Free cruise - What's the catch?

Regarding this promotion:

https://www.carnival.com/Registration/Promotions/casino-funmatch-alt2da279.aspx?

Free cruise it looks like? Too good to be true? What's the catch? Anyone with previous experiences with carnival? I'm MGM gold, Penn preferred, and Caesars Diamond. Do you think I'll get a free cruise?

The catch is they want to lure you into their casino.

I think you’ll at least get a vastly discounted cruise through that promo.

I personally really like Carnival, but many people consider them to be “the Walmart of the seas.”

CZR offers 'free' cruises that cost about $500 per week with the admin fees, port charges, government fees, and tips which the passenger must pay themselves before boarding.

A free or discounted cruise will probably cost you more ahead of time and then there is all that onboard spend if you want to do anything fun.

Quote: IWannaBeAP

Regarding this promotion:

https://www.carnival.com/Registration/Promotions/casino-funmatch-alt2da279.aspx?

Free cruise it looks like? Too good to be true? What's the catch? Anyone with previous experiences with carnival? I'm MGM gold, Penn preferred, and Caesars Diamond. Do you think I'll get a free cruise?
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There is no catch with that offer as I have used it. You’re responsible for port fees which can range from $50-350 depending on the length and location of cruise and the $14.5 per day per person gratuity. Other than that with your club cards you will get a fully free cruise. I used the offer in August and based on play they sent me another offer for the same thing.

The Caesars “free” cruise isn’t free though. They have a $20 per day per person admin fee.

Their hope is by getting you on the ship you will buy shore excursions, specialty dining, gamble and buy things like photos for $20 a piece. It’s the Vegas model for cruises, bring them on for free and get them to spend while they are a captive audience.

I didn’t spend a single penny on their cruise, no photos, specialty dining (other than the two comped meals by the host), shore excursions or alcohol cause it was free in the casino. They still gave me an offer based on my play which wasn’t shunting crazy. I was actually surprised they gave me another free offer, shows how much they are hurting currently.

CZR and NCL used to be owned by the same company, Apollo. This is probably the historical reason CZR offers 'free' NCL cruises. Other casinos have affiliations with other cruise lines because it is profitable to get a proven degenerate gambler trapped on a ship at sea while the casino is open and offering the only free drinks onboard.

Interestingly, they never blackball CZR players for playing little or not at all in the onboard casino. The CZR promo department probably never even sees your action on the NCL ship. When I asked Casinos at Sea for a upgrade, they did look at my history of play and basically said 'No way in hell are we extending you a favor'. A friend who was a degenerate gambler always got many upgrades and enhanced cruise offers.

I usually sail Carnival, and have been getting very good deals based on my casino play. For the "free" offers I have been getting lately, the nominal cruise fare is refunded as onboard credit that can be used for any onboard purchases, ship-sponsored excursions, and gratuities.

I still have to pay for port fees and taxes, which for my upcoming November cruise is $112 pp. Note that port charges vary not only with the ports of call, but also with the embarkation port. E.g., cruises that leave out of San Francisco or NYC have some of the highest port charges. Also, if it is a Panama Canal trip, expect the port fees to double, at least.

Like PG, I tend not to spend money onboard, except for the casino and drink tips. And an internet package for Mrs. Joeman; she needs to stay connected!

I did the "free" CET/NCL cruise offer a couple of years ago. "Free" turned out to be around $600 plus gratuities, but still a pretty good deal for a 7-day cruise. I thought I had given them decent action in the casino, but I never heard a peep from their casino marketing dept regarding discounts on future cruises.

The "Catch" is if they "Catch" you counting cards, they will send that information to the casinos you gave them your player's card. So while you may make money off them from card counting, you will lose that ability to count in whatever casinos are associated with your players card.

Quote: VladPutin

The "Catch" is if they "Catch" you counting cards, they will send that information to the casinos you gave them your player's card. So while you may make money off them from card counting, you will lose that ability to count in whatever casinos are associated with your players card.
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All BJ on carnival is CSM. NCL was CSM except for the $50 and $100 tables.

Quote: Joeman

I usually sail Carnival, and have been getting very good deals based on my casino play. For the "free" offers I have been getting lately, the nominal cruise fare is refunded as onboard credit that can be used for any onboard purchases, ship-sponsored excursions, and gratuities.

I still have to pay for port fees and taxes, which for my upcoming November cruise is $112 pp. Note that port charges vary not only with the ports of call, but also with the embarkation port. E.g., cruises that leave out of San Francisco or NYC have some of the highest port charges. Also, if it is a Panama Canal trip, expect the port fees to double, at least.

Like PG, I tend not to spend money onboard, except for the casino and drink tips. And an internet package for Mrs. Joeman; she needs to stay connected!

I did the "free" CET/NCL cruise offer a couple of years ago. "Free" turned out to be around $600 plus gratuities, but still a pretty good deal for a 7-day cruise. I thought I had given them decent action in the casino, but I never heard a peep from their casino marketing dept regarding discounts on future cruises.
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I doubt I would use the Caesars offer again. The only reason I used it is because I thought it would be a cheap method of seeing the islands since I was going to Greece anyways. I booked another free carnival cruise January 8 which means I guess I have to be back from Europe by then lol.

NCL was like $640 for the two of us or something like that not including the wifi and drinks package we bought.