The most loyal guests of Carnival Cruise Line have a new gift that is rolling through the fleet and will make getting ready for their next cruise much easier – packing cubes.

The cubes are already available aboard the cruise line’s newest vessel, Carnival Jubilee, and will gradually become available through the end of February and into early March on all 27 ships.

The exact date of availability will depend on how many cruisers receive the gifts and what each ship’s individual supply of the previous gift may be. The most recent gift, a canvas baseball cap, was introduced in October 2024.

The new packing cube gift was revealed by Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, and was met with great enthusiasm by eager travelers.

“Here is the latest Diamond and Platinum gift. They are packing cubes,” Heald announced. “They will be on every ship in the coming weeks. Some ships will still continue with the baseball cap, but probably by the end of this month and the start of March it will be the packing cubes that will be across the fleet.”

The cubes are Carnival’s classic navy blue with a red zipper closure and the VIFP Club logo as an attached patch.

Packing cubes are lightweight zippered bags that help compartmentalize and organize one’s luggage, saving space and making packing easier.

Depending on the design style, they can also compress whatever is being packed and offer even more room for souvenirs or extra items – such as packing along some cruise ducks!

Guests immediately responded to the revelation with positive comments, highlighting the usefulness of the new gift.

“This is probably the best gift I’ve seen offered. I would be very happy with packing cubes.”

“Definitely a gift we can and will use! Fabulous!”

“Something I would use every trip, I love packing cubes.”

Because those who receive the gifts are already frequent travelers – Platinum and Diamond level cruisers in Carnival’s Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) program – the packing cubes are sure to be popular and a welcome addition to future cruise preparation.

Receiving Loyalty Gifts

Travelers must be either Platinum or Diamond guests in the VIFP program to receive the gifts. Carnival Cruise Line awards travelers one point for every day they have sailed with the cruise line.

The Platinum level of loyalty begins at 75 points, while Diamond status is only achieved at 200 points – the equivalent of more than 28 7-night sailings.

To collect their gifts, guests must visit the Pixels Photo Gallery onboard their cruise ship. A list of eligible passengers is available and checked to ensure no one claims more gifts than they have earned through the loyalty program.

In addition to the packing cubes, Platinum and Diamond guests are also given loyalty pins that feature new designs each year. These pins are customized with individual ship names, making them highly sought after as cruise memento collectibles.

The packing cubes are not the first time Carnival Cruise Line has offered practical gifts that travelers might use on future cruises.

In the past, loyalty gifts have included valet bags, duffle bags, and small tote bags, all of which have been received with varying levels of enthusiasm. Packing cubes in a different design were also offered several years ago.

Carnival changes the loyalty gift offering every few months as a “thank you” for frequent travelers. Other gifts in the past have included Tervis tumblers, blankets, journals, headphones, hats, can koozies, and much more.

Read Also: Which Cruise Lines Match Loyalty Programs?

Different gifts have been received with different levels of both gratitude and disdain. While no gift will appeal to every traveler, Heald encourages the gifts to be shared with non-Platinum or Diamond guests.

“I do hope that you enjoy them,” Heald said of the packing cubes. “If you don’t, well, hopefully somebody you give them to will.”

Some frequent cruisers will also give away the gifts not because they don’t enjoy them, but because they are able to cruise so often that they simply have collected many duplicate gifts.

They may then share the gifts with family members or friends, or even other cruisers onboard the ship – giving them a great souvenir and the ambition to join the upper levels of the VIFP club themselves.

Did you know that Carnival Cruise Director Gary Blair is actually a skilled musician and accordion player? 

These are the types of fun facts cruisers can learn from Fleet Director Lee Mason’s new video series – in which Mason wants to help Carnival fans get to know the cruise directors they might meet on their next voyage.

Mason, who was promoted to the role of Fleet Cruise Director at the end of 2024 after spending around eight years as a cruise director himself, has launched his new “Get to Know” video series as of February 10, 2025.

The interviews will be short – ranging from five to 10 minutes long – and can be found on Mason’s YouTube Channel (Lee Fleet Cruise Director). 

“With getting to travel the fleet in my new role, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to help you get to know our team of incredible cruise directors, and so I am starting a new video series,” Mason shared on his Facebook. “This will be short 5 min interviews for you to get to know our team.”

His first interview was with Gary Blair, who is about to finish his current contract onboard Carnival Miracle on February 17, 2025. (But don’t worry – Blair will be back onboard the Spirit-class ship from May 5, 2025, until November 22, 2025). 

While Blair is no stranger to Carnival, he recently returned to the cruise line after taking a break to work at Great Wolf Lodge as the Director of Guest Services from December of 2021 until the end of 2024 – making this a great opportunity for cruise fans to get reacquainted. 

Throughout their conversation, Mason asked Blair about his musical upbringing, his experience as a cruise director (starting on the now-retired Carnival Ecstasy in 2017), and even his guilty pleasures (such as his affinity for bad reality TV). 

While all Carnival Cruise directors lead the entertainment as the heads of the famous Fun Squad, the interview also went into how Blair brings the fun in a unique way as cruise director.

“If you cruise with me, I host a Scottish dance class and we do a Ceilidh…it’s kind of like a celebratory dance. Think country line dancing, with like partners, set moves, everyone does it all together, and it is like a real sweat fest,” Blair explained while talking about how he pays homage to his Scottish heritage onboard.

Blair also talked about his favorite part of being a cruise director – and what he hopes guests will take away from sailing on one of his voyages.

“It’s being a part of the experience of the guests in such a positive way. You know, when they’re having fun, I’m having fun, and it really is like just the best feeling in the world hearing their laughter, seeing their smiles, and getting to meet them…” Blair said.

Watch Lee Mason’s Interview with Gary Blair Below: 

No Shortage of Beloved Cruise Directors

Lee Mason, who is hosting the video series, is one of four Carnival fleet directors – and this number will likely stay small. That said, the position was only just announced in 2022, so it’s relatively new and the total number of fleet directors hasn’t been confirmed.

While Mason was once a beloved Carnival cruise director, this promotion ranks him and his colleagues above the cruise directors – where they now oversee the entertainment across the fleet and help to train new and existing cruise directors.

But while there are only a handful of fleet directors, Carnival still employs 30-40 cruise directors at once. There is a cruise director onboard all 27 operating ships at a time, with another waiting in the wings to seamlessly take the reins after the current cruise director’s contract ends.

Typically, the cruise directors spend several months at sea, followed by at least a month at home to recuperate, with these extra fun crew members taking turns in the role based on who is on the clock and who is at home.

Read Also: What is it Really Like to Be a Carnival Cruise Director on Embarkation Day?

Some Carnival cruise directors even gain celebrity status in the cruising community – with Kyndall “Fire” Magyar one of the more recognizable names on the current roster. She is currently onboard Carnival Jubilee. 

Many also know the name John Heald as Carnival’s brand ambassador, but some might not realize that he first rose to fame as a cruise director. In his sailing days, Heald filled the coveted role on ships like Carnival Splendor. 

But with many of the cruise directors cultivating quite a following, including Blair, there was already quite an appetite for more of these interview videos. 

“Love this idea Lee! It’s great to know a bit about the person behind the mic on our cruise! You always seem to find ways to identify what we want to know BTS from your POV,” one person wrote on Mason’s Facebook page.

“Wow, what a BRILLIANT idea! We LOVE to get to know each CD. We had the great fortune of cruising with Gary when he returned to Galveston on the Miracle in October…He did an AMAZING JOB! Thanks Gary for being the first interviewee on Lee’s new [YouTube] video sequence,” another added. 

Mason did not indicate which cruise director would be featured next or when the next interview will be posted, but there will certainly be more to come. 

Laundry – all cruisers have it, but do you bring it home, do it onboard yourself, or send it out for laundry service onboard before the voyage ends?

A lot of travelers don’t enjoy putting dirty clothing back into the luggage. Not all cruise ships are equipped with self-service laundry areas, however, and some guests just don’t want to spend time on their vacation tending to laundry – whether hand-washing items or using available machines.

In that case, taking advantage of a cruise line’s laundry service can be a great option for clean clothes on the way home. But how does such a laundry service work with thousands of guests onboard?

Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, has answered several laundry-related questions recently. His answers have offered insight into the laundry process that can ease guests’ concerns about how their laundry is handled.

“When sending laundry out to be washed and folded is it true our clothes [are] washed with multiple other peoples’ laundry?” one guest asked.

“Can you tell me about the laundry please. If I place my delicates in a mesh bag that I bring on board, will the laundry count it as one item? I hate to give my delicates to the Jubilee cruise laundry without it. I do not want to have my laundry mixed with others,” another guest asked.

Heald answered both questions with similar responses, describing how the laundry process works.

“No, it’s in a different mesh bag,” he confirmed. “Each guest sends a bag of laundry, has their own laundry washed in a mesh bag. Those bags are in the same machine, obviously it would be impossible to do it otherwise, but they are not mixed freely with other peoples’ laundry.”

One of the guests also inquired about whether or not loyalty status impacted how laundry is processed.

“I have Diamond status laundry privileges now so would like to know how this works,” the guest noted, explaining that they did not want their laundry mixed.

The privileges the guest is referring to is the loyalty program benefit Carnival Cruise Line provides to top tier guests.

At the Diamond level, when a guest has accumulated 200 or more points in Carnival’s “Very Important Fun Person” program, guests are provided with unlimited complimentary wash and fold laundry service.

For comparison, at the Platinum level (75-199 VIFP points), guests receive a limited number of bags of wash and fold laundry depending on the length of the cruise. No free laundry services are provided at lower loyalty tiers.

Heald used his characteristic wit to explain that all laundry is processed equally, regardless of a guest’s individual loyalty status.

“We do not in fact have a special washing machine for diamond guests’ laundry,” he said. “Sorry but your Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Kleins are in the same washing machine as Blue Card holders Fruit of the Looms.”

The “Blue Card” is Carnival Cruise Line’s first level of VIFP loyalty, brand new cruisers on their very first sailing.

Should You Use Carnival’s Laundry Service?

Other guests chimed in with a variety of suggestions about Carnival’s laundry services.

Some guests noted that it might not be a good idea to send out one’s best garments for the wash and fold service. All the laundry is done in industrial machines and will not necessarily get the most “delicate” treatment, even for one’s “delicates.”

Read Also: Cruise Ship Laundry – What You Need to Know

To be fair, however, many guests noted that their laundry is always done promptly and with great care, coming back cleaner than they might even do at home.

Some travelers also highly recommend the cruise line’s pressing service, a great option to ensure formal attire may look its very best for elegant evening.

Another guest expressed concern that their laundry doesn’t always smell “clean” when it comes back from Carnival’s service. Others promptly joined in noting that the cruise line does not use the same detergents as guests may use at home, and perfumes aren’t present for that “fresh” smell.

“We try not to use biological detergent because some people may have allergies, but clean it most certainly is,” Heald explained.

If guests have extreme allergies to detergents, soaps, or perfumes, it may be best to avoid any potentially unknown laundry service and instead take care of such matters at home.