As the end of 2024 approaches, eager Carnival Cruise Line guests who have reached the Platinum level of the cruise line’s loyalty program have just a few days left to collect the wildly popular VIFP pins to commemorate their voyages.
These pins are customized with each ship’s name and the year of the sailing, making them fun collectibles that showcase a guest’s individual sailings.
Yet on at least one Carnival cruise ship, some loyal guests are disappointed as they are unable to collect the appropriate pin for their VIFP status.
The issue has been noted aboard Carnival Liberty, currently homeported from New Orleans, Louisiana. Multiple guests have recently reached out to Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, about the missing gifts.
“I’m currently on the Liberty and become Platinum on this cruise. I went to get my Platinum pin and was told ‘Sorry, it’s the end of the year, all we have are gold pins,'” one guest explained.
The shortage has been going on at least since the beginning of December, as another guest also contacted Heald with their disappointment.
“Just returned from our first Platinum cruise. Was a 14 Panama aboard the Liberty,” the guest said. “Was very disappointed that they had none of the Platinum pins to give out with the ship name.”
Carnival Liberty‘s most recent Panama Canal sailing departed New Orleans on December 1, 2024. The ship is currently sailing a 7-night Western Caribbean voyage that departed on Sunday, December 15, and will visit Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel.
It should be noted that the Gold VIFP pins, while the same size and general style as those offered to Platinum and Diamond passengers, do not have the name of individual vessels. This makes them less desirable as a collectible, and of course they are also gold rather than silver.
Heald responds to hundreds of guest questions and comments nearly every day through his Facebook page, where nearly 600,000 followers eagerly await his insights and assistance.
He did note the lack of Platinum pins at the end of the year and explained how he will endeavor to help the impacted guests.
“It is unacceptable and I’m so sorry that this has made such a negative impact on your cruise,” he said. “I will check with the ship and see what they can do for you and if not, we will send one to your home address.”
Because the VIFP pins are customized with each year, it is understandable that Carnival Cruise Line might only order a limited amount of the gifts so there are none left that would be wasted as 2025 arrives.
It would be necessary to estimate how many pins might be needed, but if more Platinum level guests travel than expected, the pins could easily run out toward the end of the year.
This could be especially true on vessels offering longer Carnival Journeys sailings, such as Carnival Liberty‘s Panama Canal voyages. These are tremendously popular cruises with the cruise line’s most loyal guests, meaning more VIFP passengers aboard and more gifts claimed.
Furthermore, as more and more guests reach the higher levels of loyalty status, more and more pins would be needed to recognize that achievement, and quantities are always limited.
Claiming VIFP Pins
When guests reach the loyalty status that offers a pin or other loyalty gift, they must visit the Pixels photo gallery onboard each ship to collect the gift.
Read Also: Loyalty Programs – Should You Stay Loyal to One Cruise Line?
VIFP travelers are urged to claim their gifts early in their sailings just to ensure that the items are available and have not run out. Guests must show their Sail and Sign cards when they collect their gifts, and their names are checked off a list so no one can get “extra” gifts.
The pins are always popular for guests to claim, and many Gold, Platinum, and Diamond level VIFP travelers display them on hats, bags, vests, or jackets when they attend VIFP events.
Of course, if guests prefer not to claim the gifts – such as the baseball cap that is currently on offer and somewhat controversial – they do not need to do so.
