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How you get a free cruise from the casino.

Stilles

By Stilles,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Stilles

Stilles

Posted
Posted (edited)

So I've seen countless posts on people getting free cruises from the casino. I've always gambled on my cruises but never gotten a free cruise. So I did some digging and got all the info on how many points you need and how they are calculated.

 

Source is Carnival them selves.

 

They require a MINIMUM of 5,000 points to qualify for the "Bounce Back Program" which provides you with a complimentary interior cabin on a future cruise.

 

For Slots and Video Poker points are calculated as follows.

 

One point is awarded for every $2.50 of coin-in on regular slots, and one point for every $5.00 of coin-in on video poker games.

 

 

 

On Table play they provide 10% reinvestment back towards a cruise.

 

 

I hope this helps clear things up!

 

Regards,

 

Stilles!

Edited by Stilles
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BigB0882

BigB0882

Posted
Posted

On our cruise last week we got just shy of 5000 points and no bounce back offer, but we also already have a cruise booked so we may have not gotten one anyway. Our friend had well over 7000 points and he got an offer and will be coming with us in June. I came home to another Pack and Play offer, though, although that had nothing to do with any points earned on this recent cruise. If Carnival keeps this up we will continue sailing with them exclusively. We wont pay full price for a cruise but they get the money from us in the casino, haha.

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Mscruiser53

Mscruiser53

Posted
Posted

That doesn't sound right. Last year I didn't even get enough for Drinks on Us and neither did DH. I did get DOU year before last but I doubt I earned 5000 points. We received an offer last fall which we couldn't take and another this year. If it wasn't for my awesome PVP we would have never known about it. We are booked on the Elation 5 day in May. The offer was probably on the Carnival sight, but I don't go there unless I have a cruise booked. We just tell our PVP to call us if he sees an offer to good to pass up.

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Domergirl

Domergirl

Posted
Posted (edited)

Keep in mind that the amount counted is every dollar in play. My husband, for example, will go to the casino with $200. He'll play slots for quite a while on that money. For example...during the course of play, he'll get down to say $40, then win and be up to $400, then lose some more and go down to $50. But the machine is counting all of the money that he plays for his initial investment of $200. So in that example, he would have played more than $500 worth...(the $160 it took him to lose his way from 200 to $40, and the $350 it took him to lose his way from $400 to $50...plus any incremental increases that were lost along the way!)

 

After our most recent cruise in February on the Valor, he got the free cruise offer. We will be using it on the Liberty in July. :) And we upgraded the interior room to a balcony for a total cruise price for 2 of us (including taxes) of $323 for 7 nights. Not bad!!

 

Thanks, OP for the details! I was wondering why we got it this time, and not previous times (when we were only offered discounts). Based on your info, I think it's because he used to play more video poker, and this time he played straight slots. So that makes sense!!

Edited by Domergirl
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winddawn

winddawn

Posted
Posted (edited)
So I've seen countless posts on people getting free cruises from the casino. I've always gambled on my cruises but never gotten a free cruise. So I did some digging and got all the info on how many points you need and how they are calculated.

 

Source is Carnival them selves.

 

They require a MINIMUM of 5,000 points to qualify for the "Bounce Back Program" which provides you with a complimentary interior cabin on a future cruise.

 

For Slots and Video Poker points are calculated as follows.

 

One point is awarded for every $2.50 of coin-in on regular slots, and one point for every $5.00 of coin-in on video poker games.

 

 

 

On Table play they provide 10% reinvestment back towards a cruise.

 

 

I hope this helps clear things up!

 

Regards,

 

Stilles!

On my last Carnival cruise which was a 5 night cruise, I had about 4k points. I got a "modified" bounce-back offer for a free inside cabin under my door the last night, and then got a free cruise offer in snail mail a few weeks after that. The offer in snail mail was the better offer though because it only required I pay the taxes where the bounce-back offer required I pay port charges and taxes, and it offered more sailings to pick from. The snail mail offer also included options to pay a small upcharge to upgrade to a balcony which I paid.

 

My PVP told me that Carnival corporate has taken over the casino offers, so I don't think the criteria used in the past necessarily applies now. I got a free inside cabin offer in the mail from Holland America (also a Carnival product) too after my last Carnival cruise, and I've only cruised on them once before that. According to my PVP, Carnival corporate considers your play over the past year in determining what you are eligible for, and not necessarily just your last cruise. So I don't think there is a magic set formula. It does seem to help if you cruise more frequently. For what its worth, I seem to get better casino offers when I do not have anything currently booked, although I've read others' posts where they do get free offers while having a current booking.

 

Good luck!

Edited by winddawn
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Stilles

Stilles

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Posted (edited)
This is not true.

Our last cruise (last month), my wife only racked up 2500 points, yet we got the bounce back offer.

Other cruises, she has racked up over 5k points, but no offer.

 

Andy

 

It might have a cumulative effect. It could very well be she was close to 5k points and then on your last cruise went over the threshold.

 

Also read the line in my original post where it says AT MINIMUM 5,000 points which would lead me to believe that just because you get 5k points doesn't mean you automatically get a free cruise out of the deal.

 

There maybe only a limited amount of cruises they give out during a certain time and they go from the top of pile of people with the most points and work their way down who really knows. All I'm doing is relaying the info given to me by carnival.

 

Regards,

Stilles

Edited by Stilles
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Harrier1961

Harrier1961

Posted
Posted
It might have a cumulative effect. It could very well be she was close to 5k points and then on your last cruise went over the threshold.

 

Also read the line in my original post where it says AT MINIMUM 5,000 points which would lead me to believe that just because you get 5k points doesn't mean you automatically get a free cruise out of the deal.

 

There maybe only a limited amount of cruises they give out during a certain time and they go from the top of pile of people with the most points and work their way down who really knows. All I'm doing is relaying the info given to me by carnival.

 

Regards,

Stilles

 

And what we are saying, is the information relayed to you are not the whole guidelines - there are indeed other variables.

Just saying...

Andy

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sillychicky

sillychicky

Posted
Posted

Your table play is also rated (you earn points) and you earn for length of play and average bet. They find a theoretical hourly loss and that's how they calculate points. So, for instance, let's say you buy in with $50 at the tables. You play $25 a hand. You win several hands and end up playing for 4 hours on that $50. You even walk away with $200. They don't look at the fact that you won money, they look at how many hands you played in that 4 hours and how much money that would equal and convert that to points. So, let's say 50 hands an hour are dealt, multiply that by 25 and you're looking at a theoretical loss of $1250.00 each hour of play.

 

I earned about 3,000 points on slots but I also played a LOT of blackjack. I've gotten multiple free cruise (pack and play) offers as well as the premier cruise offer and the kind of lame 35% off offer.

 

Hope that helps...I know it's a little confusing. Having worked at a casino during college years ago helps to understand the formula for table play. :P

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starfish216

starfish216

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Posted

Some times I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to who gets the offer for a free cabin.

 

Dad spends 6- 8 hours a day playing Black Jack - he gets free cabin offers all the time. His betting habits are usually $25 and up a hand. He earns a DOU card within a couple of day.

 

Last year my son who is 25 received a free offer for an inside…..the last time he sailed on Carnival was in 2009 with us….he was 20 and still in college and not working…..his only spending money was what we gave him…. he did NOT spend much time in the casino nor much money.

 

He also received one more offer for a free cabin….he took them up on that offer and went on the Breeze last year.

 

My older son also on the 2009 sailing in a different stateroom, spent more time in the casino and never received any offers from Carnival.

 

In the meantime my DH earns enough points to get a DOU card half way through every cruise and he only gets a cruise discount and/or casino cash.

 

So I think sometimes the offers are just random or promotional.

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sillychicky

sillychicky

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My husband played a lot at the tables. Over a few thousand. No offers. Do u think if I emailed the casino to see if there is anything they will email me back?

 

So, the dealer swipes you in when you sit down to play. It's up to the pit boss to put your average bet into the system. If the pit boss enters a low bet or you lose very fast you may not earn a lot of points. I posted the way most places figure their points which has to do with duration of play plus average bet. So, in theory, you could sit down and lose $5,000 in 5 hands and earn hardly any points. You could also play a relatively small bet for hours and accrue a lot of points. It just depends how long you play.

 

You can call them but if they didn't enter his play correctly they may not be able to fix it. It seems they also have a lag on the offers sometimes. It's worth a shot to call. Just make sure you talk to the casino host next time or table games boss to make sure they're entering his play correctly on tables.

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sillychicky

sillychicky

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Also, if you play a lot in the casino, introduce yourself to the casino host. I introduced myself and thanked the hosts for the strawberries they sent to my room plus the free cruise (since that's the offer I was sailing on). They were very nice. I played the slot tournament the next day and the host called me over on the microphone and gave me an envelope with the offer for a free cruise. I honestly think that she recognized my name and wanted to be nice. I've also gotten free drinks from the casino host/manager by talking with them on the shorter cruises since they don't offer the Drinks On Us program for the short cruises.

 

It can't hurt to schmooze a little, plus it puts you on their radar. :)

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mikel24m

mikel24m

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Posted

We were on the Splendor last week and I spoke to the casino host and he said I would get the free cruise ,he checked my card and I had about 5800 points when we spoke. I asked about the premier cruise and he said I needed 7500 points to qualify for that

 

My offer didn't really specify a cruise(just inside cabin but assume I could upgrade and pay the difference) it just says for sailings up to 15 days and 14 days to book and to sail by August 31,2015 and gave me a number to call with a code

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winddawn

winddawn

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We were on the Splendor last week and I spoke to the casino host and he said I would get the free cruise ,he checked my card and I had about 5800 points when we spoke. I asked about the premier cruise and he said I needed 7500 points to qualify for that

 

My offer didn't really specify a cruise(just inside cabin but assume I could upgrade and pay the difference) it just says for sailings up to 15 days and 14 days to book and to sail by August 31,2015 and gave me a number to call with a code

I keep premier cruise offers constantly in my VIFP offers, and I can tell you I've never earned 7500 points on a single cruise. I do cruise every 3 or 4 months though, so I think the cumulative effect plays a factor.

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jason534

jason534

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Posted
Also, if you play a lot in the casino, introduce yourself to the casino host. I introduced myself and thanked the hosts for the strawberries they sent to my room plus the free cruise (since that's the offer I was sailing on). They were very nice. I played the slot tournament the next day and the host called me over on the microphone and gave me an envelope with the offer for a free cruise. I honestly think that she recognized my name and wanted to be nice. I've also gotten free drinks from the casino host/manager by talking with them on the shorter cruises since they don't offer the Drinks On Us program for the short cruises.

 

It can't hurt to schmooze a little, plus it puts you on their radar. :)

 

I know they do the DOU card on 5 day cruises and have heard they do it 4 days but not 3. Were you on a 3 or 4 day when it was not offered?

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theriac

theriac

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I agree it has to do with the time at the tables. I play roulette and with $100 buy in can usually play for hours. Sometimes I'll have chips and sit there and only play every 5-10 spins but the pit boss thinks you're constantly playing. I also sometimes continue to buy in even with having chips still to make it appear I'm buying in a lot.

 

I was on the breeze in December 2013 where a man explained it all to me in detail and he said he hasn't paid for a cruise in 10 years and goes on at least 8 a year. He also would never spend more than $300 in the casino per cruise. He explained this only works for roulette which I'm happy is my game of choice.

 

I tried it on my last cruise on the pride in December and on 02/14/15 my PVP called to tell me I have a pack and play offer.

 

Also my PVP informed me there's a list of people who actually use the promotions the casino offers online like pack and play, and as long as you book 2 of them a year they will keep you on the list, even if you choose not to gamble on those cruises. I asked why and she said they'd always prefer the ship full and if they can do it with people known to gamble its worth it to try. Which makes some sense they're just enticing use to play since the cabin was free.

 

I'm not sure about getting free cruises on board, I'd never spend that much in the casino, although I'd love to be able to ;)

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