☀️ Howdy from Houston — where summer is still going full swing!

Katie here, taking the baton from Sam to keep this race going.

You might know me from the Weekend Round-Up, Roadtripper, or from my rule-breaking ways in our Get Me To series. 🙈

Thankfully, Mike didn’t leave any ground rules behind for me to break, but I’ll do my best to behave behind the keyboard today!

Let’s run through what we’ve got in store, so I don’t go off the rails. 😉

• 🛳️ A brand new cruise rewards program

• 💳 When paying for a cruise pays for itself

• 🥘 A world of flavor at your door

🛳️ A brand new cruise rewards program

I live an hour from Galveston and was raised by an avid cruiser (hi Mom 👋) so I’m no stranger to cruises.

So, when Carnival completely overhauled their rewards program this month, it was NEWS in the family chat.

Gone is the old VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) loyalty program that rewarded sailors for number of days sailed. 😭

Taking its place is Carnival Rewards, a program that consists of Carnival Rewards Points and Status Qualifying Stars.

What are Carnival Rewards Points?

The new program rewards basically any of your Carnival expenses with points earned on experiences such as:

• Cruise fares

• Onboard shopping

• Specialty dining and beverages

• Shore excursions

• Spa treatments

• Casino play

Accumulated points are awarded after your cruise has sailed and can be redeemed on future cruises and experiences.

Earning Status Qualifying Stars

Nights spent aboard no longer factor into your status. Instead, you earn stars based on spend:

• 3 stars per $1 spent on eligible Carnival purchases

• 1 star per casino point

• Additional stars can be earned by using the Carnival Mastercard

As you can see, it now takes a serious amount of stars (read: cash spent) to get elite status, and any status achieved is only valid for two years, after which it resets.

Regular cruisers who breezed to elite status in the past with frequent voyages are the ones taking a hit here, as loyalty is now tied entirely to dollars spent. But infrequent cruisers now have more opportunities to earn status.

There is some good news, though. If you were a VIFP with Diamond status, you’ll get Lifetime Diamond status after enrolling in the new Carnival Rewards.

Those with VIFP Platinum can keep their Platinum status with the new program through December 31, 2028 after enrolling. After that, they’ll start each new two-year earning cycle with a 10,000-Star boost, providing Gold status.

They’re softening the blow with a limited-time offer on their Carnival Rewards™ Mastercard®: 50,000 Carnival Rewards points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.

My thoughts?

It kinda feels like the self-proclaimed “FunShip” is trying to grow up and get serious. And that feels decidedly less... fun.

But if you’re an infrequent cruiser, this might be your way to earn points you can redeem for experiences on your next cruise.

In reality, I don’t expect to see massive savings on cruise fares themselves unless you’re intentional about racking up a ton of Carnival Rewards Points. If you’re content to redeem your points for a free drink, specialty dinner, or massage, this could be the ticket.

💳 When paying for a cruise pays for itself

But unless you live near a port or want to stay in my guest bedroom before your cruise… cruisers need an overnight stay on one, if not both, sides of their cruise.

Plus, if you’re any sort of cruise snob, you know the better itineraries often sail out of destinations that can require a flight, like Puerto Rico, Florida, or Seattle.

Flights + hotels + cruise means a much more expensive vacation. 😣

Unless… your cruise deposit helps you earn a welcome offer that covers your flights and hotel.💡

Luckily, Capital One just dropped a limited-time offer on their Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card that comes with an instant $300 travel credit toward hotels and vacation rentals through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, along with 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. 🚨

$4,000 can easily be a cruise deposit for two sailors or more depending on the cruise, so you’d have the needed minimum spend to bank the 75,000 bonus miles welcome offer right there. Perfect for using on flights to your cruise port.

Take these United flights to Fort Lauderdale. They’re just 15,000 points per person through Air Canada, which is one of Capital One’s transfer partners. 👇

The 75,000-bonus-mile welcome offer would cover round trip flights for two at that rate, with 15,000 miles leftover.

Then use the one-time $300 travel credit towards a hotel in your port city, like this one in Fort Lauderdale that includes a complimentary airport shuttle.

Boom. Whole trip booked on the welcome offer from one card. 🫳🎤

Obviously, this method isn’t for everyone. But if you were planning on taking the cruise anyways, the limited-time offer on the Venture card could help you get there — without an outsized annual fee.

This might be my mom’s preferred method of meeting a welcome offer’s spend requirements and if that doesn’t shed light on where I got the travel bug… 😂

Alrighty, y’all thanks for hanging with me today!

I did my best to tell it to ya straight, no loopholes or cheats needed. 😊

I’ll undoubtedly see y’all again soon, though… so no promises for next time!

29.7604° N , 95.3698° W

With contributions by Sam Anthony.