Onboard casinos, the games you’ll find and the casino loyalty programs that can earn you free or discounted cruises.
If you like to play, the casino can do a lot more than eat into your vacation budget. Most cruise lines run a players club, and the more you play, the more you can earn, from free drinks to discounted or even free cruises. The catch is that every line runs its program a little differently, and the rules change more often than you'd think.
Start with the guide for the line you sail most. The Ultimate Guide to Royal Caribbean's Club Royale Program is the one I know best, and it's widely considered one of the best programs at sea. There are also guides to MSC Cruises' casino program, Virgin Voyages' casino program and Margaritaville at Sea's casino program. If you play in Vegas too, Wynn Rewards and MSC Cruises shows how that play can turn into a free cruise.
Below you'll also find casino news, like Carnival quietly changing the rules around slot pulls, plus one game that's surprisingly lucrative for the cruise lines even though it isn't in the casino at all: cruise ship bingo.
People often ask me about Royal Caribbean’s casino loyalty program, Club Royale. When it comes to casino programs at sea, this is the one I’m most familiar with.…
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