We all know that the odds are in the house’s favor whenever we step into a casino no matter if it’s on a cruise ship or on land. Chances are, you are going to leave with less money than you came in with.
So why do we do it? The thrill of a win is always around the corner, there’s something to be said for the fun of chasing a win, and frankly, those perks that casinos give out can make losing money less painful.
Case in point: Gamble enough in a cruise ship’s casino and you could earn perks ranging from free drinks all the way to free cruises.
So how much does it take to snag one of these ‘free’ trips? We have the details.
Want Your Next Cruise for ‘Free’? All You Have to Do Is Play (A Lot)
Casinos on cruise ships are very similar to what you’ll find on land. If you’ve never been gambling on a cruise before, you’ll feel right at home. Slots, tables, dice games… they are all there. (There are also a number of games you normally don’t find on land that can be fun to try your luck.)
And just like a typical casino, cruise ships also have players reward systems. Instead of signing up for a separate account, however, it all runs through your cruise keycard. When you play, you’ll present your card to the dealer, or insert/tap the reader on the machine. Your play is then tracked and you can earn perks for your gambling.
To give you an idea of what it takes to get the ultimate perk — a free cruise — we dove into the reward system for one of the biggest cruise lines in the world, Royal Caribbean.
How the Cruise Line Tracks Your Play
Royal Caribbean offers what it calls the Club Royale program. The program offers four tiers of membership, with increasing perks as you earn.
The levels start at “Choice” before going to “Prime,” “Signature,” and the highest level, “Masters.”
Your status increases with the number of tier credits you earn. The current breakdown is as follows:
- Choice: 1-2,499 credits
- Prime: 2,500-24,999 credits
- Signature: 25,000-99,999 credits
- Masters: 100,000+ credits
According to the cruise line, passengers earn points from April 1 – March 31. After March 31, all the credits reset to zero.
So what status do you need to get a free cruise? The reward chart shows that players can earn a free 7-night cruise starting with the Prime status tier.
At that level, players are eligible for one 7-day cruise in an interior cabin. Signature tier members will be able to sail in a balcony cabin, with Masters-level players get a top-of-the-line Grand Suite for their play.
But how much does that cost in play to get to these levels?
The Details on How Much it Takes to Earn a Cruise
This program assigns points based on your play. How many points you earn depends on which games you play. The breakdown is below:
- Slots: 1 point for every $5 played
- Video Poker: 1 point for every $10 played
- Tables: 10 points for a $10 average wager for one hour
(Note: Many games in the casino, like the coin pusher machines or the skill cranes don’t earn any points. So if you want to earn higher status, avoid playing these.)
In this case, with a slot machine you’d have to play $12,500 through the slot machine to earn 2,500 points. But given the payback on the machine, you won’t be out of pocket that full $12,500. After all, you have wins that go to your bankroll to be put back through the machine. Assuming a house edge of 8% on the machine, your expected loss is $1,000.
So to earn enough money for an interior room, it would cost you an expected $1,000 to reach the Prime tier and get that offer. If the house edge is higher, your expected loss increases.
Below, we’ve charted out all the expected costs to achieve each level of room offer for the different games. Note that we’ve assumed the house edge, but different rules or machine settings could change these figures.
Assumptions:
- Slots – 8% house edge
- Video Poker – “7/5” machines for a 3.9% house edge
- Blackjack – Dealer hits on soft 17 and 6-5 payout on blackjack for 2% house edge
What jumps out is how much more it seems to cost for blackjack players to get a room offer. Our estimates assume 80 hands per hour at $10 per hand. So in an hour, you’ll have to wager $800 in total to earn 10 points. That same $800 wagered on slot machines would earn 160 points!
So from our calculations, you’ll earn a ‘free’ room fastest with slot machines, but video poker would give you the smallest expected loss to earn a room.
This Is Just One Cruise Line… But Others Should Be Similar
Finally, just remember that this is one program from one cruise line. However, in general lines tend to be similar to one another in many aspects — including the casino. So your line may differ from what’s shown here, but it should give you a good idea on what to expect as far as how much playing is required to earn a free room offer.
More on Gambling on a Cruise:
- Cruise Ship Casino Games Guide (Games Offered, Minimums, Payouts & More)
- 7 Cruise Ship Casino & Secrets to Know Before You Play
