Free cruise offer (not from Carnival)

[LittleYiaYia]

I have received an offer for a free cruise on a Carnival ship from my local casino. (Hollywood) The offer is for an inside cabin, 2nd person in the cabin is also free. The cruise can be from 4 to 7 days through March 31, 2016. It can not be used in June, July, August or on most holiday sailings. This offer excludes Alaska itineraries. I pick up the free cruise certificate on March 28th and have until June 30 to book the cruise.

I am hoping that someone on these boards who has received this offer before and taken advantage of it can answer some questions for me.

Is it possible to buy the upgrade to a balcony if available? Is it possible to pay the daily rate to make the change to a 8 or 10 day cruise? I'm sure there are a limited number of cabins available for this offer on each sailing. I am hoping that putting off the cruise until February or March of 2016 will make it easier to secure a cabin.

We have never sailed on Carnival before and I am sure we will have many more questions when we get ready to book, but the questions I have asked now might determine if we decide to take advantage of this offer.

[Kechin Yer Eye]

I got a very similar offer from my land casino last fall with a few less restrictions. When we went & picked up our certificate there was a carnival rep at the casino and we each got a nice Carnival beach tote bag along with our certificate. We also had a fairly short window for which to book but I did indeed book and paid to "upgrade" our cabin. Depending on which cruise you book will determine the cost of the upgrade. My offer was for any cruise up to & including 8 days (no Alaska for mine either). I only wanted a 7 day cruise so I did not ask about paying additional to extend it to a 8 or 10 day trip. You stating that your hoping it will be easier to book since your looking at Feb or March of 2016, but your getting into spring break time slots and those are always full. You might really want to consider doing a fall cruise. We did a Halloween cruise in 2013 and it was a blast! It was a freebie as well from another casino on another cruise line;)

 

Whatever you choose I'm sure it will be a great cruise as nothing beats cruising on someone else's dime!

[pusywillow]

I have received an offer for a free cruise on a Carnival ship from my local casino. (Hollywood) The offer is for an inside cabin, 2nd person in the cabin is also free. The cruise can be from 4 to 7 days through March 31, 2016. It can not be used in June, July, August or on most holiday sailings. This offer excludes Alaska itineraries. I pick up the free cruise certificate on March 28th and have until June 30 to book the cruise.

I am hoping that someone on these boards who has received this offer before and taken advantage of it can answer some questions for me.

Is it possible to buy the upgrade to a balcony if available? Is it possible to pay the daily rate to make the change to a 8 or 10 day cruise? I'm sure there are a limited number of cabins available for this offer on each sailing. I am hoping that putting off the cruise until February or March of 2016 will make it easier to secure a cabin.

We have never sailed on Carnival before and I am sure we will have many more questions when we get ready to book, but the questions I have asked now might determine if we decide to take advantage of this offer.

 

I got a Carnival cruise offer from the Hollywood casino in PA that I'll be taking in April. It was for a Balcony cabin for two. A Carnival rep was at the casino and they gave us a catalog, tote bag and a free buffet lunch at the casino.

 

We had to wait a week before we could book. I booked a 6 night to the Caribbean. You could pick any cruise between 3 to 8 days. Since I already had the balcony I just upgraded to the Empress deck which has cabins above and below because I like a quiet area to sleep. The cost to me was $305 which was for taxes, port fees and the upgrade to the Empress deck. I will also be responsible for the $12 a day in gratuities.

 

I hope you get to sail! Enjoy!

 

Sue

[Elaine515]

I go Monday (2/16) for the same offer at my local Casino ( Isles @ Pompano Park)... Does anyone know if the Carnival Representative and/or the Casino tells you you qualify for the 4 day or the 8 day or is that something you can choose?

 

I heard I will have to pay the tax and port charges... I can do that :) lol

 

Also wondering how they picked me... My sister gambles a heck of a lot more than I do, both at this Casino and on a Carnival cruise and didn't get the offer...

 

Looking forward to finding out more...

[pusywillow]

I go Monday (2/16) for the same offer at my local Casino ( Isles @ Pompano Park)... Does anyone know if the Carnival Representative and/or the Casino tells you you qualify for the 4 day or the 8 day or is that something you can choose?

 

I heard I will have to pay the tax and port charges... I can do that :) lol

 

Also wondering how they picked me... My sister gambles a heck of a lot more than I do, both at this Casino and on a Carnival cruise and didn't get the offer...

 

Looking forward to finding out more...

 

You will get a certificate when you go to pick up your offer. The terms will be on there. Different people got different offers.

 

Sue

[LittleYiaYia]

Thanks for the speedy replies. I was pretty sure that we could upgrade (I can't imagine Carnival not wanting someone's money).

We have a cruise booked for later this year (November) and we were hoping that we could spread out the vacations a little bit. My Husband's vacation time runs from February to February, so to avoid taking time without pay we need to cruise after February 1, 2016. I will certainly avoid Spring Break time. I think the last week of February or the first week of March would be the latest we would consider.

Did either of you find that the cruises you wanted to take had limited choices (free room)? I would think that each cruise would only have a few cabins available for this offer. Perhaps you have more choices if you want to upgrade.

I realize we are very fortunate to receive this offer and I hope we are able to make everything work. I hope to have all the information we need within the next month so we can begin the booking process as soon as we get the certificate.

[Elaine515]

You will get a certificate when you go to pick up your offer. The terms will be on there. Different people got different offers.

 

Sue

 

 

 

Ha.. I'll probably get the 4 day... but I'll take it !!! Thanks :) lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[45014]

Ha.. I'll probably get the 4 day... but I'll take it !!! Thanks :) lol

 

The offers we have gotten are for different ships at different times. We got to choose the one we wanted then just called and told them we wanted to take advantage of.

[familyofd]

We are doing our cruise on this certificate, we didn't have any month restrictions, just time frame, we paid upgrade for window, hubby didn't want to spend too much more for balcony, going out NY in June, Port taxes are higher in NYC too, but it be 8days on splendor for us.

[Elaine515]

Ha.. I'll probably get the 4 day... but I'll take it !!! Thanks :) lol

 

The offers we have gotten are for different ships at different times. We got to choose the one we wanted then just called and told them we wanted to take advantage of.

 

 

I'm a bit excited to see what it's all about... I see you used the word "offers"... have you gotten more than one and do you know how that happens or is it just luck ? Haven't even gotten the first one yet but already looking for more !!! lol

 

 

 

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[Kechin Yer Eye]

Did either of you find that the cruises you wanted to take had limited choices (free room)? I would think that each cruise would only have a few cabins available for this offer. Perhaps you have more choices if you want to upgrade.

I realize we are very fortunate to receive this offer and I hope we are able to make everything work. I hope to have all the information we need within the next month so we can begin the booking process as soon as we get the certificate.

 

First off, the day/night you pick up your certificate they will tell you to wait approx. 5-7 days before you call & try to book as it takes them a while to get everyone's info into their system. When we picked up ours it all took place in a VIP room where they had food & drinks set up, so we stayed until the end.......several people did not even show up to pick up their certificates, so I think the cruise line doesn't get the info put into their system until after the pickup event is over. Each certificate was preprinted with your name and a certificate number.

 

I waited until almost the last week of availability to call as we had some personal issues going on within our family and I wasn't sure we were even going to be able to go. With that being said I was also trying to book either Memorial Day week or Labor Day week.....no problems for either one. I was looking at going out of New Orleans or Houston and everything I asked about was available, so I am not sure that they have limited numbers for each sailing. As it turns out, yes I am going the week of Labor Day.....wooo hoo :D.

 

BTW, it is almost crazy cheap to fly from KC to NO so I would imagine that StLou to NO would be a pretty good price as well if you are planning on flying that is.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I received 2 certificates last year from land casinos. One was for Carnival and one was for Norwegian. With both offers I upgraded to a window I had plenty of offers to choose from. This year I have received 2 certificates, one from Royal and one from Norwegian I love getting these offers. I say go for it you won't regret it.

[AZbeachboy]

When I got my free cruise there were some restrictions. It was for a 4 night cruise, a specific cruise dates. I had to pay port charges, insurance if I wanted it and gratuities. I could upgrade to an Ocean View for $99 more. It seemed like everything was 99 more.

 

It was for the Rivera Deck and way inside. It was the most fun we have ever had. We couldn't wait to be on another.

[rohitg82]

How can i get one of these "free certificates"? Any advice?

[pusywillow]

How can i get one of these "free certificates"? Any advice?

 

Gamble a lot of money in a casino. I get lots of them from casinos in AC. I can not use all the ones I'm given.

 

Good luck!

 

Sue

[LittleYiaYia]

I do not gamble a lot at the casino that sent me this offer. The last time I was there was in September. I do have a very large amount of reward credits that rolled over when Hollywood bought out Harrah's in St. Louis. I'm thinking that might be the reason for the offer. I did gamble at Harrah's at least once a month. I do get offers from Harrah's for cruises on Norweigan. I have never taken advantage of them, the timing was never right.

Whatever the reason, I'm happy and hope to be able to use this new offer.