It is onerous to go up an excellent deal, particularly for a cruise that prices you subsequent to nothing. Properly, form of.
I sailed on a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas from Tampa that was free because of my standing with the cruise line’s on line casino.
You could have heard about there are particular advantages for people who gamble sufficient within the on line casino on a cruise ship. Whereas Royal Caribbean has a loyalty program, the on line casino has its personal mini-loyalty program that’s along with Crown and Anchor Society.
The second tier affords free drinks within the on line casino, reductions on web entry and a minimum of one free cruise per 12 months that you simply qualify.
I redeemed my free cruise provide, and it’s certainly as marketed. The one catch is it’s important to gamble to earn it.
How free is free?
The cruise fare is certainly free, and all I needed to do was pay the taxes and charges of $397.00 for 2 folks.
In alternate for incomes sufficient factors in Royal Caribbean’s on line casino loyalty program, I used to be awarded a free cruise to ebook. This free cruise is not primarily based on how a lot you gambled on a selected crusing. Moderately, it is an annual good thing about being a minimum of Prime inside On line casino Royale loyalty program.
Anybody that hits Prime or increased standing in a on line casino 12 months will get awarded a free cruise. It is given out in April, and it is good for a cruise inside a 12 months to ebook and sail on.
Your free cruise can be utilized on roughly any seven-night or shorter cruise that doesn’t fall on a significant vacation. And you’ll’t ebook on any ship that is lower than one 12 months outdated. So you will not have the ability to go on Icon of the Seas (but) or take the children whereas they’re on Spring Break.
There are a lot of sailings to select from, but in addition loads of blackout dates. You may should cautious discover the best one, and that is assuming the on line casino affords aren’t offered out for that crusing.
Should you’re versatile, it is not too tough to search out one. There’s often rather a lot within the fall and early winter when college continues to be in session.
As a Prime member (minimal 2500 factors), I’m entitled to an inside cabin on my free cruise.
I chosen a Serenade of the Seas cruise as a result of it was handy, provided a possibility to go to two ports in Mexico, and I like crusing on Radiance Class ships.
I booked the cruise via Royal Caribbean’s on line casino division and likewise received $25 of free play within the on line casino with my reserving.
My cabin was small and darkish, however sufficient house for simply me
I used to be given cabin 3047 midship on deck 3.
It was slightly nearer to the ahead elevator banks, however just about in the midst of the deck. Whereas deck 3 won’t be the most well-liked location to have a cabin, it is precisely the place you wish to be if you wish to decrease the feeling of motion to forestall seasickness.
I booked it as an Inside Assure cabin, which meant Royal Caribbean assigned me the precise room quantity. To be trustworthy, I forgot to verify when my room was truly assigned, however noticed it was truly an excellent location on condition that it met my prime three standards:
- No connecting door
- Above and under different cabins
- Close to an elevator
I’ve stayed in loads of inside cabins earlier than, and this was precisely the form of room I anticipated.
It is a Class 2V cabin, and Royal Caribbean describes it as, “our most budget-friendly possibility” and “A comfortable and comfy retreat, Excellent for lengthy naps after an adventure-filled day.”
I would say that is an excellent description. It is the best cabin for a spot to sleep, bathe, and alter. In any other case, you’ll in all probability be out and about doing issues elsewhere.
The room has all the usual options all cruise ship cabins provide: a mattress that may be cut up up, non-public rest room with bathe, sofa, vainness, and closet.
One notable change on this cabin was it had a nightlight within the ceiling close to the lavatory. It is a motion-activated gentle, so if the room lights have been off, the nightlight would come on and illuminate the room briefly till motion ceased.
It is a good characteristic, and one thing you do not discover on any Royal Caribbean ship. I am guessing it is a characteristic added for Royal Caribbean’s first ever world cruise.
I used to be upset there weren’t extra World Cruise upgrades provided. I heard from different passengers that they had USB and electrical retailers added to their cabin for the world cruise crusing, however my cabin was not considered one of them.
Talking of lights, this inside room will get very darkish once you flip the lights off. Since there is not any pure gentle, it is pitch black once you go to mattress. That is nice for anybody who’s disturbed by lights when sleeping, nevertheless it was unusual to have my alarm go off and it nonetheless be fairly darkish. Anybody staying on this cabin may contemplate selecting up a dawn alarm clock to assist make it really feel extra regular in that means.
The non-public rest room is strictly what I wanted, and it has the naked necessities. It is a small rest room house, however purposeful.
I had one subject with the bathroom not flushing on embarkation day, however there was a crew member engaged on the problem earlier than I may even report it and it by no means was an issue after that.
The king dimension mattress takes up many of the room, and it was fairly snug. You may ask your cabin attendant to separate the mattress at any time.
There’s simply 160 sq. toes of dwelling house, however for one individual it is loads. Even with two folks, you might need to shuffle a bit, nevertheless it’s purposeful sufficient.
I do not thoughts staying in an inside cabin, however after a couple of days I began lacking having pure gentle or having the ability to look outdoors and see if it is sunny, wet, or darkish.
I am not the kind of person who wants daylight to really feel good. Moderately, it provides me perspective on what the climate is like, have we docked but, and most significantly, is it 3pm or 3am.
The shortage of pure gentle within the morning made it a bit jarring to get up in a very darkish setting. Whereas I would not go so far as to say I will by no means do it once more, it was my major gripe with this form of a cabin.
On a 5-night cruise, it is brief sufficient that it wasn’t an enormous subject. But when I used to be crusing longer than 6 or 7 nights, I might need to rethink the fee financial savings.
A free room, in the event you’re okay with the playing threat
I received my free cruise as promised, and it was precisely what I anticipated.
There is no query Royal Caribbean’s on line casino rewards are arguably the perfect worth in cruising right now, however there is a main caveat that it includes vital threat.
Playing is addictive, and you possibly can find yourself shedding some huge cash within the technique of attempting to earn a “free cruise”.
You need to be in a monetary place the place you possibly can afford to lose cash playing within the on line casino with out damaging your private funds. The annual tier free cruise is a bonus, not your major reserving technique.
I estimate it can take about $2,000 – $3,000 to earn sufficient factors to make it to Prime standing and qualify for the annual tier cruise. That is some huge cash to gamble and doubtlessly lose.
Furthermore, you possibly can go in with that quantity in thoughts however the addictive nature of playing would lead you to spend far more. Unquestionably, it is one thing to not take evenly.
In my scenario, I felt the dangers have been value it and I got here away feeling like I received extra out of the scenario with my complimentary crusing (and different On line casino Royale advantages) to justify all of it.
I had a fantastic cruise that price me little or no for the precise reserving, and I will be qualifying once more in 2025 for my subsequent tier certificates.