Princess Cruises casino implemented significant changes to their “Sea You Soon” points program for instant offers in September 2025, increasing the required points to earn free cruise certificates across different cabin categories and cruise lengths.
Some rewards remain unchanged while others saw increases ranging from 17% to 75%, fundamentally altering the strategy for Princess Cruises casino players trying to maximize their onboard gambling rewards.
What Changed & What Didn't
Comparative bar charts split between Interior/Balcony categories and premium Mini-Suite/Suite tiers show that the entry-level rewards generally experienced the highest adjustments on a percentage basis.
An Interior with $100 Freeplay, the lowest category free room, increased 50% (1000 points) on 7-day cruises, 66.7% (2000 points) on 8-10 day itineraries, and 60% (3000 points) on 11-16 day journeys. A Balcony with $500 Freeplay reward, which was a great sweet-spot value for mid-tier gamblers, also got hit hard. The previously modest 6500 points needed on a 7 day cruise increased 38.5% to 9000 points. The increases were even larger at the 8-10 and 11-16 day levels, making what was a reasonable category a relatively poor value now.
The increase on the Balcony with $1500 Freeplay category is particularly absurd on 11-16 day cruises, jumping a whopping 75% from 20,000 to 35,000 points!
Premium room categories (Mini-Suites and Suites) remained relatively stable by comparison, increasing between 16.7% and 28.6% for the most part, suggesting Princess aimed to preserve some value for the high-roller segments. But the lower percentage increases mask the fact that the number of points needed for these rewards are now eye-wateringly high.
Longer itineraries got hit particularly hard. A Mini-Suite with $2500 Freeplay jumped 50% on 11-16 day cruises from 50,000 to 75,000 points. A Suite on that same 11-16 day cruise is now 100,000 points, up from 85,000. The lone bright spot here are Mini-Suites with $2000 Freeplay on cruises of 7 days and 8-10 days, which did not increase at all.
Much More Gambling Needed on Long Cruises
Using the Princess Cruises casino earning rate of approximately one point per $2 cycled on slot machines as a baseline, the September 2025 adjustments translate to substantial increases in required gambling volume.
The most dramatic impact will be felt by cruisers sailing on longer itineraries. Those aiming for a Mini-Suite with $2500 Freeplay on 11-16 day cruises will have to cycle an additional $50,000 in slot machine play to achieve the same reward. A Balcony with $500 Freeplay requires $20,000 additional to be cycled.
It’s more important than ever to have a rock-solid plan when boarding the cruise ship and to cap your play at a reasonable budget, especially on 11-16 day cruises. At these point levels, you’re much better off simply paying for a Mini-Suite or Suite rather than trying to secure it via casino play.
Strategy and Point Targets Going Forward
These point increases are bad news for all types of players, whether you’re a low roller or a high roller. Fortunately, there are a few reasonable targets you can shoot for if you still want to secure free rooms on a “Sea You Soon” offer.
Interior with $400 Freeplay and Mini-Suite with $2000 Freeplay on certain sailing lengths offer the same value proposition as before September 2025, making them more attractive options than before. Here are the point levels I would target depending on my length of sailing:
7 Days or Less – Still the best place to be
- Interior with $400 Freeplay at 4000 points. Only 1000 points more than the $100 Freeplay level, if you get to 3000 points, you might as well push to 4000 for the extra Freeplay.
- Mini-Suite with $2000 Freeplay at 20,000 points. I’m more of a low roller, so it’s unlikely I would ever get to this level, but if I decided to go for it, I could always offramp at the Balcony with $500 level at 9000 points if I needed to.
8-10 Days – An awkward middle ground
- Interior with $100 Freeplay at 5000 points. The $400 Freeplay level requires a larger bump in daily play compared to the 7-day cruise.
- The Balcony with $1500 Freeplay is an OK value at 20,000 points. The point requirement for Mini-Suite with $2000 Freeplay at 30,000 points is unchanged. If you’re going to bet big, I would target one of these levels depending on your budget.
11-16 Days – Not much value to be had
- Interior with $400 Freeplay at 10,000 points. Similar to the 7-day strategy, if you’re going to hit 8000 points for the Interior with $100 Freeplay, you might as well add 2000 points for the extra Freeplay.
- Beyond the Interior cabins, every subsequent level is a huge jump in points. I wouldn’t even go for anything higher than an Interior, as you’ll likely lose far more money compared to just paying for the upgrade.
The Verdict: A Very Generous Program is No More
When Princess first rolled out their “Sea You Soon” casino rewards program, there was great value to be had. Based on the popularity of the Princess Cruises casinos and the number of people securing free cruises, it appears Princess decided to scale back “Sea You Soon” offers.
For loyal Princess cruisers and casino players, this is unfortunate. The overall Princess Cruises casino loyalty program is still good, but it’s no longer best-in-class. I’m sticking with Princess as my primary line for now, but it’s time to start seriously exploring other lines as well.
