While regular cruisers worry about loyalty programs and their associated perks, gamblers obsess over the casino gambling rewards program. Every cruise line has one, but they work differently and the stakes are very high with gamblers earning everything from free drinks in the casino to actual free cruises.
Royal Caribbean's (RCL) Casino Royale program offers multiple types of rewards for people who gamble on the cruise line's ships. First, you can earn tier status based on how much you gamble during the casino year (which is from April 1-March 31). If you hit "Prime," which is sort of the entry-level high-end tier, you get free drinks in the casino and earn an annual free cruise in an interior cabin.
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The tier-based loyalty program does not change much from year to year, but the second type of perk (there are actually three types) "offers" are much more mysterious. These are emailed offers (they also appear on the Casino Royale website) for everything from money off a cruise to free cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean does not share exactly how it decides to send out these offers. It's based not on your tier, but on your value as a customer on your most recent trip. That includes how much money you put at risk at the casino (not how much you lose) and it may factor in the amount you spend on a trip, but the cruise line does not share the exact formula.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Royal Caribbean Makes a Major Casino Change
Multiple Facebook groups exist discussing every quirk of the Casino Royale program. People endlessly debate how offers get sent and some people share what the offers are.
The offers vary greatly with some people just getting discounts and others getting free suites. Royal Caribbean does not share how it chooses who gets what offers. There may be a limit on how many free cruises you can have booked and still get offers and the system is clearly weighted to your most recent trip, but there's a lot of mystery involved.
When you get a free offer -- at least until now -- it covers whatever class of room you get offered for two people (you can bring a third and fourth, but will pay full price for them). Now, some members of the Royal Caribbean Club Royale Facebook group have shared that they have gotten offers where only the first person is free with the other paying full fare.
"Oh, this is going to piss a bunch of folks off! A friend just called about the offer they received last night, and were told it’s only for 1 person. The other must pay full casino fare," shared Vance McMahon.
In addition, solo travelers will pay a "solo supplement" even if they travel alone.
"I just called and got the same thing. You get one free person in double occupancy. Whether another person goes or not, you still have to pay the second person's fare," Andrea Cox Snead replied.
That would make a "free" cruise, not free at all. Under the regular system a "free" offer requires that you pay taxes and port fees for each person.
Royal Caribbean Causes Confusion
The problem with having a somewhat mysterious rewards system is that people don't actually know when they're getting a good deal. These new "solo" offers are not replacing the traditional dual occupancy offers. They appear to be a specific promotion sent only to some Casino Royale members (there are dozens of different offer codes each month).
Facebook group member Rebecca Noren explained what she was told by the cruise line.
Just got off the phone with Casino Royale... I called to book this offer. My version is 23VAR407. I was told we would be getting an email explaining this offer soon. But he said, that if your offer ends in 4, 5, 6 or 7 you get a complimentary stateroom ONLY if you pay for a second person. If you go solo, it becomes 50% off. He also said that this is unique to this specific offer. That as of now, if we receive a different complementary stateroom offer, it should work the way we are used to. He did talk to a supervisor during our call. He also said that this new and they are still learning the procedure.
Basically, this is a discount offer not all that different from the "dollars off" offers some people get. Royal Caribbean has still been sending some onboard casino gamblers the traditional offers that are a truly free (aside from taxes and fees) cabin.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has a generous free cruise program and a system where comped Royal Caribbean customers can sail free on one of their sailings. MSC also has a similar program (and eligibility standards for a free cruise are not fully clear).
Royal Caribbean also awards free cruises based on how many points a player earns on a single sailing. The amount that needs to be earned for various sailings and "Instant Rewards" varies and is posted at the casino counter and on the casino host's desk on each cruise. Those offers, when you hit the free cruise level, are for two passengers in a cabin.
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