TwoCanSailAway Posted August 22, 2023 Report Share Posted August 22, 2023 Hello Everyone, I have recently been looking into the various Credit Card / OBC / Stocks / Casino Rewards (other?) options offered by Royal / Celebrity. What is the most useful option or combination of programs to earn discounts/ credits / and the illusive 'Free Cruise'? May your ship lead you to warm sands, TwoCanSailAway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted August 22, 2023 Report Share Posted August 22, 2023 There is no such thing as a "free" cruise, more like an earned cruise is what I call them. I don't have stock or a credit card with Royal. But my understanding is with the stock its only OBC. I also think with the credit card you have to spend an insane amount to earn a cruise and the points to OBC transfer isn't too great. I do utilize the casino. I like to gamble and that is my entertainment. I don't do beaches and I have had my fill of resorts, so I don't spend money on excursions. I do not gamble expecting to win big. I gamble because I enjoy the games. That being said I have a strategy that works to earn my cruises. After a certain points threshold you can earn a cruise from a list of available cruises and if you earn 2500 in a casino calendar year, April 1st to March 31st, you will qualify for an annual "free" cruise. This will be on top of the cruise you have earned, you can only earn one cruise per sailing, and the free cruise is one per calendar year. Once I found out about the cruise list, I ask for it before I start gambling and then play to earn what I want. It only works if you spend less than what the cruise will cost outright. I charge against my account instead of using cash, that way I earn points on my Chase Reserve, which I will use to pay the other travel expense like flights and hotels. Villageidiot, BrianB and Kathleen 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCanSailAway Posted August 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2023 @Ampurp85 Thank you for the reply and insight. On our March Cruise on Grandeur, we met a couple that recommended the Casino rewards program to earn a 'free cruise'. There is a lot of mixed information about how much money needs to be cycled to reach 2,500 points (1 point per $5 cycled on slots = $12,500). From your experience, would you say that $12,500 is the average to get a 'free cruise'? Or are there other promotions (like 2x points) that reduce that amount? I think all my cruises combined (D+) might be around $12,500. Follow-up questions: Is it one ‘free cruise’ per year, per person, or household? If, both myself and my spouse independently reach 2,500 points can we get 2 ‘free cruises’? Do you know if, casino points are locked by line, Royal & Celebrity, exclusive? Or can you earn 2,500 points between the two lines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted August 23, 2023 Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 5 hours ago, TwoCanSailAway said: @Ampurp85 Thank you for the reply and insight. On our March Cruise on Grandeur, we met a couple that recommended the Casino rewards program to earn a 'free cruise'. There is a lot of mixed information about how much money needs to be cycled to reach 2,500 points (1 point per $5 cycled on slots = $12,500). From your experience, would you say that $12,500 is the average to get a 'free cruise'? Or are there other promotions (like 2x points) that reduce that amount? I think all my cruises combined (D+) might be around $12,500. Follow-up questions: Is it one ‘free cruise’ per year, per person, or household? If, both myself and my spouse independently reach 2,500 points can we get 2 ‘free cruises’? Do you know if, casino points are locked by line, Royal & Celebrity, exclusive? Or can you earn 2,500 points between the two lines? So that is based on straight forward math. It won't work that way; some people may spend more and some less. I have made over the 2500 points for prime on less than $3k playing the slots. There are no promotions. You play and earn points. Keep in mind that you are wining something so you can cycle through house money as well. I know the table games are a bit harder to keep track of, which is why I say it could potentially cost someone more than $12,500. Example I am playing $3.20 spends and blow through $320. On the straightforward side I have only earned 64 points but because I am cycling through and winning, I could actually have 500pts. It is a free cruise per person, so if both you and your spouse make prime, you would have two annual cruises. You could take both or combine them for a better room. And yes, they are locked by line. Your prime status with Royal won't transfer to Celebrity. However, it has been reported that if you earn 4K points on one cruise you can call Celebrity and ask for comps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drjohn4 Posted August 23, 2023 Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 Buying RCL stock doesn't give you a guaranteed free cruise, but if you had bought 200 shares in March of 2022 ($64 per share). You would have a gain of about $7000 you could spend on a cruise if you sold those shares, and could have a nice onboard credit as a shareholder on every cruise you took. Of course if you bought those shares at the end of 2019 ($135 per share) you would still be looking at a $7000 loss if you sold (but still getting the OBC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCanSailAway Posted August 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 @Ampurp85 Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I think we are going to try on our October Trip to earn a free cruise in the Casino! @drjohn4 Hello Dr. John, Thank you for the response. Before hearing about the Casino benefits, I had been debating the credit card vs. stock option. We have several trips planned with Friends & family over the next 12 months on both Royal & Celebrity. If we were to get the Royal credit card and use it to make everyone's payments, we could easily rack up some points. However, being deal-motivated cruisers, it would take us years to earn a free cruise if only using the card on Royal Purchases (2x points). The RCL Stock option is appealing because of the one-time purchase. No additional spending is required, just 100 stocks to earn OBC for every future sailing, rather than trying to earn enough points. Granted the RCL stock price is a bit steep at right now. ($100.07). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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