JR. Suite on Grandeur for $500 ?

Hello again,

I have another inquirery regarding winning cruises....sorry. My last post was about winning a cruise in the casino, now the same coworker that said they have won their last 4 cruises playing in the casino said they got mail from Royal yesterday and his wife is a member of Royals Casino Royale and the gave her several choisces of free cruises and they chose the Grandeur . All they had to pay was the $500 .

We have been on 18 Royal cruises, and yes I am naive, but how is this possible, or should I just call him a liar to his face ? We don’t gamble so there could be truth to his story and I’ll admit I have no idea what Casino Royale is, but is there any truth to his story, and do we need to start gambling to get all these free cruises he claims they have been on ....TIA

Here is something to consider...How much did they have to spend (read "lose") in order to get these "free" cruises? If it sounds too good to be true...well, you know the rest.

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They quite possibly got all those cruises for "free" but I'm guessing the cruise line still came out ahead in the end.

Hello again,

I have another inquirery regarding winning cruises....sorry. My last post was about winning a cruise in the casino, now the same coworker that said they have won their last 4 cruises playing in the casino said they got mail from Royal yesterday and his wife is a member of Royals Casino Royale and the gave her several choisces of free cruises and they chose the Grandeur . All they had to pay was the $500 .

We have been on 18 Royal cruises, and yes I am naive, but how is this possible, or should I just call him a liar to his face ? We don’t gamble so there could be truth to his story and I’ll admit I have no idea what Casino Royale is, but is there any truth to his story, and do we need to start gambling to get all these free cruises he claims they have been on ....TIA

They probably did not "win" the cruise; more likely they were comp'ed the cruise.

Casinos usually base their comp's on a player's gross amount bet. They are pretty good at figuring out how much money they can expect to make from a player based on that amount and how quickly he plays.

The cruise line and/or the casino believe they will have a net win--including giving away the "free" cruise.

It would take better than expected luck for your coworker to come out ahead as compared to paying for the suite and skipping the gambling. On the other hand, if he loses "only" the suite price plus the value he places on the entertainment of the casino or less, he may very well be pleased with that.

Did I mention that a casino here in California gave me a certificate for a cruise? [emoji6]

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"Free" cruises from the casino are NOT "free"....you have to gamble a LOT..and I mean A LOT of money to qualify for a "free" cruise! You still have to pay taxes, fees, etc.... NOTHING is "free"....

If you aren't a big gambler...don't count on an offer...you might get a free drink or two, if you are gambling $500 or more...(not really a cheap drink, is it?)....

I booked one of these “free” cruises last night. Usually my offers are for the smaller ships with shorter itineraries but I happened to get one for Harmony, which I haven’t been on yet so I jumped at the chance. All I paid was $200 for port taxes and fees for my husband and I. We did spend enough in the casino to cover this cruise on our last trip but the discounts I receive are so good I get my money back that way (mostly). We have started sailing in suites with our kids because of the discount. I wouldn’t spend the money on a suite otherwise. My free cruise is not in a suite ( ocean view) but I will enjoy it - with no kids!

This is no different than your friend getting “free” hotel rooms in Vegas. There’s a reason Royal Caribbean wants them on the ship so often.......hint, it’s not to give them money.

I do believe the OP's friend was offered a comped cruise, not winning a cruise.

I can tell you first hand about the FREE CASINO ROYALE offers.

My offer included 5 ships and a few dates per ship.

I chose the Liberty 7 day WC Oct 22nd sailing out of Galveston. I received an offer for a free inside cabin. For the life of me I could not figure out how or why I was selected, as I didn't spend over $100 on our last cruise!

Anyway, I upgraded to an OV cabin for $102.00 paid taxes and fees. So my free cruise cost me just over $200.00. Not bad for a 7 night cruise. I also had to pay gratuities.

Now the airfare PHX to HOBBY just about killed the deal, but managed to keep my free cruise just under $650.00. Still a bargain for a 7 night cruise.

I played 3 card poker in the casino every night and came out a winner bringing home more than I planned to gamble. That doesn't happen very often, but happy to say it did. Now just waiting to see if I receive another offer in the future. :D :D :D

***

Your friend likely earned 2400 points or more at the Casino. Which means they wagered more than $12000 at the Casino. While that sounds like a lot, remember that's how much you wagered, not how much you lost. I got my first ever free cruise last week on the Allure, mainly because I played way more than I normally did cause hit two separate jackpots on the slot machines. I ended up coming home with $1700 net profit + a free cruise. But that's being very very lucky. Generally you can expect your losses to be in the 4 figures before getting enough points to earn a free cruise if you're unlucky.

Your friend likely did get comped a cruise. I got my flyer on Monday. On Tuesday I booked a balcony on Brillance, four nights, mid January for less than $140 total. Guess Royal needs more gaming revenue and I need another cruise.