CRUISES: Carnival May Change Its Past-Passenger Loyalty Program

6/7/2012 -   CruiseCritic.com reports that it's obtained an advance copy of planned changes in the past-passenger loyalty program at Carnival Cruise Lines. The new program will take effect on June 11. The leaked plan will expand membership tiers from two (Gold at two cruises and Platinum at 10) to five (Blue, Red, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond), with levels based on days cruised instead of total cruises taken. See the CruiseCritic.com story for more details. In other news, Carnival will offer more than 180 different shore excursions options for the inaugural Europe season of its new ship "Carnival Breeze" (June 3-Oct. 25). These options range from tours in Naples and Tuscany to yacht cruises to the Elephati Islands from Dubrovnik. AMA Waterways - an OSSN supplier member! - rolled out two new France itineraries for 2013: the seven-night "Paris & Normandy" voyage on the Seine River aboard the "AmaLegro" and the 14-night "Jewels of France" cruise (combining the "Paris & Normandy" route on the "AmaLegro" with a seven-night Rhone River sailing on the "AmaDagio"). Crystal Cruises will offer almost 100 different "Crystal Adventures" excursion options for the South America segment of the line's 2013 world cruise aboard the "Crystal Serenity." The options range from an Antarctica visit to a hike to the mouth of Iguassu Falls. (Credit: Carnival Cruise Lines)