Carnival Clears Up Confusion Over Platinum Guest’s Water Bottle Charge

Cruisers who are members of Carnival Cruise Line’s loyalty club programs enjoy a wide range of valuable services and amenities, but if things go awry with those perks, some guests can become seriously disgruntled.

That was the case recently when a Platinum-level guest was charged for drinking a bottle of water that had been left in their stateroom. As a Platinum cruiser, he was entitled to one complimentary 1.5-liter bottle of water.

The infuriated guest contacted the cruise line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, who interacts with current, former, and prospective guests on his popular Facebook page. Heald called the message scathing. In fact, so angry was the guest that he threatened to withhold the payment of crew gratuities.

Heald posted a recap of the interaction on his social media page, saying he thought it was “despicable to threaten to remove gratuities over a bottle of water.” He did not disclose which ship the angry guest was sailing on.

The cruise line recommends that guests in standard staterooms pay $16 per person, per day in crew gratuities and $18 for those in suites. The gratuities are shared among all of the cabin stewards, wait staff, and others.

The free water is a perk for Red, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond-level loyalty club members, and is redeemable at any of the ship’s bars and restaurants, and in the staterooms.

Heald immediately asked staffers on the guest’s ship to refund the charge — “for the sake of the crew, so that they would receive their gratuities.” The refund diffused the situation but raised other thorny issues.

For instance, according to some of the reaction comments posted to Heald’s description of this episode, there seems to be some confusion about where to obtain the free 1.5-liter bottle of water, which, by the way, costs $5.31 for those who have not achieved the required loyalty club level or who have not purchased the line’s “Cheers!” beverage package.

Cruisers Cite Confusion About Which Bottle of Water Is Free

Guests should not assume that a bottle of water they find in their cabin is the complimentary one. Rather, guests typically retrieve their free bottle from a bar or restaurant after showing their Carnival Cruise Line loyalty pin, which shows staff they have reached a loyalty club level that entitles them to the water.

As Heald noted in his explanation: “I understand that having to collect the free bottle of water is not the best scenario for some but this is how we are currently doing it and I wanted to make sure I mention this again in case there is any confusion.”

That does not sit well with some cruise guests, who would rather not have to go and claim their free bottle of water.

One elderly cruiser took issue with having to carry the bottle back to his cabin.

“I am 78 years old and it is really hard for me to carry the heavy bottle of water back to my stateroom . . . . You just keep taking my free perks away and make me walk all over the ship to pick them up,” the guest wrote.

Another guest lamented the apparent change in policy, writing: “I think it lies in the fact that it USED to be placed in the room with a nice welcome back greeting. When I cruised in March, I thought they forgot my bottles and was disappointed. I let it slide and realized after my cruise that I had to go to the bar to request it.”

Several other former Carnival Cruise Line guests posted similar comments, and one noted that, after being mistakenly charged for his bottle of water, he waited in a long line at Guest Services to get his refund. Now, he said, he just buys his own water.

Guests sailing with the line can purchase a 12-pack of bottled water (16.9 ounces each) for $17.64, or an 8-pack of larger bottles (50.72 ounces) for $29.44.