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#489: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Story | Reimagining Loyalty at Sea: Inside Carnival Cruise Line’s New Rewards Experience

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As customer expectations shift and loyalty programs across industries evolve, Carnival Cruise Line is setting a new course for what engagement can look like at sea. Building on over 50 years of guest passion and brand recognition, the company is introducing an entirely new loyalty framework that mirrors the sophistication of leading airline and hotel programs, while keeping the fun, inclusive spirit that defines the Carnival experience. 

At the helm of this transformation is Sidharth Krishna, Vice President of Loyalty, who brings deep expertise from the airline industry and a clear vision for the future of cruising: one where guests can earn, engage, and celebrate loyalty in more ways than ever before. 

SPEAKER_00:

It's Thursday. So welcome back to the Leaders in Customer Loyalty Series. This is the brand story today. It's great to have you here. As we know, and as we have been discussing quite frequently on the Leaders in Customer Looking podcast recently, travel is a major focus for individuals. Whether it's exploring the world, existing destinations with sentimental historical technical value, travel also serves as a source of future. Today, we're going to be focusing on cruising. The opportunity it presents to create unique environments and experiences, the rapid proliferation of exclusive offerings across cruise lines, and how quickly these cruise lines are evolving. Cruising and customer loyalty have always had a very unique relationship traditionally. Loyalty and cruising meant taking multiple voyages over many years, gradually unlocking more benefits to the customer loyalty program. But today's customer expected into gratification. They want to be recognized, understood, and communicated with in a personalized manner. This means that loyalty programs must evolve. The transformation of the carnival rewards program. As we've seen in recent years, carnival loyalty programs can be risky if not done correctly. However, when executed effectively, it can be a powerful asset for both the brand and its customers. Today, we're speaking with Stig Krishnak. He's the vice president of Loyalty at Carnival Cruise Lines, and he is leading this amazing transformation, reshaping Carnival's program to resonate deeply with our customers in a meaningful and measurable manner, with a customer placed at the exact epicenter of everything they're doing. Sid, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. How are you? Good. How are you doing, Mark? I'm doing well, thank you. Looking forward to this discussion. Carnival Cruise Line, can you give us a short introduction to Carnel Cruise Line? You know, how it was started, where it was started.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Yeah. So Carnival Cruise Line, long before myself, like, you know, started in 1972 by Ted Harrison. And his mission was to bring joy of cruising to everyone, right? I think that's how he started the whole concept. And that has continued all the way through to the day that we are in. Today we operate one of the world's largest fleets. Um, and our mission is to make cruising fun, uh accessible, and also create unforgettable memories. Um, we have set the standard in cruising, especially when it comes to service. I feel our crew and our folks who work on the ship are probably one of the best in the industry and create this experience that makes people want to come back and engage with us and always have fun while they're doing it. We're also proud to be called America's cruise line. And uh that's a term to be very proud of. Um, sailing from more US ports than any of the other brands. Like we focus on United States markets and focus on the customers and guests that are here. Um, so our domestic footprint is you know so big that you're almost half the US population is less than uh five-hour drive from any of our ports.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's awesome. Okay. And so when you look at Carnival Cruise Line, uh being focused on the US, the US's cruise line, you know, what's led to its great success?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I think Carnival, again, um has focused on creating this persona of fun across all of the ships. And uh creating that fun and making these cruises accessible, I think is what's made Carnival so popular among all of our guests. Um, again, I have been here only about three years, but before um I joined, I think one of the things uh when you hear about Carnival is the brand ethos in terms of like making sure fun is there, whether be it comes on the employee side, on the cruise side, or even on our guest side. Um, we always try to have fun and have a good time because we know how valuable these vacations are for our guests. And while they come, creating this complete package that cruises are and introducing this complete package for our guests is probably something that's created that success for Carnival.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about your current role at Carnival, you know, what you do on a day-to-day basis, obviously in charge of the loyalty program? And then also, you know, what led you to this role? How did you get uh get to be involved in customer loyalty and maybe what do you like about it as well?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Yeah. So uh I joined Carnival about almost three years ago because I joined on Halloween Day three years ago. So it's almost coming up to three years. And I joined at um Carnival, and before I joined Carnival, I was in the airline business. So I was in Spirit Airlines, and before that, I was at American Airlines. Both places, loyalty was my core focus. And American, I worked on the credit cards spirit. I led the whole loyalty program and the relamp there in terms of a new program, creating a new currency, and creating the value over there. And when I got this call from Christine and the team, in terms of this opportunity to basically revolutionize the cruise industry loyalty program. That is the reason that I took up this opportunity. Because cruise industry, again, compared to other travel industries like hotels and airlines, have still not unlocked the potential of loyalty for our guests and ourselves in terms of expanding this opportunity outside of our own brands, outside of our own presence. And that opportunity to kind of unlock that and create this unique opportunity for cruises was the reason I picked this role and I joined here.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Can you talk a little bit about that? You mentioned that uh the cruise line hasn't uh industry hasn't unlocked the potential for the guests. What does that mean? And how do you go about unlocking that opportunity?

SPEAKER_01:

Great question, and something that like you know was fascinating me when I took over this role. So cruise lines, again, the in the programs that were created for cruise lines were created all the way back in the 2000s, right? So if you look at our program and soon all the other cruise brands followed and took that program, which was all about the number of times you cruise, the number of times you cruise. And in a world where cruising was not as often as more than one or two times a year, it was a setup where people cruise for 10, 20, 30 years, get to a status, and then get benefits from that status. But outside of the cruising world, there was no real connection, right? So all these cruise lines have co-branded credit cards, they have partnerships, but none of them actually help them unlock status. None of them actually help them unlock rewards or points or ways to come back and engage with it, which really is something that hotels and airlines and all the other loyalty programs have kind of unlocked quite early. So this opportunity here is to basically unlock that potential, connect it to these outside markets so that when a person who's not cruising with Carnival as well can earn points and status to come back to Carnival. They can also engage with other partners and pieces to engage and get points and status to come back to Carnival. So that's the piece that we're hoping to unlock with this new foundational change that we're making to the loyalty program.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, great. No, you're absolutely right. I mean, uh kind of non-transactional engagement is very important, especially brands who have kind of a high emotional quote and uh quotient with their customers, right? They have a high level engagement. So it's definitely all brands are looking to kind of create that non-stay or non-uh transaction-based engagement. And obviously, being a little less frequent, uh, the Carnival uh cruise line, the new rewards program should be quite interesting. So when we talk about that, can you give us a little uh update and you know what to expect uh that's coming in June 2026 with uh the arrival of the new Carnival Rewards program?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. So the current VIFB program, the program is called VIFB as it stands today. And that program was created again in 2002. That program is transitioning out and going into Carnival Rewards in June of 2026. Now, Carnival Rewards program will be again, first of a kind in cruise, but something between the airline and hotel case, where every dollar you spend and everything that you do on a carnival cruise earns you points and stars. Points are your mechanism for getting rewards, the same way you would redeem miles or points, whereas stars is your the item that gets you to your status or qualify for your status. So this way, everything that you do, whether be it purchasing a shore excursion, whether be it doing a specialty dining, whether you are purchasing a suite, all of those pieces are going to be rewarded in this new program, both through points and stars. Now, on top of that, the two elements that are unique again for cruises, which I learned because airlines don't have this, is we have casinos on board. So casino and all the play on casino as well earns you points and stars. So the casino points that you earn will get you points when you leave the ship, and stars that you earn lets you to also earn status to casino play. The third element is the credit card. So today, as you know, cruise line credit cards are not connected to the cruise status or cruise currency. Those are independent co-branded credit cards, even though the currency and the management, everything is done on the bank side. We, for the first time, will be having completely connected cruise co-branded credit card that'll also help not only earn more points for everything that you're doing with Carnival, but will also earn you status through stars. So that those three elements are what's going to unlock this next step and this next foundational change at Carnival so that regardless of the way you engage with Carnival, whether it be in Carnival, whether it be through the card, whether it be through casino, or you just cruise once or twice, we want to give that opportunity to be able to gain that status or gain the rewards that you deserve.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. And I know we talked about uh kind of some of the changes you made. Uh, I know based on what I've read that the the the you know the current diamond and platinum guests will uh get to uh enjoy some of these uh enhancements. Can you tell us about how you went about making these changes or decisions you had to put forth the research and understanding the customers to develop some of this uh for your customers?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Yeah, and the transition plan was probably the toughest part of the salt mark because we know that we have such a loyal base, and we're lucky to say that we have such a large loyal base of folks who are cruisers who have cruised with us for years. And I think the the program change came a little too late in the sense that we aren't able to grandfather or kind of like give the legacy status to all of these folks, because then you're carrying on the problem that we are having on ships today. So today on the VIFP program, we are a very top-heavy program. So we have a lot of diamonds, we have a lot of platinums, and platinums and diamonds get priority boarding, they get um laundry services, they have uh drinks. So even though the benefits are not a lot, it's very operationally intensive benefits. And those benefits, again, if half your ship has status, which again, we all know how it is with airlines when you're standing in line to board the plane. If half the ship or half the plane is having status, then nobody has status because everyone is waiting in the line, everybody's not getting recognized. And hence we couldn't, you know, do the same to all the guests at Grandfatherall. We are lucky that, you know, after a lot of analysis that my team did and we found out ways and things that we can just diamond guests, we are able to protect their status, and we are going to give anybody who attains diamond status by uh May 31, 2026, will be diamond forever. That's again a uh a unique proposition, right? And we do think that you know, as we enhance the program, as we add more things to it, everybody will gain and everybody will get a lot. Um, this this initial change is the foundational change, right? Because we have to set the base, we have to change that base, and then there's a lot more opportunities to expand.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, excellent. You know, what were some of the prime primary motivations behind Carnival's decision to enhance the program? You talked about the program being traditionally very top-tier heavy, right? For benefits. Is it to expand benefits to others to kind of get people into kind of a maybe a more advantageous journey, quote unquote, with the brand? You know, what were some of the primary motivators behind Carnival's decision?

SPEAKER_01:

The biggest one was, as you know, like this program has not been touched since 2000. So it's about 25 years in making the program. So that's one. It was created during a time when there were a few number of ships and there were a few number of sailings a year. At that time, having a program where you will get just the days that are sailed are the only way to gain status made sense. As we have grown, that structure does not make sense in the new world of enhanced ships with suites, with shore excursions, with all these other additional things that we do as a cruiser. And so to make sure that we're generating value for all the guests who are engaging with those pieces, whether be it casino, whether be it shore excursion, all of that, we needed to change that program and enhance it and give those rewards back to the guests. That's one. Two is the operational difficulties that we talked about. We know that there are so many platinums and diamonds that we are not able to provide the priority benefits in our journey cruises, in our long special cruises, in our elite focus cruises. And so we need to make sure that that number is something that's sustainable and hence the two years of earning and re-earning is what's necessary. So airlines again do it at a year, airlines and hotels do it at a year. Now we know the frequency on cruise lines is not as high as airlines or hotels because you don't have to take a vacation in that sense. And so we did a two-year window. So you have two years to earn your status and you keep it for the rest of those two years and two more years, right? So if you earn the status in the first year, you could keep it up to three plus years from that time that you earn the status. And that was again in a way to make sure that we can engage the guests who are able to earn these statuses in the first few cruises. Uh the third thing was today's program is very, you know, it takes 10, 15 years to get to status. And today's guest uh customers, we all know, want immediate gratification, be able to get the rewards, get those things quickly. So that's another reason where we wanted to make it attainable for folks who are coming in and cruising for the first time, people who are cruising for the third time. They've only done three cruises so far. We don't want them to get so scared about seeing that number and saying, oh my God, to be able to get to this, I need to have 200 days sailed and not be able to engage with the status of the program. We wanted it to be attainable and achievable for those folks as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. That's excellent. It sounds like you've done some uh kind of research and based on your history too. You you know, you have uh airline experience. But when you look at some of the changes, everyone's changing the program. Some are devaluing, some are adding more value. Uh it seems like it aligns pretty closely with some of the best programs in the travel and hospitality industry. Um how uh have you received any feedback so far uh you know, from maybe the diamond and platinums, or you know, how do you think it's going to align up overall?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, look, I think the the there's a lot of noise in social media right now because of the fact that, and and I and I empathize for it, right? The transition, the change of where platinums who are not able to be grandfathered forever in the platinum status. And and the diamonds are now happy because we were able to find a way to at least keep them there. So beyond that, when folks are looking past these statuses and looking past the part of um the transition to the status, I think folks are starting to understand the value of the program, how their play at casino, their play in the uh with the with with with carnival, with anything that they do with suites, all of that is going to be rewarded and the points and how to use it, people are starting to learn. Um, we are also starting more educational communication around that to make sure guests understand how points work, how status works. Because one of the things that's a little bit different, you know, when I was at Spirit or American is airline folks know a lot about how loyalty programs, when it comes to rewards and points and things work. And they work really hard to kind of understand all the nuances of it. Cruise industry, since it's the first, it's our onus is on us to educate and also make sure folks understand how the reward points are a lot more valuable, how external partners and credit cards are going to create more value for everyone. So that's the that's the piece where we are at. So there is some um, you know, focus from guests on the transition piece of it. Uh, and that we understand that, right? There's going to be changes not never easy. Uh, and when there's something that's being lost in that change, it is always a little bit more of a difficult conversation. Um, so we have given like a transition period, so it's like a two-year period where they will be keeping their status. So from 2020 to 2028. But after during that time, we want folks to use the program and see what rewards they're receiving, how they're able to get it. Like, because you don't need to get to status in order to get a free drink, in order to get faster to fun or any of those other benefits. The reward points, you can decide what you want after your first or second groups.

SPEAKER_00:

That's awesome. Well, and I think you mentioned something that's uh you know very important as well. We help a number of brands, members, uh, either through the membership or just through with the technology, they may need to redo their programs. But one of the things that many brands may not necessarily uh consider as much is the marketing of the program, marketing of the changes. If you're completely redoing the program, how do you market through that? How do you get ahead of it like you guys are doing? Uh is is integral to the success of the program, right? Talking about the changes and enhancements and opportunities in a way that the customers can understand, right? Because they only have so much share of mind that you're going to get from the customers. So I think that's very uh you know advantageous for you to get ahead of that discussion.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Because I think I and you and I know, like, you know, when programs make changes and you don't even see it until you're actually ready to redeem or do something with it. But to me, I think educating and working with guests to understand what's working, what's not working, and constantly having that communication is very important. And we have a very engaged group of guests. So we're really excited to, when they start playing with the program once it launches, learn more and adjust and see where the impacts are.

SPEAKER_00:

That's perfect. Um, you know, look at customer loyalty, uh, very important. Uh obviously, what you're involved in, what I find very passionate and enjoyable. You know, what does customer loyalty mean to you and to Carnival?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so customer loyalty again comes down to the way the guests want to engage with us. We don't want to determine just based on the number of times you sail, just based on the number of years you have spent and things. But loyalty can mean everything from engaging on that one cruise and doing everything, engaging with the credit card and our co-brands, or engaging outside with Carnival and feeling that Carnival brand. Um, we want to help guests, you know, enjoy their first cruise, second cruise, third cruise, every cruise they're coming. So one of the pieces that I didn't talk about is as part of Carnival Rewards, we also have our Carnival Rewards milestones. And the reason is because we are not we're now moving away from a day's sale to a spend days program, we still want to reward and celebrate the days that people are spending on our cruise ship. So on your 50th cruise, 50th day of cruising, hundredth day, 200th, 300, 400, every 100 days there will be a milestone reward that will celebrate those guests and reward that loyalty. Because one way or the other, either be it sailing over a lot of years and getting to that, or spending in that one single cruise, or doing it through casino, or doing it through credit card? All of those ways, I think to me, enriches the loyalty towards that brand and connection towards that brand. And that to me is the carnival loyalty.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, talk a little bit about partnerships. You know, how do carnivals' partnerships with other brands, like Win Rewards or Coca-Cola, enhance your loyalty program and reward offering?

SPEAKER_01:

No, absolutely. And that is that is the next big step for us. Like, so already I know we have big, big partnerships, and partnership are very vital. Whether we eat Coca-Cola, you know, that gives guests what they love, right? And implementing that fleetwide with uh the choice that people want. If we ask guests what they want, and that was one of those things that was very much vehemently positive that guests wanted to have Coca-Cola. And then Vendom Rewards, they are uh partner through our sales channels, and they, you know, sell cruises through their channel and have that relationship. But with loyalty partnerships, we are still in the infancy when it comes to loyalty partnerships. Yeah, uh we want to set the base, right? So changing and implementing this loyalty platform has probably been the biggest task because uh, as you would imagine on the back end of the systems, cruise line systems are not like airline reservation systems or hotel reservation systems. So being able to kind of bring in a loyalty platform that can first create that currency and engage and have that partnership modules has been the primary step. Next is expand on that and bring new partners and new ways to engage. Like I told you, one of the things that we already have and that we're gonna leverage a lot with the launch of the program is our relationship with Barclays and MasterCard through our Carnival uh rewards MasterCard. That is one big avenue of how we're going to expand outside of just being in Carnival or just when you're on a cruise ship. But on top of that, we're looking at all kinds of partners that will engage on day-to-day, uh, whether be it dining, whether be it um, you know, uh hotels, cars, all of those are things that we want to start working on. But again, maybe steps at a time. We want to kind of get this foundational layer out, make sure all the things are working as expected, the points, thesis, things of that sort. Um, because uh one thing I learned coming from airlines and hotels, cruise industry is extremely complicated, extremely complicated because of the 29 different systems that are involved. There are 20 different things that are working with each other. So um that's why I think partnerships, we are still exploring and working on them, uh, but definitely something that's going to be a primary piece outside of the barclays. Um, and and one thing just to add, Mark, is for Australia and Canada also we're looking at financial partners and have started already conversations and looking at how we can expand there in terms of giving opportunity for guests there to also engage in the program outside the cruise.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And when you look at the program holistically, what are two or three things you're most proud of?

SPEAKER_01:

Most proud of, I think first and foremost is the flexibility and choice that this program is going to give. I think the longer gone the days where it's just a cookie cutter build of just saying, hey, whatever we give you is what you take and go. Everybody wants choice, everybody wants flexibility. And I think cruises have not had that opportunity because of the lack of points, lack of currency of any type of miles or anything. So giving that back to our guests and giving the rewards and points in their hand. So they can choose if they want to spend it on a shore excursion or an upgrade or on a um a piece with respect to, you know, um an extra drink that they would like to have. That's I think one that I'm extremely proud of. The other piece is just making this foundational change, right? So to me, I think it's the cruise industry first. Uh, it's uh it's hopefully something that other cruise lines and folks also follow and do pieces of, where you know, being able to kind of like change the way the cruise industry is rewarding loyalty and engaging with guests outside of just the cruise environment is probably something that's very exciting. Like, so as we grow this partnership side and outside the carnival cruise side, um, that unlocks a lot of opportunities for us and our guests.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. Perfect. And last question, a little self-serving. What can Loyalty 360 do to help you and your team and your customer multi-journey?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I think so. Um I've I've been on Loyalty 360 before and uh kind of looked at all the different pieces. I think the insights and things that people share on your site and the interviews, whether be it articles, um, I think has been very, very helpful, right? Like it's something that we all look for in terms of like leaders to kind of bring those pieces together and share insights of, hey, what's worked? What are the problems you have faced before? How do you kind of like move forward? I think that's definitely one that I cherish, right? Even when the conferences, um when we go to these conferences, uh it's always great to hear from other folks who are going through the same problems rather than you know, a consultant or somebody just coming and telling you how to fix it. These kind of avenues feel like we're talking to our peers. Um I think that opportunity through your platform, I think, has been a very key element that helps a lot of us in the loyalty business. So um definitely is something that I you know would like to engage more and get more of and be able to kind of utilize that to keep improving our program and keep making it better as we go.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, great. Now it's time for our wonderful quickfire question round. First off, what is your favorite word? Word, improve. Okay, excellent. Um, what is your least favorite word?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh this always makes me cry. Disappoint.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Um what excites you?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, all parties are winning.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, interesting. And what do you find tiresome?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh the red tape.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh is there a book that you've read or read often that you like to recommend to colleagues?

SPEAKER_01:

Not that I read often, but um, there's a book uh for Liverpool. Uh I'm a Liverpool fan, and Bring the Noise Plot story, um, which is pretty cool and really kind of like makes my hair stand up every time I read.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go. Is there uh is it kind of an autobiography? Is it uh kind of a telling the franchise?

SPEAKER_01:

It's it's more of a telling the franchise and kind of like not like an autobiography, but more about his story at Liverpool. Like so Jürgen Plopp was our manager. Yeah. And it's a really cool book. If you read, if you're into soccer, you would love it. If you're not into soccer asshole, it's a really cool read.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, my whole family plays soccer. I played soccer in college. My one daughter plays D1 soccer now. So soccer is probably a bigger part of my life. I'm not necessarily a big fan of teams, but soccer is probably a way bigger part of my life than I ever wanted it to be, but uh it's good.

SPEAKER_01:

Nice.

SPEAKER_00:

No, then you might Yeah, I wrote it down, so I actually have to drive to Pennsylvania to watch it, so it'll be on my list. Uh I'll listen to it this weekend. Um, what profession, other than one you currently have, would you maybe like to attempt?

SPEAKER_01:

I wanted to be a chef or a restaurant owner. I might still do that, but that's the profession that I really wanted to be part of since I was in 10th grade.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And there's something that you enjoy doing that you often don't get the chance to do?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, same connected to it, cooking and entertaining. So I love, love cooking. And I wish I had more time to actually cook and create new recipes. I try to do a fusion. Whenever I cook, I would like take Indian spices and use things from meats and spy uh vegetables from other places and try to make something.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, perfect. Uh, and uh, you know, who inspired you to be the person that you are today?

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, uh my dad. Uh my dad was my biggest inspiration. Um, he uh he passed away about six years ago. And uh he was a general manager for a bank, and always following him around, going to banks and seeing how he manages relationships and people really motivated to me to be successful and be in the business.

SPEAKER_00:

That's awesome. Um and uh what do you find yourself thinking about at the end of the day?

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. At the end of the day, I always look at processes and things that are happening every day in my team, in my project, and everything. And I want to spend the evening just thinking about how to make this better. Why does this need four days? Why can't this be done in a day or two? And increasing the efficiency is probably something that I think about a lot.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, perfect. Uh, and last question how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, someone that they always like to have fun with.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go. I like that. With the upcoming transformation of the Carnival Rewards Program in 2026, it is clear that personalization, instant recognition, and meaningful experiences are more important than ever. Tid, thank you very much for taking the time to share your vision of the next generation Customer Multi program Carnival. It's been great uh learning more and looking forward to seeing it uh rolled out. Thank you, Mark. Look forward to seeing you at maybe one of the conferences. Again, we're looking forward to hearing more from T and the team about the 2026 launch of the new Carnival Reward Program. And that puts it directly on another solid edition of our Leaders and Customer Multi podcast. Please join us every Thursday for a new edition of the Leaders and Customer Loyalty Podcast series, where we dive into the future of customer loyalty across a number of industries. Until then, have a wonderful day. If you should try to podcast and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn. YouTube, links are below. Until next time, thanks for listening.