Those free cruises really exist

[Wilgr]

depends on the length of cruise that the players club offers for that $1500 loss

 

Were going on a 8nt cruise on Splendor and cost less then $1100 for 2

 

 

 

 

Up to 15 days. Then if your lucky you also get invited on premier cruises (about 80 a year) and you can book as many of those as you like, and then there is my favorite the double down which is 2 free cruises any length from any port.

 

I am currently booked on a 15 day to Hawaii in a french door interior that cost me port fees and taxes. And I haven't technically lost any money gambling in my last 4 or 5 cruises....I am sure they will rape me on the 15 day one and I am pretty sure they know that too.

[Frank12]

Going on a free one next Thursday. Plus I get shareholder OBC so technically they are paying me to cruise! :D

[dyson]

i booked the January 14th from San juan on the same offer. deluxe ocean view room for four with 150 OBC 1800 gratuities included... awesome price

 

found out its a VIFP promo but a bar one like the casino. I always buy the cheers program and soda cards for everyone on my card so it looks like I'm a big bar spender i guess

[audcc77]

if your at the table give your card to the pitboss to be rated

 

LOL - Clearly I'm small potatoes.

 

I'm math-challenged, so I'm over at the slots, where it's nice & safe.

[Tutontow]

true, if you like losing $1500 gambling on a cruise then all is well

Perhaps some like it.

 

Let me be clear, I don't like losing $1500.00 or even $15.00. I do like the entertainment and the rush I get from gambling.

 

Just like I don't like spending $1500.00 to go red snapper fishing for a day but I sure enjoy the rush of catching and eating them. The same can be said for many things in life that I feel are overpriced.

 

Don't even get me started on Disney or concert tickets these days.

 

It pains me to spend $90.00 for a $20.00 bottle of booze on a cruise but I sure enjoy it when I am on my balcony.

 

The difference is with gambling there is always that chance of leaving with more than you came with and if you learn to play craps or Blackjack that actually does happen once in a while.

 

I will tell you it is a great feeling to be 1 or 2k ahead and sitting in the steakhouse eating and drinking fine wine and food on the casino's dime.

 

One last thing, I just checked the price of the GS on my cruise it is $3338.00.

 

If you figure the $1500.00 I lost plus the $700.00 I paid I am $1100.00 ahead not counting the free drinks I will be getting.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Tutontow

[Max49]

It's just incredible , the deals some people on here get for cruises. No wonder they have to gouge the rest of us for the cruise and alcohol to make up for it.

If I got an incredible deal on a cruise I think I'd feel like I should keep it a secret to keep from making every one else jealous and expect the same.

Now, if I can't find a 7 night balcony cruise for $400 or less I am obviously paying for all the people who do get them at that price and sometimes much lower. No wonder they want $12 for a $.75 cent drink

Edited June 11, 2015 by Max49

[luv2vacation]

and this is why Im sailing Royal next....no loyalty from carnival after 7 cruises....

 

Same here! I'm platinum with Carnival but decided if they were going to continue to leave me out of these promotions I was going to leave them out when I searched for a cruise.

[Mrsg324]

I always saw these post pop up and never thought I would see one. We do not gamble much at all. Maybe 100 per cruise if that.

Had no cruises booked. We did cruise out of Galveston on Triumph last Oct. for 4 nights. Hubby & I did buy the cheers program but that was the only time so for both of us it was only 300. I don't even buy the soda card.

That was also only my 3rd carnival cruise and it was the first since 2009.

Hubby did not get any offer in his account. I have multiple but they are minimal compared to what this was. I registered my account to get mail as well as email after seeing several post they received something in the mail. Otherwise I would not have seen it come across.

Airfare was only 206 from Houston to San Juan via Southwest.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Mrsg324

[DKane]

I do gamble enough. I'm in there ever single night. Unfortunately, probably not enough in the eyes of CCL.

 

I have found out through my pvp that these offers are based on casino play along with frequency of sailing.

[singbluesilver1]

I got my offer yesterday ran to my computer and booked it. 360 for two on the pride to the southern Caribbean from Baltimore next jan with 150 obc. I have never spent a cent in a casino. We did buy the drink package on our last cruise last year. I only have three previous cruises with carnival too. The best part is I've never been to any of the ports it ends in San Juan. Airfare home is only 230 a person so it's a bargain

 

I can't wait

[DKane]

So you lose $1500 in the casino to get a free inside cabin?

 

Certainly dont sound free to me :eek:

 

It doesn't mean you have to lose your own $1,500.00. It's all based on what you rollover in the machine.

 

For instance, on one of my last few cruises I only played $300.00 of my own money and $300.00 of the casino cash they gave me. On the next to the last night I won $5,000.00 and I have been getting these fabulous offers ever since. I do need to mention that I have sailed four times with 13 months. One of those cruises was a free balcony cabin and the other two were balcony offers for $248.00 (including port charges and taxes). I do recall that instead of the ninety-something dollars for insurace, it only cost us $49 pp for the balcony. And on some of them I got onboard credit as well.

[linbobky]

It's like deja vu, all over again.

 

hello yogi!!:)

[sc4125]

I've heard different reasons that I am getting these deals - you have to lose X amount of money, you have to spend X amount of time in the Casino, etc. It seems kind of random - my own thought is that I am able to get time off work to take advantage of the "free" cruises I've been getting the last 2 years - so maybe because I take them up on the offers, I keep getting them??? Who knows - BUT

 

I can promise you that I have never spent $1500 in the Casino - nor (with the exception of a cruise several years ago) did I win enough to play back $1500.

 

I do spend a good bit of time in the Casino - playing slots - win a little, lose a little - so maybe the time answer is closer to right.

 

But for all the people saying you have to be a big spender to get these deals - trust me you do not.

[singbluesilver1]

I agree. We always book a pretty cheap cabin too , we have a severely disabled 16 year old so money's tight.

[yankprintster]

My wife received this same offer two days ago. It's very disappointing though, because she has no vacation time available from work to book at any of the available time frames. They were all for Carnival Journeys trips ranging from the October 2015 to January 2016 timeframe either going to San Juan or leaving from San Juan. The offer is non-transferable (not even to me--I do have extra vacation time available from work). Our travel agent and my Carnival PVP both tried to transfer it from her to me, but it was a no go. Really hate throwing away a free 10 or 11 day cruise.

 

On a Carnival cruise, we're probably never spent more than $50 in the Casino (total). We would usually one of the Soda packages. We haven't done a Carnival cruise since 2013 (had been doing at least one annually since 2007 or so), but have been doing a lot of Princess and NCL in the mean time. We did get married on the Conquest. We occasionally play bingo (a few times a cruise, but not every time). We always do the ship shore excursions--usually pick the longest duration ones that can be expensive. We don't drink alcohol.

 

So, I don't know what the factor is that caused us to be selected. I usually pay for the cruise itself on my credit card and my wife pays for the on board spending with her credit card.

 

Maybe it was the fact that we buy the longer, ship shore excursions and these Carnival Journey trips are port intensive?

[singbluesilver1]

It's a mystery

[jen&samcantwait]

My wife received this same offer two days ago. It's very disappointing though, because she has no vacation time available from work to book at any of the available time frames. They were all for Carnival Journeys trips ranging from the October 2015 to January 2016 timeframe either going to San Juan or leaving from San Juan. The offer is non-transferable (not even to me--I do have extra vacation time available from work). Our travel agent and my Carnival PVP both tried to transfer it from her to me, but it was a no go. Really hate throwing away a free 10 or 11 day cruise.

 

On a Carnival cruise, we're probably never spent more than $50 in the Casino (total). We would usually one of the Soda packages. We haven't done a Carnival cruise since 2013 (had been doing at least one annually since 2007 or so), but have been doing a lot of Princess and NCL in the mean time. We did get married on the Conquest. We occasionally play bingo (a few times a cruise, but not every time). We always do the ship shore excursions--usually pick the longest duration ones that can be expensive. We don't drink alcohol.

 

So, I don't know what the factor is that caused us to be selected. I usually pay for the cruise itself on my credit card and my wife pays for the on board spending with her credit card.

 

Maybe it was the fact that we buy the longer, ship shore excursions and these Carnival Journey trips are port intensive?

 

Why not book it & just have her as a "no-show"? Since it's her offer, she will have to be on the booking, but then she just doesn't show up at check-in.

[Wilgr]

Why not book it & just have her as a "no-show"? Since it's her offer, she will have to be on the booking, but then she just doesn't show up at check-in.

 

From the fine print on a casino offer:

 

 

Carnival’s standard cancellations penalties will apply to cancellations and no-shows for any reason and will be assessed based on the prevailing cruise fare at the time of booking. Guest is required to provide valid credit card information at time of booking. Guest will be informed of the prevailing cruise fare at time of booking. A charge will be made only in the event of cancellations or no-show.

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

and this is why Im sailing Royal next....no loyalty from carnival after 7 cruises....

 

I have been on 20 cruises with Carnival, and have never been as lucky as some Cruise Critic members.

 

I can't complain because I live 30 minutes from the Port of Miami, and don't have to pay airfare.

Edited June 11, 2015 by CARNIVALCRUISE3

[singbluesilver1]

That is lucky

[Mrsg324]

Wonder if it had to do with where you live? I am close to Gslveston and this has Galveston for a port.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

I was told from Michael at the players club that if you lose $1500.00 on a cruise you will receive a free inside cabin and a drink card for that cruise.

 

My wife and I play nothing but blackjack and only one of us buys in or cashes out to get the most bang for our buck towards that $1500.00 mark.

 

So far that has been the case with us. Five free cabins in less than a year.

 

On the couple of cruise when we left winners we did not receive a free cabin. I will tell you on one of them we won the first night and stayed up over 2K for the entire cruise. We played like crazy and tipped like crazy and yet no free cabin. So it sounds like Michael was right.

 

I will say what is so great about the free cabin offers is you can upgrade to a grand suite for $700.00 total for the two in the cabin and if the captains suite is available that falls into the same category as the G.S.

 

One last thing, it is not a free cruise, it is a free cabin. There is still port taxes, tips and insurance to buy.

 

How would they know how much you lose. They would have to keep track of how much you won, how much you put into the machines from you pocket, how much of what you won was put back in, and how do they recognize that, and there are to many other factors to count for them to come up with an accurate number of what you have lost. All they can count for you for sure in the the number of dollars you bet on all the machines you played.

 

If you get 1500 points (and a point does not equal a dollar), you will get a free drink card only good while you are playing a machine or sitting at a table. You cannot go to bar and use it to get a drink.

[Mrsg324]

Wonder if it had to do with where you live? I am close to Gslveston and this has Galveston for a port.

 

I can't edit the original for some reason. That should say Galveston not Gslveston.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

We got an offer in the mail over the weekend for one of the San Juan 10 or 11 night cruises. Inside cabin 150 with 150 OBC. Booked it yesterday! Total with port charges was only 390 for 2 people and we get 150 of that back! Never thought I'd see one of those since we don't really gamble much.

Can't wait!

My parents got a free cruise a while back and they are not gamblers. Was nice because they had to cancel their cruise on the Breeze with us before that

[Tutontow]

How would they know how much you lose. They would have to keep track of how much you won, how much you put into the machines from you pocket, how much of what you won was put back in, and how do they recognize that, and there are to many other factors to count for them to come up with an accurate number of what you have lost. All they can count for you for sure in the the number of dollars you bet on all the machines you played.

 

If you get 1500 points (and a point does not equal a dollar), you will get a free drink card only good while you are playing a machine or sitting at a table. You cannot go to bar and use it to get a drink.

 

We only play blackjack. It is very easy to keep track of winnings and losses on table games.

 

When you sit down you hand the dealer your sail and sign card and either money or chips from prior play. The dealer then "logs' you in at what seat your are sitting at and how much you bought in for. When you leave they log you out. When you go to the cage to cash out they know you lost "X" amount of money or won "X" amount of money. It is all tied together by computers.

 

I would think when it comes to machines it is even easier since you have to put in your sail and sign card for any type of comp or when you cash out (leave the machine) it is all tracked by a computer. IOW you have to have your card in the machine if you want to be rated. Believe me they know exactly how much you buy in for and how much you leave with, how long you played and at what denomination your bets were.

 

As far as drink cards go I am very familiar with how they work.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Tutontow