Saving money for an expensive cruise by spending $$$ for Prime at Casino Royale?

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

I am looking at an interior GTY cabin for a 7 Nätter Spain & France Cruise 27th of August 2023 from Southampton UK, and it will cost me aprox $2300 with todays prices. However if I make Prime on my Sept cruise (need about 1800 points to what I already have) I can choose this cruise from the certificate, right?

So all I have to do is play for less than $2300 on my upcoming cruise and try to get to Prime and choose this above sailing? (not a sure thing at all, I know) but since I am planning to spend some $1500 anyway would it make sense to stretch my gambling budget a little more and IF i reach prime, I will also get the added bonus of free drinks in the casino. I know I have to account for taxes and tips for the prime cruise but considering the free drinks I guess it evens out for me.

 

What could possibly go wrong with this strategy 😂 Please shot this idea down, or encourage me, I am actually considering this now...

First I didn't plan on playing to reach prime but now when I see this cruise next year that I wan't to take I am considering it....

 

FYI My gambling budget is normally not the same as the cruise budget, since I belive in the "Don't gamble for the rent money but also don't pay rent with the gambling money" saying.  This would be  the first time I am doing an exception to that if I decide to go for it....

[The Scurvy Pirate]

The other benefit of prime is free drinks from the casino while it is open, and a discount on internet, so that may be a further consideration to "give it a go"...

[Cigar King]

At least in the US, the annual Prime free cruise comes in April.  (after the books close on the prior casino year)  You may earn a cruise or a discount depending on how much you spend in the casino for the cruise you are on.

 

BTW - I'm sure you know your strategy means you need to pump $9,000.00 through the machines.  Sounds lie a potentially losing scenario.  

[edrussell]

For what it is worth we took our first ever cruise in Jan of this year; ironically from MyVegas which we only had to pay taxes and port fees on (8 nights).  My wife made prime on that first sailing.  Our total loss was roughly 700 USD.  Now at that time we only had to reach 1600 points.  We took another COMP'd sailing in May of this via casino offer (5 nights).  We made it back to just shy of 1/3 the way to prime again on that short sailing.  Just under 800 points.  We were actually up on that trip slightly in the casino.  

 

We are taking our next sailing less than 30 days from now (7 night) which is yet another casino offer.  Then we have one more booked for Feb of next year (surprise) via casino offer.  We will likely make prime again on our Sept sailing.

 

Now have been traveling to Vegas for many, many years so we are very familiar with the COMP game and the potential pitfalls.  Of course there are those that are just uninformed that will tell you that it will cost thousands and thousands to make prime.  That isn't the case, BUT of course it is called gambling for a reason.  We have strict budgets and know how to stay within them.  When we compare RCCL to land based casinos in terms of COMP value, RCCL has a slight edge right now.  Not a huge edge but an edge nonetheless.  When all is said and done though if you can't gamble what you can fully afford to lose AND consider it entertainment just gambling to get COMP is not wise and it will not work out in the long run.  To each their own.

  

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

57 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

At least in the US, the annual Prime free cruise comes in April.  (after the books close on the prior casino year)  You may earn a cruise or a discount depending on how much you spend in the casino for the cruise you are on.

 

BTW - I'm sure you know your strategy means you need to pump $9,000.00 through the machines.  Sounds lie a potentially losing scenario.  

I am fully aware of the risks of losing and how the point system works. I got about 700 on my last cruise but I didn't spend much time in the casino then. I was thinking of stretching my $1500 gambling fund to max $2300 if necessary and if I see that the needed 1800 points is within reach.

 

The cruise I want to take is from UK in August next year, due to Royals (un)logic its much more expensive than the "normal" Caribbean or even European ones are and I thought that I might try to book it on a prime certificate since they don't seem to have a max price on them.

[JMToke]

I consider myself a moderate gambler. In April on Anthem, held my own during the week and ended up 56 points shy for prime. In July on a B2B on Symphony took a beating the first week and only accumulated about 700 points. Week 2 started off better and after 3 days was at 800 points, then went into quarantine. I mostly play the tables with a few slots thrown in. It could happen but then again it might not. But that’s gambling.

[jcarter4551]

I am signature (thanks last cruise)  and haven't paid for a cruise since  before COVID (I get JS and balcony offers weekly) so would say its more than worth it if you are going to gamble anyway and can afford to lose the money. Heck, sometimes (25-30% I come off as winner lol). Anyway, I don't play slots (ever unless "free" play) but my wife does occasionally. For reference, I usually have a budget of $1000/day and 5000 max per cruise. With that said, my tip to you is to ensure you interact with the casino pit boss at the table games and make sure that they know you and are watching. I also think being kind and fun and tipping the staff after good wins helps (I could be totally lying to myself). A final tip is to cash in chips and re-buy using cash. Example, you win 1000 in chips at BJ and then use those chips at craps...they don't rate you same as you throwing down 1000 in cash.

 

Again, to second another poster, sometimes I have lost thousands and received very few points and on another trip I took them for thousands and had tons of points even though I didn't put much money through. So, be careful chasing status but sounds like you are experienced gambler with reasonable expectations. 

[RJ257]

9 hours ago, Cigar King said:

At least in the US, the annual Prime free cruise comes in April.  (after the books close on the prior casino year)  You may earn a cruise or a discount depending on how much you spend in the casino for the cruise you are on.

 

BTW - I'm sure you know your strategy means you need to pump $9,000.00 through the machines.  Sounds lie a potentially losing scenario.  

I ran a little over $9000 thru the slots on an April Allure 6 night cruise using less than $300.A quick win always helps. I ended up with over 1800 points and a profit. It can be done.

[aubreyc1988]

I'm doing something similar to the OP. My upcoming cruise, I am taking a bankroll of 2500 and seeing what I can do with it. Hoping for Prime, but with gambling, one never knows. 

 

Have a budget, stick to it, and just see what happens. 

 

Whenever I need to get points in Vegas, I find some old slots and play those, seems to work but could be circumstantial lol

[cruisequeen4ever]

Interesting theory. Let us know if it works for you!

[silverspyder1996]

It can definitely work (depending on luck of course). 
 

on our last cruise (first comped trip and first time really playing serious in the casino), we racked up 5,800 points on my account and 3,700 points on my g/f’s account. 
 

Total loss was around $800.00

 

That got us both to Prime, so 2 trips to be booked later, plus our instant certificates got us a 9nt New Years cruise on Odyssey and a 7nt Egypt cruise, both balcony rooms.

 

She has received 3 balcony random offers, and I’ve received 1 balcony and 2 suite offers.

 

If we get nothing else from the play, that’s 10 cruises (balcony rooms or higher), for $800.

 

Worked well for us, but YMMV.

 

Good luck.

[Bigbob7777]

$2300 for an interior cabin end of August?  Is this normal in Europe?

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

2 hours ago, Bigbob7777 said:

$2300 for an interior cabin end of August?  Is this normal in Europe?

No its not, but its an UK cruise on a modern ship and UK cruises always seems to be some of the most expensive ones in Europe (compared to the Med or Baltics)

[Sunshine3601]

It definitely can be done.  I have reached prime the last couple of years with less than $1500 out of my pocket.  Video poker offers the least amount of points and IMO table games earn less points than playing slots.

If your particular sailing is selling fast you may want to go to the next cruise desk. Book and ask if you can covert to your annual prime freebie next April when you would be eligible to use your free annual cruise certificate.   

In the past, I did this but best to check if still allowed.    We always upgrade our free annual interior to balconies and find the upgrade is a lot less than the difference you see on royals website.   Especially if you are diamond and get balcony discount.  

We love the free cocktails and water bottles as well as internet discount.

Good Luck, You can do it!!!