jaullram Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 We never received the email notifying us of our status or what the specific restrictions were on booking our "free" cruise. We have already done 2 free cruises this year and with the new qualifying period ending in March, we will be eligible for 2 more (1 for each of us). Saying that, what are the restrictions regarding length of cruise, certain blackout dates, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 These casino cruises can be booked on any cruise 8 days or less. The holiday blackouts are somewhat ambiguous. I expect that there are strictly prohibited for the obvious "big" holidays - Christmas, New Years, 4th of July etc. but we were able to book one of ours over President's Day of 2019. I have read of others who were not permitted to book over ANY federal holiday so I don't know if we just got lucky or if it - like most other things - depends on who you get on the phone. The best part of the "free" casino cruises (whether they are status-based complimentary cruises or casino-awarded certificate cruises) is that they are very easily and affordably (IMO) upgradable. Dan and I were able to upgrade our annual "free" Prime cruises (which start out as the lowest category inside cabins) all the way to Star Class on Anthem for next Feb. Thanks to Michelle Cunningham for making these happen ! We have also upgraded 2 award certificate complimentary cruises to Owner's Suites on Navigator and Freedom. So free is GREAT but upgrades for very little money (relative, of course) are even better. BTW, in case you do not have it, there is a special phone number for Prime members. 866-213-3116. I was never given this number by Club Royale. I only stumbled upon it when I received a snail mail flyer which had it on the bottom of the flyer in tiny print. Not sure how they ever expected Prime members to get this information ! Such a poorly advertised and executed program in some ways ! Cez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaullram Posted November 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 Just now, WAAAYTOOO said: As always, you are a wealth of knowledge! We did upgrade both of our free cruises this year. One we upgraded interior to balcony for very little money and the other was an upgrade from interior to the Aqua Theater Suite. I wish we could use the certificates that we get but I only have so much vacation time! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 2 hours ago, jaullram said: As always, you are a wealth of knowledge! We did upgrade both of our free cruises this year. One we upgraded interior to balcony for very little money and the other was an upgrade from interior to the Aqua Theater Suite. I wish we could use the certificates that we get but I only have so much vacation time! Personally, we have found the "dollars off" certificates to be fairly useless. We haven't used one of those since the new program started. The "free" cruises, however, are a great deal as long as you stick with the list of cruises that they offer. I got an offer for a complimentary cruise in the snail mail last week out of the blue and we booked a cruise from the list on Freedom in April 2019. When I called to check on this offer (using the Prime number that I mentioned above) I asked specifically if this offer had anything to do with our "free" annual Prime cruises and the rep told me "no"....that this was a "monthly" offer. I was surprised as this is the first offer of its kind that I had ever received. I got the offer but Dan did not even though we are both Prime members. So we have decided that we will no longer do ANYthing except for the free cruise offers. If we get any "dollars off" certificates from the casino we will just throw them away. We are both still working too so we don't have unlimited vacation...but one day..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 You can actually use your dollar off certificates towards an upgrade. My wife earned a free cruise certificate and I received a $300 off. The host told us to use the 300 for an upgrade. We booked her free cruise and then upgraded to a balcony suite. The $300 covered the entire upgrade. Hoski 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prais75 Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 We were told that there is some kind of a deal in the casino that must be used in the first two cruise days of the cruise. Anyone have any helpful info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoski Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 Hubby got an offer for a free balcony cabin on select cruises or $2,500 off any cruise. He was able to book a grand suite free using the $2,500 even though the cruise was one of the ones listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 13 hours ago, MikeB said: You can actually use your dollar off certificates towards an upgrade. My wife earned a free cruise certificate and I received a $300 off. The host told us to use the 300 for an upgrade. We booked her free cruise and then upgraded to a balcony suite. The $300 covered the entire upgrade. As with all things, I guess it depends on who you get on the phone. I have ALWAYS been told that you cannot combine a certificate with a casino discount. Period. Glad it worked out for you...but I wouldn't count on it working like that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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