare or spend points for purchases while cruising, including our retail shops, shore excursions, specialty dining and spa services.

As we roll out Carnival Rewards, here are some key things to know:

• The existing Red, Gold, Platinum and Diamond levels will remain, but how guests will earn status in the future will be different. Those status level requirements can be reviewed at our dedicated webpage at carnivalrewards.com.

• Your status on June 1, 2026, will be based on your status as of May 31, 2026 (for sailings that have returned as of that date).

• In conjunction with the Carnival Rewards launch on June 1, 2026, existing status will be honored for a two-year period, starting on June 1, 2026 and ending May 31, 2028 (with the exception of our Diamond guests as outlined below) unless subsequent activity qualifies the guest for a higher status level.

• Diamond-level guests will retain their Diamond status for a 6-year period ending May 31, 2032.

• Guests will earn points from their purchase of a cruise along with spending onboard and beginning on June 1, 2026, purchases made with the Carnival Rewards Mastercard.

• As long as there is activity within a three-year period, points will not expire, so guests can also choose to accumulate their points over time and save them for more valuable rewards.

• No matter a guest’s status, we will incorporate ways to recognize their achievement of various milestones including the number of cruise days sailed.

For now, there is no impact to a guest’s VIFP Club status, their account, or how we will deliver our existing onboard experience. Today’s announcement is the start of a conversation about the changes ahead and how you can maximize the opportunities with the Carnival Rewards program. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be sharing more information about Carnival Rewards and we ask that you review all the information and get familiar with the details of the enhancements being made, including at carnivalrewards.com.

We recognize that this is a big change from our current program but these changes provide our guests with more ways to earn and maintain status with more valuable benefits and greater flexibility in how they choose to use their rewards. We have worked hard to develop Carnival Rewards so that our guests have more choices, more rewards and more reasons to vacation with us. We will be communicating more details over the coming weeks and months. We appreciate your business and your loyalty to Carnival Cruise Line.

Sincerely,

Christine Duffy

President, Carnival Cruise Line

More information, including full program details and FAQs, can be found at carnivalrewards.com.