Royal Caribbean offers complimentary cruises if you gamble enough in its casino, and one cruiser claims he has the winning strategy.
While gambling in a cruise ship casino is often a source of entertainment for many passengers, some treat it like a farm where they can harvest winnings that go beyond money.
The cruise line incentives gambling by offering "free cruises" if you earn enough points on a sailing. These casino comps are a kind of "thank you" for wagering a lot of money, as well as a token of appreciation for continued loyalty.
While I've seen plenty of Royal Caribbean casino strategies, TikTok user Joe (@joe2go_ta) claims he has found the winning formula of gambling enough to get free cruise offers that he spends 6 months a year on ships.
37 back-to-back cruises for "free" from the casino
In his most popular video that has almost a million views, Joe recaps how he can afford to live on a cruise ship for 6 months from those casino comps.
First, he says he begins by gambling enough on a single sailing to reach Prime status within the casino. This is the second tier of Club Royale's loyalty program, and it includes one complimentary cruise and unlimited drinks in the ship's casino.
According to Joe, the foundation of the strategy is surprisingly simple: gamble heavily once a year, hit Prime status in Club Royale, and then stop gambling.
"I gamble once a year," he explained in the video. "I spend about $2,000. I get my 2500 points to hit Prime. Once I do that, I don’t go back to the casino."
This part of his strategy is rather surprising, because a lot of cruisers that enjoy the ship's casino tend to gamble on every sailing. He claims the goal is to earn enough casino points during a single cruise to unlock a year’s worth of benefits and future offers.
But he says the real value comes afterward.
According to him, hitting Prime generates three different types of cruise offers:
- The first is an instant certificate earned while onboard after reaching a certain number of points
- The second is an annual complimentary cruise that comes with Prime status itself
- The third is the steady stream of promotional offers emailed throughout the year
"You get promotional offers weekly or monthly throughout your email," he said.
That combination, he claims, is what allowed him to stack together months of cruises without paying normal cruise fares.
He chooses a specific kind of slot machine to maximize winnings
The most interesting part of his strategy is how he gambles.
Instead of chasing jackpots or high-risk slot machines, he says he exclusively plays "low volatility" slots. Those are machines designed to pay back smaller amounts more frequently instead of offering huge bonus rounds or massive jackpots.
"All I play is low volatility slots," he said. "Slots that pay more money back per spin but don’t have bonuses."
He specifically mentioned slot machines like Black Diamond and Hot Tamales, calling Hot Tamales his preferred game.
His theory is simple and focuses on churning points, rather than chasing highs. You earn points based on how much money you wager, not how much money you win. Therefore, a machine that slowly cycles money back can allow gamblers to continue playing longer while accumulating points.
In other words, the goal is not necessarily to win big. The goal is to stretch gambling bankroll as efficiently as possible while earning enough casino points to trigger lucrative cruise offers later.
It's worth mentioning his strategy isn't foolproof. There is always risk involved with gambling, and there's no guarantee someone will only lose a couple thousand dollars trying to reach Prime status. Some cruisers could lose far more, while others may get lucky and lose less.
He leverages Royal Caribbean's loyalty perks to combine too
"I would not have been able to afford it if I wasn’t Diamond Plus," he admitted.
His casino strategy leverages not only what the casino gives him, but also his repeat cruiser benefits from Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program.
He says living onboard long-term would have been much harder without Diamond Plus status in Crown & Anchor Society.
Diamond Plus members receive benefits that can dramatically reduce daily onboard spending, including complimentary drinks, free laundry, discounts, and other perks that become especially valuable during back-to-back cruises.
Being kind to crew members is another important recommendation he has
The TikToker also emphasized another part of cruise life that frequent cruisers often mention: relationships with crew members.
"When you’re on the ship, treat your employees well," he said. "Tip them."
He goes as far as offering to pick up basic necessities crew members may need during their contracts. He does so for the crew members he strikes up a friendship with along the way.
According to him, those relationships made long-term cruising feel more personal and enjoyable.
"It’s good to have people that know you by name and treat you like a friend rather than a guest," he explained.
Does his strategy actually work?
After watching his video, his approach to Prime status isn't revolutionary. But his recommendation for how to gamble is a good reminder if you're chasing points.
From my own experience, I can tell you if you hit Prime status on one sailing (2,500 points), yes, you'll qualify for an instant certificate right then and there. And then you'll get another free cruise offer the following April.
However, I would caution anyone before they start to go to the casino host desk and look at the qualifying sailings available for when you reach 2,500 points. You don't get to choose any cruise. Rather, you have to choose from a subset of sailings. So make sure those cruises are ones that you'd actually want to sail on.
The other part of his strategy that gives me pause is the reliance on offers that come in the mail or online for additional free sailings.
In my opinion, that's a giant x-factor, because you're at the mercy of if offers will come to you or not. It's very much a "feast or famine" experience.
The other thing he doesn't mention about this is the offers you typically get a Prime member tend to be on older, smaller ships. You're not getting a week on Star of the Seas or even a weekend on Utopia of the Seas. Instead, there are a lot of offers for Enchantment, Grandeur, or Rhapsody of the Seas.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but something to keep in mind.
