Carnival Cruise Line offers a number of fun perks for its most loyal passengers who sail on its ships often. The cruise line’s loyalty program puts the fun in VIP, calling each member of its club, a VIFP, or Very Important Fun Person.
Passengers who join the VIFP Club get one VIFP point for each day they cruise, receiving members-only offers to start and eventually earning rewards they can redeem during their cruises. Reaching the highest levels of the VIFP Club, Platinum and Diamond levels, are exciting achievements for Carnival cruisers that entitle them to benefits like priority boarding, invites to VIFP cocktail receptions, and special gifts.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line has bigger beverage package problems
One of those special gifts offers loyal passengers a collectible souvenir to remember their Carnival cruises. Beginning at Gold level, the third tier of the VIFP program, passengers can pick up a Gold VIFP pin on every one of their sailings.
Once they reach Platinum status (75 points), passengers are entitled to a unique, collectible VIFP pin that is customized with the ship’s name and year of the voyage. Collecting these VIFP pins adds to fun for many loyal Carnival cruisers.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.
Image source: Carnival Corporation.
Carnival has an end-of-year VIFP pin shortage
As 2024 draws to a close, some Platinum VIFPs are unfortunately missing out on bringing home the pins they look forward to collecting to commemorate each of their Carnival cruises.
Recently, a few loyal Carnival cruisers have taken to Carnival brand ambassador John Heald’s popular Facebook page to share their disappointment about the availability of the unique pins reserved for platinum VIFP passengers.
According to passengers, some Carnival ships have run out of their ship’s Platinum pins and are offering the gold pins to platinum-level VIFPs as an alternative. The Gold pins are less desirable to passengers because along with being Gold instead of Platinum, they aren’t customized with the ship’s name.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line won’t make an old school dining change
Since the pins are also customized with the current year, it’s understandable that some ships might run out at the end of the year and not restock until they begin distributing pins for the next year. Still, some passengers want the cruise line to provide the pins they promised to their loyalty club members.
Passenger Carla Phillips Sykes wrote to Heald to ask for his help in getting her first Platinum pin.
“Good morning John. Just returned from our first platinum cruise. Was a 14 Panama aboard the Liberty,” the passenger wrote. “Was very disappointed that they had none of the Platinum pins to give out with the ship name. Any way you can get me one?”
Carnival brand ambassador is helping passengers with the pin problem
Always happy to help Carnival passengers, Heald agreed to do everything he could to help get the passenger her Platinum pin.
“Thank you, I do apologize about this and I am going to see what we can do,” Heald said. “Please leave this with me; I know it was the end of the year, and unfortunately, they didn’t have them. But I will do everything I can. Thank you so much, wishing you a wonderful Christmas and I truly hope you had a great time. Please leave this with me.”
Related: Carnival Cruise Line struggles with a major technical problem
To collect their commemorative VIFP pins during their sailings, Carnival passengers are required to request them at the ship’s Pixels photo gallery no later than two days before the end of the cruise. Passengers must present their Sign & Sail cards, which indicate their loyalty levels, in order to redeem their pins.
Along with collecting and displaying their pins at home, some passengers proudly wear VIFP pins on lanyards, hats, bags, or shirts while sailing aboard Carnival ships. With the popularity of these collectible cruise pins, passengers who want to make sure they get theirs should make a note to visit the photo gallery as early as possible during their next Carnival cruise.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.
