kiddo76

17 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

I've made prime and earned a certificate on $2 that was promo money from the casino. I doubt that will ever happen again, but man that was a fun cruise. However free JS's require a big chunk of points to be earned... usually.

 

It's hard to say how many for a free cruise, but I can tell you that when RCI gets desperate (Cuba cancelled) even people that have spent extremely little get offers. My Aunt got a free 8 night on Empress, in July, after those cancellations... and she only had a total of 212 points for the year in Casino Royale. 😱

 

As far as the financial problems... I do not know if anyone here can give advice on that, as I would not know how to bring it up to someone I know... but if I was truly concerned, I guess I would find a way. 

 

Yeah, I get that one can get lucky and really make out well. She's now up to at least 2 "free" cruises a year and uses he land casino rewards to pay for flights and hotel. I know I'm not that lucky!

1 hour ago, dodgestang said:

 

I made it into Prime on my first cruise with RC.  I take $4-5k with me to gamble and buy things with when on RC cruises.  On 3 out of 4 last cruises I came home with that $4-5k and various rip-off art that I bought on board with gambling proceeds as well as no charges on credit at the end of the trip from the on board account.  On last cruise I lost most of it so while I still had a great time....I was down on that trip....

 

But I consider myself up over all....because the amount I am officially down is less than the total savings I have received in discounts on room upgrades using free cruise certs and Prime cruise annual cruise award.  But to be clear....we are always into a cruise for 5 digits with the suites and the excursions....even with casino discounts so it's not like I'm making a profit 😉

Thanks. This relative claims she spends a set amount per day and when it's gone, she's done gambling for the day. She makes it sound like that's around $50 a day, since she compares it to what people spend on the drink package.

So can anyone tell me what the average amount of money people gamble to get a "free" cruise. I have a family member who keeps getting offered "free" Caribbean cruises in a junior suite, both directly from RCCL and a land based casino. She's gotten into financial trouble in the past with gambling and some of us are concerned.

Good to know this is an option!

When this is done, can the person on the Refreshment Package still order and pay for the occasional alcoholic drink? The Ultimate Package works for DH, but I only have 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day (usually wine with dinner and/or an evening cocktail).