Diamonds Are Forever – Carnival Backtracks On Several Changes With Upcoming Carnival Rewards Program

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Carnival has announced some big changes to its upcoming Carnival Rewards program, following the significant backlash from cruisers.

Carnival Rewards

The programme, which is set to replace the long-running Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) club in September 2026, sparked anger among many guests who felt their years of loyalty were being overlooked.

Since the announcement in June, Carnival has been inundated with complaints via social media, travel agents, and directly to brand ambassador John Heald.

The cruise line has now confirmed it is making changes to address the concerns of its most dedicated passengers.

“The announcement left some of our most loyal guests with the impression that their loyalty was being overlooked, which certainly was not our intention,” Carnival explained.

Diamond Status Locked In

One of the most important changes is that any guest who achieves Diamond status by 31st August 2026 will keep that level permanently. This changed in November 2025 with the delay to Carnival Rewards – previously, the deadline was 31st May 2026.

Diamond status requires 200 days at sea, the equivalent of nearly 30 week-long cruises, and can take years or even decades to achieve.

This change means that guests who are close to reaching Diamond now have a strong incentive to book a few more sailings in the next nine months to secure the status for life.

Boost for Platinum Members

Platinum-level guests will not receive the same lifetime status, but Carnival is offering a compromise.

From September 2026, Platinum cruisers will start every two-year cycle with 10,000 “stars” already in their account.

That gives them an automatic Gold tier status and a head start towards re-qualifying for higher tiers.

Rewards for Children

The new Carnival Rewards scheme does not legally permit under-18s to have accounts, but the cruise line has confirmed that children will now share the same tier as the responsible adult on their booking.

In addition, if a child would have reached Platinum or Diamond under the old scheme before June 2026, that status will be recorded.

Once the child turns 18, they can join Carnival Rewards at the higher level.

Milestone Rewards Protected

Questions about the popular Milestone Rewards have also been answered. These awards mark the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 100th sailing of a guest, and will now continue to be honoured.

“All existing VIFP Milestone awards earned through May 2026 will be fully honoured through May 2030,” Carnival confirmed. This presumably still applies through August 2026 with the new deadline.

In future, Milestone Rewards will be based on total days sailed rather than number of cruises, which is designed to better reflect the time guests spend onboard.

Still US-Only

The Carnival Rewards scheme will remain available only to US residents for now, despite disappointment from Canadian and Australian cruisers.

Carnival says it is exploring options to extend the programme internationally, but no timeline has been provided.

Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president, said: “The passion and loyalty of our guests is something that motivates our team every day to deliver the best cruise experience at sea.”

While it will be impossible to please everyone, these adjustments represent a step towards smoothing tensions with Carnival’s most dedicated fans before the new programme begins next summer.

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