Note that a complimentary Royal Caribbean cruise includes cruise fare for two, but you still need to pay the additional taxes and port fees. Prime members, for example, earn a comped inside cabin and also get free drinks at the casino bar on every cruise as soon as the level is reached. The number of points you earn in a 12-month period from April 1 through March 31 determines your tier level for the next 12 months.Įach tier level comes with perks and discounts once you make it to the second tier, Prime, and beyond, you also get a comped cruise at the end of the current program year. Slots earn points at a rate of 1 per $5 played, including re-played winnings video poker machines earn $1 per $10 played and table games earn points based on your average bet and time spent at the table (which is somewhat subjective).

You earn different amounts of points per dollar played depending on the game you choose. (Note: These tiers are not related in any way to Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor loyalty program for frequent cruisers.) That gets you 'rated' as a player in the line's Club Royale casino loyalty program, which in turn gets you perks and comps based on a points system. To earn casino comps on a Royal Caribbean cruise, you must first spend time and money gambling in the onboard casino, Casino Royale, being careful to use your Sea Pass cruise card to track your play. How to get casino comps on Royal CaribbeanĪ casino comp is a free item or perk given out by a casino to entice you to play more. Here's how it went down, what I learned and how much it cost me - plus tips on how you, too, can get 'free' cruises from onboard casino play.įor more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter. So I channeled the luck of my grandmother and dived into researching Royal Caribbean's Club Royale casino program, with the aim of beating the system and netting a comped cruise.

Were they mythical, or exclusively for high rollers? Could I start from nothing, take one cruise, stick to a strict gambling budget and parlay that into a free sailing? The idea was exciting - addictive even - and once it took hold, I couldn't let go.Įven though I don't gamble much, I do come from a long line of slot machine players.

I've always been intrigued by the concept of complimentary casino cruises. However, this is a story about how I played the slots in Royal Caribbean's Casino Royale to earn a 'free' cruise. Before starting research for this story, I don't recall ever playing anything in a cruise ship casino.

This is a story about gambling, even though I'm not much of a gambler.

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