When you visit many of the Facebook groups built around players in Royal Caribbean's Casino Royale, many members are looking for an edge. People commonly ask what the top slot machines are to play when it comes to earning points toward status levels and Instant Cruise certificates.
Low volatility slot machines tend to allow for longer play as you get more little wins. These are machines that don't have a large prize linked to other machines.
Related: Royal Caribbean Group, Celebrity Cruises make surprise ship move
The reality, however, is that low-volatility slots have largely been removed from cruise ships and video poker, another good way to churn points, have pay tables that are not as player friendly as the ones in Las Vegas. That means that cruisers need to look for other edges and there aren't many.
One thing to be aware of is that Royal Caribbean offers two sets of Instant Certificate offers — one for cruises 5 days and shorter and another for cruises 6 days and longer. In theory, the Instant Certificates for the shorter cruises offer better free cruises at lower point totals.
That's because on a typical short cruise, passengers may not even have a sea day. It's possible that they may not get any days where they can gamble and, depending upon when the ship leaves each port, not be able to gamble until after dinner.
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How Royal Caribbean Instant Certificates work
While Royal Caribbean has two sets of Instant Certificate offers, it does not change the points needed to earn a free cruise based on the length of the sailing. What it does do is offer more free cruises at each level on the 5-nights-or-less list compared to the 6-nights-or-more list.
Players earn one point for every $5 cycled through a slot machine and $10 put through a video poker machine. The earnings rates vary at table games, but they tend to be much lower than the clear system used for the machines.
Once a player has earned 800 points on a single cruise, they will earn an Instant Certificate that can come with a free cruise. Generally, the basic certificate just offers dollars off a cruise, but if you make a Next Cruise reservation, you will also get a small list of free cruises.
A Next Cruise reservation is a $100 per person deposit made on a future cruise. You don't pick the cruise and can assign it to your free casino cruise (if you earn one) after the fact.
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The money will go toward taxes and port fees and booking via Next Cruise generally unlocks a better free cruise list as well as freeplay for anyone who earns an Instant Certificate.
A Royal Caribbean casino hack
When book a cruise with the idea of earning the best Instant Certificate, you want to look for the relatively rare five-day sailing. It's not common, but it does happen.
You also want to consider where the ship stops. On Saturday, I leave on Voyager of the Seas for a 5-day sailing that stops at Royal Caribbean's private destinations in Labadee, Haiti and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Because both of those destinations allow for the casino to remain open, this itinerary essentially maximizes gambling time. The casino more or less does not close (it likely will at some point very late at night for a couple of hours).
We plan to explore in Labadee, but stay on the ship at CocoCay (as we just spent a day there less than two weeks ago). We won't be gambling all hours, but will be able to find more times when the casino is open and we can have our pick of machines.
This is the perfect itinerary if your goal is earning the best possible certificate. You might actually have more available casino hours than many 7-day cruises, but you will get access to the better, short cruise lists.
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We did not, of course, book this cruise because of its casino benefits. My travel agent partners and I both happened to have comp offers and an opening in our schedules.
When we saw the itinerary, however, it did change our thinking about checking the offers when onboard and making an effort to earn the best free sailing possible.
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