Carnival Cruise Line is significantly altering its loyalty program, transitioning from a lifetime status system to one based on spending. This change requires substantial cruise spending to maintain elite status, prompting concerns about customer loyalty and potential backlash.
The new policy replaces emotional loyalty with transactional loyalty. Existing Diamond members, who earned lifetime status, now face high annual spending requirements to retain benefits, potentially leading to feelings of betrayal. This shift is against behavioral economics principles, where owning something (lifetime status) makes losing it more painful than never having it.
Maintaining Diamond status demands spending approximately $33,334 every two years. This high cost restricts access to the highest tier, affecting loyal customers who frequently cruised but may not meet the new spending thresholds. The change alters the definition of loyalty from frequency to spending.
Carnival compares its changes to airline loyalty programs, but there's a crucial difference. Airline loyalty often involves business travel, not personal leisure. Cruise loyalty is largely discretionary, driven by emotional connection, which the new system risks jeopardizing.
The new program removes symbolic rewards (pins, luggage tags), replacing them with a points system. This eliminates emotional connections, furthering the shift to a transactional relationship. The emphasis is now on spending, not relationship building.
The article speculates on the reactions of competitor cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Norwegian), suggesting they might capitalize on disgruntled Carnival customers. The changes also raise questions about the viability of transactional loyalty and whether the cost of maintaining elite status outweighs switching brands. The article concludes that the long-term success of the new system hinges on customer response and whether Carnival can maintain emotional connections with its loyal customers.