Carnival Cruise Line angered many of its passengers during the holiday season by raising the price of its Cheers beverage package and its WiFi service without any advance notice.
During a time of year when people are expecting discounts and sales, the cruise line had an immediate price hike on these two popular cruise add-ons with no option for people who had already booked cruises to pay the old prices. That was not well-received by many of the cruise line’s passengers who have not been shy about speaking up.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line shares safety policy passengers may not like
Now, as Carnival President Christine Duffy tries to share what’s next for the cruise line in 2025 and wish passengers a happy New Year, the response has been, well, probably not what she expected when she shared this upbeat message.
Are you ready?We are about to welcome in 2025. And I’ve got to say, I am really excited for this one, because Carnival Cruise Line has so many big things we’re looking forward to sharing with you in the year ahead.
Now, I’m sure you know what the big one is, and I bet you’re as excited as we are. Two, introduce Celebration Key. Yes, in July of 2025, we will be opening the doors, cutting the ribbon, and welcoming our guests to the brand new destination we have been building on Grand Bahama Island. And we can’t wait for you to see it.
On behalf of all of us at Carnival Cruise Line, let me wish you an amazing, happy, healthy 2025, and we look forward to seeing you back soon in the new year.
The responses to her message were a mixed bag as many people took the post as an opportunity to share their discontent over the holiday season price increases.
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Carnival Cruise Line passengers share their complaints
Some of the comments griped about the existence of Celebration Key, a port that the cruise generally won’t force you to visit unless there’s an unexpected itinerary change.
“I couldn’t care less about Celebration Key. I don’t want to go on a cruise to just lay on a beach or pay for a Waterpark. I want to go someplace [to see] the history, culture, food,” shared Jayme Pittroff.
Karen Smith Simonetti, however, used the post to share a bunch of complaints about the cruise line.
“Everything you do is not exciting! You made sure that AARP lowered the gift cards to 5%. You increased the Cheers package, specialty dining and went up on all your rates. Now, you are probably going to make it harder for people to hit high VIP levels. You are making your customers pay in advance for your new island that we did not need…even if they are not cruising there,” she wrote.
It’s unclear if Carnival changed anything in its relationship with AARP that forced the price increase.
Justin M’vics was equally angry.
“Too bad you guys keep screwing people over with the price increases. Better remember the people keeping you afloat,” he shared.
While many people seemed to agree with that sentiment, others defended Carnival.
“We have been paying about the same rate on the same itinerary, same time, and same ship since 2020. We would rather see the rates stay down and the extras increased. We call it pay for what you want, we don’t need the extras, but if want them pay for them,” posted Rich Alice Hill.
Sherry Moore-Adams also spoke up on the cruise line’s behalf.
“Justin M’vics and who should absorb the increase in most of goods? They are a business and do have stockholders. They still are the least expensive on the market,” she wrote.
Others simply took the chance to complain about any issue they might have with Carnival.
“Christine would love to talk to you about decorating more and brighter for Christmas and New Year’s, and July 4th,” Brian Hinz posted.
“Carnival SHOULD honor the drink package on their private islands! You paid for it. It’s ridiculous. Shame on you, Carnival. Take note of other cruise lines,” added Rita Jo Hunter.
(Royal Caribbean does honor its drink packages on its private island).
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“Instead of investing in a destination designed to keep guests on ‘company property,’ why not investigate how to make destinations less traveled more accessible?” Teresa Walden McCammon added.
(Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay is consistently the company’s most highly-rated port stop and Celebration Key is a clear answer to CocoCay).
Nasser Khallel, however, tried to return to the spirit of the original message.
“Sounds like a lot of haters. Happy New Year, Christine, to you and your staff. All the best for 2025,” he shared.
That was followed by many people simply wishing Duffy a happy New Year.
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