It's becoming easier to enjoy the benefits of a Royal Caribbean cruise and a land casino.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises have strengthened their casino loyalty partnership, which means it's easier to earn points on a ship or at a land casino.
A first reported by TheStreet, players who gamble in the onboard casinos can now earn MGM Rewards Points, tier credits, and slot dollars — not just cruise line benefits.
To take advantage, players must use their SeaPass card while gambling onboard. The points they earn in the Club Royale (Royal Caribbean) or Blue Chip Club (Celebrity) programs now count toward MGM’s rewards program too.
"Extending the opportunity to earn onboard is a true game changer for our members," Anil Mansukhani, vice president of loyalty marketing, said in a statement.
"We're always looking to raise the stakes for our best-in-class program, and the ability for our members to earn MGM Rewards on gaming spend when vacationing at sea maximizes every dollar spent."
These changes are part of the cruise line's casino loyalty program. Royal Caribbean also offers benefits with MGM to its Crown and Anchor Society members.
Crown & Anchor Society members can take advantage of a status matching program, entitling them to MGM Rewards benefits even if it’s their first time staying at an MGM Rewards property.
A longstanding partnership with MGM
Royal Caribbean's partnership with MGM Casinos is one of many steps the two companies have taken to offer linked benefits.
The first partnership began in 2012, but it's steadily grown over the years.
MGM’s loyalty program has been upgraded across all tiers. Gold-level members, for example, now get an annual cruise benefit — a 5-night oceanview stateroom or a $750 cruise credit — a perk that didn’t exist before. Platinum members now get a 7-night balcony cruise or a $1,500 credit, an upgrade from the previous 5-night deal.
MGM isn’t the only land-based casino group working with the cruise lines. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity also have a partnership with Hard Rock International through its Unity loyalty program. Players in certain tiers, like the X card level, can qualify for cruise discounts or even certificates valued up to $2,500. Some tiers receive invite-only offers for complimentary cruises.
Both partnerships are about attracting casino players from the land casinos to try a cruise, as well as the other way around.
Deepening casino push
One trend Royal Caribbean has been pursuing over the last few years has been catering more and more to its gamblers onboard.
Not only has the cruise line expanded partnerships, they've invested more space and money on casinos.
On select ships, the casino footprint has been expanded to grow the size of gambling spaces and offer more areas for non-smokers.
On some Oasis Class ships, the Crown Lounge and Attic venue have been replaced in order to make expand the casino.
On Freedom of the Seas, the wine bar was replaced with a non-smoking casino.
Gambling is big business on cruises
Casino gaming is a major moneymaker for Royal Caribbean, and it's only getting bigger.
The cruise line doesn’t break out casino earnings on their own, but they are rolled into what's known as “onboard and other” revenue. That bucket includes everything passengers pay for beyond the base cruise fare: drink packages, shore excursions, Wi-Fi, and yes — gambling.
In the second quarter of this year, Royal Caribbean Group reported $183 million in “onboard and other” revenue across all its brands. That’s up $14 million from the same time last year.
Frequent cruisers have noticed the trend too. Many are seeing more aggressive offers from the casino, including discounted and even free cruise certificates, aimed at keeping players coming back.
