Went on Harmony back in November. Wife spent a total of $800 in the casino. Last day of the cruise we had a cruise ticket on the door for a free cruise. Booked that right on the ship. Got home and two weeks later got an email for another free cruise. Booked that now for October. Now these are interior rooms on older ships but not too bad.
I’m guessing she took a bankroll of $800. But with gambling you win, give back some, win again hand continue that for a while. So though, if I’m right, she took $800 to spend in the casino she actually spent a lot more because she wants some and then continue to play that back and then so you earn points for everything that you play that’s my guess.
Last June we were on Oasis with no idea about any of this, but my wife loves the slots and had a big win early in the week. We were in there on the last night, and I wondered out loud what was the deal with the points. My wife said who cares 😂, but I said let’s at least ask the host, even if it’s worth ten bucks. The host explained we were pretty close (about an hour away at her pace) from qualifying for a free interior room on a future cruise. Even though it was after 11:00 on the last night of the cruise and we had to get up early, we went for it, sustained by her big win earlier and some other moderate wins. So we book it and I think, that’s it, we cashed in the points. But no, we keep getting mailers and picked a second cruise with the fare covered except taxes/fees/gratuities. One in June and one in October. I don’t let my wife forget it was my idea to ask about the points.
Another hint is that a husband and wife can each earn an instant cruise certificate or other free cruise offers (Prime yearly or just email and post card offers during the year) Each spouse can then use their own offers to book seperate cabins and take a 2nd guest. These can be kids, parents, or friends. Then once on the ship go to Guest Services and swap cabins to be with your prefered cabinmate.
Last cruise me and boyfriend tried out the casino. I spent in total about 800, got an instant certificate, and I frequently get buy 1 get 1 offers. My boyfriend spent about 4000 and made prime and he is now always getting good balcony offers for him and a guest. He played mostly table games and probably would’ve earned the same amount of points for much less if he only played slots
Great video. I cruised back in December on Symphony. I'm not typically a gambler but my cousin was so we spent a good amount of time in the casino. I had no clue about the point system and we just there to have a good time. Low and behold, we both had a free cruise certificate presented to us on the last day. Since then, I've gotten multiple offers and have so many options I can't take them all because I don't have enough PTO to take them. Currently have 4 FREE cruises booked this year, all balconies and I only had to pay the taxes and fees. Best of all, I actually left the last one up $300 so WIN/WIN for me.
You don't have to tier up to get free cruise offers on select sailings. There's offers all the time for us. My wife got a little over 500 points. She frequently gets select free offers and $100 off any cruise. We took a free offer for her, which is also discounted for me, and between her free fare, my discount, taxes, and port fees, we spent a little over $400 for 5 nights on Mariner out of Galveston, plus $75 free play. A great deal we couldn't pass up. The catch was we had to pay in full upon booking. Fairly easy for that price. How much did we play to get that? We took a total of about $300 for the two of us. We brought home most of that, so we did well. We played about 5 days out of the 7 day cruise. Mostly penny slots, but I did some old school quarters. Bottom line: you don't have to chase the tiers. If you play enough, you'll get offers. And it doesn't have to be a ridiculous amount.
Excellent well presented overview with all the details. Learning all of this was a process for me with many stops by the host desk and calls to Casino Royale. You provided everything in a nutshell. Great job. You are so good at presenting things. Thank you.
We’re regulars cruise gamblers and I’ll normally budget about $300/night for gambling. I have always easily reached prime (normally by the 4th night). So it normally takes $1200 to reach …..of course this can vary depending on if you win big or lose hard. Also the more point you get in prime the better offers you’ll receive. I have about 5k points at the moment and get balcony and some junior staterooms for free offers which mostly be on older ships with usually shorter nights (5 nights of less). While my husband has about 8k and gets many junior suite free offers on many of his cruises and gets balcony staterooms for some of the newer ships (wonder, he got offers for icon, etc) Hope this helps!
Had 6 free cruises in the last 14 months. We have 2 more cruises this year. ALSO, you can combine free cruises to upgrade the room, the wife and I received a Jr Suite for a Norway Fjord cruise this may... we are getting $1000 in free play, the room was $10k and that was free. We also got $100 OBC. Our taxes and port fees were all of about $212! To combine cruises both people have to be offered the same cruise, but not the same room. So 1 balcony and 1 interior gets you a Jr Suite, 2 interiors gets you a Oceanview!
@@AH23323How much we spend in the Casino is different each cruise. Some cruises we blow $2k others $800. We spent around $2500 and are going to Norway in a $10k suite and also $1000 of freeplay in the casino. We would gamble either way, if they are want to give us free cruises and free liquor who I am to tell them no!
A WHOLE new topic I wasn't even aware of!!! Thanks for introducing this "perk" to others like me. If we hit the casino, it's good to know about the (possibility) of earning a comp cruise, thanks to the points earned.
I am strategic in the casino. I scan the QR codes at the different point levels and if I find a cruise to work toward we go for it always watching the losses and what the net cost of the cruise will be with gambling loss, port fees/taxes, and balcony upgrade. Sometimes we use the certificate for money off an already booked cruise which is usually an overall net loss of money but hey, it’s gambling!🤷♀️ We do enjoy being prime and are getting more and more offers on the Casino Royale app which we have been able to use. I was never into it until the cruise fare prices sky rocketed. Hope RC doesn’t do something to make casino cruises out of reach too. I don’t book cruises like I used to because of the prices. I hope the casino strategy holds up.
Hi Matt, since my first cruise in 2019, i reached prime level in casino royale. I have taken 3 free balcony room cruises since, and have reserved Utopia balcony room for September. For people who love slots, its a win win . You just have to budget whatever the price of the cruise would have been to play. Ive been lucky enough to win back money in each cruise so far.
New topic! RCL airport transfers and arriving one day early to avoid missing the cruise due to flight delays, don’t work together. If you fly internationally for an RCL cruise and arrive a day early AND stay right at the airport, RCL Air2Sea will not allow you to book the needed transfers. The alternative is a private transfer that would likely cost hundreds of dollars more.
Outside of the blackout dates for the free cruise, you cannot use the tier cruise on a brand new ship. The ship has to be in service at least 1 year, so starting April 2025, you will be able to use the tier cruise for icon which is huge!
Actually getting tons of free RC cruise offers after my cruise in November. Was able to book a cruise on the upcoming Utopia of the Seas in August. I didn't even reach Prime, but got close & came out up a couple hundred. Going on another cruise in March so I can hit Prime & get the voucher cruise for 24/25. Its definitely doable. I found a handful of bankroll building slots on Allure of the Seas, but surely not plentiful. I also played a lot of Ultimate Texas Hold'em which gives a good amount of play time for your $$. Good luck everyone!
Thanks for the information Matt. I’m cruising on Wonder in April and Utopia in October this year. I have funds set aside for both cruises to test this out. I’m hoping I can earn enough points to get an offer. Thanks again!
I have never come close to prime. That being said, right after cruises started back up in 2021, I got a couple emails that I could pick a free cruise from a list of dates. Figured it was spam and didn’t respond. Then I got a postcard with the same offer. I called and got my free cruise. Ended up getting these offers monthly for about a year. We ended up going on 3 free cruises. Wish I could have used more of the offers, but having to fly to Florida from Illinois, get a hotel room and all the other things you have to pay to travel. Working full time and trying to juggle the free ones along with our cruises we had booked took some planning, but it was great! I figured they were trying to entice people to cruise with all the Covid restrictions. I’m sure they figured we’d spend money on the ship and in the casino….we did!
Hi Matt, last year I made it to the Prime level and the free cruise offers come almost every week in the mail, albeit the same itineraries. I’ve booked three “free” cruises this year, two balconies and one ocean view. Getting to Prime, I broke-even money wise, starting with about $600. The slots both give and take, so I would be up $1700, then down to $100 and back up again. Basically, a lot of time in the casino on three previous cruises, but “cycled” enough money to get to Prime. As you mentioned, it’s not “free”. Port charges, drink & dining packages, excursions, still cost extra.
On our second cruise earlier this month, I made Prime with 2700 points and hubby ended up with 900 points. For our next cruise we’re planning on taking our granddaughter and BF for her 21st birthday in the fall. I know we could pry pay for it out of pocket but the bottom line is if we don’t “win” a cruise in advance, we’d never go. We live in Arizona so it’s not easy or cheap getting to the port, so the inconvenience factor is a downside. However, every time we step foot on a ship, we’re ready to book another sailing, because it’s that fun.
We gamble for fun but really do it for the free cruises. The last two years I’ve made prime for $1000 dollars for each year so only $2000 dollars and I’ve had over $14000 dollars worth of cruises in that time. Plus all the free drinks in the casino so it’s been well worth the money. The only trouble now is that they have started putting in higher volatility machines on the ships to make it harder to make prime for not a lot of money. Basically it’s so you spend more to make prime nowadays so it’s not such a great deal.
Wife and I are both Prime. We combine our offers to upgrade our interior room to either an ocean view or balcony cabin. We only play slot machines and we seek out the low volatility games.
@tonestar00 Those low vol are sometime hard to find. I think I found about 5 on the Freedom. If you were on the Independence what low vol ones do they have. Going in Aug and the Jewel in Jan.
Stupid question. What is low volatility game? We're going to royal end of the year i wanna try to get to prime. Heard slots is the best method but certain slots is better etc.
I went on Oasis back in September and racked up about 750 points playing slots. This was my first time on RCL. Since that time, I have received countless free cruise offers. Unfortunately most of the offers were for 3/4 night sailings out of Florida and I live in NY so it was a bit of a challenge to book, but had I been local like Matt, I could have probably been on over 10 free cruises (i literally received 3-4 "wild card" offers per month for about 4 months. Went on a Freedom Sailing in February and going back in April. Unfortunately didn't hit prime tier but still love that i was able to get 2 practically free cruises. Hoping they send me more offers later this year.
I have also many offers and I have booked 2 back to backs and used the free offers as I am also from NY. Watch for sailings and you will be surprised that you can match up dates with multiple offers. In March I will be taking a 4 night out of Ft. Lauderdale, get off and Uber to Miami for a 3 night!
My one RC cruise yielded me an offer out the door and now I'm getting offers ever other day - but only to the Caribbean :-( So overwhelming I decided to just pay and go where I want. Sure, if you are going to gamble, no matter what, then sure a free cruise is great, but it will cost more in gambling cash than just paying for it yourself. 🙂 Note: personally I think NCL has better comp choices.
Something isn't adding up with the math because at 1 point for every $5 spent you would be paying for about 3 cruises with an inside cabin by the time you get to 2500 points. I don't gamble but I knew people who did go to the casino onboard and got free or reduced cruise offers and they didn't spend anywhere close to a 5:1 ratio so at some point it has to flip in order for it to make sense.
That is true if you lose on every single spin of the slot. The times you win will subtract from your total out of pocket number. If you use the winnings to do a new bet, that still counts towards points, but does not cost you anything. So the total ratio will be different for everyone depending on luck of how much they win.
Spent $2000-$3000 on my last cruise, got a offer for 4 dates for Icon. Took the october one. I think what I spent in the casino is cheaper than a ticket on icon alone! Now time to save to stuff. Casino is the best way imo to get a free cruise. If you're going to spend that money on a cruise anyway, why not have fun spending it too?
Not trying to be mean here, but there is a lot of incorrect info this this video. For example. Royal does make it very clear on how much $$ is 1 point(on slots and video poker). Your wins and losses do NOT matter for this. Also if your a UK citizen booking a UK cruise taxes and port fees are included in the free cruise by law.
Thanks for this video. I just took my first cruise 🛳 ever to the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. I'm going to try your tips. Do I use my same sea pass card or do I get issued a new one?
I have taken 3 free cruises from the Casino Royals program, get free drinks in the casino and have 5 free drinks compliments of my crown and anchor tier. No drink package for me!
That's the goal. It will take me 2-3 more years to hit Diamond. I wish I knew about this a long time ago. I would have moved to Florida just so i could do a bunch of the short cruises.
Gambling It’s a fine art and like fine art it can cost you more than what it’s worth. The free casino cruise can easily become the most expensive cruise you’ve 11:53 even bought. Be careful and have a great cruise. we’ve been warned. Thanks Matt.
Could someone explain how you go from choice to prime in one seven night cruise and get offered ocean view or balcony room? If you don't want the free cruise, you can apply $1,000 to any cruise and also get whatever promotions are running at the time? The list for free cruise goes from April 2024 to March 2025, which includes all the newest ships, including Utopia and Icon? I didn't play that much or that long. There's also a promotion. If you bought a book later certificate, you would get $500 free play on that cruise.
If you earned $2500 points in one cruise this week you would become Prime. It would last until March 31, 2025. If you did that the first week of April, then you would be Prime until March 31, 2026 (The year you earned plus the next year). If prime you will get a voucher mid-late April for a free 7 day cruise with 1 year to book. Can you get to Prime in one 7 day cruise. It is possible. I got 1270 point last month on a 4 night cruise. With 1200 points i earned an instant free inside room cruise from the list (posted at the host station). I booked a 9 day out of Galvaston next January. On March 2 I received a postcard voucher for free outside room. I booked a 4 night in August. On March 7, I got another postcard voucher for a free outside room. I may not use that one because most of the cruise dates are when i have other things going on. Note: these are for 2 people and only cost for the free cruise is the port fee and taxes. For the 4 day that totaled $191and the 9 day it was $331 (total, not each)
How long do I need to sit at the blackjack table to earn a free cruise. Just wondering if it’s worth the divorce. Also any estimate on how points are awarded at a blackjack table.
You said "Points earned for dollars spent is variable". For slots, it is not. $5 spun = 1 point. Now you may win and lose some, resulting in you getting more points. But if you put $20 in and lose every spin you will still get 4 points. The tables are where it is a bit of a guessing game/variable.
It's worth doing the maths first, I put $1300 (room charge) through the slots and got to 600 points but decided to cash out my winnings and pay off my onboard expense account (over 2k after drinks) this meant my final onboard bill was less than $200. The casino loyalty has it's merits but I decided to put the cash back in my pocket.
We go on two or three a year, and I spend a few thousand in the casino. Problem is I really only play craps and that doesn’t get rated well at all. I’m prime but I feel like for as much as I put through I should be signature easily.
My husband and I got $200 off each thru the casino. I booked a cruise thru my TA but as soon as she used the coupons they told her she was done and she was sort of upset with us.
Knew Royal had a casino club but it was never explained what the perks were. I assumed they dealt with the casino and as I low level gambler, I did not partake. I do plan on joining next cruise and I think Royal could get more people in the casino if more casual gamblers knew the perks worked outside the casino.
Hey Matt you said in the video about using the points for free play or on board credit how does this work because I am on board the rhapsody of the seas and they are telling me here they have never heard about this. Would appreciate if you can like guide me to who I need to speak to about this ! Thanks
On the last day put your card in a slot machine and go to your account, they will have deposited free play into your account based on how many points you generated on the cruise. Note the running total on your card will zero out, but you still earned them toward you race to Prime or the 1200 on that cruise to get a free cruise. So make sure you write down where you are at.
Matt...could you do a video about cruising if you are disabled and in a wheelchair...my husband and I wanr to book our 1st cruise but Im not sure how it would workout.
We have done a dozen cruises with RC and have seen someone in a wheelchair and/or scooter every time. It can be done. They have rooms specifically designed to help
@@RaymondMullen-t9j I lost about $900 but then won $1100 and got the free cruise. Normally I don’t play that much but the casino bar ended up being the hang out spot every night.
That and they have to guesstimate you bet amount. At the craps table you do not have the same amount on the table every rolls, so it is a moving average. Tip the dealers early and make the boxman sees it, and you get a more favorable average.
What does it take!? Spent several hours per night playing craps on my last cruise (Allure)… Plus roulette, blackjack, and slots. Got no offer. RC sends me no emails. I get constant offers from Carnival, Virgin, Celebrity, and others. MGM, Caesars, and others send me weekly Vegas comps.
Unless I’m missing something, on Royal, you have to get your request for a win/loss statement notarized. What a pain that is. Other cruise lines just ask for an email.
slot tournaments do not earn points either. 1500 points for the cruise you are on to get the free cruise from that play is $7500 in slot play. it takes 2500 points to get to prime for the year, that's $12,500 in slot play.
Question for yall: if I book a non-refundable cruise and see before the final payment that the same exact fare is cheaper can I ask that Royal gives me on board credit or refund the difference?
you can always ask. I bet if an upgraded cabin's price reduction was close to what you paid, they may let you switch for the difference. Depends on how nicely you ask and what leeway they have. A happy customer is a repeat customer
It's NOT a good idea to chase a "free" cruise in the casino. They give you "free" stuff to entice you to comeback and lose more money in the casino, but the casino is a BUSINESS that always wins in the long run. Have FUN but don't chase comps!
When you use your free play based on how many points you got during a particular cruise, those points do still count toward your yearly total (and the total for that cruise, for that matter). They don't go away, although it may look like they did because your points will look less on the slot machine when you put your card in. I hope that makes sense.
@@cnik7802I was afraid my casino points would go away so I didn’t use my FP on my cruise earlier this month. I was trying to make Prime so I didn’t want to jeopardize that. Live & learn, lol.
You can get balcony rooms at 4000 points. However, you can also get balcony rooms or oceanview rooms starting at 1500 points on select voyages. Those are few and far between. When you reach tiers of 1500/2000/3000 points, the higher you go the more cruises and balcony rooms become available.
Wait so I'm trying to get my head around this here; you need 2500 points to get to prime status and get a free cruise...$5 on the pokies will give you 1 point so you would need to spend $12,500 to get to that tier?
I'm trying to figure out the math, as people say they only spent $300 -800 and got free cruises. But according to my math, $5 for every point and 2500 points to get a free cruise, it would cost $12,500. What am I missing? 😵💫
Your math is correct. It is possible to get the 2500 pts a minimal amount of money out of your pocket. This will all depend on if your winning or losing. Last month I racked up 1800 pts off of $200 out of my pocket. I got lucky and found a machine that was winning enough to keep me playing without inserting more money. So I played on this machine for about an hour or more. I finally cashed out with about $220 and was able to sit for quite a while and rack up points between my wins and losses.
Also you don't have to get all 2500 on one cruise. Get 1/2, which is enough to win an instant free cruise. Go on that cruise and get the other 1/2, which also wins another free cruise. Then you are Prime, which come the following, mid-April you get another cruise. Plus they will send you monthly offers. Maybe just $$'s off, but this month I got 2 additional free cruise offers.
If you are prime status or u reached the minimum threshold (1200 points, but varies by ship), you get a comped interior room if you book while on the cruise. If you are solo, you just pay taxes and port fees for the comped cruise. As an extra benefit, you also earn 2x points for Crown & Anchor as a solo cruiser vs 1x points for somebody who brings an extra person with them.
This is the same method casinos in Las Vegas, or any casino in the world, utilizes. If you win, of course they want you back. SO THEY CAN TAKE THE BACK MONEY YOU WON FROM THEM. Remember, HOUSE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAYS WINS. For that reason, I'm out. :)
RCL isn’t like Carnival or Princess cruises where they can comp you a free cruise based on how much you lose. RCL goes by points. Doesn’t matter how much you win or lose, but how many points you earn. As long as you remember 1 point per every $5 spent on slots and your average bet/hour on table games (ex you play craps and your average bet was $20 for an hour you will receive 20 points). But you gotta make sure the pit boss is tracking you correctly. Varies by ship but usually around 1200 points, you can get a free cruise interior room if you book through next cruise on the ship. Always double check with the casino host.
not too be TOO sarcastic but.... REALLY ... if youre a high roller.... they WANT you back in the place where you will lose MORE money... again???? never wouldve thunk it ....hahahaha
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Went on Harmony back in November. Wife spent a total of $800 in the casino. Last day of the cruise we had a cruise ticket on the door for a free cruise. Booked that right on the ship. Got home and two weeks later got an email for another free cruise. Booked that now for October. Now these are interior rooms on older ships but not too bad.
Did she win big or 800 was happened to be above the point amount
Love some details on how she got two free cruises for $800
WooooW
I’m guessing she took a bankroll of $800. But with gambling you win, give back some, win again hand continue that for a while. So though, if I’m right, she took $800 to spend in the casino she actually spent a lot more because she wants some and then continue to play that back and then so you earn points for everything that you play that’s my guess.
I wonder how this effects irs
Last June we were on Oasis with no idea about any of this, but my wife loves the slots and had a big win early in the week. We were in there on the last night, and I wondered out loud what was the deal with the points. My wife said who cares 😂, but I said let’s at least ask the host, even if it’s worth ten bucks. The host explained we were pretty close (about an hour away at her pace) from qualifying for a free interior room on a future cruise. Even though it was after 11:00 on the last night of the cruise and we had to get up early, we went for it, sustained by her big win earlier and some other moderate wins. So we book it and I think, that’s it, we cashed in the points. But no, we keep getting mailers and picked a second cruise with the fare covered except taxes/fees/gratuities. One in June and one in October. I don’t let my wife forget it was my idea to ask about the points.
Another hint is that a husband and wife can each earn an instant cruise certificate or other free cruise offers (Prime yearly or just email and post card offers during the year) Each spouse can then use their own offers to book seperate cabins and take a 2nd guest. These can be kids, parents, or friends. Then once on the ship go to Guest Services and swap cabins to be with your prefered cabinmate.
Last cruise me and boyfriend tried out the casino. I spent in total about 800, got an instant certificate, and I frequently get buy 1 get 1 offers. My boyfriend spent about 4000 and made prime and he is now always getting good balcony offers for him and a guest. He played mostly table games and probably would’ve earned the same amount of points for much less if he only played slots
Great video. I cruised back in December on Symphony. I'm not typically a gambler but my cousin was so we spent a good amount of time in the casino. I had no clue about the point system and we just there to have a good time. Low and behold, we both had a free cruise certificate presented to us on the last day. Since then, I've gotten multiple offers and have so many options I can't take them all because I don't have enough PTO to take them. Currently have 4 FREE cruises booked this year, all balconies and I only had to pay the taxes and fees. Best of all, I actually left the last one up $300 so WIN/WIN for me.
What was your play of choice?
@@ShareeArmstrong I only played slots the whole time.
Great. How much was actually spent on slot machines? Ballpark? Thanks.
You don't have to tier up to get free cruise offers on select sailings. There's offers all the time for us. My wife got a little over 500 points. She frequently gets select free offers and $100 off any cruise.
We took a free offer for her, which is also discounted for me, and between her free fare, my discount, taxes, and port fees, we spent a little over $400 for 5 nights on Mariner out of Galveston, plus $75 free play. A great deal we couldn't pass up.
The catch was we had to pay in full upon booking. Fairly easy for that price.
How much did we play to get that? We took a total of about $300 for the two of us. We brought home most of that, so we did well. We played about 5 days out of the 7 day cruise. Mostly penny slots, but I did some old school quarters.
Bottom line: you don't have to chase the tiers. If you play enough, you'll get offers. And it doesn't have to be a ridiculous amount.
TFS😊
Excellent well presented overview with all the details. Learning all of this was a process for me with many stops by the host desk and calls to Casino Royale. You provided everything in a nutshell. Great job. You are so good at presenting things. Thank you.
I appreciate that, thank you!
We’re regulars cruise gamblers and I’ll normally budget about $300/night for gambling. I have always easily reached prime (normally by the 4th night). So it normally takes $1200 to reach …..of course this can vary depending on if you win big or lose hard.
Also the more point you get in prime the better offers you’ll receive. I have about 5k points at the moment and get balcony and some junior staterooms for free offers which mostly be on older ships with usually shorter nights (5 nights of less). While my husband has about 8k and gets many junior suite free offers on many of his cruises and gets balcony staterooms for some of the newer ships (wonder, he got offers for icon, etc)
Hope this helps!
Had 6 free cruises in the last 14 months. We have 2 more cruises this year. ALSO, you can combine free cruises to upgrade the room, the wife and I received a Jr Suite for a Norway Fjord cruise this may... we are getting $1000 in free play, the room was $10k and that was free. We also got $100 OBC. Our taxes and port fees were all of about $212! To combine cruises both people have to be offered the same cruise, but not the same room. So 1 balcony and 1 interior gets you a Jr Suite, 2 interiors gets you a Oceanview!
How much do you spend to get a free cruise? 😊
@@AH23323How much we spend in the Casino is different each cruise. Some cruises we blow $2k others $800. We spent around $2500 and are going to Norway in a $10k suite and also $1000 of freeplay in the casino. We would gamble either way, if they are want to give us free cruises and free liquor who I am to tell them no!
A WHOLE new topic I wasn't even aware of!!! Thanks for introducing this "perk" to others like me. If we hit the casino, it's good to know about the (possibility) of earning a comp cruise, thanks to the points earned.
I am strategic in the casino. I scan the QR codes at the different point levels and if I find a cruise to work toward we go for it always watching the losses and what the net cost of the cruise will be with gambling loss, port fees/taxes, and balcony upgrade. Sometimes we use the certificate for money off an already booked cruise which is usually an overall net loss of money but hey, it’s gambling!🤷♀️ We do enjoy being prime and are getting more and more offers on the Casino Royale app which we have been able to use. I was never into it until the cruise fare prices sky rocketed. Hope RC doesn’t do something to make casino cruises out of reach too. I don’t book cruises like I used to because of the prices. I hope the casino strategy holds up.
app???
Hi Matt, since my first cruise in 2019, i reached prime level in casino royale. I have taken 3 free balcony room cruises since, and have reserved Utopia balcony room for September. For people who love slots, its a win win . You just have to budget whatever the price of the cruise would have been to play. Ive been lucky enough to win back money in each cruise so far.
New topic! RCL airport transfers and arriving one day early to avoid missing the cruise due to flight delays, don’t work together. If you fly internationally for an RCL cruise and arrive a day early AND stay right at the airport, RCL Air2Sea will not allow you to book the needed transfers. The alternative is a private transfer that would likely cost hundreds of dollars more.
Outside of the blackout dates for the free cruise, you cannot use the tier cruise on a brand new ship. The ship has to be in service at least 1 year, so starting April 2025, you will be able to use the tier cruise for icon which is huge!
Actually getting tons of free RC cruise offers after my cruise in November. Was able to book a cruise on the upcoming Utopia of the Seas in August. I didn't even reach Prime, but got close & came out up a couple hundred. Going on another cruise in March so I can hit Prime & get the voucher cruise for 24/25. Its definitely doable. I found a handful of bankroll building slots on Allure of the Seas, but surely not plentiful. I also played a lot of Ultimate Texas Hold'em which gives a good amount of play time for your $$. Good luck everyone!
I'll be on Symphony in 2 days with a casino free cruise offer! Drinks in the casino is worth it in itself 🥰
Thanks for the information Matt. I’m cruising on Wonder in April and Utopia in October this year. I have funds set aside for both cruises to test this out. I’m hoping I can earn enough points to get an offer.
Thanks again!
My aunts friend always stays at the casino on carnival ships and she won a few cruises and she got me the models
Booked Utopia for November after our Freedom cruise last week. Looking forward to the annual cruise
I have never come close to prime. That being said, right after cruises started back up in 2021, I got a couple emails that I could pick a free cruise from a list of dates. Figured it was spam and didn’t respond. Then I got a postcard with the same offer. I called and got my free cruise. Ended up getting these offers monthly for about a year. We ended up going on 3 free cruises. Wish I could have used more of the offers, but having to fly to Florida from Illinois, get a hotel room and all the other things you have to pay to travel. Working full time and trying to juggle the free ones along with our cruises we had booked took some planning, but it was great! I figured they were trying to entice people to cruise with all the Covid restrictions. I’m sure they figured we’d spend money on the ship and in the casino….we did!
Both Prime, no offers.
Hi Matt, last year I made it to the Prime level and the free cruise offers come almost every week in the mail, albeit the same itineraries. I’ve booked three “free” cruises this year, two balconies and one ocean view. Getting to Prime, I broke-even money wise, starting with about $600. The slots both give and take, so I would be up $1700, then down to $100 and back up again. Basically, a lot of time in the casino on three previous cruises, but “cycled” enough money to get to Prime. As you mentioned, it’s not “free”. Port charges, drink & dining packages, excursions, still cost extra.
On our second cruise earlier this month, I made Prime with 2700 points and hubby ended up with 900 points. For our next cruise we’re planning on taking our granddaughter and BF for her 21st birthday in the fall. I know we could pry pay for it out of pocket but the bottom line is if we don’t “win” a cruise in advance, we’d never go. We live in Arizona so it’s not easy or cheap getting to the port, so the inconvenience factor is a downside. However, every time we step foot on a ship, we’re ready to book another sailing, because it’s that fun.
We gamble for fun but really do it for the free cruises. The last two years I’ve made prime for $1000 dollars for each year so only $2000 dollars and I’ve had over $14000 dollars worth of cruises in that time. Plus all the free drinks in the casino so it’s been well worth the money. The only trouble now is that they have started putting in higher volatility machines on the ships to make it harder to make prime for not a lot of money. Basically it’s so you spend more to make prime nowadays so it’s not such a great deal.
Wife and I are both Prime. We combine our offers to upgrade our interior room to either an ocean view or balcony cabin. We only play slot machines and we seek out the low volatility games.
@tonestar00 Those low vol are sometime hard to find. I think I found about 5 on the Freedom. If you were on the Independence what low vol ones do they have. Going in Aug and the Jewel in Jan.
Stupid question. What is low volatility game? We're going to royal end of the year i wanna try to get to prime. Heard slots is the best method but certain slots is better etc.
We are going on wonder of the sea. If it helps
I went on Oasis back in September and racked up about 750 points playing slots. This was my first time on RCL. Since that time, I have received countless free cruise offers. Unfortunately most of the offers were for 3/4 night sailings out of Florida and I live in NY so it was a bit of a challenge to book, but had I been local like Matt, I could have probably been on over 10 free cruises (i literally received 3-4 "wild card" offers per month for about 4 months. Went on a Freedom Sailing in February and going back in April. Unfortunately didn't hit prime tier but still love that i was able to get 2 practically free cruises. Hoping they send me more offers later this year.
I have also many offers and I have booked 2 back to backs and used the free offers as I am also from NY. Watch for sailings and you will be surprised that you can match up dates with multiple offers. In March I will be taking a 4 night out of Ft. Lauderdale, get off and Uber to Miami for a 3 night!
Biggest issue, the casino is still smoking.
Thank you for this information!
Appreciate your expertise 😊
Glad it was helpful!
I enjoy gambling, and save my fun for Cruise Ships. I am by no means a big-time gambler, but I have not paid for a Cruise in two years.
My one RC cruise yielded me an offer out the door and now I'm getting offers ever other day - but only to the Caribbean :-( So overwhelming I decided to just pay and go where I want. Sure, if you are going to gamble, no matter what, then sure a free cruise is great, but it will cost more in gambling cash than just paying for it yourself. 🙂 Note: personally I think NCL has better comp choices.
Exactly. Just paying for what you want is much bettee
I am, loving the free cruises. We have two booked this year, and I am looking for a couple in 2025 now.😅😅😅😅😅❤❤❤❤❤
How much is the discount for the Internet with the prime tier? And does that discount work for only 1 device or for multiple devices?
Something isn't adding up with the math because at 1 point for every $5 spent you would be paying for about 3 cruises with an inside cabin by the time you get to 2500 points. I don't gamble but I knew people who did go to the casino onboard and got free or reduced cruise offers and they didn't spend anywhere close to a 5:1 ratio so at some point it has to flip in order for it to make sense.
That is true if you lose on every single spin of the slot. The times you win will subtract from your total out of pocket number. If you use the winnings to do a new bet, that still counts towards points, but does not cost you anything.
So the total ratio will be different for everyone depending on luck of how much they win.
Spent $2000-$3000 on my last cruise, got a offer for 4 dates for Icon. Took the october one. I think what I spent in the casino is cheaper than a ticket on icon alone! Now time to save to stuff. Casino is the best way imo to get a free cruise. If you're going to spend that money on a cruise anyway, why not have fun spending it too?
Really and Icon offer. I thought they had ships under 12 months in the fleet black listed.
Did you pay irs?
I don’t know if the irs has jurisdiction over international waters.
So it's basically a Vegas comp rewards program at sea.
Not trying to be mean here, but there is a lot of incorrect info this this video. For example. Royal does make it very clear on how much $$ is 1 point(on slots and video poker). Your wins and losses do NOT matter for this. Also if your a UK citizen booking a UK cruise taxes and port fees are included in the free cruise by law.
Thanks for this video. I just took my first cruise 🛳 ever to the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. I'm going to try your tips. Do I use my same sea pass card or do I get issued a new one?
You get a new one issued every cruise.
Do the free cruises earned through casino contribute to your Crown and Anchor points?
Yes
Do you sign up when you get onboard? Great info for those that go to the casino
Just put your seapass card into the machine and you’re auto enrolled
I hit prime in December after about 3 cruises .. So when do i choose my free cruise? Would that b in April? Thanks in advance Matt
Yes, the annual tier cruises are issued in mid-April.
This works, no scam I have family that use this and talk about getting thier c&a status up fast.
Thank you for the information, can I use cash in the casino instead of my card?
Yes
How do you find out what your current points are?
My friend claims to have won ten cruises on one cruise. How is that possible? My understanding is you can only win one cruise a year. Thank you
The thumbnail is *chef's kiss*
I have taken 3 free cruises from the Casino Royals program, get free drinks in the casino and have 5 free drinks compliments of my crown and anchor tier. No drink package for me!
That's the goal. It will take me 2-3 more years to hit Diamond. I wish I knew about this a long time ago. I would have moved to Florida just so i could do a bunch of the short cruises.
Gambling It’s a fine art and like fine art it can cost you more than what it’s worth.
The free casino cruise can easily become the most expensive cruise you’ve 11:53 even bought. Be careful and have a great cruise. we’ve been warned. Thanks Matt.
Could someone explain how you go from choice to prime in one seven night cruise and get offered ocean view or balcony room? If you don't want the free cruise, you can apply $1,000 to any cruise and also get whatever promotions are running at the time? The list for free cruise goes from April 2024 to March 2025, which includes all the newest ships, including Utopia and Icon? I didn't play that much or that long. There's also a promotion. If you bought a book later certificate, you would get $500 free play on that cruise.
If you earned $2500 points in one cruise this week you would become Prime. It would last until March 31, 2025. If you did that the first week of April, then you would be Prime until March 31, 2026 (The year you earned plus the next year). If prime you will get a voucher mid-late April for a free 7 day cruise with 1 year to book. Can you get to Prime in one 7 day cruise. It is possible. I got 1270 point last month on a 4 night cruise. With 1200 points i earned an instant free inside room cruise from the list (posted at the host station). I booked a 9 day out of Galvaston next January. On March 2 I received a postcard voucher for free outside room. I booked a 4 night in August. On March 7, I got another postcard voucher for a free outside room. I may not use that one because most of the cruise dates are when i have other things going on. Note: these are for 2 people and only cost for the free cruise is the port fee and taxes. For the 4 day that totaled $191and the 9 day it was $331 (total, not each)
How long do I need to sit at the blackjack table to earn a free cruise. Just wondering if it’s worth the divorce. Also any estimate on how points are awarded at a blackjack table.
You said "Points earned for dollars spent is variable". For slots, it is not. $5 spun = 1 point. Now you may win and lose some, resulting in you getting more points. But if you put $20 in and lose every spin you will still get 4 points. The tables are where it is a bit of a guessing game/variable.
Question, do the free cruises contribute to your Crown and Anchor points?
Yes
It's worth doing the maths first, I put $1300 (room charge) through the slots and got to 600 points but decided to cash out my winnings and pay off my onboard expense account (over 2k after drinks) this meant my final onboard bill was less than $200. The casino loyalty has it's merits but I decided to put the cash back in my pocket.
2K in drinks, you should have bought the package.
Drinks were about $700 but yeah next time I will...lol
We go on two or three a year, and I spend a few thousand in the casino. Problem is I really only play craps and that doesn’t get rated well at all. I’m prime but I feel like for as much as I put through I should be signature easily.
How can you cruise a lot even without the casino comps?
My husband and I got $200 off each thru the casino. I booked a cruise thru my TA but as soon as she used the coupons they told her she was done and she was sort of upset with us.
Knew Royal had a casino club but it was never explained what the perks were. I assumed they dealt with the casino and as I low level gambler, I did not partake. I do plan on joining next cruise and I think Royal could get more people in the casino if more casual gamblers knew the perks worked outside the casino.
Apparently you are auto enrolled as a crown and anchor society member!
I see that “exclusive rates for family and friends” is a perk of Prime status. Has anyone used it and what did it save?
Hey Matt you said in the video about using the points for free play or on board credit how does this work because I am on board the rhapsody of the seas and they are telling me here they have never heard about this. Would appreciate if you can like guide me to who I need to speak to about this ! Thanks
On the last day put your card in a slot machine and go to your account, they will have deposited free play into your account based on how many points you generated on the cruise. Note the running total on your card will zero out, but you still earned them toward you race to Prime or the 1200 on that cruise to get a free cruise. So make sure you write down where you are at.
Any info on RC sailings from the UK 🇬🇧 does the casino loyalty program exist on ships leaving Southampton?
Yes it does
Any way to find out how many points you earned at the casino after the cruise is over?
Yes, go to the casino royale website and log in
Matt...could you do a video about cruising if you are disabled and in a wheelchair...my husband and I wanr to book our 1st cruise but Im not sure how it would workout.
We have done a dozen cruises with RC and have seen someone in a wheelchair and/or scooter every time. It can be done. They have rooms specifically designed to help
@@cmartin496 Thank you...I appreciate that very much!
Icon got me with the gambling but I did get a free cruise. Woo hoo
But how MUCH did You Lose and how
Long did You Play for the Cruise .??
@@RaymondMullen-t9j I lost about $900 but then won $1100 and got the free cruise. Normally I don’t play that much but the casino bar ended up being the hang out spot every night.
Sure "free"...
You earn less on table games because they have better odds for the player than slots.
That and they have to guesstimate you bet amount. At the craps table you do not have the same amount on the table every rolls, so it is a moving average. Tip the dealers early and make the boxman sees it, and you get a more favorable average.
I’m not sure about cruise ships but Vegas and Macau use RFID chips. They know exactly how much you are betting.@@edmandziuk3858
What does it take!? Spent several hours per night playing craps on my last cruise (Allure)… Plus roulette, blackjack, and slots. Got no offer. RC sends me no emails. I get constant offers from Carnival, Virgin, Celebrity, and others. MGM, Caesars, and others send me weekly Vegas comps.
To rack up the points, you gotta play slots. Tables take forever to earn points.
Unless I’m missing something, on Royal, you have to get your request for a win/loss statement notarized. What a pain that is. Other cruise lines just ask for an email.
you can go to the web site and request a year end W/L
@@edmandziuk3858 when I went to the site, it said I have to send a notarized request in the mail.
slot tournaments do not earn points either. 1500 points for the cruise you are on to get the free cruise from that play is $7500 in slot play. it takes 2500 points to get to prime for the year, that's $12,500 in slot play.
MATT I love your thumbnail for this one!
Same
Haha thanks!
can anyone tell me what the drink at 1:56 is? I saw everyone get it on my last cruise but didn't see it anywhere on the bar menus. thank you!!
Thats a mudslide.
Question for yall: if I book a non-refundable cruise and see before the final payment that the same exact fare is cheaper can I ask that Royal gives me on board credit or refund the difference?
you can always ask. I bet if an upgraded cabin's price reduction was close to what you paid, they may let you switch for the difference. Depends on how nicely you ask and what leeway they have. A happy customer is a repeat customer
Remember, it aint royal caribbean giving you the free cruise, its Casino Royal giving it to you, and they know what they are doing.
Do you earn C&A points on the free cruises?
Yes
It's NOT a good idea to chase a "free" cruise in the casino. They give you "free" stuff to entice you to comeback and lose more money in the casino, but the casino is a BUSINESS that always wins in the long run. Have FUN but don't chase comps!
Just to check - can any points we earn be put towards the Club Royale level *and* free play/on board spend, or is it one or the other?
When you use your free play based on how many points you got during a particular cruise, those points do still count toward your yearly total (and the total for that cruise, for that matter). They don't go away, although it may look like they did because your points will look less on the slot machine when you put your card in. I hope that makes sense.
@@cnik7802I was afraid my casino points would go away so I didn’t use my FP on my cruise earlier this month. I was trying to make Prime so I didn’t want to jeopardize that. Live & learn, lol.
Is this cabin still for 2 in an inside cabin? Used to be a balcony for 2 annual for Prime back in 2019 now inside cabin? Can you pay to upgrade?
You can pay to upgrade but there is really no deal for it. Sometimes they will offer oceanview rooms
Depends on your play, high rollers can get suites and all packages paid. And yes you can pay to upgrade.
You can get balcony rooms at 4000 points. However, you can also get balcony rooms or oceanview rooms starting at 1500 points on select voyages. Those are few and far between. When you reach tiers of 1500/2000/3000 points, the higher you go the more cruises and balcony rooms become available.
Wait so I'm trying to get my head around this here; you need 2500 points to get to prime status and get a free cruise...$5 on the pokies will give you 1 point so you would need to spend $12,500 to get to that tier?
If you lost ever single bet and never won a dollar back? Yes, more or less
Did you win anything from the gambling?
Depends on the session. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
do the casino points expire?
Yes, every year on March 31
I'm trying to figure out the math, as people say they only spent $300 -800 and got free cruises. But according to my math, $5 for every point and 2500 points to get a free cruise, it would cost $12,500. What am I missing? 😵💫
Your math is correct. It is possible to get the 2500 pts a minimal amount of money out of your pocket. This will all depend on if your winning or losing. Last month I racked up 1800 pts off of $200 out of my pocket. I got lucky and found a machine that was winning enough to keep me playing without inserting more money. So I played on this machine for about an hour or more. I finally cashed out with about $220 and was able to sit for quite a while and rack up points between my wins and losses.
@paulrakowitz7535 thank you, now it makes sense. You will have to put $12,500 into the machine. Just hope get lucky machine.
Also you don't have to get all 2500 on one cruise. Get 1/2, which is enough to win an instant free cruise. Go on that cruise and get the other 1/2, which also wins another free cruise. Then you are Prime, which come the following, mid-April you get another cruise. Plus they will send you monthly offers. Maybe just $$'s off, but this month I got 2 additional free cruise offers.
How do they handle solo travelers?
No difference
If you are prime status or u reached the minimum threshold (1200 points, but varies by ship), you get a comped interior room if you book while on the cruise. If you are solo, you just pay taxes and port fees for the comped cruise. As an extra benefit, you also earn 2x points for Crown & Anchor as a solo cruiser vs 1x points for somebody who brings an extra person with them.
👍
That sounds exhausting…
2500 points at $5 per point is $12500 dollars gambled. Not pocket change lol
This is the same method casinos in Las Vegas, or any casino in the world, utilizes. If you win, of course they want you back. SO THEY CAN TAKE THE BACK MONEY YOU WON FROM THEM. Remember, HOUSE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAYS WINS. For that reason, I'm out. :)
Simply lose $12,500 gambling and receive a free $1600 cruise
I don't gamble at all.
I prefer to pay my vacation !!
I dont gamble !!
I have NEVER won or received anything, only brought money!!!
Are you playing with your Seapass?
RCL isn’t like Carnival or Princess cruises where they can comp you a free cruise based on how much you lose. RCL goes by points. Doesn’t matter how much you win or lose, but how many points you earn. As long as you remember 1 point per every $5 spent on slots and your average bet/hour on table games (ex you play craps and your average bet was $20 for an hour you will receive 20 points). But you gotta make sure the pit boss is tracking you correctly.
Varies by ship but usually around 1200 points, you can get a free cruise interior room if you book through next cruise on the ship. Always double check with the casino host.
Cruise ship zombie movie
not too be TOO sarcastic but.... REALLY ... if youre a high roller.... they WANT you back in the place where you will lose MORE money... again???? never wouldve thunk it ....hahahaha
It sounds like you are paying for the cruise anyway.
Spent $300 getting to prime :) such an insane deal... I drank $300 in free drinks in the first 2 days of having it ahhahah
I feel like there should be a gambling addiction disclaimer at the beginning of this video
There is. I said to gamble responsibly