Carnival Cruise Line may be complicating its loyalty program with its new Carnival Rewards program launching Sept. 1, 2026, but one aspect of the cruise line’s process for rewarding loyal passengers is now getting simplified.
As Carnival works to make sure loyal passengers feel like their loyalty is valued, the cruise line is rolling out a new and improved process for delivering one loyalty program reward on board.
The reward is one that many Carnival passengers are entitled to receive during their cruises, but exactly how they could redeem that reward wasn’t clear — until now.
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Some passengers have been confused about how to redeem a loyalty program reward on board.Photo credit: Ihor Koptilin / Shutterstock.com
Most Carnival cruise loyalty program members get a free bottle of water on board
A complimentary 1.5-liter bottle of water is the first real reward that repeat Carnival passengers who join the cruise line’s VIFP Club loyalty program are entitled to redeem during their cruises. Most members of the loyalty program can enjoy this bottle of water reward every time they sail.
Redeeming this reward proved difficult for some passengers though because the process for delivering that reward varied from ship to ship. On some ships, passengers could take their bottles of water from the bottles available to purchase in passengers’ cabins, while on other ships, passengers had to pick up their bottles from an onboard bar.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line addresses drinking water safety concerns
Naturally, this caused confusion and even frustration among some passengers, especially if they were charged for a bottle of water that they took from their cabin thinking it was their loyalty program reward.
After a number of passengers reached out to Carnival’s brand ambassador, John Heald, about the issue, the cruise line is now rolling out a consistent and clear process for delivery of the reward fleetwide. Heald shared the new process in a Nov. 25 Facebook video.
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Carnival simplifies process for getting free bottle of water for loyalty program members
“Over the coming weeks, for all of our VIFP guests that have achieved Red, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond and receive your complimentary bottle — one bottle — of water during your cruise, please know that we will definitively say that you will not need to collect this from the bars,” Heald said.
Carnival will now deliver the 1.5-liter bottles of water to the cabins of the cruise passengers who are entitled to the reward, and they will be labeled with a red neck tag that says, “A Refreshing Reward.”
“Over the coming weeks, the 1.5-liter bottle — the big larger bottle that has always been your VIFP benefit, will now be delivered to your stateroom and identified with a very special neck tag,” Heald explained. “That’s the bottle you need to take. If it doesn’t have this neck tag on and you drink the other bottles that will be there then yes, you’ll be charged. So please, please make sure you look out for the red tag.”
Related: Carnival Cruise Line changes a key drink package rule
In the comments on the video post, a passenger who recently cruised confirmed that the complimentary bottles of water with the new red tags are already beginning to appear in cabins.
“We cruised on Carnival Magic, November 9th-15th and the complimentary 1.5 liters of water were in our cabin and clearly marked as complimentary. The other two bottles were also clearly marked for sale with the price on the tag. Thank you for having these in our room,” Vicki Pottorff Greenwood commented.
It may be a small change, but it matters to loyal cruisers who want to be able to redeem the rewards they were promised without unnecessary hassle.
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This story was originally published by TravelHost on Nov 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Come Cruise With Me section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here.