Beware of the casino FREE CRUISE offer!

Recently I had a few potential clients tell me “sorry we did not book with you, we got a free cruise from the casino.” Beware of the casino free cruise offer. You need to read the fine print. Not all free cruises are created equally and there are some catches to these offers. Your trusted travel advisor can not only book these cruises for you, they can also fill you in on what to expect and what you should prepare yourself for.

The FREE Cruise Offer

What is the free casino cruise offer? You can earn free cruises on cruise ships for sure, but I am talking about the free cruise offers you can get from gambling at casino’s that have a partnership with cruise lines. For example, casinos in New England will have a promotion where they will offer free cruises to their customers on cruise lines like Norwegian Cruise Line or MSC Cruise Line as a reward for your gambling habits at their casinos.

Is the cruise really free? Yes and no. What is free is the cruise fare. You will still be responsible for the taxes and port fee’s. These fees will be a drop in the bucket compared to the over the counter cruise fare, but you will be required to pay these and should be aware of this expense.

What does the FREE cruise include?

As mentioned above you will get the actual cruise fare at $0 cost to you. This will include your cabin, entertainment and complimentary dining options, water and coffee/tea. This is what is typically covered when booking a standard cruise booking. Your cabin will depend on the agreement between the casino and the cruise line. Can you upgrade? Of course you can, the cruise line is hoping you want to upgrade to a better deck/location or cabin class. This will also be an added expense if you choose to do so.

You will be responsible for getting to the embarkation port and transfers to and from. So if you need to fly into Miami or Port Canaveral, you are responsible for this and also planning your ride to and from the airport/hotel to the ship.

Is the drink package covered?

No. You will have to purchase the drink package if you feel you need it. This is a hot topic in the cruise industry. Some wear by it and others say to avoid it. In my opinion, it all comes down to you and your travel partner. Nicole and myself will always purchase the drink package regardless of the cruise line we sail with. Why? Because we are on vacation and we want to enjoy. We know we will get the use from the package. We also enjoy drinking specialty coffee’s and energy drinks and soda so for us it makes sense.

If you are not a huge drinker or say you are on a cruise that has heavy port days then a drink package may not be for you. ( Visit this post and use the free drink calculator )So you will need to sit and figure out if it makes sense financially for you and your travel companion. We also book the drink packages and other added amenities because we want to walk off the ship with a $0 cruise account.

Are gratuities included in the FREE cruise?

You guessed it, NO! Yo will be responsible for the tips for your cruise. They will range in price per cruise line but expect to pay around $20pp per day for your gratuities. These include tips for your waitstaff in the dining rooms, buffet staff, bartenders and your room steward. Also, if you have someone that goes above and beyond for you on your cruise, don’t be afraid to throw them a few bucks cash as well. They work hard so let them know you appreciate them.

Where does my FREE cruise go?

This will be made available to you when you get the offer from the casino. They will tell you which cruise line, date restrictions, number of days and itinerary when you receive your voucher. IT IS IMPORTANT that you take the time to read all this information. For example a 10 day cruise on MSC may differ from a 10 day cruise you get from a casino on NCL. You need to know the details and you need to ask questions. This is where your travel advisor will come in to play and be able to help you with this.

Why is this important?

Here are 2 real world examples for free cruises offered to clients and the end results.

FREE 10-Day Cruise on MSC

A client of mine loves to play table games and his wife plays the slot machines. They visit multiple casinos in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. On their last visit to a New Hampshire casino they spent enough time and money that they were offered a free MSC Cruise.

When they got word they were super excited and jumped at the chance to book their Free Cruise. They felt bad that this was a free cruise and thought I would not be interested in booking this for them. I would have absolutely made the calls for them but they were unaware I could. Anyway, they called MSC paid their taxes and port fees and started planning for their cruise. Super excited to have a 10 day cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahama’s!

FREEE 7 Day Cruise on Norwegian

Same situation really. Husband and wife gamble occasionally and at a recent trip to a Rhode Island casino they were offered a free 7 day cruise on Norwegian. They felt the same way as my MSC clients. They did not think I would want to help or could not help so they called NCL and booked their 7 day cruise.

They were super excited, they had just received a 7 day sailing of their choice in an interior room. They were going to use this to book their bucket list trip to book their cruise to Alaska!

The Fine Print

Why you need to be aware of what these offers really are and how they differ. My Alaskan clients sat down and went through the details on their cruise. After thinking about it, reading the fine print they opted to NOT use this cruise voucher for Alaska and instead called me up and said ” I think we rather do Princess for the Alaska cruise, can you book that.” Of course I can, so I went ahead and got them their paperwork.

WHY I asked? Well there were too many restrictions set forth on their voucher. Also they were only allowed to book a guaranteed inside room at the time of booking. So you had to be comfortable with this decision. If the cruise sold out, you were stuck with a inside room for the whole trip. No exceptions. Plus with the guaranteed room, you do not get your room number until after you check in, the day of departure. They did not like this and wanted to know where they were but also seeing how this was Alaska, they wanted a balcony and did not want to chance it.

They love cruising so they decided to put this voucher aside and use it for a Boston to Bermuda cruise for next season or to book a late winter trip out of Florida.

My MSC couple were not so lucky. They booked their 10 day Bahama cruise and never looked back. Booked their flights and forgot all about it. Never even looked at the itinerary! Huge mistake. Why does this matter?

The cruise they were booked on was billed as a 10 day cruise. What they did not read in the details of the cruise voucher was it was really a 4 day cruise and then a 7 day cruise. Short cruises are notoriously known for a booze cruise vibe. Post cruise conversations with this couple and another couple they cruised with all started with ” I will never do a 10 day cruise again!” As I dug into their reasoning I understood why.

The first 4 days were just as expected. Massive drinking crowds, people sick, intoxicated and a staff that was miserable from dealing with all this. This is a major reason why people hate short cruises. It made the start of their vacation miserable!

Now after talking for a bit more they did say, once the 4 day bender ended and the boat was turned over to the 7 day crowd, the experience was far more pleasurable. Bartenders that were not so pleasant days 1 – 3 were far more helpful and polite. Waitstaff was on point and jovial. It was a complete different experience. If they had read the details they would have seen it. Enjoy a short 4 day cruise to our private island and then depart on your 7 day caribbean cruise.

Is the FREE Casino offer worth it?

In my eyes, sure why not but understand what you are getting with your FREE casino cruise offer. We all know there is no such thing as free. You are paying for something for sure. You will be the taxes, you will pay the port fee’s, you will pay for drinks and gratuities but you are also not paying the cruise fare and in the long run it is pretty chear. READ THE FINE PRINT! Make sure you know what you are getting and what the details are for your trip.

If you are taking a flight down to Florida to embark on your trip maybe use this opportunity to look into a back to back cruise or even a side to side where you can either book 2 weeks on the same ship or book Cruise line A and then jump on Cruise Line B when you return. Make the most of your flight you needed to purchase and your hotel you paid for pre-cruise, because we all know you do not fly into your cruise the day of departure!

Utilize your travel agent! if you have booked with someone in the past, read out to them! Explain what you were offered and what your thoughts are. It is a free service! Truly free. We get paid from the cruise line, not from our customers so use that to your advantage. Even though your coucher is free with the cruise line, your travel advisor can book these offers for you and they will also get a small commission from the cruise line directly. So take them up on the offer, let them read the details and explain to you the Who, What, When and Where of your free casino cruise!