Internet Article - How to get a Free Royal Caribbean Cruise

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/how-to-get-a-free-royal-caribbean-cruise

Casino ROOM COMPS are not a big revelation to most on this forum, but perhaps news to some that the Casino Dept's of the major Cruise Lines also offer COMP'd CRUISES.

- Mrs Q has been getting many Carnival offers for free cruises lately. We have booked several for 2023.

- We are taking one more over Christmas this year on Holland-America, a division of Carnival Corporation.

- All the cruises I took in 2022 were comp'd ( I do pay the taxes, fees, and gratuities ). I think my flexible schedule matched up nicely with the timing of the offers.

- It does seem that the offers have slowed down in the past month or so.

- I haven't tried URCOMPD yet, but probably will.

I’ve considered it.

But I have heard (admittedly, didn’t check for accuracy) that a cruise’s fees / port fees / etc bs fees, make a casino’s resort fees seem like a breath of fresh air.

Any truth to that?

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I’ve considered it.

But I have heard (admittedly, didn’t check for accuracy) that a cruise’s fees / port fees / etc bs fees, make a casino’s resort fees seem like a breath of fresh air.

Any truth to that?
link to original post

A friend who wanted to take advantage said about$1200 per person so it didn't feel like free.

Also be wary because for example, Atlantis has fine print that if you don't gamble appropriate play when on the property they can charge the amount of the trip kinda like a no show comp where you get charged for not showing up

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I’ve considered it.

But I have heard (admittedly, didn’t check for accuracy) that a cruise’s fees / port fees / etc bs fees, make a casino’s resort fees seem like a breath of fresh air.

Any truth to that?
link to original post

If you do your homework some cruises can be bought for less than the "comped" cruise line value. Probably not most, but I have definitely found some that were that way back when I cruised a lot.

I have not used UR'Comped but would definitely look into it if I was looking for a cruise. They deal with many of the cruise lines and get a cut of your theo loss just like an outside host would.

A few years ago I was offered a position by Carnival Corporation to be in charge of the player clubs for all 104 ships. I turned it down because they wanted me to spend most of my time overseas in Italy, Germany, and Singapore. I would have accepted it except they wanted me to relocate to Miami and I didn't think it was fair to uproot my wife and drop her in Miami while I am out of the country nine months a year. If they would have let me stay based in Las Vegas I would have taken it.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I’ve considered it.

But I have heard (admittedly, didn’t check for accuracy) that a cruise’s fees / port fees / etc bs fees, make a casino’s resort fees seem like a breath of fresh air.

Any truth to that?
link to original post

NO.

On my upcoming 7 day cruise, the avg per day for taxes/fees/port charges is $ 23.57.

And gratuities are $ 14.50 per day.

So that is LESS per day than the Resort Fee at Bellagio which I think is around $ 50.

And that is separate from the Vegas hotel tax rate, which is 13.35 %. Somebody gotta pay for those stadiums, right ?

ps:

Also, most but not all of the free cruise offers include free drinks while playing in the casino. Drink prices on the ship are about what you would expect to pay at a nicer bar/restaurant. So if you would normally get a glass of wine before dinner and one before the show, that's about $ 20 to $ 24 in "value".

Some offers are for a nice cabin with a balcony, and some are just for an inside cabin ( no windows ).

I suspect that the quantity of free offers I got were related to ships not being at capacity due to the reluctance of people to travel while the pandemic was still fresh in everyone's mind. AND because a supervised Negative Covid test USED to be required with-in 3 days of sailing, there may have been some reluctance there too.

IF there is any built-up consumer demand for cruises as the worst of Covid fades away, free cruise offers may slow down, at least for low to medium rollers like myself.