Birdie And Sue Posted August 20, 2019 #1 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Today I got a flyer in the mail that is offering me a "free" cruise (ocean View) and $1,000 AUD in casino "fun play". I have several cruises to select form, ranging form 9 days to 16 days, all sailing from Sydney or Melbourne. What cost ate not covered on these 'free" cruises, how much would that costs come to? The cruises are on the Splendor and Spirit. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each of these ships? Lastly what is "fun play"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanhawk Posted August 20, 2019 #2 Share Posted August 20, 2019 That's great for you! The Fun play is for playing in the casino. You'd be responsible for paying the port fees and taxes, but I don't know what they'd be. I think Carnival has a website for Australia. Not sure you have to pay gratuities, since it's Australia. Perhaps someone else here will know. Happy cruising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanhawk Posted August 20, 2019 #3 Share Posted August 20, 2019 O.K. More info! I found Carnival's website for Austraila. It's Carnival.com.au. No tipping is required! You could probably do a mock booking to find out what the other fees would be. Happy cruising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted August 20, 2019 #4 Share Posted August 20, 2019 There is a board here for OZ/Kiwi cruisers, and some there might be able to help you out... https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djptcp Posted August 20, 2019 #5 Share Posted August 20, 2019 We've had several free cruises from Carnival and Holland America. All we had to pay were the taxes and port charges. The free cruise offers were for an inside cabin which we took on the first offer. But we don't like inside cabins, so we upgraded on all the other offers to either an ocean view or balcony cabin for nominal charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anyislandwilldo Posted August 20, 2019 #6 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Very nice, congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdie And Sue Posted August 21, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Thanks for all the feedback. Now to see if I have enough airline miles to fly R/T for free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckiestmanonearth Posted August 21, 2019 #8 Share Posted August 21, 2019 No such thing as a free cruise. If something is too good to be true, it usually is. Words I live by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdie And Sue Posted August 21, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted August 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said: No such thing as a free cruise. If something is too good to be true, it usually is. Words I live by Looks like my total out of pocket cost for a 9-day to 16-day cruise for two will be less than $600, and they give me more than that in free casino play.. That is close enough to free for me. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadmoney Posted August 21, 2019 #10 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I'd jump on that offer quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted August 21, 2019 #11 Share Posted August 21, 2019 23 hours ago, Djptcp said: We've had several free cruises from Carnival and Holland America. All we had to pay were the taxes and port charges. The free cruise offers were for an inside cabin which we took on the first offer. But we don't like inside cabins, so we upgraded on all the other offers to either an ocean view or balcony cabin for nominal charges. Another advantage of upgrading to a better cabin, at least on Carnival (I am not familiar with Holland America rules), is the cruise days will count towards your VIFP Program totals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Wavey Posted August 23, 2019 #12 Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) On 8/20/2019 at 11:05 PM, Birdie And Sue said: Looks like my total out of pocket cost for a 9-day to 16-day cruise for two will be less than $600, and they give me more than that in free casino play.. That is close enough to free for me. Thanks! Carnival AU doesn't charge like Carnival US. My offer for a free balcony + $1000 free play + $400 onboard credit resulted in a total charge to my credit card of $400 Australian dollars. Carnival US free offers itemize taxes and port charges, and gratuities are charged to the room account. Carnival AU just has a single line as Cruise: 200.00 per person that covers everything. Note that all dollar amounts are in Australian dollars. Also note that using a credit card in Australian sometimes incurs a processing fee (this is NOT the same as a foreign transaction fee which my credit card doesn't charge). So when the charge appeared on my credit card statement, it came as $287.10 ($143.55 per person x 2 people) and two $14.20 processing fee charges for a total of $315.50 USD. Oh, and check out the points guy website for good strategies on maximizing points for those Asian markets. They have VERY expensive flights (especially $7000-$15000 business/first class tickets) that can be made very reasonable with smart points transfers. I found "cheap" $900 economy tickets, but was able to get first class tickets for this 22 hour trip for $1,100 in points using his suggestions. Using points for hotel and airfare, plus the "free" cruise is making this a very inexpensive 2 week trip from Ohio to Australia. So far just $315.50 out of pocket. Edited August 23, 2019 by Davey Wavey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scurvy Seadog Posted August 25, 2019 #13 Share Posted August 25, 2019 On 8/21/2019 at 6:29 AM, PhillyFan33579 said: Another advantage of upgrading to a better cabin, at least on Carnival (I am not familiar with Holland America rules), is the cruise days will count towards your VIFP Program totals. The interior cabin also counts towards the VIFP point total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted August 25, 2019 #14 Share Posted August 25, 2019 4 hours ago, Scurvy Seadog said: The interior cabin also counts towards the VIFP point total. That doesn’t surprise me since Carnival is not consistent with their rules, but my experience has been you don’t get VIFP credit for a free cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsnowka Posted August 26, 2019 #15 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Ok, how do you get these offers?! I want one!! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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