For years, Carnival had a simple loyalty plan for passengers. Its VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) program awarded one point for every night sailed. The more points earned over years of cruising, the higher status earned, and the more benefits awarded.
Now the cruise line has completely transformed its program. The Carnival Rewards program takes the place of the VIFP scheme. And while the previous loyalty plan was simple, there is a definite learning curve to understanding how Carnival Rewards works.
To help you out, we dove into the plan to explain all the ins and outs and workings of the program.
What is Carnival Rewards?
Carnival Rewards is Carnival’s loyalty program. The plan was announced in 2025 and rolled out starting September 2026. It replaced the VIFP program that was in place for years.
With Carnival Rewards, your status with the cruise line no longer revolves around the number of cruises you’ve taken or how many nights you’ve sailed. Instead, how much you spend with the cruise line is the biggest factor in your status level and the perks you receive.
Theoretically, someone taking a single cruise could see themselves achieve higher status than someone that has taken cruises with Carnival going back a decade or more.
How Does the Program Work?
The Carnival Rewards system works by awarding cruise passengers both “points” and “stars” based on how much money the person spends with Carnival. So if you spend more, then you’ll earn more points/stars.
The points accumulate, similar to how credit cards award points for your spending. They can be redeemed for purchasing items having to do with Carnival, ranging from buying a drink onboard to shore excursions to an entire cruise.
The stars also accumulate as you spend money on the cruise and around the ship. These stars are used to determine your status when you cruise. The more stars you have, the higher your status and the more perks that come with your sailing. However, your stars expire after a certain amount of time (details below), meaning you have to keep spending to keep your status.
In addition, there are “milestone” rewards that are given to passengers when they achieve a certain number of nights sailing with the cruise line.
What Are Points? How Are They Earned?
What we call points are officially called Carnival Rewards Points. The more you spend, the more points you earn.
Passengers get three points for every dollar they spend with Carnival. So if your cruise fare is $1,200, then that is 3,600 points. Buy a $100 shore excursion? That’s 300 points.
The vast majority of your spend on the cruise will generate points. This includes cruise fare, onboard gratuities, bar purchases, excursions, specialty restaurants, and more. Notably, the cruise fees and taxes you pay do not earn points.
In addition, every casino point you earn also translates into one reward point. So if you gamble and earn 500 points with the Carnival Players Club (the cruise line’s casino loyalty program), then you’ll also get 500 points.
What’s the Purpose of Points? How Are They Redeemed?
We’ve mentioned that you can liken the points to credit card rewards. Just like with a credit card, you can redeem your points. In this case, they can be used for practically anything on the ship or even the cruise itself.
If onboard, it appears that purchases can be made using your points via the Carnival HUB app. Or you can convert the points to onboard credit to pay for items on the ship. If you are booking your cruise, then you should be able to sign into your account and use your points during the booking process.
Buy something with points and then get a refund? The points will be refunded back to your account.
Do Points Expire?
Carnival says that your points do not expire as long as you earn or redeem points within three years. Each transaction extends the points in your account for another three years.
What Are Stars? How Are They Earned?
We think the most confusion from the Carnival Rewards program comes from the fact that it’s really two different reward systems running at the same time. The point system allows you to earn for your purchases and then redeem for items.
But every purchase you make also earns you stars (Status Qualifying Stars) at the same time. The star system is what determines your loyalty status on the ship.
Just like with points, for every dollar you spend on the ship, you earn three stars. So that $1,200 cruise earns you 3,600 points but also 3,600 stars. You also earn one star for every point earned playing in the casino.
In this case, you don’t redeem the stars but they are collected in your account. The more stars you earn, the higher your status. The point levels for the loyalty program are:
- Red: 0-9,999 points
- Gold: 10,000-49,999 points
- Platinum: 50,000-99,999 points
- Diamond: 100,000+ points
What Benefits Does Each Status Get?
With points, you can redeem them for practically anything on the ship (and even the cruise itself). With stars, your points turn into status. And with those status levels, there is a set list of benefits received. We’ve broken then down below:
How Long Does Status Last? Does it Expire?
When Carnival first announced the new Carnival Rewards, it was met with lots of negative feedback. Most of that seemed to be due to the fact that the system sees your status fall in some cases. Under the old plan, your status could only go up with more nights sailed.
The new system is somewhat confusing in that your status can expire.
First, passengers earn stars that count toward status in a two-year window. The first earnings window runs through December 2028. The next runs from January 2029 through December 2030.
If during that time you earn enough stars to bump up your status to another level, then you are moved up. You then enjoy that new level until the end of the next two-year window.
If you don’t again earn enough points, however, then your status will reset.
Diamond members from the VIFP program are grandfathered in with that status for life. Everyone else — including those that achieve diamond status now under the new program — will have to continue to regularly earn that status every two years.
Who Gets the Points/Stars Earned From Spending?
Under the old plan, everyone earned a point for each night sailed. Under Carnival Rewards, the points and stars are split up and applied differently.
If sailing solo, then it’s simple — you keep all the points earned for both the cruise fare an onboard purchases.
If sailing as a couple or with two people in a cabin, then the cruise fare points are divided between the two people. So a $1,200 cruise would see the points split with 1,800 going to one person and 1,800 going to the other.
If sailing with kids, then whomever is the responsible party gets the minor’s portion of the points. Those under 18 aren’t eligible to be part of the program.
All purchases on the ship have their points/stars credited to whoever’s onboard account is charged. So if you buy an excursion with your keycard for you and your spouse, you will receive all the points/stars for that purchase.
When Do The Points/Stars Post to my Account?
If you buy a cruise, you earn a nice chunk of points and stars. Unfortunately, those points/stars won’t be available until about 14 days after your cruise ends, according to Carnival. So you won’t be able to use points earned from the cruise you are on until the next trip.
What Are Milestones?
Not confusing enough with a system of points, stars, and expiration dates? Well, there is one more feature to know about Carnival Rewards: milestones.
With this feature, you receive a set of rewards when you reach a certain number of nights sailed. The current schedule is as follows:
- 50 days sailed
5,000 Carnival Rewards Points
Special keycard - 100 days sailed (+ every 100 after)
10,000 Carnival Rewards Points
Onboard recognition
Special keycard
Commemorative coin
Milestone onboard credit - 500 days sailed (+ every 100 after)
10,000 Carnival Rewards Points
Onboard recognition
Special keycard
Commemorative coin
Milestone onboard credit
Commemorative keepsake
Commemorative gift
Note that the milestones aren’t applied retroactively. They will be awarded when you reach the next milestone. So if you already have, say, 58 days sailed, then you won’t be awarded a milestone until you reach 100 days.
How Can I Check My Status or Points?
Checking your status is done by logging in on the Carnival website. From there you can click on “My Carnival Rewards” from the menu and it will bring up a dashboard of your status.
There, you can find your current status, points balance, and your current progress toward status for the next two-year window.
