Free casino cruise? What's the catch?
The free casino cruise used to be one of the easiest perks for points churners and casino enthusiasts to earn. At one time, the Wyndham Business Earner credit card acted as a key that opened the door to a seemingly endless array of complimentary sailings.
However, those days are behind us. The landscape for obtaining your first free casino cruise has changed. The quick wins from simple credit card status matching are no longer available.
It’s essential to understand how cruise casino programs work, spend wisely while enjoying the onboard casinos, and know which cruise lines are eager to welcome casino players. While the initial hurdle might be higher, it’s absolutely possible. And here’s the silver lining: once you land that first free cruise, maintaining a steady flow of complimentary offers becomes remarkably easier.
So, how do you get your foot in the door in this evolving world of cruise casino comps? Here are three strategies to secure your first free casino cruise:
Option 1: Check Existing Land-Based Casino Status
If you’re already a player at land-based casinos, you might be closer to a free cruise than you think. Major casino loyalty programs have direct partnerships and offer cruise benefits at their higher tiers. This should be your first avenue to explore.
MGM Rewards: Recently added a free cruise benefit for members with Gold status.
Bally Rewards: Once you hit Superstar at Bally’s, you get a free cruise with Carnival.
Penn Entertainment: Free sailings with NCL start at their Preferred tier.
If you’re a regular at a local casino, look out for seasonal promotions during slow periods. Beyond fixed tier benefits, many smaller land-based casinos sometimes run special promotions or qualifying periods that award free cruises.
For example, the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City recently ran a promotion where players could earn a free cruise if they earned a reasonable amount of tier credits in a month.
These offers take a bit of legwork to keep track of, and casinos aren’t exactly known for their up-to-date websites. Keep an eye on marketing emails, social media, or inquire with a casino host during your visits.
Option 2: Ask for a Cruise Casino Status Match
If your land-based casino status isn’t quite at the “free casino cruise” status level yet, don’t worry – you still have a pathway to your first complimentary sailing. Margaritaville at Sea and Carnival Cruises are two solid options for matching almost any mid-tier status or comp room offer.
Before you begin the status match, gather all of your casino loyalty cards and any comp offers you may have. Both cruise lines will ask for proof of status, so you’ll need to send in pictures or screenshots as part of the matching process.
Margaritaville at Sea
As a relatively newer entrant to the cruise market, Margaritaville at Sea is aggressively expanding its casino program and actively working to attract casino players. They are known for being very receptive to matching status and offers from other casinos.
Margaritaville at Sea offers are often for shorter cruises out of Florida, which are perfect for a first-timer to experience a casino cruise and build rapport with an onboard host.
To apply for a status match, send an e-mail to playersclub@margaritavilleatsea.com or call 877-806-7447. The casino team will contact you to verify your current casino status and provide you an offer.
Keep in mind that Margaritaville at Sea only matches casino status, not cruise loyalty status. So if you’re high ranking member of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, for example, that won’t help you match to Margaritaville at Sea.
On the flip side, if you have any casino status beyond entry-level, there’s a good chance Margaritaville at Sea will give you an free casino cruise offer. MGM Pearl status, which is achievable purely by holding a free MGM credit card, has reportedly worked for some players!
Margaritaville at Sea also offers free cruises to first responders in partnership with GOVX. U.S. active and former duty military and first responders to educators, medical personnel, and government employees are all eligible, so if you meet any of these criteria, this is a great way to score your first free cruise.
Carnival Fun Match
The other cruise line that is generous with status matching for free casino cruises is Carnival. Unlike Margaritaville at Sea, Carnival sails to popular vacation spots worldwide, primarily the Caribbean and Mexico, but also to Alaska, Europe, Hawaii, and the Panama Canal.
To apply for a status match, you must register for the Carnival Players Club Fun Match Program, which is easy to do via the dedicated website and form. You can add as many loyalty cards and offers as you like, but I’d recommend sticking to the 2-3 best that you have.
Shortly after completing the form, you’ll start receiving marketing emails from the Carnival Players Club. If the initial offers don’t seem that exciting, like a discount instead of a free room, don’t panic. Carnival frequently changes and updates the offers, typically on a monthly basis, in order to fill up cruises that might not be selling.
Carnival is also quite generous when it comes to additional benefits, even for first time casino cruisers. Many times you’ll get offers that include casino freeplay and free drinks in the casino, along with a free stateroom.
Option 3: Play myVEGAS Games to Earn a Free Casino Cruise
If you’re looking for a more creative way to offset the cost of your first cruise, the myVEGAS app ecosystem can be used to earn free cruises or substantial discounts. This collection of mobile games allows you to play free casino-style slots and other games while accumulating loyalty points that can be redeemed for cruises.
The beauty of this system is that you never have to spend real money to earn points. While you can purchase chips to play longer, the games provide free chips through hourly bonuses, daily login rewards, and various promotions. If you go the myVEGAS route, your biggest expense will be time.
The time investment varies depending on the reward you’re targeting. Earning 400,000 loyalty points for a typical cruise discount can take as little as four days to two weeks with consistent daily play across multiple apps. More substantial rewards requiring 800,000 to 1,000,000 points might take several weeks to a few months.
The good news is that myVEGAS has a variety of cruise lines. I’ve seen free or discounted cruises offered from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Virgin Voyages. Unfortunately, rewards are never guaranteed and constantly rotate, so there’s a good chance that if you don’t immediately purchase an award when you see it, it will be sold out by the time you earn the points you need.
Option 4: Last-Minute Discount Cruises
If your land-based casino status isn’t quite there, and other cruise lines don’t come through with an offer, there’s still a viable path to getting your first free casino cruise: strategically booking a heavily discounted last-minute sailing.
With record-high cruise bookings across the industry, finding these deep discounts now requires more patience than it used to. However, they are far from extinct.
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When to Look: Keep an eye out for deals during off-peak seasons or times of unpredictable weather. For example, during hurricane season, you can often find plenty of last-minute deals sailing from Florida ports.
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Where to Look: Websites like Cruises.com and Vacations To Go are excellent resources for spotting these types of last-minute offers. Set up alerts or check daily for flash sales.
You Booked Your Free Casino Cruise: Now What?
Regardless of how you get your first free or heavily discounted cruise, the most critical element to securing future comp sailings is your onboard casino play.
Research Casino Program: Every cruise casino program is different. You should learn as much as possible about how the casino works on the line you’re sailing so there are no surprises once you board the ship. Having a plan is the key to earning more cruises.
Invest Some Time: More often than not, your initial cruise won’t be your dream vacation setup. Therefore, you have the opportunity to spend a few hours in the ship’s casino. This doesn’t mean you have to lose money. It means consistent, measured time at the slots or tables that allows the casino to track your play.
Unlock Instant Offers: Your play on this first cruise is what will signal to the cruise line’s casino department that you are a valuable player. If you play enough on your initial sailing, it can lead to instant offers for discounted or complimentary cruises before you disembark.
Get on the Mailing List: Consistent play will also ensure you get added to the casino’s direct marketing list for future promotions. Make sure you opt-in to these marketing lists! These are the emails and mailers that you receive weeks or months later for free sailings.
The Cycle Begins: Once you have offers from one cruise line based on your actual onboard play, you can then use them to match to other cruise lines to expand your pool of potential free cruises.
By playing smart and leveraging these offers correctly, you’ll soon find yourself with more complimentary cruise opportunities than you know what to do with.
Read this next: 5 Cruise Casino Tips to Help You Play Smarter
